From: Sketchwork

San Francisco 8

10/27/06

Sheesh! Did that seem like the longest trip or what?! This is from breakfast on the day we left.

by Elizabeth Alley

From: Wineography

Question One: Booze Edition

While Tennesseans have spent the past several months pondering our own ballot questions, the fine folks of Massachusetts (I'm ashamed that I just had to look up how to spell that) have just finished wrangling over whether or not they want to be able to buy wine in supermarkets.

And the people have spoken and sent a resounding HELL NO to the powers that be.

Alls I can say is Whaaa?

As a resident of a state with wacky liquor-related laws, I am continually fascinated with the idea of purchasing spirits in other locations than seedy liquor stores where they shove everything in a brown bag inside another brown bag, so the God-fearing people on the streets don't have to be confronted with the knowledge that you, at some point in the future, are going to get a little tipsy and commit a social faux pas that will haunt you 'til your lonely, pathetic death.

So when I see a relatively progressive state like Massachusetts pooh-pooh the idea of strolling from the toilet paper to the orange juice to the dry reds, I marvel at the weirdness. Who wouldn't want to be able to buy booze in the damned grocery store?

Other than package-store owners, that is.

Apparently the liquor lobby pulled a Hail Mary to come from behind and defeat the ballot initiative.

Polls taken two weeks before the election showed Question 1 favored by a two-to-one margin among those surveyed. The opponents blitzed TV and radio airwaves with ads portraying the proposal as a public safety issue. They claimed teenagers would be more likely to obtain alcohol because convenience stores also could apply for wine licenses if the question were approved.

Right. Because teens are all about waltzing into a Piggly Wiggly to buy a $16 bottle of wine when they could just go to MapCo and buy $8 worth of beers and get equally as drunk.

Anyway, too bad for Massachusettianistans. I feel their pain. The lack of availability of wine in grocery stores confounds me. Not only does it suck outright having to hoof it to a liquor store — which, thanks to the laws 'round these parts, close at 11 p.m. on every night but Sunday, when they're not open at all — but it also undoubtedly keeps prices from being very competitive across the board. Just imagine the creative discounts the supermarkets and liquor stores could launch to best one another. Just imagine the savings! Just imagine the slurred speech and stumbling and fuzzy holiday memories!

Maybe one day, when Tennessee is done putting Teh Gays in their place, we'll tackle an initiative like this.

posted by theogeo

From: Secret Agent Mom

The Guy Said Honey, You're A Funny Girl

I had been hoping to launch an unofficial NaBloPoMo over here, but I've been too busy working on my bit for the The Funniest Mom in America competition. Yes, the agent is stepping out of the green room and onto the stage, thanks to the supportive goading of Stacey and the somewhat unsupportive smirks from certain friends who think I can only be funny in two dimensions (suck it, Cory!). It seemed like an amazingly well-timed chance to follow up on my life-long dream of pursuing stand-up comedy, so in a swift move that surprised everyone who's ever met me, I read about the Memphis auditions and immediately emailed the local comedy club for a spot. And I got one. And now ... I have to show up. With the funny. I secretly slipped some of my bit onto the playgroup moms this morning, and it went very well, but I know that the Wednesday night crowd at Comedy, TN isn't likely to be a bunch of sleep-deprived mamas. But hopefully, it'll be some of you. Did I mention that it's November 15? At 8:15pm? Bring all your hard-drinking, child-humor-loving friends!

Briefed by S.A.M.

From: Paul Ryburn's Journal

Welcome COGIC

This is the week when the saints of COGIC gather in downtown Memphis for their annual convention. Welcome, and if you have any questions about the area that you'd like to ask a local, feel free to e-mail me.

One of the best ways to celebrate the abundance that God has given you is to share that abundance with others. To that end, I'd like to ask you to please tip your servers well when you go out to eat at downtown restaurants this week. With so many people in town, the servers are going to be extremely busy, and they deserve to be compensated well for their hard work, don't you agree?

A standard tip at a restaurant is 15%. For your convenience, I have computed 15% of common amounts below.

