{"id":1755,"date":"2008-03-22T10:06:14","date_gmt":"2008-03-22T16:06:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.paulryburn.com\/blog\/?p=1755"},"modified":"2008-03-22T10:06:14","modified_gmt":"2008-03-22T16:06:14","slug":"new-homeless-page-new-guest-blogger-soul-men-photos-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.paulryburn.com\/blog\/2008\/03\/22\/new-homeless-page-new-guest-blogger-soul-men-photos-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"New homeless page, new guest blogger?, Soul Men photos, and more"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve added a new page to the “Downtown Info” section of my blog – see the right sidebar – a list of resources to aid the homeless in Downtown Memphis<\/a>.\u00a0 People have been requesting that page for a while.\u00a0 “You’ve emphasized that giving money to panhandlers does not help the homeless,” people have said, “so where do I go to offer time or money to help?”\u00a0 I had forgotten I had a very similar page on the Handling-Panhandling<\/a> forum already.\u00a0 All I had to do was bring it over and revise it a little.\u00a0 If you know of additional resources, or if any of the info on the page is out of date, please e-mail me (paul@paulryburn.com) and let me know.<\/p>\n

In particular, the homeless help page contains a link where you can buy voucher books<\/a> containing coupons for free admission to the Union Mission.\u00a0 This allows you to hand out coupons rather than money when you get panhandled for money to get into the Mission.\u00a0 If it’s a sincere request (which it’s usually not), the panhandler will be grateful.\u00a0 If they really want money for alcohol and drugs (which is usually the case), they won’t be interested in the voucher.<\/p>\n

You remember the folks from the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center who protested the hiring of security patrols Downtown to curb panhandling?\u00a0 Well, they were back in the news this week.\u00a0 They held a sit-in in Sen. Bob Corker’s Memphis office this week, demanding a town hall meeting to discuss what’s going on in Iraq.\u00a0 When 5:00 came and it was time for the office to close, they refused to leave.\u00a0 The police were called and seven of them were arrested.\u00a0 Full details in this Memphis Flyer story.<\/a><\/p>\n

Some time I ago I told you that I was going to have guest bloggers, named “Glo” and “Flo,” to add a female perspective to this blog.\u00a0 Well, 3 weeks have gone by and Glo and Flo haven’t contributed a damn thing.\u00a0 But, there may yet be a new female guest blogger:\u00a0 My BFF.<\/strong>\u00a0 Last night she commented to me, “Paul, you should let me write on your blog.”\u00a0 You know what?\u00a0 I would have no problem with that whatsoever.\u00a0 Her posts would probably be highly entertaining.\u00a0 Since I’m using WordPress, I could build her a separate account to post from that would still hit the same blog.\u00a0 Seriously, I’m all for this idea.<\/p>\n

BFF quote of the day:\u00a0 “Paul, I’d rather kiss Brittney (another Saucer waitress) than kiss you.”\u00a0 This is another thing I would have no problem with whatsoever.\u00a0 Just give me 3 seconds advance notice so I can switch my digital camera to video mode.<\/p>\n

While we’re on the subject of the Saucer, let’s go ahead and do the beer report.<\/p>\n

Previous total:\u00a0 $754.00<\/p>\n

Beers 136, 137, and 138 by my count (Saucer count still being corrected):
\nPilsner Urquell draft $4.50
\nSierra Nevada Wheat bottle $4.25
\nHeineken Dark bottle $4.25
\nTip:\u00a0 $13.00 x ~30% = $4.00
\nTotal:\u00a0 $17.00<\/p>\n

Grand total:\u00a0 $771.00<\/p>\n

A movie called Soul Men is being filmed in Downtown Memphis.\u00a0 Blog reader Corey Griffin shot some photos of the movie shoot and sent me a link to this Flickr album<\/a>.\u00a0 Downtown Memphis being what it is, a bum came up and asked him for money while he was taking the pictures, and as a result there’s a photo of the bum in the album too.<\/p>\n

Basketball update:<\/p>\n

(1) Memphis beat (16) Texas-Arlington 87-63.\u00a0 Memphis goes on to play (8) Mississippi State at 3:45 PM Sunday.\u00a0 Go Tigers!<\/p>\n

(9) Arkansas achieved a minor upset by taking down (8) Indiana 86-72.\u00a0 The Razorbacks play (1) North Carolina Sunday at 4:20.\u00a0 They are surely the underdog, but after seeing them eliminate Tennessee in the SEC tournament last Saturday, I have to believe that anything is possible with Arkansas.\u00a0 Go Hogs!<\/p>\n

(2) Tennessee played a lackluster game but nevertheless beat (15) American 72-57.\u00a0 They will play (7) Butler in round two on Sunday at 1:30 PM.\u00a0 Go Butler!<\/p>\n

Plans for today:\u00a0 It’s March Madness round two, so there will be a TV and beer involved.\u00a0 Beyond that, TBD.\u00a0 I still haven’t made it to Nate’s bar at E&H in several months… maybe tonight, after the last of the games end.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"