Paul Ryburn's Journal

The Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team is headed to Florida for the ESPN Events Invitational early-season tournament. This is a chance to pick up some quality wins that will impress the NCAA tournament selection committee in March. Other teams in the ESPN tournament field include

• Florida State
• Nebraska
• Oklahoma
• Ole Miss
• Seton Hall
• Siena
• Stanford

The Tigers’ first game is 6:30 Thanksgiving night vs. Seton Hall. ESPNews will be the channel the Blind Bear bartenders can’t find on their new smart TVs.

Speaking of the Blind Bear, if you’re into karaoke, you might want to check out their karaoke night with DJ Superbrad tonight from 9 to 1. Why? Because several of the best singers up there are teachers, but they tend to only show up when the next day is not a school day.

There’s an atmospheric bowling ball headed our way for Thanksgiving and Black Friday! Better check the forecast details from MWN intern @KailahGordon before finalizing plans! New MWN Blog: https://t.co/PuUiXxuqpd pic.twitter.com/EnCWdHNbz1

— MemphisWeather.net (@memphisweather1) November 22, 2022

Memphis Chess Club will now be open 7 days a week (but not on Thanksgiving) with the following hours:

• Monday: 7 AM-8:30 PM
• Tuesday: 7 AM-8:30 PM
• Wednesday: 7 AM-9 PM
• Thursday: 7 AM-9 PM
• Friday: 7 AM-9 PM
• Saturday: 7 AM-9 PM
• Sunday: 8 AM-8:30 PM

Headline seen on Memphis Nextdoor: “Creepy white guy steals my cushion in a weird way”

Stephen Glass has been named Memphis 901 FC’s new head coach. Read the soccer club’s official statement.

Out in The Edge, Stop 345 and Craft Axe Throwing this week are holding a Black Friday market with about 20 local vendors this Friday the 25th.

Brass Door is opening at 7 AM every day for World Cup action. That includes Mondays, although as is the case with the Chess Club, I doubt it includes Thanksgiving.

Wear your Grizzlies gear on game day and get 10% off st Stix.

Feast & Graze is now offering a variety of holiday meat & cheese baskets starting at $29.99. Choices include brie from Marin French Cheese, Foustman’s salami, infused oils by Chef Raneisha, Roth Cheese smoky Bleu, Crane’s Nest Honey, F&G’s made-in-house nuts, and many more selections.

Wear your country’s jersey to Slider Inn Downtown during the World Cup for $1 off your drinks (5 max).

Thanksgiving opening times: 5 PM Bardog, Max’s Sports Bar, and Slider Inn Downtown. 6 PM Blind Bear. I’ll check on Local on Main when I’m in there burping at Jessica today.

Bardog will have a Thanksgiving special: turkey, dressing, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce.

Former State Sen. Brian Kelsey pled guilty to two counts of campaign fraud. Enjoy prison and remember not to drop the soap.

Today is Blackout Wednesday and Tie One On Day. It’s also National Jukebox Day, celebrated locally at Bardog as Bartender’s Phone Day.

Y’all send positive energy my way. Our Nate is out of town for the next 7 days and I will have to cover his activities at the Blind Bear as well as my own. It’s gonna be rough but I’m a total team player.

I do plan on posting on Thanksgiving morning, so check back.

Whoever invented electronic document signing is a genius. I was able to go online and sign my lease documents at 4:15 this morning. No waiting for the leasing office to open at 9:00. No having to interact with people.

Inflation, man. Since the pandemic, it’s hit everything from rent to ice cream to car prices. Now it’s even hit an item most of us would never think of: LETTUCE. A restaurant employee told me yesterday that the wholesale price of lettuce is so high right now that they may have to temporarily take salads off the menu.

