REGULARS
Volatile market solution? this is interesting for those afraid of volatile markets. by the time this is published, maybe the volatility that has possessed world stock markets over the past few months wi ll have abated- maybe not. In any event it is worth having a look at a new protected fund designed by Black Rock Merrill Lynch Investment Managers in conjunction with HSBC exclusively for Friends Provident International. The fund is titled “The Global Growth Protector Fund”. FP’s literature asks, “Are your clients looking for a fund that delivers the performance potential of global equity markets but without many of the risks normally associated with stock market investments?” “Do they want a share of the exciting potential returns generated by equities that benefit from the Asian growth story such as Emerging Markets and commodities, whilst maintaining to lower risk developed markets?” Shrewd investors, I think will want a slice of this action. This exciting new fund offers the ideal balance of performance and protection in one fund. The 80% Global Growth Protector Fund provides a number of key benefits that really makes it stand out amongst many other protected funds. It benefits from the unlimited returns from global markets. An initial bias towards the Asian-Pacific region of asset classes/sectors benefiting from the Asian growth story, where the fund starts with an allocation of 30pc makes this an ideal investment for clients who want to share in the dynamic growth potential of the region. The flexibility to invest across different asset classes, global markets, investment themes and market-cap spectrums enhances the fund manager’s capability to generate performance whilst spreading client’s exposure to risk. In a strong equity market climate, the fund can be up to 100pc invested
in global equity markets to deliver attractive performance, without sacrificing the high level of protection. Meanwhile if markets like now are more volatile, the fund has the flexibility to increase its weighting in fixed income or money market investments. As the fund provides a minimum protection of 80pc of the highest value achieved investors benefit from continuously locking-in returns when stock markets rise. With just one investment you can access the best of BlackRock MLIM’s awardwinning fund range. Boasting expertise across a broad range of capabilities, the Fund is truly a one-stop solution for many people. While it is suggested that clients always implement a long-term approach to investing, financial markets move in cycles, causing different sectors and asset classes to outperform at different times. It is therefore important to have the flexibility to invest across a range of assets and sectors, adapting to changing market environments. In today’s less certain investment climate, the benefit of portfolio diversification has arguably never been more important. Active fund managers such as BlackRock MLIM, try to exploit all opportunities to generate additional value. Implementing a combination of superior research, leading risk management systems and highly experienced dedicated investment teams, BlackRock MLIM aims to produce strong riskadjusted returns for clients. So how does the fund protect the downside risk? Firstly there is a Fund unit price and a minimum protected price, which are both calculated daily. Investors buy and sell units in the Fund using the quoted fund price. The fund’s assets are allocated between the underlying baskets of funds and cash. This allocation is determined by HSBC using its in-house Dynamic Allocation Protection Mechanism (DAP). Adopting a dynamic approach in this procedure allows investors to share in the upside returns, while protecting against downside trends. HSBC will monitor on a daily basis the portfolio positions and rebalance as required to determine the optimum allocation between equities and cash. When the fund value decreases investors have added peace of mind that HSBC will not reduce the minimum protected price and the Fund unit price will not fall below this value. If you decide this is for you, you can keep track of the Fund unit price and the minimum protected price for the underlying collective will be quoted daily by visiting the dedicated BlackRock MLIM Fund microsite www. blackrock.co.uk/fpinternational And a final note-BlackRock MLIM is one of the world’s premier providers of global investment management, risk management and advisory services, with over US$1.3 trillion in assets under management for clients across 60 countries. BlackRock MLIM client base include banks, insurance companies, charities, corporations, wealth managers and individuals worldwide.
