iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

“She was so unpleasant I called her priMadonna.” “People say that he kept rejecting Donald Trump from coming into Danceteria.” “There was no better place for Run DMC to first play than Danceteria.” Plus WW2 bombs, piss wands, the wildest of antics & more. Amazing story by @joypress.bsky.social!

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

RIP to Sam Neill: his wide-ranging roles included playing the Pope, the Antichrist, a cat burglar on The Simpsons and real-life winemaker, where he dealt with the "heartbreak grape". Loved interviewing him many years ago about all of the above and more. www.gourmettraveller.com.au/dining-out/c...

gourmettraveller.com.au

How I eat: Sam Neill

The actor and winemaker on pinot noir, on-set catering and hurricane shelters.

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Catfish (I remember watching the original doco, but I suspect most people talk about catfishing without realising that movie exists?) And maybe Inception (I’ve definitely had conversations where someone says “that feels very Inception” or “I feel like I’ve been incepted?” etc) Also Get Out?

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depths of wikipedia @depthsofwikipedia.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

The Wikipedia article “Meaning of life” has been edited 10,713 times in its 25 year existence, and 23% of those edits have been reverted as vandalism. One common pattern is for vandals to delete the entire article and replace it with a single line. I collected some examples from the old days:

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

For @australia.theguardian.com, I wrote about how the choc-malt powder was invented in 1934 as a Depression-era health drink for kids; it debuted at Sydney’s Royal Easter Show as “Milo tonic food”. It’s quite an origin story, given Milo can be turned into cake with just milk and a microwave!

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

I love how Milo has been so thoroughly embraced worldwide, from Nigeria to the Philippines. I've talked to many people who grew up overseas with such foundational Milo memories, they assumed the choc-malt powder was a local creation. Unlike Vegemite, they had no idea it was an Aussie invention!

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Ah, so sorry to break the news! LOL. But I feel like Malaysians have truly made Milo their own, with Milo dinosaurs, Milo Godzillas, Milo Ais & other good things flavoured with those distinctive grains. Many cultures have embraced the choc-malt powder worldwide & remixed it in such fascinating ways!

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Thank you – loved your work over the years and very much looking forward to what you do at Ravenous!

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Yasuo Yamamoto is a 5th-generation soy sauce maker who brews the condiment the traditional way: in wooden kioke barrels (some over 150 years old)! Only 1 per cent of soy sauce is made this way in Japan - which is why visiting his brewery is so special. Here's my story www.sbs.com.au/food/article...

sbs.com.au

On the Japanese island that’s brewed soy sauce for 400 years, you should head here

On Shodoshima, Yamaroku Shoyu ferments soy sauce in 150-year-old barrels – a method that’s rare and remarkable. Its global fan club includes renowned cookbook authors Samin Nosrat and Emiko Davies.

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Inspiring to see @weareravenous.com emerge: it's run by "award-winning journalists fed up with the conversation around food being reduced by AI slop, 'best of' lists, and influencer-driven trends" I especially liked what @jayasaxena.com was doing at Eater and bet Ravenous will be brilliant.

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

When I interviewed a Sydney cafe owner who showcases Viet coffee culture in inspired ways (exhibit A: his iced brûlée-style egg coffee!), I didn’t expect him to tell me he was repeatedly blown up in Furiosa and also battled alongside Michelle Yeoh in Shang Chi. www.smh.com.au/goodfood/syd...

smh.com.au

Review: Try Vietnam’s viral egg coffee at Canley Vale’s coffee-fuelled Tina & Po

Michael Tang was repeatedly blown up in Furiosa, but now torches his popular beverage until brulee-like.

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Reposted by Lee Tran Lam

Paris Marx @parismarx.com · 15/02/2026

OpenAI ”acknowledged in its own research that LLMs will always produce hallucinations due to fundamental mathematical constraints that cannot be solved through better engineering, marking a significant admission from one of the AI industry’s leading companies.” You can’t trust chatbots.

computerworld.com

OpenAI admits AI hallucinations are mathematically inevitable, not just engineering flaws

In a landmark study, OpenAI researchers reveal that large language models will always produce plausible but false outputs, even with perfect data, due to fundamental statistical and computational limi...

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

How I got this story: I noticed (deep in @nytimes.com's recent story about PST's NY pop-up) a mention of Tamaki opening in Australia. After some detective work, I tracked down the team launching it here (they brought Mensho Tokyo to Sydney, too). Sydney's outpost will PST's biggest restaurant ever

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

David Chang called it back in 2018: “The best pizza in the world is in Tokyo.” And one of its best pizzerias opens soon in Sydney. PST (run by “one of the most talked-about pizzaioli in the world”, according to @nytimes.com) arrives here in May. My story here: www.smh.com.au/goodfood/syd...

smh.com.au

One of Tokyo’s best pizzerias, Pizza Studio Tamaki, is opening in Sydney’s CBD

It’ll be its largest global location to date and will sell its famous five-cheese pizza sweetened with honey, plus local-inspired options.

