Archive for the ‘Food and drink’ Category
World Fellowship of Buddhists (Penang Regional Centre) pays courtesy call on Chief Abbot of Kek Lok Si Temple
The Chairman and Committee Members of The World Fellowship of Buddhists (Penang Regional Centre) pays a courtesy call on the Chief Abbot Reverend Sin Kuang of Kek Lok Si Temple, Ayer Itam, Penang on this Sunday morning of January 3, 2016 at 11.30 am. The current Chairman is Dato Dr Loh Hock Hun, Dato’ Seri Choot Ewe Seng, Lim Gim Hin – the Secretary and 10 other Committee Members. The blogger Lim Soo Peng is one of the 3 Vice-Chairman. We were invited to a simple vegetarian lunch by the Abbot. After the lunch, we took part in an interesting conversation with Chief Abbot Reverend Sin Kuang who is very interested in herbal remedies. He even wrote a booklet in Mandarin on the subject.
Photographs were taken at 极乐寺 Kek Lok Si Temple, Ayer Itam, Penang.
SP Lim
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A Day for Marriages and not for boxing
A busy day for Marriages instead of Boxing Day (post-Christmas Day) – we had one Marriage Registration and one Marriage Reception Dinner on Saturday, December 26, 2015.
The Marriage Registration of Vincent Ooi Yin Chong and Ho Cher Ling was held at Che Hoon Khor Moral Uplifting Society Penang. A big delegation of friends, relatives and parents were on hand to lend support and give moral support to the newly weds. Heartiest congratulations.
The Marriage Reception Dinner of Ong Yu Shin (Son of Mr & Mrs Ong Ban Seang – my Penang Free School class-mate) and Evon Goh (daughter of Mr & Mrs Albert Goh Hua Tong) was held at Pelangi Ballroom, Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa Penang, Batu Ferringhi, Penang. Driving up to Batu Ferrighi was quite time-consuming owing to the bumper-to-bumper traffic jam starting at Tanjung Tokong until the hotel. There was a function at the Floating Mosque at Tanjung Bungah on that night.
SP Lim
From Wikipedia:-
Boxing Day is a holiday traditionally celebrated the weekday or Saturday following Christmas Day, when servants and tradesmen would receive gifts, known as a “Christmas box”, from their masters, employers or customers, in the United Kingdom, The Bahamas, Barbados, Canada, Hong Kong, Australia, Bermuda, New Zealand, Kenya, South Africa, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and other former British colonies. Today, Boxing Day is the bank holiday or public holiday that generally takes place on 26 or 27 December.
In South Africa, Boxing Day was renamed Day of Goodwill in 1994. In the liturgical kalendar of Western Christianity, the day is dedicated to St. Stephen, so is known as St. Stephen’s Day to Christians (especially Anglicans, Lutherans and Roman Catholics), and to the population generally in Italy, Ireland, Finland, Alsace and Moselle in France. It is also known as both St. Stephen’s Day and the Day of the Wren or Wren Day in Ireland. In some European countries, most notably Germany, Poland, the Netherlands and those in Scandinavia, 26 December is celebrated as the Second Christmas Day.
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Winter Solstice or Tung Cheh/ Dongzhi Ceremony at Kew Leong Tong Lim Kongsi, Penang this morning of December 22, 2015…
Winter solstice is an astronomical phenomenon marking the shortest day and the longest night of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere this is the December solstice and in the Southern Hemisphere this is the June solstice.
The traditional East Asian calendars divide a year into 24 solar terms (節氣). Dōngzhì (pīnyīn) or Tōji (rōmaji) (Chinese and Japanese: 冬至; Korean: 동지; Vietnamese: Đông chí; literally: “winter’s extreme”) is the 22nd solar term, and marks the winter solstice. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 270° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 285°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 270°. In the Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around 21 December (22 December East Asia time) and ends around 5 January.
Along with equinoxes, solstices (traditional Chinese: 至點; simplified Chinese: 至日; literally: “extreme sun”) mark the middle of East Asian calendar seasons. Thus, in “冬至”, the Chinese character “至” means “extreme” and the term for the winter solstice directly signifies the summit of winter, as “midwinter” is used in English.
In China, Dongzhi was originally celebrated as an end-of-harvest festival. Today, it is observed with a family reunion over the long night, when pink and white tangyuan are eaten in sweet broth to symbolise family unity and prosperity.
The Dōngzhì Festival or Winter Solstice Festival (Chinese: 冬至; pinyin: Dōngzhì; literally: “the extreme of Winter”) is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the Chinese and other East Asians during the Dongzhi solar term (winter solstice) on or around December 22 (according to East Asia time).[1] In 2015, the festival falls on Tuesday, December 22.
