Paul Ryburn's Journal

The Commercial Appeal has an article about services the homeless received at Project Homeless Connect yesterday at the Cook Convention Center. Among the highlights: 46 offered housing, 42 had fines and court costs waived, more than 100 received glasses, 162 had medical screenings, 50 got prescriptions, 140 received city IDs, 152 received haircuts. Truly a fantastic program that helps those who need it most.

YEEEEHAAAAWWWW! The Advance Auto Parts Monster Truck Jam is tonight and tomorrow night at 7:30 at the FedExForum. Itellyouwhatman, it sure is fun to see em big ol trucks crush them cars, man, and if you sit in the front rows you might be lucky enough to git sum mud splashed on you. Yeah I won’t be going.

Clifford the Big Red Dog will be live at the Orpheum tomorrow for 11 AM and 6 PM shows. Yeah I won’t be going to that either.

If you live in the 38105 zip code and are a pet owner, it’s your lucky day. PetSmart Charities has awarded Mid-South Spay & Neuter Services a $71,000 grant to perform spay and neuter surgeries and administer rabies vaccinations to pets residing within that zip. You must provide proof of residence. Parts of Uptown, Victorian Village, and The Edge neighborhoods are in that zip code.

The International Olympic Committee has voted to remove wrestling as a sport in the 2020 Olympics. A lot of people are protesting the decision, including retired wrestler The Iron Sheik. In an article he wrote for The Bleacher Report, he called the IOC “a dumb jabroni” and said that “Every hundred year, mother make baby like the Iron Sheik, the Michael Jordan, or the Jesus.” Well okay then. I didn’t know Iranians believed in Jesus.

A few live music recommendations for this weekend:

• Funk de Ville plays Club 152 tonight at 7 PM. I caught them a couple of times when the Saucer was still booking bands. They are excellent.
• The Swamp Katz (classic rock) play the Brass Door tomorrow night at 8. $5 cover. I really enjoyed them at the Memphis Music & Heritage Festival last fall.
• Jeffrey and the Pacemakers (’60s British Invasion rock) play Huey’s Sunday at 8:30. Great show and great stories if you’re into that kind of music.

More news than I have time to post this lunchtime… a second post should be up around 6 tonight.

This morning, I was pulling out of my parking garage, and the sweet attendant at the booth was singing and dancing to gospel music. As I rolled down the car window to scan my monthly pass, she said “Happy Valentine’s Day” and handed me a sucker. That kind of nice little touch is one more reason why I enjoy living Downtown.

Tuesday night I got a text: “Is Rio Loco closed?” I hadn’t heard anything, and the text was from a suburbanite who rarely comes Downtown, so I didn’t think much of it. However, last night I walked past the Mexican restaurant. The “Closed” sign was up (at 6 PM on a Wednesday) and the windows were papered up to about eye level. I have yet to confirm the closing, though.

If you want to win some Blind Bear bucks, tune into the Gary Parrish Show on 92.9 FM Wednesdays between 4 and 6. They’ll have a trivia question for which you can text in your answer. They’ll pick one of the people who answered correctly to receive a $25 gift card from the Bear.

The Blues Foundation has announced its 2013 Hall of Fame inductees.

There will be an art opening for Jennifer Church tonight at the Brass Door.

DVR alert: Driven: Tony Allen: A Day in the Life premieres on SportSouth this Saturday at 5:30 PM. (Thanks to @ChrisVernonShow for tweeting the info)

Back at my desk after 12 days in a small media room doing computer training. Finally over! I’ll be out at the usual places tonight.

I don’t normally blog a lot of Valentine’s Day events, but this one sounds particularly cool. The Madison Hotel is holding “Achocolypse” from 8 to 11 PM tomorrow night. It’s a chocolate buffet with 20 custom chocolate creations. $32 per person. Call 901-333-1200 for more information.

For those who do want a complete list of Valentine’s Day events happening Downtown tomorrow, check out the DowntownMemphis.com event guide. Tomorrow is absolutely loaded with listings.

Lee’s famous sushi, found for years at a gas station out east, is now available Downtown at the BP on Riverside. See this Hungry Memphis post for more info. The post also has info on an upcoming Oregon wine dinner at Felicia Suzanne’s.

The Majestic Grille now has Bluff City Bakery, headed by executive chef Jason Doty, making their breads. Chef Jason used to work for the Majestic so it’s a homecoming of sorts. I’ll have to get in there and try their grilled cheese with Jason’s new bread (and BACON!!!) sometime soon.

Techies: The Church Health Center is hiring a software and database coordinator. Details here.

