Tuesday update: Historic Redbirds season, Butch Jones’ trash can and more

The Redbirds wrapped up the regular season with a team record 91 wins. Congratulations to them, and to manager Stubby Clapp for keeping the W’s coming as so many players got called up to the Cardinals. Playoffs come to AutoZone Park tomorrow.

I stayed up and watched the Tennessee-Georgia Tech game last night. For those of you who missed it, Tennessee had a Tennessee-themed trash can into which they would dunk the ball after forcing a turnover. According to Dan Wolken of USA Today, staffers would hoist it over their heads like it was the Stanley Cup. That is SO Butch Jones. As Wolken wrote, the trash can “simply does not project the kind of seriousness and confidence that a blueblood program should have.” Yup. Tennessee football is a joke.

Wait a minute, maybe the trash can is the 2016 Championship of Life trophy!

Follow the trash can on Twitter at @TrashCanTeam121.

Bedrock Eats and Sweets has a new Macro Blocks program for those who need to balance proper nutrient timing with a busy life. They are offering seven small-portion 4-ounce protein that you can combine with your choice of nine 8-ounce sides.

There’s a new world’s hottest pepper, measuring 2.48 million on the Scoville scale. It’s 300 times hotter than a jalapeno. Eating one could literally kill you.

Songwriter Night #65 comes to South Main Sounds, 550 S. Main, this Friday from 7 to 9 PM. Ryan Rooster Lee, Sydney Carty, Jessica Joyner, and Mike Mielenhausen will perform.

Classic fairy tale Hansel and Gretel, with a rock and roll score, comes to the Orpheum Tuesday, September 26.

There was bug eating feswtival in New York this past weekend.

That’s it for now. Back tomorrow with more.

A few Oshi pictures

Yesterday I was at the Memphis Music & Heritage Festival watching my neighbor’s band when I heard “Hey, Paul!” It was my friends Rahul and Tony. “We’re going to Oshi. Come join us.” I wasn’t hungry but they offered to buy me a beer so I went in.

I sipped on a Memphis Made Lucid Kolsch while they ordered food. I wasn’t hungry but I got a couple of photos of the sushi they ordered.

Nice looking sushi and apparently pretty reasonably priced too. I will have to go back when I am hungry, although the pho is probably first on my list to try since you can’t get that elsewhere Downtown.

I didn’t know that trolls like sake until yesterday.

Later in the day, I went down to South Main for a friend’s birthday party. After the party I stopped by Max’s Sports Bar. My friends Joe and Angela were there and I took a photo of their Wings of Jubilee poster. Wings of Jubilee is a hot wing contest happening next Saturday at Memphis Catholic High in Midtown.

Max’s has added even more TVs for your football watching pleasure. And although I enjoyed watching Virginia Tech secure a fine victory last night, my attention was more focused on Spike TV, where they were showing a Bar Rescue marathon. They had two episodes and then a reunion show to give an update on how the rescued bars were doing. One of the rescues was a Houston bar and Taffer bought them a billboard for one year to attract business. I wonder if the bar is still open post-Harvey.

YIKES! Bardog opened at 8 AM this morning at it’s 9:27 and I’m not there yet. I better get on this. Back tomorrow with more news.

I’m going to eat some Pronto Pups this weekend

The time has come for great music on the Main Street Mall. The Memphis Music & Heritage Festival happens between Union and Peabody Place today and tomorrow. Over 100 performances on five stages, two of them air-conditioned indoors. Here’s the lineup and here’s the vendor list. There will be food trucks and carnival food as well. I’m going to be all about some Pronto Pups this weekend, but if you want some true Southern food to go along with the music, check out the greens and hot water cornbread served by the Folklore Store’s kitchen.

Going to be weird seeing The Legendary Pacers perform without Sonny Burgess. :(

Oktoberfest comes to Wiseacre Brewing Co. Saturday, September 30. It’s perfectly timed to match up with the real Germans doing the real Oktoberfest in Bavaria. There will be polka by the Mighty Souls Brass Band. Discounts if you dress up, with German attire encouraged but being goofy counts too. Bring your own clean stein and they will do a stein fill for you. Pretzels by Dave’s Bagels.

