Part 3: Treasures of St Paul University QC Museum - Natural History

Part 3: Treasures of St Paul University QC Museum - Natural History
Dr Abe V Rotor
Conch, rare for its shape and size 10" x 7"

Sand table showing death of plants, animals and ultimately man

Coed setting message across: Let's protect the corals

Part 2: Treasures of St Paul University QC Museum

Dr Abe V Rotor

WW II Memorial stands in vigil beside the Museum

Face of Christ appears in this painting by AVR 1995

Saul on Road to Damascus, mural 8' x 8' by AVR

Ruins of Colonization, Centennial Mural 8' x 8' by 1998 AVR

Seven Sisters, first Paulinian Mission to the Philippines,
sculpture in stone 1903, showing details, by Lulie Lluch

Mythical Angel guides the boat on a stormy sea

Paulinian representing the present generation

University of Santo Tomas Qradricentennial (1611-2011)

Fountain at night

UST Founder Fr Miguel de Benavides Monument

A pair of deer drinking at the UST Fountain of Knowledge.

Most historical spot of the university's 400 years of existence

Petals of African Tulip fall from the tree like confetti.

Renaissance Europe comes alive

Icons atop the main building in silhouette

Tower cross is UST's landmark at a distance

Glare casts a mystic view of the giant icons.

Source: AVR Collection

Self-Administered Test: How to Live with Life ( True or False)

Rituals live on - it's part of life and living

Abe V Rotor

1. Homer is like Lola Basiang – both are storytellers.

2. Stress, all kinds, is harmful – avoid.

3. Confucius considered a god by the Chinese.

4. Don’t befriend ungodly people.

5. A simpleton has nothing to share on the level of a learned person.

6. Ignorance is innocence; therefore ignorance is bliss.

7. Take time to live – secret of youth (success, too)

8. Take time to think – source of power

9. Time to read – foundation of knowledge

10. Time to sing – enlivens your heart.

11. Time to worship highway to reverence.

12. Time for friendship – source of happiness.

14. Birds of the same feather flock together, yet they are ruled by pecking order.

15. “I hear and I forget, I see (do) and I understand."

16. Real knowledge is to know the extent of ones’ learning (ignorance).

17. Confucius lived 500 years before Christ, which means the Chinese in his time were not only wearing silk but highly cultured with the teaching of the great guru.

18. “Wheresoever you go, go with all your intellect.” says Confucius.

19. “Our greatest glory in not in falling but in getting up every time we fall.” Anon

20. What is essential in visible and perceptible – your senses will not deceive you.

21. Do not separate worries from concerns – otherwise you won’t find seriousness with your work.

22. Do something for the Kid in You everyday – that child in you.

23. Find time to be alone at least on a weekend – or once a week.

24. Environmentalists can’t be saints; they can only be heroes.

25. The art of living is the least difficult of all the arts because one can choose the way he lives his life.

Answers will be posted in a week's time.


Living with Nature 3, AVR

Part 1: Types of Communication

Communication at the Grassroots
Farmers' Museum, NFA Cabanatuan - pride of farmers.

Abe V Rotor

We communicate all the time, and in all places, by different means, many of which are beyond our consciousness. Go through this list and find out how effective you are in communications,in both ways- decoding and encoding.

1. Nonvocal Communication
• Signals – ex. Scream for help
• Signs – ex. Badge of a policeman
• Symbols – ex. Totem pole, wedding ring
• Icons – groups of unrelated symbols, ex. Funeral ceremony, White House, Impressionistic painting
• Gestures – ex. body language (kinesthetics)
• Proxemics – ex. Head not higher that the king’s (King and I), Don’t touch the head of a person, eating ahead of other members in a family or clan.

2. Vocal Communication (Nonvocal may be verbalized or vocalized, but can stand by themselves, or accompanied by other nonvocal means)
• Origin of Speech
1. Building blocks of spoken language
2. Postulate primitive men’s speech
3. Vocalization of physical activity
4. Imitation of the sound of nature
5. Mere serendipity (happy or interesting discoveries unexpectedly or by accident)
• Language reflects culture – Ex. Eskimo describe blubber in various states
• Language a phenomenon to transact types of discourse – informative, dynamic, emotive, aesthetics functions
• Laughter as a language, so with grief – associated with group feelings, cry for rebellion
• Represents apex of physical and intellectual evolution. Sounds of nature in songs, communicate with animals, mimicry of voices, ventriloquism, radio signals to contact extraterrestrial beings.

Improve your communication skills to cope up with life and to keep in touch with the world. ~

Living with Nature, UST-AVR

Tidbits of Folk Wisdom

Malunggay

Abe V Rotor

1. Eye bag – Aloe vera, cut lengthwise, with cotton ball, wipe sap and apply around the eye bag before going to sleep. Potato (Solanum tuburosum) is also effective. Slice and wipe sap with cotton ball. Apply around eye bag before retiring at night. (From Salamat Dok, March 29, 2009)

2. Malunggay (Moringa oleifera) supplement in noodles. Noodles are in various preparations: sotanghon, bihon, mami, pasta, others. Enterprises are producing malunggay supplemented noodles.

3. Salt hastens cooking time. Whatever is the explanation why rice cooked in a pot previously heated with a pinch of salt will not spoil fast is beyond scientific explanation. Yet it is common knowledge in the rural area.

This is what housewives do. The call the process “gibba, literary, to heat at extreme temperature like firing clay in a furnace. Put a pinch of salt in the cooking pot - aluminum or clay pot, heat until the salt disappears. Cooked rice as usual in the pot. This will prevent rice from getting spoiled in a short time.

