Daily thoughts of a Downtown Memphis resident
My “today’s reason to drink” widget on my Google homepage tells me that it’s International World Teachers’ Day, and suggests that everyone toast their favorite educator. Therefore, the first beer I consume this afternoon will be in honor of Memphis City Schools teacher/Wheel of Fortune winner The Nuh-Uh Sister (pictured at left, in tube top).
My friend Pete is an MCS teacher too, but I’ll honor him by handing him several losses at pool.
It’s true. Last night was Hoop’s Bar’s last night, and EP’s is already closed. I stopped by about 10 for one last PBR can. The place will be sorely missed.
It’s just unbelievable that EP’s/Hoop’s is gone. This time last year EP’s (Hoop’s didn’t exist yet) was PACKED. The Thursday night parties were a must, with the club loaded with hot girls… it was unusual for me to leave before 1:30 AM on Thursday nights, which made for some rough Fridays but it was worth it. Fridays and Saturdays were jam-packed as well. There’s no way I would’ve thought the doors would be closed a year later. I could write an entire post discussing the reasons why, but what’s the point. Thanks to Hooper, Tony, Ross, Colin, Michael Patrick, and everyone else involved with Hoop’s over the past year for all the great memories, and thanks to EP’s management for always taking good care of me, and for your help chasing bums off Beale Street.
Paul Myers, the marketing guru who is the inventor of the Buy Paul a Beer concept that I shamelessly stole, reported this morning on a good site that may be of use to some of you… Ask500People, a site where you can pose a question and survey 500 people around the world. The surveys appear on high-traffic sites – Paul asked a question and had 27 responses within half an hour. This could be very useful in business/marketing. You can get code to display the results of a survey on your web page or blog, and you can get a widget to display surveys on your blog.
There will be a black tie gala and fundraiser at Dish on Saturday, October 18 to benefit Memphis Roller Derby. (Can’t believe I just typed “black tie” and “roller derby” in the same sentence.) Called the “Derbytante Ball,” the ticket prices ($15 single/$25 couple in advance; $20/30 at the door) include dinner and beer. There will be a cash bar if you want liquor or wine. DJ Steve Anne will DJ, and my MySpace friend Tom Prestigiacomo will emcee. Awards will be handed out to roller derby team members and notable fans. Visit memphisrollerderby.com for more info.
I had someone suggest that I dress up as a certain Downtown bartender for Halloween… it’s a great idea, but part of my Halloween costume is being totally in character. If I wanted to portray her accurately, I wouldn’t be able to drink. Which pretty much rules out that costume.
I didn’t make it to the Downtown Olympics yesterday… was busy trying to find a WordPress template for my latest website creation, and I had to make a run out east to Target to buy a new garbage can. I’m really proud of my new garbage can. Anyway, I ran into the chief judge of the Olympics later on in the evening at the Saucer, and he said the event was very well attended, filling the back room of E&H. He noted that the synchronized drinking event was the best. I’m sure the official results will be posted on Memphis Limelight sometime soon.
I stopped by Bookstar yesterday, and flipped through Hot Chicks with Douchebags
Guess I’ll wear my Hoop’s Bar shirt today in memory… brunch is at the Majestic but I probably won’t make it in time, so I’ll meet up with the gang at the Saucer for Pete’s weekly ass-beating at pool. I see he’s at #195 on his UFO Club quest; I wonder if he’ll have them put “Pauly beat my ass at pool AGAIN” on his plate.
I just got an e-mail letting me know that Hoop’s Bar is closing tonight, after one last night. I have not confirmed this with anyone in management yet, but the rumor comes from a very credible source. If you want to say goodbye to Hoop’s you better head down there tonight.
Next Wednesday, Jillian’s will kick off a new feature called Hump Day Trivia with Pete the Trivia Guy and Mikey. Trivia competition for prizes will begin at 7 PM. Although the trivia people from the Saucer will be calling it, Mikey tells me the format will be a little different. “It’ll be kind of like Trivial Pursuit,” he said last night.
Currently the only place Downtown doing trivia on a Wednesday is the Corner Bar at the Peabody, where people are getting mighty sick of paying $4 + tax for a bottle of Bud Light. Well, I’ve got good news for you… Jillian’s will run drink specials during trivia. $2 drafts, as well as $3 Jager bombs, cherry bombs, and grape bombs. I bet that will fill the place up.
