Redeem

What a scam. What are casinos exactly? They're basically like video games that if you beat the whole game, maybe you get the price you paid to play. Except way faster. So if I sit down at a blackjack table, the dealer's like "No, you didn't beat it. Okay try again? Nope, not this time either. Oh! You did really well this time! Damn, looks like I did better."

This "adult" entertainment is just like a less fun, more expensive version of the arcade. Who was the first person that learned to manipulate people so well? Probably the ancestor of Donald Trump or something. Cause I tell you what, even a crap casino like the one in Council Bluffs has gotta pull in several hundred thousand at least every night. Just get some money to start a casino and you're set. $5 Blackjack tables are like giving out free samples of heroine. What a funny species we are.

The Revelation

I went shopping today. I was out at the post office mailing something and I decided to go and look for some artwork I could buy for my blank walls. I found some at Target. In the course of shopping, I also got 4 candles, 2 candle warmers, 2 sheets, a shower curtain and liner, a computer chair, and I think that's it. The artwork was actually one of the last things I ended up getting. In my head I was thinking that I needed some artwork, I needed it. My walls were too blank. They created an unwelcoming and ultimately unfulfilling, unhomely atmosphere. At the same time I was reminded of the words of Tyler Durden (through Chuck Palahnuik), "Why do I know what a duvee is? Is it essential to my survival, in the hunter gatherer sense of the word? No. So what are we?" "We're consumers." "Exactly." And then later. "We work jobs we hate so that we can buy shit we don't need." I feel like I have to surround myself with this stuff, but I don't. Pictures and candles make me feel good because I was born in America during the late 20th century. I don't need it, it does little if anything for me, and it takes resources away from things that might really be significant. I thought this, but I still bought all the "shit" I did.