Ideas that are changing the way we live

 Ideas that are changing the way we live  

Dr Abe V Rotor 
Living with Nature School on Blog

1. Solitary living is the biggest social change. 
We may not be aware that living alone is a new norm, as people go and live in cities, and as people are left behind on the countryside. Conventional domestic life is giving way to modern living in condominiums, apartments, hotels.  Transience takes people away from their place of birth. Young people seek adventure, they travel far and wide,  they give more importance to career. Result: the nuclear family is dying. Travel, career, and adventure have changed the lives of the younger generations. Living solo as percentage of all household) is highest in 

1. Sweden (47%), followed by . 
2. Britain (34%) 
3. Japan (31%), 
4. Italy (29%), 
5. US (28%),
6.  Canada (27%), 
7. Russia 25%),
8.  South Africa 24%)
9.  Brazil has 10%, while 
10. India is among the lowest with only 3%.  There is no available data of other countries, which includes the Philippines.(From Euromonitor International, and US Census, 2011) Photo: Henry David Thoreau, wrote Walden Pond while living in a forest clearing for a year to demonstrate man's craving for peaceful solitude, and detachment from a repressive society.  

Fear of social isolation and social splintering has many consequences from loneliness to disconnectedness, threatening social institutions like marriage, the concept of community, and nationalism. Living alone however, proponents say, helps people to pursue sacred modern values like personal freedom, personal control and self-realization. It liberate people to do what they want, when they want on their own terms. Expanding social network offers many benefits to the soloist: time and space for restorative solitude. 

2. The rise of the nones (people with no religious affiliation)
More and more communities around the would no longer gather in churches every Sunday. But as a congregation they engage in spiritual conversation and prayer, visiting the sick,and working together to serve the poor. Many of them have given up their traditional religious institutions which they view as flavorless, tough, and dogmatic. And yet these expats are the ones leading unorthodox ways to build spiritual lives. Their numbers are fast increasing; it is estimated at 16% of the US, more than double that in 1990, with only 4% identifying themselves atheist or agnostic.

Sister Veny Rotor (left)is a lay Franciscan, a more recent congregation. Franciscans lead the life of Francis of Assisi, liberated from the strict cloistered life of nuns.

Among the reasons behind the rise of nones are sex-abuse scandals in the Catholic church to entanglement of faith in politics, as well as passivity of church to current issue, no to mention inexplicable wealth and wealth privileges of religious organizations.  With today's literacy and expanding social network faiths are beginning to regard the bible stories as fiction. The bible is the bloodiest book ever written and yet it is the widest read book through the centuries. 

People hunger for spiritual connection and community has not gone away. Forty percent of the unaffiliated respondents in a 2009 survey are fairly religious, and are still hoping to eventually find the right religious home. For most, they are not rejecting God, they are rejecting organized religion as being rigid and dogmatic.

3. "Your head is in the cloud."
More and more information come to us more than our head can handle.We are outsourcing our memory, a change in cognitive habit, to search engines, like Google, smart phones, so that virtually we need not 

1. memorize
2. analyze 
3. evaluate, or even make 
4. judgment
5. conclude and
6. recommend

Here are three new realities in our computer age.

1. When we don't know the answer to a question, we think about where we can find the nearest Web connection.
2. When we expect to be able to find information again later on, we don't remember it as well as when we think it might become unavailable. (Because we have saved the information  we care less in remembering it internally.)
3. The expectation that we will be able to locate information down the line leads us to form a memory not of the fact  itself but of where we will be able to find it. 
4. We are becoming symbiotic with our computer tools (turning to cyborg).  This leads us to transactive memory - unspoken arrangement by which people dole out memory tasks to each individual, with information to be shared when needed. 
5. Facts cannot be Googled, they must be stored in the original hard drive - our long term memory.  Skills like critical thinking and analysis must develop in the contexts of facts.  We need something to think and reason about.  Factual knowledge must precede skill., such as the multiplication table. This is very important to children.

The experience of losing our Internet connection becomes more and more like losing a friend."- Annie Murphy Paul,author of Origins and Time columnist 

Refrence: Time Magazine March 12, 2012

 4. "Handprints, not footprints" (Help in cleaning the earth, not polluting it, as measured by Carbon buildup (footprint) or Carbon reduction (handprint)  

It's a simple equation, whether you contribute or lessen carbon.  The equation is a basis in determining if you are an enemy or friend of the environment. And this is posed to each and every individual, to farming, industry, and practically all institutions of human society.

