Tue update: Corey Osborn tribute, donate to Salvation Army via phone, Big Foot Lodge on TV, more

For those of you who were fans of Corey Osborn, the guitarist who played BB King’s and other venues who recently died in a car wreck at a very young age, there will be a tribute show tonight at the Midtown Blue Monkey.  Rusty Lemmon, Kirk Smithart, and others will be there to honor their friend.  Music should start around 10.  This is the MIDTOWN Monkey, not the Downtown one.

You can now use your mobile phone to donate to the Salvation Army’s holiday drive.  Just text RING to the phone number 90999.  A message will come back asking you to confirm your $5 donation to the Salvation Army.  Reply with YES and a $5 donation will be added as a separate, tax-deductible line to your phone bill.

Big Foot Lodge will be on Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel at 9 PM Wednesday, December 3.  Host Adam will take on the 4 lb. Sasquatch burger that is free if you can finish it in under an hour.  Be sure to set your Tivo or DVR to record it.

Also, Big Foot will offer all you can eat spaghetti this Friday night, December 5.  It comes with your choice of meat sauce or marinara.  Big Foot is one of the restaurants helping runners carb up for the marathon on Saturday.  If you’re on the Downtown Memphis Core group on Facebook, I started a discussion in the forum where you can post other places runners can go Friday night to carb up.

The Downtown Memphis Core group already has over 40 members, and there are several questions and discussions that have been posted.  If you’re on Facebook and love the Downtown Memphis Core, feel free to join.  If you have questions about how to join, shoot me an e-mail.

Probably back later with more.  Gotta clear out 39 e-mails in my Inbox first though.  Good news is, most of them are notifications that people bought stuff from my stores.  And someone bought me a beer!  Yay!  Thank you!

It’s Monday night. Where’s the cheap beer?

Bardog was out of PBR again when I stopped by last night, so it’s temporarily off the cheap beer list until they get a delivery.  So, where can you get cheap beer tonight?

  • Flying Saucer has Pint Nite, with almost all their draft pints for $2.75.
  • Big Foot Lodge has $2 Super Cold 34 oz. Coors Light during the Monday Night Football game.
  • Calhoun’s has pints of PBR for $1.50.

I’ll be at the Saucer… it has the most TVs for football viewing of any of the three bars mentioned above (seven, with the big screens pulled down).  It also has a much larger capacity, friendly bartenders, pool and darts, what I call the circulation/”you never know who you’ll run into” factor, and most importantly, the waitresses wear really short skirts.

If you’re hungry, I recommend going to Big Foot – they have the best food of the three – and sitting at a table.  You won’t have a good view of the TVs though.  In addition to the $2 beer, they have $3 blue kamikazes, $4 100 proof tequila, and 24 wings for $9.99 during the game.

If you live in South Main and like PBR, Calhoun’s Sports Bar is a short walk to a friendly neighborhood bar.  The regulars are very very very enthusiastic about the place.

Be careful tonight if you’re driving.  It looks like the rain will move out of here before it drops below freezing, but you never know with the Memphis weather.  Walking and the trolley are better options if you’re within short range.

South Main Association to organize cheering section for marathon

The St. Jude full marathon and half marathon take place this Saturday, December 6.  The South Main Association, noting that New York and Boston have thousands of people lining the street for their marathons, would like Downtowners to come out and show their support to runners in the Memphis event.

They’re going to organize a cheering section in front of the Arcade restaurant, which will have coffee, juices, and nibbles available.  This is the first mile of both the full and the half marathons, which start at 8 AM, so runners will start passing the Arcade about 8:05.  The organizers suggest meeting there about 7:30.

Runners say it means a lot to have people cheering them along the route, so if you can get up at that early hour, come on out and support the marathon’s participants.

New Facebook group: “Downtown Memphis Core”

I created a new Facebook group called “Downtown Memphis Core” Saturday.  If you’re on Facebook, and you live, work, or play in the core (which is approximately bounded by the river on the west, Danny Thomas on the east, I-40 on the north, and Linden on the south), please feel free to join.

For almost 7 years I’ve said that the most urban part of Memphis, Downtown, is the friendliest part of the city.  However, Downtown has grown so much that individual neighborhoods now have their own identities.  Mud Island now has its own sense of community with a grocery store, coffee shop, movie and pizza place, boutique hotel, and a neighborhood hangout in Tug’s.  Uptown has a vibrant neighborhood association that plans a lot of parties and family-friendly events, and TJ Mulligan’s and Westy’s draw good crowds.  South Main has perhaps developed the strongest sense of community, with the monthly Trolley Tours, and beloved spots such as Calhoun’s, Bluff City Coffee, and the Blue Monkey.