Nikki’s Hot Ass Products posted that Nikki’s Hot Nuts will be coming soon. Sounds yummy.

Memphis Made Brewing Co. is hosting the popular beginner sushi class again in its taproom on Sunday, September 24.

I’ve been asked to weigh in on the Gone with the Wind controversy. For those not familiar, the Orpheum received complaints that the 1939 movie is racially insensitive, and as a result has decided to remove it from the 2018 Summer Movie Series lineup. A lot of people are upset. One season ticket holder wrote “return to sender” on his 2017-18 renewal letter and posted a photo to Facebook.

Here’s the thing: I can’t relate to Gone with the Wind. I watched it with my mom – who was a big fan of that movie – when I was a kid, and thought it was the most God-awful boring movie ever. Short of needing a cure for insomnia, I never had any desire to go see that movie at the Orpheum.

What I can relate to, however, is a historically significant sitcom that ran on TV from 1970 to 1979: All in the Family. It was my favorite show when I was a kid. To this day I consider it the greatest TV show of all time, and the Archie Bunker character the greatest TV character of all time.

However, my mom and grandmother used the show as a teaching tool. They helped me to understand that I didn’t want to grow up to be a closed-minded bigot like Archie, but that I would encounter people like him and needed to be equipped to deal with them. I grew up understanding that I shouldn’t see people of other skin colors or religions as different than me, and that I shouldn’t go around using derogatory terms like “kike” and “chink” and “hebe.” I understood that when I grew up and got married (neither of which I’ve done yet), “dingbat” was not an appropriate term of endearment for my wife.

If Antenna TV announced that it would no longer show All in the Family because of complaints received about it being racially insensitive, I’d be pissed. The show is a significant piece of Americana. It tackled social issues while at the same time being damn funny. I would want kids to watch it to learn the lessons I did.

Although I can’t relate to Gone with the Wind, I recognize that it is a significant piece of Americana too. People need to see that movie at least once. But it needs to be used as a teaching tool, just as TV was used as a teaching tool for me. Kids need to be made to understand that it’s a movie almost 80 years old, set in a time 75 years before that. They need to understand that these are different times, and normal, reasonable people don’t think the way people did back then. They need to understand that we as a society made mistakes in the past. If I ran the Orpheum, I’d be inclined to show the movie then hold a discussion, letting people offended by the movie explain to the audience how it makes them feel and why.

The thing is, though, how do you do that? The movie is already three and a half hours long. If you show it at 7, the discussion wouldn’t even begin until 10:30, well past kids’ bedtimes. You could run it as a Sunday matinee, but still, after three and a half hours, who would be interested in more time sitting in a theater chair? I really feel for Orpheum president Brett Batterson. He was put in a position where there really was no right answer, no correct solution.

If I must take a side, I’d say I am in favor of keeping the movie as part of the summer series, but only slightly. As a poker player, I like percentages, so I would say I’m 60/40 in favor of keeping it. Whereas, on the issue of the Confederate statues, I am 100% in favor of tearing down those monuments of hate as quickly as possible.

Going to lead off at Bardog then over to the festival (with visits to Blind Bear, Silly Goose, and Flying Saucer when I am ready for a break). Back tomorrow with more news.

Carriage horse near death on Main Street Mall after falling; MPD shoos passersby away

About 8:45 PM Friday night I got some Aldo’s pizza and headed home. As I crossed Union I saw MPD blocking the street off. A horse, which I assume was from one of the carriage companies, had collapsed. I tried to take a photo but an MPD officer told me, “Sir, you need to move on.” I posted on Facebook and got permission to post this photo taken by a friend of a friend.

When I first visited Memphis, I rode a horse carriage, so I have a sentimental attachment. As recently as 8 years ago, I rode in one. But now I realize how inhumane these things are. It’s time to get them off our streets.

“Thrusday” update #2: Pho and ramen, Memphis Music & Heritage Fest lineup, Judy gets a note, Memphis Grill Fest and more

Oshi has re-opened with a new menu. Great news – you can get pho and ramen in the Downtown core now! Their pho has a base of beef consomme, with sliced beef, meatballs, cliantro, scallions, bean sprouts, and jalapenos. For ramen, they have pork-based tokatsu and miso-tokatsu, and they also have a chicken-based ramen dish. Their appetizers and entrees are mostly what I would call Asian fusion, but the Oshi Burger with Wagyu beef made it onto the menu, a nice nod to the previous incarnation of Oshi. They have sushi too.

