Paul Ryburn's Journal

I thought about going to the beer/MEMpopS pairing at the High Cotton taproom last night, but being a creature of habit I was too lazy to walk any farther than the Silly Goose. A little after 7 a photo of the pairing came across my Facebook timeline, and it made me wish I had gone!

Photo credit Zack Howland; used with permission

I didn’t realize the popsicles would be IN the beer! So you get popsicle-flavored beer, and beer-flavored popsicles. That is really neat! These were the pairings:

1. Scottish Ale and Reverb coffee frozen pop
2. Hefeweizen and raspberry frozen pop
3. IPA and lime frozen pop
4. ESB and apple frozen pop

I wonder if this will become one of those events that gets repeated a few times a year. I hope so! In the meantime, the brewery’s Oktoberfest is coming up this Saturday. Free-flowing taps, some limited-release beers, traditional Bavarian fare, live music from Hiway Hi-Fi and others. Tickets $40, designated drivers $10, kids under 10 free.

That little taproom has really turned into a community gathering space and has put on some one-of-a-kind events. I wish I could spend more time out in The Edge, but…….

Never mind.

If you like beer and you like a clean, healthy environment, you should consider coming to the Clean Memphis and Project Green Fork 3rd annual fall fundraiser at the Memphis Made taproom on Wednesday, November 16 from 5:30 to 8:30. Great Memphis Made beer, food, a silent auction, and something they called a “while pull” in their Facebook event listing which I’m pretty sure is a typo and I don’t know what the correction is. $50 a ticket.

Local Memphis recently had coverage of the Flying Saucer’s presidential campaign glasses, featuring “Slick Hilly” Clinton and “Small Hands, Big Plans” Trump. The glasses have predicted the winner the past two elections, which is pretty scary considering the Trump glasses are leading by a pretty substantial margin. Saucer manager Owen was interviewed for the story.

I had one of these when I was a kid!

Family game console from JC Penney, 1976 pic.twitter.com/vQYy5pcqQh

— History In Pictures (@HistoryInPix) October 5, 2016

Coach Fiz has told Zach Randolph that he will be coming of the Memphis Grizzlies bench this season. JaMychal Green will start at power forward in his place. As much as I like Z-bo this is the appropriate move to start grooming the next generation of Grizzlies. Randolph will be going after the Sixth Man of the Year Award for 2016-17, awarded to the most valuable player who comes off the bench. The Grizzlies host the Atlanta Hawks at FedExForum tonight at 7 in a pre-season game.

Good meme I saw on Facebook: “Not knowing the truth doesn’t make you ignorant… not wanting to know the truth makes you ignorant.” Yep. Even worse is knowing the truth and purposely avoiding it because it’s inconvenient for you.

The Memphis Tigers play Temple at the Liberty Bowl at 7:00 tonight. If you’re going to the game, they are asking that you wear white to show support for your Tigers. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN, so it’s a chance to make Memphis look really good. Don’t forget, the eyes of the Big 12 may be on us.

Photo from the Blind Bear last night:

I took a photo of these two and posted it to Facebook and tagged them, but a couple of minutes later Stacey (on the right) ran over to me and said, “PAUL! That’s a horrible photo of me takeitdowntakeitdowntakeitdown deleteitdeleteitdeleteit.” They posted for another photo and she approved it. Geez. Women.

That’ll wrap it up with this morning’s post. I may be back later today. I will be doing my usual happy hour at the Silly Goose, probably with a more full crowd than usual due to people pre-gaming for the Grizzlies.

The Sinners for Saints Ball which is happening Saturday, October 29 at Stop 345 has posted a massive update as to what you can expect:

We hope you’ve got your costume picked out because we’ve got $1000s worth of prizes to give away. Not only do we have a costume contest featuring a panel of judges including some of your favorite on air personalities, DJ Lil’ Egg Roll will be hosting a late night costume karaoke contest in The Indoor Trailer Park and Voodoo Lounge. You will not find bigger prizes in town. We have gift packages from The Madison Hotel & Eighty3, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Rizzo’s Diner, Tamp & Tap (both locations), The Blind Bear, Silly Goose, Max’s Sports Bar, SOB, Lafayette’s, Bangkok Alley, Green Beetle, Alchemy, Café Keough, Elite Men’s Health, La Hacienda, Crossfit Hit & Run, Oak Hall, The Baer’s Den, Rabata, Jerry Lee Lewis’s, Boneheads, Hi-Tone, Tony’s Trophy Room, Nail Bar, SVR Nails, Fontaine Botanic Skin Care, and MORE. Not only that, to honor this year’s fallen rock gods, I will personally give out $200 CASH for the best David Bowie or Prince costume. More details to come, but don’t wait to buy tickets they’re selling fast and last year SOLD OUT. See you in a couple weeks…

Not sure “I” is in the quote above, but to make it clear, it isn’t me. Although I consider the best Halloween party Downtown and I will be going, I am not one of the organizers.