The Calvary Waffle Shop opens tomorrow for the Lent season and will be open Monday through Friday for lunch through March 22. There’s also a “Waffle Shop After Dark” hour from 5:15 to 6:15 PM. (Is it really dark at 5:15?)

The Valentine’s Day glass goes on sale at 7 PM at the Flying Saucer. Theme this year is “Love Swallows.”

FINALLY done with 12 days of intensive software training. It will be good to be back at my desk tomorrow. I don’t observe Lent so I’m heading out for an evening of beer and read meat, followed by a liter Mountain Dew in the morning and some Fireball this weekend.

So, Sunday I went to the Majestic for mimosas. Then I went to the Goose for PBR. Then I went to the Saucer for Dos Equis Lager. Then I went to the Blind Bear and played poker. I came in third in poker. I didn’t remember this until Muruako, who had also played that night, messaged me on Facebook “Congrats on third in poker!” Ashley – one of my favorite bartenders ever who used to work at Brass Door – and her friend Krista – were there. Krista asked, “Paul, will you blog about me?”

So there you go. That’s Krista on the right.

Re-read the first paragraph. You notice what I didn’t do? EAT. By then it was 10 PM Sunday night. So I went to Bardog and got the classic, spaghetti and meatballs with Caesar salad. I got it to go since I live less than a minute walk around the corner.

At 3 AM I woke up face down on my couch. I’d done a good job with the salad but I’d eaten a grand total of 3 bites of the spaghetti and meatballs. I stared at my leftovers for a minute but I’ve always heard an hour and a half is the rule before bacteria set in.

I felt really bad about the leftover food. Partly because of the “starving kids in third world countries” thing. Mostly because of the “damn after tip and PBR while waiting I spent almost 20 bucks on this meal and ate maybe a dollar worth” thing.

Tonight I went back for to-go food and made things right. I’d been in software training all day and damn I was hungry. Those Grandma’s (meat)balls from Bardog must weigh two ounces apiece. Maybe more. You are not getting shorted on protein when you order Bardog’s signature dish. I ate three out of the four and started on the fourth. Most of the spaghetti too.

Hope you have enjoyed the drunk post. One more day of training then the regular lunchtime posts will (hopefully) resume Thursday.

In addition to the food menu below, they also have hurricanes, hand grenades, and 34 oz. Bud Light for $3 today.

Catfish Po’Boys…$7.49
Shrimp Po’Boys….$8.99
Crawfish Po’Boys….$8.99

Louisiana Catfish or Chicken
Blackened & grilled –
Served over Cajun rice…$11.99

Crawfish Eggrolls
w\ Cajun Ranch….$7.49

Kickin’ Cajun Pasta
Your choice of seafood or
blackened chicken ….$9.99

Seafood Gumbo
Cup…$2.99 or bowl…$5.29

Bread Pudding….$6.99

Beignets ….$5.99

Congratulations to the Memphis Tigers, who returned to the Top 25 this week. The Tigers are 22 in the AP poll and 25 in the coaches’ poll. Also, congrats to Geron Johnson on being named the Conference USA player of the week.

Pepsi will start producing a breakfast version of Mountain Dew. It will taste like Mountain Dew but will be made with 5 percent juice, and will have vitamins B and C.

The Church Health Center will have a Church Health Conference at the Marriott/Cook Convention Center April 4-7.  Anyone interested in addressing health or wellness issues in their church or community should consider attending. Ambassador Andrew Young will be the keynote speaker. There’s an Early Bird Special on the pricing going through February 17.

The Hard Rock Cafe has a new chef. Jay Hall has joined their team as chef and kitchen manager. He has 26 years of culinary experience and was most recently chef at Sole restaurant in the Westin.

The usual Monday night poker game happens at the Silly Goose at 8:30. Free to play. This week, they will be giving away Fireball stuff to everyone playing. I’ll be there for that after kicking it off at Pint Nite at the Saucer.

EverywhereElse.co The Startup Conference, the world’s largest conference on the topic of startup businesses, begins today at the Cook Convention Center. It was originally scheduled for the Peabody Hotel, but it grew so large that it had to be relocated. Attendees will be treated to three days of information about how to build and grow startup businesses “everywhere else” outside Silicon Valley. Presenters will include big names like Scott Case, whose startup Priceline became a billion-dollar business. I’m also very pleased to see that they’ve made room in the schedule for 11-year-old entrepreneur Moziah Bridges, founder of Mo’s Bows here in Memphis.

I had planned to attend but cannot make it. We have consultants in town at work the next three days and rescheduling them would mess up getting our projects done by their deadlines. So I’ll have to follow the conference virtually, which can be done on Twitter by following the account @_everywhereelse and the hashtag #ee2013.