The question is, is this Fund for you? More information jerry@swissinvestcenter.net
Mag’s Page
Following on from february’s marathon about uk state pensions, a hua hin expat kindly contacted me wi th information on another aspect of pension payments.asleep; falling asleep was never Matthew’s problem. All the information: his rate of breathing, the action of his jaw muscles, his brain activity, his eye movements, the flow of air through his nose and mouth and the level of oxygen in his blood were documented and recorded in computerized program. These results were studied and it was found that Matthew was a victim of a Sleep Apnea problem. The treatment of sleep disorders differs from patient to patient. For some, simple environmental and behavioral changes may be the answer. There are some patients who only snore and only have apnea problems when they are lying on their backs. If this positional problem can be corrected the Sleep Apnea may be eliminated. Overweight
people are much more likely to suffer from the problem and a program of dietary restraint and added exercise may be another route to improving the problem. For others surgery may be the answer. This approach is much more likely to be successful in children than in adults. Removing the tonsils, adenoids or other growths may correct the structural problems and make breathing easier and sleep more energizing. Parents often notice that after these operations a child’s whole attitude, personality and that their performance in school improves. The most common effective treatment for Sleep Apnea is nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). The patient wears a mask over the nose
at night, and pressure from an air blower forces air through the nasal passages. This prevents the airway from closing and eliminates the Sleep Apnea. More sophisticated devices have been developed that respond to the patients breathing pattern and apply the pressure only when needed. Matthew was very doubtful about this treatment. Having to wear a mask in bed and having a machine dictate his breathing for him sounded very frightening. With his family’s encouragement he decided that he should try it and after an initial period of adjustment he is now a great believer in the CPAP treatment. He sleeps well; his life has improved; his family is ecstatic. It is a story with a really happy ending. I would suggest that if you or a family member has this problem you call and make an appointment at our Sleep Apnea Clinic.
Home & Living : Timeless ldeas
Creating bedrooms that are recognizable as timeless classics is about more than just toys. A child’s room can be both whimsical and functional, trendy and classic. Careful consideration of colour, decor, furniture, and organization will assist you in redecorating your child’s room as a timeless classic. First, determine what colours you would like to use. Your best bet is to combine a neutral, such as white or a pale grey or tan, with one or two primary colours. Red, yellow, and blue are primary colours. The advantage of using primary colours is their widespread use in many designs for children of all ages, from infancy through the teen years. Since these colours can be overpowering if overused in a room, it’s a good idea to use the primary colour as an accent on window and door trim or on a single wall. It is generally best to avoid the use of pastels for several reasons. First, pastels are often associated with nurseries, which children all too quickly outgrow. In addition, pastel colours do not assist with eye development in small children as primary colours do. After selecting colours, consider the theme that would appeal to your child. Let’s face it, cartoon characters and children’s feature films come and go. However, you will find that many themed accessories incorporate primary colours in unique ways, making it very easy to decorate, and re-decorate, the same room. For instance, imagine that you have used red, a primary colour, on the room’s trim. You decorate your infant son’s crib with a baby’s farmyard theme. When he’s six years old, new curtains and a new comforter on the bed will help your little Spiderman enjoy his new spider’s lair. At 10, another simple inexpensive change of bedding and accessories will transform the room into a tribute to his favourite team or music hero. The red trim will match all three decors as your son grows through the various stages of childhood. Furniture is another important consideration. As with the colour selection, classic simplicity is best. Light-toned, wood furnishings will match any colour combination and will be serviceable for decades. Basics include a bed, a dresser, a lamp, and a desk with a matching chair. Additional suggestions include a bookcase and a toy box, though these items are often built-in or permanently mounted to the walls. Organization of a child’s room will often be dependent on the age and development of the child. For small children, it is important to keep the toys and games low enough for easy access by a child. Hangers should be hung on the lower closet rods where a child can reach them when learning to dress themselves. With time, of course, both rods will be used by teens and preteens along with the higher shelves. Keep as much of the furniture as moveable as you can, because kids will frequently re-arrange their
rooms. This also makes it easier to find small items, toys, and game pieces that are frequently lost behind and underneath furniture. The best part about creating a truly timeless children’s bedroom are the ultimate choices available to you as children grow through many stages and eventually leave home. The room can be easily re-furnished and re-decorated as an office or guest room without the hassle and expense of painting and remodelling, or you can maintain the room as a warm, nostalgic haven for children to return to when visiting their childhood home. The choice is yours.
