Paul Ryburn's Journal

The Grizzlies have signed restricted free agent center Marc Gasol to a new contract. It’s a 4-year deal worth almost $58 million, and he’ll make $12.9 million this season. GREAT MOVE by the Grizzlies organization. Grizzlies-Thunder in the Western Conference Finals? Bet it happens within the next two years. Funny how Marc is now the Gasol in demand – the Houston Rockets were trying to get him for 4/$55M – while the Lakers are looking for a place to dump Pau.

Yazoo Brewery will hold a Barely a 4K run that will start and end at South of Beale at 10 AM this Saturday. Your $15 sign-up fee gets you a T-shirt and two complimentary Yazoo beverages. This is not a formal, organized run like many of the 5Ks you see down here – streets will not be shut down, and really, they don’t care if you actually run or not, you still get the shirt and beverages if you don’t. However, it is a good opportunity to jog around some of the historic parts of Downtown Memphis with friends.

Ladies who live and/or exercise on Mud Island: Be careful. ABC 24 reports that a creepy stalker has been harassing women on Mud Island. I hate reporting negative stuff about Downtown in this blog, but it’s important to get the word out. Hope this guy gets caught soon.

The South Main Association will vote on its slate of candidates for the 2012 board tonight at the Arcade. Wait, didn’t they do that last month? Well, yes, but they screwed it up so they get to do it again. They’ll vote whether to amend the bylaws (because you can’t just suspend them, as they learned last month), and then if they amendment passes they’ll vote on the slate. It’s also their holiday celebration, so if you’re a member come on by for some holiday cheer ‘n’ shit. Social at 6, meeting at 6:30.

The Redbirds will hold their third Twitter interview this Thursday at 2 PM. It will be with 2011 Redbird Attam Ottavino, and topics discussed will include the off-season, coach movement, the farm system and general baseball topics. To see the interview, follow both @memphisredbirds and @AdamOttavino on Twitter. To submit interview questions in advance, tweet them to @memphisredbirds with the hashtag #twinterview.

The Memphis Business Journal reports that ArtSpace, a nonprofit that builds affordable housing for artists, is purchasing the United Warehouse at 138 St. Paul for its latest project. What a great neighborhood to do it, right there in the South Main Arts District with galleries and the MCA grad school nearby. Read the full MBJ article here.

Time to grab some lunch at a new BBQ spot. I’ll be out somewhere after work, Saucer most likely.

25 Mid-South nonprofit organizations compete this week for the chance to win six months of free PR services from Obsidian PR. You can vote for your favorite nonprofit on Obsidian’s Facebook page. Voting runs through 5 PM Wednesday, December 14. The top five vote-getters will move on to a run-off December 15 and 16, and the top two in the run-off will receive six months of PR services in 2012. The organizations are:

DeNeuville Learning Center
Vollintine Evergreen Community Association
Hattiloo Theatre
Project: Motion
Veritas College Preparatory Charter School
South Memphis Alliance
Memphis Roller Derby
FuelFilm:Memphis
Fayette Literacy
Alzheimer’s Day Services
Mid-South Spay & Neuter
Friends for Life
On Our Own
Playhouse on the Square
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Memphis
The Blues Foundation
Les Passees, Inc.
Brooks Museum of Art
Crosstown Arts
Pink Palace Family of Museums
Special Olympics Greater Memphis
The Women’s Foundation of Greater Memphis
Concord Academy
Creative Aging Mid-South
Center for Southern Folklore

Vote by “liking” the logo of your favorite nonprofit. I just went in and voted. I won’t say who I voted for, but I will say that Labor Day weekend would be a lot less interesting if this organization wasn’t here.

Time to grab some lunch… possibly another blog post after work, about a new sandwich I tried at Brass Door yesterday. Plans for tonight are the usual: Pint Nite at the Saucer, then poker at the Goose at 7:30.

Going back to the 90s, FreeWorld has jammed every Sunday night at the Blues City Cafe’s Band Box from 10:30 until close. This winter, though, they’re backing up the start time to 9:30, in response to comments like, “We want to come see you but you start so late.” Now you can come catch their first set, get a full night’s sleep, and make it to work on Monday. Come hear a Downtown Memphis tradition!

Yesterday I watched the first annual Pet Parade up the Main Street Mall, starting at One Commerce Square and ending at Court Square. Afterward I wandered up to The Barking Lot, the new dog walking park at Main and Jefferson.

