Memory Lapse

It's been awhile since I last visited my Ipoh relatives.

One thing I have noticed is most of my aunts had grew older since I last saw them.
My uncle in law from JB drove all the way and drop in to pick mum and I to Ipoh as he has to attend his school class reunion.
 He once mention to my aunt, " Do you know I am the last of the uncle-in-law?". My aunt said hush,don't say this word.

And as we age, most of us become increasingly forgetful.My 2nd auntie is showing signs of memory of lapse as she kept asking the same question like " Did I call to inform ..." over and over. Her case is more like partial memory lapse,she is unable to remember what she said moments ago but can still remember her earlier years.

 I can say her memory is like FIFO (means "first in, first out). The current memory shall be deleted while the old one will be kept.

All of our aunties shows patience with her when talking with her. Forgetting, can annoying for them but they try not to show their  frustration. OK, maybe sometimes.

It's really scary to hear when you grow old you might also become like that.

Luckily she is still able to remember my name as she took a moment only for the recollection returns.

So what is the cause of momentary failures in memory?

The most common one is age as the brain decline, high blood pressure , brain injury which destroy memory stored like a faulty disc ,pregnancy may also lead to memory lapses and depression or stress.

Now for memory improvement some said Mahjong's can improve memory as it required players to use their attention,memory,planning strategy  and calculating scores.

My eldest auntie can be as a testament of avid player memory who do not suffer from dementia as her brain is regularly stretch and exercise.

Many Chinese believe eat pig brains will increase memory retention. Yuck , makes me want to puke. I think I will skip this one.

Also those elders having regular conversation can help prevent or delay forgetting as their memory constantly retrieved and store back.You know, as we come to the end of this phase of our lives, we find ourselves trying to remember the good times and trying to forget the bad times.

Sometimes having a bad memories not such a bad things as we cannot remember the past suffering.
Nothing improves the memory more than trying to forget.


Same also why we need to have refreshing course. eg fire drill training. Our knowledge will slowly goes away if we do not use it. That also why we need practise.Sometimes we all need to be reminded not to get complacent.

Everyone has some troubles with forgetfulness , right? Learn to write notes to yourself help you remember. Weakness is nothing to be ashamed of as it is only part of human nature.

Now where the devil are my pencil? I might need to have more fish for Vitamin B12 diet and more exercises also may help me to remember things.

My Grandmother's story- Giant Snake

Legendary Giant Snake of Malaya. Another giant snake is a 100ft long snake named "Nabau", according to the Iban native legend, it has manage to stay well hidden in dense tropical rain forest of the Malaysia Borneo

My late Grandmother once told me about a giant snake in Malaya (Now it's called Malaysia) during the Japanese occupation.
In those times many are held for forced labour. One of the military project is to clear the thick jungle land to built railways track.

Many of them are mysteriously disappeared while in the jungle. One came out with a idea . Those forced labour worker will walk in pairs by one will look  in front for the danger and the other at the back.

It's snack time

The one in front fell down and disappeared causing the other one to start looking for him.

Ultimately he encountered something amazing and when he moved closer, he got the fright of his life when he sees a big snake open its mouth, wide enough to fit an adult. That must have caused some of the victims fainted or just walk straight and fall directly into the mouth of snake. It just looks like a  flytrap plant, sits there, rooted in place, waiting for unsuspecting prey to drop in!

In the movie the mouth of the 40 foot snake need to mouth open real wide enough to swallow. Imagine if the snake is 100 foot wide, how big is the mouth?

Now imagine  that its the mega snake's mouth could “open big and open wide".

With its thick oil drum sized body and the long length it will easily camouflaging itself as tree trunk.

He was momentarily petrified, then slowly turned back and frantically run back to reported what he had seen to an army officer. Running down the hill and kept yelling, "Snake, Snake, Giant Snake! Although the officer is hard to convince but eventually the Japanese officer agreed to lead his men to the scene.

They found the giant snake, startled by what they saw immediately the soldier fired gun bullets into the beast. When they realised they could not kill the snake by shooting ,the officer's radio to call for help.

Just to shows how an imaginary scene would look.

A plane was send to bomb the snake target and killed it eventually.

The snake had been cut into many pieces due to its enormous length. It took at least three army truck to transport all back to army camp. They slit it open the snake stomach and looked inside. Now the mystery unfold of where the missing persons went.

Those missing had been killed and swallowed by giant man eating snake. As most victim face was so disfigured and some digested , the only way is to be identified by rings on their fingers.

Never Let Your Guard Down-  Headless Snakes Can Still Kill You. It happened before when a snake meat  vendor chop off the snake head but when he picked up the head, it gets the last laugh when the head of a decapitated venomous snake bit him.

I suppose this are one of the tales of Giant Snakes are found in old folklore from many lands. The story told must be more surpass the imagination than movies of Hollywood such as Anaconda. I assumed her story much like fables, folklore or myth or she just make up the stories out of her pure imagination.

Well that's not until I casually told the story to two other friends separately in two occasions and I was so surprise when they both acknowledge they heard it all before. It seems that she may have been telling the truth after all.

