Misterdibster

I never have and I never will.

Sun, 20 May 2012 11:48:16 +0800

I never have and I never will.

The Joy of Quiet - NYTimes

Sat, 19 May 2012 23:22:28 +0800

The Joy of Quiet - NYTimes:

Perhaps man’s problems come from his inability to sit quietly in a room alone.

Small acts of guerilla gardening to enliven the city and give...

Sat, 19 May 2012 23:08:54 +0800

Small acts of guerilla gardening to enliven the city and give joy to the people. More at thepotholegardener.com/

Humanity of the Defensive Midfielder

Sat, 19 May 2012 19:00:40 +0800

Humanity of the Defensive Midfielder:

Possibly the best writing that aptly describes and pays homage to what a good midfielder should be.

In Spanish, a defensive midfielder is often called ‘volante de contencion’ or ‘volante de salida’. The former refers to the ball-winning duties of the defensive midfielder and the latter to providing an outlet for under-pressure teammates. The terms themselves are more descriptions of the duties performed by a defensive midfielder than distinct roles—any mediocentro defensivo worth a damn must do both. The important term to keep in mind here is volante . In other usages, it translates as ‘rudder’ or ‘steering wheel’, and it is an apt way to describe Alonso’s style of play.

Work/life/work balance

Sat, 19 May 2012 18:11:08 +0800

Work/life/work balance:

It’s time to say “Enough!”

"Some people meet the way the sky meets the earth, inevitably, and there is no stopping or holding..."

Sat, 19 May 2012 16:15:22 +0800

“Some people meet the way the sky meets the earth, inevitably, and there is no stopping or holding back their love. It exists in a finished world, beyond the reach of common sense.”

- Louise Erdrich (via kari-shma)

"So many businesses get worried about looking like they might make a mistake, they become afraid to..."

Fri, 18 May 2012 19:25:27 +0800

““So many businesses get worried about looking like they might make a mistake, they become afraid to take any risk””

- Mark Zuckerberg

Nothing is sacred in Singapore. Not even the river.

Fri, 18 May 2012 14:48:00 +0800

Nothing is sacred in Singapore. Not even the river.:

One of the most interesting people I know, artist, Debbie Ding writes on her blog about the planned diversion of the Singapore River into a bow-shaped canal to facilitate construction of the MRT Downtown Line.

It’s already been shown that here in Singapore there are no sacred cows: there are no monuments, no heritage sites, no geographical features, and no buildings here that cannot be wilfully moved or destroyed.

And now, that includes our Singapore river.

Today, I stand with very little knowledge of my own country and my urban heritage is fast disappearing. Honestly, I’m not sure if there will be anything left for my future kids. That is why I believe that we should spend time to study our heritage, or whatever remains of it that has been buried deep within the earth of this country and uncover the story of our motherland. We’ve lost so much and I don’t think we can afford to lose more.

Urbanizing Technology

Fri, 18 May 2012 10:39:00 +0800

Urbanizing Technology:

Great reading on Audi’s Urban Future Initiative site exploring technology and its relationship with our cities. It suggests that by looking at technology through the lenses of a city, technologists get a completely new way of understanding problems and implementing solutions including planning for their obsolescence.

One core assumption in my work on urbanizing technology is that the specific technical capabilities of interactive technologies realize their utility value through ecologies that include more than just the technical: They also include the logics of users, which can diverge significantly from the engineer’s logic. This divergence can become particularly intense – and especially variable – in the case of cities, given the multiple socioeconomic and cultural worlds and subject -
ivities they encompass. The city, a complex mix of physical and social components, can transform technologies, make them its own – making it arguably the ultimate “hacker” of complex technological systems, if we understand hacking here in its original sense, as entering or altering a closed technical system. - Economist and sociologist, Saskia Sassen

theastralcity: The Chungking Mansions are probably the closest...

Fri, 18 May 2012 10:12:49 +0800

theastralcity:

The Chungking Mansions are probably the closest thing today in Hong Kong to the Kowloon Walled City. This complex however has much more rule of law, if still rife with illegal activity. As opposed to Kowloon’s industrial base, Chungking is a primarily commercial center.

The Chungking Mansions serve as the center for Hong Kong’s minority populations, and it has been called the unofficial African Quarter of the city. It features 2 shopping malls and many cheap hotels and guest houses which provide housing for the complex’s residents.

The Economist ran a great article in August of this year about the complex where they say it is the greatest example of the downtrodden side of globalism anywhere.

The article can be accessed here: http://www.economist.com/node/21526300

"The notion that ‘no one knows what good architecture is, is intellectuals’ greatest gift to..."

Fri, 18 May 2012 05:36:00 +0800

“The notion that ‘no one knows what good architecture is, is intellectuals’ greatest gift to developers.”

- Alain De Botton

My friend, Prof Chong Keng Hua of SUTD is looking for passionate...

Thu, 17 May 2012 14:49:09 +0800

My friend, Prof Chong Keng Hua of SUTD is looking for passionate people to join his urban lab. Only awesome people need apply.

Liveable v lovable cities - FT.com

Thu, 17 May 2012 10:13:06 +0800

Liveable v lovable cities - FT.com:

“We need to ask, what makes a city great? If your idea of a great city is restful, orderly, clean, then that’s fine. You can go live in a gated community. These kinds of cities are what is called ‘productive resorts’. Descartes, writing about 17th-century Amsterdam, said that a great city should be ‘an inventory of the possible’. I like that description.” - Joel Kotkin, a professor of urban development

And yes, I think Singapore is liveable but not (yet) lovable.

Learning from 'hip cities'

Thu, 17 May 2012 05:37:09 +0800

Learning from 'hip cities':

NY Times profiles some ‘hip cities’ and only one Asian city made it into the list: Shanghai.

All the cities profiled have a mix of good urban planning, interesting culture (people, music, food), nature (parks, beaches, sustainable energies, bicycles) and a relatively low cost of living.

You’ve heard about NYC’s High Line. Now, an...

Wed, 16 May 2012 20:34:16 +0800

You’ve heard about NYC’s High Line. Now, an underground park called the Low Line. (by inhabitat)

Creating Great Community Places

Wed, 16 May 2012 19:25:43 +0800

Creating Great Community Places:

Many have tried and less have succeeded in creating great public places for the community. Project for Public Spaces (PPS) compiled some guiding principles that might be useful for anyone who might be working on such projects.

Look for partners: Partners are critical to the future success and image of a public space improvement project.

Money Is Not the Issue:This statement can apply in a number of ways. For example, once you’ve put in the basic infrastructure of the public spaces, the elements that are added that will make it work (e.g., vendors, cafes, flowers and seating) will not be expensive.

You Are Never Finished: By nature good public spaces that respond to the needs, the opinions and the ongoing changes of the community require attention.

More at PPS’ website

Beautiful words from one human to another. Discovered via...

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:48:33 +0800

Beautiful words from one human to another. Discovered via @iamkhayyam.

Superheroes and their bicycles

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:48:59 +0800

Superheroes and their bicycles

"One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things."

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:38:09 +0800

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”

- Henry Miller

Hitchcock’s Definition of Happiness: “A clear...

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:14:09 +0800

Hitchcock’s Definition of Happiness:

“A clear horizon, nothing to worry about on your plate. Only things that are creative and not destructive. That’s within yourself, within me I can’t bare quarreling I can’t bare feelings between people. I think hatred is wasted energy.”