Feeling the Pinch

"Who do they think they are? They are no longer the owners of the world." -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in response to criticism by the empire over Iranian nuclear ambitions.

I was groggy when I was awakened at 3:40am this morning. I could hear the nauseating voice of the Chinaman squawking out Chinaspeak on the phone. I was not able to go back to sleep even after the Chinaman stopped gabbing. I finally got up at 8am. The weather was somewhat dismal, although the rain had clearly stopped. I was on my way at 8:30am. My first stop was the Post Office in the Aina Haina Shopping Center. Sadly, I discovered that I had 20 minutes to wait before it opened for business. I decided to move on. My next stop was Kahala Mall. I spent about 90 minutes in the Barnes & Noble Café. I enjoyed a cup of coffee while I perused a few magazines.

At 10:30am, I was on my way again. I made another stop at the Post Office in the Aina Haina Shopping Center. My sole purpose was to insure that I has sufficient postage attached to my tax returns. I will be mailing them next week. Moms was home when I arrived. Moms mentioned that my bro could return home at any time due to the rain affecting the work at the construction site. Thus, moms and I ended up at Yummy's Korean Barbeque in Koko Marina. There was no place to sit and eat in the small shop, so we sat and ate lunch on one of the benches near the Foodland side of Koko Marina. Later, moms served up Foremost® coffee ice cream for dessert.

I departed for the Hawai'i Kai Park & Ride at 12:45pm. My intention was to ride the bus to town.When the bus arrived, I changed my mind. Instead, I drove my Nissan® Frontier truck back to Koko Marina. I was able to secure a parking spot in the parking structure. I did my usual workout at the gym. Then, I shopped for a few grocery items at Foodland. With so much time on my hands, I made one last stop in Kuapa Kai. I looked around Longs®. I purchased a small plastic container (to carry granola in) and a can of Libby's® Chicken Vienna Sausages (for dinner). Am I livin' large, or what? I looked around in Safeway®, but I had no interest in purchasing anything.

I was back in my squalid room in Slob Manor (read: rental housing) by 4:30pm. I performed the dreaded laundry chores, three days earlier than expected. The rest of the day? Same ol' shit. I ate the whole can of Libby's® Chicken Vienna Sausage. The evening? Same ol' shit. More hurdy-gurdy "torrent" downloading from the Pure T 'n A site. I have a bag full of granola from Foodland to satisfy my hunger for food. The other "hunger" can only be satisfied if the hottie gym trainer came around. Baha! Ha! Ha! Haaa!

There's nothing more irritating than hypocrisy. When I read the latest accounts over the protests over China's alleged aggression against Tibet, namely the idiotic attempts to extinguish the flame of the Olympic torch, I almost "delivered street pizza," if you know what I mean. Those citizens of the empire should look in the mirror or take a look at what's happening in Iraq. The sad part is that most so-called "Americans" are "geography-challenged" to use the "politically correct" terminology. Tibet has been a part of China for 700 years. Could that be why the Chinaman (living in the room below my squalid room) is calling home at 2am every morning?

Yes, and while the empire is bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Fed is giving handouts to Wall Street "investment" banks, the rank-and-file peons on Main Street are feeling the pinch. Get your acid reflux medication ready.

Cacophony

Last night, I was so hungry even after my usual "rations" (read: beans and bread) that I had to break out my "emergency" can of Coral® tuna. My only other option was to drive my Nissan® Frontier truck to Foodland in the Aina Haina Shopping Center. I would have ended up wasting money on junk food. At 2 o' clock in the morning, I heard a voice talking in my head while I was sleeping. I woke up and realized that the Chinaman (in the room below my squalid room) was yapping on the phone. I could hear every word he uttered as he was speaking loudly, but I could not understand any of the Chinkspeak (i.e., cacophony). The moron went on and on for about an hour. I found my foam ear plugs but, even with 29dB of sound attenuation, I was still able to hear the Chinaman loud and clear.

