Paul Ryburn's Journal

Be sure to tune in and watch Wheel of Fortune tonight, as Memphis’ very own The Nuh-Uh Sister will be spinning the wheel for cash and prizes.  There wasn’t enough room on the name tag for “The Nuh-Uh Sister,” so she used her real name, Aimee, instead.  The entire Nuh-Uh Family flew out to L.A. last month for the taping.

We’re planning a watch party at the Saucer immediately prior to trivia.  Probably the first time in the bar’s 11-year run that Wheel of Fortune has appeared on a TV there.  It’s going to be extremely busy Downtown tonight, with a Grizzlies game and some musical at the Orpheum that’s supposed to be a big hit with the Hannah Montana crowd.

Recap of last night:  Started at Circa for $5 martini night.  Had the Wild Strawberries and Avalanche martinis (you can view their martini list here), both quite good.  They had the news on TV, and I saw that George W. Bush is on a tour of the Middle East.  He got a look at one of his hosts’ prized bird collection, and even held a falcon on his arm.  I can just hear him saying, “Well, this sure is a funny-looking chicken!”  371 more days and counting.

Then I moved on to the Saucer for Pint Nite, where they RAN OUT of Dos Equis Special Lager!!!!  Totally unacceptable guys.  I switched to my #2 choice, Sunset Wheat.  With cold weather and no basketball game, the Saucer was pretty dead.  There was a cameo appearance by former Saucer waitress Zebra Hair, who amazingly didn’t try to get me to buy her a drink or run across the street to McGuinness for ranch dressing.  Irritated that I was deprived of my favorite beer, I left the Saucer and walked down to Big Foot with my friends Chuck and BBQ Clint, where I enjoyed a delicious 34 oz. Big Foot Blue Moon.  I contemplated trying their $10 mixed drinks but common sense prevailed.  Not at 10 at night on a work night after I’ve been out drinking since 5.  Not the right time.

I’m all set for BBQ Fest this year.  I paid the team membership fee this weekend, and yesterday I was granted vacation time for Thursday and Friday of BBQ Fest weekend.  Here’s a shout-out to team member Willie who did most of the cooking last year.  Since then he’s opened a new restaurant, Honky Tonk Barbeque, in his home town of Chicago.  If you visit the Windy City be sure to check it out!  He also has a mobile BBQ kitchen for catering in the Chicago area.

I’m hearing on the news reports how we could be facing a winter storm Wednesday night/Thursday morning, but with predicted highs in the 40s both days I don’t see how much damage it could do.  Dammit… the bad thing about my 1-block walking commute is that I can’t use icy roads as an excuse to stay home from work.

Speaking of which, it’s time to head there now.  They keep the heat turned up so high at work that I have to wear short-sleeved shirts.  Check back, there will probably be another post today.

There’s a good article on the Memphis Daily News website about Dr. Divine Mafa, who this month opened Divine Rags, a boutique selling high-end Italian women’s fashions, at 300 S. Main.  Next month he plans on opening Divine Rags Gentleman, a men’s store, and in March a second women’s clothing store for average-income makers.  After that he plans to open Safari Tapas Bar, a bar with world tapas, small samples of food.  All of his shops will be on Main.

The article says Dr. Mafa is very interested in developing Main Street as the hub of Downtown, and he’s very concerned with his customers’ safety, and plans to work with other business owners to ensure safety of those shopping in the area.

Full article available here.

The Center City Commission has an account on MySpace, and I have them added as one of my friends.  This allows me to receive MySpace bulletins from them.

This morning they sent one out telling their friends “Think there’s nothing to do on Mondays?”  They listed cocktails at the Westin with DiAnne Price from 5:30-9:30, Pint Nites at the Flying Saucer and Double Deuce, and the Minivan Stream Band at the Buccaneer.  To that I’d add $5 martini night at Circa, which will probably be my first stop tonight, followed by the Saucer.  If I get bored at the Saucer, MAYBE I’ll wander down to Double Deuce to check out their pint nite for one beer.  Never been there.  Although, with its location at the far end of Beale (at Fourth) that means I’ll have to navigate bums.

