Art = time = love

I am sitting here in what Marta and I call the Bear Office, in the Nest in Kyiv. It is good to be at home. We are busy working on the film. It is almost coming to a close, and I am happy to say that the film has turned out so beautiful.

Film making is an art. And like all art there is a big difference between making art and selling art. When the film is ready soon we will try and pitch it to a streamer (like Netflix) and if the film is excellent there is a chance they will take it. If it is good they won’t take it – it needs to be way better than good. I think we are in with a very good chance.

This journey started in 2018 and has been an intense labour of love. Of course, everyone is a film maker these days. I mean, everyone who puts up videos on YouTube. My one friend who is a proper film maker says to me a few weeks ago that there is a difference between film making and content creation. He said YouTube is about content creators and film making is something different. I was thinking about this difference. The difference is time. YouTube videos are often put together in a day. This project has taken has 5 years and it will go into year 6 soon.

It is like a blogger compared to an author who writes books. Yes, they both write but one writes content, typically quickly, and the other could spend a long time writing a book. Or a professional photographer compared to someone who is an influencer on Instagram. It takes time to write, develop and make a film. It takes time to write a solid book. It takes a chef time to create something amazing but it takes a few minutes to make a fast food burger.

This blog piece, for example, is content, and not some great literary work.

Time is about analogue. And being quick is about digital. That is my view.

I prefer old school. I prefer analogue. I prefer life. Life is not about online. To live, is to go offline.

Corporate Lessons

Corporate Lesson 1

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower when the doorbell rings. After a few seconds of arguing over which one should go and answer the doorbell, the wife gives up, quickly wraps herself up in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next door neighbour.

Before she says a word, Bob says, “I’ll give you 800 dollars to drop that towel that you have on.” After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob.

After a few seconds, Bob hands her 800 dollars and leaves. Confused, but excited about her good fortune, the woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs.

When she gets back to the bathroom, her husband asks from the shower “Who was that?” “It was Bob the next door neighbour,” she replies. “Great,” the husband says, “did he say anything about the 800 dollars he owes me?”

MORAL OF THE STORY: If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk in time with your stakeholders, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

Corporate Lesson 2

A priest was driving along and saw a nun on the side of the road, he stopped and offered her a lift which she accepted. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to open and reveal a lovely leg.

The priest had a look and nearly had an accident.

After controlling the car, he stealthfully slid his hand up her leg. The nun looked at him and immediately said, “Father, remember psalm 129?” The priest was flustered and apologized profusely. He forced himself to remove his hand. However, he was unable to remove his eyes from her leg.

Further on while changing gear, he let his hand slide up her leg again.

The nun once again said, “Father, remember psalm 129?” Once again the priest apologized. “Sorry sister but the flesh is weak.”

Arriving at the convent, the nun got out gave him a meaningful glance and went on her way. On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to retrieve a bible and looked up psalm 129. It said, “Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory.”

MORAL OF THE STORY: Always be well informed in your job, or you might miss a great opportunity!

Corporate Lesson 3

Usually the staff of the company plays football. The middle level managers are more interested in tennis. The top management usually has a preference for golf.

MORAL OF THE STORY: As you go up the corporate ladder, the balls reduce in size.

Corporate Lesson 4

A sales rep, an administration clerk and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out in a puff of smoke. The Genie says, “I usually only grant three wishes, so I’ll give each of you just one.”

“Me first! Me first!” says the admin clerk. “I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.” Poof!

She’s gone.

In astonishment, “Me next! Me next!” says the sales rep. “I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of pina coladas and the love of my life.” Poof! He’s gone.

“OK, you’re up,” the Genie says to the manager. The Manager says, “I want those two back in the office after lunch.”

MORAL OF THE STORY: Always let your boss have the first say.

Corporate Lesson 5

An old man, a boy and a donkey were going to town. The boy rode on the donkey and the old man walked. As they went along they passed some people who remarked it was a shame the old man was walking and the boy was riding.

The man and boy thought maybe the critics were right, so they changed positions.

Later, they passed some people who remarked, What a shame, he makes that little boy walk. They then decided they both would walk.

Soon they passed some more people who thought they were stupid to walk when they had a decent donkey to ride. So, they both rode the donkey.

Now they passed some people who shamed them by saying how awful to put such a load on a poor donkey. The boy and man said they were probably right, so they decided to carry the donkey. As they crossed the bridge, they lost their grip on the animal and it fell into the river and drowned.

MORAL OF THE STORY: If you try to please everyone, you might as well kiss your ass good-bye.

How Ukrainian identity evolved since the Revolution of Dignity

I remember the spirit in Kyiv at the time of Maidan. Change was in the air. And in the years that followed there was a boom in just about everything. Creativity peaked, entrepreneurship was rocking, and Ukraine was on an exciting path, with all its challenges and problems. Then, in 2019, Mr. Zelensky was elected as president, and one thing was for sure: Ukraine is a true democracy and freedom of speech is fundamental. The Russian war in Ukraine is all about this. Russia is not a democracy, has no free speech, and is simply a big petrol station with nuclear weapons. Ukraine is about progress and the future. Russia is the opposite.

https://kyivindependent.com/how-ukrainian-identity-evolved-since-euromaidan/

Despite the challenges faced in the decade following the Revolution of Dignity, also known as the EuroMaidan Revolution, Ukrainian identity has coalesced around a robust civic society and a cultural renaissance that has provided strength and resilience in the face of ongoing Russian aggression.

Not only has Ukrainian identity embarked on a transformative journey since then, but so has European identity itself.

