Category: Uncategorized

I finally made it to Westy’s for lunch today after my favorite blogger/MILF wrote several times about how good their plate lunches are. She was right! Normally I don’t expect much from bars, but this was one of the best plate lunches I’ve had Downtown, on par with Blue Plate Cafe and The Little Tea Shop. Food was delicious, didn’t even need salt and pepper, and just the right amount.

You can check out their blue plate specials here. They have meat-and-two, meat-and-three, and a veggie plate. Westy’s is at the corner of Main and Jackson and is probably most famous for its Hot Fudge Pie, a menu carryover from the building’s former life as The North End.

While I was there I discovered something else: They have Wi-Fi! Whenever I go to a restaurant or bar I pull my cell phone out to see if there are any wireless networks in range… and it found an unsecured network named “westys” and jumped right on. Hmmm… they have Wi-Fi and they have beer… Westy’s may be seeing more of me in the future.

In other news about my favorite blogger/MILF, there’s a dirty old man at her work who keeps staring at her boobs. I’m jealous of the dirty old man.

I’ve moved on to Cafe Francisco. The owner, Julie, told me she wore a tube top the other day and people told her, “Paul Ryburn would be happy.” Heh.

On the agenda this afternoon: I’m trying to develop a content management system, a system that would allow people to create and edit web pages online without knowing any HTML. There are plenty of CMSs out there already, but I thought it would be kinda cool to create one from scratch, just to get the experience. Besides, it would be a neat feature to offer my web consulting customers. Think I’ll call it ProfPR-CMS. I plan to develop two versions of it, a PHP one and a .NET one.

Downtown temp has dropped to 65 according to WeatherBug. Happy about the cool weather, but all right, that’s enough. Don’t drop into the 50s. I’m not ready to stop wearing shorts yet.

All right, time to get some work done.

According to the WeatherBug software on my computer, it’s 67 Downtown right now.

I want to be outside… think I may pack up the laptop and walk up to the Pinch for lunch. My favorite blogger/MILF has mentioned several times that Westy’s has great plate lunches… then I can walk down the street to Cafe Francisco and hop on their Wi-Fi and work on my programming projects all afternoon.

Four days and counting ’til my favorite festival of the year, Cooper-Young. Just checked the weather forecast… high 77, low 56. PERFECT. Actually I prefer highs in the 80s for Cooper-Young because you get more tube tops when it’s warmer. I’ll take 77 though.

Been debating whether or not to ride my bike to the fest… I’m now thinking nah, I’ll drive. If I stay in the neighborhood after the festival ends at 7 and drink and party, I’ll take a cab home and come back Sunday or Monday to get the car. Since I do consulting from home, it’s not a big deal to be car-less for a day or two.

I probably need to buy some new sandals before the fest though… I tend to view Cooper-Young as an all-day event, getting there about 10 in the morning and wandering around and talking to people until the thing shuts down at 7 PM. I’m not sure the sandals I bought on sale for $7.99 at Payless two years ago have nine hours of constant wear left in them.

In other news – ran across this software that looks kinda cool:

If you’re running out of space on your iPod or other MP3 player, ShrinkMyTunes will shrink your MP3s to approximately a quarter of their original size, allowing you to fit 3-4 times more music on your player. The bad news is, it’s not free – it’ll cost ya 40 bucks for the software. Still, though, if you’re running out of space on your MP3 player and upgrading to a bigger one isn’t currently within your budget, this could be an option.

Or you could just buy the 160 GB iPod Classic and never, ever run out of space… that thing has more storage than my computer’s hard drive!

Dammit… I forgot to set my DVR to record the mayoral debate last night! Of course, it was Pint Nite so I wasn’t home. I wanted to show my support to the Saucer for keeping the Pint Nite price $2.50… as a matter of fact, I showed my support 10 times last night. Anyway, early voting starts Friday and I’m still undecided whether to go for Morris or Chumney. I bet all the mayoral candidates will be working the Cooper-Young Festival and handing out stickers. I think I’ll print an “Anybody But Willie” sticker and wear it.

So today’s the 6th anniversary of 9/11. It’s also the 7th anniversary of 9/11, and the 8th anniversary of 9/11, and the 2784th anniversary of 9/11, but you know what I mean. The 6th anniversary of THE 9/11. It’s a day to honor firefighters, paramedics and all the other people who put their lives in danger to keep us safe. Since I don’t have a personal connection to the 9/11 attacks, I’ll mention a different date – 10/6. That was the morning that a church and a building in Court Square burned, and the embers that resulted could have sent half of Downtown up in flames had the Memphis Fire Department not done such a diligent job with their “ember patrol.” MFD deserves all the thanks and praise we can give them, so say “thank you” to a firefighter if you see one today.

I have it on good authority that a Downtown bar is considering getting NTN Trivia. The little blue crack boxes may be back soon! Currently the only place that has NTN is TJ Mulligan’s, but that’s too far to walk. I don’t want to name the place yet, but trust me, it’s a place where Downtowners would (and already do) feel very comfortable. Old Sleep Out’s regulars – e-mail me and I’ll tell you who it is privately. I could use a little help convincing the bar’s management that NTN is a good idea.