Here are handprints  (environment-friendly activities.

1. plant trees and take care of them
2. use organic fertilizer
3. convert farm waste to biogas
4. use paper rather than plastic
5. natural ventilation, instead of air conditioned homes
6. vegetarian, rather than meat eater
7. natural fiber instead of synthetic .   
8. simple life, rather than ostentatious
9. eat less processed food
10. walk, bike, rather than drive or ride  

Here are footprints (environment- degrading activities)

1. obesity. overweight
2. poor car maintenance
3. high rise buildings
4. High technology
5. fossil fuel dependent 
6. always traveling, specially by air
7. cosmetics dependence
8. poor ventilated buildings and homes
9. sophisticated technology 
10. runaway population
11. meat-based economy

Alternative energy wind; harvesting rainwater 

Governments led by the US have began instituting reforms through laws and regulations, as well as  subsidy and tax incentives, to companies, communities and institutions that contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions and other wastes (eg CFC), in producing carbon-arresting materials and substances, bio-remediation of wastes, and maintaining balance ecosystems.    

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

Insects, insects everywhere! Insects in verses

 Insects, insects everywhere!  Insects in verses

"If we were to wipe out insects alone on this planet, the rest of life and humanity with it would mostly disappear from the land. Within a few months." - E. O. Wilson

Dr Abe V Rotor

Precariously perched, oh Dragonfly;

     your doom awaits below;

a leap away or two, and time ticks,

     for there's no tomorrow. 

Bird droppings, these caterpillars assume;

     to deceive their enemies;

until they emerge - long secret preserved,

     mystery to the scientists.     

Anona fruit borers feast in numbers - 

     their survival, yet their doom;

when too many, and fruits are few,

     and there's not enough room.

Bagworm, turtle in the insect world;

carries its house as it roams around, 

bit by bit builds a beautiful mansion,

only to abandon it in the final round.

Green like a leaf and slim like snake, 

     this caterpillar bold and free;

Pavlov could be wrong to insects,

     and Charles Darwin in mimicry.    

Cicada, it's the male shrilling in the trees,

     love call to the females on the run;

then a would-be bride or two come close    

     to Romeo and Caruso rolled into one.

Cotton Stainer - guess what is the first dye, 

    but its saliva in the cotton boll;

ever wonder how designs of fabric are made,

    but stains in colors, hues and all.

Oriental cockroach - filthiest of all insects,

     yet catholic - a cleaning habit it got;

of millions of germs it carries and spreads,

     it too, disposes more through its gut. 

Termites, how canny, deceitful;

     disguised as coy and shy;

yet could bring a house crushing

     down amidst fear and cry. 

Nature's executioner - preying mantis;

     killer by instinct, pious in look, 

yet friendly to gardens and farms,

     devouring pest in every nook.

Psylla lice - the scourge of ipil-ipil trees,

     epidemic to the imported varieties, 

wiping out plantations in the seventies,

     save the indigenous lowly species.  

A butterfly makes a garden   

    with sunrise in union,

plants to bloom to carry on

   the next generation.

    

Wasp pollinator - enigma of procreation

     of a fig by co-evolution;

by rule, one cannot live without the other 

     in Nature's strictest order.

 

Stinkbug, how divergent its life is

   with inviting coloration,

repugnant odor, to attract and repel,

   for freedom and admiration.

Tiger moth, remote mimicry 

     of a dreadful brute;

if threat is preserved this way

     what then is truth? 

Rhinoceros beetle, fierce looking male,

     all bluff in a dangerous world;

the female coy and naive her strategy,

     both stronger than the sword.

Leafhoppers - minute yet destructive  

     in countless number;

sipping the vitality of plants 

     turning them green to amber. ~ 

I Love Insects for Their Presence and Abundance

  I Love Insects for Their Presence and Abundance

"I love insects for whatever nature designed them to be, their role in health and sickness, , sorrow and joy, ugliness and beauty, deprivation and abundance, even in life and death..."  avr

Dr Abe V Rotor

 

Rhinocerus beetle (Oryctes rhinocerus)

1. I love insects for their honey, the sweetest sugar in the world, elixir, energy-packed, aphrodisiac, therapeutic, the culinary and confectionery arts it makes;

2. I love insects for their silk no human fabric can equal - cool in summer, warm in winter, velvety to the touch, flowing and free, friendly to the wind and sun, lovely in the night, royal on the throne, smooth to the skin, hypoallergenic, dynamic to fashion and casual wear;

3. I love insects for their shellac, the best varnish that lasts for years, unequaled by synthetic substitutes; their wax, the best lubricant and natural polish that makes the dancing floor alive and schoolrooms happy.

