Paul Ryburn's Journal

The USA Today Top 25 pre-season coaches’ poll is out, and I’m pleased to see the Arkansas Razorbacks in at number 19!  Hopefully the Hogs will move up once the season gets underway.  Here’s a link to the poll.

Want to be in the movies?  There’s a casting call for extras and speaking roles at Stop 345 Sunday from noon to 3.  They’re looking for ages 18-35.  The movie is centered around an ’80s punk band, so channel your inner ’80s punk.

I have to say how handy Evernote is for blogging.  I have it on my iPhone, MacBook, netbook and work computer, and it automatically syncs notes between all computers.  When I’m walking around Downtown and I see a banner for an event I want to blog about, I simply snap a pic with my iPhone’s camera and pull it into Evernote.  When I get home, the pic is waiting for me, and Evernote is even smart enough to make text within the pic searchable.

It’s useful for work too.  When I’m home and think of a good idea for something to do at work (because very few of my good ideas occur while sitting in a cubicle), I simply record it in Evernote and it’s waiting for me the next day.

Fun day yesterday.  Lunch with one of my buddies at the Majestic, then back to the Saucer for an afternoon of beer.  It was the last rooftop party, but I wasn’t in the mood for crowds so I decided to wander south to Calhoun’s and watch the end of the weekly poker tournament.  With rooftop season now over, I plan to return to Calhoun’s soon on a Thursday and dish out some whoopins on the poker table, so I took mental notes of people’s playing styles.  Mikey won, a seat opened up at the bar, and then Michelle called me down to the other end of the bar, where this happened:

Someone “iced” me.  These are the only people in the world from whom I’d tolerate that crap – “icing” is one of the stupidest things ever.  But since these are my friends, I played along and took a knee and drank it.  Thanks for selecting the apple flavor, guys.  You know how much I like apple.

Yesterday I found out that my picture is in Memphis Sport magazine this month.  I’m glad I’m finally starting to get the recognition I deserve as one of the Mid-South’s most prominent athletes.

As I type this, there’s a discussion occurring on Twitter about employees who work at public places, such as restaurants or bars, checking in on Foursquare.  “It takes away the glory of customer mayorships,” one person wrote, and I agree.  There’s one restaurant Downtown where the mayorship gets traded among three bartenders and servers every few days.  Management is missing an opportunity to learn who its most loyal customers are because of that.  Also, there’s no incentive for customers to make extra stops to check in.  I admit I’ve made a couple of extra stops by Bardog on the way home recently, trying to regain a recently-lost mayorship.  At the other restaurant, however, there’s no point in making extra stops, because I’m never gonna check in as much as someone who works there!

Got more stuff to blog about… commentary on last night’s election, my trip to the MIFA Store.  Maybe I’ll type some more this afternoon.

There will be a couple of events going on Tuesday, August 10 that I wanted to share.

First of all, Tuesday is National S’mores Day.  S’mores are the dessert treats made with chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows.  Kooky Canuck has “make your own s’mores at your table” on their menu every day, and on the 10th they’ll be celebrating.  They’ll have drink specials all day, and they’ll have special flavored marshmallows – coconut, caramel, lemon.

Also, Tuesday is the monthly South Main Association meeting.  This month they’ll be at Mesquite Chop House on Union.  Ty Agee, president of the Beale Street Merchants’ Association, will speak about the merchant’s association’s role Downtown.  There will be a cash bar, and complimentary hors d’oeuvres by the Chop House.  Free food?  Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

Emergency Eggsit breakfast burrito from Elliott’s at 16 S. Second.  Sausage, hashbrowns, onions, jalapenos, and of course eggs.  This is one of my favorite breakfasts Downtown.

I thought about going to Bardog for their breakfast burrito, which is just as good, but having not had my morning caffeine I was not in the most social mood.  So, I elected to buy a burrito from Elliott’s and take it home to eat.

Not sure what I’m going to do with my vacation day.  I don’t want to get to the bar until about 3, unless I find out that something particularly tasty is the Fire Sale.  Maybe I’ll fire up my PokerStars account for a little while.  Also, I notice that it’s only 81 outside at 9:30 AM, whereas most of this week it’s been in the mid 90s by this time.  Maybe I’ll go outside and take a walk.

Probably more posts to come.

Although I mainly write about Downtown, I know I do have some readers out in Cordova (including one who I’ve beaten at Words with Friends 63, 764 times).  This one’s for you:  Good band headed your way Sunday night.  Jeffrey and the Pacemakers will play Cordova Huey’s Sunday night at 8.  I got to catch them at Escape Alley Sundry a few weeks ago, and they were excellent.  They play British Invasion music – meaning, British rock from the mid-1960s.  Lots of Beatles, as well as some Kinks, Animals, Yardbirds, that kind of stuff.  If you’re a fan of that style of music, you need to check these guys out.  They are complete pros and they sound great.

For those of you who don’t know where Cordova Huey’s is, it’s in that strip mall on a side street off Germantown Parkway, you know, the one with several other buildings and a big parking lot.

This beer was on the “Just Landed” board at the Flying Saucer last night.  I didn’t try it after finding out it was 22 ounces, 9% alcohol, and $14, but it certainly has an interesting name.  It’s a double IPA.

I just got back from the Corkscrew, the liquor store on S. Front next to the Blue Monkey.  I told the guy working there that I was looking for some “nice white wines to drink on my building’s rooftop.  They’ll probably be consumed along with other alcohol, so I’m not looking for pricey wines.”  With assistance, I ended up with four bottles – a pinot grigio, a sauvignon blanc, and two chardonnays – for $23.  Not bad at all.  I especially appreciated that he told me that he’d had both the $3.99 wine and the $11.99 wine I was considering, and he liked the cheaper one better.

