Paul Ryburn's Journal

This is a drunk post.  Let me pull up the “Notes” app on my iPhone and see what I’m supposed to talk about.  Please forgive spelling/grammar mistakes.

Saucer has New Belgium Hoptober on draft.  Awesome beer.  I had it at Circa’s party last month.  They also just got Sam Adams Oktoberfest.  Wait til Pint Nite to drink those two if you’re going for UFO credit.  They also have Dogfish Head Punkin Ale in bottles.

Question:  I’m 15 beers away from my 3rd plate, what should my saying on it be?  “I Love Romanian Girls” is out of date.  It’s been 3 years since we had Romanians here.  Shoot me an e-mail at paul@paulryburn.com with suggestions

I was informed tonight that if you get on Facebook and search for “DTO 2009” and are willing to waste 15+ minutes of your life watching the Downtown Olympics video, you can see Sweaty McDrippy who accused Calhoun’s of lying about free wireless (when he did not know how to configure his computer) and Michele chasing him out/cussing him out.  He’s at the beginning of Benjie’s segment.

Alley Jams party was fantastic tonight.  Kudos on having Dos Equis Lager on tap.  I thought I saw the world’s largest rodent in the alley, but it had on a light blue T-shirt and camo shorts, and rodents usually don’t dress up for concerts.  It headed in the direction of restaurant row on Second.

Daisy of Daisy of Love will be at Republic Nightclub Saturday night.  “THE ULTIMATE BAD GIRL INVADES MEMPHIS!  THIS WILL BE THE PARTY WHO MEMPHIS TALKS ABOUT ALL YEAR!” says the club’s Facebook post.

I posted about the iHog application for Arkansas fans the other day.  Secret fact:  If you open the app and shake the phone 5 times, you’ll get a surprise.

Congrats to Kacy on her move into the Downtown core.

Mpact Memphis is having their “Outlet” at Ground Zero tomorrow, Thursday September 24.  It was originally scheduled for the Red Rooster but was moved next door.  Details why later.  Networking, orientation to what Mpact has going on, all kinds of good stuff.

Drunk. Going to bed.

Very quick and early lunchtime post today… I’m back at work, but I’m going on a field trip in a few minutes.  There’s a regional bridge tournament going on at one of the casinos in Tunica, and the company wants the new hires to see what a bridge tournament is like.  We get a free buffet out of it, so it sounds like a good deal to me.

If it doesn’t rain, the weekly Alley Jams party will happen tonight in Gayoso Alley off Peabody Place.  The theme tonight is Neosoulville with The City Champs, Candace Ashir, Tim Terry, Tonya Dyson, and Cassie Bonner.

There’s a Woot-Off going on today.

Tonight is Oktoberfest glass night at the Saucer.  I’ve seen the glass – it’s an extra tall one which is a take-off on Google’s logo (“Brewgle”), and is pretty cool looking.  I’ve heard that the fall seasonal beers are on their way in – pumpkin ales and stuff.  I love a good pumpkin ale.

Here’s an article on how to act if you attend the real Oktoberfest in Munich.

Time to go eat and watch people play bridge.  Will be away from the computer for most of the rest of the day.

The ArtsMemphis app is now available if you have an iPhone.  Just go to the app store and search for “artsmemphis.”

Hmmm one of the menu options is “Free Events.”  Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will scroll through it to see which ones are putting out food.  Oh, wait, she has a Blackberry, never mind.

If you live or work Downtown, check out this Daily News article about the Downtown Neighborhood Association.  After two and a half years of ineffective leadership, new people are in charge and the DNA is making a comeback.  The next meeting is at Harbor Landing on Mud Island River Park at 6:30 PM on October 15.  Speakers will be Benny Lendermon, president of the Riverfront Development Corporation (RDC), and David Figiel, associate director of Hospitality Hub.  If you’ve thought about getting active in DNA but haven’t yet, now would be a great time.

Yesterday I asked if any bars were showing the AAA championship game on ESPN tonight.  I’ve learned of two places that are.

Deni from the Majestic Grille e-mailed me – they will show the game on their giant movie screen, with sound.  “Specials to come,” she wrote.

Calhoun’s will also have the game on.  Not aware of any specials, but $2 PBR is always special.

