Video Rental Stores Get Creative to Stay Afloat in Age of Netflix

NEW YORK CITY — As Netflix and video on demand drove the final nails into the coffin of the video rental business several years ago, Wendy Chamberlain, owner of Williamsburg’s Videology, was faced with a choice: close the store for good, or find a new source of income.

She chose to stay open, overhauling the 308 Bedford Ave. shop in 2011 to add a bar and screening room. She trained some of her staff as bartenders and moved most of her inventory of 16,000 titles to the basement.

“We couldn’t just give up,” Chamberlain said. “We hated the idea of not being able to be here and rent movies to people anymore.”

While small video rental shops across the city have closed and even once-dominant video giant Blockbuster was forced into bankruptcy, a handful of owners are renovating and innovating to keep their businesses afloat.

Some have focused on extras …

And then there were 2: Brooklyn’s final video rental stores

Video killed the radio star, DVDs killed the video star, DVR killed the DVD star, and streaming will likely be the name of the endgame until the next best thing rears its head. While radio lives on in cars and showers, alarm clocks and in an altered state online, however, the video rental shop is reaching a point of total eradication, deader even than the VHS tape itself.

Gone are the days when rental shops abounded, feeling more frequent than supermarkets in some neighborhoods, and not just the porno video stores. No, these were local shops with lovingly curated collections and reliably well-watched staffers always busy rewatching some forgotten foreign flick in the corner, ready and able to provide their feelings on your selection with varying amount of judgement depending on the pick.

Park Slope had enough rental spots at a time to merit a Yelp subsection dedicated solely to …

The Battle For New York City’s Video Store Culture

After thirty-three years, Videorama is closing. The store, standing at the corner of Dahill Road and 18th Avenue in Borough Park, was the first in its neighborhood. It’s possibly the last place in blue-collar Brooklyn to survive almost entirely on DVD rentals and sales. Though it’s outlived several competitors, it cannot battle the lure of streaming, torrents, and an overall dwindling demand for physical media. Tommy Pittas, a Brooklyn native who took over the business following his father’s retirement, considers the store’s resilience “a labor of love.” Kept afloat by transfers of video or film to disc, he spent the last year debating whether to keep the store running much longer, finally vowing to close the doors in early March (the 7th, to be exact). “It’s not only a financial decision,” Pittas reasons, “but an emotional one.”

The losing battle of video rental and retail is hardly news. Plenty of …

90s Award-Winning movies that you shouldn’t miss watching

Every decade has its unique fingerprint when it comes to Hollywood. But we guess you could say that for everything. Nevertheless, the early days of motion pictures were the Golden Age. It was the time of classic directors, titles, and performances: Howard Hawks and Orson Welles, Ben-Hur and Casablanca, and Humphrey Bogart and Judy Garland.

 

The 1970s and 1980s were the times when La La Land was running on new blood — the New Hollywood movement. Its engines were famous directors like De Palma, Spielberg, Coppola, and Lucas. They would write and direct classic dramas, action, sci-fi, and horror, taking these genres to new heights.

 

The final years of the 20th-century were, however, a weird breed. Back then, blockbusters and mid-budget dramas would coexist in perfect harmony. It was a simpler age, regardless of whether you’re into rose-colored glasses and nostalgia. These movies would win numerous awards

Why We Love Metal Butt Plugs

It’s no secret tons of people love anal play. Booty play has always been one of the most popular fetishes. But to penetrate someone from behind, both partners need to be careful. It’s all fun and games when you watch it play out in porn, but they’re professionals who know how to handle such stuff.

Filled with tons of nerve-endings, the rectal canal is a grand erogenous zone for both men and women. And although it provides a great sensation, it’s still rather narrow and sensitive for you to plow like an A-list porn star. Luckily, with the use of best sex toys like butt plugs, anyone can prepare for the dirtiest action of their life.

Metal Butt Plugs Look Intimidating at First

Just like anal sex for the first-timers, using anal plugs seems a bit too much at first. And how could it not? Inserting a weighty foreign object …