Have you tasted Sea Urchin?

June 14, 2016, 3:22 am

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(Echinus esculentus L)
Esculentus means "edible" and sea urchin roe is used as food around the world.   It is not actually the eggs that are eaten but the gonads or reproductive organs - which gives the popular belief that it is an aphrodisiac food. 

Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature - School on Blog (avrotor.blogspot.com)
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM, [www.pbs.gov.ph] 8-9 evening class Monday to Friday

 
 
A harvest of sea urchin off the coast of Dumaguete, Oriental Negros. It is served in a floating restaurant while cruising to watch for whales and dolphins, a tourist attraction.
-----------We call it in Ilocano maritangtang, referring to any species distinctly ball shaped with radiating spines, short or long, variegated of pitch black, some almost bald, while others covered with spikes that almost hide the real body.

And what an extreme impression we have about this enigmatic marine creature which occupies the highest rung of the evolutionary ladder of invertebrates. (Poriferans - the sponges, occupy the lowest rung). This means that the members of Phylum Echinodermata have well developed senses and organs, except for brain!

Luckily Nature has endowed the members highly sensitive senses to adapt to their environment - gregarious, wide range feeders, and armored with thick exoskeleton with radiating spikes and poisonous sting that few predators would dare to attack them. No wonder they live up to 5 years, and in the case of the pink sea urchin 200 years! It is one of the longest living creatures on earth!

Beware! Don't walk the sea floor barefooted. And where sea urchins abound in colonies, the sea floor appears like a beautiful tapestry with iridescent glow, so inviting you are seeing another world. In most places though, sea urchins live in small groups, often camouflaged by silt, seaweeds, sea grasses or simply by the coral reef on which they live.

As a professor in marine biology at the UST Graduate School I always emphasize never to underestimate the sea urchin. Getting a stab requires quick remedy, and if one steps of the black one (photo), medical attention becomes necessary, not only for the wound but possible allergic reaction.
So how do you treat the sea urchin other than not to touch it? Just observe, photograph, or ask a local guide to pick it up for you as specimen. Keep it in a jar of formalin or alcohol solution for your school laboratory.

And if you touch one and a spine is embedded in your hand, don't panic. Don't pry it with needle, it will only get deeper. Soak the wound with vinegar or calamansi juice. The spike is a calcium compound so that it readily dissolves in acid. Local folks have a more practical remedy - urine. Who could resist to answer the call of nature in severe pain and fear?

All these make the sea urchin a delicious treat, if you may. But there's one curious effect many people crave - increased sexual desire. Eating the gonads - testes and ovary - of the sea urchin (sea urchins have separate sexes - dioecious) delivers the Freudian drive for sexual expression and gratification. Whatever we eat as long its healthy food, the effect is possibly the same. And it is excellent health that keeps us on our toes always.

Study the anatomy of the sea urchin.

"The mouth of the sea urchin (known as the Aristotle's lantern), is found in the middle on the underside of the sea urchin's body and has five tooth-like plates for feeding. The anus of the sea urchin is located on the top of the body. As with other echinoderms, sea urchins do not have a brain and instead rely on their water-vascular system which is like a circulatory system and comprises of water-filled channels that run through the body of the sea urchin." Wikipedia.

What you are seeing in water is the adult sea urchin. Take a look at this illustration. The immature stages are almost invisible to the naked eye.


Sea urchins spawn during the spring (monsoon), and the female sea urchin releases millions of tiny, jelly-coated eggs into the water that are then fertilized by the sperm of the male sea urchin. The tiny sea urchin eggs become part of the plankton and the sea urchin babies (larvae) do not hatch for several months. The sea urchin young will not become large enough to retreat from the plankton and down to the ocean floor until they are between 2 and 5 years old.

Due to dredging on the ocean floor and pollution in the water, and the effects of Global Warming, not to mention the increasing appetite of people all over the world, sea urchin populations are declining.

Today, the edible sea urchin, Echinus esculentus, is a threatened species. Next time you order the delicacy, don't take too seriously the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation (Aphrodite, equivalent is the Roman goddess Venus). ~

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Waterfall from Heaven

June 14, 2016, 3:34 am

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Painting and Verse by Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature - School on Blog (avrotor.blogspot.com)
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM, [www.pbs.gov.ph] 8-9 evening class Monday to Friday
Hope is also to fall down,
Down in rivulets and pain,
Washing many faces unseen
In tears and rain.
Niches are made along the way,
For the lowly, the weak to stay;
Rocks and lofty cliff humbled -Into living clay.
Destiny is earned this way -
Falling, falling to rise again
As mist and rain - and falling
Again from Heaven. ~

"How to handle your wife/husband and keep your marriage."

June 14, 2016, 4:59 am

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Sayings from great and famous men about wife and marriage
Marriage is the only war where one sleeps with the enemy.
Complied by Abe V Rotor
 Living with Nature - School on Blog (avrotor.blogspot.com)
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM, [www.pbs.gov.ph] 8-9 evening class Monday to Friday

1. After marriage, husband and wife become two sides of a coin; they just can't face each other, but still they stay together.

- Al Gore

2. My wife and I were happy for twenty years. Then we met.

- Alec Baldwin

3. A good wife always forgives her husband when she's wrong.

- Barack Obama

4. By all means marry. If you get a good wife, you'll be happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.

- Socrates

5. I had some words with my wife, and she had some paragraphs with me.

- Bill Clinton

6. "Some people ask the secret of our long marriage. We take time to go to a restaurant two times a week. A little candlelight, dinner, soft music and dancing. She goes Tuesdays, I go Fridays."

- George W. Bush

7. "I don't worry about terrorism. I was married for two years."

