Paul Ryburn's Journal

(Edited to add: Bumped back to the top because I now have an answer to this question. Be sure to scroll down if you haven’t checked this weekend’s posts, which include Volunteer Memphis and Hands On Memphis merging, and reasons why Romania is the greatest country EVAR!!!!!!!!!! Scroll down to the end of this post for updated info)

So last night I got bored and started surfing the web… and I came across one of those personals sites, one that claimed it was the best at helping people from all over the world meet. So I clicked their Search button, and you can probably guess which country I searched for first. But there weren’t many Romanians on the site, probably because it’s rather expensive to become a member.

So I picked another country at random… Japan. And I noticed that in about 60-70% of the Japanese women’s profiles, there was at least one picture of them doing this:

Now, I remembered back when I taught at the U of M, I had a Chinese grad assistant, and one time I took a pic of her and she made that hand sign too. So I started searching for Chinese girls on the personals site, and sure enough, most of them had at least one photo of them making that gesture. Next I tried Thai girls. Same thing. Vietnamese. Same thing. Taiwanese. Same thing.

What’s the deal with that? Why do Asians always (or at least, often) make that gesture when they have their picture taken?

Edited to add Sunday night 10/22/06, after about 11 beers at Sleep Out Louie’s, the Tap Room, and the Flying Saucer (from where I’m posting this): Regular blog reader/Asian studies major Carmel, who used to teach in Japan and was also baffled by this behavor, sends the following, from Wikipedia:

“During the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, figure
skater Janet Lynn stumbled into Japanese pop culture
when she fell during a free-skate period—but continued
to smile even as she sat on the ice. Though she placed
only 3rd in the actual competition, her cheerful
diligence and indefatigability resonated with many
Japanese viewers, making her an overnight celebrity in
Japan. Afterwards, Lynn (a peace activist) was
repeatedly seen flashing the V sign in the Japanese
media. Though the V sign was known of in Japan prior
to Lynn’s use of it there (from the post-WWII Allied
occupation of Japan), she is credited by some Japanese
for having popularized its use in amateur photographs.

Through the 1970s and 1980s in Japan, the V sign was
often accompanied by a vocalization: “piisu!” This
gairaigo exclamation, which stood for “peace”, has
since fallen into disuse, though the V sign itself
remains steadfastly popular.

The V sign is also commonly used in anime and Japanese
live-action shows. When characters show this sign, it
is often accompanied by an exclamation of “Vui!”
(pronounced “vwee!”), an exaggeration, or possible
slurring (see Engrish) of the English pronunciation
“vee”.

Perhaps due to Japanese cultural influence, the V sign
in photographs has become popular with young Koreans,
Hong Kongers, and Taiwanese as well. The sign is
ubiquitous in Taiwan and is closely associated with
the English word, “happy”. Print and television
advertisements read “happy” with hands waving while
displaying the V sign, and the average Taiwanese
person will invariably give that word as the meaning
of the sign.”

Before we get started with the content of this post, I’m pleased to bring back a semi-regular feature: The ’80s commercial jingle that is currently running through my head.

Sakes alive (sakes alive).
Sakes alive (sakes alive).
Only Mazda’s got a brand new truck
for fifty-eight
ninety-five (ninety-five).

Obviously this jingle is quite old, because if Mazda really had trucks for $5895 I’ll be running out to the dealership about now. All right, with that out of the way, let’s get down to business.

There are two good events to put on your calendar for Wednesday night, October 25. First of all, Mpact Memphis is having its fifth birthday party on the rooftop of The Lofts, at the corner of GE Patterson and Tennessee (one block west of Front). Party will last from 6 to 9 pm and everyone’s invited – you don’t have to be a member to attend. Reasons why this is worth putting on your calendar:

• FREE ALCOHOL!!!
• Free food
• They’ll be giving away door prizes, including a Grizzlies opening night game package, an old-school Atari II video game system, Elvis CD, Justin Timberlake CD, BB King CD box set, The Office Season 1 & 2 DVD set, and a Grey’s Anatomy Season 1 & 2 DVD set.
• They’ll be announcing their “Mpact Makers” awards – come see who in the 21-40 set has been making a difference in the community.
• Crowd tends to be professional and motivated – so it can be a good opportunity to network and make some business connections.
• Mpact isn’t a dating service, but the fact is, the majority of Mpact members are single, and judging from the friends list on Mpact’s MySpace page, attractive. So it could be a good chance to meet someone in a different environment than the bar scene.
• Party will be held on one of the best rooftop decks downtown – views of the river and the city
• Live music by YOKONO

The Mpact party is where I will be Wednesday night. I wonder if local MySpace legend The Mexican Wolf will show up for this one… last time they had a Lofts rooftop party, he was there.

