Be Kind to the VHS

I recently took a quick look at a Blockbuster Video receipt and caught something I never noticed before. "Be Kind, Return on Time." Sound a little familiar? My first thought was, ouch! One final after the bell cheap shot at the format they've been phasing out for years.

Then it occurred to me. Maybe it's meant as a tribute. A subtle reference in thanks to the little rectangles that put them on the map. In truth, it was probably just one of those notoriously lazy receipt writers recycling ideas like the latest movie remake they're renting. Either way, I'm pretty sure I like it.

Over the last few years, I've thought about upgrading some of my old VHS tapes to DVD. Now I think I might wait a bit. There's something about pulling out an 80's movie on VHS and throwing it in that makes if feel a little more authentic. I even found an old school video store in my neighborhood that will still rent you VHS copies of all the classics Blockbuster doesn't carry in store. (came in very handy when I interviewed Keith Gordon from "Back to School")

Yup, times have changed. The new "Police Academy" movie will probably never wrap itself around the spools like the first six. That's OK. I'm as much for improving things as the next guy. As much as I like the convenience and quality of DVDs though, I'm still gonna hold onto my VCR and those boxes of tapes filled with hand scribbled labels like "Days of Thunder" and "Last Episode of Cheers." Maybe I'm living in the past...but if I wasn't, I would have this killer website!