I just had a productive conversation with Meta AI about the punchy writing style, as follows:
Me: How to master a punchy writing style?
Meta AI:
Mastering a punchy style of writing requires practice, patience, and a few key techniques. Here are some tips to help you get started:
Keep it concise: Punchy writing is all about brevity. Cut unnecessary words and phrases to get straight to the point.
Use active voice: Active voice makes your writing more engaging and direct. It can help you avoid awkward sentence structures and wordy phrases.
Choose powerful verbs: Verbs are the engines of language. Choose verbs that evoke action, emotion, and energy.
Use simple language: Avoid jargon and overly complex vocabulary. Simple language can be incredibly effective in conveying your message.
Focus on clarity: Punchy writing is clear and easy to understand. Avoid ambiguity and ensure your message is direct.
Use rhetorical devices: Techniques like metaphors, similes, and allusions can add depth, emotion, and punch to your writing.
Edit ruthlessly: Cut any words or phrases that don't contribute to the overall impact of your writing.
Read widely: Study the work of punchy writers. Analyze their techniques, structure, and language use.
9. Practice, practice, practice: The more you write, the more you'll develop your unique voice and style.
Some excellent resources to help you master punchy writing include:
"The Elements of Style" by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White
"On Writing" by Stephen King
"Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott
Remember, punchy writing is all about impact, clarity, and efficiency. With practice and dedication, you can develop a writing style that packs a punch!
Me: Great! Can you recommend more writers with a punchy style of writing?
Meta AI:
Here are some writers known for their punchy style:
Non-Fiction
Malcolm Gladwell: Known for his engaging, concise writing style.
Yuval Noah Harari: Author of "Sapiens" and "21 Lessons for the 21st Century", Harari's writing is clear, direct, and impactful.
Naomi Klein: A journalist and author, Klein's writing is sharp, concise, and thought-provoking.
David Sedaris: A master of essay writing, Sedaris's work is witty, engaging, and punchy.
Yuval's book I'm reading at the moment
Fiction
Ernest Hemingway: A pioneer of concise, punchy writing, Hemingway's style is iconic.
Raymond Carver: A master of minimalist fiction, Carver's writing is direct, simple, and powerful.
Don DeLillo: Author of "White Noise" and "Underworld", DeLillo's writing is concise, witty, and insightful.
Jennifer Egan: A Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Egan's writing is innovative, concise, and engaging.
Blogging and Online Writing
Seth Godin: A renowned blogger and author, Godin's writing is concise, insightful, and punchy.
Tim Ferriss: Author and blogger, Ferriss's writing is engaging, concise, and informative.
Maria Popova: Founder of Brainpickings, Popova's writing is thoughtful, concise, and insightful.
These writers are known for their ability to convey complex ideas in a clear, concise, and engaging manner. Studying their work can help you develop your own punchy writing style!
Me: What about Roald Dahl?
Meta AI:
Roald Dahl is an EXCELLENT example of a writer with a punchy style!
Dahl's writing is known for its:
Vivid imagery: He uses descriptive language to paint vivid pictures in the reader's mind.
Dark humor: Dahl often incorporates dark, irreverent humor into his stories, making them both entertaining and thought-provoking.
Concise language: Dahl's writing is often concise and to the point, making it easy to follow and engaging to read.
Unpredictability: Dahl's stories often have unexpected twists and turns, keeping readers on their toes.
Some of his most famous works include:
"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"
"Matilda"
"The BFG"
"James and the Giant Peach"
Dahl's writing style has been widely praised for its unique blend of humor, imagination, and emotional depth. He's an excellent example of a writer who can craft engaging, punchy stories that appeal to readers of all ages!
(End of the conversation)
***
P.S.
Regarding to Roald Dahl's twists and turns, my favorite is The Umbrella Man. Refer to the audiobooks in the embed videos below which I listened two years ago. The second video will take you to a literature lesson with detailed explanations about the language and writing style.
Saigon has never nurtured or raised me. It has only been a stopover among countless stopovers in my life as a wanderlusting traveller, yet Saigon holds a special place in my heart. During my brief visits, whether for leisure, visiting friends, or transiting home, Saigon always appears to me as a land of tolerance and generosity for everyone.
Saigon is a place where people from all walks of life come to make a living. Saigon nurtures everyone from the impoverished street vendors to the hardworking labourers, from the middle-class intellectuals to the high-class elite. For those with nothing, a basket, a carrying pole, or an old Honda can become an effective means of making a living.
A Vietnamese lady deftly balances a carrying pole on her shoulder, suspending two overflowing baskets of bananas. She'll soon settle onto the pavement, surrounded by the cacophony of honking horns and chattering pedestrians, ready to sell her bananas. Photo credit to Huỳnh Tâm Hoài
Take the woman selling bread who shouts cheerfully, "Saigon bread, dense and buttery, 2,000 đồng per loaf. Come and buy!" With a basket of bread on her head, she weaves through the crowd to ensure that customers don't have to wait long when they signal their interest. I also buy a few loaves as gifts for my younger siblings. I'm surprised that the bread is still warm to the touch, as if it just came out of the oven. Is there a bakery nearby? Or does she know the secret to keeping the bread fresh and hot?
A street vendor is selling bánh mì Photo by Tuổi Trẻ News
Then there's the slender motorbike taxi driver hiding from the sun under the shade of a tree. He eagerly runs over with a hoarse voice to invite my friend when he sees her approaching. My friend politely replies with a big smile, "I'll go next time." Hearing that, he wears grief on his face and quietly returns to his Honda—parked on the sidewalk under the green banyan tree with his colleagues. Another driver next to him is seemingly having a midday nap, using the bike seat as a bed, the tail as a pillow, and his legs up on the handlebars. With a faded cap covering his face from the sun, he sleeps soundly. The noise and the scorching sun seem unable to disturb him. Saigon can lull people to sleep so easily.
