ARCADE SQUARE, Require Shoes & Shirt, No Pets, No Bikes or Skates, Noise Ordinance Enforced

[Apologies for the sideways image. Posting directly from my phone, I turned it sideways to better fit the logo. I'll see about adjusting it. Until then...]

GEEZER ALERT!

25 years ago this place was a bustling hub of commerce.

I remember performing Christmas music here with my high school choir.

I remember many lunches in the food court under the glass-domed roof.

I remember taking weeks carefully deciding what kind of shoulder bag would best suit my needs from the luggage store.

I remember a Coca-Cola "museum" on the second floor, where you could have vanilla or cherry flavored syrup added to your Coke just like they did at the soda fountains of old. In the early 80's such flavors hadn't been made available in bottles yet. The place was filled with nearly every bit of Coca-Cola decor and memorabilia you could hope to see.

I remember my first ever Chinese food (simple but delicious chicken fried rice & an egg roll), purchased from Mandarin Kitchen, enjoyed with a friend who worked security for McCrory's.

It was like having a mall in a downtown setting... funny thing, with Courthouse Square right across the way and major retail anchors in place, it was exactly like a Town Center and it was in an ACTUAL Town Center!

I'm sure I'll touch on this again in the future...

Go see "Grindhouse"

If you expect you'll enjoy "Grindhouse", you will.
If you have doubts, stay home with your wooby*.

Pee first. Don't chug your favorite beverage. Ration your popcorn and Raisinettes. For the majority of 3 hours and 11 minutes you will be entertained.

"Grindhouse" isn't two short movies and a collection of fake previews crammed into a feature length presentation. "Grindhouse" is two full-length movies with fake previews as the special sauce. There are actual flaws in these films, besides the intentional ones, but delving into them would be an artistic debate of epic proportions and there's little to no point in that. "Grindhouse" is fun and well worth the admission price.

I won't post any spoilers here, but I do have a handy viewers tip to share...

Provided that you haven't been grossed-out into running to the john during "Planet Terror" or the intermediate coming attractions, the "Death Proof" segment contains some (perhaps intentional) needlessly drawn out segments in which the viewer can safely take time to visit the loo.

The first opportunity to relax your straining bodily functions follows the introduction of the four gals at the beginning of "Death Proof". You don't need to rush but don't take too long because you don't want miss a second of Kurt Russell.

If your constitution is up to it, you can wait until after the hospital scene and the introduction of four more characters. Again, there's no rush, but don't waste time counting the bathroom tiles or waiting in line for more nachos and a soft pretzel.

Finally, unless you're a complete fanatic, there is no need to sit through the credits. There is no surprise at the end. If you've sat through the whole thing and really have to go, by all means get thee to the echo chamber make all the noise you need! It won't be any worse than anything you've just seen on the silver screen.

I waited through the credits, but I didn't pay close attention to anything but the music listings, so there might be some 'crazy credits' that I didn't catch.

Enjoy "Grindhouse"!!!

Disclaimer: I'm not obsessed with bodily functions but we've all been there and this is an exceptionally long film. I hope my tips will help you and yours get the most enjoyment possible from your viewing experience. G'day.

*wooby - synonym for security blanket, as used in the film "Mr. Mom" starring the best Batman ever, Michael Keaton.