Showing posts with label Hollywood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hollywood. Show all posts

Monday, 31 August 2026

The Value of Tech Investments in Sri Lanka

"Stunning Night View of Colombo City Skyline" by Thilina Alagiyawanna is marked with CC0 1.0. 

I decided to write an article giving my vision of technology investments in Sri Lanka. I think technology multinationals are companies Sri Lanka should try to attract foreign direct investments (FDIs) from. Sri Lanka can focus on getting these companies to set-up their Sri Lankan operations with modern buildings being constructed. One area getting these companies to focus on is the South Asian region with South Asian headquarters being a possibility. If that’s too difficult an investment to obtain, another option is having a software development centre for South Asia. This includes India which is one of the most populated countries in the world. This would bring a massive number of Sri Lankan jobs.


In my previous article “Five Export Diversification Options for Sri Lanka”, two of the options I mentioned are computers & electronics and visual effects for Hollywood. As part of this, we can get technology companies to set-up manufacturing operations in Sri Lanka and attract global visual effects companies to have Sri Lankan offices.


Technology multinationals can bring advanced technology to Sri Lanka. These companies could offer modern services using this technology to the Sri Lankan market directly and also collaborate with others in Sri Lanka. I envision collaborations using this technology being agreements with Sri Lankan companies in the private sector to sell services through it and secure Sri Lankan government contracts with it. Tech companies could also do work for the Sri Lankan government on digitisation. I see their charitable activities as using their technology and expertise to benefit the poor and rural Sri Lanka.


This is a small selection I gave of the value of tech investments into Sri Lanka. There are many more possibilities I didn’t mention. Professionals involved in Sri Lanka’s technology sector and in obtaining FDI could expand on this with more detailed proposals. I’d be interested to hear if you have any ideas on tech investments in Sri Lanka. As Colombo has new buildings constructed, I am of the view that technology companies are a good sector for us to attract to enhance this contemporary trend.

Saturday, 20 April 2024

Five Export Diversification Options for Sri Lanka



I decided to write an article providing five options I think Sri Lanka can diversify its exports into. I’d like to point out that this isn’t a detailed analysis on how it can be done. It’s my own ideas on improving Sri Lanka’s exports.

Computers & Electronics

Products I’m thinking of are desktops, laptops, tablets, mobile phones and televisions. We can make agreements with international computer & electronics companies to manufacture components of those devices with the goal of making complete devices. Sri Lankan brands can also manufacture computers & electronic items. It’s important to note that the Sri Lankan company EWIS is successfully manufacturing computing devices. EWIS collaborated with Singhagiri to launch Sri Lanka’s SGL Android Smart TV in January 2023. This Smart TV is manufactured in Sri Lanka.


Visual Effects for Hollywood

I’d like to see a Sri Lankan visual effects company work on Hollywood films. Hollywood has outsourced visual effects to some companies in Asia. Even if it’s a very small contribution, it would be a win. We can start this with goals of where we want to be over the next 10 years. As a Sri Lankan sci-fi fan, I would love to see a Sri Lankan visual effects company working on a sci-fi blockbuster. There is also the possibility of securing Sri Lankan offices for international visual effects companies. Hollywood visual effects work would bring in jobs and revenue to Sri Lanka which could help with the issue of brain drain.


Pianos & Keyboards

I think Sri Lanka could get into the industry of making pianos and keyboards. Pianos include grand pianos, upright pianos and digital pianos. Digital pianos and electronic keyboards would also tie into computers & electronics I mentioned above. We can learn from Indonesia, another tropical country which is a successful piano manufacturer. There are pianos of the Japanese brands Kawai and Yamaha made in Indonesia.


Vehicles

Sri Lanka has the potential to get involved in vehicle manufacturing. The Sri Lankan company Vega Innovations has made the Vega EVX, Sri Lanka’s first electric sports car. This project has been promoted for many years, so it would be good if it could begin its sales soon. Last year, Vega Innovations introduced the electric three-wheeler Elektrateq ETX. Electric three-wheelers are a good market to focus on due to three-wheelers’ environmental issues and their use in both Sri Lanka & the developing world. Moving back to cars, I don’t think we should focus exclusively on luxury vehicles as it’s important to make cars for regular consumers.


