Paul Ryburn's Journal

I’ve been forgetting to blog about the April schedule for Sunset at the Madison, the Thursday night rooftop parties. They sent me the list last week. Schedule is

April 15: Memphis All-Stars
April 22: Grant Garland Band
April 29: Elmo & the Shades

The parties are from 5:30 to 10 PM on the rooftop of the Madison, every Thursday through the end of August, weather permitting. $7 cover charge, and tapas in the $4-6 range will be available, and, of course, booze.

South of Beale has announced that they will become the latest Downtown restaurant to get in on the Sunday brunch craze. They tweeted that they will announce the date of their first brunch later tonight. Once I hear, I’ll post the info.

For those of you were fans of the Dempseys, guitarist Brad Birkedahl will play Blues City with his new band Wednesday-Saturday of this week. More info on his website.

Yeah it’s a slow news week ’round here so far.  Would’ve updated at lunch but there just wasn’t much to write about at the time.

Off to trivia, and the netbook is going with me.  I’ve got a lot of affiliate marketing ideas I want to implement… it’s too nice outside to stay home, so I’ll probably be netbooking it every evening this week.

Kerry from the I Love Memphis Blog has.  Read her review of the new place on Marshall here.  (Edit: I forgot to compliment Kerry on her EXCELLENT choice of beverage.  See the pic in her post to see what I mean.)

Random stuff I learned on Facebook and Twitter:

In the 1970s, if the cops saw a car driving Downtown, they assumed he was either lost or going to the Rendezvous.  That one came from @watchdogon3.  The Dog is one of my favorite local tweeters.

Here’s one for the BBQ team:  I read on Facebook today that a pig’s orgasm lasts 30 minutes.

And that’s all for now.  Trying to decide whether to take the netbook to Pint Nite.  I need to work on my affiliate marketing campaigns, so I probably should take it… trouble is, if I take it, I have to keep up with it, find people to watch it when I run to the restroom, make sure nobody spills beer on it, etc.

… Oh what the heck, I’ll take it.  Maybe I’ll post from there if anything interesting happens.  We haven’t had a good drunk post live from the Saucer in a while.  Wait, I did one yesterday.  Anyway, off to Pint Nite.  Don’t forget that other options include poker at the Silly Goose, 7:30 and 11:30; and trivia with Will at Local Gastropub, 8:00.

While digging around Google News for stories related to John Calipari, I found some interesting stuff about World Wide Wes.  Wes, whose real name is William Wesley, is a behind-the-scenes power broker in basketball who helped bring Derrick Rose to Memphis, and we all know how that worked out.  It seems that Wes is now a certified agent for NCAA and NBA coaches.  In particular, he’s now the agent for Tony Barbee, the new head coach of Auburn.  Barbee was a protege of Coach Sleazeball, then went on to take the head coaching job at UTEP.  Wonder if this means Auburn is in for a run of one-and-done recruits and seasons of vacated wins?

If you’re capable of seeing humor in religion, you should follow @jesus on Twitter.  The J-man is a funny guy.

Bye bye Bruchebag
Bye bye Bruchebag
Bye bye Bruchebag
Bruce Pearl’s a big fat douche.

C-ya next year.  Frank, you have anything to add?  Nuh-Uh Girl?  Carmel?  Master Polo?  Didn’t think so.

The MacBook is going to the Saucer with me today… looking forward to an interesting discussion. In the classic book Think and Grow Rich!: The Original Version, Restored and Revised, Napoleon Hill talks about the importance of forming a Master Mind group to discuss ideas that lead to wealth.  Well, one of my BBQ teammates has gotten into affiliate marketing, and of course I’ve been doing that for the past two years (see the websites cluttering up a good portion of this blog’s right sidebar for examples).  Looking forward to discussing pay-per-click advertising and making money via Twitter, both of which I’ve learned lessons about this weekend.

However, for approximately 2 hours beginning at 1:20 PM, I will be distracted by the TV… hopefully I will be watching the Michigan State Spartans send the Bruchebag and the UT Vols home from the NCAA tournament.  Then again, I guess maybe the NCAA needs Pearl in the Final Four to represent the douchebag segment of society, since Calipari won’t be there.

I can’t get over that Brick quote (see previous post)… Tyler Perry… geez.  Brick told me that my blog makes her look dumb.  Reminds me of the time I posted a pic of a goldfish swimming in a bowl.  The goldfish complained that my blog made him look wet.

Wrestlemania is today… I imagine Hooters will be packed today because they usually order the PPVs.  The biggest match is Undertaker vs. “Heart Break Kid” Shawn Michaels, with Michaels promising to retire if he can’t defeat Taker and end his 17-0 winning streak at Wrestlemania.  Other featured matches include John Cena vs. Batista and Bret “The Hitman” Hart vs. Mr. McMahon.

Concert news: Saving Abel plays the Hard Rock Cafe tonight at 8.

All right, time to pack up the computer and get out of here… perhaps I’ll post later today from the Saucer or some other bar with Wi-Fi.

“I didn’t know Tyler Perry coached the Kentucky basketball team. No he doesn’t.”

I finally got to De Ja’ Vu, the Creole restaurant on Florida, to try their food.  Tiny little place – only 6 tables.  It was busy and I felt guilty about taking up a 4-top table all by myself, so I ordered food to go.  I’m eating the Big Keith’s Bayou Classic as I type this – it’s tilapia (you can choose catfish if you prefer) topped with a creamy reduction of fresh lump crabmeat, crawfish, and shrimp.  It comes with cornbread and two sides – I chose red beans and rice and greens as my sides.  I took a pic but it didn’t come out that well – digital cameras don’t like styrofoam boxes much.

I definitely plan on going back to try more of their fare.  I’m thinking next time I’ll have the Alligator Stew.  Check out their website, and they also have their menu on Mark’s Menus.

Action News 5 is reporting that Charlie Vergos, who opened the Rendezvous in 1948, has died in his sleep at age 84.  The article notes that “everybody who’s anybody” has been to the Rendezvous, and that’s certainly true.  I remember President Bush bringing the Japanese Prime Minister there after a Graceland visit in 2006.

My condolences to Mr. Vergos’ family and friends.

I had a great conversation with one of the people who run Mark’s Menus last night.  If you haven’t heard of it, it’s a site that puts local restaurant menus online.  They currently have 183 Memphis restaurants listed.  If you’re considering trying a new restaurant, it’s a way to check out their menu in advance and figure out what you want before you even step in the door.  Better yet, they offer reviews on a dish-by-dish basis, so you can read what other people think are the best dishes.  You can also search by dish – for example, if you’re hungry for spaghetti, you can find the best places to get it.  Great concept and one that has been needed in Memphis for a long time.  It’s amazing how many restaurants have no online presence at all.

I’ll say this once again – if you’re not a member of “The City Taste” group on Facebook, you should be.  Last night they sent out an e-mail about Trolley Night on South Main, along with a list of suggested restaurants in the area.  Very good resources for discovering new places to dine!

Beer lovers:  Lifehacker had an article yesterday about a do-it-yourself jockey box that will pour your beer cold.  A mini-keg fits nicely inside.

Just got up… going to spend a few minutes setting up AdWords campaigns, then I think I will drive to Deja Vu, the Creole restaurant on Florida that I’ve been meaning to try forever.  Was going to ride the bike but laziness has prevailed.