Saturday, November 30, 2013

UST-AB DevCom: Developing Native Intelligence. Nature is our best teacher. Here are vital signs to watch.

Developing Native Intelligence for happy living, and as a coping mechanism. 
Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio 738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class Monday to Friday
Assignment: Please answer the first set of questions below - Can you read the signs? . (Reg bond, handwritten) 

Let's recognize Nature as our best teacher.

Read Nature. You will enjoy life, live healthier and longer. You'll gain more friends and respect from people.

Monsoon rains may last for 18 consecutive days, hence the term
siyam-siyam, from which Masagana 99 rice program wa
s coined.

Above all, you will be at peace with yourself and with your environment.

Here are some biological signs to watch. They are Nature's barometer, so to speak; Nature's clock, Nature's way of communicating with the living world.

1. Mad dog – Its tail is tucked underneath; animal restless biting at anything within its reach; froth coming from its mouth; stealthily moves about without any apparent direction; dreads the presence of water (hydrophobia); 

Dogs must be vaccinated with anti-rabies and not allowed to go in the street. (Nikko, our pet at 15 before he died of old age.)
  usually occurs during hot days particularly in summer. Be keen; keep distance; notify others of danger; get help.

2. Drought – Occurs in summer; landscape scorched; dry river beds and ponds; brush fires occurs; lake water recedes; crack on earth, especially areas under water in monsoon; worst scenario - flowering of bamboo usually during El Nino, a phenomenon that happens every 7 to 10 years.

Leaves oft talisay (Terminalia catappa) turn orange to red before falling to the ground, a sign that the Amihan (cold season) has arrived.  

3. Earthquake – Farm animals restless; horses kick and neigh; pigs snort; fowls abandon usual roost; turkey cackle; cattle seek exit from corral; dogs howl; and the like. Wild animals abandon abode – snakes come out into the open; reptile keep out of the water; elephants defy their master’s command; birds abandon nest, other emigrate.

4. Typhoon – Doldrums-like calm; uneasiness to both humans and animals as barometer reading drops which means atmospheric pressure goes down; arthritis and hypertension 

symptoms are felt by sensitive persons. As typhoon approaches, sea becomes rough; sky overcast; clouds move fast to one direction; gusts of cold and warm wind, thunderstorms.

A restless cockroach in the evening 
heralds the coming of bad weather.  

5. Influenza – Precipitated by alternate cold and hot weather, thunderstorms, abrupt change in season. Influenza season is usually at the onset of amihan as the habagat comes to an end. Practical signs: people coughing in church and other gatherings; sale of cold tablets and antibiotics is up; hospitals full. Epidemic starts in the family, neighborhood, local community; also, in schools, malls and markets, and may spread to cover a city or district or province. Modern transportation has made spread of flu easier and wider.

6. Pristine Environment – Abundance of lichens on trunks and branches of trees, rocks, and soil. There are three types: crustose (crust), foliose (leaf-like) and fruticose (fruiting type). They are biological indicators of clean air. The ultimate test is the abundance of the fruticose type.

7. Inclement Weather – Halo around moon; gray and red sunset; a storm may be coming depending upon the intensity of these signs.

This field cricket, nature's violinist, is most 
active during warm summer night.
  
8. Rain - Dragonflies hovering; aggressive biting of mosquitoes; ants move to another place carrying their young and provisions. The latter predicts heavy continuous rainfall or siyam-siyam or nep-nep. Herons on the move heralds the monsoon.

9. Monsoon – Frogs croak; insects (termite, ants) swarm; lightning and thunder get frequent; first heavy rain in May vegetates the landscape, thus turning from brown to green. It comes early or late, but usually in later part of May. Global warming has brought unpredictable signs indicating that our climate is changing.

10. Ripening of Fruits – Generally from green to yellow to orange (banana, orange, apple, etc. Determined by smell: guava, jackfruit, durian, melon, etc); shiny rind (caimito, siniguelas). Dull skin (chico), enlarged ridges and furrows (atis, guayabano, anonas)


When earthworms crawl out of their holes and search for higher grounds, it is a sign that a flood is coming. 