Save the date: Blind Bear and Ole Smoky moonshine are having a Sweaters & Onesies Christmas party Saturday, December 10 from 7 to 11 PM. There will be prizes and giveaways and the following specialty cocktails:

• Winter Wonder Mule – hunch punch moonshine, cranberry & lime juices, and ginger beer
• Blackberry Spritz – blackberry moonshine, raspberry liqueur, bubbles
• Hot Apple Pie – apple pie moonshine, spiced simple syrup, and hot cider
• Chocolate Strawberry Martini – Shine Nog moonshine cream, white chocolate strawberry moonshine cream, cookie dough whiskey (HOLY SH*T I WANT THIS ONE!)

They’ll also have some specialty shots:

• Peppermint Mocha – peppermint moonshine, java moonshine cream
• Snow on the Mountain – Shine Nog moonshine cream, cookie dough whiskey

Black Friday gift cards are available at Aldo’s Pizza Pies tomorrow through November 30. They’re 50% off and the minimum purchase is $25 (for a $50 gift card). The only thing to know is that you can’t use them before January 1, 2023. The cards have no expiration date.

ATTN BARDOG REGULARS: There’s this obnoxious group of old people who do a pajama pub crawl the Sunday before Christmas, and they lead off at Bardog right when it opens at 11. If you want to claim your regular seats, better be outside the door at 10:50. My best guess is that the crawl will happen on December 18 this year.

Frank Bonner II (wonder if he’s the son of Herb from WKRP in Cincinnati) of the DM has Tigers bowl projections.

Anyone else getting nose bleeds because of the extremely dry air outside? The past two days, I’ve had to excuse myself to the restroom about once an hour to blow my nose.

That’s it for today. Not sure if I’ll post tomorrow. Thursday I head out to Eads for Thanksgiving with my friends Randy & Theresa. We’ll be joined by one of my all-time favorite bartenders and one of my top 3 favorite butt sluts. I plan on taking the MacBook, so it’s possible I’ll post from Eads.

The Brass Door will be open for the USA vs. Wales World Cup match at 1 PM. The alley will be open with TVs, burgers, and beers – but stop by the ATM before you come, because the alley is cash only.

River Time Market & Deli is now offering soup trays. For $140 you get 12 16-ounce bowls of soup, 12 servings of cornbread, and 12 cookies. Order should be called in 48 hours in advance to 901-482-0460. You get one soup choice for every 12 soups and options include

• Stuffed bell pepper soup
• Chicken & dumpling soup
• Chicken chili
• Broccoli & cheese soup
• Beef chili
• Vegetable soup
• Spaghetti soup
• Loaded potato soup

River Time also has a biscuit tray that serves 24 and costs $135.

• 24 large breakfast biscuits, individually wrapped
• 6 bacon, egg & cheese biscuits
• 6 chicken biscuits
• 6 sausage biscuits
• 3 pimiento cheese biscuits
• 3 country ham biscuits

River Time also has a Morning Meeting tray for $90 that serves 15-20:

• 8 chicken bites mini-biscuits
• 8 sausage bites mini-biscuits
• 4 pimiento cheese bites mini-biscuits
• 4 country ham bites mini-biscuits
• 18 mini donuts: 6 each of chocolate, vanilla, strawberry

River Time has a Country Gravy Platter that costs $140 and serves 24:

• 24 large biscuits
• 24 sausage patties
• Large bowl of country gravy

Last but not least, River Time offers a Coffee Break tray of 24 coffee cakes for $125. When you order from River Time, you’re supporting a true mom-and-pop business whose owners are your neighbors.

In the service industry? Blind Bear has some deals for you 7 days a week with proof of employment:

• $3 Fireball, domestic beers, Tully
• $4 wells
• $5 Jameson, moonshines
• $6 Rumple
• Half off wings

Kendric Davis scored more points in the first half than VCU did as the Memphis Tigers romped to a 62-47 home win yesterday.

The Grizzlies, without their top three players, fell to the Brooklyn Nets 127-115 yesterday. The DM says Jaren will be back Tuesday when Memphis hosts Sacramento.

The Trumpster is no longer banned from Twitter.

President Biden turned 80 yesterday. Happy birthday, Scorpio!

That’s it for today. I have some adulting to do tomorrow, so it’s possible I’ll take the day off from posting.

