Paul Ryburn's Journal

If you got a notification that I accepted your LinkedIn invitation from 6 months ago, sorry it took me so long.  Lately I’ve been all over Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare, and have just completely forgotten about LinkedIn.

I guess my thinking about LinkedIn fell into a common trap for the first half of this year – “I’m not job hunting, so why should I spend a lot of time on it.”  That was dumb.  By being active on LinkedIn I could

• Learn about job openings that my friends might be interested in – the “hidden job market.”  We gotta help each other out.
• Learn about groups I can join where I could obtain knowledge that would make me more effective at work.  Or would make me more effective at building affiliate sites after-hours.  Or would make me a more effective blogger.
• Keep in touch with my colleagues from past jobs.  Good to know what they’re up to, so I can help them out if I see an opportunity.
• And who knows what else…

In the coming weeks and months, I’ll pay more attention to LinkedIn.  Now, if you’re wondering, “I bet the next thing is, he’ll get active on MySpace again…”, don’t hold your breath.

I have a recommendation for the World Cup final, and it’s not a particular bar.  Rather, the recommendation is, if you’re going to watch the game at a small bar (meaning Bardog, Calhoun’s, or Local), get there about 12:30, an hour before game time.  If you come much later, you risk not getting a seat and becoming part of the standing-room-only crowd.  If you’re someone who prefers standing (like me) it’s not a problem, but if you need to sit to be comfortable, go early.

I guess I’m for the Netherlands, but as always, with the World Cup in South Africa, you can’t lose if you root for vuvuzela.

Today I was walking down Beale Street and I saw this sign:

B.B. King will return to his club on Beale Street September 26-27 for two performances.  To buy tickets, stop by the club’s gift shop or call (901) 524-5464.  When B.B. played the club last year, it was thought those might be his last performances due to diabetes.  Glad to hear he’s recovered and is coming back.  Should be two good shows.

Last night I walked up to Escape Alley Sundry to see Jeffrey and the Pacemakers.  They are a band that plays ’60s British Invasion music, with a few covers from American bands from the same period mixed in.  Here’s a pic:

To give you an idea what they play, I copied down as much of their set list as I could.  I knew about half the songs, which means there’s still plenty of music from that era for me to discover.  Although they cover all British Invasion music, the sets were Beatles-heavy, and I have no problem with that at all.

The songs I recognized:

Beatles – Hard Day’s Night
Searchers – didn’t catch the name of the song
Byrds – Mr. Tambourine Man
Animals – Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood
Beatles – Rain
Donovan – Mellow Yellow
Beatles – Eight Days a Week
Yardbirds – For Your Love
Gloria
Hippy Hippy Shakes
Beatles – I Saw Her Standing There
Kinks song, didn’t catch the name
Mersey Beats song that was covered later by David Bowie
Beatles – We Can Work It Out
Manfred Mann – Do Wah Diddy Diddy
Beatles – Nowhere Man
Encore:  Beatles – Helter Skelter

I had a good time.  These guys were professionals playing quality instruments and amps, and they knew how to involve the audience in the performance (they turned down a request for “Free Bird” though).  For those of you who live in Collierville, they’ll play Huey’s out there at 8:30 Sunday night.  After that the band will take a little break, as the drummer goes on tour to Europe with Jerry Lee Lewis.

I enjoyed the venue too.  It’s a little tiny bar with a lot of character, great art and great music.  Furthermore, they have cheap PBR!!!  $1.50 for a 12 oz. can, or $2.50 for a 16 oz. can.  Tip from the math guy:  The 12 oz. can is a better value.

They have good food too.  Here’s a pic of the chili cheese nachos I had.

I’ve heard great things about the hot dogs too, from a number of people… you can pick from a list of about 20 toppings to put on them.

I did discover that Escape Alley Sundry is a little far to walk from where I live at Madison and Main.  Next time I may have to rely on the trolley.  Driving isn’t really an option now that I know about the cheap PBR.

1960s British Invasion cover band Jeffrey and the Pacemakers play Escape Alley Sundry tonight from 7-9 PM, with a $5 cover.  If you’re into the Kinks, Beatles, Who, Animals, Stones, etc. this band should be a lot of fun.  I’m going to try to make it down there.  The Sundry is at the corner of Marshall and Orleans in the Edge neighborhood… you could catch the Madison Avenue trolley to get there… or just walk when the trolley fails to show up on time as usual.