I. Can you read these signs? (Please answer briefly)
1. Sweetness/sourness of fruit
2. Maturity and succulence of vegetables (okra, cucumber)
3. Tenderness of nut (buko, macapuno)
4. Sweetness and maturity of fruit (watermelon)
5. Time to harvest singkamas, onions, garlic, sugar beet
6. Presence of jellyfish
7. Red tide season
8. Coming flood 
9. Time to harvest palay, corn, wheat.
10. Slippery walkway 
11. Depth of water (by color, sound of oar, current, clarity)
12. Cloud reading of weather.
13. Glassy eyes (deep feelings like hatred, or “wala sa sarili”)
14. Wrinkles at the corner of eyes 
15. Furrows on forehead 
16. Rough palm
17. Brilliant and attentive eyes 
18. Clumsiness, strumming 
19. Heavy feet 
20. Tight jaw 

II. Forum (For discussion in class)
1. How reliable is “gut feel
2. How about ESP?
3. What is “aura?” How does it apply to relationships?
4. What is Biological Clock? Name how it affects your life.
5. Life starts at 40 – how do you interpret this?
6. What are prophets to you? Are there people who can see the future? Do you believe in Nostrodamus?
7. Are dreams hidden motives, indirect messages, prophesies?
8. How superstitious are you? Do you practice superstition?
9. Do you think you were once living on earth in another being or living thing, in another time and place? Do you believe re-incarnation?
10. How fatalistic are you – you are predestined even before you were born?

Please share us your knowledge and experiences. Learn more from Nature - she is our best teacher.

x x x

A Boy and a Frog


Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio 
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class Monday to Friday

Green pond frog
 
Lately, a young boy was caught by surprise when a frog leaped and landed at his feet. He could have either trampled on the helpless creature or he himself jumping into the water.

As I was by chance a witness to the incident I asked the boy why he was so afraid.

"It’s a harmless little fellow," I said. "Maybe he just wanted to play with you."

"Do you remember the story, The Princess and Frog Prince?" I continued. "The frog was a disguised prince. The spell was broken by the kindness of a princess. And they lived happily ever after."

He was silent. On recovering from fright, he hesitantly asked. “Di ba ang palaka, nakakahawa ng sipon.” (Isn't the frog the cause of colds?)

I was dumbfounded. Then I remembered the advertisement about a liquid decongestant showing a frog tenaciously clinging like phlegm.

Poor boy - another case of miseducation of advertisement. Poor frog - now in the list of threatened species. ~

Only God can make an egg

Dr. Abe V. Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
 738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class Monday to Friday

 Analogously, according to Joyce Kilmer, “Only God can make a tree.”

Once there was a scientist in the like of Frankenstein, the doctor who created a monster in Mary Shelly’s novel in the late 18th century. This scientist wanted to make an artificial egg, but one that possesses all the qualities of a natural egg. With his intensive knowledge in chemistry and biology and engineering he succeeded at last in making one that is complete with albumin (white), yolk (yellow center), and of course a perfect eggshell.

Confident that he was after testing his masterpiece in the laboratory, he then proceeded in having it incubated, placing it in the center of a dozen natural eggs and had a mother hen sit on them. Days passed by and finally sweet sounds came from under the brooding hen. There were twelve beautiful, little chicks. All the eggs hatched except one, the thirteenth – his artificial egg.

Acknowledgement: Internet, Wikipedia 

Mystery of the Sand Towers

Mystery of the Sand Towers
San Vicente Botanical Garden

Dr Abe V Rotor
         
Curiosity challenges the young inquisitive mind.

Each tower is topped by a stone. How did this happen?

Nature is the greatest sculptor,
She builds towers out of sand,
each capped with a stone,
no human could have done.

