Paul Ryburn's Journal

What a near-perfect weekend. Weather was great and I had a good time. Bartender Amy bought first round for those of us who showed up for brunch at McGuinness. I finally found my regular drink at McG brunch, a 6.3 oz. bottle of champagne that sells for 4 bucks and has alcohol equivalent to a beer. It brought back memories of very early Sunday brunch days (circa spring 2003) with Kit and Kelly and Terry and Randy and John D and others, before I got into the mimosas, and just did straight champagne. I plan on having several of them when I go back there next Sunday for brunch.

Let’s start with a pic from Friday night. The girl pictured below celebrated a very special birthday March 1 (Friday night was 2/29, but this pic was taken after midnight). I am proclaiming March “buy this girl a drink” month if you see her out:

As I walked to McG today, I looked over to Autozone Park and remembered that baseball season has already started, in a sense… if you want to head Downtown to watch baseball, you don’t have to wait for the Cardinals exhibition games or the Redbirds season opener. You can come Downtown and watch Memphis Tigers baseball now. It’s probably the best sports deal in the city. More info here.

After chasing bums for a couple of hours, I got hungry and went to Big Foot for dinner. I had the meatball caesar salad again, and to drink I had the Blue Anchor at bartender Terry’s recommendation. It’s one of the massive 34 oz. mixed drinks on the $9.99 menu, and the description reads, “A sorority favorite featureing Skyy orange vodka, blue curacao and Red Bull.” Sounds like I was drinking a girl drink. Who cares, it got the job done.

Speaking of food and drink recommendations… regular blog reader Air Traffic Mike tells me that the scalloped potatoes at the Majestic Grille are the best things ever. He had them with a filet, scallops and broccoli this weekend. Damn that sounds like a good meal. Definitely worth ordering as an extra side or a substitution for a side, he tells me.

After I got done at Big Foot, I headed to South Main to Calhoun’s to see bartender Lauren and drink $1.50 PBR. They have a bar that you can write on with Sharpies. Here are some of the quotes from the bar:

“Corn don’t grow on Rocky Top
Soil’s too rocky by far.
That’s why all the folks on Rocky Top
Get their corn from a jar.”

“I love a chick with a closet full of D batteries”

“I have 99 problems and Lauren is 85 of them”

Also, females apparently get free beer if you sleep with a particular one of the regulars. I need to set up that type of deal for myself.

I took the opportunity to draw on the bar myself. See below:

The image of the gun was not my doing, that was already there and has nothing to do with the announcement pictured above.

I saw a couple of people get the sausage & cheese plate and it was a LOT of food for $8.

Beer report:

Previous total: $435.50

Beers 82, 83, and 84 (but 78, 79, and 80 according to the Saucer):
Yazoo Pale Ale Fire Sale $2.75
Orval Trappist Ale $11.00
Pair of Tits (mixer – Woodchuck Pear + Tennent’s) $4.50
Tip: $18.25 x ~30% = $6.00
Total: $24.25

Grand total: $459.75

For those of you reading the blog from out of town, let me give you a Memphis weather update.  It’s 64 degrees as I type this at 10:15 AM, with a predicted high of 75 and low of 58.  I just ran to Jack’s for my morning Mountain Dew and did so in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts.

I will also wear the Hawaiian shirt and shorts when I leave in a few minutes to go to brunch at McGuinness.  For those of you who are female and are planning what to wear today, I have a suggestion… tube top.  Perfect day for it.

You know, last week I read an article on how church attendance is declining in America, and a substantial percentage of the population has switched their religious affiliation from a mainstream Christian church to “unaffiliated” over the last 25 years.  I can definitely relate, as I quit going to church almost as soon as I went through the motions of being confirmed as an Episcopalian, and I consider myself unaffiliated now.  With churches desperately trying to attract and retain members, I thought to myself this morning, what could a church do to convince me to show up on Sunday?  And it hit me… if there were a church that encouraged its female members to wear tube tops to services, that would be a church that would have a good chance of recruiting me.

Anyway, back to the weather… this time around it won’t be nice for long.  Forecast is for a high of 38, low of 32 and some type of precip on Tuesday.  But by month’s end it will be consistently nice.  Really looking forward to three consecutive weeks of festivals next month, which mark the longest interruption of the year of my regular Sunday brunch plans.  First Rajun Cajun Crawfish Fest, then Wine Race, then Music Fest.  At all three I tend to wander around and talk to people all day.  Fun.  I don’t actually go to Music Fest, but I wander Main, Beale, Second and surrounding streets, which usually turns out to be considerably more fun.