• 15% of $10.00 = $1.50
• 15% of $20.00 = $3.00
• 15% of $30.00 = $4.50
• 15% of $40.00 = $6.00
• 15% of $50.00 = $7.50
• 15% of $60.00 = $9.00
• 15% of $70.00 = $10.50
• 15% of $80.00 = $12.00
• 15% of $90.00 = $13.50
• 15% of $100.00 = $15.00
  

If you make special requests of your server - food prepared a special way, substitutions, etc. - you may want to consider tipping your server a little extra, say, 20%. Again, for your convenience, 20% of common amounts is below.

• 20% of $10.00 = $2.00
• 20% of $20.00 = $4.00
• 20% of $30.00 = $6.00
• 20% of $40.00 = $8.00
• 20% of $50.00 = $10.00
• 20% of $60.00 = $12.00
• 20% of $70.00 = $14.00
• 20% of $80.00 = $16.00
• 20% of $90.00 = $18.00
• 20% of $100.00 = $20.00
  

Also, please keep in mind that if a restaurant does not give a COGIC discount, it's a policy set by management. Your server has no influence over that policy and does not deserve to be penalized on his or her tip. If you only want to eat at restaurants that give COGIC discounts, it would be a good idea to ask about this before you are seated.

I personally can attest that when you freely share your bounty, as God Himself would, with all those around you, it comes back to you tenfold and more. So please keep that in mind when you sit down to eat in downtown Memphis this week.

Again, welcome. Thank you for spending you tourism dollars in Memphis, and if you have questions about Memphis just ask.

11:18 AM

From: Downtown Books

We are growing up.

Our blog is, anyway.

We have decided to get a self-hosted blog, so we can have a bit more control over it. Also, this way we can integrate it into our website (whenever that happens....)

Anyway, please update your feeds and such, because we can now be found at

http://memphisbookshop.com/wordpress/

The new blog will (eventually) have many new features, such as categories, a better comments system, and lots of other things I am not cool enough to yet understand.

I look forward to seeing you over there.

posted by Hugh Hollowell

From: Whining & Dining

Farmer's market lives!

The official Memphis Farmers Market is shuttered for the season, but a few purveyors are gathering on Saturdays outside Cafe Francisco on North Main.

Bought some beautiful salad greens, baby spinach and pea vines from my favorite Mississippi gentleman farmer/NWA airline pilot... chefs, take note: this is amazing stuff!

And the meat man was there... last Saturday, I ran into the Squirrels (their blog comment handle), who inspired me with their mission of roasting soup bones they bought from the meat man. Sadly, he didn't have any this trip, but we chewed the fat.

I asked about how he raised his cattle, and he said they grazed on grass to 700 pounds, then finished off with corn. I said something about cows were not really meant to eat corn, and he said: "You read 'Omnivore's Dilemma' didn't you?" Guilty!

What he said made some sense, and I appreciate his good practices, especially dry-aging the beef... something very few processors do.

That reminded me of a conversation I had earlier in the week with food editor Jennifer Biggs about the distinction between food that's grown or raised under strict organic rules, and crops/animals done old-school... something people refer to as authentic. It's a complex world out there, with corporations in the organic biz... I still cannot bring myself to buy packaged spinach... well, except from the man from Holly Springs. Go see him next Saturday!

What about you? Are you steering away from certain foods because of the way they're raised/grown? Or, is it a matter of price?

Posted by Leslie Kelly

From: Fertile Ground

Love at First Sight

Several months ago, I fell in love.

With Pocky.



And now it is all mine.

See it for yourself (as well as 14 other amazing paintings by Elizabeth Alley) at Perry Nicole Fine Art (a.k.a. the original home of Mothersville)during the month of November.

posted by Stacey Greenberg

From: a pulp faction

A self-indulgent post riddled with parentheses.

Time for a break from magazine production, or I will surely suffer a bad case of burn out and it will never get done.

