Paul Ryburn's Journal

Thanks to Captain Shane (far right) for the Photoshopped Millenium Falcon image. I created the logo image myself using a meme generator.

The stupid stuff you see on Facebook… one of my friends posted a selfie at Dallas Cowboys’ stadium yesterday, captioning it “In Mecca.” Yeah, since you’re in such a holy place, how about praying for a 5th win this season?

I ate lunch at Maciel’s Tortas and Tacos yesterday. It was good as always – this time I got the Tinga (spicy chicken) quesadilla with rice and beans. They had some news to pass along – next week they will have shrimp tacos and fish tacos. That is great news. I have no doubt their fish tacos will hold up to the ones I had in San Diego.

While I was waiting on my quesadilla, they gave me Mexican lagniappe in the form of an ear of corn with Mexican butter and salsa:

SO good. If you like Mexican food and have not been to Maciel’s yet, you MUST go. This is not a “when I get around to it” place. This is a “go immediately, because if you don’t you’re missing out” place.

Scribol has the 20 craziest things found on Google Earth. Number 11 is a Memphis thang. Atop Peabody Place there is a sign that reads, “come Downtown and play.” It is evidently there for the benefit of airplane passengers flying over on their way in to Memphis. Just don’t expect to play at Peabody Place mall itself; the mall has been closed for years.

While we’re on Scribol, they also have a list of the 20 most overlooked countries to visit in Europe. I must say I agree with number 14. In Romania you will find ancient castles, the Carpathian Mountains, and plenty of extremely hot girls.

Happy birthday to my “DAWG” John D. I will see him at brunch briefly this morning before he meets his parents for a birthday lunch.

Anyone who thinks military people don’t have senses of humor needs to watch this performance of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” by the United States Navy Band:

“Ghost Signs” are signs that are left behind long after the business the sign is advertising has closed. Ask Vance has information about the Wm. R. Moore ghost sign on the Nettleton Avenue underpass. The business was once one of the most successful in Memphis, a dry goods emporium.

Question for my readers to ponder: Which in general are stupider: Names of college football bowls held in the December 19-23 date range, or Weather Channel named winter storms?

The City of Memphis has made it easy to tell who’s a tourist and who’s not:

They’ve painted crosswalks on all the streets intersecting the Main Street Mall. If you see someone making a conscious effort to use these, they’re a tourist. Locals are going to continue to cross the street wherever they damn well please. You may occasionally see a local in a crosswalk, but it’s not because they meant to; it’s just where they happened to be walking.

Bet the crosswalks will make it easier for the bums to determine who to hit up for money. They will be a lot more likely to get a dolla from people who use the crosswalks.

There are several cigar stores in the Downtown core. South Main, you’re getting one in February. The Tinder Box will be coming to 346 S. Main, which is south of Pontotoc across from the Rumba Room. The store will feature hand-made premium cigars, a walk-in humidor, and a cigar lounge.

From the Daily News: Get to know your know City Councilpeople

From the Huffington Post: Republicans like Obama’s ideas a lot better when they think they are Donald Trump’s

The Blind Bear has its 4th anniversary party Saturday, December 26 starting at 8 PM. There will be food and drink specials and Roman Trio takes the stage at 10.

Time to shower, get dressed, and head to the Bear for D-RANKS with B-RAD. I would bid you adieu but I will let Patty Smyth do it for me:

I have news about yet another tribute band: The Mersey Beatles are coming to the Halloran Center on Friday, March 4. This is not just any Beatles tribute band: They are from Liverpool and had a 10-year residency at the Cavern Club, the basement club where the Beatles themselves played from 1960 to 1963. They have played sellout shows in 20 countries, and their work spans the entire Beatles catalog, with four costume changes throughout the show. (Wow, they change costumes almost as much as Raiford does!)

The music, however, is not the only reason to attend this show. Julia Baird, John Lennon’s sister will be there. She will be selling and signing copies of her book, Imagine This: Growing Up with My Brother John Lennon at the merchandise table. Julia is the Director of the Cavern Club. Tickets are $35/$40, plus there is a $52 ticket that includes a meet & greet with the band and Julia Baird.