I was able to get a little bit of sleep nonetheless. I woke up at 7am to a gloomy and overcast day. Rain was definitely in the air. My homeless guy emulation kind-of-a-day went smoothly again, although I had to sit in the catacombs of Kukui Plaza and eat my Safeway® brunch (read: air-filled energy bars and coffee). The rain was more or less a moderate drizzle. Thus, the homeless guy emulator itinerary remained essentially intact. I spent about three hours reading in the inner courtyard of library. Watching the rain come down was a surreal experience. I did my usual workout at the gym. Another uneventful bus ride brought me back to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) by 4:45pm.

Squalid Oven

The rain came pouring down at 7:30pm last night. So much for washing the truck, eh? I had to close the louvers in my squalid room because the gale force winds were blowing water and crap everywhere. Well, that's life in Slob Manor (read: rental housing). Oh, I long for the day that I can leave the dump once and for all. Lord, have mercy! Aside from the same ol' shit, I had performed the dreaded laundry chores. I also finalized all of my tax paperwork. Lot of inflated dollars will be flowing out of the ol' lavahead's bank account later this month.

Incidentally, I neglected to mention that I terminated my account with Adult DVD Empire. I am gradually closing accounts and terminating services, even free ones, as part of the greater divestiture plan of the exodus.

The homeless guy emulation today went extremely smooth for once. No asswipes causing me grief. No fat slobs lumbering across my path. No crowded buses. The weather was even better than expected. Best of all, I had absolutely no human contact (except minimally at the Safeway® checkout line and the front desk at the gym).

When I set foot in Slob Manor at 5pm, the place was like an overheated oven. Unlike last night, there was not even a slight breeze. My squalid room was beyond intolerable. However, with nowhere else to go, I had no choice but to ignore the heat. My cold can of beans was about the only reprieve from the heat wave. Perhaps I could situate the oversized cranium next to the small fan vent in the back of my Toshiba® Satellite notebook computer. Sheesh!

Looking Back

Last night, I had inadvertently selected the DI.FM Soulful House channel instead of the Deep House channel. All I can say is that I was impressed. What would I do without Net radio? I did not sleep well again. So far, it's been about a week since my bout with sleep deprivation began.

Of course, there's the matter of the guy who rents the room below me. He's a Chinese guy, a friend of the landlord. For some reason, he gets up at 3am almost daily to converse on the phone with someone in China, I suppose. Then, he engages in a slammin' soirée at 5pm before departing to his carpentry job. I have seen only one of the two other guys who reside on the first floor. He is an older guy, possibly close to his sixties. He rides a scooter for transportation. What a strange crew!

I reluctantly arose at 7am in order to engage in a computer chat session with a customer service representative at my investment bank. I was not able to transfer funds to one of my IRA through the Web interface. I was finally able to transfer $5,000 for my 2007 IRA contribution. Until I return to wage slavery, that could be my final IRA contribution. I have only six more years before I am able to draw from any retirement account without penalty. Yes, that's little time I time left before I am officially a decrepit senior citizen. Can you even imagine the anxiety such a prospect generates?

I was on my way to Hawai'i Kai at 8:30am. True to my word, I bypassed Safeway® in Kuapa Kai. I ended up purchasing a cup of Kona-blend coffee at Foodland in Koko Marina. Moms was home when I arrived. Moms was busy with a few chores, so I washed my Nissan® Frontier truck. I made the terrible discovery of rust infiltration along the radiator support beam. The bubbly corrosion indicated that the damage had been in progress for a while. I was considerably perturbed.

Moms and I followed the usual itinerary beginning with Longs® in the Hawai'i Kai Towne Center and ending up at Foodland in Koko Marina. Lunch was courtesy Loco Moco. Later, moms served Foremost® coffee ice cream for dessert. I walked to the gym in Koko Marina at 1pm. I only did a cardio workout. Then, I walked back to say good-bye to moms. I then made one last stop at Foodland. I was satisfied that I was able to avoid the bigotry at the Safeway® in Kuapa Kai. And, for the sake of writing it ... same ol' shit ... that's my evening in a nutshell.

