No Place to Go

A few days ago, I installed the TiBR application on my beloved Palm® TX. It's a simple and free eBook reader. Last night, I stopped by the Apple® Store to connect to the wireless network. I loaded "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy onto my Palm® TX from the ManyBooks site. There's a treasure trove of free classic books on the site. I then spent an hour at Barnes & Noble®, my safe haven. No hottie "bookseller." Boohoo.

Later, upon returning to Quagmire Prison (read: hotel), I spent about 30 minutes in the prison compound with my Palm® TX. I configured TiBR to my liking. I have removed all of the hurdy-gurdy files from the device. For now, my Palm® TX has been redeployed as my secondary Net appliance and eBook reader.

This morning, I left for town on the prison transport (read: bus) at 10:30am. My journey began at the main branch of the Hawai'i State Library. The facility is extremely small considering that it serves a metropolitan area. Reading books is apparently a low priority in Hawai'i. The library building is beautiful, though. It has a large courtyard in the center. The second floor balcony overlooks the perimeter of the courtyard. Most of the books are old and outdated. I found a [deleted] book to peruse. I sat outside on the balcony. I did not see any signs about food consumption, but I decided to ask someone to make sure. The gabacho¹ behind the counter replied, "Oh, no. You can't eat anything out there. However, you can sit on the steps outside and eat." He was, in effect, treating me like a homeless guy.

Clearly, "American" society is plagued by a detestable class war and racial prejudice. It is obvious to see why the fabric of society is tattered and crumbling. No real sense of community can be established in such a war zone. With everyone believing to be economically and socially superior to everyone else, there can be no cohesion. Instead there is tension, stress, and resentment. Wage slavery also creates a kind of smugness amongst the wage slaves themselves. Even though they are essentially all peons, they derive a kind of superiority complex. Yet, how many of the fools are one paycheck away from insolvency.

Having my fill of the library, I walked to the YWCA and sat on the benches by the pool. I was able to eat my lunch in peace. I sat there for another 45 minutes before going to the gym. I did my workout and immediately returned to Waikiki.

I can now fully empathize with the homeless. I can understand why they meander about aimlessly. In a "commodified" society, there are very few choice, and every place except the beaches and the parks have an admission fee. The only so-called "public" space is the shopping mall, which is truly sad. There is no place to go. So, why don't I return to wage slavery? Obviously, I am in a financial crisis. I cannot go back because I cannot subject myself to the mind-set of the wage slave. The bitterness, the hubris, the cynicism, the whole cutthroat environment, all of its stinks. The wage slave only lives to earn money to spend indiscriminately. Nothing more, nothing less.

My only goal now is to exit society, which is what Erich Fromm referred to as "escape to freedom, as opposed to the title of his book, "Escape from Freedom." Exiting the "system" is not easy. In fact, it will be a costly venture. That is what I primarily write about in the "blog." Every mistake, every misconception, every false step is costly. No matter how much planning is involved, I find that I am thwarted at every turn. That's the very nature of the "system," although most wage slaves are totally oblivious.

¹Gabacho, a White Supremacist satanic gargoyle.

Trapped

Another evening at my safe haven, Barnes & Noble®. The hottie "bookseller" was on duty. Baby was looking hot. I spent an hour perusing a few books. When I returned to my prison cell (read: little shoebox), I went into lockdown. Naturally, I spent the last of my waking hours with my Toshiba® Satellite laptop computer.

This morning, I was on my way at 8:30am. I paid for my monthly parking at the Waikiki Banyan. Then, I drove my Nissan® Frontier truck to Kahala Mall. The big sale at Longs® is happening this week. So, I purchased nine cans of Van Camp's® Pork and Beans. Then, I ended up at Barnes & Noble®. I purchased a cup of coffee in the café. I met moms at the usual time. Moms and I ate lunch at Pearl's Korean Barbeque. After lunch, I gave moms a ride back to Hawai'i Kai. My nephew was home, so I did not stay to visit. With so much time on my hands, I stopped by Safeway® in Hawai'i Kai and spent another hour at Barnes & Noble® in Kahala Mall.

Once back in Waikiki, I dropped some of my purchased items in my prison cell before making the laborious trek to town. Why am I going to town? The gym, of course! Incidentally, there is finally liquid soap in the dispensers again. After my usual workout and shower, I stopped by Longs® on Hotel Street to purchase a loaf of bread, another can of pork and beans, and one Granny's® Gourmet Muffin. Since I have been banned from the Diploma Mill, I immediately departed for Waikiki on the prison transport (read: bus).

Throughout my day adventure, I made note of the sheer madness of modern life. The shopping mania at Kahala Mall was nauseating. This is what Erich Fromm defined as "automaton conformity" in his book, "Escape from Freedom." Outside of our prisons and mausoleums, there is really only one singular activity available to us: shopping. I observed the numerous wage slaves on morning break or lunch break. Aside from stuffing their kabuki-masked faces with junk food, they were shopping. Traffic was incredibly congested no matter where I went. Where are all of those fools driving to? I became even more cognizant of the looming chaos once the real effects of Peak Oil take hold.

Do not be fooled by wishful "Cornucopian" thinking. Peak Oil is already here. The major oil exporting countries can no longer increase production. In fact, many of those nations have seen an increase in their own domestic demand. That's double jeopardy. The real clue to the crisis is that there has been no increase in investments in new refineries. We've heard all of the stories about how refinery capacity is causing the bottleneck. Why spend billions of dollars for new refineries when they won't be needed. Why not just take the money and run? That's exactly what's happening now.

Extreme Sociopath

Yesterday, I spent most of the late afternoon in my prison cell (read: little shoebox) piddling around with my new Toshiba® Satellite P-105 notebook computer. I uninstalled a variety of the useless applications that were bundled with the device. I then installed OpenOffice and Apple® iTunes. Later, I will run the Ubuntu Linux CD to determine whether I will make the conversion. Unfortunately, since I have no other computer available to me, I must insure that I do not disable the only one that I have.

I ended up at Barnes & Noble® at about 9:30pm. I stayed there until closing. The hottie "bookseller" was on duty. Baby was looking hot. I finally returned to my prison cell at around midnight after making a brief stop at the Food Pantry. I continued to piddle around with my new notebook computer.

At 1:07am, I received a phone call from the prison compound (read: hotel lobby) that someone had come by to visit me. When I alighted the elevator in the prison compound, I observed the sociopathic buddy engaged in an animated conversation with Lance, the night watch commander (read: front desk person). Reluctantly, I engaged in a brief discussion with the sociopathic buddy. The sociopathic buddy appeared to be elated for no reason at all. His sole purpose of the visit was to detail his innocence in the matter that resulted in my full termination. He once again went through the variety of "get rich quick" schemes and lawsuits that he has in the works. If what the sociopathic buddy tells me is true, then he is blazing through the remainder of his financial assets fairly quickly. Thus, one of his schemes must bear fruit very soon. The sociopathic buddy was in a manic state, one I assume that was the result of an excessive dose of antidepressant medication. After the sociopathic buddy departed, I wondered about how many more victims he will end up taking down with him.

What I find even more interesting is the charade that the sociopathic buddy maintains. As I have mentioned on a number of occasions, Sitemeter tracks the IP addresses of all visitors to the "blog." Thus, I know that the sociopathic buddy appears on the list at least once, often twice, per day. The fact that the charade has been going on for so long indicates the depravity of his drug-soaked mind.

I did not sleep well for the past few nights. My mind has been subconsciously active, most likely over my own precarious financial situation. I long for the day that I am totally free from all of this crap, but that day is not coming soon enough. I am also suffering from caffeine withdrawal.

I left for town at 11:45am with my gym bag and the Sunday paper. I sat in the lanai are of the Beretania Street Apartments. I mostly perused the various advertising inserts in the paper. I checked the sale prices of the notebook computers. As far as I could tell, I got a pretty decent deal. I did my usual cardio workout at the gym. The hottie gym trainer was on duty. I have not seen her around in a long time. Baby was looking hot.

I was back in Waikiki before 3pm. I had nothing else to do, so I rode the prison transport (read: bus) to Fudgepacker Park (formerly Kapi'olani Park). I sat outside in the seating area for the bandstand. I observed a few derelicts and homeless in the area. I was enjoying myself immensely until two of the derelicts decided to sit just about three feet away from me. The old bag lit up a cigarette. She was chatting with a young limp-wristed clown. The discussion was mainly about how to "score free drinks" at fast food joints. Simply find a fast food joint that allows endless refills. Then, fish through the fast food joint's trash cans and find an empty cup. Booyah! Perhaps that will be useful knowledge for me in the future. For now, I had my fill of idiocy.

I was back in my prison cell by 5:30pm. I ate a nondescript prison meal consisting of canned tuna and bread. Then, I piddled around with my new notebook computer. I was able to run Ubuntu Linux off of the distribution CD. It is an all-business operating system. No flashy stuff. For the time being, I will stick with the detestable Microsoft® Windows® Vista operating system. Yes, it's bloated. Yes, it probably slows the computer down. Yes, it's all bells and whistles. Yes, I wish that I could have afforded an Apple® computer.

Well, I am still trying to adjust to my new spartan life-style, the one that I was abruptly cast into last Friday. The bottom line is quite simple. Always plan for contingencies in advance. Expect the worst case scenario to occur months and even years in advance of any reasonable prognostications.

Semblance of Normalcy

The last portion of the conversation yesterday with Linda, the fat-ass Human Resources bitch, and the other fat slob losers present was truly indicative of how terribly far gone this society really is.

"So, what are you going to do now?" asked the fat bitch after telling me that I was banned from the Diploma Mill. "Well, I defaulted on my mortgage, and so I have 45 days before I am homeless," I said with a straight face. "Thank you very much for coming in."

Not one of the "fat fucks" even flinched. Within an hour, I was effectively terminated exactly in the same way as my sociopathic buddy. Yes, I did nothing, and I was punished.

As I looked at the bloated faces of the satanic gargoyles who had pulled a "bait-and-switch" tactic on me, I had to laugh. They will reap what they sow. Soon, they will find themselves plagued with diabetes or they will choke while stuffing their kabuki-masked faces with Ding Dongs® and keel over. Baha! Ha! Ha! Haaa! A fitting end!