They had a good selection of beers above 6% alcohol too.  Looking at the prices makes me realize how much the Saucer marks beer up.  Speaking of which, I’ve got a post coming later today about a new beer at the Saucer, and the Corkscrew carries it if you want to try it.

Before going to the ‘screw, I voted – my polling place moved to a new location, but other than that, no problems, in and out in 5 minutes.  I also stopped by the MIFA Store, and will do a separate post about it later.

If you’re not sure where to vote today, this site will tell you.

Steve Cohen is having a free election celebration at Minglewood Hall tonight at 7:30.

If I were a little more sure Cohen had this election sewn up, I would have crossed over and voted Haslam for governor, because the other two Republican candidates are just complete nutbags.  With all the news about polling irregularities, though, I decided Steve needed my vote.

Not even 1 PM on my vacation day and I’m probably about to head to the bar… I don’t really want to start drinking this early in the day, but one of my buddies is hoping I’ll be his excuse to start drinking early.  You can’t let a friend down, I suppose.

I have posts in Drafts, so I’ll probably log in through my iPhone and post more later today.

Steve Cohen just posted this to Facebook:

“There are reports that people are being told in error that they have already voted when they show up at the polling stations today. If this happens DO NOT LEAVE. Ask for a provisional ballot. You will be asked to fill out an affidavit that says you haven’t voted yet. The poll worker will check the voter rolls to make sure you are registered and have not yet voted, and you will be given a card to vote on the machine.”

Yesterday there was a meet-and-greet for the MPD officers who will be patrolling Downtown on foot and on bike, working with the CCC’s Downtown safety patrol.  They will be cleaning up the few people down here who give Downtown a bad name:  Aggressive panhandlers, parking scammers, drunk and disorderly street people who are out every day causing trouble.

Initially we were told that four officers would be assigned to the task, backed up by one more officer in a patrol car, working from Tuesday to Saturday.  However, those who attended the meet-and-greet yesterday learned that MPD had stepped it up.  They now plan to assign EIGHT officers to the detail, and officers will be on duty seven days a week.

Aggressive Downtown panhandlers, these officers are ready to get to know you up close and personal.  Get ready to make some new friends.

Today is a very important day in the history of Memphis.  For those voting in the Democratic primary, it is a chance to send one of the best Congressmen we have ever had back to Washington for another two years.  Steve Cohen has proved he can navigate the halls of Congress successfully while representing ALL the people in his district.

As for his opponent, Willie Herenton must be given credit for being a self-made man, rising from teacher to principal to school superintendent to mayor.  I also have to give him credit for accomplishing a lot in his first three terms as mayor, redeveloping Downtown and reinventing the city’s public housing.  However, in his last six years as mayor something seemed to change in the man.  He seemed interested only in serving himself and his cronies, and making a public spectacle at every opportunity.  Although he’s had success in the executive branch, there’s absolutely no evidence he would do well in the legislative branch, where he’d not be the center of attention, but merely one voice in 435.  He’s run a race-based campaign in an era when we are beginning to put race behind us.  It’s time to send Willie into permanent retirement.*

If you’re a Republican, you have an important primary too – the one for governor.  Zach Wamp’s statements about unemployment benefits lead me to believe he sees the worst in people.  Ron Ramsey’s statements about Islam make me wonder if he should be in a padded room rather than the lieutenant governor’s office.  I may not agree with Bill Haslam on all the issues, but I have yet to see evidence that he is anything other than a man of public service.  If I were voting in that primary I’d be voting for Haslam.

I’m off work today, so my agenda will be to hit the polls first and foremost.  After that, I plan to visit the MIFA Store at 910 Vance – I never have gotten to see it because its hours conflict with my work hours.  Then I’ll make a stop at the Corkscrew to buy some wine.  After all the errands have been run, you can probably guess what my next stop will be.

* Or, more likely, temporary retirement, until he decides to run against Mayor Wharton for his old job, and makes a fool of himself once again.

(Note: It’s 11:47 PM Wednesday and I’m drunk, so although I’m calling Thursday “tomorrow” you might want to think “today.” Also, whoever it was who told me about the Bluez 57 Burger at Huey’s, thank you.)

The Peabody’s final rooftop party of the season is tomorrow night, with Cowboy Mouth providing the entertainment. Gringo Star will open, and DJ Mark Anderson will keep the party going during the breaks.

The best advice I can give you for this one is GO EARLY. When Cowboy Mouth has been here in past years, I’ve seen long lines waiting for the elevators as early as 7:15 PM.

Since Cowboy Mouth is the essence of New Orleans rock, the hotel has decided to go with a New Orleans food theme. On the buffet there will be Andouille sausage, red beans and rice, mini muffalettas, and jalapeno hush puppies. Those in VIP will find seafood gumbo, shrimp remoulade shooters, crawfish beignets, and chicken and onion beignets.

Popular New Orleans drinks, hurricanes and hand grenades, will be available at all bars. Having just had a hand grenade myself last month, I think that will definitely be on my drinking agenda if I hit the Peabody roof. Especially since I have Friday off… extra recovery time.

The Peabody’s beverage partner MillerCoors will donate 50% of proceeds from every Miller Lite sold to Ducks Unlimited, to support effords to clean up the mess BP made in the Gulf. Ducks Unlimited representatives will be at the party to share news about cleanup efforts, and to accept additional donations.

Because this is a big name band, cover will be a little bit higher for the season finale – $15 at the door. That still includes first drink. Ladies and hotel guests get in free before 7.