Another technique using salt is to place a pinch of it on the cover while the rice is boiling. This is to shorten cooking time. (Lesson from Manang Veny, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur, affirmed by Tinong Viernes, April 8, 2009).

Part 1: Odaira's Yojigen - Farming the Natural Way

Odaira's Yojigen - Farming the Natural Way

Dr Abe V Rotor

Two products - Basi and Sukang Iloko - are produced in one enterprise.

Wine, wine, wine - but all made with the same process worldwide.

Wine making is universal through yeast fermentation, hence wine comes in different sources and brands - cane sugarcane, grapes, rice, corn, and many kinds of fruits - chico, guava, cashew, duhat, mango, pineapple, orange, etc. It is the same principle in beer making.

The second stage after wine is produced is acetification. Wine becomes sour (vin-egar) and turns into vinegar. Both wine and vinegar can be integrated into one enterprise. A third product is nata de coco. Another constitute the residues and spent must in wine fermentation which is converted to animal feeds.

There is really no waste if we follow Odaira's Yojigen. Actually his postulates are as old as agriculture - way back in the Fertile Crescent some 10,000 years ago. Odaira's great contribution is the revival of a traditional knowledge and skill put to practice in the light of tightening economy and endangered environment, and taking down to the grassroots the application of his postulates.


The long search for more efficient production systems may end where biology, ecology and agriculture converge and complement one another. Biology provides the principles for understanding life; agriculture applies such principles in the production of crops and animals; while ecology establishes the environment-friendly conditions.

This complementarity concept has led this author to the work of a Japanese scientist, Keihichi Odaira, who is the proponent of a four-dimensional process called Yojigen. In a capsule, this theory is made up of four pillars, namely

1. Take advantage of living creatures as producing machines.
2. Look for more than one product from a single process.
3. Take advantage of any material as a source for the next process.
4. Remember that the value of a given process can be greater than the sum of its parts.

Over the years, this writer has witnessed Odaira's Yojigen apply his theories on agriculture, reviving the old school of Farming, the Natural Way. Let us look at its application under Philippine conditions.

Take advantage of the functions of the living creatures as producing machines.

Plants grow and produce food by photosynthesis, a function of both genetic and environmental factors. This means that a potentially high yielding crop can be enhanced by favorable agro-climatic conditions. This is the principle of plant breeding and agronomy, so with animal husbandry.

In agronomy, time and space elements are crucial. Proper crop sequences and rotations take advantage of this principle. Wherever feasible, rice is often followed by cash crops like corn, legume and vegetables. When a farmer decides to practice crop rotation, he is able to identify the proper technology involved, as well as market suitable crops.

As producers, livestock animals should be maintained only during the most economical period in their life cycle. For example, pigs are kept from six to seven months, attaining a weight of around 80 kilos. After this period, the feed conversion ratio becomes economically inefficient. This is true with cattle raised and fattened for not more than three years. For poultry, marketing is programmed with both feed efficiency ratio and the desired weight and size of the broiler.

The principle of inter-cropping follows this postulate. Banana is intercropped with coconut in Quezon and Leyte. Coconut-banana-vegetables are combined on upland farms in Cavite and Camarines Norte, while coconut-lanzones-coffee is common in Laguna.

These schemes illustrate the maximization of plant function through proper combination and sequencing. Other examples illustrate the application of this assumption are the following:

5. Combined rice and fish culture in Central Luzon.
6. Integrated corn production and beef cattle fattening in Mindanao.
7. Upland agriculture or KABSAKA in Iloilo, combining
two or more upland crops on a given piece of land.
8. Corn and peanut intercropping in Isabela.
9. Ipil-ipil-black pepper-coffee intercropping in Batangas and Laguna.

Continued...

Part 2: Odaira's Yojigen - Look for more than one product from a single process

Abe V Rotor

In rice milling, rice bran is a by-product used as a main feed component. The idea is, to be able to efficiently use both the principal and its by-products. In Mindanao, pineapple pulp and peelings from the cannery are fermented into vinegar, or fed directly to livestock. In the banana industry, rejects are converted into catsup, or cattle feed. Sugar is fermented into wine, or made into vinegar. The production of nata de coco can be combined with vinegar making, creating a three-stage process wine, vinegar and nata manufacture.

There are enterprises engaged in integrated rice production and piggery. The idea is to make use of the grain by-product for meat production. On a larger scale, there is need for a complex of rice milling, feed milling, storage, and transportation facilities in one location.

Take advantage of any leftovers as a resource for the next process.

The idea behind this concept is the recycling of waste. A biogas digester processes piggery and poultry waste into two products: Cooking gas and sludge used as organic fertilizer. Corn stalks and peanut hay, harvesting leftovers can be fed to livestock as forage. Rice hay may be used as mulch.

Mushroom culture depends largely on the availability of suitable substrates such as rice straw, banana leaves, and sawdust. According to Prof. Odaira, aside from being used as fuel, peat is also a good material for growing mushroom. Peat, after all, is an accumulation of cellulose materials (mainly lignin) spared of decomposition under anaerobic (living, active and occurring in the absence of oxygen) and waterlogged condition. Such material is plentiful in swamps such as the Sab-A Basin in Leyte.

Chicken manure is applied in fishponds to increase algal growth which in turn is forage to milkfish or tilapia.

Continued ...

Part 3: Odaira's Yojigen - Capitalize on the natural qualities of living things in their respective environments.

