confessions of a video store snob

Power is precious commodity and people tend to grasp what little power they have and flaunt it for all it's worth. As GI Joe taught us, knowledge is power. When I worked at a video store, I was pretty damn knowledgable and I loved that power.
When I worked at Hastings Book, Music and Video in Kearney, NE, I didn't have to watch a hell of a lot of movies to gain knowledge about them. I spent the majority of my waking day there and I would just absorb the knowledge like through osmosis. Watching the previews, reading the backs of boxes, talking to the customers and belittling and getting belittled by my co-workers (thank you Jessica) gave me most of my 'power.' When you hear enough people come in and ask for "that one movie with that one guy" or "I can't remember the name of the movie but it has this in it" and you're able to read their mind or run them into the ground, you gain a bit of an ego, as pathetic as it is.
Now that I am not one of the elite anymore, I can't stand the video snobs. Portland has one of the biggest independently owned video stores I've ever seen here, Movie Madness, but I won't go there because I cannot stand the employees and it is sometimes difficult to find a movie without asking them what category they put it in. Instead I go to Clinton Street Video where the people are all on qualudes. They are so low-key and will not flaunt their video store power unless you poke and prod them. The only problem with Clinton Street is the selection isn't the best around. It's good but there is better out there and I'm not just talking about the Madness.
Today, my new thing was going to and setting up an account at Videorama in Ladd's Addition. I've heard of the place from friends and it's on my walk home so I decided to check it out. Above is their selection of Gay and Lesbian films. It's a pretty nice assortment with some pretty rare titles. It beats the hell out of Blockbuster which lumps their seven G&L films under Alternative along with skating films and other non-mainstreams. Their documentary section was mouth-watering as well. I do feel like I've cheated on Clinton Street and I could easily see myself going back for more even though it's a little more expensive. The employee seemed really low-key and one of their employee picks section reminded me of what I would have selected, if I still had the power.