I chatted with James, the director of the student computer lab. So far, he has been the only one to sympathize with me. James was then notified by the Human Resources office that I was banned from the campus along with the sociopathic buddy. He was instructed to dispatch the security detail if either of us were caught trespassing on the campus. James told the fools that he would not report me to the security detail. Thus, he let me spend my last afternoon in peace in the student computer lab.

When I completed all of my remaining tasks, I walked off the Diploma Mill campus for the last time. Thus, my daily routine will be altered yet again. What will I do now? As always, my projections were off. I knew that I had about six months of time left before I would have been purged by attrition. Little did I realize that the sociopathic buddy would throw a wrench in the works. I must, therefore, concentrate on my exodus from society. the sooner that I get out, the better it will be for me.

After consuming an unappetizing meal consisting of Safeway® pork and beans, bread, and some putrid frozen vegetables (heated in my microwave oven), I decided that I would pay a visit to CompUSA®. I departed at 7:30pm on the prison transport (read: bus). Can you guess what happened next? After perusing the selection of notebook computers,I purchased a new Toshiba® Satellite P-105 notebook computer (made in China) for $699 and some change. It's a beautiful computer with a 17-inch glossy screen. I wanted to install Ubuntu Linux on it, but thought better of it for now. I spent hours playing with it. I could not connect to the prison wireless network, so I borrowed a network cable from the prison compound (read: hotel lobby). I was able to connect to the Net using the LAN connection in my prison cell (read: little shoebox). I was happier than a clam!

However, my whole routine will have to change in the wake of the fiasco, and that's in addition to the dough I had to spend on my new notebook computer. What am I going to do with my Palm® TX? I don't really need it anymore. And, what will I do with my spare time? Will I sit in my prison cell all day in front of my new notebook computer?

I stayed up until 2am with my new notebook computer. Needless to say, I was very fatigued this morning. I did not leave for town until close to noon. Why I went there I do not know. I stopped off at Safeway® as usual. Then, I did my cardio workout at the gym. I returned to Waikiki by 3:15pm. I did purchase a cup of coffee today. I have decided to cut back on coffee purchases because of the emergency expenditure for my new notebook computer. I am just doing whatever I can to restore some semblance of normalcy, whatever that might be. Sheesh!

Idiots at the Gate

Last night, I met Debbie, my realtor, at Barnes & Noble® to exchange the bad pass key for an operational one. After chatting with her for a few minutes, I was back to usual routine of perusing books. The hottie "bookseller" was on duty. Baby was looking mighty fine. Later, I spent an hour in the prison compound reading Mike Ruppert's book, "Crossing the Rubicon." Ruppert's book is becoming much more significant as Peak Oil history unfolds.

This morning, I ran into Pseudo-professor Glenn at the prison transport stop (read: bus stop). Today is his birthday. He is now 73 years old. He rode the prison transport (read: bus) for part of my journey. Once in town, I was informed by James, the director of the student computer lab at the Diploma Mill, that there was going to be a full-scale meeting in the Human Resources office concerning my sociopathic buddy. The whole thing has been totally blown out of proportion. Almost the entire staff of the student computer lab had to submit statements as well. Why am I even involved in that crap?

I attended the meeting at Human Resources office. There was also an ulterior motive, which was to confront me about the pathetic complaint filed against me by the "fat-fuck" faculty member. In addition, the sociopathic buddy has compromised my "under the radar" policy. Thus, I have been stripped of my non-teaching faculty privileges including e-mail account, wireless access, and use of the faculty computer room effective immediately. I have been given one day to finish my business and leave the Diploma Mill for good. The sociopathic buddy attempts to bring everyone else down with him. That is his modus operandi as I have stated numerous times.

I chatted with Pseudo-professor Lee in the faculty computer room and detailed my latest adventure in stupidity. We shared a good laugh. I spent the rest of the day preparing for my final departure from the Diploma Mill. That brings me to the fate of the "blog." I really do not know its fate, but I assume that I will only be able to compose its pathetic contents intermittently. Well, I have said pretty much all that needs to be said. After all, I am simply waiting for the "end of days," whether the latter comes in the form of the secular Apocalypse or Armageddon.

Will I need to purchase a computer? That's the big question. And, yes, it certainly looks that way. I will most likely have to spend time at places like Kahala Mall in order to take advantage of the free wireless access point, all the while lugging a notebook computer around. For the time being, I have high-speed Net access in my prison cell as well. So, the adventure continues ...

Anything Can Happen

Yesterday, there was supposed to be another showing of the "condotel" unit, but the realtor could not open the door. Apparently, the pass key expired again. This is the second or third time that this nonsense has happened. Each time a realtor cannot open the door to show the unit to a prospective client, an opportunity is lost. I was infuriated. Quickly, I jumped to the conclusion that the Aqua management team was totally incompetent

I happened to peruse the HiCentral site and discovered that there has been a small surge in purchases of "condotel" units in Waikiki in just the past week or so. The two "condotel" units in the Aloha Surf Hotel that were priced lower than my unit appear to both be in escrow now. I suspect that the new high-priced development along with the recent spat of hotel renovations are incentive enough for investors.

Upon return to my prison cell (read: little shoebox), I tested the other spare pass key copies that were made at the same time. All were operational. I called Debbie, my realtor, to arrange to trade the pass key anyway. I cannot have any kind of foolishness impede the sale of the "condotel" unit. I ended up at Barnes & Noble® again last night. Then, I spent an hour or so in the prison compound reviewing Morris Berman's book, "Dark Ages America."

This morning, Sandra, who works for the office that oversees the faculty computer room at the Diploma Mill, told me that a fat-fuck faculty member had reported me to the Les, Vice President of Academic Affairs, and the Human Resources office for ... get this ... listening to Net radio with headphones. The faggot was trying to get me fully terminated. Why? I suspect that the loser is a White Supremacist, a racist turd, a gabacho. I have also discovered that the weasel had recently been promoted from a lowly pseudo-professor to a low-level full-time instructor. Thus, Professor Matthew now feels empowered. He is such a loser that he had to nominate himself for one of the useless annual faculty awards doled out by the Diploma Mill. The enslaved masses of the world are suffering and the punk-ass is only worried about performing his own tiny version of "ethnic cleansing." The faggot is slated to have an "accident" soon.

Upon checking my voicemail, I discovered that there was a message from the Diploma Mill Human Resources office. I thought for sure that the faggot's complaint was actually being entertained by the administration. Why couldn't the little baby handle his affairs like a man? He's a limp-wristed fat faggot, that's why! It turns out that I am being called in as part of the investigation of the circumstances that led to the termination of the sociopathic buddy. I was dumbfounded. These are the kinds of petty nonsense that occurs when fools have so much idle time on their hands. Even though I am an emancipated wage slave, I keep to myself with assorted tasks. Just being in the proximity of these vultures and predators will bring endless grief. Sheesh!

The stock market has been displaying a lot of volatility lately. So have oil prices. I am reminded of the time period preceding the previous collapse of the stock market "bubble" of five or so years ago. The dollar strengthened only slightly. I and many others have gone through a variety of possible scenarios. In his book, "Dark Ages America," Morris Berman asserted:

All of the social analyses of the "It can happen here" variety, beginning with Erich Fromm's "Escape from Freedom," are tied to a critique of popular culture that points to the existence of a large mass of people who are unable to think for themselves, operate out of an emotive basis, confuse entertainment with education, and desperately want to be "filled" from the outside.

We must remain vigilant during these troubled times. Anything can happen.

Hot Water

Another evening at Barnes & Noble®, my safe have. No hottie "bookseller." Boohoo. I have been unable to find another book to purchase. Since I am in the impoverished class, I must insure that I make prudent purchases. I am finding that most books can be categorized as "entertainment." Vapid text, slogans, and buzzwords substitute for content, much like the YouTube® presidential debates on CNN. About 75 percent of the books in the "Current Affairs" section should be shelved in either the "Fiction" section or the "Clearance" rack.

I had a chance to play around with the new Apple® iPhone at the Apple® Store. It is an impressive toy, a "shiny object" as it were. And, it made my Palm® TX look very antiquated in comparison. For the time being, my Palm® TX does a lot more than the iPhone. That will change when developers come up with new software. I was able to note that the iPhone does not really have any better screen resolution than the Palm® TX. I am not going to purchase an iPhone, by the way. However, if Palm® desires to remain in business, it will need to aesthetically upgrade its operating system.

Every day that I am subjected to near fatal encounters with the myriad 4000-plus-pound motorized chairs (read: automobiles) careening about, I wonder how those near-invalid satanic gargoyles will fare as Peak Oil kicks in. The "car culture" is all-pervasive in "American" society. Our urban/suburban model has been entirely centered on the automobile. Here in Hawai'i, the number of registered 4000-plus-pound motorized chairs has already exceeded the number of licensed drivers. What I find astounding about any discussion about Peak Oil is the predominance of the preservation of the "car culture" as a top priority. Highly energy-dependent necessities such as food is overlooked. Yes, the automobile is more important than food. In his "blog," Clusterfuck Nation, James Kunstler opined:

In any case, it is getting pretty late in the day for us to just kick back and nurture fantasies about the future of technology while the prospect of an oil export shock resolves more vividly before us -- the first symptom of an industry that will shortly fly to pieces. Of course the very last thing we should be doing -- which everyone from the Nascar morons to the Ivy League "greenies" is doing -- is focus all effort on how to keep the American automobile fleet running by some magic means other than gasoline.

Kunstler is the author of the book, "The Long Emergency," one of the most thought-provoking books about the post-oil era.

There's really something suspicious going on these days. Ever since Homeland Security czar had a "gut feeling" about an impending "terrorist" attack this Summer, there has been an increase in "terrorist" fearmongering. As of yesterday, the general public has been warned to watch for "terrorists" staging rehearsals at the nations' airports. Patrick Buchanon and Paul Craig Roberts, notable conservatives, are even warning that a "terrorist" event may be in the works as a precursor to an incursion in Iran (or Pakistan or Syria).

Then again, fearmongering has another desired consequence. Fear triggers consumer spending. In order to quell their fears and settle their nerves, the loathsome satanic gargoyles will resort to the activity they know best that relieves the anxiety. Stuffing their kabuki-masked faces will come in as a close second to shopping. Are you feeling the heat yet?

