The one remaining video store in my hometown closed this week.  It was a Blockbuster and having been a hater of them I never rented anything there.  The video stores I frequented were boarded up years ago.  The town library still lends movies and Best Video, which comes by it's name honestly, is still open a few towns over.  I bet there is a Redbox somewhere in town.  A kiosk though does not equal a video store.

   My father was early in buying a VCR.  So early that the nearest video store was a forty-five minute drive away.   So we didn't rent all too often.  My only real memory of the store is of staring at the box for Piranha 2: The Spawning and wishing we'd rent that instead of the kid friendly stuff we were most certainly picking up. 
    That all changed a year or two later when our town got it's first video store, The Video Library.  Located in the same plaza as Boss Pizza and the excellent used bookstore The Book Swap (both still there), The Video Library was a godsend. Video stores soon sprouted up all over the place and we of course had memberships at every one in the area.  Places like Reel to Reel, Robar's Video and Now Playing.  Then in the early 90's Tommy K's comes to town.  A large regional chain, Tommy forces out all the small mom and pop shops.  But it's ok, they have a huge selection of videos, even a shelf called Cult/ Off-Beat.  And they rent porn.  A few years later, Blockbuster comes to town.  No porn.  A well know history of renting censored versions of movies.  A family video store.  Tommy K's hangs in there for a few years, but eventual closes.  And now Blockbuster is on it's way out. Chapter 11.  I happened to be in town on the last day the store was open.  A closing video store is a great place to get cheap movies.  I can't resist the urge.  I bought a stack of DVDs.  They had no VHS.  I did get Piranha 3-D on Blu-ray though, so I guess the circle is complete.

Restaurant Review: Demet's Donuts

 
 There is something so refreshing about eating from a tray.  In this crazy go-go world we are often encouraged to be constantly moving.  It is a rare occurrence when one is offered the chance to sit for a spell and just relax.  I recently had the opportunity at the excellent Demet's Donuts.  The Mrs. and I wandered into this wonderful little shop a little bit after noon on a Saturday.  Boy, were we lucky we got there when we did!  Demet's donut supply was nearly depleted!  Shelf after shelf sat empty, a few remaining crumbs all that was left of the splendor that had once occupied them.  My options being limited to a jelly, a honey glazed and a partially dismantled cruller I chose the first two.  The kind woman behind the counter asked if it was for there or to go.  I explained to her that I wished to eat them on the premises.  It was at that moment the tray made it's appearance.  Memories of school lunches came rushing back.  Of accidentally thrown away retainers and my beloved Taco Day Thursdays at my old high school.  Sitting down with a tray containing what was surely the last two whole donuts of the day, I was met with a feeling of elation.  A small victory had happened, it was clear to all who were present.  And the donut, you ask.  How were the donuts?  Heaven on earth!  They were both surprisingly fluffy on the inside.  The jelly one had easily a 3/4 of an inch of donut between the jelly center and the outer edge.  Demet's coffee made for an excellent counterpart to their fantastic donuts.  I can easily recommend either sitting for a spell at Demet's or if you a hosting a dinner party bringing some home as an after dinner treat!
 

















Address: 199 Mystic Ave,  Medford, MA 02155
Price Range: $1/2
Cuisine: Northern Atlantic Donut

"Read the TV Guide, You Don't Need a TV."

On a recent trip to visit the in-laws I picked up a few old issues of TV Guide. They range from the mid seventies to the early eighties, from somewhere in Florida. I had completely forgotten how much I used to love the TV Guide. I was reminded of doing the crossword puzzle with my grandmother as a kid. Between our two very different points of interests we usually finished them every week. Then there was always some movie my folks didn't want me watching I'd read about that would be on late at night. I'd set the trusty old VCR to record it and watch it when the folks were not home. Thanks TV Guide! Here are a few scans of the greatness these decades old magazines held. Travel back in time to when NBC was as proud as a peacock, ads were painted instead of badly photoshopped, and television in general was pretty bonkers.

Videos from the VHS Vault: Creepy Creatures

Restaraunt Review: Shipley's Do-Nuts

The South is a land of mystery to me. Despite my mother being of Tennessee stock I am a born and raised Yankee. I have been south of the Mason Dixon line on many different occasions. The thing that confounds me most about the south is why it is so hard to get an iced coffee. It is late July. It's Mississippi. It's hotter than the devil's tushy and all you want to do is drink something both cold and caffeinated. So you stop at a donut shop. Ask the nice lady for a few donuts and an iced coffee. And you get a look like you offered sodomy lessons or something. So you buy a hot coffee and have to wait a half hour to drink it. The only thing I can figure is that the sweet tea industry is so strong in the south that it has strangled any competition iced coffee may have had. I had to travel another day and a half before finding a great place in Austin Texas that would sell me an iced coffee.

Shipley's is an excellent place for donuts or as they call them "do-nuts". I had a lemon and apple filled. Delightful. Perfectly assembled pastries. But I had nothing to wash them down with. If it were wintertime this wouldn't have been a problem. When it's close to a hundred degrees out, the last thing you want is a hot coffee. I swear to goodness I almost had a case of the vapors. And that is not something this Northern gentleman can abide.

Address: 2151 S Lamar Blvd, Oxford, MS 38655
Price Range: $
Cuisine: Southern Do-Nut

Videos from the VHS Vault: Awesome Action