Four Genuine Ilocano (GI) Dishes

  Dr Abe V Rotor 

1.  Ngarusangis shell soup, a rare recipe of Ilocanos.  

Because I can’t find ngarusangis in the Internet and in references on Philippine shells, I took it upon myself to call this extremely small marine bivalve, Fairy Shell. (It sounds like Pearly Shell, a Hawaiian folk song.)  In Nagtupacan, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur, I remember as a child fisher folks gathering ngarusangis on the estuarine by the ganta (around one liter, the size of a large pineapple can), as this was the common means of measurement at that time. The shells are as small as rice, so that there is a technique in removing the shell. Basang, my auntie, would first boil water, then immerse the washed shells immediately, stir the pot until the shells which being bivalves easily open, thus exposing their white to grayish flesh which automatically separate from the shell and settle at the bottom of the pot, which is then gathered. This is done repeatedly until the shells are empty.  The soup is very rich in calcium and other minerals. It is served as soup, cooked with vegetables (bulanglang), or made into omelet.

This shell is now being endangered for a number of reasons. 

• It is gathered in large quantities together with other small shells and fed to ducks. The ballot industry requires tons and tons of live shells which are gathered along shorelines.
• Pollution has destroyed the natural habitat of this shell as well as other organisms.
• Beaches and shorelines continue to shrink as a result of tourism and advancing settlements.
• Conversion of mangroves, beaches and estuaries into fishponds has either destroyed or displaced countless species of marine and terrestrial organisms.  
• Aquaculture of mussels, oysters, seaweeds and fish does not include the culture of less important organisms such as ngarusangis. 
• Global warming renders water temperature intolerable to many organisms.  Rising sea level exacerbates this condition.   
  

      2. Glutinous rice with chicken blood is a rare treat.

The practice of gathering the blood while dressing the chicken is now rare. Well, it is because we get our chicken from the supermarket or grocery already dressed or frozen.  But in the good old days, chicken blood is mixed with glutinous rice (malagkit).  This is done by getting just enough rice, wash it quickly in a small shallow plate, and blood directly coming from the chicken is mixed and allowed to settle, solidifying in a minute or two.  It is easily dislodged from the plate when it is time to cook it with the chicken when cooking tinola (stew). We kids would automatically pick it up even while the stew is still in the pot, but our elders would divide it among ourselves to settle the issue.    

  3.  Padas Bagoong, a rare specialty but ecologically destructive.

Padas is the fry of spinefoot or rabbitfish, locally known as Malaga or samaral.  mainly of the species Siganus canaliculatus and S. concatenates and S corallinus and S. spinus. These species occur in schools in coastal areas around rocky and corals feeding on phytoplankton and browsing on seaweeds and seagrasses.  The grow up to 280 mm.  They tolerate a wide range of salinity that they enter rivers or go down to the open sea.

When passing through Urdaneta and Villasis Pangasinan you find padas bagoong in bottles sold on the shelf or by peddlers.  Sometimes the small fish is beautifully arranged in rows covering the entire bottle.  How skillfully and patiently is the art done considering how small the fry is.  It is preferable to buy  seasoned padas bagoong. Ask the seller; better still check it yourself.  The fish are well settled in the bottle with an appreciable amount of patis appearing as a layer on top. Get a bottle that is sell sealed – and of course, well filled.

Padas is the fry of Malaga or samaral which grows up to a kilo apiece, so that the practice of gathering padas must be strictly discouraged.  Ecologically we are destroying the species every time we patronize padas bagoong.  One kilo of padas probably amounts to several hundreds of individual fish that potentially matures in six months time. It is no wonder the price of samaral in the market is about twice that of ordinary fish.    