I've surprised myself with this all, lately. See, somewhere in the back of my mind I'm aware of the fact that I am capable of amazing feats of discipline and self-control and do in fact posses a selectively stellar work ethic. I frequently forget this, however, thanks to my tendencies towards drinking and sleeping a lot and watching too much TV and otherwise taking a rather lackadaisical approach to life. This project is bringing all the good stuff out, with the help of a little more coffee than I usually consume. (Ok, actually my drink of choice is a Cafe Con Pana, a double espresso topped with whip cream. Dreamy.)

The point is that I feel really accomplished, it feels good to be working on something I believe in, something that challenges me without it being some impossible thing which will surely break me.

I'm about to be sappy, if you're not in the mood for it don't read it. I'm about to tell you how I wake up every day and find myself thinking it's an effing beautiful day. (WTF is up with that. This isn't exactly Mr. Roger's neighborhood.) Even that one day after Halloween when it was all foggy and misty. I find myself appreciating the trees and how many of them there actually are around here compared to a lot of places and how pretty their leaves are this time of year. I find myself working harder for my boss (Yes, I still suffer from the affliction of a day job,) and taking deep breaths when I go outside and cussing a lot less when I drive. (It's still a lot though, you should call me sometime when I'm driving home from work. It's hilarious.)

Though I haven't done laundry in over a month (it's ok, I own lots of clothes for this exact reason,) and I really don't shower as often as I probably should and some might say I'm cultivating a hair style rather reminiscent of Einstein in his later years, things are actually going quite well and frankly, this has been an entirely self-indulgent post serving only to convince me of that fact.

posted by pulpfaction

From: Paul Ryburn's Journal

First impression: EP's Delta Kitchen and Bar on Beale Street: AWESOME

Tonight, after a couple of beers at the Tap Room, I stumbled into EP's Delta Kitchen and Bar, located in the old Elvis Presley's Memphis building at Second and Beale. Now, I had to get by there at some point this week and then write about it in my blog, because my friend and former neighbor Mike (who used to be the chef at McEwen's) is at EP's now and designed the menu. "All right," I thought. "If this place sucks as much as Elvis Presley's Memphis did, I'll bury it in a ____day Update post and give it two sentences in the middle of nine other bullet points."

EP's gets its own post.

EP's gets its own post and my recommendation to GO THERE AND EAT. AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Let's start out with the decor: It's superb. Think Swig, Dish, Bluefin, but with the soul of Beale Street. The furniture, the lighting, the music, make it feel hip, yet you never forget where you are.

I asked the staff for a few recommendations. One that was pointed out repeatedly was the pork loin stuffed with house-made sausage. Comes with sweet cornbread pudding and creole mustard demiglace.

Another popular recommendation was the stuffed portabella mushrooms with shrimp, spinach, and caramelized onions. Another was the fried green tomatoes with tomatilla sauce and pear compote - "we're taking fried green tomatoes to a whole new level." Also highly recommended was the smoked duck seafood gumbo. But really, just ask to look at the menu. You can't go wrong. They told me they want to be on a level with Stella, McEwen's, Felicia Suzanne's, etc. within a year, and based on the menu they're already there on their second day.

By the time I got there, they had rolled off the regular menu and onto their late night menu. From that, I had the Lobster Pronto Pup - a corn dog, but with lobster rather than a hot dog inside, over a bed of greens - SO good. Also recommended on the late night menu is the nachos with sweet potato chips, pepper jack and crawfish.

To drink, I had a peanut butter and banana cocktail, with Godiva liqueur, 99 Bananas, vodka and amaretto. It comes garnished with a banana chip. Yummy.

As Mike the chef explained it to me, EP's knows they'll draw tourists solely based on location but "we want to cater to locals. We want a place where they can relax and feel at home. We don't expect to see the same people every night of the week, but we want it to be the place they go when their mother comes to town to visit. (Attn Mama: when you come to town, we need to eat here) We want it to be the place you bring Uncle Todd for his 56th birthday."

