Message from Stax to the Louvre; Random Downtown Photos; Angel Hair Pasta

I have no direction today, can you tell?

 and on to the random photos...

Bike rack (yes, I let Fix Memphis know)

On Union across from the Commercial Appeal

In an alley

It's time for a recipe. I made a delicious angel hair pasta with a light cream sauce this week. It's so simple and I think it only took me about 15 minutes to make; ideal for a weeknight dinner:

Angel hair pasta (1/2 box will do for two people), cook according to package directions

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup fresh spinach, chopped

A few leaves of fresh basil, chopped

1 large tomato, chopped

1/4 cup cream

2 tbsp butter

parmesean cheese

salt and pepper

Saute the tomato, spinach, basil and garlic in the butter for a few minutes. Add the cream at the end and sprinkle in a little parmesean and add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the pasta and that's it. 

Thunder Coats; Only on Tuesdays

The Insidious Jackal (see yesterday's post for explanation)

Poppy is scared of rainstorms and fireworks or any kind of popping sound. Today as I was about to leave for work a thunderstorm rolled in and Poppy was fine. But she's only fine as long as I'm with her in a storm. I don't know what she's like when I'm not around but I see the aftermath of her anxiety. When I came back home all of the bottom kitchen drawers were open and the throw rug in the kitchen was in a ball. I'm not sure if she's tries to hide in the drawers or under the rug or both. Poppy herself was quietly sitting in the bathtub. How her instincts tell her to do the exact correct thing is beyond me. Thunder coats, thunder shirts, anxiety jackets, anxiety wraps, pressure wraps are various names for the same thing. These are jackets for dogs that maintain constant pressure which is supposed to be comforting and therefore keeps nervous dogs calm. I have a friend who swears they work so I may have to try it out on the Insidious Jackal.

Other items that help to calm nerves...

Tuesday's are special and here's why:

Two for One martinis at Bangkok Alley

Ladies Day at the Corkscrew - 10% off wine

$5 Half yards at Bar None

Does Your Dog Bite?

The other day I had a drink with a friend on Flight's patio. Since my friend had his dog with him, I went home to fetch Poppy so the two canines could get in some socialization time. Both dogs were very laid back, each laying on either side of the table nearly unfazed by anything happening around them. Downtown dogs are spoiled by this patio culture and the indulgent servers who cater to their every whim. As we sat there discussing this and that, a couple was being led out to the patio to be seated at the table next to us. When one of them saw the dogs she immediately froze and asked us if they bite.

Really? This happens more than you'd think. And when it does happen I always want to say, "Oh, yes indeed. They both bite people all the time. As a matter of fact this 12 year old one here looks docile but she just took a plug out of someone last week. And the other one is nicknamed Cujo because he attacks almost anything that moves. They are vicious and rabid and that's why we take them to heavily populated places to get them as close to their prey as possible. But they probably won't bother you, I mean, unless you move real fast or something." 

But instead we said,  "Nooooooo, they are really sweeeet. They're just big love muffins.You can pet them if you want, they won't hurt you."  Both dogs were nearly asleep and obviously only thinking about whether they should trouble the waiter for a nice big bowl of icy lemon water. The couple backed away from us anyway and sat on the opposite end of the patio safe from the insidious jackals.

Calvary Cemetery, Riposa in Pace: More Bassignana-Memphis Connections

From time to time I write about Bassignana, Italy. And why, you ask? Perché? Because many Italians from Bassignana, Italy emigrated to Memphis. I can make a few guesses as to why so many came specifically to Memphis but they're just guesses. Obviously after a few Bassignanesi settled here, the rest of the folks back in the villaggio thought, perché no? We'll just call Bassignana "Villaggio B" from now on, ok? Today I went to Calvary Cemetery to visit the graves of my family members (some from Villaggio B, others from further south) who are buried there. It may sound somewhat macabre to talk about the cemetery on a beautiful sunny summer afternoon, but it was actually quite pleasant and I had a couple of interesting surprises. There's not much informazione on the interwebs about Calvary Cemetery which is sad. Why is that, CDOM? There should be a website with the history of the cemetery and some stories about the interesting and influential people who are buried there, as well as information about the beautiful monuments and grounds. The only information I could get was from the marker at the entrance which said that the cemetery was "consecrated in 1867 to serve the booming populations of the Catholic Irish, German and Italians" and that it "contains the remains of over 45,000 of the faithful departed". So, I went to the cemetery and visited those Italians and Sicilians that belong to me:

SICILY

BASSIGNANA

ITALIAN-SWISS BORDER

SICILY

And then to my surprise as I went walking around looking at different headstones, I found some other folks from Villaggio B who gave a shout out on their headstones (above and below)

I haven't talked much about the part of my family from Trabia, Sicily which is too bad.  But I don't know much about them and haven't done any research to speak of, yet. If anyone has some Trabia-Memphis connection information please let me know. Grazie mille.

