Don’t forget that Itta Bena has $3 flavored SKYY vodka martinis tonight from 5 to 7.  These are the same martinis they served at their Sex and the City party a week ago Friday, so you know there will be lots of girly drinks for ladies who want to chill out after work.  I plan on having a few cheap martinis, as much for the girl-watching as for the drink prices; then at 7 I’ll move to the Saucer for Pint Nite.

Sunday Fun Day was a blast yesterday.  My BFF Suzy joined me for brunch at the Majestic.  She told me she’s having people over for drinks sometime soon, and “you should come, there will be some cute girls there.”  BEST BFF EVER.  Whoever becomes BFF of the Month for July is going to have a high standard to live up to.

After brunch, we moved on to the Saucer.  Played a few pool games, then wandered inside to find a game of drunk darts going on:

Dude, how wasted do you have to be to miss the dart board by THAT MUCH?

Meanwhile, the girls were playing darts on the other board.  Apparently they didn’t quite understand how to play cricket, where you close out the 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15 and the bullseye, so they invented their own game:

Amanda (pictured above) told me she was going to wear a tube top, but she went to church and she was afraid the grandmothers there would frown on that type of behavior.  Which brings me to this story I found online:  15 Minutes with Sarah Keller.  In particular, there was a quote from the interviewee:  “One summer my Grandma Carolyn helped me sew a tube top from Wal-Mart Fabric; I was hooked.”  BEST GRANDMOTHER EVER!  If Grandma Carolyn is still alive, I’m going to send her a fruit basked for Grandparents’ Day in September.

About 5 we did a venue change to Itta Bena, because the girls wanted half-off bottles of wine, which is their Sunday night special.  After they polished off a couple of bottles, my friend Kacy came up with one of the best ideas ever:  A TubeTopalooza party to celebrate the end of Tube Top Month in a few weeks.  Working on the details of that today.

In the news:  The Memphis Business Journal reports that there’s a tap water movement going on, where local restaurants served only tap water last Thursday to make customers aware of the environmental impact of bottled water.  Downtown restaurants Stella and Circa participated.

And that’s the news for today… heading back to work for more fun with file imports.  Yay.

Attn Downtowners:  The Center City Commission wants your feedback about the new safety patrol which has been in place since April 1.  The patrol was hired specifically to curb the act of aggressive panhandling.  They want to know if it has made a difference.  They want to know if you feel safer on the streets of Downtown, if you’ve been approached less by aggressive panhandlers and bums since April 1, if you see fewer of them as you walk around.

Please take 3 or 4 minutes of your day to go to the CCC’s Sound Off page and leave your feedback, positive or negative.  Your opinion is vital as the CCC decides whether to extend the program past the end of its trial run on June 30.

Yesterday afternoon I was in the Saucer with my laptop, putting the finishing touches on Pro Wrestling Book and Video and hanging out with Otto and John D, when Shelton Clothiers owner Tom Shelton walked in. He came bearing invitations to the store’s 3-year anniversary party, to be held Saturday, June 21 from 6 to 9 PM. There will be food, live music, and drinks.

It will also be a party with a purpose: Shelton Clothiers is asking for customers’ help replenishing the First Works Clothes Closet. Bring gently used clothing for the closet the night of the party, and they’ll give you a 30% off coupon on any one item. Coupon is good through July 31, 2008.

Tom came bearing gifts, too. He gave me a baseball cap from his Pink Pig line, as thanks for links I’ve given the store on my blog over the years:

You may have seen his Pink Pig line at the store… it’s a line of golf shirts, T-shirts, and now caps. The shirts resemble Izod shirts, but in place of the alligator there’s a pink pig. Very appropriate in a city that is world-famous for its barbecue.

Just checked the Red Rooster’s website and noticed that they have a new event on Mondays called Metal MF’N Mondays. Every Monday the Rooster has the best metal acts from Memphis and the surrounding areas. So if you’re into metal and you’re looking for live music on a Monday, the Rooster is the place to go. If you’re in a metal band, might want to get down there and talk to Luke and Robby Bobby about Mondays.

I’m going to try to make it to the Rooster’s Rehab Service Industry Night tonight. Luke told me “it gets good around 10:30,” which is a little late but maybe I can slam one of my 5 Hour Energy drinks and make it. Tricycle races, cornhole, and other games. I’m not a service industry employee but I’m sure they’ll let me in… heck, a lot of people probably think I work at the Saucer, I’m there more than even the managers.

Don’t forget, Itta Bena, the restaurant on the third floor of BB King’s on Beale, has half-off bottles of wine this evening.

Got an e-mail from the Majestic Grille about some new stuff they’ve got going on. First of all, they have the photography of Gary Kessel on display in their back room (the Innovators’ Room) until June 30. All of his images are available for purchase. All money goes directly to the artist, as the Majestic Grille does not take commission as part of its commitment to the arts.

