6
T he CI ac I< amas P rint
Wednesday, April 21, 1999
Buffalo Exchange gives
retail a run for its money
OK, I’ll give you three
chances to think of a store
where you can shop for free—
literally. No, it’s not K-Mart,
where every item is a blue light
MANDI LINSTROM
Associate. Editor
EH'%,j'
special. I’m talking
about the store
called Buffalo Ex
change, where you
can take in any of
your old clothes that
you can’t imagine yourself
ever wearing ever again and
exchange them for something
better—other
people’s
clothes!
Now, I know what you’re
thinking. “Sounds a little like
the Goodwill, if you ask me,”
you’re probably muttering.
But it’s not. And that’s what
makes the Buffalo Exchange
store so cool. The workers will
rummage through your clothes
of yesteryear and pick out the
stuff that is actually saleable
and that other people will want
to buy.
Then they give you a price
estimate from your material
leftovers and offer you in
store credit, worth approxi
mately 80% of the resale value,
or 45% of the clothing value
in cash. Although one esti
mate is significantly less than
the other, it’s truly a win-win
situation! Either you walk
away with some new threads
that are trendy (even if they
belonged to someone else
first), or you end up with a little
spare change in your pocket
for the bell bottoms that were
hip for like, five seconds.
Not only does the Buffalo
Exchange have other people’s
retread threads, they also buy
other resale items from chain
merchandising stores like GAP
and Banana Republic. Plus,
they have shoes, jewelry and
a quaint little accessory cor-
ner with neat knickknacks like
scented glitter, feather boas,
sunglasses, and inflatable
chairs! The Buffalo Exchange
has an atmosphere very simi-
lar to Urban Outfit
ters, but with a
much more afford
able price tag. You’ll
see a wide variety of
shoppers here too,
J because the store
not only appeals to
preppy kids like my
self, but also the
grungy slackers, laid-
back hippies, and club
kids on the cutting
edgeof every fashion trend.
So how is this a “free” shop
ping trip? Well, every time I
have ventured into this store,
I have walked in with multiple
bags of old clothes and walked
out with a bag full of cute skirts
and tank-tops that are new—
at least to me. I even found a
GAP skirt I'd almost bought a
couple of months earlier for
$60, marked down to the amaz
ing price of $6! Sometimes I’m
even lucky enough to get some
thing new and still have
change left over. It’s almost
too good to be true...but it is.
The only catch is that you
can’t saunter into the Buffalo
Exchange store with very little
time on your hands. The key
to making a shopping score is
to look, and look hard, because
there are loads and loads of la
beled racks of clothing that
cannot possibly be seen un
less you are willing to spend
some time in the process. It’s
definitely worth the effort,
though, trust me.
While you’re down in the
Hawthorne district (where this
shop is conveniently located
on SE 37th and Hawthorne)
you can also stop at the Ben
and Jerry's Ice Cream Parlor or
Starbucks and spend your left
over cash on something
yummy. You’ll feel that you de
serve it after all your hard
shopping that didn’t cost you
a dime.
Buddies brighten big house
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
Martin Lawrence, left, and Eddie Murphy portray inmates in Life, a new comedy released last week.
ANGIE DASCHEL
Associate Editor
Grumpy Old Men 3: Jailbirds.
That is what Eddie Murphy’s new
movie Life should have been titled.
Murphy and Martin Lawrence
{Nothing to Lose) follow in the tra
dition of Walter Matthau and Jack
Lemmon by taking a good concept
of two enemies who turn out to be
lifelong friends and turning it into
a great movie.
The year is 1932 and things are
swingin’ in the Big Apple.
Murphy plays Ray Gibson, a pick
pocket with dreams of owning a
nightclub in New York City called
Ray’s Boom-Boom Room.
Lawrence portrays Claude Banks,
an aspiring bank teller with a large
gambling debt. Their paths cross
at a swanky nightclub owned by a
crime boss named Spanky
Johnson, played by Rick “Super
Freak” James.
Both Ray and Claude owe
Spanky money, yet they are both
broke. Spanky decides that they
can pay off their debt by doing a
little bootlegging in Mississippi.
While they are in the South, some
good ole boys murder a man and
blame it on Ray and Claude. They
are sentenced to life in a Missis
sippi state prison work camp
where they spend the next 60
years, plotting and scheming ev
ery day to break free.
The movie was billed as a typi
cal funny Eddie Murphy vehicle,
and although it was hilarious in
some parts, Life was more a come
dic drama about the triumph of the
human spirit. The two innocent
men were sentenced to life in
prison, yet they never gave up
hope that someday they would be
free.
It was a comedic drama because
it was definitely not realistic. First
of all, the men who were in prison
with Ray and Claude were people
H
who had done horrendous things.
Yet while they were in prison, they
were portrayed as great people
with witty personalities who never
displayed a violent temper (except
ing a rather large man who espe
cially likes combread, and is not
afraid to fight you for yours).
Second, the camp was guarded
only by a few people with rifles;
there were no walls or fences. The
inmates could have easily joined
forces and revolted against the
prison guards. These are minor
technicalities, though, and that is
what makes movies so great. A
filmmaker can add the most ridicu
lous plot twists, dialogues and
characters and still have a won
derful product, which Life was.
Life is not Murphy’s best movie,
but it does showcase him as a team
player; he doesn’t have to be the
star of the show. First seen to
gether in the 1992 comedy Boo
merang, Murphy and Lawrence
make a great comedic pair in Life.
■
Bachelor’s ^gree ■«■■I
"
i
Think You’re Pregnant?
W e can help you work
THROUGH YOUR CHOICES.
Crisis Pregnancy Centers
Milwaukie . ................... 659-3336
Lloyd Center Area......... 284-1977
Gresham..........................666-6527
Lake Grove..................... 968-6780
Beaverton ........... 643-4503
F ree P regnancy T ests
Confidential Counseling
MODELS WANTED
• Earn $150.00 to $1,000.00 per day
• Portland-Based Production Company
• Looking for Male and Female Models
You’ve worked hard to earn your associate’s degree. Now it’s time to take the next
step: a bachelor's degree in Automated Manufacturing Technology or Computer
Visualization Technology from ITT Tech. If your educational background matches
our requirements, you could earn your bachelor’s in as little as six quarters or
less-and help position yourself to begin a rewarding career in a technical field. Get
started today by calling (503) 255-6500. And just think how far you could go.
18-45 Years Old
ITT Technical Institute
www.brooklandbros.com
or call (503) 235-2785
www.itt-tech.edu
6035 N.E. 78* Court Portland, OR 97218