A motorbike taxi driver (anh xe ôm) is having a nap in the shade by the roadside. Photo by Hai Sài Gòn
These days, there is an alternative for ride-hailing services. It is Grab Bike, a Vietnam's version of Uber. Photo by Grab Bike
Saigon is also very appealing and generous to the expatriate community. My friend, a Scottish woman teaching English in District 1, is an example. She likes Saigonese people because, despite living in cramped apartments, they have open, generous, and loving souls. Clothes dry in the wind at the front of the apartments, looking unaesthetic, but to her, it's a unique charm of Saigon.
She loves the winding alleys, the tiny, deep alleys just big enough for a taxi to pass through. There, a cozy bar awaits for her to socialize with other expatriates, holding a cool Saigon beer in hand.
She loves the spirit of "dressing up for a spring stroll" in Saigon. Despite the daily struggles, Saigonese people look frumpish, but when Tết (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) comes, they generously beautify themselves and the city with vibrant outfits.
After all, there are only a few days of spring in a year! Thus, Saigonese "play their hearts out" during those spring days. Inspired by that spirit, she never misses a Tet celebration in Saigon. Enthusiastically observing the radiant faces of Saigonese people, she immerses herself in the joy of welcoming spring in Nguyễn Huệ walking street.
Saigonese people are enjoying a leisurely stroll on Nguyễn Huệ walking street. The street is adorned with snake mascots, welcoming the arrival of 2025, the Year of the Snake. Photo credit to Công Luận Newspaper
She takes pictures prolifically. The young girls posing in gorgeous áo dài (traditional Vietnamese long dress) smile brighter and hold their poses longer when they see themselves in her frame. She keeps praising, "Tết in Saigon is so beautiful. Beautiful in every detail, from the flowers and leaves to the simple bicycles and the old Honda motorbikes." I feel the same way.
Vietnamese ladies are enjoying a photo opportunity in áo dài, embracing the spirit of the Vietnamese Lunar New Year Photo credit to Phụ-Nữ-Việt-Nam Magazine
She passionately observes the world of Saigon, a bustling, crowded, and very ordinary Saigon: an office worker in neat clothes holding a takeaway coffee, hurriedly crossing the street towards the towering Bitexco building; the fruit vendor carefully peeling and arranging slices of yellow mango and pineapple on a tray for customers; the lottery ticket seller, with a bundle of tickets in hand, inviting customers early in the morning but with no one buying yet.
She loves Saigon a little, but her husband loves Saigon tenfold. Her husband, a skilled oil engineer, loved Saigon so much that when he was ill, he insisted on staying in Saigon for treatment despite knowing the healthcare services back in Scotland were far superior. He was satisfied with the dedicated and meticulous care of the highly skilled doctors at Saigon General Hospital. Unfortunately, he did not survive the severe illness. He passed away. His final wish was to have his ashes laid to rest at Vĩnh Nghiêm Pagoda, always filled with incense smoke on the way to Tân Sơn Nhất Airport.
Vĩnh Nghiêm Pagoda where my friend's husband chose to be his resting place. It's one of the popular pagodas in Hồ Chí Minh City Photo taken in early 2015
She earnestly advised him that if his ashes remained in Saigon, how would she visit him when she returned to Glasgow? But he still insisted on merging his soul with the serene temple bells, the pure lotus fragrance, and the rich incense aroma, minute by minute, second by second.
Before flying back home, she invited me and a few Saigonese friends to accompany her to the pagoda, where she wanted to burn incense and bid farewell to him. Tears welled up in my eyes as I watched her light an incense stick as skillfully as a Vietnamese person and say, "This is the last time I 'meet' you, but my friends here will visit you on my behalf."
His tiny memorial plaque stood among countless other tiny plaques of Saigonese people. Life is cramped, and death is crowded. But no matter how crowded and cramped it is, Saigon can still embrace and accommodate everyone. Saigon holds him in its warm soil. I believe he will not be lonely in a foreign land when he chose Saigon as his resting place.
Saigon indirectly provides food and clothing for overseas Vietnamese establishing their livelihoods all over the world. Countless restaurants and markets in the US, Australia, and Europe bear Sai Gon's name and live up to its name. The name Saigon, sacred and renowned, helps Vietnamese people express their nostalgia and attract diners, creating a unique style—a very Vietnamese style.
Even South Africa, at the southern tip of the African continent, has two restaurants named Saigon. One in the bustling, dusty city of Johannesburg and one in the beautiful, windy city of Cape Town. Tour companies from Vietnam often take customers here to enjoy a taste of Vietnam. Though the dishes are not purely Vietnamese to suit the local taste, diners still savour them immensely. The flavour of phở (Vietnamese noodle soup) connects them and soothes their homesickness.
Saigon Vietnamese Restaurant in Cape Town Photo credit to Tripadvisor
Not everyone can walk through Bến Thành Market and enjoy a bowl of pho as they wish. Thus, restaurants named Saigon create a mini Vietnam for the locals. They can enjoy Vietnamese cuisine and learn about a dynamic Saigon without having to book a flight or pack a suitcase.
Each time I pass by the Saigon Vietnam restaurant in the crime-infamous city of Johannesburg, I feel like I see my homeland. My heart is filled with indescribable emotions. Saigon now seems far yet close. Saigon teaches me a profound lesson: the farther I go, the stronger the longing. Only by being far away can I see my homeland and country always as the most beautiful.
