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liztai

@liztai@hachyderm.io

Malaysian tech writer. Works in tech. Former journalist but always a writer. Autodidact.

If you follow me I promise that I'm absolutely random.

Toots #IndieWeb #Obsidian #Malaysia #TootSEA #Books #TV #Writing #CDrama #KDrama #Urbanism #Cats #Dogs #Tech and very occasional #GeoPolitics

Occasionally talks in Manglish.

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liztai , to Random stuff
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So happy I took the time to learn . It's going to be revolutionary for my vault. It'll help me create main topic pages to keep track of my notes. I used to manually link every note to a "MOC" but I kept forgetting and found it tedious. This is going to be a "leave it and let grow" thing, and it suits my brain immensely lol.
And how great it is that the
anticipated our annoyance with YAML and come up with the properties feature? Genius.

liztai , to Pinoy
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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 😔

Tree falling on a busy road

liztai , to Pinoy
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I used to complain when city council cuts down trees but now I kinda get it lol

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/05/07/tree-falls-in-kl-city-with-cars-trapped-under-it

sohkamyung , to Japan
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"Tourists to Japan from Singapore and seven other Asian countries will soon find it easier to pay for their purchases using their local QR code wallets under a new joint payment scheme.
[...]
The countries are Singapore (SGQR), Malaysia (DuitNow QR), Indonesia (QRIS), the Philippines (QRPh), Thailand (Thai QR Payment), Cambodia (KHQR), Vietnam (VietQR) and India (BharatQR)."

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/japan-aims-to-launch-joint-qr-code-payment-system-with-asian-countries-including-s-pore-by-april-2025

liztai ,
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@sohkamyung this is so cool!

liztai , to Random stuff
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Will be eternally tickled that Malaysians are called 大马人 (big horse people). 🐎

liztai OP ,
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@trollball it's just a short form of the full name 马来西亚. Maybe it's just better than being known as 小马🐎

liztai OP ,
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@trollball @rakyat do you know why?

liztai OP ,
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@rakyat I actually thought China folks calls us 大马 too and we call ourselves 马来西亚人
@trollball

liztai , to Random stuff
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The drama's depiction of China is, well, problematic. How did the people of China react to it? In this issue I highlight what Chinese viewers think about the 3 Body Problem.

http://elizabethtai.com/2024/04/26/3-body-problem-is-a-bit-of-a-problem/

liztai , to Random stuff
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Watching the first episode of s5 of The Crown and cant help but think, "Poor John Major." 😄

liztai , to Random stuff
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Watching .

Welp.

China's Tencent version is still far superior.

The Netflix version whacks you over the head and yells, "Do you get it?? Do you get it??"

Tencent's version was poetic compared to Netflix's.

There's little nuance, gravitas, depth. Ye Wenjie's character was butchered beyond repair 🥴☠️

That's the most unforgiveable of all.

liztai OP ,
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@kittylyst I gave up after episode 6. I just couldn't with how they did the bugs thing 🥴 the flattest corniest reveal ever

Then there's that female ninja computer avatar thing lol

liztai OP ,
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@svetlozaurus I would but do watch the directors version which is better paced. It starts slow but somehow the slow start helped me really appreciate the later events. It's not a perfect drama by any stretch but it is sad to be very loyal to the book. One of the highest rated dramas in China. You can watch it on the Viki app

liztai OP ,
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@svetlozaurus one thing I love best about the Chinese adaptation was operation Guzheng. How they could convey horror in that scene was 👍👍👍

liztai , to Random stuff
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Was halfway watching which I enjoyed, surprisingly. (I think of the first arc as Meet Yourself, version 🤭.) I love our main couple's idyllic countryside life, the cooking scenes. It was a respite from their duties as bigwigs in the heavenly realm.
Most of all, I am liking the fact that we have a mature couple, acted by older actors in a genre dominated by mostly young actors.

liztai , to China
@liztai@hachyderm.io avatar

Sweeping tombs, eating food and waving at the dead.

It's Cheng Beng and I, forever the family travel operator, is shepherding the family to Penang island. A travelogue.

📧 I've released this subscribers-only post for you good folks at

http://elizabethtai.com/2024/04/07/sweeping-tombs-eating-food-and-waving-at-the-dead/

neuronakaya , to Pinoy
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Here in Southeast Asia, we are burning.

liztai ,
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@neuronakaya geez no wonder it feels like hell sometimes 🥴

liztai , to Random stuff
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Heading to my hometown of Georgetown, Penang tomorrow! I make a point to visit it every year during Cheng Beng :)

liztai , to Random stuff
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Guess who bought the Express package for and not sleeping tonight

liztai , to Random stuff
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Harvested some veges to eat with early dinner.

Rice and vegetables

liztai , to Random stuff
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Episode 10: What I watched in March

I had such a crazy quarter at work that my drama-watching has slowed down a lot! However, I still managed to catch a few things

https://dramatea88.wordpress.com/2024/04/01/episode-10-what-i-watched-in-march/

liztai OP ,
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@stiofi There is The Long Season (crime drama), Mining Town (how a town is lifted out of poverty) and Sunrise on the River (a city tackles environmental problems). Sunrise is a little on the dry side but those who persevered said it is good. I may give the last arc another try.

liztai OP ,
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@stiofi no worries. Btw it is Minning Town, not mining town 😅. You can find that show and Sunrise on Youtube with English subs

liztai , to Random stuff
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I am so glad I made time to watch this in the cinema. I kept dragging my feet to do so for some reason. Probably the best sci fi I have ever seen in a long long long time. Even better than part 1.
I love how each "culture" has such a distinctive look and feel.

liztai , to Pinoy
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Ok, FINE, I bit the bullet and registered for Padu. The good news is there are some pre-populated fields they must've gotten from IRB. The bad news is that's about 1% of the info required. LOL
But omaigad the amount of info they want from me.

