The Blue Monkey is selling 12-ounce cans of local beer for only $3.50 all day Sundays and Mondays.
The Saucer will have true crime trivia Tuesday, October 28 at 7 PM.
YogaSix Downtown closes its doors for good Wednesday. They’ll say goodbye with community classes the last three days.
Lenny’s Day is Wednesday. Get any 7½-inch sub for $2.99 with drink purchase. Win free subs for a year. Hourly giveaways. Wednesday is also Rusev Day and NightHawk’s birthday.
AutoZone is hiring a manager for their digital asset program.
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RIP Ace Frehley, original lead guitarist of KISS. Rock on, Spaceman.
Severe weather is expected to roll through Memphis in the early evening hours Saturday. Damaging wind gusts are said to be a threat in the storm. Behind the storm, cooler temps are expected – highs around 70, lows around 50. Yikes, I only have a light windbreaker jacket. And, of course, shorts.
Today is Edge Day. I recommend you celebrate at Slim & Husky’s, Hard Times Deli, or one of the other great restaurants in The Edge. Bonus points if you drive a Ford Edge SUV out there.
The Grizzlies have their final preseason game at the Miami Heat tonight at 7 Central. TV: FanDuel Sports
The Union Mission received and handed out a large donation of Colgate Hum electric toothbrushes yesterday. They came in containers that made them look like giant Old Spice deodorant sticks.
That concludes your Frupdate. Back tomorrow with more news.
I gratefully accept tips: Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn (8113 if it asks for digits)
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The Neon Mooners’ outdoor ’90s country show, scheduled for this Saturday at Slider Inn Downtown, has been rescheduled for October 25 due to predicted severe weather.
Want to have ducks as co-workers? Chez Philippe, the French restaurant in the Peabody Hotel, is hiring a fine dining manager. Just think… you could work there for a few years, then put the ducks down as references when you’re ready to move on to the next gig.
The CA has 5 Memphis burgers you must try… and 2 of them are on G.E. Patterson Avenue. I’m sure you won’t be surprised to read that one of them is the Soul Burger at Earnestine & Hazel’s. The unpretentious but delicious burger at Renee’s Sandwich Shop is the other.
I stayed at the Union Mission last night… and in addition to the shower, meal, and sleep, I got a new pair of shoes. I wear the same size as one of the pastors there and he keeps an eye out for me. Elastic shoelaces are the best.
Back tomorrow with a Frupdate.
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Downtown Dining Week 2025 has been announced, and it’s not far off – November 3-9. Participating restaurants in DDW create multi-course fixed-price menus to offer for the week. These menus are often a tremendous value and serve as an intro to the restaurant for first-timers. It’s a chance for restaurants to win customers over, turning them into regulars.
Many of the restaurants haven’t posted their DDW menus yet, so I recommend you bookmark the main page and check back. When we get down to the week before, I’ll do a Paul’s Picks list of the best deals.
If there’s a restaurant you KNOW you’re going to want to eat at during DDW, go ahead and make reservations NOW. Don’t wait for them to publish their menu. Especially if you want a prime reservation time of 6:30, 7:00, 7:30, or 8:00.
But, please don’t be a poo-head or a dingus who makes reservations they aren’t sure they’re gonna keep. This deprives the restaurant of revenue and fellow diners of a delicious experience.
Choose901 has a list of where to get free meals in Memphis – churches, soup kitchens, meal boxes and such. Might want to bookmark this page on your phone so you have this info handy to provide to those in need.
I’ve been working from the mezzanine of the Memphis Chess Club lately. Never been up there? Let me show you what it looks like.
Pretty cool, huh? It’s quieter than downstairs and there’s considerably less glare on my laptop screen.
Video: Fishing for white bass in the Mississippi River at Downtown Memphis
People have been using an app called Ghost Tube to attempt to detect and communicate with the spirits that are said to haunt Earnestine & Hazel’s. I installed it today and will play around with it this weekend. I’ll let you know if I discover anything noteworthy.
Back tomorrow with more news.
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Let’s have a look at this week’s college football games of interest.
Today
Arkansas State at South Alabama, 6:30 PM, ESPN2
Saturday
10 LSU at 17 Vanderbilt, 11:00 AM, ABC
4 Texas A&M at Arkansas, 2:30 PM, ESPN
5 Ole Miss at 9 Georgia, 2:30 PM, ABC
22 Memphis at UAB, 3:00 PM, ESPN2
Mississippi State at Florida, 3:15 PM, SEC Network
11 Tennessee at 6 Alabama, 6:30 PM, ABC
20 USC at 13 Notre Dame, 6::30 PM, NBC
Florida Atlantic at 19 South Florida, 6:30 PM, ESPNU
16 Missouri at Auburn, 6:45 PM, SEC Network
23 Utah at 15 BYU, 7:00 PM, FOX
South Florida is the team all Memphians need to cheer to lose Saturday. The Bulls stand in the way of our Memphis Tigers being the top-ranked Group of Five school and earning a berth to the CFP.