Juggernaut

"The truth is no less true because it is depressing, and to ignore it or suppress it because it may not make one happy is the behavior of fools. -- Morris Berman, from "Dark Ages America."

I would suppose that there is a question about why the ol' lavahead does not become more politically active. In other words, why doesn't he become an activist of sorts? Well, aside from the fact that activism can now get one's assets confiscated, there really is no reason to be an activist for unpopular issues. The nation was founded on the "majority rule" principle, which has been usurped by a dictatorial administration anyway. In any case, there is little evidence to believe that many so-called "progressive" issues have any wider following than what appears in the comment sections of "progressive" sites on the Net, a small minority indeed. The majority of so-called "Americans" are perfectly content with the status quo. Heck, over half the nation still believes that Saddam had his hand directly in the "September 11th" event. Even if there are large numbers of apathetic individuals, their apathy amounts to "yes" votes for the status quo.

In reading the comments, opinions, and views of so-called "progressives" and their ilk, I am often shocked and dismayed to identify detestable contradictions. Many "progressives" assume that changes should be made but those changes do not apply to themselves. As an example, if the "progressive" pundit or disciple makes a statement or stand about Peak Oil, then that person should be making some kind of effort or personal sacrifice to back those words.

Then, consider the sorry excuse for a political "debate" on CNN last night. I caught a few minutes of it before I became too nauseated. Aside from being an excellent promotional vehicle for YouTube®, the "debate" was a joke. Vapid slogans and platitudes prevailed. "Shiny objects" on parade. Everyone was so mesmerized by the application of cheesy technology that they neglected to observe that nothing of substance was being conveyed by any of the candidates. Without real knowledge, how can we profess to be "free"? The only so-called "freedom" would then entail the "consumer's prerogative," the right to choose a certain product for purchase.

As I perused Chalmers Johnson's book, "Blowback," at my safe haven, Barnes & Noble®, I was further astonished to read history as never detailed in the books that pass for references in the educational system (including higher education). Little wonder why we keep repeating the same mistakes when our worldview of ourselves is seemingly flawless and self-righteous. In fact, most of the books that I have read in the past few months have provided extensive historical data. And, general malaise of ignorance is what Morris Berman alluded to when he stated that we are slated to revisit the Dark Ages:

But the upside is that too many of America's values in the early twenty-first century are corrosive, and unless the nation can do some rather elaborate soul searching, it needs to lose influence in the rest of the world. A world awash in suburbs and shopping malls, television and sensationalism, cell phones and Burger King, Prozac and violence, fundamentalist Christianity and sink-or-swim ethics, is not vision for the future. In addition, our foreign policy, the Cold War mentality, was a big mistake ... That we now persist in it goes back to Hegelian theme of negative identity; and as aberrant as this Manichean-imperial framework is, it has penetrated far too deeply into the American psyche for us to be able to suddenly (or even gradually) shift gears. Not only economically, but also psychologically, domestic and foreign policy reflect and reinforce each other, and this is a big part of why we cannot escape our fate.

Kevin Phillips, in his book, "American Theocracy," listed seven "worrisome precedents" of the decline of empires in history:

• A popular sense of national decay, economic, moral, or patriotic.
• An intensification of religion.
• Conflict between faith and science.
• Imperialism and military overreach.
• The burden of excessive debt.
• The decline of industry and the rise of finance.
• The dependence on idiosyncratic fuels and energy successes.

Peak Oil and the endless resource wars abroad, as well as greed fueling all of the domestic strife, are at the heart of the general malaise. Change is necessary, but what do we change? Mike Ruppert, in his book, "Crossing the Rubicon," suggested, "If you decide that you want to change things, I am telling you right now that you will change nothing until you change the way money works." Yes, monetary reform is necessary.

In an article titled, "U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson: Coming Financial Crash Shows Need for Immediate Monetary Reform," that appeared on the Global Research site, author Richard Cook suggested that monetary reform follow certain guidelines:

A comprehensive system of reform measures suitable to today’s conditions would include 1) cancellation of substantial portions of existing debt; 2) direct issuance by the government of a guaranteed basic income/National Dividend that would average at least $12,500 per person per year; 3) direct spending by government on infrastructure improvements; 4) a new system of low-cost credit for consumers and small businesses; 5) abolishment of the Federal Reserve as a bank of issue with its retention only as a financial transaction clearinghouse; and 6) elimination from the capital markets of all bank lending for financial speculation through return to the “real bills” doctrine of lending.

Monetary reform will not be accepted by the elite, that is, the moneychangers and powers-that-be, not unless there is some kind of massive revolt initiated amongst the oppressed. I seriously doubt that a lazy and weak populace is capable of such a revolution. Only a small minority of the oppressed class will protest, of which the current administration has already enabled provisions to deal with them. The only possible passive method of protest would be a mass curtailment of consumer spending. However, that possibility is also quite remote given my previous discussion about "shiny objects" and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

We may be at the crossroads right now. With Peak Oil, an economic collapse (based on a weakening dollar, increasing debt, deflating "bubbles," and so forth), and military adventures gone awry, we may be looking at the imminent expansion of a larger scale of warfare commencing with Iran. War has been an historic precedent of previous empires. Why has it come to this? Had the "machine" been stopped a long time ago, we may never have reached the crossroads with few viable options. The US consumes 25 percent of the world's resources with less than 5 percent of the world population. We sold our debauched life-style abroad and, thus, all developing nations created their own "machines," juggernauts with voracious appetites. Sadly, and with a deep sense of irony, just a few Third World nations hold the vital resources to fuel the "machines." The moneychangers and powers-that-be have done everything to manipulate the financial system to keep the "machine" going and to push all of the little hamsters in the hamster wheel to run faster (i.e., spend more). There is now too much inertia, too much momentum, to overcome.

Shiny Objects

Last night, I ended up at my safe haven, Barnes & Noble®. No hottie "bookseller." Boohoo. Later, I spent an hour in the prison compound (read: hotel lobby) reviewing Morris Berman's book, "Dark Ages America."

I met moms at Kahala Mall this morning at the usual time. Moms had actually arrived there much earlier. Had I known, I would not have spent so much time in the Barnes & Noble® Café. Apparently, there is some on-going strife between moms and my bro's family. The problem was exacerbated by the presence pf my sister-in-law's sister who is visiting for a week. moms and I ate lunch at Panda Express®. Then, I drove moms to the Hawai'i Kai Towne Center so that she could purchase a garden hose at City Mill and a pillow at Ross®. We sat outside near the waterfront for a while. Then, I dropped moms off. The rest of the day? Same ol' shit.

In continuing my discussion about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, I should point out that the layers below the "self-actualization" strata have all been commodified. I seriously doubt that Maslow had envisioned such a sorry state-of-affairs. Nonetheless, the commodification of the layers would lead a dulled mind to believe that "self-actualization" is also a commodity. Hence, the moronic conclusion would be that "self-actualization" can be purchased.

A dulled mind is also quite infantile. It cannot grasp abstract concepts because methods of inductive and deductive reasoning have never been developed. A lack of discipline, inspired wholly by instant gratification, is the obstacle that restrains the dulled mind from research and fact-finding. When the dull mind remains in an infantile state, it is essentially only concerned about the very lowest levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. The infantile trait of narcissism then reinforces the dull mind's belief that it has transcended the lower layers when, in fact, the opposite is true. The result is commonly referred to as "denial."

Once we understand the real concept, then we can make progress in the right direction. Consumerism and materialism is the aforementioned "denial." The dulled mind is taken in by the temptation of acquiring "shiny objects," a very infantile reaction. The "shiny objects" are a lure to the "den of iniquity." In turn, the unsuspecting dull mind is distracted and becomes vulnerable to the epidemic of the "seven sins." The moneychangers and the powers-that-be understand the "shiny objects" paradigm quite well and use that concept to exploit the masses. They use persuasive techniques to lure the dulled mind into a materialistic frenzy in the guise of "self-actualization." Unabashed selfishness is "self-actualization," the dulled mind is told.

As for me, I had to come to this realization the hard way. I had no choice to become a loser and an outcast in the eyes of the dulled minds of society for a good reason. By continuing on the path that I was on, I would have eventually succumbed to a state of dullness. When I chose to invoke the exodus, I had to take drastic steps, the first being my separation from materialism. In addition, I had to put a stop to frivolous spending. In a commodified world, I had essentially cut myself off from almost every level of participation in anything other than eating for subsistence. I am locked out of everything else because I refuse to literally pay the price of admission. Such a refusal is, in essence, the only way to attain "self-actualization." Let me say that "self-actualization" is a very bleak and spartan world, one that would have been entirely different in a lesser commodified society. Mind you, I have yet to attain "self-actualization," but I can see that the path becomes more spartan the further I travel on it.

The materialistic path to false "self-actualization" is, as I mentioned, a downward spiral to the lowest levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Hence, the compulsion to purchase and acquire increasing amounts of useless possessions becomes insatiable as the dulled mind attempts to persuade itself that it must feed the voracious appetite of "self-actualization." The dulled mind mistakes those "shiny objects" for real physiological and safety needs (i.e., survival needs). Thus, the dull mind dupes itself into believing that amassing more and more "shiny objects" will ensure survival. Obviously, there is an incongruence at play. The "shiny objects" will fail to satisfy the dulled mind because they have little to do with physiological or safety needs. The novelty then wears off, but the dull mind is too far gone. It is too infantile to realize the folly of its error. It will repeat the same mistake over and over again, much to the glee of the moneychangers and the powers-that-be.

We tend to make make purchases that we believe will provide some kind of meaning to our existence in a particular moment in time, for example. We may purchase music CDs or downloads, or we may purchase movie (non-hurdy-gurdy) DVDs or downloads, or we may even purchase art replicas in attempt to actualize ourselves to "culture." Yet, we become immediately disenchanted. Aside from the infantile response to diminishing novelty, we may become cognizant of the fact that we had no hand in the creation of those allegedly meaningful purchases. Hence, we can only derive a transient form of satisfaction. We had no labor in the product, even though most of it is artificial. There can be no long-term appreciation. Once we understand this concept, then we can begin to understand what is meant by "freedom."

