Author: paulryburn

This morning I linked to AngieDawn’s blog where she posted about activities in the old Raiford’s building – the lights are back on and someone has applied for a liquor license.

The guy who sells the 38103 zip code shirts just e-mailed me with more details: It’s a group of 5 to 7 investors who are re-opening the place. They intend to keep it as it was before, and they’ll hire Raiford back to DJ on the weekends. Seems that Raiford still wants to work, he just doesn’t want to deal with all the hassles of owning a business anymore.

WOOHOO!!! Thrilled to hear that the club will make a comeback in a form that at least somewhat resembles old Raiford’s. You guys better keep selling 40s! I’ve been so worried that greedy condo developers would buy the lot and tear down the building to make room for new development. Glad that a classic piece of recent Downtown history will be preserved.

Last weekend I was handed a card informing me of a new event happening weekly at Sawaddii, starting this Saturday, September 8. Click images to see them in a larger size.

Music by DJ Tonyology, from 10 PM on. I hope they don’t take this “dress to impress” thing too far and annoy the clientele as some clubs in the past (remember Vortex?) have.

Most of all, I was happy to get this card because it has the URL of Sawaddii’s website (see link at the top of this post), so now I can check out their menu anytime I want.

You won’t be able to book yourself on a Ride the Ducks tour and get a Wacky Quacker whistle anymore. Ride the Ducks has closed up shop. More info in this CA article.

CCC president Jeff Sanford and MCVB president Kevin Kane were both surprised by the move, and do not think it’s a reflection upon tourism Downtown. I agree with them. From what I saw, those duck boats were full almost every day, and every day I encounter plenty more tourists out on the sidewalks looking for things to see Downtown. If Ride the Ducks failed, I get a sense that it’s due to their business model more than tourist interest in the area.

Sad to hear the concept didn’t work out though. I rode a Duck over in Hot Springs when I was kid and enjoyed it, and I had been told that even locals would learn things they didn’t know. The Ducks contributed something very unique to Downtown Memphis.

Local blogger AngieDawn has news about something going on at the old Raiford’s building at Mulberry and Vance. Someone has applied for a liquor license, and the Christmas lights on the outside of the building are back on. More details here.

For the past several days, I’ve been talking about a new site that I planned to roll out for college students. It’s finally ready: ConquerCollege.com

The centerpiece of the site is the grade calculator that has been on my personal site for the past 9 years. However, I’ve added a bunch of new stuff to turn it into a complete site. In addition to the grade calculator, you’ll find

• A list of job hunting resources: Websites that allow you to post a resume, search jobs, and take advantage of their career-development resources. I’ve uncovered some great resources for locating jobs in niche markets such as sports, acting, modeling, theatre, dance and freelance design work. In most cases, access to the sites are free. There’s also a set of job hunting tutorials provided by the site’s content partner ResumeEdge.com
  These resources should be very useful to job hunters, whether or not you are a college student.
• A bookstore where you can buy not only books and exam study guides, but computers, cameras, calculators and more. All credit card processing and shipping is handled through Amazon.com.
• A college application essay tutorial that will teach you how to write a winning essay on your application to college, graduate school, MBA school, law school, or medical school. Tutorial is provided by the site’s content partner EssayEdge.com
• A new blog where I’ll share my experience as a former college faculty member. I hope to teach students how to improve their grades by improving their relationships with their professors (no, I’m not suggesting they sleep with their profs, get your mind out of the gutter).

This is another of my affiliate-marketing sites… when people make purchases through Conquer College, I get commission. I hope to build some more of these during the times I’m not busy working on my paid web-programming projects, in order to create some recurring streams of passive income. You’ve seen a few of these from me already – the tube top store, the Romania store, the discount dining site – and I have a couple more in the works.

So, if you’re in college or are planning to go to college, check out the site. I think you’ll find it useful. Thanks!

Playhouse on the Square is hosting a two-day party at its future location, corner of Union and Cooper in Midtown, as part of its final phase to raise capital for its new facility, Friday and Saturday, September 7-8.