Further evidence of the Majestic’s commitment to the arts can be seen in its new partnership with ArtsMemphis. Starting June 1, the restaurant began inserting “movie tickets” in presenter trays with guest checks, informing patrons of various arts groups around town and making them aware of ArtsMemphis’ new website and calendar. Each new restaurant patron who goes to the website will be signed up for a drawing to win lunch for two at the restaurant, with one lunch per week given away through the end of August.

The Majestic Grille has also re-scheduled its Farmers Market dinner, canceled earlier in the spring due to bad weather. It will be Wednesday, June 11 at 6:30 PM and reservations are required (522-8555 or follow the link above to their website). Here’s the menu:

Hors D’Oeuvres

Pizettas – Carmelized spring onions, bonnie blue goat cheese, arugula

Radish “Sandwiches” – Sea salt and chive mayo

Bon Bon Shiraz Rose, South Australia 2007

First Course

Roasted Jumbo Scallop – Baby beets, oranges, mixed greens

Marquis Phillips Holly’s Blend, Southeast Australia 2007

Second Course

Veal Tenderloin – Stuffed with chard, zucchini and fresh herbs with natural juices, sugar glazed carrots and roasted fingerling potatoes

Chris Ringland’s Green Lion Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley CA 2005

Dessert

English Strawberry Trifle – Fresh strawberries layered with sponge cake, English custard and canilla cream

Paringa Individual Vineyards Sparkling Shiraz, South Australia 2004

$55 per person plus tax & 20% gratuity. Slow Foods members $50.

Speaking of the Majestic, it’s their turn on the Sunday brunch crew’s two weeks Majestic, two weeks Blue Monkey brunch rotation. I’ll be there in a little while.

If you’ve been keeping up with my blog for the past couple of weeks, you know that I’ve been working feverishly in my free time on my newest online store. I completed it today and it’s ready for launch. Here it is:

Pro Wrestling Book and Video is an Amazon.com storefront that features books, DVDs, and video games, organized by promotion (for books and video), by game console (for games), and by wrestler (when there are individual products related to that wrestler). Amazon carries a lot of wrestling products, but they are strewn all over the place and are hard to find. My store pulls them together in one place, and allows you to easily find not only the most popular titles, but lesser-known and discontinued ones.

Amazon handles all the checkout and shipping details, so you’re protected by their world-class secure online payment system and return policies.  Since all merchandise is shipped by Amazon and its trusted partners, you can rest assured that you’re not buying bootleg or pirated items.  The store makes money by receiving referral commissions from Amazon.  It’s powered by the same software that I used to create the Tube Top Boutique and The Romania Store.

Whether you’re a fan of the current pro wrestling scene or the wrestling territories of the ’80s, the store has got you covered.  You might even be able to buy a book or video featuring some of the WWE Divas in tube tops.

All right… with that out of the way, I can go out.  I already have ideas for my next two online stores, which I will begin researching tomorrow.

One of the reasons I hardly ever drive the car is that Amazon.com is so totally awesome. Not only do they have every product I ever wanted, they also have a bunch of products I never knew I wanted or needed, and they’re cheap. A couple of examples:

A few weeks ago I bought a Panasonic 10x zoom digital camera from Amazon. (Which I really like, by the way… pics taken with the new camera to come later in the post.) One thing about being a blogger with a digital camera is that I occasionally take a LOT of pictures (e.g. BBQ Fest) to the point of running the battery completely down. So I like to have a spare battery. But I forgot to order one with the camera. I realized I forgot and thought to myself, “I’ll get around to it,” but I think that about a lot of things and never get to them. So this morning Amazon sent an e-mail entitled “Accessories for your Panasonic camera.” And there was a link to a a replacement battery for the camera. And it was cheeeeeap ($3.95). I figured I’d have to pay 20-30 bucks for a second battery. So I ordered two of them. With each battery rated at 300 pics/charge, that means I can take 900 pics in a single day.

A second Amazon story: One of the best ways I’ve found to pep myself up is those little two-ounce bottles of 5-Hour Energy they sell at convenience stores.

They’re actually good for you, full of vitamins. They’re like a Vitamin B shot and an espresso shot in little 2-ounce bottles. I can drink one of these and be good to go on a busy weekend night. I don’t tire out near as easily and I’m a lot more alert and talkative.

The drawback is, they’re expensive. After you pay the state of Tennessee’s outrageous sales tax, they’re almost five bucks apiece at most convenience stores. That’s almost as bad as buying cigarettes.

So, one day I was talking to my friend/co-worker Otto, and he told me that Amazon carries them. “You can buy 12-packs of them on Amazon for $20,” he said. “It’s like 5, 6 dollars for shipping, and no sales tax, so you end up paying just over $2 apiece for them.” Less than half what they cost in stores.