Now, there’s also another excellent event which will be happening downtown at the same time (6-8 pm), and I hate it that I’m going to have to miss this one… The Reba Russell Band will be playing the closing night of the Court Square Concert Series, which has been moved to Jefferson Davis Park (Riverside at Jefferson).

Friends who attended last week’s event told me that Jefferson Davis park is an idea venue for this kind of show – plenty of room to spread out, lay down picnic blankets, etc. They said that last week’s band (North Mississippi Allstars) drew a huge crowd, probably the largest in the series’ existence. And best of all, they told me that the bums (who had become something of a problem when the series was held at Court Square) were practically nonexistent at Jefferson Davis Park.

So if the Mpact party isn’t your thing, come out to the park and hear some good live music. Thanks to the Center City Commission for putting on the series this year – it’s been a smashing success.

And that’ll do it for now – hold on, I’m getting an alternate version of the commercial.

Sakes alive (sakes alive),
Sakes alive (sakes alive).
Only Mazda’s got a diesel truck
For sixty-seven
Ninety-five (ninety-five).

I’ll update the Halloween list later this weekend.

Congratulations to the St.Louis Cardinals on defeating the New York Mets tonight in Game 7 of the playoffs, to make it to the World Series. As long as the Cardinals are alive in the post-season, the Flying Saucer has Blue Moon on sale for $2.50. I’m hoping to see the Cardinals take the World Series in 7 games, with each game going at least 13 innings. The Saucer is going to be seeing a lot of me the rest of this month. Not that they wouldn’t otherwise.

Walking home tonight, I encountered a bum doing his usual schtick. “You all right?” he asked. “Where you from?”

“I’m from Nobummania!” I replied. “I’m from Bumgoawayya!”

Apparently he had heard of those countries and didn’t like them, because he started cussing me out. Can I help my ethnic origins? Prejudice must be eliminated from the bums downtown. Let’s just make it legal to kill them, that’ll do it.

Drunk. Going to bed.

Lots to cover today. This post is going to be all over the frickin’ map, so let’s get rolling.

– If you’re looking for something to do tomorrow night (Friday, October 20), classic country band Papa Top’s West Coast Turnaround will be performing at the Hi-Tone. I’ve never sat through their entire set – only caught a few minutes of them at outdoor festivals – but friends of mine who have been to their shows have said they’re a hell of a good time. If I can’t find anything closer to home to do, I may hop in the car and head out to Midtown to hear them.

– Saturday there’s a big party at Stax Museum, a fundraiser called Staxadelic featuring ’70s costumes and music. I probably won’t make it, because the $100-per-person price tag is a little steep. I’m sure it will be a blast though… I’m half-tempted to go ahead and put on my platform shoes, drop a Ben Franklin on Stax, and boogie down to some funk, soul and disco. I’ve certainly spent that much and more this year on causes not nearly so worthy… Romanians

– Sunday night is the finals of the Miss Gay America 2007 cross-dresser pageant, to be held at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts/Memphis Cook Convention Center at 6:30, tickets $25-30. I remember when this happened last year – I had the typical straight-guy reaction of, “Well, I could never go to something like that, it just isn’t manly, and besides, what will people think?” The next day, I had several people (both gay and straight) tell me that it was one of the funniest, most entertaining events of the year.

Hmm… let me think about this for a second… who’s likely to be there? Lots of gay men, and lots of women. Who’s not likely to be there? Lots of straight men. That means the straight men who possess the balls and the open mind to go to this event have the odds heavily in their favor for meeting women. If I can get a female friend to go with me as a wingwoman, I just may have to give the pageant a chance.