Odaira's Yojigen 

Capitalize on the natural qualities of living things in their respective environments.

Dr Abe V Rotor

The value of a given process can be greater than the sum of its parts.

As a common practice, farmers and homesteaders plant cover crops such as kudzu (Pueraria javanica), Centrosema pubescens and giant spineless Mimosa to suppress obnoxious weeds on ranches and orchards. Cover crops, aside from being effective in controlling weeds, is also forage for cattle and other large animals. Their residues, when incorporated with the soil, add to its fertility. It also reduces the rate of evaporation of soil moisture, thus controlling soil erosion and loss of soil nutrients.

Through effective weed control, the farmer has a better chance of meeting his farming schedules, while reducing the risk of brush fire. Conserving soil moisture, especially when rainfall is sufficient enhances seed germination and survival. Beneficial soil organisms thrive best in soil with high organic matter. These include the earthworm and nitrogen-fixing bacteria that help maintain a good crop stand.

Here’s another example to illustrate this principle. The idea of burning is to get rid of farm wastes quickly. But by burning, the potential nutrient value of the straw, both as feed and as a source of organic matter, is lost. Rice straw is very useful to farmers as mulch, for mushroom production, and as well as composting material.

Many advantages are derived from these practices. First, mulching increases crop yield. It also doubles the production of garlic and onions. Mushroom can be a lucrative business, while composting contributes to soil fertility. Crops grown on soil with high organic matter do not only produce higher yields but also have higher food value.

This author would like to add a fifth postulate to Odaira's Yojigen.

Capitalize on the natural qualities of living things in their respective environments.

We know of certain natural properties of organisms in their indigenous locations. The sweetest mangoes grow in Zambales, the sweetest lanzones in Paete (Laguna), the largest and juiciest pineapples are found in Bukidnon. No bangus (milkfish) anywhere can beat the Bonoan (Dagupan, Pangasinan) breed. Sarangani (Mindanao) ranchers boast of their beef as among the best-tasting.

Benguet vegetables, like lettuce, cabbages and cauliflower, are distinctly superior over those grown on the lowland areas. Garlic grows best in the Ilocos region, bulb onions in Bongabong (Nueva Ecija), kapeng barako in Batangas, and peanuts in Jones (Isabela).

By analyzing Yojigen, one is led to know, in simple and discreet ways, the many gifts of nature. ~

Living with Nature 3, AVR

Thailand: Land of Fine Cuisine

Floating restaurant, Bangkok

Typical Thai food, real hot

Raw and fresh food - mungbean sprouts and string beans, topped with chili.

Broiled fish, cucumber cubes, young black pepper, sizzling.
Breaded shrimp with side dish of fresh vegetables

Mushroom and onion leek soup

Main course for non-meat eaters

Finally, buko juice with coco meat.

Abe V Rotor

Take time out when dining in Thailand,
On a floating boat, on a riverbank;
Savor slowly each menu one by one,
To judge each serving's taste by rank
With Bacchus delight and the Thai chef's cheers -
Smoke can get into your eyes and ears. ~

Photography: Editing with the Computer

Abe V Rotor

These series of photos came from only one shot, which is the first. It means the first photo is unedited, that is from the digital camera to the color printer.

Now you edit the photo with the AdobePhotoshop program which is installed in most computers. My first option was brightness, as you can see its progression. Clouds in the morning are light and white, becoming dark in the afternoon - cumulus to nimbus.

Second adjustment is color. Here you can create a sunset scene or something more eerie, like there's a storm coming.

It takes only a minute or two to edit as long as you have a clear idea of what to do with the photo. There are 1001 techniques you can follow and come up with various versions. In fact a photo becomes a work of art, as it loses its photographic qualities, such as accuracy and faithfulness to the subject.

Digital Art takes you far out to the point that this adage is no longer true, "You and I may lie, but the camera does not lie." ~

Cumulus cloud rises like mushroom in the morning.

By noon time the cloud turns three dimensional which is
an effect of direct sunlight.

Rain cloud, but to a trained eye, it can't be.
Nimbus cloud has a different structure.

Fiery and scary - Armageddon.

Truth is, it's all in the editing. Modern photography has come a long way, and has a lot more of surprises to come. ~

Sarita da Apong: Ur-urayenka, Anakko

Ur-urayenka, Anakko
(I am waiting for you, my child.)
A short story for Ilocanos here and abroad.

Sarita ni Abe V. Rotor

Ti daan a simbaan ti San Vicente Ilocos Sur.
Naipadakder idi tiempo ti Kastila, kamaudian ti siglo 1700.

Agladladingit ti langit. Nangisit ken lumabbaga ti tangatang, bumabbaba ti ulep.

Maisaak nga Prodigal Son. Siak ni Inting.

Nasursurko ti uppat a suli ti lubong, binirbirukko ti makuna a Utopia ti las-ud ti lima pulo a tawen – mamindua a nasuruk iti kabayag a natnaturog ni Rip Van Winkle, ti suyyek nga lakay ti istoria ni Washington Irving. Nagsardeng metten ti Cold War – lima pulo a tawen nga nabingay ti lubong iti dua a kampo a nagginginnura, nagsinsinnikap. Ngen saan pay la nga nagun-od ti pudno a kappia ti sangalubungan. Rimmasok iti gulib ti terrorismo.

Ket itan agawidakon ditoy ili a nakayanakak ken dimmakkelak. Simmabat ni tatang, aginnarakup kami. Ti ragsat saan nga maibalikas. Ket napaut ti panagkatkatawa ken panagtedted ti luami. Impagarupko nga ti adsaibbek ubbing laeng.

