Rich is a Religion by Mark Stevens: A review

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

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

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

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

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 !

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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Economics in One Lesson: A review

"The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate, but at longer effects of any act or policy, it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group, but for all groups.”

Usually considered one of the most important books in economics, Henry Hazlitt's classic, Economics in One Lesson, is an easy-to-read introduction to the concepts of economic liberty. This manifesto of free market economics has taught millions sound economic thinking. Written in a very lucid manner and revolving around the central theme of free markets, the book is as simple to read and understand as compelling and profound it is in its logic. The hardheaded, sensible and resonable way used to deal with the basic economic principles makes it clear that economic idealism which entails in expansion of government's intervention in markets often results in tyranny,corruption and ultimately waste of resources, impoverishing the majority. The logics presented are based on the common senses and basic economic principles and hence even the most determined anti-free market activist can't afford to ignore them.

The book was written when Hazlitt was an editorialist at the New York Times with the hope of creating a book on economics that would boil down all the principles of economics into few simple lessons that even layman would understand and never forget. Fortunately, the book has proved to be successful in its intent.

The book was written based on some stories by Bastiat and it was the book that made the the idea of the "broken window fallacy" so famous.A must read book for anyone interested in understanding how economy works and thinking like an economist. Besides, after reading the book , you will think twice regarding the economic decisions being made around you.

Diary of just another Saturday!

I am not much of a socializer despite of being aware of the fact that Social skills are arguably the most important set of abilities a person can have. A social skill is any skill facilitating interaction and communication with others. Social rules and relations are created, communicated, and changed in verbal and nonverbal ways. The process of learning such skills is called socialization. So, i had a thought today, I am going to meet a lot of people today and interact with them. Fortunately, the day favored me.

Early morning, I met with a lawyer along with my family members and relatives to discuss over some legal matters. I usually did not use to interact with my relatives which I did today. After three hours of heated arguments and discussions , the meeting had a positive conclusion.

The early afternoon I went over to the Book fair being organized in Bhrikuti Mandap accompanying a friend telling him ( I had hoped it would be her but I couldn't ask her out ...lack courage..dammit) about the anecdotes and stories about the books that were there. Like what made Daphne du Maurier write the novel "Rebecca" , what compelled James Fenimoore Cooper to write "The Last of Mohicans" , who is Warren Buffett? How he started investing at the age of 11? His peculiar habits. Who was Dale Carnegie and how are his books? What are my most favourite self-help books? etc etc...I love looking at books and reading the blurb but am not much interested in buying them thaks to the public libraries and ebook torrents.

Then we went shopping for movies...(it reminds me that i haven't reviewes a movie for a long time but i will surely do it in near future)... Another series of story telling started ..only that this time the subjects were movies...which movie has what rating in IMDb, When was a movie released, Did it win any oscars or the Cannes? The shopkeeper where i always buy the DVDs greeted me with an apologetic smile for the third time for not having any new "old movies". I have exhausted his collection of movies that are on the IMDb top 250 and have been asking for more which he has been able to cater for. Anyway, how could i return empty-handed? So, I bought "Traffic" and "Jerry Macguirre" and asked my friend to buy "Million Dollar Baby" and "Cidade De Deus" for their second viewings.

Late afternoon, friend offered lift upto Baluwatar where the new office of Youth Initiative is situated. Connected and reconnected with some new people and lots of friends there. Sometimes I find it an easy and exciting job interacting with people or herd of people and sometimes I wish no one even looked at me (I am not talking about when I am feeeling down...)

Evening bought a pleasant and exciting surprise. Some friends suggested we go to Osho Gangotridham for Satsang. Boy, I had been to many Satsangs but never had so much fun before. Break dance at the fast track of "Om Nama Sivaye" and bhramar dhyan was so thrilling. Plan to be there again.Tired physically, alert mentally I reached home to watch "Once" an Irish musical and "City Lights" the Chaplin comedy. Both were great movies, loved watching both of them.

End of diary of just another day!!
Thank you for reading so patiently!