Sighting the last Ox moon

The thin crescent waning moon on 31 January 2022

Over the past four days, we've been waking up at around six o'clock on account of the approaching Chinese New Year. Main reason is because of the need to do the marketing early. There are so many things to buy from the wet market in Kampong Baru: fruits and fresh foodstuff. All the preparations required for the reunion dinner as well as the preparations for the midnight worship to welcome in the New Year! 

Moreover, another reason why we spaced out our purchases at the market this year was to try and avoid the traditional large crowds on the last two days before the festival. But we know that it would be largely impossible because there are some stuff which needs to be bought on the last day itself. Like, for example, the huat koay which, if left overnight, would turn harder and chewier. Not something to my liking.

Although we are in the Tropics, just a few degrees north of the equator, the sun rises pretty later at about 7.35am at this time of the year. Thus, it was still dark when we left the house for our pre-Chinese New Year marketing. 

The same moon higher up in the sky on 30 January 2022

If there's ever a good time to watch the waning moon, it would be now. In fact, the last four days have been a joy for me. As the waning moon rises in the eastern sky each morning, it grows thinner and rises lower as the days progress. Yesterday morning, I could still see a bright, 7.5 percent illuminated moon low in the sky at about 6.30am. The day before, a 14.9 percent illuminated moon higher up in the sky at much the same time too.

Today, however, was a challenge. Because it was already the eve of Chinese New Year, I knew that the moon would rise even later and it would be very low in the sky. In order to see it, I might have to wait till a bit later but if I waited too long, the sky would have brightened and it would be next to impossible to see it. Moreover, on the eve of Chinese New Year, the moon would become a tiny sliver with its illumination only at 2.4 percent. Hard put to notice it at all!

So after hurriedly doing my marketing this morning, I settled it at a vantage point to watch the dark but brightening sky. For about five minutes I couldn't see anything at all. Then just as I was about to give up - isn't this always the case? - I noticed a slight discolour between two coconut trees in the dark but dawning sky. Could that be the moon? The more I strained to look at it, the more I was convinced that this was indeed the elusive last sight of the waning moon before Chinese New Year! After my camera caught hold of the moon, it disappeared from the now brighter sky.

Ancestral prayers

Chinese New Year comes in five days' time. For my family, the prelude to Chinese New Year does not begin with the grand send off of the Kitchen God on the 24th day of the 12th lunar month simply because we do not have this deity's altar in the house. 

Instead, we kick off our preparations with a simple vegetarian offering to the memory of my grandparents, parents and aunt. We always keep our offerings very simple: only assorted fruits and tidbits are offered; no meat-based food are permitted despite our baba-nyonya background. Thus, there's no cooking at all. This has been our practice for the past half century or so, and I'm simply following tradition. At the end of the worship, there's no burning of gold or silver paper money either. 

But we still practice divination by throwing two old coins to "ask" whether the departed have arrived at my household to enjoy the offered fruits and tidbits to them, or whether they have finished "blessing" them. It's all a matter of chance because the coins will turn up either heads or tails, but sometimes I think there is some unseen force controlling the coins. 

I'll tell you why: there have been two occasions in the past when I simply couldn't get a confirmation of their "presence" despite throwing the coins a dozen times in succession. It was either both heads or both tails. Then I realised that I hadn't requested the invisible door spirits to let them into the house. A quick appeal to the door spirits and bingo! The coins turned positive at the next toss: a head and a tail showed up immediately! Sometimes, you just have to believe in the unexplainable.

So what comes next after this? For my family, there's this putting up of a red cloth banner with auspicious words over the main doorway. It symbolises that the family is ready to greet in the new year. All around the neighbourhood and indeed, in almost every Chinese household in the country, this red cloth banner will be hung up between now and New Year's Eve.

PS. I came across this picture and a four-line pantun (and its translation) in The Peranakan Community of Western Australia on facebook today. It was about the worship to send off the Kitchen God to the Jade Emperor where he would then make his annual report on the household.

Somewhere among the offerings would be the tnee koay (甜粿); the stickier the better so that the jaws of the Kitchen God would be stuck shut and the deity wouldn't be able to spread any unsavoury report. Another version is that the tnee koay will allow the deity to report only sweet things to the Jade Emperor and thus spare that household from any bad consequences. Either way, the pantun is worthy of reproduction here:

Pagi, pagi berseh berseri, 
Dalam dapor sembah diberi, 
Tarikh Datok balik ke-tinggi, 
Pulang ke-romah ari Cheh See!   