 (Ref. Conlu P V 1986 Fishes: Guide to Philippine Flora and Fauna Series) 

4. This is a favorite dish of Ilocanos known as “jumping salad.”  What is it really?

In Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (school-on-the-air) program, five callers phoned to give their  answers.  Except one who said he learned about this rare dish from a friend, the callers apparently Ilocanos, said they have actually tasted jumping salad.  This dish is prepared from newly caught small to medium shrimps from the estuaries and rivers, and while they are still very much alive are served right there and then with calamansi and salt, momentarily agitating the fated creatures.  Pronto! The shrimps, on removing the cover, frantically jump out of the plate, save the dazed one.  You should be skillful in catching them from the table (and even on the floor) deftly picking them by the head, taking caution so as not to get hurt by their sharp rostrum.  You can imagine the danger you face as the creature makes its last attempt to escape.  You must get a firm hold before putting the struggling creature into your mouth, tail first and quickly bite off the head, severing the sharp dagger in your hold. The creature wriggles in the cave of your mouth and you can actually feel its convulsion fading as it undergoes the initial process of digestion. Being an Ilocano myself, eating jumping salad is an adventure and rarely do you experience having one nowadays, unless you are living near the sea, river or lake, or a good friend brings live shrimps to town in banana stalk container to keep them alive. Try it; it’s one for the Book of Guinness. ~

BACK TO SCHOOL - A Self-Administered Test (TRUE or FALSE)

“Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child and one teacher can change the world.” – Malala Yousafzai

Dr Abe V Rotor

1. Parents must respect the right of their children – never open and scrutinize their school backpacks in their absence or without their permission.

2. Where and when feasible, encourage your child to walk or bike in going to school. It is an excellent way to keep him or her physically fit. Ensure the bike is in good condition, that the helmet fits properly and the bike is equipped with a bell and warning sign.

3. Ensure your children a healthy lunch (baon) and snacks that will provide them energy through the day. Secure their food and water in a convenient containers. Bottled water and juices are a great way to keep kids hydrated.

4. Don’t be too critical about carbonated softdrinks, zero calories and food with MSG (monosodium glutamate or vetsin)– these being deleterious to health is exaggerated. How could they be in the market and used by so many people if they are not safe? Don’t deprive your children from these foods.

5. Lay the breakfast table the night before. This will facilitate work during the rush hour, and allow the children to eat on their convenience, and according to their school schedule.

6. Put out your clothes the night before. Lay out a complete set of clothes for each child. Older children should do these themselves. You can double check when you say goodnight. Then if something is missing (like shoes need polishing) you have time to put it right. Lay your own clothes out too!

7. Set up base camp where the children keep all their school things. But each child must have his own things separate from the others’. There is a common place for sports equipment, reference books, shoes, umbrella, and the like. This will train them of group and individual discipline. Here goes the saying, “A place for everything and everything in its place.”

8. Fill out a schedule of what is needed at school on each day and pin it up at base camp. Check each morning before you walk out the door that you have the appropriate kit or backpack. Keep abreast with schedule and requirements of school activities. Plan ahead, that’s why you have a weekly and monthly planner.

9. Establish a place and time for doing homework and stick to it. Check computer, printer and other gadgets functioning. Have dictionaries and other necessary books nearby, as well as school tools and supplies always available. Always put the base camp in order after finishing home projects and assignments.

10. Set your watch exact on time, so with the alarm clock. In this way you are like the Swiss – they are always on time exact to the second. Your teacher will praise you for you exactness and promptness.

11. Write out an action plan for dealing with any chronic health conditions your child might be suffering like asthma and allergies to guide the school physician and your child's teachers in attending to him, especially during emergency.

12. Make sure that you have contact numbers of your child’s close companions, his school and teachers, especially the adviser. Keep up-to-date emergency phone numbers on ready file, for both you and other members of the family.

13. Have your kids minimize or avoid stimulating activities, such as computer games, within one hour before bedtime. And make sure they go to bed and wake up about the same time every day.

14. Laging handa (Be prepared always) - this Boy Scout motto applies to all. Is your car running short of gas? Is the ref empty? Who will take care of the pets? You will miss the bus. These are all parents’ responsibilities – the children are still young anyway.

15. There are schools that are so-called "diploma mills". It means these schools are at the low end of education where admission policies are extremely liberal. It’s all right to enroll your bright child in these schools and you will find out how he will shine.

16. One test to find out that these schools are at the low end is that their graduates have very low performance in professional board exams, low preference in employment, low priority in scholarships, grants and awards.

17. Your child’s study habit is based on his being an owl or lark, so to speak. This is just unfounded; anyone can study better either in the night of in the morning according to his choice and preference.

18. By the way the owl person is not so receptive in his studies in the evening specially deep into the night like the owl bird. It’s the lark that has this habit, that’s why it is happy to greet the day with a song.

