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Film Features Film/TV

Music Video Monday: “West Coast” by Alexis Grace

What does a summer song sound like? It should be upbeat and breezy, with a soaring chorus. It should invite you to do summery things, like jump in a pool, or relax on the porch with a cocktail. It should feel like a rush of vitamin D from being out in the sun. It should sound like “West Coast” by Alexis Grace.

Grace says the song’s harmonies are inspired by The Beach Boys (RIP Brian Wilson), and the video is “a love letter to Los Angeles, Hollywood, and the magic of being on set.”

Memphis expat (who currently lives in Los Angeles) Edward Valibus directed, shot, and edited the video, which was shot in Jamie Harmon’s Amurica studio. Look for cameos from The Breakup Show‘s Savanah Bearden, director Ben Siler, and up-and-coming filmmakers  Bridie Maki and Wren Brewer.

“This was a fun way to come back home from LA and hang out with the wonderfully talented friends you never really leave behind in Memphis,” Valibus says. “Alexis is a darling of Memphis music and her charm emanates on both stage and screen. My creative title over the years has become more and more “editor” than any other role, so I wanted to rebel against that a bit and plan a one-take, no-cut music video. Now is the time to admit, despite planning an ambitious concept, I was just winging it that day. The cast Alexis assembled was phenomenal. Every actor was so well-versed in both improvisation and choreography that after just one or two rehearsals we nailed down a well-orchestrated homage of film-set chaos. My creative-concept insurance was that if we made a mistake, we meant to do it but this came out just fantastically peachy.”  

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News News Blog News Feature

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Considers Permit for Colossus Plant

Photo by D koi on Unsplash

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s (TDEC) Division of Water Resources held a public hearing for a Water Quality State Operating Permit for the Colossus Water Recycling Plant.

The hearings, which were preceded by information sessions, were held on June 25th and 26th virtually and in-person. Participants were able to ask questions and make public comments in regards to the permit.

TDEC said they would respond to each comment, before issuing a decision on the permit.

“This specific Water Quality State Operating Permit is for operation of a reclaimed wastewater treatment plan and non-potable reuse water distribution system for restricted urban reuse,” a fact sheet on the project said.

TDEC officials said this will minimize use of potable water from the Memphis Sand Aquifer for “industrial purposes.” 

Colossus plans on pumping 13.5 million gallons of treated wastewater daily from the T.E. Maxson Wastewater Treatment Plant. xAI, Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Allen Combined Cycle Plant, and Nucor Steel will all use cooling water from this non-potable reuse water distribution system.

According to TDEC, project discussions began in September of 2024, and TDEC received the permit application in February. Officials issued a draft permit in April.

Several citizens cited their concerns and questions during the question period, where TDEC officials provided answers. Participants questioned the department on transparency, community impact, aquifer usage, and more.

Pamela Moses, president of the Hollywood Neighborhood Association and Rise Up America, questioned why members of the community were not informed about the xAI project. She also voiced concern over the limited supply of groundwater and wastewater.

“Everybody knows — well, they should know — that Memphis has the most precious water in this country,” Moses said. “It is a limited supply, so why is it that the community wasn’t involved in this?”

Ronné Adkins, deputy commissioner for the Bureau of Environment, said when they receive applications, updates are posted on the agency’s database. Adkins said though there was not a public announcement of the application, the documents were accessible to the public.

Moses went on to state that she wishes for the permit to be denied saying that the company “could not be trusted.”

“[xAI] is not coming here to uplift or invest in our community,” Moses said. “They are here to exploit it. This is a distress and is a historically neglected area. Instead of bringing opportunities, Colossus is bringing pollution, secrecy, and broken promises.”

Sarah Houston, executive director of Protect Our Aquifer, asked if a smell would be associated with the plant, and if so, how it could be addressed.

“Generally speaking, biologically treated wastewater that’s treated at a biological plant might smell a little bit musty,” Wade Murphy, a TDEC official, said. “Odor is very subjective. There shouldn’t be any smell that you don’t smell already.”

Wade said if there is a smell, it’s not something that they regulate, but the owner can “chemically mask” the scent at “their discretion.”

Bobby White, chief government affairs officer for the Greater Memphis Chamber, voiced the chamber’s support of the project during the public comment period.

“The unfortunate long-standing standard [of] how good drinking water from the aquifer is something that has been used for industrial purposes because a project like this has been thought about but never strategically entered into or thought about how it would get paid for,” White said. “I wanted to voice the interest of citizens who are concerned about drinking water and how this project is a game changer in terms of saving about 4.7 billion gallons of water.”