Felicia has posted Felicia Suzanne’s New Year’s Eve menu. The restaurant will fill up, so if you want to be there make reservations soon.

Cafe Keough is now taking orders for Bouche de Noel, which I think is fancy talk for Christmas cake. They have chocolate mousse, hazelnut, and caramel flavors. Each has 10-12 slices per cake. Get your orders in by Monday, to be picked up December 23 or 24.

Random fact I learned from @HistoryInPics on Twitter: In the 1930s people used the acronym CHINA over the phone. It stood for Come Home I’m Naked Already.

A Memphian won the PBA World Championship Thursday night.

The Grizzlies play the Indiana Pacers tonight at 7. The first 5000 fans in FedExForum receive a special Z-Bow gift package.

Up early this morning doing an extra load of laundry! A week from tomorrow, there’s a pajama party at the Blind Bear for Sunday Hung Over Like a Bear Brunch/D-RANKS with B-RAD. I don’t really have any pajamas but it’s a reason to bring out the Arkansas Razorbacks Snuggie. It’s in the dryer now. I miss the Snuggie Pub Crawls we used to do in November.

I just realized something – assuming I make it tomorrow and to the pajama party, I will have made it to all 52 Sunday brunches at Blind Bear this year. Do I get some kind of certificate for perfect attendance?

There’s an ugly sweater party tonight at Club 152 starting at 10 PM. Music by DJ Tubbz and DJ Crumbz.

Yesterday after work, I decided I wanted to be away from Ole Miss fans, and since the Tigers and Grizzlies would be playing at the same time, I wanted to be in a place where I could comfortably watch both. A trip to the south side to Max’s Sports Bar seemed like the perfect plan.

I explained my reasoning for coming down to Michele, the bartender. “You’re just here because it’s Fireball Friday,” Michele said.

Michele understands me.

About 6:30 the power went out. All of South Main was dark. Michele locked the door, since the conditions were prime for a robbery, and reverted to her old system of keeping tabs on note cards. The owner of Cheesecake Corner next door brought over some candles, and those of us with flashlight apps on our phones fired them up. I checked Twitter and discovered that Maciel’s Tortas and Tacos (halfway between Union and Monroe) and points north had power, and south of that did not. It was the same situation that occurred in July 2014 when the power went out on a Friday evening for many hours. I was lucky enough to be at Bardog that night, which had power. This time I had to face walking a mile home in the dark if the power didn’t come back. Scary.

Most of the people at Max’s were pre-gaming for the Tigers game, but the FedExForum lost power too. They fired back up with a generator, but they couldn’t start the game. It was to be broadcast on ESPNEWS. “They’re saying it will take 45 minutes to reboot the ESPN truck once power comes back on,” someone said.

After an hour of darkness, the power came back. The TVs at Max’s took about 5 minutes to reboot, and then we were notified that the Tigers had an 8:07 PM tip time. Those with tickets left for the game. I stayed behind and watched the game with Otto and his dad Larry and my dance partner Linda (oooh, Katie (not Mac) is going to be jealous). Given what happened with both the Tigers and the Grizzlies, I wish the power had just stayed out for a few more hours. Watching that was painful.

After the game, my friend Shane said, “Me and Leigh are about to jet, if you want to catch a ride with us.” That sounded great. Given the number of Fireballs Michele had pushed on me, walking home was out of the question, and I was about to call a Lyft anyway.

This morning I was snoozing leisurely in bed, when all of the sudden I jumped up. I thought to myself, I don’t remember paying my tab last night! It would have been one of my bigger tabs at Max’s too – I even ate dinner there. I have only walked out on a few bar tabs (accidentally, of course) in my 13 years Downtown, and I hate it when I do. The thing is, the bartenders down here are not just people who serve me alcohol, but my friends as well. I don’t like shortchanging my friends.

Then I remembered when Shane tabbed out, he said, “Let me get Paul’s too. Merry Christmas.”

Merry Christmas to you too, Shane and Leigh. Thanks not only for the tab and the ride, but the reminder that Downtown is full of wonderful people.

