Mondo Kim's NYC RIAA-ded (raided?) ?

You're just jealous of my wit.

IE GET YOURSELF A FUCKING GOOD SHRINK

IE BETTER THAN MINE

...

I have to see her tomorrow.

That said, mixtapes should really be bought on the sidewalk. Keep it real!

"I fought the law...and the law won"

yeah, fwiw i used to get way more attitude from the dumbass teenagers who rang up my dinosaur-rock cds at the wiz. every other transaction i've had at kim's has resulted in the clerk saying something like "hey, great record! i didn't know this got reissued!" or "did you know these guys are playing tomorrow night?" or "wasn't this the dude that used to be in _____?" mr. kim may be a prick, but i've never had a bad experience with his employees.

hmmm, I take that back. I guess that isn't so odd, is it?

Word. I don't remember one unpleasant conversation with a Kim's/OM/Etherea record store clerk, and I spent a lot of time in those establishments. At worst the cashier would silently take my $ and bag my record, but it never felt personal.

I get much more attitude at Vintage Vinyl in STL.

i was in there yesterday—looking at, erm, porno selections. After about three minutes of discrete browsing, my shoulder was tapped, and I nearly jumped out of my skin to see that the tapper was a shorts clad cop. "Had porno become illegal as of 12:30pm?" I thought for a split second…

He told me to leave the store immediately— the clerks on the third floor were lined up, as were their counterparts on the second and ground floors.

totally. there are complaints about other, as well, and i've always been treated well there. bitch all you want about the aggressive record store employee, but the aggressive record dork customer is always gonna be worse.

Vintage Vinyl in Jersey is clerked exclusively by assholes.

I have never EVER been able to get anyone to sell me anything at that kiosk, and gave up all hope of trying ages ago. NOBODY IS EVER THERE.

My advice: run uptown and rent bootleg "The High Life" (BBC, 1995) before it goes away forever!

Really? Those folks were always really friendly to me. (Although I guess I did see 'em be kind of dick-y to some other folks.)

I think it's because people see the hairdo's and the attitude and think, "hey, this person is cool like me," and then become miffed that the person doesn't want to immediately be their friend in the middle of their boring shift at low-paying job.

the thing about arresting the clerks is simple and bizarre: there are a number of blue law statutes (and that type of thing) that make the clerk/bartender type responsible rather than the business itself. it's one of those things that makes me shake my head about political "scientists" who still by any notion of pluralism - that is, that the little guy doesn't get screwed over most of the time on the bigger guys behalf.

i could've been arrested for renting porn to minors while i was still at the store, and nothing would've happened to the store itself. in fact, in PA i broke "pandering" laws by "recommending" porn titles to customers. heavy civil disobedience!

uh, no, not even remotely.

I'm not sure what the intent was here.

OK, I'll go into detail on another thread, but the irony here is so fucking high, I can't control myself.

Once again, Hip Hop fucks things up for everyone. Thanks alot, shitty Hip Hop.

self?

the one guy who was (a) rather rude and (b) sort of a genius about asian cinema at the smaller kim's died last year or t he year before last.

yeah, it's obviously hip-hop's fault, Alex, not shady business practice nor an overzealous watchdog group.

Learn to know when I'm joking.

Learn to know when I'm joking.

Learn how to use emoticons or learn to deal with the misinterpretations if you refuse to use emoticons.

No. Cancer, I believe.

Went home. Checked. Stew Copeland WAS in Curved Air. THAT FUCKER WAS WRONG!

PS: Curved Air fucking SUCK!

Emoticons are for pantsless chat room predators.

Don't pick on the Kim's peops, they're goddamned superheroes and you should be grateful that this town has something that even approaches 1/4 of an Amoeba. If they close you'll probably not see a store that size again in this town unless it opens in Long Island or something. These peops are up against a lot working that joint, I can vouch having been there circa 95-96.

I'm totally with you here, Brian, but why would it really take that long a time for another record store or chain thereof to open again in NYC? Is there just an interminable permit/business license wait? Retail real estate is even more astronomical? Because if Border's or Barnes & Nobles in Soho can do well, Amoeba could *kill* there.. (not to try to wish on anything that would hurt Other Music or what have you.).. but since I don't know about the business of creating a retail business in records in NYC - Manhattan, specifically -- I thought I'd ask.

-- Alex in NYC (vassife...), June 9th, 2005.