Man takes pride as a builder,
an artist, magician, scientist
in many fields of knowledge
where mysteries never cease.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

The power of the third eye and eighth sense. Can you tell what are these creatures?

The power of the third eye and eighth sense.  Can you tell what are these creatures?  
Dr Abe V Rotor
 I cling to the leaves on the nether side,
gnawing for a living on its edible part,
and make a shingle out of it which I carry 
on my back, then transfer nearby for the next meal,
and another shingle, until I look like a pagoda 
sans base, moving from place to place;
then I stop and rest, I remain in stupor.
then metamorphose leaving my domain - 
if I am male, I have wings to fly away and mate.
Lo! to the female it is wingless and waits for me
for a brief romance, then she withdraws into temple
now a maternal nest, and our life cycle is complete.  
What am I? 
   

Obnoxious I look and smell no one dares to get near,
much less to pick me neither by beak nor tongue,   
for my enemies are few, so my friends - if I know;
you see, if you are ugly and dirty no one bothers you,
like anyone else not excluding some humans;
but in my case Nature designed me this way, 
and she thinks I'm beautiful, to me it is a gift of life;
surviving a cruel world.  I rest now and someday
I'll metamorphose into something beautiful 
in the eyes of man, so beautiful and dainty
no one will ever ask what I was before.
What am I? 

Answers: Cryptothelea heckmeyeri Heyl (pagoda bagworm), will metamorphose into a moth; Papilio alphenol caterpillar on citrus leaves, will metamophose into a butterfly.  Bothe belong to Order Lepidoptera.

Monday, November 25, 2013

Ochangco, Toledo of UST Arts and Letters bag National Art Competition Grand Prize

Winners Balaram Das D Ochangco and Effigenio Christopher D Toledo pose with their professors at the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Arts and Letters: Prof Jose Arsenio J Salandanan (left) of Communication and Media Studies, and Prof. Jeremaiah M Opiniano, journalism coordinator. 


Pitik Mulat sa Maynila, Kahit Anong Delubyo May Pag-Asa, a short video by Balaram Das Ochangco and Efigenio Christopher Toledo IV, Communication Arts and Journalism students of the Faculty of Arts and Letters, respectively, bested 58 other entries and were unanimously declared Grand Prize winners for the Video-Making category in the recently concluded Vision, the National Student Art Competition sponsored by Petron held at the Old Senate Session Hall of the National Museum.

Living up to this year’s competition theme of  “Lakbay, A Journey of Triumphs and Milestones,” Ochangco and Toledo chronicled the journey of a photographer as he takes on the daily grind of capturing images of people with his camera as they face the everyday challenges in life.   

The victory of Messrs Ochangco and Toledo is special as Video-Making is not only the newest category in the art competition but was judged by an esteemed panel of judges chaired by multi-awarded cinematographer Romy Vitug.  Joining him in the roster are actress and director Laurice Guillen, multi-awarded film director Raymond Red, documentary filmmaker and Editor-in-Chief of GMA News Online Howie Severino and Ana Neri, Assistant Vice President for Marketing of Petron.




Saturday, November 23, 2013

Eyes, Eyes, Eyes

Dr Abe V Rotor
Certain species of bivalves produce gems appearing like real eyes. 
They are made of calcium deposits through slow accretion like in pearl, 
a process which is not fully understood. Calatagan Batangas.

Eyes, eyes, eyes everywhere -
the sky has eyes, the forest has eyes
the night in its darkest, and the sea
In its deepest.

I count the stars, the eyes of heaven,
the neon lights, the headlights,
stars of modern living,
of man’s dream.

A world of eyes, now on cyberspace,
seeing all to laugh, to cry, 
yet groping for answers 
behind every eye. ~

Camia Flower

Dr Abe V Rotor

Camia is a favorite pendant of leis; it blends well with
Sampaguita In color and fragrance. Baby Mackie
and Gelyn at home. 

