I find I can't stomach most fiction anymore, especially anything written since about 1990. But Vanessa Chan's "The Storm We Made" is a powerful exception. Minutely and lovingly observed and the emotional punches it delivers are all earned and deserved.
It's set in #Malaysia in the 1930s during the British colonial period (when it was still called "Malaya") and the #Japanese wartime occupation of the 1940s, and its principal characters are Malay and Japanese. So right away that sets it apart from anything I've ever read before.
What's more, most of the principal characters from whose points of view we see the story are women and girls.
It is so rare, in #English language fiction, to have a glimpse into the dynamics of #Colonization when it's not practiced by a Western state.
The #Audiobook is beautifully narrated by Samantha Tan, a woman of #Asian ancestry.
Would love to hear #TootSEA thoughts on this book.
Vice Ganda’s entry, captioned "Lagi kitang pipiliin, Pilipinas," that has got the internet abuzz, has gained 4 million views in just 16 hours since posting Saturday night.
One scene takes Vice "to the disputed West Philippine Sea, where she takes on a Chinese vessel's water cannon—a reference to China’s recent worrisome incursions."
One man dead in suspected #Indonesia tiger attack, hunt ongoing in Riao province, Sumatera. #tootsea
Tigers used to kill durian collectors as they carried the huge ripe fruits in baskets on their backs. Durian was the only fruit wild tigers loved enough to get close to humans.
Made some #chicken#curry for our family #dinner tonight. Made it medium spicy as my middle brother doesn't like super spicy. We're having it with jasmine rice.
I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that Sabah also has a bamboo pole dance similar to the Philippines' Tinikling or Singkil. This one is called Magunatip.
I have a half baked idea of how LA/SF for me is like my relationship with KL/SG. LA reminds me a lot of KL / Klang Valley with how it’s laid out. Getting to explore it brings me as much joy as exploring KL/PJ did. (Even the car-centrism and infra and buildings and food scene comparisons feel samey to me)
Getting to explore LA / KL and leave my smaller more annoying city (SF / SG) sometimes is also a fun parallel. :)
Ok a Thai friend took me to a Thai place in LA for Thai spicy, and let's just say it's 2x spicier than Thai spicy in SF (even at my fave places, ordered in Thai)... and as spicy as in Isaan, Thailand.
I think the scariest thing is I often use this particular monorail line. Usually on Wednesdays. If it had been tomorrow...
Unfortunately one person died in this incident 😔
So long, DailySocial. There goes Indonesia’s longest running tech industry blog. I broke a lot of stories and broke down moronic government policies with them for a few years which gave me a bit of reputation among the startup and government circles.
The new company ownership and structure will focus on the consultancy and research part of the business, shutting down the media side. This also means leaving the Djarum portfolio of companies under its GDP media group.
One of the saddest things about leaving Singapore for the U.S. is, not only does McDonalds suck they also don’t have curry sauce. Which makes it impossible for me to eat nuggets
Indonesia’s customs office has been under fire this past week thanks to a few cases going viral.
First case was someone being charged 3x the value of the shoes he bought online. Customs said because there was a mistake in item value entered into the system by the sender (under invoicing) the recipient is now liable for the $1800 fine.
Second was a toy influencer receiving their self transforming Megatron toy two weeks late, damaged box, opened by customs, and being given a runaround by the customs office. He was supposed to be part of a global unboxing event last week. A special staff to the finance ministry responded on X but he got piled on due to bureaucratic speak and evasive responses. Customs also charged him based on the price for the Grimlock model which is twice as much.
Third one, prototype equipments for a special needs school given by a South Korean company has been held by customs since 2022 because the school hadn’t paid the import tax bill totaling more than $6,000. There’s no price available online because it’s a prototype so the office decided the value on their own. The school got tired of explaining and gave up in January 2023. Finance Minister made a statement on Instagram yesterday on expediting the process and dropping all fees.
All of these cases were resolved only after they went viral on X.
"Deliberately grounded on a tiny reef in the #SouthChinaSea, part of an island chain claimed by the two Asian countries, the #BRPSierraMadre is now the unlikely base for a detachment of Filipino marines who stand guard over the atoll, scanning the turquoise waters for Chinese ships." #AyunginShoal#SecondThomasShoal#Philippines
#Beijing, based on the report, budgeted over $296 billion for its military in 2023, a 6% increase from its spending the year prior. The figure represents 12% of the world’s military expenditures and over 50% of the #Asia and #Oceania region.The figures are estimates of #SIPRI, as #China’s publicly declared military budget is much lower. #TootSEA#Philippines