Suddenly, I hear a faint voice selling goods "lost in the bustling afternoon" "behind the tall buildings".
For years, I have seen people collecting a kind of wild plant in the park where we walk our Jack Russel, Ho Chi. My husband had told me that the plant was called wild spinach, but I never thought much of it.
That was until one afternoon, two months ago, when he went out for cycling, I walked Ho Chi to the park. As the sun dipped behind the hills, casting a warm orange glow, the air grew cool. I saw many people picking wild spinach, a common sight in this area at this time of year. I decided to come closer and have a chat with a lady in a bright yellow and black African-print dress. She was alone on this side of the veld separated from a cluster of her counterparts by a footpath. They were picking marog and chattering merrily on the far end of other side. The lady was very friendly. When I asked her what vegetable she was picking, she said she was foraging for marog. They were spreading all over the veld.
Two kinds of green marogs I foraged from my garden.
The marog the lady was carefully picking was the green one. I pointed out the bigger and taller marog to her, but she shook her head and said they were not nice. She preferred the smaller one which were tender and still low to the ground. I asked her how she liked to cook marog, and she said that she cooked it with tomatoes, potatoes and chilies. She added that I could cook marog according to my taste - adding any ingredients I like.
To my surprise, marogs are the plant I used to pick in my garden in Vietnam. After some rain shower, they would sprout up in abundance, and I would harvest them to make a tasty soup. We have two varieties in Vietnam — the red one and the green one — both of which are rich in nutrients. However, the red marog, with its deeper colour, is particularly prized for its ability to boost blood vessel health. This traditional knowledge has been passed down through generations.
Marog in my pavement garden
Last month I was surprised to see red marog on sale in Pick n Pay, bundled with stems and looking beautifully fresh. It had been eight years since I'd last tasted it, but I could still taste its sweet and earthy taste on my tongue by looking at it. However, my appetite for it had waned, and my husband was unfamiliar with it, so I decided to walk away.
Marog with smaller leaves in my back garden. I let it grow and produce seeds. I believe I will have more marogs next year.
After knowing about marog, I see it everywhere I go. It's in the veld, on the pavement, along the lawn, and in my garden. When marog is in the garden, people consider it a weed and try to pull it out. Interestingly enough, I have marog in my back garden and pavement garden this year. I let them grow so that I will have organic vegetables without paying a fortune.
In other countries, marog is known by the name amaranth.
Last week, I foraged marog in my pavement garden to make stir-fry. It was my first time cooking marog in South Africa, and I was excited to see how it would turn out. As I cooked, I could smell the familiar scent marog — earthy, fresh and slight sweet — wafting up from the skillet as it was being tossed religiously.
After reading about purslane in a magazine, I felt confident to forage for some in my new home in South Africa. As I wandered through the gardens and parks, I spotted the familiar succulent leaves and stems that I had seen in Vietnam. However, I was not sure if they were the same variety, so I did some further research and read an article about edible weeds in South Africa. Reassured by my findings, I decided to cook up a purslane stir-fry, and the result was a tasty and refreshing dish that I couldn't wait to share with my neighbours.
Purslanes along the edge of my pavement
Purslanes also grow in abundance after the rain in Vietnam. And they also come out like mushrooms after receiving showers of rain.
Those are the red and green purslanes I foraged for from my pavement garden.
Marog and purslane are considered weeds in South Africa, but they're edible. Only the Blacks forage for marog, while the Whites know about it but fail to recognise its nutritional value.
Now I can savour purslane and marog without growing and looking after them like other vegetables.
In Vietnam, we often use purslane and marog to make stir-fries and soups. However, our concept of soup is quite different from the thick, creamy soups that Westerners are accustomed to. Our soups are typically watery, with chunky vegetables. Interestingly, we even have a type of soup that students call 'ocean soup' (canh đại dương), which is served at cheap eateries. As the name suggests, this soup is extremely thin, with a scattering of grape-sized vegetable, making the bowl look like a miniature ocean. I used to eat ocean soup many times throughout my student life, which made me frustrated at the eatery owners who prioritised profits over quality.
A mixed stir-fry of purslanes (left) and marogs (right) I made Purslane is a kind of succulent, so it releases a lot of moisture when stir-fried. That said, it is perfect for soups. Purslane has a very lemony flavour, while marog is slightly sweet.
In certain part of Europe, purslane is eaten raw in salads.
Check out the purslane salad recipe and nutritional value of purslane in the video below.
Next time when I make salads, I will toss in some purslane shoots. I'm sure purslane will create healthy summer salads.
Eating what we find in our environment is what our ancestors did thousands of years ago. By doing so, they live in harmony with nature. Today, as prices rise and resources become scarce, adopting sustainable practices can be a valuable strategy. By embracing local, seasonal, and wild foods, we can reduce our reliance on industrial agriculture and promote a more environmentally friendly way of living.
That's all for now, as I bid farewell to 2024 with this final blog post.
October is the sweetest month in South Africa. It's the sweetness of roses, of jacaranda and, of course, the sweetness of mulberries.
I did not grow up with bread and mealiepap, and in the same way I did not grow up with mulberries. However, mulberries have become part of my life since I moved to South Africa. I always make mulberry jam. When I see mulberries, I see jam. Nothing else. I don't see silkworms that eat mulberry leaves, albeit the fact that Vietnam is famous for mulberry silk garments.
Many South Africans grow up with mulberries. My client, born and grew up in Musina in Limpopo, recalls that she had a garden full of mulberry trees. The mulberry trees were a den for her children to hide away from her strict parental guidance. They loved to pick moerbei* and snack on them on the spot. And they loved to play around in the productive shade.
