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Hard Rock Cafe is hosting a Rock the Storm benefit for those who were affected by the recent round of tornadoes that tore through Memphis.  It will be Saturday the 29th, with bands Aurora and Rainy Day Manual, and singer/songwriter Brenna Vick.  Suggested $5 donation at the door, with proceeds going to help the tornado victims via the American Red Cross.  Doors open at 9, entertainment starts at 9:30.

Congrats to the Rapscallions on claiming first place AGAIN in trivia.  What did I tell you?  That’s $350 toward the next party, assuming I get my plate done on time.

Beer report:

Previous total:  $818.25

Beers 146, 147, and 148 (but 141, 142, and 143 according to the Saucer):
Anchor Old Foghorn $7.00
Kirin Lager $5.00
Chimay Premiere (trivia bonus beer) $10.00
Tip:  $22.00 x ~30% = $7.00
Total:  $29.00

Grand total:  $847.25

There’s a new bar open at the north end of Downtown’s core.  It’s in the building next to Cafe Napoleon (block of Main between Adams and Jefferson) and it serves Cafe Napoleon’s menu.  The owners are cousins.  It’s called 88 Sports Bar, I’m told, and is open Sun-Thur until midnight.  Fri-Sat are rentals of the space only.

(7:53 AM Wed:  From this point on it’s no longer a drunk post.  Woke up to find a half-finished post, and also a half-finished box of buffalo tenders from Huey’s.  That means I must have been out past 1:00, as I would not have gone to Huey’s if Big Foot’s kitchen had still been open.)

After I got done at Saucer trivia, I walked south to Calhoun’s.  They have a copy on the wall of the handout Mikey and I gave to the new security patrol people – “our top 10 bums,” with color photos.  Hmmm, we need to get a copy of that on the wall of every bar Downtown.

Max at Calhoun’s tells me that he’s going to start having Cubs watch parties, with $1 Old Style during games.  Why the Cubs?  Hell if I know.  Max is an Arkansas fan so he generally has good taste in teams.

Which reminds me, I’ve had to face much derision from the Nuh-Uh Girl and Frank that Arkansas lost to North Carolina Sunday.  Yeah, that’s shocking, that a #9 seed lost to a #1 seed.  Looking forward to watching your #2 Vols go down in flames Thursday night.

The nice thing about having a popular blog is that readers send me links to things they think I should see.  Like yesterday for example – one of my readers sent me a link to a rather embarrassing pic of my BFF.  I printed out a copy of it on photo paper and took it to the Saucer yesterday.  She wasn’t working, but I showed it to her mini-me and a few other co-workers, as well as a few regulars from the Saucer and Lauren at Calhoun’s.  Oh and I showed it to a bum too.  General consensus was, “Paul, don’t link to that photo in your blog, she will DIE.”  Attn BFF:  I suggest you buy me a beer the next time you see me.  Because when I get thirsty, I blog.  And order T-shirts.

Here’s a link to an article about Lynne Tolley, Jack Daniel’s great-grandniece, who will be hosting a “cooking with Jack” dinner at the Peabody on Thursday.

Also in the news:  King Willie said that the main reason he ran for re-election was to protect the city from his main opponents in the last election, Chumney and Morris.  Yeah, but who’s going to protect us from Willie?

Took some pics of the swollen Mississippi River last night.  Will post them as soon as I get them downloaded from my camera.  Mud Island has just about been swallowed up.

I’m 50/50 on whether I’m going to do Itta Bena tonight.  May just skip it and go straight to the Saucer.  Will play the Window Game if I can find a seat at the window.  I need to print up some more scorecards for the game.  Right now though, it’s time to go to work so I can pay for all this beer I drink.

My grandmother who lived for many years in Trimble, Tennessee passed away this morning.  She was my last living grandparent.  Actually, she was a step-grandparent, but still.

I had not seen her in several years.  She had begun to decline physically and mentally and spent the last 5 years or so in a nursing home.  If I had gone to visit her, she probably would not have remembered me.

I suppose I should be feeling a sense of loss, but I really don’t.  The grandmother I knew as a child was gone years ago.  And now she’s reunited with my grandfather, who passed away in 1988.

