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The Facebook ‘Like’ Story

How nice would it be to have many Facebook likes for your page. It is a core human instinct to long for popularity. It is as cool as amassing massive wealth and swaying power.

But wait, a high “like count” does not necessarily reflect your real “popularity”. So it seems.

I think Facebook is playing double standards with its “like” value. My experience has led me to believe that Facebook intentionally restricts the “reach number” for your posts.

I run a Facebooke page for Majheri.Com. It currently has a “like count” of 10K. A year back, my posts used to reach to about 10% of the audience. Now, that rate has declined to well below 1%.

While I am aware that followers can choose to unfollow posts (and yet keep the “like”), I find the drop very confusing and equally bewildering.

I suspect Facebook’s does it intentionally. They must have some business logic to calculate a threshold of “reach-count”.

It is normal for people to look for ways to increase the “follow count” with the hope of increasing the “like count”. Some desperate ones would not mind investing some dollars.

Now, I do not believe (would not like to believe, to be precise) my followers are fake. Yet, there is something fishy about Facebook’s business model.

And today I came across Aakarpost’s article about fake likes. Damn ! What’s more ? It is benefiting the company.

Is it not deception ?

Facebook’s “like” value is the key behind the social media’s success. It strikes people by heart. It nails people’s desire – desire to be popular and desire to be “liked”. I rank this feature with higher significance than Facebook itself.

Well, as Aakar says, Content is King. But marketing is the real force that makes contents kings. Do not rely solely on Facebook to get your contents to the audience. If you are considering investing some dollars to make your contents even more popular, I would advise you to think twice and think carefully.

The social media is a big mob filled with pick-pockets; stay vigilant.


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जीवनअर्थ

प्रसिद्ध अमेरिकी लेखक Mark Twainले भनेका छन् – मान्छेको जीवनका सबभन्दा महत्वपूर्ण घडी दुइटा हुन्छन् – पहिलो: जन्मेको क्षण र दोश्रो: आफू जन्मेको किन भनेर थाहा भएको क्षण ।

हामी किन जन्मियौँ ? कर्तव्य के हो ? सायद हामी जिन्दगीभर यसैको उत्तरको खोजी छौं । गहिरा उत्तरहरूको जिम्मा दार्शनिकहरूको लागि नै छोडेर, विषयप्रस्थान गरौं ।

आज एउटा सरल जापानी गीत सुन्दा नेपालीमा अनुवाद गर्न मन लाग्यो । गीतको बनौट हेर्दा नेपाली गीतहरूभन्दा त्यति पृथक नलाग्दा ।

सरल शब्दहरूमा धेरै गहिरो भाव पोखिएको पाइन्छ अक्सर जापानी गीतमा । नेपालकै परिपेक्षमा भन्नुपर्दा ‘चर्चित’ ‘गहिरा’ गीतहरू statementहरू बढ्ता मात्रामा पाइन्छ । गीतकारले श्रोतालाई अर्ती दिएको जस्तै लाग्ने । जस्तै, जीवन यस्तो हो उस्तो हो, माया भनेको यस्तो हो । त्यसो भनेर आलोचना गर्न खोजिएको भने हैन है !

प्रायशः जापानी गीतका शब्दहरू प्रथम पुरुषमा लेखिएको हुन्छ र आफ्नो अनुभव जस्तो गरेर प्रस्तुत गरिएको हुन्छ । जसले गर्दा गीतकारले विषयवस्तु शतप्रतिशत बुझेको जस्तो नगरी एकदम शुक्ष्म भावहरू पोखेर श्रोताबाट ‘सहमति’ लिन सक्छन् । सायद त्यसैलाई ‘गहिरो’ र ‘मन छुने’ भन्छन् क्यारे । अनि जापानीहरूको modesty (नम्रता) पनि झल्किन्छ ।

अरूको गीत उल्था गर्ने काम साह्रै गहारो कुरा हो । विशेष गरी भाव बिग्रन जाँदा ग्लानि हुन्छ । तर एक-अर्काको भाषामा शतप्रतिशत ठ्याक्कै उल्था गर्ने शब्दहरू हुँदैन । तलको उल्थालाई नेपालीमा सरसर्ती पढ्दा केही बिग्रेको, अन्य शब्द राख्ता ठिक होला जस्तो लाग्न सक्छ । तर गीतका भाव सकेसम्म बचाउने प्रयास गरेको छु ।