One of my readers reports that there’s an “opening soon” sign of the door of the Corkscrew on South Front, so that liquor/wine store may be about to have a rebirth the way Frank’s Liquors did a few months ago.

The Cooper-Young neighborhood is going to start doing a monthly event similar to South Main Trolley Tour, where all the shops and galleries will run extended hours and restaurants will have special dishes and food specials.  It will be the first Thursday of every month, kicking off on April 3.  More details here.  Hmmm… that’s just about perfect distance for a bike ride from Downtown.  May have to show up.

Probably will NOT hang out at the Saucer all afternoon like I usually do… if the weather is as pretty as predicted, I’ll likely tab out about 2:30 and walk around looking for bums and tube tops.  Wonder if I’ll see fellow Saucer regular Bicycle Bobby sporting a Hawaiian shirt today.

I have a song the Dempseys played last Thursday stuck in my head now… “Runaway” by Del Shannon.  It was a #1 hit in 1961.  I bought it on iTunes this weekend.

Time for Sunday Fun Day to begin.

I stayed out until 3 AGAIN.  Yay.

Tonight I meant to call it an early night, but it turned out not to be because I was at Hoop’s Bar and had a long conversation with the two girls who want to be guest bloggers on my blog.  They have nicknamed themselves “Glo” and “Flo,” and have requested that I never reveal their identity or post pictures which could tie them to those names.  They say they want to write articles providing insight into the female mind, and invite reader questions.  I threw them a couple of sample questions, and while their answers made no more logical sense than any other woman I’ve talked to, they were entertaining nonetheless, and that’s the main point if I want to keep reader traffic high.  They said they could also offer a female alternative to events I go to.  “We’ll go to the Wednesday night thing at Itta Bena,” they told me.  “You can write about the food and the drinks, and we’ll write about the fashions people were wearing.”  I kind of resent their insinuation that this is not already a fashion blog.  Remember June?  Hello!  Tube Top Month, anyone?

Anyway, I talked to them for quite a while, and based on some of their comments – particularly Glo’s comment, “Random making out is AWESOME!” – I think they may work out as guest bloggers.  Glo, I may need a physical demonstration of that comment, though.  We still need to work out the details but it’s possible they’ll be blogging here within the next week.

Speaking of tube tops:  I saw several today, the first day in a long time that it’s been warm outside.  I love tube tops.

Hoop’s Bar has asked me to do a video interview for their new website.  I’ve seen a sneak preview of their new website, and while I don’t want to spoil the surprise, I will throw this teaser out there – you WILL NOT BELIEVE who won Employee of the Month.  I was completely shocked when I read it.  Not that the person who won didn’t deserve it, but I mean, wow.  The announcement totally caught me by surprise.

Beer report:

Previous total:  $422.00

Beers 79, 80, and 81 (but 75, 76, and 77 according to the Saucer):
Tecate can $4.00
Tsing Tao bottle $4.25
Flying Dog In-Heat Wheat bottle $4.25
Tip:  $12.50 x ~30% = $4.00
Unpaid cover due to UFO card $-3.00
Total: $13.50

Grand total:  $435.50

Walking home from Hoop’s Bar, I ran into one of the new waitresses who had just closed the Saucer as she was leaving, and she told me, “Paul, go the f*** home.”  They’re so nice to me there.  Friday one of the girls had her birthday and tried to get me to give her $100, then she reduced it to $20.  Then she complained that I didn’t have a present for her.  I went and got a copy of free Memphis Sport magazine off the rack near the door and said “Here you go.”

I guess I’ll go to bed now.  Brunch at McGuinness at 11 AM unless I oversleep.  After that, Saucer, and a Calhoun’s run before the end of the day isn’t out of the question.

It’s March! March just may be my favorite month of the year. It’s the first month of the year when it’s pretty consistently warm enough to wear shorts most of the time, and it’s usually the first month of the year where I run the air conditioner more than the heater. I love air conditioning. It’s 67 outside and I can’t wait to get out there.

Only 8 more days until Daylight Saving Time.

Only 7 more weeks until Rajun Cajun Crawfish Fest.

Only 8 more weeks until Wine Race.

Only 2 1/2 months until BBQ Fest.

