THE KINTA WEED : WHICH IS IT??

My Dad was posted to Ipoh in 1958, We stayed in 3 different houses there. The first one was in a housing trust at Jalan Kampar, the second being a staff quarter at Kg Simee Road and the third also a quarter  at Jalan Abd. Jalil, Greentown. Ipoh Town is situated in the renown Kinta Valley much famous for its tin mining . Once on a car trip dad pulled over to the roadside to show us the Kinta Weed, a wild orchid that grow terrestrially in utter abandance even by the roadside. I believe mum did take a plant or two to cultivate in her garden. I understand today they are no longer seen in such abundance from the highway.

Today, reading the various write-ups, I realise some people are claiming either the Arundina graminifolia or the Papilionathe  hookeriana and even Vanda hookeriana as the Kinta Weed. We are talking about the Kinta Weed and not a Kinta Weed!

Arundina graminifolia

 by courtesy  of Martin Lee

Arundina Clump

 from rareflora.com

 I have always held the Arundina graminifolia (grass-leafed) as the Kinta Weed. That was the one my dad had shown to me before. It is also commonly known as the Tapah Weed,  Bamboo Orchid or Okid Buluh in Malay. It is so called because of its plaited linear leaf structure. It's new species name is however bambusaefolia (bamboo-leafed) .It is a terrestrial, perennial and has reedy stem often growing in clumps hence, I thought, giving it the weedy outlook. The flower, normally about 9 cm,  reminds me of the Cattleya. However, it does have a poor flowering capacity. 

Papilionanthe  hookeriana

 from forum.theorchidsource.com

On the other hand, Papilionanthe  hookeriana, a monopodial has tereted (rounded) leaves and according to some writers, thrives in water and some claim it to be semi aquatic. This comes as a surprise to me but yes, some orchids do thrive in marshlands and it's secret lies in it's ability to adapt. In my search for truth I found that some find that it hates to get it's "feet" wet. It actually perch on other aquatic plants to stay above water. This is confusing stuff!

Apparently, confusion over what is Kinta Orchid, Kinta Weed, Tapah Weed even ruled the parliamentary debate of June 1961 in the search of Malaysian national flower.I thought it was aptly expressed by the member from Larut Selatan, Dr Lim Swee Aim:

"In fact, those of us in Perak who know orchids the rest of Malaysia apparently do not know what orchids are in Perak know that that Anggerek Kinta is Tapah Weed or to give it's proper name Arundina bambusifolia. So, there is always confusion as to what is Tapah Weed and what is Kinta Weed and which is Anggerik Tapah and which is Anggerik Kinta. Only connoisseurs of orchids will be able to tell the difference."

Vanda Miss Joaquim

 from amassia.com.au

Unfortunately , he did not make it any less confusing by declaring that Kinta Orchid is Vanda hookeriana which in fact is a hybrid of  Vanda teres x Papilionanthe  hookeriana of which Vanda Miss Joaquin is a byproduct. Vanda Miss Joaquin later became the national flower of Singapore in 1981. It is named such as it was first discovered in Agnes Joaquin's garden in Singapore in 1893. 

So the confusion seems to live on......

My Own hookeriana

Are Whole Eggs or Egg Whites Better for You?

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

I was on a weekend trip with some friends recently and one of my friends was cooking breakfast for the whole group. I went over to see what he was cooking and saw he was getting ready to make a big batch of eggs.

Well, to my shock and horror, I noticed that he was cracking the eggs open and screening the egg whites into a bowl and throwing out the egg yolks. I asked him why the heck he was throwing out the egg yolks, and he replied something like this...

"because I thought the egg yolks were terrible for you...that's where all the nasty fat and cholesterol is".

And I replied, "you mean that's where all of the nutrition is!"

This is a perfect example of how confused most people are about nutrition. In a world full of misinformation about nutrition, somehow most people now mistakenly think that the egg yolk is the worst part of the egg, when in fact, the YOLK IS THE HEALTHIEST PART OF THE EGG!

