Paul Ryburn's Journal

First day of vacation. I stayed out until 1:30 last night, and from what I could tell I’m not missing much by not staying out that late most Wednesdays. Downtown has been swarmed this week, not only with Elvis fans but with students returning to college. They made it hard to get a beer at times, but at least there were some nice tube top dresses.

The St. Louis Cardinals mascot Fredbird will make two appearances at Redbirds home games this weekend. He will be at AutoZone Park for the Friday game (7:05 first pitch) and Saturday (6:05). On Friday the first 3000 fans through the gate will get a special BBQ bobblehead, and there will be fireworks on Saturday.

Fredbird will also be on the patio of Aldo’s Pizza Pies between 4 and 5 PM Friday. He’ll pose for photos with kids, and there will be a swag and ticket giveaway.

The Corked Carrot has its new menu up. View it here.

The Downtown Memphis Commission’s CCDC is considering a plan to renovate the Court Square gazebo.

Tonight is the season finale of the Peabody’s summer rooftop party series. Super T – the Tyrone Smith Revue will be the headline act. Cover is $15 and includes your first drink, along with a buffet of grilled cheese sandwiches, soft pretzels, and popcorn. Those in VIP will have a second buffet of beer brats, German-style potato salad, and cheese and crackers.

Time to highlight another Memphis startup I learned about Thursday night. You’ve seen me post about Foursquare, an app that lets me “check in” at venues and post photos of them. Well, a new business called Kids 360 is taking that check-in approach to help parents stay in better touch with their kids’ caregivers and know where their kids are at all times. Babysitters, grandparents, etc. will be able to check kids in with this app and post photos for the parents to see. In the future, the app may be able to predict where a child ought to be based on past checkins. Their website will be launching soon – as I explained in an earlier post, these businesses are midway through a 90-day startup boot camp right now – but in the meantime, you can sign up to be notified of updates. This Daily News article has more info on Kids 360 and some of the other startups.

I’lll wrap up this post with a pizza pic:

This is a Meatza from the Silly Goose. I had it last night because half of the $10 price goes to the Muscular Dystrophy Association if you get it or any other pizza at the Goose between now and August 21. If you’re not a meat-eater, try the white pizza. I’ve taken it home a couple of times after Monday night poker and it’s very good.

The candlelight vigil happens at Graceland tonight. Every Memphian should see this once, whether you’re a fan of Elvis or not. It will give you a new appreciation how revered he is around the world. If I had to list my top 5 favorite singers/bands, Elvis wouldn’t be among them, but all of the five I would name have said that Elvis was a major influence. Gotta respect that.

I have a lot of chores I want to get done during my time off, but my first order of business on vacation is going to be to put them off for a day. I’ll start off at the Flying Saucer when it opens at 11, then read all the restaurants’ lunch specials on Facebook and figure out where to eat.

The aggressive panhandlers are out in force for Elvis Week. If you are harassed, or if you see someone harassed by panhandlers, in the Downtown core you can call 281-9146 and the DMC’s Downtown Safety Patrol will respond on bike. They are usually there within minutes. I called the patrol on two panhandlers working in tandem (which is very illegal) outside the Flying Saucer last night, giving our Elvis Week visitors a bad impression of Downtown Memphis.

I posted that number to Facebook as well. A friend of mine told me that a panhandler tried to intimidate her near Main and Madison where she was trying to put her son in a car seat. Her son wouldn’t stop screaming because he was so scared. If you have to intimidate a mother and toddler when they are alone to get money, you are the SCUM OF THE EARTH. By the way, these aggressive panhandlers are almost never homeless or hungry; they are looking for money for booze or drugs. Don’t give these bums money, and call the safety patrol if needed. The patrol’s boundaries are approximately the civic center plaza to MLK Ave. (formerly Linden), and from Front to Third.

Enough about bums. Let’s get on to the GOOD news…

For every pizza sold through August 21, the Silly Goose will donate $5 to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. If you haven’t tried their pizza, trust me, it’s very good.

The semifinals of the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest kick off tonight at the Cannon Center. Details and ticket info here.

South of Beale will have a “Barks & Brews” party on the patio Sunday afternoon from 2 to 5. Adoptable pups will be available, and you can bring your dog to the patio too. Sundays are pint nights at SOB and half of all the proceeds from draft beer sales will go to the charity Dog’s 2nd Chance. $3 regular draft beer, $4 high-gravity draft beer.

The Peabody’s last summer rooftop party is Thursday, but the hotel has announced its schedule for its fall rooftop party season.

