Paul Ryburn's Journal

A few weeks ago, Poker Jon gave me a backhanded compliment: “You’re the best drunk poker player I’ve ever seen.” Last night I proved it, showing up at Bar None for the weekly poker tournament having already consumed about six beers. The result? I WON. Prize was two tickets to see the Grizzlies tonight, vs. the Houston Rockets.

All right, who wants to go see a game? A parking pass came with the tickets if you need it. Seats are in “BOX2” and I have no idea where that is but it sounds pretty good. Hit me up with an e-mail or text.

Sitting here in Horn Lake reading tweets that it’s snowing Downtown. It’s still in the mid-30s here as of about 1 PM, so they’re not closing the office.

Great, now I’m hungry. Jennifer Biggs wrote about South of Beale on the Whining & Dining blog, and posted a bunch of pics of their food.

The Grizzlies had a Day of Service on the 14th, and you can view a photo album here.

Last night I went to Bardog for their Wednesday poker game, and Aldo announced the grand prize for the player who accumulates the most points at Bardog over the next 8 weeks: A 42-inch flat screen TV. Not bad. This is only the prize for the Bardog champion; the winner will also have a shot at winning bigger prizes in the poker league that also includes Silly Goose, Bar None, and Bayou. Friend “Gut Shot” on Facebook to get more details on the poker league.

If you’re looking for something to do tonight, Old Crow Medicine Show plays the New Daisy. It’s also trivia night (7:00) at the Silly Goose, and poker at Bar None (7:30). Watoto de Afrika has a grand opening scheduled tonight at 5:30, with previews of upcoming dance performances, but given that kids are involved and it’s snowing, I wonder if that will be canceled.

C’mon snow. Hurry up.

After seeing the huge success that was Downtown Night with the Grizzlies in November, they have decided to do another Downtown Night on the 31st. Tickets are $59 and here’s what that gets you:

• A mixer with your fellow Downtowners in a private room of Opus Restaurant from 6:00-7:30
• A food buffet
• Drinks
• Talk with a member of the Grizzlies operations staff. Last time it was Tony Barone Jr.
• Meet the Grizz Girls and Grizz the mascot
• A Grizzlies gift
• A $99-value club level seat to watch the Grizzlies play the Orlando Magic

I went to the last one and it was a lot of fun. You need to contact Carl Rosen with the Grizzlies to get this deal. His e-mail address is crosen@grizzlies.com and his phone number is 901-205-1445.

Here’s a PDF with more info.

Memphis in May has announced that they are postponing their Volunteer Expo, that was originally to be held tomorrow night at Central Station. They are moving it to a later date (to be announced) due to the threat of ice and snow tomorrow.

Will post the new date when I hear it. Probably a good move to keep MiM’s volunteers safe. If that snow does arrive, let’s hope it sticks around and makes Friday a SNOW DAY!

If you haven’t seen the news on Facebook or Twitter this morning, LivingSocial, one of those group-coupon sites, has a great deal today: $20 for a $10 Amazon gift card. This is pretty much free money. If you can’t find something you need on Amazon, you probably aren’t alive.

This morning the Memphis Business Journal tweeted from the meeting of the Center City Development Commission. There it was learned that the plans for 115 Union are to have a restaurant on the ground floor. It will be called Ultra Lounge and will serve tapas. Sounds like a good next-door neighbor to Bangkok Alley and Rio Loco. More details to come soon, I hope.

Something called The Great Urban Race is coming to Memphis Sunday, May 21. Two-person teams will dress up in costumes, solve clues, and do challenges for a chance to win prizes. This is a national event, and winners will qualify to move on for a shot at $10,000.

Thanks to John Calipari for reminding all of us that Bruce Pearl is only the second biggest douchebag in the Southeast Conference. We all know Coach Cal is fond of publicly berating his players, but he had a doozy last night. On national TV, he called one of his players a “selfish motherfucker” within range of TV microphones. Details here. (Glad I don’t have to censor the quote like media companies do.) After the game, Coach Cal “apologized” for his actions. No, Cal, you’re not a bit sorry, and we all know it; you’re just doing what’s politically expedient. How could any high school player watching that want to play for Kentucky? Even watching the game with the sound off at the Saucer, I could tell how dejected Cal’s players were after withstanding his tirades.