Only 3 months until Tube Top Month. Although, it’s perfectly acceptable to go ahead and start wearing tube tops now.

A new sports bar may be coming to Downtown. The Memphis Business Journal reports that Ozzie Smith, who has a sports bar in St. Louis, may be interested in opening one here. They are looking at the former Have a Nice Day Cafe space at Fourth and Beale, and also a spot near the Red Rooster. The MBJ article interviews one of the owners of Calhoun’s to ask if he is worried that another sports bar Downtown will cut into his business. He need not worry. I looked at the menu on Ozzie’s Sports Bar’s website and it is the kind of generic crap menu you find at Chili’s, Applebee’s and other restaurants that people who live in East Bumblefuck go to. As much as I respect Ozzie, I can’t see Downtowners who already know about Calhoun’s relocating to the new sports bar. Calhoun’s goes out of their way to make their customers feel like they’re at home. I spent a couple of hours there last night catching up with Mikey the Camera Nazi, Otto, and various others who popped in.

I had a female reader e-mail me with a request: “More pictures of Skippy please!” I have a video from August 2006 of him dancing at Sleep Out Louie’s… want me to upload that to YouTube and link to it?

I have heard from a credible source that the armed robbery that supposedly happened on Beale Saturday night, and which was reported in a Union City paper, is a hoax. What I’ve heard is that the dude got his ass kicked and made up the robbery story to try and look like less of a fool. Didn’t work.

Interesting site I found this morning, quite by accident: DateACougar.com. I bet Philip will be saving that one to his bookmarks. If you don’t know what a “cougar” is, this Wikipedia entry will explain it. Then again, if you live in Downtown Memphis, you don’t need a cougar dating website; just go sit at the bar at the South Main restaurant that has valet parking, I hear that place is the “cougar lounge.”

I tried the Red Rooster solo last night… I had previously only been with groups. The place was packed and everyone seemed to be having a great time. That place is going to make it. Unfortunately I was dead tired from staying out late the night before, so I didn’t talk or dance much. Left about 2:30 and walked up Second toward home… but I happened to walk up the street at exactly the time the people who closed the Saucer were walking out. “Paul, come have a drink with us at McGuinness!” they said. I wanted to go to sleep SO badly… but you know I’m not going to say no to a drink at McGuinness. So I hung out there until close, then the night was finally over.

Now it’s time for the beer report – a double beer report, since I didn’t do one yet for Thursday. Both Thursday and Friday nights I came in the Saucer after they started charging cover, and since I had my UFO card I didn’t have to pay.

Beer report for Thursday night:

Previous total: $392.25

Beers 73, 74 and 75 (but 69, 70, and 71 according to the Saucer):
St. Peter’s Ale $6.25
Pilsner Urquell draft $4.50
Red Stripe bottle $4.00
Tip: $14.75 x ~30% = $4.00
Unpaid cover due to UFO card $-3.00
Total: $15.75

Grand total: $408.00

Notes about Thursday night’s beers: St. Peter’s Ale is one of my favorites because it looks like it comes in a flask. I love to sit in the window and drink it and make the bums who walk by jealous. The Pilsner Urquell draft was a mistake, as I meant to save it for a Pint Nite. It printed on the UFO computer (“Beer-tron-a-ton”) receipt as a bottle; however, there are no Pilsner Urquell bottles at the Saucer. A good waitress would have noticed this and at least asked if I still wanted the beer. However, I didn’t have a good waitress that evening; I had my BFF. So she brought me the draft and told me to shut the f up when I protested. Red Stripe brings back good memories. When I was in college at Rhodes, we used to drive over to the beer distributor on Warford and buy cases of it for 8 bucks.

Friday’s beer report:

Previous total: $408.00

Beers 76, 77, and 78 (but 72, 73, and 74 according to the Saucer):
Flying Dog Doggie Style Fire Sale $2.75
Barbar Blonde $7.00
Miller Lite draft $3.25
Tip: $13.00 x ~30% = $4.00
Unpaid cover due to UFO card $-3.00
Total: $14.00

Grand total: $422.00

I highly, highly recommend the Barbar Blonde, a new bottle they have at the Saucer. It’s a Belgian style beer with hints of honey and orange peel, and it’s 8% alcohol.