– For those who haven’t heard that term before… a wingman/wingwoman is someone who goes out with you for the purpose of helping each other meet the opposite sex. A good wing helps you infiltrate groups, talks you up, keeps the other people in the group occupied while you talk to the person you’re interested in. And, of course, you provide the same service for your wing in return.

In fact, there’s a site called Wingwomen.com that provides this service for a fee (currently $75 an hour). It’s based on the notion that it’s easier for a guy to meet attractive women if he’s already with an attractive woman. You can get on their site and sign up to find a wingwoman in your area. I have to admit, this was a pretty smart idea. It’s been around for a couple of years and has been featured on national news magazines.

– Good article in the CA on Steve Cohen today. It points out that he supported bills to limit campaign contributions and legislators’ perks from lobbyists. He also sponsored legislation that required public servants to disclose conflicts of interests. Common Cause, a nonpartisan group that pushes for government accountability, has twice given him their “Bird Dog” award. Cohen is exactly the kind of person I want representing me in Washington. Lobbyists, fat-cat corporations, and good-old-boy politicians have a lot to fear if he makes it to Congress.

– This morning I received an e-mail from New Path, a progressive organization that was key in getting Tomeka Hart elected to the Memphis School Board, District 7 two years ago. They are known to support candidates who will put the public’s interest (and in the case of school board candidates, the children’s interest) ahead of their own personal interests, which is a breath of fresh air for this city. They are supporting the following candidates for the school board:

• Betty Mallott, District 2
• Martavius Jones, District 4
• Sharon Webb, District 6

Their site is currently down, but once they get it working again you can visit New Path’s site for more information about these candidates, as well as info about New Path’s mission. In the meantime, if anyone wants the info sheet they e-mailed me about these candidates, shoot me an e-mail and I’ll forward it to you. Let me just say that I know the founders of New Path personally, and their stamp of approval in local races is all I need to see. I know the candidates they support will do right for the community.

– Just days after the Air America radio network filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, its cofounders Anita and Sheldon Drobny have launched a new liberal talk radio network. It will be called Nova M, and will begin broadcasting on October 30 with markets in Phoenix and Little Rock, with more to be added in the future. Former Air America talk show host Mike Malloy will host one of the shows on the new network. The Drobnys sold Air America in 2003 and therefore are not affected by the bankruptcy.

– This morning I saw flyers advertising the U.S. Beer Drinking Team, and figured I’d pass on a link to their website. Their merchandise is available in one of the finest stores in all of the city – Circle K – so they gotta be the real deal. This is a team I’m certainly qualified to be on.

Reminds me – the other day I was talking to regular blog reader Suzy/Susie (not sure of spelling) and she asked, “What’s a triathlon?”

“Running, swimming, and biking, I think.”

“Well, if they got rid of those and instead had a triathlon where you drink three different types of beers, then I could be a triathlete!”

– And that’ll do it for now. I’m learning about even more Halloween parties and will again update the list in a couple of days.

Here’s an updated look at what’s going on around town (and especially downtown) for Halloween. If you know of more events e-mail me. I’ll update the list every few days.

Fri-Sat, 10/20-10/21: Playhouse on the Square, a local theater, will be renting costumes. Prices are $20-50 except for the Elvis jumpsuit which is $150.

Sat 10/21: Masquerade/costume ball benefitting Friends for Life at Central Station, Main at GE Patterson.

Friday 10/27: My apartment building’s party

(Edited to add: I forgot, this night will be South Main Trolley Tour night too. Not sure if they’ll be doing anything special for Halloween, but regardless, it’s a good place to score some free drinks)

Saturday 10/28: Halloween party at Dan McGuinness. I hear they’re going to be giving away a home theater system for their costume contest.

I’ve also heard Atlas will be throwing a good party Saturday night. According to the guys who were sitting next to me last Sunday afternoon at the Saucer, the Atlas party got pretty wild last year. They mentioned something about females at the party with tape covering strategic areas and not much else. Hmmm.

The Chicken Tractor party at Newby’s, which I’ve heard is good, and if you’re lucky you’ll get to make out with regular blog reader Mendi.

Just found out today that the 450 Stonewall party is indeed happening, Saturday 10/28 at Off Beale Live. That’s at 616 Marshall in the same building as the Downtown Dolls strip club. Their site has last year’s info but nonetheless is worth checking because they have pictures of hot babes in slutty outfits.

