Category: Uncategorized

The International Blues Challenge is going on this weekend on Beale Street, beginning tonight.  I think I may head down there and buy a wristband ($10 tonight, $15 tomorrow) and hear some blues this evening.  Here’s a link to the 2009 IBC program.

I got an e-mail from a folk artist named Charlie Dyer whose work is fairly inexpensive and sells well in Memphis.  His website is here – check out his work.  It’s cut-out wood in 3-D shadowbox style.

The Red Rooster sent me a bunch of info about upcoming events.  Here are flyers for two of them, a “Heaven and Hell” party on February 14, and a TGIF happy hour.

Look for a future post about their 1-year anniversary party weekend Feb. 19-21.  They have big plans in the works.

The Center for Southern Folklore has free Brown Bag concerts during lunch hour (noon-1 PM) Thursdays and Fridays, including today and tomorrow.  If you work Downtown, this would be a great way to escape the cubicle for an hour.  On the music menu this week is Bluesman Mark Massey today and Bluegrass Banjo Expert Randal Morton tomorrow.

When I was at the CCC brainstorming session yesterday, one of the people I met was the creator of an upcoming Memphis-based Web soap opera.  It’s called On the Edge of Happiness and the first full episode (of five total) will go online February 24 at 9 PM.  There are two preview trailers on the site if you want to check them out.  “Seduction, betrayal, greed, lust, love” reads the business card he gave me.

Whew!  Productive day yesterday.  I worked on the personal finance software project from the time I got up until 4:30, except for the hour I spent at the CCC.  Then I took the laptop to the Saucer and built my latest website – I’ll launch it soon, just gotta get some more content on it first.  Unlike most of the other sites I’ve done, this will not be an Amazon affiliate site – it’s something completely different.  Expect an announcement within the next week.

As I walked to the Saucer, I noticed that Kooky Canuck is celebrating Presidents’ Day by selling 34 oz. Super Cold Coors Light for $2 all day.  Many people have that day as a holiday, so come on by the Canuck and drink up.  Speaking of presidents, I wish President Obama would take steps to reduce noise pollution by signing an executive order telling Kooky Canuck bartender Meghan to shut the hell up.

I stopped by Bardog Tavern for a beer on the way home, and noticed several new menu items.  They have a monster vegetarian burrito, which I took home with me after paying a few bucks extra to add chicken.  The burrito has black beans and rice, pico de gallo, pepper jack cheese, and lettuce, and it comes with salsa and sour cream on the side.

Other new menu items (at least, new since the last time I blogged about Bardog’s food) include a fried egg slider, to which you can add cheese, bacon, or ham for an extra cost.  Mmmm… adding all three sounds like the way to go.  They also have drummies now, in sizes of a half dozen or a dozen, and they have the “Bardog Poo Poo” platter, consisting of the drummies, shrimp skewers, southwest chicken rolls, and fries.

Shout-out to Chris from Wisconsin, with whom I did a kamikaze shot while waiting on my food.  I promised I’d wear the “I love Romanian girls” shirt today at his request.

Time to get busy… I have a full day of Visual Basic and income-producing and income-consuming assets ahead.  Maybe I’ll see you at IBC tonight!

I just got out of a brainstorming session the CCC held, where they called together about 35 of Downtown’s creative types to discuss new ways to promote Downtown Memphis.  Not surprisingly, Twitter was mentioned.

So I’m going to pose a question to you, the readers, and I’m going to do something I’ve never done before – I’m going to turn on comments for this post.  Which Twitter users provide valuable information about Downtown Memphis? Could be businesses that use Twitter to promote their events, or locals who use Twitter to talk about Downtown.

Please respond in the comments thread, giving the Twitterer’s username and a one or two sentence summary of what kind of info they provide.  If this works well, I may do targeted comments threads again in the future.  (Edited to add:  Click where it says “No comments”, or where it says the number of comments once people start posting them, at the end of this post to leave a comment.)

As for me, I’m “whatsthefiresale” on Twitter.  Once a day I text the name of the beer that is on $2.75 Fire Sale at the Downtown Flying Saucer to my Twitter account.  Through a plug-in it shows up in the upper left corner of my blog.  The Saucer doesn’t pay me to do this, by the way – it’s just something I started as a service for my fellow Saucer regulars, and a way to maybe get a few extra eyeballs a day on my blog.

Here are some pics from our annual Super Bowl party at a condo on the river Downtown:

Crowd shot

It’s the end of the first quarter, and Lee just found out he won $50.  “Hellooooo Saucer!”  I like the way Lee thinks.

…but then his girlfriend Lauren grabbed the money and stuffed it in her bra.

A shot of the food… well, some of it.  There was plenty more.  Skippy gives the thumbs-up as Edison displays his ghost-like ability to walk through walls.

Here’s a pic of the Nuh-Uh Girl eating.

Here’s another pic of the Nuh-Uh Girl eating.  Note that she had a bowl in the pic above and she has a plate here, so this is a different helping.

No this pic isn’t upside-down.  Esther and Stephanie were sitting on the couch as I was standing behind it.  I leaned the camera over and took the pic.  Stephanie is trying to keep her tube top from falling down.  I heard there may have been at least one wardrobe malfunction, very appropriate for the Super Bowl.

Girl-on-girl action

Another pic of the Nuh-Uh Girl eating.

The Steelers fans in the crowd cheer the game-winning touchdown.