19. No one actually is exempted from this evolutionary adaptation – either you are a night or day person. It’s a Darwinian survival mechanism. Any deviation is temporary, the genes have the final say.

20. If your child has shallow sleep, he sneezes like he has colds, it’s because his bedroom is inhabited with countless microscopic dust mites. They feed on flakes that fall off daily from the skin and hair. The best way to get rid of these mites is to use extra strong insecticide because mites are more resistant than insects.

21. Simplify and organize your room. The fewer things we have in our room the better. Take out those books, magazines, especially newspapers. Vacate the room of cosmetics, medicine and food. Take off the racks and shelves because they accommodate dust. And take that computer out of your room.

22. As long as your bedroom is presentable, you can make it as your work area with your classmates and friends. Why not?

23. The best schools are those accredited by local, national and international accrediting organizations that confer autonomous status and brand of excellence. More and more schools in the world today are relying on them rather than their own internal management systems.

24. School preparedness drills – earthquake, fire, terrorists – must not be taken for granted. Check your children’s working knowledge and acquired skills if these can be applied in the home as well.

25. Our children are our greatest assets in life, our legacy, our hopes and dreams. Invest in them for their future. Give them all they need, but don’t spoil them. The greatest thing we can give them is __________. ~

ANSWERS: 1t, 2t, 3t, 4f, 5t, 6t, 7t, 8t, 9t, 10f (5 or 10 minutes earlier), 11t, 12t, 13t, 14f, 15f, 16t, 17f, 18f, 19t, 20f, 21t, 22f, 23f, 24t, 25 Love.

Outstanding 23-25

Very Good 19-22

Good 15-18

Fair 11- 14

Failed 10 and below 

The Versatile Beetle - Source of Delightful Ideas

Dr Abe V Rotor

Beetles comprise nearly a quarter of all the described species on Earth. Over 350,000 species are known worldwide. 

 Coconut beetle (Oryctes rhinocerus).

They are the most varied in size and shape, color and design, and many species are grotesque, they can pass for aliens. There is virtually no place without beetles, and they can survive the passing of seasons by hibernation or aestivation in extreme cases.

But what is amazing is that the beetle is perhaps the most copied insect among inventors, architects, soldiers and school children. It is a source of other delightful ideas about food, games, art, love, and a lot more. Let’s take these examples.

* The famous Beetle - Volkwagen (PHOTO), and subsequent car models, are basically modeled as beetle-on-wheels.

* The armored car and the war tank like the German Panzer, are built almost invincible to conventional weapons, and could negotiate rough terrains as the beetle does.

* The dome of cathedrals (St Peter’s basilica) and sports arena (Roman Colosseum, modern sports complex) are shaped like the ladybug or the tortoise beetle. The dome is the distinguishing structure of Baroque and Gothic churches designed for strength and function, as well as beauty.

* The submarine, from its prototype Nautilus in Jules Verne’s novel, Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, to the U-Boat in World War II, are tough yet sleek like the beetle.

* The fuselage of modern airplanes is as solid and compact as the body of the beetle. (Airbus, Boeing 747) that as many as 500 passengers can be accommodated. The adjustable nose of the Concorde was patterned after the beetle’s telescopic body segments.

* Which led to the invention of retractable ramp ways, telescopes, wall divisions, blinds, doors, hose and a hundred-and-one household and industrial articles.

* Farm equipment (corn sheller, rice thresher, cone type rice mill) , and kitchenware (pressure cookers and ovens), owe their efficiency and durability to the structural design of the beetle.

* Fighter planes such as the Stealth combined the aerodynamic features of beetles and lepidopterans (moths). So with racing cars.

* The lining of furniture and cars is like the inner wings of the beetle (lower photo), while the tough cover of delicate instruments (watches, camera) are like the outer wings (elytra) of the beetle which are built to withstand shook, pressure and the elements.

* The concept of the lighthouse came from the firefly, which is actually a beetle, so with the insect’s mating signal. Blinkers of ships, tall buildings, airplanes, in war zone and camps, are traced to the blinking of the firefly.

* Yet the efficiency of the firefly’s lamp (PHOTO) can never be equaled - not even with our most advanced lamps. The more intriguing fact is its bioluminescence, which is light emitted directly from a living body. How glow worms light the deep caves is still a mystery.

