Coffeetalk

For the past few months, I've gathered every other Friday to get some coffee/tea with some friends and their friends. We're a very worldly bunch, hailing from several countries, and most of the participants having either lived abroad or traveled significantly, especially in Africa and Mexico. The conversations often take a turn outside our American borders.We like democracy, we like foreign aid, we like traveling. And we LOVE ideas that cross cultures.

For example, this Friday, our talk was guided by a couple who are fillmmakers from South Africa who are temporarily working in Austin. We learned of South African politics, investment cooperatives, and the lives and dreams of filmmakers. In the end, we were ready to start a film-making coop and brainstorming ways to get people to chip in, $100 or so, and become the funders of independent films on an ongoing basis. It's a novel idea to us, and we're going to pursue the notion seriously--on Saturday, some internet domains were, in fact, registered.

I don't know, we may be just a bunch of dreamers, but we're not the only ones, right? Anyone have some similar ideas out there? Want to join our discussion as it proceeds?