Guess I need to buy my ticket soon… as they said, this party did sell out prior to start time.

Big River Crossing, the pedestrian path across the Harahan Bridge to Arkansas, opens Saturday, October 22. Opening will be at 1 PM, with food and live entertainment from 4 to 7, and fireworks at 7. With that being the first day of RiverArtsFest, the south side of Downtown is going to be hopping. Venues like Loflin Yard, The Dirty Crow Inn, and (if open by then) the Ghost River taproom might want to plan some fun stuff to capitalize on the large number of people who will come to the area.

It makes me a bit sad that we’re far enough into the fall that fireworks can be shot at 7 PM. A month and a day from now, we will be back on Standard Time and it will be getting dark at 5.

The Commercial Appeal’s 9:01 column has a recap of “How to Leave Your Car at Home” last night at High Cotton.

If you like to bring your dog out with you, Felicia Suzanne’s tweeted yesterday that their patio is pet-friendly.

It’s supposed to hit 90 today or tomorrow. When I taught Concepts of Numbers in the 1990s, I used weather to teach probability. I remember saying that there was an 0.7% (at the time) of a high reaching 90 in Memphis in October. What do you think the probability is in 2016? 50%? Seems like it’s hard to have an October without one day in the 90s anymore. But global warming isn’t a real thing, it’s just a myth of the “liberal media,” people claim.

Relevant story for Tennesseans: After defeating Al Gore Sr. for his Senate seat in 1970, Sen. Bill Brock faced reelection in 1976. However, it was revealed that he used tax loopholes to end up paying only about 5% in taxes in 1975. It may have been a savvy business move, but workers who made so much less than Brock were angered that he paid less taxes than they did, and they voted him out of office, electing Democrat Jim Sasser. Quite similar to the tax revelation about the Trumpster over the weekend.

Well, I wasn’t “mayor” of Rizzo’s for long. Katie (not Mac) stole it from me on Swarm last night. Congratulations to her! I am proud I got to hold that mayorship, even if only for a few days.

Heading out to run errands… I will be out at the Silly Goose for happy hour after work.

Y’all, I just had the worst nightmare ever. I dreamed that Donald Trump’s estate was undergoing renovations, so he decided he was going to be my roommate and moved in. I told him over and over again that I didn’t want a roommate and I would like him to leave, but he behaved just like real-life Trump, piling lie on top of lie and denying things he had said previously. “It’s only going to be until April,” he said. “Look, I’m already moved in, let’s just make the best of it. It’ll be terrific.” After I woke up from that dream I was afraid to go back to sleep, even though it was only 4 in the morning and I had plenty of time.

NASCAR fans: Saturday morning from 9 to 10 you will be able to meet Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Bass Pro at the Pyramid. He will make the appearance as part of Flocktoberfest, a ten day long waterfowl hunting event that will happen October 7 to 16.

With Leslie Gower having announced a move to Chattanooga at the end of this year, the Downtown Memphis Commission is seeking a new Director of Marketing and Communications.

Star & Micey will be back at Loflin Yard this Friday for a show from 9 to midnight. They recently provided live music at the yard for the Memphis Farmers Market’s fall party, Farm Fest.

This is good news for the environment. A beer company has developed six-pack rings that feed marine life rather than kill it.

The Side Street Steppers have been announced as the live music for Tacos & Tunes on Felicia Suzanne’s patio Thursday night. $2 tacos, $5 drinks.

High Cotton will host a welcome Meritan to the neighborhood party on Friday, November 11 from 6 to 9 PM. They will welcome their new neighbors down the way at 345 Adams, and renderings of the building will be shown. $10 admission gets you a pint glass and a token for a pint of one of High Cotton’s beers.