For the past few weeks, I have had intrusive thoughts that focused on my various transgressions and acts of stupidity over the course of my pathetic life. Mind you, we are not discussing a mere handful of incidents. In fact, my whole biography could be constructed as a series of transgressions, acts of stupidity, general vagrancy, dereliction, and foolishness. When I was a young lad, I was actually a good son. I only committed a few sporadic acts of stupidity up through my high school years. However, when I went away to university on the mainland, I went "hog wild." I did not commit any crimes, but I pushed the envelope of virtue. There is no need for me to go into any detail. I have already discussed a few noteworthy events in the journal of old. In retrospect, I can make no sense of my conduct unbecoming. What did I gain? Nothing. I have ended up broke and alone. I have nothing to my name. I have no accomplishments. Well, I never really had any viable dreams. I was the epitome of a non-achiever.

I have taken non-achievement to a higher level, as it were. Unemployed and destitute, I still continue to piddle away my precious time engaging in what I call the "homeless guy emulation." Otherwise, I devote my spare time to the "blog" and downloading hurdy-gurdy "torrents" from the Pure T 'n A site. I have never determined a meaning or purpose for my life. At this point in time, that's a lost cause. I have simply become one of the "useless eaters" on the planet. I have made myself a prime candidate for "depopulation."

Alas, on the upside, I have managed to survive through a lifetime of non-achievement. A person of my background would normally have ended up a drunken, homeless derelict. I am certain that I came very close to the latter reality many times over. For some reason, I was "saved," at least for the time being. That's what I ponder these days.

Rainy Day

Rain, rain, and more rain. Strange weather for this time of year, but not so horrible so as to interfere with the homeless guy emulation kind-of-a-day. I followed the usual Sunday itinerary, which means that I had to eat my Safeway® brunch (read: air-filled energy bars and coffee) in the catacombs of Kukui Plaza. However, during a rainstorm, the catacombs prove to be much more comfortable than a park bench. I did my usual workout at the gym. No hottie gym trainer. Boohoo. The weather had cleared up by the time I exited the gym. I was taking my time, but I still managed to connect with the bus heading out to Hawai'i Kai.I was certain that it had already gone by. I carried my umbrella with me, but I did not use it until I alighted the bus near Slob Manor (read: rental housing). The rain was really coming down. Even with my umbrella as a shield, both my gym bag and I ended up sopping wet. Well, that's all part of the fun of homeless guy emulation.

Incidentally, I have continued to read the book, "Hubris," by Michael Isikoff and David Corn. While I have benefited from the barrage of facts that have not been reported by the so-called "mainstream media," I am still befuddled. If I am to correctly understand what I am reading, the authors have concluded that the Shrub Administration embarked on the incursion into Iraq out of sheer arrogance and stupidity. Well, I guess that's why the book is titled, "Hubris." Yet, I am hard-pressed to believe that, with all of the neoConmen think-tanks (all funded superbly) behind it, the Shrub Administration did not know fact from fiction. In effect, the authors become unwitting apologists for an allegedly stupid and arrogant administration. I cannot buy that.

The facts don't make sense unless we look at the "big picture," and that begins right after the Supremos installed Shrub in the White House. The empire's false economy was tanking. A recession was imminent. Only the "September 11th" event, by some miracle, changed everything. When we view the entire chronology, all of the events seem to fit together quite well. Coincidence? I think not. Arrogant and stupid blunders? Hardly. The rest, as "they" say, is history.

Couch Revolution

Another homeless guy emulation kind-of-a-day has flew the coop, never to return. Let me make it perfectly clear that when I am referring to the "homeless guy emulation," I am not attempting to be facetious or condescending to the homeless. To be perfectly honest, most clowns do not realize that they are truly, by definition, homeless. When one fully owns a home outright, then one is truly not homeless. The rest are, by definition, homeless whether they rent a place or live in a cardboard box. Just miss a few mortgage payments or a few rent checks and see what happens. I am truly homeless, not just a homeless guy emulator.