September 12: Hollywood
September 26: Aquanet
October 17: Andy Childs
October 31: Dr. Zarr’s Amazing Funk Monster

Dishcrawl is bringing Battledish Memphis to Downtown Memphis on October 5 from 2 to 6 PM. Six Downtown chefs will compete in this international culinary competition spanning 125 cities. More info and tickets here.

Beware of fake LinkedIn requests. I’ve received a few from people I don’t know the past few days, and when I moused over the Accept button I discovered a link to a .ru (Russia) site rather than linkedin.com. That site almost certainly will install malware on your computer. Be careful!

Time to spotlight another startup business that I learned about Tuesday night. DigiArtTrade leases and trades artworks to businesses and corporations. You can swap out art to keep things fresh, the entrepreneur told me, and she said you can even visualize what the art will look like on your wall before you lease it. The company is still in its beginning stages so the website doesn’t have a whole lot on it, but DigiArtTrade’s Tumblr is really good and there’s a place on LaunchRock where you can sign up for updates. You can also follow the business on Twitter at @digiarttrade.

Five day weekend begins at 4:45 PM today! I’ll be out at the bars at 5:30, probably leading off at the Silly Goose. Maybe I’ll get a pizza and support MDA.

Sorry the post is a little late getting up. I got an Internal Server Error before I left for lunch, seems to be fixed now.

Great news was announced for the Liberty Bowl yesterday. They’ve renewed a 6-year agreement for an SEC team to play a Big 12 team in 2014-19. The really good news, though, is that the pecking order has changed and in some years the Liberty Bowl will move up. The top SEC teams go to the national title game (when eligible), the Sugar Bowl, and the Orange Bowl. The Capital One Bowl selects next from the SEC. After that there is a pool of six bowls: The Liberty Bowl, Gator Bowl, Outback Bowl, Music City Bowl, Texas Bowl, and Belk Bowl. All six bowls will be considered of equal importance and schools will be assigned where they make most sense. So, Memphis could end up with the 4th best team in the SEC some years, and it’s a step up for the Liberty Bowl to be considered on equal footing with the Gator Bowl and Outback Bowl.

I heard the Liberty Bowl news on 92.9 FM’s The Gary Parrish Show as I was driving home from work yesterday. That wasn’t the only big announcement, though. They also announced that starting on Monday, August 26, a new sports talk show will be on the radio station from 9 to 11 AM weekdays: The Geoff Calkins Show, with executive producer John Martin. Those two are two of the most hard-working, insightful and informative guys in Memphis sports media. Congratulations to them both. I will be listening on my TuneIn Radio app as often as I can.

The Orpheum’s summer classic movie series has been such a success that they’re expanding it, with five more classics personally picked by theater exec Pat Halloran. All five movies will be shown on the big screen Friday nights at 7 PM. Here’s the lineup:

August 23: An Affair to Remember
August 30: Rebel without a Cause
September 6: King Kong (1933)
September 13: Animal House
September 20: Phantom of the Opera (2004)

Tonight is growler night at Tamp & Tap. You can get 64 ounces of Yazoo beer for $12 and keep the growler.

There’s a web developer and marketing specialist position open at CBU. Reading the job description, I’m pretty ideally qualified for this, but I like the job I have now so I’ll blog about the CBU one and hope a good person gets it.

Good website I found yesterday: GraduateMemphis.org. It offers complete support for adults who want to go back and finish their college degree.

Last night I started at Pint Nite at the Flying Saucer, but by the middle of my first beer the bar was swarmed by UT-Memphis students who were having orientation. There must have been 150 of them, and they were all trying to order at once. I told the manager I was going next door to the Silly Goose, and I’d be back in a while to close out my tab. I came back about 9:30, and the place had halfway cleared out so I decided to stay and have a couple more beers.

Glad I did. Eric Mathews from Seed Hatchery was there. He’s currently mentoring a group of female entrepreneurs who are going through Seed Hatchery’s 90-day boot camp. He came over and said hello and asked if I would like to meet the women and hear about their businesses. “Of course,” I said. “Send them over.” So they came over and practiced their elevator pitches on me. This week I’m going to blog about the businesses that were discussed with me. I’ll try to do one per day.

One of the businesses was GemPhones. This business turns earphones into jewelry, really attractive pieces that look good while giving you convenient access to your music and phone conversations. The company also makes attractive mini-speakers. Both the earphones and speakers are compatible with most devices.

That’s all for now. I’ll be back at the Saucer after work, and probably will play Blind Bear poker at 8.

