Monkey See, Monkey Do

joi ito published these sets from sequoia capital on startup companies and the economic downturn. i was wondering what the venture world thought the next couple years would be like. bottom line: tighten belts, get cash positive, don’t expect followup rounds of funding. looks like a tough time to be starting a business - at least a tough time to be starting one with venture money - or keeping one going. but that might mean it’s a great time to be starting one that is on the cheap and doesn’t require large capitalization until things recover.

friend ian released his third song with music video. his songs are meaningful and powerful reminders of the odd world we live in and that we can inspire ourselves to help more. i love his work.

wow. nothing is showing off the growing interdependence of the world better than the current financial crisis and the resulting, coordinated government interventions. will this be heralded as the first glimmer of a single, world government? never before have the major central banks operated in unison.

and i also wonder if this means warfare is now obsolete between major countries. all the markets are in joint free fall: hong kong yesterday had a 10% drop in value. russia lost 14% in two days and then suspended trading for the rest of the week. we’re all so clearly tied together now. would any country stomach having all their savings evaporate over a major war? can we just agree that war is not an option anymore?

this also demonstrates the true, modern self-defense of american soil. no one would dare attack the US for fear of losing all their retirement savings.

this weekend rocked. i helped with a meditation program, the first of a five weekend series called shambhala training. we have about 27 participants. they were amazing. and we did a LOT of meditation practice together, as well as talks, discussion groups, and working with people one-on-one on their technique. i’m really inspired and feeling lighter today.

preaching to the choir, i know. but this is snarky and cute:

hey, even homer simpson is casting a vote this time…

it’s a minor thing, we’ve been doing it for years, but there’s something remarkable to me about the SpaceX commercial space launch this weekend. Major milestone? what do you think?

this video of the rocket’s launch is really awesome though!! I got goose bumps watching the second stage separation. Does NASA publish launches like this? They should post them on youtube for every launch, this is so inspiring. Really shows you what kind of amazing things we as humans can do. Now we just need to feed everyone.

it was wild to watch the engines and their exhaust change as the altitude changes. can you imagine being an astronaut and watching all of this first hand? that has GOT to change your perspective on things. tibetan teacher trungpa rinpoche used to answer “more over it” when asked for advice near the end of his life. i’m guessing astronauts know something about what he meant.

“as soon as this crisis is over we can give him a wedgey and lock him in his locker…”
-jay smooth

for those of you in the united states, please make sure you’re registered to vote! you have less than a month left for most states. only takes a minute!

here is a handy web form, which creates the necessary pdf file you can print. it resides at obama’s website voteforchange.com

a trial evidence video was posted on youtube this week, relating to buckley v. haddock in the 11th circuit appeals. it shows a policeman repeatedly tazing a suspect who is already handcuffed and subdued, though non-cooperative.

warning: this video is uncomfortable to watch.

i’m sure some people would think this is reasonable behavior for the policeman, the suspect is crying like a baby and a pain in the ass. i think it’s outrageous and a perfect example of laziness, unnecessary violence, and oppression. and secondly, if the policeman thought a hysterical suspect would be more cooperative after being tazed he’s an idiot.

RELATED: Brooklyn man falls to his death when tazed by police.

this weekend we’re officially launching the portland chapter of the interdependence project with ethan nichtern visiting from new york: including a thursday evening sit, all-day saturday meditation program, and a sunday launch party.

if you’re interested the details are at the launch weekend website. make sure to pre-register for the day-long.

laura ross, a fan of ethan’s podcasts, had the enthusiasm to start the group. i came on to help her as a meditation instructor and we’ve been testing the waters for the last couple months with a regular thursday night sitting group.

this weekend is the culmination of laura’s initial vision and drive, and she made this happen with tremendous effort and a courageous leap. we now have enthusiastic regular meditators like nick, stacey, mindy, alejandro, sarah and some new folks like steven, kevin, plus more each week. over twenty people are registered already for the day-long on saturday. woo hoo!