Not going anywhere for lunch today, so I have the full hour to blog. Longer than usual post as a result…
They’re having another Yappy Hour at the Memphis Animal Shelter tonight. From 4 to 7, all dogs and cats over 6 months old can be adopted for only a $10 fee. I heard they had a record crowd for last week’s Yappy Hour and I hope they set another record this week!
The Flying Saucer has its Cajun/Creole beer dinner tonight at 7 PM. 4 courses paired with 5 Abita beers (probably including beers not normally seen in Memphis). $35 for UFO members, $40 for non-members. As of last night, they still had some tickets left. If you’re interested in going call them at 901-523-8536 and see if they still have open spots. Seating is limited, so I expect that it will fill up at some point today.
This morning I’ve been listening to a fantastic webinar by marketing expert Scott Stratten. It’s about how to create awesome content and everything he says is pure gold. If you’re in marketing and not following him on Twitter, you need to do so at @unmarketing. If he tweets anything about another free webinar, sign up immediately.
College students: One of my favorite authors, former FBI agent Joe Navarro, published an article on non-verbal body language in class that is a must-read. As a former teacher at the U of M, I absolutely HATED it when students rolled their eyes at me. This is college: You’re going to have tests, you’re going to have homework, deal with it and stop rolling your eyes. Don’t give off an “I’d rather be anywhere than here” look. Don’t sigh. Also, don’t read the school newspaper while your professors are lecturing. This is the kind of thing I remembered when students finished the semester with a 79.4 average and I had to decide whether to give the extra 0.1 and round them up to a B.
The DNA has announced the schedule for Saturday’s Irish Festival in the Pinch. Here it is:
12:00 Bagpipes and Irish National Anthem
Music with Marie Mann immediately following the National Anthem
12:30 Irish and Pinch History Walking Tour with Jimmy Ogle
Enjoy music from upcoming Orpheum musicals and Irish Folk tunes throughout the day.
2:00 Irish Afternoon Tea (learn about proper prep of an Irish tea – I will get detailed verbiage from Andrea)
2:15 – 2:30 Irish Dancers
2:30 – 3:00 Music with Marie Mann and Kali Celeste
2:30 Irish and Pinch History Walking Tour with Jimmy Ogle
3:00 – 3:15 Irish Dancers
3:00 – 5:00 The Delta Project (Back Porch Blues Band) Westy’s Patio
5:00 Pinch History Trivia
6:00 – 8:00 The Mighty Electric St. Jude Band
There will also be games at the festival including a quarterback challenge, golf challenge, trivia, and cornhole. DNA membership or cover charge will get you into a VIP tent at the festival. There you can enjoy Rendezvous BBQ and Irish punch, while listening to musical entertainment and a presentation about the history of the Pinch District.
Also on Saturday, Widespread Panic plays the FedExForum. Last time they played the Forum, some of the Spread-heads set up camp in a parking lot on Linden, which made for some quite interesting people-watching. Definitely worth a walk through if they do it again.
After work last night I grabbed a Flyer and a beer and made my way through the Best Of issue. I was extremely pleased to see two of my favorite Downtown bars get the Reader’s Choice award for Best Bar. For Bardog Tavern, it proves that a small neighborhood bar can successfully compete with the big dogs. Huey’s seemed to just overrun the competition in most categories this year, and I was worried they’d show up in Best Bar too. Didn’t happen. Bardog proved that great food, great service and a great atmosphere was enough to win.
The other Best Bar in the Downtown area was the Flying Saucer. By winning, the Saucer has proved that it didn’t hurt itself by going nonsmoking/all ages back in July. I’m not crazy about having the kids in there, but it’s a trade-off I’m willing to accept to get rid of the smoke. Yes, there are some people who were pissed off by the change, but they are a small minority. They tried to get revenge by campaigning for the Saucer to be voted “best place to take kids.” I guess the haters can discuss how their plan didn’t work Saturday at karaoke night at the Mon… oh, wait. If you haven’t seen the full Best Of 2011 results, you can view them here.
Just saw breaking news that a MATA bus and dump truck collided Downtown and 7 ambulances have been dispatched. Location was listed as “Second and N. Main,” but that can’t be right since those streets run parallel.
That’s all for now. I won’t be at poker at Max’s Sports Bar tonight. The Saucer girls talked me into buying a ticket for tonight’s beer dinner.