Welcome New Sponsor: Scarecrow Video

Regular readers will know how we feel about national chains: food, coffee, clothing, whatever. By focusing on “top sellers”, they destroy diversity. If you’re a movie buff, you’re lucky to have Scarecrow Video (5030 Roosevelt Way NE), one of the largest independent video stores in the country, in strolling distance. And we’re lucky to have them as our newest sponsor.

There’s a million things we love about Scarecrow, but let’s take one obvious one: their main section is organized by director, rather than alphabetical by title. Why does this make sense? Well, ask yourself: when was the last time you said “Gosh, I usually like movies that start with R, so I’ll go have a look in the R’s and see if there’s anything I want to watch”? Never. Never was the last time you said that.

Instead, you probably say something like “Gosh, I really liked The African Queen, but I’ve already seen it. I wonder if there’s anything else by the same director that I haven’t seen.” Brilliant.

And their collection really is enormous: over 100,000 titles in stock and growing all the time, including a ton of rare, out-of-print, foreign and independent films not available in mainstream stores. You can even search their rental database on-line.

So, if you’re a movie buff, or if you’re just tired of watching the same old Hollywood blockbusters, Scarecrow is something of a no-brainer.

And there’s no Scarecrow chain. There’s one shop, locally owned, and it’s right nearby. That’s what we like.