Lost in KL?

Lost in Bukit Bintang?

It has been a long since I came to this side of town. More than 30 years ago, this place was 'happening' like the lingo in those days. A place brightly lit with neon lights, the epitome of capitalism, the enticement of the giant evil as it ushers in its sheep to the slaughter. Innovative advertising and enchanting window dressing were baits to detach the salaryman from his hard-earned in a jiffy. That is capitalism 101. There were a few choices back then, and Bukit Bintang was it. The place to be for the hip and trendy.

Now, I feel lost. Walking on the footpath, I feel like a foreigner in my own 'Tanah Tumpah Darah Ku'. Everyone passing me looks foreign, speaking in incomprehensible tongues. Even the servers at the stall that line the footpath do not look local.

Like a deer caught in the headlights, I felt like the proverbial deer that entered the village (Rusa masuk desa). I was too afraid of how things had morphed so fast since the last time I brought my kids here.

Oh, deer! An Englishman in New York?

Come to think of it, this is how my 84-year-old mother would be feeling right now. Born at a time when Malaya was under the tooth-and-nail of the Japanese Army, she must have a green, lush, malaria-laden tropical country transform into an oasis of modernity with skyscraping structures lining its skyline. With modernity came automation, artificial intelligence and self-working services that needed users' input. Computers and remotes are complicated for the non-IT-savvy individuals who missed the boat to educate themselves to be computer-literate. To top it all, the mind is willing, but the body and brain functions are weak, frustrating any attempts at wanting to partake in events of the changed world. 

With declining cognitive function, I fear the day when she would feel like a drowning person struggling to hold on to straws, trying to make sense of the murmurs that surround her telling her to do something...

What is it for the rest of us who want to be included in the wave of changes? It constantly reminds us that we should stay abreast of things. We do not want to be like India, thrown under the bus while Britain rode the bus of the Industrial Revolutions' first and second waves at the expense of India's raw materials and market. India is now doing a catch-up. Why bother with the bus now that we have hoverboards (hint: Back to the Future)!

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Overstretched assumption?

Ancient Apocalypse (2022)

Netflix, Documentary series

Graham Hancock is an old hand at this. A veteran journalist prolific at this topic, he has earned himself the dubious reputation of being a pseudo-historian and pseudo-archaeologist. Many of his previous books have dabbled with the same issue. His premise is this: Even before mainstream history dated humans to be hunter-gatherers around the end of the Ice Age 11,600 years ago, Hancock's research posits that a far more advanced civilisation existed during this wave of hunter-gatherers. 

The ruins he so skilfully shows in this series of documentaries depict the advanced skill of architectural marvel and skill that those people exhibited. 

If Erich von Däniken had earlier suggested an ancient alien race to have assisted human civilisation, here Hancock does not invoke ancient intelligence. He instead suggests that we had already developed all these advanced levels of knowledge in building and astronomy but lost most of it to the rise in sea levels due to the melting of glaciers at the end of the Ice Age. Many land bridges disappeared. Sunda, which engulfed all of Indonesia from Borneo to the Malayan peninsula, was separated by rising seas. He explores ruins in Gunung Padang to reveal a possible civilisation lost to a cataclysm. 

Like that, many ancient mammoth structures around Malta went underwater. So did building around Central America. Then there is Öbekil Tepe, ruins in Turkey dated to be 12,000 years old, before the end of the Ice Age.

Graham Hancock

Exploring the folk tales that have emanated around the foregoing areas reveals one thing that is common: People in that area were visited by somebody in a serpentine-looking boat to teach the locals about farming, building, science, and technology. 

Hancock explains the purpose of building many of these mammoth structures. Astrological references are of paramount importance in the layout of these buildings. There may even be animal drawings which could refer to constellations. Could our ancients be so advanced as the developers of the fabled Atlantis?

Many of the proposals here are considered too preposterous by mainstream historians. His association with Joe Rogan and other conspiracy theorists only lends little credence to his scholarship. 