Wine Rack
This month we are taking a look at a lemon-based liqueur:
limoncello luxardo from italy,,and another new zealand wi ne from hawke’s bay, known as Matariki (vintage 2002). we also discuss just how effective ‘corking’ is these days in the wi ne industry. does the good old fashioned cork still hold in the flavour of the wi ne, or is it now an outdated concept? read on and learn more. LIMONCELLO LUXARDO Limoncello Luxardo is obtained from the infusion of lemon peels in alcohol and is a world-renowned Italian liqueur. With the pungent fragrance of newlygathered lemons, Limoncello stems from an ancient tradition that enhances the natural aroma and fresh taste of lemons from Southern Italy. The taste is well-rounded and harmonious with a pleasant sensation of aromatic freshness on the palate. Limoncello Luxardo can be served at room temperature, cold as a digestive drink; or even watered down as an aperitif. With ice cubes tinkling in the glass, it becomes an unbeatable digestive drink, and with the addition of chilled tonic water it is a very pleasing thirst-quencher, also. The liqueur can be mixed with champagne or sparkling wine for a tall drink, and for an extra bit of zing, it can also be poured on ice creams, fruit salad and strawberries. Note: Store it in the freezer. Enjoy the tangy taste for 590 Baht.
HAWKE’S BAY – MATARIKIQUINTOLOGY 2002 A strong red wine including
concentrated sweet berry fruit with complex spices and violet nuances that enhance the in-cedar oak. This a full-bodied wine, displaying ripe berry flavours, tight grained oak and with a very good acid balance. Silky soft tannins lead to a long lingering finish. It has won numerous awards in New Zealand, including the 2003 Gold Award from the NZ Society Royal Easter Wine Show. Would that old wine snob Doctor Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) approve? We think that he would. A bottle of Matariki can be purchased for 1,300 BahtSEAL OF APPROVAL Is cork still the ultimate wine seal? Are screw caps a corking idea? Picture the scene. You’ve gathered your closest friends and family for a celebratory dinner. You’ve carefully plannedthe food and splashed out on an expensive bottle of wine. All eyes are on you as you pull the cork with a satisfying pop, you raise it to your lips and…it smells like mouldy socks. Corked. The mere mention of the word is enough to bring a grimace to any wine lover’s lips. It is also a term that is much misunderstood and misused, certainly contentious, and part of a wider and very heated debate about closures that is currently gripping the wine world. Though it may appear at first sight to be a minor matter – something of a storm in a wine cup – it has the potential to change the way we buy, drink and even make wine in the future. To highlight the significance of the issue, one wine producer has even suggested, only half in jest, that the choice of closure has more significance for a wine’s flavour than the terroir in which the grapes are grown. And that choice of closure, it seems, is less and less about cork with every day that passes. To begin with, it’s worth recapping on some of the key issues in the great closure debate. For hundreds of years, cork was the best, indeed virtually only closure available for bottled wine. Its chief benefit is the way it can be stretched and compressed to fit into a bottleneck while providing a watertight seal for the wine inside. It also allows a certain amount of air into the bottle, which means the wine can “breathe” and thus develop and mature. It was, in short, a natural solution for a nascent wine industry.
However, with the passing of time it has become clear that the case for cork as the ultimate wine seal is far from closed. Chief among these detractions is the fact that cork is inherently unreliable. Some corks have natural flaws that allow too much air to get into the bottle, causing the wine to oxidise and
spoil. Moreover, in some cases the cork passes on a chemical taint (TCA) produced by microbes living inside the bark. In severely tainted wine, this compound gives rise to pungent musty smells, while in smaller concentrations it merely flattens the wine’s aromas and flavours, making for a dull wine experience. (As a brief aside, it is this TCA infection which is what is meant by a wine being “corked”. However, it should be noted that TCA taint could come from sources other than cork. In addition, the term “corked” is often used, perhaps unadvisedly, to refer to a host of other wine imperfections. The one thing a corked wine is not is a wine that has bits of cork floating in it.) Reputable surveys have estimated the incidence of cork taint to be around the 4-5 per cent mark or higher, so at least one in 20 bottles. As wine consumption has grown and drinkers become more aware of the problems associated with cork, many producers and retailers have sought out alternative closures. It is the development of such viable alternatives to cork and, after some initial resistance by producers and consumers alike, their popular uptake, which has changed the debate entirely. Synthetic (or plastic) corks are one option, though they can be difficult to extract and are often not ideal for long term storage. So-called technical corks, for which the cork is modified and treated prior to use in order to remove taint and variable quality issues, are already proving popular in some quarters. Glass stoppers and even crown caps for sparkling wine are also starting to appear, again with positive initial results. The real pretender to cork’s throne, however, is the screw cap. The advantages are plain: screw cap provides a more reliable seal than cork, free of TCA taint, and it is also easy to open and re-seal. The use of screw caps for quality wine has boomed over the last decade as high profile wine producers and retailers have enthusiastically endorsed their use.Then again, screw cap’s disadvantages are also undeniable. Consumer surveys indicate that people tend to associate them with cheap wine and prefer the comforting traditional appeal of cork. What is more, certain teething problems involved in switching technologies have given rise to variable quality, and there are also certain worries over how wines will age and develop long term, for which little data exist. As a result, most wineries have tended to limit the wines they are marketing under screw cap to early-drinking, fresh styles of white and rosé.