Looking forward to it… I doubt it’ll become a regular weekly thing for me (one trivia night a week is enough) but I’ll certainly pop in from time to time for those $2 drafts.
Check out this NY Times’ blogger’s analysis of the VP debate last night. He pretty much summarizes exactly what I was thinking as I watched the debate.
I can’t believe there are political commentators out there who think that Sarah Palin did a good job, or that she beat Joe Biden. She did nothing of the sort. The expectations were so low for her that anything better than “bad” was considered a win.
I got to try food from On the River Seafood & More at 51 S. Main for the first time last night. Stopped by there after work and ordered the frog leg dinner. The frog legs were meaty and full of flavor, and I got my choice of two sides. I wanted spaghetti as a side, but they had run out – for new businesses this is a good thing, because it means demand is higher than expected and they’re doing well. So I got pasta salad and slaw as my sides and both were excellent. I’ll definitely go back. Next time I think I’ll try the red snapper.
Watched the VP debate at home, turning it off just before the closing statements to head to the Flying Saucer. There I discovered that they had the debate on the big screen, with sound! Why didn’t they let anyone know about this in advance? I would’ve much rather watched it there, but I figured the typical Saucer customer would go, “D-UH, WHY IS THE DEBATE ON? ME WANT TO WATCH SPORTSCENTER” and that would be the end of it. If they plan on showing the two remaining presidential debates on the big screen with sound, the Saucer is where I’ll likely be.
4 weeks ’til Halloween… ladies, don’t forget that my web store Skank-o-ween has over 200 different slutty costumes to choose from. Also, Mid-South Alcoholic Supply has options for both men and women to dress up as booze, and The Doo-Doo Store has Halloween costumes as well.
From the MBJ… FedEx plans to open a FedEx Office (formerly Kinko’s) location in the Peabody Hotel. That’ll be a great convenience to Downtowners. We’ve needed a Kinko’s (sorry, I still prefer to call it the old name) in our neighborhood for quite some time.
There’s a Downtown Olympics going on tomorrow afternoon, and I’m sure it comes as no surprise that drinking is part of it. I’m not involved with this one, but the Memphis Limelight blogger is, and you can find out details of the event here.
I ended up at Bardog Tavern again last night. I am thoroughly impressed with that place. For the first time since summer 2006 – when I got bored with Sleep Out Louie’s and stopped going there on an every-day basis – I may have found a bar that can co-exist with the Flying Saucer in a tie for #1 on my list of places to hang out. I still need a little longer to be sure, but so far Bardog has exceeded my expectations.
Plans for this weekend: Oddly enough, absolutely nothing! No idea what I’m going to do. I’ve been reading through a copywriting course I bought to get ready for my next website, which will not be a store, but rather a site that recommends products based on reviews. I could start working on it, but it’s really too nice to be cooped up inside with a laptop. I need to drive out east to Target and buy a garbage can – maybe I’ll do that tomorrow, and throw the laptop in the trunk and find a coffee shop with wi-fi and a patio.
Whatever you decide to do with your weekend, have a great one!
… fear.
She didn’t say or do anything completely stupid, but her body language said, “I’m scared to death, let me do exactly what I’ve been trained to do the past three days and maybe I’ll survive this.”
Remember how I said the thought of John McCain as president doesn’t scare me?
It doesn’t. But the thought of him dying, and Sarah Palin succeeding him for any considerable length of time, does. After 8 years of Bush, a Palin presidency of significant length could finish the U.S. as a world power. I hope it never happens.
Thanks to one of my readers for sending me the link.
This morning I wrote about protester Jackie Smith’s performance at last night’s concert at the National Civil Rights Museum, noting that I wouldn’t go so far as to call her a “racist poser” as another Downtown blogger has in the past, but her actions were clearly unproductive, and even counterproductive, to recruiting people to support her cause.
Well, the blogger that called her a “racist poser” in the past responded – and had no problem calling her a racist poser again, backed it up with facts, and also offered speculation where her funding comes from. Check out the response on Memphis Limelight.
After the concert, I ended up at Bardog Tavern last night. They had planned to start opening for lunch this week, but due to an illness, they have postponed doing lunch until next Monday, October 6. That’s fine, I’d rather they take their time and do it right. Attn co-workers who read this blog: GO THERE for lunch when the place opens! You’ll love it… get those sirloin sliders!!!!
