Paul Ryburn's Journal

Get ready for another art show at the Majestic Grille. This one, on Monday, February 8 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM, will feature the work of artist Blas Blanco Cuenca and his longtime instructor and friend Paul C. Clements. The work will remain on display through March 26. The event is free to the public and the restaurant does not take commission on works sold – all money goes to the artist.

There will be Spanish wines on special and other drink specials. In honor of Blanco’s homeland, Chef Patrick Reilly will create Spanish tapas for the reception. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

Shelton Clothiers is bringing back their Wardrobe Packages. Two suits, one blazer, and one pant, or three suits, for $885. Sleeve and cuff alteration is included. As a bonus for February, they’ll throw in a free shirt and tie with every wardrobe package purchase.

MPACT Memphis has changed the date of its Soul of the City gala “due to circumstances beyond our control.” New date is March 12. That gives you two extra weeks to buy tickets and get excited about the event. I’m just an MPACT whose… circumstances… went beyond its control… Beyond its control… beyond its control… I need control… we all need control. Domo arigato MPACT Roboto…

Wow and this isn’t even a drunk post.

MPACT is having its happy hour at Pearl’s in just a few minutes, by the way, at 6 PM. There you can learn about getting active and achieving a healthy lifestyle. Sounds like a great program, but I’ll probably skip it and drink some beer at the Saucer instead. I’m hungry too. Maybe I’ll get some chili cheese fries. I’ve been hungry for chili cheese fries ever since I posted that pic of Christy chowing down on them a couple of weeks ago.

Apologies for the lack of posts the past two days… yesterday I just didn’t have anything.  Then last night I decided it would be a good idea to play in the 11:30 poker tournament at the Silly Goose.  It wasn’t.  I was dead tired today, too tired to post at lunch.  So I went and got Indian food and became mayor of the Indian cafe on American Way that I go to for lunch.

And besides, Sunday’s post, about John D seeing a dead beaver in the road, was so fascinating that I figured it deserved 2 days at the top.

Got more stuff coming in… got an upcoming party at Kooky Canuck to tell you about in a future post (and don’t forget, it’s Super Tuesday tonight with $5 34 oz. mixed drinks).  I’ve also been doing some thinking about whether computer science/IT is a good major for college students in 2010.  Right now I have to head to trivia though.  Time to win some more beer money!

Woot.com is having another Woot-off, meaning they’ll be offering various items on sale throughout the day.   Might be an idea to open a new browser tab and refresh it frequently.  If you see “Random Crap” as the item, buy immediately if their servers don’t crash when you try.

Yesterday I had a reader e-mail and ask me for a recommendation for the best anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-everything program.  I figured my answer might be useful to others, so I’m going to post it.

I didn’t recommend a specific software program… instead, I recommended that he go to www.lifehacker.com and search for “anti-virus,” “anti-spyware” or whatever he’s looking for.  In the search results, look for anything marked “Hive Five.”  In the Hive Five threads, readers give their recommendations for the best software packages (usually free software) in various categories.

I search LifeHacker to see what’s best whenever I need a utility program – ZIP/compression software, an FTP client, etc.  Some of the best techies in the world read LifeHacker and post comments, and they’ve never steered me wrong.

Ughhh… trying to clear the cobwebs out of my head this morning.  Memories from last night include several Foster’s Oil Cans, Paul’s Drunkass Food at Denny’s about 2 in the morning, and sending a drunk e-mail to the elusive and mysterious Kimmy Kim when I got home.  You know it’s a bad night when Denny’s appears on the agenda.

My friends are all talking about how today is a REALLY BIG DAY because the NFL playoffs will be on… sounds like they’re all gathering at Calhoun’s to watch.  There needs to be a bar for people who don’t give a rat’s ass about pro football.  Actually, that would not be a bad idea… the female-to-male ratio would probably be quite favorable.  I’ll probably take the netbook to the Saucer, and fire up PokerStars when the gang heads south.  I was 2-tabling for a while yesterday, with a $1/$2 fixed-limit Hold’em game going on one table, and a $1/$2 Omaha Hi/Lo game on the other.  Once I accumulate enough frequent player points to maintain my PokerStars VIP status for the month (about 4 hours of play away), I’ll switch over to no-limit Hold’em tournaments and Sit’n’Gos.  Of course, at 6 I’ll walk over to the Silly Goose where they’ll be selling selected beers for $1 domestics, $1.50 imports.

Let’s see what’s happening on the iPhone this morning… on Twitter, John D says there’s a dead beaver in the road at Harbert and Belvedere… on Foursquare, Susie’s at India Palace again, seems like she spends as much time there as I do at the Saucer… on Words with Friends, I’m starting a new game with Bama Lawdog, even though she’s been known to cheat by handing her phone off to friends to help her find words.

Six days until the Jersey Shore Pub Crawl… I ran into Memphis’ biggest and orangest douchebaguette last Monday (she’s been coming to Pint Nite at the Saucer a lot lately), and asked if she was going  to the pub crawl.  Surprisingly, she said no.  Too bad… the pub crawl is a place where she could be herself and she’d fit right in.

45 e-mails in the inbox… most of them notifications that people bought crap from my online stores.  Yay.  Gonna clean out the e-mails and count the minutes until the bar opens.

Sunday morning has arrived.  That means a new week has started, and therefore it’s time for a new “Brick” Quote of the Week.

The Saucer carries several delicious New Belgium beers, but this week’s quote involves one they don’t carry, New Belgium Sunshine Wheat.  They do have a beer with a very similar name, Sunset Wheat by Leinenkugel.

So, a customer came in and asked Brick if they have Sunshine Wheat.  “No, but we have Sunset Wheat,” Brick replied.

