Surath Giri's Blog

Nov 27, 2009

Call of the entrepreneur: A review

November 27, 2009 Surath GiriCalculating…

Most of the societies in the world haven’t looked upon the entrepreneurs with the respect and support they deserve. The negative connotations of greedy, vicious, selfish, apathetic to others benefit seems to be attached with entrepreneurs everywhere. Nepalese society too isn’t very kind to entrepreneurs and businessmen. The same negative labels plague Nepalese entrepreneurs as well although if we look at our history Nepal had once been a prosperous country. And the main reason behind it was the environment where tradesmen and entrepreneurs flourished. Nepal, being the trade route between India and Tibet in the earlier centuries, enjoyed an immense benefit of trade between them. Along with the trade prospered our art, our culture and our living standards. But with the political turmoil began the downfall of this once prosperous country which reached the worst point in the autocratic Rana Regime I believe. The hostile attitude towards them continues even today in a democratic Nepal. No wonder Nepal is still one of the poorest countries in the world despite of having tons of natural resources.

Call of the entrepreneur is a documentary about three entrepreneurs, a merchant banker, a failing dairy farmer, a refugee from Communist China. One risked his savings. One risked his farm. One risked his life. Why are their stories important and what’s there relevance to our society? Because how a nation views its entrepreneurs and businessmen… as greedy or altruistic… as virtuous or vicious… matters immensely! It is one of the factors that determine whether a country prospers or not?

The Plot: The entrepreneurs in the documentary are Brad Morgan, Frank Hanna, and Jimmy Lai. Morgan, a dairy farmer from Evart, Michigan discusses his journey from a struggling dairy farmer to the owner and operator of a million-dollar dairy and Compost Company. Hanna, a merchant banker in New York City, explains how financial engineering not only makes credit more widely available to entrepreneurs today but also played a crucial role in the discovery of America. Lai talks about his childhood in Communist China and his move at twelve years old to Hong Kong where, he founded Giordano, a retail outlet, and later Next Media.

The documentary also contains information from experts in the field of economics, including Rev. Robert Sirico, founder and President of the Acton Institute, Dr. Samuel Gregg, Dr. Jay Richards, George Gilder, and Michael Novak.

A highly recommended documentary to those interested in having a greater understanding of the entrepreneurship, its importance in the prosperity of a nation.

Running Time: About 60 Minutes!

Rich is a Religion by Mark Stevens: A review

November 15, 2009 Surath GiriCalculating…

Though almost put off by the title of the book, (I hope you have known me to be an atheist) its tagline “Breaking the timeless code to wealth” induced me to skim through the book at least. I presumed it to be another book about get-rich-quick-schemes that preach you to death but was pleasantly surprised to find it a bit different. The book focuses on shifting your attitude towards money rather than telling you how to earn money. Though lying in the similar patterns of teachings of Robert T. Kiyosaki, Mark Stevens here does a decent job of presenting the code and breaking it.

Like Kiyosaki, the author advices you to invest in appreciable assets and not depend on monthly paychecks to run your life. He also suggests not owning things that own you by making you work and earn just to maintain them. It’s desirable to save and invest your earnings in things that appreciate or things that generate you wealth. The author goes on saying that material possessions don’t make wealth and has done a good job of proving his points by providing examples of many millionaires and billionaires as well as failures. Examples include Warren Buffett, Sam Walton, Norman Mailer, Bill Gates, Bill Simon, author’s own father and his neighbor. The stories are well illustrated and enjoyable.

According to Stevens, the basic tenets of Rich is a religion is the need to respect money and handle it with discipline and a sense of fiduciary control avoiding the view of money of just something to spend and impress others. He recommends eschewing the undue risk towards a person’s home, family and livelihood and learning the techniques of smart management i.e. “making money while you sleep”.

Overall, an enjoyable and worthwhile read (175 pages) that helps you shift your paradigm regarding money and wealth. The author doesn’t promise to make you rich but the principles expressed are universal and make sense which will help you at least live better financially.