My friends in South Side Supper Club (that’s a band, not a supper club) posted some upcoming dates. In the near future is tomorrow night, Thursday, October 6, they will be at Earnestine & Hazel’s. Then on Saturday, October 15, they will play the Memphis Farmers Market. Tomorrow’s show may be a bit late for me to get all the way south, but I will DEFINITELY see you at the Market on the 15th!

Small amounts of marijuana have been decriminalized in Memphis. By a 7 to 6 City Council vote, possession of a half ounce or less of weed is now subject to a misdemeanor ticket and a $50 fine.

That’s the news this nightmarish Wednesday morning. May be another post later today.

The only vice-presidential candidate debate of the 2016 election season happens tonight. Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Mike Pence will square off tonight at 8:00. The debate will be carried on most major networks and streamed on the New York Times website. Elaine Quijano of CBS News will moderate. This most likely won’t be the trainwreck that the first Clinton-Trump event became, but you never know…

If you weren’t at last night’s Grizzlies preseason game, you need to read this recap. In the third quarter, out of the blue, head coach David Fizdale handed Mike Conley the clipboard and told him to start coaching! Fizdale, recognizing that Conley has one of the highest basketball IQs in the league, wants the Grizzlies’ starting PG to be vocal with his teammates this season. In other news, rookie Wade Baldwin looked like a star last night, despite a few too many turnovers. If he has learned one thing in training camp, it’s “When you can get the ball to Z-bo, get the ball to Z-bo.” Not a bad thing to learn.

I posted this once before, but apparently this is a big deal, and some of my friends are really behind this event: Jennifer Westwood and the Handsome Devils play The Dirty Crow Inn tomorrow night, Wednesday, October 5, from 8 to 11 PM. I’m just going to paste the description below, borrowed from Facebook:

Jennifer Westwood cut her teeth on Detroit Gospel before hitting the gritty Detroit bars that set her career in motion. She has been a Detroit Music Award winner and nominee in several categories, and has contributed music to multiple Emmy Award winning commercials and documentaries, as well as film.

She first found confidence to consider music as a career by the encouragement of a church acquaintance, a professor of music who had previously served as ensemble choir director for the late Bishop C.L. Franklin, father of Aretha. Performing in church lead to her first work in the outside world, singing backup locally for Motown artist Carl Carlton (Bad Mama Jama). Studio work for various local artists followed, first in R & B and soul genres, followed by roots and blues. Those experiences gave her insight on the direction she wanted to embark on for her own music before leaping out on her own. It also opened doors for commercial work due to her vocal flexibility and enthusiasm.

The same enthusiasm has driven each performance — whether it has been 7 ppl, on up to 70,000. Sharing the bill with rock icon Patti Smith at the world’s largest Masonic Temple have marked a highlight of her performance career.
Jennifer has fully embraced the character and spirit of Detroit; and considers her greatest accomplishment to be creating a career in music during some of the most troubling economic times for her hometown.

There are no musical limitations with Jennifer Westwood and the Handsome Devils. The skill set and accomplishments that each member has earned helps them create a format where no style is out of bounds. Somehow, it all sounds familiar, but unique all the same. Truly a melting pot of musical ability and knowledge, the band makes a statement with each note and the sky is the limit.

Want to help be part of the solution to make Memphis Animal Services better? Plan on attending this meeting organized by TargetZero next Monday at the Central Library. It’s open to everyone interested in reducing shelter intake and increasing the number of animals saved in Memphis.

Spam email subjects get ever funnier and more creative… a pharmaceutical company informed me that I can “knock on her wet cave door ten times a night” with their bogus sexual enhancement supplement. I would like to meet the morons who fall for this marketing.

Site a co-worker showed me today: DownDetector, which lets you monitor network traffic over time for many big Internet providers and public businesses. They monitor traffic from companies like AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, Comcast, Time Warner, Vonage, Google, Cox… and also Pokemon Go. Too funny.

Keep an eye on the track for Hurricane Matthew if you have friends on the East Coast. Looks like Wilmington and Greenville, North Carolina and Norfolk, Virginia could take direct hits if the storm remains on its current track.

It’s National Taco Day, so I will say it one more time… if you have not been to Maciel’s Tortas and Tacos yet, you are missing out! Authentic Mexican food at a very good price point, and the owner and staff just couldn’t be nicer. If the unassuming storefront on Main between Monroe and Union has kept you from checking this place out, take my word for it – Maciel’s is the real deal!