“Pakawanennak, Tatang.”

Ngen kunana, “Agragsat tayo. Nagbiag ti natay nga anakko. Partien ti kabubusnagan nga urbon a baka. Ket awisen dagiti kakailian.”

Lakay unayen ni tatang. Nabalo idi gubat idi dua pay laeng ti tawenko. Saanen a nagasawa. Saan metten a pimmanpanaw diay ilimi.

“Ni Manong Tonio, Tatang?”

“Umayto. Adda’t taltalon isuna.”

Agsangpet dagiti tattao.

Ditoy San Vicente nasapa ti panagbaro ken panagbalasang. Adu kami a pimmanaw, sinursurotmi diay bangir ti Cordillera ken ballasiw taao dagiti ar-arapaap ti agkabanuag. Lumakay ken bumaket inton makasubli kami - kaaduanna, balikbayan. Ngem adu met dagiti saanen a makaawid, numanpay a kasta, saanda a makaliplipat.

Sibibiag ni Apo Lagip - ti naglabas ken masakbayan kasla saan nga nagsina. Naanos ti tiempo. Bassit ti nagbalbaliwan ti ili, kasta met dagiti umili.

Saan a nagsukat ti abbong ti altar a naburdaan ti Ur-urayenka Anakko. Ubingak pay idi adda daytoy nga isu’t mangsabat ti mata pagserrek ti dakkel a simbaan. Agkupkupas ti kaaapros dagiti agraem ken Apo San Vicente Ferrer, patron ti ili.

“Ibagam man dagiti napnapanam ken nasarsarakam, Inting.” Kiddao dagiti kaubingak. Mabilbilangdan.

“Nasapulam kadi ti puon ti bullalayaw, Inting?” angaw ni Belen, maysa idi a princesa ti komedia no agpiesta ti ili, maudi a martes ti Abril. Badong latta ni Badong, ti katuturedan diay klasemi ti elementaria. “Ania, umay manen ti gubat?” Sa nagmulagat. Maymaysa’t petsa ti pannayanakmi idi gubat.

Umad-adu ti tattao, awanen ti pagtugawan. Nagdalupakpak pay ketdin dagiti dadduma. Malutluto ti pagraramanan. Malang-ab ti maletletson a baka.

“Denggentayo ti maisa nga anak ti ili.” Imbaga ni Mayor Simeon, apo ti dati nga alkalde. Sa immabay kaniak. “Mailiw dagiti umili kenka.”

Narigat ti agsarita no saan a naragsak ti ibaga. Kayatko a saritaen ti saan a nasayaat a rupa ti panagprogreso ti lubong. Ti siudad a balitok adda laeng ti arapa-ap. Ti Paraiso awan ditoy rabaw daga. Pantasia laeng ti Utopia.

Kasla mabasbasa ni Ben ti pampanunutek. Ni Ben ti valedictorianmi ti high school diay Vigan, daidi CIC, Divine Word College ita. Iniarisa-asna, “Istoria-em ti Four Horsemen of Apocalypse.” Naadalmi daytoy ken ni Sir Boni - Mr. Rafanan, titsermi ti history.

Saan nga pantasia daytoy a istoria. Impakdaar dagiti propeta, kasta met ni Nostrodamus. Ket dagiti saan a namatpati isudanto ti umuna a biktima. Kasla ti Sodom ken Gomorrah, Pompeii ken Herculaneum, ti dua a nagsaruno nga gubat ti lubong, ti panakabomba ti Twin Towers ti New York, ket umayto kano iti ukum.

Daytoy manen ti ibagbaga ni Alvin Toffler, ti autor ti Future Shock, ken da Naisbitt ken Aburdane, ti naggapuan ti tema a postmodernism. Kunada, “Ti panagprogreso saanen a malappedan ket dumardaras pay. Ti laplapusanan isu ti palab-og ti panagrigat ti tattao.

Immasideg, adu’t rigatna ni Lolo Silli, kalalakayan ti ili. Tinulonganda. Immasideg met ti Apo Padimi. Inyam-ammo na ti bagina. “Siak ti anak ti Bernardo Rada.” Kasinsinko daidi tatangna. Karuprupana.

“Kayatyo a denggen ti istoria dagiti uppat nga nakakaballo ni Apokalypso?” Bimtak ti iisemmak. Dagiti ub-ubbing ti immuna a nagtung-ed. Ipagarupda a maysa a pelikula.

“Adda uppat a nakakaballo nga akukuyog. Ti umuna isu ni Genie, ti higante nga awan bigbigenna nga amo no di laeng ti akin-iggem ti enkantado a lampara a naggapuanna. Sibubutengen ti lubong manipud idi bimtak ti umuna nga bomba atomiko diay Nagasaki ken Hiroshima. Ita ti armas nuclear napigpigsa nga adayo. Awan lisian ken pilpilienna, ket addan ti ima dagiti terrorista!”

“Dumanon kadi ditoy no bumtak dayta a bomba?” Sinongbatan met laengen ti kaabayna, ket saanen nga intuloy ti bumarito. Narigat a maawatan dagiti bambanag maipuon ti gubat no saan mo pay nabaddek ti paggugubatan.

“Ket ituloyko. Maikaddua a nakakaballo isu ti al-alia ni Mathus, ti nangipakdaar ti panagbisin ti lubong gapu ‘ta nadardaras iti panagado ti tattao ngen ti kabaelan ti lubong a mangted ti umanay nga pagbiag. Rirriw ti mabisbisinan - ket umad-adoda. Saanen a mabilang ti matmatay.”