HahahahaHA! [Shakes head admiringly]

FWIW, the mixtape vendors on 14th & 6th (SW side of the street) are always there. They're the best. Just stand in front of their CD rack and one of them will pop out and help you.

no no it's the peeps locked up although i heard they are out now. the store was open again last nite!

I fail to see the heroism.

So when's the police auction?

If this raid prevents at least one hip hop artist from releasing a record it was worth it.

the whole point is that mixtapes are selling because they're better than anything the labels have to sell. these aren't bootlegs, and a really good mix doesn't sound like piracy, it sounds new. five arrested!

--- In nyhappenings@yahoogroups.com, Brian Turner wrote:
> Not tax evasion, according to MTV.com:
> -brian
>
> http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1503863/20050609/50_cent.jhtml?headlines=true
>
> New York police, in cooperation with the RIAA, arrested five employees of
> Kim's Video . one of the East Village's most beloved independent video and
> music stores . during a Wednesday afternoon raid that netted 500 pirated
> CD-Rs.

Where is the disconnect that has the employees and not owners getting nabbed? I suppose you could say the buyers are as guilty as Mr. Kim himself, but the underpaid clerks?

> Those arrested were charged with trademark counterfeiting, and police also
> seized 27 music DVDs, nine DVD burners and several store computers. All of
> the CD-Rs and DVDs were described by an RIAA spokesperson as "urban in
> nature" . mixtapes, featuring music by artists such as 50 Cent, Nelly,
> Alicia Keyes and Jay-Z.

Thank god it's urban in nature...I'd hate to see Vini Reilly get any money from the Durutti Column DVD I just bought. And yes, like many of Kim's bootleg DVDs, it's glitchy. I had to return the krautrock DVD and have never had the chance to see the La Dusseldorf video. They're getting what they deserve.

kidding, of course.

The sad truth being bootleg mixtapes are one illegal medium that can be said to introduce people to an artist, and lead to an actual purchase. Go after bootleg copies of the record if you want, but leave the mixtape/CD alone!

dan

i dont know, maybe its four months being in a town with only a wal mart, maybe its realizing that amazing peices of music are being held randsome or ignored, maybe its endless, fucking record companies stealing from artists, maybe its becuase im so sick and fucking tired of not hearing anything new, maybe its because no one thinks that someone cannot like hip hop and chart country and bach and eveything else--but the sheer agreesiveness in destroying the puryveyours of digital media, they wont win--the rabbit is out of the hat.

FUCK EM

Analog LOL.

http://hometown.aol.com/heartsinexile/true-cassette-front.jpg

Police Raid Video Store in East Village in Piracy Case

I see the mtv link, but where are the other two?

~C

I wonder if this has had a sudden effect on the stock at other nearby stores.

My video store is TLA; no attitude at all.

So so so so otm.

Mixtapes: Before We Had A Clue
http://www.mtv.com/bands/m/mixtape/news_feature_021003/index7.jhtml

All the links on the right column will give you a sense of the picture, especially in context with their story on the Kim's raid.

There will always be lemonade stands.

looks like he was arrested, according to the NYT.

hopefully this will result in a loud, ungainly, terrible noise in weeks to come.

if they have any clue whatsoever, they'll drop these charges before this becomes a Negativland level debacle

prophetic

Meanwhile, at Other Music...

A few months or 20 years?

this happened to my friend bj who used to work at midnight records about a year ago.

Dude went way out of his way (in a nice way) to sell me a Sunroof! CD, though...if that counts.

from an employee there:

Subject: Yes, i was arrested and in jail....for working at Kim's All
headers
Dear Loving Friends,
On June 8, 2005, i along w/ 4 other Kim's employees were
arrested during a raid on Kim's. The RIAA hired some pigs
to come and bust the store, the arrest was totatlly
arbitary. They were supoosed to be busting down on
bootlegs, thanks to the media exposure on Star Wars
bootlegs (it happened to be a live 50 cent concert, so if
he was involved in any way FUCK 50 Cent!). They took me
since i am the manager on the 2nd floor. Mr. Kim was no
where to be found.
The store was shut down, employees lined up, a few of us
got cuffed w/out being told we are being arrested and with
out utilzing our miranda rights. We were taken to the
holding cell, where we waited approx 5 hrs before they
fingerprinted us and put us into a chain gang to take us
downtown (despite them telling us they were going to give
us desk passes so we would not have to spend the night in
jail...FUCK THE POLICE!!!). So we went downtown, beforehand they confisicated our cell
phones and thanks to technology, was not able to memorize
anyone's phone numbers. The pigs still have my cell
phone & ipod. So we got put into a pen w/ a bunch of
other dudes. The cells were packed constantly, filled w/
30 or so people at a time, having 10 bull pens down there,
body heat made things harder in the dank cells. Hours later i was separted from the rest of my co-workers
and put into a different cell, separated from the one guy
whom had the name & number to the Kim's lawyer. Those
whom don't know, i have a hard time w/ authority. i spent 30+ hrs in jail for working at Kim's. All the
other employees were released from there cells before me, i
had a panic attack that was prompted by all this stress,
not eating (jail is not really vegan friendly) nor sleeping
the entire time i was in. i got really claustrophobic,
thought everyone was stealing my air (for those who live in
NY, the jail cell was 10x hotter then the 2nd ave. F stop)
my heartrate doubled, i couldn't breath and i started to
crack. i started to waddle back and forth like orphans do
from not being mothered long enough or at all.
My man Jerry Lim, whom is the only numbered i remembered,
for we call each other every day. He worked his ass off
to help me out, big ups for Lim, whne you see him, hug him
and buy him a drink. Calling mutual friends whom have
lawyers and money to help bail me out. The Correction
Officers were very reluctant to help him help me out in any
way. When i bummed a quarter off a fellow inmate, i was at the
point of cracking, mumbling w/ the entire cell yelling and
overall carrying on like it was a party for them. Some
also had arbitrary arrests, like walking through the park
at night or some for more "serious" crimes like selling
weed. i would like to take this moment to give Guiliani &
Bloomberg a big fuck you! i can honestly say i hate these
men. Hours later, at a point i was almost convinced i was going
to spend 72 hrs or more in jail (they can legally hold you
for 72 hrs, but if it falls on the weekend, you stay over
the weekend regardless), i got called, went to my
arrainment and senteced to one day of community service. i was arrested apparently for making and distrobuting
bootleg material (a felony offense aka your going to
Rykers), which is not true, obviously. Charges were
lowered to a misdeamor and i was sentenced to a day of
community service. That was a relief in a since. You
can only imagine how intensely pissede i am at Mr. Kim at
this moment and was ready to quit when i go out. Below is
a clipping from NY Times, which article helped speed up our
arrainment (so i hear). Mr. Kim is supposedly turning
himself in on monday, i have no idea was it going out (that
is how it was the entire time i was locked up, the pigs
liked to keep you in the dark). So, i am sorry i can't call everyone right now, but i
thought this may be best way for mass communication. Needless to say i hate cops even more now and have even
less faith in the united states legal system. Thanks for all your support. Hope to see you all soon.
luv,
chu

-- Alex in SF (clobberthesauru...) (webmail), June 10th, 2005.

Every single employee there can be charged with conspiracy to infringe copyright, which is a felony. About half the people convicted of that charge do in fact get some prison time.

Yes, I realize that. I just don't think they will in this case. But I've been surprised before.

Fuck this sucks.

I'm really hoping Chris Ryan, who used to do some posting here and writes for Spin among others, wasn't among the 5. (I'm hoping everyone wasn't among the 5, though obviously this is impossible.) This is just horrible. The minute they set up a legal defense fund, I'm contributing. I've bought too many good records there to not do it.

The employees charged with counterfeiting were identified as Theo Frimpong, 39, of the Bronx; Diana Kinscherf, 19, of Queens; Donald Stahl, 26, and Charles Bettis, 29, both of Brooklyn; and Craig Willingham, 32, of Manhattan.

Wasn't there a case where a store was raided for bootlegs, the store sued back, and the store won the suit? (I thought the story was posted here, but I tried searching, but to no avail. I'll ask my other resources.)

That Mr. Kim is "supposedly going to turn himself in" statement is really interesting, which leads me to believe three scenarios:

a) boots of 50 cent or other stuff were being made/manufactured at the store

b) kim's did not make the bootlegs, had the questionable stuff in stock, and were the unlucky target of a raid, and can't deal with the legal costs to fight this, or

c) kim's did not make the bootlegs, had the questionable stuff in stock, and were the unlucky target of a raid, however many other facets of Mr. Kim's manner of operating his stores has already opened a can of worms, so to speak, and he's just giving up.

...

I'm inclined to believe "c" right now.

But that "supposedly" up there must be stressed. Perhaps Kim will legally fight back. I can't imagine why he wouldn't, to be frank, if he's got nothing to lose.. unless that can of worms is a really big can.