I got online and searched, and sure enough, there they were for $20. I ordered a 12-pack of the Lemon Lime 5 Hour Energy drinks. For those who prefer a different flavor, they also come in Orange and Berry. Shipping was $5.99. That works out to $2.17 per bottle. Nice!

This morning, though, I’m drinking the original energy drink, Mountain Dew. Just out of curiosity, I did an Amazon search on “Mountain Dew” and found this book on the history of Mountain Dew. This would fall into the “items you never knew you wanted or needed” category.

But enough about Amazon… it’s June and that means it’s time to talk about tube tops. Last night I went to the Saucer to people-watch the Hank Jr./Skynyrd crowd. My friend Stephanie who puts on the Downtown Alive series for the CCC was there. She had a tube dress on. “Are you going to take a picture of me for your blog?” So I did.

Yes, tube dresses count. So do tube top jumpsuits and rompers… as long as it doesn’t have straps, it counts for Tube Top Month.

Stephanie has had on a tube top or tube dress just about every time I’ve seen her in the past month, except for work-related events. “I think that should put me in the running for BFF of the Month for July!” she said. I’ll admit, that is a strong selling point. I cautioned her, though, that my current BFF Suzy takes the title of BFF of the Month very seriously, and intends to do interviews at the end of June to help me select the July BFF.  Suzy doesn’t want me to ever again have a “tragic BFF,” as she described the original one.

Sorry I didn’t post the “what’s going on” post on Thursday… I had it all ready to go, just needed to look up a couple of things in the Flyer, which I had left at work. So I got there, did the look-ups… and then the Internet was down at work for half the day. By the time it came back up, I was swamped with file imports and simply forgot that I never did the post. I already have my party plans for next Thursday in place though… The Dempseys play the Saucer.

Speaking of the Saucer, will probably be there laptopping this afternoon… my new online store is almost ready to be launched, and it may well happen today. After that’s up I plan to add a strapless bikini top section to the Tube Top Boutique as the Nuh-Uh Sister suggested, then I’ll start work on my next online store idea.  Not sure what I’ll do tonight… Kings of the Delta play the Saucer, and they’re pretty good so I’ll probably start there.  Maybe the Rooster and/or Raiford’s later in the evening.

Happy Saturday everyone… see you later

Tonight is Hank Williams Jr and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Rowdy Friends” tour at the FedExForum.  No, I’m not going.  But there’s going to be some interesting people-watching going on, that’s for sure… may have to head down to the Saucer and grab myself a window seat right after work.  I kind of hope the hardcore Hank Jr./Skynyrd fans don’t know about Tube Top Month… that could be scary.

I bet the clubs that have country-rock themes are going to be hopping tonight – Double Deuce, Coyote Ugly, even the Red Rooster.

(Edit: A reader sent me this post to let everyone know that Deering & Down with the Memphis Belles play The Cove tonight at 10 PM.)

If you don’t check the Commercial Appeal’s site on a regular basis, be sure not to miss this dining review of The Cove on Broad Avenue.  The Downtown gang took a field trip there in February, and we all had a great time.  Best drinks in the city – handmade with care, using the finest ingredients.  Here’s a link to my post about The Cove with pics of the place.  It’s sophisticated and yet at the same time casual… a place where ladies can feel comfortable wearing jeans and a tube top.

Can’t believe it’s been 4 months since I’ve last been there… I need to find an excuse to go back.  Worth driving the car.

From Wesleyan University’s site:

“Friday, June 6 @ 10pm-3am, 15 Thames St. Brooklyn. Celebrate this spring with a new line of Freegan fashion at the Freegan Fashion Show # 3: Green Goddess Dressing!

Our self-made models will walk the plywood runway in one-of-a-kind handmade costumes spun out of scavenged scrap material. Hip digs recently dug out of college dumpsters, fabric from the 1950’s recovered from a Park Slope housing renovation, all stylishly assembled with the guidance of environmental clothing designers from New York City. This is a night to reject commercial control of our self-images and reclaim pride in the beauty of our creativity. All are invited to participate as models or fashion designers. After the show, bands will perform and DJ Tube Top will play dubstep until 3am. Free food. BYOB.”

Best DJ name ever!  I know I have blog readers who throw parties and events… we need to get DJ Tube Top down here!

Sorry for missing the “It’s Thursday night” post for those of you looking for it. I had it typed up before I went to work in the morning, just had a couple of items to verify in the Memphis Flyer. But I left my Flyer at work. So my plan was to get to work, look up those items in the Flyer and then post. But the Internet was down at work for hours. Sorry.

EP’s has several upcoming events. Tomorrow (tonight really, Fri 6/6) it’s the Rovers Morning Glory bikini calendar competition sponsored by Miller Lite and 93x from 8:00 to 10:00.

Saturday 6/14 EP’s will host AQUANET, the most awesome ’80s hair band cover band ever. Yep I just might be there for that one.

