iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Not an easy read for me. Not because it's bad, but I know a bit about Thai political events & expected the somewhat tragic ending. "A Good True Thai" (Sunisa Manning) is about 3 uni students during the student protests of the 70s which ended in a horrid massacre. An educating read though. #booksky

A cover of the book "A Good True Thai" by Sunisa Manning

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Looks like the Thais have gotten fed-up over misbehaving foreigners, tourists or otherwise. www.bangkokpost.com/learning/adv...

bangkokpost.com

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

An interesting exploration of an issue that's present in a lot of countries (people not marrying and having kids) and how it presents itself uniquely in China.

youtube.com

China Wants More Marriages. But Young Men And Women Want Different Things | Insight

YouTube video by CNA Insider

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Foreigners from different countries of origin (Eg: China, South Korea and Rohingya of Myanmar) bring different challenges to Malaysia. This is a good look into the issues.

youtube.com

Why Are So Many Foreigners Moving To Malaysia? What Does It Mean For Malaysians? | CNA Correspondent

YouTube video by CNA Insider

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

These videos from yesterday's 7.7 quake in Indonesia's West Nusa Tenggara province is terrifying. I wouldn't know what to do if I were in the middle of that quake. youtu.be/O9HcmcaAl3k?...

youtu.be

Indonesia Earthquake Updates | Chaotic Scenes As Earthquake Rattles Indonesia Caught On Camera

YouTube video by NDTV

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

🎞️ Trying my hand with B&W film #Photography with a 26yo film camera in #Singapore

A blurry monitor lizard on a patch of grass

Streamline moderne facade of a very old cinema

A National Day display at the National Gallery

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

This interview is a must-watch. A Singaporean investigative journalist gives the low-down on Cambodia's scam operations and the infamous Prince Group. www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5NB...

youtube.com

Exposing Cambodia’s Scam Industry & Is S’pore’s Money Behind It? | Shibani Mahtani | #846

YouTube video by Yah Lah But Podcast

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

I wonder if S.E.A. have finally gotten tired of the "digital nomads" who live in curated bubbles within the host country yet exists apart from it. thehoneycombers.com/bali/entoura...

thehoneycombers.com

Ready, set, go home: what Entourage Bali's run club had coming

Entourage Bali wanted an exclusive club. Well… it just got itself an exclusive ban. On 23 July 2026, the two Dutch founders behind the Canggu running

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Photos of Kelantan on real film (Kodak) taken a month ago on a rediscovered decades-old battery operated autofocus camera by Kyocera. 🎞️

Photo of the sleeping Buddha taken from the feet

The balcony of a traditional wooden Malay house that belonged to royalty.

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

I just came across Angélique Kidjo's Malaika, sung in Swahili & French. Found out that the love song is from Tanzania & was written in 1945. Interestingly, malaika in Swahili means "angel" and the Malay word for angel is "malaikat", thus showing their Arabic origin. www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuTL...

youtube.com

Angélique Kidjo, Florent Pagny - Malaika (Lyrics Video)

YouTube video by Angelique Kidjo PLG

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Photographs of the east coast of peninsula Malaysia from the air. #photography

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

Channel NewsAsia (CNA) has a wonderful series called "The Mark of Empire" presented by Peter Lee. It explores the ancient empires of Asia before colonisation. I just watched two episodes today: Srivijaya in Indonesia and Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka.

youtube.com

Indonesia's Mysterious Srivijaya Kingdom That Thrived Over 1,000 Years Ago | The Mark Of Empire

YouTube video by CNA Insider

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

May ALL beings be happy and free from suffering.

Vesak Day greeting in the form of a leaf cutting of monks paying home to Buddha.

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

I watch this Malaysian youtuber once in a while (she does great travelogues) and came across her recent participation in the Mazu mass pilgrimage in Taiwan. It's looks like a huge event and has attracted almost half a million pilgrims this year. www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK25...

youtube.com

【白沙屯媽祖】馬來西亞人的告白：謝謝媽祖！ auntie Liew 第一次參加就被震撼到了！沿途美食竟然全免費！| Shocked by 460,000 People! Free Food

YouTube video by KL LIEW

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

A heartbreaking documentary, yet also a tribute to the big heart of Hong Kongers for each other. www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsIH...

youtube.com

Hong Kong Inferno: How Safety Lapses Turned Homes Into Death Traps | CNA Correspondent

YouTube video by CNA Insider

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

An interesting feature on the Straits Times about Johor's promotion of a state identity apart from the federal Malaysian one. Which isn't surprising considering its history as an outlier during the British colonial period. www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/g...

straitstimes.com

Johor is promoting a state identity. Not everyone feels the same about it

Johor’s “Bangsa Johor” identity aims to unite its people, but cracks are showing as prosperity concentrates in the south. Can residents find a sense of belonging both to state and country? Read more v...

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Brandy @3dogz.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

For those who missed it: this was the moment The Strokes ensured they’ll never be invited back to Coachella again! I'm so proud of them

19981982103

Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Kayaking with cats on a river that winds through a riverine community in Hua Takhe, Bangkok.

Black and white cat perched on the back of a kayak

Two wooden houses that stands partially in the river.

Black and white cat watching the river as the kayak moves on the water between the houses.