By throwing out the yolk and only eating egg whites, you're essentially throwing out the most nutrient dense, antioxidant-rich, vitamin and mineral loaded portion of the egg. The yolks contain so many B-vitamins, trace minerals, vitamin A, folate, choline, lutein, and other powerful nutrients... it's not even worth trying to list them all.

In fact, the egg whites are almost devoid of nutrition compared to the yolks.

Even the protein in egg whites isn't as powerful without the yolks to balance out the amino acid profile and make the protein more bio-available. Not to even mention that the egg yolks from free range chickens are loaded with healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

Yolks contain more than 90% of the calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, and B12, and panthothenic acid of the egg. In addition, the yolks contain ALL of the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K in the egg, as well as ALL of the essential fatty acids (EFAs).

And now the common objection I get all the time when I say that the yolks are the most nutritious part of the egg...

"But I heard that whole eggs will skyrocket my cholesterol through the roof"

No, this is FALSE!

First of all, when you eat a food that contains a high amount of dietary cholesterol such as eggs, your body down-regulates it's internal production of cholesterol to balance things out.

On the other hand, if you don't eat enough cholesterol, your body simply produces more since cholesterol has dozens of important vital functions in the body.

And here's where it gets even more interesting.

There have been plenty of studies lately that indicate that eating whole eggs actually raises your good HDL cholesterol to a higher degree than LDL cholesterol, thereby improving your overall cholesterol ratio and blood chemistry.

And 3rd... high cholesterol is NOT a disease!  Heart disease is a disease...but high cholesterol is NOT.  Cholesterol is actually a VERY important substance in your body and has vitally important functions... it is DEAD WRONG to try to "lower your cholesterol" just because of pharmaceutical companies propaganda that everyone on the planet should be on statin drugs.

If you're interested in this topic of cholesterol specifically, I have another article listed at the bottom of this page about why trying to attack cholesterol is a mistake, and what the REAL deadly risk factors actually are.

In addition, the yolks contain the antioxidant lutein as well as other antioxidants which can help protect you from inflammation within your body (the REAL culprit in heart disease, not dietary cholesterol!), giving yet another reason why the yolks are actually GOOD for you, and not detrimental.

To help bring even more proof that whole eggs are better for you than egg whites, I recently read a University of Connecticut study that showed that a group of men in the study that ate 3 eggs per day for 12 weeks while on a reduced carb, higher fat diet increased their HDL good cholesterol by 20%, while their LDL bad cholesterol stayed the same during the study.  However, the group that ate egg substitutes (egg whites) saw no change in either and did not see the improvement in good cholesterol (remember that higher HDL levels are associated with lower risk of heart disease) that the whole egg eaters did. 

So I hope we've established that whole eggs are not some evil food that will wreck your body... instead whole eggs are FAR superior to egg whites.

But what about the extra calories in the yolks?

This is actually a non-issue and here's why... even though egg yolks contain more calories than just eating the egg whites, the yolks have such a high micro-nutrient density in those calories, that it increases your overall nutrient density per calorie you consume.  Essentially, what this does is help to regulate your appetite for the remainder of the day, so you end up eating less calories overall.  In addition, the healthy fats in the egg yolks help to maintain a good level of fat-burning hormones in your body.

Overall, this means that the extra fats (healthy fats) and calories from the yolk are so nutrient-dense that they actually HELP you to burn off body fat!

Also, your normal supermarket eggs coming from mass factory farming just don't compare nutritionally with organic free range eggs from healthy chickens that are allowed to roam freely and eat a more natural diet.  Your typical cheap grocery store eggs will have lower nutrient levels and a higher omega-6 level and lower omega-3 level.  On the other hand, the cage-free organic eggs from healthier chickens allowed to eat more natural feed and roam freely will have much higher vitamin and mineral levels and a more balanced healthier omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acid ratio.

