Hummingbirds have incredible internal clocks. These tiny birds, (you could mail eight with a single stamp), have been known to visit the same place at the same time year after. If you want to learn more about these elusive creatures, visit the Strawberry Plains Audubon Center in Holly Springs, Mississippi. They’re hosting the Hummingbird Migration Celebration today through Sunday. For details, go here.
Posted inPolitics, Politics Feature
Do Not Enter
Retired Congressman Lacy Clay, a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, has written a memo saying it’s “critical” that membership in the CBC remains exclusively black.
According to Clay’s memo, “The CBC welcomes support from others in the House and Senate, especially those with liberal credentials but it is critical that its membership remain exclusively African American.” The memo was written after two white, Jewish congressional candidates, Tennessee’s Steve Cohen and New York’s David Yassky suggested that they would seek membership in the CBC in order to better serve majority black districts.
Read more here.
Posted inNews
Two Tom Lee Memorials on track
Tom Lee, the riverman who rescued 32 people from a capsized steamer in 1925, will soon have not one but two memorials in the riverfront park that bears his name.
The obelisk damaged in the 2003 windstorm has been relocated several hundred yards south of its former location, which makes it look larger because of its proximity to the river. Orange tape circling the monument is scheduled to be removed this month after lights are installed.
A second memorial depicting a scene from the actual rescue will be installed in October, according to the Riverfront Development Corporation. It will be at the northern tip of the park where the old monument was erected in 1952. The artist is David Alan Clark.
Posted inFood & Wine, Food & Drink
Burritos & 9/11
After a long delay, the second location of Blue Coast Burrito is opening at the Avenue at Carriage Crossing on Monday, September 11th — a date, certainly, that doesn’t conjure images of tacos and salsa. Making the best of it, Blue Coast Burrito will donate 10% of all total sales earned opening day to the Families of September 11 charity.
Posted inNews
Dress Up for Success
Playhouse on the Square will be opening up its costume closet on Friday and Saturday, October 19th and 20th for Halloween rentals. Available for rent are costumes from the disco musical Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens and stage weapons. Fees range from $20 to $50, but a white Elvis jumpsuit will set you back $150.
Posted inMusic, Music Features
Death Cab to Play Orpheum
Death Cab for Cutie has announced its fall tour dates, which includes a November 28th show at the Orpheum. OK Go will open.
Posted inNews
When Animals Attack
Check out this video posted on the site of downtown blogger Paul Ryburn. It’s of a lobster fight in the tank at Big Foot Lodge. As promised by Ryburn, things take an ugly turn during the last 30 seconds.
Posted inNews
Good Morning America from Beale Street
ABC’s Good Morning America is coming to Memphis next week.
John Elkington, head of Performa Entertainment Real Estate, the company that manages Beale Street, said the morning show with Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts will air from Beale Street on Friday, September 15th.
Tentative location for the set is Beale and Third. Beale Street and FedExForum will be prominently featured in the show.
Posted inNews
Timberlake in The New Yorker
“Does anything need bringing back less than sexy?” — from a review of Justin Timberlake’s “Future Sex/Love Sounds” in the latest issue of The New Yorker. Read the rest of the mostly positive review here.
Posted inNews
Good Dog
Keep an eye out for the clever ads that feature people pining for their pets. It’s part of a marketing campaign for the Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County. The nonprofit is hoping to raise funds for their new 23,000 square foot facility at Shelby Farms by playing up the companionship dogs and cats provide.
Posted inSports, Sports Feature
Relief on the Way
Based on the 2006 Memphis Redbirds season (and Jason Isringhausen’s in St. Louis, for that matter), the thought of a lights-out closer in the Cardinals system might seem like so much fantasy talk. But St. Louis happens to have a pair of league-leading firemen in its farm system, prospects you may see at AutoZone Park merely a few months from now. Read about Mark Worrell and Mike Sillman here.
Posted inNews
Restless in Seattle
Relocating to a new town is never easy. But according to a survey
by Sterling’s BestPlaces, Memphis is not as expensive a move as say, Atlanta. Thanks to our affordable housing and cost of living, the Bluff City clocks in at No. 17 on the best 50 metro-areas for relocating families. That makes settling in to the Bluff City as easy as enjoying our world-famous BBQ. To learn more, go here.