You don’t suppose somewhere there are giant snakes and other creatures still to be discovered in the deep of the jungle or some deep pit.

So don't arguing on saying there is no such thing as Giant snake as none will come out alive when finally encountered one.

Colonel Remy Van Lierde DFC** (14 August 1915–8 June 1990) was a Belgian pilot and fighter ace who served during World War II in the Belgian and British Air Forces, shooting down six enemy aircraft and 44 V-1 flying bombs, and achieving the RAF rank of Squadron Leader. He returned to the Belgian Air Force after the war and went on to hold several important commands before retiring in 1968.

It was 1959, and the colonel and his crew were flying back from a helicopter mission when they saw a gigantic snake “winding on the terrain below".

The snake he witnessed has been estimated to be anywhere from around 40-50 feet long. It was possible to estimate the size of the snake because of the many features on the ground in the images taken.

It was described by the pilot as a dark shade of brown and green with a white coloured belly. The jaws were of triangular shape. The pilot claimed the head was a massive 3 feet wide adding that as he cautiously moved in lower for a closer inspection the snake raised itself in the air as high as maybe 10 feet, looking like it may attack the helicopter.

After much expert analysis the images taken of this 'Giant Congo Snake' were deemed to be genuine.

 The photo analysis by CIA Captain Lorenzo W. Burrows, director of the National Photographic Interpretation Center end up much longer by compared the size of the termite nests with the snake.

 CIA analysts concluded its about 200 ft long.

A massive snake of Congo burrowed under a thick forest floor. Oh, this had to be a tall tale or actually the one that got away.

Under high power you can very easily see this, and that the top one is termite nests

Some termites hill can be 7.5 m (25 ft) tall (in Africa and Australia).

Colonel Remy Van Lierde observed and took the photo from the helicopter during a patrol over the Republic of Congo in 1959 . He said that the snake's head was "as big as a horse's head." The pilot, also said that the snake lunged at his helicopter. The pilot's the one who estimated that the snake was about 40 feet to 50 feet

It brings out memories of  monstrous film where Kong's battle with a giant snake, maybe there is also a giant ape out there. I don't think we have any problem trapping a giant snake with today's technology?

Memorable moments of Kong's battle with a giant snake in this 1976 King Kong film,  I like that 2005 CGI better  cause making all the mechanics for Kong looks stiff with unexpressed emotion.

I came across an interesting newspaper article about giant snake in 2013 but couldn't find photo on it.
On second thought, this is definetly an April Fool's joke, cause its posting date is April 1st.

So disappointing.. she's managed to elude us. ... “Again, a dead end".

According to Iban Borneo legend, Nabau is a giant snake of a dragon's head and seven nostrils. Comparable to the circumference of a drum and is more than 100 feet in length. Even the respected New Straits Times newspaper in Kuala Lumpur has asked readers to make up their own minds about the photos.

A member of the disaster relief committee, Sibu on 31 January 2009 was monitoring the flood situation in Ulu Rajang in a helicopter when he saw a monster that looked like a big snake cruising along the river. He took photographs of the monster at 5.30 pm at one of the Sungai Baleh tributaries from the helicopter. it may be the snake in the Dayak legend in Sarawak, called Nabau.

A log or a speed boat or maybe there

 is a really giant snake after all?

 Easily the most iconic Loch Ness monster image is this one in which a special effects company sought to deliberately deceived the public for 81 years.

We been a sucker for 81 years for Nessie but if  Nabau is just a log , a log cannot be that winding, can it?

More news on Giant Snake in Malaysia...

A MASSIVE python found in in the Malaysian state of Penang on Thursday (Apr 7, 2016).

It was discovered lying under a tree by construction workers near their work site in Paya Terubong.

The reptile is 7.5m long and weighs 250kg. Sorry girl but your the second Best. The longest snake in captivity — also a reticulated python — is a 7.67 metre specimen called Medusa, which lives in the United States, according to Guinness World Records.

 Sadly died, just approximately four days in captivity after laying an egg. I was absolutely gutted.  There are also concerns that it might have been mishandled or  it was traumatized from its capture. 

She's may look big, muscular and angry looking. She might even be an actual monster. People are often fearful of her but inside maybe she just a  “gentle giants” . 

Remember the little kid, Sambath from Cambodia and his best Burmese friend? This 2008 video clip when he was just 8 years old.

As the story goes..a Cambodian boy, Uorn Sambath, has made an unlikely friendship between a boy and  16 foot long  Burmese python snake which weighs over 220 pounds.

The snake, named Chamroeun, which means “progress” crawled into their lives as a baby snake seven years ago, when Uorn was only three months old. As claimed by his parents, Uorn used to sleep together with the snake in his cradle, and learned to crawl with him. Their unique bond has turned the pair into a tourist attraction in their remote village.

Eventually the snake no longer lived with them as it grow larger the snake does become expensive to maintain, devouring more than 14 chickens per week. They  decided it's time to part with the snake to the wildlife sanctuary outside Phnom Penh. Thankfully, no harm was done because WILD it's his nature! 

No amount of  much petting, feeding, or loving care is going to make that snake NOT eat you. 

