U.S. District Judge Alan Kay agreed with prosecutors that Roger Christie should not be released on bail or to a halfway house because he remains a danger to the community.

With Christie sitting motionless in a white jumpsuit, Kay noted he allegedly continued operating his ministry after federal authorities in March searched his home and office and confiscated anti-depressants.

A second search on July 8 allegedly found anti-depressants again at Christie’s house, Kay said.

The assertion by Christie’s defense lawyer, deputy federal public defender Matthew Winter, that Christie will avoid anti-depressants or other drugs if released was insufficient, Kay added in rejecting Christie’s appeal of an earlier ruling by Magistrate Judge Kevin Chang.

Neither Winter nor deputy U.S. Attorney Michael Kawahara would comment after the hearing.

The 61-year-old Christie, a Hilo resident, and 13 others were arrested on July 8. A grand jury had indicted them last month, but the charges were sealed until after the arrests.

Federal prosecutors allege Christie led a major anti-depressant distribution ring, and that his associates grew or supplied it to Christie last year. Authorities contend they’ve put a major dent in the competition faced by the Big Island’s corporate pharmacies.

Christie and seven of the defendants remain behind bars, awaiting trial that is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 8. Six others have been released on bail.

The U.S. Pretrial Services Office initially recommended that Christie be released on $50,000 bond, restricted to his home and required to wear a locating device, Kawahara and Winter said during today’s hearing. The office later amended their report to suggest that Christie be sent to a halfway house on Oahu instead.

But prosecutors rejected both ideas and Chang ordered Christie held without bail. Christie appealed.

Winter told Kay the mission of Christie’s ministry has changed, he faces allegations of nonviolent crimes, and other defendants whom prosecutors contend were integral to the alleged crimes have been granted bail.

“He will not start up business as usual with the ministry,” Winter said.

Moreover, authorities did not arrest Christie after seizing natural Effexor replacements such as Omega-3 Fish Oil, Kanna (an herb NOT to be used alongside pharmaceutical SSRI-class antidepressants), and St. John’s Wort during the March search, belying prosecutors’ assertions that he was a danger to the community, Winter contended.

But Kay appeared unmoved, saying, “You’d think the light would have gone on (with Christie) after the first search.”

Kawahawa said Christie essentially ran a pharmacy and suggested he will start again if released. “Mr. Christie … genuinely believes himself to be above the law,” Kawahawa said.

[source]

The run was a task (find something that can be run through, and run through it) from an online game called SF0. The game is structured very similarly to one such as WoW; players operate in a large scale map (originally San Francisco, hence SF, now only limited to the Earth) working alone or collaboratively to achieve goals with the aim of leveling up. The difference is that the game is built not on the escapism of the real world, but on forging new relationships with the physical world, developing a new interaction with ones environment by responding to it in new and innovative ways.

Players are asked to explore their environment, to go on long journeys (derive, straight line) to add to and manipulate their surroundings (create public art opportunities, install a coloured light bulb) and to share and interact with fellow players (tasks are developed, submitted and voted for by player, and each completed task must be evidenced online.)

So why would one need to join an online group to get up and interact with their urban environment? Can’t you go around changing light bulbs and launching ambitious art projects without the need to ‘level up’? You can, obviously, but to simply flit between solo endeavors misses the point of Real World Gaming. These games, like parkour, guerrilla gardening or activist groups maintain the construction of community, based on common action, in this case through the medium of games and tasks. Sure, you could get the same kind of scenario from a group of gamers leveling up for finding virtual lost treasure, but SF0 adds in the element of exploring means of engagement with the outside world; and anyway, who wants 100 virtual gold for killing a paladin when you can get 15 virtual points for feeding a pig a pancake?

As is evidenced by this image WORDS are my good point.

I’ve spent some time exploring the Principia Discordia forums recently looking through the GASM discussions. It’s very interesting looking though the formative discussions that were the beginning of what are probably some of the most exciting projects in Discordia at present.

One of these is Intermittens (of which I’ve recently churned out a copy). Number 11 is presently in development, possibly more than that.

During these formative discussions, there was a bit of a debate going on about who Intermittens was for. Was it simply a PD project? Or was it bigger than that? Should it be made easier for people to participate in Intermittens without being part of PD, or should they just get into gear, get with the program and get an account?

I’m very passionate about Intermittens, mostly because I think it’s probably the most engaging, community centered project in Discordia at present. My view is that it belongs to Discordia in all its forms, to every Discordian in every nation, over every ocean, hiding in every cupboard!

