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From Friday night at 8:00 through Monday morning at 3:00, the Blind Bear is having an all-weekend-long St. Patrick’s Day celebration. The staff will be dressed in their Irish best all weekend long, and there will be specials including $4 Irish whiskey, $6 top shelf Irish whiskey (4 choices), $5 Irish car bombs, $4 Guinness draft pints, and……

TWO DOLLAR PBR ALL WEEKEND LONG!!!!!!!!!!

No, they are not doing green beer this year, and that is fine with me. I would rather drink discounted PBR than pay an upcharge for green PBR, as is happening at some other bars.

If you want to get in the spirit of the Irish, check out The Daily Memphian’s Jennifer Biggs’ Destination Delicious podcast this week. Among the guests: Irish native/Majestic Grille owner Patrick Reilly.

If you need a sweet treat, stop by Makeda’s Cookies at 488 S. Second. Cristina from City Tasting Tours posted yesterday that they have started baking cinnamon rolls. Those of you who gave up sweets for Lent are going to miss out!

For those of you who want to hang out with the Bluff City Mafia this Saturday, they tweeted their schedule. Saturday they will meet at 3 at the Brass Door. At 6:15 they will march over to AutoZone Park, and at 7 they will make the park a hellish place for Loudoun to visit.

Start Co. is having a Transportation & Mobility Hackathon Friday through Sunday this weekend. Spend 48 hours solving pedestrian and commuting problems that Memphis faces. If you show up alone, they’ll help you find a team. If you don’t have an idea, show up anyway – they’ll have some helpful primers. Plus, they’ll feed you and give you swag.

Moody Ques: We received our booth assignment yesterday.

The southern (Georgia Ave.) entrance to Tom Lee Park is to the immediate left of this diagram. Our booth number is S-339 and we are about where we were last year.

2018 members – have you paid your dues yet? I paid mine on Monday. Paying by March 15 guarantees you your spot on the 2019 team, whereas after that we will open it up to others interested in joining. At that point you’ll be in a race with the new people to pay your dues. When we hit our membership cap, no more members will be accepted, whether on last year’s team or not.

(Insider tip: It’s St. Patrick’s Day weekend and I can’t really see us conducting a whole lot of team business… so you’re probably fine if you pay on Monday the 18th)

That’s the news for now. Very excited about shorts weather today and tomorrow. Back tomorrow with more news.

How would you like to get up close and personal with Memphis Grizzlies head coach J.B. Bickerstaff? You’ll have the chance next Monday at Hard Rock Cafe on Beale. Grizzlies Coaches Corner will feature an insider Q&A with Bickerstaff from 5 to 6, hosted by Grind City Media Senior Editor Michael Wallace. After that, stick around for live music and more. Tickets start at $10 and include light appetizers. $5 more adds a drink ticket for one call drink.

Rizzo’s by Michael Patrick does not normally open for Sunday dinner, but this Sunday they will, for people who want to pre-game for the Mellencamp concert at the Orpheum.

The Vault on G.E. Patterson will have St. Patrick’s Day music by Jeremy Stanfill and Josh Cosby Sunday afternoon 3:30-6:30.

The Peanut Shoppe has introduced a new item: sarma. This dessert is imported from Jordan, made fresh for the shop’s customers. It consists of blended pistachios in phyllo dough, rolled in more pistachios and drizzled in simple sugar syrup. They have it in stock now! The Peanut Shoppe is located on the Main Street Mall, a couple of doors north of the new Starbucks at Main and Monroe.

Memphis River Parks Partnership will present a Spring Night Market Thursday, March 28 from 4:30-7:30 PM. Ummm… it will still be light outside at the end time, how is this a night market? Anyway, there will be fire pits and s’mores. Lil’ Buck will be on hand giving Jookin lessons. TapBox will be there serving up some craft drafts. The following artists and craftspeople will have their products for sale:

Danielle Mora Jewelry
Dolly Doe
IV
Jacko’s Pepper Jelly
Larksome Goods
LATHA
Marsena Signatures
MEK Design
Mbabazi House of Style Memphis
Mili’s Flowers And Gifts
Primas Bakery and Boutique
Terri Scott Illustration
Vice & Virtue Coffee

The third installment of the In This Place speaker series at Clayborn Temple will happen next Monday, March 18. Tami Sawyer, County Commissioner, mayoral candidate, Managing Director for External Affairs for Teach for America and speaker-in-residence for this speaker series, will facilitate the discussion, entitled Dangerous Women: The Case for Never Being Safe.

Joining Sawyer in the discussion will be Anasa Troutman, Executive Director at Clayborn Temple; Jasmine Tasaki, Executive Director at WeCareTN; Terri Freeman, Executive Director at National Civil Rights Museum; Erica Perry, Partnership Director at Law For Black Lives; Aimee Lewis, Vice President of External Affairs at Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi; Zoe Tripp, student at Middle College High School; Andrea Morales, photojournalist; and Lori Spicer-Robertson, Chief Communications and Engagement Officer at United Way of the Mid-South.