* The Egyptians regarded the Scarabid beetle sacred to the level of worshiping it. The ladybug beetle is enshrined in children books, and idolized in cartoons and animaes.

I still remember this beautiful stanza which tells us how the ladybug got black spots on its wings.

“Ladybug, ladybug,

Where have you been?

Your house is on fire,

And your children are in.”

* The most colorful insects second to the lepidopterans are beetles. While they can’t produce sensible music but geek...geek...geek, or occasional clicking, a band named the Beatles have yet to be equaled in popularity. Though spelled differently the beetle-like hairdo of the band members is definitely a beetle-shape.

* On the other hand, the beetle is associated with vice. Gladiator beetles are reared like fighting cocks in some parts of the world particularly in Asia. When we were children we played with June beetles in a tug-of-war contest and bet on them. Male stag beetles fight reminds us of the knights in armor in the Middle Ages.

* The most dreadful thought about beetles is that they foretell of death. Actually it is the powder post beetle and the deathwatch beetle that this superstitious belief is alluded to. They bore tunnels in wood and in old furniture and in the silence of a dark night you

can hear them knocking, sometimes grating like whispering. Their knocking is actually coded love call, and differs according to species and time of the year.

* But what only few people know is that the beetle is nature’s miner, such as the leaf miner of coconut. The powder post beetle (Anobium punctatum) tunnels into dead wood, bring out the debris to the tunnel’s entrance just like what our miners do.

* The beetles may hold the secret of man’s quest for long life. Some furniture beetles can outlive their kindly host without being aware of their presence ensconced in unsuspecting tunnels almost invisible to the eye.

* Now the ultimate scare. Beetle bury the dead! A whole carcass of a rodent would disappear overnight at the site of its death. Examine the soil down under. The carrion beetle is nature’s gravedigger (sepulturero) - and joined by other insects, by bacteria and fungi, the cycle of converting the dead into its inorganic components is completed. Otherwise, the world would be one huge pile of dead bodies - and if not recycled, the world would be deprived of new life.

* But the beetles are perhaps the ultimate model of dedication when it comes to love, and they are very passionate, too. Lovemaking may last for hours. The male dung beetle for one, makes a perfect ball out of animal dung much heavier and bigger compared to its size. The tedious task of taking it to a suitable mate begins, traversing a considerable distance. This swain offers his dowry to a would-be bride. She examines it. On approval, she accepts him, oviposits several eggs into it where her offspring will carry on the next generation.

* Among the most loved exotic food come from the larvae of the beetle called grub. U-ok in felled logs is a giant grub of the long-horned beetle of kapok, two inches long, round and plump, full of “baby fat.” It is gathered by local folks, roasted or steamed in banana leaves. Sauteed abal-abal (Ilk) or salagubang (Tag) - Leucopholis irrorata - is a delicacy among Ilocanos and in many parts of the world. They swarm in May and June at the onset of habagat or monsoon.

Yet this insect is perhaps the most notorious pest, causing unimaginable loss in crops, stored products, wood, fabric, chemicals - and even metals like lead, prompting man to defend himself against the very creature that gave him ideas of many inventions, and models of thoughts.

Overall, the beetle is the most endearing insect to man. They are great pollinators, without them we would not have enough flowers, fruits and vegetables. The living world will starve as well. They provide a major link in the food chain, without them ecosystems would collapse. And the firefly is the most beautiful insect - if not among other creatures - because it lifts man’s awe and admiration next to the stars. ~

Beetles have two pairs of wings: the inner pair is designed for flying, while the outer wings are primarily to cover the soft abdomen and delicate wings. Beetles comprise the biggest order of insects - Coleoptera (Coleo - sheath, leathery; pteros - wings).

Bryophytes: Link of Protists and True Plants

Bryophytes are the intermediate forms of life between the Algae (Kingdom Protista) and the Tracheophytes (Vascular) or true plants. Bryophytes bridge the evolution of life in the Plant Kingdom.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Moss (Musci)

Liverwort (Marchantia) 

 Hornwort (Anthoceros)

Anyone who has seen “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids," or the second travel of Gulliver in Brodningnag, could easily place himself into imagery where small things are very big.

A blade of grass becomes a perfect slide, an ant becomes a pony for going places, a raindrop can knock one down hard.

