Xander ✺

@spectralcodex.com

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Front-end developer (React/TypeScript/Astro), biogeography grad, history and map enthusiast, leftoid/anti-fascist, Wikipedia supporter. Non-American resident of Taichung, Taiwan 🐙 🕸 https://spectralcodex.com

An abandoned Taiwanese courtyard house in Tainan County, 2014. The courtyard is partially submerged due to subsidence and there is green algal scum everywhere. The reflection of the main hall can be seen in the reflection.
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A screenshot of a map of Taiwan populated by hundreds of clustered data points representing former Shinto shrine sites from the Japanese colonial era.
Screenshot of Google Maps showing a fun location: affectionate black dog in Huang Harbor.
Screenshot of a mapping project showing a popup with some information about an abandoned theater in the outer suburbs of Taipei.
Kaoliang sausage product shot with a bottle in the background. You could describe this as an alcoholic hot dog 🌭
A screenshot of downforeveryoneorjustme.com showing an internal server error due to a Cloudflare outage on November 18th, 2025.
Two maps of population decline on the main island of Taiwan. On the left is a map of cities and counties while the map on the right is more granular, showing individual districts. Population decline is mostly seen in central Taiwan.
Oblique exterior shot of Hawaii Cinema in Bangkok. It is mostly a dusty ochre color with a marquee visible over the entrance. The sky is hazy and mostly grey, while power lines stretch across the scene.
Water levels behind a landslide dam in Taroko Gorge on October 18th, 2025. The road tunnel is almost completely submerged.
A photo from Taroko Gorge on October 18th showing aquamarine water levels up to the highway behind a landslide dam. Marble cliffs tower overhead.
Photographic survey of Swallow's Grotto in Taroko National Park. Bright aquamarine water fills the canyon on the left, a debris pile is visible up ahead, and the trail surface and tunnels are on the right. Photo from the Taroko National Park Facebook page.
The view from the rooftop looking south along Meicun Road in Taichung. The Sogo department store building is visible at bottom right.
Japanese colonial era granary currently under reconstruction. It's a rugged old building, half-demolished, with a round rooftop and ventilation on top to keep grain cool. There are tarps and sheet metal fencing in the foreground.
A Taiwanese salted egg yolk pastry cut into two pieces and situated on a small white plate on a wooden table top. The background shows the context, a cafe, with chairs and tables and other patrons around.
A bright red car parked under an awning in front of a rugged looking rural cinema in Hualien County, Taiwan.
The central courtyard in a Japanese colonial era wet market showing grey pebble-washed walls and small glass and wood windows.
A white-on-black version of the Kwanon Camera logo circa 1934. It says "Camera" at the top in a brushstroke-like font and "Kwanon" at the bottom in fiery text. In the middle is an image of Guanyin or Kwanon, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, in one of their many-armed forms on top of a lotus flower.
A scene from inside a claw machine parlor in rural Taiwan. There is a gold on black plaque faintly visible behind goods on top of the claw machines.
An undated black and white photo of the side of Guanghua Theater in Tainan. It is a street scene with a banner displayed showing a traditional opera troupe. The theater nameplate can be partly seen on the right.
Another temperature map from the CWA showing 34.7 degrees in Taipei.
A screen capture from TVBS News showing the sea and a rocky beach with two rescue workers and a dog in the foreground and around 8 people watching for the tsunami to arrive.
A weather map of temperature in Taiwan. Taipei hit 32 already, Taichung is at 25.1, Kaohsiung at 28.7.
Looking up at a tiled apartment block in Taipei. The building has many wavy concrete extrusions covered with ivory-colored tile while the body of the building is a ruddy orange-brown. Plants burst from the balconies on the lower levels.
Screenshot of a mapping application showing Taichung City with 400+ points on the map.
A zoomed in view of Google Maps with the usual yellow pegman replaced by some kind of anime girl in purple.
A screenshot from a Tommy Sabbatical video where he's saying "I'm too white to enjoy this" to a snack vendor on the beach in Kinmen.
A bamboo basket with xiaolongbao, little dumplings filled with meat and soup.
A historic photography of Taichung Temple, a Soto Zen Buddhist monastery, undated but plausibly from the 1920s.
A mysterious reinforced concrete building recently unearthed in the back alleys of Taichung. It is square and minimalistic with a Buddhist swastika carved over the entrance. Debris is all around in the foreground.
A street scene at Spadina and Dundas in Toronto. A Chinese man in rather old fashioned garb is waiting at the crosswalk while a newer TTC streetcar pulls up in the background.
Screenshot of a Globe and Mail election results graphic showing Liberal Bruce Fanjoy leading with 50.6% of the vote over Pierre Poilievre with 46.1% and 257 out of 266 polls reporting. Still not called yet.
A poster with this Jim Jarmusch quote in highlighted orange and blue text on a yellow background: "Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to." It is originally taken from MovieMaker Magazine #53, Winter, January 22, 2004.
Screenshot of the Spectral Codex website showing off the search bar and search results dropdown.
A screenshot from 23andMe reading: "Hey Alexander! you have more Neanderthal DNA than 42% of other customers. Neanderthals were prehistoric humans who interbred with modern humans before disappearing around 40,000 years ago."
Da share z0ne meme: "JUST WALK OUT you can leave!!! work social thing movies home class dentist clothes shoppi too fancy weed store cops if your quick friend ships IF IT SUCKS... HIT DA BRICK!! real winners quit"
A screenshot of the Google Chrome interface reading: "This extension was turned off because it's no longer supported Chrome recommends that you remove it. Learn more about supported extensions uBlock Origin"