Friday there will be a block party from 4 PM to midnight, with live bands, beverages and the opportunity to purchase seats in the new building as well as Star dedications on the sidewalk outside.

Saturday from 9 to 11 AM there will be a kids’ festival with games, a live performance of Robin Hood, music by the Senior Conservatory, and food and beverages including 300 Krispy Kreme donuts.

Then from 1 to 7 Saturday afternoon there will be an artists’ market.

Admission is free, and parking is available for free across Cooper at the lot that runs from Monroe to Union.

That block party sounds like fun… dammit, it’s the same day as Art on Tap though. I may try to make it out to the Artists’ Market on Saturday.

In other news… my trivia team The Rapscallions had possibly their worst showing ever last night. According to Pete the Trivia Guy, we finished in LAST place out of all the teams that were there for all 15 questions. We started off strong – on the first 9 questions we scored 37 points out of a possible 37, plus an extra 5 points for beer. On the last 9 questions, though, we scored a miserable 21 points out of a possible 98. It’s worth noting that Yoko showed up about halfway through the game, so maybe there is a “Yoko factor” after all.

Up early this morning… got a meeting in East Bumblefuck at 9 AM. Later today I’ll be rolling out my latest website, which is geared toward college students but will also be useful to people looking for a job (or looking for a better job).

Heh… I invented a drinking game based on another local blogger. It’s kinda mean though. Gotta think about whether I want to post it. Whether or not that post makes it live, I’ve got plenty more to say this week, so check back.

Went to Walgreens this morning for my morning caffeine (they were out of Mountain Dew… dammit) and I saw that the Halloween decorations are now up. Halloween is right around the corner and it’s time to start thinking about costumes. Here are some online shops that have a big selection:

This one really isn’t a costume shop per se, but it does offer a wide variety of stage and theater makeup which you may be able to use to add to your Halloween costume of choice:

And finally, once Halloween is done, Christmas will be right around the corner. I’ve heard about a “Stumbling Santa” party that happens downtown every year, and people planning to attend that one may find this link useful:

For the past couple of weeks I’ve been contemplating what to do for Halloween this year. As many of you know, I like to not only dress up in costume, but be “in character.” Still thinking about it, but a conversation I had with my friend Uncle Ray on Sunday has got me pretty well convinced what I want to do this year. More details to come. Hope you find the links above useful. (They’re affiliate marketing links, by the way – when you click through these links and then buy, I get a commission. Help support your local blogger!)

One of the bands I enjoyed listening to at the Memphis Music & Heritage Festival last weekend was Giant Bear, who describe themselves as “the world’s only five-piece orchestral funkabilly band.” They had a very unique sound, with a cello, a lap steel guitar, and a banjo among the instruments they played. Definitely worth checking out… and this weekend, you have a chance to do so.

After the show, a friend of Giant Bear e-mailed me to tell me about a gig they have at the Hi-Tone this Saturday, September 8. It will be one of their last gigs in the area for several months, and it will be recorded for an online music service called BreakthruRadio.com where their music will reach hundreds of thousands of listeners. They need the place to be packed for the night to be a success, so come on out and support one of Memphis’ most unique local bands. $5 cover, show starts at 10 PM.

More info on Giant Bear:
Website: http://www.giantbeartn.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/GiantBear
EPK: http://www.sonicbids.com/epk/epk.asp?epk_id=56045
New album: http://www.redwaxmusic.net/

Got a few more items to post about last weekend’s festival… also got stuff to post about a benefit concert this Sunday, a new websites I’m rolling out (college students and job hunters will particularly find this one useful), and lots of other stuff. This won’t be like last week when I went two-three days between posts, so check back often.

This Thursday Sauces will be unveiling their newest signature drink, the drink of Brazil – see the title of this post, or the poster below, for the name. I’m too lazy to try and spell it correctly more than once in a post (and I dare not attempt to pronounce it).

Rooftop parties are over at the Peabody for the year, so you’re looking for something to do – why not come to Sauces and try a new drink? Of course, they also have mojitos and a full food menu, which you can find on their website.

Here’s a link to a Wikipedia page about this drink.