I assume most of you have read my notification on the music site that I’m no longer going to be posting music. That was a hard decision to make, but I think it was the right one.
My hope is that with the time not posting music is going to save me can be spent making this blog more interesting. That will be a challenge because I was so used to posting music that it became like a reflex. It was just something I did every day. But writing movie reviews and posting other interesting things on this site is not yet a habit. I’ll have to make it one.
Something I’ve done in the past and enjoyed was to post pictures of recent purchases.
This post includes two separate purchases.
Tulsa regularly does a big flea market and we like to go (when we remember that it exists). We attended last Saturday and I immediately spied a big vendor with lots of DVDs and Blu-rays. He was selling them all for $1-$2 apiece. Naturally, most of them were crap, but as you can see I found a few gems.
There was another vendor with an even bigger, and better selection of movies. I started grabbing them but then realized they weren’t so cheap. They were individually priced, the cheapest being $5 and they went as high as $50 for larger boxed sets. Those prices weren’t bad for what he was selling, but since I originally thought they were $1 a piece I rejected them outright.
Today my wife went thrift shopping and sent me a picture of the second set. I don’t know anything about Sandition, but I generally love PBS shows and since it was selling for $1 for the three seasons we knew that was a bargain. I have no idea what My Wife Maurice is about (neither does my wife but it is French and she loves all things French).
Studious observers may notice that I now have two copies of the John Wayne movie The Quiet Man. I picked the DVD up at the flea market. When my wife sent me the selection of the movies she found at the thrift store she asked me if I had The Quiet Man. I looked at my list and told her, “No.” Friends, I had not yet added the DVD to my list. So, now I have an upgrade to Blu-ray!
I love a good bargain.
themidnightcafe.org 
Oh wow, that is big news! I saw your post about taking a break but didn’t realize you’re planning to not post music at all.
Let me be the first (or maybe the 20th since I may have missed a post!) to say THANK YOU for all the music. I have benefited immeasurably from what you’ve posted … so much of the music boots I have are from your site and I’ve really enjoyed the whole ride. Especially the Van posts – most of what I have has come from Midnight Cafe. Thank you, thank you.
With that said, as I am in my late 50s now I realize more and more: one should definitely do what makes you happy! (And doesn’t hurt others) Posting reviews and notes about movies seems like a solid move for you because you see so many and are so knowledgeable – and it gets around the “file storage issues” entirely.
My wife starts a new job Monday, and we are both reminding ourselves “Change is good.” Just like when my former job (of 27 years) ended precisely 5 years ago today. Since then, I’ve started my own business and it’s stressful but going well.
Change is good. Thanks again for all you have shared here Mat! 🙂 – Noel
I love a good bargain too, Mat – there can be rich pickings at public libraries and Charity Shops in the UK.
I have yet to explore the Markets in Mexico City – or a zone like Tepito which is apparently awash with cheap bootlegs but it is potentially a danger spot for a Guero like me!
Looking forward to your future movie posts
David aka allthecolours
I love a good bargain too, Mat – there can be rich pickings at public libraries and Charity Shops in the UK.
I have yet to explore the Markets in Mexico City – or a zone like Tepito which is apparently awash with cheap bootlegs but it is potentially a danger spot for a Guero like me!
Looking forward to your future movie posts
David aka allthecolours
So you are an Englishman living in Mexico City now? Is that correct? How did you wind up there?
I lived in Shanghai for a time and there would be blokes out on street corners with carts full of bootleg DVDs selling for about a dollar a pop. I stopped by all the time and grabbed a handful. You never really knew what you were getting though. Sometimes they would be nice rips from the real DVDs, other times they would be terrible recordings filmed by a camcorder in the actual movie theater. Sometimes you’d wind up with weird directors cuts. The worst were non english language films because the subtitles would often be translated from the original language into Chinese and then the Chinese would be translated into English and it would often come out a garbled mess.