Now imagine the lowly moss to be as large as a tree. A liverwort becomes a large green carpet shaped like a liver. A hornwort has pinnacles in Gothic style. When you are microscopic in size, everything you see around you becomes large.

Bryophytes are the link between the two kingdoms of the protists, and the true (or vascular) plants. They are early forms of plants, which botanists believe to have stopped evolving. Thus, they are today what they were millions of years ago. They are, indeed, living fossils.

Observe a piece of rock covered with bryophytes. It appears like a miniature forest under the magnifying glass. It is dense and every space is occupied by structures that look like trunks and leaves. On closer look, however, these structures are not true organs, because they lack vascular tissues, which are found in higher plants. The tissues are needed for water and food to flow to keep the plant alive.

Alternation of Generations

The moss has a unique two-in-one life cycle. Botanists describe the gametophyte as either male or female plant, while the sporophyte is one containing the total number of chromosomes. The former carries only half the number of chromosomes (haploid). When the sporophyte plant matures, it produces spores, which will germinate and develop into gametophytes. When the gametophytes mature, they form both eggs and sperms that fuse together to form a zygote. The zygote grows into another sporophyte that will carry the next generation. This alternation of generation is the key to the survival of bryophytes even under harsh conditions.

Bryophytes are Nature’s Soil Builder

When the plants are uprooted, one will find soil underneath. This means that bryophytes grow on rock by digesting it first with acid. The softened rock yields to the roots and releases elements needed for growth and development. As the plants die, their organic debris is mixed in with the rock particles and form into soil.

Since bryophytes are short-lived and seasonal, the soil deposit becomes thicker by each generation, with the plant borders extending to form new frontiers. Soon entire walls and rocks become covered like a green carpet. As the bryophyte community expands to reach its peak and climax, more and more organisms become dependent on it. Millipedes find it an ideal place for a home, while providing their nutrition. Insects frequent the place as a hunting ground for their prey. Frogs, however, stay near the byrophytes to stalk the insects.

Bryophytes Create a Microclimate

A carpet of mosses on the wall or rock feels soft to the touch. It is thick and spongy. When it rains, the carpet absorbs and stores the water. At night and early in the morning, dew precipitates and is absorbed by the moss, creating a microclimate in the surrounding area that is favorable to other plants.

With the passage of time, new plants grow out from the middle of the carpet. This is the beginning of the second part of plant invasion, courtesy of the ferns. The plants are large and diverse, the forerunners of vascular plants which once dominated the Carboniferous forest, even before the dinosaurs roamed the earth.

Ferns actually form a canopy above the moss carpet, and as they do, they block the sun, wrest for space and compete for water. Fern roots wedge the open cracks in the rock, sending boulders down together with their tenants. While it is catastrophe to the pioneering plants, it is advantage to others. Nature works its way following a formula aimed at dynamic balance or homeostasis.

Soon the bryophytes do not only lose their dominance to the ferns, they have lost the place. Their job is over because the rock is gone.

“What good is rock when it loses the essence from which life rises?”

So thus the fern continue to change the landscape. When nature writes “finis” to the lowly moss, larger plants, like trees, come around, and soon the place becomes a forest. And life goes on.
--------------------------------------------

Phylogeny of the Bryophytes 

Land plants	Liverworts Mosses Hornworts Polysporangiophytes "Protracheophytes", such as Horneophyton or Aglaophyton Tracheophytes or Vascular plants

Acknowledgement: Photos Wikipedia

Tanglad and soro-soro: best stuff for lechon

Tanglad and soro-soro: best stuff for lechon

Lemon Grass or tanglad (Baraniw Ilk) and sorosoro (karimbuaya Ilk) are the most popular spices to stuff lechon - baboy, baka, manok, and big fish like bangus.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Tanglad - Andropogon citratus DC

Soro-soro - Euphorbia neriifolia

These are wild plants that do not need cultivation; they simply grow where they are likely useful, indeed an evidence of co-evolution of a man-plant relationship. Tradition and culture evolve this way. Scientists elevated this knowledge to what is called ethnobotany, a subject in the graduate school. Retrieving and conserving traditional knowledge is as important as beating a new path.