Memphis basketball players have been collecting honors all over the place this week. Starting Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley was named the Western Conference Player of the Week, (surprisingly) his first time to receive that honor. Jeremiah Martin of the Memphis Tigers was named to the all-conference first team, and his teammate Tyler Harris was named to the all-conference rookie first team. The AAC Player of the Year will be announced Wednesday and Martin is a strong candidate for that accolade.

I’ve come to the conclusion that Jennifer Biggs of the Daily Memphian has the best job in the city. Her most recent task? To go eat at the Cousins Maine Lobster food truck and report back to subscribers. Man, that Connecticut Roll looks superb. I must try that truck soon. Possibly Saturday, when the truck will be at the Ghost River taproom from 1 to 8. Hmmm… watch the parade, walk down to Ghost River for lobster and (hopefully) Tiger basketball, then back north to Earnestine & Hazel’s for Nate’s anniversary… yes, I believe I see a plan coming together.

Edible Memphis continues in their consistently outstanding series of articles with a day trip to Little Rock, my hometown. As soon as I read that their first stop was Lost Forty Brewing, a rare brewery with a full food kitchen, and they had the Petit Jean bacon cheese dip, I knew this was going to be legit. Can’t argue with any of their suggestions. Little Rock is indeed the cheese dip capital of the world, and I will warn you that if you take this trip, Memphis cheese dip will be ruined for you. Damgoode Pies is excellent. I recommend the Hillcrest location (2701 Kavanaugh Blvd.) in particular.

Time to nerd out

If you’re not into techie stuff, you’re dismissed. However, a number of people have been wondering what I’ve been up to lately, so I thought I would give everyone an update.

For a period of months I was kind of down on the world of computers and IT, other than using a computer to write this blog. Holding the same job for almost 9 years is generally smiled upon. “Oh, he’s loyal to his company.” “Oh, he’s the kind of person who grasps on to a project and sticks to it.” Yeah, but working for one company for 9 years is a disadvantage as well, when you’re in IT. You end up knowing only the programming languages, frameworks, databases, etc. that you used in that job. In the meantime, various other technologies spring up and pass you by. I ended up feeling useless because there are so many in-demand skills that I didn’t have.

I also was bummed out about computers because the 15-inch HP laptop I inherited from my mom died. Well, it didn’t die – the hardware still works perfectly – but it stopped being able to boot into Windows, and I tried every recovery trick in the book and none worked. That left me working from my 10-year-old, 10-inch dimly-lit screen, underpowered netbook, and let me tell you, that was not much fun.

Last month, I started experimenting with portable versions of the Linux operating system. I got a flavor of Linux called Porteus installed on a USB drive and made it bootable. That brought my mom’s computer back to life. Porteus wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, but even so, being able to access my favorite websites on a beautifully lit 15-inch screen was an improvement. I went through several other portable Linux distributions, including Slax and FatDog64.

Then I found Linux Mint. It is the most intuitive form of Linux I have ever seen. The graphical user interface is friendlier than Windows 10, and nearly as friendly as MacOS. It comes with a ton of programs installed, including an office suite, the Firefox browser, and an open-source clone of Google’s retired Picasa photo manager (which solves a major question I had about how I would manage BBQ Fest photos this year). If you want additional programs, there’s a software manager that makes getting them a piece of cake. And yet, because Linux Mint is based on one of the best Linux distros around – Ubuntu – if I need to go to the command line and deal with sudo apt-get and .tar.gz files, I have that ability too. Linux Mint turned out to be so good that after a week of running it from USB, I installed it on the hard drive.

I installed the Apache web server, PHP, and MySQL. I also installed the node.js Javascript web server, and I plan to get the Laravel framework on PHP. After that my task will be to learn all the popular client-side Javascript frameworks – Angular, React, Knockout, Vue, and maybe one or two others. What I want to do is grab JSON from a source that freely provides it – currently I’m working with OpenWeatherMap – to write service endpoints in PHP/Laravel that go get the data and provide it, then use Javascript on the client side to consume and display that data.

On the server side I may learn Python too, and maybe Ruby on Rails. There seems to be a lot of work in Python these days. I’m going to try to avoid getting back into .NET. I like C# but I’m a person who likes to think outside the box and people working in open-source tend to think outside the box more than Microsoft people. I’m a better personality fit for open-source.

Once I get up to speed, it’ll be time to get back in the game. There’s a lot more remote work out there than I realized and I am going to try to pick up some remote contract gigs in some of the technologies I have learned. Contract because I prefer that to being tied to a single company, and remote because sitting in cubicles has taken more years off my life than Fireball ever did.

So basically, for the first time in months, I am excited about computers. In addition, that book The Gaslighting Effect that I’ve been recommending finally gave me clarity about a situation which for years I had none. In short, I’m feeling better mentally than I have in a long while. I believe in myself again, where there for a while I didn’t.