Legit large stores across the country are probably going to follow Amoeba's lead, unfortunately... however, this is only going to concentrate the bootleg/mix market to smaller more underground operations, and -- most of all -- the internet.

If the RIAA thought that this was going to help squash the bootleg/mix market, they basically splattered the market into a gazillion other channels that will only get more syncopated and harder for them to crack. They basically did the equivalent of spraying ants on a kitchen table, with the bigger goal of wanting to eventually destroy the ant species. Haha. Just when I thought the RIAA did the stupidest move yet, along comes *thee* stupidest move yet.

I have to leave this thread for a while. MY BLOOD IS BOILING.

One of my local CD chains has only just started carrying mixtapes. I thought about warning the clerks at the one I frequent about the raid, but I figure they wouldn't know enough (and tell me 'oh we only sell legal mixtapes,' ha) and they aren't big enough to be on anyone's radar.

I'm so lonely in NC

refer to countless DOJ press releases (news, speeches, etc) from Ashcroft that mention that piracy, much like buying drugs, eventually puts money into the hands of terrorists in the middle east (no I'm not joking)

re: kim fighting back legally

I don't understand this? he comitted a crime and the authorities are punishing him as the law states they should - how exactly does he fight this legally?

So you know he committed a crime? What crime was it then, in this case?

Last I checked, having bootlegs in one's record store is not a crime -- at least according to the previous court case ruling I saw on this.

I was wondering about the general legality of selling bootlegs. How much burden of proof rests on the seller? If someone comes in with a box of professional-looking CDs - color artwork, copyright info, etc., claiming to be a new independent distributor/label, how am I supposed to know if the music has been cleared?

haha dude's in jail and all he can think about is whether a cow was inconvenienced during the making of his cheese sandwich?

http://www.ussc.gov/2001guid/2b5_3.htm

§2B5.3.Criminal Infringement of Copyright or Trademark

it doesn't actually have a section that clearly states that selling bootlegs constitutes "criminal infringement of copyright." in fact, "criminal infringement of copyright" isn't defined within the law. one point to counter this though:

(3)If the offense was not committed for commercial advantage or private financial gain, decrease by 2 levels, but the resulting offense level shall be not less than level 8.

there is no denying that mixtapes (and from this thread discussion, I presume numerous other products) are in fact copyright infringing items (as defined in the text). so, by the language of this law, it seems as though it was drafted assuming that the copyright infringement it exists to punish is for the purpose of making money -- ie, selling bootlegs. as for your court case, I haven't heard about that, so I really don't have anything to add, except...

http://www.cybercrime.gov/singh2Sent.htm

here's a case of a dude who (quote): Kishan Singh, 33 of Lanham, Maryland, was sentenced by the Honorable T.S. Ellis, III, United States District Judge in the Eastern District of Virginia, for distributing pirated software over the Internet in violation of federal criminal copyright infringement laws. Kishan Singh previously pled guilty to a single count Information on October 14, 2004, charging him with infringement of a copyright. [...] Kishan Singh operated a pay-for-access website through which he offered pirated copies of business software which had been altered by the removal of copyright protection devices.

this was as recent as january 7th. what difference is there between operating a store that sells copyright infringing items on the internet, or in some two story space in nyc? like kim, this guy didn't crack the software himself or in any other way manufacture the infringing items. he only sold them. the only difference I can imagine is that this dude in the above article got the extra 2 points tacked onto his sentence for uploading infringing items on the internet. score!

also...

http://www.cybercrime.gov/tobolskySent.htm

another guy selling cracked software.

and finally...

http://www.cybercrime.gov/rodriguezArrest.htm

here's one that really resembles the story with kim! DAVID N. KELLEY, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ALEX RODRIGUEZ was arrested today on federal charges stemming from his alleged sale of, and supplying others with, pirated computer software in Manhattan.

According to a criminal Complaint unsealed today, RODRIGUEZ operated a stand on East 14th Street in Manhattan, from which he sold unauthorized copies of copyrighted computer software. According to the Complaint, in July and August 2004, RODRIGUEZ, operating from this stand, twice sold pirated software to an undercover FBI agent. On one of those occasions, the Complaint alleges, RODRIGUEZ sold an illegal copy of Macromedia Flash MX – a program related to Web site development that normally retails for approximately $499 – to the undercover agent for $30.

in the above 3 cases, their sentences haven't been decided yet, so I can't say that they are headed to prison, although it is likely.

what I can say is this: here's 3 recent cases very similar to kim's. if these guys all got busted (and convicted in a court) then I don't see what hope kim really has other than fleeing the country rather than turning himself in.