The evil will not stop on its own

Here in Poland anyone you speak to has the story: If Ukraine falls (which I don’t believe will happen) Poland is next. And if you say something like “but they are part of NATO so they will be ok” then you are mistaken. Putin is just warming up, and his alliances with other dictators is expanding. He will keep testing the West to see how far he can push things. He does not just hate Ukraine, he hates the Western world, and all it represents. He is pure evil and will not stop at Ukraine. If Putin attacks Estonia, for example, do you think America will suddenly send troops to fight with Russians on the ground … I don’t think so.

Ukraine is fighting a war in Europe, for Europe. Ukraine needs to win this war. That is central to Europe’s security, and the free world.

In two weeks time I will be in Kyiv, at our home there. Kyiv is calm at the moment, but everyone is waiting for the next big missile attack on the infrastructure. Russia will try make Ukraine freeze again this winter. Ukraine needs more support from the West. All the support it can get. To me it seems obvious but for some reason, America, for example, is not sure. If Ukraine does not win this war the cost to America, and the world, will be way way higher.

Prof. Snyder wrote this in one of his newsletters about a month ago: After more than a year and a half of war, it can be hard to imagine it ending. And yet it can, and will. The Ukrainians can win this war, provided that we do not let them down. What they cannot do is constantly remind us how important the war is. We have do some of that work for ourselves.

Why is this happening … ?

We were in the UK last week and spent some time with friends in Windsor. One afternoon we were walking around the center, along the main high street, and the sun was out. Everything looked charming and warm. It was almost picture perfect. So many people milling about, from all walks of life. A melting pot that is said to represent the civilized world. Yes, all felt good and inviting.


We were grabbing a bite at an eating spot. Feeding the Bunster is always a challenge, and we had our work cut out for us. A “Free Palestine” protest march passed us by a few times. There must have been around 150 to 200 people I am guessing. When we were leaving our Bunster feed the protestors were winding down and packing up. I was looking at this group of people. They looked like everyone else in the city. Nicely dressed, with some fancy handbags, iPhones, Starbucks coffee cups, etc. In short, we all looked and felt the same.

This group of protestors did not look down and out and they did not look evil or dangerous. They simply hate Jews. They could just walk around shouting “we hate Jews”. No need to say “Free Palestine”. They just hate Jews. That is the sense I got.

Where does this hatred come from? That is a bigger discussion and I am not sure I am qualified to answer this question.

I do have my take on the world at large and I maintain that the next world war will be between the “haves” and the “have nots”. Greed is the biggest disease in our world today. There are many greedy Jewish people in the world (I know some of them) and there are many greedy people from other religions too. Greed is not a Jewish thing – it is a problem all across the globe. My simple view is that for some reason the blame for all this greed is placed largely on the Jewish population. It is very sad and disturbing and it looks like we learn nothing from history.

The progress paradox re-visited

If you are reading this you are online somewhere, somehow. It means you use a computer or a mobile phone, and that you have Internet access. I think it is safe to say that digital technology is a big part of just about everyone’s life. And there is good and bad to this wired world.

Each technical advancement in the world was meant to do one thing: save us time. But yet, no one seems to have any time anymore. We are all so busy checking mails, sending texts, reading news, commenting on social media, etc. I am sure it was not meant to be like this. I am guessing that the masses are controlled by the technology, and not the other war round.

When the Russian war in Ukraine is over, I am going offline proper. I am sure glad I went to university at a time when social media did not exist. The thing about the online world is that everyone has opinion, and this is what is messing up and dividing the world. As my one friend was saying to me this week, only people with knowledge of something would have a valued opinion. Most of the planet should not have a soapbox to air their destructive and damaging views. It is easy for evil to influence the masses with a platform that so many people are connected to. Twitter is a case in point.

And then, there is the good side of tech. I received a letter in the post box here at our apartment in Wroclaw from the Polish post office. It is about some paperwork they are asking for in connection with some magic stuff and a few toys I bought online in the UK for the Bunster. But the letter is in Polish. How come they did not email me is a fair question, but ok, I got the physical letter and voila, Google translator to the rescue. Marta did some digital wizardry on her phone and voila, the letter is now in a PDF on my laptop, in English. All in the few seconds.

Yeah, this is like magic, and for sure, it saves us time and makes our lives easier/better. But as for social media, what started out as a fun idea, has become toxic and dangerous. And it just wastes a lot of time.

Is this progress?

If America wobbles we are all going to feel it

I was texting with a friend of mine in America yesterday. He shared with me his perspective which I wrote up here. One thing we both reckon, there are some much tougher times coming in 2024.

In America one can make a 5.5% guaranteed return on bonds, so why would a person invest in the stock market which is risky and volatile. And this thinking is why stock prices have dropped so significantly.

From what I understand around half the stock market is propped up by a bunch of big tech stocks, like Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Tesla and Alphabet (Google). If one of these were to come off, it would have a big affect on the overall market. I am no expert here, so I could be wrong.

America is now spending more on interest repayments than they spend on the military, say, and old < 1% bonds are maturing and being replaced with 5.5% bonds. America can’t afford the interest, so what do they do? They borrow more money in the form of new bonds to pay for the existing ones. And so expenses keep going up, but Congress refuses to raise taxes, so the deficit keeps growing.

This scheme of borrowing from future productivity worked in the past, but it only works if the economy keeps growing faster than the debt interest. The economy isn’t growing fast enough any more so things are volatile. And interest rates are going to keep going up until Inflation is tamed and that still hasn’t happened. Also, fewer people are paying taxes. The IRS have said they were “surprised” at how little they made in the last year. So many people have retired early. Or died.

My take on it, as always, is that greed has led to this point. Why are the taxes of the rich not raised, for example? It is well publicized that during the pandemic the rich got much richer and the masses needed all kinds of aid to stay afloat.

And then there is this maniac – if he becomes President of America again I think the world will wobble big time. This lunatic has divided America and he is angry and vengeful. God help us all if becomes the President again.