Plans for today: I had such a good time at Max’s last night that I’m gonna do it again! It will be either my third or fourth stop following brunch with Bloom at Bardog and dranks with librarian glasses at Blind Bear, and a possible stop for Mexican food at Maciel’s. I plan on getting to Max’s between 4 and 5 and may very well stay to watch the Grizzlies game. Time to check and see if the Snuggie is dry yet, then I will get this day started!

There are lots of opportunities to hear music Downtown tonight. Tony Bennett performs at the Orpheum tonight with special guest Antonia Bennett. Show starts at 8 PM.

Meanwhile, over at the New Daisy, Who’s Bad? The Ultimate Michael Jackson Tribute Band takes the stage at 9.

Or, perhaps you would prefer to hear some local music… in that case, head to 550 S. Main at 7 to hear Paul Waits, Eric Hughes, Keturah A. Brown, Don McNatt, Karen McNatt and Tiffany Harmon in South Main Songwriter Night 20.

Memphis in May has extended its sale of all fine art posters through the end of the year. Use code HalfOff to save 50%.

Hungry Memphis checked out Sly’s South Main Burger at the Green Beetle. Hash browns are baked in the beef patty and it’s topped with bacon, cheddar cheese, and an egg cooked to order. Now that’s my kind of burger! It’s $12 but is big enough to have leftovers for a second meal.

Here’s a reason you should eat Sly’s South Main Burger: New research says that a vegetarian diet could actually be worse for the environment. Eggplant, celery, and cucumbers look particularly bad when compared to pork or chicken, the study says. A professor notes that eating lettuce is three times worse in greenhouse gas emissions than eating bacon, and that common vegetables require more resources per calorie than most people realize.

“But when everything was tallied up, it wasn’t looking great for all the kale-munching, clean-eating freaks on Instagram,” the article notes. Hahahaha. Kale-munching freaks. Love it.

Memphis plays Ole Miss at FedExForum tonight. Radio personality/writer John Martin has Memphis as a 3-5 point favorite.

If you’re on Twitter, here’s a drinking game: Drink every time a photo or video of BB-8 appears in your feed. If you want to get really hammered, drink every time any Star Wars character appears. I suppose the same game could be played with Facebook as well.

Congrats to my alma mater Rhodes on being named a Best Value College by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.

Congrats to One Commerce Square on their recent Leadership in Energy & Environment Design(LEED) Gold Certification. The building won the certification after a redesign by Looney Ricks Kiss.

Nearby, First Tennessee continues renovation of its main office building as well.

From MakeUseOf: Apps to help you connect with people and stop feeling lonely. This obviously isn’t a problem for me now, but when I was younger (particularly the six months I lived in San Diego) I was often lonely and didn’t know how to connect. I may sign up for the Party with a Local app; I would be a great Downtown Memphis tour guide. (Edit: I can’t find it in the App Store. WTF? Is it because I haven’t upgraded to iOS 9.2 yet? I have an iPhone 6 so my phone being too old can’t be the issue.)

Prayers for the students of Lausanne. A first-year teacher there was killed yesterday crossing Union Avenue at Cooper.

Plans for tonight: Undecided. All the bars in the Downtown core are likely to suck, filling up with Ole Miss fans and their horrible Hotty Toddy cheer. I guess I will find the bar that sucks least and hang out there. Possibly a Friday Update #2 about 5:30, so check back.

The Memphis Camerata vocal ensemble, conducted by Matthew Bowlin, will have their sixth annual Christmas concert tomorrow at 7 at St. Mary’s Episcopal, 700 Poplar. The ensemble will perform “Sure on This Shining Night” by Morten Lauridsen and other holiday classics. Tip: If you don’t want to drive there, take a Lyft or an Uber. 700 Poplar is theoretically walkable from the Downtown core but I don’t recommend it. Poplar east of Third is pretty rough.