Generally, archaeologists and historians admit loopholes in their understanding and explanations of the complex ancient buildings. But to attribute all these to an advanced intelligence before the end of the Ice Age is an overstretch. 

The archaeological fraternity does not see any scientific correlation to support Hancock's theory. 

Whatever is said and done, this documentary is made with brilliant cinematography using drones and a production team spanning continents. Many local historians and archaeologists were interviewed to drive home his point of view. The good thing about this show is that it makes its viewers take a step back and ponder whether we know everything about our history and world. 

Now, the exciting thing is that Hancock is saying that the whole world was civilised to a single advanced civilisation. It seems humans did not have the intelligence to discover things for themselves. The human race seems amnesiac about its past. There needs to be more depth in our knowledge about our world. What happened during Younger Dryas, the later part of the Ice Age, before Earth became warmer?

Knowing that bringing up India's past is like opening a Pandora's Box, he conveniently avoided mentioning India in his discussion. He may be suggesting that the Mesopotamians and the fire-worshipping Zoroastrians were the first civilisation in the world. 

Some in the media call for this series to be axed and view it as dangerous for public viewing. They insist that the show is a freak show that reinforces the rhetorics of conspiracy theorists. They call for research not to be funded by public funding.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Another unfound Malaysian mystery!

http://www.cameronhighlandsinfo.com/jim_thompson/


History Of Jim Thompson

"Absolute mysteries only improve with age" writes William Warren, author of Jim Thompson: The Unsolved Mystery, "and there can have been few as absolute as Thompson's has proved to be."
His skills as a designer and textile colourist were soon noted by fashion editors and, when the cast of the musical, The King and I, wore Thompson's creations, his silk empire was off and spinning.

Most visitors to the Cameron Highlands head off for a walk along one of the many forest trails to enjoy the scenery and the refreshingly cool mountain air. Most return to relax in front of a log fire in one of several resorts located in the former colonial hill station made popular by heat-fatigued colonialists who headed up to the cooler Malaysian highlands for some cool relief from the heat and humidity of the lowlands.
Very few walkers don't return. The most celebrated trekker who didn't was American entrepreneur H.W. (Jim) Thompson who had single-handedly rekindled the Thai silk weaving industry before his disappearance.
Jim Thompsons disappearance saw renewed interest in the case. While there are many theories about his disappearance, the fact remains that they are mostly all speculative and no one really knows exactly what happened on that fateful March day. Noted Thai-based journalist and friend of Thompson, William Warren has written the definite analysis of the incident in his book, Jim Thompson - The Unsolved Mystery (Archipelago Press, 1970).
Before his disappearance, Thompson was already well known and this no doubt fuelled much of the speculation and kept the rumour mill ticking over.
Thompson had practised as an architect in New York City from 1931 to 1940. He then quit and enlisted in the army as a private in the Delaware National Guard Regiment. A year after the outbreak of World War 11, he joined the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) which specialised in intelligence gathering, subversive propaganda and undercover activities behind energy lines. While the group went on to form the CIA after the war, its activities were a little different to those of the CIA. The organisation adopted the reverse Ten Commandments and was described by one operative as one where they were taught to lie and steal, kill, maim, spy, deceive, terrify and destro" Thompson volunteered to serve in the Pacific and he was originally assigned to the China-India-Burma area.
However, in 1945, he received orders to proceed to Thailand, then technically an enemy of the Allied forces as it was occupied by Japanese troops. In preparation for the assignment, Thompson received jungle training in Sri Lanka, so the jungles of the Cameron Highlands would not be completely unknown territory for him. As it turned out, he arrived in Bangkok just days after the Japanese officially surrendered but he was said to continue spying activities well after the war had finished.

Eaten by Wild Animal?

