Tuesday update #2

Soggy Tuesday outside. The post-tropical remnants of Hurricane Irma are passing through and one bar is having a party tonight to celebrate. There will be a Hurricane Watch Party all night at Max’s Sports Bar (opens 4:30). It’s not really a hurricane any more and hasn’t been for two days, but if Bjarni wants to pretend it is and pour $3.50 Hurricane and Tornado drink specials, I say we let him.

Game 1 of the PCL Championship Series, scheduled for tonight at AutoZone Park, has been postponed due to weather. Game 1 will be at 7:05 PM tomorrow, and Game 2 at 12:05 PM Thursday. Tickets for tonight’s game are automatically good for the Thursday game (901-721-6000 if you want to move a Tuesday ticket to Wednesday). For both games, the special buffet ticket promotion is still on. $10 gets you a ticket, hot dog, Coke, and hat for Wednesday’s game. $5 gets you the same on Thursday.

This Saturday is the annual Cooper-Young Fest, a massive block party centered at the intersection of Cooper and Young and extending for half a mile. Over 400 vendors, food, beer, live music on several stages. Of course, the restaurants and bars on the festival route will be having specials and live music as well. If you are new to town, you must see this spectacle at least once.

Cooper-Young Fest has gotten so big that it can be a bit overwhelming. However, I’d like to recommend a festival nearby, Cooper-York Fest, in the Memphis Made Brewing Co. parking lot and taproom at the corner of Cooper and York. Come by for a cold beer and live bands all day starting at 11:30. Arepa 901, Hot N Heavy Dogs, Sushi Jimmi and MEMPopS will be on site selling food. They’ll even have their own festival vendors including AMBeerings and Memphis Gaelic Athletic Association.

There will be a Rooftop Workout on the roof of Old Dominick Distillery tomorrow from 6 to 8:30 in the evening. Check in from 5:30 to 6, then kick it off with a HIIT workout with Lauren Phelps. At 6:45, YOGA! Amy of Sumits Yoga will lead the class. Cool down with a cocktail at 7:30. Pre-registration is required, and the cost is $15 for both classes and an Old Dominick cocktail. Additional spirits will be available at the bar. Bring a yoga mat, water, a towel, and whatever else you feel you need.

Bruno Mars comes to FedExForum Sunday night as part of his 24K Magic World Tour.

The Grindfather is gone. Former Memphis Grizzly Tony Allen has signed a one-year deal with the New Orleans Pelicans. Grizzly Bear Blues has a tribute.

Earle Randle will play a free concert at Madison Avenue Park Friday from 5 to 6. Mr. Randle was born in Indianola, MS and after traveling the country, took a gig at Willie Mitchell’s Hi Records. There he wrote hit songs for artists including Bonnie Raitt, Al Green, and Etta James. These days Mr. Randle plays at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Memphis on Sunday mornings.

Starting this Thursday, The Rusty Pieces will play the Silly Goose 10 PM to 1 AM the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month.

“The State of the Blues” will be the topic of the Downtown Neighborhood Association on Tuesday, September 26. The venue will be The Blues Foundation, 421 S. Main, and Joe Whitmer, COO of the Foundation, will speak about all that the Foundation does to promote the blues. Appetizers will be catered, and DNA will provide a beer and wine bar. Social at 6, program at 6:30. Free for members, $10 non-members.

Here’s a glimpse into what goes on in my mind after I’ve had a few PBRs. Last night I got an idea for a Burger Registry smartphone app. I could use the app to set my preferences – that I like my burger cooked medium, topped with the usual toppings minus ketchup and tomato, and that I prefer a side of ranch with my fries instead of ketchup. Then the app could generate a bar code or QR code that I could give to the cashier or server when ordering a burger, and my preferences would be automatically scanned into the system. It would save time and reduce the chance that the order would come out wrong. I’m trying to figure out if this is the stupidest idea ever, or if I should start raising venture capital and setting up interviews with smartphone app developers. I’ll run the idea by Seth when I see him at Burger Fest.

Lawyers of current and former aides of President Trump are advising them not to lie to protect the president. Trump values loyalty above all else, but it is a one-way street. It’s not worth a charge of perjury or giving false statements or obstructing justice. Some people get away with perjury but I wouldn’t advise taking the chance.

