Paul Ryburn's Journal

I had a relatively new Memphian talk to me yesterday, and he told me that he really liked my post about Downtown Olympics, happening Saturday, April 16. He said, “Paul, I know April is a busy month Downtown, with a lot of outdoor festivals and events. Give me the inside scoop, man. Which ones will YOU be going to?” Okay, in addition to the aforementioned Downtown Olympics, here are some events in April that I plan to attend.

– The day after Downtown Olympics is Rajun Cajun Crawfish Fest benefiting Porter-Leath. In addition to crawfish, you can purchase boiled shrimp, traditional carnival fare (funnel cakes, snow cones, stuff like that) and food from several food trucks. The festival is on Riverside and Wagner Place between Union and Beale. Live zydeco music, crawfish races, bobbing for crawfish. A lot of fun and if the weather is right, the tube top watching can be excellent.

– The Southern Hot Wing Festival is Saturday, April 23 on Riverside Drive between Jefferson and Monroe. Teams compete to see who has the best wings. I have not been to this one the past couple of years, but plan on going in 2016 because I know more teams competing. I think my friends on Squeal Street BBQ told me they were entering this year. The wing fest is sponsored by my friends at Jack Pirtle’s. There will be live music and a hot wing eating contest. You can sample wings from the cook teams for a donation to Ronald McDonald House.

(Note to my BBQ team: My attendance at Hot Wing Fest means I will NOT be at the Southaven regional that weekend. I need someone to take photos and send them to me)

– The Beale Street Wine Race, or as I call it Debauchery Day, is Sunday, April 24. Teams from local restaurants and bars compete in an opening parade, Queen of the Vine, a grape stomp, and a relay race where the runners carry a tray of wine bottles. The event starts at 1 PM and you want to get there early, because the Queen of the Vine pageant is truly a sight to behold. If you aren’t driving, go to Wet Willie’s and get a Call-a-Cab before the pageant begins.

– This isn’t a festival, but since I was asked about outdoor events I will mention this: Downtown Memphis has one of the best farmers markets in the country, the Memphis Farmers Market, at the corner of Front and G.E. Patterson. Once market season begins on April 2, MFM happens every Saturday from 7 AM to 1 PM. What makes this market one of the best is that there is so much more than fresh produce: Live music, food trucks, dog adoptions, health fair presentations, cooking demos, meat vendors, bread vendors, salsa vendors, pre-prepared food vendors, crafts. Schedule and weather permitting, I like to go down there 9:45-10ish and stay until I have to be at Panda Time/Brunch with Bloom at Bardog at 11. Where Rajun Cajun is known for great tube top watching, the Farmers Market is known for great yoga pants watching.

– Another outdoor event that happens in April, as well as the other 11 months of the year, is South Main Trolley Night. The shops and galleries of South Main stay open the last Friday of every month from 6 to 9 PM, or really “6 PM until the musicians go home.” Live music up and down Main Street, art shows, and more. Excellent chance to meet your neighbors and mingle with them. In particular check out South Main Songwriter Night at 550 S. Main when you go. Some of Memphis’ best talent performs there, and it’s free to attend.

Moody Ques news: I have added a 2016 team member list to the team website sidebar (or footer if you’re on mobile). We have some awesome people on our team and a member list is something I have been wanting to do for a while. Team president Clay asked me yesterday, “Some of the people who were team members in 2015 are not listed, can you find a subtle reason to explain why?” Sure, I’m on it. I hope this conveys the right degree of subtlety:

WE WANT YOUR MONEY

If you haven’t paid your 2016 dues yet, pay them and I will add your name to the 2016 team member list. I will try to get you added within 24-72 hours.

On to the news… The Mersey Beatles play the Halloran Centre tonight. This is the most widely-known Beatles tribute band, with several costume changes, covering the Beatles’ entire catalog. In addition, John Lennon’s sister Julia will be there.

107 S. Main has a new owner. Allan Long has sold the blighted building on an otherwise bustling block of Main. This is great news. A mural is being commissioned to cover up the facade of that eyesore in the short term, and the building will be redeveloped in 1-2 years.

Wondering why the I-40 “M” bridge is dark at night? Electrical short.