I wish the tandoori truck that comes to Memphis Farmers Market would pull up in my company’s lot in Horn Lake right about now… for some reason I have a hankering for lamb kabobs over rice. Alas, but it is not to be… I am probably looking at a crappy microwave dinner from Kroger for my lunchtime nutrition. The kabobs will have to wait until Saturday. That’s all for now. I will be out at happy hour at (most likely) Blind Bear after work.

The Experience Hendrix Tour will be coming to the Orpheum Thursday, March 17, 2017. A diverse array of talented musicians will come together to celebrate the music of Jimi Hendrix. Expect renditions of Hendrix favorites including “Purple Hzae” and “Little Wing.” Tickets go on sale Friday, October 7. Visit the tour website to learn more.

Scandals and Scoundrels, a notorious tour of Elmwood Cemetery, will happen Saturday from 2 to 3:30 PM. Among the cemetery’s 75,000 residents are madams, corrupt politicians, all kinds of sinners… and not all the stories have happy endings. Learn about some of the people who brought notoriety to the Bluff City. Tickets are $15 and this is an all-walking tour. They are requesting that the tour be grown-ups only.

Saturday after the Razorbacks game in Little Rock, head coach Bret Bielema and his wife Jen flew home with offensive lineman Frank Ragnow. Ragnow’s father died shortly after the game. Bielema is a class act through and through. “I tell [parents] all the time that I will look after your son, and I mean it.” Well done, Coach B, Hog Nation is proud of you. The Razorbacks host #1 Alabama Saturday at 6 PM, with a nationally televised game on ESPN. You know Max’s Sports Bar will be packed for that one!

This isn’t Downtown news, but it’s about someone many Downtowners know so I’m including it in the blog today. The Broad Avenue Arts District made an excellent hire for the new executive director, talented artist Katie McWeeney Powell. When Katie bartended in the early days of Brass Door, I spent quite a bit of time talking to her about her art. Congratulations, Katie.

J.R. Willett’s Banjos & Bonfires returns to Felicia Suzanne’s on Thursday, November 3. There will be beer, bourbon and bites, with the beer coming from Wiseacre and the bourbon from Willett Distillery. $50 to attend.

The Daily News has an article on Artspace Lofts for which construction is now under way. The lofts will provide affordable living space for working artists, with prices ranging from $550 to $850 a month, well below the South Main market average rent.

I know I have a few readers up in Chicago, and this one’s for you: Wiseacre beer, brewed right here in Memphis, is coming to the Windy City. To celebrate, there will be a West Loop pub crawl next Monday, October 10. Tickets are $20.

Catherine and Mary’s has announced a happy hour of 4-6 PM on weekdays with drink specials and snacks. In addition, when it is a Memphis Grizzlies or Memphis Tigers game day, Wiseacre beers will be on special for $4 during happy hour.

Beer coaster etiquette

In Sunday’s post, I took a step back in time to the era of our grandmothers, when nothing was more important than good manners. For those who own PBR koozies, I demonstrated correct and incorrect use. Today I am back to address a similar issue of etiquette.

Yesterday at Bardog, Melissa brought me my mug of PBR and placed this coaster in front of me. Is it appropriate to put a delicious PBR on a coaster advertising such a terrible beer?

The answer is YES. It is appropriate.

By covering up the Coors Light logo with a considerably better beer – the best beer of all, in fact – you make the place classier. Bartenders and bar owners will appreciate you projecting their establishment in such a positive light. Putting a PBR on a Coors Light coaster (or Bud Light, Miller Lite, Michelob, etc.) is good manners.

That’s it for now, time to head in to work. Possibly another post at lunchtime.

Basketball makes a much-awaited return to FedExForum tonight! The Memphis Grizzlies will host the Orlando Magic in a pre-season game.

The last Wednesday of every month, Mayor Strickland holds a staff meeting to get an update on the city’s key initiatives. In the interest of transparency, the mayor has published the presentation from the September meeting so citizens can see the data for themselves. I like the way Strickland runs things. No secrets.

There will be a presentation called How to Leave Your Car at Home tomorrow at the High Cotton taproom from 6:30 to 8. Transportation experts will lead a discussion on how we can change our behavior to become less reliant on cars. Best practices will be shared to become more multi-modal in our lives. Speakers will be available to mingle and share ideas following the presentation. You do need to register to attend this event but it is free. Light refreshments will be served and High Cotton beer will be available for purchase. There will be a special incentive for people who walk, bike, take public transportation, or carpool to this event.

