Category: Uncategorized

– Well, the movie Underdog has been out for a couple of weeks now. The movie has been discussed among my group of friends… people are pointing out that nearly every cartoon character out there has been turned into a movie, and “when you get to Underdog, you’ve hit the bottom of the barrel.”

I disagree.

Ever eat a piece of Dubble Bubble bubble gum? On the wrapper are cartoons – “Fleer Funnies starring Pud.” When they get around to making a movie about Pud, then they’ve hit the bottom of the barrel.

– Friends of mine went to the National Civil Rights Museum yesterday, and discovered that admission is free on Mondays from 3 to 6 PM (3 to 5 PM September through May). So if you’ve never been to the civil rights museum, Monday afternoons are good times to check it out. The waived admission fee does not apply on Mondays that are holidays.

– Wednesday is the annual Elvis “buy the beer, keep the glass” night at the Flying Saucer. The glasses go on sale at 7 PM. Now, most weeks you can wander in at 8, 8:30 and still be able to get a glass – not so on Elvis week. If you even want a seat, you better be there by 6:15. Tell your waitress or bartender that you’d like to reserve one. Otherwise they’ll sell out and you’ll miss it.

I’ve been told that they’re making the waitresses dress up in Elvis glasses and sideburns. I have a feeling the girls are not real excited about this. Attn Saucer management: If you’re going to make them dress in character, can we have a Lady Godiva glass night?

– Crash Kole e-mailed me to tell me that his band Crash Kole and the BlueSouls will hold a CD release party Thursday, August 23 at Pearl’s Oyster House. I caught the band at Earnestine & Hazel’s at the end of June and their name describes their music – a hard rocking, bluesy, soulful sound. They were a perfect fit for E&H and should be a great fit for the downstairs of Pearl’s as well. Looking forward to this one.

– Saw a great T-shirt yesterday… it read, “I’M SOMEONE WHO CARES ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS AND LIKES TO LISTEN.” Except that “I’M SOMEONE,” “AND,” “LIKES TO,” and “LISTEN” were crossed out, leaving “WHO CARES ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS.”

– Today is Tuesday, which means that my team The Rapscallions will kick some ass tonight at team trivia. Our gift certificate stash is back to $0, having spent the $70 we had in conjunction with two plate parties last week. Time to rebuild. But in the meantime, it’s time to get to work and earn even more money to spend on beer. See you later!

The Peabody Duck Walk of Fame contains the names of people who have made a significant impact on the development of Memphis. Started in 1995, the walk’s honorees include the patriarch of the Belz family, Henry Turley, King Willie, Danny Thomas, and others.

This Thursday, Elvis Presley will become the newest inductee into the Walk of Fame. The ceremony will happen in the Peabody lobby from 4:45 to 6:00 PM. Tickets not needed and the event will be open to the public. Priscilla Presley will be the special guest of honor. The lobby itself will be cordoned off for VIPs; the public can watch from the perimeter of the lobby or upstairs on the mezzanine. Ceremony will begin after the daily duck march at 5 PM.

The panhandling problem has made the latest edition of Memphis Limelight, an online satirical magazine similar to The Onion. The article talks about a new school opening up for bums which will teach them more creative ways to panhandle.

Whew! It’s hotter than a Romanian waitress outside! Nevertheless, that won’t stop me from being at the Summer Soiree tonight at the Black Diamond tonight from 6:30 on. $20 cover gets you 4 bands, free beer til it runs out, and you’ll be helping with the medical bills of someone who was injured by a drunk driver and screwed by insurance companies. Hope to see you out.

(Edit: I’m changing the date on this post to bump it back to the top. I don’t know Michelle, who this show will benefit, but I’ve been told by mutual friends that she is a really cool person. Please consider coming out for this.)

Put this one on your calendars… Sunday there will be a party on the Black Diamond patio, a benefit for a woman named Michelle. I don’t know her personally, but I’ve been told that she was hit head-on by a drunk driver and is now in a wheelchair for the time being. The insurance companies involved are fighting, and as a result she hasn’t been paid yet. Things are starting to get tight, and liens are being put on her property and stuff… not a good thing to have happen when you’re in a wheelchair trying to recover from a near-life-ending injury. So the proceeds from this event will help tide her over while the insurance companies fight.

$20 buys you all the beer you can drink until it runs out (they have 4 kegs, I’ve been told) and musical entertainment by Snozberry, Magic Bus, Tru Cuntry Bassturds, and the West Tennessee Wife Swappers.

