Monied Sex, Sexy Money, and Silicon Valley's Word

"Wealth precedes culture," says a really cool man that I met at my Peet's the other day. Yeah, yet another Dave, I swear. 

We're talking renaissance. And this is a good point to mention I totally missed today/yesterday's reboot8 conference themed can you believe it: Renaissance.

First, though before we get to the renaissance, this is how we met: "You a theology student?"

As a child I developed a habit of doing homework intense in concentration blocking out the sound and color from the surrounding TV sets. (My parents were making up for growing up in Cuba with a porch for entertainment; plus I think that's how they picked the social nuanes on how to fit into America. I can't say watching Dallas or Gilligan's Island really clues you in too much though.)

So I was totally absorbed in reading this paper "Intellects Inflamed by Christ: Women and Spiritualized Scholarship in Renaissance Christianity" and a bit startled when he spoke. I had no idea what he's talking about. Theology? Huh? Where'd he get that idea?

I chuckle when he leaves a half-hour later because also at my table is a Jungian analysis of the Biblical/Jewish/Islamic tale of King Solomon and Queen Sheba and a book by Vietnamese monk Thich Nan Hanh. I guess it's all theology for me...

But at that time what I actually said was: "No, not exactly. I'm not a student. I'm just reading up on the Italian Renaissance."

I note the thick Photoshop bible on his table. He shares his view that he finds digital photography, digital art and Photoshop simply another way of imagining art. I totally agree.

That's when he starts on his theory that Silicon Valley is poised for a renaissance.

I smile after his discourse: "I've been thinking the very same thing myself."

So it was interesting after a lengthy blog-reading-hiatus seeing Fred Wilson and Robert Scoble refer to Paul Graham's essay How to Be Silicon Valley. Having read the essay it boils down to: Create an atmosphere that rich folks and nerds both want to live in.

I am neither rich nor a nerd by any conventional sense of the two terms. (Okay, okay, yeah I have a BSEE and worked in high-tech more than a decade, but I swear I'm not a nerd.) Yet I love living a stone's throw from Apple headquarters in an area where free wifi cafes have been a given for years. It's so much more than nerds and wealth.

I'm at the Cupertino-San Jose border, right smack in the heart of the parking lot that Graham refers to. I too thought that San Jose was a wasteland and I'll spare you the details how I ended up here with all the varied choices in the Bay Area, but suffice it to say it was certainly not my first choice.

And I'd be the last person to guess that I'd be writing a book set in San Jose, CA of all the places on earth that is reminscent of A Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, or perhaps Walden Pond. A few weeks ago my neighbors Don and Beatrice showed me a black hooded oriole that is nesting in the towering palm through their binoculars. Just this week I had a Proustian epiphany with a magnolia tree walking home by cresent moonlight - btw, have you noticed they are all blooming fragrant right now? And the redwood grove on my four-block walk to the grocery store are my personal sentinels and teachers.

Trust me I don't live anywhere particularly 'special'. I'm not nestled in the tony hills of Woodside or Los Altos or Saratoga or Los Gatos. It's just an average everday Silicon Valley neighborhood surrounded by dim sum restaurants, strip malls, Fry's, Asian kids sequestered after school at tutoring centers I can't pronounce.

What strikes me is that no one has mentioned what really distinguishes Silicon Valley.

Actually Paul's essay is an essay on the sense of place, on belonging. In Eat, Pray, Love, writer Elizabeth Gilbert traipses through Italy, India, Indonesia to find herself (psst, you don't have to leave home). In Italy, her friend Luca Spaghetti posits that every city has a single word that defines it, that identifies most people who live there.

"...if you could read people's thoughts as they were passing you on the streets of any given place, you would discover that most of them are thinking the same thought. Whatever that majority thought might be- that is the word of the city. And if your personal word does not match the word of the city, then you don't really belong there."

Lotus Reads shares, "According to Luca, SEX was Rome's word and for the Vatican it is POWER. In New York City the word is ACHIEVE, in Stockholm its CONFORM, in Naples it is FIGHT and so on."

I have searched high and low for the blog post to no avail, but another blogger thought NYC was more like CREATE.  And Berkeley was RIGHT (which I can say having lived there is so true; as in smugly RIGHT). The author was stumped for a word for San Francisco - which though is an altogether different vibe than Silicon Valley.

So what's the word for Silicon Valley?

Methinks, it's KALI.

Nope, not Kali as in Kali-fornia  (hmmm, what would -Fornia stand for?)

KALI, as in the goddess.

Related aside: the state of California was named after a mythical Queen Califa, the black ruler of the land of the Amazons, who lived in a wonderful country awfully reminscent of Queen Sheba's kingdom, possibly the Garden of Eden "filled with fragrant flowers, fresh fruits, and other delights." Queen Califa incidentally was also a disciple, a follower, of Artemis, the virgin-priestess-hunter goddess and Apollo's sister. In Virgil's day, a virgin wasn't simply chaste. A virgin referred to a woman "complete unto herself", a fully individuated human beholden to no one, or the androgenous mind that Dan Pink's A Whole New Mind refers to.