Happy Hour Rocks! happens at Loflin Yard Wednesday, October 19 from 5 to 8 PM. You can paint 901Rocks to hide around town. Not an artist? Doesn’t matter, the only goal of the event is to have fun. $5 to join in (cash preferred) which will benefit SchoolSeeds, a program devoted to raising funds for Shelby County Schools.

The South Main Association will do something different this month at its October meeting. After a 6 PM social, at 6:30 the meeting will break into focus groups to discuss whether SMA is meeting its mission and what can be done to make 2017 its best year yet. The meeting will be Tuesday, October 12 at the Halloran Centre. Appetizers donated by RiverArtsFest, beverages by SMA. Free for members, $10 non-members.

Former Memphis Tigers quarterback Paxton Lynch threw his first touchdown and led the Denver Broncos to a win yesterday.

The Brass Door is hiring part-time positions for bartender, dishwasher/barback, and server.

That’s it for now. I’ll be out for Melissa Monday at Bardog after work as usual.

Got a question for my readers. The past couple of weeks I have been walking around the Memphis Farmers Market, I have noticed that there seem to be a disproportionate number of Chinese people who shop there. Are farmers markets a big thing in China? Do I have any Chinese readers who can shed some light on this? Just wondering.

I stuck to my plan of getting pakoras from the tandoori truck yesterday.

Pakoras are spinach and onion dipped in batter. If you haven’t tried these at the Market, you are missing out!

Right as I picked up my order, a lady asked me what they were and I showed them to her. She ordered pakoras as well, and later we crossed paths again and she told me I have been missing out by not putting any of the sauces they have next to the napkins and forks. There is a chimichurri sauce, a chutney, and a pickle sauce I believe. I will try at least one of those next time I get the pakoras.

By the way, the food truck is run by David’s Catering. Here’s their Yelp page. From the page I learned that they are a Pakistani business, rather than Indian as I had thought. They are at St. Jude on Mondays and the Memphis Botanic Garden on Wednesdays.

PBR koozie etiquette

Too often in this digital age, good manners are all but forgotten. Sometimes I think it is nice to step back in time to the era of our grandmothers and study proper manners. Consider the following two photos:

As my readers know, back in August my friend Zack gave me a PBR logo koozie that looks like a brown paper bag. In the top photo I illustrate proper use of the koozie, using it to keep a bottle of PBR nice and cool.

In the bottom photo, however, the koozie is folded and lying flat on the bar. It would be disrespectful to the bar, the PBR brand, and the universe in general to put an inferior quality beer in a PBR koozie.

If you’re ever lucky enough to receive the gift of a PBR koozie, I will hope you will have good manners and keep what I wrote here in mind. Your grandmother would be proud.

(By the way, if you’re wondering what in the world I was doing ordering a Bud, Earnestine & Hazel’s ran out of PBR after my second one.)

When I got the koozie, which is very thin, I predicted it would last about a month. However, today is day 50 with the koozie and it will be in use at D-RANKS with B-RAD here in a bit.

Mr. Mister

About 12:30 I left E&H and walked over to my “home away from home on the south side,” Max’s Sports Bar, to watch football. The Arkansas game started at 11, but the Hogs had their final cupcake opponent of the year in Alcorn State. As a result, I didn’t feel the need to be there right at the beginning of the game, and in fact by the time I sat down at Earnestine & Hazel’s a few minutes after 11 the Hogs were already up 10-0.

While the game was on halftime break, I went out to the back deck and checked out the new misting system they have installed to keep customers cool.

It works great. Max has really gone above and beyond to make all his customers, smokers and nonsmokers, happy. By the way the inside bar area is a thousand percent better without all that nasty cigarette smoke. If you tried Max’s in years past, and liked it but couldn’t stand the smoke, give it another chance. I think you will like it.

I was going to stay at Max’s all afternoon, but around 2 the bar started to fill up with horrendous UT orange. After Arkansas won 52-10, I decided it was time to make my exit.

Two of Max’s regulars were notably absent – my favorite West Virginia fans, Emmy and Kenneth. They traveled to Morgantown to watch their Mountaineers pull off a 17-16 win over Kansas State. West Virginia is going to be knocking on the door of the Top 25 this week, I bet!

