It's all about choice. Internet, video games, movies, television, strip clubs, amusement parks, and especially Las Vegas are all designed to dull our senses into a complacent stupor while it bleeds our wallets dry. The concept of online firing methods in Reitman's recent film Up in the Air addresses an issue that many of us will have to face in the near future. With online avatars replacing business meetings as a way of cost cutting in the work place, we're slowly becoming detached from human contact bit by bit. The launch of the iPad is another techno miracle for the A.D.D. generation who demand portable entertainment at their finger tips. Optometrists must be secretly celebrating because their patient list is about to implode as millions of near blind children and teenagers fill their waiting rooms.
Still bored? Need some human interaction?
Sometimes cheap is the better way to go. Rotating a card night every few weeks with a fun group of friends can save quite a few relationships. There's nothing like a card night into the wee hours of the morning that lets us indulge in table talk, gossip, heckling, swearing, drinking, binging, and general tomfoolery.
Bridge, commonly played in Poirot and even Big Love has yet to catch fire with the younger generation. Poker, Euchre, and gin rummy are some of the most popular card games in the east coast of Canada and the States probably for reasons of simplicity. Euchre, a sort of Coles notes version of Bridge, maintains partnerships but avoids a 'dummy' scenario by keeping everyone in the game. I imagine the day will come when Mahjong becomes the trendy game for the university set, similar to the cliché of getting a tattoo in Chinese or Hindi on your shoulder.
Want to learn? A few links attached.
Poker (Texas hold'em, Amaha High, Seven Card Stud...)
Cheat (aka Bullshit, I doubt It)