I recently compared eggs I bought at the grocery store with a batch of eggs I got at a farm stand where the chickens were free roaming and healthy.Most people don't realize that there's a major difference because they've never bought real eggs from healthy chickens... The eggs from the grocery store had pale yellow yolks and thin weak shells. On the other hand, the healthier free range eggs from the local farm had strong thick shells and deep orange colored yolks indicating much higher nutrition levels and carotenoids... and just a healthier egg in general.

This is due to the fact that a free-roaming hen allowed to roam on plenty of land will eat a variety of greens, insects, worms, etc transferring MUCH higher levels of nutrients to the eggs compared to an unhealthy hen that is trapped inside a dark factory farm hen house in horrible conditions and fed nothing but piles of corn and soy.  It's a DRASTIC difference in the nutrition that you get from the egg.

So next time a health or fitness professional tells you that egg whites are superior (because of their "fat-phobic" mentality towards dietary fats), you can quietly ignore their advice knowing that you now understand the REAL deal about egg yolks.And can we all please STOP with this sillyness about eating an omelete with 4-5 egg whites and only 1 egg yolk... If you want real taste and real health benefits, we'd all be better off eating ALL of our eggs with the yolks.After all, do you REALLY think that our ancestors thousands of years ago threw out the yolks and only ate the egg whites?  NOT A CHANCE!  They intuitively knew that all of the nutrition was found in the yolks.  But our modern society has been brainwashed with misinformation about fats and cholesterol.

Another interesting study about eggs...

I read a study recently that compared groups of people that ate egg breakfasts vs groups of people that ate cereal or bagel-based breakfasts.  The results of the study showed that the egg eaters lost or maintained a healthier bodyweight, while the cereal/bagel eaters gained weight. 

It was hypothesized that the egg eaters actually ate less calories during the remainder of the day because their appetite was more satisfied compared to the cereal/bagel eaters who would have been more prone to wild blood sugar swings and food cravings.

Oh, one last thing I almost forgot... I personally eat 4 whole eggs almost every day with breakfast, and I maintain single-digit bodyfat most of the year. 

Enjoy your eggs and get a leaner body!

OF BOOKS AND READING

I have just received my PPAS Certificate of Participation in what was the Largest Outdoor Reading Event in Malaysia held at the Lake Gardens, Shah Alam on 26th June, 2010. It was community program organised by the Selangor State Government and the Selangor Public Library Corporation (PPAS) with the Sultan in attendance and endorsed by the Malaysian Book of Records. Attendance was so overwhelming. While 10,000 was expected, more than 15,000 attended!


I was informed of the event by my Goodreads Malaysia friends who had made it possible for my hubby and I to attend. So there we were with the mat, brolly, sun hat, books, water and my granddaughter in tow! The greatest part was to be able to meet other Goodreads Malaysia members who were able to make it to the event in spite of the late announcement. We even decided that we ought to meet again.

If anything at all my hubby and I share this love of reading. Those who know us would probably vouch that it may be the only thing we have in common. Apart from that we are two very diverse persons! He is even much more of an avid reader than I am. I recall his buying spree of a dead teacher's collection. I could not believe my eyes that his collection actually lined up all the walls of his home in Petaling Jaya. Nevertheless, his son, the beneficiary did not share his passion. I recall some time later when we were moving home my hubby had to send some books back to his mum's house in Segamat, Johore, for the benefit of his other siblings. His mum had to sacrifice a clothes cupboard to store the books in. I am not sure whether the books actually served their purpose. I certainly hope it did as my hubby had used his hard earned money to get them. Today, I see the cupboard  being used for the clothes it was originally intended for. So, I wonder what had happened to the books!!


During a Singapore trip some months ago my hubby saved a whole set (24 volumes) of Encyclopedia Britannica from the dump. The lady owner was all too happy to let him have it for a few Sing Dollars. I suppose, a book lover will simply be broken hearted to see good books being thrown away like that.