-- donut e-goon (do...), June 12th, 2005 12:45 AM.

from the articles i've read, they confiscated burners in the raid and the charges are that they were not only selling them but making them.

That's exactly the criteria used by the defense in that court case I'm referring to where the store won, if I recall it correctly.

haha dude's in jail and all he can think about is whether a cow was inconvenienced during the making of his cheese sandwich?

Not that I've ever been to jail to experience jailfood firsthand, but if you haven't eaten meat in a long time, and you're forced to eat third-rate meat in a JAIL SETTING, the last thing you want to add to your anxieties is indigestion -- especially in that setting, where you probably have to shit in a bucket in front of a bunch of other cellmates. And I don't think the guy was given something as glamorous as a cheese sandwich.

in the above 3 cases, their sentences haven't been decided yet, so I can't say that they are headed to prison, although it is likely.

what I can say is this: here's 3 recent cases very similar to kim's. if these guys all got busted (and convicted in a court) then I don't see what hope kim really has other than fleeing the country rather than turning himself in.

Well, you only stated two cases, and provided a link to a law.. but in those two cases, the entire operation was piracy. A record store is not assumed to be all about piracy (if it's anything more than a tent and a table with CDs at a flea market, that is.). And the corollary you quote above is very vague. And also, reread what Milo said.

Well, i obviously wanted hiding in Kim's when this happened, so I can't prove what happened and what didn't. But this is the first I heard about actual evidence of piracy happening at the store. If that is the case, then, yeah, Mr. Kim is SOL. (if the five who were arrested don't get to him first.)

ok, so maybe all he sold was bootlegs and nothing legit. kim doesn't sell only bootlegs, but other things also. when it comes to the law, what difference does that make?

if I sell cocaine in my grandmother's handwoven fine art cocaine holding bags, am I not still selling cocaine?

and er, from following it pretty closely the past year, I'd have to say that kim here is fucked. I can't see how his case would be any different from the countless others... the 3 guys cases I pasted above (and there's more) are exactly the same, just dudes selling warez (be that warez music or software, the law sees no differences) which they didn't have anything to do with the manufacture of.

But anyway, back to the topic, I haven't been following the Kim situation closely, but if there was active pirating happening on store premises, then again -- Kim is indeed SOL.

whether it's NYPD or DOJ, the real man behind the curtain is the RIAA and MPAA. what's strange is who they're working with now. I wonder what the politics behind this change is... is gonzalez not as friendly to spending so many resources on copyright infringement? I doubt that's the case, but wouldn't it be nice!

Hey, we're given news articles. What else are we supposed to assume about Kim's? I was trying to be objective here.. but, hell, I'll stop being objective now, cuz I'm guessing (and I stress the word "guessing") that this sting was triggered by some secret whistleblower who used to work at Kim's, and it was the camelback-breaking straw, so to speak. I can't begin to tell you how many disgruntled ex-Kim's employees I know.. and I live on the opposite coast! So, of course, I would trust Mr. Kim as much as I would trust some meth kids on Broadway to use any money I theoretically gave them to "donate to charity." But, in a court of law, I'm not the judge. Someone who doesn't know Mr. Kim would be.

Hope to see you all soon.
luv,

I like Kim's. Really, I do. They get DVDs a week before everyone else does and has a fine used section. That said, the grammatical errors in this e-mail do little to enddear me to their staff, whom [sic] regardless of innocence or guilt, ARE dicks.

pass the mustard, dear.

if you're getting busted for warez, try to get the FBI to do it instead of the NYPD. the FBI are generally pretty nice about it and all, considering, but the NYPD put you in jail for a few days.

That's great/

http://villagevoice.com/music/0525,sylvester,65083,22.html

given what Sanneh says about Atlantic, TVT, Tommy Boy, and Interscope's sending contributions for Faison's funeral fund, I wonder--if Sony's behind the Kim's bust, does that mean there'll be some kind of inter-record label beef now?

I've been a bit unnerved at this whole situation since, and -- despite my better judgement in shoving it off in the wake of Katrina and other more important things to think about -- I'm curious if this is just going to be forgotten or not.

any day now, sure. just like they'll clean up canal street.

Eerily prophetic.