I did not sleep well last night, most likely because I polished off the last half of the bottle of Fox Brook Cabernet Sauvignon. I was groggy and irritable this morning. I followed the typical homeless guy emulator itinerary ... Safeway®, Korean and Vietnam War Memorial, library, gym ... oh, the horror!

Sitemeter has been reporting that several visitors to the "blog" have arrived here because of a search to find out more information about Al Frowiss. The fact that they are all located in Hawai'i suggests that they received a similar mailing to the one that I discussed on March 24th in the "blog." So far, none of the inquisitive visitors have attempted to contact me, so I will leave it at that.

After spending hour upon hour in intense research about the state of affairs of the empire, the "brain trust" here at the "blog" can only conclude the obvious: the average rank-and-file peon is powerless against the machinations of the elite ruling class and are fools for thinking otherwise. We can only make two long-term recommendations, one of which was stated a while back in the "blog." These are:

1. Do not vote
2. Do not buy any useless crap

If all of the rank-and-file peons of the empire (i.e., 80 percent of the population) followed the latter recommendations, the empire would collapse rather rapidly. And, both recommendations are easily implemented by an already lethargic population. In other words, just don't get up from the couch. The latter two-pronged strategy is designed to bring down the political and financial sectors of the empire, what we lovingly refer to as the "system."

Yes, things are so bad that there is no other way than to stop the machine itself. No doubt, there will be pain and suffering, with the rank-and-file peons suffering the most. However, haven't the unwitting citizens of the world suffered even more pain at the hands of the empire?

We call this "passive revolution," the only kind of revolution possible by a softened, weak-willed populace. The empire's various governments will not be able to function properly when the whole election process is subverted by non-participation. Imagine if only 50,000 satanic gargoyles in total voted in the upcoming presidential elections, all of whom will be from the elite class. I doubt that the election could even be certified. The government of the empire would cease to operate, or it would be forced to expose itself as the true Fascist dictatorship that it is.

Imagine that a consumer strike occurs. The whole financial "system" would collapse within days. Yes, unemployment would rise. Inflation and deflation would both wield their ugly heads simultaneously. All debt and equity "bubbles" would rapidly decompress, which would lead to the collapse of the Federal Reserve Bank. Capital outflows would be humongous, to say the least. The fallout would even affect the elite class. I want to giggle my ass off just thinking about it.

All it would take is to say to oneself, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore." Yeah, that's Howard Beale from, "Network," coming back like a bad sitcom, with the exception that it's not a sitcom and it's going to wreak havoc like never been seen before. That, my friends, is the way the secular Apocalypse should go down.

Esperanza

Yes, my friends, yesterday was really Find-A-Rainbow Day. Every day is a holiday, or make sure the latter is true by perusing the ButlerWeb Holiday & Observances site. And, of course, a plug for the Involuntary Celibacy site, a topic that the ol' lavahead knows about like the back of his hand (no pun intended). The granola was good, by the way.

We're back to another homeless guy emulation kind-of-a-day. Who knew? Nothing new to report, really. Aside from Safeway®, the library, and the gym, my only other destination in town was the Institute of Hair Design. I restored my monk haircut. The hottie Asian stylist had cut my hair twice before. She said that she's graduating in two weeks, so this would be my last haircut from her. That's truly sad because she was one of the better stylists.

Just three days after Aloha Airlines closed down its operations, along comes ATA Airlines in shutdown mode as well. Although ATA is primarily a charter carrier, the effect of the combined termination of operations could mean a loss of 500,000 tourists in Hawai'i this year, according to the local rag. Will it affect the ol' lavahead's "condotel" unit? Let's hope not.

Find-A-Rainbow Day 2008

A sudden rainstorm in the wee hours of the morning abruptly awakened me. A bad omen for a bad day. The rain was still coming down moderately when I departed for Hawai'i Kai at 8:30am. I made the nauseating stop at Safeway® in Kuapa Kai, only to be treated like a second class citizen by the same cashier as last time. She, an unattractive and overweight Asian ho', would only acknowledge the elite Caucasian customers in front of and behind me. The bitch couldn't even hand me my receipt. "Rude bitch," I said to the ho' as I walked off.