Sunday 10/29: Uptown is having a neighborhood chili cookoff, pumpkin carving contest, and house decoration contest from noon to 6. Unlike everything else mentioned here, this one is kid-friendly.

Monday 10/30: Uptown Haunted House, 6-8 pm, at Uptown Square Apartments (formerly Lauderdale Courts), 252 N. Lauderdale.

Tuesday 10/31: Parties at Sleep Out’s and Bluefin. “Spooky” team trivia night (and the hottest Beer Goddess ever to set foot in the place) at the Flying Saucer.

And, one more. This is a private party but I can’t help mentioning it. On Friday the 27th, Ptolemy Memphis will be having its Halloween party. They will be holding it at the University Club, or the “U-Club” as they call it. University Club members are also invited.

I’m not kidding. They call it the “U-Club.” It’s on their site. See the October calendar.

Hold on! Wait a minute… I’m picking up a telepathic transmission. What is this? It seems to be a conversation from the U-Club Halloween party on the 27th.

“Hi-ho! Skip, it’s been a long time, almost a fortnight since we last parted ways.”

“Cheerio, Jenkins, old fellow! And might I add, you are looking mighty natty in that Halloween costume this eve! Dressed as a polo player, I see!”

“Well, thank you, old sport. And you… I must admit, I have been attempting to solve the mystery of your costume all evening. Let us see… you’re wearing a rectangular piece of paper over your body… with what appears to be a portrait of Ben Frankin… the number 100… and wording that reads, ‘Series 1884.’ I must confess, old chap, I haven’t the foggiest.”

“Come now, come now. Surely you recognize OLD MONEY when you see it!”

(titters) “Ah, yes, yes! My sides are literally splitting with amusement! And let me tell you, I did need the humorous diversion.”

“How so?”

“Well, I’m afraid I almost had a row with old Billingsley over there… I told him that, at the risk of appearing tendentious, he was a lock to win the U-Club Halloween costume contest. He had it down perfectly… Niles Crane, the character from that program ‘Frasier’ that comes on the telly. The look, the mannerisms, the je ne sais quoi, everything perfect. But I told him that, and would you believe his retort, that he would not deign to wear a costume at all to this event, that he was attired in street clothes and had just come out for a cognac!”

“Ho ho. Jolly good yarn, old chap.”

“Well, old boy, it’s been splendid, but I must be going. Ta ta, now.”

“Toodle pip!”

Hope you enjoyed the privilege of that telepathic look inside the “U-Club.” And, having typed that up, I’m off to bed, full of $2.50 fire sale Blue Moon at the Flying Saucer. Toodle pip!

Today’s lunchtime post comes to you courtesy of the free Wi-Fi at Otherlands. They’re having a benefit for the Cooper Young Association, a Fall Fest, this Saturday from 8 PM to midnight. Cover is $10 and there will be free live music, free beer, free Camy’s pizza (YUM!!!), and free Celtic Crossing dessert while supplies last, as well as a cash coffee bar. Proceeds to benefit the CYCA’s beautification projects. Sounds like a good time.

I heard one of the people working the counter here at O-lands say that they now have tuna salad and turkey melts. Cool! Glad to see them adding menu items to appeal to the 90% of the city that is not vegetarian.

Here are a few more pics of the early morning downtown fire Friday, October 6. These are better than the ones I posted. Thanks to my neighbor Bo for providing these. First two are of the Court Annex building, and the third shows the embers raining down, threatening to catch all of downtown on fire (you may need to click on that pic to view it full-size to see the embers). Pics were taken from the rooftop of 10 South Main.

The Internet is a wonderful thing. This morning I was sitting in my cubicle at work, and a thought popped into my head – “Hey, I wonder whatever happened to that guy who played for the XFL and wore that ‘He Hate Me’ jersey?” So I typed “he hate me” into the search box on Wikipedia, and this article came up. I learned that He Hate Me (real name: Rod Smart) went on to become a special teams star for the Carolina Panthers from 2002 to 2005. The article also explains the origins of the nickname. See? Surfing the web makes you smarter.