Plans for today: As soon as I shower and get dressed, I’m going to go out and snap photos of bums. The gang is talking about watching the 3:00 Tiger game at someone’s condo, but that sounds boring so I’ll probably watch it at the Saucer and get my 3 beers for the day done. After that, don’t know.

(Edit: Forgot to hit Publish, so you’re getting this morning’s post at 8 at night. Sorry.)

Got to the Saucer about 9 last night… the Dempseys were already setting up for their show.  My BFF and her mini-me (my BFFMM?) were both working so there was a hell of a lot of attitude to deal with.  I printed out my receipts for my 3 plate beers and moved to the band room, where my BFF immediately ran over and said, “I’M CLOSING.  SO I’LL BE YOUR SERVER.  WHAT DO YOU WANT.”  Although, for once I actually was in her section, as opposed to normal when I’m not even in the same room as her section when she grabs my tab.  Once I settled in, she apparently thought I wasn’t drinking fast enough (meaning, not running up my tab, and therefore her tip, fast enough) and said, “You’re being a vagina tonight.”  Shut up, douche bag.  Later in the evening she told me she did a 3-mile run from her Midtown apartment to the Blue Monkey and back and nearly died.  God.  What a wuss.  I know I’m out of shape due to drinking all the time, but even I could do that run.  She should give up running and just accept that she’s going to get fat.  Heh… then my BFF will be a BBW.

Hell I’ll even throw out a challenge… if I can’t keep pace with her on that run I’ll pick up her bar tab for an entire night.

So I sat and listened to the Dempseys with UT fan Frank and two girls who wish to go unnamed but I will say that they have the same name.  Unfortunately Frank was at the bar getting another beer when they played the “cities, states, towns and counties” medley that included “Rocky Top,” so he didn’t get to see the hand gesture that I did to that song.  At one point, bass player “Slick” Joe Fick said, “Raise your glass if you love Romanian girls,” and I raised my glass high.  Always nice to be recognized from the stage.

The two girls who were there with Frank tried to convince me to let them be guest bloggers once or twice a week.  “Your blog needs a female perspective,” they told me.  “We bet half your readers are female.”  Half?  I’d bet closer to 70%.  Ladies love Professor Paul.  Maybe that could be my rapper name – L-squared-P-squared.  Anyway, they told me what they would write about in a blog.  “See, when you write about Circa’s happy hour, we want to read about that,” they told me.  “When you write about what beers you drank last night, we don’t care.”

Which reminds me… beer report is temporarily delayed.  I know what 3 beers I drank last night – St. Peter’s Ale, Pilsner Urquell draft, Red Stripe bottle – but I failed to write down the prices.  I’ll have to get them when I go back there tonight.  So tomorrow there will be a double beer report.

I told the girls I’d think about the guest blogging thing.  I reminded them that if I let them do it, any post they write during the month of June has to reference tube tops, since that’s Tube Top Month.  “That’s fine, we’ll post pictures of ourselves in tube tops!” they said.  Hmmm, I may be warming up to this “guest blogging” idea.

Heh heh heh… look at all this crap you had to wade through to get to the real news.  First item of business… turns out I was off base when I reported that the Downtown security patrols beginning in April will cover only the Main Street Mall between Adams and Beale.  Actually, the CCC’s security director tells me, the patrols will be bounded by Front on the west and Second on the east.  That’s good news because Second is a much bigger problem than Main once you get south of Monroe, especially evenings and weekends.  The bums love to do the “tour guide,” “flower man/woman,” “bum-brella,” and “selling free magazines” gimmicks there.  Hopefully security can bring them under control.

Derrick Rose of the Memphis Tigers is up for the Bob Cousy Award, an award for outstanding college point guard.  Fan voting is taking place now… go here to vote for Derrick.

There’s an art gallery exhibit opening going on tonight from 6 to 8 at 2553 Broad, next door to The Cove.  The Art Butcher sent details, and because I’m a lazy m.f. I’m just going to copy and paste rather than attempt a summary.  Formatting may be a bit off, apologies in advance.  Like anyone is even still reading after 28 paragraphs of BFF crap.