The Grizzlies host the Utah Jazz tonight at 7, and they will host their first ever Go Green Game this Sunday, March 6. Prior to the game, from 1 to 3 fans can visit interactive stations around the lobby and get eco-friendly tips. They will be able to take photos with cutouts of their favorite Grizzlies and have them printed out immediately. The following Saturday, the Grizzlies will participate in a tree-planting event at Shelby Farms and fans are invited to join.

Five days after the Go Green Game, the Grizzlies have a big giveaway. Next Friday, March 11, the Grizzlies host the New Orleans Pelicans at 7 PM. It’s Wrestling Night and the first 3000 fans through the door get a Grizzlies Luchador Mask. I wonder if Jerry Lawler will show up and piledrive someone. If I remember correctly, they brought in “Nature Boy” Ric Flair for a previous wrestling night. WHOOOOOOOO!

Grizzlies center Chris “Birdman” Andersen has a new nickname: “Grizzilla.” Sache is making T-shirts.

Google searches for “Move to Canada” are up 350 percent since Donald Trump had a big showing on Super Tuesday. There’s a viral photo going around of Donald Trump Jr. holding the trunk of a dismembered elephant. It’s the perfect metaphor for the GOP right now.

Given Trump’s skin color and the fact that he’s a Republican in name only, should we color states he wins in November orange, rather than red?

That’s it for this long, newsy post. I will probably lead off at happy hour with Mary at the Blind Bear 5:30ish then figure out the rest of the evening from there.

A quick Moody Ques BBQ team update before I get to the Thursday news: We have confirmed a location for our March 19 MEAT & Greet team mixer and meeting. It will be at the Holliday Flowers warehouse at 444 Monroe. Time to be announced. We are asking for a nominal donation from team members who attend to help offset the cost of the meat. VERY IMPORTANT: Please RSVP to moodyques@gmail.com if you plan on attending so we can get an idea of how much to cook.

This is my second post of the day, and the first post was a big one: I announced the date for Downtown Olympics 2016. Be sure to keep scrolling after the end of this post and read about one of the spring’s most fun events.

Memphis Made Brewing Co. has announced Hopped II, a celebration of hoppy beers, from noon to 9 PM Saturday, April 9. New, old, and limited IPAs will be released throughout the day, and they will have a special bar dedicated to SMASH (Single Malt and Single Hop) beers. First 100 people will get a Hopped II pint glass. Live music by Big Barton (2-5) and Burney Warren (after Big Barton, until 8:30). The Hot Mess Burritos and Food Geek food trucks will be on hand for those who get hungry. The brewery is at 768 South Cooper. I have been there and can assure you it is well worth a 10-minute Lyft, Uber, or cab ride from Downtown.

The Majestic Grille has announced the ninth of its Ten ’til Ten dinner series, leading up to the Majestic’s 10th anniversary later this year. It will be on Tuesday, March 29 at 6 PM and will be called “Not Your Mammy’s Irish Table.” Dishes will include spring lamb, baby potatoes, Dublin Bay prawns, spring dug parsnips, and of course some Irish whiskey. $65 per person with tax and gratuity added. Reservations are required and must be made over the phone; call 901-522-8555 to make them.

Blake Shelton plays the FedExForum tonight at 7.

Meanwhile, over at the Orpheum at 6:30, it’s Elephant and Piggie’s We Are in a Play! The performance will have special conditions to make it comfortable for viewing by kids with autism or other sensory sensitivities.

Important PBR news: I have it from a reliable source that the Arcade will have $10 PBR buckets during Thursday night trivia.

The Downtown Memphis Commission is looking to fill three part-time positions for the Blue Suede Brigade. These Downtown ambassadors walk the streets of Downtown Memphis in blue shirts/jackets and white safari hats, greeting visitors and helping them find their way around our neighborhood.

Paramount has put hundreds of full-length movies on YouTube for free. My friend Rahul posted that link to Facebook yesterday. Sunday my friends B-RAD and Tony and I will discuss “that one time Rahul did something useful” in reference to his posting this link.

The Hard Rock Cafe and Rock Shop is closed for a private event this evening.

Don’t forget to keep scrolling down to read about Downtown Olympics.