Some years back while clearing my grandma's house in Alor Gajah, Malacca, we decided that we would be taking the books, well most of them. To mention a few, we simply fell in love with the Grolier Classics (10 volumes) in its glorious cover, and Grolier's Lands And People (7 volumes).

However, the most priceless to me is the 7 volume Islamic Surveys  covering the following titles:

• Islamic Philosophy and Theology by W Montgomery Watt;
• A History of Islamic Law by N.J. Coulson;
• Counsels in Contemporary Islam by K. Craigg,;
• A History of Islamic Spain byW Montgomery Watt ;
• Islamic Dynasties by C.E. Bosworth; 
• Islamic Political Thought by W Montgomery Watt; and
• An Intellectual History of Islam in India by Aziz Ahmad.

The series was meant to comprise at least 15 volumes to be published at a rate of 3 per year.

I had grown up in that old house gaping at them not really daring to open their covers as I was not old enough to  digest the knowledge within. However, I have never mistaken the blue and white covers. My favourites are #1,2 , 5 and 6. The series were written with such scholarship.


I suppose the rest of the series was not collected by whosoever had begun it . It  must have taken a few more years to complete it and God knows what happened back then.. Recently I found  History of Islamic Sicily  by  Aziz Ahmad  at Amazon.com with the following review:

"Excellent book published by the Edinburgh University Press, such a pity it seems to have fallen out of print. A well structured study beginning with the conquest of Sicily by the Muslims, through their settlement, to their eventual conquest and conversion/expulsion from the island. Also covered in the book is a study of the influence of Islam on Sicilian culture long after Muslims had been expelled from the Island.

An excellent book, short but covers all aspects of  Islamic Sicily well."

The used copies have a price tag ranging from $130.96 - $255.25 depending on the condition of the book. Gosh, it is valuable indeed. There are also the following books but in paperbacks and are therefore much cheaper:

• The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe  by W. Montgomery Watt;
• An Introduction to the Hadith  by John Burton;
• Islamic Names: An Introduction  by Annemarie Schimmel ;
• Islamic Science and Engineering by Donald Routledge Hill; and
• Muslims in Western Europe  by Jørgen S. Nielsen.

I suppose they must now be in my wish list.

My love of reading started in the primary school when each class had it's own little library. I was made librarian whose duty was to put the books out on the table every morning and take note of books borrowed by classmates. Personally, I managed to complete the whole Enid Blyton series of the Five Find-outers And Dog whose titles would be of the format "Mystery Of ........." I would finish a book a day.

Soon I began to rummage through my dad's books. It was brought on by this discussions my parents would have after they had read a novel , one of them I remember being Lady Chatterley's Lover by D H Lawrence.. So I read it when I was still in primary school.



However, I had found Lobsang Rampa's books more interesting and compelling then. The Third Eye was the first. I remember completing the whole series available at that time. Later, I had also found more of it in the Leyton Library in London. I remember before going to secondary school I have already familiarised myself with, to name a few, Asimov and Leon Uris whose Exodus touched me deeply. Of course I had no notion of the political struggle of the world then and I ended up with having many questions. You may recall that Exodus was also the name of the ship that had tried to bring Jewish settlers to the Middle East. The British had turned it away. Upon it's return to Germany, all the passengers were killed.

When in the secondary school I began to pick up an interest in the classics. That was when among others, I got to know Rebecca - a favourite of mine  till today. Hollywood made a movie of it with director  Alfred Hitchcock  and I had seen it many times over.


I guess we all have our little story of how we got hooked on reading. I figure it was still quite easy for us in those days when there was very little distraction in terms of TV and the internet. Even the cinema was at most a once a month  splurge. So, unless we prefer to die of boredom, we had better pick up a hobby. I picked up two - stamp collecting and reading. 