The height of a mountain

November 03, 2009 Surath GiriCalculating…

Don't inquire
why the mist rises
above the clouds
and yet melts into the sun?
Finding you in my eyes
had melted me!

Don't ask
why the rocks trample
the hills
and yet crumble into the sea
Your touch
had crumbled something inside me!

Ask me
If it was all worth the pain
Dragging along the ridges
in a wild wet rain?
Was there anything
to be gained?

"In your love I have attained
The height of a mountain!"

Låt den rätte komma in (Let the right one in) : A Review

October 14, 2009 Surath GiriCalculating…

It’s usually a pleasure for me to find a foreign (non-Hollywood) film in the Hollywood predominated IMDB’s Top 250 list. A foreign film adds to the genuineness and reliability of the list I believe. So far non-Hollywood movies I watched from the list had confirmed my belief e.g., Old boy (South Korean), The Bicycle Thief (Italian), the lives of others (German). This first Swedish movie I watched however proved to be one of the major disappointments for me. Don’t be fooled by all the glowing reviews it got or numerous awards it bagged. It’s a highly over-rated silly movie. Not only is this movie unfit for the list, it is a below average movie, if you ask me! There isn’t a clear demarking line to whether to categorize this movie as a horror movie or a romantic movie but either way I found it to be a poorly made, poorly acted flick.

Directed by Tomas Alfredson, this 2008 Swedish romantic (?) horror (?) film is based on the novel of the same name by John Ajvide Lindqvist, who also wrote the screenplay for the film. It tells the story of a bullied 12-year-old boy who develops a friendship with a vampire girl child in Blackeberg, a suburb of Stockholm, in the early 1980s. The friendship kind of turns into love affair and the vampire helps the boy to fight back the bullies.

If you are expecting something more than this; sorry, “Let the right one in” is definitely not for you! The plot is unusually dull and ridiculous (I considered not finishing it a couple of times), the acting is awful, and the filming is less than desirable. The two child leads are super boring and non charismatic, you would wonder if they could at the very least find two attractive kids to play the role. It's that kind of movie which you are watching hopelessly thinking something good will happen, but NOTHING HAPPENS, NOTHING!! There are so many "OMG, seriously no! This can't be the next scene" but yes, this is the next scene. Unless you're completely retarded you can easily guess what's going to happen next and there is no surprise. Well, I don’t want to scare you but given the super boringness of the plot and awfulness of the acting, at some time during the movie, you might think, it’s child porn! Seriously! From the horror movie's viewpoint, it looks like an amateur made movie!

I wonder what’s the world is coming to! So many awards and honors to this incredibly boring movie. Calling this a masterpiece would be an insult to even an average horror movie or a romantic movie...Whatever!!! Avoid it at all cost! You’ll surely have better movies to watch than this!

Okuribito (Departures): A Review

October 11, 2009 Surath GiriCalculating…

I watched this movie more than a month ago but just now I felt like writing about it. Anyway, here is my view about the movie:

Departures (2008)
"The Gift of the last memories"

Seeing an 8 plus rating on IMDB had already piqued my interest to watch this movie. Oscar award for best foreign language picture turned it into a must see! And I must say I wasn’t disappointed by the movie. I was exhilarated to watch one of the most beautiful movies about the beauty of human life and not only life but the death itself as well. Very few films I have seen from any film maker or any film culture which show such reverence for the life and DEATH of ordinary people. Directed by Yōjirō Takita, this 2008 Japanese film took ten years in making and was loosely based on Aoki Shinmon's autobiographical book Coffinman: The Journal of a Buddhist Mortician.