That’s it for now. Rare day when I have no particular plans for after work. Back tomorrow with more news.

Tuesday update #1

Got news on two events coming up hosted by Historical Haunts. This Friday, September 15, a 2 1/2 hour haunted pub crawl will depart from 546 S. Main. You’ll have spirits with the spirits as you explore two Memphis traditions: ghost stories and alcohol. A real paranormal investigator will lead the crawl, with historical tales and current paranormal experiences. There will be three stops on the crawl – the stops are not listed, but I’d be very surprised if one of them was not Earnestine & Hazel’s. The tour is for ages 21 and up and costs $20, drinks not included. Space is limited so please sign up in advance on the Historical Haunts website.

Haunted Happenings will, um, happen at the Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum Friday, October 27 from 6 to 10 PM. Spectral docents will lead you through the haunted halls as the dead awaken for one night only. Hear the stories of the past and meet the families that started it all. There will be turn of the century Halloween treats, gypsies reading your fortune, and a live paranormal investigation. Come in costume if you choose, but no full face masks are allowed. $25 for adults, $10 for children 12 and under.

I wonder if the person who designed Denny’s new mascot is the same person who thought of the Tennessee Vols’ trash can.

The Jesus and Mary Chain with Mark Crozer and the Rels are coming to the New Daisy Friday, November 10.

Memphis magazine has a good article about Catherine & Mary’s, the Hudman/Ticer restaurant in the ground floor of the Chisca.

Looking for something different to do in your lunch hour? Tomorrow, Wednesday, September 13, Elmwood Cemetery will present Voices of Yellow Fever: A Performance in the Lord’s Chapel from noon to 1. The Elmwood Players will present a first-person look at what life was like in Memphis in the yellow fever epidemic of 1878. $20 to attend and lunch is served with this event. Registration is required; call 901-774-3212 to register.

WREG Live at 9 interviewed a Memphian who escaped Hurricane Irma, leaving his condo in Fort Myers. You may have heard of the person who was interviewed: Jerry “The King” Lawler.

Tonya Dyson and T.O. Crivens play a free show at The Front Porch Friday 6 to 9.

More news coming at lunchtime, so check back.

Monday update: News and congratulations to local BBQ teams and the Redbirds

Congratulations are in order for two of our local BBQ teams. There was a regional BBQ competition at Goat Days in Millington this past weekend, and our friends Victory Lane BBQ took home the Grand Champion trophy. In addition, our friends Porkosaurus took second place in Sauce. Both teams sell their sauces and rubs to the public. Follow the links to shop online.

Congratulations as well to the Memphis Redbirds, who came back from a 2-1 deficit to win the Pacific Coast League American conference championship. The PCL Championship Series versus the El Paso Chihuahuas, Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, begins at AutoZone Park Tuesday and Wednesday. Field Box, Dugout, and Club Level seats cost $10, and each comes with a hot dog/soda voucher. First 5000 each night will receive a new-logo Redbirds hat. There will be a specialty all-you-can-eat buffet ticket each night and $2 beers throughout the park. First pitch is 7:05 for both games.

Burger King is offering a value-priced mystery burger in France. When I first saw the headline, I thought, le chat, le chien, le cheval… but no, that’s not it. You get a container and you don’t know what sandwich is in it until you’ve paid two euros and you open the container. You could get any one of 10 sandwiches on the menu, including the Whopper, Big King, or chicken sandwich.

The remnants of Tropical Storm Irma will hit the Mid-South Tuesday and Wednesday. MemphisWeather.net has the details.

I had burgers and fries from the Flying Saucer for dinner both Saturday and yesterday. Sunday I had a good conversation with one of the Saucer managers about plans for Burger Fest, the local craft breweries (except Meddlesome which is too new for me to have an opinion), Harvey donations, lots of good stuff. Never in my life did I think I’d be saying the Saucer has the best fries Downtown, but here I am saying it. The managers there have really done an excellent job bringing the place back since the renovation.

Testing will soon begin of the Memphis trolleys. After two fires in 2013-14, MATA wants to do months of testing to ensure passenger safety. The trolleys will not be available to the public during this testing phase.

My job helped my friends complete a crossword this weekend. They were doing the New York Times crossword at Blind Bear and one commented, “Common bridge opening bid. I have no clue.” I reminded them that I work for the organization that promotes and sanctions bridge in North America. “Five letters, begins with O-N,” my friend said.