MySpace bulletins have become a valuable source of information for my blog (although a few people and bands abuse them – come on, sending out more than two a day is overkill).  If you like to have fun Downtown, and you’re on MySpace, it’s worth it to befriend the CCC, and check your MySpace home page frequently.

This morning I figured out who will get my vote in the February 5 primary.  I realized there was a variable I hadn’t considered – which party will likely control Congress next year and how Congress will relate to the President.

If we were likely to have a Republican-controlled Congress next year, my choice would be Hillary Clinton.  She has the most experience building compromise and working with members of the other party, and her closest advisor, Bill Clinton, is a master of compromise.  With a Republican Congress, I believe Hillary would be the most likely to get things done.

However, I believe that what this country really needs is massive change – change in the way we relate to each other as citizens, change in the way the U.S. relates to other nations as a member of the world community, change in the way we relate to our environment.  The candidate who I see as best embodying the kind of massive change I’m talking about is Barack Obama.  With a Democratic-controlled Congress, he would be able to use the Presidency as a bully pulpit and push his programs through.

According to projections, the Democrats will not only maintain control of both houses after the fall election, but may in fact be able to hit a filibuster-proof 60 seats in the Senate.

Therefore my choice in the February 5 primary is Barack Obama.  I could be quite happy with either Clinton or Edwards as President, but I believe Obama is best equipped to bring about change, not only in laws and policies but in the way we see ourselves as Americans.

I drove my car today for the first time since Christmas.  Two things this made me realize:

1) My life rocks;

and 2) Saturn rocks for building a 13-year-old car that still starts after nearly three weeks of nothing.

Silver’s memorial service was beautiful.  There were pictures of him with his favorite catchphrases posted in the building’s lobby.  I think every speaker used “That’s what I’m talking about!” at least once.  His passion for life and his love for and interest in his friends really came through in the speeches about him.  We all sang Happy Birthday to him (he would’ve been 55 today) and I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house.  The service really inspired me.  I’ve been in a funk the past week, a bit withdrawn, and looking at life through Silver’s eyes for an hour pulled me out of it.  I really was a different person when I arrived back Downtown.

Speaking of which, Downtown was dead tonight.  I got to the Saucer at 5:30 and easily could’ve closed the place.  But I got bored and took off for McGuinness at 9 for Paul’s Drunkass Food.  This was the kind of night where I really missed the Downtown Monkey or Sleep Out’s – a good local’s bar where I could just hunker down for hours and hours.

I’ve been hearing ominous rumors about Peabody Place Mall, that the entire thing, minus the businesses that have outdoor entrances (Jillian’s, McGuinness, Encore, Texas de Brazil) may close entirely for renovation into Peabody hotel rooms and some new retail or outlet establishments.  This is just second-hand speculation I heard from others, but the outlook seems gloomier than I realized.

THANK YOU CHARGERS!!!  Thanks to San Diego I don’t have to see Peyton on my TV screen until August.  Well, except for all those obnoxious commercials he’s in.  Hey Peyton, here’s a “Paul’s Pep Talk” for you:  You suck.  Hopefully some of these corporate sponsors will realize how overrated he is and not renew his contracts.  I e-mailed my favorite blogger/MILF the outcome of the game about .1 second after it ended.

Speaking of which:  My favorite blogger/MILF’s blog is back online.  I’m still not linking to it, but those few of you to whom I gave out the URL before, e-mail me and I’ll give you the new one.

Bored.  I shouldn’t be home this early on Sunday night (10:27 PM).  Contemplating going back out for one more beer.

Last night I heard that the BP gas station at Riverside and Carolina has hooked up with a guy who owns a smoker, and he is now selling delicious smoked ribs and beef brisket out of their location every day.

Be forewarned though:  The smoked meat sells out quickly.  “The guy will show up at 7 AM with his meat,” my friend who is a BP customer told me.  “And by 2 in the afternoon it will be gone.”  So if you go down there today and miss it, try again tomorrow, earlier.