Takut lei. Kena hack sure mampus.

PS: And there's some kinda bug where, despite me filling up some sections, it doesn't save, so I have to refill again and again. Yeah, doesn't make raise my confidence about its security lol

liztai , to Random stuff
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I am on episode 19 of .
I totally get the hype now.

liztai , to Random stuff
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It is Ramadan, and street vendors are busy preparing food for “buka puasa” time, when Muslims will break their fast.

Of course, I made sure to buy food from them!

? Too much food, that's what 😆

Food stall
My dinner
Desserts

liztai , to China
@liztai@hachyderm.io avatar

My dad loved old Chinese tales and used to tell me the stories. One of the ones I remember best is The Eight Immortals. Someone on Youtube described them as the "OG Chinese Avengers" and I was like, this is a perfect description of them. And each character is so iconic.

And I must've watched this 1985 version cos I remember the song so much!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCrmUE9owNU

liztai , to Random stuff
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Dream of Splendor is a historical romance drama that I absolutely adore. I love how it features a mature relationship between a beautiful couple, and that it also highlights the food and tea culture, music and art of the Song dynasty.

a man sitting st a desk with a writing brush
a woman sitting st a desk with a writing brush And a tea set
a lounging woman with a fan

liztai , to China
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I never really felt comfortable with my identity as a Chinese person because I can't read Chinese, don't speak the languages fluently or even have the same culture as most Chinese people. It took me a while to have a sense of humor about it - these days I embrace being called a tropical fruit 😁

https://open.substack.com/pub/elizabethtai/p/hello-from-a-banana

liztai OP ,
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@youronlyone Like we had any choice in the migration 🤣 My ancestors came to Malaya when the Manchurians took over and the Ming dynasty fell. Ask them la why they left, not me 🤣🤣🤣

liztai , to China
@liztai@hachyderm.io avatar

My list of recommended you need to watch:

Historical

  • Longest day in Chang'an
  • Nirvana in Fire
  • Rise of the Phoenixes
  • Story of Minglan
  • Dream of the Red Mansions (2011)
  • All Men are Brothers (2010)
  • Three Kingdoms (2010)

Xianxia

  • Creation of the Gods I

Fantasy

  • I am Nobody
  • Oh No Here Comes Trouble

Wuxia

  • Mysterious Lotus Casebook
  • Laughing in the Wind
  • Condor Heroes
  • Return of the Condor Heroes
  • Meteor, Sword, Butterfly

liztai , to Random stuff
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After a dry January, we finally get better choices in February. Which CDramas are worth watching? Here are my thoughts!

https://dramatea88.wordpress.com/2024/02/22/february-2024-chinese-dramas/

liztai , to Random stuff
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My feed is now mostly cats, dogs and plants and that's really not bad at all lol

liztai , to Random stuff
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Before and after.

Kids, they grow up so fast!

mature and ready to be eaten spinach
salad seedlings
salad, ready to be eaten

liztai , to Random stuff
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Scenes from my nieghbourhood hawker Store and open market nearby. As usual, I like to start my day with protein so I got myself some dim sum 😋

dim sum
a food truck offering "kway Kak"
a popular nasi lemak food truck.

liztai , to China
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Reading Heaven's Official Blessings and .... I mean, it is interesting, but I definitely do not understand the hype 😅 Perhaps cos BL is not new to me nor is it something I hunger for. Maybe cos it seems to be written for a younger audience...
But it is definitely because of the awkward translation with phrases like "unleashed to the max" etc. It takes me out completely 😂
I definitely find the Penguin translation for "Tales from the Chinese Studio" so much better.

cendawanita , to Pinoy
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Helping friend prepare submission to the Jade Emperor 🤣 happy Hokkien New Year! hope y'all survived the fireworks.

liztai ,
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@fanboh @cendawanita ya can confirm. My family does this every CNY

liztai ,
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@fanboh yup, on both sides of the family

liztai , to Random stuff
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Am I lactose intolerant? Yes. Did I order mango lassi anyway? Yes!

mutton kebab and capati. uh should've just asked for one mutton kebab 😅😅😅

liztai , to China
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The Chinese New Year cookie tray, ready for our first guests.

liztai OP ,
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@KV1NN4 the jam tarts are the best. I missed those so much when i lived abroad!

liztai OP ,
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@KV1NN4 can! It is sold year round now but got to know where to buy as usual

liztai , to China
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"This year I won't cook a lot," lies my mother every single Chinese New Year.

As usual, the ancestors get to eat first.

liztai , to Random stuff
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Dang, the emperor in Joy of Life is hella scary 💀

liztai , to Pinoy
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Proof positive that is happening despite my best efforts to deny it.
J/k but am loving the CNY deco at Sunway Pyramid. 🐲

liztai , to China
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Dafuq with calling Yang Guo (杨过) "Penance". I don't care if that is what his name means whatever but you dont have to translate Chinese names like that. I can't take this translation of Jin Yong's book seriously omg 💀

Like, there's this character in Mysterious Lotus Casebook called "Duo Bing", can you imagine if you call him "Always Sick"?? Chinese names don't have to be direct translations omg

rakyat , to Random stuff
@rakyat@hachyderm.io avatar

@aulia @gombang @geraineon @liztai @agasramirez
Update, it seems like Friendster is currently owned by Malaysian company MOL Global, which was owned by Vincent Tan and now owned by Razer.

https://www.slashgear.com/834024/the-untold-truth-of-friendster/

liztai ,
@liztai@hachyderm.io avatar

@rakyat Wait what? That's so random lol

@aulia @gombang @geraineon @agasramirez

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