“Departures” follows Daigo Kobayashi, a devoted cellist in an orchestra that has just been dissolved and who is suddenly left without a job. Daigo decides to move back to his old hometown with his wife to look for work and start over. He answers a classified ad entitled “Departures” thinking it is an advertisement for a travel agency only to discover that the job is actually for a "Nokanshi" or "encoffineer," a funeral professional who decorates and prepares deceased bodies for burial and entry into the next life. While his wife and others despise the job, Daigo who despised the job at first slowly begins to take a certain pride in his work and begins to perfect the art of Nokanshi, acting as a gentle gatekeeper between life and death, between the departed and the family of the departed. The film follows his profound and sometimes comical journey with death as he uncovers the wonder, joy and meaning of life and living.

I absolutely loved the movie! Contemplation about death and afterlife makes the viewers to show, a kind of appreciation towards life…even if the life belongs to an absolutely ordinary person. Besides these I also loved the way the movie depicts how Daigo overcomes his grudge and forgives his father. Maybe if we are able to forget the nuisances, overcome grudges and are able to forgive the people who have hurt us, we will begin to appreciate life more.

And not to forget, the great soundtrack of the movie! Joe Hisaishi does magic with his works. “Memory” was absolutely amazing! I hope someday it will find a place among the IMDB's top 250 movies!

Finally, a word of caution: many of the main stream movie viewers might find the movie boring given the fact that it’s a movie that contemplates about the evergreen existential issues!

Frederick Bastiat's "The Law": A review

September 20, 2009 Surath GiriCalculating…

The Law, first published as a pamphlet in June, 1850, as a response to socialism in France, is already more than a hundred years old. And because its truths are eternal, it will still be read when another century has passed.

Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850) was a French economist, statesman, and author. He did most of his writing during the years just before - and immediately following -- the Revolution of February 1848. This was the period when France was rapidly turning to complete socialism. As a Deputy to the Legislative Assembly, Mr. Bastiat was studying and explaining each socialist fallacy as it appeared. And he explained how socialism must inevitably degenerate into communism.

In "The Law" ,Bastiat demonstrates a thorough and flawless understanding of both the bright and dark sides of human nature, of the essential role each has played in the growth and divergence of collectivist and (18th century) liberal ideologies, and most importantly, the resulting tendency for government, in all of its most common manifestations, to grow and for liberty to yield. The principles proffered herein are the very genesis of the body of thought most commonly attributed to such brilliant authors as Milton Friedman, F. A. Hayek, Adam Smith, and Thomas Paine. Bastiat was the consummate humanitarian, and a genius with no peer.

An excerpt from the book:

"But, unfortunately, law by no means confines itself to its proper functions. And when it has exceeded its proper functions, it has not done so merely in some inconsequential and debatable matters. The law has gone further than this; it has acted in direct opposition to its own purpose. The law has been used to destroy its own objective: It has been applied to annihilating the justice that it was supposed to maintain; to limiting and destroying rights which its real purpose was to respect. The law has placed the collective force at the disposal of the unscrupulous who wish, without risk, to exploit the person, liberty, and property of others. It has converted plunder into a right, in order to protect plunder. And it has converted lawful defense into a crime, in order to punish lawful defense."

Overall, a must read book for anyone who wants to understand the nature of the government and the value of liberty!

अनुभव गर्नुहोस् चिनिया ईन्टरनेट सेन्सर्शिप को !

June 12, 2009 Surath GiriCalculating…

चीनमा हुने मानव अधिकारको हनन,दमन तथा अत्याचारको बारेमा त हामी सबैले सुनेका छौ । तर आफैले भोग्नु नपरेको हुनाले धेरै जसो ब्यक्तीहरु उक्त समाचारहरुलाई पश्चिमी संचार माध्यमको चीन बिरुद्ध्को प्रचारबाजीको रुपमा लिन्छन । चीन सरकार ले गर्ने ईन्टरनेट सेन्सर्शिप को बारेमा पनि धेरै चर्चा हुने गरेको छ तर आँफैले नभोगी तेस्को पिडा बुझ्न गार्हो छ ।

तेसैले अब चिनिया सेन्सर्शिप को प्रतक्ष अनुभव गर्नुस् :

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