HEARING AND MEMORY

Do you remember what the pastor said last week?  It might be easier for you to recall what he wore and how his handshake felt.   If you think your memory is foggy, or mistakenly blaming it on daydreaming, don’t.  A University of Iowa study found that auditory memory is inferior to visual and tactile memory: that is we what we see, what we touch, will register far longer in our brain than what we hear.  Other studies indicate recalling smell also trumps calling to mind sounds.

The U of I findings, published recently in the journal PLOS One (see www.plosone.org and search phrase “Achilles’ Ear?”), give credence to folk wisdom as in the old Chinese proverb “I hear, and I forget… I see, and I remember.”  Lead author James Bigelow was quoted, "We tend to think that the parts of our brain wired for memory are integrated. But our findings indicate our brain may use separate pathways to process information.”

Canadian audiologist Ning Hu of Surrey Hearing Care said, “It could be because auditory information is received sequentially one at a time, for example speech sounds, before it can be processed and understood as a whole by the brain, while visual information can be scanned over and over by the eye. Our short-term memory has a certain capacity to store auditory information for retrieval and recall within a short period of time before new auditory information comes in for processing. This cognitive overloading of information perhaps renders fewer mental resources available to commit auditory information to memory.”

Sounds that register more in one’s brain are those according to Ms. Hu which are “familiar as opposed to novel sounds, for example voices of family and friends versus strangers, ones own name being called, and sounds that are linked to some form of strong emotions like a favorite song or nails on chalkboard.”

Remember the song that you just heard, and now you find yourself singing the tune again and again – that is called a brain itch, or cognitive itch, or earworm.  Yes an earworm (talking of stimuli).   This often happens due to catchy repetitive lyrics.   The only way to scratch the itch off is to keep crooning the melody.  Women are more susceptible to brain itch.

What are the implications?

For Advertisers: Radio advertising which is pure auditory will work best the more frequent the commercial is aired. Don’t expect a week to do the trick. 
Print Advertising will strongly compliment other media because it "is there always" - not fleeting like radio or TV or online.  Seeing an Ad on print has stronger brain imprint = see
Paper Beats Digital In Many Ways, According To Neuroscience

For Speakers and Lecturers:  Use multimedia, role play, more mnemonic aids, or hands-on tasks to extend the life of the word/s in the brain, in other words multi-stimuli.

For Parents talking to Teens: Say their names first.

For You: Jot it down, the longer the downtime from the moment you heard the sound or words (e.g. in a classroom or church) the higher the chance you will require more effort to recollect.  Do not rely on your memory.  Other sounds will ultimately kicked out of your brain a good portion of what you heard unless there is repetition or emotional value or a looming due date.

So next time somebody tells you, “I just told you! You’re not listening.”  Perhaps.  Or at that moment your auricular memory space is full and you just don’t have room for more. Your response, "Sorry, no space."

Can you blame age for fuzzy memory?  “I am having a senior moment.”  Now that can be partly due to hearing loss which is another topic.

NEWPORT CAFE OREGON COAST

You will not miss this café driving in Newport along the Oregon Coast.  Funky and bright, dining here is a very American experience.

They brag about their New England style clam chowder - rightly so.

They claim their portions are huge - they are not lying

 

AND dining as well as shopping are TAX FREE in the whole state of Oregon!  Time to splurge 

For more info and their current menu, see www.newportcafeoregon.com  

Open 24 Hours – one of the few places along the coast.

URARO

Last night a friend gave a bag of Uraro cookies.   It came from the Philippines.  I remember eating Uraros at childhood. Since then I don’t recall having eaten any at all. 

Uraro cookie has that crunch but it doesn’t last for more than a second.  Firm to the lips, powdery inside, the cookie has just the right texture or granulation to tickle the tongue.  Once bitten it quickly crumbles and melts in your mouth like ice cream in a dry way. 

What makes Uraro Uraro is it’s key ingredient arrowroot flour.  Jenn, blogger -  http://taraletseat.blogspot.ca/2011/06/uraro-cookies.html wrote that the arrowroot plant is also called araru or ararao in the Philippines hence the name, which sounds close to "arrowroot".

This morning I saw my favorite ice cream on sale: Breyers Creamery Style Natural Vanilla  1.66 Liters at CAD$3.97, down from CAD$7.87.  On my walk back home, across the park, for no rhyme or reason, the idea of mixing Uraro cookies and vanilla ice cream gushed out of my mind.  Will it work like Cookies and Cream ice cream?

The answer: better in my book.  Uraro’s light arrowroot flavor compliments that of vanilla.  I will suggest to an ice cream company back in the Philippines to explore the idea.

SUMMER IS HERE!

In Vancouver BC

Sunshine and freshly mowed grass in the park is a rare and terrific eclipse.

No set up here – this is what I gleaned simply by walking through.

Summer though does not officially begin till June 21, 2014 – the longest day of the year when the earth’s North Pole tilts towards the sun  at 23.5 degrees.   This phenomena called the Summer Solstice will happen at 3:51 am PDT.  Hold on tight!    Just kidding. 

