Paul Ryburn’s Journal

Starting off today’s post with an urgent plea for help. The Mid-South Food Bank needs turkey donations. As of yesterday afternoon, they were 1700 turkeys short. You can drop off a turkey or $15 at 239 S. Dudley through the end of business today.

Thanks to the Flying Saucer for their Beerknurd appreciation party last night. We had a buffet of BBQ pulled pork, slaw, rolls, and cupcakes. (I cleaned my plate by myself but some of my friends had “help” eating their food.) Each Beerknurd also got a free glass of Yazoo Sue. We were told 8 glasses had black dots on the bottom, and those glasses won a prize. I finished my beer, and there was a black dot. The prize was a Memphis Made Brewing Company T-shirt – a very nice prize, but since I already own one I gave it to one of the bartenders. Thanks to the Saucer for a very nice gesture toward its beer club members.

Tonight, by the way, is the “Turkey of the Year” glass night at the Flying Saucer. Buy the glass and see who is 2013′s biggest turkey. Glasses are on sale at 7:00, or earlier if you’re a Master of the Universe with 5 or more plates on the wall.

About 7:55 last night I left the Saucer and walked up the Main Street Mall to my Tuesday poker game at the Blind Bear. I saw two fire chief SUVs in front of Aldo’s Pizza Pies, with a fire truck on standby. Then I noticed that Aldo’s had been evacuated. A car had driven down Main Street and hit a gas main. From what I hear MLGW did an excellent job fixing the damage quickly, allowing Aldo’s to re-open.

The “Slice of the Day” today at Aldo’s is “A Slice of Thanks from Aldo’s,” with house-roasted turkey, stuffing, cranberry, and light mozzarella on giblet gravy. Thanksgiving pizza! Here’s a pic.

Two cameras that can listen for gunshots have been placed in Downtown Memphis, with 10 more coming to other parts of the city soon. The cameras can “hear” gunfire, and swivel and capture an image within 1 second. The cameras were paid for with grant money and no taxpayer dollars were spent on them.

From the Flyer’s Hungry Memphis blog: A new Memphis-based vodka called Roaring Tiger has hit the shelves.

A pop-up gift shop called Metal and Mink is coming to South Main beginning Friday night for South Main Trolley Tour. According to their Facebook page, they sell “Unique handmade gifts, jewelry, home decor and art from local artists. Vintage and antique one of a kind jewelry and accessories including fur and leather.”

The office closes at 3 today. In possibly related news, I will be at happy hour at 4. That’ll do it for now. I don’t take Thanksgiving off from blogging, so there should be a post sometime tomorrow.

This isn’t going to be an award-winning post. I went to Purple Haze this morning about 4:25. It’s considered part of the Beale Street district so it can stay open until 5. I closed down the Flying Saucer, Blind Bear, and Purple Haze tonight.

There will be a farm truck at the corner of Front and Nettleton selling fresh produce from 2 to 5 today. If y’all come out and support the truck will return regularly during the Farmers Market off-season.

Here’s a Dishcrawl blog about their recent secret supper, featuring the cuisine of Brian Michael “Rizzo” Patrick from down South and David Scott Walker from up North.

So yesterday, I started out at Panda’s bar at Bardog as always. This is the conversation I heard from two seats down:

“Our tab at Local was $540 for the four of us. We had 88 Fireballs.”

That’s how us Downtowners do it. Congrats on keepin’ it real in the 38103.

Also at Bardog, I overheard a guy say he bought chicken from Gus’s, then took it to Hooters and had them put their sauce on it. Then he took it home to eat. This is the first time in my life I’ve ever found a reason to go in Downtown Hooters.

Also overheard at Bardog: Slider Inn, Bardog’s sister restaurant, has Frito Pie in a bag. I am calling a cab to Midtown now.

After I left Bardog, I moved on to Blind Bear, where I helped one of the bartenders figure out how to use Siri on her iPhone. “Siri, find me a hooker,” I commanded. It called one of her friends.

The Blind Bear went through 17 cases of PBR in 5 days. Nice to see that people appreciate the Cadillac of beers down here.

All right. Time to enjoy Sunday Fun Day to the fullest, then tomorrow I get in the car and drive to work. Gas prices are a lot like tube tops: I’d like to see them come down. That’s it for now, back tomorrow with another post.

Sesame Street has been a popular kids’ show for over 40 years, but did you know it’s also a show you can turn to for fashion advice? This morning “T” was the letter of the day on Sesame Street. There was a song about a girl wearing a tam-o-shanter and a TUBE TOP!!!!!!! I am so proud of the show for sending the proper message to the next generation. Hopefully lots of moms were watching the show with their kids too!