For those Downtowners who go to a bar for the people as much as for the food and drinks, Ugly Steve (formerly of the Tap Room/King's Palace) is bartending downstairs, and Hooper (formerly of Dan McGuinness Pub, and before that, Downtown Huey's) is upstairs.

I asked how late they planned on staying open tonight - some places that are more restaurant than bar close early. "Oh, we'll be here until about 2:45," I was told.

This place SO makes me wish I had a girl I was seriously interested in so I could take her to dinner there. If this place doesn't impress, I don't know what will.

Attn Rapscallions: Dinner at EP's after trivia Tuesday night?

2:15 AM

From: Letters to Larry

Positive

Larry,

Guess what? I'm positively positive that the test Anna just took was positive. I know that it's customary to wait some time before telling people but I wanted you to know. You are the 7th person to know officially. I hope that we aren't tempting fate by spilling the beans early. Here's my chance to prove my theory about Karma. Basically, I think that I've done so much bad in my life, nothing good will ever happen to me ever again. We'll see. I'll keep you posted. And I didn't forget about you either. I'll be sending you some stuff about Costa Rica soon. Oh, and we've got the wedding pictures as well. You can take a gander at those here. I hope that you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed being in them. Sarcasm, meet Larry. Larry, sarcasm.

Paul

Posted by Paul

From: The Daily Diversion

ODDITIES AND ABNORMALITIES...

Okay, so it's been a little while since I last posted. I know that. However, I'm going to try to keep this short and too the point (which never happens).

We had something very strange happen today. It was actually snowing when I went to lunch today. Yes, at 12:35 pm, in Memphis, on November 1st, 2006, we had snow flurries. It wasn't really coming down hard or anything. I know! Some people would say, "John, you're an idiot! That was just rain. It was drizzling!"

Well folks, I know the difference between rain and snow, and this, my friends, was snow. It didn't last long and it never showed up on the ground, but it was hitting me in the face on my walk home. My co-worker will back me up on this.

Another thing of note...

I started writing again today. It's not anything that I plan on posting, because I'm hoping I can put it all together and have something really special. It all relates to a dream I had this morning. I woke out of it, but couldn't find my pen and paper. So, I made a voice record on my phone, but didn't need it. I remembered everything about the dream when I actually got up, and had some more stuff to add to it by the time I got to work. I need to do some research on quite a bit of stuff to really bring it all together, but I'm hoping for something great. Wish me luck!

Okay, I'm out! Hopefully not for as long as last time!

Inflicted on you by John

From: a pulp faction

Don't forget the Rock N' Romp

Ok, so if you don't have little ones or you were able to book a sitter for Friday night, chances are you are not going to be in the mood for live music and daylight by mid aftrnoon on Saturday, but I wanted to post this anyway. Just in case you are. Memphis Rock 'N' Romp

posted by pulpfaction

From: The Flypaper Theory

How Many Ways To Lose an Election?

How Many Ways to Lose an Election? Harold Ford, Jr., is counting them as I write this.

Make no mistake; I'm not busting out the champagne glasses if Harold loses, and I never would. Yes, I've been just as critical of his voting record and his representation of Memphians, and his pull so far to the right, he is the African-American version of Trent Lott.

Yet, I'd steeled myself to actually start thinking of him as "Senator Ford". And it could still happen.

But when you are in an election that had become yours to win, despite all the truth-telling we do here at TFT, why do you then treat us to a YouTube clip that all but shows you shooting your campaign in the foot and picking off its' toes one-by-one?

Most blogs are pretty quiet on Ford's meltdown with Bob Corker at the Wilson Air Terminal last week. Some are saying he's still going to win, and at this point, anything's possible, given that it is Tennessee we're talking about. However, I wouldn't want Kos' record on political campaigns, either (Kos is like, um, 2 for 20 and counting...)in calling this election for Harold, just yet.

So, How many Ways can Harold lose this Election? Let us count them:

(1) Being caught at the Playboy Mansion, then taping a campaign ad showing you in church as a God-Fearing Christian. While I like to go to a good party like anyone else (and don't think a Christian can't get their "party" on; if they tell you that, they're a lyin' Christian), if I'm seen at the Playboy Mansion, as the Christian Progressive Liberal, I don't think my excuse of "witnessing to the lost" is going to play well.