Soul & Spirits Brewing has its 4th anniversary party Saturday 12 to 8. Exclusive limited glassware, Smoke & Toast food truck, and the release of the brewery’s first-ever bottled beer, a Belgian Dark.
Memphis’ best beer festival, Cooper-Young Beerfest, is Saturday. If you’re more interested in learning about the beer than getting your photo in the society pages, this is the beer festival for you.
Get your first look at the Memphis Tigers men’s and women’s basketball teams at Ballin’ on Beale Thursday night 6 to 8. Free admission. Performances by the pom and cheer squads.
Bring the kids to Boo at the Ballpark at AutoZone Park Saturday from noon to 4. Trick-or-treating. pumpkin decorating, costume contests, hayrides, a dance party, Kids’ Zone. Free. First 1000 kids get a jack-o-lantern trick-or-treating bag.
Author Lorraine Gibson will sign her book Elvis: The King of Fashion Saturday 4-6 at Lansky at the Peabody.
It’s National Dessert Day. The hot fudge pie at Westy’s is my recommendation to celebrate.
it’s also national lowercase day.
I’ll agree with other Earnestine & Hazel’s customers that Allison’s Soul Burgers taste like the ones Russell George used to make. She works tonight 5-midnight or later. Last night so many people ordered burgers that she ran out.
Applying for gig-economy work today. Wish me luck. If I land the gig I’ll say more about it. Back tomorrow with more news.
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This ABC 24 story about National Guard troops being spotted on Mud Island contains a couple of important quotes from State Rep. Antonio Parkinson about their deployment here.
About 150 National Guard troops are being deployed here. They will work in 3 eight-hour shifts with no more than 50 working at any one time.
A typical time frame for this type of deployment is 60 to 90 days.
So no, there are not “seven thousand” troops on the way here and our city is not being “occupied.”
It’s about 11 AM as I type this and I’ve already seen the Guard twice today. A group of five of them peered into Bardog’s window as their MPD guide explained why there was a hearse parked outside. (Wouldn’t it be funny if one of them won the hearse?) Then as I walked to the Chess Club I saw a different cop leading two Guardsmen down the Main Street Mall.
River Arts Fest comes to Downtown Memphis this weekend. It will feature an artists’ market with more than 100 vendors. Great place to pick up some conversation pieces for your home or do some early Christmas shopping. Live music and theatrical performances. This festival is also known for its outstanding food.
I wonder how much sales of chicken fries (Looks like fries but it’s CHICKEN!!!!!) have dropped at festivals and carnivals since Burger King put them on the menu. They’re no longer scarce.
Memphis Tigers football moved up to 22nd in the AP and 20th in the coaches’ poll this week.
Renasant Convention Center – please update your upcoming events page.
Friends of mine recently went to the Seafood Shack in Marion and loved the crab boil. Add that to your list of places that’s worth a drive across the river.
Probably gonna stay out of the Union Mission every night this week except Thursday. I’m getting desperately short on money and those $6/night admission charges add up. Why am I making Thursday the exception? Because it’ll be the third one of the month, the night that a church brings Commissary BBQ sandwiches.
Back tomorrow with more news.
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The National Guard is Downtown. Yesterday about 8:30 in the morning an MPD Patrolman II led 7 Guardsmen past Court Square. The Guardsmen were friendly and thanked passersby for their welcomes to Memphis.
Yesterday while out on my morning walk, I paid my first visit to Farm Market Co-op at South Main and Pontotoc. They carry most items you’d find in the grocery store, but environmentally friendly versions. For example, they have eco-friendly laundry detergent. They have snacks like fruit jerky, and a nice selection of salsas and seasonings. Some clothing items, mostly for babies. Fresh produce. Refrigerated products. Of course they have tofu.
Farm Market Co-op is family-owned and a sign in the store says their farm is in Olive Branch. Neat little shop. Check it out if you haven’t already.
It’s Pulled Pork Day. Celebrate by pigging out at Central BBQ.
Monday is Columbus Day. Government offices and banks will be closed.
Back tomorrow.