This should be a FUN event… especially since it’s going to happen on a Sunday night… that means it’ll be heavily attended by the local service industry, who are a lot of fun people to party with. Beale Street is a much better place to hang out on Sunday than it is on Friday or Saturday.

Most likely I’m going to skip brunch… if I start the day at 11 AM like I usually do, I’ll already be on a downhill slide by the time the party starts.

The media and Congress have been scrutinizing World Wrestling Entertainment’s wellness program since the triple murder-suicide of Chris Benoit and his family last month. However, that same wellness program may have since saved a life.

Before the Great American Bash pay-per-view, WWE wrestlers were required to undergo a test in which they ran on a treadmill until their heart rates increased to 150 beats per minute. As a result of that test, it was discovered that wrestler Montel Vontavious Porter (“MVP”), the current U.S. champion on the Smackdown brand, had Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, an abnormal accessory pathway in his heart that could lead to abnormal heart rhythm and increased chance for a heart attack.

MVP has undergone a procedure to eliminate the pathway. He’s been taken off the road until next week, when an exam will determine whether or not the procedure was successful.

More info available here.

Take a look at The Weather Channel’s monthly weather forecast for Memphis. If you thought this week was bad, look what we’ve got coming up next week. Looks like MLGW will be making a fortune as air conditioners run nonstop for at least 10 more days. Although, we have Monday, August 20 to look forward to, when TWC predicts a high of “only” 96 and a 30% chance of rain.

Maybe we should convert to the metric system for some psychological relief. Since I have friends in Romania, I sometimes read their online newspapers. During a heat wave last month, Bucharest had a day with a high of 41C. “That doesn’t sound so bad,” I thought, until I did the math and realized that 41C = 106F.

I also checked the weather for San Diego, where I lived for six months in 2000. The hottest day of the next ten out there will be this coming Monday, when San Diegans will have to endure a high of 80 and a low of 70. As you can see, all over the U.S. we’re suffering from the heat.

The Commercial Appeal has a very good calendar about all the events going on during Dead Elvis Week, with lots of details about each event. Check it out here.

The problems with violence on Beale Street are finally getting some exposure in the media, with two violent attacks receiving coverage this week.

John Elkington, head of the organization that manages the street, proposes closing all the bars on Beale at 3 AM rather than the current 5 AM closing time. I don’t think this will solve the problem at all. What it will do is penalize the owners of the businesses, as well as the service industry workers in the area who get off at 1-2 AM and want and deserve a place to blow off steam for a few hours afterward.

Currently the police roll through the street at about 2 AM and sweep it clean, forcing those hanging out on the street to either go into the bars or go home. After that there is no loitering allowed. Most weekends by 2 AM there is a thuggish, scary-looking crowd on Beale. They don’t spend money, they just hang out – so almost all of them choose to leave rather than go into bars when the cops roll through.

Here’s my proposed solution – keep the bars open until 5 AM so that those who want to come to Beale late at night and party and spend money still have the opportunity to do so. But, for a period of one year, prohibit loitering on Beale after 9 PM Friday and Saturday nights. Sweep the streets at 9 rather than at 2. After that, instead of having security checkpoints at all entrances to the street, have them patrol the street and ask loiterers to go inside a business, because the street is closed. Responsibility to check IDs would fall back to the bars themselves. Having security on the street asking people not to loiter would not only drive criminals off Beale, but it would eliminate panhandling there as well during those hours.

In order to avoid hurting Handy Park – where there are a lot of vendors and outdoor entertainers in the summer – they could block it off with portable fencing and create a gate to check IDs. This has been done before – KIX 106 does it for their Country on Beale concerts on Thursdays, for example.

After a year, the thugs likely will have found a new place to congregate, and Beale could be quietly reopened… no announcement to the media or anything, just revert back to the way it was before, with ID checkpoints at 9 and a police sweep at 2. Let word of mouth, and the fact that tourists never knew it was closed, gradually return outdoor business back to Beale Street.

Just an idea… and yeah I know it’s a pretty drastic one. But I think closing the street at 9 would eliminate the thugs, whereas closing the bars at 3 wouldn’t do a thing to get rid of them.

Handling-Panhandling co-moderator Mike King was interviewed by WMC-TV channel 5 this afternoon about the online forum. I got busy with work and wasn’t able to attend, but I just got off the phone with him and it sounds like it went very well. It will be on at 6:00 tonight. I’ll post a link to it after the story is placed online.