4. I love insects for the resin they produce with certain plants which is used in worships, to bring the faithful to their knees, similarly to calm down fowls on their roost, drive vermin or keep them at bay, pacify and make peace with the unseen spirits;

A pair of stinkbugs (Nezara viridula)

5. I love insects for the amber, transparent rock originally from resin, which forever entrapped fossils of insects and other organisms, complete with their genes and attendant evidences of natural history, enabling us to read the past, turning back the hands of time in visual imagery;

6. I love insects for their crimson dye produced by certain scale insects that made the robes of kings and emperors, and only they were privileged to wear; likewise for their phosphorescence like the wing scales of butterflies that make the most beautiful and expensive paint for cars today;

7. I love insects for their medicinal substances they produce - antibiotics from fly maggot and soldier ants, cantharidin from blister beetle, formic acid for weak heart, bee sting for rheumatism;

8. I love insects as food, high in protein and minerals, elixir and stimulant, not only in times of famine but as exotic food in class restaurants, and on occasions that bring closer bonding among members of communities and cultures;

9. I love insects for all the fruits and vegetables, the multiplication of plants, geographically and seasonally, through their being the world's greatest pollinators; and in effect make the ecosystems wholesome, complete and alive;

10. I love insects for disposing garbage, of bringing back to nature organic compounds into elemental forms ready to be used again by the succeeding generations of living things. 

11. I love insects for play, and for lessons in life - how they jump and fly, carry tremendous load which I wish I could, how they practice frugality, patience, fraternity, and how they circle a candle one lonely night and singed into its flame that inspires heroism and martyrdom;

12. I love insects for whatever nature designed them to be, their role in health and sickness, , sorrow and joy, ugliness and beauty, deprivation and abundance, even in life and death, for I have learned that without insects, we humans - so with many other organisms - would not be here on earth.~

Idyllic Life on the Countryside

Idyllic Life on the Countryside 

In our dreams, the scenario is fresh, our childhood remains as living memories we cherish to face the world willingly and courageously.

Mural and Verse by Dr Abe V Rotor 

     Idyllic Life on the Countryside mural (5 ft x 12 ft) by AV Rotor 2010 

Living childhood memories of many years ago, nothing comes between adventure and joy, not even danger and old folks' advice,

Save the wind that takes our kites up, up into the sky, transfigured into images of bird, clown, dancing lady, pyramid, and many more,

Clouds rising and drifting, carving the sky with many faces, animals, monsters, ever changing in ephemeral appearance and sequence.

Between heaven and earth to a child are things real and perceived by the curious senses attuned to the sights and sounds of nature.

Home to us is a hut sans amenities, banana leaf for plate, three stones a stove, bamboo slats a bed, window and door are one.

Who gets the biggest catch is a hero, the best in kite flying, the best swimmer, best carabao rider, best tree climber, they are heroes, too.

Rules are few where freedom is open, when everyone is a kid, when parents are at home, and we kids have a kingdom of our own.

Everyone is called by alias name, by comparison with creatures, queer looks, or by any circumstance in friendly lampoon and jest.

Who cares about time but the shadow of trees and our own, the fowls going to their roost, and grownups calling us to go home?

When darkness start settling, the leaves of acacia drooping low, our kites no longer fly in the gathering silence of the end of day.

And the day ends, yet it is but a chapter of a long story of childhood spent in idyllic life in the country that city kids would hear and envy.

In our dreams, the scenario is fresh, our childhood remains as living memories we cherish to face the world willingly and courageously. ~

A thing of beauty is a boy forever

 A thing of beauty is a boy forever

Dr Abe V Rotor

Boys Fishing in acrylic, AVR

Don't grow up, don't - not yet; 

don't be a man too soon; 

if you do, the fish will no longer bite; 

silent will be the stream and trees; 

echoes of laughter in the wind mute 

and emptiness will reign. 

