Here’s today’s rainy day list!
Next guest on Before We Get There podcast
The podcast has been on a bit of a break due to work and other obligations, but I’m excited to release a new episode this week with the amazing Opera Tang! We had a great conversation about her life and work, starting with how she decided what to study and ended up in tech sales before eventually being retrenched and pivoting to make a living from being a drag artist. We also talked about her creative process, getting over stage fright, how she has been dealing with being in business for herself and staying productive, staying true to her beliefs while taking on commercial work, and much more. Stay tuned on Thursday for the full episode!
What I watched this week
A few months ago I was pretty sad I couldn’t find the time to go watch Gladiator 2 in theaters. Like most guys my age, this was one of the best movies of my teenage years and I’ve seen it at least 10 times, probably closer to 20. I read some of the reviews and was prepared to be disappointed, but probably not enough. I was finally able to watch it on my flight to Hong Kong, but it was disappointing in almost every way. The story was a huge miss where the main character just completely changes his views in the middle of the movie to advance the plot. The first movie was so impactful because of the principles of Maximus and how he lost everything and kept fighting. Even the action kind of sucked in the new one, the roided up baboons were the best part, but the rhino looked like something from the Star Wars prequels. The big water-filled colosseum was super boring because he used what I guess is good naval strategy to disable the other boat, but it was incredibly slow compared to the chariot scenes of the original. In the end, I’m glad I didn’t pay for a ticket.
Best travel experience this week
One of the best things about living in Singapore is coming home to Changi Airport, which just won back the world’s best airport recognition. Although the butterfly garden and cool things to see are fine, the parts that really matter to me are the cleanliness and efficiency. I don’t think I’ve even ever had a delayed flight out of Singapore, although of course that is partly luck. I was amazed when I got back that they have a new immigration check system that you don’t even need to scan your passport for. You just walk up and let it scan your face and you can go right through. I guess some people will be concerned about facial recognition and what comes with it, but honestly, all governments are going to start using it, at least this is a case which makes things more convenient for us.
What I read this week
This week I read Freakonomics – and I honestly wasn’t as into it as I thought I would be. I guess the big takeaway is that things aren’t always as they seem, and there are hidden stories behind lots of phenomena that aren’t the first thing you’d think of. The stories and anecdotes were interesting, but I didn’t feel there was enough of a conclusion or theme tying everything together, which the authors themselves acknowledge. It seems like the author gets interested in a topic and then researches the heck out of it to find hidden connections, and then moves onto something else without providing an actionable insight or plan from what they learned.
Have a great rest of your weekend!