Many of my readers own businesses that have websites, and if you are one of them you need to read this paragraph. Part of my job as webmaster for my company is to spend a little time each day reading web-related articles to make sure I stay current on my trade. Well, today I ran across one you need to know about. Unsecured websites are about to get hammered in Google’s new search rankings. If the URL of your site begins with http:// rather than https://, your site is unsecured and you may want to look into getting a security certificate. Contact your site’s hosting company to inquire how this can be done.

What’s the difference? If you use https://, information that comes to your web server from the user’s browser is encrypted before it is sent, making it harder for anyone coming across the data on the way to steal sensitive user information. Over http:// the data is unencrypted.

Wow… Bernie Sanders picked up an endorsement from Democracy for America. That’s the organization former presidential candidate formed in 2004, and it is very influential. I get an average of about 1 email a day from them. They asked DFA members to vote whether to endorse Hillary, Bernie or the third, irrelevant candidate. Sanders also picked up an endorsement from a 700,000 member communications union. Feel the Bern!

The Facebook Kroger 40% off coupon is a scam. Don’t fall for it.

The football Tigers have added Mississippi State to their schedule for 2021-22. I saw a comment that the Tigers are scheduling like they expect to be in the Big 12. That’s kind of what I thought too.

Bass Pro announced today that 2 million people have visited the Pyramid since its April 29 store grand opening.

Still planning on the Silly Goose Christmas party at 9. I’m giving myself permission to stay out a bit late on a school night for this one. See you tomorrow.

Are you going to see the new Star Wars movie this weekend? Better check out this article from Toyland on how to have better refreshments while you watch the movie. Basically it involves a flask disguised as a toy lightsaber. I approve.

130 new apartments have been approved for the southwest corner of Tennessee and Butler, across from the Tennessee Brewery. There was some concern that the high density could congest narrow Mina Avenue, but a study shows that Mina should be fine.

There will be a wine tasting at Quench tomorrow from 5:30-7:30. Come learn about wines and if you like what you taste, purchase a bottle or two to take home.

Holly has a list of places open Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Memphis. (It’s a list in progress, so bookmark it and check back when these days get closer.)

Meanwhile, Choose901 has a growing list of ways to celebrate New Year’s Eve. I’m leaving the Christmas and New Year’s Eve lists to the other bloggers this year. The reason why is that I will be leaving town Christmas Eve and coming back on Christmas Day, and I typically hate New Year’s Eve so I don’t bother to do an event roundup. This year, however, I feel like I will be in the mood to celebrate, and have my eye on either Silly Goose or Max’s Sports Bar as possible destinations.

Beale Street remains unaffected by Overton Square’s success, with sales up 6% this year.

Appetite for Destruction, the premier Guns N’ Roses tribute band, plays Tin Roof on Beale Street Saturday at 10 PM.

Project: Motion will perform House Happening 3, a holiday dance performance, at the Woodruff-Fontaine Museum today through Sunday.

The annual STAX Music Academy holiday performance, Home for the Holidays, is tonight at the Cadre Building at 7:30. Tickets are $15 at the door.

Occasionally you will see a special cask of beer rolled out for one night only at the Flying Saucer. From Arkansas brewery Moody Brews (hey, you stole our name, almost): Why you should care about cask-conditioned beer

Memphis Firefighers (@mffa1784) tweeted that the application process is open, if you are interested in a career fighting fires.

Jennifer Biggs has a review of LYFE Kitchen in East Memphis. We will have one Downtown in the Chisca soon.

Aldo’s Pizza Pies is having some fun with Star Wars. Yesterday the Darth Maul was the Downtown Slice of the Day. Today it’s the Jango Fett. For those curious, the Jango Fett has a vodka cream base, with bacon, sausage, ham, and pepperoni. Now that sounds like my kind of pizza!

I probably am not going to make it to the Memphis City Football Club informational session this evening at the Brass Door (starts at 5:30), but I am in touch with the operators of the club and hope to have lots of information for you soon. My main plan tonight is the Silly Goose Christmas party with the John Paul Keith Trio and DJ Cody, which kicks off at 9. Come enjoy some Christmas cheer with Naughty Santa! Possibly a second post after work, so check back.