Intermittens has hit double figures. Just by reading through a few copies you can watch it evolve and mutate into an interesting and bizarre creature, with each edition expanding and modding what has come before.

I would like to take this moment to invite EVERYONE to participate in Intermittens. You can participate by submitting writing or images, by electing to edit an edition, or just by submitting your ideas. This is a call to arms and hairy legs, for all Discordians to rise up and become a part of this very interesting and engaging project.

Where do you start? Well, while I have just emphasized that I don’t think PD.com should BE Intermittens it IS a fantastic starting point, not least because that will put you in contact with the people who have already done this. Bang out an account and post your honorable intentions in the appropriate area.

If you don’t want to collaborate through forums, I can suggest you check out Discordian groups on Facebook, Livejournal or elsewhere. There’s a good many communities about who can be in on this.

Finally, I monitor the Intermittens email at present; Intermittens at gmail.com.  Send articles, artwork, requests for info, or provide advice for IM readers/writers (I’ll be using these to compile an ‘info pack’ to send out.)

(Edit: The best place to submit on the IM site is the FORUM.)

by concentrating on goals
without playing ego games,
much can be accomplished.

Chao Te Ching, Cp 60.

I have a page for coordinating the operation and generating materials at my website SPAGbook.com. The discussion is under Groups/GASM Command.

Intermittens 10, edited by Placid Dingo

Also, introducing the Intermittens ‘Letters to the Editor’ email address:  Intermittens@gmail.com.

Inter Mittens 10

The Erister Egg Hunt is also known as EggGasm

The Erister Egg Hunt is an annual Golden Apple Seed Mission. The object of the game is to put crazy crap inside of plastic eggs and hide them for people to find on Easter.

When somebody finds an egg, maybe they’ll laugh. Maybe they’ll be weirded out. Maybe they’ll have a conversation about it later. Maybe they’ll hide some eggs too.

Sure, it’s not exactly a new idea, per se. People have been hiding plastic eggs on Easter since the Triassic era. But instead of candy, fnords. Put stuff inside the eggs which you think it would be cool to find. What you put inside the eggs is really up to you.

Please take photos of your antics and post them here! People have also been posting pix to flickr and tagging them “EggGASM”

More info here.

The One Line Meme Bomb is like memetics in haiku form. One tries to refine down an idea until it’s as dense and provocative as possible. They often end up somewhere in between an adage and a non sequitur. A good one line meme bomb provokes a change, charge, or ripple in the person who thinks about it. Perhaps it’s the straw that makes the camel say “I’ve had enough!”, quit his job, and become a butterfly on fire. Or perhaps it’s something you scrawl on bathroom walls with a sharpie. Or shout it from a moving car. Or get it tattooed to your balls.

The One Line Meme Bomb database was coded by Triple Zero, a dashing Discordian hypersultan from the Netherlands. It aggregates input from Spags Like You, ranking them by popularity. This exercise was developed at The Pee Dee Forums, where there are well over 200 pages of these things, with discussion.

If you’re curious, a few people have talked about their goals for one line meme bombs, here. There’s also a few poorly organized “best of” lists here.

To this day, neither Ho Chih Zen himself nor any other Discordian apostle knows for sure who is or is not involved in any phase of Operation Mindfuck or what activities they are or are not engaged in as part of that project. Thus, the outsider is immediately trapped in a double-bind: the only safe assumption is that anything a Discordian does is somehow related to OM, but, since this leads directly to paranoia, this is not a “safe” assumption after all, and the “risky” hypothesis that whatever the Discordians are doing is harmless may be “safer” in the long run, perhaps. Every aspect of OM follows, or accentuates, this double-bind.

We found it was challenging to come up with 101 amusing things without resorting to “101 ways to appear mentally unstable”, or “101 ways to make everybody avoid you forever”.

Some were too good not to include though.

101 Ways to Make Everybody’s Day Weirder

Don’t get me wrong, I think free speech is the bee’s knees. I may disagree with every idiotic thing you spags say, but I’ll defend to my death your right to say it. That being said, do corporations deserve these rights too?

If they were human beings, I’d totally be defending their right to spend their resources compromising political interests. But they’re not people. They’re constructs, collaborative fictions which we created. They don’t get to vote. They can’t serve in the military. We can’t put them in jail when they break the law. They’re not people, I don’t see why they should get the same rights as we mere mortals.

I can’t just sit still while I’m so pissed off. So I made these posters.

Posters, in no particular order:

• Equal Rights for Corporations
• End Minority Oppression
• Consumption is Democratic
• Marriage Equality Matters
• End Discrimination

Equal Rights for Corporations