Besides making jam, mulberries have countless ways of use. South Africans make delicious food from mulberries like mulberry syrup, mulberry compote, mulberry pies, mulberry muffins, and mulberry wine. Those are perfect treats to comfort people who crave sweet food and wine. Some even toss mulberries in salads, which I never try.
Mulberry jam on sourdough bread buttered with goat butter
Cycling around the suburbs of Pretoria, we spot hundreds of mulberry trees - along the road, in the veld, on the pavement, in somebody's yard. They're laden with mulberries. They are all enjoyed by birds, but birds can't eat them all. Very few people forage for mulberries. As a result, the ground is coated with deep purple from mulberries. Seeing this, we exclaim wistfully: What a waste!
This year, we went to forage for mulberries to make jam, as usual. But this time it was much more fun: the son of our friend, with his girlfriend, joined our mulberry hunt.
Many hands make light work! We picked about five kgs of mulberries from different trees. It took us three and a half hours excluding the driving time to various places.
The weather forecast predicted rain on the day we arranged to go and pick mulberries. We were a bit worried that our great idea would be nipped in the bud by the rain which we all were desperately waiting for. Mulberries are important for jam. But rain is much more important. We would not die from lack of mulberries. However, plants and vegetables would die due to the shortage of water for too long. When they die, we would be in a jam.
Luckily, the rain we longed for did not come when we were out and about for mulberries. The rain came later that day. It poured when I was washing mulberries. Therefore, we would never forget that the first shower of 2024 on the day we picked mulberries. It was on the 15th of October.
Mixed mulberries we picked: red and deep purple in different varieties
Rain came very late like politicians' promises this year, so mulberries were not as juicy as the previous years. The mulberry tree on Mrs. Malan's yard, which we used to pick mulberries from in one go every year, was trimmed to the top this year. Consequently, we had to hunt for mulberries all over the town. And because more than 50 percent of mulberries were out of reach, even for a 1.90cm-tall person, we tiptoed and stretched our arms as long as we could. But it was not always a success.
Mulberries we picked in Mrs. Malan's yard on 28 September 2022. They were big and juice and shiny.
We made a plan. Our fellow put his girlfriend on his shoulders and my husband put me on his. We giggled. We wobbled. But we didn't fall. Only our mulberries fell from our hands to our ice-cream containers with grace. People in their vehicle went past and beeped their horn at us. I wondered what they thought. They probably said, 'You're weird' or 'Hello. I see you.'
We went from tree to tree to pick enough mulberries we needed. At one tree by the driveway, one lady drove out. She wound down her car window. Looking at us with sparkling eyes, she said with a big smile: please pick them all. Hearing that, we all had a good laugh and said: Your wish is my command. I understand what she means because once you step on mulberries, they stick and stain like hell on your soles.
Mulberry jam of 2024 We mix mulberry jam with muesli and double cream plain yogurt for breakfast A super healthy breakfast, isn't it?
We foraged both half-ripe and fully ripe mulberries. Then I would mix them together for jam. The half-ripe ones are bright with a red hue. The fully ripe ones are in deep blue and purple, almost black, but they are sugary and succulent. The first ones are gently sour, and the latter is as sweet as sugar. When combined, they complement each other to perfection.
We headed home with five ice-cream containers full of mulberries. And our hands were painted in deep purple. They really did not look good. I felt like I was a skinny vagabond who just dug out the trash for some food that people threw away.
Whenever we forage mulberries, we pick till we are tired. Usually, we will harvest more or less 5kg. This amount will be aplenty for jam and keep me busy in the kitchen.
When we got home, it was already 14h00. I was so hungry that I stopped to rinse mulberries to look for something to eat; otherwise, I would be fainted. I could feel my blood sugar was low - I felt dizzy and weak. I told myself I would doctor up whatever I found in the fridge. The quicker the better. I made myself a slice of toast buttered with avo and no-salt butter. I squeezed some lemon juice on the mashed avo on my bread. A magic moment happened!
My thumb and index finger where mulberries stained turned from deep purple to watermelon red. And eventually the red hue vanished when I rinsed my hand with cold water. I found a trick of getting rid of mulberry stain by accident. What a Eureka moment! However, I did not run around for joy in my birthday suit like Archimedes.
When I first made mulberry jam in 2018, I meticulously snipped off every single stem of mulberries. It was time-consuming. And it was tedious. Luckily, at that time I picked only about 1kg of mulberries by myself. Since then, after tasting mulberry jam which was so divine, my husband has gone to pick mulberries with me. This time, I would not bother to single out mulberry stems anymore. There are too many. But I wish somebody would do so for me!
However, I can't help myself when I see big stems of mulberries sticking out from the simmering pot. I will snip them with my kitchen knife. To make sure I don't miss any big stems which is an eyesore to me, I stir the pot to look for some more. Actually, the stems are edible too and turn out to be crunchy and chewy when soaked in brown sugar.
For jam, I follow my own recipe I create from my experiences. I use 1,5kg of brown sugar for every 03kg of mulberries. By adding enough sugar, I can balance the sweetness and sourness and stickiness of the jam with the sweetness of sugar. If too much sugar is used, we fail to taste the true flavours of mulberries. To make the mulberry jam even tastier, I always add a dash of smashed ginger.
My mulberry jam is special because I add no water. I simmer the mulberries coated in brown sugar till the mulberry juice comes out and the sugar dissolves. The cooking process is long, but it isn't a big deal. I let the pot simmer for hours, and I go about my business. I come and check the pot and gave it a good stir now and then. But, in the end, the pot need more care and attention as the juice gets sticky and thick. It took five hours to do the magic.