I stopped by the Post Office to purchase a few stamps. Then, I stopped by Ross® in the Hawai'i Kai Towne Center to see if I could find a tank top to replace the one that is falling apart. No dice. I then stopped off at Foodland in Koko Marina to purchase another cup of coffee. The coffee was pretty good. I will no longer patronize Safeway® in Kuapa Kai for my morning cup of coffee. I noted that Foodland had a few tank tops on sale. Afterward, I ended up spending about an hour in the Hawai'i Kai branch of the library.

Moms was home when I arrived at 11:15am. Moms and I ate lunch at Panda Express® in the Hawai'i Kai Towne Center. Then, moms shopped for groceries at Foodland in Koko Marina. Later, moms served coffee ice cream for dessert. I walked down to the gym in Koko Marina at 1pm. I did an abridged version of my usual workout. I had to stop by Foodland again on the way back. I purchased a package of cinnamon rolls for moms that moms had forgotten. I also acquired my new tank top.

Moms was still napping when I returned. However, I was able to say good-bye to moms. I made the foolish mistake of giving Safeway® in Kuapa Kai another chance to redeem itself this afternoon. Instead, I was disappointed to find the bakery almost completely out of stock. Nothing that I needed was anywhere to be found. Sadly, I drove back to Koko Marina and patronized Foodland once again. With all the driving that I did today and with all the crap that I had to deal with, I felt that a nice bottle of Fox Brook Cabernet Sauvignon was in perfect order. I also purchased a small quantity of bulk granola to balance the cheap vino.

I was back in Slob Manor (read: rental housing) by 5pm. I did a small load of laundry in order to wash my new tank top. I will still wear the old tank top, although it is literally coming apart at the seams. However, such an outfit is invaluable for the homeless guy emulation. I'll be relaxing for the rest of the evening (i.e., same ol' shit). Due to the "old man malaise," I am experiencing some melancholia. I am also fatigued from driving around aimlessly in my Nissan® Frontier truck like some kind of moronic satanic gargoyle. Sheesh!

Inside Job

Nothing like DI.FM Deep House to pass the time away in the evenings at Slob Manor (read: rental housing). Have you heard the track, "Movement," by Afefe Iku yet? Very smooth. Very deep. Yes, my friends, these are the Viagra® Years. Chokin' da chicken. House Music. Oh, what a life! Incidentally, have you seen the Sorry Everybody site? Check out the picture gallery.

Another homeless guy emulation kind-of-a-day ... exactly the same as yesterday. No surprise. The only exception is that I performed the dreaded laundry chores once I returned to Slob Manor this afternoon. The evening? Same ol' shit.

Well, stocks are rallying again. Yep, the Dow should finally hit 30,000 soon. The cause of the rally? The credit crisis is over! Can you believe it? I don't. What I have observed is a highly erratic market. I suspect that the stock "bubble" is hyperventilating. As prices go up, investors quickly sell off. When the prices drop rapidly, the investors come back in to scoop up "bargains." Greed is pushing the envelope. Investors are attempting to squeeze out as much dough as they can from the market. The result is the creation of mini-pockets of wealth transfer from the rank-and-file peons to the elite class.

I continued to read, "Hubris," by Michael Isikoff and David Corn. There have been quite a few facts to digest. In summary of what I have read so far, I can only say that I am horrified. The book is a "must read." As an aside, I believe that many of the problems and the contention that appears between various segments of the alternative media are directly attributable to what each camp believes to have happened on "September 11th." In an earlier chapter of the book, there were details about how the Bush administration feverishly attempted to link "September 11th" with Saddam. The idea was that nineteen Middle Eastern operatives could not have accomplished the task on their own. They needed a state sponsor. Enter Iraq. Obviously, that's old news. What intrigued me is that the original premise is correct. There had to be a larger operation involved, and I am not alluding to al-Qaeda. As I mentioned in a previous "blog," Osama bin Laden has never admitted to planning and executing "September 11th." His writings, his video and audio recordings, and his interviews have revealed nothing about his actual complicity.