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Film/TV Flyer Video News News Feature

Memphis Flyer Podcast June 26, 2025: Immigration Crackdown in Memphis

A solid work ethic helped Maria, a laborer, pull her family up into the middle class. Now, she and her husband Jose live in fear of deportation and separation from their U.S.-born children. (Photo: Karen Pulfer Focht)

Erika Konig from the Institute for Public Service Reporting joins Chris McCoy to talk about the impact of the Trump administration’s mass deportation program on Memphis’ Hispanic community. Read her full cover story in this week’s Memphis Flyer.

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News News Blog News Feature

MLGW Asks Residents to Voluntarily Reduce Electricity Usage as Temperatures Rise

Photo Credit: MLGW

Memphis residents are being asked to reduce their use of electricity today as the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has activated its Emergency Load Curtailment Program.

Memphis Light, Gas, and Water (MLGW) has asked customers to voluntarily limit electrical use due to “high demand across the region.” Officials said TVA’s service area has been severely impacted by high temperatures, putting more pressure on the eclectic grid.

TVA’s program seeks to stabilize the agency’s generation and transmission during peak periods.

“This situation is not unique to Memphis – local power companies throughout the TVA region are responding to the same challenges,” MLGW said. “Our shared goal is to help lighten the load on the system so that power disruptions can be avoided.”

The utility service is asking customers to turn off unnecessary lights and electronics, raise thermostats if possible, delay usage of large appliances such as washing machines and dryers until night time, and to charge electric vehicles during “off-peak hours.”

MLGW said these changes can help stabilize the grid.

Today marks the second day this week MLGW has made this request on behalf of TVA, saying that these efforts can have “significant impact.” These precautionary measures can help prevent outages, officials said.

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News News Blog News Feature

City Releases Air Quality Testing Results Amid Community Concerns

Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash

City officials announced Wednesday that independent testing found no dangerous pollutants in Boxtown, Whitehaven, or Downtown. They said the tests were conducted because of community concerns regarding environmental conditions.

“The City doesn’t control air quality regulations, but we stepped up to find answers,” Mayor Paul Young said. “The initial results showed no dangerous levels of air pollutants at any of the tested sites.”

Testing was conducted by third-party vendor and lab EnSafe Inc./SGS Galson on June 13th and 16th. Testers were tasked with targeting pollutants benzene, toluene, formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter.

The laboratory’s results, which the city called “definitive and reassuring,” found levels to be either “too low to detect” or “well below established safety thresholds.”

Memphis’ air quality and its effects on its citizens have long been a topic of controversy. Those issues have been further emphasized due to the xAI supercomputer facility located in South Memphis, an area many advocates say is disproportionately impacted by environmental racism.

Groups such as the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC)  have condemned xAI’s use of gas turbines. In a letter sent to xAI last week, the SELC notified the company of their intent to sue over the turbines on behalf of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

The letter noted the environmental impact of the data center, saying the turbines emit formaldehyde and other chemicals linked to respiratory diseases.

xAI issued a response to the city’s air quality testing results results: “xAI welcomes the independent third-party data showing no dangerous pollutant levels at test sites near our Memphis data center. We have built a world-class data center in Memphis and we couldn’t have done it without the support of the local community and its leaders.”

While xAI said the data is reassuring, the SELC called the analysis “flawed.”

“The city failed to measure ozone pollution — better known as smog — which we already know is a major problem in the Memphis area,” Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) senior attorney Patrick Anderson said. “It’s unclear why the city would not test for this harmful pollutant. To say that Memphians face ‘no dangerous pollutant levels’ ignores existing data and is irresponsible.”

Anderson’s comments come weeks after the SELC urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to intervene regarding the city’s air quality standards. Memphis was recently named an “Asthma capital of the world.”

The American Lung Association also gave Shelby County an “F” for ozone pollution.

SELC attorneys said the petition was filed after noticing a lack of urgency from local governing authorities. The filing also mentioned that the operation of xAI’s gas turbines further complicates the issue.

The center stated that the city’s ozone concentration violates federal standards and that the problem is getting worse. It said that community members have voiced their concerns about xAI and how its turbines could be linked to “smog-forming pollution.”

Other environmental advocates such as Representative Justin J. Pearson criticized the city’s omission of ozone testing, which he called a “considerable factor in air pollution problems in Memphis.” 