More recently, a report has shown that screw caps have a
carbon footprint some four times worse than that of natural corks. So should environmental concerns also be a factor in the choice of wine closure? For the moment, it seems that there are no definitiveanswers in the great closure debate. Many alternatives are vying for precedence, with powerful commercial interests at stake, and as a result this is an exciting period of change and improvement for world wine. Whatever the outcome, the one result every wine drinker will be happy with is if fewer wines smell like mouldy socks.
Earth report
Biodegradable Caskets: Composting your relatives? You’ve done everything you can
to green your lifestyle, eating and buying the right foods and products, making sure you tread lightly on our earth. But have you thought much about your “return”? Green now goes underground, six feet under and currently being spearheaded in Oregon by an environmentally friendly funeral products dealer by the name of Cynthia Beal. She is the founder of The Natural Burial Co. in Portland, Oregon, the healthy way to recycle yourself and your casket upon taking the inevitable dirtGreen now goes underground, six feet under and currently being spearheaded in Oregon by an environmentally friendly funeral products dealer by the name of Cynthia Beal. She is the founder of The Natural Burial Co. in Portland, Oregon, the healthy way to recycle yourself and your cas
ket upon taking the inevitable dirtnap. Cynthia herself wishes to become an Oregon cherry tree when she dies, and she has found a way to make that happen -- her body, a burial, and her own biodegradable coffin. These biodegradable coffins are the focal point of an eerie and surprising green business; perhaps Beal described it properly when she said, “it is composting at its best.” Her shop officially opens in January, and kissing the storefront window is a UK sourced Ecopod, a biodegradable coffin constructed out of recycled newspapers. These kayak-shaped coffins are the focal point of the up and coming “natural burials,” which are formaldehyde-free, and buck the usual cement vaults, laminated caskets or chemical lawn treatments. The result, burials that are not harmful to the environment. Designed in the UK by Hazel Selina, the Ecopod is a revolutionary design concept to “return to the earth.” Made from 100 % naturally hardened recycled paper ideal for a green burial or a clean cremation. Hundreds of Ecopods have been successfully used throughout the UK since 1998. The Ecopod is extremely durable - it weighs around 40+ pounds and yet even the small size can carry 200 pounds! It is covered in handmade mulberry leaf and recycled silk paper. And what of cremation? It was considered far more eco-friendly than burials in graveyards but the widespread use of fossil fuels to take a body from ash to urn has raised eyebrows recently. These
all-natural burials have been popular in Europe for years but until recently it has been a dead issue in the U.S. Within the past few years “green cemeteries” have sprouted up in California, Texas and New York, just to name a few. Currently, the options on these healthy coffins range from fair-trade bamboo to natural-fibre shrouds to caskets lined with unbleached cotton. The biodegradable coffins range in costs from $100 for a cardboard box up to more than $3000 for a spruced up “green” body box. The market is a big one, with death being as certain as taxes and a plump population of baby boomers the demand is sure to rise and profits are sure to follow. U.S. funeral homes currently generate an estimated $11 billion in revenue annually and poised to blossom in the upcoming decades.