Planes

I believe planes is an industry Sri Lanka can get involved in. It’s not well known that Sri Lanka already has a boatbuilding industry. Expertise from that industry can be transferred to the manufacturing of planes. It’s good to start off with small planes and have a goal to eventually build aeroplanes. In the aviation sector it’s unfortunate to hear negative stories of Sri Lankan Airlines. Making aeroplanes would be something positive that could transform Sri Lanka’s aviation sector.


Those were my suggestions for Sri Lanka’s export diversification with some real-life initiatives mentioned. Feel free to give your thoughts on this issue including if there are other industries you think Sri Lanka should get involved in as an exporter.

Saturday, 10 August 2019

Virtual Views of Bob Seger's America

As a fan of American rock singer Bob Seger, I wanted to capture a collection of American places in
Google Street View that are referred by or connected with Bob Seger. It can be viewed as a Bob
Seger blog post, an American travel guide or at best together. You can explore these places in the
Google Street View embeds or outside it in a larger size by clicking the “View on Google Maps”
button. That button can also be useful if any of the places featured do not load. Hope you enjoy it. 

Detroit
The first place chosen is Bob Seger’s hometown of Detroit, Michigan where he still lives.  








Muscle Shoals 
This is the town of Muscle Shoals, Alabama home to the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section who Bob
Seger recorded many songs with in the 70s and 80s. Hits of his recorded there include “Katmandu”,
“Sunspot Baby”, “Mainstreet”, “Old Time Rock & Roll”, “We’ve Got Tonight” and “Fire Lake”. The
image below is from the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio on 3614 Jackson Highway where Bob
recorded with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.




Miami
Miami was referenced in his 1976 song “Sunspot Baby” and ten years later he wrote a song called
“Miami” about the Cuban immigrants moving to America. He had also recorded some songs in
Miami. The Miami image I chose below features a good mix of both trees and buildings.



The songs Bob Seger recorded in Miami were on his albums “Stranger in Town” (1978), “Against
The Wind” (1980) and “Like a Rock” (1986). It was on the “Like a Rock” album that the “Miami” song
is featured.


The recording studio he used the most in Miami was Criteria Studios which has been renamed The
Hit Factory Criteria. Here is the recording studio below.




Manhattan
New York City’s most famous borough of Manhattan has been featured in Bob Seger’s songs, most
notably in his 1995 song “Manhattan”. Firstly, this is Washington Square that was referenced in it.




Secondly, I’m featuring the iconic American landmark the Statue of Liberty which was featured on
the cover of his 1991 album “The Fire Inside”. The title track is one of the epic long Bob Seger songs
(totalling nearly six minutes) with incredible piano playing from Roy Bittan. I had featured the song in






This is the important Manhattan location of Wall Street which was referenced in his 2017 song
“Forward Into The Past”.




Chicago 
This is Chicago which was referenced in his 1980 song “Long Twin Silver Line”. The following two
locations are also referenced in the same song.




Salt Lake City 
I will now be featuring natural environments before bringing back some city areas in the final section.
Here’s a look at Salt Lake City.




Kansas 
The song mentions the state of Kansas. I decided to feature Lake Shawnee from its capital city
Topeka.




Paradise Valley, Montana 
Bob Seger’s 1995 song “West of the Moon” was written in 1988 is about the state of Montana.
He had written it in the region of Paradise Valley, so I’m featuring that location below. 




Blue Ridge Mountains
Paradise Valley is known for its mountains. There is another set of iconic mountains in the US, which
is the Blue Ridge Mountains. It’s part of the Appalachian Mountains and is located in the eastern
United States. The Blue Ridge mountains was the subject of his 2017 rock song “Blue Ridge”. 








California
We’re now going back to the big cities. The state of California has been referenced in some of his
songs, including Los Angeles which will be featured here. Bob Seger has recorded some songs of
his in Los Angeles. I’ll begin with the iconic Capitol Records building which is his record label.




Here’s a look at the world famous Hollywood sign, as one of his hit songs is “Hollywood Nights”
(1978).




This place has no mention in a Bob Seger song. Since this is about California, I wanted to select one
place in California that I like. It’s the beautiful city of Santa Barbara that features the good Californian
feature of many palm trees. 




This is taken in Mojave, California. The mountains look similar to the mountains featured on the
1994 “Greatest Hits” album cover. They may be the same mountains as that album’s cover photo
was taken near Mojave. 





So that was my selection of American places connected with Bob Seger. I’d be interested in hearing
if you’re from any of the places featured here as well as anyone’s thoughts in general about this blog
post. America has given the world a great singer & songwriter in that of Bob Seger.