Ker Blah 🚢

Sharing the books, podcasts and lessons I read, listen and love

[Ker Blah 🚢 @KerBlah1]

@CollinRugg Wtf!!!! Is this real?

[Collin Rugg @CollinRugg]

JUST IN: Elon Musk unveils the Tesla Roadster by launching it off a ramp before the car flipped in midair and safely landed on the ground.

The car is a collaboration between Tesla and SpaceX.

One of the most insane things I've ever seen.

[Rupam Roy @rupamsmail]

Dear Comrades,

Two rounds of online meetings were held today. There has been no concrete outcome on the Five-Day Work Week. The strike stands. The UFBU Circular Follows.

Now is the time for unity, discipline and total mobilisation.

Every preparatory programme must be carried out meticulously. Every leader must remain fully focused, visible and active on the ground. Members must be kept alert, mobilised and ready for action.

No complacency. No dilution. No looking back.

Our strength will be seen in our preparedness, our unity and our presence on the ground.

Strike Ahead — March On!

#StrikeAheadMarchOn

UFBU

[Ker Blah 🚢 @KerBlah1]

My feed is filled with BTS and Grammy news.
Anything else happening in the world?

[Ker Blah 🚢 @KerBlah1]

The Day BTS Stopped Asking for Permission

Some moments in music history are remembered because an artist wins an award.

Others are remembered because an artist changes what the award represents.

For those of us who have followed BTS from the beginning, this moment feels bigger than any trophy.

We watched seven young men celebrate their first music-show win. We watched them climb every impossible mountain that critics said they could never reach. They topped the Billboard charts. They sold out stadiums across continents. They broke records that many believed were reserved for Western artisst. They stood on the Grammy stage and delivered what would become the most-viewed Grammy performance on YouTube.

We also watched them lose.

Not because their music lacked quality, nor because their impact was small, but because the biggest prize in American music always seemed just beyond reach.

The irony is impossible to ignore.

Throughout the years, BTS have repeatedly spoken about how much a Grammy meant to them. It wasn’t simply another award. It symbolised acceptance by an institution that has long defined musical prestige. It was a dream they openly pursued.

When they returned after military service, many believed the stars had finally aligned.

Their latest album received widespread critical acclaim while becoming a commercial success. Their world tour filled stadium after stadium. By almost every measure—artistic, cultural and commercial—they looked like the strongest contenders they had ever been.

Yet the familiar whispers began again.

Predictions, industry discussions and even social-media conversations about Grammy favourites often seemed to overlook them.

Then came the announcement of a dedicated K-pop Grammy category.

On paper, it sounded like progress.

In reality, it raised an uncomfortable question.

Why create a separate lane for artists who have already proven they can compete in the biggest categories?

Recognition means little if it comes with an invisible asterisk.

It is difficult not to see this as a conversation that extends beyond BTS. For decades, minority artists have had to work harder for the same acknowledgement. Asian artists, in particular, have often been celebrated for commercial success while being treated differently by institutions that decide artistic prestige.

That is why BTS’s decision not to submit their music for Grammy consideration feels so significant.

They didn’t simply reject an award.

They rejected the idea that validation must come from a system that has consistently struggled to recognise them on equal terms.

That takes courage.

It is easy to continue chasing the approval of powerful institutions. It is much harder to walk away from something you once openly admitted was your dream.

To me, that is what transformed this from a career decision into a historic one.

Early in their careers, the members often resisted being called spokespeople or representatives. They wanted to be musicians, not diplomats. They wanted their work to speak for itself.

But history has a way of choosing its leaders.

Whether they sought that responsibility or not, BTS have become one of the most visible Asian acts in modern music. Every decision they make is watched around the world.

By refusing to participate, they used that spotlight for something larger than themselves.

This was never just about one group winning or not winning a Grammy.

It was about questioning who gets to define excellence.

It was about challenging a system instead of quietly accepting it.

And perhaps most importantly, it was about making the path a little wider for the artists who will come after them.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that with one move, this Grammys have lost their shine .

Respect.

Respect.

Respect.

[Ker Blah 🚢 @KerBlah1]

@billboard New level of respect for BTS. By taking a stand, they have shown that they are bigger than any award show and are at a class of their own. They don’t follow the rules. They reset them.

[Ker Blah 🚢 @KerBlah1]

@dickiebush I was thinking about this. I usually go workout first then deep work. It didn’t work out so well

[Ker Blah 🚢 @KerBlah1]

Finished reading Deep Work by Cal Newport.
Thinking how to incorporate it in a customer-centric job like banking?

[BookNote @BookNoteApp]

Probably the best article I've read on 𝕏:

[Coldplay @coldplay]

Madonna, Shakira and BTS will co-headline the first-ever FIFA World Cup™ Final Halftime Show at the New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19.  

Curated by Coldplay's Chris Martin and produced by Global Citizen, the show will raise funds for the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, improving access to quality education and football for children around the world.

[Ker Blah 🚢 @KerBlah1]

It took me a while to understand that money is not math, It is boundaries. And once you learn that everything changes.

[Ker Blah 🚢 @KerBlah1]

3 Money Mistakes I made after 18 years in Banking

For 18 years I ‘ve worked in a bank, watching money flow in and out. You would think proximity to finance guarantees wisdom. It doesn’t.

These are the 3 financial mistakes I made that I wished someone had told me earlier

[Ker Blah 🚢 @KerBlah1]

Choosing Borrowing over Patience - Easy credit is seductive. Swipe now, pay later. Easy. But every shortcut had a cost. It robs my ability of planning for my future. Delay gratification, Plan and build slowly. A simple RD can create freedom.

[Ker Blah 🚢 @KerBlah1]

A week after listening to Arirang, I have to say this is BTS’s BEST ALBUM so far.
Expectations - No. 1 album in Billboard’s top 200 and Swim to chart at No. 1 in Billboard Top 100

[Ker Blah 🚢 @KerBlah1]

BTS 🐦‍🔥🔥

[Ker Blah 🚢 @KerBlah1]

@zanelowe We recognised the practice room. BTS!!!

[Reads with Ravi @readswithravi]

This sentence by Dostoyevsky hits so hard.

“You sensed that you should be following a different path, a more ambitious one, you felt that you were destined for other things but you had no idea how to achieve them and in your misery you began to hate everything around you.”