Monday update: Mpact After Hours, almost the return of the Beer Goddess, EP’s, New Main tour, Flyer needs an IT director and more

– Before we get started, let me remind everyone that today is the last day to buy discount restaurant gift certificates for 60% off and get an additional $10 certificate free with every order. That means that instead of getting a $25 face-value certificate for $10 (regular price), you can get it for $4 (60% off) and get an additional $10 certificate for free on top of that. Not bad! Just click on the links on the left panel of this blog, visit Memphis Discount Dining, or visit Restaurant.com and use code APRIL at checkout.

– Some events coming up this week… Mpact Memphis will have an After Hours at the Orpheum this Wednesday, May 2, from 6 to 8 PM. Great food, cocktails and door prizes. Here’s a flyer with more details (click for a larger image):

Mpact will have another After Hours Tuesday, May 22 from 7 to 9 PM… unfortunately, I won’t be able to make that one because that’s my trivia team’s night at the Flying Saucer. ….Oh, wait a minute… yes I WILL be able to make that one, because the After Hours will be at the Saucer!!!! Cool! More details to come about that one as the date approaches.

– I promised you a funny story about the Flying Saucer that had to wait until after the weekend… now I can post it, so here ya go. Friday afternoon I was at work and got a call from my friend Mikey, who was sitting at the bar. “Paul, the manager wants to talk to you,” Mikey told me, and handed him the phone. The manager? I wondered if maybe I forgot to pay my tab the night before, or something.

“Paul, we’re having a 10th birthday party Saturday night,” the manager informed me. “You’re the guy who dressed up as a Saucer girl for Halloween last year, aren’t you? We were wondering if you’d be willing to dress up in the costume and jump out of a cake at 10 PM.”

Of course, I had to tell him no, since two of my good friends had a birthday party of their own – on my building’s roof – that night. But, for those of you who attended the Saucer’s birthday that night, just know that you narrowly missed seeing me dressed as the Beer Goddess yet again. Never fear, though, Halloween is only six months away, and as of yet I haven’t come up with any costume alternatives.

– A friend of mine who stopped by EP’s Delta Kitchen after the party – pretty late in the evening, around 2 AM – told me that the place was PACKED, particularly the upstairs balcony. He said it was a nice looking crowd and a young crowd. He said it got so busy that EP’s was starting to run out of stuff. Hmmm, I’ll have to put that on my list of places to check out late-night. Downtown just keeps getting better and better.

– The Center City Commission’s “Inside Downtown” group will meet this Thursday at 4:30 to take a tour of the “New Main” block between Main and Gayoso. Once a boarded-up, blighted eyesore, New Main has come to life with new restauarants (Wang’s, Sauces), an eye clinic, a dentist, apartments, condos, and more in the works. The group will meet at 4:30 at Wang’s (Main at Gayoso) for a presentation by CCC president Jeff Sanford, then take the tour. They ask that you RSVP if you plan on attending – you can e-mail Nicole at hernandez@downtownmemphis.com and let her know.

– The Memphis Flyer e-mailed me this morning – they’re looking for an IT director. It’s a Mac workplace, although knowledge of Windows is also necessary. Need FileMaker Pro, Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office, and pre-press skills, as well as graphic design, cutting-edge web techniques, and network security skills in your tool bag. If this sounds like the right job for you e-mail me and I’ll pass you on to the right person.

– That’ll do it for now… still working on my new online store, which is close to being done. I hope to roll it out to the public tonight or tomorrow. Probably will NOT attend Pint Nite tonight so I can work on the store… if I get it rolled out tonight I’ll head up there for a celebratory beer late in the evening, maybe 10, 11ish.

Got lots of pics to post as soon as I download them from my camera – got about 50 pics from Wine Race yesterday (enough that I’ll have to do a photo album), a few pics from the ’70s party I attended this weekend, and some other stuff. So be sure to check back often. Happy &?@%ing Monday everyone.

Pics: Pearl’s Oyster House

Here are a few pics I took on Trolley Tour night of Pearl’s Oyster House, at the corner of Main and Pontotoc (one block south of Linden), where the tattoo parlor used to be. They told me they will open this coming Wednesday. I only took pics of the upstairs – downstairs wasn’t ready yet.

It was hard to get a first impression of the place when it wasn’t even officially open, but here’s my try at it: This looks like a place where you can go to have a fine meal, but it’s also a place where you can hang out for hours with friends and have a good time. I’ve never been to New Orleans’ Bourbon Street, but for some reason it feels like a place that would fit in there.

