Paul Ryburn's Journal

BREAKING NEWS: The NBA owners have unanimously approved the sale of the Grizzlies to Robert Pera’s group.

Tonight is the start of Downtown’s Halloween party season. Kooky Canuck kicks it off tonight from 8 PM to 3 AM. There will be $2 Kamikazes, $3 34 oz. Bud Light, $4 Jager Bombs, and $4 Vodka Red Bull. Bobby Smith will DJ and the Jagermeister and Bud Girls will be there. There will be a costume contest with $400 cash to the winner, and $200 and $100 gift cards to second and third place. No cover, 21 and up.

Jennifer Biggs reports on a statewide Bloody Mary contest in her Whining and Dining blog. The contest was sponsored by Absolut. All five winners were Memphis restaurants, and four of the five were Downtown Memphis restaurants. Congratulations to Automatic Slim’s, Majestic Grille, Silly Goose, and Bluefin for representing Downtown well! Also congrats to the Bayou on their first-place win.

The MBJ reports that Rendezvous BBQ will be on sale at the FedExForum for Grizzlies games beginning with the regular-season opener November 5. Previously Neely’s had the contract, but pulled out when they recently closed all their locations for renovation.

Speaking of the Grizzlies, the Blind Bear will offer apps for half price, $2.50 selected bottled dometics, and $5 chili cheese Bear Dawgs from one hour prior to the start of all games to game’s end. These specials apply to Tigers games as well.

Political news: Colin Powell endorses Obama. He notes that moderate Republicans like himself, those who push conservative values but realize compromise is necessary at the end of the day, are a dying breed.

In other political news, former WWF champion The Iron Sheik weighed in on the subject of Mitt Romney this morning on Twitter: “for christmas the Mitt Romney either get raped by dead dog or have sex with the big bird. no matter what he dumb son of a bitch.” If I ever get hired as news director by a national cable network, the first thing I will do is give Sheikie baby a job as political commentator.

Last night I had an absolutely fantastic dinner at Central BBQ, which I’ll write about in a separate post. Then I went to Double J for Muruako’s poker game. I got stuck at a table where people were going all-in pre-flop on a lot of hands, sometimes without even looking at their cards. I hate that. At least after I got knocked out I got to catch up with some of the South Mainers at the bar.

One thing I asked them was, “Why haven’t I heard about any Halloween parties this weekend at South Main bars?” The answer should have been obvious – they’ll have their hands full with RiverArtsFest. Makes sense. They don’t need to do anything special to attract tons of people.

By the way – I’ve confirmed that Max’s Sports Bar will be outside the fenced-in area of the festival. That means you won’t have to pay the fest’s $5 admission fee if you just want to go to Max’s to watch football. Excellent, because I plan to be there Saturday, to watch the Ole Miss douchebags stink up my home town of Little Rock for a game at War Memorial Stadium. I feel sorry for Little Rock residents who have to deal with them. Ole Miss has the most obnoxious fans in college football, even worse than the Vols. Anyway, come watch the game with me at Max’s and hang out with Ciara and Ranee. Kickoff is 11:21. Take Mulberry to get there while dodging the festival. Mulberry is the street to the east of Main, on which the Civil Rights Museum is located.

Back after work with the Central BBQ post.

Tonight I’m going to try something different on a Wednesday night. I’m going to head south to the Loft Bar at the Double J for poker night with Muruako at 8:30. Usually I do trivia on Wednesdays, but I’ve been promising myself that one of these Wednesdays, I’d take the night off and go play at the J. This is the night! Muruako hosts Monday poker at the Silly Goose which I play regularly, so I know it will be a fun game down south. South Mainers: Come out and play!

Hmmm… you know what’s not far from Double J? Central BBQ. Maybe I’ll head south an hour early. I’ve had their wings and pulled pork, but I’ve heard I really need to try their brisket plate and their turkey plate.

Now that Best Memphis Burger Fest is over, Seth is back on the Best Memphis Burger blog making up for lost time. His post this morning covered 11 burgers.