Another reason I feel better today is the weather. As I type this, it is 56 going to a high of 61, with the temperature not expected to fall below 56 tonight. In other words, today is a perfect PBR hoodie and shorts day! Going to mess around on the computer for a couple more hours, then get out there and enjoy. To those of you who have kept reading, thanks for sticking around. Back tomorrow with more news.

Jennifer Biggs of The Daily Memphian, in today’s food roundup, reports that Grecian Gourmet is going to offer cooking classes (scroll down to the second item in the article). Class participants will make dolmades and spanakopita, eating the dolmades there in class and taking a pan of spanakopita home. They will serve wine at the class. $59 per person, $100 for two. You can take the class either 6 to 8 PM Tuesday, March 19, or 1 to 3 PM Sunday, March 24.

Max’s Sports Bar has extended the signup deadline for its cornhole tournament through tonight. Tournament begins tomorrow and continues through 7 Tuesdays. Stop by the bar this evening (opens 4:30) to sign up your team.

Joe Mullinax of Grizzly Bear Blues has an important question.

When the Grizzlies convey the pick, what will the parade route be? Will it start at Silky’s and just be a bar crawl? Just a bunch of drunk Grizzlies fans yelling WE PLAY TO CONVEY

— Joe Mullinax (@JoeMullinax) March 11, 2019

We are less than a week away from the John Mellencamp show at the Orpheum. He’ll be there Sunday, March 17, at 8 PM, performing classics from his 40-year catalog as well as some new material. Tickets start at $39.50 and there are some VIP packages as well. Every ticket holder will receive a copy of Mellencamp’s upcoming album, Other People’s Stuff, to be released in November.

Hell has frozen over. I agree with Donald Trump on something.

Making Daylight Saving Time permanent is O.K. with me!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 11, 2019

Not a very newsy day. Back tomorrow with more.

I wasn’t feeling that great yesterday, so I got some dinner and watched the Memphis 901 FC inaugural match at home. Memphis lost 1-0, but the atmosphere of AutoZone Park was off the chain! It’s clear that there’s a place for professional soccer here in Memphis. I’m going to have to get to a game soon! Next home match is vs. Loudoun United FC at AutoZone Park this coming Saturday, March 16 at 7:00 PM CDT. Loudoun United FC is based in Leesburg, VA, about 30 miles up the Potomac River from DC. Like Memphis, the club is new to the USL.

I am so excited for the city of Memphis having embraced a sport that for decades seemed foreign to the area. I am also thrilled for Seamus and the folks at the Brass Door. Given the location and the love for soccer, the addition of 901 FC and the Bluff City Mafia makes Brass Door Memphis’ de facto soccer bar.

I do want to bring Memphis 901 FC into my discussion of the upcoming mayor’s race. We have three major candidates:

• County Commissioner Tami Sawyer, who I admire for standing up for herself and those like her. Her ideals are, well, ideal, and she’s right, the time is now. I would be proud to have her as mayor.
• Incumbent mayor Jim Strickland. Although I may not agree with everything he has done, he has done a lot to reform practices that needed improvement, he’s brought business to the city, he’s been transparent, and he’s tried to be the mayor of all of Memphis. I would be proud to have him back for a second term.
• Former mayor Willie W. “King Willie” Herenton. I absolutely, positively do not want this man back in office. Although a good mayor in his early years, especially in his last term he seemed interested in serving no one but himself.

So the question is, do I vote for the candidate I really want to vote for (Sawyer) or the candidate with the proven track record (Strickland)? In his recent weekly communication, Strickland said two years ago, Peter Freund and Craig Unger, owner and GM of the Redbirds, came to Strickland and asked if the mayor’s office would be willing to help them bring professional soccer to Memphis. Strickland was all in and from what we saw yesterday, that turned out to be a pretty good thing for the city.

That kind of thing is what I need to hear from candidate Sawyer… that if an opportunity like that fell into the city’s lap, she would pursue it as hard as Strickland did. That if word got around that Robert Pera was considering moving the Grizzlies out of town, she’d do everything in her power to try to keep them here. Sawyer’s message that we need racial and economic equality and we can’t wait for it any longer appeals to me, and I want to pull the lever (or these days, touch the screen) next to her name. I’m just not quite there yet. I need to know she’ll protect the business side of the city, particularly the amenities that make people want to visit Memphis and even move to Memphis.

So there you have it. I’m not intending this as a political statement. Rather, it is just honest feedback for Sawyer’s campaign.

A very valid question about the new Malco Powerhouse theater arose over the weekend. People are using the covered pavilion area at Front and G.E. Patterson to park to go see the movies. That’s the Memphis Farmers Market space and there were questions as to what would happen to the Market on Saturdays starting in April. The feedback I heard is that space will still be for the Market on Saturdays and parking won’t be allowed there until after the Market closes at 1 PM and the vendors clear out. The Market is expected to be a lot more accessible than it has been the past couple of years with all that construction done.