If you’re looking for other entertainment options, the Orpheum is showing Caddyshack tonight at 7:15, and the Redbirds have a doubleheader with first game beginning at 6:05.

I haven’t.  I’ve been monitoring Twitter, and all I’ve seen is talk about LeBron, and whether a CVS should be approved for Midtown.

Quick list of stuff to do tonight:

• Tom Schlafly of Schlafly brewery at the Saucer, 5 PM
• Hip Kitty and “Christmas in July” on the Peabody rooftop
• Elmo and the Shades on the Madison rooftop
• Backstage tour of the Orpheum, 5:30 pm, $25
• Kooky Canuck to give away a cruise at 8 PM.  $2.50 34 oz Bud Light.
• Country on Beale
• Country on Beale after-party at Hollywood Disco

Ratt and Scorpion play the Mud Island Ampitheatre on Sunday!  Nice!  ’80s hair bands!

The Memphis Grizzlies have invited the public to a press conference at noon to make a “special announcement.”  I’m wondering what this could be?  Didn’t Iverson recently say he’d be willing to play for any team, in any capacity?  I hope they didn’t make the same mistake twice.

Lotsa news that I didn’t have time to post at lunch… let’s get started…

Max has announced that Calhoun’s will open at 12:30 PM Sunday for the World Cup final.

Rusty Lemmon will perform live at the Silly Goose next Wednesday, July 14.

Hip Kitty will perform at tomorrow night’s Peabody rooftop party.  Food theme will be unusual – “Christmas in December.”  Turkey and dressing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and cheese display on the buffet.  In VIP they will have a platter of sliced smoked turkey and ham with bread, mayonnaise and mustard, baked brie in Chafer, Waldorf salad, and a bowl of mixed nuts.  Sam Adams will be the featured beer in VIP.  Free food?  I’m sure the fact that she’s Jewish won’t keep the Nuh-Uh Girl from showing up for this Christmas celebration and eating everything in sight.  $10 cover includes first drink, ladies free until 7.

You’ve heard of meetups, you’ve heard of tweetups, now it’s time for an eat-up.  Next Monday, July 12 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM, MarksMenus will hold their first Eat-Up at South of Beale.  Show your MarksMenus app on your phone for 50% off SOB’s “bites” menu.  Happy hour will extend to 7:30 for everyone.  If you’re one of the first five people to find Mark and show him that you brought a friend or two, he’ll give you a MarksMenus T-shirt.

Circa is open for lunch again from 11 to 2 PM on weekdays.  Reservations not needed for parties smaller than 10.  John Bragg has been invited to be a “celebrity guest chef” on a cruise by Holland Cruise Lines to take place in January 2011.  It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it!

Thanks to Kelly from the Peabody for sending me links to a couple of blogs about all there is to do in Memphis:

• Heading to Memphis? Visit these pop culture spots
• Memphis shows off its hip side

MPACT Memphis will hold several MPACT Chats, which are the peer-to-peer part of its Feedback Project.  It’s a chance to discuss what you’re doing and what can be done to build Memphis into a City of Choice for young professionals.  There will be a different topic each night – diversity, the greening of Memphis, technology, jobs, government, etc.  Check their Events page to learn how you can participate in these discussions.

If you have kids, Sunday would be a good day to take them out to the ball game… you’ll be able to play catch on the field afterward.  Game is at 1:35 PM at Autozone Park.  If you want value out of your baseball experience, Friday there will be a doubleheader – two games of 7 innings each.  Gates at 5:30, first game at 6:05, second game approximately 30 minutes after the first one ends.

At home resting tonight… may go out for a little while, but it won’t be a long night out.

Voting for the Memphis Flyer’s Best of Memphis poll takes place in a few weeks, and they’re looking for nominations in four categories where there are many contenders:

Best Bartender
Best Server
Best Local Singer
Best Local Band

You can make one nomination in each category here between July 6th and 9th. The top nominees in each category will go on the ballot when the Best of Memphis voting goes live on the 14th.

Lots more news but no time to type it… playing catch-up at work, and I’ve got to make a Target run while on lunch break.

Last night at trivia, Mikey the Trivia guy made an announcement:  He wished Lil’ Kim a happy birthday.  Her birthday is today.  Here’s a pic.

So there ya go, that’s Lil’… wait, where is she?  Must’ve gone a little too far cropping that image.  Let me grab the pic off the camera again.

Okay, there she is.  Happy birthday Lil’ Kim.