The funeral is tomorrow at noon in Trimble.  I likely won’t be able to go because we’re under a tight deadline at work.  If my grandfather were still alive, I’d probably go to be there to support him.

Anyway, if anything, I feel a sense of happiness that she and my grandfather are back together.  Business as usual tonight.  I’ll be at trivia, and the Rapscallions will claim another victory.

Well, it turns out I only made it through ONE plate beer on Sunday rather than the two I thought I had. Sunday beer report:

Previous total: $798.50

Beer 142 (but 137 according to the Saucer):
Dogfish Indian Brown Ale $6.50
Tip: $6.50 x ~30% = $2.00
Total: $8.50

Grand total: $807.00

Even if I had been sober, that crap would not have been worth $6.50. Probably the first Dogfish Head beer I’ve found not to be worth the money. No, I take that back, I remember when they had Chicory Stout on tap, which was without a doubt the nastiest beer ever.  Big fan of their IPAs though, and Raison d’Etre.

Monday beer report:

Beers 143, 144, and 145 (but 138, 139, and 140 according to the Saucer):
Guinness $2.75
Spaten Franziskaner Hefe-Weizen $2.75
Spaten Oktoberfest $2.75
Tip: 3 beers x $1 = $3.00
Total: $11.25

Grand total: $818.25

My friend Bicycle Bobby brought me a calendar called “Tantalizing Takeoffs,” featuring 12 hot babes posing next to planes. I wasn’t all that impressed with the calendar, but the piece of cardboard in the middle seemed useful. “Hmmm,” I thought, “since I have a panhandling forum, maybe it’s time I did a little panhandling myself, to see what it’s like.” So I had bartender Jamie make me a “please buy me a beer” sign and I sat there in the Saucer and held it up for all to see. Worked too – I got two free beers. If you scroll down to the previous post, you’ll see Saucer regular IQ holding the sign.

On tap for movie night at EP’s tonight:  The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, Single White Female.   First movie starts at 7 PM.

Speaking of movies, the Majestic Grille has installed a HUGE movie screen at the back of their restaurant, easily visible from any seat in the house.  They plan to show old 1920s and 1930s movies on the screen, appropriate since the building was originally a movie theater in that era.  “We’re not going to turn the place into a sports bar,” one of the owners told me.  “But if Memphis makes it to the Final Four, we’ll probably HAVE to show the last two games on the screen.  And the Ryder cup.”  Which led me to ask WTF the Ryder Cup is.  It’s golf.  I hate golf.  I hope the Ryder Cup happens on a week when we’re at McGuinness for brunch.

Tonight:  Pete the Trivia Guy will hand the Rapscallions a $50 first-place gift certificate, and express his admiration for the Rapscallions’ seemingly endless knowledge.

(This was supposed to be a lunchtime post, but I walked back to work without hitting Publish.  The brain isn’t working too well today.  It’s 5 PM now.  Off to Pint Nite.)

We started the day yesterday with brunch at the Majestic. Usually I order mimosas by the glass, but since it was Easter I decided to get a full bottle of champagne. It’s kind of an Easter tradition for me to refer to the bucket my champagne sits in as my Easter basket.

Around 1:30 the gang tabbed out and decided to do a venue change to McGuinness. I hadn’t eaten at that point, and the champagne had taken effect. I knew I needed to eat, but wasn’t in the mood for McG’s food. So I decided to take a break and go eat somewhere else. Usually Rio Loco is my go-to place for this type of situation. “But if I go to Rio Loco, I know I’ll order one of their jumbo margaritas,” I thought. “I’ll end up drunker than I was when I came in.”

So I decided to go to Big Foot. And guess what I ended up ordering… a margarita. Not just any margarita, but their 34 oz. Yowie Margarita. At least I did order some food, the buffalo tenders. I decided to be bold and get them at the Holy Smokes level, the hottest they offer and comparable to suicide wings/tenders and most restaurants. So I sat there and set my mouth on fire and listened to the bartender recommend places to out-of-towners, and picked up a lot of good tips. I learned that the Executive Inn by the airport is a great place to hear blues, that Payne’s BBQ in Orange Mound has some of the best BBQ in the city, and that the Bayou Bar & Grill has some of the best hot wings in town. I’m glad the bartender doesn’t have a blog or it would kick my blog’s ass.