> Material is pleased to present its third exhibition of 2008:  Hans
> Schmitt-Matzen:  The Lace of History.  The exhibition will run for one night
> only with a reception on Friday, February 29th from 6-8 pm.
>
>
>
> A Nashville based artist, Hans Schmitt-Matzen has displayed his work in
> group exhibitions throughout the country and will be included in the
> upcoming Tennessee Abstract Painters show at Cheekwood Botanical Garden and
> Museum of Art.
>
>
>
> The Lace of History will present a cross section of two related series of
> artworks. Several of the works will be from the Loop series, a collaboration
> with photographer Gieves Anderson. The works in the Loop series comprise a
> two-part cycle. In the first part, one of Anderson’s photographs is selected
> to conceptually and formally influence the path of Schmitt-Matzen’s
> painting. The combination of these photographic and painted elements amounts
> to a finished work that is the first part of the sequence. After the
> completion of the first phase, Anderson begins the second stage by
> converting the first piece back into a photograph. The resulting photograph
> then stimulates another painting that becomes the second phase and
> establishes a cycle of cause-and-effect relationships within and between the
> works. This closed system metaphorically reenacts art’s history—in which all
> that is made is influenced by what preceded it.
>
> Schmitt-Matzen will also show his personal investigation of other aesthetic
> paths that Anderson’s photographs might have traveled in his Tangent series.
> With this project, Hans has sought to engender a web of causality more
> complex than the linear relationships recognizable in the Loop series. These
> works allow each cause to have more than one effect, broadening the scope of
> the overall artistic system to bring it in sync with the complexity that
> exists in the world.
>
>
>
> Hans received his BFA from Middle Tennessee State University in 2003 and has
> subsequently become an active constituent in the Nashville arts community.
> He is on the board of directors for the Fugitive Art Center, a nonprofit
> curatorial organization exhibiting artworks nationally and internationally.
> Hans is currently employed at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts as an
> exhibition designer.
>
>
>
> Material is located at 2553 Broad Avenue.  Parking is available on both the
> north and south sides of Broad Avenue.

Be sure to stop by The Cove and have one of their hand-made mixed drinks after the gallery show.  That’s a can’t-miss.

Roma Pizza & Pasta at Third and Court is reviewed in the Commercial Appeal today.

The Red Rooster called me and told me I won a Backstage Pass party – if I can bring 10 or more people between 5 and 7 tonight, I get free admission and a free happy hour buffet.  I’m not even going to bother trying… half my friends work in East Bumblefuck and there’s no way I’ll be able to get everyone rounded up before 7.  Plus I don’t want to start drinking that early.  I do plan on checking out the Rooster tonight though.  I’ve gone 3 times with groups; this time I want to go by myself and see if I enjoy the club on those terms.  That’s an important test for a club.  Probably I’ll be there sometime between 11 and 1.  Other places that may see me tonight:  Circa, the Saucer (a given since I have to do my beers), Trolley Tour, Calhoun’s, Earnestine & Hazel’s.  And of course Raiford’s always looms as a possibility.  I have drunk Raiford’s limo photos that I need to post.

Still need to get bum photos.  I’ll probably do bum patrol tomorrow afternoon, interrupting the patrol around 3 to knock out my plate beers and watch the game.

Happy birthday to one of my favorite waitresses who is a February 29 girl.  She wanted me to give her $100 for her birthday.  Yeah I don’t see that happening.  A mention on my blog is worth $100 right?

Time for work… still enjoying it there, although I’ll never totally adjust to a start time earlier than 10.  Have a good weekend everyone… if I come up with more stuff there’ll be a lunchtime post.

A blog reader sent me this story from the NWTN Today website (from Union City, TN) about an armed robbery of a visitor from Knoxville Saturday night who was in town for the Memphis-UT game. The robbery started on Beale Street and ended in a nearby residential neighborhood around 11:15 PM Saturday night, and the robbers took the victim’s credit and debit cards, $200 cash, driver’s license, watch, cell phone and Nike shoes. I wanted to post this because I haven’t seen it covered in any of the local media.

Thanks to the Nuh-Uh Girl for sending me this link to Onix Restaurant’s website. Onix is the new chicken & waffles restaurant in the old Zanibar space at Main and Huling. Looks like their specialty is buffalo-style chicken served with ranch, roll, celery and carrots. They have a variety of flavors available, including the usual ones (medium, hot) as well as more exotic ones (seasoned, honey glazed, lemon pepper). Hmmm… now I’m really going to have to check this place out. They also have catfish, shrimp and chicken tenderloin dinners, sandwiches, and a healthy choice menu.