“O-N-E-N-T. One notrump,” I replied. Happy to be helpful!

Thank you to all firefighters, police officers, and other first responders out there, on the 16th anniversary of September 11, 2001.

All my Monday bartenders are leaving me! First Melissa left Bardog, so no more Melissa Monday there. Now today and tomorrow are Hanin’s last shifts at the Silly Goose. So I guess I will lead off there this evening. Probably over to the Flying Saucer for Pint Nite afterward to see if they have that keg of Meddlesome Blonde tapped yet. Back tomorrow with more news.

Sunday update: Ono Poke comes Downtown for a day and more news

Tumble weave! Anyone lose some hair extensions on Monroe near Bardog yesterday?

Irma made landfall on the Florida Keys about 6 this morning. Its projected path has moved westward and guess where that bitch will be Wednesday morning… right over Memphis as a tropical depression. Ugh not that again. I guess all these major hurricanes want to visit the home of The King in their dying days. Thoughts and prayers to all my Florida friends, especially those on the west coast.

A common thought among many Downtowners is “yeah, I’ve heard of that restaurant, it sounds great, but I’ve never been there because it would involve driving a car east of Danny Thomas for something other than work or groceries.” That’s why I’ve never been to Ono Poke, a new restaurant at 3145 Poplar. It serves healthy Hawaiian bowls. In the bowls are fresh fish, salmon or tuna with your choice of vegetables over rice. It sounds really yummy.

This Friday from noon to 3, however, you won’t have to drive east of Danny Thomas to get an Ono Poke bowl – and in fact, you’ll be able to have a great craft beer with your lunch. That day Ono Poke will have a pop-up restaurant at the Ghost River taproom. Gai Klaimongkoi, owner of Ono Poke, will be there and will help you customize your bowl however you desire. Pair it up with a Ghost River beer and you have a delicious lunch.

Also this Friday, there will be a Dance Party at Fourth Bluff behind the law school. Look for a LED lit-up dance floor behind the law school at 1 N. Front. The music will be curated by c’beyohn, a polished emcee, singer-songwriter, performer and producer. He’s a Hip Hop Artist of the Year and he and his group The Bill Killahs have performed at halftime at Grizzlies games and at festivals around the Southeast. This party is free and it is family-friendly.

Every month there is a Wolf River Conservancy happy hour with a portion of drink sales going to the conservancy. This month, on Tuesday, September 19, the conservancy and Memphis Green Drinks have picked a good location for their happy hour: The Silly Goose. At this event you’ll get to learn about the Great Streets project and how it benefits Downtown. Come try one of the Goose’s hand-crafted cocktails. In fact, many of the cocktail ingredients are made from scratch as well. Need a pick-me-up? Try a Joe shot, made with espresso. Like Fireball or cinnamon toast? Try the Goose’s house-made cinnamon whiskey.

Friday, September 29 from 6 to 9 PM, on South Main Trolley Night, Walking Pants Curiosities at 109 G.E. Patterson will throw a 1-Year Half-Block Party. Live music, food, artists including Lindy Tate of Taterbuggin’ and Kenneth Jackson. September Trolley Night tends to have the best weather of the year, and I plan on being there!

I never made it to Max’s Sports Bar to watch football yesterday. Just didn’t have the desire to leave the Downtown core. I watched a disappointing game by my Hogs at Blind Bear. With Alabama, Auburn, and LSU on the schedule, Arkansas is probably looking at an 8-4 year at best and 7-5 is more likely.

That’s it for now. I will be doing “office hours” at Blind Bear from 11 until at least 3 today. Back tomorrow with more news.

Make Your Meal Matter and more Saturday news

If you’re a fan of the food truck rodeos in Court Square on Thursdays, put this coming Monday, September 11 on your calendar. There will be a special Make Your Meal Matter food truck event in Court Square 11 AM to 1:30 PM that day. Proceeds from each food truck will go to Hurricane Harvey relief through the foundation organized by Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt. Food trucks will include Central BBQ, El Mero Taco, Fish from Heaven, MEMPopS, Memphis MoJo Cafe, Say Cheese and Yippie Trippie & The Porkstars. FRESH GULF SHRIMP wont be able to attend but will be donating to the cause. Music by DJ Chromatic Change.