Calvary is heavily populated with Italian families. Just a quick drive through yielded this incomplete list of names:

Ferloni, Vescovo, Lobianco, Favazza, Novarese, Battaglia, Canale, Cianciola, Giannini, Robilio, Fracchia, Gaia, Lucchesi, Piano, Facelli, Perini, Gattuso, Pieroni, Berretta, Cavallo, Galliani, Garzoli, Gallina, Greganti, Mazzone, Andreini, Turri, Locardi, Pera, Peri, Pesce, Calvi, Amisano, Fransioli, Massa, Masserano, Cavasino, Garbarini, Bomarito, Aviotti, Ungaro, Lunati, Rumaggi, Tuminello, Liberto, Borgognoni, Distretti, Giacosa, Taverna, Zoccola, Gavgiola, Sansone, Pierucci, Bistolfi, Zerilla, Foppiano, Boccellao, Demarco, Mascari, Siracusa, Bianchi, Garavelli, Sicco, Gusmani, Monteverde, Zanone, Pagano, Sampietro, Sambucetti, Buoni, Fransioli, Saino, Aiello, Cortese, Magnini, Perfetti, Visca, Costello, Cardosi, Buchignani, Spinolo, Spinosa, Laguzzi, Pirani, Garrone, Guasco, Albonetti, Micheletti

I Have Questions

When did this start? When did cars become the canvas for displaying cave painting-like images of entire family trees? Consider this description of prehistoric cave paintings in India from Wikipedia, "Executed mainly in red and white with the occasional use of green and yellow, the paintings depict the lives and times of the people who lived in the caves, including scenes of childbirth, communal dancing and drinking, as well as indigenous animals." Huh.

Goodbye Gator

Gator Print has closed its doors. Their name has been scraped off the awning. They are selling off all their furniture and fixtures. The army of stuffed, ceramic, & toy alligators has been removed from their front window. This independent family owned print shop had been operating on Monroe for 28 years.  It’s weird the things you get used to, the little things that become a part of your routine, things you hardly notice until they’re gone. Every morning for the past seven years I have walked super fabulous Poppy out of my front door bright and early. And every morning as I looked across the street I would see Gator Print’s owner sitting there at his desk in the middle of the shop getting ready for the day. He was always there early and I can’t remember one day when I didn’t see him. As Poppy and I walked out the door today I noticed the empty shop across the street, save for a few odds and ends. And there, seemingly floating in the middle of the empty space, he sat as always at his desk taking care of a few last items before turning off the lights for good. Goodbye Gator.  Goodbye Gator article

Five Favorites for Friday

I've been a busy, busy girl this past week and therefore unable to post anything. But I shall not let you down today for Five Favorites Friday. This week's five favorites are related to emails. It's twisted to call this list "favorites" but these are my favorite complaints about electronic letters:

1. People who hit the "reply all" button to say "thanks", "congratulations", "funny!" or some other one word response that should really only be sent to the sender.

2. People who make no sense. Real life example: Sender sent this simple email: "We do not need to use your equipment for the meeting. Thanks for offering." The receiver responded: "Hello. I just wanted to confirm the we were not asked to provide any equipment except the request for the equipment which I understand has not been cancelled. Please let us know."

3. People who do not read the entire email and therefore do not respond to requested action. On the other hand are the people who respond in knee-jerk fashion thereby causing confusion. They never notice the five related emails in their inbox that they have yet to open, the responses to which may have already resolved the issue at hand.

4. People who pass on chain emails and who always write "I never do this but I thought this was worth reading..."

5. The email subject. This one drives me insane. People who scan things and forward them without naming them so that it just looks like some junk in your inbox. Or how about an email that starts out with an appropriate subject name but then turns into a lengthy discussion about something else entirely and it keeps getting forwarded under the original subject name.

