hogpath

Twitter is out of control. It just celebrated its year anniversary and like so many innovative web 2.0 software apps that come out many (including myself) ask, "what's the point?" You hear those phrases like microblogging and the web going esp. I just signed up yesterday and I'm on it. As I type and numbers count down my alloted characters left I feel we've created some new form of haiku. There's an inherent poetic in the forced brevity. A lot out there is written about it and as corny as the esp thing is, I feel it, and I do see that this is where newsmedia is going. If you are a reporter or a media institution twitter is the real time.



Today I learned about twittervision and now my head is officially spinning. A world map, either flat or 3d, your preference and the map shifts around to display all the twits going on in the world in real time. All the world's languages pop up and the randomness is incredible. Humanity's consciousness is all laid out in front of you. Out of control. Inspiring.



twitter.com/hogpath

Her complexion had changed from a rugged stone map to a dark smooth earthen glow like the sea had finally completed its mission on a pebble beneath the fluorescent hospital bulb. I turned off my cellphone and chanted with Jim and Susie who were there side by side and the three of us, palms in prayer, chanted the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra. I looked to her face that no longer had the constantly beaming smile but had some uncommon calmness, some new comfort I’ve never really known or seen. Her chest and breath rose quickly, not sporadically, her lips would flutter. Susie said her noises of a reassuring groan were her chant and prayer. As the minutes ticked by I realized it to be true.


After the three of us did gongyo Jim and Susie left to share the daimoku to others as Miss Jackson always did.

I was alone with her for about 20 minutes. I chanted mostly. I could sense a black peace. There was no fear. There was no suffering. I was honored to be there. The sense of our different lives coming together in the quiet murmur of a hot hospital room on a cold February night with my chant and her breath focused me on our universal beating heart. Fifty years separated us, as did continents, countries, and cultures. The differences mean nothing. As the Gosho says, “it’s the heart that matters most”.


I recounted to Miss Jackson my recollections of her powerful smile that made all at ease and her wise silence. I remember her support, her scrapbooks, her delicately sewn pouches for prayer beads, and her leading the community of believers in origami instruction. I told her “I will never forget you Miss Jackson.” Her brows quivered and for the first time there was a quick pain on her face while she moaned. I realized she was completely there. I felt bad for changing the calmness but now realize it was her acknowledging my confusion and being humble for her powerful life effect. The causes have been done.


Before I left I turned on my cellphone and got Sensei’s guidance to read to her. It had been a while since I shed tears.



It read:

Buddhism teaches that life at each moment embraces all phenomena. This is the doctrine of a life-moment possessing 3,000 realms, which is the Lotus Sutra's ultimate teaching and Buddhism's essence. Because of the profound way our lives interact with people around us, it is vital that we reach out to others, that we be engaged with our environment and with our local community. A self-absorbed practice or theory without action is definitely not Buddhism.



Thank you Miss Jackson. I will never forget you. You have led me to be better…….and smile.

Click here for words. podcast 10. the economy

This past week I was in the bright and shadowed hills of San Francisco to walk the ubiquitous conference halls of MacWorld. Here is the Japa. Japa is mumble in Sanskrit.


The conference is a bit utopian. A second life-style gathering of Mac techs, obviously, but in their different tribes of Goths, geeks, a few hip hoppers, west cost intelligentsia prep, and the corporate denim gurus. I’ve come away inspired, not so much for the friendliness of the affair, the product releases, and the stuff learned, but more or less the immediate sense of community after flying 4 hours to get there. All these online social networks, blogs and podcasts are bringing us closer together in the real world to create codes of understanding, even if it’s an iphone and Apple logo. They seem to be working. There is a very pure and smart undercurrent manifesting itself with the help of linked technology. What no better place than San Francisco.


Surprisingly, a thread through the japa was a suggestion or comment of Obama. There is talk of this man in these circles. I was surprised how effortlessly it floated off others people’s lips and even mine. To be able to talk politics so openly with strangers because of an intuitive understanding of the headz (spelled H.E.A.D.Z) was refreshing and fills me with hope that yes, things are changing into a positive direction. As I trekked the hills and avenues of SF, a visitor, a guest, a remnant of a business man I felt no loneliness as I pondered these new found communities I don’ know yet as imagined or real. In a dark sushi bar in a basement with blue walls, dangling lights, jazz giant pictures, salsa music and electro I met a talkative tech sage who gave me guidance. Her story began with talk of seeing Obama coming out of a hotel with the security posse. Is there something going on? Is there a connection? It is both exciting and frightening to see a mobilization and movement residing in the presence of one man. We will see.....


And with all intention of staying out of the cults and blowing smoke…..the fellas over at twit.tv raised a great point. Apple TV will now let you download films and television programs alongside podcasts. Think about that- the hogpath podcast next to the last episode of Lost. We will see…….


Remember to dance for joy.

When I first heard of prosper.com I was immediately intrigued and even thought quasi-conspiracy theories as I’d never heard of it before. Based off their website they have had their share of press in Forbes and Business Week, however I’m surprised there isn’t a “word on the street” pulse. Then again, the topic of credit can be kind of dicey.



Prosper.com takes lending and credit to the next level by using a little bit of trust and truly opening up the market via the Internet. Simple- I need some money, you lend it to me, and I pay you back in installments with interest added based off a credit rating. What’s different this time is say I want $10,000. Instead of going to a bank or a credit card company, at Prosper.com you post what you need and it’s possible 200 different people are going to lend you $50. It’s very interesting and entertainingly voyeuristic to see what people are asking for. There’s the debt-laden person with terrible credit, all the way to the young startup who has a business plan together.



There’s also a flipside to all this. Now you can loan people money, at a $50 minimum, and check this…….collect the interest.

A few years back I went to an exhibit at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit focusing on notable modern graphic design. There was a section on The Walker Art Museum in Minneapolis, Target, and of course, Apple. Each section looked at the history and evolution of these different brands from a design perspective. It was cool.



A colleague of mine and I walked through the exhibit pretty quickly as we absorb design daily both consciously and unconsciously then we wandered around the lobby of CCS where there was a student exhibit showing. Some of it was dark and twisted and some of it flowery, but it had something the graphic design did not. My colleague pointed out how refreshing it was to look at art for art’s sake, rather than used as a tool to promote and advertise. Some of the darker paintings, complete with guns and blood from what I remember, had an honesty and soul. It was humble and personal. I felt a connection not only with the artist but an intimate part inside myself as I responded to my emotions created by the art.



Now, not only with the web, but with high-end inexpensive ink-jet technology, art is becoming more accessible, more prevalent, and more easily shared so we can all respond to the artist’s plea. Check out deviantart.com. It has the standard web community features but what is really innovative, is you can submit your art and also purchase art. It puts it in our hands, not the curators. You can choose from a postcard or a wall sized print, even a print on canvas. Cuddle up, this site is huge, you can spend hours on it. And come away inspired.