I walked to the Blind Bear, where they had the Tennessee-Georgia game on. My favorite pair of librarian glasses, a Georgia fan, was bartending, and my buddy Chad, a Tennessee fan, was sitting at the bar. Most everybody but Chad was pulling for Georgia – not because they’re Georgia fans, but because they hate Tennessee. You know, I saw a meme on Facebook yesterday – “Some people hate Hillary, some people hate Donald… but everyone hates Tennessee.”

Dinner gets an upgrade

Late in the afternoon I walked back to Max’s, but after one beer I started to get hungry. I decided to walk over to Spaghetti Warehouse and get dinner. I walked up Main, thinking “Hmmm, hardly anyone is in Rizzo’s today” as I passed Butler. I turned left on Huling, crossed Front, and this is what I saw:

The parking lot was absolutely packed. Spaghetti Warehouse is one of those restaurants I have never quite figured out. Usually if restaurants are not on the well-traveled paths like Main, Second, Monroe, Union, Beale, or G.E. Patterson, they have a lot of trouble attracting customers. That is not the case for Spaghetti Warehouse, tucked away at Huling and Wagner. They have been doing gangbusters ever since I was in college. “Why is this place so busy, and Rizzo’s not, when the food at Rizzo’s is so much better?” I wondered.

Then I thought, “Wait a minute, why am I not at Rizzo’s?” So I walked back.

I got a seat at the bar. The restaurant, in fact, filled up within 20 minutes of my arrival. It’s just that I got there before 5:30. People who want a McDinner are ready to eat at that hour, but most people who want a nice dinner tend to eat it a bit later.

The bartender, Phillip (not sure if one “l” or two, sorry if I misspelled the name there) poured me a Wiseacre beer and handed me a menu. “You also have the the option of just requesting Chef to do whatever he wants for your dinner,” Phillip told me. “For 40 or 50 bucks he can whip you up something nice that is four courses.” That was awfully tempting, and sometime I am definitely going to go that direction. However, I’d already had the pakoras, and I’d been drinking PBR all day. A dinner that memorable should not be done until I’m fully able to appreciate it. So I ordered off the menu. I chose the seafood pasta.

This was a meaty bowl of pasta, with plenty of big chunks of tuna, salmon and other seafood along with tomatoes and mushroom in linguini topped with parmesan. Phillip made an excellent point: The sauce on the dish is light, complementing it without overpowering the taste of the seafood. Very true. My dinner was delicious, as I would expect with Michael Patrick in the kitchen.

As an added bonus, when I checked in on Foursquare/Swarm, I became “mayor” of Rizzo’s! This prompted my friend Katie (not Mac) to comment, “How are you the mayor when I am there more than you?”

Absolutely fabulous day yesterday. I had to grade it, it would get an A+. Perfect weather, perfect neighborhood, perfect entertainment.

Actually, no I will downgrade it to a regular A. Tennessee would have to lose for it to be an A+ day. By the way the owner of the FireButch.com domain was at the Bear at the same time I was. Well, at least there’s one Tennessee fan I respect.

News and random stuff

This morning I was thinking about how WWE sometimes has Fatal Four-Way matches. Maybe soccer should try that. You know, instead of a rectangular field (or pitch or whatever they want to call it), have a square field, with a goal on each side and four teams playing at the same time.

Paul Taylor plays Loflin Yard tonight at 7.

There really isn’t a lot of “special” stuff going on today, but for people who want to get out tonight, I will make three recommendations for events that happen weekly.

The Memphis Jazz Orchestra has its weekly rehearsal at Alfred’s at 6 PM on Sundays. This is a relaxing way to wind down a weekend. People get out on the dance floor and swing dance to the music. My neighbor Kitty Wompas who did the head-shaving at St. Jude is a big fan of this event.

Over at the Hard Rock Cafe, Sundays are Blues Jam nights with the Memphis Blues Society. That starts at 7.

There is no better place to catch FreeWorld than the Band Box at Blues City Cafe. That is the place where they feel the most freedom to be themselves and just totally jam out. Dr. Herman Green is a living legend and the band can play most any tune you can name. They take the stage at 9:30.