Primas Bakery and Boutique is having an Easter dessert tasting Saturday, April 6 from 4 to 6 PM. Tasting menu includes robin’s egg macarons (cookies & cream), mini carrot cakes, “Easter Egg” cookies, and “Peep” Petit Fours. Tickets are $12.

The Soulful Food Truck Fest happens today at Clayborn Temple noon to 6. This is the wrap-up event for Memphis Black Restaurant Week and black-owned food trucks from around the region will be on site. There will be live music and local beers as well.  This is a kid-friendly event.

Never in my life did I think I’d be cheering for Bruce Pearl to win a game, but that’s the position I found myself in yesterday. Pearl’s Auburn Tigers upset his former school, Tennessee. That loss is probably going to drop the Vols off the 1-seed line. Given the Tennessee athletic department’s track record of screwing everything up, that could make them easy pickins’ for a 2/15 upset. In a matter of a couple of weeks, Vols fans could go from “IT’S GONNN BEEE ARRR YEARRR” to “WELL, BOY, I TELL YOU WHUT, FOOTBALL’S JUST A FEW MONTHS AWAY.”

Bardog posted the specials they will have Sunday, March 17 for St. Patrick’s Day: $3 Fireball, $4 green beer, $5 Jameson, $6 Irish car bombs, and $7 Jameson IPA Black. Those are all-day specials. In addition, from 11 AM to 3 PM they will have their usual Sunday Fun Day brunch specials of $4 mimosas, Bloody Marys, and screwdrivers.

That’s it for now. Back tomorrow with more news.

Memphis 901 FC, the city’s long-awaited pro soccer club, kicks off against the Tampa Bay Rowdies tonight at AutoZone Park at 6. Good luck to 901 FC not only in this match, but for the success as a franchise as a whole. You know, I was seriously considering joining the Bluff City Mafia, the boisterous supporters who make life hell for the opposing team. However, when I got sick in late October/early November, my legs were seriously weakened for about three weeks. Although they’ve mostly recovered, I still don’t know if I’d make it through 90 minutes of singing and jumping, and besides, I cannot risk re-aggravating the injury this close to BBQ Fest. I’m with you in spirit, though, and if memberships are still available after the third week of May I will reconsider.

Don’t forget, if you can’t make it to AutoZone Park for this historic event, it will be broadcast locally on CW30.

I respect the folks at the Downtown Memphis Commission and admire all that they do, but this time I gotta call them out. Take a look at their event calendar and notice the list of events for today. There’s a GLARING OMISSION, wouldn’t you say???

We are one week away from the Beale Street St. Patrick’s Day parade on Saturday, March 16. One big thing to note about the parade this year: It will be at noon rather than the traditional start time of 3 or 4 PM. “Why’d they do that? Seems like a bad idea,” you might ask. Well, it’s actually a very good idea. If the Memphis Tigers make it to the AAC semifinals, their game will be at 2:00 that day at FedExForum. The time change keeps fans from having to choose between the parade and basketball. Although it’s tradition to wear green to a St. Pat’s parade, I doubt anyone will fault you if you choose to wear Tiger blue instead.

As usual, I will be at the King’s Palace Tap Room to watch the parade. Here’s an idea: A few people have told me they can’t make the celebration of Danny’s life in Horn Lake the following day. If anyone who can’t make it Sunday wants to join me at the Tap Room raising a pint – er, a Big Ass Beer – in Danny’s memory, bring it on.

The party continues in South Main. Earnestine & Hazel’s will open at noon for St. Patrick’s shenanigans, and leprechauns and shamrocks are not the only special things about this weekend. It’s the 27th anniversary of Nate working the upstairs bar at E&H. To celebrate, Nate is having a St. Patrick’s Day party. He’ll be upstairs tending bar from 6 PM onward, and get a beer and wish Nate a happy anniversary. If you like live music, they’ll have Albert King Jr. downstairs 9 to 1, and Tiffany Harmon upstairs 9 to 12.

You know, after a period of uncertainty, I am really happy to see things going in a good direction for Earnestine & Hazel’s. I need to get up there and introduce myself to the owner sometime soon. Her dad was a good man and I’d like to know her too.

Back to the parade a minute, for one more note: The past couple of times I’ve been to Max’s Sports Bar, I’ve heard an event being planned. The last time this event happened, in 2016, my blog, Facebook, and YouTube were big sources of promotion. I know the event organizers also tend to watch parades at the King’s Palace Tap Room; they are welcome to approach me there next Saturday to discuss whether I might be able to do anything to promote their 2019 event. One thing: They need to approach me directly, not indirectly through one of my BBQ teammates.

Nice win by the Grizzlies last night over the Utah Jazz. Memphis improves to 27-40. The Grizz still have the sixth-worst record in the league, but looking at Tankathon, they’re now within striking distance of catching the 30-38 New Orleans Pelicans so they can CONVEY THAT PICK.

