Paul Ryburn's Journal

Dr. Bruce Randolph, the county health officer, said yesterday that the health department received over 70 complaints about businesses violating COVID-19 guidelines this week. Enforcement will be out this weekend. Due to threats received face-to-face and on social media, enforcement officials will be escorted by Memphis police officers or Shelby County deputies. Dr. Randolph said the major things they will be looking for are

• Employees or customers failing to wear their face masks
• Groups failing to maintain 6 feet of distance
• Crowding
• Standing
• Gathering
• Smoking indoors
• Whether the bar is open

If restaurant and bar owners are not sure whether an activity is permissible, Dr. Randolph advised them to read the latest health directive. Inspectors will have a checklist and will give the business a copy of the checklist before they leave. When violations are found, inspectors have the options of issuing a warning, closing the business immediately, or returning the next day to close the business.

Dr. Randolph also discussed the use of tents: If all of the flaps are down, making the space completely enclosed, then it falls under the health directive regulations that apply to indoor spaces. If the flaps are up and air can circulate freely, then the tent is classified as outdoors.

Dr. Randolph pointed out that a fully closed tent is actually a bigger health threat than a permanent, brick-and-mortar indoor space. The reason is that a tent does not have an HVAC system to keep the air circulating.

There were 695 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday in Shelby County. COVID Act Now numbers: 55.6 new cases/day/100K population (25 is considered the danger zone). Reproduction rate is 1.11 (needs to be below 1 for the virus to start dying out). Positivity rate is 13.7% (over 10% indicates insufficient testing, meaning many cases are going unreported).

Whether you are displaying symptoms, have possibly been exposed to someone with the virus, or are just curious whether you have it, testing is available this weekend for free, Saturday and Sunday 8:30 AM-5:30 PM at these locations:

• Poplar Healthcare, 3495 Hacks Cross Rd.
• Former vehicle inspection station, 1720 RKS Commerical Dr. near Lamar/Prescott/I-240

Dr. Randolph was asked if people who have already had COVID-19 should get the vaccine when it becomes available. His recommendation was yes, because it is not currently known how long one has immunity after having the virus.

If we get shut down again – or if we don’t, but you decide to stay indoors – here’s something to help you pass the time:

For a limited time, get 2 months of Kindle Unlimited for free! Enjoy unlimited reading and listening on any device.

— Kindle (@AmazonKindle) December 1, 2020

Very cool site I discovered recently: Google Keen. This is one of the projects they give engineers time and freedom to work on, kind of like the freedom Thomas Edison granted to those who worked in his lab. Keen is kind of like Pinterest, in that you can save items of interest (known as gems in Keen), and the format is very visual. However, the distinction from Pinterest is that Google uses its AI and goes out and finds similar items you may be interested in. You can create your own private or public Keens, and you can subscribe to other people’s public Keens. You can also set up a daily or weekly email digest from your Keens. I can see this becoming a valuable source of creative ideas.

Tom Lee Park construction groundbreaking: Watch on Facebook or YouTube. See the plans for the park here.

Paper & Clay has its grand opening today starting at noon and continuing through tomorrow. It’s in the former Harley-Davidson space at 525 S. Main.

The Memphis Fire Museum at 118 Adams is hosting Breakfast with Santa tomorrow from 8 AM to noon. Kids can get their picture made with Santa in a socially distanced setting, and there will be storytime, holiday movies, and tours of the museum. Cost is $15 per person. There are 8:15, 9:15. and 10:15 seatings for breakfast.

From WKNO: South Main businesses lend Santa a hand

From the CA: How the “stars aligned” to clean up Downtown Memphis during the pandemic

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are TIME’s 2020 Person of the Year.

The second edition of the 2020 Holly Jolly Holiday Celebration returns to Handy Park today 4:30-6:30 PM. Free hot chocolate, the music of the season, and pictures with a socially distanced Santa.

A government panel recommended the Pfizer COVID vaccine yesterday. As soon as the FDA signs off, the first doses will be distributed in days. It will be a few months before the average guy on the street with no complicating factors or high-risk job is able to get the vaccine. I plan on getting it as soon as I am able and I hope you will too.