KALI. Oh, we could call it disruptive innovation, or creative destruction, but do I look like Clayton Christenson or an economist? If you belong to Silicon Valley, the notion of recreating Silicon Valley is absurd. "How to Be Silicon Valley?" You might as well ask "How Do I Cling to the Past?" "How Do I Capture that Musical Note Ten Minutes Ago during the Symphony?" Heck, go right ahead there, meanwhile those of us here in S.V. will create the next thing. Accept no imitations, baby.

Sure Kali is a Hindu goddess totally far far from these shores, and this post is already running to infinity, there is a long rich thread of the triple goddess theme that Kali represents throughout Western history. (And lest us not forget Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code 's current popularization of the Mary Magdalene cult which was catchy during the Italian Renaissance...which is really the Artemis cult refashioned.)

For instance, consider the witch in Hansel and Gretel fairy tale. Once in the Slavic region of her origin she was known as Baba Yaga, an Artemis-following-priestess-goddess that was grossly misunderstood, until today we know her as a cricketedly evil old witch instead of shamaness. Where's Salem when you need it?

The symbolism of oven in the Baba Yaga fairy tales is very powerful since from primordial times the oven has been a representation of womb and of baked bread. The womb, of course, is a symbol of life and birth, and the baked bread is a very powerful the image of earth, a place where one’s body is buried to be reborn again. It is interesting that Baba Yaga invites her guests to clean up and eat before eating them, as though preparing them for their final journey, for entering the death, which will result in a new clean rebirth. - "Baba Yaga: A Demon or a Goddess?"

Madonna was the buzz this week. First a few Wine Campers brag they have tickets to the sold-out show. I hear folks talking about the show the day after at cafes. The San Jose Merc agrees, "A Confession: Reinvention Becomes Madonna." Madonna is an obvious incarnation of Kali. Heck, even her name tells all. No wonder San Jose worshipped her performance.

My guru/teacher once said: "Everyone wants to be reborn," he starts chuckling a little bit like the proverbial witch's cackle, "but no one wants to die."

Living in Silicon Valley means journeying through the Tibetan Book of the Dead's bardo on a monthly, weekly, daily, momentary basis. An inclination to die to the past in every single moment. A very Zennish quote typifies S.V. (although I'm more in an Italian or French Zen frame of mind of late than traditional Zen myself): This moment, this particular moment, doesn't care that you jumped off a 100-foot-pole yesterday.

Now is this true for everyone in S.V.? Heck no, but it's truer here than anywhere else I've lived.

I'm not wedded to Silicon Valley (remember "woman complete unto herself"). Truth is the renaissance is probably further along elsewhere - like Seattle, for instance. The Italian Renaissance didn't just happen in any one city - and in those days, Florence, Venice, Rome, Milan, probably seemed as far apart as I am today to DC, Shanghai, Prague in travel time. I can enjoy anywhere (except okay maybe Las Vegas) since I'm a child of the universe. Being an explorer-nomadic spirit I can move in a heartbeat, but while I'm here I'm soaking in the Kali energy because it's the elixir of lifie that I can carry with me wherever I go.

What would accelerate the next renaissance? Reacquainting ourselves with the value of art, getting over our collective hangups over sex and money (or broader still, beauty/sensuality & adundance), and moving from the scared feminine towards the sacred feminine for starters. But that's a thousand posts worth of stuff...stay tuned.

This post's headline wasn't just an empty teaser. The creative/destructive force that represents Kali and the relation to sex and money is important to consider for yourself (and that's what Google is for).

Sex & money, both really basic lower chakra stuff if you know what I mean and quite repressed/denied/guiltified in our society. I was watching an intriguing documentary with my friend David Chamberlain (oh yes he's a diva) before he took off to Vietnam, Cambodia and Burma for a month.

1 Giant Leap explores universal human topics including identity, death, God, happiness and art and its creators journeyed to "Senegal, Ghana, South Africa, Uganda, India, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, America and Europe, equipped solely with a digital video camera, a laptop and a vision - to capture and weave together a unique fusion of sound, image and spoken word from some of the world's most happening musicians, authors, scientists and thinkers and to explore 'The Unity in the Diversity'." Whew!

It's a beautiful compendium of life-affirming views, people and places and unforgettable haunting world music. Yet I came away wondering why in an otherwise positive balanced film, the sex and money section were blatently dark and full of dogma. You'd think sex and money are the root of all evil. I mean the most lucid thought-stopping comment in either of those two sections came from a pro dominatrix.

If you're squeamish about either sex or money or the creative force of the universe, you may want to give this blog a very wide berth here for a bit. Otherwise, it's going to be a wicked fun ride for a while.

