I got out of the office tonight for dinner at just the right time. The sun was setting and the sky was heavy with blue. People were out and about, letting the warm air hit their skin. I love this time of year right at the birth of spring, and I don’t know if I’ll ever get tired of saying it.
In Memphis, Tennessee, CNN iReporter George Brown said Sunday that forecasters had predicted "Teflon snow," which wouldn't stick to the ground. But the snow that fell was much heavier, he said. iReport.com: Share photos of icy, snowy weather in your townNot sure where Mr. Brown got this bombshell info but the NWS in Memphis issued a Winter Storm Warning around 4 am Saturday morning for the entire city, calling for 4 inches of snow. Earlier forecasts on Friday had called for accumulating snow, although not 4 inches. But hey, it's Memphis. The local weathermen often get winter forecasts wrong but let's give credit where due--they hit this one. But history, as written by CNN's George, will not reflect that.
"We were getting an inch or more an hour," he said. "Some roads are impassable because the folks here aren't use to dealing with slick streets. Many cars are off the interstate, and hotels are packed," Brown said.
Julie Oaks from the Tennessee Department of Transportation told CNN she had never seen snow before in the western part of the state.Strange, Memphis and the western part of the state got 4-6 inches about this same time last year. There simply must be a logical explanation for this baffling statement aside from "it's CNN".
Ok, big post today.
First off let's start with the schedule for the newly remodeled Levitt Shell (formerly Overton Park Shell). I know a lot of people are really anxious for this to get going and I'm one of them. This is just one more thing that Memphis lacks that other cities this size have. I think Midtown will be able to support the project and I'm very impressed with the progress of the project so far. I would paste the schedule below but it's way to large to fit on the page so you can check out the homepage HERE for some more info. It's a really well done site as well so that always helps a projects image. I will say that the opening Amy Lavere show on Sept. 4th should be great and I'll be sure to attend.
The Memphis Flyer had a little write up today on a new local beer brewery called Ghost River Brewing. It's made at the Boscos facility downtown on South Main and is made by the same guy that co-owns Bosco's. The thing that makes them special is that it's brewed with Memphis Artisan well water, the same special water that makes Memphis famous in terms of clean, natural water sources. The Ghost River beers — Ghost River Golden, Glacial Pale Ale, Brown Ale, as well as seasonal beers, such as a German-style Hefeweizen and a Scottish ale — are draft-only beers and are currently being marketed to local restaurants and bars by Southwestern Distributing. It will be available at both Flying Saucer locations, both Central BBQs, Ciao Bella, Equestria, and Yia Yia's.
In case you're reading this RIGHT NOW at 7pm on Monday, then I have something for you to run out and do right now.....HARLAN T. BOBO Video Shoot Monday NIght @ HiTone
"$5 Cover" will be shooting footage of Harlan performing on Monday night at the Hi-Tone.
This will be a free, 18+ shoot, and we would like to invite those who love Harlan and his music
to participate.
Exact time has not been set yet, but if you would like to take part, please email Lorin here:
fivedollarcovercasting@gmail.com and she will contact you as soon as the time is set.
IMPORTANT:
Please dress accordingly for a Harlan show. Think darker or muted colors.
Please also avoid the following things, as they
do not show well on the camera:
Black, white, red
Logos/Writing
Small stripes/patterns (1/2inch or larger, fine)
PLEASE BRING CLOTHING OPTIONS.
Feel free to bring a friend as long as they are aware of the wardrobe constrictions.
Finally, the beer that we all love to get tall boys of at the Deli is going retro on us and reverting to their old fashioned recipe. I'm talking about Schlitz, the beer that made Milwaukee famous. According to a Yahoo! news report, Schlitz was originally the most popular beer in the world until about 1955 when a Milwaukee beer brewers union strike opened up the floodgates to the world of Budweiser. After that it was downhill for the beer with "just a kiss of the hops" and now you can really only find it in tall boy cans that border on malt liquor. But the company, which is owned by Pabst Blue Ribbon, has now done their homework and is going back to the original recipe that made it loved worldwide. Apparently, years of cutting corners to save money and sacrificing flavor as well as poor marketing campaigns, resulted in the downfall of the Schlitz empire but it is now poised to return. For right now, the old school recipe beer is only available in Milwaukee, Chicago, and Minneapolis (another reason Minnesota rocks) and they cant keep it on the shelves there. It's gotten to the point where stores have to have a waiting list for people and also won't let them buy more than a certain amount of the stuff in one trip. So keep your eyes and mouth open for the return of the Beer that Made Milwaukee Famous!
