Getting forgetful? Read on....

Headline in Dots, Sunday Star (14 Jan 2012) screamed: Mental decline sets in at 45 not 60, says study. So, little wonder that you now begin to worry about your memory, or more precisely, the loss of it. Here’s news for you: Another research report published in the Daily Mail of UK – I read about it in the Sin Chew Daily -- has identified different degrees of forgetfulness:

Normal or slight forgetfulness

1.     Need a few minutes to remember where you have parked your car

2.     Momentarily forget the name of somebody or something

3.     Forget to return a phone call (or reply to an e-mail or sms)

4.     Can’t find something which you have just put away

5.     Forget something trivial that a friend told you 2 days ago

Moderate forgetfulness

1.     Forget the name of someone close to you

2.     Misplace things, or forget to remove the keys after unlocking a door

3.     Do not recognize faces

4.     Repeat questions you have just asked

5.     Change in personality

Serious forgetfulness

1.     Pour yourself a cup of tea, not realizing that you already have one

2.     Forget your grandchild’s name, but memory of your own childhood remains vivid 

3.     Don’t know how to do household chores, such as washing dishes

4.     Confused about relationships of family members

5.     Problems making  simple judgment, e.g. put on thick clothing on a hot day

6.     Don’t recognize family members  

So, don’t worry if your memory lapses are confined to those listed under normal or slight forgetfulness! Be happy……J

Planning for retirement? Read on....

If you are the proactive type like moi, you are probably planning for your retirement now. Here’s something I read in Sin Chew Daily last Sunday that may be helpful in decision-making: Malaysia is ranked No. 1 in Asia, and No. 4 in the whole world in the Retirement Index 2012 published by International Living Magazine, USA! If this index is indeed a reliable measure, I will have to rethink about retiring in China…L

Admittedly, we have our many and various gripes, we are unhappy with the present government etc., but by and large, Malaysia is a great place to live in, and retire to. For those obsessed with ranking, No. 4 in the world must be pretty good, though not as good as world No.1 in badminton men’s single player, and  No. 1 in squash ladies single player! (But it’s certainly a whole lot better than our universities' ranking!) Of course, these two games may not be as popular or glamorous like football, tennis or golf, but mind you, they are very popular in many parts of the world. Enough of my digression and rambling a la Malaysia Boleh….please read the full story at http://internationalliving.com/2011/12/the-worlds-top-retirement-havens-in-2012 and click on http://internationalliving.com/2011/12/the-scores-and-how-our-2012-retirement-index-works

to find out how the scores and index are worked out.... happy reading! J

A Tribute to Steve Jobs

Stay hungry, Stay foolish

Is Facebook infantilizing your mind?

Professor Greenfield of Oxford University: Facebook creating a generation hungry for constant attention

At last, I heard someone echoing my thought! Yes, FB serves some people’s purposes, but it certainly doesn’t serve mine. So, I didn’t have an FB account until 2009, and that was only because I needed to contact someone who is only accessible via FB! These days, I peek into my FB page occasionally, and do not have over 200 friends like the average Malaysian is said to have. I simply do not have the time to deal with such a big volume of almost constant exchanges….

According to a recent report by Reuters (London), Professor Greenfield of Oxford University has warned that Facebook is creating a generation of vain people with short attention span, who are self-obsessed, and behave almost like young children vying for constant attention and response from others. In fact, this was what she told Daily Mail way back in 2009: “My fear is that these technologies are infantilizing the brain into the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and who live for the moment.” Although I think she was then not referring to Facebook specifically.

She went on to say that obsessed users of such social networking sites crave for approval from others, about everything big and small (trivial) happening in their daily lives. They suffer from a kind of "identity crisis", in that they are like toddlers and small children constantly vying for attention. It’s almost like they are crying out all the time: "Mom, look at me, I can do this…. I did this" etc. They want immediate gratification, and generally do not possess good oral communication skills, because they only need eyes or sight to “communicate” via keyboarding in the social networking sites on the Internet.

Greenfield said this is like living in a virtual world, where what is important is what other people think of you, or if they can “click”on you, or in Facebook lingo, “add” you or “like” you.

Currently, more than 7.5 billion people worldwide use Facebook, to share photos and videos, and regularly update ideas or information about themselves.

Latest News From the East-West Center:

Malaysia's Political Awakening: A Call for U.S. Leadership

Former U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia John R. Malott writes about the internal political changes unfolding within that country that culminated in the large "Bersih 2.0" democracy rally on July 9

http://www.eastwestcenter.org/publications/search-for-publications/browse-alphabetic-list-of-titles/?class_call=view&pub_ID=3906&mode=view

More about Tiger Mom & Kids

I did a feture story for The Star (29 June 2011) about the Malaysian Tiger Mom and her twin cubs.
Here's the link where you can read the story -
http://parenthots.com/features/Raising-purr-fect-kids.aspx

Tiger Wives, East & West

After all the news about Tiger Moms, recent headlines have been hogged by Tiger Wives!

So, Wendi Deng is now the subject of tweets in the world of twitter….where snide remarks and wisecracks are aplenty….Examples, apparently from the West, are: Time to get a Chinese wife, not only can she help build your business empire (alluding to biz in China), she can be a Tiger Mom (alluding to Amy Chua) to bring up your children, and even double as your body guard!” and "Marry a kungfu bella!"

Wendy has lots of credentials, a smart cookie no doubt. She was born in Shandong (tall and strong), went to study in the US at age 19, got her business degree from Yale, moved on to work in HK, where she caught the eye of her then big boss, Rupert Murdoch. The rest is history….

After the valiant and gallant act of protecting her doddering hubby from a foam pie, a British MP remarked that she has a great left hook. But no, it wasn’t a left, it was in fact a right hook…or more precisely, a right-hand slap, accurately and speedily delivered by an accomplished ex-volley ball player from China, no less! J

Wendi’s sensational and meteoric rise to media stardom reminds us of other Tiger Wives of Western origin: Carla, First Lady of France; Cherie, wife of Tony Blair; Anne, wife of the infamous IMF ex-CEO Strauss-Kahn; and last but not least Melania, wife of Donald Trump with her famous words:  “I have a big boy, Donald, and a little boy, Baron. I take care of both very well.”  That sums up what a Tiger Wife is….as The Daily Telegraph said, The Tiger Wives’ Club is small….she knows that her spouse is less than he seems, and she, in fact, is rather more. She’s plucky; he’s lucky. J