And don’t forget, Sun 6/22 is Pub Olympics at Hoop’s Bar 1:00 ’til dusk. 3 local bands and team drinking.

Also received information about this upcoming Circa event:

circa Sundays: Farmers Market Dinner

Memphis Farmer’s Market Produce and global wine finds,

served in a five part tasting portion menu

1

Market-Fresh Field Greens and Herb Salad with Curry-Fried Oyster

Kuentz-Bas, Gewürztraminer 2005 (Alsace, France)

Iconic grape, intoxicating perfume and spice

2

Roast Heirloom Tomatoes Stuffed with Jumbo Lump Crab Salad

Minet, Pouilly-Fumé 2005 (Loire River, France)

Pure, refined, dry French Sauvignon Blanc; zesty, flinty, flowing flavors

3

Neola Farms Beef Short Ribs “Chasseur”

Raymond “R” Collection, Merlot 2005 (St. Helena, California)

Full, fleshy, with classic black cherry and boysenberry flavors

4

Cheese Course: Selected Cheeses from Bonnie Blue Farm

Verget du Sud (South-West France)

Plump, time honored blend of Grenache and Syrah

5

Farmers Market Inspited Dessert Creation – Surprise!

Banfi “Rosa Regale” Brachetto d’Acqui 2005 (Piedmont, Italy)

Aromatic with a hint of rose petals and raspberries, marries well with chocolate, vivacious and aromatic

Complete for

$65 per person (plus tax and gratuity);

30% of Proceeds Donated to Memphis Farmers Market

THANKS!

please, no substitutions except for dietary restrictions

circamemphis.com for details or to make reservations.

I also ran into Red Rooster co-owner Luke. He told me SIN Sunday nights are getting good. He says doors open at 8:00 PM Sunday but it gets interesting about 10:30. Service industry pays no cover; cornhole, tricycle races, kamikaze karaoke (you don’t know what song you’re singing in advance). Looks like I’m going to have pace myself this Sunday and check it out.

Went to the Saucer then Big Foot this evening. Was talking to one of the Saucer bartenders, and she was telling me how they don’t let Saucer employees sit at the bar when they’re off duty. Because, I’m guessing, that looks kind of bad when you, a paying customer, come in off the street and can’t get a seat at the bar due to all the off-duty employees sitting there.

While I was drinking my beer at Big Foot, my former BFF walked in and sat down at the bar. Attn Nuh-Uh Sister: I see what you mean about needing to add strapless bikini tops to the Tube Top Boutique. Tan lines are a bitch.

12:41 AM according to my computer’s clock. Going to bed. Early night.

I didn’t go to the Saucer to laptop after work as planned.  I was at a critical point in designing my latest online store – settling on its look and feel – and that needed to be done someplace where I could focus.  So I worked at home on my laptop until 7:30.

Unfortunately, I had posted that I’d be at the Saucer, and my new BFF Suzy read the post and headed up there to hang out with me.  This is something my former BFF Meghan never, ever did by the way.  So when I walked by the Saucer on my way to Itta Bena, my BFF was in the window waiting for me.  We walked to Itta Bena together.

At the bar at Itta Bena we found the Nuh-Uh Girl and the Nuh-Uh Sister.  The Nuh-Uh Sister told me she had her picture on Memphis Limelight’s BBQ Fest post… somehow I missed that one, glad she pointed it out.  Even there she was identified by her nickname.

The Nuh-Uh Sister then made a very good point.  “You need to add a tube top bikini top, or strapless bikini top, section to your Tube Top Boutique,” she told me.  “Girls want to lay out and not get tan lines.  If we have tan lines we can’t wear tube tops out.”  This is why I depend on my female readers for feedback; she’s absolutely right, and as a guy this is something I wouldn’t have thought of.  I’ll add a bikini top section this weekend.

Then Suzy went outside to smoke – “BRB, BFF!” she said – and the GM came over to say hello.  She gave me a card listing Itta Bena’s new daily specials.  Here they are:

Sunday
1/2 off any bottle of wine

Monday
$3.00 on select SKYY martinis, 5-7 PM

Tuesday
1/2 off steaks

All three of those are great deals.  Every female who saw the special card said they’d be at Itta Bena Monday for $3 martinis.  If the place is going to fill up with girls, I guess I’ll have to be there too, and wait until 7 to hit Pint Nite at the Saucer.

Hmmm… half off steaks on Tuesdays… bet we’ll be seeing less of Ken at trivia night.

My new BFF also told one of the servers she’d loan her a tube top to wear out.  “You will totally rock that tube top,” said my new BFF to the server (I agree, by the way).  My new BFF is the best BFF ever.

Tabbed out a little after 10, and for once I got a full night’s sleep.  I’ll post a “what’s going on Thursday” post around lunchtime.