5a. I know, I know. I'm only allowed five but I just had to get another one in - the person who is IMPORTANT. This person's email are always urgent, as their time is more valuable than yours, and therefore 80% of their emails are marked with the "Importance: high" red exclamation mark.

Father's Day Downtown

Father's Day is this Sunday, June19th, so here are a few ideas for Dads:

Redbirds Game on Sunday with a Father's Day Buffet Package



Local Gastropub has a Cajun Crawfish Boil, which, by the way, they have every Sunday at 5pm.

Shelton's Clothiers is offering 20% off everything during the month of June.

Lansky's in the Peabody has a wide array of men's clothes and accessories.

Musical Dad? Try St. Blues , Jazz Jam at Earnestine & Hazel's, or the BB King All Stars at B.B. King's

Sporty Dad? Try Midtown Bike Company or scope out seat selections for the 2011-2012 season at the Memphis Grizzlies Open House this Saturday, June 18th 10am - 1pm.

A Variation on Five Favorites for Friday

Well, it appears I have been tagged for a blog award. The interwebs have judged me and found I am worthy of a Top 10 Award. Thanks to my very nice fellow blogger Olivia over at Livy Lu Lu. Now, her blog is all about nail polish, makeup and all manner of girly beautification and this award goes like this:

The Top 10 Award Rules:

1. Thank the person who tagged you and link to their blog. - Check
2. Put the Top 10 award logo on your blog. - Check
3. List your top 10 cosmetics. - Check with revisions
4. Choose ten bloggers to tag, link to their blogs, and let them know.  - Check with adjustments
Although I love a good eyeliner as much as the next girl, since my blog is about downtown Memphis I will adjust the rules a bit, if I may be so bold, to list my top 10 favorite things about dowtown:

1. Walkable
2. Plenty of events happening throughout the year
3. History
4. Interesting architecture
5. Rooftops with river views; rooftops with city views, rooftops generally
6. Lots of great restaurants/bars
7. Many nice parks
8. South Main district
9. The river
10. My downtown neighbors

Because it's Friday and I'm tired from all the hustle and bustle from my long week of work, I shall direct you to my sidebar to fulfill Rule #4. Please see my "International Places of Interest" and "Other Places of Interest" blog lists.

Thursday is Busy in the Neighborhood

Third Thursdays

Live Music in Felicia Suzanne's Courtyard

Sunset Atop the Madison Hotel followed by Moonlight

The Peabody Rooftop Party  and a

Memphis Daily News article about how well their rooftop parties are doing.

Home Grown Dinners

The Memphis Farmers Market Farm to Fork Dinners SCHEDULE :

Five Favorites for Friday

This week's five favorites are a fun mix of various themes. Have a great weekend.

Turmeric & Saffron

norococo

Sicily Scene

Apartment Therapy

Jewelry Revelations

Message Boards at Trolley Stops

It looks like all the trolley stops now have message boards that, I think, post how many minutes until the next trolley arrives. This is nice. Depending on your wait time and what station you're at, you may be able to cross some items off your to-do list. For example, if you're at the Central Station you could get an espresso at Bluff City Coffee, buy a few things at American Apparel and browse through Muse. Or if you have a wait at the Madison Station you can pick up some things at Walgreens, get some cheap wine at that little liquor store, eat lunch at Sam's Hamburgers and possibly fit in a 45 minute work out at Wellworx gym. If you're at Butler Station you may find you have enough time to run into Douglas & Associates and they can work up a whole portfolio of investment strategies for you. I started this post with good intentions, I really did. I was at one of the stops at 10:20. The sign read Main Street Trolley...10:26. 10:26 came and went with no trolley and no sign of a trolley coming down the track. 10:26 dropped off the board and then it read:
Main Street Trolley....10:35
Main Street Trolley....10:40
Main Street Trolley....10:44
Main Street Trolley....10:53
Multiple choice? Is it a game? If you pick the correct time do you win a prize? There couldn't be four southbound trolleys coming in a row with an average of 6 minute intervals between them.  As I sat there wondering what all this meant a couple of girls trying to balance themselves on ridiculously high heels asked me where the Rumba Room was. One of them was visibly in pain. Some women just do not know how to walk in heels. Add to that the fact that cheap heels are even harder to walk in and you have a disastrous mobility issue on your hands. But I digress. When I told them that the Rumba Room was five blocks away they looked a bit distressed. I cheerily added that the trolley would be along in about 4 minutes. They both looked at me as if to say, "Sure honey, you keep waiting".  They clearly felt like they'd make better time on foot and took off hobbling and limping along southward. I suspect there would be no dancing for either of them if they in fact were able to make it without breaking their ankles. For now, until I understand what the message board is trying to tell me I'll be sure to allow plenty of time to get to my destination if I want to take a trolley. Oh, and I'll wear flats, just in case.

