• Dharma Curious
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    4111 months ago

    The town I lived in about a decade ago had a closed down blockbuster that turned into a sex store, then that closed down, and a dude opened, I shit you not, a video/game rental place that lasted like a year. Then it closed down, too, and then a bunch of us used to go there and smoke weed and occasionally have sex inside, because they just didn’t bother to lock the back door when they took away all the movies.

    I don’t know why I’m tell y’all this, it’s just what I think of when I see the old blockbusters.

    • @soylentgreed
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      211 months ago

      Now that’s just a good old American story.

  • @VubDapple
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    2811 months ago

    "And on the pedestal, these words appear: My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

  • @[email protected]
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    2411 months ago

    Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away

  • @Tronn4
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    1811 months ago

    I wonder if one day we’ll see abandoned amazon warehouses

    • qyron
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      111 months ago

      There seems to be somewhat of a push for going and getting local again.

      Although large cities are seeing a decline in street commercial venues (I’m in Portugal) and large shopping malls are a thing, I keep hearing more and more people complaining they don’t have the patience to spend an entire day in a shopping mall but trust online shopping less and less.

      So… Here’s to hope of a better future.

  • @[email protected]
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    1711 months ago

    I remember when the first video store opened in my town. It was so early on, that they also rented the actual vcr machines too, since they were too expensive for the average family to buy.

    Then I remember 20 years later going to the blockbuster to buy up their discounted tapes since dvds had displaced them.

    And now there’s only one rental place in my city, has stayed alive as a retro cool comeback, and also sells micro brews in growlers.

  • @kautau
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    1611 months ago

    It turns out, in the end, it was the blocks that busted them

  • Tedrow
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    1011 months ago

    Hey, I used to work there. AMA

    • @rtxn
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      11 months ago

      How often did you get a visit from Ozymandias, King of Kings?

      • Tedrow
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        511 months ago

        Not as often as you’d like.

    • @rockSlayer
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      1011 months ago

      How much better was it to work the counter on a slow night while high?

      • shuzuko
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        511 months ago

        As compared to a busy night while high? Way better, especially if your store had a working game demo kiosk. Clean up a little, play some games, pick out which games and movies you were going to rent with your free rental perks… Good stuff.

        As compared to a slow night (or any other kind of night) while not high?

        Lol who tf am I kidding, we were always fucking high

      • Tedrow
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        111 months ago

        I didn’t get high and the location I worked at didn’t have slow nights.

    • @Arbiter
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      911 months ago

      Do you guys have Robots on DVD?

      • Tedrow
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        311 months ago

        Why do you want to hurt me like that?

  • @[email protected]
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    311 months ago

    It’s interesting to try to get into the minds of corporate executives. I wonder how many of them actually thought they’d company was going to last for decades. Or if they were just seeing themselves up a golden parachute for the inevitable.

  • AutistoMephisto
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    311 months ago

    And watching what streaming is turning into, eventually these titans may come roaring back.

    • @[email protected]
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      111 months ago

      The owner said she goes to the Walmart to buy the latest releases or replace the lost, or fill any requests. She also hand makes (crochets?) some of the merch they sell in the store and online. The employees were super nice too