Ah, how I miss Sundays at Sleep Out’s, kicking Skippy’s ass at trivia game after game… and then occasionally, he’d get lucky and get a game with all opera questions or something, and he’d win one and cackle about it for days.

Looks like the Sunday brunch crew is going to adopt a “two-and-two” policy for a while, since there are now two bars that serve brunch (Majestic and Dan McGuinness) that we hold in equal esteem. So the plan is to do two weeks at one, then two weeks at the other. We’ve been at the Majestic for the past two, so this Sunday and next it will be McGuinness, then back at Majestic on the 30th and October 7. We’ll probably continue the two-and-two plan until the downtown Blue Monkey reopens.

Coming soon… info about an upcoming party where you can gain exposure to the arts, and enjoy free food and booze! Also, the drinking game I mentioned about one of the other local bloggers.

There was a story in the Commercial Appeal this morning that illustrates the mentality of people who live in the eastern ‘burbs.

A man who lives in Collierville wants to silence the whistles of trains as they roll through the city. There are “W” signs at various points on the tracks, and at those points the engineer is supposed to blow the train’s whistle as a warning signal to pedestrians and vehicles that may be nearby. The Collierville citizen mentioned in the article feels that the warning whistles are an inconvenience to neighborhood residents.

Wonder how Brainy would feel about all this. Remember Brainy? I met him at BBQ Fest. Here’s a picture of Brainy.

Brainy runs a one-person campaign – or, really, a one-brain campaign – for train safety. He runs a website called BrainysWorld.com where you can play various games to learn that it’s dumb to try and beat a train across the tracks. Here are a few more pics of Brainy:

(Hmmm… judging from the Paradiso picture above, it looks like Brainy goes for the jail-bait. Better be careful around those underage girls, Brainy… as my friend Josh says, “16’ll get you 20.”)

If Collierville residents get their wish and silence the train whistles, we better rush Brainy out there to work those tracks, because he’ll be the only thing out there looking out for the safety of kids and motorists in the area. Apparently in C-ville people’s safety is not as important as keeping property values high.

Well, I didn’t make it to the Giant Bear show at Hi-Tone tonight… I realized that traffic would be a mess as the Southern Heritage Classic crowd makes the transit from Midtown to Downtown, and I didn’t want to get caught up in it. As I mentioned in my earlier post, Giant Bear is one of the most interesting bands I’ve seen in a while, describing themselves as “orchestral funkabilly,” with a banjo, lap steel guitar, and cello among the instruments.

Wednesday evening, though, Downtowners have another chance to hear Giant Bear, and this time they don’t even have to drive. The band will play “Bands, Beer and Bums: The Court Square Concert Series” from 5:30 to 8:30 Wednesday. With the weather finally cooling off a little (the Weather Channel is currently predicting a high of 83 for Wednesday), this should make for good times in the park.

And if you missed Charlie Wood at “Bands, Beer and Bums” last week, you have another opportunity to catch him too. He’ll play the Madison Hotel rooftop party this Thursday from 6 to 10 PM. Again, with a predicted high of 83 and with appetizers available from Grill 83 downstairs, this sounds like a perfect mid-September outdoor event.

I received notification today that Circa will no longer be open for lunch. Chef Bragg has instead chosen to focus on his executive catering and private dining services, which have grown considerably since the restaurant opened earlier in the summer. The restaurant will still be offering its customers a wonderful fine-dining experience at dinner.

I’ll miss it as a lunch option, but this sounds like a good thing overall for Circa – a new business finding the niche where it fits in the best.

This time I have an update directly from one of the people involved with re-opening Raiford’s:

“Hi Paul,

Raiford’s is coming back with Raiford himself. The 40’s, the music, the lights, Paula, the limo and RAIFORD spinning the tunes!! So pass the word. We go for our beer license on Sept 19th and could really use the support of people in the area as well as those that partied there. Hopefully the club will be re-opened the last weekend in September. Stop by if you see us working there to sign our petition of support. Thanks!”

This coming Wednesday Stella Artois will be the featured beer for “buy the beer, keep the glass” night at the Flying Saucer. Normally I don’t do “keep the glass” night except for Elvis Night, John Lennon Night and other special occasions, but Stella is one of the few brewery glasses worth having. Pics above of my 4-set of Stella glassware, acquired through previous Stella “keep the glass” nights:

Stella costs $5.50 a pint, which normally I consider a bit expensive, but when you throw in a free glass it’s well worth it.

Yeah I know this is a Midtown rather than a Downtown event, but I saw a flyer and wanted to post it. It’s a benefit concert for “Papa” Don McMinn, held at Neil’s tomorrow, Sunday, September 9, 1-6 PM. Details below – click the flyer to see the image in a larger size.