Once the juice gets sticky and runs like extra virgin olive oil, I know I need to give my stove a good rest. The jam will be stickier and thicker like honey when it cools down. Then it's time for me to bottle the jam.
Making jam like this is labour-intensive and time-consuming when those days people prefer something quick and easy. The result is yet rewarding. What else we can ask for when we can enjoy our labour of love! That's the sweetness of making jam.
Regarding mulberry silk fabric which I mention earlier, I have an áo dài* that I had it custom-made 10 years ago. I very much cherish it and only wear it for the Lunar New Year celebration. I feel like I'm a bilionnaire when I dress up in my red mulberry silk áo dài.
Mulberry silk fabric is sensitive to washing powder and direct sunlight. As a result, I have to wash it by hand with Sunlight dishwashing liquid. I hang it in the shade, and it gets dry quickly.
Mulberry silk fabric is as light as feather and as soft as petals. It creates a luxurious look. However, it produces lots of creases which require more effort to iron compared to normal garments. It needs to be ironed on the wrong side when it's still damp.
I was dressing up in a mulberry silk áo dài for Tết celebrations hosted by the Embassy of Vietnam in Pretoria
A closer look of my red mulberry silk áo dài I wore to a wedding in 2018
Footnote:
Moerbei*: an afrikaans word for mulberry
Áo dài*: a traditional outfit with two long slit pieces under a loose pair of pants that Vietnamese ladies wear. Áo dài is also worn by Vietnamese men.
One evening, bored at no more episode to watch on our
favourite YouTube channel called Little China Everywhere, we browsed food
documentaries on Netflix. The image of bright purple sweet potatoes caught my
eyes.
Purple sweet potatoes are the only root vegetable I miss the
most when talking about Vietnamese cuisine. Sweet potatoes are one of the staple
foods in Vietnam, cooked in stew, curry and dessert soup or simply boiled as snack and for breakfast. I used to snack on boiled purple sweet potatoes with a big appetite. Whenever I saw purple sweet potatoes, I always bought them in bulk. They are rich in tons of minerals and vitamins, but only the purple ones have much more antioxidant due to their deep purple hue. Purple sweet potatoes are small in
size, but abundant in flavour. Earthy, nutty, slightly sweet, grainy but silky
smooth too. I hunt for those deep purple gems in South Africa too, but I never see any.
Purple sweet potatoes were my favourite snack when I lived in Vietnam. I boiled them and ate them plain, without condiments or dipping sauce. They were so super delicious that I thought I could live on them my entire life.
And then the phrase 'live to 100' piqued my curiosity. I
suggested my husband that we should watch that documentary.
We were so hooked that we watched all of the four episodes
in one sitting. They were entertaining, informative and fun as well.
Talking about longevity, we don't only want to live long. We
want to live well and stay shape till our last breathes. Anyway, who
wants to live long if one can't live well to enjoy the beauty of life?
I don't want to live long or forever, because I know I need
to give space to other tenants on Earth. But once I still breathe, I crave a
meaningful life. A meaningful life to me is living with dignity and humanity
and care. I care by sharing with my milieus what I have learned, watched,
heard and seen. Long story short! This is the documentary I highly recommend
you, at https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/live-to-100-secrets-of-the-blue-zones-documentary
If you can't access Netflix, the video embedded below is for you. It provides a grief summary of Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones.
'If you’ve seen Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones, you know that there are certain areas of the world — Okinawa, Japan; Ikaria, Greece; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; and Loma Linda, California — where more people live significantly longer than average. However, you don’t have to actually move to one of the blue zones to get to your hundredth birthday.
As The Blue Zones author and educator Dan Buettner explains: The habits, diets, and lifestyles of blue zone centenarians are simple, but they have the ability to change everything.
“I have found that most of what people think leads to a long, healthy life is misguided or just plain wrong,” says Buettner in the Live to 100 docuseries inspired by his book, pointing to our obsession with diet plans, gym memberships, and expensive supplements — aspects of life that are noticeably absent from blue zone lifestyles. As Buettner says, “The fact of the matter is that most of us are leaving good years on the table.”
So, what are these habits? They’re as simple as opting for a mechanical gadget rather than an automatic one, as pleasurable as having a glass of wine in the evening to unwind, or as intuitive as knowing what your purpose is in life and choosing to fulfill it every single day.
The truth is these transformations are possible and attainable. After all, as the docuseries points out, “the same things that help us live a long and healthy life are the things that make life worth living.” Take a look at the 12 patterns that emerged from the blue zones and find ways to integrate them into your life and community.
Make movement a habit: (1) By hand, (2) Walk, (3) Garden
A positive outlook is everything: (4) Unwinding regularly, (5) Finding faith, (6) Developing a sense of purpose
Eating wisely: (7) Plant-based: 95% of the meal, (8) Wine, (9) Moderation: stop eating when their stomachs are 80% full
Connect: (10) Family first, (11) Partnership, (12) Right tribe'
After watching the series and through my observations and reading, I understand why my 89-year-old neighbour, Mrs. Ollie, is still doing well with a sharp mind. Apart from lifestyle and diets which contribute to living long, we need to mention the fact that longevity runs on in some families. Mrs. Ollie's three sisters are still with her in their early 90.
In this frenetic pace of living, people tend to be easily dependent on modern household devices or maids to do the chores for them, and they eventually become couch potatoes without noticing it. Then they pay for membership cards to work their muscles at the gym. That's not a good way of living, but people blaim that they don't have time.