Going to take a walk, then take the laptop to the Second Street Branch Office for an afternoon of blogging and PokerStars.  Probably more posts to come.

Jimmy Ogle’s Downtown walking history tours start today.  Schedule is below.  Click for a larger sized image.  He does tours every Tuesday, and for those who don’t work Downtown there are three super-sized Saturday tours this fall.  His infamous “manhole cover” tour is today.  Tours are free to the public.

The Redbirds are in the AAA championship game tomorrow night, Tuesday, September 22.  It will be nationally televised on ESPN.  I had a blog reader e-mail and ask if any bars will have the sound on, or will run specials.  If you know of any let me know at paul@paulryburn.com and I’ll blog them.

Yay vacation.  I’m at the Second Street Branch Office with the laptop.  Going to get these pics posted then fire up PokerStars.

Aldo getting dunked

Ashley couldn’t hit the side of a barn.  Funny thing is, her boyfriend is a professional baseball player.  A PITCHER.  Maybe she can get some lessons before Bardog’s second birthday.

Happy bartenders

Amanda in the dunking booth

Amanda in the dunking booth, part 2

Nice pic, but it would have been better without the tank top.

Terry’s happy about having a big bone in his mouth.  Free ribs?  Where was the Nuh-Uh Girl?

Jean and friend in the dunk tank

Amanda, all dry, gets ready to dunk Jean.

Jean and Bicycle Bobby

Emily came down to the party after her day shift at the Saucer ended.  A little birdie told me that Emily got pretty wasted last night.

Meatball eating contest

Jeremiah won.  No one was able to finish all 40 meatballs, but Jeremiah was declared the winner, having finished 37 when everyone else had either puked or given up.  Post-contest, Aldo interviews the winner.

Complete photo album (145 pics) available here.  Note:  There are 9 pics and and 2 videos I’m not posting publicly, but they will be made available to a few select friends.

Outstanding party.  Thanks to Aldo and all the gang at Bardog.  Can’t wait for next year.

I sure am sick of posting this guy’s picture, but here we go again.

This is “Jumper Cable Guy.”  He’ll pretend to be talking on his cell phone, then will approach passersby, telling them that his truck has broken down and he needs 7 dollars and some odd amount of change for jumper cables.  If you have jumper cables to offer him, he’ll tell you that he has a heavy-duty truck and needs cables that are more powerful than the ones you have.  Then he’ll repeat his request for money.

I’m not saying it’s a scam or anything, but his truck seems to break down many times a day, and has been breaking down for several years.  JCG has been known to be nasty/threatening to people who tell him no.  He’s currently working the Downtown core, but he’s also been seen in other parts of town, particularly Midtown and in South Main.

This is at least the fourth time I’ve posted his pic.  JCG knows about this blog and has even stopped and introduced himself to me.  Last week as I was walking down Main Street, a trolley passed by and he yelled out the window, “Hey, shaggy haired white dude!  Remember me? Jumper Cable Guy.”

He was seen hitting up customers on Sole’s patio for money yesterday.  He’s lost quite a bit of weight since this photo was taken.

If he hits you up for money, call 545-COPS.

So yesterday I was hanging out in the alley next to Bardog Tavern for their birthday party, when Aldo said, “Paul, come with me.  I have something for you.”  I followed him to the side downstairs entrance, and once inside he went into a closet and dug around for a minute, then handed me this:

PBR HOODIE!!!  I normally hate cold weather but now I can’t wait for it to get down to about 50 so I can wear this thing.  Starting around November 1 you’ll probably see me in this hoodie almost daily.

The day is off to a good start… I’m off work until Wednesday and I’ve discovered that Downtown Walgreens has started carrying liter bottles of Mountain Dew again.  This afternoon I’m going to take the laptop to the Second Street Branch Office and go through the 160 photos I took at Bardog’s party yesterday and see which ones are worthy of posting or including in a photo album.

Wow I have 73 e-mails in my Inbox, and almost all of them are notifications that people bought stuff from my online stores… that’s a good thing.

Coming this week, in addition to Bardog photos… news about historian Jimmy Ogle’s Downtown tours, and a review of a new book about Memphis wrestling.

Getting ready for a super-sized Pint Nite.  It’s going to be a good day.