Tennessee’s hopes of a College Football Playoff invitation are dead. And I love it.

The Vols got blown out 63-38 by South Carolina yesterday. It was glorious to watch. It’s said to be the most points scored by an unranked team against a Top 5 opponent since 1936.

I knew the Vols would do this. They always find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. “WEEEEEEELLLLLLLLL DOGGIES… I GUESS WE AIN’T MAKIN’ IT TO THE PLAYOFFS THIS YEAR… BUT LET ME TEEEELLLLL YOU WHUT BOYYYYYEEEE… NEXT YEEEEEEEAAAAARRRRR…. I THINK THASSSSS GONNNNN BEEEEEEEE ARRRRRRR YEEEEAAARRRRR”

Losers. Bleacher Report: “This was an embarrassment. It was the type of loss a team takes when the moment is too big, and the Vols now are out of the playoff picture.” Yep.

More good news: Memphis shut out North Alabama 59-0 to become bowl-eligible.

Even more good news: Arkansas became bowl-eligible after defeating Ole Miss 42-27. How about an Arkansas-Memphis bowl game? That’d be fun. Birmingham Bowl? Gasparilla Bowl?

Penny’s Memphis Tigers host VCU at 4 today at FedExForum. Great matchup against a perennial NCAA tournament contender. The Tigers have a new court design.

Today’s National Peanut Butter Fudge Day. And it’s NFL Sunday. How much fudge could the Packers pack, if the Packers could pack fudge?

Fair warning: This is going to be a very slow week on this blog. Thanksgiving is a very slow news week and I have some tasks to get done. I’ll post when I can.

Time to go sit at Kelly’s bar and inflict damage on my liver. Back tomorrow or Tuesday.

 

 

Reminder: THE PLACE TO BE tonight is the Blind Bear for a ’70s party from 10 to 2:30. It’s a birthday/going-away party for our Tuesday happy hour bartender Ry. The theme will be ’70s (dress up if you’ve got the clothes) and Tree and Taz will be playing the tunes.

Now, there is one problem… as most of you know, I don’t wait until 10 PM on a Saturday to start drinking. (Hell, I didn’t wait until I hit WordPress’ “New blog post” button to start drinking this morning.) I absolutely cannot overdo it and crash in my bed by 7 PM today. But it’s Bardog Saturday this morning and there are always plenty of rounds of shots. The problem could be exacerbated today since it’s the Saturday closest to my birthday.

So, this week, I took my Saturday Bardog bartender aside for a conference. “You can’t let me get hammered doing rounds of shots,” I explained. “I have a late-night party I cannot miss.”

“Okay,” she ssid. “We’ll limit you to one shot on Saturday.”

“Whoa… whoa… whoa…” I replied. “No need to be THAT strict. How about three?”

“Three,” she said. So if I turn down a shot from you this afternoon, please don’t be offended. It’s gotta be a long day. A marathon, not a sprint.

It’s National Carbonated Beverage with Caffeine Day. I recommend a Mountain Dew.

The Grizzlies won last night but Ja was injured. Dammit. The team is in third place in the Western Conference, 0.5 games out of first place. Next up: A road trip to Brooklyn tomorrow. There’s speculation that Kyrie Irving might return for Sunday’s game.

The Risky Whiskey Boys will musically celebrate the life of Jerry Lee Lewis today at 5 at his cafe on Beale.

Logan Hogue and the Blank Checks play Tin Roof tonight at 6:30.

Grape. plays the Clover Club tonight at 7.

Strip club The Pony is having a Wild Wild West & Breast Thanksgiving party this weekend. They’ll be raffling dances at midnight.

“Ucey in the Sky with Diamonds.” OMG.

Time for a little hair of the dog at Bardog. I may not have time to post tomorrow morning but we will see.

MemphisWeather.net calls for a high of 44 with northwest winds at 10 MPH. Yeah that’s not shorts weather.

