Time for a little business philosophy. It was a small crowd, but a successful bingo last night. The jackpot was a big fat $66. Keep in perspective these are record numbers for Jimbos. The idea [from Pam, the barmaid] is saving Saturday nights over there. SE Florida is still a place with too many small clubs (with semi-fixed clientele) preventing progress toward a larger clubs with better shows. The reasoning always involves a little circular logic, as follows.Since none of the tiny pubs and clubs can afford decent entertainment, this creates a gap that is taken up by food service, just look around. This town is full of expensive restaurants but there is still nothing to do. (A lot of people, myself included, do not view food as entertainment, in fact I list watching other people eat as somewhat disgusting if not barbarian.) The clubs try to compete by offering food and that cuts their budget even more. Soon, the lack of good entertainment means the dance floors become so tiny, you never get the “critical mass” of people dancing.
That mass is the number of people out on the dance floor becoming so large that those not dancing feel left out. Except for the odd disco type place, I’ve never seen a dance crowd in this town. I’ve heard dancing is the focus at the cowboy club, but that is in a shopping plaza way out on 525. Generally, with exceptions, a place that seats 70 is around the minimum size for a dance club. An establishment large enough to hire a first class band without charging a cover.
As it is, clubs can’t compete. That place on the corner of 19th and Hollywood (where I saw the live Karaoke band) is an example. It seems to reopen under new management every few months. It is expensive and mostly empty but my theory is that if there were four or five such clubs downtown, it would change everything. As long as the local public is indoctrinated that there is nothing else to do other than go eat something, we’ll never know. Yet I am proud to say I don’t personally know anyone who eats in a bar or drinks booze in a restaurant.
Mind you, another of my brilliant theories is that being intelligent takes work, so everybody is exactly as intelligent as they want to be. Wallace says there are other factors at work, but I say he is over-expanding the issue. It is a far easier decision than many people realize, for instance, “This evening, should I go to the bookstore, or stay home and watch Harry Potter reruns?” To anyone who finds that a tough question, I’ll see you later. Furthermore, I’ll be riding my bicycle to make the learning even more difficult than it need be.
Later. I was at the bookstore five hours. Here is where many people and I part company. Did I learn anything important? The answer is an insult to stupid people. No, I did not learn anything important unless it is compared to what they learned in the same five hours. See? Hopefully you have no idea what I mean. I learned nothing of immediate use but the good news is I didn’t form any political opinions or talk to any drunks either. So what did I learn?
Scientists have succeeded in producing stem cells out of fat from liposuction operations. No shortage of that. By end of 2010, most police cruisers will have a license plate scanner that instantly pulls up records. Makes probable cause an even worse joke. There are 100,000 parking meters in Los Angeles. And you thought it was your imagination. In Venice, a pint of beer costs $17 US. Canada isn’t far behind.
I also learned that before the massive waves of illegal Mexican immigration, “Negro hotel porters” in Los Angeles averaged $12 per hour. Today, the average is $3.25.
