Saturday recap

Another Cooper-Young Fest has come and gone… thank goodness the weather held up.  Let’s see… what all happened…

Got down there about 10:45.

Saw a booth selling “Mud Island needs a skate park” shirts.  If I bought one of those, do you think people would mistake me for a skater?  I’m not, but Mud Island does need a skate park.

Best T-shirt I saw on a festival attendee this year:  “I like my president the same way I like my coffee – black and strong.”

Southland Greyhound Park had a “spin the wheel” promotion and I spun and won two free buffets.  The coupon expires in two weeks though, so I’m not sure I’ll get to use it.  They told me the best night to go is Saturday, when they have a surf and turf buffet.

Black Lodge Video earned massive respect points from me, because they set up a wrestling ring in their front yard and had matches all day.

Speaking of which, Jerry “The King” Lawler was there talking to the crowd.  Wow the guy is in great shape for 59 – if I didn’t know his age I’d probably put him at no more than 40.  His supporters were wearing “Lawler. Mayor. Serious.” shirts.

Best Dressed award for the festival was a three-way tie between Ruchee, Lee Ann, and Brooks, all of whom were sporting tube tops/tube top dresses.

Hung out for a little while in the courtyard of those apartments on Cooper just up the street from Young.  You know how some people have a second residence?  If I could have my apartment in the Downtown core and one of those apartments on Cooper, I’d be set.

I ran my iPhone’s battery down almost all the way keeping up with scores of games yesterday.  Thanks to my friends Shawn and Joe for turning me on to two very good apps:  Sportacular, which does a great job tracking all the College Football Saturday games, and iHog, which keeps track of everything related to the Arkansas Razorbacks – schedules, scores, latest news.

I also used my iPhone to talk trash to Tennessee fans – as I’ve said before, nothing sucks like a big orange.  You know, I’d like to go off on a little rant here.  My last semester in college, I took an Eastern Psychology class.  The main reason I took it was I needed a 2-hour class, and those are hard to come by.  It turned out to be one of the best and most interesting classes I took, though.

One of the subjects the professor covered was the subject of attachment – if you allow yourself to get attached to something, then you’re likely to get thrown off kilter (or “go on tilt” as we would say in the poker world) when things don’t go your way.

One of my friends gets very attached to the outcomes of Tennessee games.  So I was texting him “chomp chomp chomp” all afternoon long during the Florida-Tennessee game.  It drove him nuts.  Later in the evening when we were both at the Saucer watching the Georgia-Arkansas game, he did the dog bark every time Georgia scored.  But you know what, I didn’t mind.  I wasn’t attached to the outcome of the game.  Yeah I’d have preferred that Arkansas won, but if they didn’t, no big deal, I’m still drinking a beer and watching hot waitresses walk around.  By the time the game ended and Georgia won, he’d moved on to the Monkey, where he texted me “Go Dawgs!” something like 7 times.  That didn’t bother me either, except that my phone’s battery was down to 10% and I didn’t want to waste its remaining power on that.  Next week I’ll remember to stick the power cord in my pocket.

I do have to say, though, I REALLY enjoyed watching football at the Saucer yesterday evening.  What a great group we had there.  Everyone was able to chill out and relax and enjoy good conversation with good friends, without anyone barging in and interrupting.  Yeah there were the usual arguments about football teams but they were fun arguments.

Some of the gang headed to the Blue Monkey after the game.  I’ve heard that their Saturday night karaoke is turning into quite the weekly event.  By the time the game was over, I was feeling tired though and didn’t feel like walking all the way to Front and GE Patterson and then back home.  So I had a couple of beers at Bardog and called it a night.

Today:  Bardog’s birthday party.  I’ll probably have one beer at the Saucer right when they open, just to see who’s working and what the Fire Sale is, then head to Bardog by 1 and spend the rest of the afternoon there.  Our friend Nick is in a meatball-eating contest late in the afternoon – first person to eat 30 meatballs wins a prize.  The party will be outside from noon to 6, then will continue inside until they close at 1 AM.  Hmmm late night… which is a good thing because I TOOK TOMORROW AND TUESDAY OFF!  Yay.