Why not come Downtown this weekend and check out both Oshi and the Memphis Music & Heritage Festival? The performance lineup is up on the website now. The lineup is proof that this festival celebrates the diversity of regional music and culture. Jug bands, mariachi, rock, folk, hill country blues, rockabilly, Latin, jazz, R&B, soul, blues, hip-hop, electronica, rap, ragtime, reggae… the list of genres goes on and on. Here’s a list of the artists and vendors you will find at the festival.

VERY COOL: The director of the Center for Southern Folklore, which puts on the festival, Judy Peiser, is getting her note on Beale Street Sunday. Congratulations Judy on an honor that is richly deserved! Thank you for all you have done to promote music and other forms of art in this city.

Happy Thrusday from the folks at Horn Lake Wendy’s!

The really disturbing thing is, the sign has been this way since yesterday. It was up for an entire day and no one who worked there noticed Thursday was misspelled and bothered to correct it.

Seth has added information about Memphis Grill Fest, the steak cooking competition which will run alongside Best Memphis Burger Fest. Teams can enter whichever combination of burgers, Bloody Mary, and steak they want. I like it that if you win your burger or steak category, you get enough prize money to cover what you spent on fees to enter the competition.

Howl at the Moon, the annual fundraiser for Streetdog Foundation, will happen at The Warehouse at the northeast corner of Front and G.E. Patterson Saturday, November 11. Live music by Shufflegrit, Bobbie & Tasha, South Side Supper Club, Grape, and more. There will be lots of delicious food as well as live and silent auctions. A Paw Pass ($40/$50 at the door) gets you in the door, and access to food, the auctions, and a photo booth. A Purple Paw Pass ($80) gets you everything that comes with the Paw Pass, plus unlimited bar pass and reserved seating. I’ve been to this event before and it is a barkin’ good time.

Wings of Jubilee hot wing fest happens Saturday, September 9, 11-6 PM at Memphis Catholic Middle and High School at 61 N. McLean. This festival raises money to help 1600 students in Memphis, helping to provide low-income students with significant need-based scholarships. Live music by the South Side Supper Club, the Risky Whiskey Boys, and Charvey Mac. $5 to get in, free for kids 11 and under.

Ghost River usually has Flying Sobies on site for their Sunday brunch – however, Sobies is taking a 1-week break this weekend to celebrate their 1-year anniversary. So instead, the Eddy’s Pepper food truck will be on site with a special brunch-style menu. Breakfast burritos and other goodies! Brunch drinks include Bloody Beers (Grindhouse Cream Ale combined with your Bloody Mary Mix of choice), Beer-itas (Prestige Pilsner mixed with Crazy Good Rita Mix,) & Gose-mosas (Howzit Gose paired with OJ). At 5 they’ll have Sunday Slowdown, songwriter sessions hosted by Tiffany Harmon with a special guest each week.

Speaking of brewery taprooms, here’s a question to consider:

High Ground News has an interesting article on ghost signs, signs that give a glimpse into Memphis’ past. There are several from South Main and The Edge that are discussed.

Go Tigers Go! Memphis hosts ULM tonight at the Liberty Bowl, 8:15 kickoff. It’s also time to CALL THOSE HOGS!!! Arkansas hosts Florida A&M tonight at 7. Starting to hear variations of “IT’S GONNN BEEE ARRRRR YEAR” from Tennessee fans, which makes me snicker.

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team is teaming up with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in the investigation of Paul Manafort and his financial ties. Here’s why: Trump’s pardon of Joe Arapio sends a signal to Manafort that Trump would do the same for him. Mueller’s teaming with Schneiderman sends a message to Manafort that state charges, which if resulted in a conviction could not be pardoned by the president, could be coming if he doesn’t start singing like a canary. They already have Mike Flynn who turned state’s evidence. If Manafort did the same that would be the beginning of the end for Trump. Special counsel Mueller added an expert in witness flipping to his team last month.

