Relaxation - A luxury in Our Postmodern Living

           Relaxation - A luxury in Our Postmodern Living

Dr Abe V Rotor 

  

 In our postmodern living we are moving away from the natural world which guaranteed our success in evolution as a species. Then, rationality brought us out of the biblical Paradise in search of Utopia. We have been travelers searching for this ultimate destination.

Imagine the world of the "lost" - professionals and students, ordinary people notwithstanding. It is a world where

• Thoughts refuse to close down, even only for respite.
• Energy drains the whole being, even before starting to work.
• Sleep never comes on time and is never enough.
•  Relationships are strained, if not alienated.
•  Family bond is breaking up.
• Self worth and respect are falling to a point of depression, or suicide.

 Relaxation is a discipline, a regimen, to

·         switch off your thoughts to release stress before it builds up.

·         conserve energy, budget it well

·         sleep well to obtain full rest.

·         mend relationships, build friendship

·         bond closely with your family.

·         discover your potentials to enhance self worth and respect.

Bannawag Magazine: Pride of Ilocanos at Home and Abroad

Bannawag Magazine: 

Pride of Ilocanos at Home and Abroad

Bannawag has played and still plays a major role in the development of Iloko literature. At present, it publishes poems (daniw), short stories (sarita), novels (nobela), essays (salaysay), comics, biographies, folktales and many others including what some call avant garde literary output. It is the only magazine where Ilokano writers hope to publish most of their writings.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Bannawag managing editor Clesencio B Rambaud (left) and author who writes a

column, Okeyka Apong: Dagiti Tawid a Sirib ken Adal (Folk Wisdom and Lessons)

 Author poses with Bannawag staff at the magazine's home office, Manila Bulletin Bldg. Intramuros, Manila.. Third from left is multiawarded Ariel Tabag, senior Ilocano language editor. 

 
Okeyka Apong: Daguiti Tawid a Sirib ken Adal  (Heritage of Wisdom and Lessons). The author now 78, speaks of the values of old, bridging tradition and contemporary culture.  He has been writing this column for the past ten years, with Ariel Tabag as his ever faithful and brilliant translator and reader. The author is native of San Vicente, Ilocos Sur.   

Bannawag (Iloko word meaning "dawn") is a Philippine weekly magazine published in the Philippines by Liwayway Publications Inc. It contains serialized novels/comics, short stories, poetry, essays, news features, entertainment news and articles, among others, that are written in Ilokano, a language common in the northern regions of the Philippines.

Bannawag has been acknowledged as one foundation of the existence of contemporary Iloko literature. It is through the Bannawag that every Ilokano writer has proved his mettle by publishing his first Iloko short story, poetry, or essay, and thereafter his succeeding works, in its pages. The magazine is also instrumental in the establishment of GUMIL Filipinas, the umbrella organization of Ilokano writers in the Philippines and in other countries.

Bannawag magazine was conceived in 1934 when Magdaleno A. Abaya of Candon, Ilocos Sur, who was then a member of the editorial staff of the Graphic magazine, an English weekly published by the Roces Publications. Don Ramos Roces, the owner-publisher of Graphic magazine and other vernacular magazines which included Liwayway, Bisaya and Hiligaynon, scoffed at the idea when Abaya presented a proposal to put a magazine for Ilocanos.

But Abaya did not lose hope until Don Ramos gave his consent-with condition that the first issues were only for a try-out, that after one or two months without improvement in the sales, it will be stopped. Abaya was elated and hurried to find willing companions to help him run the magazine. In the end, he was able to persuade Mauro Peña to be the magazine's assistant and news editor, Francisco Fuentecilla of Zambales as assistant and news editor,; and Benjamin Gray, also of Candon, Ilocos Sur, as proofreader. Thus, Bannawag or "Dawn," or the Iloko equivalent of Liwayway, was born.

Bannawag's first issue on November 3, 1934 had a production run of 10,000 copies with a selling price of PHP 0.10 per copy. The magazine was an instant success beyond the belief of Don Ramon, and he allowed the continued publication of the magazine.

When Roces Publications was sold to Brig. Hans M. Menzi in 1966, the name was changed to Liwayway Publishing, Inc. Thirty nine years later, in 2005, the publication of Bannawag was transferred to Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation. Clesencio B. Rambaud, Prudencio Gar. Padios and Juan Al. Asuncion were tasked to man Bannawag. However, Padios migrated to Canada in October 2006 and Ariel S. Tabag of Sta. Teresita, Cagayan was recruited to fill in the vacancy.

Bannawag underwent significant metamorphosis when its publication when taken over by the Manila Bulletin, from its content, color, quality of paper used, page layout, and other aspects to keep up with the needs of the times. These changes made the magazine more prestigious in its tasks in bringing entertainment, information, and inspiration to millions of readers in the language spoken by hardly Ilocanos and in depicting the different aspects of the Ilocano character.