Attn gang: Anyone up for a trip to Pearl’s Wednesday night?





Advice from an Internet dating guru

One of the benefits of wandering around all over Downtown is that I meet a lot of interesting people. Today’s post is a story about one of the people I met last December… a group of us had gone to EP’s for dinner, and I discovered I didn’t know the guy sitting to my left. He was a friend of a friend, visiting from Los Angeles. We started talking.

I told him I do web programming. “Oh, you’re an IT guy!” he said. “Me too. I’m the Director of Information Technology for David DeAngelo.”

My ears perked up. “David DeAngelo?” I asked. “Wait, I’ve heard that name before. Isn’t he the guy who wrote a book called ‘Double Your Dating,’ that teaches men how to be more successful dating women?”

“Well, yes, that was his first book,” he responded. “But he now has dozens of products and websites, and has 60 employees working for him.”

“SIXTY employees!” It seemed unbelievable to me that dating advice – especially for MEN – could turn into such a big business. “Tell me about it,” I asked him. “What does DeAngelo tell these men to do?”

“Well, basically, David DeAngelo teaches that everything our mothers taught us about attracting women is wrong,” he told me. You know, take them out for expensive dinners… give them nice gifts… rearrange your schedule if they ask you to give them a ride somewhere, or to come over to their house and fix something… compliment them all the time, tell them how beautiful they are.”

“Now, don’t get me wrong,” he continued. “That stuff is fine when you’re already IN A RELATIONSHIP with a woman. But as a means of meeting and attracting women – you know, getting to know someone you just met – that kind of stuff doesn’t work. In fact, it KILLS attraction.”

“Why?” I asked. “Why does that kind of stuff kill attraction in the beginning?”

“Because it’s what DeAngelo calls ‘wussy’ behavior. It indicates that she’s already got you, that she doesn’t need to do ANYTHING for you and you’ll always be at her beck and call. You’re not a challenge if you do those things. You’re subconsciously conveying that you’re of a lower status than she is. People don’t feel attraction to someone they perceive as having lower status.”

I had to admit, what he was saying made a lot of sense. I could make a list – and it’d be a long list, unfortunately – of the times I’ve been TOO nice as I first got to know a woman, and it backfired. “So I’m guessing DeAngelo teaches some kind of alternative to traditional ‘dating’ in his products,” I told him. “What kinds of things does he teach?”

“Well, some of his products are ‘Inner Game’ products,” the IT guy responded. “These are products that teach men how to cultivate the inner qualities that naturally attract women.”

“Such as?”

“Well, body language is a big one – they say that 93% of communication is nonverbal. Some others… projecting a slight overconfidence when you meet women. Maintaining your composure no matter what comes up. Projecting the qualities of a leader. Refusing to accept second-class behavior from her, such as lying or canceling plans at the last moment.”

“Then,” he continued, “there are the ‘Techniques’ programs. In those DeAngelo teaches how to develop a ‘cocky and funny’ attitude, where you’re joking around with her, busting on her a little, but doing so in a fun way, where she’s enjoying it and she can’t wait to see what you’re going to say next. Then there are other techniques programs, such as how to handle yourself in bars and clubs, where the most beautiful women are dressed to the nines and get approached 20, 30 times a night.”

“Sounds interesting,” I told him. “Make ya a deal. I have a blog that gets several hundred hits a day. Send me a product, and I’ll listen to it. If I think it has value, I’ll do a post on my blog about DeAngelo.”

So he went back to L.A. and arranged for one of David DeAngelo’s products – a 6-CD course – to be sent to me. I took out the CDs, ripped them into digital format, copied them to my iPod, and listened to them a couple of times.

What I didn’t tell him was, I still had one unanswered question – does DeAngelo teach men techniques that are disrespectful of women? You know, does he teach men to manipulate women, to trick them into having sex? If I heard any of that on the CDs, I was prepared to still write a review of DeAngelo’s product on this blog, but it wouldn’t be a positive one.

Having listened to the product, though, I can’t say I find anything disrespectful about it. In fact, it seems like material women would WANT men to learn – how to make them laugh, how to light them up emotionally, how to act like real men around them. It actually seems a lot LESS manipulative than traditional “dating” behavior, when a guy buys a woman an expensive dinner hoping he’ll get something in return.