Parade grand marshal Rockey Redbird

The parade ended in Court Square, where the Humane Society and other pet-related organizations handed out information.

The Barking Lot

Fuel Cafe’s food truck parked in the space in the Barking Lot reserved for food trucks.

Full photo album (27 pics) here. Quite a few dogs and children came out for the parade. I wondered if anyone would try to bring a cat, but I didn’t see any. The Barking Lot is a really neat concept. I hope the parking area will attract more food trucks Downtown.

After the parade I stopped at the Saucer for a couple of beers, then walked down to Beale Street where I ate at Johnny G’s Creole Kitchen. I’ll have a food post about my meal there later today.

The Memphis Tigers host the Murray State Racers today at 5 PM at the FedExForum. That should draw a good crowd Downtown this Sunday afternoon.

I found a new use for my Kindle Fire this morning. I’m watching full episodes of Beavis and Butt-head on it. Can’t nobody tell me the purchase of the Fire wasn’t money well spent!

So, yesterday I booked my upcoming trip to Little Rock. The hotel I like best is called The Legacy Hotel in Downtown Little Rock. Longtime residents of the city will remember it as the Sam Peck. Nice rooms, views of the State Capitol, microwave, refrigerator and coffee maker in the rooms, Wi-Fi. Walkable to everywhere in Downtown Little Rock – a bit of a far walk, but if I get tired, there’s a trolley that runs down Markham Street/President Clinton Avenue where many of the bars are.

So, anyway, I got on the Legacy’s web site and did a search. The cheapest room they had was $81 a night. Then I got on Kayak.com and searched for the hotel. They had the same room for $55 a night. Needless to say, I booked it on Kayak. $55 a night for a Downtown hotel with all the amenities is not a bad deal at all.

Was there a shirt or hat you wanted to buy at Memphis in May, but didn’t get the chance? Well, check this out:

Memphis in May is selling past years’ T-shirts, polos, hats, cookbooks, posters and more at discount prices. They’re on sale 11-5 Monday-Friday next week at 45 S. Main. Great deal. Wish those who work far away from Downtown had some opportunity to buy the merchandise outside normal business hours though.

Christine by Shelton Clothiers has raised the markdown on the entire store to 60% off. Their final shipments came in this week.

Bob Seger plays the FedExForum tonight. Get tickets here.

Late getting out today… it’s past 1 PM. Been watching videos on my Kindle Fire all morning. Only thing I really have to do today is stop by First Tennessee to hit the ATM. Hmmm the Brass Door is across the street. And they have PBR. I want to get out on the Main Street Mall and check out the pet parade in a couple of hours, maybe check out the Barking Lot after that. I wonder if any food trucks will be parked at the Barking Lot this afternoon? No definite plans for tonight, but I’ll figure it out.

There will be a special holiday market at the Memphis Farmers Market space tomorrow, Saturday, December 10. From 10 AM to 2 PM, 40 vendors will sell baked goods, produce and stocking stuffers. The holiday market will be in the pavilion on G.E. Patterson next door to Central Station.

Watoto de Afrika at 55 S. Main will have performances of “A Big Band Christmas” this weekend. Holiday songs will be played to big band sounds of the ’30s and ’40s, with dancing and singing reminiscent of Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Sammy Davis Jr. and Lena Horne. Performances are 7 and 8 PM tonight, 2 and 4 PM Saturday, 2 and 4 PM Sunday.

There will be special screenings of The Diary of Anne Frank tomorrow at the Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art at 12:15 and 2:15 PM.

Grace Askew and the Black Market Goods play the Center for Southern Folklore tomorrow night at 8. $10 cover, with half the proceeds going to benefit the Center.

The Memphis Flyer’s Hungry Memphis blog has a good post about what’s new at Kudzu’s, the friendly neighborhood bar on Monroe between Danny Thomas and Marshall. Although under new ownership, the bar will retain much of the same vibe. However, some improvements have been made, including free Wi-Fi and an Internet jukebox. New menu items have been introduced, including a pork tenderloin sandwich called The Hoosier. Beer selection has been updated with Ghost River and other craft beers. They’re retaining the popular Thursday night Pickin’ Party, and they’re bringing back trivia (Kudzu’s was among the first in the city to have it). They’re also adding a Monday night blues jam.

Future Memphis Tiger basketball player Shaq Goodwin will play in Memphis this weekend. He will be at Memphis University School on Saturday for the fourth annual Memphis vs. Atlanta Roundball Classic. Goodwin is part of Coach Pastner’s 2012 recruiting class.

