I enjoyed watching the newly released movie ‘Blackberry’ on the flight home from Vancouver (Blackberry was a Canadian company which is probably why Air Canada was screening it so soon after it’s release) If you’re a baby boomer you’ll know what I’m talking about!

The movie tells the story of the incredible growth and tragic collapse of the world's first smartphone and how it smashed huge enterprises before surrendering to the release of the iPhone by Steve Jobs in 2007. At one point 50% of mobile phone sales were Blackberries. Now it’s zero!

The movie also shows how the shifting business culture at Blackberry was responsible for both its success and failure. A must watch for investors. It makes you wonder how many companies in your portfolio could turn out to be Blackberries!

Enjoy the trailer:

https://youtu.be/AVwA2kLJlzc?si=qnyGomEv_3rpYxOI

For someone needing a break from reality, I stumbled across a Netflix show called "Inside Job". I'm not really into much animated stuff but this kept me going for a while!

Storyline follows an organisation (Named Cognito Inc.....c'mon that's gold) that runs a shadow government. Ironically not the Illuminati, those guys are their top competitors. Each episode has a plethora of 'conspiracies' that are proven to be real. Say, a cloning department with many versions of ex presidents and Tupac, 3pac and 4pac, shadow lords that sacrifice goats to determine the stock market movements for that week, a moon colony that Armstrong and Aldrin set up (obviously, there are doppelgängers here on earth) and a bunch more tongue in cheek BS.

The thing I appreciate is that in a 30 minute episode it's just reference after reference. If you understand them all then you'll have a ball just recognising the effort that has been undertaken to compile so much depth of transcript into so little time. AND if you don't pick up eeeeevery reference, there are enough scattered through to keep you entertained without feeling like you've missed the punchline.

This guy is the new team leader who is actually an intern who "Get's paid in experience - which I'm told translates to more dollars down the line".

Enjoy.

Not a movie, rather a book: "Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup" by John Carreyrou on Theronos is incredible. For some many reasons, from his investigation, from the way they were operating, to the people that were swindled.

Carreyrou also did a podcast series by the same name (Bad Blood) that followed Elizabeth Holmes trial which, even though I knew the story, had me on the edge of my seat.

The Social Dilemma: not 'finance' straight up per se, but I think very relevant for the modern day tech world.

In the age of google, facebook and all the relevant tracking, privacy and other concerns, it's eye opening to see what's being tracked, measured and consumed. In some sense it's quite relevant from a finance point of view as it shapes how companies can position their products relative to target consumers.

Also quite informative and eye opening from a personal point of view. I think you're either going to be part of this interconnected world and put up with it as part of the convenience of modern day.... or try and go cold turkey in some aspects after watching it. At worse hopefully it'll help understand one's own social tendencies, doom scrolling, and other addictions (shopping) haha.

Interviews with insiders is particularly telling, and somewhat worrying.

Edit: the docu is available via Netflix.