Drunk Chess comes to Loflin Yard on Thursday, March 14. It’s free to play with purchase of food or drink. There are three rounds: What’s a rook?, Searching for Bobby Fischer, and Kasparov and Deep Blue Would Be Proud – in other words, easy, intermediate, and hard. I could probably play sober chess against anyone in the tournament field and still lose. It’s one of those games I never allowed myself to take up as a kid because I knew it would consume me. I never took up bridge when I worked for the bridge league for the same reason.

Oooh! Drunk Bridge! There’s an idea for the marketing department if any of them still read my blog. That would certainly attract new players to the game.

High Ground News has an update on South City. Affordable housing is going into the area, just blocks away from the South Main/G.E. Patterson area where development is exploding. This could be a good thing for the South City community because it will create jobs residents can walk to. However, the groceries and amenities in the South Main redevelopment may be beyond South City residents’ price point, and the intent is still for South City to be a self-sustaining community, eventually with its own grocery store that caters to those with lower incomes.

Tonight is Senior Night for the Memphis Tigers as they play their final regular-season game, against Tulsa at FedExForum at 8:30. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

Oh by the way, Senior Night? Yeah that’s not on the DMC’s event calendar either. You gotta get out there and surf social media and news sources and learn about these events yourself. You can’t rely solely on website user submissions or else it looks like there’s nothing to do in this town but play trivia (see: Tuesday, March 12).

Low Cut Connie and The Klitz plays 1884 Lounge in Midtown tonight. Never heard of this band in my life but based on the name alone, I am recommending them.

The Memphis Boat Expo and the Good Life Expo is happening this weekend at the Cook Convention Center.

The Rusty Pieces play the Blind Bear tonight at 10.

Set your clocks forward an hour before you go to bed. Peace out. Back tomorrow.

Just got breaking news from an AutoZone Park press release. All Memphis 901 FC regular season games will be broadcast on local TV, on WLMT CW30. The broadcasts begin tomorrow at 6 with Memphis 901 FC’s inaugural game vs. the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

In other soccer-related news, soccer supporters group Bluff City Mafia is moving their pre-game gathering to The Cavern, the downstairs area of the Brass Door, due to weather concerns. They had previously planned to make it an alley party in Maggie H. Isabel Alley.

BREAKING NEWS: Due to a busted water main, The Little Tea Shop will be closed for lunch today. Bardog is also currently closed and will open later today when the repairs are done.

Powerhouse Malco Cinema opened for business yesterday, bringing the movies back Downtown. There are 7 screens with recliner seating. This week is something of a soft opening, with Captain Marvel being shown on 6 screens and The Kid showing on 1 screen. Once they work out the opening kinks they will expand to a full slate of movies.

As many of us remember, the last time we had a movie theater Downtown, in the Peabody Place Mall, it didn’t work out due to the place being overrun by rowdy, loud teenagers. Malco is putting policies in place to make sure that doesn’t happen at Powerhouse. After 6 PM on Friday and Saturday, no one under 17 will be admitted to an R-rated movie, and those under 17 must be accompanied by a parent to get into a G, PG, or PG-13 rated movie. THANK YOU Malco for providing an environment adults can enjoy!

The bar & grill menu looks really good, with pub food, sandwiches, burgers, salads, and wood-fired pizzas. I’ve been told they have in-theater delivery of food (not quite sure how that works without disturbing other movie watchers, but interesting). There are milkshakes and you can add booze. There’s also a full bar, with a good selection of local draft beers, classic cocktails, and specialty drinks. The only thing I think they did wrong with the bar is that they don’t have PBR. I haven’t confirmed this but I’ve been told it’s possible to dine and drink at the Powerhouse bar and grill without having purchased a ticket to a movie.

The Redbirds have announced their promotional schedule for 2019. Here is a summary of some of the highlights:

• All-you-can-eat nights, where a specialty ticket gets you a seat to the game and a 2-hour all-you-can-eat buffet, are being moved to Fridays this year. The featured dish will change from week to week, including wings, crawfish, tacos, beef sliders, breakfast, and ribs… but the best one of all, in my opinion will be on Friday, August 23: crab legs.
• Fireworks will remain on Saturdays this year and will be sponsored by Terminix.
• Thursdays will be Throwback Thursdays with the Redbirds wearing the Memphis Chicks uniforms. $2 select draft beers and $1 Polk’s hot dogs.
• Mondays starting in June will be Musica Mondays, honoring Hispanic Heritage.
• Kids will still get to run the bases on Sundays and will get free Prarie Farms ice cream.

Edible Memphis is back with another of their excellent restaurant articles. This time the subject is Cozy Corner. You know, I hate it that I always forget to recommend Cozy Corner to tourists because it’s tucked away off the beaten path. Their food is worthy of being mentioned alongside Central BBQ.