It is my guess that the empire's "shadow" government (i.e., Cheney) is the state sponsor. That's where Mike Rupert comes in. The coverage of the "September 11th" event in Ruppert's book, "Crossing the Rubicon," including the timeline are invaluable. Ruppert does not go into the logistics, but there have been many other books subsequently released on the same subject. Only the stigma of "conspiracy theory" keeps the information "under the radar." I, personally, have had a difficult time buying the "official" version of "September 11th." It makes no sense.

The collapse of the towers made no sense. Mind you, I am an engineer, but I am not a structural engineer. However, there are fairly obvious problems with the "official" explanation. A plane colliding with a building on a high floor would, at most, sheer the support structure on that floor (and above) if it did not compromise the complete structure upon initial impact. Since the building maintained its structural integrity after the collision, the structure was obviously able to absorb the horizontal forces much in the way it would absorb a seismic event. If anything, the floors above the collision level would have toppled at an angle and fallen to ground level. However, the buildings in question collapsed at free-fall speed into their own footprints. That is almost impossible given the circumstances, which implies that the individual floor's support structure had literally vaporized at the same time! Of course, the experts have already figured that out (see the AE911Truth site). The bottom line is that "September 11th" was an inside job, perpetrated by the empire's own on the empire's own.

Then again, what isn't an "inside job" anymore? The empire's financial débâcle and the dubious "fix" by the Fed are yet another "inside job." There will be no help for the rank-and-file peons. They are going to free-fall collapse into their own footprints as well.

April Fool's Day 2008

"There's no fool like an old fool." -- Anonymous Proverb

Another homeless guy emulation kind-of-a-day claimed its spot on the timeline of foolishness. After I procured my brunch at Safeway®, I walked to the Korean and Vietnam Veterans memorial. A homeless guy was sitting on my usual bench, so I sat on one of the remaining two benches. I ate my air-filled energy bars and sipped my coffee as the gale force winds toyed with my sanity. I walked off in the direction of the library.

"How's your day going?" the homeless guy asked.

"Okay," I said.

"May all of your days be okay," he added and smiled.

The homeless guy made my day. I continued walking to the library via the Capitol district. I pondered my recent unruly behavior especially in dealing with the myriad rude satanic gargoyles. They are of no concern to me. Being a misanthrope is doing me no good. I am better off just ignoring the fools.

I spent about three hours in the inner courtyard of the library. I commenced reading the book, "Hubris," by Michael Isikoff and David Corn. I had held off reading the book because Corn had been critical of Mike Ruppert. I have always had the highest respect for Ruppert's investigative journalism. "Hubris," however, is proving to be quite interesting.

I did my usual workout at the gym, then rode the bus back to Slob Manor (read: rental housing). I did not deny myself my "rations" (read: beans and bread) for dinner. I chowed down on the bland fare. The rest of the day? Same ol' shit.

Lori had told me that she had referred a friend who is interested in my "condotel" unit to Debbie, my realtor. I have heard nothing yet. However, there is a good chance that the unit will be sold within a couple of months. Wouldn't that be something? I would then enter the final phase of the exodus from society.

I have not given the exodus much thought lately. It seemed so distant and obtuse. However, what would the final exodus mean for the ol' lavahead? I would be clearing the last of my large obligations by decreasing my debts. I would also be saying good-bye to the so-called "ownership society." Aside from my Nissan® Frontier truck, I would own nothing. And, even the latter is slated for divestiture. There will be nothing left for me to do except grow older and more decrepit. As I ponder my plight, I bemoan that I have fallen into what I call the "old man malaise.”

Let's face it. I am rapidly approaching the end of the line, and I am nearly broke and destitute. Because of inflation, my savings and investments have become worthless. I cannot "live high on the hog." I won't be hookin' up with a babe like the hottie gym trainer. I will be a ghetto bus-riding fool. An old ghetto bus-riding fool.