Despite the handy multi-media & flesh-bound stimulations surrounding me here, I spent some time prone on the floor meditating yesterday evening. (I don't assume a particular posture to meditate, I especially don't assume uncomfortable postures to meditate. I'm not a masochist 24*7, only when I'm horny.)

It occurred to me that many people resist meditation and other calming arts because they become quickly bored by sitting still within their own bodies and minds. Then I wondered who first invented the idea of "boredom", and why. Is boredom an emotion? Is boredom an effect of the body? Or is boredom a symptom of withdrawal from the modern memetic electronic rainbow soup most of us soak ourselves within? Or, worse, is boredom part of the memetic soup's immune system, designed to keep us trapped within a fully mediated existence by inducing within us a sense of boredom whenever we are unplugged?

Lots of questions, not many answers, but that's OK. By analyzing boredom I bled the air from its tires. It won't be driving me anywhere from now on.

Even though John Kerry doesn't support gay marriage, I'm endorsing him for President of the United States.

Basically, I think the best gift I could give the world would be a new President of the United States.

Although President Bush currently has the support of about 46% of the citizens of the United States, in my opinion he is not competent to hold the job. He has reacted to the terrorist threat in a paranoid and unintelligent fashion, needlessly stoking the most primal fears of the citizens of the richest, strongest country in the history of humankind.

In addition, his single-minded lust for tax cuts has led the federal budget into the worst fiscal crisis since, perhaps, the American Civil War. He's actively fought against the resurrection of Congressional pay-as-you-go budget rules, and has financed his pre-emptive military adventures by borrowing heavily from the Chinese and Japanese governments.

He squandered the goodwill of the world (and the U.S. Democratic Party) after 9/11 by pursuing a narrow-minded, socially conservative, needlessly militaristic agenda that has led to the most divided electorate since the height of the Vietnam conflict in 1968.

He has rolled back environmental protections, reproductive freedoms, and the role of science in making good government decisions.

John Kerry is the only candidate with a good chance of beating George Bush in November. I am supporting Kerry with my vote, my pocketbook, and my rhetoric.