That’s it for this post. Back tomorrow with more news.

The Dirty Crow Inn posted an update to its Facebook page yesterday:

The Dirty Crow Inn does plan to reopen, but during this Pandemic it makes no sense to do so now. We will open when this all calms down. BUT! In the mean time, we will be selling my food every Sunday starting this Sunday the 13th at the 40 et 8 in West Memphis! Just a 5 minute drive from the original location on Kentucky St. 40 et 8 has Beer & Liquor and now the best wings ever. Live Music and curbside pickup will be available soon. KA-KAH!!!

That’s not a typo – 40 et 8 is the name of the business. To get there:

• Take I-55 (Old Bridge) to West Memphis
• Take the Broadway exit
• Take a left on Legion Rd. at the Crown Inn
• Turn left by the Speedway and 40 et 8 will be in the back

The address is 152 Legion Rd. They will serve Dirty Crow’s recipes 3 to 10 every Sunday.

Good news for those of you who are fans of Ching’s hot wings: The legendary restaurant on Getwell Road has reopened after 8 months.

Useful data map: See the percentage of hospital beds in your county occupied by COVID-19 patients. Currently it’s 20% for Shelby County. Worst number for a regional county: Craighead County, Arkansas, which contains Jonesboro and Arkansas State University, at 67%.

It’s National Lager Day, so pop open a can or bottle of whatever lager floats your fancy. May I recommend the PBR? Or you could go local with a lager celebration at Wiseacre 2/Little Bettie.

Deni Reilly and Kelly English were interviewed on Jennifer Biggs’ food podcast for The Daily Memphian this week. Both think there will be very few indoor dining options in Memphis by January, whether that’s because of health department regulations or voluntary closures.

The Memphis Redbirds have extended their agreement with the St. Louis Cardinals and will remain the Cards’ Triple-A affiliate through at least 2030.

The DM has coverage of the Tom Lee Park groundbreaking ceremony that happened yesterday.

Opinion piece in the CA: Tom Lee Park will bridge the gap of race and class to create one Memphis

From AZCentral.com: Brandon Clarke working to build off “phenomenal rookie campaign” with Memphis Grizzlies

Don’t forget The Peanut Shoppe for your holiday candy and gift needs!

Santa’s elves have been working extra hard for you all these last couple of days! Working late, LATE hours -2am late- on online / walk-in orders to make sure these gifts will be received before #ChristmasDay. Thank you for allowing us to meet your holiday needs during this crazy pic.twitter.com/v0DZGgrjmm

— The Peanut Shoppe (@mempeanutshoppe) December 9, 2020

We lost a loved and valued member of the Downtown family and the Moody Ques BBQ team last week. That’s why I didn’t write Saturday, and why I said “it’s been an unusual weekend” at the top of the blog Sunday.

I’ll try to tune in this afternoon for the COVID-19 task force press conference. If there’s any news that can’t wait, I’ll do a quick post in the 1:00-2:00 hour; otherwise, I’ll be back in the morning with more news.

Doug McGowen, the chief operating officer for the city of Memphis, opened the COVID-19 task force press conference yesterday. He contrasted the current surge with the one that happened back in March at the beginning of the pandemic. Back then, the coronavirus was spreading mainly in urban communities, and people from around the country could be brought in to provide extra assistance. However, now the virus is everywhere, in every county. Therefore, we are largely restricted to our own resources in Shelby County to fight the virus.

Chief McGowen went on to say that people are being called on to serve. Licensed medical workers are needed to provide care, and non-medical workers are needed to make sure medical workers are not doing administrative work when they are needed out in the field. The chief encouraged those interested to go ahead and sign up for the state’s Medical Reserve. Both paid and volunteer positions are available.

Dr. Bruce Randolph, County Health Officer, gave a scary statistic about the first weekend of assurance testing last Saturday and Sunday. Anyone could get a test, symptomatic or asymptomatic, but most of those tested had no idea they had the virus. Yet over 400 of the approximately 2500 tests came back positive, a 16% positivity rate. The virus is running rampant in the community, and until the vaccine is widespread, masking, social distancing, and hand washing are our only tools to fight its spread.