After his disappearance, it was suggested that he disappeared at the hands of terrorists seeking ransom money despite the fact that no ransom demand was ever received. Unsubstantiated suggestions were also made that Thompson was involved in drugs and that his disappearance was somehow related to this.
Another suggestion was that the Thai silk entrepreneur staged his disappearance despite not being depressed or financially strapped for cash at the time. Was he taken by a tiger, wild boar or leopard? If so, the 325 police, soldiers, friends, Orang Asli and volunteers failed to find any trace of Thompson.
No remains were ever found of the man. Perhaps he fell into a ravine and his remains were enveloped by the jungle? The slippery moss-covered rocks, prickly creepers and dark forest interiors pose problems for jungle trekkers even to this day. The search officially lasted 10 days, covering a territory of up to 70 miles from the scene (teams were dispatched to places where speculative sightings were reported).
Seven years after the disappearance, Jim Thompson was legally declared dead in 1974. As noted in William Warren's book: The myth of Jim Thompson is as vigorous as ever.

In Thompson's Memory
While time has diluted the mystery somewhat, there are those who still reflect on what happened that day. Others staying at the recently-opened Cameron Highlands Resort may raise an eyebrow with their evening late fireside nightcap and think twice about heading for one of the mountain trails without an experienced guide. These days, the only confirmed sighting of Jim Thompson is that of the label on many exclusive Thai silk products sold in the boutique bearing his name in the Cameron Highlands Resort.
Next time you're there, buy a copy of William Warren's Jim Thompson - The Unsolved Mystery from the boutique. Then snuggle up in one of the comfortable resort lounges in front of the log fire and postulate a few theories of your own.

The book starts by talking of the actual disappearance, in effect setting out its stall and the enticing readers with the nature of the mystery. Basically Jim disappeared with seemingly no trace, no clues and this started the mystery. The book obviously gives more detail and more potential plot threads.
Once the nature of the mystery is established the book details the first legend of Jim. Without the first legend the mystery would not be so important. That is to say if an ordinary person disappeared the story would not endure thirty years. Jim worked for the predecessor of the CIA in the war and then aged 40 basically single handedly rebuilt the Thai cottage silk industry into a multi-million pound (dollar) industry. The book talks of personal struggles, strife, conflict, interests and other things which add to the first legend.

Another gallery of gems from the past!

Vought F4-U Corsair crashes on the deck of a carrier when the arresting gear failed. Most likely, it's sometime during WW2 in the Pacific Theater.

George Armstrong Custer and some of his fellow soldiers, during the American Civil War. (Colorized)

John F. Kennedy at NASA's Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex in 1962.

The photo is believed to be the last photo ever taken of the RMS Titanic before it sank in April 1912.

1884 De Dion, Bouton et Trepardou Dos-à-Dos is the oldest running car on the planet. It was the first car to participate in an automobile race.

This photo was taken in space right after World War II (1946). A team of soldiers and scientists used a German-made V-2 missile equipped with a camera to capture this shot—making it the first photo in space.

Douglas MacArthur signing the official Japanese surrender instrument aboard the USS Missouri, 1945.

Hitler inspecting the massive 800mm “Schwerer Gustav” railway gun from afar. It was the largest-caliber rifled weapon ever used in combat, and fired the heaviest shells of any artillery piece.

General George S. Patton's Dog, Willie, mourning his best friend on the day of his death

Joseph Goebbels on his wedding day. Hitler was his best man and can be seen behind him in a trench coat and hat.

Howard Carter, an English archaeologist, examining the opened sarcophagus of King Tut. 

An RAF pilot getting a haircut while reading a book between missions.

Manfred von Richthofen, aka “The Red Baron”, petting his dog on an airfield during World War I.

Samurai ~ 1860 – 1880

A team of Brittish SAS soldiers in North Africa, 1943. The cans are full of water or gasoline for long range missions.
Note: They are using the American built, venerable Willys Jeeps instead of the far less reliable Brittish Land Rover.

Soviet soldiers stop for a break in 1945 on the outskirts of Berlin

Tsar Nicholas II goofing around with his friend in 1899

Walt and Roy Disney on the day that they opened the Disney Studio. Beside them are their wives and their mother.

Astronauts: John Young and Charles Duke are training for the Apollo 16 mission, in the New Mexico desert.

During the Apollo 16 mission, Charles Duke left a family photo 

on the moon that was enclosed in a plastic bag