When the dulled mind is left to its own devices, it can either go insane or it can begin to engage itself. Insanity is the easiest option, one that is accomplished with little effort. However, the dulled mind will make a last-ditch attempt at self-preservation by means of cheap booze, illicit drugs, or psychopharmaceuticals. Engaging a dulled mind is hard work, especially for a dulled mind that has long atrophied. However, the road to "freedom" in a world dominated by the minions of the sinister kahuna will not be easy. Evil has a propensity to bring everything and everyone down with it. The preceding will now serve as background for future discussions.

Zombie Culture

Last night, I spent most of the evening in lockdown in my prison cell (read: little shoebox). By 10:30pm, I was feeling stir-crazy. So, I spent an hour or so in the prison compound (read: hotel lobby) reviewing Morris Berman's book, "Dark Ages America." I am, in fact, planning to read the book again. There is just too much information to digest.

Not a day goes by that I do not think of the atrocities that occur worldwide, mostly as a result of the resource wars of empire. I become despondent because I am helpless to change anything. Yet, I cannot simply forget and go about my insignificant consumer-oriented life in ignorant bliss. Why should I care? After all, it's not my problem, as most satanic gargoyles would admit. Yet, what could actually be defined as anyone's problem in the "land of plenty" aside from ourselves? I read an interesting article by Dahr Jamail titled, "Iraq on My Mind," that appeared on the TomDispatch site. An excerpt:

Having spent a fair amount of time in occupied Iraq, I now find living in the United States nothing short of a schizophrenic experience. Life in Iraq was traumatizing. It was impossible to be there and not be affected by apocalyptic levels of violence and suffering, unimaginable in this country.

But here's the weird thing: One long, comfortable plane ride later and you're in Disneyland, or so it feels on returning to the United States. Sometimes it seems as if I'm in a bubble here that's only moments away from popping. I find myself perpetually amazed at the heights of consumerism and the vigorous pursuit of creature comforts that are the essence of everyday life in this country -- and once defined my own life as well.

Here, for most Americans, you can choose to ignore what our government is doing in Iraq. It's as simple as choosing to go to a website other than this one.

The longer the occupation of Iraq continues, the more conscious I grow of the disparity, the utter disjuncture, between our two worlds.

Of course, it becomes even more schizophrenic to admit that the "other" world was of our own making through economic sanctions and now the so-called "war on terror." Yet, who really cares?

There isn't much left of the tattered fabric of society. It's worn out and frazzled. We are a collective of uncivil zombies. The fact that we cannot be civil and compassionate toward each other out of the fear of appearing weak is a gross weakness in itself.

Morris Berman, in his book, "Dark Ages America," postulated that the current breakdown in society became most severe after the 1950s era. For the most part, Berman felt that our current social problems are the result of "Manifest Destiny" (and its appeal for "rugged individualism") gone awry. Further, Berman suggested that the automobile culture, the urban Bauhaus "Modernist" box-style architecture, and suburban fortresses have steered us toward a sterile culture devoid of much else than shopping. Thus, we live and travel in insulated "bubbles."

I say that we live in a Mausoleum-ized society. We erect nothing but tombs and travel in mobile tombs. Berman also postulated that such a meaningless life-style reflects our domestic and foreign policy as well. At first, the latter comment may seem like a stretch, but it really makes sense when the façade of consumerism is cast aside. From, "Dark Ages America":

One of the most thoughtful studies of the whole subject is "Civility," by Yale law professor Stephan Carter, who believes that loss of national purpose is at least partly responsible for the breakdown of civility. "As we watch the collapse of civility in America," he writes, "... everybody seems to be wondering why Americans treat each other so shabbily." A market-driven society, he goes on to say, exists only to satisfy individual desire; we spend all our time acquiring things because we lack alternative sources of meaning. The result is that we no longer see ourselves on a common journey.

What we are witnessing is Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs gone berserk. The mindless automatons who converted to satanic gargoylism (with little protest) have deceived themselves into believing that they, through selfish materialistic pursuits, achieved "self-actualization." A dulled mind would not bother to research the definition of "self-actualization." Instead, the dulled mind would rely upon faulty thought processes and limbic responses to infer its own definition. The prefix, "self," most likely fooled the dulled mind into believing that "self-actualization" is highly individualistic. The mind, being dull, would equate the non-implied individualism with selfishness, an Ayn Rand "value" now totally embedded in the market-driven society.

In essence, "self-actualization" runs along the lines of spirituality. Once a person has transcended the basic external needs, then such a person can turn inward to the intrinsic nature of the organism. Individualism per se, then, is a return to the lower levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. It is a regression to a more primal troglodyte state of mind, one that is quite open to infection by the epidemic of the "seven sins." That's our society in a nutshell, is it not? One last quote from Berman is in order: "It seems clear enough that when you put money (or commodities) at the center of a culture, you finally don't have a culture."

Squeaky Wheel

After completing the dreaded laundry chores, I ended up at Barnes & Noble®, although it was not a safe haven last night. The store was completely crowded with satanic gargoyles awaiting the release of the new "Harry Potter" book at midnight, the "witching hour." The place was a madhouse. I left early and took a circuitous prison transport (read: bus) ride back to Waikiki. Then, I spent the remainder of the evening in the prison compound (read: hotel lobby) reading the last few pages of Morris Berman's book, "Dark Ages America."

It became quite clear to me what are the priorities of the majority of satanic gargoyles. Obtaining a copy of what is basically a book dabbling in the occult is of more importance than, say, any other pressing issue that is contributing to the powderkeg of world affairs. Little wonder why I have observed an increase in uncivil behavior in the last few weeks, just as I have observed the sharp intellectual decline of the "Generation Me²" age group in the classroom over the past year. The so-called "American society" is rapidly unravelling. Even on our campuses of "higher education" (term used loosely), there is very little debate or even discussion of the significant events that are shaping history. No one cares. All that matters is the perpetuation of finance capitalism, the beast that will insure our demise. As always, the squeaky wheel gets the oil.

Incidentally, Waikiki has made a miraculous recovery insofar as tourism is concerned. Satanic gargoyles are flocking here and spending money like crazy. I have never seen so much money thrown around. The majority of the tourists are fat slobs, indicating that they are in the demographic of the lower middle class. Obviously, they still have lots of money left over after 125 percent refinancing of their homes.

The "Secular Apocalypse Watch" is really picking up. There is, in all likelihood, the possibility that the US will intervene as the Pakistani puppet regime is further destabilized by security problems in its border region with Afghanistan. Have you looked at the map of the Middle East? Which country is surrounded by Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan? Yes, it's Iran! My question is this: How many satanic gargoyles are aware of these events, or even care?

And, doubters of the Peak Oil concept should take note of a recent posting titled, "Updated World Oil Forecasts, including Saudi Arabia," that appeared on The Oil Drum site. A relevant excerpt:

World total liquids supply production remains on a peak plateau since 2006 and is forecast to fall off this peak plateau in 2009. As long as demand continues increasing then prices will also continue increasing.

The included graphs and charts are definitely worthy of inspection. In tying up loose ends, I would assume that the "war on terror" will escalate even further by then as an act of desperation to secure Iraqi oil contracts. Iran will most likely be militarily engaged by then as well. My guess is that "carpet bombing" and nuclear weapons will be deployed to decimate the remaining population (both civilian and "insurgent") in Iraq (i.e., "scorched earth" policy¹). The same policy would eventually spill over into Iran. The latter will be the only way the the US can "win" in the region. The ramifications? Most likely an all-out conflict in all of the Middle East, a discussion that we will defer to a later time.

I happened to perform a search on the Hawai'i Judiciary site to attempt confirmation of the sociopathic buddy's assertions that he has launched a number of lawsuits, albeit frivolous ones. So far, nada. I will check again in a few weeks. As for me, I am slated to lose most of my pseudo-professor privileges (e.g., e-mail account, wireless access, and so forth) at the Diploma Mill in about four months, if Pseudo-professor Glenn is correct. Well, I will be able to sneak into the faculty computer room regularly, but there is no telling how long that will last either.

The cost of living in Hawai'i is going up again. "Matson Navigation Co. said yesterday it is increasing its fuel surcharge 1.5 percentage points to a record 24 percent, effective Aug. 19, due to recent increases in bunker fuel prices and other energy-related costs," according to an article in the Star-Bulletin. Matson is one of the two main shippers to Hawai'i. Prices will go up for all goods and services. The ranks of the impoverished will increase.

¹Scorched earth policy, a military tactic which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area.
²"Generation Me," from the book by Jean Twenge.

Shell Game Sham

I opted to seek out my safe haven, Barnes & Noble® last night as opposed to another evening of lockdown in my lowly prison cell (read: little shoebox). The hottie "bookseller" was on duty and looking mighty fine. Later, I spent an hour or so in the prison compound (read: hotel lobby) reading Morris Berman's book, "Dark Ages America." I have one chapter left before completing the book.

I will have to develop contingency plans to transfer most of the dough in my investment accounts to bank CDs. I will have to lock my investments into the highest interest-bearing vehicles. From what I can tell, the Fed is itching to lower interest rates to zero, so much so that it is doctoring up data to facilitate the process. Members of the Fed have claimed that the so-called "subprime mortgage meltdown" has largely been controlled, although the losses are expected to be in the range of $100 billion. The Fed claims to be more interested in inflation and consumer spending. And, why not? Consumer spending is 75 percent of the GDP. The lack of interest (no pun intended) in the subprime mortgage market by the Fed is understandable. The Fed only represents member banks, most of which have sold off their mortgage portfolios. The losses will be absorbed by Fannie Mae, Ginnie Mae, and outside sources of cheap money. In other words, the losses will be absorbed by the taxpayers and rank-and-file investors.

The Fed is neither concerned about the negative savings rate or the plummeting dollar. The Fed's member banks must keep a certain reserve ratio, but the banks need not worry. By constantly turning over loans (i.e., originating, then selling loans off immediately), the banks can make huge profits without maintaining a large cash reserve. Banks have also diversified into many different sectors thanks to deregulation, thus assuring their tenure. In addition, consumer spending is no longer based upon savings. Debt is what drives consumer spending. In other words, consumers must extract equity from their homes, take out personal loans, or use credit cards to fuel their spending. If consumer spending relied solely upon savings, then the economy would have tanked a long time ago. Thus, the Fed is not concerned about the national savings rate. In the near future, when the Fed lowers rates to zero percent, the last holdout of individual rank-and-file savers will be forced to spend all or most of their accumulated wealth. That's the plan.