शीर्षक – जीवन अर्थ (इनोची नो वाके/रियु)
शब्द, स्वर, संगीत – मासासी किदा

मैले जन्म लिई आउनुको कारण
बाबा र आमासित भेट हुनको लागि
मैले जन्म लिई आउनुको कारण
भाइ-‍बहिनीहरूसित भेट हुनको लागि
मैले जन्म लिई आउनुको कारण
साथीभाइ सबैसित भेट हुनको लागि
मैले जन्म लिई आउनुको कारण
पियारो, तिमीसित भेट हुनको लागि

वसन्त आउँदा फूल आफैँ फुलेजस्तै
शरद आउँदा पात आफैँ खसेजस्तै
सुखी हुनको निमित्त हामी सबैले जन्म लिएका हौँ
दुखको फूलहरू झरेपछि हर्षको फलहरू फले जस्तै

मैले जन्म लिई आउनुको कारण
कतैको कसैको मन दुखाएर
मैले जन्म लिई आउनुको कारण
कतैको कसैदेखि मन दुखाएर
मैले जन्म लिई आउनुको कारण
कतैको कसैबाट उद्वार भएर
मैले जन्म लिई आउनुको कारण
कतैको कसैलाई उद्वार गर्नको लागि

रात पर्दा अन्धकार आफैँ निस्पट्ट भए जस्तै
बिहानी हुँदा किरण आफैं चम्किए जस्तै
सुखी हुनको निमित्त हामी सबै बाँचिरहेका छौँ
दुखको समुद्रपारिबाट हर्ष भरिएर आए जस्तै

मैले जन्म लिई आउनुको कारण
पियारो, तिमीसित भेट हुनको लागि
मैले जन्म लिई आउनुको कारण
पियारो, तिम्रो रक्षा गर्नको लागि



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Arresting God in Kathmandu

ArrestingGodinKathmanduThis is an amazing collection of short stories.

Samrat Upadhyay takes readers from the lower middle-class struggling to survive in Kathmandu’s deras to the reigning class’s lavish lifestyles. Stories are sometimes spiced with plots in the United States and India too.

The protagonists in each story have their own everyday problems to solve. Most of them have inferiority complex. They are, at the same time, disturbed with premarital and extramarital affairs.

I expected this book to be full of social miseries of struggling Nepalese middle class. That is well received. Upadhyay defies our expectations – he goes one step further by portraying human sexual desire in the backdrop of adversaries facing the characters’ lives.

Samrat Upadhyay’s stories are reminiscent of BP Koirala’s Nepali short stories – very powerful and full of colorful characters.

The book is sure to entertain and enlighten you.

Four stars out of five.


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Best Mystery Movies

For all mystery loving people – if you are planning to spend some of your summer time (or the end of it) with mystery movies, here are some tips. My ratings for the top 10 of the IMDB’s List of Best Mystery Titles.

1. Inception (2010) – 4 stars
I would not index it under mystery. Otherwise, excellent concept. It is about entering the subconsciousness of targets through dreams to extract secrets. There are rules regarding the projections and the reality, and also to switch from one to another. The movie gets complicated in course with the characters entering dreams of higher level – dreams within dreams. To understand, you’d need to listen to the dialogues carefully.

2. Rear Window (1954) – 3 stars
You can not blame it for too few twists and turns; it is a 1954 movie after all. The leading character has a broken leg. So, he is confined to his room. He lazily watches the tenants in the other building day in day out. In course, he suspects a guy has murdered his wife. The remaining part of the movie is to prove this point.

3. Se7en (1995) – 5 stars
The best part of this movie is Kevin Spacey’s surprise appearance. Not a pleasant ending, but full of surprises. Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt, as usual, perform brilliant.

4. The Usual Suspects (1995) – 5 stars.
Perfect in terms of narration (Kevin Spacey) and the way the story unfolds. As is the case with mystery movies, the last few minutes come as a surprise, thrill, pleasure, and you name what.

5. Psycho (1960) – 4 stars.
The story is just like something you would imagine from the title. The movie is about a murder (or rather, about the murderer) of young beautiful office lady who runs away with $40,000 from her boss. Needless to say, there is a psycho killer. There is a unique medical explanation behind the mental disability. A movie of such quality story in 1960 – must have been a blood-buster then.

