The Memphis Flyer’s Best of Memphis 2021 poll results have been released. There’s a BOM website but my God does it ever suck. You have to click into a category, then click into each individual award, then click the Back button to get back to the category page. Why couldn’t they just list all the Arts & Entertainment winners on one web page, and all the Food & Drink on another, and Goods & Services on another, and so on?
I just about guarantee a marketing person had some say in the way that site was designed. Marketing people screw up everything. Anyway, for an easier-to-read version of the awards, check out the online copy of this week’s print edition of the Flyer. Yeah you’ll have to zoom in and out but that’s preferable to 140 clicks of the Back button.
The annual AutoZone sales meeting happened this week, the first convention to be held in the renovated Renasant Convention Center. Normally the meeting draws 5000 from across the U.S., but to maintain social distancing the number dropped this year. Attendees were required to be vacc’d against COVID and produce a negative test. Thank you AutoZone for doing the right thing and preventing the spread of COVID among your valued employees and in our community!
The Brass Door has added outdoor seating. You can grab a table under their new weather-resistant awning.
FedExForum posted an update on its plan to keep game and event attendees safe from COVID. Most notably, they’re going to implement a CLEAR Health Pass to keep lines moving faster. Attendees will be able to upload their vaccine card and negative test results to the CLEAR app on their phone, and those who do so will receive priority entry into the arena.
Tiger fans, take note: The U of M does not plan to offer refunds for those turned away from Tigers basketball games because they’re not compliant with the vaccine/test rules.
Regina’s Cajun Kitchen in the Lincoln-American Tower at 60 N. Main is back open. Tuesdays through Thursdays they are open for lunch 11 AM-2 PM and for dinner 5 PM-10 PM. Saturdays they are only open for dinner 5 PM-10 PM.
There was a rally on the Civic Center Plaza yesterday, but it was a bunch of kooks, crackpots, and people who think taking a horse de-wormer prevents coronavirus, so I’m not going to provide a link and give them publicity.
There’s a free show by Boombox tonight at Carolina Watershed. The music is described as “A little house, a little blues, a little funk, a little rock, and a whole lot of soul blast” – anything you would hear coming out of a boombox.
Congratulations to Daryl and Ashley of Walking Pants Curiosities. The gift shop and art un-general store celebrated its 5th anniversary yesterday. They say there’s a big announcement coming in the next couple of weeks.
Tug’s Casual Grill will celebrate Oktoberfest every Friday in October, starting tomorrow. They’ll serve a menu of classic German dishes and Oktoberfest biers.
If you’re looking for something fun to do tonight, come check out Bad Bear Bingo at the Blind Bear tonight at 8. They have a variety of games including traditional bingo, four corners, and fill-the-card. If you bingo, you get to spin the wheel for a chance at prizes including $5 or $10 off food at a future visit, a $1 Fireball shot, or you’re the password (e.g. “(Your name) sent me”) on a future weekend night. Sharmin is a fabulous bingo host!
Signups are now open for Memphis in May’s BBQ Fest judging seminar. If you want to be a judge at BBQ Fest – or regional competitions in towns like Atoka, Marion, and Southaven – this is the place to start. Also, many BBQ teams send their cook teams and leadership to the seminar, to get a better idea what judges look for. It’ll be Saturday, November 6 at the Sheraton Hotel Downtown. Cost is $99.
Today is the final day Bardog will be closed all day for repairs and renovations. I talked to one of their bartenders last night and she told me they will return to their normal weekday opening time of EIGHT AM beginning tomorrow (they’d been opening at noon on the weekdays).
I hope they get the downstairs open for weekend brunch, too. As someone who’s normally up there on Saturdays, I can tell you, they have been flushing piles of money away by not having it open. Last Saturday, at least 8 groups came in, found there was a long wait for seating because only upstairs was open, and decided to go somewhere else for brunch.
Up the road in St. Louis, the Rolling Stones performed their first concert without drummer Charlie Watts. Watts died last month after 58 years with the band. Watts wasn’t going to do this tour anyway and gave his personal approval to drummer Steve Jordan, so the band decided to respect his wishes and carry on. Mick is 78, Keith is 77, and Ronnie is 74. Which’ll happen first – final Stones concert ever, or Tom Brady retires?
The Arkansas Razorbacks made my favorite statistical analysis website, FiveThirtyEight! Alex Kirshner discusses how Arkansas revived its football program.
Whaddaya think of this unlikely scenario: Arkansas upsets one of Georgia or Bama and goes on to beat Ole Miss. Cincinnati runs the table. The playoff committee has to decide who gets the 4 seed in the CFP.
Beautiful house for rent if you don’t mind living in a sorta-sketchy area: 309 Hernando
YOGA! There will be a special yoga class in the yard of Slider Inn Downtown Sunday, October 17 at 10:30 AM. Funds raised from the class will go toward participation in the Rock ‘n’ Roll New Orleans race, which benefits St. Jude. $20 gets you a one-hour class instructed by Kandace Stewart and a ticket good for an order of fries or a beer. Bring your own yoga mat. Mask is optional while doing yoga but is required to enter Slider Inn.
Former City Councilperson Barbara Swearengen Ware has died. She was 82.
That’s it for today. I’ve got some maintenance work I plan to do today on my previously-written professional articles – I want to give their SEO a tune-up and add some monetization tools that were not available when I wrote them. I’ll be out for Bad Bear Bingo this evening, so if anyone from the Bear is reading this, time to re-stock your PBR – I drank the last can last night. Back tomorrow with more news.