"Slow conversation by the fireplace" Interview with Bogdan Karasev, founder of the ukrainian community on Serey, nickname @goldenrain

Dear colleagues, I have conceived a project that will help introduce users of many blockchain platforms to their interesting authors. These authors are familiar to you to a certain extent. I will definitely try to share these interviews with you. In my column "Slow conversation by the fireplace" Today I present the first interview to your attention.

- It's nice to communicate with a person whom you know only from the good side. I know you, Bogdan has been on the blockchain for a long time. I respect people with that kind of attitude. How you lead your UA community is a good example for many. Now our country has become the most popular in the world, I believe that this is natural, fair and deserved. But I will try not to touch on political issues. I would like to introduce Serey users to you.

- Your favorite city or place?

B - Good afternoon, Andrey, and hello to everyone! My favorite city. Practically - Feodosia, and in the representation - Edinburgh. Feodosia, because it is one of the cities that I can judge in practice. Because he lived there for about a year, even before the annexation. And then, once in the city, it seemed that you were somewhere in Turkey, it was so well-groomed and beautiful. And after that, I don't know how it is now.

And in my ideas - Edinburgh, where I have never been. Especially, the old district of Edinburgh and the Royal Mile are mysticism embodied for me. It was there that the "magic quarter" of "Harry Potter" was filmed. I'm not a Harry Potter fan, I'm just giving this example as it's more understandable for everyone. Such is the nature of my attraction to this city. Plus, the history of Scotland / England vs Ukraine / Russia is somewhat similar.

- What do you like most in terms of hobbies?

B - I really can’t answer this question unambiguously, despite the fact that I have a lot of hobbies. My beloved friend Julia once said that I am a "man-orchestra". This is true, and this is both my plus and my huge drawback. Even in terms of blogging, I remember that writing about politics one day and esoteric the other day is not at all consistent. People always expect from a blog of some one pronounced theme. But in my case, the orchestra always plays as it wants or is silent at all. Now, in terms of hobby, I'm most interested in studying the concept of "time loops" and "Groundhog Day". But, as soon as I squeeze everything I can out of this topic, it can suddenly become completely uninteresting to me.

- Bogdan, tell me, if you had a time machine, what time would you like to get to?

B - Your question is just in the subject of my last answer! If I had a time machine, I would not particularly want to go to any remote time. I would use the time machine in favor and for the good precisely on my line of life. Roughly speaking, I would return to my childhood and save a friend who died in front of me, but Putin, on the contrary, we would have filled up somewhere in the late 90s - early 2000s. You would already be the governor of the Samara region, and Nikalaich would be the mayor of Peterhof. Someone may say that such a city as Peterhof does not exist, but, the devil knows, what would be the names of the cities - if only Bogdan had a time machine?)

- Is there anything you don't like? - Who do you think has the most positive and negative impact on our society in the 21st century?

B - I don’t like all cereals, and I always don’t care about the price of buckwheat, which everyone is so worried about. And in terms of the concept, who most negatively / positively influenced society in the 21st century - this is probably a question that only our grandchildren can reasonably answer. I understand the limitations of my perception in a particular historical period and do not elevate my own judgments to maximalism in the spirit of sub / sub. Well, if you answer at least a little more specifically, then personally Lyudmila from the 34th apartment influenced me the worst.

- How do you usually like to relax, for the weekend?

B - Definitely, I always prefer to relax in a cafe or at a "disco" among the crowd - outdoor recreation in a narrow circle. In the warm season by the river or in the forest with a girl or friends. Even in February I can come to the forest and have a good time.

- Do you have favorite musicians and performers, musical composition?

B - More modern, my favorite band is La Bouche.

It's a pity that Melanie Thornton died so early, she could have given the world many more hits. But now at least they are making a lot of cool modern remixes of La Bouche.

From what is closer to the classics - the ballad "For the love of a princess" by James Horner, my favorite.

- What is your favorite movie and book?

B - Perhaps the two most beloved films of the last 10 years are Ridley Scott's "Kingdom of Heaven" with Orlando Bloom and Eva Green, and "Braveheart" with Mel Gibson. But again, depending on what genre? For a different mood (if the mood is science fiction), I may prefer Interstellar or Edge of Tomorrow (despite the darkness of the plot “blunders” of the latter), and if it’s about love + comedy, then it will be Miss Congeniality or Proposal with Sandra Bullock. Nevertheless, the preferences are quite “well-worn”, because most of my favorite movies are already old.

