Paul Ryburn's Journal

Today’s big news is that the Memphis City Schools board has voted to surrender its charter, pending voter approval via a special election that will be held within 45-60 days. The surrender will effectively force consolidation of the city and county schools. This Daily News article is an excellent summary of how things got to this point.

The school board was in session until 11:30 last night hearing both sides of the argument. For a recap, get on Twitter and search for the #mcs hashtag. Plenty of reporters were tweeting.

Bar None kicks off a new Tuesday night acoustic music series tonight at 8. Kirk Smithhart will be joined by Chris Chew of North Mississippi Allstars fame. There is no cover charge, and $5 half yards of Bud Light. (John D: “Whaaaaaa? Half yards of Bud Light? Paul, I may have to leave trivia tonight after the first hour!”)

The Cardinals Caravan is coming to AutoZone Park Sunday, January 16. Fans will get to partake in a question and answer session with past and current St. Louis Cardinals players, as well as top prospects within the farm system. Afterward there will be a meet and greet autograph session, and there will also be an auction to benefit the Redbirds’ STRIPES and RBI programs. Doors open at 6 with first come first served seating, and the program will start on the park’s club level at 6:30. Hot dogs, soft drinks and nachos will be provided. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up. Also, the ‘birds store will be open 5-7 that evening with a 30% discount storewide.

Census data has determined which state will gain and lose House seats. Texas is the big winner, while New York and Ohio are the big losers. Details here.

Grizzlies play the New Jersey Nets tonight at the FedExForum. I like it when the Grizzlies have home games on Tuesdays. Trivia at the Saucer at 7.

First of all, my condolences to the friends and family of WREG commentator Norm Brewer. Local news lost an important voice today.

Yesterday I mentioned that I tend not to have the best coverage of New Year’s Eve events… well, that’s okay, because this morning Kerry from the I Love Memphis blog published a list of 16 ways to ring in 2011. There are parties for adults, family-friendly events, and restaurants with special menus.

I saw a tweet from Cockadoos this morning saying, “Let us help with your holiday baking!” They can do chocolate cake, strawberry pecan cake, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, muffins and more.

If you missed the showing of It’s a Wonderful Life at the Majestic Grille, you have another chance to see it in Downtown Memphis. First United Methodist Church, at 204 N. Second, will show the movie in a family-friendly environment tonight at 6 PM. Free parking, nursery available, free popcorn and drinks. Free popcorn? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

It’s Monday, and that means I’ll be at Pint Nite at the Saucer around 6:00, knocking off three $3 drafts toward my next plate on the wall.

The Commercial Appeal reviewed Lunchbox Eats this week. I’m pleased to see that they’re now open at night on the nights of Tiger games. People who don’t work Downtown now have a chance to experience their awesome school-themed food.

I’ve received a few e-mails asking what kind of selection City Market, the new grocery at Main and Union, carries. Here, see for yourself. The market uploaded 35 photos on the 14th.

Bar None has announced that it will offer happy hour pricing to those in the service industry who come in after 10:30 PM. The chef’s pub is open until 2:30 AM Tuesday-Saturday.

Recommendations for tonight: Jeffrey and the Pacemakers (60s British Invasion music) at Huey’s, 8:30 PM; the weekly rehearsal of the Memphis Jazz Orchestra at Alfred’s, 6-9 PM; It’s a Wonderful Life with special dinner menu at the Majestic Grille, 7 PM (reservations recommended, 901-522-8555).

I’ve received a couple of e-mails asking if I’m going to do a summary post of what’s happening on New Year’s Eve… probably not. It goes back to the fact that, despite the Downtown following, this is basically a personal blog where I write about what I know and like. And I’m “bah, humbug” when it comes to New Year’s Eve. It’s amateur night when all the people who don’t know how to party come out. Traffic jams, crowded bars, cover charges that are sky high. There’s at least a 50% chance I’ll just stay home, let the amateurs celebrate the agreed-upon arbitrary moment in time, and then enjoy my neighborhood bars when they re-open at 5 the next day. I’ll try to keep my eye out for other blogs with New Year’s listings, and link to them as I see them.