Updated : 23 rd July, 2010

Orchids : A Housewife's Hobby

I cultivated my interest in orchids by watching my mum tending her modest collection . It was something she, her sisters and mother shared. She started going into it seriously when we were staying in Ipoh in the late 50s where the quarters we were staying in Jalan Abd Jalil, Greentown had a very large compound. I remember, while dad had his vegetable patch, mum had her cactus and orchid collections. Both of them would labour on ends to tend to their hobbies. When dad got transferred to Malacca later, mum had her orchids transported by train!

With about 25,000 recognised species, it is about the largest family (Orchidacea) of flowering plants. It is also the most diverse with about 100,000 hybrids being created in the last 150 years. W.Malaysia has more than 150 genuses and 800 wild species. Sabah and Sarawak has about 2000 wild species.

Amongst the popular orchids in Malaysia from the genus Aranda, Dendrobium, Mokara and Oncidium. If you buy your orchid plants from the nurseries, they are very likely  to come with labels - Genus and  Species of the orchid. Otherwise, you may just be contented to  know  their genus.

There are two broad categories of orchids according to their physical look:

1. Simpodial - consisting of pseudobulbs which flowers when mature. Once the bloom dries up the bulbs would soon follow suit and die. New bulb would grow from it's base. Repotting may be required every 2 years or once it has outgrown the pot. At this time you may split up the bulbs for propagation.

2. Monopodial - plant consist of a single stem with leaves on opposite sides growing upright . There are two types of leaf - strap and terete (rounded) . With new hybrids semi-terete and quarter-terete are also available.

Propagation is by making cuttings.

Orchids are also classified  according to their growing habits.

1.Terrestrial - They have underground tubers and grow in the ground.

2. Epiphytic - They live on trees as air plants, not parasitic. They use trees for height to get light. They are most common in warm climate where  their roots are not in danger of freezing.

3. Lithophytic - They live on rocks

Epiphytes and lithophytes are usually treated in the same manner in home gardening.They are grown in pots using broken bricks and charcoal as the growth medium.

Here are some of the orchids which have been in my collection and have graced our little garden with their blooms at one time or other.

Simpodials:

Catasetums : Epiphytic.

A most interesting genus of all. Unlike others which are hermaphroditic, it bears only male or female flowers. By varying the amount of light, I was able to produce either male or female flowers. Male flowers are produced when there is less light. The male and female flowers are distinct  The male flowers are so gorgeous  while the female flowers are identifiable by their bishop hat-like shape.

Catasetum. - Male Flowers

Catasetum - Female Flowers

Cattleyas: Epiphytic. 25% - 50% shelter.

Most beautiful and flamboyant genus.  Very popular and has numerous hybrids. Though South American in origin, the name is taken from the man who first succeeded in cultivating it in England. Hybrid blooms are usually in bunches of 4 or 5 flowers.

Yellow Cattleya

Cattleya loddigesii

Purple Cattleya

Purple Cattleya

Oncidiums: Epiphytic, lithophytic or terrestrial. 60% light.

Coelogynes :  Epiphytic.

Coelogyne Kochusseni   

                                                                         

  

Dendrobiums :  Mostly epiphytic.

Monopodials:

Arandas : Aracnis X Vanda

Ascocendas : Ascocentrum X Aerides

Mokaras : 
Arachnis X Ascocentrum X Vanda, or 
Arachnis X Ascocenda, or
Aranda X  Ascocentrum, or
Aranda X Ascocenda .

Vandas : Epiphytic or  lithophytic.

Phalaenopsis :  Epiphytic or lithophytic


A lovely genus and is often referred as moon orchid, moth orchid and butterfly orchid.. Flowers can last a month!

The most sensitive part of the orchid plant  is the root. As such much care is required to ensure roots are not too damp all the time least they would rot. So this is where the growth medium  becomes important. There are also other considerations necessary for good plant growth like light, shelter, watering, fertilising and pests.