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

While Hong Kong is well-known for their fire dragon dance (during Mid-Autumn Festival), this Cantonese tradition was exported to #Singapore where it's performed once every 3 years at Mun San Fook Tuck Chee temple 沙岡萬山福德祠 (the oldest Cantonese temple in SG) on the 2nd day of the 2nd lunar month.

youtube.com

🔥🐉 Singapore's Longest Fire Dragon | Rare Ritual at Oldest Cantonese Temple | 沙岡萬山福德祠 - 稻草火龙

YouTube video by CM Chen

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

One YouTube channel I've been following is "Kyle Le Dot Net", a Vietnamese American who helps reunite overseas Vietnamese with their relatives, especially those who were adopted away from Vietnam. His latest one is really emotionally intense. Be prepared to cry.

youtube.com

My Family Thought I Went to School...28 Years Later, I Came Home Finally

YouTube video by Kyle Le Dot Net

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

Selamat Hari Raya! Wishing you a festive season filled with blessings and happiness.

A card with teal outline drawing of a mosque with a moon and crescent above it, surrounded by flame torches, fireworks, lit lamps, malay rice dumplings. At the top are the words "Selamat Hari Raya". Below are the words "Aidilfitri" and "Maaf zahir & batin".

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

In case one was wondering what riled up the #Singapore government.

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Happy Lunar New Year! May this year of the horse brings you vitality, health and happiness. And not forgetting prosperity!

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

The plant nurseries in #Singapore are seeing brisk business this lunar new year season. The plant of choice are these mini Mandarin Orange bushes. I don’t think they last in our local weather and will probably be disposed off a few months later.

Pots of Mandarin Orange plants for sale.

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Popped over to Johor Bahru for a spot of lunar new year shopping and visited an old hawker centre that was a step back in time for us.

Tables and chairs in the area between two rolls of stalls. People are seated at the tables or walking around.

A stall selling lunar new year decorations manned by a woman

Dried pre-fried crackers drying in the sun in three metal trays on a collapsible table.

Fried whole chickens hung up waiting to be sold behind a see thru divider. At the front is a placard displaying the menu and prices.

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Just found out that Taiwan and the West Malaysian state of Pahang are around the same size.

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Flying back to #Singapore at night is quite a sight when the plane flies over the ships at anchor south of the island. It really impresses on the observer how important shipping and trade is to this small island.

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Finbarr Bermingham @fbermingham.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Slovak PM Fico, one of the few EU leaders to frequently support Trump, told fellow EU leaders he was concerned about the president’s “psychological state" Fico used the word “dangerous” to describe how Trump came across during their Jan 17 meeting

politico.eu

European leader spoke of shock at Trump’s state of mind after Mar-a-Lago meeting

The Slovak PM, a Trump ally, told leaders at last week’s EU summit he was concerned about the way the U.S. president spoke to him, European diplomats said.

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Sunil Nair @spuriousmallu.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Some cities are occupied. Others are learned. This is about the moment a place stops being provisional. When belonging is no longer argued, only assumed. When staying becomes ordinary, and therefore permanent. This is my 50th essay. #singapore #india #Expats #society medium.com/@spurious-ma...

medium.com

The Unremarkable Art of Staying

There are those who arrive in the city-state with suitcases that never fully unpack. Their lives are arranged around departure. Leases are…

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Reposted by Jaez

Eli Friedman @elifriedman.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

Quite unusual for journalists to get footage from a labor protest. Things are not going well for workers in China

youtu.be

Voicing dissent in China is risky but it's rising dramatically

YouTube video by Sky News

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

A moving documentary on how a recycler in #Singapore works with two Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka to give a 2nd life to unwanted things to benefit those in need in both countries. It's mainly in Chinese but you can turn on the CC in English.

youtu.be

星期二特写 | 非凡的告白2：垃圾的“身后事”

YouTube video by 8world

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

This old video of 1980s Chinatown in #Singapore is quite an eye opener. Things were very different then and most of the ppl spoke Cantonese, which is rare now as Mandarin has taken over. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vd7L...

youtube.com

Chinatown in Transition, Singapore

YouTube video by missbeeclassroom

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Reposted by Jaez

YTSL @ytsl.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

Then and now. 😔

Umbrella repairman and fifth generation shop owner, Yau Yiu-wai, in front of the Sunrise Company in 2016.

The shuttered property, with the sign also gone, in early January 2026.

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Reposted by Jaez

Ben @wwww.org · 03/01/2026

#Singapore aunties are on another level. This was taken during a recent #fire at a food court.

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Sunil Nair @spuriousmallu.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

There are two Singapores. One requires a reservation and a small emotional loan. The other wears a black T-shirt, eats breakfast for under five dollars, and knows exactly where the good curry puffs are. I am increasingly loyal to the second one. #Singapore #culture medium.com/@spurious-ma...

medium.com

The Singapore That Wears Flip-Flops to Breakfast

There are at least two Singapores, and they coexist with the politeness of people who have learned not to ask awkward questions in lifts.

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Roy Ngerng 鄞義林 @royngerng.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

If China takes Taiwan and US can no longer act as a counterweight to China, China will create a sphere of influence in Asia in its image, and Asian countries will lose their autonomy. This is why it's so important to prevent Taiwan's fall, and guard against China's expansionism.

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Jaez @grokk.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

May the new year be kinder to everybody. Happy 2026!

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Xun-ling Au 歐迅灵 🏴 @xunlingau.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

Crackdowns on workers rights under the guise of National Security, Pro-dem political parties shuttering, people jailed for speaking up (& charge stacking on some already jailed), some released cause its been that long, new security laws, targeting of media... rough year for Hong Kongers (again)😣

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