All right, it’s 10 AM as I type this and the fun starts at 12… that means I have time to get on PokerStars and possibly win a little money.  Happy Sunday everyone!

A few pics from last night

I said I wasn’t going to go out last night because I wanted to rest up for Cooper-Young Fest, but my buddy Chad’s birthday provided an excuse to go have some beer.  Here are a few pics.

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Birthday cupcake tray

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Despite his advanced age, Chad is still a messy eater.

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Here’s a pic of the Nuh-Uh Girl eating.

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Later in the evening, we went to Kooky Canuck.  Chad got the maple flank steak, an excellent choice.

More photos here.

Go Hogs

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Arkansas has a chance to knock off a top 25 team tonight at 6:45, when the #23 Georgia Bulldogs come to Fayetteville.  The game will be on ESPN, which is a good thing because it means you don’t have to find a bar with the NCAA package to watch it.  If I get back from the Cooper-Young Fest in time I’ll head to whichever of the Saucer or Calhoun’s appeals to me more to watch the game.

There’s also the Florida game at 2:30, but I’ll be outside so I’ll have to keep up with that one via my ESPN mobile app.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO PIG SOOOOIIIEEEEEEEE!!!

Full info on Bardog’s birthday party Sunday

Aldo e-mailed me full into on Bardog Tavern’s first birthday party, which will happen this Sunday the 20th from noon to 6.  Here are the details:

  • Alley party, plus both upstairs and downstairs open
  • Will be cooking burger and hot dog sliders, as well as pork butt and ribs
  • PBR kegs and vodka with lemonade outside in the alley
  • Dunk tank
  • 64 seats outside
  • Band – Jeffrey James and the Haul
  • Jagermeister girls outside from 2-4
  • Meatball eating contest at 5:30 – first to eat 30 meatballs wins

Expansion plans for the Rooster?

Tonight I was playing Sit’n’Go poker tournaments online and surfing Facebook when I saw this note posted by the Red Rooster:

“The Red Rooster is crowing about his new, bigger & better barnyard!  Watch for updates next week about our expansion and new locations!”

Off to bed… I won my last tournament – not that it was anything big, bought in for $6.50 and took home $23.40 for first place.  So I won just under 17 bucks.  Then again, it’s better than spending $17 on beer like I do most Thursday nights.

Coming in the morning or at lunchtime – more complete details at the party at Bardog on Sunday.

Thur update: Beer at Kooky Canuck, Memphis Memoirs, good blog for restaurant and other deals, and more

(Updated the part about restaurant.com – see below in bold.)

The weather has me in a rather bad mood today… not so much today’s weather, but the forecast for Saturday. They’re now predicting a 50% chance of rain for Cooper-Young. CRAP. That means a bike ride down there is out of the question, and I’ll probably have to take the car. Which means I’ll have to limit my beer consumption considerably… hmmm at least I’ll save money on beers not bought, I guess.

Kooky Canuck has upgraded its Super Cold draft line to include Bud Light and Mich Ultra for $3.99. John D: “Whaaaaa? Super Cold 34 ounce Bud Light? Have I died and gone to heaven?” They also now have 34 ounce Yuengling drafts for $4.99.

John D, by the way, has 198 of the 200 beers he needs to get his plate on the wall at the Flying Saucer. He’s saving the Bud Light bottle for his last beer.

If you missed the Downtown edition of “Memphis Memoirs” on WKNO-TV last month, they will show it again on Thursday, October 1st at 9 PM. October is only two weeks away… where did the summer go?