Then she thought for a minute and added, “Maybe that’s what they call it after dark.”

The Silly Goose just sent out a message on Facebook asking for help.  You see, they have a lot of extra beer that seems to be getting in the way, and they need people to help them come and get rid of it.  So, tomorrow night, Sunday, January 24, they’re putting the beers that are taking up space on special – $1 domestics, $1.50 imports.

Hmmm… cheap beer, and an excuse to avoid dealing with Brittney next door at the Saucer for the evening shift.  Looks like my plans for Sunday evening are set.

I just got home from my morning Mountain Dew run to Walgreens.  By the cash register I noticed that they have “kissable body spray” and “chocolate body paint.”  So if you want to spice up your sex life, you don’t have to drive all the way to one of the adult bookstores out by the airport… just go to Walgreens.

I don’t have anything intelligent or interesting to write about during today’s lunch break, so you get this instead.  I suppose it will make Jersey Shore fans happy.

Plans for tonight: Probably a happy hour beer at the Saucer, then I’ll walk down to Beale and check out the International Blues Challenge.

Early lunch today.  Thanks for the blog reader who recommended River City Bar-B-Que on Cassaza.  Trying their rib tip plate today.

You know, lately I’ve been wondering if there’s been too much Brick on this blog.  However, in the past week I’ve had people come up to me and say, “I love the Brick quotes.  Keep ’em coming.  We want more pictures too!”  OK, then I’ll keep going with the Brick quotes of the week, at least until she gets smarter, which is not likely to happen in the near future.

However, Brick is not the only quotable waitress at the Saucer.  The others deserve equal time, and in this post, they get it.

Two Sundays ago, I was hanging out at the Saucer, playing pool.  One of the waitresses asked if I had been to church that morning.

I looked at her incredulously and said, “The way I look at things, I’m in church right now.”

She seemed to like that answer.  Then she asked, “Do you think Christians are cannibals?”

“What do you mean?” I asked back.

“Well, think about when they take communion,” she explained.  “When they eat the wafer, they’re eating the body of Christ.  When they drink the wine, they’re drinking the blood of Christ.  Eating and drinking somebody?  That’s cannibalism.”  I had to admit, she had a point.

“Communion wafers are good, though,” she said.  “I wish you could buy them in a box at the store.”

She thought for a minute, then said, “They could call them Jeez-its.”

I’ve learned of a couple of very cool Grizzlies events coming up within the next month, and wanted to pass along the info. First up is the Grizz Gala at the Gold Strike in Tunica, this Saturday, January 23. At this “blue tie” event you can mingle with Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, Rudy Gay, O.J. Mayo, and the other Grizzlies stars. Doors open at 6, and from 7 to 11 there will be an open bar, food stations, a silent auction, and interactive games. Tickets are $125 for a single, and they have ticket packages too. Click here to view more information.

The Grizzlies are also running a Valentine’s Day promotion – a gift basket, 2 tickets to an upcoming game, and one night’s stay at Harrah’s Tunica. The best part of the deal, though, is quality time with the mascot Grizz, who will hand-deliver your basket. More information here.

In other news, Backbeat Memphis has launched their new website. Check it out here.

Apologies to the Goose for doing a quick in-and-out last night at their birthday party… it was threatening rain and I figured I’d better get home. Good thing too… three minutes after I walked in the door, it was raining buckets.

I’m trying to get Brick to download the Words with Friends app for the iPhone and play a game with me. She claims to be good at Scrabble, but don’t you have to know a lot of words to do well at that game? I did give Brick a sincere compliment last night, though… she’s very good at the “wearing a skirt” thing and should serve as an example when they train new girls.

Debating whether to stay home and play poker tonight, or go to the International Blues Challenge on Beale Street.

I want to start off this post with a huge CONGRATULATIONS to three people I know who made the Memphis Flyer “20 under 30” this week.

First off, we have Kerry (who made the cover), author of the I Love Memphis blog. In every post she showcases the many wonderful things this city has to offer. If you’re looking for fun things to do around town, her blog should be in your bookmarks/favorites.

Next up, we have Max, co-owner of Calhoun’s. His bar has added so much to the texture of South Main… many friendships have been formed that will last a lifetime, and many liver cells have been killed thanks to inexpensive PBR. There is possibly no bar owner in Memphis who is as in tune with what his customers want as Max is.

Thirdly, we have Julie Lansky of Lansky 126. She’s stepped into a clothing business that has done well for generations, and has adapted it to the next generation.

Congratulations to all the other winners as well.

Very good news today… the CCDC has approved financial incentives for Memphis College of Art to convert 477 S. Main into a graduate school serving 100 students. South Main is a perfect place for an art school.

I’ve already blogged about a couple of beer dinners, but one of the bloggers on the Downtown Download blog has done me one better. She has rounded up all the beer and wine dinners happening Downtown this month and next, and you can view the menus in one convenient location here. There are several bloggers who share authorship of Downtown Download, and I’ve noticed that this “Rebecca S” chick nearly always posts about what she had to eat, or what she’s going to eat, or she posts pics of food.

The South Main Association now has their PayPal page up. Go to the SMA website and you can use their PayPal option to get your dues in before February 1, avoiding the increase from $25 to $35 for individual memberships.

I got several Words with Friends requests last night… thanks for everyone who requested.  I accidentally declined someone whose username ended in “87”… sorry… it was an accident, try again.  I’d guess by the username that it was from a person born in 1987… the only person born in 1987 who I’d decline on purpose is Old Lazy Ass.  I don’t think she’d be contacting me for a game anyway.

Was going to play a little poker before going out, but not really in the mood.  So, onward to the Saucer and then the Silly Goose in a few minutes.