Goats
My Initiation
I have noticed that there is something about goats that are special. Haven't you heard "as sure-footed as a goat"? Then you see some human species actually sporting a "goatee". I have fond memories of days gone by where Indian men with twisted moustaches rode on bicycles peddling goat's milk usually placed in used Coco Cola or other glass bottles and with a piece of card paper twirled around and used as a stopper. They would then place these bottles in the slots on both sides of a canvass hung around their bicycle frame and riding around for distribution and sales.
Goat Milk
My grandmother or mother would sometimes purchase a couple of bottles and they would boil it over a pot for awhile so as to "kill any germs" in it and they would say that goat milk is very nutritious. Later, they would add a little bit of sugar to make it taste better. Somehow I love this milk. The last time I found a stall selling goat milk was at Tanjong Pagar Complex (Gluttons' Corner) where they boil it over a large pot. Mmmmmm....Yummy!!! Where else can I find it other than at Sungei Buloh's Hay Dairies farm or imported ones at Cold Storage? It costs a lot more than normal milk too.
Mutton Soup
A cousin introduced to me "soup kambing" which means mutton soup when I was in school and I got hooked. This is the Indian variety that is peppery in taste and greenish/brown in colour which goes very well with bread and of course later, there is the Malay style mutton "rendang" which is so "sedap". Quite a lot of people may not like mutton because of a certain smell they say but a good chef or restaurant can whip out solid mutton in various fashion that taste just heavenly without the smell. The Hainanese has another version of mutton soup which is also very good.
My Cousin
This is the same cousin who also introduced me to many other things like satay, chendol, etc. He also had a large fish tank at home where he reared his Oscars and there was a floating plastic figurine of a diver that would go bobbing up and down the tank once a tablet is inserted. He had also brought me into the world of comics and he would use stacks of drawing papers to draw me pictures of Batman, The Flash, Superman, etc. with such consummate ease without reference to the comics and they look exactly like the real thing. He is a very talented person who is awesome with the piano and organ.
I would also pour through his great collection of comics endlessly and would look forward to staying over a few days at his place at each year end school holiday. At times, he would bring me to dig out some worms and we'd go fishing at some nearby pond trying to hook some Tiger Barbs. He was not just a great ghost story-teller but after a nice supper of kambing soup from the hawker centre he would start telling a horror story on our way back. Then as we entered the lift he would have wrapped up the story and when the lift door opened, he would scream and dash out and run away to the next stairway and lift landing lobby.
At times, he would don a monster mask and suddenly turn to look at you shocking the sh*t out of everyone. My guts were all busted by then and there is no more feeling of fear in me, just numbness. When his parents gave him a budget for new clothes, he would bring me along to "Lifting" or "CYC" and he would order a shirt for me. Once, near to where he lived, some bully boys across a fence threw some things at me and he wanted to fight with them to protect me - my hero. Strange that talking about goats I remember him. He has gone on to live in the land of muttons, where the sheep outnumbered humans. Thanks for the memories Robbie! Those were the days where David Cassidy ruled (if you remember The Partridge Family) some of us even kept that hairstyle.
I would also pour through his great collection of comics endlessly and would look forward to staying over a few days at his place at each year end school holiday. At times, he would bring me to dig out some worms and we'd go fishing at some nearby pond trying to hook some Tiger Barbs. He was not just a great ghost story-teller but after a nice supper of kambing soup from the hawker centre he would start telling a horror story on our way back. Then as we entered the lift he would have wrapped up the story and when the lift door opened, he would scream and dash out and run away to the next stairway and lift landing lobby.
At times, he would don a monster mask and suddenly turn to look at you shocking the sh*t out of everyone. My guts were all busted by then and there is no more feeling of fear in me, just numbness. When his parents gave him a budget for new clothes, he would bring me along to "Lifting" or "CYC" and he would order a shirt for me. Once, near to where he lived, some bully boys across a fence threw some things at me and he wanted to fight with them to protect me - my hero. Strange that talking about goats I remember him. He has gone on to live in the land of muttons, where the sheep outnumbered humans. Thanks for the memories Robbie! Those were the days where David Cassidy ruled (if you remember The Partridge Family) some of us even kept that hairstyle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lwLbx1_ZmA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIy1rOb8EYU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo-7uOFY43o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ffk4NiTQYo
Goat, Lamb, Sheep?
What's the difference between goat, lamb and sheep and where does your mutton comes from? Goats are closely related to sheep and there are more than three hundred breeds of goats around the world. They are one of the oldest domesticated species. They are used for their milk, meat, hair and skin. When you watch biblical stories or older movies they feature lots of goats. Female goats are referred to as "nannies" as in nanny-goat and males are called bucks or billy-goat.
Their young are known as "kids". So, please refrain from calling your children or other people's children as kids for children are for humans and kids are for goats. When calling your children kids, you are unwittingly calling yourself a goat. Some goats and sheep actually look quite alike. The Angora breed of goats produces lustrious locks of "mohair" which is produced into high quality cloth, an even much more desired fibre for the textile industry is the softer insulating hair nearer the skin known as "cashmere" which is one of the most expensive natural fibre as cashmere is very fine and soft. A cashmere suit is always going to cost you a lot.
Their young are known as "kids". So, please refrain from calling your children or other people's children as kids for children are for humans and kids are for goats. When calling your children kids, you are unwittingly calling yourself a goat. Some goats and sheep actually look quite alike. The Angora breed of goats produces lustrious locks of "mohair" which is produced into high quality cloth, an even much more desired fibre for the textile industry is the softer insulating hair nearer the skin known as "cashmere" which is one of the most expensive natural fibre as cashmere is very fine and soft. A cashmere suit is always going to cost you a lot.