For tanglad, all you have to do is gather the mature leaves, sometimes roots, make them into a fishful bundle and pound it to release the aromatic volatile oil. Stuff the whole thing into the dressed chicken or pig or calf to be roasted (lechon). Chop the leaves when broiling fish. Crushed leaves are used to give a final scrub. Tanglad removes the characteristic odor (malansa) and imparts a pleasant aroma and taste.

Tanglad is also used to spice up lemonade and other mixed drinks. It is an excellent deodorizer for bathrooms and kitchen. It is also used in the preparation of aromatic bath.

Not so many people know that sorosoro makes an excellent stuff for lechon. The mature leaves are chopped tangential and stuffed into the dressed chicken or bangus for broiling. It has high oil content in its milky sap. It leaves a pleasant taste and it serves as a salad itself. It has a slight sour taste. Like tanglad, sorosoro removes the characteristic flesh and fishy odor. Add chopped ginger, onion and garlic as may be desired.

One word of caution: The fresh sap of sorosoro may cause irritation of the eye and skin. Wash hands immediately. Better still, use kitchen gloves.

Happy cooking.
Book Reference: Living with Folk Wisdom by the author 2010 UST Publishing House

Garlic makes an effective and safe pesticide

Garlic makes an effective and safe pesticide
Dr Abe V Rotor

There's a universal belief that garlic drives evil spirits away. Well, this time it's insect pest that it will drive out of your garden.

Here are five ways to do it, entomologists (experts on insects) tell us.

1. Plant garlic among your garden plants, say mustard, tomato, pepper, okra, beans, and let it grow with them. Here is a caution though. Don't plant it too close to the crop so as to avoid its allelopathic effect (chemical secretion from its roots to compete with nearby plants).

Garlic serves as natural repellant of insects that would otherwise attack these crops, as well as ornamental plants. You can even harvest the bulbs at the end of the season. By the way, fresh garlic leaves are used in the kitchen like those of its relatives, kutchai (Allium tuberosum) and onion (Allium sepa). Try on fried eggs, batchoy and mami.

2. Hang garlic bulb on trellis and viny crops like patola (Luffa), ampalaya, cucumber, sitao,batao,and the like. Garlic exudes a repelling odor that keeps destructive insects at bay. Now and then crush some cloves in the open to refresh the garlic odor.

3. Make a spray solution direct from its cloves. The simple method is to soak crushed garlic cloves in water for a few minutes, then spray or sprinkle the solution on plants attacked by aphids, mites, caterpillars, and other pests. Adjust strength of solution to the severity of infestation.

Other than its repellant properties, garlic is also anti-bacterial and anti-viral. It could be for this that it was used to ward off the Bubonic Plague carrier - a flea (Xenopsylla cheopis) during the Dark Ages in Europe. It's no wonder people at that time believed in the power of this species of the Lily family in driving away evil spirits.

4. This is another method. Soak approximately 100 grams of chopped garlic cloves in about 50 ml of mineral oil (turpentine or kerosene) or cooking oil for 24 hours. This is then slowly mixed with 500 ml of water in which 20 grams of powdered natural soap (Perla or Ivory) has been dissolved. Soap serves as emulsion to make oil and water miscible. Stir the solution well and strain it with an old shirt or nylon stocking, then store the filtrate in an earthen or glass container and keep it in a cool, dark place.

This serves as mother stock, ready for use, diluting it one part to twenty parts of water, or down to one part per hundred. It is reputed to be an effective insecticide against most common garden pests. It can be sprayed or sprinkled liberally on practically all plants, including ornamentals and orchids.

5. Garlic is planted as "trap crop." In spite of its repellant properties garlic is not pest-free. There are insects that attack it, such as thrips (Thrips tabaci), flea beetle (Epitrix), white flies (Bemesia), and some plant bugs (Hemiptera). Just allow the standing garlic plants to attract these insects, thus saving other crops from being attacked by the same insects. Then rouge the infested garlic plants and burn together with the pest.