That won’t stop me from doing some birthday day drinking, though. If you’re off work, feel free to come join! My tentative schedule for today:

• 8:00 AM to 11:40 AM: Bardog (Allie Cat’s bar)
• 11:45 AM to 3:00 PM: Local on Main (Jessica’s bar)
• 3:00 PM to ????????: Blind Bear (Cinnamon’s bar)

I don’t anticipate it being a super late night because I have to conserve my energy for one of those tomorrow.

The Grizzlies are back at home tonight, where they’ll face off against the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight at 7.

Mas’s Sports Bar has announced an opening time of noon for all Team USA World Cup games. The schedule as it stands now is

• Monday, November 21 vs. Wales
• Friday, November 25 vs. England
• Tuesday, November 29 vs. Iran

The Flying Saucer has announced its annual Turkey of the Year glass, to go on sale next Wednesday at 7 PM. The theme this year is Will Smith – “Slapsgiving.”

Memphis 901 FC is looking for a new head coach. Ben Pirmann has left to become the head coach of Charleston Battery.

Today is Married to a Scorpio Support Day.

It’s also Mickey Mouse Day. Yep, I share a birthday with the Mouse.

Get your brake lights repaired for free tomorrow.

The Green Beetle food truck will be in Health Sciences Park from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM today.

Buffalo, NY could get 5 feet of lake-effect snow this weekend. The forecast is so bad that Sunday’s Bills NFL home game has been moved to Detroit.

The Stumbling Santa pub crawl returns Saturday, December 3. Meetup point is the Flying Saucer at 7 PM. Bring an unwrapped toy for Porter-Leath and dress up as Santa (or Mrs. Claus, an elf, a reindeer, a Christmas tree, etc.) This is far and away Downtown’s best pub crawl of the year.

My friend who works in an Olive Branch liquor store alerted me to a new flavor of moonshine yesterday:

Photo credit: Butt Slut #1

Butter pecan! I showed the photo to a guy who was taking inventory at Blind Bear and said “Y’all need to get this.” He said he thought he had just seen it in the cooler. Here’s a suggestion for you: Go to the Christmas tree lighting at Main and Peabody Place tomorrow afternoon. Grab a free cup of hot chocolate, take it to Blind Bear, and spike it with a shot of butter pecan.

BIRTHDAY!!!!!! Time for some drankity dranks. Back tomorrow.

Very sad to hear of the death of Arcade restaurant owner Harry Zepatos. I’m praying for the Zepatos family and am sorry for their loss.

Tonight at the Halloran Centre: Robert Moody Presents the Orchestra Unplugged: Vivaldi The Four Seasons

Reba McEntire plays FedExForum tonight with special guest Terri Clark.

Ben Yay’s is now accepting orders for Thanksgiving pickup. Call 901-779-4125 no later than November 22 to place your order. Pick it up between 11 AM and 9 PM Wednesday, November 23:

• Cajun turkey $65
• Bourbon glazed ham $60
• Half pan of crawfish dressing $65
• Half pan of Cajun mac & cheese $45
• Half pan of Cajun yams $40
• Half pan of green bean Almondine $50
• Half pan of Bourbon peach bread pudding $45

Making that bullet-pointed list reminded me – it’s time to have a look at college football games of interest to Memphians this Saturday:

• Navy at 20 UCF, 11:00 AM, ESPN2
• Illinois at 3 Michigan, 11:00 AM, ABC
• 4 TCU at Baylor, 11:00 AM, FOX
• East Tennessee State at Mississippi State, 11:00 AM, ESPN+/SEC Network
• North Alabama at Memphis, 1:00 PM, ESPN+
• 1 Georgia at Kentucky, 2:30 PM, CBS
• 2 Ohio State at Maryland, 2:30 PM, ABC
• Arkansas State at Texas State, 4:00 PM, ESPN3
• 5 Tennessee at South Carolina, 6:00 PM, ESPN
• 14 Ole Miss at Arkansas, 6:30 PM, SEC Network
• 7 USC at. 16 UCLA, 7:00 PM, FOX
• 10 Utah at 12 Oregon, 9:30 PM, ESPN

Overheard at the bar at Local on Main yesterday: “Yes, I have spoons at home. They say ‘Eat My Ass’ on them.”