6. Memento (2000) – 4 Stars
The best part of the story is the timeline which goes backwards. To understand the story, you will have to go over the story again – this time from the end to the opening scene. It is about a guy who memory lasts only 15 minutes – the idea inspired in an Aamir Khan movie too.

7. North by Northwest (1959) – 3 Stars
Another classic movie all right. But from mystery perspective, could not rate higher. This movie would rather be classified as a romance thriller.

8. Citizen Kane (1941) – 1 Star
Can not rate it precisely. Some story about an American media moghul. I dozed off almost throughout the movie and eventually switched off to YouTube for some interesting clips.

9. Vertigo (1958) – 4 Stars
A mix of thrill, romance, and suspense. This oldie is gold. One moment you would be expecting some ghost to come out, and the next you would wonder who would be perpetrating a crime. Does not bring new twists every now and then, but you will enjoy it. In the meantime, it is fun to see San Francisco of 1958.

10. The Shining (1980) – 4 Stars
Based on Stephen King’s horror novel and starring Jack Nicholson. So, you’d be quite motivated to watch this movie. Very brilliantly made. The end makes you feel yuck.

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टोकियोमा तीज – २०१२

मलाई तीज भन्ने बित्तिकै एकदम अनौठो अनुभूति हुन्छ । जब म दश वर्षभन्दा सानो थिएँ, गाउँका महिलाहरू भेला भएर नाचेको झिनो सम्झना छ । उनीहरू तीज शुरु हुनुभन्दा एक महिना अगाडिदेखि नै बेलुका-बेलुका टुकीको उज्यालोमा गीत गाउँथे – सायद त्यो ‘रिहर्सल’ हुन्थ्यो । हामी आँखा मिचीमिची भए पनि निद्रासँग जुध्दै हेर्न जान्थ्यौँ ।

दश वर्षको भएपछि पोखरामा छात्रावास जीवनले गाँज्यो । छात्रावासमा तीजमय दिनहरू देख्न पाइएन । तर प्रत्येक तीजको दिनमा हामीलाई ‘हापछुट्टी’ गराएर बाटुलेचौरमा लगिन्थ्यो, जहाँ विशाल मेला लाग्थ्यो । गीतहरू बेस्सरी जम्थे । तर प्रत्येक तीजको दिन हाम्रो लागि पौडी खेल्ने सूवर्ण अवसरको रूपमा आउँथ्यो । तीजको निउमा बाटुलेचौर पुगेपछि हामी सुटुक्क तल कालीखोलामा झर्थ्यौँ । पोखरामा बिताएका नौ वर्षमा सायद प्रत्येक नौ वर्ष त्यसरी नै बिताएको हुनुपर्छ ।

२०-२२ वर्षपछि खास तीजका गीतहरू सुन्न यस वर्ष पाइक पर्यो ।

अहिले जापानभरि तीज लागेको छ । अघिल्लो हप्ता एउटा कार्यक्रममा गइएको थियो, र आज अर्को । आजको कार्यक्रम अन्तराष्ट्रिय नेपाली समाज जापान र नारीकुञ्ज जापानले संयुक्त रुपमा आयोजना गरेका रहेछन् । कार्यक्रममा नेपालबाट निम्त्याइएका कलाकारहरू र स्थानीय कलाकारहरूको जमघटले निकै रोचक भयो ।

कार्यक्रम ढिलो शुरु हुने, व्यवस्थापकीय त्रुटीहरू छरपस्ट हुने, र दर्शकहरू अलि अव्यवस्थित हुने जस्ता कुराहरू नेपाली कार्यक्रमहरूमा हुने नै भए । जो म यहाँ skip गर्छु ।

कार्यक्रम नेपालबाट आएका तीन कलाकारहरू – मञ्जु पौडेल, पशुपति शर्मा, र राधिका हमालले चलाए । माइक उनीहरूको हातमा परेदेखि नछोडुञ्जेलसम्ममा सबै दर्शकहरू उनीहरू पुरै controlमा लिए । नेपाली संगीतले व्यवसायिकतामा यति चाँडै यसरी फड्को मारिसकेछ । यी तीन कलाकारले दर्शकहरूलाई साँढे तीन घण्टा लगातार मनोरञ्जन दिइरहे, रोमाञ्चकता बढाइरहे, र दर्शक अलि सेलाएको जस्तो देख्ने बित्तिकै heat बढाइरहे ।

