[Erin] The fall of the house of Usher

No, really. From Drudge, this story of an Australian man determined to sell his whole life--on Ebay--and start over:

The British immigrant to Australia, who said the trigger for his bold offer was the break-up with his wife, had hoped he would attract a bid of 500,000 dollars (477,000 US).

Shortly after the seven-day auction began Sunday, a bid of 300,100 dollars for 44-year-old Ian Usher's Perth-based lifestyle was listed on the Internet auction site eBay.

By late afternoon, some 40 bids had been made with the highest offer at 650,000 dollars.

"I brought out the champagne at three o'clock when it passed the 400,000-dollar mark," Usher told the Australian news agency AAP.

"It's unbelievable that it's going up like this so early in the auction."

Usher has promised to introduce the winning bidder to his friends and hand over his 420,000-dollar house and his hobbies. The winner will also secure Usher's job as a rug store assistant for two weeks initially, but this could be extended depending on the store owner's agreement.

Usher will retain only his passport, wallet and the clothes on his back if the deal goes ahead.

Apparently Usher's been talking about this since March, and has had a website explaining what he intends to do, which is currently tracking the auction results.

Long ago, when people went through midlife or other crises, they used the time for introspection, grappling with tough philosophical questions about the meaning of life. Later, these crises were assuaged through the purchase of fine luxury automobiles. Now, it seems, the way to handle such crises is to give American television producers ideas for new reality t.v. programs. Which reminds me of Sorokin's ideas about the ideational, idealistic, and sensate cultures--but I'll get to that during the week.

And I was kidding about the reality shows--please. No offense, Mr. Usher, but the people who dream up those things really don't need this kind of encouragement.