With a favorite book, it's even more ambiguous than with a movie. If I can’t single out one of my favorite films, then there are even more favorite books. Therefore, I’d better answer this way: which of my favorite books would I like to be the first to read at night to my little son? Answer: Stevenson's Treasure Island. This is the book that really influenced my adventurous nature as a child, and I would like to instill the same in my child. You will be surprised, but even as a child I was most struck in this book not even by all the ups and downs. And the way Silver said at the barrel of apples that no matter how this whole adventure ends, it will not disappear in any case, because. he has "a good sum of money in Bristol, which is deposited in the bank, and pays a good deal of interest." So I, the little one, remembered forever that no matter what adventure a gentleman of fortune gets involved in, you always need to provide yourself with a “safety cushion”.

- What is your favorite drink?

B - Cocktail of vodka with caffeine containing energy drink.

- What qualities do you value most in people?

B - Honesty, and the valor resulting from it. You see, you don't have to be a Marvel superhero to be valiant. It is enough to be honest with ourselves and others - and then we become capable of the Feat in the format that is at least within our power. And then a person brings some benefit to this world and others, even if he is imperfect and not omnipotent (and “if” is actually superfluous here, we are all imperfect!). The absolute opposite of what I'm talking about is scammers and scammers. This is what I hate in people as much as porridge in cooking. Such people (liars and scammers) do not bring benefits to this world, but on the contrary, they only consume oxygen in vain and rob those around them.

- Where else do you dream of going, traveling?

B - I dreamed of Edinburgh before the war. About Scotland and England in general. Wanted to see Stonezhendzh, as well as the pyramids with flat tops in Belize. Norway, Iceland, Canada and Alaska are also very attractive to me. Basically, the whole north of Europe and Scandinavia. But now there is a war going on, leaving Ukraine is forbidden, and at night, when air raid alerts are howling, I don’t know if I’ll live until morning, and I don’t dream of any travel, all this is in some way and in all seriousness now buried, like dream. Sometimes I watch good movies that put my imagination into the lands I dreamed of visiting and find comfort in that.

- I know you as a serious chess player, can you tell us a little about it?

B - This is an abyss for development. And Elon Musk is very wrong when he recently called Garry Kasparov something like a calculator who plays chess brilliantly, but otherwise an “idiot”. If Elon himself played chess, he probably would not have allowed himself such rudeness out of the blue.

After going through the amateur leagues, I took part in my first professional chess tournament in September 2022. At first, it made me elated! Well, you know, in the spirit of how you once made money online for the first time in your life, with cryptocurrencies, and you are in amazement: well, how can this be? (and it’s true!) But already in October in chess, I focused not on which League I won, but on what my global rating was, and I understand that really good results are still very far away. At the same time, I became even more strengthened in the realization that it is not worth quitting: this is an excellent exercise for developing the mind. Sometimes I don't want to play at all, but I have a rule: play at least one game every day in order to develop further, or at least not regress. Such an approach will not leave you at a loss when we are talking not even about chess competitions, but in general about our intellectual tone in life.

- What are your points of contact with creativity?

B - My poems were published in five collections of Ukrainian poets. Before the war, I started translating them into audio format on YouTube, but with the start of the war, I abandoned it, the mood was not right. At the same time, you will be surprised: to put it mildly, I don’t really like reading other people’s poems. I think most of the scribblers in this field are just paper scribblers. But I love the poetry of Lermontov, Yesenin, Dylan and Polonsky. This is magic in a word, therefore it is not surprising that not only is this not given to everyone, it is given to only a few for a generation in one nation.

I like doing translations and dubbing Hollywood stars with my voice. I have made hundreds of these videos, some of them have half a million+ views.

I play synthesizer and guitar. Not only on three courtyard chords! I play Metallica and stuff like that. Previously played in a rock band on electric guitar (solo). I broke (and they broke me) 4 or 5 guitars in the last 20 years, and now I just don’t have a guitar. I'm thinking about which one to buy. Perhaps it will be an acoustic bass guitar, lately it has been drawn to bass. I don't like to play chords at all, I prefer solos or bass "riffs".

- You have been familiar with Blockchain for a long time, what attracted you?

B - I have been familiar with blockchains since the spring of 2016. It was a difficult period. I went to work during the day and spent my nights at the computer in search of alternative income. In the morning (with burning eyes) he could barely get out of bed and go to work. But the motivation to find an area of ​​income that would allow you to be independent was powerful. So I found in the spring of 2016 first cryptocurrency faucets (peace be upon them!), then crypto exchanges and mining, and then media blockchains. Specifically, I came to Serey around the fall of 2018. My blog says that the registration date is January 15, 2020, but this is not so. It’s just that on this day, during a technical update, a bug occurred, and now everyone who registered earlier displays these January 15, 2020. In fact, we were already here in 2018, and then there were only a few of ours on Serey: only me + @irisha222, with whom we found this project, as well as @cadr and @reb3nok. It was a marvelous period, marvelous enthusiasm! The project did not have a listing and the possibility of cashing out at that time, but we participated with inspiration, in the hope of a future listing. I also then had a much greater desire to blog - simply because I like the process itself (this, by the way, is also in the topic of creativity!). And this despite the fact that then I was not yet familiar with the founder of Serey - @jokerswild! Now, knowing him well, knowing that he is an honest and worthy person, I will not leave Serey all the more. In light of the fact that the Poloniex crypto exchange recently expropriated my cryptocurrency savings, and my faith in the crypto industry was further shaken and overgrown with a new layer of cynicism, I finally switched to trusting only personal relationships. Therefore, Serey for me is one of the last havens in the crypto industry that I am still ready to deal with.