Found this on WREG’s website today… Mississippi’s House voted to get rid of the waiting period to get a marriage license. Looks like they’re trying to make the casino districts in the state more like Vegas, where you can elope and get married the same day. Yikes… I don’t know if I like having that option that close to home. Gonna have to be careful that I don’t meet a girl in a club and have a little too much to drink and take a road trip and make The Ultimate Mistake. This could especially be a problem if we get a new group of Romanians in town for the summer.

That’s all I’ve got for now… still having fun at work, getting to move through the “software development life cycle.” The work we’ve done the past month is now in testing. Fun to see how it all comes together. Never been with a company that does it in such an organized manner. Outta here, back to the office.

We had a GREAT time tonight.  The gang met at Itta Bena a little before 6, where the complimentary appetizers this week consisted of sushi and Asian chicken.  After a few drinks there, we moved on to the Red Rooster, where we had reservations.

One of the owners, the one with whom I had made the reservation, picked out a section for us to the right of the front door where we had our own private TV for viewing for a party of 16.  Although, no one really paid attention to the game after the food I ordered showed up – the Sexy Fat Boy Nachos ($12).  As I wrote last weekend, that seemed a little high for nachos, but once it came out, I understood – it was Mount Nachos and it was even bigger than the nachos I saw on Saturday.  Seriously, this thing was piled higher than the tallest mountain peaks in seven U.S. states.  Not only is it way more than one person could eat, but I doubt two people could split this thing and get through it.  Here’s a pic.

That’s BBQ meat, BBQ sauce, cheese, black olives, tomatoes, jalapenos and onions atop multi-colored chips.

And here’s a pic of the Nuh-Uh Girl eating the nachos:

It couldn’t have been any better.  Every seat in the house had a good view of at least one TV.  The bartenders came over and introduced themselves, and once they found out we lived within walking distance, they treated us like royalty.  They seriously want our business.  The owner also came over a few times and asked if there was anything he could do for us.  It was busy but not jam-packed during the game.  They had the sound on for the game; once over, the DJ started spinning.  A few selections to give you an idea what they play:

“You Give Love a Bad Name” by Bon Jovi
“Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson
“Summer of ’69” by whoever the hell sings Summer of ’69

I am really starting to love that place to the point where it may challenge the Saucer for my #1 ranking.  I will definitely be back either Friday or Saturday, not sure which.  Dammit I wish it wasn’t Dempseys night tomorrow at the Saucer so I could go to the Rooster for “Rock Out With Your Cock Out” aka cheap beer night.  Thumbs way up based on what I’ve seen so far.  This is a much needed alternative to the clubs on Beale.

Time for the beer report.  I did two beers at lunch and a third before hitting Itta Bena.

Previous total:  $378.50

Beers 70, 71, and 72 (but 66, 67, and 68 according to the Saucer):
LaBatt Blue Fire Sale $2.75
Clausthauler non-alcoholic beer (NASTY) $4.00
Pacifico $4.00
Tip:  $10.75 x ~ 30% = $3.00
Total:  $13.75

Grand total:  $392.25

Plan for tomorrow:  I’ll probably take a nap after I get home for work, then hit the Saucer about 8:30 and grab a good seat for the 9:30 Dempseys performance.  I plan to make it through all 3 sets before going home.  Rather, I plan on making it through all 3 sets before going to McGuinness before going home.

More good news:  Through the Handling-Panhandling group we got one of the bums banned from the Premier Parking lot at Main and Beale.  I got photographic evidence of him back on that lot tonight.  That photo has already been brought to the attention of the lot owner and MPD.

Even more good news:  I renewed my lease today, my sixth lease at 10 South Main.  That will make me a Downtowner until at least February 2009.

Been an awesome day, time to get some sleep and recharge in prep for another awesome day tomorrow.

Be sure to check out the opinion column in today’s CA where Downtowner Barbara Bradley shares her thoughts on panhandlers and how much they scare her and people who come to visit her.  “We’re at a tipping point, CCC,” she writes.  “Please help save Downtown.”

Posting from the Second Street branch office and reading the Memphis Flyer during my lunch break.  For lunch today:  Clausthauler (a nonalcoholic beer), and LaBatt Blue (which is alcoholic, but is basically Canadian Bud Light so it’s not like one pint will do anything).  I’ll be eating twice in a short time span tonight, so I’m skipping the food portion of my lunch break.