The All Pink Party is tonight at the Silly Goose. Liquor & wine tasting, new appetizer tasting, entry into drawing for prizes all included in your ticket cost of $25. Details here. Party is at 8:30.

Also tonight, there’s a public meeting for people interested in learning more about Main Street infrastructure improvements. There’s a $30 million grant to improve Main Street and make a pedestrian path to Arkansas across the Harahan railroad bridge. Meeting is at One Commerce Square, southeast corner of Main and Monroe, from 5:30 to 6:30 in the basement auditorium. More info here.

Tomorrow, Thursday, October 25 is AutoZone Park’s annual World Series game watch party. They’ll have Game 2 on inside the club level and on their new video board. Free to watch, and you can purchase a food buffet for $7 in advance, $10 (cash only) at the door. Beer and wine will be available for purchase as well.

Shelton Clothiers has fleece Pink Pig jackets for sale in charcoal, cream, and Tiger blue. WANT. Coming to see you soon Tom.

Tube top news: Now that’s she’s had the baby, Snooki is showing everyone that she’s back in shape by wearing a tube top. Details here.

Last night I was in the Flying Saucer when their trivia night started. I didn’t play but I notice they’ve improved it significantly. They now have the questions on both big screens, inside at the bar and outside in the Garden. So you can sit anywhere you want now and still be able to play. They’ve improved their sound system too.

That’s all for now. Hope to see you at the Double J tonight.

I have updated information about a couple of Halloween parties happening Downtown this weekend. First of all, the Flying Saucer is bringing back live music for their party on Saturday, October 27.

Red Letter Day will perform from 9:30 to 1:30. When the band is on break, there will be costume contests where you can win prizes. Theme is “Dead Rock Star” so you might do better in the contests if your costume is along those lines. There is also a Mystery Beer Tub they usually put out around 8:00. For $2 you get to reach in a covered tub, and whatever beer you pull out, you drink. In past years, I have pulled out several beers normally selling for $8-10 in a row. Quality stuff like Wychewood Hobgoblin. Of course, I’ve also been stuck drinking a Lowenbrau or two. Nevertheless, Mystery Beer Tub is one of my favorite promotions of the year.

Also, there will be NO COVER for the Flying Saucer Halloween party. If you don’t feel like paying cover charges at other nightspots nearby, come to the Saucer and hear live music for free.

The night before, Friday, October 26, TJ Mulligan’s Pinch will have their Halloween party. Drink specials, prizes, music by Coons Rhythm Rockers. I won’t make it to this one because I’ll be at the Blind Bear party, but if you live in Uptown or on the island it’s something nearby.

By the way – I’ve upgraded my costume for the Bear party. Much better gangster outfit this time. That cheap, wrinkly $20 jacket I had on at the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre party has made its way to the garbage can. Maybe I’ll get my photo re-taken. They’ll have a professional photographer there if you want to get your gangster or flapper pic on their dining room wall.

As I was walking to the bars last night, I noticed a new sign under the “OPEN” sign at Yao’s China Bistro. It read “sushi.” Has anyone had it yet? Is it good? Now we have five places you can get sushi Downtown: Yao’s, Bluefin, Thai Bistro, Bangkok Alley, and the restaurant in the Holiday Inn on Union.

Kevin Cerrito, who runs Thursday trivia at the Green Beetle, has announced a change of format. They are dropping the sports format and doing general trivia questions from now on. They will have a special Halloween edition this Thursday at 8 and Kevin will announce more details about the new trivia night at that time.

I played poker at the Silly Goose last night and got eliminated in a mere 15 minutes. On my poker blog I take a look at the hand that cost me most of my chips.

More Downtown Dining Week menus have been released. Kerry has the list. Comments on the updated list:

1) Venison at Bleu for $20.12? I’d be all over that.

2) ATTN SARAH N: Chicken Curry is the entree at Brass Door!!!

That’ll wrap it up for this post. Halloween shopping is all done, so probably back on regular schedule tomorrow.

Just a quick news update about RiverArtsFest, the arts festival Friday-Sunday in the South Main neighborhood. They’re charging an admission fee for the first time ever – $5. I’ve had a couple of people ask me, “What if I just want to frequent one of the businesses in the area? For example, what if I want to just hang out at Max’s Sports Bar all day and watch football, and I don’t care about the festival?”