Anyway… I gave his product a listen and it seems to have value. I promised him a link, so here ’tis… check out his site if you’re so inclined. (He made me my own landing page because he’s curious how much traffic will come from this blog.)

Coming up on 1 PM here in beautiful Downtown Memphis… I’m about to pack up the laptop and head to the Second Street branch office to get a few hours’ work done on my new online store. Too bad I didn’t have it done in time for the ’70s party I’m attending tonight… yeah consider that a hint about the store’s content. Anyway, it’s a sunny 71-degree afternoon… what are you doing reading this post? Go outside!

Back tomorrow with pics of the oyster bar.

10 years of drinking beer and looking up skirts

The Downtown Flying Saucer turns 10 years old today… they have a clock counting down to the magic moment at 10 PM tonight. They’re having a big party – I didn’t hear all the details but I did overhear “jello shots” and my ears instantly perked up.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to be there at 10, because I have a private party to attend in the area. However… there’s a good chance I’ll show up at the Saucer in my “Disco Paul” persona from about 8 to 9 tonight. The pants for the leisure suit no longer fit (which is the Saucer’s fault, by the way) so I’ll go with the sequin shirt, pimp hat and platform shoes which has been my Raiford’s outfit in more recent times.

I have a funny story to tell about the Saucer’s birthday party but it will have to wait until after the big night.

Upcoming posts:

A website that teaches men how to be more successful at dating… been promising someone since December that I’d post about this, but just got around to typing it up. Should be up around midday.

I also have info about Pearl’s Oyster House, the new oyster bar opening Downtown. Took a few pics last night. Also stopped by and saw Jeff Golightly’s gig at Bluff City Coffee and have a pic of that as well. That should be up by the end of the weekend.

Time to clean the apartment and work on the online store… have a good Saturday, looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day.

Beatles, British Invasion music tonight at Bluff City Coffee

Beatles aficionado Jeff Golightly will perform Beatles music as well as covers by other British Invasion bands (the Kinks, the Stones, Gerry and the Pacemakers, etc.) tonight at Bluff City Coffee, 505 S. Main, during Trolley Art Tour from 6:30 to 9 PM. He has some great Beatles stories to tell, so if you’re a fan you ought to stop by.

Unfortunately it doesn’t look like I’ll make it down there… got private parties to attend both tonight and tomorrow night. Tomorrow night’s is a ’70s party, so it’s possible you may see me around town in my “Disco Paul” persona before or afterward.

Gotta run, getting some work done on the new online store during my lunch hour.

Thursday update: Harbor of Health, stupid school rules, free music fest tix

Before I get started with the day’s news, fellow blogger Rachelandthecity asked me to post this:


(Click on the image for larger size) It’s a concert to benefit the Crisis Center, at Neil’s tonight. Susan Marshall, Cory Branan, Ben Nichols, Giant Bear and more.

Today’s lunchtime post is being brought to you by the free Wi-Fi at Bon Ton Cafe. My lunch today: Meatloaf ovetr spaghetti topped with parmesan cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy, buttered corn, cornbread, and banana pudding. Glad to have another Wi-Fi lunch option downtown. Bon Ton is your typical big-city diner kind of like the one Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer used to go to all the time.

I finally got the required physical for my job at Harbor of Health over on the Island, and let me tell you, that place was the antithesis of the typical doctor’s office. I’m used to sitting in a crowded waiting room with screaming kids, elevator music, magazines that are several months old, and then after an eternity someone yells out, “RAYBURN! PAUL… RAYBURN!”

Not so with HoH. The waiting room was peaceful, with a view of beautiful Harbor Town Square. I heard piano music coming from another part of the building. The nurse came out and said, “Are you Paul?” and I went back and saw the physician and got the damn form signed and was out quickly. HoH is not just a medical clinic but a total health solution, with a gym, classes, nutririon counseling and everything. If you live on or near the Island and want to get healthier, you should check it out.

So I have my stupid form signed and I can officially be put on the schools’ payroll now. I was a day late getting it in. Funny how the city schools’ culture works; a lot of people will fuss at you like you’re a child for not following directions. “DIDN’T I TELL YOU you were supposed to have the physical done by orientation?” the HR person asked, in a tone that made me wonder if she was going to write me a Behavior Document to take home for mommy to sign.