A call to artists has been put out to design a temporary mural by the Downtown Memphis Commission and the owner of 107 S. Main. The goal is to improve the appearance of the building, an eyesore on an otherwise vibrant block of Main, for the next couple of years while the owner finalizes a plan to renovate. The artwork must be complete by May 1, 2016, must have a budget of no more than $10,000, and must be able to withstand the elements without maintenance for two years.

Taste of Memphis comes to Central Station Thursday, April 14 from 4:30 to 6:30 PM. There will be over 25 food vendors, a wine pull, and a silent auction. The goal is to support Young Life Urban Ministry, to help a group of inner-city teenagers experience a life-changing week at Young Life camp this summer.

Quench will have a free wine tasting this Friday from 5:30 to 7:30 PM. There will be tastings of new wines from California, Oregon, and beyond.

A MATA guard entered a guilty plea in the shoving death at North End Terminal of a 66-year-old man who was saying obscene things to a woman and who was slow getting off the bus. The man landed on his face and died of his injuries two months later.

The Grizzlies host the Sacramento Kings tonight at FedExForum at 7.

Hillary Clinton won Tennessee yesterday. Over the past week I have had a couple of people ask me, “You grew up in Little Rock, and you said you met Hillary one time. I have heard rumors about Hillary that her employees are scared to death of her. Her employees are said to move objects around the office to indicate the mood she’s in, with one of the object positions indicating, ‘Horrible mood, absolutely avoid Hillary at all costs.’ I’m just wondering if you knew people who have worked for her, and if they have told you stories like that?”

If the general election ends up being Hillary vs. Trump, I will vote for Hillary, based on the fact that I think she will appoint Supreme Court justices whose views are in line with my own, and that I don’t perceive her as a danger to the country as I do Trump. But to answer the question, yes. In 1993 I had a math tutoring client. We discovered we were both from Little Rock, and she mentioned she had worked for Hillary. I hate to say it, but she told me a story pretty similar to the one above.

Celtic Woman comes to the Orpheum this Sunday as part of the troupe’s Destiny Tour.

The Memphis Chamber opposes the hotel proposed for N. Front and Jackson in the Pinch. The opposition is not because of the hotel itself, but because the Chamber feels like an overall plan needs to be drawn up for that neighborhood.

From the Daily Beast: What are the most prejudiced places in America, based on tweets?

If you’re a member of the Moody Ques, keep scrolling because I put up a team info post this morning. One additional piece of news that has come in: We have received our acceptance letter from Memphis in May! Also, congratulations to our friends on Squeal Street who are moving up from Patio Porkers this year and joining us in Shoulder. Perhaps we will have booths near each other. That could be very interesting indeed!

Time to hit Publish and get back to work… I imagine I will see some of my fellow Moody Ques tonight at the Silly Goose tonight, and we can celebrate our acceptance with a beer.

Got a couple of pieces of news for my BBQ teammates in this morning’s post. First of all, the “MEAT & greet” team mixer is ON for Saturday, March 19. Our cook team has been to judging school, and has done a practice presentation for three certified BBQ Fest judges and got lots of quality feedback. The cooks are ready to show you what they have learned! They are planning to do a shoulder as well as several racks of ribs using our new process.

As for the location, we are still deciding. One option is to do the team mixer at pitmaster Frank’s house in the Poplar/Highland area (which is not Downtown). Frank has had the smoker this winter and has been doing as many practice cooks as time and weather permitted. (Follow us on Instagram at @moodyquesbbq for photos of the practices.) Another option is to have the meeting at the Holliday Flowers warehouse at 444 Monroe (which is Downtown). We had a cookout/team meeting there last August and it was the popular opinion of the team that it was an excellent space. It has a fenced-in outdoor parking lot so we can mingle outside if we get typical beautiful mid-March weather, and a large lobby to shelter us if we don’t. Now, as Director of Public Relations it is my official stance to be neutral as to which site we pick. I need to fill up some space in this post, however, so here is a portrait of our fifth president, James Monroe.

More filler: Here is a string of completely random numbers I generated: 44444444444444444444444444

IMPORTANT: We need to get an accurate head count so we will know how much meat to buy. If you think you will attend, please email us at moodyques@gmail.com.