Posted by Ryan
If you've ever visited the Rock & Roll Planet before, you may have noticed my name has changed. Still me, though, and if I do blog here again with any regularity, please rest assured it will still be me.
What about me? Looking for a new job, maybe. Swimming every weekend. Reading lots of Paulo Coehlo lately, too. Eating my veggies and even the poisoned tomato here and there. How about y'all?
yes i won the wingoff
yes i hosted the wingoff that i won
yes i handpicked the judges
i picked judges that would be objective
see after several years
i began to see hamlett and alan
for what they really are
cheats
i am not saying
i am just saying
but i will say this
they were not judges
and
i won the wingoff
oh and here are some reviews
of some of our favorite
memphis people
young at art
may not be an appropriate title
as some of these peoples
were slanging their wares on the corners
before avon barksdale
was even famous
oh yeah
i went and saw
west side story last night
pepe was beautiful
one of the shark girls wasnt wearing any underwear
that was exciting
she was one of the few
out of high school
i think there is some behind the scene romances going on
that should be a new reality series
the theatre peoples that do it with each other
because your god knows
the art people aint doing it with each other
actually
the art people aint doing it with anyone
poor art people
poor art people
poor people that read this blog
i have to end this post now
as i just had
what some would call
a breakthrough
i can not post
what i just wrote
as it is probably
that greatest thing i have ever written
and i have to save it
save it for my may show
i know may is along way away
but believe me
it is worth the wait
and on the bright side
you will probably forget
all about this blog post before may
and you will still think
it is the greatest thing ever
that is how fucking hot it is
here is a list of people that i mention
in the rest of this post that you will not read
but will hear about in nine months
the georgia
david lusk
anna "cowboy bright" rossi
steve cohen
emily walls
taurus "from fifth grade"
marjorie baker
john weeden
carissa's stuffed cabbage
the judge
kilgore trout
anita "the first black girl i did it with"
richard deacon
matt saunders
otto berchem
richard prince
and eddie vedder
All right, below are the rumors I’ve heard about BBQ Fest. Keep in mind that all of the below are RUMORS and not anything I’ve confirmed with Memphis in May:
- The festival will be downsized next year. This one is almost certainly true, as construction will begin on Beale Street Landing, and that will cut into the amount of space they have available at Tom Lee Park.
- In order to compensate for the reduced space, the rumor is that MIM plans to reduce the number of teams. I keep hearing that they intend to eliminate some of the smaller teams. Not sure if that means just the Patio Porkers, who are by definition smaller teams, or if it extends to the smaller teams competing in the Big Three (shoulder, ribs, whole hog) as well.
- Another rumor is that they plan to make it more corporate, and one way they plan on doing this and also getting rid of the smaller teams is to raise entry fees considerably. I’ve heard the number $5,000 thrown around more than one time, but again, that is all hearsay. In one case I heard $15,000. The idea, I’ve been told, is to raise it to a number high enough where it would be very hard to enter without heavy corporate sponsorship.
- Another rumor is that they want to make it more of an international competition, with teams from the US and around the world. Therefore, it’s been rumored that the competition will become an invitation-only event, with some current teams grandfathered in and with teams who finished near the top in previous years’ competition receiving automatic bids.
- There’s also a new governing body that sanctions the contests, Memphis Barbeque Network. Prior to the first of 2008, Memphis in May was its own sanctioning body. Rumor is that since MIM wants the event to be more reflective of a world championship, they’re going to start inviting teams from other circuits, e.g. KCBS, FBA, etc. Problem is those circuits are a completely different format, don’t do on-site judging, and don’t cook MIM-style BBQ anyway.
Again, all just rumors, but I’ve heard this so many times (and a couple of times, from people connected to the aforementioned Memphis Barbeque Network) that I figured it deserved to be posted. If these rumors are incorrect, Memphis in May deserves the chance to refute them.
If this turns out to be true, it sounds like MIM is going to royally screw up one of the best festivals ever. Hate to see it happen to one of my favorite tube top-watching events of the year. Perhaps Memphians will react by boycotting their other events, Music Fest and Sunset Symphony, en masse.
Will keep you posted as I hear more. E-mail me at paul@paulryburn.com if you’ve got anything.