“Look,” I told her, matter-of-factly, “I don’t have the physical done. I can have it done tomorrow. If I submit the paperwork tomorrow will that be all right?” She said yes. Funny how a lot of people are conditioned to respond to a tone line hers and think, oh my God I’M IN TROUBLE. I just didn’t care. Worst case scenario, I’d get paid a period late, which is no biggie. Well, I guess since she’s HR she could take my job away, but considering a .NET recruiter e-mailed me two days ago to tell me he has open positions, I still wasn’t that concerned.

Physical went OK… I asked them to do the minimum and they did. I didn’t have to bend over and cough, no dreaded white glove, no needles. Amazingly, my blood pressure and pulse turned out to be normal, and all the second-hand smoke I breathe in every night hasn’t caused any lung disease yet.

Other news – 93x will be giving out Music Fest tickets today from 5 to 7 at Brookhaven Pub. That’s out in East Memphis somewhere near Poplar and Mendenhall… here, look it up on Yellow Book if you don’t know where it is. Or ask Ptolemy Kat, she hangs out there.

I’ll be on a rooftop tonight – haven’t decided yet whether it will be the Peabody or EP’s. I’ll figure it out tonight. I’ll probably be at the Saucer for a pre-rooftop beer 6:30ish.

I’ve abandoned the idea of building an aStore – the storefront designed by Amazon.com to build private stores – and instead am using a third-party product called Associate-O-Matic. Like aStores, it builds custom online stores based on Amazon.com associate links, but it’s a lot more configurable. I got the store about 20% of the way done last night. Hope to have it up by early May. I mentioned that the store would focus on a particular type of product, and one of my readers has already figured out what that product is.

All right, guess I’ll finish my meatloaf and get back to work.

A few pics from Rajun Cajun Crawfish Fest

Here are a few pics I took at last Sunday’s Rajun Cajun Crawfish Fest on the river:

The crowd, as seen from the rooftop of Barton Flats


This was the line to get buckets of crawfish about 1 PM. You can see the crawfish tent, with the yellow top, on the far right. Another hour and the line was twice as long.


A zydeco band on the stage at the south end of the festival


Crawfish race: They were placed on the red dot, and the first one to make it out of the outer circle was the winner.

There were some other pics of the gang and me on the Barton Flats roof, but you’ve seen us all before and they’re really nothing special, so no point in posting them. I’ll zip ’em up and send the people in the pics a link though.

Another post to come before the end of lunchtime.

Deal: 25% off men’s shoes

I was just made aware of this and wanted to pass it on:

Save 25% on Men’s shoes that are on sale at Shoes.com! Use Code: MENSALE25. No excluded brands! Ends 5/11

This site has lots of name-brand shoes, including Adidas, Reebok, Kenneth Cole, Skechers, DC, Converse, and many more. Worth checking out if you need to buy a new pair.

Calm down, Bucky.

Last night was trivia night at the Saucer. Now, a few weeks ago I predicted that the other downtown trivia team – currently calling themselves Imus and the Nappy-Headed Hos – were on the beginning of a downhill slide, and while they might pick up the occasional victory once in a while, they would soon prove to be a flash-in-the-pan team not on par with the legendary Rapscallions.

Well, last night was the “occasional victory” for them – their first in a month. No sooner had the announcement been made when their team leader Clay came running over, jumping up and down, all excited like a 12-year-old boy who had just seen his first boob. “Flash in the pan! Flash in the pan!” he kept saying. Calm down, Bucky.

I do congratulate them on their victory – they were the better team last night. However, I still continue to believe it’s a last gasp. They’re legends of trivia about as much as Ricky Martin is a legend of music – their string of victories in January/February was their “Livin’ La Vida Loca” and last night was “She Bang.”

Anyway, the Rapscallions took second, adding $25 to our stash for a total of $160. The Nuh-Uh Girl wrote down all the questions so that she could quiz the Nuh-Uh Sister, who missed trivia due to a Pilates class. We lost by 7 points… let me know if the Nuh-Uh Sister could have made up the difference. If so, I’m calling the Pilates studio and telling them they’re not allowed to schedule Tuesday night classes anymore.

Not going out tonight… too much to do at home. I need to spend several hours building my Amazon.com aStore – I told a couple of people the concept last night (the store will focus on selling one particular type of product) and they think it could be a smashing success. I also need to clean the apartment up a little, as there may be people coming in and out Saturday night due to a nearby party.

All right… not much news to report today, and I’ve got a lot to get done on the laptop, so I’m going to go ahead and post. Perhaps I’ll get the crawfish fest pics up tonight.