Fertilisers are usually composed of nitrogen (N) for growth, phosphorus (P) for rooting and flowering and calium (K) for flowering, and magnesium (M) for general health. So a general understanding of the contents of  the particular type of fertiliser being used will help to maximise it's use. For example, for matured plants you need a well balanced fertiliser. Check the package for the ratio of contents. For young plants you would require a higher content of  N. There are various types of fertilisers in the market : chemical, organic and commercial.

As I grow my orchids outdoors, the most daunting for me has been the pests especially ants, yellow beetle and to some extent, fungus. Yes, they are sap sucking and can even eat up the whole bud or flower. Not wanting to use too much poison, I have resigned to using the water based insecticide aerosol which is most handy. Do note that orchids may also be affected by virus and bacteria. Occasionally I give the plants a good bath in a solution  of Captan, Maneb or Thiram.

Benarkah Iskandar Bukan Zulqarnain /Is Alexander Not Zulqarnain

by Afareez Abdul Razak Al-Hafiz 

 It takes 100 pages before it gets to the real subject matter.  A very long and laborious introduction no doubt,  mainly going over fleeting mythical stories surrounding Nimrod / Namrud and the prophets of his era,  Solomon / Suleiman AS and related prophets,  and Nebuchadnezzar / Bukhtanasar and his era.  

I find the analysis  of Alexander/Iskandar a strange one. How does a author make value judgment when he  fails to delve into the minds and values of the people of the period?  I thought the value system of empires have something in common. I admit  though it depends on who wrote history... 

Apparently this issue of  Zulqarnain ( meaning two-horned) surfaced when the Jews wanted to test whether Mohammad AS was a true prophet by, amongst other tests,  he was asked to explain who Zulqarnain was. The Quran mentions 4 characteristics which are discussed in the ensuing pages. They do not seem to be corroborated by current historical knowledge of Alexander.  Nor is Alexander mentioned in any of the Jewish  Books. However Jewish books do mention another king, Cyrus/ Kurush. Hence, the book goes on to discuss the most likely characters.  His legacy is the great wall built to protect the people of the Caucasus from the Gogs of  Magog.   Gog,  by the way was a great-grandson of Noah.  His descendants were identified as the Scythians

I learned that the tradition of kissing the hand of kings and kneeling before kings as a sign of respect for those in power were pretty much a Persian thing. Alexander adopted this and verily considered himself as godly.  Now this rings a bell about those readings I have come across of some sultans' ancestors being Iskandar Zulqarnain,  a direct link to the almighty then subsequently changed to Mohammad A S. I wonder. Reading on I found out that Hamka also espoused the very same opinion........you know about the Bukit Siguntang stuff and the beginning of the first Malay Sultan.

THE PRINCE

by Hushang Golshiri,  James Buchan (Translator)



Read the translated version by James Buchan.  The story is set in the crumbling house of the Qajar Dynasty which would later be  disposed by the  Pahlavi Dynasty. 


In most instances I was most disturbed by the lifestyle of the House of Qajars......as a so called Islamic ruler or even as a human being. Even if Prince Khosrow Ehtejab is fictional, and never rose to be as callous and whimsical as his forbares, his character still bring out the squirm in me. I cannot understand how his relationship with his wife, Fakronissa (a paternal cousin) and the maid, Fakhri can exist. Was it because it was the royal household?  Was it because Fakronissa was sick (with consumption),  and the Prince was unproductive? Or was it simply what a slave-master relationship can also mean in this country? I wonder.

The style of the author is also confusing. The narrator keeps on changing between the Prince, the maid and the wife. Many times this reminded me of  My Name Is Red. The author seems to be so preoccupied with women's napes, bossoms and skin to the point of what I call it as,  "jelak", you know, you just have it up to your throat! I suppose, Golshiri finds such things titillating. 

The historical backdrop was great. I learned that Reza Shah was a Cossack Soldier. If I could think it as a window to what could have happened in the royal court but still to note that the grandfather, The King, had hundreds of wives (temporary marriage agreement was common) and a virgin every night makes a mockery of the the institution of marriage.