Granted, it's just one source. I never heard of Contact Music before. Maybe this is bullshit. *shrug*

so I know the rental vid collection is moving, but is the St Marks retail biz just closing up rather than relocating?

they closed the Uptown one

the way I understand it, the whole rental collection is being sold. the rest of the store (vinyl, CDs, DVDs for sale) is moving to 1st Ave

http://racked.com/archives/2008/10/14/discontinued_is_st_marks_place_losing_mondo_kims.php

:(

oh wait not sold, they're trying to find someone to "adopt" the vid collection and still keep it available (?? seems unlikely)

tho u know if i had to choose one im def picking the internet

yeah, and they want it to be kept as a whole, single collection, which is scaring peopole away.

I rented there for the first time in months last week, and the clerk said they had a buyer for the video-rental collection and it wd be moving to somewhere in the EV.

How long before there are no video stores and it's all Netflix and On Demand?

7 years

Yeah I'm thinking it might even be less. Esp. the way streaming video has improved lately.

the tubes have to be sorted def but the biggie is the battle for who will deliver the content

I rented there for the first time in months last week, and the clerk said they had a buyer for the video-rental collection and it wd be moving to somewhere in the EV.

huh! well that's good. you obviously have got the more recent update, all I had heard was from a couple of blog posts

I don't think I ever got a genuine, branded VHS tape from Kim's in all my years of renting there.

Argh I have already said this upthread :(

I noticed the sign on the 1st ave location just this past saturday. Was confused. Didn't notice if it's open or anything.

1st ave is open, and has been since at least last week.. it's a weird space. Selection looked weak, but they're still moving things from the St. Mark's location I think.

but i just bought my girlfriend a bunch of kim money!

http://www.nomad4ever.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/money_changer_bali_seminyak.jpg

KIM

NO CHEAT
NO TRICK

Well it wasn't long ago that everyone was complainin and moanin about the death of the typewriter store, but we seem to get by just fine ordering our typewriters on the internet.

There will be specialty video stores for the foreseeable future.

maybe in YOUR foreseeable future; some of us have fifty, sixty years ahead of us!

;) ;) xoxoxoxo ;) ;)

Kim Money only buys Kimya Dawson CRAP

last time i was in the st. marks store (a few months ago) it was dispiriting. the used music selection seemed understocked (presumably they're buying a lot less stuff these days) and it all just felt kinda dead.

new Kim's on 1st Ave kinda sucks imo. looks ok for DVDs but barely any vinyl

also it looks like Etherea (former Adult Crash) on Ave A is closing at the end of the month. everything's on sale. the guy behind the counter said the owner is pulling out and he (guy behind counter) is trying to find backers to go partners with and keep the place for himself .... but doesn't have very long to make it happen. didn't seem too likely to work out but maybe I'll be surprised

On the Etherea blog it looks like they're only open by appointment now. Are they really still open generally until the end of the month? I'd like to check out the sales...

I was there last Monday and they were open. I thought I overheard the guy saying he had two or three weeks to get something together

but I can't say 100% yes they're open

http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-09-12/film/kims-%20video-Sicily/

What a fascinating article. It's almost like a Roberto Bolaño novel or something!

yeah pretty interesting. best thing I've read in the Voice in ages.

pretty sweet gig for that one guy digitizing everything tho.

all three posts ^^^ are otm

just nuts.

I didn't get a Mondo Kim's membership til about 3 months before the end cuz I figured I had FOREVER to watch all their shit. Also p sure I got a snarky rental comment from the pre-"famous" Alex Ross Perry, true to the store rep.

i still want to see mr. kim's film.

I want to see "his" 55,000 films that he shipped off to FUCKING SICILY.

get a karagarga invite

i can understand that the vacation flight was already booked but when she finally got into the collection and met the man digitizing it i wish she'd been like, fuck that flight, i've finally got a source and i'm going to have more than a 2-minute conversation with him about it

yeah kinda. or like, have someone with you who knows English and Italian so you can speak more than five words to each other.

don't know how the boyfriend would have felt about sharing a room with a translator though

well, it's Karina Longworth.

that doesn't mean anything to me morbs. is she famous for writing stories off the back of her vacations?

no, but it's a testament to the pull of the Kim's story that even she couldn't screw it up.

I really like her writing.

lol this article

v enjoyable

i agree! it's an a amazing story and i'd tell my friends about it if it were me, it's just too bad the vacation logistics ended up trumping the payoff

I think the plot of Expendables 3 should be a commando raid to bring the collection back to Gotham.

that actually sounds like the plot of a donald westlake novel, complete with high-speed chase through the streets of new york at the climax.