Of course, BP has had one of the best delis Downtown for a while, with plate lunches and dinners and a variety of to-go items.  It’s one of the hidden secrets of Downtown, and with ribs and brisket on the menu, it just got even better.

Alert to those of you who collect beer glasses:  Stella Artois is the featured beer for “buy the beer, keep the glass” night at the Flying Saucer next Wednesday.  While most of the glasses are nothing special – just a company logo on a pint glass – the Stella ones are really nice.  Here’s a pic of my set of four, bought at previous keep-the-glass nights:

Other Saucer news:  If you’re looking for something to do tonight, Snozberry is playing there at 9:30.  Also, the Saucer is putting together a “brews cruise,” a 5-day cruise of the West Caribbean with beer tastings and seminars, with brewmasters from several well-known brewerys.  It’s May 3-8 I believe.  If interested go by the Saucer to get more details.

Second Street Shoppers, the convenience store on Second in the old Carabella location, now has a deli, with a menu of about 15 sandwiches.  Sounds like people who work Downtown have a new option for lunch.  I’ll have to give this a try sometime in the next week.

After a few beers at the Saucer last night I got hungry, and remembered that I had a bunch of gift cards from the Majestic Grille that needed to be cashed in.  So I walked over to the Majestic and took a look at their steak menu.  At the suggestion of Air Traffic Mike and owner Deni, I got the filet with garlic mashed potatoes and a side order of garlic shrimp – outstanding.  The Majestic’s steaks are as good as you’ll find anywhere Downtown.

Also, the strawberry basil martini is as good a martini as you’ll find Downtown.  Thanks to Air Traffic Mike for buying round after round last night.

Non-Downtown news:  I heard last night that The Cove (formerly The Beer Joint) on Broad Avenue has been open for a few weeks now.  “It feels like it’s been open forever and ever,” said a friend who was in there earlier in the week.  Their doors open at 5.  Here’s a post Midtown Ryan made about the place last month.  This may be worth a field trip outside of Downtown.

I’m apparently “the guy everyone sees Downtown.”  I ran into some girls at Hoop’s Bar last night who told me, “We’ve actually started a game.  Every time we see you, we have to take a shot.”  They found my blog recently but told me, “Before we knew you, you were known as ‘The Dude.’  So we have ‘The Dude Shot.’  It’s whatever we feel like at the moment.  We can’t be specific because sometimes it happens at 9 AM, sometimes at 2 AM.”

Looks like I was wrong about a new club opening in the place of Ground Zero next to the Westin… people have told me the Ground Zero sign is up and that project is back on track.  I guess that means the other club I was told about will be going into the space that was originally going to be the King Biscuit.

Silver’s obituary appeared in the paper today.  I’ll do Sunday brunch at McGuinness and the Saucer tomorrow, but will have to drink non-alcoholic beverages so I can drive out east to his memorial service at 4.

Shout-out to my two friends with whom I’ve spoken about getting their artwork in my apartment:  I’m ready to roll.  Another paycheck hit the bank yesterday and I have money to spend, so let’s talk about it soon.  I like the idea of displaying only artwork by artists I know.  I already have a couple of small pieces from a third artist.
Speaking of my apartment… someone slid a $30 gift certificate to Itta Bena under every door in my building!  Nice!

I need some new clothes.  I’m actually considering walking down to Lansky’s and buying one or two of their nice-looking but ridiculously expensive shirts.

That’s enough for now.  I need to plug in my digital camera and see if there’s anything on there that’s blogworthy.  If so there may be another post later today.

An article in today’s Memphis Business Journal says that Peabody Place will lose another business, and this time it’s an anchor.  Muvico will be closing its 22-screen theater in March.

The article goes on to say that Belz is in talks with the mall concerning a redevelopment of the space.  The Peabody is interested in adding more rooms, and would be interested in converting the Muvico space into 160-170 luxury suites and a meeting space.  Belz is also beginning to consider non-traditional mall stores for the remainder of Peabody Place, such as outlet stores.

More info to come as it becomes available.