Arts & Culture : DIRECTORS:AKRA KUROSAWA
The majority of you would have heard of our first director Alfred Hitchcock,
however some of you may not have seen many of our second director’s films, even though many are considered classics by film critics and directors alike. You may however have seen films copied from Kurosawa’s originals, the most obvious one being The Magnificent Seven, a far inferior film to the classic Kurosawa directed Seven Samurai. It is worth reading carefully and noting the names of Akira Kurosawa’s films as they are beautifully crafted often with a meaningful message behind the master craftsmans touch. Akira Kurosawa (23 March 1910 - 6 September 1998) was a prominent Japanese film director, film producer, and screenwriter. His first credited film (Sanshiro Sugata) was released in 1943; his last (Madadayo) in 1993. His many awards include the Légion d’Honneur and an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement. Akira Kurosawa was the youngest of seven children, born in Tokyo on 23 March 1910. He has said that the first important influence in his life was a teacher called Tachikawa, who was progressive in his emphasis on art education for the young. This was how the young Kurosawa was introduced to art and film. A talented painter, he enrolled in an art school that emphasized Western styles. Around this time he also joined an artists’ group with a great enthusiasm for nineteenth-century Russian literature, with Dostoevsky a particular favourite. Another influence was Heigo, one of his brothers, who loved film and worked as a benshi, a film narrator/commentator for foreign silent films. His suicide deeply affected the director’s sensibilities. In 1936, K
urosawa learned of an apprenticeship program for directors through a major film studio, PCL (which later became Toho). He was hired and worked as an assistant director to Kajiro Yamamoto. After his directorial debut with Sanshiro Sugata, his next few films were made under the watchful eye of the wartime Japanese government and sometimes contained nationalistic themes. For instance, The Most Beautiful is a propaganda film about Japanese women working in a military optics factory. Judo Saga 2 portrays Japanese judo as superior to western (American) boxing. His first post-war film No Regrets for Our Youth, by contrast, is critical of the old Japanese regime and is about the wife of a left-wing dissident who is arrested for his political leanings. Kurosawa made several more films dealing with contemporary Japan, most notably Drunken Angel and Stray Dog. However, it was his period filmRashomon that made him internationally famous and won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival Kurosawa had a distinctive cinematic technique, which he had developed by the 1950s, and which gave his films a unique look. He liked using telephoto lenses for the way they flattened the frame and also because he believed that placing cameras farther away from his actors produced better performances. He also liked using multiple cameras, which allowed him to shoot an action scene from different angles. Another Kurosawa trademark was the use of weather elements to heighten mood: for example the heavy rain in the opening scene of Rashomon, and the final battle in Seven Samurai, the intense heat in Stray Dog,
the cold wind in Yojimbo, the snow in Ikiru, and the fog in Throne of Blood. Kurosawa also liked using frame wipes, sometimes cleverly hidden by motion within the frame, as a transition device. He was known as “Tenno”, literally “Emperor”, for his dictatorial directing style. He was a perfectionist who spent enormous amounts of time and effort to achieve the desired visual effects. In Rashomon, he dyed the rainwater black with calligraphy ink in order to achieve the effect of heavy rain, and ended up using up the entire local water supply of the location area in creating the
rainstorm. In the final scene of Throne of Blood, in which Mifune is shot by arrows,
Kurosawa used real arrows shot by expert archers from a short range, landing within
centimetres of Mifune’s body. In Ran, an entire castle set was constructed on the slopes of Mt. Fuji only to be burned to the ground in a climactic scene. Other stories include demanding a stream be made to run in the opposite direction in order to get a better visual effect, and having the roof of a house removed, later to be replaced, because he felt the roof’s presence to be unattractive in a short sequence filmed from a train. His perfectionism also showed in his approach to costumes: he felt that giving an actor a brand new costume made the character look less than authentic. To resolve this, he often gave his cast their costumes weeks before shooting was to begin and required them to wear them on a daily basis and “bond with them.” In some cases, such as with Seven Samurai, where most of the cast portrayed poor farmers, the actors were told