Boring night last night… did three beers toward my plate at the Saucer, hung out with my friends Stevie G and Sarah for a while. By 10:30 I was bored enough to come home and fire up PokerStars. I’m starting a new bankroll challenge, where I’m pretending that I only have $10 in my PokerStars account and am attempting to build it into something substantial at the micro-level cash games. I wrote a new post about it on my poker blog. The micro-limit cash games are just no fun unless there’s at least one fish, or bad player, at the table.

It’s Sunday Fun Day. Not hungry yet, so I’ll probably skip brunch at the Majestic and proceed directly to the Saucer. Think I may take the netbook with me and get some PokerStars time in this afternoon.

One of my favorite sites, Hot Chicks with Douchebags, has handed out the 2010 Douchie Awards. The Douchebag of the Year went to a guy named Stackhouse, who helped his case with some of the most illiterate writing ever seen on the Internet.

There were many other categories, including Orangest Orange, Douchiest Athlete, Jerziest Jerz, Douchebaguette, and many more. Check out the full list of awards here.

The overrated Tennessee Vols have fallen to two mid-major schools in one week. After losing to Oakland on Monday, they have now fallen to Charlotte. Read the story here.

Here’s a bonus video of Bruce Pearl discussing his lies and NCAA violations. Toward the end, the Bruchebag breaks into tears as he talks about the effect his mistakes have had on his players and his son. Can you believe some people wanted Pearl to come to Memphis after Calipari left? Think what a mess our program would be now. If I had an 18-year-old son, I’d be a lot more comfortable sending him to play under our very own Coach Pastner.

What will Bruce Pearl do if he loses his coaching job when all is said and done? Maybe he’ll go to work for a like-minded individual, and take an assistant coaching job at UK.

Wednesday night I attended a Christmas party at the Cadre Building at Second and Monroe, and made my way upstairs to the top floor, where Envision Memphis was having a party of its own. I’d never been in there before. Envision Memphis is a full-service gym. Here are a few pics I snapped:

Also on the top floor is a satellite location of Mona Spa. They put some type of butter cream on my hands, which are dried out from cold weather and beer-induced dehydration. My hands felt nice and soft with the cream on them. Nearly dropped my iPhone though.

Party was very nice, with beer, wine and a gluten-free buffet. For some reason the Nuh-Uh Girl decided to take a night off, so everyone got plenty to eat.

Sorry for the lack of posts the past two days – Christmas parties wore me out, and I spent my entire lunch hour Friday at AutoZone changing a headlight. Pop-up headlights are really cool until you have to replace one. Not sure what I’m doing tonight. Let me check a few events calendars and I’ll report back if I see anything interesting.

… Harmony, who was wearing this tube top dress.

Thanks to Harmony for reminding everyone that, although June is Tube Top Month, tube tops and tube top dresses are meant to be worn year-round.

The federal government requires that I disclose when I receive compensation in any form for events I mention on the blog. Therefore, I must disclose that I received the following for judging the Majestic Grille’s National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation costume contest/tacky sweater contest:

(Actually, there were two more PBRs which didn’t get included in the picture.) Christmas ham, potatoes, and green bean casserole. Pretty fine compensation if you ask me.

The restaurant also gave me this glass, a replica of the egg nog glasses used in the movie. For some reason I want to put Jager in it. This could spell trouble.

This year I was pleased to find I had a co-judge, the lovely Beth who is part of the Sunday Fun Day crew. Together we walked around the Majestic and picked the best of 25 tacky Christmas sweaters. Here are a couple of them:

The Majestic has one night left in its “Supper and a Movie” series, which will be tomorrow night, Sunday, December 19. At 7 PM they will show It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) starring James Stewart and Donna Reed. They’ll have a dinner special consisting of antipasto – stuffed cherry peppers, warm grilled mushrooms, prosciutto & arugula, beef and three cheese lasagna, Caesar salad, and apple strudel with cinnamon ice cream. Reservations are recommended – call 901-522-8555 to make them.

Thanks to the Majestic for having me Thursday night. I enjoyed judging again and the food was delicious.