Well, today the festival’s organizers posted a way around the fee on their Facebook page. If you ride the MATA trolley to the Butler Station trolley stop and get off there, you’ll be inside the festival without paying. Pretty cool deal.

All right, I’ve got to go Halloween costume shopping again so this needs to be a short post. Coming soon: News about a couple of Halloween parties, a trivia night, sushi, a poker hand disaster, and possibly more.

Sorry there was no Monday update post at lunch, but I needed my entire lunch hour to go Halloween costume shopping. It was a partial success. The good news is, I upgraded my gangster costume, so I have something to wear to the Blind Bear party on the 26th. I have an idea for another costume to wear to the Saucer (27th), Goose (31st), and a private party on the 2nd. Right now it’s a work in progress. I may have to go costume shopping again tomorrow at lunch.

Yo-Yo Ma performs tonight at the Cannon Center with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, 7:30 to 9:30. Find out what he will be playing here.

This isn’t a Downtown event, but how can I not blog this… the Slider Inn is having Sex Trivia tonight from 8 to 11.

Stuff that is going on Downtown tonight: Poker with Muruako at the Silly Goose, 8:30; Pint Nite with Josh and Maddison at Aldo’s Pizza Pies, 5 to close; Pint Nite with the Beer Goddesses at the Flying Saucer, open to close.

Revive, the women’s clothing boutique at the northwest corner of Second and Union in One Commerce Square, is having a big sale. Why not stop in and pick up some tube tops so you’ll be ready for next spring? Then again, with highs in the 80s this week, why not stop in and pick up a tube top to wear NOW???

R. Kelly will bring his “Single Ladies” tour to the Orpheum tomorrow night at 7:30. Four-time Grammy nominee Tamia will open for him. More details and ticket info here.

The Grizzlies will host their annual Tip-Off Luncheon next Monday at the FedExForum, 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM. Attendees will get to welcome back the players, get coaching tips from Coach Hollins, and learn about the business of basketball from GM Chris Wallace. Individual tickets are $60 and tables are $500. For $2000 you can purchase a table where you’ll be seated with a Grizzlies player or coach. Proceeds benefit the Memphis Grizzlies House at St. Jude. Details and ticket info here.

The Flyer’s Hungry Memphis blog is giving away tickets to Anthony Bourdain’s November 2 show at the Orpheum. Details on how to enter here.

Time for beer. First stop, Saucer. Currently unsure whether I will make it to poker tonight at the Goose.

There’s going to be an “All Pink Party” this Wednesday night, October 24, at the Silly Goose. Included in ticket purchase is a complimentary tasting of new appetizer menu items, a liquor and wine tasting, and a chance to win one of several items to be raffled off. Recommended attire is pink dress attire. 8:30-10 PM. For more info check the party’s event listing on Facebook.

A sinkhole has sprung up in Tom Lee Park, and repairing it will require more effort than first thought. Water has washed away a large area around a box culvert that runs underneath the park. The city will have to build a temporary road in the park to bring in materials to repair the hole. Thank goodness this didn’t happen in the weeks before BBQ Fest. More details here. Sorry for linking to an Indiana newspaper rather than something local, but I try to circumvent the CA’s stupid-ass paywall whenever I can.

I tried something new at City Market yesterday: Okra Masala from their refrigerated case. It’s a generous amount of okra and potatoes in Indian masala curry sauce. It’s only $2.99. If you’re not sure whether you like Indian food, it’s a good way to find out without spending a lot of money. Heats up in about 2 minutes in the microwave. If you like it, their meat dishes have a similar taste and are less expensive than going out to a restaurant.

Last night while drinking beer at the Saucer, I came up for an idea for a charity month for my blog, to run from Thanksgiving to Christmas. I need to research a few things but details will be coming soon. It’s an idea that has “me” written all over it (no, tube tops are not involved). Stay tuned.