White as snow in the air, cotton dehisced in the morning;
cumulus clouds at birth, jasmine and camia fair;
make haste with the rising sun, the bees and butterflies;
ephemeral is beauty, leaving but scent in the air. ~     

Sunday, November 17, 2013

UST-AB: Development Communication COURSE OUTLINE

Course Outline 
Development Communication
Professor: Abercio V Rotor, PhD
Course Title: Development Communication
Time: 8 to 11 AM Tuesday, 2nd Semester 2013-2014

Syllabus: This course will trace the theory and the research in the development communication and will highlight the present and future trends in the area. The nature and component of development process, background and role of International development programs and agencies will also be discussed. In addition to above the role of mass media in agriculture, health, education, population planning, sanitation, environment protection and socio economic development of developing countries in general, and the Philippines will be discussed.

 


Topics to be covered:

1. Development and its concept.

2. Theories of Development Communication.

a) Dominant theory  b) Self reliance theory c) Diffusion theory

d) Dependent and inter-dependence theory

3. Social development         

4.  Economic development

5. Political development     

6. Cultural development

7. Ingredients of development

a) Education   b) Health  c) Population Planning     d) Agriculture

e) Media   f) Good Governance   g) Water  h. Others

8. Development Communication     

9. Media and National Development

10. Prospects and challenges of Development Communication

11. Planning Development Communication Campaign


Course Structure:     Since this class is composed on Mass Comm students and Comm Art students, in their junior and senior years, emphasis shall be given to application, practicability, functionality of contemporary issues and events through classroom lecture, field observation and survey, and seminar-discussion.  Assignments are made available through the Internet (avrotor.blogspot.com).


Examination and evaluation: There will be prelims and a final test. In addition to test, each student writes two reports and makes class presentation of the same. The specific breakdown of grade evaluation wil be follows

                1. Assignments, quizzes, recitation, topic presentation         

                                2. Attendance (FA more than 3 absences)        

  3. Prelims                                                           

  4. Final Test                                                        
                                5. Research /Term paper 


The test and examinations material will be roughly from lectures, readings, and class activities. That’s why attendance is very important. In brief, it is in your own best interest to come to the class and, please, be in time.




Two great Filipino leaders who steered the Philippines forward: Magsaysay in post-WWII era, and Ferdinand Marcos in modern era.   

References/Readings:
Main reference and interlink on the Internet: avrotor.blogspot.com

1.      Communication, Values and Society 1994 Maslog CC 398

2.      Communicate 1985 Verderber RF – Wadsworth Pub 246

3.      Techniques for Effective Communication 1979  Rose RW et al 329

4.      Interpersonal Communication: Relating to Others 1999 2nd ed Beebe SA et al– Allyn and Bacon Pub 423 pp

5.      Journalism for Filipinos   1991 Malinao LA – National  383

6.      Chicken Soup for the Writer’s Soul: Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit of Writers 2000 Canfield J et al, 406

7.      People and Values 1996 Reuter, B. James - Paulines 249

8.      Secrets of Successful Public Relations 1985 Philips CS Prentice Hall

9.      Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach 1999 Henslin JM 720

10.  Man’s Search for Meaning  1984 Revised Frankl, E.Viktor 221

11.  The Role of the Media 1986 Sproule, A -  Mcdonald 64

12.  Future Shock 1970, Toffler, Alvin – Bantam books  561

13.  Principles and Methods of Extension Work 1983 IAIC Israel 175

14.  Socially Shared Inquiry  1999 Alfonso HC 243

15.  Toward a New Community Life  1981  Lee, Man-Gap – Seoul 638

16.  Sociology and Anthropology  1996 Palispis S 313

17.  Perverse  Development 1983  Feder, Ernest – Nationalist Studies  324

18.  Broadcasting/Cable and Beyond: An Introduction to Modern Electronic Media 1990 Dominick J et al – McGraw 489

19.  Sociology: Understanding Society 1989 Rose PI, Glazer PM et al 480

20.  Social Problems 2000 Eitzen DS and MB Zinn – Allyn Pub 594

21.  Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective1998 Ferreraro G 397

22.  The Living with Nature Handbook 2003 Rotor, AV UST 200

23.  Living with Nature in Our Times, 2004 Rotor AV UST 260

24.  Light from the Old Arch 2001 Rotor AV UST 215

25.  Light in the Woods 1995 Rotor AV Megabooks 93

Internet; International Newsmagazines (e.g. Time); radio and TV broadcast.