Also, we still have a few spots for team membership open. If anyone has read about the team on here and has thought about joining, the meat & greet would be an excellent opportunity to meet the team members. Email the address above or paul@paulryburn.com if you would like to come. Have a look at our 2015 photo gallery for a look at what it is like to be on a team.

In addition, we have some good news to share with you. Royal Oak Charcoal is back on board with us as a partial sponsor. They will provide the charcoal and the wood for the Moody Ques. With the cook team having perfected its methods, quality charcoal and wood is a must, and we cannot thank Royal Oak enough for believing in us and being on board for 2016.

Although Royal Oak has been extremely generous to us, we are on the lookout for additional sponsors for 2016. We are one of the most visible teams in the park, with top three in Best Booth four years running. We’ve always been the best damn party in Tom Lee Park and we’re not changing that this year; however, we have stepped our cooking game way up in the past twelve months and will have some delicious meat to serve our sponsor’s guests. Take a look at our sponsor packet to get an idea of what we have to offer. If you want a printed copy of the sponsor packet, email moodyques@gmail.com and we will get one to you. Any level of sponsorship can be customized to suit your needs, so feel free to talk to us about what your ideal BBQ Fest experience would be.

Back at lunchtime or late afternoon with a news post. Got a few items in the queue already.

Gotta love Bruce V from the Memphis Flyer. Every Tuesday at 2:15, Cerrito Trivia tweets the trivia question of the week. Here was this week’s:

Q) Who was with Donald Trump when he visited the Memphis area last week?

— Cerrito Trivia (@cerritotrivia) March 1, 2016

Bruce V’s response:

@cerritotrivia 6,000 stupid racists?

— Bruce VanWyngarden (@sylamore1) March 1, 2016

The Downtown Neighborhood Association emailed their monthly newsletter today, and there is some good stuff in there. I want to share a few links for the benefit of those that don’t subscribe:

Hang a yellow ribbon to show that you miss the trolleys. There is now an app called Transloc you can use to find your trolley or MATA bus. Also, the trolley drivers are being trained to be ambassadors for Downtown. Drivers are being trained to share information about our neighborhood – for example, that the corner of South Main and G.E. Patterson is the most filmed location in the city. This adds value to the experience of riding the trolley.

Grizzlies president Jason Wexler spoke to the DNA recently. Wexler noted that the reason the Grizzlies are such a successful franchise is the organization’s tight bond with the community, and how the growth of the Grizzlies has correlated to the revitalization of Downtown.

The Downtown Memphis Commission gave the DNA an update on the fight against blight in the neighborhood.

DNA members helped clean up the riverbank recently.

Hopefully my readers are out voting today, and hopefully they are Feeling the Bern. Here’s an interesting article from the Daily Beast: Former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura will run for president if Bernie loses and Hillary becomes the nominee for the Democrats. Ventura hates both parties, seeing them as controlled by the oligarchy, and is an independent with a libertarian streak. I follow him on Facebook and I must admit I like a lot of what he has to say.

Energy-drink BBQ sauce will be on the menu when the Braves’ season opens in Atlanta. I hope this is something I never see in the Moody Ques tent at BBQ Fest.

That’s it for now. Home from work, off to happy hour with Mary at the Blind Bear. Time for some PBR.

The 43rd annual Silky O’ Sullivan St. Patrick’s Day Parade happens Saturday, March 12 at 3 PM on Beale Street. This is probably the best parade of the year, with local floats and marching bands. Expect to catch a lot of candy and beads being thrown from the floats (and expect to get hit in the head with a cabbage if you’re my friend Bones). The event is family-friendly. It’s a good idea to get there 30 minutes early and stake out your spot.

I learned something new about Bedrock Eats & Sweets at Main and Vance last night. I knew they had dine-in service, but did you know that they have pre-prepared food orders? There is a different menu (dinner and breakfast) each day, and you place your order by the previous Friday and arrange a pickup location. The menu looks really good with dishes like organic Italian meatball marinara with vegetables, chicken tikka masala, and banana nut bread with almond butter and breakfast sausage.