While eating, I was told that someone had successfully completed the Sasquatch Challenge on Saturday. The challenge, of course, is that if you can eat Big Foot’s 4 lb. Sasquatch burger and all the trimmings in under an hour, you get it for free. A competitive eater came in and finished the thing in SEVEN MINUTES. They told me he asked for two pitchers of hot water to go along with the burger.

So I finished my tenders and my margarita, and I meant to tell the bartender that I needed to tab out so I could go join my friends over at McGuinness. But instead what came out of my mouth was, “I’ll have a Goombay Smash, please.” A Goombay Smash is another one of those 34 oz. drinks, this one featuring five different shots of rum. And smashed I was by the time I finished it.

By then it was a few minutes before 5:00, so I walked down to the Saucer. They opened at 5 and it was time for the Easter egg hunt. I found several eggs, each containing a slip of paper with a type of beer inside, redeemable for a free beer of that type. There was a limit of one per customer, so I gave the others away to friends.

So I redeemed my free beer and hung out at the bar and drank it. That took about an hour. By then it was 6 PM and I still had not done any of my three plate beers for the day. And I didn’t make it to three. Blast! I think I got through two. One was a Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale; don’t remember the other one. I think I can look it up on the Saucer’s site but I’m too lazy to do that right now. Beer report will be delayed for a day until I figure it out.

I was so drunk that I kissed one of my female friends who was hanging out with me. I sure have been kissing a lot of girls lately. My BFF made the comment that I’m turning into a male slut. Unfortunately she’s not on the list of girls I’ve kissed.

My BFF was in a bad mood yesterday (is she EVER in a good mood?) because her phone was broken. “How did it get broken?” I asked.

“I threw it across the room,” she replied. Mmmkay then. Her birthday’s coming up and I need to get her a present. Does anyone know where I can get her a gift certificate for some anger management classes?  She sure needs them.

For those of you who missed the unveiling of the BFF T-shirt, I’ll have it on Friday night. Will be at the Saucer that night from 5 to 6:30, then at Trolley Tour from 6:30 to 8, then at a private party afterward.

I hope there’s a TV at the private party, because Memphis plays Michigan State that night and tip-off is at 8:57 PM.

Good article in the Commercial Appeal yesterday about Divine Rags, the new women’s clothing boutique at Main and Pontotoc, and about the owner’s plans to open more businesses in that area.

Got an e-mail update on my office’s NCAA tournament bracket competition, and I’m in the middle of the pack, 17th out of 31 brackets. I correctly picked Davidson to go to the Sweet 16. My college roommate’s father was president of Davidson. My bracket has North Carolina, Memphis, Kansas and Duke in the Final Four (of course, we already know I got Duke wrong), with Memphis beating Kansas in the championship game with a total of 163 points combined score.

Lunch break’s over… time to get back to work.

So, EP’s is having a Dead Rock Star Costume Ball on April 3, which is a week from Friday. Free admission with costume, hosted by Kennedy from 107.5 and Garry Goin and G3. There will be celebrity trivia, a costume contest, a karaoke contest (oh God no), and a celebrity hunt.

I’m trying to decide if I’ll go, and if I do go, who I’ll be. Hmmm what are the options:

John Lennon: This one wouldn’t be hard to do. I’m sure John had hair like mine at some point in his life. All I’d need are granny glasses and a “New York City” T-shirt and maybe a couple of peace buttons. Beatle boots would be good footwear but I don’t own any and they’re too expensive to buy to wear for one night. If I could get an Asian girl to be my date and go as Yoko, that would be perfect. We could carry matching “Hair Peace” and “Bed Peace” signs. Of course, Yoko’s not dead yet, but, that’s a minor detail.