All right. Long post is over, my I ♥ Sunday School shirt is fresh out of the dryer, and it’s time for D-RANKS with B-RAD, also known as the Sunday edition of Hung Over Like a Bear brunch at the Blind Bear. Brunch runs from 11 AM all the way to 6 PM, so if you get up late today, you still have time. Now that I think about it, D-RANKS with B-RAD is to me what Sunday night at Blues City is to FreeWorld – the place where I have the most freedom to be myself and I know no one can mess with it. Time to put that PBR koozie to work!

Wine on the River benefiting Youth Villages will happen tonight at Mud Island River Park from 5 to 9 PM. You will be able to sample over 90 wines from national and international vineyards. $59 general admission ticket gets you a souvenir glass and all beverage samples. Live music by Young Petty Thieves, Chinese Connection Dub Embassy, and J.R. Moore. Food by The HoneyBaked Ham Compay, Newby’s, Runway Grille, City East Bagel and Grille, Cordova Catfish, Pronto Pups, Central BBQ, Cafe Society, and SideStreet Burgers will be available for purchase. Needless to say, you must be 21 or over to get in.

A Halloween Cocktail Tour of Downtown Memphis will happen Saturday, October 29 from 4:30 to 7 PM. Stops include Belle Tavern, Cafe Pontotoc, and Rizzo’s Diner. In addition to cocktails, plenty of food will be served. Be prepared to walk about 1.5 miles. You’ll get to go behind the scenes with chefs and bartenders. Tickets are $55.

387 Pantry and City & State will be transformed into Luke’s Diner for a day to celebrate the anniversary of the premiere of The Gilmore Girls on October 5.

The AutoZone National Sales Meeting this week is said to be pushing the renovations to Cook Convention Center. With AutoZone adding 150 stores a year, the meetings get bigger and bigger. On Tuesday they rented out FedExForum for a PBR event for their sales staff (Professional Bull Riders, not my kind of PBR).

Tonight is Blues Night at Loflin Yard with the Daddy Mack Blues Band playing from 7 to 10.

Real2Reel, the photography studio on South Main, is being kicked out of its home at the end of October. They are not sure where they will relocate. I will miss seeing David and Moo Moo on Saturdays as I walk to the Farmers Market.

PANTYRAID comes to the New Daisy tonight at 10.

Paulette’s has published the menu for its October wine dinner with executive chef Jeremy Jaggers Tuesday, October 4.

Last night as I walked to Trolley Tour, I thought about how excited I am going to be having Slider Inn occupying the space that is currently the bocce ball court and the building behind it on Mulberry. With Slider Inn having such a huge outdoor component, that will be a lot more eyes on South Main into the wee hours… which will make that block of main considerably safer. With Slider Inn on that block and the Chisca occupied a couple blocks to the north, there really won’t be an easy point of entry from the east for the bad guys anymore.

Downtown Memphis is losing two good people this week. Longtime Downtown Memphis Commission marketing and communications director Leslie Gower is off to Chattanooga to accept a position there. Also, Mandy Marie, bartender/server at Blind Bear and Agave Maria and instructor at Painting with a Twist, is off to St. Louis today. I wish both of you luck in whatever the future brings.

It’s time for me to go shopping for fresh produce at the Memphis Farmers Market on a beautiful Saturday morning! Plans for the rest of the day TBD. Back tomorrow with more news.

Treat Your Beast is the theme at tomorrow’s Memphis Farmers Market. There’s a lot for your dogs at the Market. Farm House Barkery has dog treats and Heart of Eden has dog care products. You can also shop any of the Market’s several meat vendors and get a bone to give your dog. Dogs’ 2nd Chance will be on hand from 9 to noon for adoptions.

In other Farmers Market news, kids can make farm animal masks in the crafts area from 9 to 11. They can make animal noises while making their masks. The National Kidney Foundation of West Tennessee will be on hand from 8:30 to 12:30 passing out information. Market sponsor Subaru will bring a demo model. Live music by Angela Sue Cheslock from 8:30 to 10 and Seth Austin 11 to 12:30. The Market happens every Saturday from 7 AM to 1 PM under the pavilion at Front and G.E. Patterson.

I PLAN ON BEING THERE tomorrow and I hope the tandoori truck is back! I am in the mood for vegetable pakoras. They give you so many though… I need someone to share my pakoras.

The Grizzlies have an open house tomorrow from 2 to 5 at FedExForum where those considering buying season tickets can test-drive their seats. From 6 to 8 there will be a Blue-White Scrimmage.