Reference:  DEPARTMENT OF MASS COMMUNICATION, UNIVERSITY OF SINDH, JAMSHORO, Pakistan

"Quo vadis, Homo?" Where are we going, humans?

Quo vadis, Homo?
Where are we going, humans?

Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog

Auguste Rodin's The Thinker
Quo vadis, Homo sapiens? Where is man gong?

A young man who was in love asked the computer, “What is love?”

Whereupon, came a prompt answer – in a number of definitions, technical and literary.

“How does it feel to be in love?” the young man continued. This time the computer did not respond. He entered his query once more, but still there was no response. After several attempts, the computer finally gave up, and printed: I cannot feel.

Spending more time with the computer deprives millions, mostly children, of participating in health promoting games and resistance-building exposure in nature. Our children are no longer children of nature; they are captives of education and media, of malls and cafes.

They like to think that the mind is like the computer, that the more information it acquires the better it is to the person.

This is not so. Not when it pertains to health, not with the ability to arrive at correct decisions, not when and where survival is needed. And not when it comes to matters of love.

And here are our children spending most of their waking hours with an “intelligent” thing in the shape of a box, a thing that has no feeling at all!

Even when the computer can tell us of all kinds of ailments in the world, it cannot comfort us. It cannot cure us. It will only worsen our allergies, our asthma.

It cannot reciprocate our friendship, our love, our compassion. Because a robot is a robot is a robot.

Diseases and many forms of human misery are masked by the Good Life. These are surreptitiously spreading around the world causing many complications, untold sufferings, and death. They turn into pandemic as they merge with other diseases – HIV-AIDS, obesity, diabetes, accidents, are becoming common cases.

The success of human beings and all living things today depends on fitness acquired through Evolution and Adaptation. Evolution refers to the “Survival of the Fittest,” through eons of time; while Adaptation is the ability of organisms to adjust to dynamic changes of the environment.

The Four Attributes of Man

• Homo sapiens “Man the Wise”
• Homo faber "Man the Maker” or “Working Man"
• Homo ludens “Playing Man” or "Sportsman"
• Homo spiritus “Praying Man” or "Reverent"

(Deus faber “God the Creator”) Should Man also play the role of God?

Homo sapiens, the Patient
(From The Men Who Play God by Dr Arturo B Rotor)

“Of all God’s creatures, there is no species more guilt-ridden, confused and self-destructive than man. Fear, remorse and frustration underlie his basic behavior probably as a result of his forbears having been driven out of the Garden of Eden…”

“Man kills not for food, he eats when he is not hungry, he mates in and out of season. His suicidal tendencies are unique. While the lemmings drown themselves as a result of reduced food supplies, man will willingly cultivate cancer of his lungs by smoking poisonous plants, convert his liver into a hobnailed atrophic mass of dead tissues with alcohol, or remove himself from the control of his mind with narcotics…

“An important feature of his personality is that the more developed the creature and the more successful, the more likely is he to suffer of neurosis.” The genes bearing these characteristics have not been identified, but seems to be transmitted paternally and maternally.

“While among all other species, infection heads mortality and morbidity lists, among Homo sapiens, neurosis is the underlying cause of ninety percent of all illnesses.”

"As a matter of fact, in the big cities and centers of population, the archetype of the successful executive in the hypertensive, the ulcer-patient, the tranquilizer-dependent. We believe that for an in-depth study of tension or anxiety, in all its typical and atypical manifestations, man is a better subject to study than any other organism.”