I clapped when I saw this hack fraud. Very cool.
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I worked at a video store in high school. As a college student in the early 00’s my friends and I drove around western MA, eastern NY state and southern VT looking for video stores selling off their VHS tapes, often for dirt-cheap prices. There are thousands and thousands of movies that didn’t make the jump from VHS - DVD during that initial media generational gap (some of which are now printed on DVD/Blu-Ray by boutique labels); these were what we sought out at those stores, all of which are now gone.
What I miss, and what I hope a store like Video Vortex can re-create, is that sense of discovery - of trawling through the shelves and finding something with a cool cover, sharing your find with friends, and seeing what they’ve found. At worst, it looks like a great place to grab a beer and hang out. I hope this is the start of a trend.
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Oh, that Jack Valenti!! What a dick!!!
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Hmm - not those who just took several large boxes of VHS tapes to the local rubbish dump. (I’d have said ‘recycling centre’, which is what the council call it nowadays but they cannot recycle tape cassettes of any kind. Which is rather disappointing, to say the least.)
Unrelated but true story. One local council near here, in UK, used to signpost its local rubbish dump/recycling centre as ‘Amenity Tip’. A US guy on assignment here for 3 years eventually had to take a UK driving test and it was only during this when the examiner said ‘take the exit after the one for the dump’ that he realised Amenity Tip was not a quaint local village he’d not yet visited.)
It’s not working…
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That place has a long history of allowing customers and employees to sexually assault other employees, with the knowledge of the owners. They also do not promote or hire women into management positions. (note that a male voice narrates this video) Why anyone would patronize the place is beyond me. https://splinternews.com/alamo-drafthouses-long-history-of-minimizing-sexual-ass-1822816916
very cool
pizza roll
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I want to say that Videodrome in midtown (paging @noahdjango) might still carry some VHS? It’s been years since I’ve been there. Last thing I rented was a GG Allin documentary!
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Do you want Westworld? Because that’s how you get Westworld!
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ah, shit. I haven’t been inside Videodrome since probably 2005? I still live nearby but don’t go that direction a lot, though it’s still there last time I did, somehow.
ETA speaking of Videodrome and GG, the Clermont is like a block away and wasn’t that GG’s last address? Kooky. I heard they re-did the whole thing recently and got rid of the lounge? Blasphemy.
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We still have a couple, mostly because the $16/mo the cable company charges for a DVR, with no option to purchase, is garbage. We just don’t have a need to record much.
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Hey, some us never let go of our originals…
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For the love of Bog and all that is holy:
WHY?!?!?!
It was a terrible format and it’s (alleged) death was a celebration.
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In Raleigh, you say? I’ll have to check it out, might make a post on the BBS about it or something.
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Mr.Plinkett is saved. Lightning Fast Repair will be too busy to bother him any more now that VHS is making a come back.
Cue Rich Evans hilarious cackle.
Indeed! While he was living there, one of the people who was on my dissertation committee (back when she was an ATL punk) got invited to Thanksgiving dinner with him and some of her friends! She said he seemed pretty nice in person, oddly enough! It must have been during the time that he was living at the Clermont hotel, as I think that’s where she went.
Lounge is still there, as far as I know. It’s something of a weird tourist destination, so good for Blondie and her tips! May she long write poetry!
You know who I haven’t seen around (probably cause I don’t drive in mid town much), Baton Bob. Any idea if he’s still marching up and down the streets of midtown?
Oh, cool. I’d heard that the motel was renovated to be more upscale but wasn’t sure what that meant for the lounge. Guess I could’ve goggled 
That dude Rotnee that hosts comedy and karaoke at the Star Bar said that he used to be the delivery boy for the chinese restaurant across the street when he was a punk teen and that GG was a regular customer. I was never a fan but he’s an interesting fellow, to make a bit of an understatement.
I would assume Baton Bob is doing his thing, but I don’t know. He used to come in to Park Tavern when I was there and was somewhat unpleasant so I kinda soured on him.
he’s doing well, it would seem
sorry for O/T, everyone.
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I don’t know how long he lived in town, I think it wasn’t long, though.
I’ve never met Bob in person, just seen him marching along in Midtown for years. Too bad he’s kind of unpleasant.
Do you know Dangerwoman? I haven’t seen her in years either, not since they stopped doing the Silver Scream Spook show at the Plaza.
And we continue to be off topic, but we’ll wait till others complain! 
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I don’t remember Dangerwoman, but I went to a few of the Spook Shows when they started—has it been a decade already? sheesh.
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