Awan ti nagsaludsod. Naulimek. Adda manutbuteng idiay likod. Naka-abbbungot ti nangisit. Tinalliao dagiti tattao ingana’t nagsardeng isuna ket pimmanaw.

“Ituloyko. Maikatlo, ni Frankenstein, ti doktor nga nangpartuat ti maysa a monster nga awanan puso ken kararua. Arigna isu dagiti nangpartuat ti hybrid nga virus ti trankaso nga naggapu ti tao ken billit. Narungrungsot nga adayo daytoy a virus mgem daidi virus idi rugrugi ti 1900. Nasuruk nga sangagasut ng ririw (20 million) ti natay.

Ita makaaramiddan dagiti sientista babaen ti “genetic engineering” ti klase a mais, soya, manok, ken sabasabali pay, a saanen a natural – dagiti makuna a GMO wenno Frankenfood. Saan nga adayo ti panagballegida a makaaramid ti tao ti babaen ti cloning nga makaparis ni Dolly, maysa a karnero nga immuna a clone. Kasla ketdin inagawen ti tao ken ni Apo Dios ti pannakabalin a mangparsua, kasta met ti mangpaungar ti natay!”

Dimmadakkel ti mat-mata dagiti agdengdenggeg. Maysa kaniada ni Maestra Karing, titser ko ti elementaria. Nakabakbaketen. Inasitgak. Inongngonak.

“Ket ti maika-uppat a nakakaballo isu ti inheniero ti Torre a Babel, agdan kano a mapan sadilangit. Napugipug daytoy, kasta met ti naatap nga ar-arapaap dagiti nangaramid ken dagiti buyotda.

Nangatngato nga adayo dagiti torre a maar-aramid ita. Atitiddug dagiti rantay. Agtutuon dagiti kalkalsada ken reles. Riwriw ti luglugan. Dumaddadakkel dagiti siudad, ket umad-aduda. Dumaddadakel met dagiti makina ti industria. Amin dagitoy ti pagtaudan ti pollusion ken panagdagaang ti lubong.

“Awanton ti lugar nga saan nga maabot ti komunikasyon. Kasla baryo ti kabassit ti lubong, awanen ti paglemmengan. Napukawen ti karbengan nga agmaymaysa. Ket posible a makadanonto metten ti tao idiay Mars?

“Siak ni Superman! Siak met ni Batman! Flash Gordon!” Ikkis dagiti ub-ubbing nga agpipinnalsiit ken agpipinnalsuot idiay liklikudan. Nagparang ni Rambo. Pinasiatna dagiti saan nga katataoan. Umap-apoy ti debateria nga paltu-ogna. Awanen ti aridengan.

“Agay-ayam kayo diay adayo.” Tegmaan ni Kapitan Inggo. Pimmanaw ket
intuloyda’t nagay-ayam diay minuyungan. Naggungon dagiti sangsanga, nagtinnag ti bul-bulong. Rimmuar ni Tarzan. Kasla Safari ti inaramid dagiti ub-ubbing. Maisaak kaniada idi.

“Ay, dagitoy ub-ubbing, ay-ayam laeng ti ammoda.” Adda gayam ni Celia, ti nalaing a kumakanta ti sarsuela no agpiesta ti ili idi.

“Umay ti Armageddon. Magunao ti lubong. Agbal-baliw tayo.” Timmakder ni Tacio a mangaskasaba, agtaytayegteg kasla propeta.

Saan nga agpa-udi ni Cosme, agpadi koma idi. “Quo vadis?” Ig-igananna ti daan a biblia. Inukragna ket binirokna ti pahina a mabasa. Inwarasna ti matana nga aglawlaw. Nagsardeng ti batugko.

“Maysa nga parbagon naglibas ni Pedro ket addan idiay ruar ti pader ti Roma. Sakbayna data binirbiruk dagiti soldado isuna. Ngen nakalisi ngamin ta nagsalawasaw - saanna kano nga am-amo ni Kristo nga amona. Sakbay nga sumina ti sipnget, nakasabat ti maysa a lalaki nga nangdamag kenkuana, ‘Quo vadis? (Sadino kadi ti papanam?)’ Apagkanito nagpukaw ti lalaki. Nalasin ni Pedro – isu ni Kristo! Nagsubli isuna ket nagbalin nga martir ti Kristianismo."

Naladaw ti panggaldaw. Bassiten ti agdengdengged. Nakatugawdan diay panganan nga agur-uray. Imnmado ti timmulong diay kusina. Kasta met dagiti agidasdasar. Saan nga makauray dagiti ub-ubbing, ket agsubli-sublida diay panganan. Naipusing dagiti makilkilimos. Adda met bagida. Agriringgor dagiti aso. Si-iiggem ti baut ken pagbugaw ti ngilaw da Nana Sion.

Linukatan ni tatang ti iduldulinna a basi. Intakona ti ungot diay burnay. Pinaramanannak a immuna. Kaiimasan met la ngatan. Baba-akan. Nabayad nga saanak a nakaraman ti basi. Ubingak pay idi nasursurok ken ni tatang ti panagaramid ti basi.

“In-yur-urayko kenka.” Matmatmatannak nga nangraman. Intumbak iti ugot, ket kayatko pay koma.

Malagipko ti kabsatko tapno paramanak met.

“Adda pay la isuna diay taltallon,” kuna manen ni tatang.