Jim Morrison: Me in tight black leather pants = very bad idea. I don’t think anyone would want to see that. Due to all the beer I drink, I’d have to go as ’69-’70 overweight drugged-out Morrison rather than ’66-’67 sex symbol Morrison. This one’s not going to happen.

Jimi Hendrix: I’m white, so I really don’t think I could pull this one off.

Janis Joplin: I catch enough flak for dressing up as a chick one weekend a year, when I do the Saucer Girl costume for Halloween. And anyway, if I were going to dress up as a woman additional days, I damn sure would pick someone hotter than Janis. Absolutely not.

Kurt Cobain: I don’t want to dye my hair orange and green and whatever other colors were in his hair. Plus he was married to Courtney Love who was a complete twat. I like Nirvana’s music but a Cobain costume is not going to happen.

George Harrison: How come all the cool Beatles are dead? McCartney sucks. Anyway, I’m not sure what exactly I’d do to dress up as George – maybe carry a sitar around. He had the hottest wife of the four Beatles, but he eventually lost her to Eric Clapton.

Syd Barrett: The original Pink Floyd frontman who went batshit crazy in ’67-’68 and got kicked out of the band. This one would be a lot of fun to do. Problem is, so many people are only familiar with the Waters/Gilmour version of Floyd that I’m not sure many people would know who I am.

Sid Vicious: The Sex Pistols rock star, not the wrestler. Lots of people who go to EP’s have spiky hair and I’m not one of them. I’ll let them do Sid. Besides, his girlfriend was a piece of trash heroin addict whore.

Keith Richards: (Edit: Oh, he’s not dead? My bad, disregard this one. I thought they had been standing a corpse in Stones publicity photos the past few years to make Mick look younger.)

Keith Relf: Lead singer of ’60s rock band The Yardbirds which had three of the greatest guitarists of all time (Clapton, Beck, Page), and whose breakup led to the formation of the greatest rock band of all time (Zeppelin). Electrocuted himself in 1976. I could do this one easily, as my current hair is more or less a dead ringer for Relf’s hair circa ’65. On the downside, hardly anyone knows who the hell Keith Relf is.

John Bonham: Zeppelin’s drummer who drank himself to death in 1980. I’d have to grow a beard for this one, and steal EP’s TVs and pitch them off their second-story patio. (Hey, maybe I’d hit a bum!) I can’t see myself being Bonham. I’ve never been one to identify with drummers in bands. If I were going to dress up as a Led Zeppelin member I’d be Plant, and he’s not dead.

Keith Moon: The Who’s drummer who drank himself to death in 1978. No, for the same reasons as Bonham.

Sylvester: Late ’70s disco icon/drag queen. Died 1988. This one’s a big NO, as there is a 99.9999% chance that anyone who dresses up as Sylvester is gay. “You Make Me Feel Mighty Real” was one of the catchiest songs of the disco era, though.

Elvis: Dressing up as Elvis in Memphis is passe. Let the tourists do it. You certainly wouldn’t have to go far to find a costume for this one.

Buddy Holly: I just don’t have the look to pull this one off. I wouldn’t even know where to find those thick black rimmed glasses.

Ronnie Van Zant: Lynyrd Skynyrd frontman who died in a plane crash in 1977. I have “Free Bird” on my iPod but I’m not enough of a redneck to do this one.

John Denver: Bitch please.

Jerry Garcia: If only I had kept the tye-dye shirts I bought in the late 1980s, I might be able to do this one. I’ve never done LSD but I think a hit of it would be mandatory if I had this costume on.

Rick James: This one would be easy. All I’d have to do is put on one of those “I’m Rick James Bitch” T-shirts and bam, there’s the costume.

Andy Gibb: Well, I do have the hair and the leftover disco outfits from my Six-1-Six Disco Inferno days to do this costume quite easily. Problem is, people probably wouldn’t know who the hell I was trying to be, even if I walked around singing “I Just Want to Be Your Everything” all evening.

Barry White: HAHAHAHAHA. I’m not stupid enough to even attempt this one.