(2) Having your former lover posting pictures of your vacation with her on the Internet. Ah, those "Family Values" again. I'm no prude, but if you're promoting yourself to those in East Tennessee as a "Family Values" man, going off on weekends with a woman you're not married to, doesn't cut it. If there's some "Family Values" that allow for fornication, could you forward them to me, please? While I know plenty of ministers who do the same thing, I call them out on that, too. And while what you do in your personal life shouldn't matter a damn to anyone except you and another consenting adult, it does if you're promoting yourself as a "Family Values" man. Look what it did for Mark Foley and Don Sherwood...

(3) Trying to distance yourself from your family while getting tied up with them 50 ways from Sunday. Either endorse your brother and really kill your chances at that Senate seat, or do the right thing and shore up your base by endorsing who rightfully won the Democratic nomination for the 9th District Congressional Seat.

(4) Gatecrashing your opponent's press conference and then going on television lying about how Bob Corker won't engage you in debates. I saw them on C-Span...and if you weren't making this Senate race about your family, showing up with the same thug-like tactics as the rest of your family doesn't do jack to show Tennessee and the Nation how you're not like the rest of your family. Jeez, Harold, gatecrashing Corker's press Conference? My God, what the Hell were you thinking when you did that?!!!

I'm going on the record again - I wanted you to win or lose this election based on the merits, your voting record and the issues. But you have made this election about your family and their peccadilloes, as well as your own.

And to think, I'd actually gotten used to the idea of calling you "Senator Ford" even if your response would be to cuss me out to my face. I can still get used to the idea, but your idiocy is taking that to a whole 'nother level that I can't begin to fathom...

posted by The Christian Progressive Liberal

From: Life In & Around Memphis

Changes in Lattitudes...

Well actually, it's more of a change in longitude. But I digress...

There are distinct differences between Germantown and Memphis that I'm beginning to notice. I think I'm going to try and supply pics of these differences over time, but for now, just take my word.

One example I'll give you now: a huge difference between Memphis and Germantown is what kind of cars come with "rims." I know what you're thinking: "Philip, cars don't come with rims. Rims are put on by the owners after they buy the car. They are aftermarket accessories." You are right. But when you see a car driving down the street with rims, as far as you know, the car came with those rims. But for the sake of this post we'll just discuss the various "cars with rims" around the area.

The quality of cars with rims vary from area of town to another. When I lived in Midtown and East Memphis, I saw tons of cars with rims (especially at Buffalo Wild Wings), but they were all crappy cars with expensive looking rims (like a '95 Chrysler towncar with rusted paint and a two color hood or an old '97 Chevy Blazer). It had spinners and tinted windows but was one rain storm away from losing the muffler. Now that I live in Germantown (temporarily), I notice that cars with rims are actually nice cars (like a Mercedes Benz SL500 with tinted windows and spinners or a Lincoln towncar with tinted windows).

One thing I have noticed is that regardless of what area of town, if you're going to put rims and/or spinners on a ride (is there a difference?), they have to be nice no matter how much of a piece o' shite your car is. So the lesson is that...

RIMS ARE NOT A STATUS SYMBOL PEOPLE! YOUR STATUS IS BASED ON WHAT STYLE AND QUALITY OF VEHICLE YOU ADD THE RIMS!!!

Over the next week or so, I'll try and get pics of the various types of cars with rims around town. That is, if I remember to bring my damn camera with me.

Have a good one and don't get none on ya

posted by Philip

From: Fertile Ground

Me Talk Scary Someday

On Monday, Mary, one of my derby teammates sent me an email informing me that she wouldn't be at practice because she had just been given two free tickets to see David Sedaris at the Cannon Center. I immediately responded, "Who gets the second ticket?"

She said she had already asked her boyfriend to go, but she could try and get another ticket.

"Get two," I typed.