Binalonak ni Manong Tonio diay taltalon. Kaduana dagiti katalonan. Tallo a natatayag ken nababaked nga mandala ti mangipakita ti kanasayaat ti apit dayta a tawen. Saannak nabigbig daras. Naginnarakop kami. Nagsubli daras ti lagip di kaubinganmi. Kasla idi kalman laeng.

Nabayag ti panagin-innangawmi. Nagsadag kami ti mandala a nakasango ti bumabbaba nga unit.

“Nagbassit aya ti libong, Inting.”

Awan nangegna kaniak. Intuloyna.

“Malagip mo pay ni Mrs Villamor?’ Nalaing daydi dios-alluadna a maestrami ti literature ti high school

“Malagip mo ti inpamemoriana a berso ni William Blake?”

“Uh….saanko nga malagip, manong.” Nariknak bassit ti mabain, ta apay koma nga malipatak, ket isuna saan?

“Auguries of Innocence, saan kadi?”

Malagipkon. Nalaing a mannurat ni Blake, narigat laeng nga anagen ti pilosopiana maipuon ti panagbiag. Fundamentalist a makuna ni Blake.

Ni-recite ni manong iti maysa nga naadaw nga berso. Kasla umininom a kunada, nalawag ken naur-nos.

“Sarming ti lubong ket maysa a bag-giing laeng,
Ti langit agparang diay ruot nga agsabsabong;
Lawa’t tangatan, ta dakulapmo umanayen,
Ti maysa nga oras patinggana’t agnanayon.”

Insaruno na.

“Sinno ti makaimatang ti lubong, wenno langit babaen dagiti babassit a bambanag a pakakitaan, wenno dagiti simbolo ti panagbiag? Aglalo no kaub-bingan, kabanbannuagan? Anianto ngatan nga maawatam ti patingga ti lubong, ti panagnanayon ti biag?”

Kasla umis-isem daydi diostialluadna a Mrs. Villamor ti abaymi. Nakababan ni Apo Init. Nalabbaga it annaraar na. Nakaawiden dagiti kannaway. Nagaponen dagiti manok diay kakaikaiwan.

Awan iti maibangak. Mariknak ti bain apay a naglibassak idi. Pinanawak da tatang ken ti katsatko. Linuktak ti bentana saak bimmaba ti maysa a parbangon, lima pulo a tawenen ti naglabas.

Tinipedko ti luak. Nagpangressak tapno mabang-arannak. Mailemmengko ti riknak.

Saanen nga intuloy ni manong. Nakadlaw.

Ket intuloyko nga anagen. Nauneg daytoy a kapanunotan.

Narigat awaten ti biag. Isu nga awan ti sardeng ti panagadal. Bag-giing, bato agbalin nga bantay? Ti kabusbusor a ruot, apay a nakapinpintas ti sabongna? No saan nga ukraden ti dakulap kasano ti itutulong? Makigayyem? Makikappia? Apagkanito kadi ti biag tapno ammo tayo ti agraem, ken agpakumbaba? Pumanaw ti biag tapno ituloy dagiti sumarsaruno? Inggana’t kaano?

Kasla mabasbasa ni manong ti pampanunotek.

Kunana. “Maysa a libro ti biag, Inting. Ngen saan a inkapilitan nga napuskol daytoy nga libro. Adda iti pateg ken kinabukel na.”

Itan malagipko ti kuna daidi Santo Papa, John Paul II.

Kunana:

“Daytoy nga lubong nga kadadakelan nga pagadalan tapno mapunuantayo ti kinasarib, ditoy nga maimatangan ti progreso ti sibilisasion, manipud iti kinabaro ti sistema ti panagiwarnak, iggana’t sistema ti wayawaya nga awan tungpalna – daytoy a lubong, uray kaanunto, saanna nga maited ti kapupudnuan a ragsak ti tao.”

Immay ti panagtutudo. Simmaruno ti kalgao. Tinawen a kasta.

Inggana’t immay ti nadagsen ken nangisit nga ulep. Sapasap ti inulesanna. Ulimek ti nagturay. Nabayag nga naawan ni Apo Init.

Napintas unay nga dengdenggen ti kantakanta nga aggapu’t kuro! Dua kami ni Manong Tonio nga abibiolin idi no dumanon ti Misa Aginaldo. Paspasurutanmi dagiti babbaro ken babbalasang nga agkankanta. Ket daydi Maestro Selmo ti mangiturturong kaniami.

Diay altar maiang-agin ti abbongna nga naburdaan, Ur-urayenka Anakko. Agpaypayapay.

Lukatanyon dagiti bentana tapno sumbrek ti nalamiis nga agin nga aggapu’t daya. Ket bay-an dagiti kandela nga maiddep a saggaisa.

Simbrek ti nalamiis a pul-oy ti panagbannaoag. Dua a medalla ti agbitbitin, agkilkilap, agtintinnupa a kasla kampanilla. Adda iar-arisaasda.

No ti mumalem ket ngumisit ken lumabbaga ti Laud, ken bumabbaba ti ulep a sabaten ti sipnget, istoria-en dagiti lalakay ken babbaket nga makita iti aninag ti dua a tao nga agin-innarakup diay puon ti dudu-ugan a kamantiris diay turod. Adda met aninag ti tattao diay kataltalonan. Dua a nakasadag ti mandala. Mangged pay kano ti katkatawada. xxx

Buya diay ngato ti poblacion San Vicente. Makita ti daan a simbaan.