The owner of 100 N. Main could face a fine of up to $600 per day. In January, Judge Larry Potter ordered a fence to be put up around three sides of the building to protect pedestrians for falling debris. The problem is that it’s illegal to block a city sidewalk, punishable of a fine of $200 per day. 100 N. Main’s fence blocks three sidewalks.

Scoops. the gelato and crepe shop on G.E. Patterson, Instagrammed a photo of their brown sugar blueberry gelato. Looks good.

The search to find a company to manage Mud Island has been narrowed to two.

The Memphis Tigers have two regular-season road games left. They play at Temple Thursday night at 6 (ESPN), and at ECU on 3 PM Sunday. I’ll try to find out if my “home away from home on the south side,” Max’s Sports Bar, will be opening early for the Sunday game. Usually they do. Most likely these games will be two of our last chances to see Josh Pastner as head coach.

My favorite pair of librarian glasses was bartending Blind Bear last night, and I learned she also has tutored people in math and other subjects. I put myself through my first year of grad school by tutoring. My claim to fame is that I can explain derivatives, a core concept of calculus, in 10 minutes a way so simple that a 9-year-old could understand them. Maybe I will post that explanation on here sometime.

Off to work, perhaps another post later today.

Yesterday morning I led off at Bardog for Panda Time (Saturday brunch) as usual. Numerous groups had to be turned away because they had kids with them; for those not familiar with the law, bars and restaurants have to be 21+ if they allow smoking, which Bardog does. They always recommend sibling restaurant Aldo’s Pizza Pies around the corner to groups that have people too young to be at Bardog. That’s an excellent suggestion and I will add a few more: Irish pub the Brass Door, beer garden the Flying Saucer, Canadian-themed restaurant Kooky Canuck, perennial burger award winner Huey’s, South Main neighborhood bar the Green Beetle, and the downstairs of saloon and steakhouse Double J.

Recent performance on radio show Beale Street Caravan: The Memphis Ukulele Band at Sun Studio

When Kobe Bryant played his final game in Memphis this week, he gave Grizzlies guard/forward Tony Allen a pair of shoes signed “to the best defender I ever faced.”

Food recommendation: The Reuben wrap with spicy Thousand Island dressing on the top shelf of the grab & go at City Market. I had one for the first time Friday night and it was delicious.

Vote in this poll: If the Big 12 does expand, which two schools should it add?

I had several hard-core right-wing Republicans read my endorsement of Bernie Sanders yesterday and tell me, “Paul, it kills me to admit this, but your story of the smart kid who grew up in a bad part of town deserving the same opportunities as you… I find it awfully hard to disagree with that.” Cheers to my intelligent, well-spoken Republican friends. We may not pull the same lever in the voting booth but we both want what’s best for our country. I’m friends with many Republicans who post their political views on Facebook and I appreciate and respect your opinion, even if I don’t agree with it.

Unfortunately not all Republicans are intelligent and well-spoken. Pat Robertson, who by the way has endorsed Donald Trump, has proclaimed that people shouldn’t practice yoga because it will lead to them speaking Hindu. Never mind that Hindu is not a language. Stretchy exercises are cool, Robertson says, but chanting “Hindu” words is not cool because it can lead people away from the Christian faith. The sad thing is, there’s 12-13% of the population that will blindly believe everything Robertson says and fall off the cliff like lemmings. If you read the linked article and find any validity to Robertson’s claims, I have three words for you: YOU ARE STUPID. End of story.

From GQ: Just in time for President Trump, Canada introduces a bill that would make it easy to move there

Yesterday afternoon I was hanging out with my friends Tony and B-RAD at the Blind Bear. They wanted to go to South of Beale to visit former Bear brunch bartender Kaylea at her current job. I am always up for some Kaylea harassment so I came along. I was hungry so I got their hot dog special of the day with gator sausage.

I cannot describe how good this thing was, and the fried onions on the side added to the flavor perfectly. South of Beale is a place that needs to be on my radar more often for food. I have never had a bad meal there.

Later in the evening I was back at the Bear, hanging out with former Saucer girls Brittney and Whitney:

Also at the Bear, I revived a four-year-old “you need to wear more tube tops” conversation with one of the regulars.

I didn’t get to see the game, but congrats to my Hogs on their 75-65 win over the Knoxville Predators (UT) last night.