Lamb Shank Anyone?
Mutton Stew or Roast Lamb sir? A lamb is a young sheep not more than a year old so all of us here cannot be lambs. So do muttons come from sheep? Or goat? Or both? Well, mutton actually comes from sheep mostly but it is also a term used for goats. It depends on what and where. In India and in its curry cuisine, mutton is actually goat meat but in the dictionary, mutton is defined as sheep meat. Goat meat is also known as "chevon" perhaps to make it sound classier like what they call a Mekong River Catfish as Pacific Dory. Which would you buy - a Mekong River Catfish or Pacific Dory? Goats are hairy not woolly.
Only sheep are woolly and when someone calls you woolly he is not calling you a goat and he is not referring to your coat but your brain. So don't say thank you, give the fellow a smack! Goats have a beard not sheep. A goat's tail usually points up while a sheep points down. And only goats are horny that's why people may sometimes say "you horny goat". And are you aware that goat meat is lower than sheep meat in fat and cholesterol and even comparable to chicken? It also has more minerals and less saturated fats too.
Only sheep are woolly and when someone calls you woolly he is not calling you a goat and he is not referring to your coat but your brain. So don't say thank you, give the fellow a smack! Goats have a beard not sheep. A goat's tail usually points up while a sheep points down. And only goats are horny that's why people may sometimes say "you horny goat". And are you aware that goat meat is lower than sheep meat in fat and cholesterol and even comparable to chicken? It also has more minerals and less saturated fats too.
The Greek God - Pan, has the upper body of a man and a lower body and horns of a goat. Pan was a very lustful god that chased after nymphs. He was credited with creating the pan flute. The Chinese horoscope has the goat as one of the twelve animal symbols in the zodiac. The Capricorn in the Western zodiac is a goat with a fish tail. Goats are often mentioned in the Bible and is considered a clean animal by Jewish dietary law.
On the festival of the Day of Atonement, "Yom Kippur", two goats were chosen and lots were drawn after which one was sacrificed and the other allowed to escape into the wilderness. It is used to carry the sins of the people and sent away to perish. This becomes what we commonly used as the "scapegoat" an equivalent of a frameup, whipping boy or fall guy today. Christianity has associated Satan with the imagery of a goat. There is also a medieval depiction of the Devil with a goat-like face with horns and a small beard.
On the festival of the Day of Atonement, "Yom Kippur", two goats were chosen and lots were drawn after which one was sacrificed and the other allowed to escape into the wilderness. It is used to carry the sins of the people and sent away to perish. This becomes what we commonly used as the "scapegoat" an equivalent of a frameup, whipping boy or fall guy today. Christianity has associated Satan with the imagery of a goat. There is also a medieval depiction of the Devil with a goat-like face with horns and a small beard.
Maybe goats are more intelligent than sheep as we have sheep dogs to round off sheep but there are no goat dogs and I am not talking about dogs that look like sheep or goats. A fish-eating cat is a cat. Don't imagine a fish eating a cat and a man-eating tiger is a tiger not a man so a hope-less golfer is a golfer, not hopeless.
Why Goat Milk Is Good
Goat milk is better than cow milk simply because it is healthier. The fat in goat milk is only one fifth than that of cow's. Goat milk is like mother's milk - alkaline while cow milk is acidic. Acidity can promote bacteria, fungi and virus. Curd in goat milk is lighter and is easily digestible. Goat milk is 2% curd as compared to cow's 10%. There are claims that goat milk reduces the chances of contracting diabetes and other health problems. Goat milk has natural homogenisation and it has superior micronutrient absorption - it enhances calcium content, iron uptake and efficiency of hemaglobin regeneration. It will also increase the absorption of iron and copper.
Movies
Maybe you should catch that movie - The Men Who Stared At Goats. This movie is based on a book by Jon Ronson - about the US Army's exploration of New Age concepts and the potential military applications of the paranormal. Among others, the movie starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges about psychic soldiers and the movie poster or DVD cover may already give you a hint that it is a good comedy as it featured the faces of each actor from a side angle with their names below and the last one was that of a goat with the name below saying "the goat".
I heard part 2 of Iron Man is good. So too the I.P. Man er...I mean Ip Man (叶 问）. I was suitably impressed with James Cameron's Avatar. The storyline is similar to that of movies like "The Last Mohican", "Poca Hontas" and "The Last Samurai". Man came, fell in love with the native girl, love their environment and found that the evil was actually from his own side. In future years, I may consider going to a plastic surgeon to turn myself into a Navi that is blue. Just have to make sure the surgeon has watched Avatar otherwise when you wake up you may look like a Nazi Smurf. Well, just don't be Spiderman which in Mandarin sounds like 失败的 man.
I heard part 2 of Iron Man is good. So too the I.P. Man er...I mean Ip Man (叶 问）. I was suitably impressed with James Cameron's Avatar. The storyline is similar to that of movies like "The Last Mohican", "Poca Hontas" and "The Last Samurai". Man came, fell in love with the native girl, love their environment and found that the evil was actually from his own side. In future years, I may consider going to a plastic surgeon to turn myself into a Navi that is blue. Just have to make sure the surgeon has watched Avatar otherwise when you wake up you may look like a Nazi Smurf. Well, just don't be Spiderman which in Mandarin sounds like 失败的 man.
Alright, stop goating around!
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