We can only satisfy the scientific requirement for 

an explanation. Well, what if we were to tell you 

that there were once snakes with size regularly 

up to 50 foot length, would you believe it?

In 2009, the fossils of 28 individual T. cerrejonensis were found in the Cerrejón Formation of the coal mines of Cerrejón in La Guajira, Colombia. Weighing more than a tonne and measuring 14m (approximately 50ft) the giant reptile could swallow a whole crocodile without showing a bulge.

Titanoboa cerrejonensis, the largest, longest, and heaviest snake ever discovered. 

A terrifying 48-foot, 2,500lb predator that slithered through rainforests 60 million years ago has been brought back to life by the Smithsonian.

  For now Titanoboa reigns supreme as the undisputed King of Serpents.

Cast Away (film)

When there is nothing good to watch on TV , I randomly pick shows to watch on my DVD movie collection. I recently watch again the film “Cast Away". It earned a place as one of my favourite films.

A MUST SEE FILM.

This story about Chuck Noland who works for FedEx played by Tom Hanks. In the beginning of the show this man, a time obsessed system operation engineer who is very serious about punctuality as his job is to ensure packages deliver is on time.

'Fat' Chuck (Tom Hanks) and Kelly (Helen Hunt) exchange Xmas gifts right before he gets on the doomed FedEx airplane flight. He tells his girlfriend Kelly at the airport as he walks away from the car that, I'll be right back.

            Chuck castaway on a desert island

Flying through a violent storm, his plane crashes into the Pacific Ocean, only to be washed up on an uninhabited island.Being the only survivor of a plane crash, Chuck must use all his skills for survival. Even for a human basic need to drink must acquired some knowledge on how to collect fresh water. As for his case, he kept it in the empty coconut shell. Just one of those daily things we take for granted.

We watch how he learns to improved and adapt as time goes by in the island.

I Have Made Fire! Chuck has successfully create  the fire, sings "Light My Fire"

Those thing like figure out how to start a fire , crack open a coconut.. makes you wonder why didn't he join the boy scout.

After a failed attempt to leave the island, he was compelled to open the boxes to see whether they contain anything useful he can make use (Except for a package with angel wings drawn on it). Another survival tip of make best use of his scarce resources available.

Chuck was always thinking of ways to get food e.g. with the roller blade from the FedEx package he use it as tool to cut away the coconut's husk.
Before that he was a busy man but now in the deserted island he has nothing to do except eat and sleep.

Feeling lonely he created a companion out of the volleyball. He keeps his sanity and language skills by conversing with it. He created a image when he draws a face in the bloody hand print on the ball, names it Wilson.

Chuck created artificial friend 'Wilson' out of loneliness

 
Cast Away is a modern Robinson Crusoe version story without Friday, the role of Friday was played by Wilson as his companion.

After 4 years of waiting for help , he determined to get away from the island by building a handmade raft. He quote, "Well, regardless, I would rather take my chance out there on the ocean than to stay here and die on this shithole island".
I wonder will the raft able to last in real life scenario as it made of raft woven together with palm leave string.

Just before he left he carves on the rock a message ..

Chuck afraid of not surviving  the voyage back home,
wrote a message on the rock to tell he was here 1500 days.
 Escape to sea and Tell Kelly Frears, Memphis TN. I Love Her  

Wilson falls off the raft and Chuck tried in vain to save it. Chuck lets the raft drift aimlessly on the sea and a passing by ocean liner ship crewmen saved him.

I'm sorry Wilson! 

His boss threw a home coming party for him but he was expressing his displeasure on the surplus food wasted. This food which takes him hours just to get a fraction of food to survive. He reflect back on how he struggle to catch tiny crabs for food compared with the giant crab ordered for his party feast.

Everything he left has changed, his girlfriend has married another man as she thought he was dead and even held a funeral.

As If by Fate, he wanted to deliver a package from the crash, so he random picked one that did not open.
In the end he go to send this parcel in an isolated ranch but nobody at home. So when he left, he stopped by at a crossroad. A lady asked whether he wanted her help for direction.

The woman who paints angel wings on her packages left, Chuck notices that the same angel wing emblem is painted on her truck. He ponders for a while which direction he wants to go at the intersection. Ultimately, he decides in which direction to go, and to me it looked as if he picked the road that leads to the woman's ranch.

 A pretty woman in an old pick-up truck stops and asks him if he have lost his direction.

Chuck notices the angels' wings painted on the back of her truck.  This is a Good Sign.

 Oh, where do I go from here. Follow Your Instinct. You have found her, now go and get her.

Sometimes we come to life's crossroads and have to make decisions that
 could affect the rest of our lives

It seems like there's going to be a happy ending after all.

This movie instantly remind me of the Maslow's hierarchy of human needs and how Chuck progressed through these level. From the Physiological level he finds himself in need for food, water and shelter. After cover that Safety level is next.The need for a friend due to loneliness and boredom.

Tom Hanks has to gain 40lbs weight in the beginning to show a FedEx executive middle age man which lack of exercise. The production then was stop for a year so that Tom can lose weight and grow his beard before resuming. This is in order to show the effects of time and malnutrition. All done with no makeup and wig to transform.

Now , that's what I called a truly great actor.