to make sure the costumes were worn down and tattered by the time shooting started. Kurosawa did not believe that “finished” music went well with film. When choosing a musical piece to accompany his scenes, he usually had it stripped down to one element (e.g., trumpets only). Only towards the end of his films are more finished pieces heard. A notable feature of Kurosawa’s films is the breadth of his artistic influences. Some of his plots are based on William Shakespeare’s works: “Ran” is loosely based on King Lear, Throne of Blood is based on Macbeth, while The Bad Sleep Well parallels Hamlet, but is not affirmed to be based on it. Kurosawa also directed film adaptations of Russian literary works, including The Idiot by Dostoevsky and The Lower Depths, a play by Maxim Gorky. Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich inspired Ikiru. Dersu Uzala was based on the 1923 memoir of the same title by Russian explorer Vladimir Arsenyev. Story lines in Red Beard can be found in The Insulted and Humiliated byDostoevsky. High and Low was based on King’s Ransom by American crime writer Ed McBain, Yojimbo may have been based on Dashiell Hammett’s Red Harvest and also borrows from American Westerns, and Stray Dog was inspired by the detective novels of Georges Simenon. The American film director John Ford also had a large influence on his work. Despite criticism by some Japanese critics that Kurosawa was “too Western”, he was deeply influenced by Japanese culture as well, including the Kabuki and Noh theatres and the Jidaigeki (period drama) genre of Japanese cinema. When Kurosawa got to meet John Ford, a director commonly said to be the most influential to Kurosawa, Ford simply said, “You really like rain.” Kurosawa responded, “You’ve really been paying attention to my films.” Kurosawa’s films have had a major influence on world cinema and continue to inspire filmmakers, and others, around the globe. Seven Samurai has been remade several times in assorted cinema genres, including Westerns, Science Fiction, and Chinese Martial Arts. The story was also used as inspiration in numerous novels, among them Stephen King’s 5th Dark Tower novel, Wolves of the Calla. Rashomon was also remade by Martin Ritt in 1964’s The Outrage. The Tamil films Andha Naal (1954) and Virumaandi (2004), starring Kamal Hassan, employ a storytelling method similar to that Kurosawa uses in Rashomon. In a more recent incarnation, the film “Hero” starring Jet Li, Ziyi Zhang, Tony Leung, and Maggie Cheung also features a ‘Rashomon’ style story. The 2005 animated film “Hoodwinked” applies the narrative structure of “Rashomon” to the story of “Little Red Riding Hood.” Rashomon not only helped open Japanese cinema to the world, but also entered the English language as a term for fractured, inconsistent narratives. Yojimbo was the basis for the Sergio Willis films, prohibition-era Last Man Standing, and modern day Lucky Number Slevin. The Hidden Fortress is an acknowledged influence on George Lucas’s Star Wars films, in particular Episodes IV and VI and most notably in the characters of R2-D2 and C-3PO. Lucas also used a modified version of Kurosawa’s wipe transition effect throughout the Star Wars saga. During his most productive period, from the late 40s to the mid-60s, Kurosawa often worked with the same group of collaborators. Fumio Hayasaka composed music for seven of his films - notably Rashomon, Ikiru and Seven Samurai. Many of Kurosawa’s scripts, including Throne of Blood, Seven Samurai and Ran were co-written with Hideo Oguni. Yoshiro Muraki was Kurosawa’s production designer or art director for most of his films after Stray Dog in 1949, and Asakazu Nakai was his cinematographer on 11 films including Ikiru, Seven Samurai and Ran. Kurosawa also liked working with the same group of actors, especially Takashi Shimura, Tatsuya Nakadai, and Toshiro Mifune. His collaboration with the latter, which began with 1948’s Drunken Angel and ended with 1965’s Red Beard, is one of the most famous director-actor combinations in cinema history. The film Red Beard marked a turning point in Kurosawa’s career in more ways than one. In addition to being his last film with Mifune, it was his last in black-and-white. Itwas also his last as a major director within the Japanese studio system making roughly