Here’s an election prediction for you: The Democrats will win all the toss-up Senate races, gaining a majority of 51 to 49. But between Election Day and the day the new Senate convenes, Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman will change his party affiliation to Republican, giving the Republicans a 51-50 majority in the Senate (since Vice President Dick “-Head” Cheney votes in the case of a tie).

Dining With Monkeys blogger Stacey Greenberg has a good food feature on p.64 of this week’s Flyer. The feature is basically an extended version of what she posts about in her blog – dining out with her kids. If you’ve never read her writing, check out the article, and her blog.

My trivia team The Rapscallions ended up tied for third last night, but lost the tiebreaker question – “How many vertebrae does a giraffe have?” Team member Narmi claimed he came up with the correct answer – 7 – but what he actually said was, “7 in the neck and probably another 225 in the back.” We got a team consensus of 84 and lost. I did get a question right because of the Sixties book I bought last week – what state did RFK represent in the Senate? (answer: NY)

There’s a flyer on the wall here for a band called Mudgrip that plays ’60s boogaloo and soul at the Buccaneer every Tuesday at 10:30. Sounds interesting… maybe I’ll stay sober at trivia next Tuesday so I can drive out to the Buc and check them out.

That’s it for now… back to Cubicle Hell. Gonna do some shopping after work tonight, so probably no going-out downtown. I’ll be back in full force tomorrow, though.

Today’s lunchtime post comes to you from Bookstar in Poplar Plaza. Now, Bookstar doesn’t officially provide Wi-Fi for its customers, but I decided to bring the laptop up here anyway and see if I could use what my friend Mikey terms “MoochNet” – jumping on unsecured wireless networks that belong to businesses in the area. Sure enough, I found one. The signal is only 1 bar out of 5 (Very Low), but that’s good enough – it’s not like I’m going to be playing interactive video games or using Google Earth during my lunch break.

Congratulations to Center City Commission president Jeff Sanford, who was named Chairman of the International Downtown Association last week. According to this Eyewitness News article, IDA is an organization made up of downtown revitalization professionals, and its goal is to champion “vital and livable urban centers around the globe.” The fact that the head of a Downtown Memphis organization was chosen to lead the IDA shows that our downtown really is making a lot more progress than we sometimes realize.

Man… this connection keeps going up and down… don’t know if Bookstar is going to work as a MoochNet location. Too bad, because there are cute girls in here studying.

Attention MySpace and other networking site users… there’s a new scam called spear phishing that you need to be aware of. What these people do is, they surf MySpace user pages and find someone that has an interest in a particular band (i.e. that user has that band added as a friend). The spear phishers will then send the user messages, directing them to click on a link (which appears to be a legit MySpace page) to get more info on the band or free stuff. When the user clicks on the link, software is installed on their computer which collects their financial information to send back to the phishers. For more info see this Fox 16 (Little Rock) story.

Sleep Out Louie’s bartender Josh wants me to let everyone know that starting Sunday, he will be working all day from open to close. So come on by for Sunday brunch and he’ll take good care of you. Hey Josh, now that you’re a manager, WHEN YA GONNA HIRE SOME MORE ROMANIANS???

This connection sucks. It’s up one minute and down the next. Regular reader Otto sent me an article on how to boost incoming Wi-Fi signals, but it looks like you have to be at the same location as your access point for this to work. If anyone knows how to boost signals on the road (other than that Cantenna thing I posted about Friday), let me know.

I’m going to attempt to post this thing and get offline. I’ll be at the Saucer with my trivia team The Rapscallions tonight about 7. Cardinals and Mets play Game 5 of their series at 7:19 tonight, and anytime the Cardinals are playing, Blue Moon is on Fire Sale for $2.50 at the downtown Saucer, so you know what I’ll be drinking.

As I was driving to work today, I noticed that Deliberate Literate on Union is closing! I always liked that bookstore; sad to see it go. I felt like my IQ went up by a few points when I went in there. If you want anything DL has left, better get by there for their closing sale.

Speaking of IQ, today is Memphis poet laureate IQ’s birthday. Buy him a beer if you see him at Pint Nite at the Saucer tonight. If you don’t read this until tomorrow, I’m sure he’ll accept birthday beers later in the week, too.