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

@praddenkeefe.bsky.social I've been looking for interviews where you talk about your Industry cameo (the name-check earlier in the season was good foreshadowing!) Perhaps it'll happen during London Falling's press tour. Congrats on being a journo we look up to both in real life and in fiction, too!

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

I cheered when I recognised @praddenkeefe.bsky.social in Industry’s S4 finale (finally, some sound journalism on the show!); it led me to his new book, which aptly shares the murky, false glitz of Industry’s universe. Say Nothing was unputdownable, am excited/impatient for London Falling’s release!

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

Thanks for countering all the Hamnet hype - so much prestige veneer (or overused Max Richter music) can not disguise how bad it is.

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

I’m so sorry to hear this - your vital words were a big reason why I subscribed to the newspaper from Australia. I still remember how energising it was to read your Royal Headache review & constantly discover new music through your coverage. Your work is truly brilliant and one of a kind!

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

“To plant is to believe in tomorrow,” my father said, as he pressed them gently into the soil. Taqwa Ahmed al-Wawi on gardening in Gaza as bombs fall. Corn is a highlight: "30 kernels, bought as popcorn seeds, grew into proud green stalks up to my chest" www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

theguardian.com

As the Israeli bombs fell, my family committed an act of rebellion: we planted a garden in Gaza | Taqwa Ahmed al-Wai

Amid constant danger, each planted seed was a tiny act of resistance. As they grew, they offered us food – and a sense of achievement amid the devastation, says Taqwa Ahmed al-Wai, a writer, poet and ...

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

I had wondered if this text had been AI-generated! Sorry @meemalee.bsky.social that you had to cop so much disrespect, especially given your incredibly rich knowledge of the cuisine! If there's one upside to this, people are being reminded of your amazing expertise (which deserves more platforming)!

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Diversity Arts Australia @diversityartsau.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

We stand in solidarity with all those who are calling for accountability, transparency, and the reinstatement of Dr Abdel-Fattah to the Adelaide Writers’ Week program: diversityarts.org.au/diversity-ar...

Diversity Arts Australia’s
Statement on the Removal of
Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah
from Adelaide Writers’ Week

Festivals are a core part of our civic infrastructure, providing forums for exchange, disagreement, and critical public debate.

The removal of Dr Abdel-Fattah from Adelaide Writers’ Week undermines these principles, and the widespread withdrawal of writers signals that this breach has been clearly understood by the cultural community.

Diversity Arts Australia
stands unequivocally
with Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah.

We also stand with the greatly respected Festival Director Louise Adler,
the writers, First Nations authors, publishers, and cultural workers who have withdrawn in protest, and with all those who are calling for accountability, transparency, and the reinstatement of Dr Abdel-Fattah to the Adelaide Writers’ Week program.

We call on the Adelaide Festival Board to urgently reinstate Dr Abdel-Fattah’s invitation.

We call on the Adelaide Festival Board to affirm its commitment to freedom of artistic, political, and cultural expression, genuine cultural equity, and the protection of those freedoms within publicly funded cultural institutions.

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

Even during a heatwave, the first Australian outpost for a Kyoto vegan ramen restaurant is attracting queues. I wrote about Sydney's Towzen noodle joint (which I liked better than the original in Japan). www.smh.com.au/goodfood/syd...

smh.com.au

Review: Japanese vegan ramen restaurant Towzen opens first Australian outlet in Sydney

Japanese vegan restaurant Towzen is pushing boundaries at its third international offshoot, with ramen that incorporates Thai- and Sichuan-style flavours.

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

Thanks so much for your comment - and yes, very grateful for his illuminating and insightful take, too. I’m glad he gave us the big picture!

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

Even though Sinners was a critical & commercial success, Variety’s “profitability remains a ways away”comment during the movie’s 1st week of release was so unwarranted, people responded in droves. Kudos to @franklinleonard.bsky.social for illuminating why that box office framing was so off.

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

This piece was inspired by the reaction to Sinners …

Earlier this year as I finished watching Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, I was surprised by what I heard leaving the cinema.

Viewers weren’t chatting about the movie’s mesmerising sequence merging hip-hop, West African drumming and traditional Chinese opera. Or the mathematical fact that any movie is instantly improved by two Michael B. Jordans in its cast. The retina-blazing ’90s fashion hadn’t sparked conversations either, even though costume designer Ruth E. Carter deserves an Order of Australia for giving Melbourne-born label Coogi its greatest onscreen moment since Kath and Kel celebrated their airport honeymoon in matching knitwear on Kath & Kim decades ago.

Instead, their first instinct was to break down Sinners’ box office performance.

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

What is it about movies that turns everyone into number-crunching accountants? We don’t talk about books or other art forms this way. This year, I wrote about how box office talk is ruining movies (via @sydmorningherald.bsky.social's Spectrum) www.smh.com.au/culture/movi...

smh.com.au

Putting the gross in ‘gross earnings’: Box office talk is ruining the movies

When did we all become voluntary bean-counters for Hollywood studios?

