Is this a sign that the town has finally exceeded its saturation point for bars? Two newish bars have closed in the last month– the Bad Boyz Pizza place out on West Jackson (how many ill-starred businesses have been in that place? Pizza Inn. Something else. Don Panchos, which I miss. El Charo succeeded and moved on, and I’m sure I’m missing several in there) and the very short-lived sports-fan-oriented bar where the Blind Pig used to be. Update: There already appeared at lunch today a new something-or-other in the Blind Pig space. The sign and sports stuff and neon is gone, but there was a menu in the window for “The Ghost Soldier.”
Meanwhile, the Blind Pig (which lost its lease when the building it was in changed hands) will be back, in space at the back of the Thompson building right beside the alley on North Lamar (the new building the Tollisons built). And I’ve heard rumors that the “piano bar” that replaced Murff’s is really just Murff’s with some pianos stuck in it.
While on the subject of businesses coming and going, both Movie Galleries are gone, and I have to wonder if Blockbuster is going to shut down the one here when it closes 22% of its stores next year (although this one I think is not owned by Blockbuster itself and so may survive).
The loss of AS SEEN ON TV was a huge loss to both the town and the Square, particularly. If the Square is going to be an entertainment district, it needs some ‘fun to browse in’ stores scattered among the bars and eateries. I discovered something interesting films at ASOTV that I never would have heard of if I hadn’t been somewhere with time to kill so that I was reading the liner notes on the film’s box.
With sales of devices such as the Kindle starting to build, when you see Movie Gallery close you have to wonder about the future of SQUARE BOOKS. It’d be nice if the publishers would hold release of e-books until six months after publication of the hardcover.
Movie studios used to hold release of films on video until six months after the end of the in-theater run, but now in some cases its down to four months. Theater ticket sales have not been great lately, so I imagine that is one reason for the studios’ intense interest in 3-D films. AVATAR was really interesting, but I don’t think 3-D would have enhanced such classics as GONE WITH THE WIND or THE SOUND OF MUSIC or THE GOD FATHER (I & II). I give the Avatar people props for at least issuing fairly decent quality 3-D glasses, but I’ve heard complaints from eye-glasses wearers that using the 3-D glasses was a struggle. My guess is that if more 3-D movies are coming, soon you’ll be able to go to Walmart and purchase your own personal, higher quality 3-D glasses.
I miss ASOTV, too. It became untenable between a combination of the 2nd Movie Gallery, the rise of Netflix, and my brother’s final illness made him unable to run it.
Square Book’s use of “add ons” like signed first editions, and the way publishers know it can still make a success out of literary fiction has given it a lot of abilities to survive. I’m hopeful, and Richard Howorth’s return to the store is a good thing, I think.
I haven’t held a kindle in my hands, although I did download a kindle book to iPhone as a part of checking out a client’s copyright infringement claim (the ebook was infringement…). I didn’t find it a pleasant way to read.
I have a niece who is an English prof. at Univ. Chicago. All the family got together for Thanksgiving. She proudly showed me her Kindle and preached its virtues. I used it for an hour or so … it was one of the most underwhelming events of recent times.
In spite of my old age, I try to stay reasonably current with technodoodads and gadgetry. Kindle just doesn’t do it for me.
But … I can see how some creative, innovative, energetic, forward-looking university honchos could put together package deals with college textbook publishers and Kindle. A student would buy a Kindle, then have his textbooks downloaded each semester. It’d be … well, could be, and should be … a cheaper way to buy books. Maybe.
I made sure Santa Claus knew I did not want a Kindle, and Santa responded accordingly.
I think Blockbuster will stay open. It was here before Movie Gallery and outlasted two of them. Now a certain percent of Movie Gallery customers will go to Blockbuster (however few Movie Gallery customers there may have been).
As for the Kindle, it is great. It takes about 5 seconds for the full book to download over the device’s free wireless connection. I actually read a lot faster on the Kindle due to not turning pages, I just press a button.
There’s a fabulous new thing called RedBox. It’s an automated kiosk loaded with movies that are $1.00 per night. in Oxford, Walgreen’s has one and so does WalMart. These kiosks are outside next to the drink machines and have large inventories. Once you’ve joined, you can reserve movies on line or see what’s in stock before heading to the kiosk. No clerks low overhead . . . Maybe I have become godless and didn’t even know it.
Ben, My alma mater’s current students agree with you regarding the Kindle as educational tool:
” But in class, we’re usually in a frenzy — underlining with abandon, dog-earing left and right, and bemoaning the book’s length while nervously flipping through its pages…My classmates and I have found the Kindle’s biggest drawback to be the difficulty of annotating. Instead of scrawling in the margins, you must create a note on the Kindle and type in your thoughts using a small keyboard. Not only does it take much longer, but it’s hard to find your notes later on. The Kindle also can be frustratingly slow, lagging when you’re turning the page.”
NL
Bars are another matter, amazingly those that were in NJ 40 years ago are gone…
I dislike Redbox mainly because I do not wish to stand in line outside waiting to return a movie, while someone is browsing all 200 movies.
Ben,
(I know I am late to the thread but was out of town for the holidays and am just getting caught up.)I returned to college this year after a 10 year absence to get a second degree. And in my opinion, I would love the Kindle. I was amazed at how much bigger and more expensive textbooks have become in my absence. This past semester I spent $570 on books. When stacked together they were about 10 inches thick and weighed about 20 pounds. And here is the best part…I only took two classes!! I can only imagine those poor souls who are going full time. In the spring semester I am taking three classes. I may need a forklift and a second mortgage.