Happy New Year!

As I busily cook my New Year's Eve dinner I have been thinking back over the past year and all that has happened, all I've accomplished and all I have yet to do. I was fortunate in 2009. Work was fulfilling and we met all our goals, Poppy and I were both fit and healthy all year, I was able to travel abroad and experience new things, my family was well and happy, I tried to learn some French and some more Italian, I made some new friends and my old friends are all doing well. Looking ahead to 2010, I have a lot of plans, aspirations, changes to make and hopes for the new year, as everyone does. I have important business to address in the coming year that's close to my heart and I have prayed for direction in this matter. I hope the new year and start to the new decade bring all of you happiness, health, prosperity, joy, peace and that you are surrounded by those who love and support you and that you in kind give your love and support to others. In more pedestrian news, I may give the blog a makeover for 2010 so look for a change!

Downtown Liberty Bowl Events

Those attending the 51st Annual Liberty Bowl will witness Arkansas take on East Carolina this weekend on Saturday, January 2 at 4:30 pm. The Madison Grill is advertising quite a delicious sounding tailgate to go. Those of you staying downtown may want to order it ahead and pick it up on your way out to the game.

The Bash on Beale Street. Join fans from the competing teams for a pep rally and then ring in the New Year on Thursday, December 31, 2009 – 5 PM

Bands from across the nation march on Beale St. on Friday, January 1, 2010 in the Liberty Bowl Parade. Starts at 3pm.

Paintertainment; Year of the Tiger Art Competition

Yesterday's post segues well into today's art theme. Fellow blogger Carbunkle Trumpet was singing the praises of a new place in Cooper-Young called ARTjamN (http://www.artjamn.com/) that is opening soon. He and his wife had a lot of fun doing this and he wanted to pass the information along. See his post about this paintertainment establishment at this link:
http://carbunkletrumpet.blogspot.com/2009/12/artjamn-aka-painting-for-dumbeez.html

It's time again for the Belz Museum of Asian & Judaic Art Chinese New Year Art Competition. February 14th, 2010 is Chinese New Year's Day. In anticipation of the New Year, they are announcing their 6th Annual Art Competition. The competition is open to all K-12 students in the Memphis area. This year's theme "Keep Your Eye on The Tiger in 2010" will be a popular one. Entries are due at the end of January 2010. To download an official entry form with all of the details and deadlines, click here.

If you were born in one of these years you were born in a Tiger Year : 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998. According to some very hurried web research, Tiger personalties are described as being sensitive, given to deep thinking, capable of great sympathy. They can be extremely short-tempered, however. Other people have great respect for them, but sometimes Tiger people come into conflict with older people or those in authority. Sometimes Tiger people cannot make up their minds, which can result in a poor, hasty decision or a sound decision arrived at too late. They are suspicious of others, but they are courageous and powerful. Tigers are most compatible with Horses, Dragons, and Dogs.
Horse Years (1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002)
Dragon Years ( 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000)
Dog Years (1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006)

On the Edge Again

The Edge Neighborhood is a quite a mixed bag of businesses I'd say and I've mentioned it from time to time here on the blog. In this hard to define industrial yet somewhat artsy area wedged in between Downtown and the Medical District you will find new, modern looking condos mixed in with Wonderbread-Hostess, Quetzal, Tracy's Foreign Car Service (I credit them with keeping my car running), Hattiloo Theatre, St. Blues Guitars, McGown Studio (furniture workshop), A.S. Martin & Sons (body shop), among other businesses. I noticed over the past couple of weeks the addition of an art studio called Garden Path Studio at the pointiest part of the V where Marshall and Madison meet. A while back the neighborhood had launched a program to bring in graffiti artists to paint blank, neighborhood approved walls but I've only noticed one that's been painted and it's hidden behind Tracy's. It's not easily seen unless you happen to be walking south down Orleans from Madison and I doubt many of you have ever found yourself on that footpath. Anywho, I keep my eye on this little oasis area as I watch it slowly transform.

New Year's Eve Downtown

I plan on staying in for New Year's Eve, hoping for a replay of last year which was great. I had a friend over and made a nice dinner. She had planned an elaborate evening out and invited me along. I opted out, preferring to stay in, warm and safe and cozy until about 11:55 when I took a few steps over to Bardog (where my friend had ended up) to say "Happy New Year!" By 12:05 I was back in the condo. Perfect.

If you're not quite the homebody I am, here are some places to go out for New Year's Eve:

The Peabody has two parties, http://www.peabodymemphis.com/holidays/

Saving Abel with Al Kapone and DJ Mark Anderson in the Grand Ballroom, 8 p.m. - 2 a.m., $45 per person, advance online purchase ($50 per person, purchase at the door)

Andy Childs with DJ Cody Rogers and John Felix Trio in the Grand Lobby, Continental Ballroom and Corner Bar, 8 p.m. - 2 a.m., $35 per person, advance online purchase ($40 per person, purchase at the door)

Beale Street's New Year's Eve Celebration @ 8pm.
Free concerts in Handy Park, live bands in every venue, Gibson Guitar drop from a 100 ft tower, and fireworks.

