Beverage
continued from page 4
our list — it’s made in Portland.
And now that we’re on the good
side of the scale, we can alter our
tone. This drink had a good clean
lime flavor, with a hint of grape
fruit, and the flavors tasted real.
Getting past the smell, however,
was hard. The bouquet was of a
warm, dead, rotting something. The
sweetness was light and nice, and
the aftertaste was clean with a sub
tle hint of malt liquor.
Mike’s Hard
Cranberry Lemonade
O: 7, F: 7.2, S: 7, A: 7
This was a nice change of pace.
The citrus and alcohol flavors were
getting us down, but Mike’s has a de
licious strawberry or cherry taste. It
was refreshing and fruity, although
not cranberry flavored. It was pretty
sweet and finished clean, leaving
you ready for many more.
Sauza Diablo
O: 8, F: 7.2, S: 6.8, A: 7.2
4 Some drinkers shy away from the
flavor of tequila, but Sauza made it
appetizing. The salty margarita
smell was a little much (we can re
member that tequila odor from some
very unappetizing situations), but
the taste was great, with hints of
lime, wine and a refreshing sweet
ness. It didn’t linger, either, and it
seemed to have the light flavor that
could get one trashed in a hurry.
Skyy Blue
O: 9, F: 7.4, S: 7.7, A: 7.7
Skyy was the clear winner. The
flavor was cloudless, much like
Zima or 7-Up. It had a neutral citrus
flavor and was pretty sugary, but the
crispness kept us from feeling like
we were sipping on a frou-frou
drink. The aftertaste cleaned up with
a hint of vodka, but it was dry and re
freshing, as though our mouths were
cleaner after drinking it.
Contact the editor in chief
at editor@dailyemerald.com. Managing
editor Jenni Schultz, photo editor Adam
Jones, online editor Marilyn Rice and reporter
Jan Montry contributed to this report.
012664
WWl HALL
Community
Center for the
Performing Arts
8th &
Lincoln
■ Tonight ■
The X-Ecutioners
Hip-Hop
$ij, advance, $16 door, 9:00 pm
■ Friday •
The George Kuo,
Martin Pahinui,
Aaron Mahi Group
Hawaiian Slack Key
$15 advance, $16 door, 8:00 pm
■ Saturday ■
Flamenco de la
Mision: Flamenco
International
Dance Performance
$12 advance, $14 door, 9:00 pm
■ Tuesday ■
Michael Rose, Hie
Funky Babylonians
Raggae
$16 advance, $18 door, 9:00 pm
All Ages Welcome • 6H7-2746
Flicks & Pics has old, good movies
Guest CowiMENiARY
Aaron
Shakra
By Aaron Shakra
for the Emerald
When the heat comes on, there’s
no better alternative than to sit in
side, close the shades and enjoy a
good film. And while there are many
movie stores in Eugene to choose
from — both independent and cor
porate — Flicks & Pics sets itself in at
least one category: selection.
Located at 28th Avenue and
Friendly Street, the video store eas
ily has one of the largest selections
of movies in town, with roughly
20,000 VHS tapes and 2,000 DVDs.
Renters who can’t find what they’re
looking for, be sure to ask — about
half of the available videotapes
aren’t on display. These include,
among other things, television se
ries episodes and older, more ob
scure, hard-to-find films. The
“kids” section of the store also con
tains video games.
The store was opened in 1983 by
Dave Mendonca and has been in
his ownership since then. It re
mained financially successful de
spite the increasing presence of cor
porate chains in Eugene over the
years — such as Hollywood Video
at 29th Avenue and Willamette
Street and Blockbuster Video at
18th Avenue. Mendonca attributed
this success to location and an em
phasis on the store’s wide selection
ofolder releases.
“We appeal to a different kind of
customer than they do,” he said.
“The people we service are movie
aficionados.”
Eric Empens, an employee who
has worked at the store for six years,
summarized this credo succinctly.
“If you’re looking for anything
u
Adam Jones Emerald
Flicks & Pics usually has a well-filled parking lot, which may be attributed to its diverse selection and many longtime customers.
other than new releases, we’re
pretty much the place to go,”
he said.
Flicks & Pics has 90,000 active
members, gaining about 100-200
members a month. Member ac
counts run on a reward-based sys
tem. Once the rental total on an
account reaches 100, the member
receives a coupon for 10 “2 for the
price of 1” rentals. 200 rentals
equates to 20 “2 for 1” rentals,
and so on. Accounts that reach
1,000 rentals receive unlimited “2
for 1” rentals.
Jim Wyant, an employee for sev
en years, noted that much of the
store’s business comes from long
time members.
“About 35 to 40 percent of our
customers are 1,000-club mem
bers,” he said.
Many of the employees on the
staff have worked at the store for
multiple years, and Wyant displays
this in his treatment of film. He
meticulously inspects each DVD
for scratches before and after it’s
rented. One fallback of this relative
ly nascent format is that it’s easily
prone to damage — even more so
than a CD.
Since the store opened, prices
haven’t increased. New releases
cost $3 and older releases can be
picked up for $1 on Mondays and
Tuesdays, and the “2 for 1”
coupons are valid on dollar days.
Most television shows (on either
VHS or DVD) cost $1 to rent, but
pay-cable television shows — such
as “The Sopranos” or “The Larry
Sanders Show”— cost $2. The store
is open 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven
days a week, and they accept com
petitors’ coupons.
Aaron Shakra is a freelance
columnist/reporter for the Emerald.
New i
.ocation1.
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sS£ilMw
K flash * mode
rteH,ose-up
F* Autom%J^ncfies
IlllfiS"
iSiS;
Gel a dose
from the Good Doctor!
Ladies get ie free
nightly til 11 pml
80s Night
(80's dance with
mainstream)
DJ Grooves DJ Grooves
(HiP Hop) (Hip-Hop, Top 20,
Mainstream)
683-8101 • on the corner ol W. 11th & Charnelton
Cocktail Research
Oregon Festival of American Music 2002
GERSHWIN
DICK HYMAN, JAZZ ADVISOR
DEREK SMITH'KEN PEPLOWSKr
RANDY SANDKE ■ & more!
August 1-10
Hult-Shedd-Cuthbert
Tickets: 682-5000
[Info: 687-6526
twww.ofam.org
The Eye Center
[SAFEWAY
I FOOD & DRUG