The upcoming time change has been discussed and there has been some confusion. Here’s the deal: The minute after 1:59 AM Central Standard Time this Sunday, March 10 is 3:00 AM Central Daylight Time. So we will not have a 2:00 hour this Sunday morning. That’s why it’s said that we “lose an hour” and “spring forward.” The first Sunday morning in November, we have two 2:00 hours and get our hour back.

Canines, Cookies & Craft happens this coming Wednesday, March 13 from 5 to 8 at Cordelia’s Market. Diamond Bear Brewing Co. out of Little Rock will be doing a pairing of 4 craft beers with Girl Scout cookies. Weather permitting, Streetdog Foundation will have adoptable dogs onsite.

It’s International Women’s Day at the Grizzlies tonight with an all-female entertainment lineup. Memphis hosts the Utah Jazz at FedExForum tonight at 7.

The Daily Memphian has a food fight between two beloved locals’ bars, Bardog and Dirty Crow Inn: Who has the better club sandwich? Those of you who have the same inside information I have will find it a bit ironic that the Crow was chosen as Bardog’s opponent.

The Memphis Tigers are now locked into a 5 seed in the AAC tournament to be played in Memphis next weekend. Although the Tigers still have a regular season game left this Saturday versus Tulsa, the outcome cannot push Memphis up to a 4 seed or drop them to a 6. The Tigers will open AAC tournament play Thursday at 2 vs. Tulane. Assuming they advance, their next games will be

• Friday at 1
• Saturday at 2
• Sunday at 2:15

Thursday’s game will be on ESPNU, Friday and Saturday’s games on ESPN2, and the finals will be on ESPN.

The Brass Door is holding a Blackwater St. Patrick’s Day Throwdown Sunday, March 17 from 2:30 to 5:30 in the afternoon. Come spend St. Patrick’s Day hearing Blackwater Trio in Downtown’s authentic Irish pub.

Crawfish lovers, a good Instagram follow is @Glazescrawfish. Glaze does the crawfish boils at Sidecar Cafe Wednesday evenings, Railgarten on Thursday evenings, and Loflin Yard on Saturday afternoons.

Yesterday at happy hour at the Silly Goose, I was talking with a business owner about his new product that is coming to Memphis: Whey Good protein shakes on a stick. You eat these like you would an ice cream treat on a stick, and they taste as good, but they contain 21 grams of whey protein. They’re available in vanilla, double strawberry, and banana cream. They are now in the two Memphis-area Whole Foods, and the business partners are looking to get these in additional locations in the Memphis area.

While talking to him, a question came to mind: “I remember the menu from the smoothie truck that used to sell at the Memphis Farmers Market. You could add whey protein or vegan protein to your smoothie. Why wouldn’t whey be considered vegan?”

“Whey can be dairy,” he replied, and I immediately thought about the nursery rhyme that mentioned curds and whey. Little Miss Muffet I think?

The past three weeks, I’ve been experimenting with portable versions of the Linux operating system that can be booted off a USB stick. I have tried Ubuntu, Porteus, Slax, and FatDog64, but none of them did everything I wanted. Finally I have hit upon a winner: Linux Mint. This is the first flavor of Linux I have ever seen that is as friendly as Windows 10. It detected my sound card, which several of the other Linux flavors didn’t. It also found that my Wi-Fi card was being accessed with the wrong driver and offered to fix it. It offers a graphical interface to install additional packages (much like an app store) but if you need to install packages through the terminal (using apt or something similar) you can do that too. If you’ve ever thought about dipping a toe into the waters of Linux, Linux Mint on a USB stick is a way to do it without buying a new computer or messing up your current one. Hit me up if you want me to explain how to get Linux on a USB drive. It’s super easy once you understand the process.

That’s all for now. Back tomorrow with more news.

I’ve followed the Mr. Frazier’s Fish Fry food truck on Facebook for a while, and when Mr. Frazier posted that he was back Downtown on Thursdays for the Court Square food truck rodeo on Thursdays, I decided it was time to give the Fish Fry a try.

Their main menu, full of USDA farm-raised catfish, shrimp, and dirty wings, looked good, but I didn’t see the thing I’ve been told you HAVE to try there was not on that menu. Then I saw the board with today’s specials.

The Crabby Fries are the thing I’ve heard is the must-get. These are waffle fries covered in a creamy Imperial lump crab sauce. However, I also wanted to try the fish and shrimp, so the Seafood Trio was an ideal choice. I walked it home and, after Perjorie T. Roll jumped in the box, I snapped a photo.

The crabby fries are at the top of the photo and lived up to all the praise I had heard. Catfish and shrimp were good too. This was a lot of food, so I have half of it left in the refrigerator for a meal when I get home tonight.

Mr. Frazier’s Fish Fry is a great locally-owned and African-American-owned business. Check them out on Thursdays in Court Square. If you can’t make it on Thursdays, follow them on Facebook or at @MrFraziersFishfry to see where they will be the rest of the week.