Happy New Year, YOGA! Amy Hutcheson of Downtown Yoga will offer a 6 week beginners series with options for in-studio and virtual training. Dates are January 6-February 10, Wednesdays 6:45-7:45 PM. Two options are available:

• In studio: $120 for the entire series (6 social distanced spots available)
• Virtual: $75 for the entire series

If you miss a class, the recording video will be made available for the 24 hours following.

A Gus’s Fried Chicken restaurant will open next month in Mesa, Arizona, a suburb to the southeast of Phoenix.

From the DM: A new bill would raise drag racing penalties and allow for car seizure. Something needs to be done. Drag racers Downtown have been out of control much of this year.

The Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team got a 94-57 win over Mississippi Valley State yesterday. The Tigers travel to Atlanta this Saturday for a 4 PM neutral-site game vs. Auburn. That game will be carried on the SEC Network.

Today is National Llama Day.

Cheers to our neighbor to the north, Tipton County, for doing the right thing by enacting a mask mandate.

The Tom Lee Park groundbreaking will be livestreamed on Facebook today at 3 PM.

That’s it for today. Back tomorrow with more news.

The Health Department closed 9 restaurants in Shelby County over the weekend due to COVID restriction violation, and two of them were Downtown. The Tin Roof on Beale Street and Brinson’s at 341 Madison were on the list. Dr. Haushalter, head of the Health Department, said that inspectors tend to give warnings if violations are found for an initial inspection, preferring to educate rather than enforce. However, she said, if the violations are egregious and include behaviors like crowding and not enforcing masking, exceptions are made and businesses are immediately shut down. It looks like they are cracking down on smoking indoors too, banned in the most recent health directive.

I have not been in Tin Roof this year, but I’m not surprised they got shut down. They were constantly advertising parties on Facebook like there was no pandemic at all. They weren’t making much of an effort to keep things on the down-low.

Restaurants and bars that are closed must remain closed for 14 days (an incubation period of the virus) and must submit a plan for reopening to the Health Department.

Restaurant owners voiced their concerns about the restrictions yesterday. Tami Montgomery said that her business Dru’s Place has lost about $140,000 this year. She said that forcing her to close at 10 PM rather than midnight has reduced her revenue 30 to 40 percent.

The first pilot to break the sound barrier, Chuck Yeager, has died at age 97.

I’ll watch the COVID-19 task force press conference today, and if there are any major developments I will post an update in the 1:00-2:00 hour. Otherwise I will be back tomorrow with more news.

The Daily Memphian has a roundup of college football bowl projections including the Memphis Tigers. Although the Tigers didn’t live up to last season’s accomplishments, most likely their record is good enough to warrant a Power 5 conference opponent. Forecasts include

• Birmingham Bowl vs. Tennessee or Mississippi State
• Military Bowl vs. Virginia
• Gasparilla Bowl vs. Boston College

The Tigers play their final game against Houston at 11 AM Saturday, televised on the ESPN+ premium streaming package.

Majestic Grille/Cocozza co-owner Deni Reilly responded on Facebook yesterday about Christmas plans for this year:

Happy December Majestic friends! We hope you are all happy & healthy. Thank you to those of you who have been supporting us in our pandemic pop-up, Cocozza American Italian. Your support is helping to ensure we can re-open The Majestic on the other side of the pandemic. Many of you have been asking about Clark’s Christmas Dinner & Brunch with Santa. After much thought and discussion with our team, and in light of the ever changing & seemingly obtuse restrictions being handed down to us by the County, we feel that we cannot execute either of our popular annual Christmas events to the Majestic standards we and you expect of us. While we are incredibly disappointed not to be able to cheer on Cousin Eddie or share a hot cocoa (or mimosa) with Santa this year, we know in our hearts that it is the right thing to do to keep us, our staff, you and our community safe.