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Kon Karapanagiotidis @kkarapanagiotidis.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

If you have a moment I’d be very grateful if you read this.

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Shane Anderson 🏳️‍🌈 @shaneanderson.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

"This promise of an AI future, is really just a collective anxiety that wealthy people have about how well they're gonna be able to control us in the future." - @tressiemcphd.bsky.social with an absolute mic drop moment about AI bullshit. Incredible words. Listen to all of it!

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Jón Kristinsson @jonkk.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

Here’s my Spotify Wrapped 🎵✨

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 15/11/2025

According to @usc.edu data reported on @james.crid.land's @podnews.net, 64% of the most popular US podcasts were hosted by men. Such shows are far less diverse than the top movies, TV or music. Worst gender gap? Business & tech shows: men host 92% of 'em! More stats here: podnews.net/update/woefu...

podnews.net

Podcast diversity is ‘woeful’, says new report

We are much worse for diversity than film, TV, or music.

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

"My reading can sometimes lag (it's taken me 4 months to read 92 pages of Samantha Harvey's Orbital)" – partly 'cos I savour the book in 2-page bites. Thought I'd finish it before the next Booker Prize winner was announced – but no, still some pages to go! Congrats to David Szalay's Flesh, BTW!

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Sam Adams @samadams.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

Six people died from tampered Tylenol and the company pulled 30 million bottles off the market. ChatGPT is accused of urging seven people towards suicide, and OpenAI just assures us they’re still working out the kinks. Billions in investment, zero accountability.

apnews.com

OpenAI faces 7 lawsuits claiming ChatGPT drove people to suicide, delusions

OpenAI is facing seven lawsuits claiming ChatGPT drove people to suicide and harmful delusions even when they had no prior mental health issues.

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

Love that you are doing that, Sofia/Not Sophie!

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

At Sydney's only full-time Mexican bakery, you'll find coffee spiked with horchata (it's creamy, cinnamon-sweet & delicious!), an ancient hot chocolate that predates Euro-style cocoa by thousands of years and other rarities. Here's my write-up on Pancho Bakery: www.smh.com.au/goodfood/syd...

smh.com.au

Review: Sydney’s only bricks-and-mortar Mexican bakery specialises in hard-to-find treats

Pancho Bakery’s busy location means it’s easy to overlook, but its conchas, coyotas and molletes mean this one-of-a-kind shop deserves to be noticed.

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

Taylor Swift releasing (needing?) 30+ variants of her new album in 1 WEEK to knock off Adele’s sales record feels cynical. Should a billionaire really squeeze her fans this way? @defector.com on how ‘good art doesn’t come from greed’ is the BEST piece I’ve seen on TLOAS defector.com/taylor-swift...

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

Argh, so sorry you have had to deal with that! If coffee names can help people feel a bit more protected, I guess that is a good thing. I really hope you encounter better (and nicer) baristas, too!

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

You are not alone in this at all and it’s definitely still an issue. This is something that the baristas talked about when I interviewed them - getting three Matts in a row who have ordered strong flat whites. That’s why one of the Matts asked if his order could be for “Batman”!

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

I ran into one yesterday and asked for the most creative coffee name someone asked for and they said Nintendo!

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

LOL, there were 2 reader comments about this! “Every so often I use ‘Spartacus’ as a coffee name. Maybe 1 in 20x someone else in the cafe picks up on the joke and joins in…” “Spartacus could be amusing but there is a strong chance a fight would break out and you'd never end up getting the coffee.”

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

It was also great to chat to @sukhmanikhorana.bsky.social and barista/cafe owner Rowena Chansiri for this @australia.theguardian.com story about “coffee names”. Even famous people get their name misinterpreted (@wolfblitzercnn.bsky.social had a Starbucks order delivered to “Oof”)!

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

I guess this is why people use Batman or Beyonce as their coffee name!

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

I first came across the concept of having a “coffee name” when I heard Samin Nosrat say in an interview that her “coffee name” was Sam. She had mixed feelings about it - and so do I! But I totally understand why people use one, as the intro to my @australia.theguardian.com story explains.

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

Ah, thanks for your nice comment! I've definitely gone through a variety of emotions about this, and have settled for convenience (fake name!) rather than my real name. I'm sorry to hear your friend has to deal with misspellings (and a fake ID) as well! Hopefully he's found a 'coffee name' he likes!

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Lee Tran Lam @leetranlam.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

If you have a ‘difficult ethnic name’, you might know this feeling. Do you give your real name for your takeaway order - only for it to be misspelt or butchered? Or do you give a fake name for convenience: a “coffee name”? I've wanted to write this for YEARS! www.theguardian.com/food/2025/oc...

theguardian.com

Strong flat white for Batman: should I use a ‘coffee name’?

Some people go undercover when ordering takeaway – here’s what baristas think of the practice

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