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.