For those of you wanting to get in the spirit & show your support, we recommend ordering Cocozza Bulk Dinner platters & watching Clark make a mess of Christmas at home and ordering Cocozza Brunch ToGo (don’t forget the Bloody Mary’s) & enjoying some Christmas cartoons at home with the kids. You can visit www.cocozzamemphis.com to see our menus.

Stay safe this holiday & here is to a Majestic 2021!

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

Patrick & Deni & The Majestic Grille Family

The Health Department closed two T.J. Mulligan’s locations over the weekend for COVID protocol violations. Reports indicate the health department had issues with people walking into the restaurants unmasked and people being allowed to voluntarily put down contact tracing info without being stopped at the door and asked for it. The lesson seems to be (and I’ve been preaching this for months): Have a doorman or host at all times. Yes it’s an additional person on the payroll, but it’s the cost of being open during a pandemic. More from WREG

The County Commission meets this afternoon at 3. Watch the shitshow here. Oh dear God… I just checked Facebook Events and “The Conservative Women of Collierville TN” plan to hold a STAND up for FREEDOM rally at the Commission meeting. They’ll be demonstrating outside the building and broadcasting on Periscope.

President Trump’s attack dog/flying monkey Rudy Giuliani has tested positive for COVID.

Wishing a very, very happy 4th birthday to Perjorie T. Roll… Mondays aren’t normally going-out days for me, but with an important birthday like that, an exception will be made this afternoon. Back tomorrow with more news.

Sorry for taking the day off yesterday. It’s been an unusual weekend.

Let’s start off this post with some yummy news: If you’re a fan of the cheeseburger soup and the chorizo meatloaf at Rizzo’s by Michael Patrick, you can now get it anytime you want. Cordelia’s Market has started carrying Rizzo’s in the grab & go.

This was the first Saturday in December in 17 years when Stumbling Santa didn’t happen. The Flying Saucer has a message about that:

For the last 16 years Flying Saucer has sponsored Stumbling Santa, a holiday celebration that helps collects toys and donations to support Porter-Leath and their goal of providing a meaningful gift to low-income children within our community.
Unfortunately due to Covid restrictions and social responsibility we are not able to have our event this year in it’s normal fashion . But even though we miss out on our night of fun, we need to keep in mind that the kids still need our help. This event is generally responsible for over half of the toys raised every year.
So We are still collecting toys and donations at our Downtown location. If you don’t feel comfortable getting out, please look into our virtual option that are available.
https://secure.qgiv.com/event/202stusan/

From MLK50: A Horn Lake woman warned the Shelby County Health Department about the superspreader potential of Curtis Givens’s party days before it happened.

The NBA has released the first half of the Grizzlies’ schedule.

Congratulations to Alcenia’s owner B.J. Tamayo, who bought the restaurant’s building after renting for 23 years.

Lana from Kooky Canuck posted this recently:

Thank you to all of our amazing loyal customers! Anytime that you dine in or order to go with us during December you will receive one of our holiday red envelopes to win prizes when you come back in January!

Sad to hear of the passing of Memphis in May poster artist George Hunt. I got to know George in the early days of South Main Trolley Night, and he always had a welcoming smile and a kind word. He was 87.

Also passed away recently was David L. Lander, who played Squiggy on the ’70s-’80s sitcom Laverne & Shirley. You can catch Squiggy and the gang on local station 30.2 this afternoon at 2:00 and 2:30.

Here’s James Aycock’s COVID weekly wrap-up thread. Things are getting bad out there.

I’m not going to make my friends in the restaurant industry happy with this opinion, but I think there ought to be a county-wide curfew 8 PM December 31-6 AM January 1. Having restaurants close at 10, if that’s still the regulation at the end of the month, will just cause everyone to go to house parties to ring in the New Year. A curfew would eliminate at least some of those parties. Even in the best of times, that’s a night when people make stupid decisions. (Remember the girl who got her head run over by her baby daddy in a parking garage on New Year’s 2019?) NYE parties need to be nipped in the bud.

Here’s something for my techie friends to have fun with today: Web-based insult generator with JSON output.

There’s a South Main Christmas Pop-Up hosted by Island Community Church today at 5 at 409 S. Main. People who live in the neighborhood are invited to come out and celebrate the holiday.