“We have an air pollution problem that is indisputable,” Pearson said. “We do not have time for political stunts and propaganda.” Pearson went on to say that the city’s findings are an extension of Young’s “unwavering support of xAI.”

Categories
News News Feature

MEMernet: Stephen Smith Fallout, Unrelated

Posted to X by Evan Fox

Memphis on the internet.

Stephen Smith Fallout

Of course, the MEMernet was alive last week with ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith’s talk about Memphis and crime. Y’all saw the biggest tweets and memes. But here are some we’re still thinking about.

“A lot of talk about Memphis the last few days,” tweeted Evan Fox, videographer for sports commentator Pat McAfee. “I will always love that city because it is the home of one of the cleanest daps in recorded history.”

“Stephen A. Smith is, and always has been, a sweaty nutsack,” wrote u/RedWhiteAndJew on Reddit. 

Posted to X by Lang Whitaker

“On my morning walk here in Memphis,” Grind City Media host and Grizz Gaming general manager Lang Whitaker tweeted with the photo above. “Sure is scary.”

“Only lames feel unsafe in Memphis,” tweeted former NBA star Will Barton. “One of the greatest cities to live in. Especially if you’re an athlete. Memphis embraces you like no other and protects you. But you gotta be a real one to understand it. Only goofies don’t rock with da M.”

Unrelated 

Posted to X by Rep. John Gillespie

“Great seeing Penny Hardaway today in the capitol advocating for the University of Memphis!” state Representative John Gillespie (R-Memphis) tweeted. We print it here without comment.

Categories
Politics Politics Feature

Doing the Numbers

Commissioners Edmund Ford Jr.and Mick Wright during budget debate (Photo: Shelby County)

As I look forward to the Shelby County elections of 2026 and to the intense competitions that will develop for them, I can’t help wondering if all the would-be members of the Shelby County Commission, say, have even a remote idea of the skills that will be required of them.

Math skills, for example. Rare is the undergraduate who sees his confrontations with the world of numbers in this or that college course, basic or advanced, anything other than a curricular matter that he or she has to safely get through in order to graduate — never again to have to deal with in the real world.

But they will, they will. The men and women who sought membership on the city council or the county commission, hoping to represent the interests of this group or that class or to raise up the prospects of some noble idea for improving society or maybe just to advance themselves in the world, will discover that to do any of those things, they have to crunch numbers.

So hath it been the last few weeks for the 13 members of the current county commission, and progressively so as they neared the July 1st deadline for the 2026 fiscal year.

In an eight-hour session on Monday, climaxing just before midnight, the commissioners added and divided and fractionated numbers many times over, as they tried to arrive at mutually acceptable dividends that would both accomplish their personal and social goals and stay within the parameters of available financial resources.

Partisans of the zoo, for example, would find themselves vying with advocates for mental health, say, or the county’s embryonically developing crime lab, or the multi-tiered desiderata of a “moral budget” proffered by various petitioners to the commission on behalf of underserved local populations.

More so than might have been expected, compromises were arrived at by the commissioners allowing all of the various claimants some share of the limited bounty available.

Then these compromises would be done and redone, shuffled and reshuffled in accordance with the crests and redirections of an ever-shifting debate.

Passions were aroused, as when Commissioner Henri Brooks, fighting over a suddenly available sum of $124,000, urged unsuccessfully that it be used to “feed hungry children” rather than to help establish pay parity for county prosecutors.

Ultimately the commissioners had to confront the bottom line, a property tax rate for the county.

Mick Wright, a member of the commission’s Republican minority, proposed a rate of $2.69, a figure that would align the county with a state-supported rate designed to maintain the county’s current level of expenditures and avoid a tax increase.

Democrat Charlie Caswell Jr., determined to advance the social goals of the moral budget group and others, proposed a rate of $2.74.

And for the next two hours commissioners went back and forth with various rate variations to achieve a variety of different policy outcomes — all of which rate variations failed to achieve simple majorities, much less the two-thirds vote needed to pass. 

In the end, the commissioners were assisted somewhat by advice from Mayor Lee Harris, who suggested two possibilities — the originally preferred $2.69 rate or one of $2.73, with the increment dedicated to a fund for universal pre-K. (This last had been an idea put forth by Commission Chair Michael Whaley.)

The $2.69 figure, cycling the rate debate all the way back to Wright’s first proposal, was adopted. The hard circle was squared, and Shelby County had a budget. 