Recently, it was picked up by the Department of Education as one of the important references of the educational system in Ilocano-speaking areas in the country. Bannawag has gone a long way from its 10-centavo cost for each edition in the 1930s and is moving vigorously to live up the past as an important part of today and tomorrow's dream of the Ilocanos. Bannawag celebrated its Diamond Anniversary on November 3, 2009. (Wikipedia)
------------------------------ 
Bannawag celebrated its diamond jubilee on November 3, 2009. In celebration of this, Bannawag launched the planting of Bannawag Diamond Jubilee trees in municipal parks and lots, school sites, and other public spaces. Jim Domingo, a retired professor and university official of Cagayan State University, was instrumental in the planting.

Bannawag Magazine Digital subscription
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"Carpe diem." Seize the day with the camera

"Carpe diem." Seize the day with the camera 
Looking for a subject?  Here are examples. (Unscripted and unedited for authenticity and naturalness) 
Dr Abe V Rotor 

"Fleeting, fleeting, 

seize life with the lens,

for the world awhirling 

now and thence." AVR


Braving the current. "Peace with Nature"
 

Hurrah! Triumphant feeling.

Very serious moment: concentration

  A clown comes to town 

Texting, a new pastime. Siesta, take the backseat. 

 Music calms tired muscles and nerves 

Author posing with colleagues  (Bannawag magazine editorial staff)


Youngest chef

 Kainan na. Vamos a comer

Flying carpet to a child 

Preparing for exam with the greats

Welcome to the Christian world 

Making  a tree happy  

 

 Mimicking the wind mill.  Quixotic.

 Oversize helmet.  Who goes there?

  Janus' mask

Dried flower bouquet, anyone?

Dita, the tallest tree in Manila, a living sentry that reminds us, "Only God can make a tree."

Dita, the tallest tree in Manila, a living sentry that reminds us, "Only God can make a tree." 

Dedicated to Dr Romualdo M del Rosario, former supervising scientist of the UST Botanical Garden, and professor, UST Graduate School.  The indefatigable foremost Filipino ethnobotanist continues to teach at De La Salle University (DLSU-D). 

Dr Abe V Rotor 

Living with Nature School on Blog

Dita (Alstonia scholaris) the biggest member of the Apocynaceae family stands overlooking the sprawling UST campus and its environs.

Older than most structures except the main building, it rises with the tower cross, sharing the lofty height  from afar, on the front and back.  

Scarred by war and by fire it is a veteran of events in history, witness to the university's many activities and celebrations, . 

While graduates pass through the Arch of the Centuries, this tree stands firm and proud; it is a sentry, a guardian, and a symbol, too.  

Its crown is the biggest umbrella on the campus, filtering the sun, the dust and rain; it captures carbon and gives off oxygen in turn.   

It captures the fog into morning mist, and makes a rainbow with the showers, and cushions the sun set into gentle breeze and subdued gray.   

It does not respond to autumn even if other trees lose their leaves and gain a new crown; instead it retains its canopy green. 

It is home of insects and reptiles, foothold of orchids, ferns and lianas, abode of birds that celebrate life with their young and beautiful songs.   

And when it is winter in cold countries, it is time for its pods to mature, popping out myriads of tiny lints like parachutes that float in the air. 

And children run after them like snowflakes, and wish like wishing upon a star -  and strangely lints daintily fall into their palms.  

The dita wakes up earlier than anyone else on the campus, sings with the carillon, and joins the whispers and laughter on the campus.

The day ends just like any day, the campus sleeps - and there stands a silhouette that reminds us, "Only God can make a tree." ~   

NOTE: This tree and its twin are the hallmark of the UST Botanical Garden which Dr Del Rosario managed for three decades. 

    

Sargassum Fish

Sargassum Fish
Painting and Poem by Dr Abe V Rotor

Half animal, half plant - through eons of time
You have become – could it be curse or gift?
Embroidered all and swaying like chime,
Silent and unknown in some coral reef.

A unique way to be known yet unknown
To your enemies lurking, even your kin;
Your leaves and stems like seaweed sown,
Stars and moon mimicked on your skin.

Away you hide from the giants of the sea;
And decoy the hapless to cross your way,
And in one gulp you bestow no mercy;
Retreating, you wait for another prey.

Oh, creature of far, far Sargasso Sea -
Is curse in look a gift for survival?
Mute you live in peace and harmony,
With your own kind and your rival. ~

Immortalizing the Monarch Butterfly through Art

Immortalizing the Monarch Butterfly through Art

Dr Abe V Rotor

Immortalize the Monarch, capture its beauty,

through the arts, into a masterpiece,

for the museum and archives for posterity, 

to be remembered after its demise. 

