A wonderful alliteration

Inspired by the alliterative introduction of V in V for Vendetta, my effervescent friend, lingthemerciless conjured this up while waiting for her colleagues to respond to her documents!

A : Adoi! Ambassadress A is aggressively arrowed. Antagonistic to attention (and abnormal, atypical, artificial and annoying ah-lian airheads), her ammunition : "Allegiance to Anonymity". Alamak! Achtung! Ahem...A's astronomical achievements : Amplifier of Apple and Adobe applications, Attacker of aromatic antipasto and spaghetti arrabiata, Arch-enemy to Agricultural and Aquatic Annihilators, be they in Asia, Arctic, Antartic or other arid arena. Additionally, amnestying the amoebic and adventurous but adolescently ape-like antics of her aristocatic animalia! Alas, an ad nauseum adaptation to anarchy. Admittedly, A is an absolute angel!

Merci beaucoup, Ling!

Things

Knowing that I'm a Robbie Williams' fan, a colleague bought me his 'Greatest Hits' Album for Christmas last year.

Great album! Nothing of his typical pop songs. But remakes of oldies. I simply love this album. I am quite surprised (though pleasantly of course) that he is so good with the covers!

I listen to the songs almost everyday at the office, with earphones almost permanently glued in my ears (too much background noise in the office most times).

1. I Will Talk And Hollywood Will Listen
2. Mack The Knife
3. Somethin' Stupid
4. Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me
5. It Was A Very Good Year
6. Straighten Up And Fly Right
7. Well, Did You Evah
8. Mr. Bojangles
9. One For My Baby
10. Things
11. Ain't That A Kick In The Head
12. They Can't Take That Away From Me
13. Have You Met Miss Jones?
14. Me And My Shadow
15. Beyond The Sea

Interestingly, a check on Amazon.com showed that the album cover does not correspond to the songs list. The above list was listed on another Robbie Williams album - "Swing When You're Winning". Weird. Well, being the normal gal that I am, I prefer my hot bod CD cover any day!

Love quite a few of the songs on that album. But the one which constantly keeps popping into my head is 'Things'. The song sounded familiar. Had thought I heard it in the film 'Walk the Line', where June Carter duets with Johnny Cash at one of their tours. But a check of the song turned negative on all her albums. I could have mistaken it with 'Thing Called Love'.

I also thought the female singer who performed the song with Robbie Williams sounded very much like Reese Witherspoon in the movie,with her Southern-sounding drawl. It turned out to be Bristish actress Jane Horrocks, a very talented lady who impressed Jim Cartwright with her impressions of Judy Garland, Shirley Bassey (amongst others), he wrote a play and movie 'Little Voices' to show off her talent. What I especially love about the song is the little 'squibble' the two had at the end of the song!

'Things' was actually written and first performed by Bobby Darin in 1962.

Of course I still listen and simply love the 'au naturel' a.k.a pop Robbie Williams. I love his 'Better Man' song from the album 'Sing When You're Winning'. So meaningful. My significantly other, being the loving and thoughful man that he is (or perhaps in an attempt to stop me from humming out-of-tune and repeating whatever few words I remembered of the lyrics) had bought me that album quite a few years back. The songs from that CD are on my iPod and iShuffle (also thanks to my significant other), which accompany me on bus/train rides, walks to work and the occasional runs.

I love my things..err.. I mean men!

Oats to health!

I've been having oats for breakfast these last 3 days in an attempt to subsist on a more healthy diet!

So, why are oats good for health?
Oats provides a very good source of soluble fibers, specifically beta-glucans. These have been shown to lower serum cholesterol, blood pressure and glucose spikes following meals. Translation: more oats = lower risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure and reduced risks of acquiring Type 2 diabetes. Some researchers in Tuft University, in 1999, showed that healthy men fed on oats showed reduced blood pressure and cholesterol in 6 weeks!

Oats is also a good source of

• dietary fiber (that's why it's so chewy) which helps promote healthy bowel movements,
• complex carbohydrates which is known to reduced risks of colon, breast and prostate cancers,
  
• proteins of a quality comparable (as shown by the WHO) to that of meat, milk and eggs,
• amino acids (best amino acids profile amongst grains),
  
• balanced essential fatty acids (primarily unsaturated fatty acids which is linked to longevity and good health, and
  
• vitamin B1 (thiamin) which is necessary for carbohydrate metabolism.
  

More oats for me please!

I'm not gluten-intolerant, but for those who are, oats are good for you too!
For a list of references on celiac disease and oats, Celiac.com has quite a comprehensive listing.

Oats, oats every kind, which one to eat?
[The following is taken from Oats, The Cook's Thesaurus]


Steel cut oats are whole oats that have been chopped into small pieces. They are very chewy and take the longest time to cook, next to whole oats, of course. Oprah, in one of her shows, advocated steel cut oats, perhaps because this is the closest you get to whole oats (groats). Not flaked.




Rolled oats are steamed, rolled, and flaked so that they cook quickly. They're often cooked as a breakfast cereal, added raw to granola or muesli mixes, or used to make oatmeal cookies (not so often). This is what I have been eating. I cook them with milk and water (1/3 milk and 2/3 water) for about 5 minutes on a stove. Serve with blueberries and cut bananas. Yummy!



Quick oats are thin flakes of oatmeal that cook up in about three or four minutes. Usually used to make oatmeal cookies.





Instant oats are very thin, precooked oats that need only be mixed with a hot liquid. They usually have flavorings and salt added (most 3-in-1s). They're convenient, but not as chewy and flavorful as slower-cooking oats.



Some trivia on oats

• There are only 3 main species of oats cultivated worldwide
• 75% of oats come from one species - Avena sativa
• Avena nuda produces hulless oats.
• Oats are often food for poultry and horses
• Oats are well-regarded by the Scots but not the English
• There is a traditional English saying - "Oats are only fit to be fed to horses and Scotsmen".
• To that, the Scots reply - "and England has the finest horses and Scotland the finest men!"

References:
Oat Milling, North America Millers Association
Holy Oat! by Brenda R. Carlos, Chef.com
Oat by Wikipedia

Silver

Slowly, silently, now the moon

Walks the night in her silver shoon;

This way, and that, she peers, and sees
Silver fruit upon silver trees;

One by one the casements catch
Her beams beneath the silvery thatch;

Couched in his kennel, like a log,
With paws of silver sleeps the dog;

From their shadowy coat the white breasts peep
Of doves in a silver-feathered sleep;

A harvest mouse goes scampering by,
With silver claws, and silver eye;

And moveless fish in the water gleam,
By silver reeds in a silver stream.

- Walter de la Mare

I love this poem. One of the first few poems I learnt in Sec 1 literature class.

Memories at Old Ford Factory

Now I know...

• the extent of the bluff Japanese pulled on the British to force the latter to surrender;


• that during the Japanese ccupation, divide and conquer was the order of the day;


• and that crime rates were lower then before;


• and that women were encouraged and given opportunities to study and work;


• and that in 1945, you would need $200 to buy an egg!

I'm going back there again. This time with my camera! So watch out for the follow-up post.