The origins of this festival can be traced back to the yin and yang philosophy of balance and harmony in the cosmos.[2] After this celebration, there will be days with longer daylight hours and therefore an increase in positive energy flowing in. The philosophical significance of this is symbolized by the I Ching hexagram fù (復, “Returning”).
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The old Theatre and the Restaurant
I took these photographs during a short street shooting stint – on the way back from breakfast at Macalister Lane, Penang. I has not been to Macalister Lane for some years even I stayed in Penang. Now, even Ah Hock’s Koay Teow Th’ng has a female assistant to help him. The contents of the noodles in the bowl was smaller and was charged for RM4.00 for the bowl. Taste is lesser delicious in my opinion. I regret that Economy Rice stall had closed for sometime as the Fried Fish in sambal/chillies was a delicious dish. The koay kak or fried small chunks of rice cakes was still delicious as usual with the nasi lemak in packets they were selling. Parking the car opposite at Jalan Khoo Sian Ewe and Jalan Phee Choon (next to Penang Police HQ), there was an old theatre which we used to patronize with my parents and my younger in the past. Was it known in Hockien or Thai Wah or was it Teong Sun? Must be the Majestic. Now, it is being restored for some use as George Town of Penang is now the UNESCO’s World Heritage Site thus old colonial-styled or other old existing buildings cannot be pull down anymore. No new buildings higher than 4 storeys are allowed to be built in this heritage zone.
Noticed an old VW van parked by the Loke Thye Kee Restaurant at the corner. This restaurant use to serve delicious Hainanese cuisine in the past. Now, it served halal (without pork) Hainanese-styled food.
SP Lim
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Our Penang Lang Old Frees’ Luncheon on Saturday, 5 December, 2015
As scheduled we met at the Tavern, Old Frees Association, Penang. Lunch was good with the Indian Mee Goreng included again. We thanked Ban Bee for sponsoring this December luncheon.
SP Lim
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Happy Birthday Dana of a Penang Centenarian Lady – Part 2
It is the 100th. Year Birthday of Madam Tan Swee Hong – the mother of Venerable Buddhavamsa at the Burmese Dhammikarama Buddhist Temple, Burmah Lane, Penang on Saturday, November 21, 2015. I had the privilege of being asked by the Temple to photo-shoot this grand event which I has never experience before.
From Wikipedia:-
LONGEVITY
The word “longevity” is sometimes used as a synonym for “life expectancy” in demography – however, the term “longevity” is sometimes meant to refer only to especially long-lived members of a population, whereas “life expectancy” is always defined statistically as the average number of years remaining at a given age. For example, a population’s life expectancy at birth is the same as the average age at death for all people born in the same year (in the case of cohorts). Longevity is best thought of as a term for general audiences meaning ‘typical length of life’ and specific statistical definitions should be clarified when necessary.
Reflections on longevity have usually gone beyond acknowledging the brevity of human life and have included thinking about methods to extend life. Longevity has been a topic not only for the scientific community but also for writers of travel, science fiction, and utopian novels.
There are many difficulties in authenticating the longest human life span ever by modern verification standards, owing to inaccurate or incomplete birth statistics. Fiction, legend, and folklore have proposed or claimed life spans in the past or future vastly longer than those verified by modern standards, and longevity narratives and unverified longevity claims frequently speak of their existence in the present.
A life annuity is a form of longevity insurance.
Life expectancy, as of 2010
Main article:
List of countries by life expectancy
Various factors contribute to an individual’s longevity. Significant factors in life expectancy include gender, genetics, access to health care, hygiene, diet and nutrition, exercise, lifestyle, and crime rates. Below is a list of life expectancies in different types of countries:[3]
Developed countries: 77–90 years (e.g. Canada: 81.29 years, 2010 est.)
Developing countries: 32–80 years (e.g. Mozambique: 41.37 years, 2010 est.)
Population longevities are increasing as life expectancies around the world grow:[1][4]
Spain: 79.06 years in 2002, 81.07 years in 2010
Australia: 80 years in 2002, 81.72 years in 2010
Italy: 79.25 years in 2002, 80.33 years in 2010
France: 79.05 years in 2002, 81.09 years in 2010
Germany: 77.78 years in 2002, 79.41 years in 2010
UK: 80 years in 2002, 81.73 years in 2010
USA: 77.4 years in 2002, 78.24 years in 2010
Monaco: 79.12 years in 2002, 79.73 years in 2011
None for my country, Malaysia.
A centenarian is a person who lives to or beyond the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies everywhere are less than 100, the term is invariably associated
Inserted by SP Lim
Major factors to live longer
Evidence-based studies indicate that longevity is based on two major factors, genetics and lifestyle choices.