मञ्जु पौडेलको उद्घोषण सशक्त थियो । उनी रसिक रहिछन् । उसो त पशुपति शर्मा पनि जस्तो सुकै मसला दिएर भए पनि दर्शकलाई मनोरञ्जन दिन पछि पर्दा रहेनछन् – धेरै पटक आफूलाई कालु र तालुको उपाधि दिएर/पाएर हँसाइरहे । राधिका हमाल पनि बिचबिचमा यस्तै मसलाहरू प्रयोग गर्दै हँसाउँदै थिइन् ।

यो कार्यक्रम मैले अहिलेसम्म जापानमा देखेको नेपाली सांस्कृतिक कार्यक्रमहरूमा सबभन्दा सफल र उत्कृष्ट लाग्यो । कार्यक्रममा कम्तीमा ५-७ सयदेखि एक हजारसम्मको उपस्थिति थियो । त्यसमा अधिकांश महिला थिए । अधिकांश महिला भएर नै कार्यक्रम मर्यादित, अनुशासित, र मनोरञ्जक बन्न पुग्यो । केटाहरू मात्रै भएका भए पिटापिट चलिहाल्थ्यो होला (अनुभवका आधारमा भन्दा) । कार्यक्रम हेर्न आउने जो कोहीले १,००० येनमा त्यो भन्दा अधिक मूल्यको मनोरञ्जन लिए ।

गत १०-१२ वर्षमा नेपाली बजारमा आएका लोकगीतहरूबारे अनभिज्ञ रहे पनि आजको कार्यक्रम देख्ता लाग्यो नेपाली लोक गीतको भविष्य राम्रो रहेछ । नेपालीहरूलाई सही रूपमा मनोरञ्जन दिन सक्ने आखिर लोक गीत नै रहेछ भन्ने प्रत्याभूति भयो । किनभने नेपालीको रगतमा लोकगीत नै बहेको छ । नेपालबाट रकब्यान्डहरू ल्याएर प्रवासको दर्शकलाई मनोरञ्जन दिन खोज्नु भनेको अर्थहिन र फिका जस्तो लाग्यो ।

कार्यक्रमका केही भिडियोहरू युटुबमा राखेको छु । फोनले हलको सबभन्दा पछाडिबाट लिएको हुनाले त्यति प्रष्ट त छैन तर कार्यक्रमको रौनकता भने प्रष्टै देख्न सकिन्छ ।

मञ्जु पौडेलले ‘तीज आयो’ बोलबाट गीत शुरु गरिन् र बिस्तार बिस्तार दर्शकहरूलाई dance floor मा तानिन् ।

मञ्जु पौडेलको ‘पोहोरको जामा छोटो भो आमा’ ।

पशुपति शर्माको ‘हेर्न है बटुली यसरी हो नाच्ने’ ।

पशुपति शर्माको अर्को गीत ।

राधिका हमाल र स्थानीय कलाकारहरू भगवती उप्रेती अनि युवराज आचार्यको गीत पनि रेकर्ड गर्ने इच्छा त थियो तर आईफोनको ब्याट्री सकिएकोले भिडियो यति मात्रै ।

तीजको उपलक्ष्यमा सबै दिदीबहिनीलाई शुभकामना !

September 16, 2012

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Men In Black – III

All the trouble starts because of Boris the Animal, who flees from prison and goes back to the past — July 16, 1969 — to kill the young Agent K. It is due to K’s bullet that he has lost his left arm and has eventually ended up in the jail. This vindictive creature has more than K’s life to destroy, the other being the Earth itself.

Agent J realizes that K has indeed been killed. So, J decides to travel to a day before Boris and K’s supposed encounter — that makes it July 15, 1969 — and finish Boris, hence preventing K’s murder.

1969 is the time of Beatles, anti-racism movements, hippies, New York Mets’ triumph from from bottom of the league, and the Apollo-11 mission. Agent J’s adventure goes around these events during which he, along with the Young Agent K, has to reach Boris and prevent the murder. In the course he gets to know K and O (their boss)’s affair and his own roots.


Attractions:

  • Watch it in 3-D (highly recommended).
  • Time jump. Try the game here.
  • Apollo launch.
  • Young Agents K and O.
  • Beatles’ songs in the background.
  • Creatures: all sorts of creatures from different planets. Very creative.
  • 1960s hairstyles, dress-ups, and cars.

The official site : http://www.meninblack.com/