Categories
Astrology Fun Stuff

Free Will Astrology: Week of 06/26/25

Dario Bronnimann | Unsplash

ARIES (March 21-April 19): The Hawaiian word pō refers to a primal darkness from which all life flows. It’s not a fearsome void but a fertile mystery, rich with future possibilities and the ancestors’ hopes. In the coming weeks, I invite you to treat your inner life as pō. Be as calm and patient and watchful as an Aries can be as you monitor the inklings that rise up out of the deep shadows. Have faith that the cloudy uncertainty will ultimately evolve into clarity, revealing the precise directions you need.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In the 17th century, the Taurus polymath Athanasius Kircher constructed a fantastical machine called the Aeolian harp. It wasn’t designed to be played by human fingers but by the wind. It conjured music with currents invisible to the eye. I nominate this sublime contraption as your power object for the coming weeks, Taurus. The most beautiful and healing melodies may come from positioning yourself so that inspiration can blow through. How might you attune yourself to the arrival of unexpected help and gifts? Set aside any tendency you might have to try too hard. Instead, allow life to sing through you.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The painter Vincent van Gogh wrote, “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” That’s good advice for you right now. Your ambitions may feel daunting if you imagine them as monumental and monolithic. But if you simply focus on what needs to be done next — the daily efforts, the incremental improvements — you will be as relaxed as you need to be to accomplish wonders. Remember that masterpieces are rarely completed in a jiffy. The cumulative power of steady work is potentially your superpower. Here’s another crucial tip: Use your imagination to have fun as you attend to the details.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Welcome to a special edition of “What’s My Strongest Yearning?” I’m your host, Rob Brezsny, and I’m delighted you have decided to identify the single desire that motivates you more than any other. Yes, you have many wishes and hopes and dreams, but one is more crucial than all the rest! Right? To begin the exercise, take three deep breaths and allow every knot of tension to dissolve and exit your beautiful body. Then drop down into the primal depths of your miraculous soul and wander around until you detect the shimmering presence of the beloved reason you came here to this planet. Immerse yourself in this glory for as long as you need to. Exult in its mysterious power to give meaning to everything you do. Ask it to nurture you, console you, and inspire you.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In certain medieval maps, unexplored territories were marked with the Latin phrase hic sunt dracones — “here be dragons.” It was a warning and a dare, a declaration that no one knew what lay beyond. In the coming weeks, Leo, you may find yourself traveling into one of those unlabeled regions. Rather than flinching or dodging, I invite you to press forward with respectful curiosity. Some of the so-called dragons will be figments. Others are protectors of treasure and might be receptive to sharing with a bright light like you. Either way, productive adventures are awaiting you in that unmapped territory. Go carefully — but go.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In traditional Japanese carpentry, joints are made so skillfully that they need no nails, screws, or adhesives. Carpenters use intricate joinery techniques to connect pieces of wood so tightly that the structures are strong and durable. They often require a mallet for assembly and disassembly. In metaphorical terms, you are capable of that kind of craftsmanship these days, Virgo. I hope you will take advantage of this by building lasting beauty and truth that will serve you well into the future. Don’t rush the joinery. If it’s not working, don’t force it. Re-cut, re-measure, breathe deeply, and try again.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Here’s one of my unruly rules about human competence: In every professional field, from physicians to lawyers to psychics to teachers, about 15 percent of all the practitioners are downright mediocre, even deficient. Seventy-five percent are at least satisfactory and sometimes good. And 10 percent of the total are surpassingly excellent, providing an extraordinary service. With this in mind, I’m happy to say that you now have a knack for gravitating toward that exceptional 10 percent in every domain you are drawn to. I predict that your intuition will consistently guide you toward premium sources.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The Japanese concept of shinrin-yoku means “forest bathing.” It invites people to immerse themselves in the natural world, drawing on its restorative power. In accordance with astrological portents, I urge you Scorpios to maximize your forest bathing. To amplify the enrichment further, gravitate toward other environments that nourish your soul’s need for solace and uplift. The naked fact is that you need places and influences that offer you comfort, safety, and tender inspiration. Don’t apologize for making your life a bit less heroic as you tend to your inner world with gentle reverence.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): The camera obscura was a precursor to modern cameras. It projected the outside world upside down onto interior walls. Artists loved it because it helped them see reality from new angles. I hereby proclaim that you, Sagittarius, will be like both the artist and the camera obscura lens in the coming weeks. Your perceptions may feel inverted, strange, even disorienting, but that’s a gift! So let unfamiliarity be your muse. Flip your assumptions. Sketch from shadow instead of light. Have faith that the truth isn’t vanishing or hiding; it’s simply appearing in unfamiliar guises. Don’t rush to turn right-side-up things. Relish and learn from the tilt.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I’m sure you enjoy gazing into some mirrors more than others. It’s amazing how different you might look in your bathroom mirror and the mirror in the restroom at work. Some store windows may reflect an elegant, attractive version of you, while others distort your image. A similar principle is at work in the people with whom you associate. Some seem to accentuate your finest attributes, while others bring out less flattering aspects. I bring this to your attention, dear Capricorn, because I believe it will be extra important in the coming weeks for you to surround yourself with your favorite mirrors.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Leonardo da Vinci filled thousands of pages with sketches, notes, and experiments. He never finished many of them. He called this compilation his “codex of wonder.” It wasn’t a record of failures. It was an appreciation of his complex process and a way to honor his creative wellspring. Taking a cue from da Vinci’s love of marvelous enigmas, I invite you to be in love with the unfinished in the coming weeks. Make inquisitiveness your default position. Reconsider abandoned ideas. Be a steward of fertile fragments. Some of your best work may arise from revisiting composted dreams or incomplete sketches. Here’s your motto: Magic brews in the margins.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In the remote Atacama Desert of Chile, certain flowers lie dormant for years, awaiting just the right conditions to burst into blossom in a sudden, riotous explosion of color and vitality. Scientists call it a superbloom. Metaphorically speaking, Pisces, you are on the verge of such a threshold. I’m sure you can already feel the inner ripening as it gathers momentum. Any day now, your full flowering will erupt — softly but dramatically. You won’t need to push. You will simply open. To prepare yourself emotionally, start rehearsing lively shouts of “HALLELUJAH! HOORAY! WHOOPEE!” 