a film a year. Kurosawa was signed to direct a Hollywood project, Tora! Tora! Tora!; but 20th Century Fox replaced him with Toshio Masuda and Kinji Fukasaku before it was completed. His next few films were a lot harder to finance and were made at intervals of five years. The first, Dodesukaden, about a group of poor people living around a rubbish dump, was not a success. After an attempted suicide, Kurosawa went on to make several more films, although he had great difficulty in obtaining domestic financing despite his international reputation. Dersu Uzala, made in the Soviet Union and set in Siberia in the early 20th century, was the only Kurosawa film made outside of Japan and not in the Japanese language. It is about the friendship of a Russian explorer and a nomadic hunter, and won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Kagemusha, financed with the help of the director’s most famous admirers, George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola, is the story of a man who is the body double of a medieval Japanese lord and takes over his identity after the lord’s death. The film was awarded by the Palme d’Or (Golden Palm) at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival (which was shared this year with Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz). Ran was the director’s version of Shakespeare’s King Lear, set in medieval Japan. It was by far the largest project of Kurosawa’s late career, and he spent a decade planning it and trying to obtain funding, which he was finally able to do with the help of the French producer Serge Silberman. The film was an international success and is generally considered Kurosawa’s last masterpiece. In an interview, Kurosawa said that he considered it to be the best film he ever made. Kurosawa made three more films during the 1990s that weremore personal than his earlier works. Dreams is a series of vignettes based on his own dreams. Rhapsody in August is about memories of the Nagasaki atomic bomb and his final film, Madadayo, is about a retired teacher and his former students. Kurosawa died of a stroke in Setagaya, Tokyo, at age 88.
Health Issues : Heart matter
He fell asleep at a moment’s notice and spent most evenings sleeping and snoring in front of the television. He often fell asleep at embarrassing moments. He had attended a concert in which his daughter was singing and not only fell asleep but also was snoring very loudly. As things became worse, he would fall asleep a dozen times a day and to ride in the car when he was driving became a nightmare. When he was challenged on this he said that he was stressed and overworked and needed a vacation. Weekends and vacations did not improve the situation and his weariness continued. He became moody, argumentative, lost interest in things that had previously interested him. Family life deteriorated; he lost his friends and his job was in jeopardy. Matthew seemed to sleep well at night. The family complained about the loud snoring and they too were becoming chronically tired. Sometimes the snoring would seem to be stopping, as there would be a break in the noise, but after a loud snort it would allstart up again. He refused to see a doctor. His health deteriorated: he gained weight due to his inactivity and became increasingly irritated and depressed. His friends and family felt that he was suffering from depression and urged him to see a counselor or psychiatrist. He resented these suggestions and refused to make an appointment. Finally one night he awoke in the middle of the night complaining of chest pain. He was rushed to the Emergency Room and then was admitted to the Coronary Care unit as it was felt that he was having a heart attack. Things settled down quickly. He had suffered an episode of angina but he had not had a heart attack. He was given the thorough total medical examination that he needed. He was very surprised to be told that he needed to have a consultation with a doctor from the Ear, Nose and Throat Department. He did not feel that he had a problem in any of those parts of his body. The ENT doctor had been called as it was realized that Matthew had a Sleep Disorder and was possibly suffering from Sleep Apnea. We spend over a quarter of our lives asleep but this essential activity has not been studied in the past. Sleep Apnea is a disorder in which, for short periods of time, while the patient is asleep the patient stops breathing. The episodes may last as little as ten
seconds and as long as a minute, they can happen either very occasionally or several hundred times a night. Snoring is a warning that the sleeper may be a victim of sleep apnea. Two to four percent of people suffer with this problem but very few are aware that it is occurring. The symptoms are loud snoring, excessive daytime tiredness, frequent night visits to the bathroom, mood swings, low sex drive, morning headache and waking up with a very dry mouth. Some patients may be aware of the spells; they wake upfrequently either knowing that they have stopped breathing or with a choking feeling. It is not just the quantity of sleep that is important; the quality is equally important. Sleep is divided into four stages and the first two are of limited help in refreshing us. The deeper sleep that comprises about half of the time we spend asleep is the most valuable. The most refreshing sleep of all, the deepest sleep, is that which is accompanied by rapid eye movements. This comprises about a quarter of our sleeping time. With his poor sleep pattern