The Memphis Flyer and the Commercial Appeal have more information about Lucky’s Social Club, the new combination dog park and bar at 730 South Main. It’s at Main and Carolina, and it is being opened by Mac Hopper who developed Carolina Watershed and Loflin Yard, along with Chelsea Glass and Brian Ellsworth. The half-acre space will have amenities for dogs including a water station, tether ball, and an obstacle course, and they plan to eventually have a Paws of Fame wall. Dog owners will enjoy local beers, gourmet hot dogs, and live music. They plan to have food trucks on site as well. Also, the developers hope to have a beer for dogs on tap.

This will be a members-only park, with memberships costing $10 per day, $25 per month, or $275 per year. Owners must present paperwork that their dogs are spayed or neutered and have all their vaccinations, and they must sign a letter affirming that their dog is not aggressive. For the March 16-17 soft opening owners are asked to keep their dogs on leashes, but once the park is fully open, dogs will be allowed to run free inside the entirely fenced area. Yesterday I was talking to a dog-owner friend of mine who lives Downtown about Lucky’s Social Club, and if she planned to join. “Oh, hell yeah,” she said. “$25 a month? If I go there 5 times a month, it’s worth it.”

Okay. Before we move on to other news, I want to link to the Commercial Appeal article one more time. There’s a photo of a German shepherd with a ball in his mouth, and the caption underneath begins with “This is a dog…”. Well, NO SHIT. I thought I was looking at a brontosaurus. We’re so lucky to have the CA to clarify stuff like this.

Interesting breaking news this morning: Commissioner Tami Sawyer is announcing a run for Memphis mayor. That’s going to put me to a tough decision on Election Day. I am a big fan of the commissioner, but I also think Mayor Strickland has done a (mostly) good job serving the entire city (rather than just his cronies) and being transparent. The nightmare scenario is Sawyer and Strickland split the vote, resulting in King Willie back in office. I’ll be exploring apartment rentals in Downtown Little Rock if that happens.

Earnestine & Hazel’s posted yesterday welcoming Malco Theaters to the neighborhood. E&H said that on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, they are going to open at noon from now on, so that movie-goers can enjoy a Soul Burger and a drink before or after the show.

Noon on Saturdays, huh… I’m going to have to figure out how to make that work with my trips to the Farmers Market when they begin about four weeks from now.

Michael Donahue stopped by Earnestine & Hazel’s recently for an update on what’s going on there. The jukebox is staying, the records aren’t coming off the wall, and Nate is still there. The place is much the same, with improvements that won’t mess with the character of the place.

This Sunday, March 10, the Grizzlies are having another Kids Free Ticket Game. Buy a Terrace I, II, III, or IV ticket to the game vs. Orlando at FedExForum at 5 PM that day, and receive a complimentary ticket for a child 12 or under. This is a great way to introduce kids to the joy of live basketball without breaking the bank. Get your tickets online or at the FedExForum box office.

Memphis 901 FC revealed its inaugural home jersey design yesterday. I love it that there’s a Silky O’ Sullivan’s patch on the sleeve. I bet Silky will be looking down upon the game from afar and smiling Saturday.

The Memphis City Moms Blog has a post about what you can expect to find at the Calvary Lenten Waffle Shop that starts today and is open Tuesday-Friday 11 AM-1:30 PM through Lent. Good photos of the food, and confirmation that the fish pudding and tomato aspic are worth a try even though they sound gross.

That’s it for now. Back to my battles trying to get a flavor of Portable Linux set up on a laptop. Trying Mint Linux after several others failed to meet my needs. Back tomorrow with more news.

 

Something very cool was announced yesterday: There is going to be a 4-weekend long Memphis Adult Sports League with play kicking off the weekend of March 22-24 and extending the following three weekends. The venues will be Carolina Watershed and Loflin Yard.

There will be over 20 sports total, and you can pick and choose the ones you like. Traditional bar games like beer pong and cornhole will be covered, of course, but there will also be sports like the ones you played in gym class in high school – volleyball, badminton, kickball, and the like. There will even be a sport you probably didn’t have in high school – competitive axe throwing. Plus many more!

The very interesting thing about this league is that you don’t have to find a team to be on. You’re already on a team based on where you live. The 7 teams will be

• Nomads – People who live inside the northern half of the 240 loop and who are not in East Memphis (so north Downtown, north Midtown, North Memphis)
• Somads – People who live inside the southern half of the 240 loop and who are not in East Memphis (so south Downtown, south Midtown, South Memphis)
• Beasts of the East – People who live in East Memphis
• Bougie Bourbonites – People in Cordova, Collierville, and points to the east
• Put Some South in Your Mouth – People in Whitehaven, Horn Lake, Southaven, Olive Branch, Hernando
• West Memphis Wackos – People in West Memphis, Marion, Jericho, Forrest City, or elsewhere in East Arkansas
• Go Forth from the North – People in Frayser, Raleigh, Bartlett, Covington and points to the north of the 240 loop

So, based on my address, I believe I would be a Somad. That assumes they use Madison/Walnut Grove as the north/south dividing line the way the city does. I like it that if I played as a Somad, I might have teammates from South Memphis as well as my own neighborhood. Very inclusive. It’s not just limited to certain zip codes.