Tonight is the first Thursday poker night in Bar None, the new chef’s pub in the space formerly occupied by Circa. It will be run by Jon Monroe AKA “Poker Jon” who also runs the Monday night Silly Goose and Wednesday night Bardog games. Felt tables, real chips, real playing cards, live tournament action with increasing blinds. They’ll shuffle up and deal at 7:30 PM tonight and every Thursday.

There’s an “America’s Got Real Talent” casting call for people with untapped TV talent tomorrow, Friday, December 17 at the Westin from 10 AM-6 PM. Cineflix, the company that produces such hit shows as American Pickers, Property Virgins and Conviction Kitchen is on the hunt for professional realtors, chefs, bakers, designers, contractors, business owners, animal experts, vets, history buffs and anyone else who loves what they do and thinks they have what it takes to make compelling television. If you’ve ever wanted to be a reality TV star, this could be your chance. More info here. If you can’t make it tomorrow, you can request an interview via Skype.

Good site I just learned about: FAAD, which stands for Free App a Day. Every day they have iPhone apps which are normally paid apps, but which are free for one day only. Today’s free app is Scrabble – not Words with Friends but the real licensed Scrabble. You probably won’t be surprised to learn that I heard about this site from the Nuh-Uh Girl. When she’s not out trying to find free food, she’s downloading free apps.

I won’t make it to poker night at Bar None, because I’ll be judging the movie costume contest and tacky sweater contest at the Majestic Grille tonight, as they show National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation at 8 PM. They’re just about filled up but may have a last-minute cancellation; call 901-522-8555 to see if there’s a spot. I don’t have a tacky sweater, so I’ll wear my profile pic – Santa hat and “I Love Romanian Girls” T-shirt.

If you have kids, you might want to call the Majestic and see if any tables are open for Saturday’s “Brunch with Santa” from 10 AM to 1 PM. This has always been a big hit with kids. Hot chocolate, kids’ brunch specials, holiday movies on the big screen, and Santa.

The Majestic movie is just one of three holiday events I have tonight… maybe I’ll bring the camera… should be a very fun evening.

There will be a holiday open house at the Cadre Building, located at Second and Monroe, tomorrow night, Wednesday, December 15, from 5 to 8 PM. It will be hosted by Envision, the Cadre, Mona Spa, Main Street Dental, Shelton Clothiers, and Christine by Shelton Clothiers. Music in the main ballroom by Watchpaper and The Old West, and Star & Micey will play upstairs in Envision. Envision will waive the $150 initiation fee for the first 10 people who join the gym at the party. You’ll be able to register for free fittings, closet makeovers and a shopping party from Shelton Clothiers and Christine by Shelton Clothiers. There will also be chair massages by Mona Spa, and of course holiday hors d’oeuvres. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

The following day, Thursday the 16th, the Flying Saucer will have its holiday party for Beerknurds from 5 to 7 PM. Complimentary buffet and great swag. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

And now some techie stuff…

All of the Gawker family of sites were hacked last weekend, and hundreds of thousands of usernames and passwords were made public. Sites include Deadspin, Gizmodo, io9, Jalopnik, Jezebel, Kotaku, Lifehacker, and Gawker itself. If you had an account on any of these, you need to change your password immediately. Also, if you use the same username/password elsewhere on the web, you need to change your password there too. This widget on Slate.com will help you find out if your username/e-mail address and password has been compromised.

I’ve been using a fantastic FTP program, Cyberduck, on my MacBook for the past year. There’s now a Windows version available for download. If you’re looking for a Windows FTP program, this is well worth checking out. More info here.

If you own an iPad, CNN has released a very nice app for it. The app was created especially for the iPad and is very visual and social. Apps like this will help bring the iPad into its own, and help people see it as more than a big iPhone without the phone.

A very happy birthday to my buddy Lee today. Lee is a true friend and one of the best guys I know. Hope it’s a good one.

Everyone be careful tomorrow… freezing rain and sleet is possible during the morning hours.

Time to make a quick trip to Target. I am not looking forward to getting out in this weather.