The New Yorker recently published an article about Hitler’s final days in the bunker. I wonder what about the current times caused the writer to think of that moment in history?

Back tomorrow with more news. Again, apologies for not posting yesterday.

HAVE a Holly Jolly Christmas… it’s the best time of the year… (with the possible exception of BBQ Fest). Come to the newly-renovated Handy Park at B.B.King Blvd. and Beale Street this afternoon from 4:30 to 6:30 for a Downtown Memphis Holly Jolly Holiday Celebration. Santa will be in his socially distanced snowglobe (sigh) for free photos, and you can grab a free hot chocolate and listen to some holiday tunes.

The Memphis Symphony Orchestra will present the 2020 Magic of Memphis Holiday Spectacular Saturday, December 19 at 7:30 at the Cannon Center. Tickets are $20-25 and are now on sale.

Action News 5 has a post on how to get the most out of the virtual St. Jude Marathon happening this week, whether you are a runner or just a fan.

You’re invited to attend the Tom Lee Park Groundbreaking Ceremony for the upcoming renovations Wednesday, December 9 at 3 PM. Mayor Jimbo from Mempho and other dignitaries will be there. Register here

Health Department director Dr. Haushalter said in yesterday’s COVID-19 press conference that the department closed In Love, the club on Winchester that threw the massive party in an outdoor tent the Saturday after Thanksgiving. So that “for the safety of our staff and guests, we’re closing until the 17th” post was a bullshit PR move. They did not voluntarily close.

There will be free city-run COVID testing sites the next three weekends. This weekend’s free testing will be 8:30 AM-5:00 PM Satutday-Sunday at Tiger Lane and at Poplar Healthcare (3495 Hacks Cross). There is no charge and the testing is for those who are symptomatic or asymptomatic.

Dr. H gave information about 303 contact tracing interviews conducted during the month of November to people who had tested positive for the coronavirus.

• 76% of those continued to go to work for at least one day after they were symptomatic
• 40% of those continued social activities such as meeting friends
• 3% continued school activities

So we have people mumbling, “I don’t understand why the bars are still open in the middle of a surge.” THE BARS ARE NOT THE PROBLEM!!! It’s people who know they might be sick and who are going to work anyway! If you have a cough, STAY HOME! If you have 99.4 fever, STAY HOME! Especially those of you who have paid sick days. You are not being an admirable company man or woman by coming to work when you might be ill. You are endangering your co-workers.

Dr. Bruce Randolph, County Health Officer, gave updated guidelines about quarantining. A person is put in quarantine when they have been in recent close contact with someone who has tested positive.

• The old CDC guidelines were to quarantine for 14 days. That is still preferable. BUT –
• Under the new guidelines, you’re only required to quarantine for 10 days without a negative test.
• Under the new guidelines, you can end your quarantine at 7 days if you go get tested at the end of that period and it comes back negative.

Terri Lee Freeman is stepping down as head of the National Civil Rights Museum, a position she has held for six years. She will assume leadership of a museum of African-American history in Baltimore. Her last day will be February 3.

If you run out of gas and need to flag down police officers to transport you to get some, here’s a word of advice: Don’t leave your meth pipe in your vehicle’s center console.

It’s Holiday Market Weekend out at Boxlot in The Edge District.

Wiseacre will release a new beer at both its taprooms at 1 today. It’s called Jean de Lis and is described as an Ice Pick Style Lager. It’s a French-leaning lemon and black tea lager that comes in at 5% ABV.

I’ve been studying the best writers on the Medium writing platform this week, and one of their tools is to insert a quote here and there from a widely respected source – to name a few, Barack Obama, Oprah, Buddha, Lao Tzu, Zig Ziglar. Therefore, I would like to wrap up this post with a quote from Buddha.

“We’ll get you so drunk in our BBQ booth, you’ll have a seizure and die” – Buddha

It just seems wrong to stay home on Bartender Appreciation Day, so I’ll be out after work. Back tomorrow with more news.