How come we will not sense anything at all?  Because everything is tilting with us and the movement is very smooth.  In everyday life we feel the tilt because we see our incline relative to a chair, a tree, etc.  And it happens fast. It is all about relativity.

In North America –we could see on June 21st, a Saturday, 14 ½ hours of daylight.  Time to take a long road trip.

Sandals by Chaco

Classic Cinnamon Buns

On my way to Port Hardy the northernmost terminus of Vancouver Island, I would often pass by Roberts Lake Resort.  Located alongside a woody section of Highway 19, between the Sayward Village turnoff and the small city of Campbell River, what you will really see when driving is the resort’s restaurant.    The lake is further down the slope partially obscured by trees.

More like a campground than “resort” the place has that wonderful aura and architecture reminiscent of the 1950s.  One time I decided to stop and with permission looked in at the empty cabins.  I found out the oldest was built in 1945 (cabin #5).  With their own kitchen, the cabins can accommodate 2 – 5 people (ranging from $90 to $120 per night per cabin).   Not bad eh? 

There is also an area for pitching tents nearer the lake but there are no shower facilities.  If you need to, I was told laughingly, “jump in the (freezing) lake” No cell phone service and no Wi-Fi.  Named after a surveyor, and surrounded by spruce, hemlock, pine and alder trees, Roberts Lake is one of those sceneries where you will not be rushing to grab your camera.  It is not as handsome as the others.

When I walked inside the empty café that sunny summer late afternoon, I was not impressed.  Although the only other person, a young lady, was very helpful, and in a friendly way said the place was closing soon for the day.  There were some to go items: ordinary looking cookies, and on a table against a wall: a couple of chunky glazed blocks whose four walls were wrapped with peaking aluminum foil.  

 “What are they?”

 

“Cinnamon Buns”

Bought one to try, and the following morning, in a riverfront campground in Zeballos, I unwrapped my brekkie.  A bite, a chew, and a wolf, “This is good.”

Lorna Duncan and me (after a heavy heavy meal) showing her classic Cinnamon Buns (with a couple Lorna touches)

On my way back, I knew I had to have two to go for my return trip to the city of Vancouver across the water, but I was told the buns were all gone early that day. 

Two weeks later I was back after driving two hours from the 11 am ferry arrival in Nanaimo, and bingo, they still had a few.

Those cinnamon buns are huge.  Imagine the size of a loaf of bread you buy at the supermarket.   Cut in half, each cinnamon cube or bun sells at $4.25 (or $4.45 tax included).  I have eaten cinnamon buns in many venues in North America, and most recent in the Vancouver metropolis, many claiming to be the best.  Often it is the cream cheese icing which stimulates further craving for these treats.  But at Roberts Lake café – none of the white stuff.  Just pure glaze.  When you tear out a piece, revealing the inner core filled with syrupy golden brown sweetness, cinnamon and raisins, you know you have a classic. 

The lady behind this superb creation is the affable down-to-earth gracious proprietor and cook/baker Lorna Duncan.    Lorna’s great and good character was manifested when she did not withheld any secrets and revealed why inspite of having no icing or any nuts, her cinnamon bun has locals calling in the morning requesting a hold.  The 3 ladies kitchen (only two or one at any given time) will only bake so much at the start of the day as they have other things to prep for the dining menu. 

The two ingredients Lorna mentioned?  Write to my e-mail telljosephlopez@gmail.com and I will send you the info.  (I hope you understand, this is just one way I track my readership). 

In case you missed the buns, don’t despair – Roberts Lake menu, though not that long, presents classic and bountiful meals that are cooked just like a loving grandma would.  Lorna’s staff, always smiling mom and daughter Rose and Joan Martel, would do their best to cater to your whims. 

“How do you want your eggs?”

“Basted”  (truly Canadiana)

“Soft basted, medium basted, hard basted?”

Most breakfast items come with thick slices of their own hand-kneaded kitchen baked bread which you will sometimes see from the outside - a row of loaves cooling.   With the bread, a dessert cup of their own kitchen-made jam – a sweet tart tangy delicious concoction of blackberry, strawberry, rhubarb “or whatever is in season, a bumbleberry,” Lorna said.

Good Food, Good Folks                     Wrong!

Good Folks, Good Food                     Right!

The food may be yummy but if served without a genuine heart, it is just an exclamation.  With sincere folks, it becomes a wonderful memory yearning to be relived again and again.

Thanks Lorna, Rose and Joan.  I’ll be back!

__________________________________________________

If you would like to know more see http://robertslakeresort.ca/ 

For the cinnamon buns, it might be good to call ahead for a possible hold, Tel: (250) 287-9421 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 

Nanaimo Bar in Nanaimo

I have often disembarked and passed through the city of Nanaimo on my way to other points of interest in Vancouver Island.  But it dawned on me that I’ve never eaten a Nanaimo Bar in Nanaimo.  I was not really a fan of the ultra ultra sweet three-layer chocolate custard bar which I would occasionally try in the city of Vancouver - more than 30 nautical miles from Nanaimo across the Straight of Georgia.  But perhaps I was not munching the real thing.

So I began my quest for the original Nanaimo Bar in Nanaimo.