Sugar Grits hosts Brunch with Santa Saturday, December 3.

The CA has a look at Steve Richardson, one of the few Black vendors at Memphis farmers’ markets.

Figgy Pudding Spam is something the world did not need.

The CA has a look at the status of the Downtown Mobility Center planned for the corner of Main and Beale.

And that’s all the news I have for now. Tomorrow’s my birthday so I may take the day off from posting so I can get to Bardog right at 8 AM.

Aldo’s Pizza Pies Downtown has added paninis to the menu:

Both the Grizzlies and the basketball Tigers lost last night. The Grizzlies’ Desmond Bane is out 2-3 weeks with a toe injury. In the meantime, it looks like they’re sliding Dillon Brooks over to the 2 spot and starting John Konchar at small forward.

Blues City Cafe is featured in Action News 5’s latest 5 star story. There was a Robert Plant sighting there recently. He’s said to be in town working on an album.

In other Beale Street news, Silky’s has new owners. And the owners have a familiar name: David Hooper and his wife Anna. Hooper operated Hoop’s Bar at Second and Beale from 2007-2008.

The Woodruff-Fontaine House will hold a Yuletide Open House Friday evening, December 9.

Wiseacre Downtown (and Broad Ave.) will show all the World Cup games and you get 10% off your tab if you’re in Team USA gear.

Yup that exists: A Coors Light nail polish that changes color when your beer is cold

The Grizzlies will celebrate Small Business Saturday on November 26 with a Shop Local event from noon to 3 in the FedExForum grand lobby. Food trucks will be there and the first 500 attendees get a Let’s Shop Local bag. If you’re an MVP season ticket holder, you get a members-only preview hour from 11 to noon.

You can tour Old Dominick tonight and talk to Tennessee’s first female head distiller, Alex Castle.

Tonight is trivia night at Cordelia’s Market. 6:30 start time.

Giant wooden otters children can play in have been delivered to Tom Lee Park as part of the ongoing renovations.

Today is Have a Party with Your Bear Day. I’ll be celebrating the holiday at the Blind Bear this afternoon and evening. Happy Hour with Cinnamon runs from 3 to 7, and there’s karaoke with DJ SuperBrad at 9. Check it out just to have the experience of hearing Michael, Big Andrew, and Coyote sing a song together. (Hey Coyote, you got mentioned again!)

The return of Disco Man (somewhat): You may have heard that I used to wear full ’70s disco attire to Sunday disco nights at Six-1-Six in the Nineties and to Raiford’s in the early ’00s. Well, I’m bringing elements of that persona back Saturday night at my friend Ry’s birthday/going-away ’70s party with DJs Tree and Taz at Blind Bear.

From the waist up I’ll be Disco Man. I have a groovy two-tone denim cap, complete with a hidden pouch to hide a stash. Also I have a wild polyester checker pattern shirt that still fits. I’m going to dig through my dresser. drawers and see if I can find my gold medallion.

From the waist down, not so much. I was a 32 waist back in the day, and thanks to our good friend alcohol I’m about a 36 now. Also, I was a size 8 shoe back then, but my feets have since grown and I’m a size 10 now. No chance I’ll be sporting a pair of platform shoes.

Anyway, that’s it for now. I should be back tomorrow.

Penny Hardaway’s Memphis Tigers play a road game against the Saint Louis Billikens tonight at 8. CBS Sports Network will carry the action. It will overlap slightly with the Grizzlies-New Orleans Pelicans game, which comes on TNT at 6:30.

Jaren Jackson Jr. has been upgraded to “questionable” for tonight’s Grizzlies game, which means it’s likely he’ll see some minutes.

Just in time for Thanksgiving: Green bean casserole seltzer

The Memphis Flyer has a look at TV series Young Rock, now being filmed in Memphis.