Attendees are going to the Grizzlies game vs. the Timberwolves tonight at 5, courtesy of Ubiquiti Networks, itself a startup founded by Grizzlies controlling owner Robert Pera. Afterward they’re bar-hopping on Beale. Maybe I’ll hit Beale tonight and meet some of the entrepreneurs.

To those attending, welcome to Memphis! If you have any questions about Downtown, hit me up on my Twitter account @paulryburn and I’ll try to respond as quickly as possible.

More news that I missed in the earlier post this morning.

Ingram Hill plays Handy Park on Beale Street tonight at 7 PM. More info here. Think I may have seen a couple of the band members earlier this week. Can’t remember where though.

There’s a cooking class on cooking gourmet pizzas tomorrow at My Urban Workspace.

Project Homeless Connect is looking for volunteers for their third annual event at Cook Convention Center. Over 40 nonprofits come together to help the homeless connect with the services they need. There will be a barber shop, help getting benefits, medical and vision screenings, help getting IDs, housing resources, legal services, employment registrations, and more. There are many different areas in which they need volunteers. Learn how to volunteer here. The event will be Thursday, February 14, from 8 AM to 4 PM.

That’ll do it for now. Heading to Bardog for panda time.

We’ve got a couple of festive events happening Downtown tonight. First of all, tonight is Mardi Gras at the Woodruff-Fontaine House, one of the beautiful 19th-century mansions that line Adams Avenue. Gumbo, authentic Louisiana king cake, drinks, beads and doubloons. Masquerade/costumes are encouraged but not required. Your suggested $20 donation helps the historical preservation efforts of APTA Memphis. Party is from 7 to 11 PM.

Meanwhile, over at the Blind Bear, it’s the annual St. Valentine’s Day Massacre party. This year they’re doing it to support the Ronald McDonald House and FedEx Family House. $10 cover. Gangster and flapper attire encouraged but not required. Blackjack tournament, costume contest, dinner, dancing, silent auction. This party is also from 7 to 11 PM. If you don’t know what a “massacre” has to do with Valentine’s Day, read about it here. It was a Chicago gangland-style shooting involving “Scarface” Al Capone and his enemy Bugs Moran.

By the way… I’ve been reading about the mob on Wikipedia lately. The Chicago Outfit was more well-known, but the New York mobsters are actually much more interesting. There are characters like Lucky Luciano, the mastermind of the whole thing; the “Prime Minister of the Underworld,” Frank Costello; the ruthless and cunning Vito Genovese; the calm and collected Carlo Gambino. There have been characters in more recent times too, like “The Oddfather” Vincent “The Chin” Gigante and “The Dapper Don” John Gotti. Luciano was actually named one of the top 100 people of the 20th century by TIME Magazine, in the “business leaders” section. No kidding.

Juke Boogie Mixtape, a dance performance by SubCulture Dance Royalty, happens tonight at 7 PM on the Folklore Hall stage at the Center for Southern Folklore, 123 S. Main. Some of the most talented kids in the business will perform. Your $7 cover charge helps support the annual Memphis Music & Heritage Festival. The Center is practically next door to the Blind Bear so you could attend both this performance and the Massacre party easily.

There’s a new sushi menu at Bangkok Alley, according to one of the sushi chefs with whom I’m friends on Facebook. I need to get by there and try it soon. Bangkok Alley, being a Thai restaurant, isn’t as well known for its sushi as places like Bluefin or Sekisui, but it’s just as good.

If you’re looking to do something different for Black History Month, the Slave Haven Museum at 826 N. Second has two special exhibits starting today. The exhibits are “Tools of Slavery” and “Black Inventions.”

Thanks everyone for sticking with me this week. I was in a 5-day intensive training for some new software we’re using at work, and I was just too drained to try and do much on the blog at lunch or after work. As you can see in today’s post, I’m back.

Time for brunch with Panda Manda at Bardog at 11, then at 3 I’ll relocate to either Saucer or Bear to watch the Tigers-Southern Miss game.

After two weeks in class with a 30 minute lunch break, I felt the need to have something good for dinner. The Majestic Grille used to have a bar menu with tempura green beans. The bar menu went away, so I was pleased I could still get them at Bluefin.

Beans were good, although you might want to wait for them to cool down.  As for the main event, it was a carbonara flatbread. Shrimp, blue crab, mozzarella, spicy mayo, scallions, and spinach.

A meal that filled me up, It made me aware that there’s more to Bluefin than sushi and I’ll be back soon.