Plans for today: Skipping brunch at the Majestic because of crowds from the Broadway show at the Orpheum. I’ll start at the Blind Bear at noon, then sometime around 2 head south to the parking lot party at the Double J. At 6:30 I’ll be back at the Bear for poker hosted by Michael Bean – not only because I like playing poker, but because it’s an excuse not to stay at the J for karaoke. At some point I’ve got to fit in a visit to the Saucer for my 116th day in a row. Probably I’ll do that before poker.

Come on out to the Double J this afternoon. Eat, drink, be merry, and raise money for the Streetdog Foundation. I mean, what else are you going to do, hang out at the Horn Lake Chuck E. Cheese all day?

When I go out on weekdays, the charge on my now 11-month-old iPhone 4S usually holds up just fine. I can Facebook, tweet, Foursquare, Evernote, Instagram, and play Zynga Poker to my heart’s content, and I usually come home at night with 25-50% of the battery left.

Weekends, however, can be a problem. Take today, for example. Saturday day shift has an all-star lineup behind the Downtown bars, with Panda Manda at Bardog, Ciara and Ranee at Max’s Sports Bar, and Christina at the Saucer. I plan on visiting all three between 11 and 5 today. Then I’ll go grab dinner somewhere and begin my evening rotation of Saucer/Bear/Saucer/Bear/Saucer/Bear. My phone battery will not hold up through all of that. On a typical Saturday, if I go out at 11, my phone is in the red zone (less than 20% left) by 6 PM. Not good, since I’m rarely done at 6. Sunday Fun Day, same thing. I start at the Majestic at 11 AM, and am usually out until 9 or 10 (or 12:30 AM, thanks to a certain bad influence last week). The phone will not make it without being charged.

So, I used to take a charger cord with me on the weekends. I’d plug it in next to the smoke eater at the Saucer; by the back rail at Max’s; in the plug next to Jezebel’s Couch at the Blind Bear. That worked, but it was far from ideal. For one thing, my phone was many feet away from me, so I couldn’t play with Facebook for the 20 minutes or so it took to charge 10%. Another issue was that, this being Memphis, I had to keep constant watch to make sure my phone wasn’t being stolen. If at any time my line of sight was blocked, I went over and unplugged it. And at the Saucer, you have to deal with kids. If kids got within 10 feet of my phone, I unplugged it.

A couple of months ago, I saw a solution. I was at Max’s when my friend Otto pulled out a PowerGen Juice Box, pictured at the top of this post. He plugged it in and had full access to his phone, while it charged – and it charged super quick. The next week my friend Mikey showed up with one. The following week my friend Katie Mac pulled one out at the Goose – and she got the deluxe version, which holds 4 iPhone charges instead of the one pictured here which holds 2. Two is more than enough, so I ordered the standard juice box a week after I saw Katie’s.

I love it. A few Saturdays ago, I hit all the day bars then decided to stop in the Majestic for dinner about 6:00. My phone was at 27% at the time. I hooked it up to the juice box. By the time I finished my roasted half-chicken with garlic mash 40 minutes later, the battery was up to 75%. That was enough to make it through the rest of the evening, and if it hadn’t been, three-fourths of the juice box’s power remained.

The one drawback to getting one of these is that you become “the guy who has a phone charger.” My popularity at the Saucer soared once the girls found out I had the PowerGen box with me. They all wanted to borrow it. Now I’m starting to see the servers with juice boxes of their own.

The juice box charges most Android devices, iPhones 4S and earlier, and iPads (although possibly not the new Mini rumored to debut this week). No idea if it charges CrapBerries. It will charge my Kindle Fire, and my Kindle Fire’s power cord will charge the juice box, so that works well. It comes with 8 different adapters to be able to handle most phones.

Easily $30 well spent. When I ordered it, it was estimated to ship in 4 days. It showed up in 2. That’s pretty typical Amazon. If you’re having trouble keeping your phone battery charged all day, this is a most worthwhile investment.

Last night I received reports from two different sources that the Cordova Flying Saucer received a case of Fireball to sell. Fireball is a cinnamon whisky which “tastes like heaven, burns like hell.” It is relatively inexpensive compared to most shots, and has become one of the most popular liquors Downtown. Now Cordova can get in on the fun. My recommendation to Cordovans is that you keep drinking Fireball until you forget you’re in a neighborhood that SUCKS. Enjoy the view of Germantown Parkway and the strip malls as you drink!