Coming soon to the Ghost River taproom is ULFBERHT. You may not be able to pronounce it, but you can have this 7.6% ABV Strong Ale that has been aged in Bourbon barrels for about half a year.

High Ground News has a good article about South City redevelopment that will happen in the area formerly occupied by Foote Homes.

Good to hear: Best Buy has decided to stop selling Kaspersky software after possible ties between that company and the Kremlin were uncovered. I’ll say it again: If you have Kaspersky software on your computer, you need to uninstall it immediately.

Almost Elton John (Jerred Price) performs at the Hard Rock tonight at 9.

The Kebob food truck and MEMPopS will be at Miss Cordelia’s Monday 5 to 8. Dollar off draft beers.

Shout-out to the Atlanta Braves for offering free tickets to Florida hurricane evacuees. I’m a Cardinals fan but that was a very cool thing for the Braves to do. Two of my friends took them up on the offer last night.

Note about tomorrow: My burger team does not have a practice cook this week, so I plan to be at the Blind Bear for D-RANKS with SOME-BODY (not sure if B-RAD will be back this week) if anybody needs to talk to me about anything. I should be there from 11 AM to at least 3 PM. And don’t worry, it’s fine that we’re not cooking tomorrow. We’re not entering any other festivals between now and Burger Fest, so we have plenty of time to practice.

College football time! Back tomorrow with more news.

Friday update #2

Memphis Tigers fans, you don’t have a game to watch at 5:30 today after all. The Memphis-UCF game scheduled for Orlando tonight has been canceled. Florida Governor Rick Scott closed all college campuses on Thursday, causing the cancellation. Excellent decision by the governor in my opinion. People in the state need to be focused on preparing for an emergency and considering an evacuation plan, not watching football.

The Tigers, as a result, flew back home just hours after arriving in Orlando. The two teams do not have a shared bye week so scheduling a make-up game is going to be tricky. That could lead to some “what if” arguments come end of the regular season, if a 6-1 team could have beaten a 7-1 team and qualified for the championship game. Still, though, people’s lives are more important.

Irma’s currently on a track to go straight up the Florida peninsula, which obviously is bad for everyone who lives there, but there’s something else I noticed that no one seems to be talking about… current track has Irma, at that point a tropical storm, to make a direct or near-direct hit on Atlanta. Think about what a mess that will be.

Oh my squash, only 8 markets left! is the theme of the Memphis Farmers Market tomorrow. Late summer produce, apples, and early winter squash are in season at the Market right now, so come by and get you some. Girl Scout Troop 10404 will be there from 8 to noon. They are working on a Silver Award project showing the importance of bees to humanity. They’ve created informational coloring books teaching kids how to act around bees but also how not to harm them. They’ll bring the coloring books and the crayons. You bring the kids. The Market runs every Saturday from 7 AM to 1 PM under the pavilion at Front and G.E. Patterson.

If any of you have a daughter who is considering coding for a career, here’s some encouragement for her:

The Memphis Business Journal has a good article on Big River Crossing Half-Marathon and 5K, which will happen on Saturday, October 21, one day before the one-year anniversary of the opening of the pedestrian crossing over the Mississippi. Proceeds from the race will benefit Peer Power, an organization that recruits high school and college students to tutor younger public-school students. The idea is that if Peer Power can help an at-risk kid get better grades, he might graduate high school and then community college and be on a career path, rather than drop out of high school and end up at 201 Poplar. The program has potential to be an economic swing for Memphis.

The Redbirds were shut out by the Colorado Springs Sky Sox in Game 2 of the playoffs. The series now shifts back to Colorado Springs.

Let’s see what the Tennessee Vols’ trash can is up to today.

Undies for Everyone is a nonprofit that provides underwear to disadvantaged school children. However, after Harvey, there is a call for underwear of ALL sizes. Ghost River is answering that call. Through September 14th they will be accepting underwear, NEW and still in package, in all sizes including XXL, for men, women, boys, and girls. Today Ghost River will donate $1 to Undies for Everyone for every pint sold in their taproom. If you can’t make it to Ghost River to donate, you can still help out by donating through this Amazon registry.

If you roll by Ghost River today for some of those pints that lead to $1 donations, the Gourmade food truck will be on site after 2 PM.

That’s it for now. I will probably stop by Silly Goose happy hour after work then figure out a plan for the rest of the evening. Back tomorrow with more news.

