Daily thoughts of a Downtown Memphis resident
Found a new online store today called Prank Place with a huge selection of hilarious T-Shirts. Check them out. These were probably my two favorites:
Click the link above to check them out. Hundreds more where these came from. Browse their entire inventory and you’re just about guaranteed to find something to offend every person you know.
I’ve been invited to give a 5-minute presentation at the Center City Commission’s board meeting this Thursday. The Center City Commission is the organization that plans and oversees growth Downtown, and every month they schedule time for a few “Downtown Stakeholders” to speak frankly to the board about whatever is on their mind. This is important because many of the board members themselves do not live Downtown, and so the stakeholders act as their eyes and ears in a sense.
So, this month I’m an invited stakeholder. I get a free lunch out of the deal, and although I can speak about any subject I want, you better believe I have a topic in mind: panhandling. In 5 minutes I hope to stress to the board members, as well as representatives of both mayors’ offices who will be there, how out of control panhandling (especially aggressive, illegal panhandling) has become.
I’ve been rehearsing my speech, and I have a good feeling about it – I’m getting that “YEAH! I nailed it!” feeling I got when I was a teacher and gave a really good lecture. These are the points I plan to cover:
I’ve rehearsed the speech and have it pretty well down, although I hope to run it by my forum co-moderator Mike King before Thursday. It’s a lot of material but I’ve got it down to about 5 minutes and 20 seconds (hopefully they won’t have the stopwatch on and cut me off right at 5).
Looking forward to it… maybe after I give the speech Thursday I’ll post the complete text of it here. I’ve practiced it so many times that I’ve just about got it down word for word.
Looks like the Peabody’s Corner Bar at Second and Union is going to be the place to be after work from now on. They are now offering a complimentary hors d’ouevres bar, with food prepared by Chef Brian Barrow from Capriccio Grill, “on the house” with the purchase of an alcoholic beverage. Food selections include ravioli, fried calamari, chicken Parmesan strips, meatballs and imported cheeses. Monday through Friday, 5:30 to 7:00 PM. Yum!!! Looks like The Corner Bar just went straight to the top of my happy hour list.
One of the biggest problem areas for panhandling in Downtown Memphis has been the corner of Main and Beale, and the block of Beale between Main and Second. Panhandlers have been known to aggressively hit up people waiting for trolleys at the stops there, as well as swoop in on tourists trying to photograph the Elvis statue. They also like to illegally charge for parking at the Premier Systems Parking lot and for the metered spaces on Beale. Well, I’m pleased to report that progress is being made.
A week ago Sunday I walked down that block, and sure enough a panhandler came right up to me. I talked to him for a minute to find out if he was illegally parking cars in Premier’s lot, and as we were talking a police car pulled up. “Sir, is he bothering you?” the cop asked me, gesturing toward the panhandler. He wasn’t – he was just talking – so I told the officer things were okay.
I continued to see and hear of progress last weekend. Mike King, who co-moderates the Handling-Panhandling forum with me, told me he watched Friday night as the cops arrested one of the panhandlers who was parking cars at Premier. Apparently the guy resisted arrest and it was not pretty – panhandling will only get you a $50 citation, but the illegal parking scam and the resisting arrest charge will add up to jail time.
Saturday I cruised that block twice, once in my car and once on foot. On a weekend day at the tail end of Elvis week, I was sure I’d see lots of panhandlers on that block. I was wrong. I did not see a single panhandler either time. However, both times I did see a cop parked on Beale, keeping a watch on the area.
I have to believe that the police learned about this problem block from the Handling-Panhandling group. Inspector Mhoon, who commands the Downtown Precinct, assigned a lieutenant to monitor the forum, and Main and Beale was a hot discussion topic. Last month I watched as three panhandlers pretty much turned that block into their own private business, parking cars, bothering tourists and even stopping cars on public streets to panhandle. Looks like the Memphis Police and Handling-Panhandling have seriously disrupted their business.
Thanks to MPD for doing such a great job.