When it comes to potatoes and sweet potatoes, I wonder which one is healthier. Interestingly enough, I'm not the only one who asks that question. The answer I found out is that they are both healthy and low-fat root vegetables. However, sweet potatoes are a bit of a better option thanks to their beta carotene and vitamin A. 'Beta carotene is an antioxidant that works to protect your body’s cells from damage and diseases like cancer.'
'The best advice is to use them both.'
If you grow up in Asia, such as in Vietnam like me, you will consume more sweet potatoes. Likewise, if you grow up in Europe or South Africa, you will do more with potatoes. That isn't a surprise, but a matter of culture! We eat what we find in our environment.
Whether you choose to eat potatoes or sweet potatoes, never peel their skin. Their skin is full of goodness like vitamins and fiber. My husband and I never peel the skins of potatoes or sweet potatoes when we roast them or make soup, except when we make mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes.
'A lot of people do a lot of things in search of a long and healthy life, complicated diet plans, gym memberships and expensive dietary supplements. But in a four-part Netflix series called Live to 100 Secrets of the Blue Zone, Best Selling Author Dan Buettner says a lot of that is misguided.
He traveled to places he calls blue zones where more people live significantly longer than average, trying to figure out how they do it. Recently, I spoke with Buettner and asked him why he chose to start a series on longevity in a cemetery.
Dan Buettner, Executive Director, "Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones": I think it's facing the inevitable, we're all going to get frail. We're all going to die. But when we — how long we want to be on this earth, we have a lot of say in that matter. So we started at the end, and then went back from there.
John Yang:
When you found these blue zones, where there's some themes running through all of them?
Dan Buettner:
Yes, if you want to know what 100-year-old ate to live to be 100, you have to know what she was eating as a child and middle aged and newly retired. So to get at that, we found 155 dietary surveys done in all five Blue Zones over the last 80 years. And we average them with the help of Harvard. And we found that 90 to 95 percent they're eating a whole food plant based diet, meat only about five times per month and contrary to a lot of sort of keto slash Paleo diet advice, it's mostly carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates, which I think shocks a lot of people.
When I first started writing about this, I did a cover story for National Geographic in 2005. Nobody was connecting loneliness to longevity. And I was pointing out the importance of strong social connections and social circles and turns out that's worth about seven years of extra life expectancy.
But the big revelation and you'd never hear about it because it's not saying exceed marketers can't sell you things but like an extra 10 years of life expectancy is the sum of lots of small improvements, we make in our lives mostly in our environment, applied for decades.
John Yang:
Are these blue zones in any way endangered you talk about Okinawa now having an obesity problem that family in Costa Rica with a young boy just want cereal? Are these endangered locations?
Dan Buettner:
As soon as the American food culture comes in the front door, longevity goes out the back door. And I'm giving most of these blue zones a half a generation before they completely adopt our way of life and therefore started adopting our obesity rates and diabetes and heart disease rates to tragedy actually.
John Yang:
But at the same time, he also tried to create some blue zones in Albert Lee, Minnesota and Fort Worth, Texas. What lessons did you learn from that?
Dan Buettner:
The big lesson is don't try to change your behavior you'll fail for almost all the people almost all the time in the long run. You change people's environments. In other words, you design for health. Our Blue Zone projects unleash a swarm of healthy nudges and defaults that are put in place for years. They're mostly environmental, making cities walkable policies that favor healthy food over junk food and so forth.
And setting Americans up for success, as opposed to the failure our food environment portends right now. Every city we work in, we've seen major improvements in people's health. And we've seen obesity drop, and we've seen health care cost savings in the in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
John Yang:
So it sounds like it's not just personal behavior. But it's also as you say policies making cities more walkable, designing, you know, streets and neighborhoods like that.
Dan Buettner:
I have no faith. And I don't know of any research where you can change a populations health by trying to convince individuals to change their behavior, or somehow imbue them with responsibility. We're genetically hardwired to crave fat, salt and sugar and take rest whenever we want.
So unless we set up an environment where it's easy for us to eat, basically whole food plant based, easier for us to walk than it is to drive. We're going to continue to see health care costs in the trillions as we're seeing today in America.
John Yang:
You talked also about in the series about something we've talked about on this broadcast the fact that life expectancy is becoming shorter. And a lot of it is because younger people are dying from suicides, homicides, drug overdoses and car accidents. All preventable. There's none of this as is an organic problem. Did you learn anything in your work? That would relate to that?
Dan Buettner:
The number one killer in America is our diet. We lose about 660,000 Americans prematurely to the way we eat. If we don't take aim at that, these other things are more peripheral. In Singapore, which I dubbed ouzo 2.0, individuals cannot own guns. In America, we lost 55,000 people to gun deaths last year that dragged down the life expectancy. in Singapore they lost two, where they're very tough on drugs in Singapore, I mean, if you could be put to death for selling drugs in Singapore.
But the other side of that equation, only 15 people died last year and drug overdoses, whereas we lost almost 110,000 Americans and drug overdoses last year of drug related deaths. So yes, there are lots of things on the fringes. But the big thing we need to take aim at is our diet. And until we get that squared away, the rest of the stuff is a rounding error.
John Yang:
Toward the end of the series, you see the same things that help us live a long healthy life are the things that make life worth living. Are you saying that if we concentrate on the quality of life, that the quantity of life will come?
Dan Buettner:
The concentrating on quality of life helps, but these silicone multimillionaires shooting themselves up with a young people's blood, and working out six hours a day and taking all these weird pills and genetic interventions. People in Blue Zones are living a long time because they're socializing, because they know their purpose. And they live their pure purpose. They live near nature. They keep their families close by and we can map all these to higher life expectancy.
