myspace.com lays off workers

Last week myspace.com laid off 30% of their workforce. I was worried that I was going to lose one of my only friends (besides my wife), Tom. (The Huffington Post: MySpace Layoffs: Slashing Workforce 30%)

 

Tom: 1 of my 2 friends

I only signed up for a myspace account to follow some bands, and really haven’t pursued it as a social networking site. In fact, most pages give me a headache. I really can’t stand it for that purpose. I guess I’ve always been a Facebook guy.

Myspace always seems like the wild west. I could add blinking images, I could put together colors that didn’t work, I could make pages a mile long. Most of these are eyesores that hurt my head. Facebook, while extensible with apps, keeps a consistent look and feel. They also do a good job of hiding older things, while giving you the option to see more.

I don’t mean to make this into a Coke v. Pepsi debate. I’m sure there are some die-hard myspacers out there. Myspace has taken a former Facebook exec as their new CEO. And not to worry, Tom, one of the co-founders I’ve learned, is still there. And hopefully will remain my friend.

Crisis of Faith

I’ve been away for a bit, first on vacation, then last week with my father’s funeral, which has a point.

While I was away on vacation, I received a New York Times article via email on the pitfalls of a spiritual path as a means of escapism. I like this because it doesn’t diminish the power of the spiritual tradition. It refers to both human experience and spiritual experience. It tries to not take the silver bullet of a spiritual practice and make it a cure-all of all of one’s ills in life. This was a wonderful read for me. The article can be read below.

The New York Times MAGAZINE | April 26, 2009 Enlightenment Therapy By CHIP BROWN How a Zen master found the light (again) on the analyst's couch.

I myself was brought up Catholic, then born-again Christian, then I drifted. I’ve practiced as an initiate of the Himalayan tradition under a guru and am practicing and studying Vodou today.