Yesterday afternoon I was shopping in East Memphis (to my favorite blogger/MILF: Please note that I got out of downtown for more than 2.5 seconds) and on the way out there, I stopped at Bookstar to look around. I noticed this product:
It’s a box called Pimp My Cubicle. If you’re bored with a drab workspace on your job, this box’ll make it bootylicious. It contains the following:
It’s on the first aisle at Bookstar, where they keep the clearance/sale merchandise. Or, you can click the link above and get it from Amazon’s selling partners at a discount price.
You may notice I’ve added an Amazon search box to my blog, at the upper left. If you need to buy anything from Amazon (and they no longer sell just books – they have EVERYTHING), please consider searching for it through my blog’s search box. Amazon pays commission when people buy stuff through me. Please support your local blogger!
The trip to East Memphis turned hazardous on the way back… stopped at Memphis Pizza Cafe on Park, and while in there the storm clouds arrived and all hell broke loose. Drove through a puddle on White Station so deep I wasn’t sure the car would get through it… then coming back home, I was going to stop at Bookstar again but it was closed because the power knocked out. Continued driving west on Poplar and soon discovered why… there were power lines down in the middle of the road. Finally made it home, and as I walked through my parking garage to the exit, lightning must have struck a transformer on the garage’s roof. It sounded like a bomb went off! It was good to be home. At least the temp wasn’t 100 for a change.
It was a productive trip though… Target had 70-page notebooks 10 for $1. I keep my personal journals in those, so the $2 I spent on two packs should cover me until 2009.
The Sunday brunch crew has decided to take a field trip this week, because one of our favorite former Saucer bartenders is now working the day shift at McGuinness. So we’re going to go see her, probably followed by our usual stupid antics at the Saucer later in the afternoon. Time to get this party started… I’m outta here!
They have Lawnmower Racers, Mechanical Bull Rides and Monster Truck USA. Truly the culture of Cordova.
(Edit: My favorite blogger/MILF made an insightful comment about this on her blog: “My favorite blogger wrote that “They have Lawnmower Racers, Mechanical Bull Rides and Monster Truck USA. Truly the culture of Cordova.” about the new fair coming to the Agricenter… If he left downtown for 2.5 seconds, he would realize that the TRUE culture of Cordova was Three 6 Mafia, Rocawear, & knowing the ‘right’ gang sign to throw. Times have changed. What he was talking about has moved on to Fayette & Tipton Counties.”)
Saw something kinda cool online today… one of the tiniest computers I’ve ever seen that is a full-fledged PC (not a PDA or mobile phone that is a Pocket PC) running Windows Vista (you can also get it with Windows XP) and all Windows software. It’s called the OQO Ultra Mobile Personal Computer and as you can see in the image, it fits in the palm of your hand. Billed as “the world’s smallest Windows Vista PC,” it weighs under 1 pound with standard battery, and is only 5.6 inches wide, 3.3 inches long and 1 inch deep. Its 5-inch screen can zoom to 1200×720.
Although it’s a tiny PC, it can run at speeds of up to 1.5 Ghz and can contain up to 1 GB RAM and a 60 GB hard drive. It also comes with built-in wireless LAN and Bluetooth and optional wireless WAN. The optional docking station allows for connection to full-sized monitor, keyboard and wired Ethernet.
So, who would this computer be ideal for?
– Seems to me it would be a good second computer for people need to have PC/Internet access on the road, but don’t want to lug around a full-sized laptop. This thing would easily fit in a standard backpack, messenger bag or purse. With many restaurants and coffee shops offering Wi-Fi these days, would provide the capability to check e-mail from the road.
– People who are not heavy computer users but still need basic functions like word processing, e-mail, surfing the Internet, spreadsheets, etc. This is a full computer so it can run the full range of Vista and XP software. Could buy the optional docking station and hook it up to a full-sized monitor when at home for improved screen resolution.
Probably would not be a good primary computer for people who deal with a lot of photos, sound files or multimedia – these would fill up the hard drive quickly, although you could use the USB port to connect to an external hard drive for additional storage. It’s also not the right primary computer for people who rely heavily on computing power – 1.5 Ghz and 1 GB of RAM are enough for most people these days, but you may want more if you run a lot of computationally-intensive software (Google Earth, for example).
You can decide for yourself whether this is a computer worth getting excited about. Personally, I’m glad to see PCs this small hitting the market.