The falling dollar does not seem to concern the Fed either. Why? Well, a falling dollar means that our overseas debts decrease in value. Naturally, hubris will be responsible for the lowering of interest rates, which means that nations purchasing our debt will earn even less on their investment. Yet, the real desperation will be exposed when any means necessary will be used to increase consumer spending. Domestic consumer spending is what keeps our foreign creditors loyal to us. That's the only leverage that the US has in the economics game. The game has been in play ever since "Tricky Dick" Nixon abandoned the Bretton-Woods agreement. Incidentally, Morris Berman provided an interesting historic overview of the monetary system in his book, "Dark Ages America." The game kicked into high gear when Alan Greenspan created the "serial bubble" economy, the one that we will have to live with until some unknown event brings down the global economy. The "serial bubble" economy can be likened to one of those sausage-shaped balloons. If we press down on one end of the balloon, the other end expands. Likewise, if we press down on the other end of the balloon, the same thing happens. If we press down in the middle of the balloon, then both ends bulge. The only way to keep the bulging from occurring is to completely deflate the balloon.

Inflation appears to be of marginal concern to the Fed. Inflation figures provided by the Fed are doctored up to exclude the most inflationary of goods, that is, food and energy. Thus, inflation is simply an adjunct excuse to justify interest rate policy. Using artificially low inflation figures also allows relatively low cost-of-living adjustments in entitlement programs such as Social Security. What it all amounts to is one big "shell game."

Lockdown Redux

Last night, I ended up in lockdown all evening in my prison cell (read: little shoebox). Just to refresh our memories, I ate beans and bread for dinner. Then, I cleaned the whole of my prison cell with my humble dustpan and brush. I wasted some time watching the useless "mainstream" CNN news (term used loosely) channel. I "tested" the Vienna Sausage to see if it still is operable. The Vienna Sausage is fine. I spent 20 minutes grinding down the calloused soles of my feet with the pumice stone as I have been doing religiously since moms gave it to me. To relax, I read a few more pages of Morris Berman's book, "Dark Ages America." Well, actually, I became more distressed as I continued to read the book.

I decided that this would be a good day for another tanning hike up Koko Head. I first stopped off at Kahala Mall to enjoy a leisurely hour in the Barnes & Noble® Café with a delicious cup of coffee. Then, I was off to Hawai'i Kai.

The hike up Koko Head was enjoyable even though I have accomplished it many times over. There are almost no words to describe the soothing of the soul during the gentle ascent to the top. The only sound is the that of the wind blowing over the Pacific Ocean and convecting inland. The panoramic view is relaxing to the eyes. In fact, the mind quickly divests itself of the bleakness of the concrete jungle. Even the irritating nature of the satanic gargoyles is forgotten for the moment.

Upon completing the hike, I visited with moms. I drove moms to Koko Marina so that moms could do some shopping at Foodland. Moms and I had steak and shrimp plate lunches from Foodland for lunch. For dessert, moms served up coffee ice cream. I was able to chat with moms for a little while longer before embarking on the usual routine. As always, I will maintain the "Secular Apocalypse Watch."

Interview with a Zombie

I spent another exciting evening at my safe haven Barnes & Noble®. The hottie "bookseller" was looking mighty fine. Later, I spent another hour in the prison compound (read: hotel lobby) reading Morris Berman's book, "Dark Ages America." Solemn stuff indeed.

Today? Same ol' shit. The gym ran out of liquid soap again about four days ago. I only mention the latter to emphasize the degree of corporate cost-cutting schemes these days. I soon expect to see soap vending machines in the locker room. That's life in the "pay and go" society. Everything and everybody has a price. The end result? A society populated with sociopathic buddies.

In case you missed it, here's the interview with the ol' lavahead as it appeared on Satanic Gargoyle Magazine, the magazine for satanic gargoyles, of course.

Satanic Gargoyle: We're here talking with the ol' lavahead, the self-proclaimed "Keeper of Lost Lives." Welcome.

Ol' Lavahead: I'm glad to be here.

SG: Well, I skimmed the last 8 months of the "blog." Horrible and fascinating stuff at the same time!

OL: Thank you. The "blog" is life as I know it.

SG: The root of the problem continues to be your relationship with your mother. You don't love her, you hate her, and the reason you hate her is because you see her as the reason you are sexually inhibited and effectively castrated.

OL: Whoa! Hold on there, Sigmund! Unlike you gabacho satanic gargoyles, the rest of the world still maintains old family values. Whereas you have sold out for money and power, the great "Manifest Destiny," we have chosen another road. Therefore, you see yourselves as liberated, but you are alone and alienated, stewing in your own juices, as it were. You have become consumed by the epidemic of the "seven sins" and, hence, you have become part of the "Great Satan." Because power is so important to you, power meaning the oppression of those you deem inferior, you place great emphasis on power variables such as sex and sexual attraction. Da wild thing to you gabachos is simply the oppression of females, the subjugation of the same to your mighty cajones and your small dick.

SG: After admitting your hate, you will be able to see the greater truth that your mother is merely a vehicle, and the ultimate cause of your sexual inhibitions is society, and society has reasons, and good ones, for imposing sexual inhibitions on its members, but something happened during the programming process, an unintentional accident, which caused you to be programmed with overly strict inhibitions, such that you cannot mate at all, which serves no one's interests, neither yours, nor your mother's, nor society's.

OL: Listen, pendejo, my choice to remain celibate is just that, a choice. I fully understand the primal desires, the biological attraction to babes, but I also understand that such an attraction will not necessarily make me a good mating choice. I have no desire to fulfill the superficial obligations of a relationship, no less a friendship. Just because I do not troll for one night stands does not make me "sexually inhibited." I am also a senior citizen, which limits my choices. My foolish weakness has always been young hotties, and that is even more of an impossibility now than it was five years ago. Best to let sleeping dogs lie.

SG: All the rage in your journal regarding politics is frustrated sexual energy. Satisfy the sexual energy and the rage disappears and you calmly accept the world as it is and try to make the best of it. You can't pretend to be serene. Serenity is the result of satisfying your desires, especially the desire for sex.

OL: Rage? What rage? Believe me, satanic one, I am genuinely interested in the political and economic machinations and the resulting disparity and grief that it produces in the world. My "rage," as you put it, is my frustration that the pain and suffering has gone on for so long, and that the ones who should be grateful that they, by sheer chance, were not born into such pain and suffering are the very ones who could care less. The laws of physics proves that all systems will attain equilibrium in time. Soon, there will be universal justice as that equilibrium comes to fruition.

SG: You're being very careful about not letting the truth show, but there are still a few chinks in your armor. In particular, you doth protest too much about how horrible it was to be away from your mother in California and you also make these absurdly unemotional predictions about how your mother's death will cause you horrible emotional shock. People who really love their mother or anyone else don't talk like that.

OL: Really? Then, how does a genuinely affected person talk? Like you, a clinical automaton devoid of affect? You know, dabbling in the occult opens the door to demonic possession. The heart, mind, and soul of the victim become possessed by the evil spirit, which then succumbs even faster to the epidemic of the "seven sins." The only cure is exorcism or ...

SG: Your current situation can continue indefinitely. No need for a crisis. The frustration can continue to simmer without boiling over right until the end. Yes, it is amusing to see you as that guy on "Psycho," the Hitchcock movie, lusting after young women then murdering them because his mother's moral code, which he has internalized, prohibits sex, with the mother symbolically kept mummified up in the attic, but it is unlikely to come to this. Your mother will die eventually of natural causes and not because your rage finally bursts through the defense shield and you murder her. You will pretend on the blog to be devastated while being relieved in actuality, and this falseness will be obvious due to your inappropriate use of language for someone feeling true grief, you'll leave Hawaii, you'll continue lusting after women without being able to do anything because you'll continue to have your mother's strict morality mummified in the attic of your subconscious of your mind, and the frustration will continue until your health fails, and the blog, if you continue that, will continue to be filled with political ranting and raving like we're seeing now.

OL: As I said, dabbling in the occult is truly a dangerous task. Being able to foretell someone's future, usually grim as to be expected from a satanic source, is a power that should best be left buried deep in the recesses of the subconscious. Unleashing such a power may provide the bearer with a sense of immortality in the short run, but it will only end up consuming the soul in the long run. Be careful, your kabuki mask is slipping.

SG: The alternative is to break free of your sexual inhibitions ... break free of your mother, in other words ... and have the sex you want, either with a partner or via guilt-free masturbation, but to do this you'll first have to stop lying to yourself. Guilt-free masturbation is the path I have chosen, and I once thought it was the path for you and many other people, but not any more. For whatever reason, my own moral programming was such that I never felt significant guilt from masturbation, but I realize now that most people are not like me in this respect. So yes, you're going to have to find a real woman to have sex with, preferably someone your own age. You have a fascinatingly screwed up mind, you've taken good care of your body, and there are no doubt women out there who look forward to the the task of sexually healing you. You really have no choice but to engage on the quest for such a woman if you want to achieve serenity and thus true happiness.

OL: Chokin' da chicken? Screwed up mind? Da wild thing? Heck, man, I'm in the Viagra Years. In a matter of a few months I could be an impotent eunuch. That's how quick it goes. Thus, da wild thing, or the lack of it, is not the root of my problem. No, there are no babes who want to sexually heal the ol' lavahead. Sheesh!

SG: Let's move on. I have reviewed your pathetic finances. If I had only $500K and no job and was spending $2000 per month and was 52 years old, I'd be worried and looking to cut expenses.

OL: Well, yes, to a gabacho like yourself, I am an impoverished "bottom feeder," a derelict just one step away from welfare. That's the kind of mentality that has spawned the uncaring, uncivilized society, and I use the term loosely, that we live in. You sleazy gabachos are only worried about your money, and you will suck the rest of the world dry just so you can sit on your mountains of wealth. What does it prove? Yes, young hotties will throw themselves at you and even let you do da wild thing with them just so they can have access to your wealth. Yes, you will live in luxury and excess, and you have myriad friends, and I use the term loosely, just itching to swindle you out of your wealth. No thanks, pendejo. I live within my means, and I will continue to downsize my life and reduce my ecological footprint.