Time to get this day started. D-RANKS with “vocal” B-RAD at Blind Bear is first on the agenda today, followed by a trip to see Suzy bartending at Bardog. Back tomorrow (or maybe later today, who knows) with more news.

Somewhere in South Memphis, or Frayser, or Whitehaven there is a 17-year old kid who is every bit as smart as I am. However, life for him is different than life was for me at that age. He lives in a house with his brothers and sisters, supported by their mom who makes $13,500 a year at her two part-time jobs. The family constantly worries about getting so far behind on their utility bills that MLGW will cut power. He never met his dad, who left his mother 5 months before he was born.

A year from now he will graduate high school and it will be time to get a job and build a life of his own. Stocking the shelves at Save-a-Lot is an option, as is working the cash register at Taco Bell. If he works hard he might get promoted to assistant manager at either place, and eventually out-earn his mother by a few thousand a year.

Of course, there is a route to making the big money: Join a gang. Someone with his intelligence would be highly valued by a group like the Vice Lords. Of course, he would be expected to commit crimes, which could lead to him spending most of his life in prison. Worse, he could be shot and killed by a rival gang.

Getting a four-year liberal arts education after high school is not in the realm of possibility for this kid – not just because he can’t afford it, but because he has never been told that is an option for him; he can’t even conceive of such a thing. The owner of the rib shack around the corner from him dropped out of community college after a semester, but that is as much as he knows about college.

He can’t imagine getting a master’s degree. He can’t imagine being a graduate assistant teaching college classes, and then going on to teach college full-time for five years. He can’t imagine working for a company that builds rebate websites for companies like Coleman and Panasonic. He can’t imagine being a data engineer for a startup company that offers background checking services. He can’t imagine being a web developer supporting a card game played by millions.

I was able to achieve all those things because 1) I had the good fortune of being born into the middle class, and 2) from the time I was a little boy I was told I could – and should – be able to reach all of those goals.

Donald Trump may use “Make America great again” as his slogan, but you know what? Until that kid growing up in poverty has the same opportunities that I had, America is not as great as it should be. It is not living up to its potential.

When I was 15, I got kidney stones. Let me tell you, they hurt like hell. The pain has been compared to that of giving birth, and I believe it. Thank goodness I was covered by my mother’s insurance, and I was able to go to the emergency room and get drugs to dull the pain, and then the treatment I needed to pass the stones. I hope I never get kidney stones again, but if I do, my company has an excellent benefits package that will take care of me.

If the kid in the bad part of town gets kidney stones, what will happen? Maybe his mother will take him to The MED and face a mountain of medical bills she can’t pay. Maybe the kid won’t go to the hospital at all, and suffer in silence. Maybe his family can scrape together enough money to buy him a bag of weed to smoke to lessen the pain.

“But Paul,” you’re saying, “If America adopted your values, you would be taxed 50 percent.”

No. That is not true. My tax rate would actually drop. If one day my income soars to $10 million a year, yes, I would be taxed at 50 percent. But the thing is, if I made that much money, I would feel a responsibility to help those who weren’t given the breaks I have been given in life.

Perhaps the most important responsibility that a president of the United States has is to appoint Supreme Court justices. Justices do not have a term; they serve for life, or until they decide to step down. Therefore a president can have a huge effect on public policy for decades after he or she leaves office. For the past 40 years the court has leaned conservative. As many as four justices could retire during the next president’s first term, offering him or her to re-shape the court. I would like to see justices in the mold of John Paul Stevens, Thurgood Marshall, Earl Warren, and Harry Blackmun. Yes, I would like to see more women on the court. Yes, I would like to see more people of color on the court. But first and foremost I want people on the court who are staunch defenders of the individual’s rights.

For these reasons I support Bernie Sanders for president.

If you share the vision I do, I invite you to #FeelTheBern on Tuesday.

I woke up this morning to find a string of missed texts. Apparently someone had a hissy fit because I don’t respond immediately to texts at 1:40 in the morning. I don’t mention it on this blog much, but I have a hobby I to which I devote some time every day. It’s called “sleeping” and 1:40 AM is often a time spent in pursuit of my hobby.