One of the best outdoor events of the year is less than three weeks away. Art on Tap, the Dixon Museum’s annual fundraiser, will be held Friday, September 7 from 6 to 9 PM. Here’s how it works: You pay $35 for a ticket ($25 if you’re a Dixon member, free if you’re a Young at Art member). You show up and get a 5-ounce taster glass. You then get to walk around and try as many different beers as you can in 3 hours. All the major local distributors are there, as well as the Bluff City Brewers homebrew club. There are over 100 beers total. There will also be food by Blue Coast Burrito, Elfo’s, and Jimmy’s Chicago Style Dogs, Pizza and Beef – all included in your $35 admission fee. And, there will be music by the Sallymacs.
I went to Art on Tap for the first time last year. For weeks before I waffled – friends told me it was a lot of fun, but it’s hard to get me fired up enough about anything to convince me to leave downtown on the weekends. Finally they talked me into it, and WOW! Nearly every person I knew was there. The place was packed and everyone was having a great time drinking, dancing and socializing. Even some of my Beer Goddesses were there, working the table for one of the distributors. Highlight of the evening was listening to fellow blogger East Bumblefuck Kat make snarky comments about then-Saucer waitress The Romanian Sensation: “She sure is short. There certainly isn’t much to that dress she’s wearing.” The Sensation won’t be back for ’07 Art on Tap, so Kat will have to find someone else to be jeal- er, um, I mean, someone else to make witty, insightful comments about.
THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE CANNOT-MISS. Be there. Put it on your calendars. Also, the place gets packed right from the beginning and some of the beers run out, so this is not an event when you want to show up fashionably late. Ladies, if it takes you 2 hours to get ready for this kind of event, you may want to take off work early that day.
Attn Downtowners: Anyone want to split a cab for this? This definitely isn’t an event you want to drive to. If we got 3-4 people together, it could hold down costs. I figure we could meet up about 5:30, walk over to the Peabody and find a cab (there are usually 2 or 3 waiting in the parking lot there). Getting a cab back Downtown from East Memphis can be a bit more challenging, but usually if you tip the driver well on the way out there and get his cell number, you’re set. If anyone is interested in splitting a cab, let me know.
The new convenience store, or “Convenient Store” as it says in the window, is now open on Second Street across from the Peabody, in the old Carabella gift shop location. Yesterday was its first day of business.
I went in and checked it out. The owner was very nice and told me that they would be open until 1 on the weekends. The inventory was a little bare-bones, but he says he has a lot more stuff coming in. I was pleased to see that there were not any 40s or tall-boy cans of beer in the coolers, which means the bums won’t have any incentive to hang out in front of Big Foot, the Flying Fish, and other nearby restaurants. They did have 20-ounce Mountain Dew in the coolers, which is the main thing I care about. Guess this’ll give people who hang out at the Saucer, McGuinness, and nearby bars a place to buy cigarettes without having to pay inflated bar prices.
Oh… speaking of the Saucer and cigs… I was in there last night and talked to one of the bartenders. I asked her if the current smoking policy (no smoking in the indoor room til 8 PM) would continue after October 1. She said no, after October 1 there will be no smoking in the indoor room, anytime. AWESOME!!!!!
Every Tuesday night trivia starts at 7 there, and for the past few weeks I’ve had to listen to a relatively new team member whine, “Is it 8 yet? Is it 8 yet? (Looks at the clock) 7:44. 16 more minutes!” At 7:59 as they set the first ashtray down at the bar, he runs over and grabs it and lights up. I tend to roll my eyes when he does this. “You’ve had all day!” he replies. “It’s MY TIME now!” and proceeds to fill the air with filthy, nasty smoke. Heh. It’ll only be his time for about 6 more weeks. I love it.
– In the news: More compliments for AutoZone Park. In a study of 130 ballparks, PETA ranked it number 5 of the most vegetarian-friendly.
Lots of work to do today… will probably pack up the laptop and hit some coffee shops in the Midtown area, maybe run to Target as well.
No, this isn’t a joke. There really is such a thing, and it’s showing at Playhouse on the Square through the first week of September. This sounds like a can’t miss – unless it’s sold out and you can’t get tickets, which I heard was the case with last night’s show. CA arts writer “Skippy” Blank has a review of Springer: The Opera in today’s paper.