Call me crazy, but that means I'll be reading tons more VC (sexy money) and advertising (monied sex) blogs  and kali-mommy and art blogs - and sharing. What, did you think I'd read pornography blogs? Ah, try again, then, you are missing the essential essence of Kali.

Viva la renaissance.

p.s. Silicon Valley is, as you've surmised, a state of mind, not a geography.

photos In case you've never been blessed to have Audubon Society neighbors share their passion for birds, this is the type of oriole we spotted together; even magnolias are sexy (click for large delicious full-size); a possibe artist's rendition of Queen Califa; Madonna and Kali of course.

tags reboot8 renaissance silicon valley innovation goddess reinvention creativity art zen tantra, women venture capital advertising

Comments

[keith ray]

When Steve Jobs left (or was forced out of, depending on who's version of the story you read) Apple (the Garden of Eden), he founded the company NeXT. That's the word for silicon valley. (When he came back to Apple, he brought NeXT with him... kind of a Hero's Journey, I suppose).

Just about everyone I meet here is concerned with catching a ride on the next thing, or creating the next thing, or learning the previous thing (because they missed it when it was the next thing).

The internet (and digital video, audio, text, etc.) is bringing the whole world (I hope) into a renaissance. We won't know the extent it will take until someday in the future when we look back at it.

[Dimitar Vesselinov]

Internet is the next Silicon Valley…Cyberspace nirvana...Blogs, podcasting, social networks, Flickr, video, Second Life, IM, email…

[Brad Munson]

Evelyn,

This is really a remarkable blog; the reason we all spend so much time stumbling around cyberspace. I've already rushed off to look at everything from Fiori to the Roasters and reread that Emerson essay I haven't read since college, back in the Jurassic. And I haven't even started on the most recent entry (though any blog that mentions Kali, Madonna, and Steve Jobs in the same sweep is okay in MY book).

I talked a bit about your site and TRIED to trackback (the ping broke!) over at my own blog on www.thisnext.com/blog. Hope you don't mind.

Thanks for all of it! I'll be back!

Brad

[Larry Borsato]

I think that Silicon Valley's word is TRANSFORM. They tranformed mere sand into the power of computers. They transformed computers into useful tools. They transformed electronics into cultural icons and fashion accessories. They transformed a simple computer network into personal publishing and the biggest creator of wealth ever.

They take ideas and transform then into value.

[Troy Worman]

Interesting photos.

[Evelyn Rodriguez]

Keith, thanks for the parable. Funny you should mention; stay tuned for Garden of Eden-themed salons this summer. Let's go with gardening theme here...

Larry, good point. I was cheating using KALI.
I doubt people here really whisper KALI. But a metaphor is worth a thousand pictures, so I can evoke so much more with KALI, than TRANSFORM. I've been and lived in places where pockets of people said TRANSFORM but I don't think they knew what that entailed, or were willing to pay the price. There is alway some form of death in any transformation. Something drops away, falls away, clears out. And if I'm honest with myself, I often feel a sense of grief pass. In S.V. there is less of an inclination to graft the new unto a wilting, dying, static plant than anywhere else I've been; people are fine with pruning, or tilling new land. The commitment isn't to maintaining legacy environments - it's always possible to begin over with green field development here.

Or lying fallow if need be. And heck, the last tough 4-5 years should have some productive yield, I've written before: "Volcanic soil is the richest in the world, but nothing grows there while it is still smoldering."

The Dave I mention in this post due to a series of losses culminating in nearly dying of an illness got to a point where he wasn't even sure there was going to be a "What's Next." It was only then on his recovery that he was willing to start fresh. He said he felt like his physic/emotional/spiritual/etc DNA had been wiped clean and he was open to listening to alternative views. He said he'd never done so without this near-death. So in S.V., people are more inclined to face death in many forms and throw out the dead, the old, the stagnant without flinching.

Dimitar, the Internet is as varied as the world - I'd say maybe pockets of it have the S.V. word in mind when they think of "belonging." Anyhow, I'm more interested in the next renaissance than S.V. today, and that definitely has a meatspace, not just cyberspace, component. I'll cover more offline than Web 2.0 renaissance companies too.

Thanks Brad and Troy, you guys are sweethearts and truly renaissance men.

[Michaela]

Hi Evelyn,

it is good to see people like you who are looking for answers, exploring the world beyond the mind....I believe that we are right at the beginning of a new era - a RENAISSANCE - only that this time the center / the beginning is not in Florence/Italy BUT in each single human being who dares to take the steps....

All the best

Michaela

[hedonistic]

I just stumbled here by accidents, if you believe in them. What a wonderful post! I'll be bookmarking your site . . .

[raj]

iam ready for money n sex

[hedonistic]

Egad could you delete the above? I did not write it!