A few minutes later she called to say that she had indeed gotten two more tickets. I immediately emailed our coach and told her I wouldn't be at practice either and got on the horn to see if I could possibly get Warren home from Missouri.

My coach told Mary and I that we could only have an excused absence from practice if we returned from the show with a piece of David Sedaris, even if it was just a toenail. Warren said there was no way he could make it back to be my date.

Mary and I made a verbal pinky swear to retrieve a toenail and I set about getting a backup date. I emailed my comrades in arms, RJA, Kristy, and Andria to see who wanted to escort me. RJA was the first to reply, then Kristy, then Andria.

I've never felt so popular.

In the end, neither RJA or Kristy could justify feeding their four kids benadryl for dinner and abandoning them with the other parent on a school night, so Andria got to be my date.

As we entered the Cannon Center and got lost in a sea of whitebread intellectual types like ourselves, I turned to Mary and said, "Give me my ticket in case we get separated."

"No," she said with a laugh.

"Okay..." I said, "Then I guess you better come pee with me."

Once we had all freshened up and set off to find our seats, it soon became clear why Mary was being so tight lipped about the tickets.

WE HAD FRONT ROW CENTER SEATS!

That's right folks. David Sedaris and his podium were about 20 feet from me.

The show was completely brilliant as expected. I both felt totally dwarfed by his writing and lifted by his success. I mean here was a dude just reading his essays to a room full of people who forked over $35-$100 per seat. Pretty damn amazing.

When the show was over and Sedaris left the stage, I turned to Mary and said, "Look he left his water glass on stage! Let's get it for the coach."

She looked on in horror as I quickly mounted the stage, grabbed his glass and water bottle, and then nailed my landing back on the orchestra floor.

"Oh my god!" my companions yelled between their hysterical laughter.

In the foyer I scoped out the book signing line to see if I could stand to wait in it for a chance to actually speak to Mr. Sedaris. It was about a hundrd miles long and my babysitter was going to turn into a pumpkin soon. "Oh well," I said.

Mary ran off to the facilities as Andria, Michael, and I chatted. As she made her way back, I noticed Justin Willingham (a local NPR announcer) escorting a very small man through the lobby. Without thinking twice, I walked over to join them.

"Hi Mr. Sedaris," I said. "I just jumped on stage and grabbed your drinking glass because my roller derby coach said the only way I could miss practice was if I brought her something with your bodily fluids on it. Or a toenail."

He looked at me stunned and said, "Oh you don't want my toenail."

"Can you sign the glass?" I asked hopefully.

"I can at the table," he said nervously.

I followed him and Justin Willingham past the hundreds of people lined up and watched as he delicately signed the glass and silently prayed for his life.

"Thank you very much," I said in my most un-psychotic voice.

I swear, sometimes I even amaze myself. Here's to you, Randi!

posted by Stacey Greenberg

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From: Bar-B-Log

The CA Sucks Up

I want to rant about Leslie Kelley's review of Corky's in yesterday's Playbook. I actually wrote a very long rant about it, but instead of posting those thousand-plus words, I reduced my vitriol to a few rhetorical questions. Why was this review written? Why was it written so poorly? Why was it then published? Does any reader of The Commercial Appeal want or need a review of Corky's?
Is anyone going there to get a hamburger? How in the good Lord's name could she give them three stars?

On the bright side, I found the reader comments heartening – especially the following: "You're not from here, are you, darlin'?"

Basted by The Saucier

From: Downtown Books

I want to be a REAL bookstore when I grow up

I sell books for a living. I like selling books, and I am damn good at it. I sell books better than 70 hours most weeks, and have spent years learning my trade. I do not tell you any of this to impress you, but rather to make the point that this is what I DO. This is not a hobby, or what I am doing until my Amway business takes off and I become a super duper diamond and own an island. So, you will understand if I took offense when I read this over at Paul Ryburns blog.

Let me preface this by saying that I don't think Paul is a bad person; I just think he is wrong.