Friday update

Madison Avenue Park’s Fall Concert Series kicks off today with The Candy Company performing 4-6 PM. The new park is across the street from The Brass Door on Madison. The concert is free to the public, and beer will be available for sale.

Courtney Little performs on the lawn of the National Civil Rights Museum tonight from 6 to 8 as part of the MLK 50 concert series. Free to attend and you can bring your blanket or lawn chair. There will be food truck fare and MLK 50 merchandise for sale. In addition to the live music there will be MLK speeches, spoken word artists, and DJ Swagg.

Like beer? There’s some good stuff being released tonight at the Memphis Made taproom:

Memphis Made will also have Cerrito Bingo tonight at 8, and Links and Drinks will be their food truck.

Best Memphis Burger Fest has announced that there will be a cornhole tournament at the festival this year. $25 advance/$30 at the door per team to compete and top finishes pay out $200 for first place, $125 for second, $75 for third. Nice prize structure! I’m tempted to compete in this but since I am supposed to be taking pictures for my burger team I don’t know if I can afford two hours away. The festival is presented by Jack Pirtle’s Chicken (that may seem weird, a chicken joint sponsoring a burger fest, but Pirtle’s makes a damn fine burger) and is 10:30-6:00 Saturday, October 7 at Tiger Lane. In addition to the cornhole and burger competitions, there’s charity bobbing for burgers, a slider eating competition, burger sampling to the public by the competing burger teams, access to the Jack Pirtle’s Kidzone ($5 entry/$10 all day), DJ Superbrad, Hiway HiFi, Star & Micey, and the 1st Annual SCA Steak competition at Best Memphis Burger Fest. :mrgreen: Only $10 to get in. Why would you be anywhere else that day?

But wait, there’s even more cornhole. Every Thursday, Ghost River Brewing Co. and Down and Back Cornhole Co. will organize a cornhole tournament every Thursday 6-9 PM at Ghost River. There’s a “%70 payout,” whatever that means, with number of teams paid and payout amounts based on number of entries. Each team is guaranteed at least 2 games.

Loflin Yard will be hosting Corks not Forks this Sunday, October 10, 6-8 PM on the Safe House patio. Four pairings of wine and finger food. Tickets are $50 per person and you can email info@loflinyard.com to sign up. Here’s the menu:

Bruschetta
brisket, charred tomato, goat cheese
paired with Chardonnay – Central Coast, California

Cheese Board
olives, fruit, jam
paired with Red Blend – Central Coast, California

The Gayoso
hot barbecue shrimp on French bread
paired with Brut Rosé – Marlborough, New Zealand

Grilled Vegetable Platter
chimichurri tzatziki sauce, fine herb aioli
paired with Sauvignon Blanc – Marlborough, New Zealand

Bardog has a deal going on for Childhood Awareness Month, the month of September. Stop by and donate $25 to St. Jude, and you will receive a Breakaway-Bardog 5K and Monroe Avenue Fest commemorative mug and T-shirt.

Off to work. I may do a second post at lunchtime, so check back.

Thursday update #2: An introduction for new readers and lots of news

Hello everyone! I have picked up a significant number of new readers this week, due to my Friday night post about the fallen horse, so I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Paul and I have lived in the Downtown core, near the intersection of Main and Madison, for 15 years. For most of those years I have been writing about the places I go, the people I know, events I attend, and upcoming events that I think my readers would want to know about. I am an independent blogger, not funded by any company and not making any income from this. I do it because Downtown Memphis is my passion.

It’s good to be able to walk to amenities like the Redbirds and the Orpheum and the Grizzlies and nice restaurants, but that is not the number-one thing I love about Downtown. First and foremost are the people. Never in my life before I moved down here, did I have a large group of friends who hang out with each other, laugh with each other, and support each other. My mom passed away in January, my last close living relative – and while I miss her, I take comfort in knowing that I will always have a family in my Downtown friends.

As for the horse, I did not witness his fall, or the attempts to get him back on his feet. I walked by about two and a half hours after the fall, and at that time the horse was lying in the road, not moving. I assumed he was dead and posted as such. When I found out the horse was not dead at the time I walked home, I changed the post’s title to be accurate. He was later euthanized at the recommendation of a vet. There were bystanders, including some of my neighbors, who witnessed attempts to stand the horse back up and were badly shaken by what they saw. If you witnessed the attempt to revive the horse and were troubled by it, my suggestion is that you call or email your City Council representative.