Saw a sign for a new place opening up at 509 S. Main where Memphis Heritage used to be. It’s called Modes du Jour and the sign says they will have shoes, accessories, and clothes. Looks like a women’s clothing store I guess. They have a website but right now it’s just a splash page.

Early voting starts Wednesday! Don’t forget to vote early and avoid the crowds on Election Day. Here’s a link to a CA article with more information.

That reminds me, here’s a joke I heard yesterday at Sleep Out’s:
Q: Why don’t Republican congressmen use bookmarks?
A: They just bend the page over.

B.B. King will be performing two shows at his club on Beale Street Sunday and Monday, October 29 and 30. Shows start at 9:30 PM. More info available on the club’s site.

By the way, I still have a few VIP passes to B.B. King’s club to give away to downtowners who will use them. Passes get you in for free (except for special or ticketed events like B.B.’s shows) and get you a 10% discount on drinks. They’re not one-time-only; you can use them over and over again as often as you want. They can also be used at the Nashville and Los Angeles locations. E-mail me if you want one.

Here’s the running list of the Halloween stuff I’ve heard of so far:

Friday 10/27: My apartment building’s party

Saturday 10/28: The Chicken Tractor party at Newby’s, which I’ve heard is good, and if you’re lucky you’ll get to make out with regular blog reader Mendi.

I’ve also heard Atlas will be throwing a good party Saturday night. According to the guys who were sitting next to me yesterday afternoon at the Saucer, the Atlas party got pretty wild last year. They mentioned something about females at the party with tape covering strategic areas and not much else. Hmmm.

Edited to add: Just learned that Dan McGuinness will be having a Halloween party Sat 10/28 as well. Very, very high probability I’ll show up for that one.

Sunday 10/29: Uptown is having a neighborhood chili cookoff, pumpkin carving contest, and house decoration contest from noon to 6. Unlike everything else mentioned here, this one is kid-friendly.

Tuesday 10/31: Parties at Sleep Out’s and Bluefin. “Spooky” team trivia night (and the hottest Beer Goddess ever to set foot in the place) at the Flying Saucer.

If you know of more events, e-mail me. I’m especially interested in events downtown. I’m wondering if the 450 Stonewall party is not happening this year, since they still have the ’05 party info on their site.

Air America Radio has filed for bankruptcy, according to The Smoking Gun. Wonder if they’ll stay on the air or shut down for good. I hope they stay on through the November elections, at least.

That’s all the news for now. I probably won’t make it to Pint Nite tonight – need to catch up on chores around the apartment. I’ll be out later in the week though…

Just now I walked up the Main Street Mall to Jack’s to buy my morning Mountain Dew and my Sunday paper. As I passed Court Square, there was a group of five bums, obviously already drunk, sitting on the benches near the entrance to the park, hooting and hollering and screaming and carrying on. I looked across the mall and I saw a couple eating breakfast on the patio of Sleep Inn, clearly appalled at what they were seeing. Two more people who will leave with a negative impression of Downtown. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Memphis will never have a first-class downtown until the city gets serious about cleaning up the bum/vagrant/panhandling issue. Other cities do it; why can’t we? Smart City’s blog had an excellent post on the matter a couple of weeks ago.

As I walked up the mall, I noticed the the Main Street Convenience Store on the first floor of The Renaissance Apts./99 Tower has closed. Downtowners have given the place various nicknames over the years – “Ghandi Mart,” “Haji’s Fart Mart,” etc. Never thought that place would close, but there’s butcher paper and a “For Lease” sign in the window. Guess the store was kind of redundant with Jack’s right across the street.

Friday night I stopped in the Tap Room for a beer, and Niles the bartender told me, “Paul! You’re world famous!” I asked what he meant. “Today we had people from India come in here, and they told us that they had to stop in because they read about the Tap Room on your blog!” That’s pretty cool. Hope they not only had a beer, but something to eat off King’s Palace/Tap Room’s excellent menu, which I’ll say once again is the best on Beale.

Earlier this year, a lot of people were upset when the Flying Saucer stopped selling Dos Equis Special Lager on draft. In my opinion (and a lot of people apparently agree), the Special Lager is a better beer than the more common Dos Equis Amber. Well, if you want it all you have to do is walk up the street… Rio Loco has it on draft, and keep in mind that they have Happy Hour from 2 to 10 where you can get a 25 oz. mug for $3.99.