SG: It looks as though we're out of time. Thank you for joining us today.

OL: Thank you for inviting me.

The preceding interview is © Copyright 2007 by Satanic Gargoyle Magazine. Reproduced with permission.

False History

Another evening at Barnes & Noble® has come and gone. The hottie "bookseller" was on duty. Baby was looking hot. And, again, I spent an hour in the prison compound (read: hotel lobby) reading Morris Berman's book, "Dark Ages America." I will no longer waste too much time delineating on many subjects, as there are only three regular readers of the "blog." One of those readers is, of course, the sociopathic buddy, who most likely is only seeking information for his own nefarious purposes. Let me say that Berman's book has further augmented my background knowledge of history that I, along with millions of satanic gargoyles, have been completely ignorant of.

History can be intriguing, provided that it is the truth. False history does nothing except serve the purposes of the masters, namely the moneychangers and the powers-that-be. False history also has the uncanny ability to increase the likelihood of repeating the same mistakes over and over again. As the Good Book admonished, "He that increases knowledge increases pain." I can hardly overstate the meaning of that verse. My decision to change my life-style to one of increasing mendicance has not been simply based in pyschopathology. I have become spiritually ill knowing that my standard of living (as part of the collective consumerist society) compromises the lives, literally, of well over half of the world's population. Learning the real history of the US government's "containment" policy made me even more ill, once I learned of the true nature of the latter policy. Indeed, learning about our current predator style of economics is even more nauseous. And, only until calamity strikes at the hearts of the satanic gargoyles will they realize that they have been bamboozled into poverty.

And now, with the débâcle in Iraq growing worse and the fear rising of a new "terrorist" attack in the US, I can only wonder when anyone will ever understand the concept of "blowback¹." I render myself ill whenever I hear the punditry exclaim that the Iraqis brought destruction upon themselves. One has to wonder at how the Iraqis survived during the long years of UN sanctions. It is the arrogance and hubris of the satanic gargoyles that sickens me the most. The call to withdraw the troops from Iraq has nothing to do with the fact that we invaded a sovereign nation with barely even a plan. Instead, we are tired of the war because we are losing. It is no longer entertaining for our short attention spans. The fault, we claim, lies with Iraqis. They just can't pull it together. They can't help themselves. Yes, we say, Saddam was a "bad" man. Just like the Shah of Iran was a "bad" man. Many of these "bad" men were installed as puppets of the imperialists (i.e., British, French, Americans, etc.) to do their dirty bidding in proxy.

These are troubled times. We are watching a global economy unravel silently, all the while the masses are obliviously dancing around the consumer Maypole. Few, if any, of the satanic gargoyles are worried. Like a bull charging to the slaughter, they keep spending like there's no tomorrow. Whether we choose to believe it or not, we are involved in a resource war. I fully expect an incursion into Iran, most likely implemented with tactical nuclear weapons. It is also now my belief that such weaponry may eventually be deployed in Iraq as well, reminiscent of the evil Vietnam-era strategy of destroying the village to save it. How many more innocent lives must perish before we come to our senses? Even Patrick Buchanon, a staunch conservative, asked, "Is the United States provoking war with Iran, to begin while the Congress is conveniently on its August recess?"

"They hate us for our freedom," the mindless sycophants argue in lockstep with their puppetmasters. What freedom? The freedom to shop endlessly on overstretched credit? The freedom to not think about anything else but ourselves? That, my friends, is not freedom. We are looking at the gateway to enslavement, to eternal torment. No surprise then that the puppetmasters, the moneychangers and the powers-that-be, dabble in the occult and worship El Diablo. That is why we are being enticed to enter what is commonly referred to in jest as a "living hell."

I continue my days in the image cast in the literary subgenius in the "blog" of April 28th titled, "Who Knew?" In other words, the same ol' shit. Two months have elapsed since my emancipation from wage slavery. So far, so good. I chatted with Ralph, dean at HCC on the phone this morning. I gave him a brief rundown of my situation, only as mindless banter. Incidentally, an informed source has mentioned that a meeting was called to discuss the fate of the sociopathic buddy. Documentation and paperwork were transmitted. In addition, a picture of the sociopathic buddy was distributed to the security detail for surveillance purposes.

There are 30 "condotel" units in the Aloha Surf Hotel currently listed for sale on the HiCentral site, six of which are being offered as "fractional ownership²" packages. I suspect that the number of listed "condotel" units will continue to increase. The owners are trying to sell them before the end of the year. The reason is that the rental pool agreement changes in January 2008 from the current guaranteed monthly minimum payments to one that pays 50 percent of the rooms receipts. From what I have heard, many of the upper floor units will not bring in enough income under the new rules. I am beginning to wonder if there will be a large number of mortgage defaults next year. Only time will tell.

¹Blowback, a term now broadly used in espionage to describe the unintended consequences of covert operations. ²Fractional ownership, similar to "time-sharing" except the maximum number of co-owners is six.

Fool's Paradise Revisited

Last night, I spent part of the evening at my safe haven, Barnes & Noble®. No hottie "bookseller." Boohoo. Later, when I returned to Quagmire Prison (read: hotel), I spent an hour in the prison compound (read: hotel lobby) reading Morris Berman's book, "Dark Ages America."

This morning, I was off to Kahala Mall at the usual time. I really enjoy sitting in the Barnes & Noble® Café and sipping a delicious cup of coffee. That's about as good as my retirement will get. I met moms at the usual time. Moms and I ate lunch at Pearl's Korean Barbeque. I gave moms a ride back to Hawai'i Kai after lunch. Moms served up coffee ice cream for dessert. I was able to chat with moms briefly before commencing the usual ritual. My bro is no longer commuting to Mau'i for work. I am not certain about the location of his current job site on the island. The rest of the day? Same ol' shit.

I still maintain the "Secular Apocalypse Watch," as it were. The only good news lately is that Net radio has been given a reprieve, although it may end up being short-lived. Almost all of the Net radio providers were going to shut down their streams yesterday when the new royalty rates were to go into effect retroactive from the beginning of the year. No telling how long the reprieve will last or whether a repeal of the looming rate increases will be effected.

I finally implemented JIT (read: "just-in-time") fiscal procedures as of today. I will no longer purchase anything (except essential sundries) until needed. I have depleted any excess inventory and divested most of my useless possessions. I will continue my moratorium on any new superfluous purchases. I have also established the core benchmarks for my exodus from society, the first being the divestiture of the "condotel" unit. Secondary will be the divestiture of my Nissan® Frontier truck. The latter is a token benchmark since it is a marginal asset of diminishing value. I have already achieved a level of social disconnect to fully accommodate the exodus, including my emancipation from wage slavery. The final benchmark will be the reduction of the "blog" to intermittent status, of which its primary purpose is to report the progress of the exodus.

To understand the gist of the exodus, I have chosen to borrow this passage from an article by Phil Rockstroh titled, "What lies beneath: Privileged grotesques, ordinary monsters and the Iraqi deathscape," that appeared on the Online Journal site:

In short, our empire's dependence on the resources (the life's blood) of others renders us a nation of vampires. Moreover, the corporatist character (our national character) is defined by the vampire's trait of taking, never giving. Accordingly, what do the big monsters at the top take from us, the little monsters?

To name one: our time, the precious hours of our finite lives. The corporatists are Time Vampires. For a moment, reflect on all the hours of life you've wasted away in office cubicles, in commuter traffic jams, in the addictive pursuit of consumer dreck, or simply numbed-out and exhausted, rendered inert from the incessant, soul-sucking stress of the corporate state.

The corporacracy devours our time and, like the charges of a vampire, has made us dependent and slavish in return. In our bloodless enslavement, we lose the vitality borne of existing within life's inherent mysteries and grow estranged from the deep resonances of participation mystique.

The article is quite hilarious, but the truth is embedded within it. Alas, if only we can face the truth, eh? Too much to ask, I'm afraid.

Lessons of the Poor

Once again, I spent all evening in lockdown in my prison cell (read: little shoebox). After all, what is there for me me to see outside the wails of my prison cell? I can only stand to witness shameless debauchery for so long. As for today, I will summarize it all by saying, "Same ol' shit."

I can safely say that the gap between my life-style and that of the homeless is gradually closing. As I've mentioned before, there is very little to differentiate me from the homeless during the day. I have observed numerous homeless who look and dress exactly as I do. My stuffed gym bag is also easily mistaken for homeless luggage. Obviously, all of the latter is intentional. I am making preparations for the inevitable. Pure greed drives the nation that I happen to reside in. Thus, I can expect that I will slowly but surely be forced into extreme poverty by the moneychangers and the powers-that-be.

As opposed to the myriad satanic gargoyles who are living in denial, I have not resorted to extreme debt to stave off the inevitable. However, as times become more desperate, predator fiscal policies will be enacted to drain the resources of anyone who is not part of the elite class. That eventuality will come when the Fed lowers the short-term interest rate to zero percent. Coupled with a severely devalued dollar, the results will be an anathema for the rank-and-file.

The stock market should continue to surge through the roof as LBOs (read: leveraged buy-outs) continue unabated by so-called "private equity" firms. Large amounts of low-interest loans are required to perform those buy-outs, which will be accommodated by the Fed when outside funding dries up. We should expect to see more layoffs and more exportation of jobs as the LBO acquisitions are stripped of their assets and sold for a profit. In the meantime, the losses from the collapse of the so-called "real estate bubble" will be absorbed by the masses who have pensions, retirement funds, or any portfolio with mortgaged-backed securities. The same thing happened at the end of the last so-called "stock market bubble" collapse. The money never disappears. It is transferred from the poor to the rich when any account redemption is made, say, out of frustration.

Waiting for a recovery is foolish as well because, if and when such a recovery does occur, the overall net gain will be zero. During the time that the money was "gone," the rich were using it as an interest-free loan to make more money. The same kind of robbery will occur when the current stock market "bubble" collapses and when more "hedge funds" go under. Watch as the NAV¹ goes down. The moneychangers will assure us that, even with large "corrections," the market will "average out" to an increasing trend line. Baha! Ha! Ha! Haaaa! A fool and his money are soon parted, as the old adage goes.