Before we begin, ADMINISTRATIVE ANNOUNCEMENT: This blog will look different, and at times “under construction,” at some point between now and January 3. I am going to switch to WordPress’ Twenty Sixteen theme, the template which determines the look and feel of my blog. I like my current Suffusion theme, but it hasn’t been updated since 2013. It also isn’t mobile-friendly, so I have to use the wp-mobile plugin for readers who read my blog on phones. Twenty Sixteen will let me use all of WordPress’s cutting-edge features and will make my blog look similar on both phones and screens. Saturday or Sunday may be the day I make the switch.

David Skypeck, longtime drummer for FreeWorld, has been suffering some medical setbacks from which it will take him a long time to recover. A benefit is being held to help with David’s medical bills this Sunday at Rum Boogie Cafe from 3 to 11 PM. The list of musicians playing is to long to put on here, so take a look at the Facebook event listing for a complete list. Clearly David is loved and respected by the Memphis music community. A $10 donation at the door is appreciated and encouraged.

First 5000 fans inside the FedExForum for Friday’s Memphis-Ole Miss men’s basketball game receive free pom-poms. In addition, if you bring a new, unwrapped toy, you will receive a voucher for a ticket to a future game.

The Daily News has more information on the Loflin Corner entertainment complex being planned for the corner of Carolina and Florida. Taylor Berger, who most recently helped get the Rec Room going, is involved. That is very exciting news. However, not everyone is excited. The owner of Bacchanal, the New Orleans restaurant and bar around which the Loflin concept is based, sent a letter to the DMC asking it to table any approvals related to the project, feeling that the developers of Loflin may not understand the Bacchanal concept. Mind your own business dude!

Did you know Donald Trump was in the WWE Hall of Fame? There’s a petition to remove him because of his recent idiotic, racist comments about Muslims.

Much respect for Terri the daytime bartender at Kooky Canuck Cordova, who stopped on Covington Pike to help crash victims out of a burning car on Covington Pike today.

Time for beer. Silly Goose, you’re first up. Trivia at Blind Bear later possibly.

Coinciding with the theater debut of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, there will be what sounds like a very cool art show at 444 Monroe this Friday from 6 to 9. A Force of ART will feature works of art celebrating the greatest blockbuster of all time.

Besides the Star Wars art, you should consider coming just to check out this space. 444 Monroe is the Holliday Flowers warehouse where the Moody Ques do our practice cooks. It is a converted 1961 motor lodge with a seafoam green color scheme that has been converted into a warehouse and event space. I love this building. Most Downtown residents have no idea it is there. It is on Monroe east of the ballpark, between Lauderdale and Marshall. The High Cotton brewery is next door, on the other side of a creek in between.

Speaking of the BBQ team, I know I have some readers from Chicago. For those of you up there, be sure to check out the Pilsen Winter Market this Sunday at Honky Tonk BBQ, owned by Willie who was our team cook 2007-2011.

Rizzo’s Diner is starting a Loyalty Lunch card program. Come in and get your card, and get it punched every time you have lunch at the restaurant. Get it punched 5 times, and your sixth lunch is on the house.

Ride the Roo, the shuttle which transports people from Overton Square to Cooper-Young and back, was sideswiped near the Beauty Shop Saturday night. Damage was pretty substantial. If anyone witnessed this or has information about who did it, please call 901-577-7700.

My friend Rodger, the Texan who loves chicken fried steak, is on a trip to San Antonio and tagged me in this photo:

Now that’s a nice-looking chicken fried steak! I like it when they take up the whole plate.

New blog that is worth checking out: One901, the adventures of a Memphian. Although barely a week old, this blog is off to a great start. Recent posts include photos from the DNA Christmas party and a review of the Sushi Jimmi food truck. Follow the blog on Twitter at @one901blog.

The new bar/restaurant and entertainment space to be renovated at Florida and Carolina (see yesterday’s post for details) has a name – Loflin Corner. The building used to be Loflin Safe & Lock Co.