I haven’t heard officially, but I seriously doubt the Saturday brunch at Calhoun’s, which has been such a success the past two weeks, will happen this week. Its organizers are busy working on another event which will take place this Saturday. The brunch will likely be back the week after.
Author Natalie McLean sent my fellow blogger Dr. Booze a link to her online food and wine matching tool… you choose the type of food you have, or the type of wine you have, and it returns wine suggestions for food, or food suggestions for wine. Check out Dr. Booze’s post about it.
I don’t know of any places publicly showing the vice-presidential debate tonight, so I’ll probably stay home this evening, work on my new website, and watch the debate on my own TV. Afterward I’ll go out for a little while. Deep Shag is playing the Saucer, and Bardog is another possible stop.
Heading back to work for a 1:30 meeting…
Last night was the Downtown Alive!/Folk Alliance Mini-Folk Festival on the National Civil Rights Museum plaza. I expected protester Jackie Smith to show up, and she did.
Jackie has had a booth across the street from the Civil Rights Museum for over 15 years, protesting its existence. She believes that the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. King lost his life, is sacred ground, and the Civil Rights Museum is wrong to use the building for commercial purposes. She also opposes the “gentrification” of the surrounding South Main neighborhood, with recent development of condos, art galleries, and boutique businesses, feeling that would not have been part of Dr. King’s vision for the area.
For a long time I thought it was a good thing she was there. I didn’t agree with her, but I didn’t totally disagree either. She had some points worth at least hearing. “It’s good to have alternative voices down here,” I thought.
However, my opinion of Jackie changed last October, at the RiverArtsFest, as FreeWorld played onstage at the NCRM plaza. Jackie was there, booing FreeWorld, and using a very loud, annoying feedback device to disturb other concertgoers’ enjoyment of the music. Booing FreeWorld. For those of you not familiar with the band, let me point out that one of the members is 78-year-old Dr. Herman Green, an African-American musician who was playing Beale Street before Jackie was even born. I can’t speak for FreeWorld, but I feel reasonably sure that if they had thought they were doing anything other than honoring Dr. King by playing the NCRM stage, they would’ve turned down the date. It’s one thing to disagree with the festival’s existence, but booing the performers themselves was simply out of line.
Last night Jackie was back, as I expected she would be. She had a sign protesting the concert, and a microphone rigged up to a boom box to act as a feedback device generating a high-pitched squeal. She wandered through the crowd, screaming at people. “Go away!” she said. “This is sacred ground! You’re all drunk! You only come down here when you want to eat and drink! Go to Beale Street!” She even tried to get onstage a couple of times. The musicians were amazingly tolerant of her, considering what a nuisance she was.
A couple of the CCC people, who don’t get down to South Main as much as I do and therefore weren’t familiar with Jackie, asked me, “Does she think she’s doing any good down here?” Of course she’s not doing any good. That’s the thing. Festivals like the one last night could be tremendous opportunities for her. If she’d lose the feedback device and the sign, and just walk around and talk to people, she could probably win quite a few of them over to her cause. If she’d just go up to people and say, “I see you’re having a good time here, but would you mind if I take a few minutes to explain why this is sacred ground and events like this shouldn’t be held here…”, I bet quite a few people would be willing to give her a listen. Over time she could build up a base of support, and be seen as a notable voice of dissent in the area.
But Jackie doesn’t do that. She’s more interested in making a spectacle of herself, drawing attention to herself. I won’t go so far as to call her a “racist poser” as another Downtown blogger has, but her actions last night do suggest that it’s all about Jackie, rather than all about the cause she claims to stand for.
Eventually things started to turn hostile. As Jackie stood on the sidewalk and ranted and yelled, she held the feedback device uncomfortably close to the ear of a woman sitting nearby… at some point that thing stops being free speech and starts being assault. The woman, out of frustration, grabbed Jackie’s sign, crumpled it, and threw it into the open field as the crowd applauded. Realizing things could get ugly, the police were called, and Jackie was escorted out of the festival area.
It’s too bad she chose such an ineffective way to express herself, and it’s too bad she sees everyone who attends NCRM events as the enemy rather than people to sit down and exchange ideas with. She could’ve been an important community voice, but the loony, offensive, insulting way in which she chooses to express herself makes it hard for anyone to take her seriously.