Another great year as always.  Thanks to our hosts and the people who provided all the delicious food.  The full photo album (80 pics) is divided into two parts:  Part 1, Part 2

The South Main Association will have its monthly meeting next Tuesday, February 10 at Earnestine & Hazel’s.  Social at 6:30 PM, meeting at 7.  There are two important reasons why you should attend this meeting if you’re an SMA member or are thinking about becoming one:

1) The theme is “Security in South Main.”  Major Sheffield of the South Main Substation will speak.

2) COMPLIMENTARY SOUL BURGERS!!!!!

There will be a cash bar for wine and beer.

(Edited to add:  Free Soul Burgers?  Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.)

If you’re looking for a place to live Downtown, I’d like to draw your attention to this listing on Craigslist.

It’s a 2 BR/2 BA condo, 1400+ sq.ft., $1400/month, 1 block south of Main and G.E. Patterson, convenient to the trolley line and South Main Arts District.  Unlike most buildings in the area, this is a new construction, not a renovation, and is less than 5 years old.  The owners, a couple with a 1 year old baby, have been personal friends of mine for several years and would be great landlords.  They loved it when they lived there, and told me it’s a very friendly atmosphere where you get to meet your neighbors.  The only reason they moved was because they wanted a house for the baby.

If interested, click the link above and you’ll see their contact info in the listing.

Greetings from Franklin, TN just south of Nashville… I’m working on the personal finance software project tonight and staying at the home of the inventor.  It’s in a posh suburb of Franklin.  One of the Backstreet Boys (not sure which one) is the neighbor across the street, I’ve been told.

News from the Peabody tonight.  The Corner Bar has its own menu now.  Before, it was sharing a menu with Capriccio.  The Peabody has also recognized that if they want the Corner Bar to become a locals’ hangout, they can’t get away with charging the same astronomical beer prices they charge at the hotel’s restaurants and lobby bar.

New drink prices at the Corner Bar:

• $2.50 domestic beers
• $3.50 import beers
• $4-6 wines by the glass
• $4-6 mixed drinks

Menu includes appetizers such as pretzels, bruschetta, french fries, fish ‘n’ chips, chicken wings, chicken fingers, and BBQ stuffed potato skins for $4-9; salads for $3-7; sliders (BBQ or KOBE beef) for $10-12; 12″ pizzas for $10-12; sandwiches for $10-12.

Good menu and the drink prices sound like a BIG improvement.  Kudos to the Corner Bar for doing what it takes to draw locals.

I plan to be back in Memphis tomorrow in plenty of time to join the Rapscallions for another trivia victory.  See you when I get back!

Much thanks to my friend Billy for inviting me to use an extra ticket he had to the Memphis Tigers game yesterday.  It was easily the best seat I’ve ever had at the FedExForum… it read, “section CB2,” and I had no idea where that was.  I asked and was told to go to the club level.  Nice!  Then I discovered my seat wasn’t even a regular seat, but a seat at a desk, with an executive chair on rollers to sit in, and a waitress to serve food and drinks.  Here’s a look to the right of where I was sitting, at the other club box seats:

I remember touring the Forum prior to its first event, and I assumed those seats were where the press would sit.  Guess I was wrong.  There were even monitors at the end of each desk (you can see one in the pic above), with cable TV.  Here’s a look at the view of the floor from my seat:

Face value of the ticket was $44, and I thought to myself, that’s a bargain for the quality of experience I had sitting in that seat.  I knew quite a few people sitting in the club level too – I hadn’t realized it, but the games are social events for a lot of Downtowners.

As for the Tigers, they went on a 15-0 run to open the game, struggled a little just before and just after halftime, with Houston actually taking the lead 44-43 at one point.  Coach Cal was livid and I could hear him yelling from a basketball court’s length away.  Eventually the Tigers got it together and won 83-68.  Doneal Mack had a great game and seemed to be able to hit threes at will.  Robert Dozier had a strong game inside.

Skipping brunch today, because I need to get some things done before my out-of-town trip tomorrow morning.  Heading over to a friend’s condo at 3 for our annual Super Bowl party.  I’ll take pics as usual, but it will be at least Wednesday before I get a photo album online, due to the trip.

Several people have brought to my attention that some of the “Downtown Memphis information” pages on my right sidebar are getting a little out of date.  This morning I refreshed the late night dining page, deleting Hoop’s Bar and adding Bardog, the Silly Goose, Automatic Slim’s, and Voodoo Room @ Orleans on Front.  Wow… late night dining has sure changed for the better.  Three years ago, late-night dining options in the Downtown core were pretty much limited to Huey’s, Denny’s, and the Black Diamond.

I’m up early this morning, excited about scoring a free ticket to noon’s Memphis Tigers vs. Houston Cougars game at the FedExForum.  It’s on CBS College Sports, which is carried on digital cable (Comcast channel 222) but not regular cable.  Silly Goose will open early for those who want to watch the game there.  I haven’t heard from Calhoun’s but they usually open early for Tiger games.

Frequency of posting will slow down for the next three days.  Tomorrow is the gang’s big Super Bowl party, and Monday morning I’m driving to Nashville for a business meeting.  Unless there are traffic complications I’ll be back Tuesday night for trivia.

Go Tigers!

They’re on Peabody Place between Main and Second in the old Swig location.  I got a last-minute ticket to the game, but if you’re not going to the game itself come to the Goose and watch on TV.

This was suggested to me as something our BBQ team could cook this year: Bacon Explosion

Calling it an early night due to Air Traffic Mike.  “Hey, Pauly, let me buy you a shot.”  I hope you’re happy.  To-go burgers with parmesan fries from Majestic Grille are the bomb.