Art on Tap took place last night at the Dixon, and once again it proved to be one of my favorite parties of the year. Otto, Chad, the Nuh-Uh Girl and I met at the Saucer at 5:30 and walked down the street and found a cab and rode out there. Here are some pics:

The Bluff City Brewers were there, serving up their homebrew.

Otto, Chad, and the Nuh-Uh Girl at the Bluff City Brewers’ table.

Random crowd shot in the Garden.

Random crowd shot looking toward the gallery buildings.

Blue Coast Burrito was one of the food sponsors. So, you’d think by their name, that they’d be serving, maybe… burritos? Which is what they served last year. But no, this year, they served chips and salsa. You’ve got to be kidding me – I spent $35 for chips and salsa? Thumbs down to Blue Coast for doing a half-assed job, and thumbs down to the Dixon for letting them get away with it. Hopefully the Dixon can find a different food sponsor for Art on Tap ’08 who is willing to put in more of an effort.

This was the line for another food vendor, Jimmy’s Pizza and Dogs. Their deep-dish pizza looked tasty, but I wasn’t about to wait in a 20-minute line for one piece of it. That’s valuable beer-drinking time wasted! I also want to commend Elfo’s on serving up some excellent food – they had bruschetta and a ravioli salad that was really tasty.

This guy served up my favorite of all the homebrews, an apple cherry cider.

A place card for one of the home-brewed beers, Belgium Blonde. It was very good. Personally, though, I prefer Romanian blondes.

How could I not take a picture of a beverage named “Hard Creamer?” It’s strawberry daiquiri in a bottle, and it actually wasn’t too bad. People seemed to be amused by the fact that I was drinking a pink drink at a beer festival, though.

Fellow blogger Ptolemy Kat (aka Semi-Charmed Kat, East Bumblefuck Kat) with O-Boy and Cut (“Duchess Cut” for those who live and breathe Ptolemy 24/7).

Spent a good bit of time talking with Kat and her group of friends – “The List,” as they call themselves. I had expected them to annoy the living piss out of me, based on the fact that they gave themselves a nickname like “The List” and that they chase RSVP Magazine photographers around events like these. But actually, they turned out to be a lot of fun to hang out with. One member of the group kept trying to unbutton my shirt, explaining that she liked buttons. Otto, who had a T-shirt on, commented, “I don’t have any buttons, but I’ve got a zipper!”

Anyway, Cut/Duchess Cut told me about an upcoming party her Ptolemy crew is planning, and Downtowners, listen up, this one actually sounds worth going to. It’s going to be at Earnestine & Hazel’s Saturday, September 29. I got differing figures on the ticket price but it sounds like tickets will be in the $30-35 range, and you get all-you-can drink beer, Jello shots, and test tube shots. Possibly other beverages as well. Yeah that sounds expensive, but $30-35 is really about what the average Downtowner would spend at a bar Saturday night anyway, and it’s Earnestine & Hazel’s, a joint with tons of soul, an awesome jukebox, and the ever-present smell of Soul Burgers. Ptolemy will never convince me to go to one of their stuffed-shirt parties at the University Club (“U-Club” if you live and breathe Ptolemy 24/7), but for E&H, hell yeah, I’m in!

And besides, like I said, Kat and her crew proved to be a lot of fun, so even if I can’t convince any other Downtowners to join me, I know I’ll still have a good time. But I’d like to suggest to Downtowners that we show up and show Ptolemy how the professionals do it at an all-you-can-drink event. They won’t know what hit ’em!

They said they’d e-mail me more details on the party, and I’ll post ’em when they do. Don’t know what I’ll wear that evening, but I’ll be sure to pick a shirt that has buttons.

Anyway, back to the Art on Tap event… other than Blue Coast, my only other gripe was with one of the beer distributors. There’s a particular distributor who hires Beer Goddesses who have the night off to serve beer. But, this year, all the Beer Goddesses were from the East Bumblefuck Saucer!!! WTF? Why wasn’t the Downtown Saucer – the real Saucer – represented?

Some people were disappointed that the Sallymacs played inside, but it was raining almost up until 6:00, and for all the event planners knew it could have kept raining past the start time. They really had no choice but to move the band.

I will say that it would help matters out if the Dixon would rent a few port-a-potties for Art on Tap ’08 – the men’s bathroom, a four-holer, simply wasn’t cutting it for a crowd that size and lines got quite long. No idea how many the women’s seats but I imagine the problem was even worse for them. At 9:00, right as we were about to grab a taxi, Chad had to make a pit stop, and headed for the Dixon’s facilities. “Dude, it’s pitch-black outside,” I told him. “Why stand in line for 10 minutes? The bushes are right there! No one’s going to see you.” He opted to stand in line though. Everything worked out in the end, as the cab that had driven us out there pulled up right as we walked out to the Dixon parking lot.

We finished the evening with a couple of beers at the Downtown Saucer, and another great evening came to an end. Thanks to the Dixon for a fabulous event, and to all the beer distributors who participated.

7 days ’til Cooper-Young Fest!