(Translation)

From earliest morning everything looks resplendent, 
The family gathers in the kitchen offering their obeisance, 
Today, marks the date the Deity returns for his annual report, 
He returns back home on the 4th day of the New Year!

Thich Nhat Hanh

Only last month, I was writing an entry in this blog about Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk from Vietnam. I did not say much about him except to mention his age and the concern about his health - I didn't even know whether he was still living or not - but I reproduced a story from one of his books titled A Pebble for Your Pocket (ISBN 1-888375-05-1) which was published 21 years ago. It was a story that left a deep impression on me. Deep enough for me to have wanted to share it.

I was rocked this morning when news filtered out on facebook, and then on whatsapp, that this remarkable monk had died at the age of 95. He was an influential and revered activist monk. During the 1960s, he refused to side with North or South Vietnam and worked tirelessly to speak out against the Vietnam War. 

"I saw communists and anti-communists killing and destroying each other because each side believed they had a monopoly on the truth," he once wrote. When he left Vietnam for the United States to meet Martin Luther King, the South Vietnam government banned him from returning, thus sending him into a 40-year exile.

Thich eventually settled in France where he opened the Plum Village meditation centre to promote mindfulness to the West. He was the author of about 100 books on Buddhism and mindfulness. In 2014, he suffered a stroke which left him unable to talk. Expressing a desire to return to his native village, the Vietnamese government allowed him to return. Thus, from 2018 till his final days this month, he has been looked after by the monks in the Tu Hieu Temple in Hue.  

My father with his friend and ally, #ThichNhatHanh, who died this week. I celebrate and honor Thich Nhat Hanh’s life and global influence for peace. @nytimes: “A prolific author, poet, teacher and peace activist, Thich Nhat Hanh was exiled from Vietnam after opposing the war… pic.twitter.com/XHrNuE3imo

— Be A King (@BerniceKing) January 21, 2022

In order to appreciate Thich Nhat Hanh further, here is one of his last public interviews, conducted by no less a personality than Oprah Winfrey. A year after this interview, he was stricken by a stroke. This was a very powerful interview or teaching, in my opinion. 

An autobiography titled "𝑳𝒐𝒈"

I never got to ask David Hwang Hong Shi why he named his pictorial autobiography as Log but I was offered an answer by his wife, Molly Ooi. 

In his younger days, David had been a very active Scouter and he was a King's Scout from his schooldays at St George's Institution in Taiping. His interest in Scouting had continued throughout his working life, first as a Scout Master at Westlands (Primary) School in the 1950s and which carried through to Penang Free School in the 1960s and early 1970s, later at Westlands Secondary School until his retirement from government service, and finally at the International School of Uplands. The Scout movement will remember that they had to keep a log book of their activities and this was the reason why David's autobiography was simply called Log. 

The book chronicled his life's work from his schooldays till his final retirement as General Manager of Penang Club and then the founding of the Taman Sri Nibong Residents' Association. Log is privately produced and there is not more than 50 copies in print. I consider myself lucky to have received a copy. 

Actually, I visited the couple yesterday afternoon to collect it and we spent time reminiscing on the past: not that our careers crossed paths but he was already a school master at Penang Free School when I entered Form One in 1966. True to his outdoorsy lifestyle, he was a Physical Exercise teacher at the school. Fast forward later to 2012 when Molly and I were co-editors of FIDELIS, the coffee table book of The Old Frees' Association, David was always in the background to give advice on certain matters when required. That was when I got to know him well.

Sarcopenia

Here are two interesting articles on the dangers of Sarcopenia which came to me via Whatsapp. 

Sarcopenia is a condition affecting older persons. As we age, we begin losing muscle mass and strength which if unchecked, will eventually lead to the inability to move by ourselves and have to use wheelchairs.

The alarming point is that my schoolmates and I are soon to reach 70 years of age in two to three years, and yet many are unaware of this creeping condition in our lives.

Admittedly, I was unaware of it until recently. For years now, I have been puzzled over my own gradual weight loss. Eight years ago, I used to weigh almost 80 kg but now, I'm happy enough to tilt the scales at 69 kg. I see my upper arm muscles gradually decreasing in bulk. The deltoid muscles have lost mass. It had to take some comments from my barber before I started to realise about this deteriorating health condition. Thus, it is time that we take some control over this area of our physical well-being.