So the big point for Blue Zones is if you adopt the Blue Zones way of life, you not only stack the deck in favor of longevity, but you can be pretty sure that journey is going to be pleasurable.
John Yang:
Did you change anything in your life based on what you learned?
Dan Buettner:
Yes, I become mostly plant based. I don't eat meat anymore. I used to be a ultra-marathon cyclist and now I do things like play pickleball and take walks because I know that favors my longevity more than hardcore physical activity.
I got very clear on my purpose. It's very hard to get me to do things that are right down to the strike laying up my values and what I'm good at and what I like to do and how I can give back. And I've also prioritize family because I know keeping your family nearby adds three or four years of life expectancy over being single and alone.
John Yang:
The series is Live to 100 Secrets of the Blue Zones. Dan Buettner is the host and one of the executive producers. Thank you very much.
Waiting for my client having her hair dyed and styled at a hair and nail salon this afternoon, I paged through some magazines. I took a book with me, but it stayed in my tote bag. I was hooked by a pile of magazines that were studded in a floor-standing magazine rack at the entrance. A copy of The Australian Women's Weekly released in December 2023 caught my eyes.
I found the elderly lady in the article below very motivated. Myra, a 92-year-old lady, keeps herself active and respectful by singing in her community.
The lesson I learn from this lady is that whether we are young or old, we are able to give values to people around us if we do what we love, do the best we can, and care about ourselves and others. Keep active and stay connected. And never lose interest in life.
I attach some parts of the article I took from my cellphone so that you can get a full story of this fantastic lady.
And here is the lyrics of the abovementioned song that I had not heard before. I very much enjoy the song, especially the line that says: 'And since we're only here for a while/ Might as well show some style.'
Click on the title in blue below, and it will take you to the YouTube channel where you can listen to this meaningful song.
The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time
Any fool can do it
There ain't nothing to it
Nobody knows how we got to the top of the hill
But since we're on our way down
We might as well enjoy the ride
The secret of love is in opening up your heart
It's okay to feel afraid
But don't let that stand in your way
'Cause anyone knows that love is the only road
And since we're only here for a while
Might as well show some style
Give us a smile
Isn't it a lovely ride?
Sliding down, gliding down
Try not to try too hard
It's just a lovely ride
Now the thing about time is that time isn't really real
It's just your point of view
How does it feel for you?
Einstein said he could never understand it all
Planets spinning through space
The smile upon your face
Welcome to the human race
Some kind of lovely ride
I'll be sliding down, I'll be gliding down
Try not to try too hard
It's just a lovely ride
Isn't it a lovely ride?
See me sliding down, gliding down
Try not to try too hard
It's just a lovely ride
The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time
Songwriters: James Taylor
Data from:Musixmatch
As the song ends, I croon to myself: And since we're only here for a while/ Might as well show some style.' And I will teach myself what Myra wisely advised: Whatever you do, do it with style.
Myra is not an exception of senior citizens who age well and enjoy life as much as they can. My neighbour, Mrs Ollie is also an inspiration. She's going to turn 89 in June. She doesn't have many resources and support like Myra, but she always does her best, little by little, with what she has. At the age of 88, she still keeps herself active, interesting and interested. She is still behind the wheel to run errands, to go to hospital and to the nursery to buy seasonal flowers and plants for her garden. She does her own household chores, which wears her out quickly. She tends her garden. She even catches water after the bath to water the garden. She walks up and down in her cosy and colourful garden so that she will be able to sleep soundly at night. To keep herself abreast, she listens to the radio and watches TV, but she seldom watches TV. She prefers listening to the radio and let her imagination flow with the stories she listens to. She still reads books. Her eyes were sparkling when I asked her what books she read. Then she would give me a nice review of the books she read. Romance is her cup of tea; she doesn't like a hard read.
The shared value those two ladies offer is to keep active and interested so that we can have a lived live even when we age. Once we stay active, we practise our muscles which tend to wear out time over time. 'Use it or lose it', as people say and know!
I keep myself active by maintaining to do mountain biking with my husband twice a week when
I'm off duty. And I keep doing some exercise like planks and squatting, which helps to boost my mobility although I'm still young, but not juicy.
Stay active and stay interested. Learn something new every day to develop yourself.
Zoey, a black Labrador that went missing in 2017, has been
reunited with her owner and is happily back home with her family.
Emma Visser said that she was still in shock, as she had
made peace with never seeing Zoey again.
Zoey’s disappearance in 2017 left Visser devastated, unsure
if Zoey had been stolen or had simply escaped.
Screenshot from Rekord website
“For seven years, there was absolutely nothing. I even stopped thinking about her,” Visser told Rekord.
Tshwane SPCA Centurion received a very scared black Labrador on January 17, who growled at staff when approached.
It took six days before staff were able to get close enough to check for a microchip, and were surprised when they found a match to a missing dog.
Finally, on Wednesday, January 24, Visser got the surprise call.
“The SPCA told me that she wouldn’t allow anyone to come close to her, she was growling and barking,” said Visser.
“When I got there she came and sat between my legs immediately, and it’s been whining and following me ever since.
She is my shadow.”
Visser said that her first reaction was disbelief and that she has still not recovered from the shock.
“When I got home, I was shaking and crying. I still can’t believe it, when I am at work I constantly think about if she is still home, if she is safe.
It is all still new to her. She has been fine with the other dogs, she has been fine with the cat. We went for a walk yesterday, I gave her a nice bath.”
Visser said that her heart breaks every time she has to leave Zoey.
“When she sees me, she just starts whining. She probably thinks I’m going to leave her again,” she said.
Visser said that she never expected that the microchip would work.
“I’ve always had my pets microchipped, and I have read stories about pets being reunited with their families, but I never thought it would be me,” she said.