The reason I really like this is because you don’t have to be part of a little clique to enter a team as you do in some other bar sports competitions. Heck, you could move to Memphis on Wednesday, March 20 and be out there playing by the end of the week! This is a great way to meet people and make new friends, while being active outside during some of the nicest weekends of the year. Whoever thought this league up, well done!

Rabid soccer supporters Bluff City Mafia have announced their plans for this weekend and the first-ever Memphis 901 FC match at AutoZone Park.

Here’s the agenda for this weekend:
Friday Night we are having a prematch event at the brass door starting at 7. Saturday prematch starts at brass door at 2. March to the match at 5:15. Make AZP hell for the opposing team at 6.

— Bluff City Mafia (@BluffCityMafia) March 5, 2019

The popular Drink-N-Draw drawing game returns to the Ghost River taproom this Friday at 7 PM.

People are raving about the Cousins Maine Lobster food truck. Here are some places you can catch the truck this week and weekend.

• Wiseacre Brewing Co. 5:00-8:30 Thursday, March 7
• Health Sciences Park, 799 Madison, 11 AM-2 PM Friday, March 8
• Memphis Made Brewing Co. 1-6 PM Sunday, March 10

The inaugural Spirits & Soul Fest will bring the Tennessee Whiskey Trail to Downtown Memphis April 26-27. Distillers from around the state will join artists, tastemakers and local businesses of South Main Historic Arts District for a weekend of good music, good food, and the finest Tennessee spirits.

Friday, April 26 will be Spirits & Soul Trolley Night. The Trolley Night, as always, is free to attend, and with your 1 or 2 day pass you will be invited to sample Tennessee spirits at participating locations. Saturday, April 27 there will be a Distillers Block Party at Old Dominick. There will also be two other ticketed events, a cocktail class and a series of Tennessee Whiskey Trail stories.

Lansky at the Peabody is hiring. They’re looking for people to work 4:30-9:00 weekday shifts and Saturday and Sunday shifts, who are outgoing, energetic, and who have a passion for people. If that sounds like you, email them at sales@lanskybros.com.

Check out this cool gift a liquor rep gave me Monday.

She was in Blind Bear dropping off some branded swag to owner Jeannette, but she saw me, recognized me as a regular there, and said, “I have something for you too.” It’s a Grand Marnier-themed journal with about 100 blank pages. I will use that for sure.

St. Pawtrick’s Day will happen at Lucky’s Social Club at 730 S. Main, Saturday and Sunday of St. Patrick’s Day weekend. Meet the staff and let them know what you want to see in a dog park. Live music, food trucks, local beer. Noon to 6 PM both days.

Mariposas Collective, an organization that supplies help and relief to refugees around the country, is in desperate need of winter gear, since the cold is sticking around longer than usual. Winter coats of any size, from baby to adult, would be appreciated. Three ways you can help them:

• Volunteer at First Congo (1000 S. Cooper) to help make sandwich bags and sort through donations
• Make a monetary donation via PayPal
• Purchase items from Mariposas’ Amazon wish list to help them get supplies

Pro wrestling is returning to Memphis TV. Dustin and Maria Starr will co-host Championship Wrestling presented by Pro Shingle, on CW30 (Jackson, TN CW39) every Saturday at noon beginning April 6.

In other wrestling news: Damn “The Man,” Screw “The Woo.” Ronda Rousey’s heel turn on Monday night was one of the best I have ever seen.

The best Mardi Gras beads ever are the ones with a Popeye’s chicken box hanging off the ends.

Lent has begun, and the Waffle Shop at Calvary Episcopal opens for lunch Tuesday-Friday 11 AM-1:30 PM beginning tomorrow. Here’s the menu. I want to stop in and give this a try a few times in the next 6 weeks. Corned beef and cabbage is what sounds good to me, but it’s on the same day as Court Square food truck Thursday. I’m a bit hesitant to try dishes like tomato aspic and fish pudding that I have never had before, but perhaps I will broaden my horizons.

There will be a performance for children of The Rainbow Fish at the Orpheum this Saturday, March 9 at 10 AM. Based on the books of children’s author Marcus Pfister, this is the story of a beautiful rainbow fish who learns to share his prized possession. There will be two other stories as well, “Rainbow Fish Discovers the Deep Sea” and “Opposites.” Run time of the show is about 50 minutes.

Diamond Dave is calling British Bingo tonight at Belle Tavern at 7, and this bingo night is a particularly special occasion. It’s his birthday!

Thai food truck Soi #9 will be the featured truck at Food Truck Wednesday tonight at Cordelia’s Market.

That’s it for now. Back tomorrow with more news.