Eric Carr: KISS drummer who joined the band in 1980 after Peter Criss got kicked out for excessive drug use. This one would be funny because Carr was in the band during the makeup years, and had his own distinctive makeup design. People would instantly recognize me as a KISS member but not as Gene, Paul, Ace, or Peter. It would confuse people. I like that.

I’m sure there are more who aren’t coming to mind right now. Maybe I’ll update this post as the day draws closer. Recap of an insanely drunk Easter Sunday to come, as soon as I remember what the hell I did.

This being Easter, I decided to do something different today and write a little about my religious/spiritual views, something I rarely talk about on the blog. I guess I rarely talk about it because my views are somewhat unconventional by Southern standards… but what the heck.

Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch are a series of 3 books which are a good starting approximation of what I believe. Some of the key things I believe which are points Walsch makes in the series:

• Organized religion as we know it teaches that God is something outside of you that you must constantly strive to attain.  And you keep trying and failing over and over again because you’re reaching for something that’s unattainable, and in the end the best you can hope for is to be “saved” even though you don’t deserve it.  Organized religion makes the individual feel small and powerless.
• In fact, there is nothing to attain because God is within us.  We connect with God by discovering (as Walsch puts it, remembering) who we are, and by interacting with other parts of God (other people, animals, the environment).
• Jesus did exist, and is very much a role model to pattern our lives after, because he demonstrated this connection with God through himself, others, and the world around him at every moment.
• The concept of sin is B.S. and has been used by organized religion to control people for the past 2000 years.  There’s no such thing as sin.
• Reincarnation, on the other hand, does exist.  People come back to Earth as many times as they need to in order to learn the lessons to be learned through physical existence.  Then they continue to on to other planes of existence where there is more to be learned (or again, “remembered” in Walsch’s words).
• Time is not real.  It’s one of the rules of the game we agree to when we play the game of physical existence.
• Obligation vs. opportunity.  This is one I could write an entire series of posts about.  Walsch writes that when you act out of opportunity, when you do things because you want to do them, you’re acting out of love and experiencing what it’s like to be God.  When you act out of obligation, you act out of fear and are experiencing the opposite of God.  This is one I’ve always felt innately but never was able to put into words until Walsch wrote it.  If you want to make sure I’ll refuse to do something, tell me I’m obligated/expected to do it.
• The point above does not mean that one should act completely selfishly with no sense or regard for the feelings of others.  Since one of the main ways to connect with God is to connect with others, you experience God when you do for others.
• Organized religion has failed to keep up with the pace of human development over the last 100 years.  It must change drastically within the next one to two generations or it will seem as archaic and silly as the Roman gods seem to us today.  I’m not picking on Christianity here; I’m talking about all major mainstream organized religions all over the world.

All right, that’s enough.  If you agree with the points above, check out the books.  If you disagree, that’s fine too.  And now, we return you to the usual stupid crap topics discussed in this blog.

Beer report:

Previous total:  $771.00

Beers 139, 140, and 141 (but 134, 135, and 136 according to the Saucer):
Stone Arrogant Bastard $11.00
Maudite $6.00
Moretti $4.50
Tip: $21.50 x ~30% = $6.00
Total:  $27.50

Grand total:  $798.50

Stone Arrogant Bastard is one of my most highly recommended beers of the entire 200.  However, at 22 ounces and 7.2% ABV, this is one best done when you have a designated driver.  The Maudite (8%) is not for lightweights either.  Thanks to those two, I was down for the count early in the evening.  Not even a Red Bull could bring me back to life.  I was home by midnight.  Dammit, I hate that.  I go through periods where I can stay out real late and get by on 4-5 hours sleep a night, and periods when I need 8 hours a night.  I’m currently in one of the 8-hour periods, which is why I haven’t written about closing the Saucer and then hanging out at McGuinness for hours afterward lately – not nearly to the extent I did December-February.  I’m hoping to swing back to the 4-5 hour sleep requirement in time for great spring weather.  If I go to bed early I’ll miss seeing some tube tops.

I’m over my anger at the Saucer and am back on good terms with the place.  They restored my 3 most recent lost beers.  I said I wasn’t going to do that, but the date I want for my plate party is a mere 5 days after I finish my 200th beer, so I can’t afford to lose any.  Also, when I was in there Thursday with a friend, the manager bought us a round, which I thought was a very nice gesture and was much appreciated.