A new store called Southern Creed will be coming to South Main soon, selling Southern-inspired fashion of owner Rebecca Thomason’s own design. The store will be the product of the MEMshop program, helping connect business owners and underused or vacant storefronts so the owners can build their businesses.

Susan from the Hungry Memphis blog and former Memphis Flyer writer Bianca checked out Zaka Bowl, the new vegan-bowl restaurant in East Memphis which is the brainchild of Ed from South of Beale.

James Taylor from TV’s The Bachelorette will perform live at Tin Roof today at 8:30 PM. $5 admission.

Interesting: Large chocolate company hires meteorologists to analyze the impact of the weather on the chocolate business. This can include tasks like predicting the supply and size of almonds to go in Almond Joy candy bars. It can also mean looking out for storms and other weather events that might disrupt the supply chain. Thanks to MemphisWeather.net for tweeting this link.

BRIDGES is hiring for four full-time staff positions.

If you’re near a radio this afternoon, turn on WKNO FM 91.1 this afternoon at 3:45. Center for Southern Folklore director Judy Peiser will be on Checking on the Arts to talk about upcoming shows at the Center, as well as the Memphis Music and Heritage Festival that happened September 3-4.

USA TODAY, in its 34 years of operation, has never made a recommendation in a presidential race. However, this week they declared Donald Trump unfit to be president.

South Main Trolley Night should be beautiful this evening! I will be there. Come on out and enjoy South Main!

If you want to do something truly spooky and haunted for Halloween weekend, Elmwood Cemetery is hosting Spirits with the Spirits Friday, October 28 at 7 PM. There will be spirits by Joe’s Wines & Liquors, food by the Juice Plus+ Boys & Girls Club Technical Training Center, and sweets by Frost, Cafe Eclectic, Dinstuhl’s, and Jason’s Deli. There will be live music by Earnestine & Hazel’s house band, as well as fortune telling, palm reading, crystal ball gazing, mule-draw buckboard rides, a silent art auction, outdoor movies, and more. Recommended dress is black & white casual, but of course costumes and characters are welcome. Tickets are $70 per body or $125 couple, and are non-refundable. The event will happen rain or shine.

I wonder what fortune tellers do when they look in the crystal ball and see a bad fortune? I mean, I don’t know if I could tell someone “A crazy person is going to point a gun at you and shoot you at point-blank range” if that’s what I saw in the ball.

There’s an app for everything these days. One problem with buffets is that they throw a tremendous amount of food away at closing time every day. The BuffetGo app aims to change that. App users get a window, usually of 15 to 30 minutes, when they can come to the restaurant and grab leftover food, sometimes for as little as $2. I posted the app to Facebook last night and tagged the Nuh-Uh Girl. If BuffetGo comes to San Francisco she will be all over it.

Groundbreaking is finally going to happen on the ArtSpace Lofts on St. Paul. This has been 6 years in the making, and there will be a celebration today from 4:30-6:30. Ceremonial groundbreaking, “art shovels,” food trucks, and live music.

There will be a Purchased Lives Exhibit Talk with Joshua Rothman. He will talk on a topic related to the exhibit, a look at the economics of the American slave trade.

The Memphis Grizzlies 2016-17 home game promotional schedule has been released. On October 26, the first 10,000 fans will receive a “Grind City” T-shirt. New for this year are “Fizz Glasses” in honor of Coach Fizdale, to be given away November 25 when the Miami Heat play in Memphis. I don’t know if any of my readers do yoga, but if they do, later in the season there will be a Chandler Parsons yoga mat given away at the Houston game on January 21.

Speaking of yoga: Instructor Beth Cosi will be in town Saturday for a special class, The Yin Experience, Saturday from 1 to 4 PM at Downtown Yoga. Beth will guide the class through a Body Scan and Senses Experience, and will explain the three tenets of a Yin Yoga practice. $35. More information and sign-up here.

A fair that was scheduled for the weekend of October 7-8 in Tom Lee Park has been canceled because of a dispute over costs for security.

Michael Hicks Thompson will sign copies of his Christian murder mystery The Rector Friday night from 6 to 9 PM at South Main Book Juggler. The book is already a winner of several literary awards.

Rep. Steve Cohen will be joining President Obama’s delegation to Israel to attend the funeral of Shimon Peres.

That’s the news for now. I will be out at a Downtown location after work.