Garlic can save us a lot of money, and eliminates the hazard to health and environment caused by chemical insecticides. It is an ancient practice in the Fertile Crescent, Egypt and ancient China, a key to natural and sustainable farming and a balance ecosystem. ~

MOTHER NATURE CRUCIFIED: Remembering Our Suffering Mother Nature on Mothers' Day (May 12, 2019)

MOTHER NATURE CRUCIFIED

"I am Nature crucified, hungry, thirsty, imprisoned, naked, abandoned – wishing some souls to stop, look and listen." AVR

Dr Abe V Rotor  

Silhouette of a tree skeleton, Manila (AVR Photo)

I am Nature crucified, Paradise lost to my own guardian
whom my Creator assigned custodian of the living earth;

I am Nature crucified by loggers, my kin and neighbors
annihilated, forever removed from their place of birth;

I am Nature crucified by slash-and-burn farming dreaded
- once lush forests now bare, desertification their fate;

I am Nature crucified, greedy men with giant machines
take hours to destroy what I built for thousands of years;

I am Nature crucified in the name of progress, countries
vying for wealth and power, fighting among themselves;

I am Nature crucified, rivers are dammed, lakes dried up,
swamps drained, estuaries blocked, waterways silted;

I am Nature crucified, the landscape littered with wastes,
gases into the air form acid rain, and thin the ozone layer;

I am Nature crucified, flora and fauna losing their natural
gene pools by selective breeding and genetic engineering;

I am Nature crucified, the earth is in fever steadily rising,
ice caps and glaciers melting, raising the level of the sea;

I am Nature crucified, privacy and rest becoming a luxury
in a runaway population living on fast lanes, and rat race.

I am Nature crucified, inequitable distribution of wealth
the source of conflict, greed and poverty, unhappiness;

I am Nature crucified by the promise of heaven in afterlife,
the faithful restrained to regain Paradise while on earth.

I am Nature crucified by scholars of never ending debates,
on the goodness of the human race in fraternal praises;

I am Nature crucified by the many denominations of faith,
pitting God against one another in endless proselytizing;

I am Nature crucified by licenses of freedom in extremism,
human rights and democracy - tools of inaction and abuse;

I am Nature crucified by mad scientists splitting the atom,
building cities, tearing the earth, probing ocean and space;

I am Nature crucified by capitalism, consumerism its tool
to stir economy worldwide, wastefulness it consequence;

I am Nature crucified by the unending pursuit of progress,
the goal and measure of superiority, nation against nation;

I am Nature crucified by man’s folly to become immortal:
cryonics, cloning, robotics - triumvirates for singularity.

I am Nature crucified, hungry, thirsty, imprisoned, naked,
abandoned – wishing some souls to stop, look and listen. ~

 
Children of Nature on the move to save Mother Earth (Internet photos)

2019 Election Quote: "I am looking for an honest man." - Diogenes

"I am looking for an honest man." Diogenes holding a lamp in midday.
Dr Abe V Rotor

Diogenes used to stroll about in full daylight with a lamp.  When asked what he was doing, he would answer, "I am just looking for an honest man."  Diogenes looked for a human being but reputedly found nothing but rascals and scoundrels.  

Oh, Diogenes, don't despair,
put off your lamp at midday;
save it for the darkest hour,
when people rage than pray,
storm the Bastille, cry the trilogy:
Liberte', Egalite', Fraternite'.

and if that dawn be spilled 
with crimson then let it be
in the halls of true justice,
for heads to roll in ignominy;
if so few make no difference
light again your lamp at midday. ~   AVR 

It was in Corinth that a meeting between Alexander the Great and Diogenes is supposed to have taken place. While Diogenes was relaxing in the sunlight in the morning, Alexander, thrilled to meet the famous philosopher, asked if there was any favor he might do for him. Diogenes replied, "Yes, stand out of my sunlight". Alexander then declared, "If I were not Alexander, then I should wish to be Diogenes.", to which Diogenes replied "If I were not Diogenes, I should also wish to be Diogenes." In another account of the conversation, Alexander found the philosopher looking attentively at a pile of human bones. Diogenes explained, "I am searching for the bones of your father but cannot distinguish them from those of a slave. (Wikipedia)

Diogenes preferred to live a simple life and had no permanent home, but in public places.  Here he lives in a discarded jar, holding the proverbial lamp that made him famous. Pictures from Wikipedia.

Diogenes Quotes 

1. Those who have virtue always in their mouths, and neglect it in practice, are like a harp, which emits a sound pleasing to others, while itself is insensible of the music.2. I have nothing to ask but that you would remove to the other side, that you may not, by intercepting the sunshine, take from me what you cannot give.

