dsng.net - the daryl sng blog

The New Yorker Conference - Airports

Have been watching the New Yorker Conference on my iPod, and I thought Paco Underhill on "Deconstructing the Airport" (chaired by Malcolm Gladwell) was very interesting, for anyone who's been stuck in the misery of standing shoeless and beltless near a security checkpoint with all your carry-on items, all the the flotsam and jetsam of modern life, sprawled out on the cold metal stand at the end of the X-ray machine.

There are very nice props given near the end to Singapore - Changi Airport's playground is mentioned to encapsulate how an airport can really do things well. It's the little things, I suppose. Just the fact that Changi provides little push-carts for carry-on luggage that allow me to ease my shoulder from the burden of laptop toting is great, compared to previous experiences with the otherwise highly-regarded Narita. (Of course, it does mean I'm much more likely to shop, since I don't have to lug things around, so the airport benefits too.)

Into the Wild

Into the Wild was incredibly affecting in a primal way. Chris McCandless' quest for meaning, his (very American) attempt to find that meaning in one's connection to the land, and his ultimate realisation of the importance of interpersonal relationships and of forgiveness - all that brought to mind the restlessness and angst of my teenage years. That, and Eddie Vedder's distinctive voice, of course, which was perfect for a film set in the early 1990s.

Now I keep wanting to listen to songs that suggest to me longing, isolation, and the search for belief: "Angel From Montgomery" (which was sung in the film), "Only Living Boy in New York", "The Boxer", "Chicago"...

Violent and Crazy

The Violent Femmes cover Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy", in quasi-spaghetti Western style.

Word Play

Caught the documentary Word Play the other day, all about the New York Times crossword and the annual crossword competition in Stamford, CT, and it inspired me to try a Times crossword. Much more used to cryptics - used to do the New Yorker one weekly, back in the day when the New Yorker ran crosswords - which I think test a different part of one's mind. But anyway: came in at 15 minutes for a Thursday puzzle... reasonable, I suppose, for a novice, but nowhere near the blistering pace of those featured in the documentary. I suspect I'm hooked, though!

Word Play, incidentally, has quite an impressive list of famous people willing to be interviewed about their crossword habit: Bill Clinton, Jon Stewart, Mike Mussina, Ken Burns. I think if you're well-known it's quite nice to be interviewed about something other than what you're well-known for.

New Job

Well, in case anyone was wondering about the long radio silence (crickets), I've been busy moving to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and just came back from a UN conference in Bonn. Have to say that the Bonn trip made me realise how rusty my German is, and has inspired me to revive my language skills. Anyone in Singapore have good suggestions on this? Should I just go to the Goethe Institut?

The legit Singapore iPhone

Finally, a nice SMS marketing message: "SingTel has announced that they have signed an agreement with Apple to bring the iPhone to Singapore later this year" - with some directions to this site. Can't wait for the (rumoured) 3G iPhone...

Animal Tricks

Two sets of videos of unusual animal tricks.

Rabbit showjumping

and Goldfish football / hoops jumping

Logorrhea

Just watched Akeelah and the Bee, which was really inspirational, and as tense in its finale as the best sports movies - having seen Spellbound, I was prepared to be on the edge of my seat, and I'm glad it lived up to my expectations. Anyway, this story about a mobster using $10 words in letters to his kid (offspring? scion?) reminded me of the film:

Some of his letters from federal prison, which are being intercepted and scrutinized by authorities, are full of such words as "thespian," "flippant" and "sagacious," his lawyer said Thursday.

A new form of gangland slang, or a coded message to fellow wise guys? No, attorney Ephraim Savitt said, just vocabulary Basciano wants the recipient -- his 7-year-old son -- to learn.

Longest Drive in Singapore

My friends in college used to be amused when I would say that a fellow Singaporean lived "across the country", meaning only about 30 km or so away. I guess that's what happens when you grow up in a tiny country. Anyway, this guy has compiled the longest possible drives according to Google Maps, and I tried to do the same for Singapore - thus far, my best is 60.4 km (Tuas South Ave 9 to Nicoll Drive). That's pretty piddly compared to the almost 12,000km routes recorded from America to Canada. Even Hong Kong has a 77.3km route. (Via kottke.org)

50 Best Restaurants

World's 50 best restaurants, as rated by Restaurant magazine, with, quelle surprise, has El Bulli ranked first. There's also a #51-100, which includes Iggy's here in Singapore. No Japanese restaurants, though, as the Economist notes, which seems odd.

Labels: food

Insomnia, the cost of food

A very interesting article in the Guardian puts forward the suggestion that the modern problem is not about not getting enough sleep, but about anxiety about getting enough sleep. It does seem a lot of contemporary issues centre around anxiety about getting things correct: getting enough vitamins and other nutritional aspects of one's diet, for one.

Meanwhile, Newsweek explores food inflation and its sources: rising worldwide demand, droughts, rising energy costs, and speculation. Odd not to mention the diversion of cropland for biofuels, the impact of which people have varying opinions.