– John Streeter from Sharp Flowers e-mailed me and asked me to let Downtowners know that he’s looking for a new location. Sharp Flowers was on the Main Street Mall at the Peabody Place trolley stop for several years, but there just wasn’t enough exposure in that location. If you know of a space for him, you can contact him at 870-588-6935. In the meantime, John is available for wedding and special event consulting, and you’re welcome to give him a call if you need those services.
– Commercial Appeal writer Christopher “Skippy” Blank has a good article on Sleep Out Louie’s closing in this morning’s paper. You can tell Skippy wrote this one from the heart, and he interviewed long-time SOL entertainers Pam and Terry who are broken-hearted over the closing.
His article hints at the mass of negativity being directed at Preston Lamm and River City Management for closing the popular downtown bar. I personally don’t hold anything against them – I understand it’s a business move, and the wonderful friendships I made there will continue long past Saturday when SOL shuts its doors for good. But I hear that the mood up there has been really weird this week (I haven’t been to SOL since Sunday). Not sure how much time I want to spend there tomorrow night. It’s like the last time I saw my grandfather, a vibrant, energetic man who was full of life for 81 years, and the last time I saw him he was lying in a hospital bed gasping for air. That’s not how I wanted to remember him, and I don’t want to think of all the crying and bad feelings toward management when I remember SOL. I want to remember the 4 years of happy times I had there.
– Tomorrow, February 24, is Dragobete, a traditional holiday in Romania. Known as the “day when the birds are getting engaged,” it’s considered Romania’s day for lovers, kind of like Valentine’s Day here. Although, from what I understand, they now celebrate V-Day as well over there. I’m sure former Saucer waitress The Romanian Sensation loves it as she gets two days this month when she is showered with gifts, flowers, dinners, and attention. I guess I should send her an e-card or something… nah, screw it, the tip I left her on her last night summarizes how I feel about her better than a card ever could.
– For those of you looking for an alternative to watching the Oscars, The Dempseys will be playing the East Bumblefuck Huey’s (1771 N. Germantown Parkway) Sunday night at 8:30. They play other gigs out that way too, but Huey’s is the best place to see the Dempseys because they’re close to the audience and there’s a lot of interaction.
– I was surfing Huey’s site this morning, and noticed that they have a customer survey. One of the questions is, “What is the primary reason you came by? (Happy hour, Live music, Food, Ad/Special, Have a drink, Meet friends)” They’re missing the “was stumbling home drunk from another bar and needed some nachos” option, which would be the one I’d pick for most of my visits to Huey’s.
– Thought I might see fellow blogger Ptolemy Kat last night, who was downtown with her mini-boss attending the U of M game. Tomorrow is the biggest day of the year for PK, as her carnival krewe is having their annual coronation ball at the University Club. “Sometimes girls just wanna have fun… in formal gowns,” she writes.
The Tigers, by the way, won the game handily. I wonder if they might have a shot at a second consecutive #1 seed in the NCAA tournament, if they win their remaining games and the conference tournament?
– To make it easy for stalkers to find me, here’s my schedule for this evening:
5:15-6:00: Stop by the Flying Fish, fill out an adoption form for Billy Bass, and eat some catfish
6:00-7:00: Happy hour at the Flying Saucer. Gotta see my waitresses
7:00-8:00: Sleep Out’s, to see Bobby Durango, Smokin’ Lemon and Crash Kole
8:00-approx. 11:00: South Main Trolley Tour, and a private party at a friend’s condo in the area
11:00-1:00: Earnestine & Hazel’s
1:00-3:00: McGuinness – trying to spend more time there these days.
All of the above is tentative – plans may change, depending on what opportunities come up during the course of the evening.
Oh, I forgot the most important part of my schedule:
12:30-4:45: Sit in a f***ing cubicle and stare at a g**d*** computer screen all afternoon! YAY!!!!
Back to work.