As a web developer I love this tweet:

RT @KarenMN: 🎄 He’s making a database He’s sorting it twice SELECT * from contacts WHERE behavior = ‘nice’ SQL Clause is coming to town 🎄

— Amy Renee (@amyengineer) December 16, 2015

From Choose901: Meet the founders of Memphis City Football (soccer) Club

Time to drive up to Elvis Presley and get some Jack Pirtle’s. Possibly a second post after work for the third consecutive day. I will probably hit the Silly Goose for happy hour this evening.

This is pretty cool: Memphis is getting its own professionally managed soccer (futbol for you purists) club. The Memphis City Football Club will have an informational gathering at the Brass Door this Thursday at 6 PM. Tryouts and game schedule will be discussed, and they may have a couple of surprises for their future fans as well.

Indoor food markets are all the rage in nearby cities including Little Rock and Nashville. Now there are plans for Memphis’ first indoor food market at 409 South Main. The article describes the concept as “a farmers market on steroids,” with vendors selling everything from breakfast to flowers to soaps to cheese to bread. The person opening the market is also in talks with a very well-known chef who would use the place as an incubator for new items. For those of you who have never been to Little Rock’s River Market or something similar, it is a very neat place to be and I hope 409 S. Main will be just as good or better. Downtown’s offerings continue to get ever more diverse!

Rates are proposed to go up a quarter on Downtown parking meters, to $1.25 an hour. However, the hours will stay the same. Parking is free after 6 PM and on weekends and holidays. There had been discussion of extending hours to midnight. Glad that is off the table as it would hurt the revenue of my many friends who own businesses down here.

Job opportunity: Crosstown Arts is seeking a communications coordinator.

A source of light in a world of darkness: Artist Ephraim Urevbu has developed “Freedom” candles, a line of specialty candles designed to uplift and ignite a movement of peace in an effort to counter hate, bigotry and terror that is ravaging our global village. Get them at Art Village Gallery at 410 South Main.

There will be an ugly sweater party by Tasty Entertainment this Friday at Purple Haze from 9 PM to 5 AM. $500 in prizes will be given away for the best ugly sweaters. Entertainment by DJ Decepticon + Haf Def Tha Chef. High energy dance party with holiday attire encouraged but not required. 2 for 1 beer and $2 well drinks 9-10 PM.

Felicia Suzanne’s will be closed the 24th through the 28th of this month.

Home, time for beer. I’ve decided I don’t feel like making the trek to Max’s Sports Bar (but don’t worry, I plan on spending PLENTY of time there in 2016) so Blind Bear it is. Possible Saucer stop later in the evening.

Just one last reminder that the Downtown Neighborhood Association/South Main Association holiday party is tonight at Community Family Medical, 364 S. Front from 5 to 9 PM. You do not have to be a member of either organization to attend, although I’m sure it would make them happy if you considered joining. Complimentary food (by Rizzo’s Diner!) and beverages, along with live music.

This has been all over the news but in case you missed it: The only proton therapy center in the U.S. that accepts children has opened at St. Jude. Proton therapy is beneficial because it attacks tumors without harming normal tissue nearby. St. Jude’s beam is accurate down to 1-5 mm.

The Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team hosts the Southern Jaguars tonight at FedExForum at 7. Although schools with any kind of regional reference in their name are usually cupcakes, the Jaguars are not going to be easy to get by. They already hold wins over Mississippi State, Tulane, and Wyoming.

The Church Health Center tweeted that through December 31, all new monthly gifts will be matched dollar for dollar. Giving a monthly gift in someone’s name would be a great Christmas present if you know someone who is a big fan of the Center.

From Gizmodo: This Chrome extension blocks Star Wars spoilers

Here’s a little Liberty Bowl preview for you: Liberty Bowl brings Snyder, Bielema back together

Bluefin is closed again as of 1:10 yesterday, according to Jennifer Biggs of the CA. General manager Nick Scott had been asked to stay on to help with the transition, but on Friday new owner James Woo asked him to leave. When he did, most of the remaining staff did too. Woo wants to revamp Bluefin to make it more like the other places he owns in the New York area. Does anybody else think this has BAD IDEA written all over it? Just because a concept works in other cities does not mean it will work in Memphis. See Republic Nightclub for a fairly recent example. I was talking to a multiple-restaurant owner the other day about how you have to know your market. It doesn’t sound like James Woo does. Also, I have known Nick for years – my famous I LOVE ROMANIAN GIRLS/Santa hat photo was taken at his wife Laura’s baby shower – and I can tell you, anyone who lets Nick go does not know what they are doing.

