As far as a VIX play goes, I would bet a bullish spread as I believe the front months with explode to the upside once we get out of the Doldrums. As you can see from the charts below, the VIX is due for some rebuttal after the term structure collapse.

Term Structure for 8.22.2012

Term Structure for 8.15.2012

David Cornes holds a degree in economics from the University of Montana.