Geez…

Yesterday I ranted about women who put their purse on the barstool next to them at crowded bars, selfishly denying those who come in after them a place to sit. Carbunkle Trumpet, a recent New York transplant from Memphis, had this to say: “Here in Gotham the bartenders either knock (the purses) off into the floor or tell the females they will charge them double for their drinks b/c they are taking up 2 spots. They don’t mess around up here. That’s why we love it up here.” Sounds like a great idea to me, one that I wish the bartenders at my favorite Downtown spots would start putting into action. Remember, more available barstools = more people to tip you.

Flight at the corner of Main and Monroe has announced that it will start serving Sunday brunch from 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM. Menu items, in addition to traditional favorites, will include a flight of milk chocolate chip pancakes, French toast, and Belgian waffles and strawberries as well as options including farm fresh eggs such as Filet Mignon Benedict, confit of duck, and the French Quarter Scramble. Among the beverage options will be the Flight Bloody Mary, iced tea with lemon sorbet and Tennessee Coffee. There will be brunch starters and a raw bar as well.

Evelyn and Olive has announced a change to its weekend hours. Starting next weekend the hours will be 11 AM-10 PM Fridays and 4 PM-10 PM Saturdays.

There will be a burlesque show at Earnestine & Hazel’s at 8:30 tonight. I have heard these are a lot of fun and my next-door neighbor is one of the performers. It’s 21 and up with a $10 admission, $20 VIP.

Attorneys and sports agents are said to be astonished at the golden handshake in Josh Pastner’s contract with the University of Memphis. If the university fires Coach P, they will almost certainly have to pay him the full amount remaining, over ten million dollars, whether or not he decides to seek other employment. Agents commented that they would love to get that deal for their client coaches, but most schools won’t even hear of it. The reason for the golden handshake is said to be because in 2013 when Memphis made the round of 32, AD Tom Bowen was told after the NCAA tournament that a Power Five school wanted to talk to Josh. President Shirley Raines told Bowen to do whatever was necessary to go ahead and lock Pastner down. New U of M president David Rudd is not a fan of golden handshakes and let Bowen know there will be no more of them in the future.

The director of development of Roots Memphis Farm Academy, an organization that trains and launches new farmers in the Mid-South, has been reading my blog and knows what a big fan of fresh produce I am. She emailed to tell me that Roots Memphis has a CSA of its own – Community Supported Agriculture, the subscription service where you sign up, pay a fee, and then get locally-grown vegetables delivered to a drop-off point near you once a week. 387 Pantry on South Main is a drop-off point for this CSA, very convenient for Downtowners. It is a 27-week CSA and pickup will be 4 to 7 PM on Wednesdays. Subscribers can pick from three different sizes depending on their vegetable consumption. Sign up here and if you use code 2016FRIEND, your first week of produce is on Roots. Here is the projected availability of crops for the CSA (click to view in larger size):

This week in Sports Illustrated, there will be an in-depth story on the alleged sexual assault/sexual discrimination culture in University of Tennessee athletics. The article quotes an attorney who was the UT’s general legal counsel from 1972 to 2008. “The university, in the last several years, has been more concerned with bad p.r. than about taking action to protect its students,” he said. Yes that’s how it sounds to me too. Athletic director Dave Hart needs to be careful not to let the door hit his ass on the way out, and head football coach Butch Jones should be right behind him.

Maybe we should start referring to the team as the Knoxville Predators. I see that a school where men treat women right, Arkansas, takes on the Predators in men’s basketball tonight at 6:30. It’s time to CALL THOSE HOGS!!!

Moody Ques members: Save the date. We’re looking at Saturday, March 19 as the make-up date for our team mixer, our “MEAT & greet” if you will. As you remember, we had one scheduled for February 13, but we decided that having a team event on Valentine’s Day weekend was a bad idea (also it was too damn cold). March 19 is not a holiday (except in San Juan Capistrano, California where it is the day the swallows return). It’s not the date of the Beale Street St. Patrick’s Day parade, which will be March 12 (reminds me, I need to blog about that). It’s still early in the year and won’t conflict with spring festival season. The date is not set in stone yet, but it’s looking like an option.

That’s it for now. I need to get a post typed up about Super Tuesday, so look for that in the next day or two, as well as more news.