So to convince anyone that sarcopenia is a real condition, here is the first of two stories, and it comes courtesy of someone in Taiping.

𝑺ᴏᴍᴇ IMPORTANT 𝑨ᴅᴠɪᴄᴇ ᴏɴ 𝑯ᴇᴀʟᴛʜ ꜰᴏʀ 𝑺ᴇɴɪᴏʀ𝒔!😱🙏

Today I want to share a condition that many seniors suffer from. It may appear trivial but can result in dangerous consequences. It may start with only a drop in appetite and then  walking becomes progressively weaker. The body feels less enthusiastic and less energetic. This is the beginning of the disease of most elderly people suffer from - namely muscle wasting and weakness.

As you may be aware... the leading cause of death for many elderly people at the age of 65 and above is not a strange disease. The main cause of parental death starts with slips and falls - either in the room, bathroom/toilet or going up/down the stairs.

This is related to the weakening of the muscles experienced by the elderly... so that they are prone to poorer balance and falls.

All of us will slowly and not so consciously experience a physical decline with significant changes to the body over the next 10 years  A simple example is we start to eat less and become less agile in our movements.

Please note that by the age of 50 we have already started to experience 1-2% muscle weakness with up to 30% muscle loss by the age of 60 and up to 50% by the age of 80 years old.

This situation can only be prevented by two main things namely a sensible diet and exercise (physical activity). These two things you should still do as much as possible no matter how old you are.

Keep eating enough... even though your teeth aren't as strong as they used to be... and you don't have much appetite either... keep eating. 

Try not to just eat vegetables. You should also eat eggs and meat regularly because it builds muscle together with daily exercise. For this reason, I have vegetarian friends who have started to eat meat again. 

Whatever the type of sport, no matter how light the sport is, whether you want to jog, cycle or just take a leisurely walk. Try to continue to have sports activities as often as possible.

And lastly don't forget to get enough sunlight for Vitamin D and hygiene reasons (eg kill bacteria or reduce/remove odours). Older people really need Vitamin D to prevent bone loss and muscle weakness.

However, don't just rely on the sun and buy a Vitamin D supplement especially if you are not the outdoor type. The skin of older people may have difficulty in absorbing and creating Vitamin D from the sun alone.

Let's share care & live well ❤️

And here is the second story from the other side of the world. I have made changes to some spellings in order to de-Americanise the story and make it more understandable to non-American eyes. Also, I converted some weights and measurements to the universal metric system.

What’s the worst health problem that can happen to you? I’m sure many readers would say cancer, stroke or Alzheimer’s Disease. I agree these are all frightful diseases. But there’s another one that occurs gradually as we age. It’s called sarcopenia (the loss of muscle mass), and this creeping frailty forces many elderly into nursing homes because their muscles are so weak they can no longer get off the toilet.

A recent report from Tufts University in Boston says sarcopenia robs people of their independence and often leads to the risk of falls resulting in serious injury. Visit any nursing home and you’ll see multiple examples of sarcopenia.

Studies show that sarcopenia begins around age 45 and increases at the rate of one percent a year. That means that by age 65, sedentary people have lost half of their muscle mass. And you cannot lose muscle mass without losing muscle strength. Women are at greater risk than men as they start out in life with one-third less muscle mass than men. Moreover, since they live longer there’s longer duration of muscle loss.

So what can you do at an early age to prevent ending your life in a wheelchair? As the elderly age they tend to shy away from strenuous tasks that cause discomfort. This sets the stage for sarcopenia.

First, don’t neglect sufficient protein. Dr. Paul Jacques, director of Tufts nutritional programme, says, “It’s estimated that 20 percent of people between the ages of 51 to 70 have inadequate protein intake.” But the Tufts report also states that most North Americans get plenty of protein, but they obtain it the wrong way. Cheeseburgers and fried chicken provide protein, but they also provide too much saturated fat and calories. Researchers stress another important point. You should not only get adequate protein at dinner, but also at other meals.

So what’s the appropriate protein math to prevent sarcopenia? The proposed average is 40 to 70 gm a day depending on body weight (0.8g of protein per kilogram). So a 50 kg woman would require 40 gm and a 80 kg man 64gm. In addition, the amount depends on daily activity.

What about exercise? It’s been known for decades that weight lifting and working on resistance machines increases muscle mass and strength in young people. But when this approach was tried on older people their muscles did not get larger.