it is not surprising that Matthew had the psychological problems that he did. Most of his problems were caused by his chronic tiredness. What is more surprising is that patients with this problem have a higher rate of hypertension, stroke and heart attacks. Not only may Sleep Apnea affect the quality of life, it may lead to an early death. The Department of Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose and Throats) at The Bangkok Hospital Medical center has, on its staff, doctors that have an interest and have received training in this area of medicine. Matthew made an appointment to see a doctor who talked to him about his problem and then performed a thorough examination of his nose, throat and breathing system. Many patients, especially children have a mechanical obstruction, often caused by overgrown tonsils, adenoids or the presence of other growths or polyps. Removing them may be the answer to the problem. The doctor performed a laryngoscopy, looking down his throat while Matthew was breathing to observe the action of his larynx, the area that controls breathing. No problem was found; an appointment was made for Matthew to be studied at the Sleep Clinic. He was told to expect to be there for a whole night. Monitoring leads were attached to the top of Matthew’s head, to the area around his eyes, to his jaw muscles, to his chest, to his finger, and a device was placed in his nostrils and mouth. These leads record the information that is necessary to study all aspects of the patient’s sleep and to determine whether episodes of Sleep Apnea are occurring. In spite of all the wires and electrodes Matthew had no trouble fallingasleep; falling asleep was never Matthew’s problem. All the information: his rate ofbreathing, the action of his jaw muscles, his brain activity, his eye movements, the flow of air through his nose and mouth and the level of oxygen in his blood were
documented and recorded in a computerized program. These results were studied and it was found that Matthew was a victim of a Sleep Apnea problem. The treatment of sleep disorders differs from patient to patient. For some, simple environmental and behavioral changes may be the answer. There are some patients who only snore and only have apnea problems when they are lying on their backs. If this positional problem can be corrected the Sleep Apnea may be eliminated. Overweight people are much more likely to suffer from the problem and a program of dietary restraint and added exercise may be another route to improving the problem. For others surgery may be the answer. This approach is much more likely to be successful in children than in adults. Removing the tonsils, adenoids or other growths may correct the structural problems and make breathing easier and sleep more energizing. Parents often notice that after these operations a child’s whole attitude, personality and that their performance in school improves. The most common effective treatment for Sleep Apnea is nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). The patient wears a mask over the nose at night, and pressure from an air blower forces air through the nasal passages. This prevents the airway from closing and eliminates the Sleep Apnea. More sophisticated devices have been developed that respond to the patients breathing pattern and apply the pressure only when needed. Matthew was very doubtful about this treatment. Having to wear a mask in bed and having a machine dictate his breathing for him sounded very frightening. With his family’s encouragement he decided that he should try it and after an initial period of adjustment he is now a great believer in the CPAP treatment. He sleeps well; his life has improved; his family is ecstatic. It is a story with a really happy ending. I would suggest that if you or a family member has this problem you call and make an appointment at our Sleep Apnea Clinic.
Useful Telephone Numbers for Hua Hin
Railway station
032-512 770, 032-511 073
Bus station of Hua Hin
032-511 654, 032-512 543
Bus station of Prachuabkirikhan
032-601 901
Bus station of Pranburi
032-621 443
Hua Hin Hospital
032-520 401
Dog Rescue Center
0-1981 4406
Wild life Rescue Center (Tayang)
032-458 135
Department of Land Cha-am office:
032- 430 846-7
Department of Land Hua Hin office:
032-536 164, 032-512 407
Department of Land Prachuabkirikhan:
032-611 211
Department of Land Pranburi
032-622 199
Local Government (Hua Hin)
032-521 340, 532 471
Local water supply
032-511 677
The Power Board of Hua Hin
032-512 215, 032 513 165
Observer office:
032-531 078
Red Cross.
032-512 567
San Paolo Hospital
032-532 576-85
Polyclinic International
032-516 424, 032-516 425
Shell Cooking Gas
032-511 144, 032- 515 620
The Communication Authority of Thailand
(Hua Hin)
032-511 351
Rotary Club of Hua Hin
0-1916 6637
Meeting every Thursday 8.pm
at Hua Hin Grand Hotel & Plaza
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