This morning the Memphis Daily News published plans about a pilot program the Center City Commission will run this year to combat panhandling.  They are requesting proposals for private security companies to provide four private security officers to patrol the Main Street Mall and surrounding areas.  Two will work an 8 AM to 4 PM shift, and two will work 4 PM to midnight.  According to Larry Bloom, the CCC’s safety director, the officers will patrol Downtown looking for quality-of-life concerns such as illegal panhandling, harassment, public intoxication, public drinking, and other quality-of-life concerns.

However, the officers’ mission will not be only punitive in nature.  The Center City Commission will identify agencies that can provide help to those on the street that need it.  The officers will then make contact with those they see panhandling and loitering Downtown, and get appropriate social services for those who want help.

Through the Handling-Panhandling forum, Larry told me about this program months ago, and I’m excited that it’s close enough to fruition that articles are starting to appear in the media.  The CCC has been working for several years to redirect people’s generosity from panhandlers to social service agencies through their “Say No to Panhandling” program, but that alone has not been enough.  This is a program that will address the needs of both the panhandlers and the community.  Great job, Larry and the CCC!

The Daily News article is available here.

I’m sad to report the passing away of a true Downtown legend.  Silver, owner of Silver Salon on G.E. Patterson, was found dead Wednesday morning in the upstairs loft of the salon, which was his home.

Silver was one of the most colorful characters in the South Main area.  He could often be found sitting at the patio table in front of his salon having a beer with friends, or dancing at Earnestine & Hazel’s, or having a good time at the old Blue Monkey.  He was also a dear friend to many who lived in the area.  He was a good listener, someone people could confide in, someone who always had words of encouragement and advice.

I met Silver through mutual friends several years ago.  Toward the end of 2004 I was sitting at the bar at the Monkey one day when he popped in.  We got to talking, and I commented how silly it was that I continued to go to Midtown to get my hair cut when he was right down the street.  “You need to come see me,” he replied.

So I started going to him to cut my hair.  He was more of a hair artist than a hair stylist, and I gave him the freedom to cut it however he wanted.  A trip to Silver’s wasn’t just a haircut, it was an experience.  People would drop by to hang out.  I met several other South Main people I now know well while sitting in his shop.  Because of all the people there, sometimes it would take an hour to get a haircut… but it was guaranteed to be the most entertaining hour of the day.

He also had amazing intuition and gave great advice.  “Are you seeing anyone right now?” he’d ask.

“Well, I was, but she…” I’d start to reply.

“You were too nice!” he interrupted.  “That’s why she pulled away from you.  You were too nice to her.  You weren’t a challenge.”  Weird thing is, Silver was absolutely right, even though I didn’t even get one sentence out of my mouth about the situation.  I asked him one time how he developed some amazing intuition with people.  “Paul, I’ve been cutting hair for 25 years.  I talk to the women who spend an hour and a half in here getting their hair curled and colored.  Don’t you think I’ve picked up a thing or two from them?”

Wish I had been around him more during the last year of his life.  He and I had a disagreement on how my hair was going to be cut – he wanted to keep it fairly short (see the November 2006 photos in the photo gallery) and I wanted to grow it long again.  So I moved on to City House where a friend of mine had started cutting hair.  She does a great job.  Who trained her when she got into the business?  Silver.

I’d still see him around town occasionally, and remember having a few great conversations with him at Nate’s bar at Earnestine & Hazel’s from time to time during 2007.  I popped in his salon for Trolley Tour a few times during the year as well.  Silver was a big supporter of the local arts scene and invited artists to exhibit their work in his salon.

It’s going to be weird – and very sad – to walk in Earnestine’s and know that I won’t see him there laughing and having fun.  I’m also sad that he didn’t live to see the new Downtown Blue Monkey open its doors.

He was one of Downtown’s most colorful and unique characters and South Main just won’t be the same without his presence.  My friend Robert put it best in an e-mail he sent me – “he was a living legend and a South Main institution.”

I’ve been asked to post the details of his memorial service, because his obituary won’t be in the paper until Saturday.  It will be Sunday, January 13 at 4:00 PM at La Pavilion, 1052 Brookfield Road in East Memphis.

Rest in peace, Silver, it was an honor knowing you.