Don't grow up, don't - not yet; 

you'll be man when it comes, 

growing full into a sage, 

once a boy on the stream fishing, 

whiling time away in the tenderness 

of growing up, tempered by 

sweet memories that will live on and on; 

for a thing of beauty is a boy forever.~

                           

Homecoming After Half a Century - A Tribute

 Homecoming After Half a Century  - A Tribute

"Homecoming, the greatest expression of belongingness and love, of guardianship, reverence and respect, is imprimatur in each member,

indelible credential, a gem forever shining through!" -avr

Dr Abe V Rotor*

ROSARIANS HS 1967 (Rosary College is now St. Paul College of Ilocos Sur)

The world has changed a lot, so with these graduates five decades ago;
their alma mater now on new campuses, from an old colonial building in their time still standing in the midst of business;  

Metamorphosis the term when change is hardly traced back, when the beginning  was but a dream and the end, the reality of life, its joy and sorrow, success and failure;

Of travel and within walls, yet free in the mind and spirit to seek out, to search something beyond; at the end return with instinct biological and social to a home, sweet home;

Home the place of birth, home the alma mater waiting for the returning child, home the community has long missed, perhaps forgotten, home the roots of their ancestors;

And bring home the news at last with sigh of nostalgia, the happiest moment though fleeting, with rays of wrinkles at the corner of the eyes, symbol of fulfillment in life;  

Of surrender to fate and will of the Omnipotent, circumstances beyond the human being, existentialism and immanentism sweetly combined, real and abstract, romantic and classic, too.

Periodicity to which all surrenders that envelops the whole lifetime floating infinitesimally, each one a minuscule in the sands of time and space, waking up in an unknown land; 

Across the seas, yonder lies the dreams of childhood and youth, with a frail craft riding on wind and tides, wishing for that time success is found, and cry, Eureka! Eureka!

Serendipity more than discovery on purpose and struggle is perhaps the biggest gift of rationality and humanity, why the world would not be as beautiful as it is today!

Serendipity is Providence, the workings of an unknown hand, answer to prayer and unconditional wish, providence that serves more than the self

towards fellowmen, it is indeed mystery;

To come back after half a century is providence, to be remembered when gone by colleagues is Providence too, for the spirit of togetherness in goodness is alive and immortal;

Homecoming, the greatest expression of belongingness and love, of guardianship, reverence and respect, is imprimatur in each member,

indelible credential, a gem forever shining through! ~

*Dr Rotor is the husband of Cecilia Rojas (in red and black), author  Living with Nature Series; and former professor, UST, DLSU and St Paul University QC.

Indigenous Art: Haystack (mandala) – 7 principles that make the mandala a wonder of the world

Haystack (mandala) 

7 principles that make the mandala a wonder of the world 

Haystacks fascinated Vincent van Gogh.  He made several paintings of the same subject.

 Dr Abe V Rotor 

 

Haystacks fascinated Vincent van Gogh.  He made several painting of the same subject. Here are three versions.  Upper photo focuses on idyllic life beside a haystack, as if it give comfort and warmth to tired souls. It's  Van Gogh's characteristic style, like his Starry Night. The second version (left) shows well-balanced haystacks with perfect cone.  The third  shows a twisted haystack apparently moved out of its center of gravity.  

The mandala is indeed an engineering feat, especially the tall ones.  Without any structural reinforcement except a single post, usually bamboo, at the center, this giant mushroom-like heap of rice hay can grow very high, up to twelve feet, although farmers today prefer to build smaller mandala but in groups. It is mainly because the varieties planted now are shorter than the native varieties that are now rare. Here are some amazing features of the mandala.

• When it rains the haystack gets wet only on the outside (animal fur principle).
• There is natural ventilation inside the stack preventing growth of fungi and bacteria, and the buildup of heat.
• Aerodynamics kept the structure in shape, whatever is the strength and direction of wind. 
• The haystack supplies domestic animals their regular supply of roughage, until the next harvest comes. As the lower part of the stack is consumed by the animal the whole weight slowly comes down to replenish it.
• The remaining hay is used as mulch for vegetables and seedlings. It is also used as mushroom bed, temporary roofing and shed, and material for making compost.
• It is often a practice to stock palay-on-the-stalk (unthreshed) mandala style, a practical way of storage, where there are no poachers and rodents. 
• The mandala is a associated with village festivities. Our national artist, Fernando Amorsolo painted immortal scenes around the mandala.

Next time you travel to the countryside find time to visit the mandala.  Take time to examine its structure. Ask the builders their secrets - the seven principles that make the mandala a wonder of the world. 

It's kite flying time, portion of a mural painted by the author; bottom, a detail of the mural emphasizing a colonyof a mural, Ic. 2002 

I

 Mandala, typical in the Ilocos Region and Central Luzon, and other parts of the country.  The mandala is associated with idyllic life, a respite on the part of the farmer, a time to fly kites for children, vacation time in the province.  The mandala is a symbol of prosperity and security.