He maintains (insists, really) that while it is great that we are here, what Downtown needs is a real bookstore. You know, one with ferns and carpet and that stays open till ten, so he does not have to go hang out at bars. Now, one might question why one must go hang out at bars, if what you really want to do is go to a bookstore, as there is a Bookstar 15 minutes up the road that stays open till 10 (and they do not even have a cover charge), but that is a whole 'nother post; heck, that would be a whole 'nother blog.

He gives 3 reasons [sic] why Downtown needs a Chain Bookstore. To quote Samuel Johnson (who, among other things, was a bookseller and a son of a bookseller) "I refute you, thus!"

1) We need a bookstore that stays open until at least 10 at night.
"...I would love to have a bookstore where I can go and read and hang out after work."

That is not what you do in a bookstore. That is what you do in a library, or the park, or hell, I guess the alleyway behind your house. You buy books in a bookstore. If you do this, the proprietor will no doubt want to chat with you, discuss things you like to read, or make other recommendations. Some people call this a good time. Buying books means you give them money, with which they pay the rent, lights, taxes, employees, buy books, and, if fortune shines on them (or the phone bill is late in arriving that month), they buy food for their children and try to pay their mortgage. Your "hanging out" does not pay for any of that.

Incidentally, again note that I studied this just a little bit before risking time, money, and my families security in downtown. If there were enough folks who would come in at 10pm, I would be here with bells on. The market (defined as people who will pay money for books) just ain't there. As it is, anything after 3pm is a gift.


2) There's a certain legitimacy that comes with a big chain's name value.

If you go to bed with a whore, you wake up with a whore. IF B&N or Borders came down here, less than half of the money you put in their register will stay in the local economy. Over 80% of our revenue stays local. They will come in, slash prices, force the books down your throat that the publisher pays them advertising dollars to, and when things look bleak, they will leave. You will get folks who work there who are just a shade too smart to work at McDonald's. Oh, they are legitimate. They are as legitimate as all hell.

3. Larger selection

This is largely a myth. Folks say they want a larger selection, but they do not. They want the appearance of a larger selection. We have well over 10,000 titles on the shelves, and add more everyday. Titles, not books. They may have 50,000 books, but only 6,000 titles. After all, there are 50 copies of the Da Vinci code in that pile, and 15 copies of the latest Nora Roberts books in a display over there. The industry knows this, by the way. The chains know that a HUGE percentage of their sales will come from less than 500 titles in any given year. They have a cute name for the rest of the stock: wallpaper.

If you want the latest Oprah book club book, go to B&N. However, we have a highly regarded selection of Religion, Philosophy, Science Fiction, American history and Cookbooks that I would go up against any chain on.

A few other things from his post that I take issue with:

And I'm not claiming that that experience is better than the one you would have at a mom-and-pop store, ...

I just LOVE being called a Mom and Pop. Love it. Why don't you just tell me how cute my little bookshop is, and ask me what I want to be when I grow up.

True, a small store could order any book a customer requests, but when I want a book, I want it now, not a week from now. If I were willing to wait a week, I'd just get on Amazon.com and order it myself.

Maybe that is the best choice for you. Then you can hang out in your own house, listen to your ipod and talk loud on your cellphone. Of course, when you do that, please do not piss and moan when the small bookshops go under and talk about how evil the chains are, and how "Downtown NEEDS a bookstore". It costs money to be here, folks.

Downtown Books closes at 5, according to their website. That means the only day I can hang out there is Saturday.

Not that we have seen you on any of the 6 Saturdays we have been open so far, but we have high hopes. Please leave the Yatzee board at home.

posted by Hugh Hollowell

From: Paul Ryburn's Journal

Why we need a big chain bookstore downtown

This morning I got an e-mail from Memphis Tobacco Bowl/Downtown Books. They were responding to my recent suggestion that the soon-to-be-vacant Tower Records space in Peabody Place Mall would be a good spot for a Borders or other large chain bookstore:

"You could walk over to 152 Madison, in the heart of Downtown, where there's a bookstore and a coffee shop."