Categories
Fun Stuff News of the Weird

News of the Weird: Week of 06/26/25

Trouble Brewing

ChatGPT can perform many impressive tasks — sometimes with amusing results — but it may need to stay out of tasseography. Greek City Times reported on April 26 that a Greek woman recently filed for divorce from her husband after the OpenAI chatbot asserted that the man was having an affair and that his mistress was intent on destroying their home, a conclusion the bot came to upon “reading” the coffee grounds in the couple’s mugs in a photo the woman uploaded to the app. “I laughed it off as nonsense,” the husband said, “but she took it seriously. She asked me to leave, told our kids we were getting divorced, and then I got a call from a lawyer. That’s when I realized this wasn’t just a phase.” The husband’s lawyer maintains that ChatGPT’s claims have no legal standing. 

[Greek City Times, 4/26/25]

Wait, What?

Turkmenistan’s top tourist attraction is the Gateway to Hell, a huge gas leak that has been burning since 1971 in the Karakum Desert, Yahoo! News reported on June 5. The fire started when Soviet scientists accidentally drilled into an underground pocket of gas and then ignited it, starting a blaze that could be seen from several kilometers away. Officials announced this week that the fire has been reduced three-fold. “Today only a faint source of combustion remains,” said Irina Luryeva, a director at the state-owned energy company Türkmengaz. Wells have been drilled around the site to capture the methane from the leak, she said. 

[Yahoo! News, 6/5/2025]

Great Art

Amsterdam has out-Amsterdammed itself with a new exhibit at the Rijksmuseum, the Associated Press reported on June 3. As part of an exhibition called “Safe Sex?” the museum is displaying a condom from 1830 that is enhanced with erotic art. The prophylactic is made from a sheep’s appendix and, the museum says, “depicts both the playful and the serious side of sexual health” with its image of a nun and three clergymen. The phrase “This is my choice” is written in French along its length, which may refer to the Renoir painting The Judgment of Paris. Historians believe the condom might be a souvenir from a brothel. You can see it until the end of November. 

[AP, 6/2/2025]

Saw That Coming

After performers debuted Westphalia Side Story on Paterborn Cathedral’s altar in Berlin, Germany, on May 15, more than 22,000 people signed a petition demanding that the archbishop apologize and reconsecrate the cathedral. The Associated Press reported that the production included a song and dance which featured two shirtless men and one woman displaying raw, plucked chickens wearing diapers while singing “Fleish ist Fleish” (“Meat is Meat”). The song was part of a larger production celebrating the 1,250th anniversary of Westphalia, Germany, a region in the country’s northwest. The finished show will premiere in September. 