Self-Administered Test on Sociology (True or False, 25 items)

Abe V Rotor and Melly Tenorio
DZRB 738 KHzAM Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid
Monday to Friday, 8 to 9 evening class

1. Times are changing, so with values. There will come a time when what is taboo today will be morally acceptable tomorrow, so that media must prepare society for this eventuality.

2. Filipinos excel abroad because of their being part Filipino and part foreigner in blood.
3. Just to cite Filipino excellence we have distinctly coveted a Nobel prize.

4. Propaganda is actually guided media, that is, it is designed for evil or for good, often in disguise.

5. The European Union today has member-countries in both western and eastern Europe.

6. ASEAN and APEC, if combined in their present structures and functions, make an EU in Asia.

7. We are prisoners of our genes, and therefore must accept our fate.

8. The church is changing its stand on birth control; it now liberal with contraceptive pills.

9. Urbanization and industrialization go hand in hand like a couple.

10. Industrialization based on agriculture is a good model for developing countries.

11. Women’s liberation started in socialist countries, because of the principle of equality.

12. Homo sapiens arrived on the evening of December 30, if we compare the calendar with the geologic history of our planet.

13. The Car is no longer a luxury today; it is a must to modern living.

14. The so-called Cold War which lasted for nearly 50 years was characterized by polarization of countries into three worlds: democratic, socialistic, neutral.

15. Nationalism and globalization are compatible. You can be a citizen of the Philippines and citizen of the world.

16. Genetic engineering makes human cloning possible, so that it promises the perfection of the human being.

17. All over the world countries are advocating for divorce, because this is the real solution to the worsening problems confronting the family.

18. Suicide is precipitated by depression. No one would simply want to end up a good life.

19. The rate of suicide is higher in less progressive countries because of poverty.

20. Acculturation is all right, as long as the ethnic communities are integrated into the main stream of society.

21. Agriculture and ecology are in conflict when it comes to the preservation of the natural environment such as the wildlife.

22. Social stratification is transitional. Poor people, when they get proper education, can avail of the same opportunities in life.

23. Test tube baby, surrogate motherhood, artificial insemination – they go altogether in a package of technology and business.

24. Man and woman have the same intelligence, emotion, and physiology – biologically speaking.
.
25. It is all about design. In today’s world, designs tend to be no more aesthetic than functional.

Answers will be posted in a week's time.

Topics to research on and keep abreast with our fast changing world

Topics to research on and keep abreast with our fast changing world

Dr Abe V Rotor

We are in the age of knowledge explosion. Every time we wake up there's always something new that touches our lives more directly and profoundly than in any period of human history.

On the other hand we are also facing a dilemma I call infollution, a contracted term for information pollution. Knowledge used to be what we seek and acquire through necessity and obligation, much of it through choice which was limited then. And we knew the measure and pace of learning. We had a better situation in what we should know or choose to know with the guidance of the family, community and the institutions.

Well, that was when the world was divided by distance, walls of culture, politics, etc. When the writers of history were mainly from the West. In the 1000 years that plunged the world into the Dark Ages. When empires split into fiefs and kingdoms. When the West colonized the East. When capitalism and socialism clashed. So with religions. When the Berlin Wall stood for half a century.

Then boom! Science and technology made the world walk on two large feet, so to speak: communication and transportation. Everyone is now a neighbor in a small global village. And he wants to know what's happening at the other side of the fence.

Now that globalization has shrunk the world, wired it, crisscrossed it with routes - land, water and air, and above all, with information highway, how does one stand amidst an overflowing pool of knowledge?

Here we are with a sample list of topics to research on.

University of Santo Tomas, oldest university in Asia, older than Harvard

1. Are we prisoners of our Genes? (Sociobiology and Human Behavior)
2. Post-Modernism
3. Whose History?
4. Ecosabotage
5. Globalization and Sunset of Nationalism
6. Sex tourism and the Patriotism Prostitute
7. Depression and Suicide
8. The Rainforest: Best Tribes and Lost Knowledge
9. Urbanization and Industrialization
10. Changing Image of Women
11. “Rent-a-uterus” (Surrogate Mothers)
12. Cybercommunication (Wiring the Globe)
13. Opposition to Technology (e.g. Unabomber)
14. Human Genome Project (HGP)
15. Pornography
16. Misguiding the Future
17. Body Beautiful
18. Cultism
19. The Fine Art of Propaganda
20. Homogenization and Loss of Cultural Diversity
21. Social Change and the Natural Environment
22. Age of Robotics
23. Religion and the Spirit of Capitalism
24. Endangered Species and Ecosystems
25. Social and Pandemic Human Diseases
26. Terrorism

27. Neocolonialism
28. Three Worlds of Development
29. Why Social Stratification is Universal
30. Imperialism and Capitalism
31. Capitalism and Consumerism
32. The “McDonaldization” of Society
33. Is EU Applicable in Asia?

Symbol of our revolution whaich has started with the age of computers, the creation of a noosphere - which literally means one mind-one world, visualized as a mental sheath over the globe.  

