Entertainment

Apparently, I did not tire of Bill Maher after watching Bill Maher: I'm Swiss on DVD the other night. A member of my staff mentioned today that he will be in Dallas as the Majestic Theatre on April 15. I immediately asked my wife if she wanted to go; she said she did, so it's on! I'm looking forward to another opportunity to hear him point his sharp barbs at the world's stupidest man (if he makes it out of Pakistan alive). We will take advantage of our certificate good for one-night plus breakfast at the Westin in downtown Dallas; it's good fortunate, I guess, that we did not use the certificate recently, as originally planned. My wife is looking forward to sleeping in the Westin's "heavenly bed." I have to admit, I really like them, too, and would like to buy one...maybe, one day.

I've not seen Brokeback Mountain, but I read the short story by Annie Proulx, upon which the film is based. I must be one of the most clueless people around. I have read the book of short stories by Annie Proulx which includes Brokeback Mountain, but I have not been paying much attention, I guess, and did not realize the movie was based on the short story of the same name. I remember when I first read the short story that I thought it was a very, very odd story. I think I'll want to see the film, but there's no rush.

This afternoon, on the way home from work, my wife and I stopped at the grocery store pharmacy where we get our prescriptions filled. I had a slew of them to fill for a one-month period, to the tune of $174 or so, and had run out of some of them, so I needed to get them filled. My wife wanted to wander the bookstore next door, so I dropped her first, dropped the prescription, and headed over to find her. As I walked into the bookstore (Barnes & Noble), it occurred to me that we are deep in the midst of retail as entertainment. The idea is not new, of course, but it was so apparent that I was shocked. There I was in Barnes & Noble, and I looked around at beautiful artwork, an in-store Starbucks, a CD section with comfortable chairs and headphones to listen to virtually anything in the store, a quiet area in the corner of the bookstore portion with a large number of comfortable easy chairs, nice lighting, and people reading. I didn't see it, but I think I recall once being inside the Starbucks and noticing that there were flat-screen televisions broadcasting CNN, etc.

It makes good sense. Give people a reason to be in a retail environment (other than shopping for pants) that entertains them, and they will buy. In a more enlightened society, the bookstore might also include a hash bar. I think, for the immediate near term, at least, retail as entertainment is solidly entrenched.