[AP, 5/30/2025]

Least Competent Criminal

Richard Pruneda, 42, of Edinburg, Texas, managed to get himself arrested twice over the Memorial Day holiday in Eddyville, Kentucky, the West Kentucky Star reported. The Lyon County Sheriff was called on May 25 to a business where Pruneda was allegedly intoxicated and making “alarming” statements to an employee. The next day, after bonding out of jail, Pruneda called the sheriff’s office to ask about retrieving personal items from his impounded car. When the officer picked up and inventoried the items, he found cocaine in the trunk. Eddyville Police assisted as they went to Pruneda’s motel and arrested him for a second time. 

[West Kentucky Star, 6/3/2025]

Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.

© 2025 Andrews McMeel Syndication.
Reprinted with permission.
All rights reserved.

Categories
Fun Stuff Metaphysical Connection

Metaphysical Connection: Memphis’ Ties to Ancient Egypt

Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg | www.vascoplanet.com | creative commons | Wikimedia Commons

Memphis was founded on May 22, 1819, by a group of investors that included John Overton, James Winchester, and Andrew Jackson. It was officially incorporated as a city in 1826. The investors named it after the ancient capital of Egypt on the Nile River, seizing the opportunity to one-up the founders of the newly formed Cairo, Illinois. Memphis was so named in hopes of it one day being the seat of great kings, like its river-adjacent namesake. 

Memphis, Egypt, no longer exists as the bustling capital it used to be. Now it is a set of archeological sites practically in the suburbs of Cairo, sitting at the head of the Nile River Delta. The Nile is the only reason civilization exists in Egypt, so its Memphis was strategically placed on the great waterway. Being at the river delta, Memphis was a hub for commerce and trade. 

Egypt’s Memphis was the residence of pharaohs and the capital city from the beginning of the dynastic period (approximately 3000 B.C.E.) through the end of the Old Kingdom period and into the First Intermediate Period (approximately 2181 B.C.E.). Even after the capital shifted to other locations, such as Thebes, Memphis remained an important place and religious center. Its temples were among the most important in the country. During the New Kingdom period (approximately 1550 to 1070 B.C.E.), Memphis most likely functioned as the second capital of Egypt. At one time it seems to have been the principal residence of the crown prince, and at least three well-known pharaohs were born there. 

Memphis was always one of the most populous and renowned places in Egypt, inhabited by a cosmopolitan community. Its port and local workshops played an important role in Egyptian foreign trade. A reflection of the magnitude and importance of Memphis is the extension of its cemeteries, more than 30 kilometers in length, on the edge of the desert and the western bank of the Nile. 

Memphis, Tennessee, our home, sits on the Chickasaw Bluff along the banks of Ol’ Man River. Tennessee’s Memphis is located on the edge of the Mississippi River Delta, although not technically a part of the local river delta like Egypt’s Memphis was. It would be 13 years until its first church was constructed. In 1832, a group of Methodists built a modest meeting house for their congregation. It was the first religious building in the city and still stands today as the First United Methodist Church. Our Memphis has followed in the religious footsteps of its namesake, becoming a hub of religion that has helped shape the country. 

Tennessee’s Memphis is also a hub of commerce and trade thanks to our location on the Mississippi River. Memphis has evolved from a storied river port into a dynamic transit hub, seamlessly integrating rail and air logistics, with FedEx at the heart of its global connectivity. Once defined by the Mississippi’s currents, the city now channels commerce across highways, railways, and the skies, solidifying its role as a pivotal nexus in modern trade.

Over the years, Memphis, Tennessee, has paid tribute to its namesake through architecture. Memphis’ oldest known Egyptian tribute is the Ballard & Ballard Obelisk Flour building Downtown, dating back to 1924. The building is filled with Egyptian Revival elements — obelisks, unintelligible hieroglyphics, and three arched entrances resembling those of ancient temples.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, Memphis, Tennessee, underwent a small Egyptian revival. In 1991, the city built its own pyramid. Initially, the Pyramid was built as an event center, hosting concerts, sporting events, and other attractions (remember the “Wonders” exhibits?). Then there is the Memphis Zoo, with its full facade of Egyptian tribute, built to reflect the shape of ancient Egyptian monuments. 

I cherish both Memphis, Tennessee, and Memphis, Egypt — each a testament to the enduring spirit of civilization. As a proud Memphian, I appreciate the historical homage woven into my hometown. Take a drive through the Bluff City and see if you can spot its Egyptian revival echoes. 

Emily Guenther is a co-owner of The Broom Closet metaphysical shop. She is a Memphis native, professional tarot reader, ordained Pagan clergy, and dog mom.