The Redbirds have published their list of fireworks nights for 2011: April 9th, April 23rd, May 14th, May 29th, June 3rd, June 18th, July 2nd, July 3rd, July 16th, July 30th, August 13th, and September 4th. The famous “San Diego” Chicken will be here June 17. More info about entertainment for the 2011 season here.

Tonight I’m going to post more details of the January 31 Downtown Night with the Grizzlies, so check back.

We got third place in trivia tonight. Some of our team members left early, after question 15.

Question 16 was about subatomic particles. It asked which type of particle had “down” or “charm” variants.

We got it wrong. One of our team members, who had just left, recently completed supervision of the building of a nuclear power plant.

D’oh.

Another question: What animal did Bill Clinton say gave him the most severe beating of his life, when he was 8 years old?

A sheep.

He got kinky early. You go, Bill.

We were lucky to get third place.

Scratch the rumor about the ground floor of Barboro Flats being a Maria’s Cantina. It’s going to be something much better.

That may be the longest post title in the history of this blog. This has been a very, very newsy day.

Normally I’m not one to blog about Valentine’s Day dinners Downtown (or elsewhere), because I think the holiday sucks. However, I have to admit this is a really cool option – Trolley Stop Market is having A Tasty Soiree that night. It will be a fancy affair, with candlelight, flowers, white linens, chocolate, music by the Adams Avenue Camerata, and a three-course locally-inspired meal. Trolley Stop Market is one of the best new restaurants Downtown, and if I celebrated this Satanic holiday it is where I would be taking a date. E-mail trolleystopmarket@live.com or call 901-526-1361 for reservations.

The Rumba Room (@RumbaRoomMphsTN) tweeted that Salsa Memphis will be offering 5 salsa lessons for $25 for the remainder of this month. If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to salsa, you likely won’t find a better deal than this.

Memphis in May will hold a Volunteer Expo Thursday night from 6 to 8 in Central Station. If you want to help with MiM (Music Fest, BBQ Fest, Sunset Symphony, International Week) as well as enjoy the events, this is where you can learn how to get involved. Honored country this year is Belgium.

I saw a Facebook post by Bar None that they’re having a Ladies Night on Wednesdays. Hmmm, I thought, might have to stop by. Even if I don’t get a discount on drinks, it’s a good deal if the female-to-male ratio is favorable. Then I read on and discovered that Wednesday night at Bar None is also… UGH…

Karaoke.

If you’re into karaoke, don’t get me wrong, this would be a good place to go. Good food, good wine and liquor selection, good atmosphere for that kind of event. Unfortunately for me, I like karaoke about as much as I like Bruce Pearl, so I’ll pass on Wednesday night. Have fun, and if you go to Bar None Thursday-Tuesday (it’s open 7 days a week now) maybe I’ll see you there.

Afternoon tea at the Madison Hotel, a staple there from opening in 2002 until it was discontinued in early 2010, was brought back for the 2010 holiday season. It proved so popular that they’re keeping it permanently. You can enjoy tea at the Madison from 2 to 4 PM weekdays.

This afternoon Kerry posted to the I Love Memphis Blog that there will be a job fair for the new Cooper-Young Urban Outfitters store next Tuesday and Wednesday, January 25 and 26. It will be held Downtown at the Holiday Inn Select. Applicants are asked to bring a resume, and are asked to show up dressed as they would if they already worked for Urban Outfitters. Gotta love a job fair where it’s a bad idea to show up in a tie.

Here’s a tip I saw today on how to move your Twitter conversation to a private Twitter chat room. Some of the people I follow on Twitter REALLY need to learn to use this feature. #HappyMexican8

The Visible School will have a ground-breaking event for their new facilities, to be located at 200 Madison, at 10:30 AM on Tuesday, February 1. The independent music and worship arts college hopes to move into its new campus within the next year.

Time for trivia at the Saucer. Who knows, maybe there will be another drunk post tonight. Thinking about bringing them back on a more regular basis. I haven’t been offending enough people lately.

The Peabody is starting a monthly wine club that will meet in their corner bar. First meeting is Wednesday, February 2 from 5:00 to 6:30 PM, and will feature four wines from Tuscany paired with light bites from their Petite Phillippe menu. $15, or buy an annual pass for $100. Details here. Sounds very intriguing, but that start time is awful early for people who live Downtown but work in other parts of the city. I’d only be able to make it to the last 30 minutes most days.

