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• Post #4292486

  The most annoying thing about the very loud, US-centric discourse around AI is that it is exported to my part of the world. Most people from Asia are rather nonchalant about AI. Sure, we have worries about AI replacing our jobs, but we don't go being dramatic about it online. You hardly ever see people going on long tirades about how AI will destroy the world. Also, virtue signaling is pretty much not a common thing on my side of the world. People usually frown on it, and many people consi...

• Post #4057854

  #Substack has now enabled tools to "detect AI writing". Need I remind everyone that ESL students will get disproportionately flagged by these wonderful AI detection tools? Not to mention that AI detection tools are mostly shite to begin with? (If I write more formally, I'm almost flagged as AI.) What are they trying to do, encourage witch hunts? Instill a sense of superiority in native English speakers? Make folks with writing/learning disabilities feel small for using AI to comm...

• Post #3988897

  On the matter of Greek erasure in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey Nolan's Odyssey isn't just a movie—it's the latest act in a 200-year-old tradition of appropriating Greek culture while denying that Greeks should have control of their own heritage. http://elizabethtai.com/2026/07/21/on-the-matter-of-greek-erasure-in-christopher-nolans-the-odyssey/ #links #blogging #odyssey2026 #odyssey #homer #greece #linkblogging

• Post #3982893

  Rewatching this and realise that it's not I lost my love for Kdramas, but just that Kdramas have morphed into a shape that I no longer love as much. I've tried in vain to find the quirky, melo #Kdrama romances that I used to love in the current roster, but I just don't find it anymore - that unique flavour, the essence that made it uniquely Kdrama. Not sure what changed, but it definitely started when foreign streaming platforms started producing them. I suspect that they're in...

• Post #3599883

  I've always wanted flowers at my back balcony, but it's so shaded few flowering plants would bloom or thrive there. One day, I took a walk around my neighborhood and discovered purple flowers blooming under a heavy shade. And that's when I knew this is the plant I need. They bring delight to me every day. Today, four flowers bloomed! Apparently it's called a Mexican petunia? #flowers #FlowersOfMastodon #gardening #BalconyGarden

• Post #2375017

  Chinese New Year eve usually means we start lunch by feeding the ancestors first. The women(including me) have to prepare the food, the men have to start the prayers 😆 #ChineseNewYear #Malaysia #Chinese

• Post #2338543

  Another way China is doing AI differently. I am not surprised this happened, by the way. In China, the people's voice is actually heard and acted on. If you understand the way their politics work and the way their government is structured, it will not surprise you at all. Unfortunately, most Westerners do not understand or think that there are other ways to govern society beyond democracy. They think that non-democratic countries are basically autocratic, but they do not understand th...

• Post #2159502

  "Since masters of the genre like Jin Yong penned their epics, there has been a growing female wuxia authorship that speaks to increased cultural confidence, a diversity of voices, and all-new takes on classic settings." https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1018447 #wuxia #cdrama #china #literature #bookstodon

• Post #2047285

  Malaysians receive fuel subsidies. Without it, our petrol would be 2x more due to the #iranwar #oilcrisis . I paid RM35 for 17.5l of oil which is roughly about US$9. Because I designed life in such a way that most of my needs are a walk away, which includes clinics, supermarkets and the light rail, I use the car to drive short distances (around 6km or less) a few times a week. I also drive a fuel efficient car. The last time I pumped petrol was on March 25 and I still had a 1/4 tank left on May...

• Post #1963095

  Love that we are taking parks more seriously in Malaysia. Took a walk around the lake before starting work today. #Parks #KualaLumpur #Malaysia

• Post #1878612

  I love you guys at #Mastodon and all but this shaming of people who still use #Twitter have to stop. 1) it's obnoxious 2) do you realise how immensely privileged you sound to people of the global south when you say, "you have to quit, cos facism"? I will say this until I'm blue but other parts of the world do not see #Twitter the way north Americans do. A lot of times, many of us rely on it to survive. Also, Internet access is not the same down here. Ugh thi...

• Post #1713934

  Funnily enough I got into a screaming match (he was doing much of the screaming) on Mastodon with someone who insisted that China's public transportation is a scam because it doesn't earn a profit. When I told him that in China, transportation is a public good and profit isn't a "driving" factor he insisted I was a) dumb b) lying. China isn't utopia by any means, but it just has a different way of doing things. It never fails to astound me that...

• Post #1677228

  One confusion I have about folks from the US (and other countries) is why they keep saying "I didn't realise [name of country] was so modern!" I see that in videos about Malaysia and China a lot, and now Iran lol. I use to joke: I thought you guys don't have a Great Firewall?? I try to understand more these days. Where I live, it's just taken for granted that you can are able to access media in different languages. In Malaysia, we have news playing on...