- I see that you have been actively trying to help the development of Serey for several years. What is your vision of Serey's development strategy?

B - Decentralization is a good strategy (even if it sounds trite now). I realized that anyone can burn out. At least temporarily "burn out". Therefore, when one paves the path, the other picks up the baton, then the third one supports already with his portion of inspiration - this is the best strategy.

The only problem is that society is always lagging behind the trend by about 5 years. This was the case in 2016 as well. So it is now. I know people who make posts on Facebook from morning to night, doing it for free. And it’s still a mystery to me why I couldn’t convince them that the same thing can be done on Serey, but already for collecting at least (yet) a couple of dollars from the publication? Now I would like our team to have more of those who will cope with persuasion better, because I am somewhat tired and have lost faith in the cognitive abilities of society (for the most part).

- You see, you have prospects at this site, why did you decide to stay here for a long time?

B - Of course, Web 3.0 is the future! As for me personally, first of all, I love to write and share my thoughts. I did this before the era of blockchains, in ordinary social networks, and before that, in general in notebooks. I think this is the trait of a true author/writer. If there were no blockchains, I would still write, even on papyrus.

Secondly, I finally gave preference to Serey over other similar projects precisely because of the @jokerswild personality. I have already said that honesty and valor for me are the main measures of a person. It is the personality of @ jokerswild that encourages you to stay on Serey and believe in the future of the project. About the rest of the crypto industry in 99% of cases, I cannot say the same, on the contrary, I can say that the industry is full of shit and crooks. Even the Poloniex crypto exchange, which used to be a top one, began to move towards the scam and dropped to the point of squeezing clients' money “under the pretext”. Therefore, when I find an honest person who founded an interesting crypto project, it is worth a lot, and I think I need to move on with my life with him.

- It is very pleasant to communicate with you, it is warm and cozy here by the fireplace. Do you like to invite guests?

B - Look where. To be honest, it is difficult to get to my house, even when acquaintances ask for a visit. So, in terms of guests in the classical sense, the answer is rather no. But if you agree to go somewhere to relax together, then here I am more welcoming, and I can be quite sociable. This is probably noticeable in my detailed answers to your questions.

- What do you wish to Serey users and why new users should come here, from your point of view?

B - It's worth coming to Serey, because here you can monetize your work. 1-2 dollars per article now, of course, is not just any kind of fee. And at the same time, if you still like to write or take pictures and do it on Facebook / Instagram for free, then why not do the same on Serey - for $ 2 per post? Moreover, you can then post a link to your post with Serey on your Facebook page or in a group (I do this).

And I wish the authors to give free rein to their creativity more. What do I mean by "let loose"? I mean, make posts in such a way that you yourself (and not hypothetical readers) like to open and reread this post after a while. Do not write "to please", but to leave some additional Trace on yourself in the world. In which you will be, a part of you.

I realized this for the first time when, looking for information on some queries in Google, I suddenly discovered that my old articles were in the top # 1 search for these queries. And opening them a couple of years later (having grown up as a webmaster during this time, of course), I was jarred by many things: grammar, design, and style, everything was “lame” and “C”, in my new opinion. And at the same time, in the top 1 of Google, and people see and read it! Since then, I have realized that some of my publications leave a trace. Therefore, we must strive to bring our best: to polish the grammar, and the syllable, and that’s all. And if not, then it is better not to write at all.

In addition, blogging opens up opportunities for social engineering. People started finding me through my trading articles when I wasn't thinking about communicating through this field at all. And people found and simply asked: can you provide me such and such a service in the field of cryptocurrencies? Yes I can! And now - new opportunities, new contacts! So always remember that we do not write into the void, and that the consequences of what we broadcast to the world through our blog can always come, even years later.

- Thank you Bogdan for being with us. It was very nice to know you more. I wish you success in fulfilling your goal and mission at the Serey site.

B - Thank you, Andrew. Your new rubric must definitely take root and be popular on Serey. This will allow many on the site to get to know each other better.