South of Beale sent out its weekly newsletter today. For those of you who don’t subscribe, be aware that there’s a Foursquare special – show your checkin to get $3 off any “plate” item.

Foursquare, by the way, is really irritating me lately. Last night it took me two minutes to start the app, change the tab from “Friends” to “Places,” have the app list possible places it thought I could be, pick the Saucer, type a comment and check in. Way too long. I should be able to do that in no more than 30 seconds. I saw there was an update to the app and downloaded it, which if anything made it even slower. Get it together, Foursquare!

For my Mississippi readers, I want to mention an organization well represented at Saturday’s Winter Warmer beer fest – Raise Your Pints. This is a group lobbying to change the arcane Mississippi beer alcohol content law. When Mississippi legalized beer after Prohibition (over 30 years after), the only way they could get it through the legislature was to limit alcohol content to 5%. Other states did this too but every other state has repealed this limit. Mississippi has not. Most craft beers, including most IPAs, Dubbels, Trippels, Trappist ales and many more, are above 5%. So Mississippians can’t enjoy those high-quality beers unless they travel to other states to purchase them (thus denying Mississippi of tax revenue). If you live in MS, please consider supporting Raise Your Pints. More info about them here.

Speaking of beer festivals, tickets are now on sale for the 2nd annual River City Brewers Fest, to be held March 26 in Handy Park. Festival will benefit the Autism Society.

If you dine at the Trolley Stop Cafe, be sure to check out my friend Boo Gardo’s pottery while you’re there.

Attn Hog fans: The 2011 Razorbacks football schedule has been released. The Arkansas-LSU game is back to the Friday after Thanksgiving, where it belongs.

I also, I learned that the Hogs’ baseball team will visit AutoZone Park on March 23 to play the Memphis Tigers. Very cool… if the Razorbacks win, I promise not to disrespect the home team by plugging my iPhone into a local bar’s speakers and playing the Arkansas fight song, the way a certain person played “Rocky Top” after the Tigers-Vols basketball game.

That’s it for now… I actually have several more things but I need to eat. Possibly a second post tonight.

Just received this pic from one of my fellow Winter Warmer attendees, and I promised I’d post it, although having seen it I’d rather not:

Jeez… I mean, she looks great, but I look like I’ve had about 90 beers. Which, at the point this photo was taken, was probably not too much of an exaggeration. Feel free to pull this pic into your favorite photo editor and crop out the leftmost two-thirds, to make it look much better. That’s Emily on the right, by the way. Fellow Rhodesian.

By the way, I heard from the organizer of the event. He realizes it turned out a bit cramped, and I think it was an honest mistake that will be corrected at future beer fests. Everyone join them for Memphis Brewfest on April 16. Ooooh, is that the same day as Hot Wing Fest? That’s going to be a tough call. The third weekend of April is unusually loaded this year due to Easter being the fourth weekend. Attn Jesus: If you come back, this time please try to die in a month when not much is going on. February would be good. Or July, but not around the Fourth. kthanksdrivethru.

Possible snow day on Thursday/Friday? This MemphisWeather.net blog post says it’s a possibility. I’m hearing that the high on Friday may not even make it to freezing, and some snow on the ground would be much appreciated to make it a 3-day weekend for many of the citizens of Memphis.

Interesting night at the Saucer for Pint Nite. Pete the Trivia Guy made a rare Monday appearance, as he was showing around an out-of-town guest. Bartender Kelly tried to fix Pete up with her mom, commenting, “I need a stepdaddy.” Hmmmm OK then.

Twitterers I follow who are on a roll tonight: @the_ironsheik and @DocHancock

Just ate wings from Huey’s. Guess I’ll go to bed now.

Short post this noon hour…

The Fuzzy Brew blog, a good one to read if you’re a Memphian who is into beer, wrote a review of the Winter Warmer beer fest. Agree with most everything said, positive and negative.

The Peabody tweeted that they have 7 management jobs open in Sales, Banquets, Housekeeping, F&B, Front Office, Convention Services, and Bars. Check out their job listings here.

That’s all the news I’ve got. Time to grab some chili and spend the rest of my lunch hour reading the poker book I left behind on Friday.