Incidentally, I have reviewed the portfolio of my investment bond fund, only to discover that it was filled with Ginnie Mae and Fannie Mae crap, no doubt mortgage-backed securities. My objective is to incrementally exchange shares to my money market fund, if and when the NAV¹ rises. So far, my money market fund appears to be devoid of shaky securities. Yet, is there any safety in "commercial paper"? I seriously doubt it.

¹NAV, net asset value.

Dark Shadows

Last night, I went into lockdown in my prison cell (read: little shoebox) for the entire evening. I did not want to go anywhere. Nor did I want to see any fat slob satanic gargoyles waddling around. The only productive activity for the evening was an hour of time reading Morris Berman's book, "Dark Ages America." I can safely say that the book has affected my perception of what I deem to be a meaningless existence. Berman himself states that we are "too far gone." We are past the point of no return as a so-called "society." In other words, the entire society must crumble before it can be rebuilt. And, what really is left to crumble? Our sole purpose in life is that of a consumer. We just buy stuff, or we spend money to satisfy hedonistic desires. We do nothing else to cultivate any kind of meaningful experience. Little wonder why we can derive no value in anything other than money. What a sad story. Well, today will find me engaged in the same ol' meaningless shit.

I neglected to mention that the sociopathic buddy was extremely manic when he described his latest lawsuit, one of the many frivolous lawsuits he has in queue. He is expecting to make a killing with a huge cash settlement from the "deep pocket" defendants. "It's such a good case," he said, laughing maniacally, "It must be a gift from God." Over and over, the sociopathic buddy chanted that absurd mantra. Clearly, he has overdosed on his anti-depressant medication.

The prevalence and misuse of anti-depressants is scary. Dr. Peter Breggin, in an article on his site, delineated:

In a May 2006 release in collaboration with the manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the FDA has acknowledged the antidepressant Paxil causes a statistically significant increased rate of suicidality in depressed adults as measured in controlled clinical trials. The results are based on a re-analysis of all adult controlled clinical trials that compared Paxil with placebo.

Buried in the FDA/GSK release is an astounding fact: Depressed people are 6.4 times more likely to become suicidal while taking an antidepressant than while taking a sugar pill.

No other antidepressants were mentioned in the FDA’s warning but all SSRI antidepressants share a common profile of adverse mental and behavioral effects, including Paxil, Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa, Luvox, and Lexapro. Several other relatively new antidepressants have also been implicated in producing similar psychiatric abnormalities, including Wellbutrin, Effexor, Serzone, and Cymbalta. All of the newer antidepressants can produce stimulation or activation with the potential for increased agitation, anxiety, mood instability, disinhibition, irritability, aggression, hostility, mania, and crashing into depression and suicide. They can also cause a flattening of emotional responses, including a loss of caring, that can unleash dangerous actions.

Breggin then summarized:

Meanwhile, the antidepressants are very difficult to stop taking. Withdrawal from antidepressants can lead to "crashing," with agitation, violence and suicide. Withdrawal from these noxious drugs should be done slowly with experienced clinical supervision. These drugs are not only unsafe to start—they are dangerous to stop.

Another related article of interest titled, "Requiem for the Paxilated," by Richard Rhames appeared on the Counterpunch site. Rhames stated:

These "selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors" (SSRIs in the trade) work by boosting the amount of serotonin in the patient's brains. Problem is that in some people, this chemical's increase leads to "akathisia"---a profound agitation often leading to violence and suicide.

As for the sociopathic buddy, is he not exhibiting these symptoms right now?

Dementia 23 (Reprise)

Last night, I spent part of the evening at Barnes & Noble®. The hottie "bookseller" was on duty. Baby was looking mighty fine. When I returned to my prison cell (read: little shoebox), I went into lockdown. Frankly, I was relieved that the day was over and done with.

The latest incident with the sociopathic buddy has apparently forced the hand of Mike, the director of the office that oversees the faculty computer room at the Diploma Mill, to seek additional security measures. This morning, I briefly overheard a conversation between Mike, another director, and the head of the security detail. They were apparently making arrangements for a "first responder" situation, which I assume involves the sociopathic buddy. Unconfirmed reports indicated that several other measures and sanctions are being sought against the sociopathic buddy. Word has it that the sociopathic buddy will soon be unemployed like the ol' lavahead. Will that be the trigger to cause him to snap?

Incidentally, I found an interesting passage in Morris Berman's book, "Dark Ages America." Berman wrote:

What then, is the good life? To sketch this out, Borgmann¹ draws on central elements of the classical and Judeo-Christian traditions. Four features, it would seem, characterize the "person of excellence," in this account:

1. He or she is a world citizen - that is, someone who knows a fair amount about the world (science and history, in particular).
2. He or she seeks both physical valor and intellectual refinement ("mens sana in corpore sano").
3. He or she is accomplished in music and in the arts.
4. He or she is charitable - i.e., aware that real strength lies not in material force, but in the power to give, forgive, help, and heal.

Now let's consider our current situation. Does it match up to this ideal?

Quite obviously, we are not a nation devoted to the pursuit of excellence, as defined by the classical and Judeo-Christian traditions; even from a contemporary European perspective, we are something of a joke. The overwhelming majority of Americans are simply not interested in the life of the mind, and in a participatory sense, not terribly interested in the life of the body. What else is left?

In fact, the degeneration of things to commodities, which finally entails making instant gratification the purpose of life, has its logical conclusion in drugs or the direct stimulation of the the brain (pure commodity). A person living in this way - and if we put compulsion around food, alcohol, tobacco, television, sex, shopping, and spectator sports on the list, we've probably targeted 95 percent of the American population - is at the extreme opposite end of the spectrum from the person of excellence described above.

If we really thought about it, the "good life" could easily be equated with the "meaning of life" (i.e., the personal "meaning of life" as described by Viktor Frankl in his book, "Man's Search for Meaning").

¹From the book titled, "Technology and the Character of Life," by Albert Borgmann.

Zombie Antidote

As was quite obvious, I was significantly perturbed for most of yesterday. By late afternoon, I had lapsed into despondency. I simply wanted to flee from society. Earlier that day, I was accused and reprimanded by Mike, the director of the office that oversees the faculty computer room at the Diploma Mill, for the latest ornery episode perpetrated by the sociopathic buddy. That is, of course, the sociopathic buddy's modus operandi. He uses "human shields" when he lashes out at his supposed enemies. I was very close to losing the last of my so-called "privileges" as a non-teaching faculty member.

The sociopathic buddy is on a self-destructive course. He is flailing about in a drug-induced stupor, doing anything to literally strike paydirt. However, there is no method to his madness. His inner rage is beginning to manifest itself through uncontrolled bursts of mania. There is a possibility that his crazed behavior is simply one of theatrics. I believe otherwise. The sociopathic buddy is on the verge of psychologically derailing, and there is no telling what he is capable of doing. I suspect that he will come to a violent end.

The only highlight of yesterday was the restoration of my monk haircut. Otherwise, I had my fill of humanity. No matter how we try to fool ourselves, there is no escaping the truth. Society is destroying itself. The satanic gargoyles are now in the majority. They are infected by the epidemic of the "seven sins," primarily greed. The later stages of the disease are currently exhibited by the sociopathic buddy. It will be a very sad and painful ending for all. I wound up at Barnes & Noble® later in the evening. However, I was not able to enjoy my time there. I was still sickened by the day's events. Later, I spent an hour reading Morris Berman's book, "Dark Ages America," in the prison compound (read; hotel lobby). I became even more despondent knowing that I am now living in those "Dark Ages."

This morning, I made the hasty decision to go on a tanning hike up Koko Head. On the way to hawai'i Kai, I stopped at Kahala Mall. I purchased a cup of coffee in the Barnes & Noble® Café. I perused a few magazines to pass the time. I felt much more relaxed. And, I was much more eager to start my day.

The hike up Koko Head was enjoyable even though there was a light drizzle coming down. I took in the beautiful panoramic views. I felt rejuvenated. After the hike, I visited with moms. I drove moms to Koko Marina to do some shopping at Foodland. We ate plate lunches from Zippy’s. I spent a little more time chatting with moms before embarking on my daily routine at 1:30pm. I felt like a human again.

Sociopathic Exile

Yesterday, I chatted with Pseudo-professor Bette, the hottie, for a few minutes. Sadly, I discovered that she has a stud. However, I am flattered that I am probably the only person whom she chats with at the Diploma Mill. So, much to my relief, she does not see me as one of the punk-ass faculty members (of which there are many). Later in the evening, I sought refuge at my safe haven, Barnes & Noble®.

The sociopathic buddy has attempted make a comeback. However, after a few minutes, he had difficulty hiding his true intentions. Apparently now highly dosed on anti-depressants, he has embarked on yet another series of shams and con games. The gamut runs from a poorly thought out business scheme to a series of fraudulent lawsuits to preying on lonely older babes. The bottom line is always the same. He wants to make a lot of money quickly. Within the last day, he has taken to sporting a cane and has added a contrived limp, an injury allegedly resulting from a physical assault last week. He has also changed his hairstyle to one reminiscent of Harpo Marx. The anti-depressants have manifested in several overt symptoms including manic histrionics, drug-induced stupor, and derealization. His immense subliminal rage is now oozing to the surface. Thus, the sociopathic buddy spews his rage verbally while exhibiting inappropriate manic affect. It was my hope that during his time in exile, he would have gone through some kind of introspection. However, sociopaths rarely see fault in themselves. Alas, back into exile he goes.

I am beginning to feel a sense of impatience, a feeling of tension, with seemingly no resolution. By forcing myself to be a minimalist consumer, I have generated a disconnection from the so-called "mainstream." I am, once again, going through what is left of my useless possessions. I am starting with the small stuff, the easiest crap to discard. I cannot even express the elation that I feel when I am shedding the "dead weight" that is tying me down. Frankly, I own nothing that is not easily and cheaply replaced. I am living the shoebox life-style.

I have been monitoring the curious economic trends as of late. The stock market, albeit erratic, is still surging. The reason? Lots and lots of corporate takeovers, LBOs (read: leveraged buyouts), are being implemented by private equity firms. In the meantime, the dollar is sinking. Yet, there is little in the "mainstream media" to even hint at the supposed contradictions. I am just waiting for the time of the end.