Everyone be careful driving home this afternoon as Harvey’s bands of heavy rain move through. As @trafficbabe Wendi Hays would say, SLOW YOUR ROLL. That’ll do it for this post, back tomorrow with more news.

Thursday update #1

The Memphis Medical District Collaborative and IRIS Orchestra are announcing a new lunchtime concert series every Friday in September from noon to 1 PM in Edge Plaza, the outdoor seating area at Monroe and Marshall. Come enjoy this classic string ensemble and get to know your neighbors. Lunch will be available for purchase from Edge Alley. There is no cost to attend.

The Front Porch will be closed all day today due to the threat of bad weather.

Higher Learning will be the featured film in the 15 Film Series at Clayborn Temple tonight. Free to attend, starts at 7 PM. Description: “John Singleton (Boyz N the Hood) has re-created the classrooms, frat parties, financial aid offices, rec. rooms, dorm rooms, track, field, and cafeterias of the modern college campus to tell three separate stories about three different people that are at once commonly experienced and uniquely their own.”

The Beale Street Cigar Festival happens this Saturday at Handy Park, 1-7 PM.

Wiseacre Brewing Co. celebrates its fourth birthday weekend September 7-9. Karaoke Thursday, hosting the Broad Avenue 5K with Jack O & The Tearjerkers Friday. Saturday there will be a Petit Four pairing with their noon tour, a hop pint tour at 2, and DJ Damp Velour in the evening. Two specialty throwback beers on tap each night (more on Saturday) along with their regular and seasonal offerings.

Back at lunchtime with more news.

Wednesday update #2

Yesterday the Daily News announced that Daniel Masters, owner/operator of Silly Goose, would be taking over the former Cafe Pontotoc space, reopening it as Pontotoc (see my post earlier today). The article mentioned plans to open for breakfast and then stay open late. I ran into Daniel yesterday and asked him about his plans for Pontotoc. “I’m thinking we’ll open around 8 AM, 10 on the weekends,” Daniel said. “It’ll be a place for people who want to come set up and make it their office all day.” Sounds excellent. This is also good news for third-shifters, who will soon have an additional place to hang out Downtown after getting off work.

You can donate to a local page raising money for Operation BBQ Relief. This operation deploys quickly during times of crisis, such as Tropical Storm Harvey, to feed those who have been displaced. Wonderful organization. The page has already hit its fundraising goal but you can still donate. I’m sure it will be much appreciated by those in Houston and the surrounding area.

Seth from Burger Fest posted some interesting news to his personal Facebook page this morning:

“Complete details will be announced in the coming days. But real quick, we felt there just wasn’t enough going on at Best Memphis Burger Fest, so we got together with Steak Cookoff Association and decided to add an official SCA Steak cookoff at Burger Fest. Burger Teams will be invited to join the SCA event at a discount and SCA Steak teams can sign up for BMBF Bloody Mary or enter the full burger competition, also at a discounted rate. We’re so excited about this dual event. And of course you know what that means? MORE EATN!”

Memphis Farmers Market Squared at Court Square is canceled today due to bad weather.

There will be a Day of Mindfulness at the Church of the River on Virginia Ave. on Saturday, October 7.

The Memphis-Louisiana Monroe game will be played as scheduled Thursday night, despite Harvey moving through around that time. If you have a ticket to the game and don’t own a raincoat, I suggest you go buy one. Umbrellas are not allowed in the stadium.

The Kremlin has confirmed that Donald Trump’s personal lawyer reached out to them during the 2016 presidential campaign for help with a business deal.

That’s it for now. Rainy drive home (probably) then out to Silly Goose happy hour after work.

Pontotoc and more Wednesday news

The cat is now out of the bag on some news I have known about for a while. Daniel Masters, owner/operator of the Silly Goose, is taking over the space at 314 S. Main that was formerly Cafe Pontotoc. Daniel plans to open the restaurant as simply Pontotoc and open for breakfast and stay open late into the night. Daniel and his business partners take over the space on September 4 and hope to have Pontotoc open in October. The space will have a classic, jazzy feel, Southern-style tapas, and craft cocktails.

Here is some great news!

