September 25, 2009

Lost Vegas

Investigative journalism in The Sun? OK then..


..

4 comments:

La Sirena said...

The Sun should really pay you. Asses!

That was a cool article about the tunnel people. There is so much excess in America in general and and Nevada in particular. About 15 years ago, a couple of friends and I spent 3 days in Reno during a heat wave (115 degrees each day). Everytime we entered any gas station they would hand us $10 tokens for the slots in the casinos. So we would get about 3 tokens each for the slots and spend the day in the AC drinking for free and earning just enough to keep playing and tipping until sundown. Then we'd head to our free campsite in the national forest (it would cool down to the 70s at night).

I am kind of sad that people have to go underground because of addictions, though. The drug war is so ridiculous and useless.

But I always find it amusing when social service types are shocked that adults would rather live "outside" and autonomous than turn over their fates to some twentysomething social worker at a not-for-profit. The programs do good work but I can see the advantage to staying in the tunnels, living on credits on my own terms, maybe with my man as opposed to being locked in a woman's dorm, forced to take weekly piss tests and go to endless meetings. (I've worked in that field.) I mean honestly, I like the odds -- on average one person a year dies when the tunnel floods. I'm sure more people die at home on the toilet each year.

La Sirena said...

I was in Reno almost 20 years ago. Time flies!

DAVE BONES said...

Yeah, as you probably know I was squatting ten years. It was sort of an adventure at first I suppose. I still like squat venues as opposed to legal ones with all the restriction these days you just can't beat them for value for money, fun and saftey- most of the time. I was really suprised to see such a comprehensive piece in The Sun.

Indigobusiness said...

This article struck me from several angles. At first I was trying to unravel the cautionary tale aspect, but there was such an inspired undertone and irony to it all I just felt perplexed.

I ruminated on it for several days before deciding the upshot was something like the roots of HG Wells' 'Time Machine' scenario in reverse happening here. With the Morlocks living above ground and the Eloi living below.