Alzheimer’s disease Archives

It’s the (Positive) Thoughts that Count

Feb

24

2018

Readers of this blog will have noted that My New Old Self has enthusiastically embraced positive thinking. This was most recently in response to a study about the effects of exercise on older people. It revealed that the mere thought that you are not exercising enough can shorten your lifespan. Now there is a new ...

Piano on my Mind 3

Sep

8

2017

I have recently taken up the piano again after a gap of nearly five decades. I was taught to read music at the same age that I learned to read English. At the age of five I started weekly lessons with a piano teacher who happened to live across the street. Even when we moved ...

Same Old Same Old for Women at Cannes

May

11

2016

There are more women directors with movies in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. But in terms of older women it looks like Same Old Same Old. The Cannes 2016 main jury is headed by George Miller, director of the Mad Max action movie franchise. At 71 he is NSP (No Spring Chicken) but I haven’t ...

Waking at night (you know why) 2

Aug

27

2015

More people in Africa have cellphones than toilets. This statistic comes to mind when I wake up in the middle of the night. Which often happens when you get older. There’s no gender divide on this one. Both men and women tend to experience interrupted sleep as we age. You know the reason most of ...

Alzheimer’s – your worst fear or the real you?

Nov

5

2014

I’ve got some bad news and some good news. The bad news is in this recent headline… Comedians could have a field day with that story. Young ones, that is. Older people may laugh nervously, but inside they’re probably worrying that something like that recent incident in a UK care facility could happen to them ...

Misleading reports on “senile dementia” as inevitable cause of writer Marquez’s death 1

Apr

24

2014

Reports on the cause of the death of Latin American literary giant Gabriel Garcia Marquez have been greatly distorted – to paraphrase Mark Twain’s famous quote about “greatly exaggerated” reports of his own death. Misleading statements have appeared in many obituaries of the author of 100 Years of Solitude and many other acclaimed works, stating ...