Not surprised Clapp won the award, given the Redbirds’ impressive record this season.

Exposure on 901 Day, hosted by New Memphis, happens at AutoZone Park 6-8 PM Friday. It’s your chance to get familiar with over 150 charities and businesses. There will be food and drink, a celebrity kickball game, art performances and demonstrations, the Grizzline, the Beale Street Flippers, and live music. They do ask that you RSVP so they can get an idea how many are coming. A complete list of participating organizations can be found here.

In September and October ArtSpace Lofts will host five information sessions for potential residents. ArtSpace, located in the South Main Arts District, will be the home to 58 affordable apartments rented out to artists and other creatives who meet income requirements.

Elmwood Cemetery will present Young Frankenstein in its Cemetery Cinema series Friday night, September 15 at 7:30 PM. There will be a short film by Propaganda TV and then the main film. Bring a lawn chair, because you will be on asphalt. This is an 18 and older event, no pets. Coolers are welcome or you can get food from the Gourmade food truck and MEMPops.

Mile markers have been installed on Main Street so you can participate in Walk It Wednesdays, walking on your lunch break between 11 AM and 1 PM. Post how far you walked or take a photo by a mile marker sign and tag it with #WalkItWednesdayMem to enter a drawing to win prizes.

Off to work. Possibly back at lunchtime with a second update.

Tuesday update

Great news from local nonprofit Volunteer Odyssey this week: They have been named the official partner in volunteerism at the University of Memphis. The organization will connect students attending the U of M with volunteer opportunities in Memphis. Sarah, the executive director of Volunteer Odyssey, is a U of M alum and writes, “My little Tiger heart is bursting with U of M pride today.”

While we’re on the subject of the University of Memphis: If you are attending Thursday’s game at the Liberty Bowl, or any games this season, you will need to be aware of the security information tweeted by Holly:

The Redbirds will have an all-you-can-eat special ticket this Thursday, August 31, for their final regular season home game. The ticket gets you a buffet of two pastas, two sauces, hot dogs, sides, and one Coca-Cola product or bottled water per person. The buffet begins when gates open at 6:00 and runs until 8:00. The price increases $4 the day of the game, so buy in advance. If you already have a ticket, you can upgrade with a wristband for $10 at the 3rd Base Cove while supplies last.

As for tonight, it’s dollar hot dog night at the Redbirds. 6:35 first pitch.

Are you a Game of Thrones fan? If you are, you can win some beer money tonight. The 7:30 and 10:00 trivia at the Flying Saucer tonight will be all Game of Thrones questions.

Oskar Blues will be on site at Miss Cordelia’s Food Truck Wednesday tomorrow from 5 to 8. You can sample three of their beers, and they have added six-pack cans of Old Chub to their cooler for you to purchase. Food trucks will be Say Cheese and Double J.

The Grizzlies have announced five new Power Packs for 2017-18 with tickets for 6, 12, or 22 home games.

There was a title change at WWE Monday Night RAW at FedExForum last night. Alexa Bliss defeated Sasha Banks for the RAW women’s championship. Also, Jeff Hardy won a 15-man battle royal to become the #1 contender to the Intercontinental championship. John Cena and Roman Reigns talked a lot of trash and then signed a contract to face each other at the next RAW pay-per-view. Announcer Booker T, who lives in Houston, was unable to travel to Memphis due to Harvey, but that was OK, the WWE found a suitable replacement… none other than The King himself. Complete results here.

All classes at Downtown Yoga this Friday will be free with a donation Hurricane Harvey relief. YOGA!

The Memphis Flyer has coverage of building permits suggesting a new ABRA Auto Body and Glass is coming to 296 Adams, and that the McDonald’s on Union in the Medical Center will be replaced.

From Lifehacker: Strategically use newsletters to get a free bar crawl on your birthday. Hmmm do I know anyone who would attempt this? Nuh uh.

Ted Cruz and most of the rest of the Texas delegation fought tooth and nail against aid for those affected by Hurricane Sandy in 2013… and now they’re begging for aid for those affected by Harvey. What a bunch of hypocrites.

That’s it for now. I’ll be out somewhere after work, not sure where, for what is probably the last rain-free day of the week. Back tomorrow with more.