Friday is the next big day I’m really looking forward to.  For one thing, it will be the first Trolley Tour of the year with really nice weather.  Also, I got invited to a private party in the area, and there was just something about the way the invitation was worded – maybe it was “catering by Gus’s Chicken and Big Foot Lodge” – that puts it high on my list of parties to attend.  Sorry, it’s a private party, so I can’t spill the beans on this one (exceptions: close friends, e-mail me if you don’t know what party I’m talking about).

Brunch at Majestic, 11 AM.  Still undecided what to do between 1 and 5.  McGuinness is probably the leading candidate, but who knows.  Easter egg hunt for free beer when the Saucer opens at 5.

It’s too cold to wear shorts to brunch.  This sucks.

Duke lost! WOOOHOOO!!! That messes up my bracket big-time but I don’t care. I’m never sorry to see Duke lose.

Second Street Shoppers/Deli now sells fresh flowers. It’s not a full-service florist like Gestures by any means, but if you need to pick up a rose for a date or a spouse or whoever, it’s there. They told me they’re moving the coolers so they have room for tables and chairs for people who want to dine in at their deli. That little store has really become a gem. When it first opened, there was very little inventory in a large, open space, and I remember thinking, “Is that place going to make it?” Since then, though, they’ve really done a lot. They’re nice people too.

Oh no… I just realized what’s going to start happening… I’ll walk in the Saucer to drink some beer, and less than five steps in the door I’ll hear, “PAUL, WE KNOW YOU PASS SECOND STREET SHOPPERS ON THE WAY HERE, WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP AND GET US FLOWERS.”

The friend I hung out with Thursday night told me about a new site worth checking out. It’s called GreenIs.Us and it’s… well, I have yet to figure out what exactly it is. By the name, I thought at first glance maybe they were environmentalists. But no… when I got on the site, it appeared to be an opinion site. You can ask a question, provide possible choices for answers and everyone else can vote on it and share their comments. However, I noticed that most of the members were Memphians and they have GreenIs.Us parties where they meet each other in person, and my friend commented that she was hanging out with some GreenIs.Us people Friday. “So is it a serious opinion site, or is it more of a social site?” I asked. My friend, one of the top posters, admitted even she wasn’t sure. “We’re just letting it evolve and seeing what happens,” she told me. Follow the link and check it out if you want.

Tip from my friend Air Traffic Mike: The Majestic Grille has special theater dinner menus the nights of Orpheum shows. The special dishes tend to be really good, he said, telling me about the skirt steak he had there Friday night. Good chance to try something different at the Majestic.

Latest song I downloaded from iTunes: “Working Class Hero” by John Lennon. The Lennon collection I own on CD doesn’t include “Working Class Hero.” Great lyrics.

There will be a new reality show on CBS next month called Secret Talents of the Stars. 16 celebrities will display their secret talents in a competition where one is eliminated each week. Normally I wouldn’t care about another reality show, but as a pro wrestling fan this one has my interest. One of the 16 competitors is none other than legendary wrestler “Nature Boy” Ric Flair. The 59-year-old Flair is rumored to be retiring from wrestling after facing “Heart Break Kid” Shawn Michaels in one of the main events at Wrestlemania next weekend. So, what is “Naitch”‘s secret talent? Salsa dancing. Who woulda thought? The show will also feature Danny Bonaduce on a unicycle. Yeah this sounds like a winner. Really. More info here.

Trying to decide what picture to put on my third custom-designed T-shirt, which will be printed by my friends Pete and Josh who operate out of the basement of Winfield’s at Madison and Main. Maybe this one:

The girls pictured above are ROMANIANS!!! Unfortunately they no longer work at the Saucer. Well, unfortunately in the case of the brunette, anyway. The blonde pretty much wore out her welcome in Memphis. They’re both hot though. If I have a shirt that says “I love Romanian girls,” I might as well have a shirt with Romanian girls on it so everyone can see what I’m talking about.