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Save the date! The State of Downtown will be delivered Wednesday, October 22 at the Halloran Centre. 3:00-3:30 check-in. The program will start at 3:30 with Chandell Ryan who runs DMC and Tracey Hadden Loe, fellow, Brookings Institution. Reception to follow. Register
Banana Ball, stunt/exhibition baseball as popularized by the Savannah Bananas, is coming to Memphis Saturday, March 7.
Public input is being sought on plans for the upcoming renovation of the Cossitt Library’s west wing. Come by the library between 10 and 1 Saturday and share your ideas.
There’s a penthouse unit in the Shrine Building for sale. 3 BR, 3.5 BA. $1.1 mil.
The South City redevelopment, replacing the Foote Homes housing project at Danny Thomas and Mississippi, is complete.
Kids can make their own pumpkin hats at the cafe in Cordelia’s Market Saturday from 11 to 1.
Back sometime this weekend with more news.
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Second Wednesdays of the month in even-numbered months are the best days to be a guest at the Memphis Union Mission. On those days Mosaic Church comes out and brings dinner. Last night they served meatball subs with marinara and cheesy bread, corn on the cob, potato chips and spinach dip, and a brownie. Delicious. Thank you Mosaic!
I’ve already heard people say they will be staying away from the bars this weekend because they’re afraid of the federal task force saturating Memphis roads. I guess that’s a good thing because it makes our streets safer, but it’s also a bad thing because it costs great local businesses money. If you drive this weekend, don’t exceed the speed limit. I’ve heard of the task force handing out tickets for as little as seven over. Come to a complete stop at red lights and stop signs. If you drink, designate a driver or use a rideshare service.
State Representative Justin Pearson will run for Steve Cohen’s seat in Congress next year. This is going to be a tough choice. I’m going to feel like I’m betraying a friend if I don’t vote for Steve; he’s been everything I wanted in a congressman for the past two decades. On the other hand, I feel like Rep. Pearson is the future of Memphis and his time is now. In a state full of shit birds like Brent Taylor and Marsha Marsha Marsha, it’s an embarrassment of riches to have two such intelligent and highly qualified people who want to represent the ninth district.
WNBA players get 9.3% of league revenue, while their male counterparts in the NBA get a 50-50 split. I’m with league star Napheesa Collier – commissioner Cathy Englebert needs to resign.
There will be a Fall Market 11-5 this Saturday at Slider Inn Downtown. It will feature a build-your-own bouquet bar, a pumpkin decorating station, college football on the TV screens, fall cocktails, food trucks, and local vendors
Spark n Seal
Maddie Belle’s Dog Bakery
Sure Dew
Thistle & Bee
Fall’s Bowtique
Lumiara Beauty
Tapestry Candle Studio
Indi Jean Collective
901 Waistbeads
Slider Inn is hiring managers, bartenders, and servers – send resumes to sliderinndowntown@gmail.com.
The Flyway and Memphis Made breweries are teaming up to present Edgetoberfest 11-10 Saturday, featuring
Live music rotating through both taprooms
Local vendors
Food trucks in The Ravine
Restaurant specials at Flyway
Collaboration beers between the two breweries, exclusive to their taprooms
I need a legal opinion: let’s say I were to use ChatGPT to make an image of Bozo the Clown in a Tennessee Vols outfit and posted it on this blog. Could I get sued for copyright violation? Is parody a fair use of the logo?
Back tomorrow with a Frupdate.
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I don’t write much on Medium anymore, but I’m still a subscriber and read other writers‘ articles. A lot of the financial writers on Medium think that we’re headed for economic collapse, the equivalent of a heart attack in a human being. Today I read that the price of gold is up 50% since the beginning of this year. Also bitcoin set a recent high of $125,000. Both of those are signs that investors have little faith in the current state of the US stock market and they’re starting to head for the exits.
PREDICTION: S&P 500 down 14%, Nasdaq down 18% between today and Halloween… and that’s just the beginning.
Due to inclement weather, the Memphis Medical District Collaborative’s Taste of the District has been postponed until Tuesday, October 14. Tickets to the previous date will be honored.
Max’s Sports Bar’s patio is officially OPEN! Come check out the expanded seating.
Clothing boutique Muse Inspired Fashions has moved into the former Downtown Yoga space at 515 S. Main.
Today is National Salmon Day. Flying Fish would be a good place to celebrate.
I have a project to work on, so I’m gonna cut today’s post short. If the project bears fruit I will say more about it at a later date. Back tomorrow with more news.
I gratefully accept tips: Venmo: @Paul-Ryburn (8113 if it asks for digits)
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