When I cut off my association with Restaurant.com several months ago, most of my readers understood, but there were a few who said, “I wish you’d still list their specials.” I won’t be listing them, but I’ll refer you to a blogger who does: Buck Daddy. He’s a personal friend of mine, and one of my favorite people with whom to discuss blogging and affiliate marketing ideas. His blog contains lots of good deals, and also good posts about being a Memphian and being a dad.  (Note:  Readers have advised me that you should call the restaurant for which you want to buy certificates, and verify that they’re accepting them, before ordering from Restaurant.com.  Some places have stopped accepting them.  Others like South of Beale have said they’re happy to be part of the program.  Caveat emptor.)

Buck Daddy is among the bloggers/social media experts who will be attending SocialCamp this weekend. Sounds like a great event, but just about any event is a “not attending” for me when scheduled concurrently with Cooper-Young.  September-October and April-May are tough times to schedule events because so much goes on in this town.

Stuff going on tonight: The Peabody Place block party among the restaurants and shops in the Main/Peabody Place block, and the Downtown Olympics pre-party at Calhoun’s. Weather Channel predicts rain all day and night, which makes me think there’s a 0% chance I’ll make it to the DTO party and probably an 80% chance I’ll miss everything and just stay home and play poker again. I’ve been reading a book on my iPhone Kindle app about Sit’n’Go tournament strategy and I want to try out some of what I’ve learned.

If anyone knows how to do a rain dance – or actually, a rain go away dance – please do one for Saturday.

Wed update: More bar olympics, LifeBlood at inferno, artsy iPhone app, Mpact stuff Downtown, Bardog

Republic Nightclub is the latest to get in on the “Bar Olympics” craze. Every Sunday night from 9 to 3, they will have beer pong, quarters, flip cup, beer specials, a tailgate buffet, and football on their giant screen.

Speaking of bar olympics games, if you’re participating in the Downtown Olympics, there’s a pre-party tomorrow night the 17th at Calhoun’s from 7:30 to 10. You’ll be able to pay your registration fee and get tips from last year’s participants.  Registration fee is due tomorrow, so if you’re on a team and not attending, you better contact the organizers ASAP and set up payment arrangements.

inferno is hosting a blood drive with LifeBlood as part of its 10th birthday celebration. On Friday, September 25 from 3 to 6 PM, you’ll be able to donate blood at the inferno office at 505 Tennessee Street (on the first floor of The Lofts condos). If interested in participating, e-mail give@creativeinferno.com by the 22nd to schedule a time. Be sure to eat something before you come, and be sure to bring a photo ID. After you donate, you’ll be able to relax in the office with cookies and orange juice.

In the news: ArtsMemphis will roll out a custom iPhone app next week that will help users keep track of arts events in the city. According to the article, they believe ArtsMemphis is the first arts organization in a major city to have an app of this type.

Mpact Memphis is doing a lot of stuff Downtown in the next week. On Thursday the 17th their restaurant tour will stop at the Majestic Grille. On Monday the 21st they’ll have a happy hour at Hard Rock Cafe on Beale. On Thursday the 24th they’ll have their Mpact Outlet – kind of an updated, more active version of a general membership meeting – at the Red Rooster. For more info or to RSVP to any of these, go to Mpact’s website.

They’ll also have a presence at the CCC’s Alley Jams Wednesday night parties that begin tonight and continue for the next 5 weeks. Corporate karaoke in Court Square tonight. Music, food, beer, bums, pigeons.  I plan on stopping by if it doesn’t rain.

I mentioned recently that Bardog Tavern is now open at 8 for those who want to stop by for breakfast. That means they’re now open for 19 hours a day on the weekdays… and they can legally serve beer that entire time. So if you need a beer or a breakfast slider at 8 in the morning, Bardog is there for you.

In other Bardog news – their new 8-week poker tournament in the Underdog Room starts tonight, and the air guitar contest date has changed from October XXth to October 13th.

Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan is the glass for “Buy the Beer, Keep the Glass” tonight at the Saucer.  I’ve thought recently that they should Fire Sale LazyMagnolia products Sunday nights when Brittney is bartending.   They could call the evening “Lazy Squared.”

If it doesn’t rain I’ll probably do the Court Square thing then the Saucer.  If it does rain I’ll probably spend the evening at home on PokerStars.