The Grizzlies will hold their training camp at FedExForum Tuesday-Friday, September 26-29. Preceding the camp will be Media Day Monday, September 25, and following the camp there will be a practice open to the public on Saturday, September 30 at the Landers Center in Southaven, home of the Grizzlies’ G-League affiliate the Memphis Hustle. Fans who attend the open practice will receive a voucher for a ticket to a Grizzlies preseason game and a Hustle regular season game.

3000 seasonal jobs are up for grabs at an eCommerce company called Radial at 5461 Davidson Road. Given that I’m posting this at lunchtime on the 7th, you probably won’t have time to get to today’s job fair, but there will be another one on Saturday, September 16.

The Classic Concert, part of the Southern Heritage Classic celebration, happens tonight at the Orpheum at 8. It features Jeffrey Osborne, Stephanie Mills and Jammin Jay Lamont.

The Redbirds used home runs to get a playoff Game 1 victory last night. Game 2 is tonight at AutoZone Park. Get tickets here, including a special ticket that gets you an all-you-can eat buffet of wings, hot dogs, sides, and a Coca-Cola product or bottled water. First 5000 fans in the gate get a free new-logo hat. First pitch is 7:05.

Black Diamonds Blue City is the featured film in the 15 Film Series at Clayborn Temple tonight at 7 PM. The Negro Leagues formed as a response to Major League Baseball denying opportunity to African-Americans for more than 50 years. They were an important institution that brought communities together in the South and particularly in Memphis. The film tells the story of the Memphis Red Sox and the Negro Leagues.

Analysts are saying the Saturday 2:30 PM game pitting 23 TCU vs. Arkansas could be the sleeper game of the week. Although not ranked, the Razorbacks’ home field advantage and history of beating up on Big 12 teams make them a slight favorite. I see a trip to Max’s Sports Bar in my future for this game. For my new readers, it is a little sports bar at 115 G.E. Patterson at the far eastern end of the Arcade building. Every seat in the house has a good view of several TVs and Max tapes the schedules so you can know what game will be on what TV so you can grab a good seat for your game of interest. It is nonsmoking inside but there is a large smoker-friendly patio with even more TVs outside.

Part of my reason for wanting to go to Max’s is that 30 minutes after Arkansas kicks off, the laughingstock of college football, the Tennessee Vols, kick off. I want to be there to ask Vol fans, “Are you REALLY going to root for that stupid trash can?” Let’s see what the trash can has been up to lately:

Absolutely loving this plan by the Trumpster for a 3-month debt ceiling increase. Yes I actually said something nice about Trump. Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan, here’s a song lyric just for you: “Bow down before the one you serve. You’re going to get what you deserve.”

That’s it for now. Time to finish out the workday then I will be off to the Silly Goose for happy hour. Back tomorrow with more news.

Thursday update

The September meeting of the South Main Association has been announced for Tuesday, September 12, at 409 South Main. Featured speakers will be Rebecca and Justin Dyer, operators of the building, talking about the future of this event hall and the impact it can have on South Main. There will be a Q&A as well. 6 PM social, 6:30 presentation. The event is free for members and $10 for guests.

From the Flyer’s Hungry Memphis blog: The Second Slider Inn, to open in the South Main district at 365 Mulberry, has a working title of Slider Out.

Southern Heritage Classic festivities kick off today in advance of the Tennessee State-Jackson State game Saturday at the Liberty Bowl.

Have you ever been in the Flying Fish and wondered about the origins of the Billy Bass Adoption Wall? The way it works is, you bring them a Billy Bass singing fish wall piece to hang on the wall with your name, and they give you a free catfish dinner. Shannon Wynne, founder of the Flying Saucer/Flying Fish concept, talks about how the wall got its start at the original Flying Fish location. My fish was one of the first to be adopted at the Memphis Fish and hangs on the bottom row on the left wall. Back in those days I was only several years removed from my teaching gig at the U of M, so my fish is tagged Prof. Paul Ryburn.

Hmmm. Just realized my troll has never met my fish. I need to take the troll in and make introductions soon.