The Downtown core, however, hasn’t developed such a strong identity yet.  So I figured starting a Downtown Memphis Core Facebook group might help with that.  What will happen on the group?  Whatever the members want.  Here are a few ideas to get us started:

  • I notice we already have a group member who rides a scooter, and he’s certainly welcome to tell people about the Memphis scooter club that meets in the core.  Same for other clubs/groups that meet in the area.
  • I notice we have a member of FreeWorld who has already joined.  His band plays Sunday nights at Blues City, and that’s long been known as a place where Downtowners can listen to good music and finish off the weekend.  He’s welcome to post about that if he wants, and other bands that play Downtown are welcome as well.
  • Down in South Main, residents organize a lot of informal events where neighbors can get to know each other.  For example, they recently had a Thanksgiving potluck at Calhoun’s, and in October they had a Downtown Olympics.  Maybe we can organize cool, fun events like those to allow neighbors in the core to interact.
  • Here’s a good question to discuss on the group:  What are options for New Year’s Eve?  I’m constantly on the lookout for something laid-back and easy to do on NYE, away from the noise and crowds and expense of the big parties like the Peabody, Beale Street, Saucer, Rooster, etc.
  • Maybe the group will be a place where people can post requests like, “I have to change a light bulb in a 12-foot ceiling and need a ladder to reach it.  Does anyone have one I can borrow?”
  • I recently talked several times to people who run one of the largest apartment buildings in the Core.  They think their building has turned into one of the nicest places to live.  They’re welcome to tell the group why.  Everyone’s invited to discuss the places they live.
  • A place where people can ask for restaurant suggestions.  Where should I take my co-workers to lunch?  Where’s a good place for a romantic dinner date?  Who has the best burger, wings, etc.?
  • A place where people can discuss their favorite places to hang out.  For the past several years you’ve been treated to a heaping helping of my favorites (currently Saucer and Bardog) on this blog, and why I like them.  Now let’s hear yours!  There are bar crowds at Circa and Huey’s; the Tap Room is popular among some Downtowners, as is the Black Diamond.  Then there’s 88 Sports Bar.  Where do you like to go, and why?
  • A place where people can exchange tickets to Redbirds, Grizzlies, Tigers, concerts, Orpheum shows, etc.
  • A place where organizations looking for volunteers (Downtown holiday lights, Center for Southern Folklore, Orpheum, etc.) can find them.
  • … And whatever else you want it to be.  This is OUR group, not my group.  It is the first time I’ve created a Facebook group, so I’d welcome advice from more experienced users on anything I can do to make the group better.

Again, you don’t have to live in the Downtown core to join… you just have to love the Downtown core.  Let’s have some fun and see where this group takes us!

BFF of the Month: Stephanie

It’s a few minutes shy of December 1, but I’m going to go ahead and announce the December BFF of the Month:  Stephanie.  Yes, she has finally won.

Furthermore, it’s not due to a lack of competition.  She deserved to win.  Big time.  When I got laid off all of the sudden one warm October afternoon, she was one of the first people there with words of encouragement.  And more importantly, she was there with a 24 oz. can of PBR.  More recently, she has played a big part in the Downtown holiday festivities, which as I’ve mentioned previously, have kicked ass.  The VIP party for the holiday parade was a massive success (did I mention they had Gus’s chicken? and beer?)  As was the parade itself.  As was the entire holiday lighting project.

She has told me that as BFF, she will send me lots of pictures of her cat Junebug.  I will, in return, send her lots of pictures of prominent Downtown panhandler “June Bug” who is currently in jail for beating up his pregnant girlfriend.

Fashion article offers excellent advice about tube tops

Today I happened upon an article on a website called the Jamaica Gleaner News which offers some outstanding advice about tube tops.  The best part of the article is this:

The days of hiding your tubes under jackets and dresses are over. Over! You’re a beaut, so stop cramping your style. The tube top is an excellent piece to debut on its own. The perspective of longer arms and exposed shoulders is what the tube top is all about today. They are also extremely fun to accessorise.

Well said!  Let’s see those tube tops!  You can read the entire article here.