I wasn't meaning to knock Downtown Books in any way when I made that suggestion. The Tobacco Bowl is a great place, and I've had many days off work that I've walked over to Tobacco Bowl and sat at Tracy's coffee bar and had a great time. The Tobacco Bowl is a real asset to downtown - I don't smoke but I know they carry a large assortment of quality cigars, sold by someone who is knowledgeable enough to direct you toward something you'll like. They have really gone far to make their customers feel at home, adding the coffee bar, free wireless Internet and comfortable seating. And now they have added Downtown Books, yet one more reason to go into 152 Madison (between Second and Third, if you're not familiar with the area). If you like cigars, or coffee, or books, or friendly people, I highly recommend you stop by.

However, I still contend that downtown needs a big chain bookstore. Here's why:

1) We need a bookstore that stays open until at least 10 at night. And 11 or midnight would be even better. I get home from work about 5 in the afternoon. Downtown Books closes at 5, according to their website. That means the only day I can hang out there is Saturday. I would love to have a bookstore where I can go and read and hang out after work. Heck, it'd be a nice alternative to going out to bars every night. But at this point in Downtown's development, it would be a huge financial risk for a small business to extend its hours until 10 or 11. The big chains can afford that risk.

2) There's a certain legitimacy that comes with a big chain's name value. People are more likely to say, "Oh, if I lived Downtown I'd be able to walk to Borders; maybe it's time to move down there." They're already familiar with the shopping experience at Borders, having been to the one out east. And I'm not claiming that that experience is better than the one you would have at a mom-and-pop store, but it's perception. People tend to gravitate toward what's familiar, and a lot more people are familiar with the big chains.

3) Larger selection. Big chain stores have more space, which means they can keep more in stock. True, a small store could order any book a customer requests, but when I want a book, I want it now, not a week from now. If I were willing to wait a week, I'd just get on Amazon.com and order it myself.

For these reasons, I believe a big chain bookstore would increase foot traffic on Downtown streets, which in turn would benefit other Downtown businesses. I even think Downtown Books/Tobacco Bowl would benefit in the long run; once down here, some people would discover that there's another place a few blocks away that doesn't charge for wireless Internet and has better coffee, more comfortable seating, fine cigars, and good conversation. So, I really think having a Borders or Bookstar or B&N Downtown would be a win for everybody.

Now we just gotta convince one of the big chains that it would be a win for them...

From: Paul Ryburn's Journal

"Tendentious": Why I can't stand Koeppel's restaurant reviews

Yesterday I was browsing the Commercial Appeal's website, and noticed that Fredric Koeppel had written about Stella in his weekly dining review. So I clicked the link to see what he had to say.

The first sentence started off: "At the risk of sounding tendentious..."

Okay. In high school I scored 1430 on the SAT. I went on to a liberal arts college where I had to spend a lot of my time reading books with big words. Since then I've spent a fair amount of time reading for personal pleasure. And yet I have no idea what "tendentious" means. I don't think I've even seen the word before. I wonder if even 1% of Koeppel's readers actually knew the meaning of that word.

tendentious also tendencious adj (1900): marked by a tendency in favor to a particular point of view: BIASED - tendentiously adv - tendentiousness n

Now, that definition may possibly be outdated, as I pulled it from the dictionary I got in 1987 while still in high school. But I think we'll be okay, because Koeppel is probably the first person to actually use that word in a sentence since 1987.

When I read the first line of his Stella review, this is the thought that came to my mind:

"Well, I don't know if he sounds tendentious, but he certainly sounds pretentious."

I didn't bother to read the rest of the review. Instead, I pulled up Stacey Greenberg's excellent Dining with Monkeys blog to read some restaurant reviews that are a lot more fun, accessible, and interesting.

Looking at the reader comments section of Koeppel's Stella review, it's clear that I'm not the only one who feels this way about his writing style. I remember reading last year that the Commercial Appeal is interested in doing more to appeal to the common Memphian. Sorry guys, but this is one area in which you ain't getting it done.