Or, since Pete is involved in the T-shirt business, maybe it would be appropriate to put a pic of Pete himself on a shirt:

Pete and Josh will definitely do custom orders if you have them. If you want to contact them, e-mail me (paul@paulryburn.com) and I’ll give you Josh’s cell number.

That’s all for now… I’ll definitely have to head back up to the Saucer in a little while, because I haven’t done my three plate beers yet for today. After that, still no idea.

I’ve added a new page to the “Downtown Info” section of my blog – see the right sidebar – a list of resources to aid the homeless in Downtown Memphis.  People have been requesting that page for a while.  “You’ve emphasized that giving money to panhandlers does not help the homeless,” people have said, “so where do I go to offer time or money to help?”  I had forgotten I had a very similar page on the Handling-Panhandling forum already.  All I had to do was bring it over and revise it a little.  If you know of additional resources, or if any of the info on the page is out of date, please e-mail me (paul@paulryburn.com) and let me know.

In particular, the homeless help page contains a link where you can buy voucher books containing coupons for free admission to the Union Mission.  This allows you to hand out coupons rather than money when you get panhandled for money to get into the Mission.  If it’s a sincere request (which it’s usually not), the panhandler will be grateful.  If they really want money for alcohol and drugs (which is usually the case), they won’t be interested in the voucher.

You remember the folks from the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center who protested the hiring of security patrols Downtown to curb panhandling?  Well, they were back in the news this week.  They held a sit-in in Sen. Bob Corker’s Memphis office this week, demanding a town hall meeting to discuss what’s going on in Iraq.  When 5:00 came and it was time for the office to close, they refused to leave.  The police were called and seven of them were arrested.  Full details in this Memphis Flyer story.

Some time I ago I told you that I was going to have guest bloggers, named “Glo” and “Flo,” to add a female perspective to this blog.  Well, 3 weeks have gone by and Glo and Flo haven’t contributed a damn thing.  But, there may yet be a new female guest blogger:  My BFF.  Last night she commented to me, “Paul, you should let me write on your blog.”  You know what?  I would have no problem with that whatsoever.  Her posts would probably be highly entertaining.  Since I’m using WordPress, I could build her a separate account to post from that would still hit the same blog.  Seriously, I’m all for this idea.

BFF quote of the day:  “Paul, I’d rather kiss Brittney (another Saucer waitress) than kiss you.”  This is another thing I would have no problem with whatsoever.  Just give me 3 seconds advance notice so I can switch my digital camera to video mode.

While we’re on the subject of the Saucer, let’s go ahead and do the beer report.

Previous total:  $754.00

Beers 136, 137, and 138 by my count (Saucer count still being corrected):
Pilsner Urquell draft $4.50
Sierra Nevada Wheat bottle $4.25
Heineken Dark bottle $4.25
Tip:  $13.00 x ~30% = $4.00
Total:  $17.00

Grand total:  $771.00

A movie called Soul Men is being filmed in Downtown Memphis.  Blog reader Corey Griffin shot some photos of the movie shoot and sent me a link to this Flickr album.  Downtown Memphis being what it is, a bum came up and asked him for money while he was taking the pictures, and as a result there’s a photo of the bum in the album too.

Basketball update:

(1) Memphis beat (16) Texas-Arlington 87-63.  Memphis goes on to play (8) Mississippi State at 3:45 PM Sunday.  Go Tigers!

(9) Arkansas achieved a minor upset by taking down (8) Indiana 86-72.  The Razorbacks play (1) North Carolina Sunday at 4:20.  They are surely the underdog, but after seeing them eliminate Tennessee in the SEC tournament last Saturday, I have to believe that anything is possible with Arkansas.  Go Hogs!

(2) Tennessee played a lackluster game but nevertheless beat (15) American 72-57.  They will play (7) Butler in round two on Sunday at 1:30 PM.  Go Butler!

Plans for today:  It’s March Madness round two, so there will be a TV and beer involved.  Beyond that, TBD.  I still haven’t made it to Nate’s bar at E&H in several months… maybe tonight, after the last of the games end.