Screenshot from a Taiwanese city pop MV showing oversaturated colors and purple tones. It's a shot from a shipyard facing a river with a big apartment block on the opposite bank. There is a ship to the left and the band are obscured by a car with the hood popped open.
The altar of a Taiwanese temple. There is a huge cloud of incense smoke on the left and an idol standing tall in the middle. This is folk hero Liao Tianding.
An abandoned karaoke club on top of a ruined skyscraper. There is an atrium but the glass enclosure broke long ago and the scene is one of complete devastation.
One of two theater halls in an abandoned skyscraper in central Taiwan. All the seating has been stripped out. The silver screen is visible in the darkness.
Entrance to a seedy karaoke club in an abandoned skyscraper. The name is written in gold Chinese characters and there is a decapitated white statue looking like a Greek god on the right.
The nameplate of a semi-abandoned building in Taichung as shot from the rooftop. It is purposefully left as an exercise to the reader to puzzle out. The characters 中英 are readily visible.
Screenshot from Zelda: Breath of the Wild showing Dubious Food and the capture "It's too gross to even look at. A bizarre smell issues forth from this heap. Eating it won't hurt you, though... probably."
Screenshot from a Perplexity/Deepseek answer about PRC claims to Taiwan: The People's Republic of China's (PRC) claims over Taiwan are complex and multifaceted, with some elements having more legal merit than others under international law. Let's examine the key aspects of the PRC's position and analyze their validity: Succession of States Theory The PRC claims it is the successor state to the Republic of China (ROC) and thus inherits sovereignty over all ROC territories, including Taiwan. This argument has some basis in international law, as the PRC did replace the ROC in most international bodies, including the United Nations16. However, this theory is complicated by Taiwan's continued de facto independence and separate governance since 1949. UN Resolution 2758 The PRC frequently cites UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 as evidence of its sovereignty over Taiwan. However, this interpretation is an overreach15. The resolution primarily addresses China's representation in the UN, recognizing the PRC as "the only lawful representatives of China to the United Nations"16. It does not explicitly address Taiwan's status or sovereignty.
Screenshot of Perplexity's output to a question about Taiwan's political status: Current Political Dynamics President William Lai Ching-te leads the government, representing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)1. However, his administration faces substantial challenges from the opposition-controlled legislature, where the Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People's Party (TPP) coalition has recently passed significant amendments affecting governmental operations2. Constitutional Crisis A serious constitutional crisis has emerged in early 2025 due to recent legislative amendments: Judicial Paralysis The Constitutional Court has been effectively paralyzed by new requirements mandating 10 justices for hearings and 9 for constitutional rulings, while only 8 justices currently serve after the legislature rejected President Lai's nominees2. Legislative Control The opposition has passed three significant bills that: Alter election and recall procedures Modify constitutional court operations Change government funding allocations1
A very low-tech way to charge a cellphone from an outlet on a wall using a piece of paper folded and then punctured by the plug to hold everything in place. There is an ironic "Cyberpunk 2077" overlay in the lower part of the image.
A bicycle rave with a DJ playing electronic music on a trailer and around 50 cyclists following along.
A large outdoor pool lined with multicolor tile. There are old stones around and a lawn surrounding.
The bare entrance to Yuanman Theater at Ningxia Night Market. The name of the theater is in red over metal shutters. There is a door to the left. Everything else is bare and dusty.
Basic white dude making a thumbs up gesture. It's the guy from the 我就爛 meme.
The exterior of a 1930s cinema in Taiwan. The style is eclectic, drawing upon elements of Art Deco, with a green and brown pebble-washed surfacing. There is a bright red car parked out front and the theater is very obviously abandoned.
The severed head of a statue of David after collapsing in an earthquake in Taiwan. The marble head is laying sideways on the ground.
Exterior shot of an old movie theater in southern Taiwan dating back to 1969. It is long-abandoned and there are blue trucks and other cars parked in front of the dilapidated entrance.
Approaching a stone monument mounted on a tiled pedestal in a forest in rural Taiwan. There is lush foliage all around with bamboo stands in the background and hints of blue sky overhead.
A roadside snake meat soup vendor in rural Taiwan. Blue skies overhead, a flat road on the left, sheet metal architecture on the right.
An abandoned bathroom sink and mirror unit with an ochre yellow wooden window frame on the right. Everything is gritty and textured and sunbeams are cast against the wall through a hole in the roof.
A cute and charming Hu Ye (虎爺) idol from the temple across from the Koxinga Ancestral Hall in Tainan. He has big eyes looking up in a beseeching sort of fashion. There are some oranges on the altar to the left.
Screen grab from "Exploring with Josh" on Facebook, posting: "Taiwan's abandoned UFO village stand as one of the most bizarre and abandoned places in the world. These futuristic, pod-shaped buildings, designed to resemble UFOs, were once intended to be a luxury resort and vacation destination. But, for reasons still shrouded in mystery, the project was abandoned in the 1980s, leaving behind a ghostly village of alien-like structures. "Today, the Sanzhi UFO Houses are a haunting relic, slowly being overtaken by nature. The once-promising resort, with its sleek, futuristic design, now stands in stark contrast to the surrounding rugged landscape. With cracked walls, broken windows, and overgrown vegetation, it feels like stepping into a sci-fi film set that was never completed." (Note that most of this is utter rubbish!)
A tiger god idol on the altar in a temple in Xinshi, Taiwan. It looks to be a wood carving and there's an orange cape draped over the body.