“One of my previous cats went missing. I got tracker dogs, spending thousands on searching, and we found nothing. So this was the last thing I expected.”
The article on a printed Rekord copy that is delivered free to our doors every Wednesday
Tshwane SPCA Centurion urge pet owners to get their pets chipped
Guenevere Mynhardt, Tshwane SPCA Centurion operations manager, said that the staff were just as shocked to find out Zoey had been missing for so long.
“When [Visser] got here we asked to see a picture as proof of ownership of the dog, she only had pictures of Zoey as a puppy.
That’s where we heard she last saw her dog seven years ago.
The whole SPCA was shocked,” said Mynhardt.
“This story and situation made me love my job all over again. It was worth trying everything humanly possible to gain a dog’s trust for this miracle to happen.”
Mynhardt urged all pet owners to get their pets microchipped.
The SPCA gets many animals every day, with many strays turning out to belong to loving families once they can be located through their microchips.
She said that dog collars can easily be lost or taken off.
The article on a printed Rekord copy that is delivered free to our doors every Wednesday
Zoey, một con Labrador đen mất tích vào năm 2017, đã được
đoàn tụ với chủ nhân của mình và hạnh phúc trở về nhà với gia đình.
Emma Visser nói rằng cô vẫn còn sốc, vì cô đã an lòng chấp
nhận việc không bao giờ gặp lại Zoey nữa.
Sự biến mất của Zoey vào năm 2017 khiến Visser đau khổ vật
vã, không chắc liệu Zoey đã bị đánh cắp hay chỉ đơn giản là trốn thoát.
"Trong bảy năm, không hề có tin tức gì. Tôi thậm chí ngừng
nghĩ về nó", Visser nói với Rekord.
Tshwane SPCA Centurion đã nhận được một con Labrador đen rất
sợ hãi vào ngày 17 tháng 1, nó gầm gừ với nhân viên khi họ đến gần nó.
Phải mất sáu ngày trước khi nhân viên có thể đến gần nó để
kiểm tra vi mạch và họ rất ngạc nhiên khi tìm thấy kết quả trùng khớp với một
con chó mất tích.
Cuối cùng, vào thứ Tư, ngày 24 tháng Giêng, Visser nhận được
cuộc gọi bất ngờ.
"SPCA nói với tôi rằng cô ấy sẽ không cho phép bất cứ
ai đến gần cô ấy, cô ấy đang gầm gừ và sủa vang," Visser nói.
"Khi tôi đến đó, cô ấy đến và ngồi giữa hai chân tôi
ngay lập tức, và nó rên rỉ và đi theo tôi kể từ đó.
"Nó với tôi như hình với bóng."
Visser nói rằng phản ứng đầu tiên của cô là không tin và cô
vẫn chưa hồi phục sau cú sốc.
"Khi về đến nhà, tôi run rẩy và khóc. Tôi vẫn không thể
tin được, khi tôi làm việc, tôi liên tục nghĩ liệu nó có còn ở nhà không và có
an toàn không.
Tất cả vẫn còn mới mẻ đối với nó. Nó đã ổn với những con chó
khác, nó đã ổn với con mèo. Hôm qua chúng ta đi dạo, rồi tôi tắm cho nó."
Visser nói rằng cô rất đau lòng mỗi khi phải để Zoey ở nhà.
"Khi nó nhìn thấy tôi, nó chỉ bắt đầu rên rỉ. Có lẽ nó
nghĩ rằng tôi sẽ rời bỏ nó một lần nữa", cô nói.
Visser nói rằng cô không bao giờ mong đợi rằng vi mạch sẽ hoạt
động.
"Tôi luôn gắn vi mạch thú cưng của mình và tôi đã đọc
những câu chuyện về thú cưng được đoàn tụ với gia đình của chúng, nhưng tôi
chưa bao giờ nghĩ đó sẽ là tôi", cô nói.
"Một trong những con mèo trước đây của tôi đã mất tích.
Tôi truy tìm dấu vết rất nhiều, chi hàng ngàn Rand để tìm kiếm và chúng tôi
không tìm thấy gì. Vì vậy, đây là điều cuối cùng tôi mong đợi".
Tshwane SPCA chi nhánh Centurion kêu gọi chủ sở hữu vật nuôi
đi gắn vi mạch cho thú cưng.
Guenevere Mynhardt, giám đốc điều hành Tshwane SPCA chi
nhánh Centurion, nói rằng các nhân viên cũng bị sốc khi biết Zoey đã mất tích
quá lâu.
"Khi [Visser] đến đây, chúng tôi yêu cầu xem một bức ảnh
làm bằng chứng về quyền sở hữu, cô ấy chỉ có hình ảnh của Zoey khi nó là cún
con.
Đó là nơi chúng tôi nghe nói lần cuối cùng cô ấy nhìn con
chó mình bảy năm trước.
Toàn bộ SPCA đã bị sốc", Mynhardt nói.
"Câu chuyện và tình huống này khiến tôi một lần nữa yêu
công việc của mình. Thật đáng cố gắng mọi thứ có thể một cách nhân đạo để tạo
lòng tin cho một con chó để rồi phép màu này xảy ra.
Mynhardt kêu gọi tất cả các chủ sở hữu vật nuôi gắn vi mạch
cho thú cưng của mình.
SPCA nhận được nhiều thú cưng mỗi ngày, nhiều con đi lạc hóa
ra thuộc về các gia đình yêu thương một khi chúng có thể được định vị nhờ vi mạch.
Cô nói rằng vòng cổ chó có thể dễ dàng bị mất hoặc cởi ra.