I have a suggestion for my photographer friends out there, When I write professionally on Medium, I use free stock photo sites like Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay, Pixy, and Freepik to find photos to enhance my stories. These make them more visually appealing and encourage people to read longer, making me more money.

So yesterday, I was contemplating a story about how, in 2020, I find it far more fulfilling to be a struggling writer than to have a “safe, secure” corporate job in web development. I knew exactly the photo I wanted to illustrate my point. But I couldn’t find it on ANY free stock photo site.

Photographers, if you want to get your name out there, go find someone with a pet rat and photograph it running on its exercise wheel.

Yeah, I know, you probably want to focus on paid gigs, not producing photos for free stock sites, but trust me, this’ll get used HUNDREDS of times. It’ll get your name out there. I would recommend putting it on Unsplash, which has a partnership with Medium, the platform I write for.

The Daily Memphian podcast featuring Tawanda Pirtle has dropped! Jennifer Biggs and Tawanda talk about Biggs’ first-ever steak sandwich from Jack Pirtle’s Chicken, the history of the fast-food chain, and Tawanda’s new gift shop Feelin’ Memphis at 509 S. Main.

The County Commission grilled Dr. Haushalter, Shelby County Health Department Director, about the large party that happened at In Love in Hickory Hill Saturday night. The party crowded many people into an enclosed, heated tent with little to no masking or social distancing. Dr. H says the health directive will be rewritten to address situations like this one. In Love announced yesterday that they will close until the 17th, reminding me of a university athletic department that self-imposes sanctions hoping the NCAA will be satisfied and won’t impose more.

Grizzlies star Ja Morant admitted he was at the party and should have had a mask on. 21-year-olds do stupid shit and have to learn from their mistakes, and being Rookie of the Year does not exempt you from that rule.

From Amazon: Social distancing stick helps you keep a safe distance during the pandemic. Duuuude. Never mind COVID-19, I needed this in 2009.

Couple of restaurant closures: Michael Patrick of Rizzo’s has announced that the restaurant will be closed for lunch through Friday, but apparently this is good news, because he’s going to be back with something his customers will love.

Not such good news: Catherine & Mary’s has had to temporarily close after a staff member tested positive for the ‘rona. They will remain close until all team members have been tested and until they get done thoroughly sanitizing the restaurant.

Action News 5 reports that South Main Santa is collecting donations at 11 area businesses. You can drop off personal care items, toys, and masks to be given to those in need this holiday season – and when you do, you get discounts at participating restaurants and shops. Can’t make it down there but want to help out? Here’s a link where you can donate by PayPal.

The CA has a look at Dr. Bean’s Coffee & Tea Emporium’s new home inside Stock & Belle at 387 S. Main. The shop had been previously located down the street at the now-closed Puck Food Hall at 409 S. Main.

Mighty Lights honored the 293 victims who have lost their lives to violence in Memphis in 2020 last night.

Today is National Green Bean Casserole Day.

Penny Hardaway’s Tigers romped to an 83-54 win over Arkansas State at home last night.

MemphisWeather.net forecast: Rainy and cold, high 45. Rain chance 100%. Well that sounds absolutely terrible, especially with Thursday being my going-out day.

Now that December’s here, I gotta wonder: If we get a few inches of snow, do the people working from home get a snow day? My guess is they don’t. Related question: Is there still $2 Fireball at Bardog when it snows, or was that one of the COVID casulaties?

Turnstyles plays Grind City Brewery tonight at 5:30. Go see the place if you haven’t already. It’s beautiful!

Get a look at Memphis Chess Club without leaving your desk. There will be a Virtual Carryout Concert there noon to 1 that will be broadcast on Facebook Live. Or, if you want to come down and grab some food in person, here’s the menu.

That’s it for today. I probably won’t do a COVID-19 press conference recap this afternoon unless something unexpected develops. Back in the morning with more news.

I was a bad boy yesterday. My plan for after work yesterday was to run to the bank, get a haircut, run down to STIX for their $50-gift-card-for-$25 sale, then come home and work on my professional writing career.