Lifehacker has the easiest, fastest ways to load up on protein including chickpeas, two ways. I’ll add a third way that you can get Downtown at a bargain: A big bowl of fried chickpeas at the Silly Goose for only $5.

I mentioned that there was a team rumored to be entering Best Memphis Burger Fest this year that would be an immediate heavy hitter, but I could not yet say who. Now I can: The recently-renovated Memphis Flying Saucer. As you probably know, along with the new renovation came a menu of gourmet burgers inspired by the Saucer’s sister chain Rodeo Goat. I had a beer with one of the managers a few weeks ago and he told me they are going to try to get the Rodeo Goat head chef/menu planner to come up and be on the cook team. They have won burger festivals down in Texas.

A second new team entered the competition as well: Sushi Jimmi. Man, the level of competition keeps going up at Burger Fest!

Great place to work:

In the news: Facebook told Congressional investigators a Russian troll farm spent $100,000 on fake news ads on Facebook during the 2016 presidential election. Facebook found that 470 “inauthentic” accounts were found to have spent the money between June 2015 and May 2017. The accounts all seemed to be affiliated with each other and seemed to be run out of Russia.

Off to work. Possibly a second post at lunchtime.

Wednesday update

The official announcement has been made: Due to the threat of Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 storm on track to hit Florida late this weekend, the Memphis Tigers-University of Central Florida football game has been moved up to Friday evening at 6:30 Eastern/5:30 Central. Due to first responders needing to prepare for Irma, they do not have the manpower to support tailgating and therefore there will be none prior to the game. The game will be televised on ESPNU, according to the @UCF_Football Twitter account.

Also, 92.9 ESPN is reporting that the Miami game at Arkansas State this weekend has been canceled, due to return travel issues and to allow players and staff to be with their families.

The latest Irma track has it pushing slightly to the east, with the eye near Miami 8 AM Sunday and Daytona Beach 8 AM Monday.

Update on the carriage horse who died Friday on the Main Street Mall: The horse, who was named Junior and was eight years old, was found to have a rare medical condition that caused him to suffer sudden paralysis. So it was not a trip on the trolley tracks or overwork that caused the fall. WMC has more.

The Redbirds team taking the field for the playoffs tonight won’t be the same team that won 91 games and their division this year. Major League rosters expanded September 1, allowing the Cardinals to call up several key Redbirds players. Those players have to be replaced, often by players who spent much of this season playing at a lower level than Triple-A.

A new pedestrian tunnel under the Central Station project will connect South Main to the Farmers Market on Front.

The Flying Saucer has several ways you can help Hurricane Harvey victims. Through September 17, instead of having a Fire Sale beer, they will have a Harvey beer, of which $2 of the purchase price will be donated. Throughout September, cash donations will be accepted. Every Wednesday, 100% of the proceeds from a selected keg tapping will be donated. There will be a raffle (drawing October 1) where guests can buy $10 tickets to try and win the grand prize of a $200 Flying Saucer gift card.

Wiseacre has announced a dinner and party on Saturday, October 28 from 6 to 10 at its taproom. The party will celebrate this year’s release of Symphonic, a wild bock made with Michigan tart cherries. Pre-party from 6 to 6:30, with dinner consisting of four pairings by chefs Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman from 6:30 to 9. Post-party at 10. The four courses will be paired a cider from local cidery Long Road, a cocktail from Old Dominick, rosé wine, and Symphonic. Live music by Iris Orchestra. The post-party will have an open beer bar featuring Wiseacre beers. Early Bird tickets are on sale for $110 through September 17, with ticket price increasing to $130 after that. If you purchase a ticket and then can’t make it, refunds will be given up to 7 days before the event.

Be sure to come dressed prepared for Oktoberfest. Adidas is selling new Oktoberfest shoes that repel beer and vomit.

Attention poker players: The River Rat Rounders poker league have added a new venue in Downtown. The Green Beetle on South Main will run River Rat games Tuesday nights at 6 and 8. The neat thing about this city-wide poker league, whose games are free to play, is that they have connections with the casinos and sometimes the prize for winning a River Rat game will be a cash voucher to a poker room down in Tunica.

As sports writer Dan Wolken pointed out, no one else has a trash can.

That’ll do it for now. I’ll be out at Silly Goose happy hour after work, and given the nice weather, I may even join the smokers on the patio. Back tomorrow with more news.