I hope this means that the Fireball at the Memphis Flying Saucer will happen soon. One argument I heard for not carrying Fireball is “why should we carry it, we already have Jager.” That makes no sense. On a weekend night when I don’t have to get up and go to work the next day, I could easily do four or five shots of Fireball. There is absolutely no way I would do four or five shots of Jager in one night. Besides, women love Fireball, and wouldn’t it be a good thing to get more women to hang out at the Downtown Saucer? If you’d like to see Fireball, be sure to mention it to the managers next time you go in.

“Like” FIREBALL WHISKY Memphis on Facebook to get information on Fireball promotions around town and chances to win cool Fireball gear.

In the past few months, I’ve really stepped up my use of Evernote, the cloud-based note-taking tool. I can make a new note on any device on which I have Evernote installed, or any device through which I can access Evernote via web browser. The note is then synced among all the other devices on which I have Evernote installed – MacBook, netbook, work computer, iPhone, iPad, Kindle Fire. Because one or more of those devices is always with me, I have round-the-clock access to my notes, and round-the-clock ability to add new notes. Lately I’ve been thinking of new ways to use Evernote to keep my life in order. Here are some of the notes that have helped me:

Names – I am horrible at remembering names, and I feel bad when I’m out somewhere and someone goes “Hey, Paul,” and I’m like, “Uh…… yeah, hi.” So I’ve started a note to take down names of people I’ve just met. Next to each name I’ll put a brief physical description, where we met, as well as any other info that seems relevant (where they work, mutual friends, etc.) I’m still not batting 1.000 on people’s names but this has sure helped.

Convo topics – Sometimes I’ll be out and I’ll bump into someone I only see every two or three weeks. I’ll sit there at the bar and stare at the TV with them for an hour or two, and then when I’m home I’ll think, “Oh, damn! I meant to ask them about ______.” Evernote helps me remember these kinds of things, although now I sometimes find myself thinking, “Oh, damn! I forgot to pull up Evernote on my phone.”

Work ideas thought of outside of work – Almost none of my really good work ideas come to me while I’m sitting in a cubicle. Rather, I’ll be in the shower, or driving home from work, or walking around Downtown… and I’ll think of a PHP script that would solve an issue, a WordPress plugin I want to try, a third-party tool that might be useful, a quicker way of getting a lengthy web update done. I make a note of it. Checking this note is now part of my “first thing in the morning” routine when I get to work.

Non-work ideas thought of at work – The opposite of the previous note. So, let’s say I’m sitting at my desk, and I think to myself, “Hmm, I’m playing poker tonight at Max’s Sports Bar. I need to ask around if anyone wants to split a cab to the beer festival in Midtown this weekend.” I’ll pull up Evernote and make a quick note.

To blog – When I see things I need to write about on Facebook, Twitter, one of my iGoogle widgets, or the various other sources I use, I can clip the info to Evernote so I have quick access to it later. The real value in this note, however, comes when I’m out and about. Now and then people will tell me something which is a particularly juicy tidbit for the blog. Before Evernote, there was about a 50% chance that I’d forget what they told me before the next post. Now a lot more of that information sees the light of day.

Evernote has some other capabilities that help with the blog. For example, Double J posted info to Facebook about its parking lot party tomorrow… but the info was in the form of an image. No problem, I clipped the image to Evernote and there it was, ready to blog. Evernote also has a voice-note feature you can use with mobile devices. It saves the voice notes in Quicktime format to be played back. That feature is not one I personally have found useful, but others may like it.

Staff meetings – At work, I use a whiteboard to keep up with my current projects. For our Friday morning staff meetings, I’ll pull up Evernote on my work computer and take notes on what’s on the whiteboard. Then I’ll take my iPad to the meeting and voila – the note is there.

This wonderful, free note-taking tool has made me more productive at work, on the blog, and in my personal life. If you need help organizing and remembering things, you should consider giving it a try.