Blind Bear has another new flavor of Ole Smokey moonshine: eggnog. I tried some last night and it was delicious. On Facebook, I proposed a strawnananog moonshine mixer, one-third each of white chocolate strawberry, banana pudding, and eggnog. However, Butt Slut #1 shut down the idea in a comment: “That sounds yucky.” You used to be fun, butt slut.

Speaking of the Blind Bear, they’re throwing a ’70s party with DJs Tree and Taz this Saturday from 10 PM to 2:30 AM. Come celebrate Ry’s birthday and enjoy some disco and funk. I gave Ry’s boyfriend my baby blue leisure suit to wear to the party.

Lizzo will come to FedExForum Wednesday, April 26. Tickets go on sale this Friday at 10.

Eight & Sand announced its DJ lineup for this weekend:

• Thursday: DJ Alpha Whiskey
• Friday: DJ Spinna from New York City

Comedian/TV host Trevor Noah comes to the Orpheum on May 4. Tickets go on sale this Friday.

Last night a possibly crazy person told me I look like a long-haired surfer from Santa Fe. Note that Santa Fe isn’t within 500 miles of an ocean. He was making weird comments like that to a lot of people and eventually he got kicked out.

Today is Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day, a holiday I don’t observe. I think that circa-2016 Aldo’s pizza box looks pretty darn good in my refrigerator.

Oh, dear lord: Another broken water main. Front and Adams this time.

Earth’s population reached 8 billion this week.

That’ll do it for today’s post. Back tomorrow or Thursday.

So, I’m a bit disappointed this morning.

I have a new “Know When to Hold’em” T-shirt from Ocean City, Maryland. It features a beautiful woman wearing only bikini bottoms, holding two playing cards over her nipples – presumably the Queen and Jack of spades, which would complete a royal flush. I was hoping someone would come up and tell me they were offended by my shirt. I enjoy offending people.

Alas, no one said anything to me about the shirt.

The Daily Memphian has a story (subscribers-only) about the incredibly stupid bill that would ban drag shows and other “adult cabaret” shows in public venues and some private venues. Such performances wouldn’t be allowed in private venues where it would be possible for a minor to view them, either because they’re inside the venue or could see the show through a window.

That means burlesque at the Blind Bear would not be affected if the bill became law. They’re 21 and up after 3 PM (the shows begin at 10:15) and they have a black curtain that blocks the view of the inner entrance.

I worry about the Friday and Saturday night drag shows and the Sunday brunch shows at Atomic Rose and also the new Sunday brunch drag show at Hard Rock Cafe. Those venues have a lot of windows that would need to be covered up.

Let me explain my position on drag shows… on a micro, personal level, I don’t like them. They do nothing for me. Seeing a “show” is not a reason I go to a bar. And I don’t like the expectation to tip for a performance I don’t care about.

Yet, on a macro level, I think drag is beautiful. It’s people expressing themselves to the fullest, and not only being appreciated for it, but making a living from it. What could possibly be wrong with that? That’s what we should all strive to do, each of us in our own way.

I think it’s vitally important that people like me oppose the bill to ban drag shows. Let people be who they want to be and let our children see it.

Not surprisingly, the Grizzlies lost to the Washington Wizards last night with Morant and Bane sidelined. Good news, though… Jaren Jackson Jr. is now practicing with the team and may appear in games as early as this week.

Next up for the Grizzlies: A date with Zion Williamson and the Pelicans Tuesday night at 6:30 in New Orleans. That game will be on TNT.

Today is National Pickle Day. My suggestion to celebrate would be an order of fried pickles from Kooky Canuck. They come with honey mustard for dipping.

Action News 5 has a look at this past weekend’s SneakFest at FedExForum.

Crap, it’s going to rain tonight. MemphisWeather.net gives us an 80% chance. 39 degrees. I hear Axl Rose in my head singing about the cold November rain.

If you take Airways to work, plan an alternate route – it’s closed between South Parkway and Park due to an active scene.

It’s my birthday week! The actual day is Friday but I plan to start celebrating today. Back tomorrow with more news.