A Southern Summer Evening at a French Victorian Mansion

An evening celebration in the garden filled with Southern inspired food, drink, fine art, and entertainment. Food provided by Wade & Co., 3D catering, and Fork It Over catering. Fine art by local artists including Monty Shane, Amanda Hill, Andrea Cowart and more on display and for sale! Entertainment by Brennan Villines Trio beginning at 8PM. Suggested donation of $25 per person at the event. VIV Tables for 10 guests are available for a donation of $200!! (VIV: Very Important Vctorians) Please call to reserve your table by calling 901-526-1469, leave your name and number and a host will return your call! Victorian Village website; Woodruff-Fontaine website

Folk Art Puppies for Sale; A Very Large Knife; Mixed Use Building on S. Front

A Chris Little art installation is delightfully set up until the end of June in an otherwise boring hole in the ground at Jefferson and Main Street. Visit Chris Little's website at: http://www.littlefolkart.vpweb.com/

and on the other end of downtown...

In case you're in need of a 7 foot pocket knife (silly to call it a pocket knife in this case, isn't it?) you can find one at Name Brand Mattress and Furniture Liquidators on S. Main, of course.

 Exposed beams and the facade are all that's left of the building at 436 S. Front (at Nettleton)

Read more

The Green Beetle

It appears that The Green Beetle is slowly crawling back to life. See that cute new sign? It's at the corner of Vance and S. Main next to Frank's Deli and had been open for eons before it closed last summer. It was a place to hang out very, very late and grab some bar food.  Looks like the addition of large windows on the front will lighten up its former cave-like atmosphere. I am not sure what this incarnation intends for the Green Beetle to be but it's nice to see it come back. 

 

Original Art - One Day Opportunity

Like what you see? Read more from the artist David Lynch....

Special One Day Art Offering, TODAY Monday June 6th: The two attached images are ORIGINAL PAINTINGS that are scheduled to be delivered to a gallery on Tuesday, but after thinking about it last week, I thought this would be a great opportunity to do a Special Offering to all who have invested in my artworks previously and would like to get an original painting minus the gallery commission that is added on.

The subject matter of these take a different path than my usual city scenes of MEMPHIS and turn more to the nature side, FYI... The reference pictures were taken at LICHTERMAN Nature Center.

At right: 'Water Lilies with Raindrops'

Above: 'Water Lilies at Night'

Both are:

Size: 60" x 48" (5 ft. x 4 ft.)

Original: Acrylic on Canvas

Price: $ 875 each

dlynchart@yahoo.com

Wheels Wind Spinner

A circle of bike wheels spin in the wind on top of One South Main

In the Details

The marker below is in front of the Shrine building condos at Front and Monroe:

I have seen the shriners enblem mentioned in the marker in the frosted glass above the front door of the Shrine many times. But I was recently sitting in the lobby and could really see all the details of the emblem as the sun shone through the glass. It was then that I noticed in the five pointed star of the emblem the word ALLAH is spelled out. You can only really see it from inside of the building. This plate glass window is above the front door and the glass is opaque from outside plus there is a large canopy under it so it's virtually impossible to see the emblem from the street. Here's a shot of it from inside :

In my brief research about the emblem I found no mention of Allah being spelled out in the star, only that there is a star. But in some items Allah is spelled out, as we know from the plate glass window, and as you can also see in this antique Shriners pin:

Now about the words "Al Chymia" on the scimitar. Alchymia is the Latin form of the word alchemy, which is the art of changing something common into something priceless. Alchymia has been defined as "manipulating...consciousness into matter, to help it evolve,...to solve problems..."

Downtown is full of interesting architectural details and some of them are unexpected, like Allah and alchemy.

Beale Street Caravan Says...

The world has the Blues. Help us give it a soundtrack. June 16...

Get Beale Street Caravan Blowout information right here.