Mark the date on your calendar: The House of Grace Christmas party will be Sunday, December 8 at Double J Smokehouse and Saloon. The House of Grace is a home for battered women and their children. Featured entertainment will include Lance Strode, “The Piano Man” Gunnar Sansom, Nancy Apple, RT Scott, Jack Rowell, Nick Garrison, Bradley Riales, Chris Scott, Delta Joe Sanders, and special guest Keith Sykes. There will be a silent auction from 2 to 9 PM. There will be no cover charged, but guests are asked to bring an unwrapped toy, women’s clothing, or cash donation for House of Grace.

Don’t forget that there’s a tree-lighting party in AutoZone Park’s “Rockeyfeller Center” plaza this afternoon. It will get started about 4:30. The first 50 kids will receive a special “illuminating” gift. There will also be free face painting, hot chocolate, and donuts. Free donuts? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up. They are advertising “special guest appearances” for the lighting as well.

If you’re a regular at either Max’s Sports Bar or the Green Beetle, stop by the bar of your choice to sign up for the Max’s vs. Beetle charity bowling challenge at Billy Hardwick’s All-Star Lanes Friday, December 6. Funds raised will benefit Habitat for Hope.

The River Inn on Mud Island has re-opened its upper-level terrace with changes in place to let it operate year-round. Folding windows will protect guests from heat, cold, and precipitation. The new menu is centered around plates that can be shared, and the terrace also has its own custom cocktail menu.

Speaking of winterized patios, Aldo’s Pizza Pies is winterizing its patio today to allow for seating during the cold months. It will be enclosed by tonight and heated by next week.

The ice skating rink at the Memphis Zoo opens to the public for the 2013-14 winter season tomorrow.

Alert for out-of-town Memphis Grizzlies fans: You can catch your team on ESPN tonight at 7. It’s a home game against the San Antonio Spurs.

That’ll do it for today’s lunchtime post. A few more hours at work and then a very cold weekend ahead. I guess it will be a few months before we’ll see Sesame Street’s fashion tip put to use.

I’ve heard about several job openings today, so I wanted to post them:

Director – Memphis Talent Dividend and Graduate Memphis

Operations Coordinator at Leadership Memphis

New Memphis Institute is hiring for two positions: Marketing & Communications Director and Program & Events Coordinator

In observance of Downtown Dining Week, Tamp & Tap’s weekly trivia night this evening will be all questions about food and drink. It’s hosted by Kevin Cerrito and start time is 7 PM.

There’s a Groupon for American Apparel going on right now. The Downtown AA store is at South Main and G.E. Patterson. You can get half-off on $40 or $80 worth of in-store or online purchases.

The Grizzlies play a road game at Golden State at 9:30 tonight. Tony Allen is suspended for this game for kicking Chris Paul in the face Monday in Los Angeles. Quincy Pondexter will most likely start in his place.

That’s it for now. After work I’ll go Duck hunting Downtown, then later tonight I’ll find a bar to watch the game.

I hope you weren’t expecting a well-written, organized post this morning, because you’re not going to get one. You  can declare today Suit and Tie Day if you want, Mr. Mayor, but it’s my birthday and I’m declaring today PBR Hoodie and Shorts Day.

I do have one topic I want to discuss. I couldn’t care less about the Justin Timberlake concert Downtown tonight except for one thing: The people-watching will be exquisite. I remember the last time JT played the FedExForum, and as usual I was hanging out at the Flying Saucer. That bar sometimes gets called “The Flying Sausage” because the male-female ratio is often not very good – about 80% male some nights. Not on JT night though: The crowd was about 80% female that night. The window seats at the Flying Saucer are going to be prime real estate from about 3 to 8 PM today.

Where else to go for people-watching?

- Bleu, which is right across from the FedExForum and which is rolling out a line of JT-themed drinks tonight.

- The second-floor patio of Alfred’s

- The patio of the Silly Goose

- Any patio on Main Street. The closer to the Forum the better obviously.

Traffic and parking downtown will be cray cray (wow, that’s the first opportunity I’ve had this month to use the term “cray cray”) so allow extra time. Pro tip if you don’t want to deal with parking near the Forum: Double J Saloon on G.E. Patterson will have their limo shuttling people to and from the concert, so park for free in South Main, pre-game at the J, and catch a ride.

All right that’s all I’ve got. Recovering from the effects of multiple shots. Thanks everyone who posted, tweeted, and texted wishing me a happy birthday. It wouldn’t be a happy one without so many wonderful friends!