For those of you who remember Prime Minister’s Steakhouse, this is the direction I see the new Bluefin going.

The Rendezvous will be closed January 3-11, as well as Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Here are full results from this past weekend’s grilled cheese fest at the Hi-Tone. Whoa! Weekend at Porky’s hit top three in one of the categories! (That’s the team many of the members of my Sunday brunch crew are on. Also the team that used a George Foreman grill at Burger Fest.) Here’s a slideshow of the festival.

That’s it for now. Just rollin’ through the last full five-day work week of 2015. Next week will be eventful. Blind Bear is my likely first stop after work, although it’s a pretty day and I haven’t totally ruled out a walk south to Max’s Sports Bar. Time to go grab some sushi (not at Bluefin) then back to work.

The Daily News has big news about an entertainment destination planned for the South End neighborhood. A building at 7 W. Carolina will be renovated into a bar and restaurant. The bar, the Daily News article says, will be patterned after a bar called Bacchanal in the Lower Ninth of New Orleans, which describes itself as “a wine laboratory” and “Mediterranean living/New Orleans style.” The South End bar, the article reports, would have a well-stocked bar and domestic and craft beer. The restaurant will serve “cookout food.” This is great news for that neighborhood. Right now entertainment and food destinations don’t exist much south of G.E. Patterson, leaving South End residents a half-mile to walk or ride to get to much of anything interesting. Now they will have their own meeting place, what Tug’s is to the island, what Westy’s is to the Pinch, what Kudzu’s was to the Edge before it closed, what Sleep Out Louie’s was to the core 25 years ago.

Meanwhile, a building at 721 Florida will be renovated into a 5000 square foot rentable entertainment space. I have my friends ask me where to rent spaces like this all the time, and this gives Downtown one more option. Between the two buildings will be a large yard which can be used for bocce and other outdoor activities.

The developers of One Beale are considering adding a third tower to the two already planned to be built. There would be a 12-story office tower, a 22-story hotel, and a 30-story apartment tower.

The Matador Network has the top 11 hangover cures in Memphis. Many of them can be bought Downtown. I’ve had many a Majestic Mimosa to cure Saturday night hangovers. Bardog’s Daily Dog will do it, as will the Soul Burger at E&H and the Double-Double at Dyer’s. I have never had the Bloody Mary at the Peabody lobby bar but certainly agree about the atmosphere. The two I can’t personally vouch for, but would have to believe are very good, are the chicken & waffles at the Blind Bear (yes there are menu items there I have not tried) and the chicken skin BLT at the 5 Spot. There are hangover cures on the list from other parts of the city as well.

The Rendezvous has gift bags and stocking stuffers on sale for under $50. There is free shipping for non-perishable items ordered by December 17.

I told you Hog fans travel well: Razorback fans a force at box office. Arkansas has sold just under 17,000 tickets to the Liberty Bowl. Due to high demand, the school had to go back to the Liberty Bowl and request additional tickets beyond its allocation. The game is January 2 vs. Kansas State.

If you needed more proof Donald Trump is crazy: Trump has promised to appoint Sarah Palin to his cabinet. This alone should be enough to make you consider voting for anyone but him. Can you imagine Secretary of State Palin, or Director of Homeland Security Palin? That would be quite a Christmas gift for ISIS (wait, I guess they don’t celebrate Christmas, but you get what I mean). Director of the Interior Palin or Director of Energy Palin would speed up the end of our planet’s habitability by thousands of years.

Two tugboats crashed on the Mississippi just south of the I-55 bridge. One boat appears to be taking on water. The Coast Guard is there to assist.

Home from work, time for PBR. Grabbing a wooden nickel and heading to Melissa Monday at Bardog. Back tomorrow.