• Post #1638305

  Although it is still difficult for authors to make big bucks in China，what I envy about their publishing ecosystem is that there's a robust digital webnovel scene where anyone can publish serialized stories on platforms accessed by millions. There's also a system where readers can unlock new chapters with credits, film studios can buy rights to novels. Infographic from Xinhua #amreading #ebooks #digitalpublishing #reading #WritingCommunity

• Post #1255192

  I've been trying to watch Love Beyond the Grave several times despite dissing it. That's because below its problems there's an interesting story and I think Arthur Chen is an interesting actor. (Read: Cute.) But because the story's heart is a romance, and because I just feel zero chemistry between our couple, I can't stay interested because the main story is unconvincing. It's weirdly frustrating 😅 #Cdrama #LoveBeyondtheGrave #China #TV #Fantasy

• Post #1193895

  The Chinese have this in common with Aussies. They call their hotels a "pub" or 酒店 (jiǔdiàn). Meanwhile Aussies call their pubs a "hotel". It's a confusing world. #Language #Chinese #Aussies #Australia #China

• Post #1093678

  "Galvin says nearly all the callers he talks to mention the bombing of a girls school in Iran on the first day of the war, which killed at least 165 civilians, many of them children. A preliminary assessment determined the U.S. was at fault, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly. NPR previously reported that the girls school was once part of what had been an Iranian Revolutionary Guard naval base and may have been shown on outdated U.S. target lists as a...

• Post #1029547

  Replaced the #AIArt header of my website with human-generated #art. I figured the best way to support #artists as a fellow creative is to highlight their work as much as I can. :) #WritingCommunity

• Post #1029075

  Pursuit of Jade is an exquisite viewing experience, even if the story is a little shaky towards the end. #PursuitOfJade #ZhangLinghe #TianXiWei #CDrama #CDramas https://dramatea88.wordpress.com/2026/04/09/pursuit-of-jade-2026-review/

• Post #1027711

  The Lord's prayer sung in Aramaic. A song we need to hear for our times. Jesus spoke Aramaic, a language that is still spoken in Iraq and Syria till this day. https://youtu.be/_AdPiRWIam0?si=t7lGaAcGlOXjP4Hp #Christianity #Music #Prayer

• Post #1001569

  Confused by all the talk about Straits of Hormuz being closed - it's not closed. Just closed to certain countries, ahem. Ok, semantics, but basically many countries are just too afraid to take the risk - the insurance companies refuse to insure, so many are not brave to take that risk. Several countries' tankers have already gone through, including Malaysia. But I guess since some countries think they are the center of the universe since it's closed to them, the stra...

• Post #967833

  Dulu Malaysia tak macam ni. Benar! Dulu ambil bas mini kita semua berubut-rubut masuk bas. Tak tahu bila dan kenapa kita berubah. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyqIsnR9Hzo #Malay #BahasaMalaysia #Indonesia #SouthEastAsia #Malaysia

• Post #967832

  每次我在网上讨论 #伊朗，总会遇到爱争辩的西方人。 我烦死了 😑

• Post #967831

  Use it or lose it - that's why I'm writing more in Chinese and Bahasa Malaysia now. (Also it's kinda useful as a filter and to just signal that we want discussions with certain people who understand the language if you know what i mean lol)

• Post #967830

  RE: https://hachyderm.io/@liztai/116355499241040122 The most difficult thing about writing in Chinese is that I have "patches" in my vocab so it's difficult to string entire sentences, especially on difficult subjects like politics. Yet, it's a mystery that I comprehend much more than I can speak/write. It's like the two brain spheres are not connected. (prob sound neurological reasons for this) So the only way to bridge this gap is to speak and write...

• Post #954703

  This is where Penangites get their hawker food. Batu Lancang food court. They tend to avoid the touristy spots. "Cheh Hu" or "Green Fish", or a Chinese Pasembur with jelly fish. #Food #Penang #Cuisine #Malaysia

• Post #933436

  Penang, my hometown. It never gets old for me. #Penang #Travel #Malaysia #Southeastasia

• Post #905116

  I am trying to build the habit of writing on my blog first rather than on social media. Trying to move away from PESOS to POSSE because consolidating the posts from social media is a bit of a chore. With automation, my posts are shared to social media anyway. https://hachyderm.io/@liztai/116264245238856169 https://elizabethtai.com/2023/07/02/posse-and-pesos-better-ways-to-publish-content/ #SocialMedia #Indieweb #Blogging

• Post #883173

  Also I asked my cousins why they never mentioned great grandpa, but always spoke about "a coh" which is the matriarch of the family. They look puzzled, as if the thought has never occured to them that they should ever mention him lol. Peranakan families are matriachical, which meant the women rule the house, the men are just there to bring back the money 😆. Historically, men from China married local women and sailed back to China for business, leaving them to manage the house...

• Post #874021

  Malaysia: *Backs away slowly from worldview* Fyi Malaysia was one of the few countries offering aid to Iran during sanctions. We have also been trading and have had a diplomatic relationship with the country since the 1950s. I suppose it paid off. #Iran