The reason for these poor results was the initial fear that to push older people too hard is unwise. I say “amen” to that, because I’ve seen cases of snapped tendons due to the loading of excessive weights. But there is a positive side if weightlifting is done with caution and not pushed to the limit. When researchers used increasing weights for those between 60 to 72 years it doubled their strength in 12 weeks of training. Some frail 90-year-olds tossed their canes away in 8 weeks of graduated exercise.

There are other benefits to preserving muscle mass. During an illness the body withdraws protein from muscles to aid in the healing process and produces antibodies to fight infection. When sarcopenia is present, there’s less ammunition to fight illness. Dr. William Evans, at the University of Arkansas, cites a study in Finland in which men in their late 60s who had lifted weights for years, had muscle mass similar to non-athletes in their 20s. Joggers however, are not protected from sarcopenia as the stress produced by this sport can’t compete with lifting weights.

The message is here is that to maintain muscle mass you require an adequate dietary intake of protein along with exercise, preferably using weights. This is not news I like to hear. I’ve enjoyed sports, but not lifting weights. But reluctantly I keep a pair of weights close to my computer and intermittently use them. I also enjoy replenishing my protein with a six-ounce steak (63 gm) and baked potato with skin (5 gm). And to ease my anxiety that I may be protein deficient I enjoy 5 ounces of red wine (0.3 gm of protein).

And finally, I shall urge everyone not to miss an educational and informative session which Diabetic Malaysia has arranged for this Sunday at 2pm. Consultant Geriatrician Dr Ong Ing Wei from University of Malaya shall give a talk on Sarcopenia on the Zoom platform. Use this link and login information below to attend: 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89608230939?pwd=M3haSlZOUWdRanM1SEVNTXNHck05dz09

Meeting ID: 896 0823 0939

Passcode: 323121

Omicron

Rather disturbing, isn't it, when people can sneak out of the country when they are unvaccinated but that was what happened when a group of Malaysians returning from their pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia were tested positive for the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus upon their return. Although the authorities have promised an investigation into this matter, there is this deep concern that these people have already started spreading the virus to the community via their family members and friends. 

We don't know the true extent of the infections as this Omicron variant is reported to be milder than the previous Delta or Indian variant. Being mild mean a greater chance that infected people may mistake their symptoms for the common cold or influenza. 

Plus, I view the daily official numbers released by the Health Ministry with some scepticism. Everyone suspects that the numbers are under-reported, and they may be right! At the very least, friends tell me that we should double the official figures and even then, it may still be inaccurate. Anyhow, if the situation remains unchecked, there is a possibility of a full-blown viral attack by March. (Friends in Australia also doubt their own numbers, saying that they are multiplying their numbers by five or 10 times.) 

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister's Department has released a list of hotels in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Negri Sembilan for the purpose of quarantining the infected returnees. Thank goodness for this list. There's some comfort here that healthy visitors to KL and the two states can avoid booking themselves into these quarantine hotels. I can never be assured enough that their sanitisation process will be thorough to satisfy me! 

 

Water, wigs and wisdom

One of my latest acquisitions: the third volume of Marcus Langdon's research into Penang's history when the island was elevated as the fourth Presidency of British India from 1805 till 1830, with Malacca and Singapore considered as its dependencies.

The third volume comprises six chapters which the author had termed as books with each dealing with different aspects of the island's past. 

Book One covers the aqueduct system which delivered water from the dams and reservoirs to the town. Book Two researches the public jetty which provided the early transportation of goods and people from the island to the trading vessels and the mainland. Book Three deals with the history of the early newspapers. Book Four talks about the the first hospital in Penang. Book Five describes how the present legal system of the country had started from Penang. And Book Six touches on how the Penang jail was established.

65th anniversary

There is no dispute that George Town was declared a city by Queen Elizabeth II on 01 January 1957. A totally apolitical declaration, based on an application of the then Municipal Council of the town in 1956, and granted the city status solely on merit.

 

First waning moon of 2022

My first camera images for the new year: a 4.9 percent illuminated waning moon with a faint but noticeable earth glow and only two days away from the last new moon before the Chinese New Year on 01 February 2022. It so happened that I was already awake at six o'clock - a rarity! - and thus decided to step outdoors for a breath of cool fresh morning air. So there I was, wandering around the neighbourhood, and I saw the moon low in the sky. Tomorrow at about the same time even if the weather is clear, it should be barely above the horizon, even thinner and practically impossible to see.