If you want to know more about new Tigers football coach Justin Fuente, check out this podcast of yesterday’s interview on the Chris Vernon Show. Verno knows how to bring the personal side of people out in interviews. We learned that Fuente is a fan of the TV show Pawn Stars and that he’s an NBA fan. “We’ve got to get him some Grizzlies swag!” said Verno. Fuente will soon be wearing a Tony Allen “All Heart, Grit, Grind” hoodie.

Home from work, got the post done, time for a beer. No definite plans for tonight, so I’ll start at the usual place and then use text and social media to figure out where to go.

Last night I attended the Lazy Magnolia beer and dessert pairing at the Flying Saucer. Five desserts were paired with five different Lazy Magnolia beers. This is the first time they’ve attempted a dessert pairing, but the Saucer’s beer dinners have usually been excellent, so I had no problem buying a ticket.

First Course: Bourbon balls and Southern Gold, Lazy Magnolia’s golden honey ale

Second Course: Apple cobbler paired with Ginger Jack, the brewery’s seasonal beer

Third Course: Pumpkin cheesecake and Lazy Magnolia’s pale ale (didn’t catch the name of this one).

Last night’s event was the first time my friends Bill and Gary had ever attended a beer/food pairing at the Saucer. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Fourth Course: Pecan tarts and Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan Ale

Fifth Course: Homemade ice cream and Jefferson Stout

All five desserts were made from scratch by Saucer manager Mike, and even without the beers they’d be worth the $20 I paid for my ticket. I had no idea Mike could cook!

Last time the Saucer did a pairing – the Abita beer dinner back in the summer – I only gave it four out of five stars because the beer rep didn’t talk about the beers enough, and because all the beers were available locally. Neither was an issue this time. Lazy Mag rep Will talked about all the beers, both in presentation format and talking to each of us individually. One interesting thing I learned is that they use an old Popeye’s biscuit maker to roast pecans for their flagship Southern Pecan ale. As for the beers, only Southern Pecan is commonly available in Memphis, although Jefferson Stout has been on tap at the Saucer before and may reappear.

The brewery is increasing its production and plans to expand its product line into new states next year. People asked how they are able to brew beer in Mississippi (Kiln, MS), when the state has the most restrictive beer laws in the country. They said there’s a misconception that Mississippi cannot have licensed breweries; this is not true, although homebrewing is still illegal there. Their beers have to be 6% ABV or less. They do tours of the brewery but are not allowed to do tastings as part of the tours. They hope to change this when new bills go before the Mississippi state legislature next year.

Back to the tasting itself – I also need to mention that servers Katie and Kyla did a great job taking care of us. I found absolutely nothing to complain about at this dinner. 5 stars out of 5, easily.

Unfortunately the dessert pairing was not as well attended as they had hoped. Their beer dinners usually sell out, but I guess people were skeptical about pairing beer with desserts (or were attending the Trans-Siberian Orchestra show down the street). They only had 12-14 in atttendance, which is a shame because Mike cooked for 40.

(Note to Saucer management: Expect an email from the Nuh-Uh Girl saying “I heard the dessert pairing went well. Any leftovers? :-)” once she reads this.)

I look forward to the next beer/food pairing at the Saucer, and if they do another dessert pairing I hope this post convinces people to give it a try. Big thumbs up on an outstanding event.

As for the news: I have enough to do a “Friday update” post, but I need to use the remainder of my lunch break for a different activity – eating lunch! There will be a post up tonight.

Earlier this fall I blogged that there wouldn’t be a Downtown holiday parade this year. Well, it turns out there will be… but it will be a four-legged parade. The first annual Downtown “Howliday” Parade will march up the Main Street Mall at 3 PM tomorrow, December 10.

All people and pets are invited to come be part of the parade. If you want to participate, line up outside the One Commerce Square building, at Main and Monroe, a little before 3. At 3 PM there will be a march to Court Square for an afternoon of games, caroling, pet photos and other activities. People and pets are encouraged to dress in festive holiday attire. There is no registration fee to be part of the parade.

Also that afternoon, a couple of blocks up the street from the parade, the Barking Lot will open at Main and Jefferson. This used to be a vacant, blighted lot, but it has been renovated into a dog walking park and a landing space for food trucks. Whether or not you have a pet, stop by on Saturday and check it out.