All right… short post today because I’ve got a full plate of activities. From 11 to about 1:30 I’ll be at Sleep Out’s (don’t forget, this is bartender Kimberley’s last day, so come say goodbye), then I’ll be doing the Downtown Home Tour the rest of the afternoon. After that I’ll hit Huey’s for the last hour of Di Anne Price’s set, and all of The Dempseys’ performance. As always, plans subject to change but this looks like what I’ll be doing. Looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day.

Last night I went to the art gallery walk on the 2500 block of Broad Avenue. For those not familiar with the area, Broad used to be the street that ran from East Parkway to the beginning of the freeway (Sam Cooper Blvd.) that turns into the I-40. But since they extended Sam Cooper Blvd. all the way to East Parkway, Broad is now a somewhat-forgotten street in between Summer and Sam Cooper. However, it is experiencing a comeback, with developers seeing potential in the area, people moving into residential units, and new art galleries opening. Last night they had their first-ever art gallery walk, with the galleries staying open until 8 and serving wine and cheese, so I decided to check it out.

My favorite of the art exhibits I saw was one featuring comic book art, at Adam Shaw studio. Here are links to some of the artists:

• www.toshigawa.com / martheus.deviantart.com
• www.abshaw.com / www.bloodstreamcomic.com
• www.bushitales.com / www.pencilneckstudios.com
• www.midsouthcartoonists.com / (there was one more link but I tried to write it down while eating tortellini-on-a-stick and now I can’t read my own writing)

Great exhibit! Muley the Mule rules.

I wandered through a few other galleries as well. I spent a few minutes talking to the people at Archicast, who do architectural casting and repair statues. Lots of statues and pillars and columns in their shop. I also caught the artwork of Nashville artist Ben Vitualla, who seems to have an obsession with targets, at a gallery called Material.

Elsewhere on the street, Broadway Pizza is still open. They’ve been there since 1977 and it looks like they haven’t changed their decor since the day they opened – but I like that, reminds me of pizza parlors I went to when I was a kid. I’ve lived in Memphis 19 years and have not yet tried their pizza. Next time I go to one of the gallery walks (I’m assuming there will be more) I’m gonna have to order a pizza to take home.

I also walked through The Beer Joint, a dive bar on Broad that has been there forever. It’s currently being renovated, and according to a sign on the window, will reopen as “The Cove.” I immediately loved the place – dark, pictures of pirate ships, nautical decor. I spent some time talking to the owner, and he said he plans on retaining as much of the funkiness of the place as possible. He told me the renovation will take a while but the bar will reopen sometime in 2007. Keep an eye on this one – I have a feeling, if done right, this could become THE hip dive-bar hangout in the years to come. (Although, I should point out, I have absolutely zero qualifications to tell anyone where the “hipster” hangouts are in Memphis – look to Richens or RachelAndTheCity for that.) When I was in there, I kinda sorta got a little of the same feeling I get when I hang out at Earnestine & Hazel’s, or The Buccaneer, which is a good sign.

The Beer Joint was one of only three or four bars in Memphis that was open before they passed the law that beer sales stop at 3 AM – so they were “grandfathered in” and could serve 24/7. Since they’re changing the name and closing for renovations, I’m not sure they’ll be able to keep their grandfathered status (and they may not want to – the owner told me he’s going for a different clientele this time around).

And there were so many storefronts just waiting for something cool to happen. I walked past a pool room that appeared to be closed, and wished someone would reopen it.

As I walked, I thought to myself, Broad Avenue could turn into something similar to Adams Avenue in the Normal Heights neighborhood of San Diego. For those of you who haven’t been to SD, Adams is a four-lane road that runs east-west. It isn’t heavily traveled, because most people use two other roads, Washington Avenue and University Avenue, to get where they’re going. But for those who know it’s there, Adams is filled with unique and funky antique shops, art galleries, coffeehouses, dark little bars, bookstores, ethnic restaurants, and such. Broad is a long way away – again, it’s still in the very early stages of its comeback – but I can see it happening in ten years’ time.

Not sure if they’ll do these gallery walks on a monthly basis, but next time they have one, it’ll be worth your time to go.