Take a break with AK and recharge our spirits.

I like Japanese anime and I shared some soundtracks here in my blog before. It has been quite a while since the last time I did this.

The last couple of soundtracks I shared were from Sword Art Online and Log Horizon. That was more than a year ago. Since then, I have watched Sword Art Online (Part 2) and Log Horizon (Part 2).

A few days ago, I decided to watch again an anime I watched a few years ago. It is a very heartwarming anime which I enjoyed but time has dulled my memory of the story. Well, watching it again and enjoying it as much as the first time I watched it shows what a wonderful piece of work it is.

In case you are interested, the name is "So Ra No Wo To" (The Sounds of the Skies). Even if you do not usually watch Japanese anime, I think you will enjoy the melodies of the following songs and find inspiration in the words of the second song:





Prendre le bien, le mal et sans trier, accepter.

I find the anime spiritually uplifting and it fills me with hope that the world could become a better place for all of us to live harmoniously together in future (which is what the anime is about, ultimately).

A reader who is quite an accomplished musician recently asked me if I played music? I said I tried but the interest didn't last very long. I was a bit like Sherlock Holmes trying to learn the violin.

He said I can listen to music, then. That, I can certainly do. He sent me this clip:



Hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.

Related posts:
1. Sword Art Online and Log Horizon.
2. Fairy Tail.
3. Full Metal Alchemist.

To make 20% per annum, we could lose our capital.

The low interest rate environment has been going on forever in Singapore and many savers are frustrated. 

Some of them could end up putting their money in ventures they know little or nothing about to get higher yields.

Remember, unlike a commercial bank which assumes responsibility for our savings deposited with them, the middle man in the example above has no such responsibility.





If a bank makes a bad loan decision, they have to bear the responsibility. 

The middle man in a crowd funding situation has no such responsibility. 

The risk is borne by the crowd (i.e. the lenders).





It would, therefore, be interesting to know if the middle man is putting a meaningful amount of money where his mouth is or is he just interested in the commission the deal could generate for him. 

So, if it should be a bad loan decision, he would feel the pain too just like a bank that made a bad loan decision would.






If the business is so lucrative and so promising, why can't the borrower get a loan from the local banks? 

To pay 20% per annum to lenders, surely, is a lot higher than what the local banks might charge in interest.

Of course, in a crowd funding situation, the crowd are lenders. 

They are not investors. 





They will not have a bigger share of earnings if the business venture should turn out to be very successful but, if the business should fail, they would definitely feel the loss.

When presented with a business proposal, always look at the risks involved. 

Don't think of only the possible monetary gains.




Related post:
Questions to ask when tempted by high yields.