There are numerous other New Year's Eve celebrations and special dinners scattered around downtown. See the CCC's website for event listings: http://www.downtownmemphis.com/experience-downtown/search

Christmas Card for You

From the American Mailing System Letter Box in my building to your screen, consider this my Christmas card to you. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!

This Month's Trolley Night is Tonight

A few spots to hit along the Trolley Tour tonight:

The Hannah Davis Gallery Trolley Tour Holiday Show featuring 13 artists runs through Jan 9th. 408 S. Front, Suite 105 Huling Row.

Sneak Peek's Black Friday Sale continues through Christmas Eve. Click the image belwo to enlarge:

From Delphinium at 107 G.E. Patterson:
"Delphinium still has lots of great gift ideas and accessories for all of your holiday parties. With new shipments continuing to come in everyday, we have unique and affordable lace or wool scarves, watches for men and women, and simple but classic silver necklaces, just to name a few favorite things. Don’t forget…We do offer gift certificates in any denomination with no expiration date and complimentary gift wrapping too. A few sales through the end of December 31st and that are not to be missed are: Smashbox Cosmetics 50% off, (Excluding lip gloss, lip stick, and Photo Finish Primer), All remaining MD Formations 80% off, Buy One Zents product get One Body Wash Free. (While supplies last)."

Stop by SOB for their happy hour 4 pm - 7 pm $3 drafts and $4 wells.

Caution: Pomegranates; Ladies Day at Shelton Clothiers; Third Thursday at Main and Peabody Place

'Tis the season for pomegranates. There they sit in the bin at the grocery store looking so pretty and on special - 2 for $5. Until recently I have skipped purchasing them convinced that they were too difficult to eat what with all those pulpy little seeds. It's not like I wanted to use them in some intricate recipe, I just wanted to eat one since they are so good for you. Finally, I was recently instructed on a clever way to deal with these. Be sure you have one that has no little holes in the skin and gently squeeze it all over. When you do this you can hear the pulp around the seeds popping open. But you must do this for a while so I suggest doing it while you watch tv. Eventually, you bite a small hole in the skin and squeeze the juice into your mouth. Voilà! With just a bit of mindless work you have delicious, fresh pomegranate juice. Now, just to let you know this is a delicate process and it's imperative to be patient. I know because the first time I tried this it was a disaster. I was sitting on my couch in a white sweater (you already know where this is going) and well, ended up with an exploding pomegranate. Red juice was everywhere. I'm not sure how it could have made the trajectory it did but suffice it to say that even the wall became a victim. I went to this website :http://www.pomegranates.org/nomess.html and it's full of tips on how to cut and eat pomegranates and use them in recipes. You will see the phrase "Caution: Pomegranate juice stains." a lot on that website. That's true I'm sure but I got all of the stains out of my sweater, couch, and pillows (yes, really, it was a hot mess) with Oxy Clean. No lie.



Ladies get a break at Shelton Clothiers, 147 S Main - www.sheltonclothiers.com
Thursday, Dec. 17 and Friday, Dec 18. they are offering 30% off everything in the store for women shopping for all the men in their lives. Free gift wrap. Free parking - just bring your parking ticket from any garage downtown and they'll pay it. Plus they will serve wine and hors d'oeuvres from 4-8pm.

From 5:30 to 7:30 tonight it's "Third Thursday" at Main and Peabody Place - Shops and restaurants on this block (which is more or less Main St. between Union and Peabody Place, I think) will offer holiday specials, hot chocolate, carolers, and more.

The bridge and one of the holiday snowflake lightpole lights

Downtown Shopping Ideas

Lansky 126 is located in the Lobby of The Peabody Hotel
149 Union Avenue · 901.405.7625

http://www.lansky126.com/

Support downtown businesses this season!!

Delphinium www.delphiniumboutique.com

Red Fish www.redfishgalleryandgifts.com

American Apparel www.americanapparel.net

Sneak Peek http://sneakpeek-memphis.com/

Strut http://www.strutmemphis.net/

Muse http://www.museinspiredfashion.com/

Runway Boutique http://www.therunwayboutique.net/

Midtown Bike Co. http://midtownbikeco.com/

The Gir Collection http://www.gircollection.com/

Samuel Nathan Galleries http://thesamuelnathangalleries.com

Gould's http://www.gouldsalons.com/

National Ornamental Metal Museum Gift Shop http://www.metalmuseum.org/shop.html

Jack Yacoubian Jewelers 145 Madison

The Jewelry Market 43 S. Main Street

Boulevard Boutique 164 Madison

Rivertown Gallery http://www.rivertowngallery.net/

Art Under A Hot Tin Roof http://www.artunderahottinroof.com/

Peabody Place http://belz.com/peabodyplace

Center for Southern Folklore - Folklore Store http://store.southernfolklore.org/

Winter Whites

Berries on a vine growing down a wall on S. Main St.