Genetics
Twin studies have estimated that approximately 20-30% the variation in human lifespan can be related to genetics, with the rest due to individual behaviors and environmental factors which can be modified. Although over 200 gene variants have been associated with longevity according to a US-Belgian-UK research database of human genetic variants, these explain only a small fraction of the heritability. A 2012 study found that even modest amounts of leisure time physical exercise can extend life expectancy by as much as 4.5 years.
Environmental factors
A study of the regions of the world known as blue zones, where people commonly live active lives past 100 years of age, speculated that longevity is related to a healthy social and family life, not smoking, eating a plant-based diet, frequent consumption of legumes and nuts, and engaging in regular physical activity. In a cohort study, the combination of a plant based diet, normal BMI, consuming alcohol once per week to cleanse the system, and not smoking accounted for differences up to 15 years in life expectancy. Korean court records going back to 1392 indicate that the average lifespan of eunuchs was 70.0 ± 1.76 years, which was 14.4–19.1 years longer than the lifespan of non-castrated men of similar socio-economic status. The Alameda County Study hypothesized three additional lifestyle characteristics that promote longevity: limiting alcohol consumption, sleeping 7 to 8 hours per night, and not snacking (eating between meals), although the study found the association between these characteristics and mortality is “weak at best”. There are however many other possible factors potentially affecting longevity, including the impact of high peer competition, which is typically experienced in large cities.
Photos by SP Lim
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Happy Birthday Dana of a Penang Centenarian Lady – Part 1
It is the 100th. Year Birthday of Madam Tan Swee Hong – the mother of Venerable Buddhavamsa at the Burmese Dhammikarama Buddhist Temple, Burmah Lane, Penang on Saturday, November 21, 2015. I had the privilege of being asked by the Temple to photo-shoot this grand event which I has never experience before.
From Wikipedia:-
LONGEVITY
The word “longevity” is sometimes used as a synonym for “life expectancy” in demography – however, the term “longevity” is sometimes meant to refer only to especially long-lived members of a population, whereas “life expectancy” is always defined statistically as the average number of years remaining at a given age. For example, a population’s life expectancy at birth is the same as the average age at death for all people born in the same year (in the case of cohorts). Longevity is best thought of as a term for general audiences meaning ‘typical length of life’ and specific statistical definitions should be clarified when necessary.
Reflections on longevity have usually gone beyond acknowledging the brevity of human life and have included thinking about methods to extend life. Longevity has been a topic not only for the scientific community but also for writers of travel, science fiction, and utopian novels.
There are many difficulties in authenticating the longest human life span ever by modern verification standards, owing to inaccurate or incomplete birth statistics. Fiction, legend, and folklore have proposed or claimed life spans in the past or future vastly longer than those verified by modern standards, and longevity narratives and unverified longevity claims frequently speak of their existence in the present.
A life annuity is a form of longevity insurance.
Life expectancy, as of 2010
Main article:
List of countries by life expectancy
Various factors contribute to an individual’s longevity. Significant factors in life expectancy include gender, genetics, access to health care, hygiene, diet and nutrition, exercise, lifestyle, and crime rates. Below is a list of life expectancies in different types of countries:[3]
Developed countries: 77–90 years (e.g. Canada: 81.29 years, 2010 est.)
Developing countries: 32–80 years (e.g. Mozambique: 41.37 years, 2010 est.)
Population longevities are increasing as life expectancies around the world grow:[1][4]
Spain: 79.06 years in 2002, 81.07 years in 2010
Australia: 80 years in 2002, 81.72 years in 2010
Italy: 79.25 years in 2002, 80.33 years in 2010
France: 79.05 years in 2002, 81.09 years in 2010
Germany: 77.78 years in 2002, 79.41 years in 2010
UK: 80 years in 2002, 81.73 years in 2010
USA: 77.4 years in 2002, 78.24 years in 2010
Monaco: 79.12 years in 2002, 79.73 years in 2011
None for my country, Malaysia so I take that of developing countries average of 32 to 80 years.
A centenarian is a person who lives to or beyond the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies everywhere are less than 100, the term is invariably associated
Inserted by SP Lim
An interesting fact emerged to my surprise on how to live longer from Wikipedia –
Fact – “Korean court records going back to 1392 indicate that the average lifespan of eunuchs was 70.0 ± 1.76 years, which was 14.4–19.1 years longer than the lifespan of non-castrated men of similar socio-economic status.”
Questions : Do man need to castrate himself to live longer?
Lack of male hormones assist eunuchs to live longer?
Sex can kill? Hahahaha … food for thought
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