34. Japanese vs American Corporate Culture
35. Origin and Migration of Man
36. Genetic Engineering and Human Cloning
37. Gene Therapy: Frontier of Today’s Medicine
38. Vatican and Conservatism
39. Born to Buy (Consumerism)
40. IMF-WB and Capitalism
41. China: Socialism to Capitalism
42. India and China Dominate World’s Population: Forecast Consequences
43. The Expanding Field of Bioethics
44. Whatever happened to Space Race?
45. Why is the Philippines dubbed Rip Van Winkle of Asia?
46. Why is the Philippines the second most corrupt country in Asia, and among the world’s top countries with highest crime rate.
47. We are in the Age of Design
48. Natural Farming: A Return to Tradition
49. From Global Warming to Ice Age
50. Mind Benders (Brain Drugs)
51. Was Darwin Wrong? (Evolution Today)
52. Aftermath of the Cold War
53. Unsolved Murders of Philippine Journalists
54. Parliamentary or Presidential Government for the Philippines?
55. Herbal medicine – a Thing of the Past
56. Longevity Trends - Effects on Society
57. The New China – from Socialism to Capitalism
58. Effects of TV and Computers on child development
59. The Sunset of Fine Arts
60. Sustainable Agriculture
61. Sunset of apartheid and racism
62. Will China overtake the US as the world's biggest economy?
63. Same sex marriage - winning or waning?
64. Don't forget your pill, darling
65. Human Genome Project II
66. Gene therapy, latest in medicine.
67. Global Warming - more consequences than we expected
68. Ecological Migration
69. Where have all the fish gone?
70. Vertical farming. Farming in multistory buildings in the city.

Guidelines to students who are going to submit their research as school requirement
1. Research paper must be printed (12 pts New Times Roman), 10 to 12 pages, short bond, single space excluding illustrations and photos, in folder.
2. Final copy to be submitted before presentation of topic in class. No paper, no report.
3. References at least 5: journal, books, news magazine, popular publications, Internet, interviews, company papers and documents.
4. Parts of paper: Introduction and rationale, review of literature, research proper, case studies (including interviews), conclusion, media advocacy.
5. Presentation - 10 min, open forum –5; use audio-visual aids (conventional and electronic); other presentation methods.~

A touch of awe and pity

Any time this leaning tree will give in. Countdown has
started some years ago. Fairview, QC

The Mourning Tree, ADMU-QC

Euphorbia breaks through on old window of a dilapidated
structure. Sta Lucia, Ilocos Sur

Home, Sweet Home with Nature, AVR

I am a waterfall - a drawing exercise

Waterfall mural, AVR 2009

Abe V Rotor

How do you see yourself as a waterfall?

This exercise leads us to differentiate reality from imagination. Second, how can we combine reality and idealism to express ourselves?

Here is a drawing exercise suitable to both young and old, class or workshop.

As a participant draw a waterfall from your own experience and imagination. You have ten minutes to finish it on a one-fourth bond paper using pencil or pen.

A background music is provided while you work. Nature’s sound: water cascading or flowing accompanied by songs of birds and other creatures, and occasional breeze. The theme of a song is Somewhere Over a Rainbow. Other appropriate pieces are The Blue Danube and Flow Gently Sweet Afton.

If you are ready to start the exercise, at this juncture, please pause.

You will come to know the basis of judging your work after you are through. It takes some twenty minutes to finish.


NOTE: Do not read these criteria until you have completed your drawing.

Exchange your paper with your seatmate's. The instructor will now guide you in checking the papers with the criteria below. Use a scale of 1 to 10, starting with 1=Very Poor to 5=Average, and to 10=Outstanding. It's now your discretion to grade the paper given you.

1. Height of the waterfall
2. Fullness of its water
3. Lushness of its watershed
   
4. Abundance of its source, river or lake
5. Force and power of the fall
6. Strength and firmness of the rock face
   
7. Downstream flow and direction
8. Creatures in their natural habitat
9. No wasteland, no space left out
   
10. Naturalness and artistic presentation
    

Add the points obtained from each of the 10 factors. The perfect score is 100. Return paper to the owner.

The second part of the exercise is sharing. What is the significance of this exercise? How does it relate to life?

Relate each criterion with your personal life, your dealings with people, Nature, and the Creator. This takes about half an hour or so.

This exercise leads you to know yourself better - your strength and weakness - and most important - your potentials. ~

Home, Sweet Home with Nature, AVR

Cat on an Icon's Lap

Abe V Rotor

St Paul University QC

You found a home and a companion you seek,
While your kind in the wild still roam free;
You surrendered to a life idle and meek,
Sans honor to bequeath to your progeny.

Living with Nature 3, AVR

Cooking with Puso ng Saging

Abe V Rotor

Most popular puso ng saging comes from saba variety.

Banana blossom is a favorite culinary ingredient of many recipes distinctly Filipino. Here is a short list.

1. It is a must in kari-kari (ox tail) - fresh or dried.
2. Try ginatang puso ng saging, best with dried fish (pindang Ilk).
3. Pickled - select the succulent and cartilaginous inner part.
4. Fresh - get the heartmost part.
5. Bulanglang or diningding, best with saluyot and hipon (small shrimp) or broiled bangus or tilapia.
6. Pata or pork adobo with dried puso ng saging.
7. Hamburger extender. Shred and mash in fresh water to reduce acridity (pakla). Mix with ground beef and flour at desired proportion.
8. Torta with egg.
9. Pesang dalag, with puso ng saging in chunk.
10. Salad, succulent part in natural vinegar, dash of salt, and bell pepper.

NOTE: Puso ng saging is grown commercially with the botolan (balayang Ilk) or seeded variety. The whole bunch is harvested upon emergence without allowing the fruits to form, whereas the heart of saba variety is harvested after the fruit bunch has gained desired size. Early harvesting of the heart results in undersized fingers. The heart of cavendish (bongolan or tumok Ilk) variety is not edible. Watch out for unscrupulous vendors. Other varieties yield smaller hearts but nonetheless edible.

Home, Sweet Home with Nature, AVR