Paul Ryburn's Journal

Most people know I’m not normally a fan of karaoke. I recently commented that I will never attend the Saturday crappyoke night that some of my friends go to, even if offered free PBR for life.

However, I will admit that karaoke is OK when the Grizzlies are involved. Friday night they had a halftime karaoke contest, and Stephanie, pictured below, who will do pretty much anything for free Grizzlies tickets, won.

Stephanie is holding the big bag of Grizzlies merchandise she got for her victory. Ironically, she doesn’t like karaoke much more than I do, but again, she’s willing to overlook it when free Grizzlies stuff is on the line. Congratulations to Stephanie on her win.

(Anyone get video of her singing? If so, wanna stick it on YouTube and send me a link?)

I’ve been asked to post a list of all the festivals that will happen Downtown this spring, with dates. Here ya go.

Saturday, March 26
River City Brewers Festival
Handy Park at Third and Beale
Two sessions, noon-4 and 6-10; $30 per session

Sunday, April 10
Beale Street Wine Race
Beale Street and Handy Park; free

Saturday, April 16
Southern Hot Wing Festival
Main Street between G.E. Patterson and St. Paul

Memphis Brewfest
AutoZone Park
4-7:30 PM; tickets $36 before April 9, $39 after

Sunday, April 17
Rajun Cajun Crawfish Fest
Wagner Street between Union and Beale

Friday-Sunday, April 29-May 1
Memphis in May Beale Street Music Fest
Tom Lee Park

Thursday-Saturday, May 12-14
Memphis in May BBQ Fest
Tom Lee Park

Saturday, May 28
Sunset Symphony
Tom Lee Park

And although it’s not a Downtown event, a lot of Downtowners attend Memphis Italian Fest, which will be June 2-4.

If I missed anything let me know…

I’m now free to post more details about the web designer/developer position mentioned in yesterday evening’s post. It’s with the Grizzlies.

Details here.

Basically, it involves web design (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, MySQL, content management systems), but you’d be working within a marketing department, so you’d be applying it to do a lot of cool projects. This position sounds almost identical to the one I have at my company, and I can tell you, there’s constant opportunity to learn new things and grow your career.

If you know anyone who would be interested, please show them this post. Thanks!

A new fitness center, Klein Fitness, will open at 338 S. Main. Opening night will be Trolley Night on the 25th. The MBJ has the details.

I’ve heard that a job similar to mine may be coming open at a well-known Memphis company (not my company)… Web designer, but in a Marketing department where the successful candidate would be as much of an idea person as a developer. Shoot an e-mail to paul@paulryburn.com if you’re interested and I’ll tell you what I’ve heard. Can’t divulge the company name, but can get a resume to those on the inside.

The lineup for Music Fest ’11 was announced today. Chris Herrington of the Memphis Flyer has an excellent breakdown, day by day, stage by stage.

Memphis Connect has an excellent video of Shawn and Lana Danko, owners of Kooky Canuck, discussing why Memphis is a great place to start a business. The article hints that there may be more Kookys soon. Wouldn’t mind seeing one in Southaven to visit on my lunch breaks. Would have to refrain from the 34 oz. beers though…

Local wrestling legend is scheduled Jerry “The King” Lawler is booked for a match at WrestleMania for the first time ever, against fellow announcer Michael Cole. On Monday Cole announced that wrestler Jack Swagger would be in his corner. Well, it looks like the King may be about to even the odds. According to a tweet Hulk Hogan made, his buddy Jimmy “Mouth of the South” Hart is on his way back to WWE to manage Lawler. I hope that turns out to be true… would love to see Lawler reunited with his sometime manager/sometime nemesis.

It’s a nice night for a walk. I think I’ll walk down to Max’s Sports Bar and see if I can win another gift certificate at their poker night. Afterward, will stop by the Saucer for a little while.

Interesting article in the CA this morning about a Memphis police officer who wants to turn an old Downtown building into a bicycle park. Very cool idea, but so far he’s failed to secure funding to get the idea in motion. If you’re a bike enthusiast, maybe you can help him find the money he needs to make this idea happen.

Short lunchtime post today… been dealing with WordPress upgrade issues on an IIS server. Pretty worn out, need BBQ nachos. The Music Fest lineup will be announced in a few minutes, so check the local news sites.

Just pulled into the parking garage a few minutes ago, my commute from Horn Lake done from the day. This car was parked next to me.