Leafless trees by the train bridge near Nettleton St.

Memphis Messiah at the Cannon Center

Friday, December 11, 2009 at 8 p.m.Cannon Center for the Performing Arts

The following information was taken from the Orphanos Foundation website: "The Memphis Messiah, an annual benefit performance, is truly a five-star evening. In partnership with Orphanos Foundation, the event brings together: one of the greatest musical compositions ever written, the most life-giving words ever written, the instrumentation of the world-class Memphis Symphony Orchestra, the voices of the world-class choirs at Independent Presbyterian Church and Lindenwood Christian Church, and the comfort and acoustic splendor of the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts. In conjunction with the publicly attended concert on December 11, Orphanos Foundation again partners with Memphis City Schools to provide a special program for underserved inner-city children on Thursday, December 10. This includes a fully developed curriculum taught in the school system by trained music educators the week of the event. Approximatley 3,600 Title 1 Memphis area students and 1,800 students from the Catholic Jubilee Schools will see an abbreviated version of the Messiah. The school administrators love this event and plan to continue to bring students in years to come. Their commitment is testimony to how well received this program is to the students."

Christmas Lights Downtown

As promised...

Several of these shots are of the 431 S. Main building and its windows which are spectacularly turned out this year. We could take a cue from Lyon (see previous post) and project some eye-catching lights onto some vacant buildings (e.g. the Pyramid) and churches (the one south of FedEx Forum, for example) for a few days in December.

So Very Randomly Way Off Topic

It's clear I haven't been thinking about downtown Memphis these past few days and honestly, I am not sure I have much to say about it at the moment. As lackluster as I have been lately, I have been meaning to post some photos of Christmas lights around downtown and I'll get around to it. But while thinking about our pretty lights, I was reminded yesterday by a regular reader (possibly my only regular reader) that in the city of Lyon, France they have just had their annual Festival of Lights (Fête des lumières). So, I'm sending you to this link: http://www.lumieres.lyon.fr/lumieres/sections/en to see some gorgeous lights from the other side of the world and learn a bit about this event. I'll get back on topic soon but for now this blog is like a box of chocolates...

The Gorgeous Peabody Lobby

Photos of the edible chimney, Santa Claus and Gingerbread House:

It's Christmas Time in the City

The Memphis Holiday Parade, Rock 'n Romp and a special winter Farmers Market event are all coming up this Saturday, December 5th. Click each graphic below to enlarge and see the details or go to http://www.downtownmemphis.com/

Lunch at Market Cafe

I had lunch today with my Dad aka Aquaman and we decided to try Market Cafe on Madison between Second and Third. The food was really very good; fresh, healthy, tasty and fast. I had the Ham and Cheddar Panini - Amish ham, sweet chow chow*, cheddar cheese and honey mustard sauce on a potato roll while Dad had the Chicken and Brie Club - roasted chicken, green apples, petite greens, bacon, Brie and cranberry mustard on a wheat roll.

* Funny, I sometimes call Poppy a 'sweet chow chow' since she's part Chow, but I digress.

Anyway, I polished off my sandwich along with the mix of thick cut regular potato and sweet potato chips. A fresh salad of tender petite greens sprinkled with golden raisins and pomegranate seeds and lightly bathed in an herb goddess dressing came on the side. There was nothing left on my plate save a lone pomegranate seed. The potato roll the sandwich came on was great as well. Aquaman could only get through half his as he said it was a delicious sandwich but was a "monster". He will be having the remainder for dinner. I stopped short of ordering the chocolate bread pudding on today's dessert menu. I should have gotten it but there I was with the lone pomegranate seed on my otherwise clean plate and Aquaman asking for a to-go box for his half eaten sandwich. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Ah well, I'll get it next time.

Market Cafe is at 149 Madison. Open M-F 11am - 3pm. Have a look at the menu: http://www.memphismarketcafe.com/

Jack Robinson Gallery

Random downtown photo.

The Jack Robinson Gallery at 44 Huling off South Main has a couple of interesting events coming up this Friday, December 4; the opening of "Dirty Negatives" an exhibit of photography by Don Nix and the River Bluff Forge Council show and sale featuring glass and metalwork items. There is nothing about either Don Nix or the River Bluff Forge Council show that I could find on the Jack Robinson website at the moment. And the River Bluff Forge Council website is currently under construction. Very mysterious events - makes me want to go even more. Seriously, if you haven't been to this gallery this would be a great time to wander through and see some of the permanent collection as well.

Majestic Grille Gift Card Sale

From the Majestic Grille website:

ANNUAL 1/2 OFF GIFT CARD SALE - Wednesday, December 2, 9 am until we run out.
Perfect gift idea for your favorite foodie, co-worker or buy in bulk for employee or client gifts. Gift cards available in $50 increments ONLY (for $25 each). No limit. Cards are valid beginning 1/4/2010. Cards not valid for alcohol, tax, gratuity, take out orders or catering. No pre-orders or phone orders. Cards must be purchased in person. Limited supply. When we run out, we're out!

Central Station