Monday, October 10, 2005
Netflix Killed The Video Star...
Signs of the times. Last night, having finished my last Neftlix movie and mailed the little envelope back, my film thirst still was not quenched. So I made a great short-list of classics and gems (Dr Caligari, Monster's Ball, Amarcord) and headed down to Video Blitz, the hip rental establishment on the 3rd floor of an old building at 8th Avenue and 17th Street.... But.... My city was gone... Where Chelsea-ites perused galleries of glorious cinema, software is now designed... R.I.P. Video Blitz, made redundant by Netflix, the amazing envelope-based rental service. Admittedly, it's very unusual that I've finished all five Netflix DVDs before the replacements arrive - it's uncommon to have less than three on hand. Still, a twinge of regret for the Darwinian passing of a local institution, gone, just as gay coffee bar Big Cup was supplanted by five Starbucks stores in a three-block radius....
Consolation 1: Netflix actually offers an even greater selection than Video Blitz, since virtual shelf space approaches infinity. Consolation 2: It's nice that software's being designed in Chelsea rather than Hyderabad or Bangalore....
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