This week’s horoscope says I should “do the wild thing as much as possible.”  Now that’s the horoscope I’ve been waiting for!  Attn female Scorpios:  You have the same horoscope I do, let’s hook up!  Actually, some of the biggest psychos I’ve ever met have been female Scorpios, I better be careful what I wish for.

I made the Flyer twice this week.  Pa Pa Pia’s quoted my review from last month in their ad, where I called the place “outstanding.”  Got no problem with that.  May not be a fan of some of the other restaurants their company runs (the one across the street, for example) but I was thoroughly impressed with Pia’s in every respect when I went in – food, service, they way they went above and beyond to take care of the large group I came with.  Great job!

Then on page 9, I’m quoted in the “Policing Panhandling” news article.  The Handling-Panhandling forum has seen a huge bump in activity the last week due to all the media coverage of the Downtown security patrols.  We’re getting new information on some of the bums who cause a lot of trouble down here.  Not the homeless (as in someone without a home) but the bums (as in, people who aggressively beg for money).  H-P is not and never will be about harassing the homeless for no reason.

One event in the Flyer that’s especially worth mentioning… “Rock n Roll for Red” tomorrow night (Feb 28) at EP Delta Kitchen.  All proceeds benefit the American Heart Association.  $5 general admission, $50 for exclusive VIP lounge with free cocktails and apps 7-9 PM.  Show up in red attire and receive a complimentary signature drink.  For more ticket info call the AHA at 901-383-5400.

Unfortunately I’ll have to miss the event due to the Dempseys show tomorrow night at the Saucer.  Another event I’m going to have to miss is “Rock out with your cock out” Thursday night at the Red Rooster, with $1.50 Miller Lite/Amber Bock all night long, and $2.50 Stella Artois and Blue Moon all night long, and Route South on the stage.  Now those are some good beer specials!  Looks like the Rooster may present a serious challenge to EP’s/Hoop’s as my Thursday night hangout once the weather warms up.  The Rooster now has a MySpace page, so you can be their friend and check their calendar for the latest news.

This non-alcoholic beer sucks.  The ticket describing the beer said “surprisingly tasty” but LaBatt was the better tasting of the two beers I’ve had in my lunch break, if that tells you anything.   I’ll come up here right before I hit Itta Bena tonight and knock my third one out.  Hmmm… “Irish Car Bomb” is one I have yet to do.  Wonder if Air Traffic will be here this afternoon.  I need a car bomb drinking buddy.

My hour is up already!  Back to work.

… And I’m back.  Couple of quick items before I head to work.  It’s Tiger Blue Day, as deemed by an e-mail sent out by the Leadership Academy, and I have blue on.  Do you?  For those of you who missed last night’s post:  1) Game has been changed to 7:00, so Rapscallions/extended family/random hot girls are invited to meet up with us at Itta Bena at 5:45, then head to the Red Rooster at 6:45 for game viewing.  2) Tennessee lost to Vandy last night, so we’ll likely get our #1 ranking back in the AP poll.

Couple of more quick items that I was too tired to post last night…

The CA has a good article today on NewVoBlues, an organization that is reviving the tradition of blues dancing here in the home of the blues.  NewVo has one of their biggest events of the year, Bluesalicious, this weekend, with dance classes and outings to local juke joints.  Schedule for the weekend is at the bottom of the article.

I’ve been receiving e-mails about a site called nofoodandbeveragetax.com that is petitioning against a proposed 2% tax on the local food and beverage industry.  This tax will passed on directly to your bill when you eat out, and is especially hurtful for locally-owned restaurants who don’t have a national corporation behind them.  If you eat out a lot like I do, this is a petition you should consider signing.  It isn’t the restaurants’ fault that the county can’t manage to balance its damn budget.

Plans for the rest of this week:

Tonight:  Itta Bena then Red Rooster, see above.

Tomorrow:  Dempseys @ Saucer, 9:30.

Friday:  MAYBE South Main Trolley Tour.  Looking forward to next month’s Trolley Tour though, when the weather will be much nicer.

Saturday:  Don’t know.  Probably out getting new pictures of bums in the afternoon.

Sunday:  Brunch at McGuinness (week 1 of 2)

Time to head to work.  Things have been picking up lately and I’ve gotten a lot of great experience programming in a true multi-tiered environment (where the data logic, business logic, and business objects are all separate) and working with a team on projects (in previous jobs I tended to work on projects alone).  It can be a lot of fun sometimes.  Outta here til later, will have my laptop with me at lunch, could be another post then.