There will be a “Mapping Elvis” event tonight at A. Schwab from 5 to 7 PM. The event will mark the premier of a new map of Memphis for people who are fans of The King. Andrea Shaw and Alan Grossman will talk about the map, and there will be discussion by Mike Freeman as well and a book signing. There will be complimentary wine and donuts. Free donuts? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

Tamp & Tap is celebrating Elvis week with $7 grilled peanut butter, banana, and local honey sandwiches for $7 all week long.

The tallest building in Memphis, 100 N. Main, has a new owner.

Save the date: There will be a Howl at the Moon fundraiser to benefit The Streetdog Foundation on Saturday, November 9 at The Warehouse. Live music, live auction, food and drinks. Tickets are $30 in advance, $40 at the door, and can be purchased here.

Over the weekend I completed my 8th plate at the Flying Saucer. Not only do I get a $150 plate party for myself and my invited guests, but people who complete their 8th plate get a very nice beer stein as well. For my 9th plate the party tab goes up to $175.

Other than that, the weekend seemed to fly by. I only have a 3-day work week this week, so next weekend will seem longer. Outta here for now. I’ll be at Pint Nite at the Saucer after work, and I may try the 8:30 poker game at The Mad Earl tonight.

It’s Saturday and I’m happy. Know why I’m happy about Saturday, besides the usual reasons? Because I won’t have to see anyone’s “kid’s first week of school” photos on social media today. Facebook needs a “hide pictures of kids” filter. Instagram even more so.

The Breakaway-Bardog 5K was featured yesterday on WREG’s Live at 9, and viewers got an additional treat: They learned how to make Bardog’s tuna wontons. If you missed it you can watch the video here.

The Orpheum will have an art sale tomorrow at 1 PM. Artists will receive 75% of the sale price for pieces they sell, with the remaining 25% going to the Orpheum’s new Centre for the Performing Arts & Leadership. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online.

Congratulations to Silly Goose bartender Nikki on being profiled on GoMemphis.com’s Meet the Bartender. Nikki works poker night on Monday and Tuesday happy hour.

Dishcrawl has released a list of venues and menus for its Saturday, August 24 Neighborfood event. Participants include Tamp & Tap, LUNCHBOXeats, Eighty3, The Mad Earl, Bleu, Bluff City Coffee, and Front Street Deli. There will be a VIP lounge on the Madison rooftop and an after-party at Bleu with a summer cocktail menu for participants only. Click the link to see menus and more info about Neighborfood.

The latest in tube top fashion. I think I last saw this outfit in the dance line on a 1979 episode of Soul Train.

If you’re an Elvis fan, Backbeat Tours has a Hound Dog Tour leaving from Blues City Cafe tomorrow at 2:30 that sounds like it would be a good time.

That’s it for now. I’ll be at Panda’s bar at Bardog at 11 as usual. A friend of mine has recommended the Picadillo (ground beef hash) from Havana’s Pilon, so I’m thinking about that for lunch.

Elvis Week events kick off today. One of the biggest events is the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist contest. Dozens of Elvii around the world have qualified to participate, but there’s still one spot left. The Hard Rock Cafe will host the Ultimate Last Chance Elvis Tribute Artist contest, with semifinals tonight and tomorrow at 9 PM and finals Sunday at 9 PM. Winner moves on to the main contest next week.

Speaking of Elvis, the venues have been set for the Stumblin’ Elvis pub crawl on the 17th, and there’s now a Facebook event page where you can let people know you’re attending. The crawl will start at the Flying Saucer at 7:30 PM, then will proceed to the Blind Bear, Silky O’ Sullivan’s, and Purple Haze. Come dressed as Elvis. Free to participate, but they will be collecting non-perishable food donations for the Ronald McDonald House.

One of the most awesome Downtown parties of the year is coming back. Feed the Soul, celebrating and benefitting MIFA, will happen at The Warehouse, 36 G.E. Patterson, from 6 to 10 PM Thursday, October 3. Music by Trio Plus band, singer Marcela Pinilla and DJ Stan “The Bellringer” Bell of radio station V101. Food buffet, rum tastings in the MIFA cave, fall and winter fashions modeled by Laurelwood freeze models, oxygen bar with multiple flavors, raffle with prizes from area merchants. Tickets are $45 and can be purchased on MIFA’s website or by calling 901-529-4525. If you attend only one fundraiser a year, make it this one. Always a fabulous event.

Classic movie Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone plays the Orpheum tonight at 7 PM.

Homeless man shot with paintball gun while sleeping at Poplar and Danny Thomas. People suck.

South Front Street needs this sign. Thanks to Aaron (@amprather) for tweeting.

The Brass Door will be showing the Machester United vs. Wigan Athletic game Sunday at 8 AM, for those who like soccer enough to get up that early.