Folies Bergère

I neglected to mention that I exchanged my Brookstone® Tranquil Moments® "sound therapy placebo" for a piece of paper while at Kahala Mall yesterday. In other words, I donated the useless piece of crap to Goodwill and obtained a receipt to deduct its divestiture from my taxes.

Late last night, I commenced reading Morris Berman's book, "Dark Ages America." I have, for the most part, perused the whole book already while passing time at Barnes & Noble®. Berman focuses upon the internal criteria that will lead to the collapse of the empire. One criteria, the decline of "social capital" is of interest to me. However, I am getting ahead of myself. Berman will most likely have an extremely small following. He will be dismissed as being a "pessimist," as opposed to being a realist. I am inclined to agree with Berman that change will never come as long as we continue on the current course.

I was back to the same benign routine today. I have absolutely nothing to do. I had contemplated a jaunt to CompUSA® to check out a few computers, but thought better of the idea. Why put myself into a position of temptation? If I "window shop," then the tendency to actually purchase something increases exponentially. Of course, that's the bottom line of contemporary life, isn't it? Spend, spend, spend and accumulate useless crap to satisfy an empty soul. Then, when the novelty wears off, repeat the cycle.

Even with absolutely nothing to do, I have no immediate plans to return to wage slavery. Wage slavery will accomplish nothing except to lure me back into a false sense of security, one that will be broken again because of my refusal to capitulate to the "seven sins." It is my goal to complete my exodus from society, even though there will be immense obstacles along the way. With that, I will state that Berman's book, "Dark Ages America," will be my guide.

Let's tie up some loose ends now, shall we? So, what would I purchase if I had an extra $600 lying around? And, the answer is ... ?

As a follow-up to my discussion about the endless construction of Waikiki luxury condo, I cite some relevant passages from an article titled, "Waikiki's new luxury high-rise condominiums still have strong buyer appeal," in the Advertiser:

Fifield Cos. reported selling 48 of an initial 100 units for more than $700,000 in its planned 300-unit Allure Waikiki tower on the former site of the Wave Waikiki nightclub during an opening sales event that began about a week ago.

Jacobson said nearly all buyers are from O'ahu and bought a range of units in the planned 35-story tower where one- to three-bedroom condos are priced from the mid-$700,000s to $1.8 million.

Watermark Waikiki is under construction along the Ala Wai Canal about two blocks makai of the Fifield site. The tower is slated for completion next spring. Units range in price from approximately $700,000 to $4.2 million, or $1.2 million on average.

Waikiki's fourth high-rise project, the 38-story Trump International Hotel & Tower Waikiki Beach Walk, broke ground in January after a November one-day sellout of its 464 hotel-condominium units for an average $1.5 million. (emphasis mine)

Did you read the prices? These units are selling out even in the midst of the collapse of the so-called "real estate bubble." Incidentally, petrol prices are down ten cents per gallon because of a tax rollback. Currently, the lowest octane of petrol runs $3.19 per gallon on average. I suspect that the tax rollback came about hastily to prevent a local recession.

Shoebox Life

Some readers may wonder why I continue to delineate on issues not related to my shoebox life-style. Or, they may wonder why I even bother, given that the "blog" only has three steady readers, one of whom being my sociopathic buddy. Frankly, I have nothing else better to do. I have vowed to maintain the 'blog" as long as possible, that is, until I have satisfactorily obtained my goal of exiting society. I have already deprecated my vow to maintain daily updates, although I am still doing so for the time being.

So, what if I had $600 burning a hole in my pocket? What would I do with that dough? Would I purchase a new computer and install Ubuntu Linux on it? Would I indulge in rebuilding my now-defunct vast hurdy-gurdy DVD library? Or would I purchase a Glock® 9mm? The answer will appear later in the "blog."

That brings me to an interesting article by Richard Cook titled, "The Crashing U.S. Economy Held Hostage," which appeared on the Global Research site. Cook stated:

This means that under the regime of the world’s all-powerful central banking systems, money is brought into existence only as debt-bearing loans. Interest on this lending tends to grow exponentially unless overtaken by real economic growth.

Remember that every instance of bank lending, from purchase of Treasury Bonds, to credit cards, to home mortgages, to billion-dollar loans to hedge funds for leveraged buyouts or sheer speculation, must eventually be paid back somewhere, somehow, sometime, by somebody, with interest. In the end, it all comes back to people who work for a living, whether in the U.S. or elsewhere, because that is the only way the world community ever creates real wealth.

Oh boy! We're in big trouble now. Armed with that knowledge, I have decided to scrutinize my investment portfolio to locate anything with mortgage-backed securities in it. I must then divest those holdings. As I've mentioned before, I suspect that many bond funds hold a few suspect mortgage-backed securities. I am also beginning to believe that many money market funds hold a small percentage of those shaky securities.

Last night, I ended up at Barnes & Noble®. The hottie "bookseller" was on duty. Baby was looking mighty fine. At 10pm, I rode the prison transport (read: bus) back to Waikiki. However, I have been alighting in Waikiki Beach as of late. I find a bench to sit on for a few minutes before walking back to Quagmire Prison (read: hotel). By the way, I finally found a location where I could properly connect my Palm® TX to the Shakanet Free network.

As with every Monday, I meet moms for lunch, usually at Kahala Mall. I always purchase a cup of coffee at the Barnes & Noble® Café. Mind you, I have been trying to scale down my coffee consumption, the equivalent of a small-sized cup. Eventually, I would like to eliminate coffee altogether. However, that is wishful thinking right now. I finally purchased Morris Berman's book, "Dark Ages America." Moms and I ate lunch at Panda Express®. Lunch was delicious.

After lunch, I drove moms back to Hawai'i Kai. Moms served up coffee ice cream for dessert. I was able to chat for a little while longer before embarking on my usual mundane routine. During my visit with moms, the thought crossed my mind that moms is the only one who knows anything about me when I was an infant and as a child growing up. I was ten years old when my bro was born, so I can remember his childhood days. There, again, the importance of family becomes apparent.

Wax On, Wax Off (Reprise)

I ended up at Barnes & Noble® again last night. The hottie "bookseller" was on duty. Baby was looking mighty fine. I meandered about aimlessly until the store closed at 11pm. As I stood at the prison transport stop (read: bus stop), I observed the numerous homeless sitting on the benches. What is the difference between them and me? Very little, I'm afraid.

Layer, I rode the prison transport (read: bus) to Waikiki Beach. I sat on one of the benches by Pavilion One, the former home of Lou's Kabuki Theater. None of the regulars (i.e., semi-lucid homeless guy et al.) were there. I have not seen any of them in months. I walked back to Quagmire Prison (read: hotel). Along the way, I observed the homeless who were camped out under the other pavilion structures and along the beach. A few of them were sifting through the various trash receptacles.

I found it interesting to observe the myriad satanic gargoyles who were prancing around all of the derelicts and the homeless. It was as if the latter and former were invisible. A psychotic homeless guy was sitting on the beach talking loudly to himself and violently jerking his head. None of the satanic gargoyles even noticed. He was as unobtrusive as a trash receptacle. The few who did acknowledge homeboy's existence were laughing hysterically at the poor homeless psycho. Yet another sad snapshot of society.

I have become more inspired by the homeless. They are a symbol of the future for most of us, that is, when the secular Apocalypse finally arrives. An article titled, "It’s Official: The Crash of the U.S. Economy has begun," that appeared on the Global Research site, author Richard Cook presented four possible scenarios:

1. Acceptance by the U.S. population of diminished prosperity and a declining role in the world. Grin and bear it. Live with your parents into your 40s instead of your 30s. Work two or three part-time jobs on the side, if you can find them. Die young if you lose your health care. Declare bankruptcy if you can, or just walk away from your debts until they bring back debtor’s prison like they’ve done in Dubai. Meanwhile, China buys more and more U.S. properties, homes, and businesses, as economists close to the Federal Reserve have suggested. If you’re an enterprising illegal immigrant, have fun continuing to jack up the underground economy, avoid business licenses and taxes, and rent out group houses to your friends.


2. Times of economic crisis produce international tension and politicians tend to go to war rather than face the economic music. The classic example is the worldwide depression of the 1930s leading to World War II. Conditions in the coming years could be as bad as they were then. We could have a really big war if the U.S. decides once and for all to haul off and let China, or whomever, have it in the chops. If they don’t want our dollars or our debt any more, how about a few nukes


3. Maybe we’ll finally have a revolution either from the right or the center involving martial law, suspension of the Bill of Rights, etc., combined with some kind of military or forced-labor dictatorship. We’re halfway there anyway. Forget about a revolution from the left. They wouldn’t want to make anyone mad at them for being too radical.


4. Could there ever be a real try at reform, maybe even an attempt just to get back to the New Deal? Since the causes of the crisis are monetary, so would be the solutions. The first step would be for the Federal Reserve System to be abolished as a bank of issue and a transformation of the nation’s credit system into a genuine public utility by the federal government. This way we could rebuild our manufacturing and public infrastructure and develop an income assurance policy that would benefit everyone.

As you can guess, I am inclined to believe that the second option will be exercised. Alas, I can only wait patiently for the ax to fall. Pain and suffering will be incumbent upon us, something that has been long overdue.

Very little is being mentioned about the failed Iraq occupation anymore in the so-called "mainstream" media. It is as if Iraq has vanished. Yet, the alternative news and the alternative clipping services are filled with the horrific news of a "war on terror" gone bad. Sadly, even the alternative news punditry keep harping upon a concerned "American" constituency. Frankly, I don't see it. No one even mentions Iraq, no less discusses the stupidity that got us there in the first place. All I see are myriad fat slob satanic gargoyles carrying large Wal-Mart® shopping bags, all the while laughing and having a great ol' time. I bet that none of them have even given the slightest thought to the sheer number of fatalities in Iraq occurring daily. Out of sight, out of mind.

That brings to mind yet another puzzling thought. Have you noticed that Al Qaeda has grown into a worldwide organization as of late. Aside from overrunning Iraq, Al Qaeda is in Gaza, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and now in the UK. In fact, there are reports that Al Qaeda has also infiltrated several oil-producing African nations as well. Holy Mackerel! Al Qaeda did not even exist in Iraq during Saddam's time. Now, it is everywhere. Does that seem a little "fishy" to you?

Where's Osama? That's all I want to know.