Young artists in the neighborhood take a break from school at the San Vicente Botanical garden.

Two versions of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), subfamily Danainae in the family Nymphalidae, a migratory butterfly that frequents fields, forests, and gardens along their migration routes. Below, photo of Danaus plexippus in it natural habitat where milkweed is plentiful. Extensive and heavy application of pesticides, global warming, widespread and abated pollution, and genetic engineering of a wide range of food plants pose a grave threat to the Monarch butterfly, now in the list of Threatened Species in many countries.

Acknowledgement: Internet photo

AUGUST 2019: Observing Linggo ng Wika in a Play School

Observing Linggo ng Wika in a Play School 
Love of national language must be instilled in early age. National language is the foundation of cultural values and identity of a country and its people. 
College and university professors in Filipino are up in arms against the memorandum of the Commission on Higher Education/CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 20, Series of 2013. This memorandum aims to remove Filipino as a subject to be taught in college by 2016 as part of the new General Education Curriculum (GEC).

“Removing Filipino as a subject in the new GEC is not just a local issue; it is a moral issue that goes against the integrity of our race.” – Prof. Patrocinio Villafuerte, professor and writer. (From "Removing Filipino as a subject in college: A betrayal in the name of business?" By Ina A R Silverio)
 
Dr Abe V Rotor

Growing up with the national language guided by parents and teachers. 

Kill the language and kill the culture;
Kill the culture and kill the people; 
kill the people and kill the country;
kill their history and their memory; 
Ad infinitum to global doom.
- AV Rotor
                  
Mother at home (Mommy Anna) and mother in school (Teacher Joy) for young Mackie. .

Growing up in a beautiful Philippines in actual drawing experience.

Linggo ng wika is linked with other celebrations such as Nutrition Week, Health week, United Nation week. (Young Mackie's school work.) 

 
Hands-on learning with classmate and parents block building (left), and food preparation with mommy.  Learning our national language also requires such attention and guidance.  

Poems by Dr Jose Rizal on the importance of language

TO MY FELLOW CHILDREN (Sa Aking Mga Kababata, 1869)

Whenever people of a country truly love
The language which by heav'n they were taught to use
That country also surely liberty pursue
As does the bird which soars to freer space above.

An Open Letter to School Principals, Teachers, and Parents

For language is the final judge and referee
Upon the people in the land where it holds sway;
In truth our human race resembles in this way
The other living beings born in liberty.

Whoever knows not how to love his native tongue
Is worse than any best or evil smelling fish.
To make our language richer ought to be our wish
The same as any mother loves to feed her young.

Tagalog and the Latin language are the same
And English and Castilian and the angels' tongue;
And God, whose watchful care o'er all is flung,
Has given us His blessing in the speech we claim,

Our mother tongue, like all the highest that we know
Had alphabet and letters of its very own;
But these were lost -- by furious waves were overthrown
Like bancas in the stormy sea, long years ago.

The famous poem was a nationalistic undertaking to promote the usage of Tagalog language by the Filipino people. The poem “To My Fellow Children” was believed to be the national hero’s first written Tagalog poem at the age of eight.

The Animal World on Wall Murals

The Animal World on Wall Murals  
Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog

 Owl - Night Sentinel: Wall mural by Anna Rotor St Paul University QC 20002

Doves - Early Risers:  Wall mural by Anna Rotor, SPU-QC 2000

Rodents at their burrow's entrance at dusk: Wall mural by Anna Rotor SPU-QC 2000

Red and blue parrots on their perch: Wall mural by Marlo Rotor SPU-QC 2000

Note: These murals have seriously deteriorated due to exposure of the elements, neglect notwithstanding.


Wildlife shrinking fast in the hands of man,
creatures orphaned, man looks up high;
forever gone are their home under the sun,
save some walls of art to remember by.  

Fish Incognito (Pointillism Art)

Fish Incognito (Pointillism Art)
Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature School on Blog

A School of Grouper Fish (38" x 26"), AVR. Pointillism is an art style

of Impressionism in the later part of the 19th century in Europe led

by French painter Georges Seurat

Fish, tell me where you live, your home;

The ocean is so huge to be your own;

Fish answers: I am a fugitive in pursuit,

Hunted or hunter whichever may suit.    

Fish, tell me of your kin and your shoal;

How you live together as a school;

Fish answers: I live by the rules of the sea,

By number and luck, and by being free.  

Fish, tell me if I am friend to you, or a foe;
I gave you a name, regard you with awe;
Fish answers: Neither, I'd rather be unseen,
Far from the dreadful fate of your cuisine. ~