Every so often, the Flying Saucer will send a beer quiz to its UFO members, and if you score 7 out of 10 you get a certificate for $5 off your tab. Here’s one of the questions from this week’s “Capt. Kieth Quiz” (I’m not kidding, they spelled his name wrong in the video preceding the quiz):

8. Did Elvis have any siblings?
A No, he was an only child
B Yes, he had two sisters
C Yes, a twin brother
D All of the above

How could the answer POSSIBLY be “all of the above?” Geez.

That’s the news for now. I’ll be out at the Saucer spending my $5 free beer tab after work.

I see I made the Memphis Flyer’s “Who’s Who on Memphis Twitter” list in this week’s cover story. I’m honored to be included and am glad people think I “keep it real” on that social medium. However, I agree that the list is quite subjective, and that there are Memphians who use Twitter far more effectively than I do who deserve to be included. At any rate, welcome to whatever new Twitter followers I pick up from the article. And I still believe there should be a PBR Hall of Fame and I should be in it.

Hilbilly Casino headlines the Peabody rooftop party tonight. “French stuff I can’t pronounce” is the buffet theme this week. Your $10 admission includes a drink ticket and a buffet of Croque Monssieur sandwiches and Pommes Frites. According to Wikipedia a Croque Monssieur sandwich is a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with a fancy name. If you’re in VIP you’ll have a second buffet of Tartines, Coquilles St. Jacques En Croute, Country Pate – Rosemary, and Boursin-Breaded Artichoke. Okay, I think I understand the others but I have no idea WTF Coquilles St. Jacques En Croute is. Help, Wikipedia? Okay, the name redirects to the page for scallop. Oooo la la! Drink specials are Svedka cherry vodka for $4 and Red Bull + vodka for $8. Since when is an $8 Red Bull vodka a SPECIAL???

Mean Girls plays the Orpheum tonight at 7. The 2004 movie is one of the chick-flick classics the theater is showing as part of its summer movie series.

If you’re looking for something to do after either of the events above, John Paul Keith will play another rare solo show at the Blind Bear at 10 PM.

Chef Jason Doty of Bluff City Bakery Instagrammed a pic of his most recent creation: Caramel cake. He described it as his take on a classic, rich butter cake, drenched in caramel sauce, topped with caramel cream cheese butter cream and more caramel. Looks delicious.

Last night I started the evening at the Silly Goose. While there I drank 4 beers and all of them were PBR. I did not consume any other beers there. For those of you who prefer your information in a graphical format, here’s a pie chart.

I’ll hit the Goose again after work tonight, with other bars to follow. Maybe tomorrow I’ll do a bar graph of my PBR consumption.

South of Beale celebrates its 4th birthday today. To celebrate, they will have 15% off food until 7 PM. They will also have drink specials all night long, including $3 draft beer, $4 high-gravity beer, and $4 birthday cake shots.

I’ve learned of a couple of job openings. The Corked Carrot, the wine and cupcake bar at 314 S. Main, is looking for a creative culinary team member. They want someone who loves wine, loves cooking, and who wants to learn and have fun. You can apply in person between 3 and 5 PM any day.

Healthy Memphis Common Table is seeking a Healthy Shelby Program Coordinator. The successful candidate will need to have a Master’s degree in a relevant field.

Police need your help in identifying two suspects involved in a hit-and-run at the 110 Peabody Place parking garage. The incident happened around 5 AM Sunday morning, July 28. Photos of the suspects and their car here.

Here’s a link to the 2013-2014 Memphis Grizzlies schedule and a link to schedule analysis by Memphis Flyer writer Chris Herrington.

To get you in the mood for Elvis Week, here’s a pic of Elvis and his hound dog from 1957. The image was posted to the Historical Pictures Twitter account. I followed it a couple of days ago and there’s some really excellent stuff. I’ve seen an 1890s one-man band, a 1930s construction worker sitting atop a beam in New York City, a 1969 photo of Jimi Hendrix and Mick Jagger, and the 1972 “blue marble” photo of the Earth from space. Follow the account at @HistoricalPics.

I took a night off from Blind Bear poker last night and got three high-alcohol beers done for my next plate at the Flying Saucer. One of them in particular, Stone w00tstout, was really tasty and not badly priced at $8 considering it’s a 13% beer. I’ll be back at the poker table next week.

All right I’m outta here. I forgot to eat lunch yesterday and want to make sure that doesn’t happen again today.

I don’t have a picture because I already ate half of it, but the curry spinach in City Market’s to-go counter is the bomb.

Sunny and Hamida: Will you let me know when you have that again? I run by your to-go section pretty much every night anyway these days, but let’s make sure.