3. Wise kings generally have wise counselors; and he must be a wise man himself who is capable of distinguishing one.

4. I threw my cup away when I saw a child drinking from his hands at the trough.

5. We have two ears and one tongue so that we would listen more and talk less.

6. The vine bears three kinds of grapes: the first of pleasure, the second of intoxication, the third of disgust.

7. As a matter of self-preservation, a man needs good friends or ardent enemies, for the former instruct him and the latter take him to task.

8. I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world.

9. The foundation of every state is the education of its youth.

10.. When I look upon seamen, men of science and philosophers, man is the wisest of all beings; when I look upon priests and prophets nothing is as contemptible as man.

Photo:Diogenes looking for a man - attributed to JHW Tischbein.jpg; picture of painting from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; quotes from BrainyQuote Internet. Diogenes of Sinope (also Diogenes the Cynic) was a Greek philosopher and one of the founders of Cynic philosophy. Also known as Diogenes the Cynic, he was born in Sinope, an Ionian colony on the Black Sea, in 412 or 404 BCE and died at Corinth in 323 BCE

Writing hones the senses

Writing hones the senses into deeper thinking and analysis, catalyzes understanding and comprehension, and keeps memory longer.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Writing on the ground with stick – it’s blackboard of sort, 
and more.  Puerto Sunken Pier, San Ildefonso, Ilocos Sur

Without map and you are in the field, the best thing you can do is get a stick and draw on the ground.

That’s how village folks plan out irrigation schedules, show the location of a remote sitio (purok), design a makeshift hut – or simply to while away time in thoughts and ideas.

Christ did write on the ground, and on one occasion made two curves facing each other to look like fish - one end its tail, the other its head. It is the simplest yet most symbolic drawing I’ve ever seen. Before he uttered these famous words, “He who has no sin, casts the first stone,” He wrote something on the ground which we can only assume to be a mark of supreme meditation.
Writing hones the senses into deeper thinking and analysis, catalyzes understanding and comprehension, and keeps memory longer. Scientists say that we learn but a measly one-fourth of the lesson by just listening to it alone, but with the use of pen and paper, learning can be enhanced twice, if not thrice.
“Put it in writing,” goes a saying. Yes, even only on the ground as our old folks have always done.

By the way, who has not experienced “writing love letters on the sand?” Listen to balladeer, Pat Boone, sing the song of the same title, and you know what I mean.

Or write your problems where the sea rises and ebbs, and watch how the waves erase them away. This is therapeutic, try it. ~

On Writing
By Abe V Rotor

1. To Jose Rizal: (PHOTO)

Your enemies tried to silence you,

and curtailed your freedom;

the lamp flickers its last rays at dawn
to seal your martyrdom.

2. To Aesop:
Ah! Animals talk louder than men

though in screech, crow and bleat;

yet by moral and sanity, speak
not the language on the street.

3. To Ernest Hemingway:
You seemed as brave as the old man
in your great masterpiece;
the soldier, the hunter, the dreamer -
yet wanting a life of peace.

4. To Charles Darwin:
You did not give up to your critics,
who only prayed and preached;
Around the world you witnessed,
Change by random and fit.

5. To Lola Basiang (penname of Severino Reyes (PHOTO, right)
You touched a million-and-one lives,
around campfires in their prime;
like Grimm and Anderson and Homer,
storytellers of all time. 

6. To Boris Pasternak
Zhivago, to the end walked away alone,
from  love neither in winter nor fallow;
what romance away from the war zone  
wrapped him in doubt and sorrow.

7. To Mark Twain  (PHOTO) 

I am a boy forever, Tom or Huck,
down the Mississippi loafing;
and let the world go on sans care
what grownups are missing.  

8. To Robert Louis Stevenson 
"Kidnapped" made a boy into a man
too soon to faced a cruel world;
learning quickly the art of war 
deceit and conceit, gun and sword.

9. To Oscar Wilde (PHOTO)
You're a creator of characters and events,
in novels, stories, and plays 
children and adults alike on the armchair
live in those times and places. 

10. To Arthur Conan Doyle
"Sherlock Holmes" lives to this day,
idol of any detective;
"The Lost World" remains of the past,
is back in our midst to live.