I ran to the bank, got a haircut, went to STIX, then crossed over the parking lot at Second and Gayoso to get back to Main Street… well, hey, there’s the Blind Bear! I suppose it’d be rude for me to walk right by without even stopping in to say hello.

If someone knows of a course entitled “How to Say Hello in Less Than 3 ½ Hours,” let me know.

The University of Memphis men’s basketball team tips off at home tonight, hosting Arkansas State at 7. Those attending tonight’s game will want to note FedExForum changes related to COVID-19.

The Daily Memphian has great coverage of the COVID-19 task force press conference yesterday, so for the most part I will turn you over to them for complete information. Some highlights:

• There was some confusion about parties being hosted in an enclosed tent, as happened at In Love on Winchester Saturday night. A tent is still an “enclosed space” and is not subject to the same rules as outdoor events. Apparently Health Department inspectors onsite didn’t understand this.
• Dr. Haushalter indicated that all restaurants will follow the same rules going forward, whether they are full-service or limited-service. She never directly said it but I got the sense that the tripwire closing ONLY limited-service restaurants AKA bars if 450 new cases/day threshold may not be relevant anymore. Whether that’s a good thing or bad thing  I can’t say.
• By the way, Dr. H’s response was to a Memphis Business Journal reporter who asked, “With hospitalizations up, how is it that bars are allowed to still operate?” If I had an MBJ subscription, I’d consider canceling it due to the tone of that question. I invite that reporter to visit Bardog or Blind Bear sometime. My friends who own bars are doing everything by the rules. Don’t blame them for the surge when the real problem is people who have symptoms but go to work anyway.

Pink Pig Apparel is back online for a limited time. The brand made famous by Shelton Clothiers more than 10 years ago is back for your holiday shopping needs, with men’s polos, baseball caps, and women’s tees.

If you did No-Shave November, you could get a free McRib for posting a photo of your clean-shaven face to social media today.

Although I’m done with web development as a career, I’m still on job email lists. Usually, I just delete the emails without ever clicking into the jobs, but this one sounded interesting: Developer/Programmer/Hacker. Sounds like you’d have to work your ass off but you’d be in on the ground floor of a startup with a great idea and would have potential to rise to Chief Technical Officer. The URL makes it appear the job is with a New Jersey company, but really, in web development during COVID times, nearly every job is remote. If you know someone in IT who would be excited about this opportunity, pass it along.

I want to give a shout-out to Larry, a new stylist at Rachel’s Salon at 10 N. Main yesterday who did a fabulous job cutting my hair while my regular stylist takes some time off. Although he has years of experience, he’s new to the salon and still building up a clientele, so go see him if you need someone new to do your hair. Conversation with him yesterday:

“Now, if we take three inches off, that’s going to hit right at your shoulder blades. Is that where you want it?”

“That’s perfect.”

My mom would roll over in her grave if she heard that conversation. Now that I think about it, Silver who cut my hair 2004-2006 would too.

Visible Music College will host a free virtual event with Christmas classics tonight beginning at 6:30. The college also plans to release an album with the songs performed tonight.

Donald Trump’s vice-president/narcissistic enabler Mike Pence will be in town tomorrow for a coronavirus discussion.

From Local Memphis: The “heart” of the Orpheum, The Mighty Wurlitzer, has returned

The Best Times, a magazine for active mature Mid-Southerners and the old coots who sit at the corner table at Max’s, has an article about the Downtown Memphis Christmas tree.

Seeing a report that Union was closed from Danny Thomas to Riverside this morning at 12:54 AM… I assume it’s back open now, but I wonder what that was about? Anybody know?

There’s a part-time server position open at The Sheraton on North Main across from the Convention Center.

Grizzly Bear Blues: Jaren Jackson Jr.’s absence at the start of the 2020-21 season will allow other young players to develop. Brandon Clarke will have the biggest opportunity to shine.

You know the Trumpster is screwed in his bid to claim election fraud when even Attorney General Bil Barr disagrees.

That’s it for today. Got several articles I’m writing for Medium in the pipeline, so it is extremely unlikely I will go out after work. Back tomorrow with more news.