You can go through a Downtown parking garage and tell who both lives and works here. Cars covered in dust, obviously not having been moved for weeks. Filthy as it is, it makes me happy to see a car like this, because the owner is “living the dream.”

I “lived the dream” for a year myself when I worked at the Falls Building, half a block from where I live at Number 10. With my friends, my favorite hangouts, and ample grocery shopping a short walk away, I had little need to drive a car. Once, on a 10-minute break from work, I went over to the parking garage, having not seen my car for four weeks. I was amazed that 1) the garage hadn’t thought it was an abandoned car and towed it; and 2) it started. I moved it to another space and then didn’t drive it out of the garage for another week. When I drove it again, it was one of the few times in my life when I actually paid for a car wash.

I hope to see an increasing number of dirty cars in my parking garage in the months and years to come.

Drive home was a good one, as I listened to Chris Vernon interview Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace. Verno tried to get Wallace to admit that Hasheem Thabeet was the “booby prize” in the trade to Houston. Good stuff.

There are two SMA events coming up in the next seven days.

First of all, this Saturday, March 5 is the annual Spring Clean-Up. Meet at Main and Huling at 8 AM to check in and receive assignments. Drinks and snacks will be available. Forecast is for rain with mild temperatures. They plan to continue with the event rain or shine, although if there is a major downpour they will postpone it.

On Tuesday, March 8, the SMA will host their monthly meeting and Mardi Gras Masquerade party on the upper floor of Beignet Cafe. There will be South Main news and announcements, including info on the upcoming Hot Wing Fest. Then the party will begin, with two DJs and a costume contest with a cash prize. If you join, renew, or bring a new member, you’ll be entered into a drawing to win prizes from the Corkscrew. $1 beers and free hors d’oeuvres. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

In other news… happy birthday to Suzy! I meant to post a pic of her in a tube top, but they’re all on my old computer which is so slow it takes 7 minutes to boot. I’m sure there will be plenty of tube top pics of her in June though.

Congrats to the trivia team on a first-place win last night. Glad to see the old 21-question format back, although they’ve really got to speed it up. Didn’t get finished until 9:30.

Will probably hit the Saucer for a little while tonight, then stop by Bardog to see if Suzy is there celebrating her birthday. Probably no poker tonight in the Underdog Room for me, though. Other stuff going on: Jazz in the Westin lobby; Grace Askew performs at Ferraro’s Pizzeria; pint night at South of Beale; ladies’ night at Bar None; Jeremy Stanfill at the Silly Goose; wine dinner at Automatic Slim’s.

Starting this weekend, the Peabody will start offering cuisine from their four-star restaurant Chez Philippe at the hotel’s Lobby Bar. They started offering desserts at the bar last year and people seemed to really like it, so now they’re offering a “light bites” menu on Friday and Saturday nights from 9 PM to midnight. Items range in price from $8 to $18. View the “Petit Philippe” menu here.

I bet the Lobby Bar will be added to the Nuh-Uh Girl’s weekend bar and club itinerary from now on.

Also, the second meeting of the Peabody’s Master Taster’s Club is tonight in the Corner Bar from 5:00 to 6:30. For $15 you get to try four different wines and light bites, or you can buy a year’s membership for $100. The March event will showcase French Wines from Rhône selected by Certified Sommelier Krista McCracken and a tasting of Chez Philippe’s traditional French menu.

MPACT Memphis‘ big annual gala and fundraiser, Soul of the City, is less than two weeks away. Friday, March 11, the party will be at Minglewood Hall, with music by Party Planet, gourmet food, and – get ready, these are the two words my blog’s readers love – OPEN BAR. They’ll also hand out the MPACT Maker awards to young professionals who have made an “mpact” on our city. Click here to purchase tickets.

The Memphis Business Journal posted a good article about Dream Berry Frozen Yogurts & Treats, the new self-serve yogurt shop planned to open in the One One o’Six Lofts, on Main just south of Union. The shop will open in April.

The article had a link to Dream Berry’s Facebook page, so I clicked through and “Liked” them. On the page I saw a contest for a year’s worth of free yogurt. To enter, you have to join their SMS loyalty program by texting “DREAMER” to 70259. You can enter a second time by “liking” their page on Facebook.

Free yogurt for a year? Bet the Nuh-Uh Girl is sending a text right about now. And getting on Facebook.