Consumer confidence numbers out today suggest that yes, we are eager once again to buy stuff (perhaps even on our Hello Kitty debit cards I posted below):

In a morning report, the Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence for May jumped to 54.9 from 40.8 in April, which was originally reported as 39.2. The index is now at its highest since September, the board said. Expectations for economic activity over the next six months jumped to 72.3 from 51.0 in the prior month.

In a holiday-shortened but economic data-heavy week, investors were hoping the consumer confidence figure could foreshadow equally impressive numbers on existing and new home sales, as well as durable goods and weekly jobless claims.

So, that’s great news – the animal spirits of capitalism will still be driving us to the malls, provided our credit lines aren’t curtailed, our cars aren’t repossessed and/or our paychecks continue to flow.

And so, seriously, with consumer confidence like that, who needs bears? We might not be ready for bulls just yet, but obviously, we’re ready for wolves. I got a text this weekend from a friend asking if I’d gotten my wolf shirt yet, to which my reply was something along the lines of “OWTF?” I could have Googled it, but I was in a hot tub and thus preoccupied. This morning, WallStreetFighter posted a link which explains the joke -it’s a campaign started by CollegeHumor.com for the lulz:

For a day or two, a black T-shirt featuring an image of three wolves baying at a full moon claimed the top slot at [Amazon.com's] bestseller list… Just read the long and growing list of customer testimonials promising earth-shattering experiences or psychedelic vision quests upon purchase.

“I bought this shirt and instantly old girlfriends started calling me again,” wrote one reviewer.

“My doctor says the cancer has gone into remission,” wrote another. “Thanks for changing my life!”

As retailers, media companies and even government agencies attempt to get with the times and connect with an online audience, every once in a while they get a reminder: Anybody, or any group, armed with a Web browser can anonymously game the system and manipulate the marketplace at sites inviting user feedback — for profit or just for fun.

See? As a confident consumer, your next purchase can change your life. Or the world. Or, at least, amazon.com’s ecosystem. Get out there and spend.