- Rudy Giuliani

8. "There's a way of transferring funds that is even faster than electronic banking. It's called marriage." Michael Jordan

9. "I've had bad luck with all my wives. The first one left me and the second one didn’t.” The third gave me more children! 

- Donald Trump

10. Two secrets to keep your marriage brimming
1. Whenever you're wrong, admit it,
2. Whenever you're right, shut up.

- Shaquille O’Neal

11. The most effective way to remember your wife's birthday is to forget it once...

- Kobe Bryant

12. You know what I did before I married? Anything I wanted to.

- David Hasselhoff

13. Marriage is the only war where one sleeps with the enemy.

- Tommy Lee

14. A man inserted an 'ad' in the classifieds: "Wife wanted". Next day he received a hundred letters. They all said the same thing: "You can have mine."

- Brad Pitt

15. First Guy (proudly): "My wife's an angel!"
Second Guy: "You're lucky, mine's still alive." Jimmy Kimmel

16. “Honey, what happened to ‘ladies first’?” Husband replies, “That’s the reason why the world’s a mess today, because a lady went first!”

- David Letterman

17. Marriage is a public confession of a private intention.

- Pete Benzon

18. Woman inspires us to great things, and prevents us from achieving them.

- Mike Tyson

19. The great question... which I have not been able to answer... is, "What does a woman want? "

- George Clooney

20. “First there’s the promise ring, then the engagement ring, then the wedding ring....soon after......comes Suffer...ing! - Jay Leno

"Rizal was a good student, above average, though not excellent."

June 14, 2016, 11:07 pm

≫ Next: Dr Jose P Rizal: Man for All Seasons and Humanity

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 In remembrance of the national hero's 145 birthday on June 19, 2016.  

"There can be no tyrants where there are no slaves."

"He who does not know how to look back at where he came from will never get to his destination."

"The youth is the hope of our future."

Dr Abe V Rotor
 Living with Nature - School on Blog (avrotor.blogspot.com)
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM, [www.pbs.gov.ph] 8-9 evening class Monday to Friday

Dr Jose P Rizal (1861-1896)

Have you ever thought of comparing your grades in school with those obtained by our National Hero when he was a student like you? Well, don't be naive, and don't underestimate yourself.

Of the 21 subjects Rizal took in the University of Santo Tomas, he obtained

• 6 Sobresaliente or Excellent (1.0)
• 6 Notable or Aprovechado or Very Good (1.5)
• 8 Bueno or Good (2.0)
• 1 Aprobado or Passing Grade (3)

Based on today's standard, Rizal didn't qualify for an honor, and even if he met the average grade for cum laude, he was disqualified for getting a 3.0.

Rizal's lowest grade was in General Pathology, Its Clinic, and Pathologic Histology—Aprobado [Passed: 3.0] Why he fared poorly in this subject is a subject of guess, possibly discrimination, personal problems, or simply his heart was not really in medicine.

A cursory analysis of Rizal's academic records shows that he obtained perfect grades in Preparatory Course of Theology and Law. But his grades declined in Preparatory Course of Medicine, more so in the succeeding four years of medicine proper. Which points out to Rizal's superiority not in medicine but in other fields, unquestionably in philosophy and letters, and the arts.

Many biographers of Rizal find Rizal's record at UST not his best. Well, it is not in medicine we find Rizal the genius and the hero. It is in the holism of his person we look up to and set him model of greatness for Filipinos, his race, and for all mankind.

Here are the grades of Rizal in UST (1877-1882)

A. Preparatory Course of Theology and Law (1877-1878)

• Cosmology—Sobresaliente [Excellent; equivalent grade: 1.0]
• Metaphysics—Sobresaliente [Excellent: 1.0]
• Theodicy—Sobresaliente [Excellent: 1.0]
• History of Philosophy—Sobresaliente [Excellent: 1.0]

B. Preparatory Course of Medicine
(1878-1879)

• Advanced Physics—Aprovechado [Very Good: 1.5]
• Advanced Chemistry—Sobresaliente [Excellent: 1.0]
• Advanced Natural History—Aprovechado [Very Good: 1.5]

C. Medicine Proper

1st Year of Medicine (1878-1879)

• General Anatomy and Histology—Bueno [Good: 2.0]
• Descriptive Anatomy—Bueno [Good: 2.0]
• Exercises of Osteology and Dissection—Bueno [Good: 2.0]

2nd Year of Medicine (1879-1880)

• General Anatomy and Histology II—Bueno [Good: 2.0]
• Descriptive Anatomy II—Bueno [Good: 2.0]
• Exercises of Dissection—Bueno [Good: 2.0]
• Physiology, Private and Public Hygiene—Bueno [Good: 2.0]

3rd Year of Medicine (1880-1881)

• General Pathology, Its Clinic, and Pathologic Histology—Aprobado [Passed: 3.0]
• Therapeutics, Medical Matter and Art of Prescribing—Sobresaliente [Excellent: 1.0]
• Surgical Anatomy, Operations, External Medical Applications and Bandages—Bueno [Good: 2.0]

4th Year of Medicine (1881-1882)

• Medical Pathology—Notable [Very Good: 1.5]
• Surgical Pathology—Notable [Very Good: 1.5]
• Obstetrics, Sicknesses of Women and Children—Notable [Very Good: 1.5]
• Siphilography—Notable [Very Good: 1.5]

Rizal's academic records were presented in the 145th Discurso de Apertura (Opening Lecture) by Professor Regalado Trota José, citing the works of Spanish Dominican historian Fr. Fidel Villarroel, who labored in the archives and systematized its collection for 50 years which will be published this year to mark the quadricentenary of Asia’s oldest university.

Professor Jose, citing Fr Villaroel summed up Rizal was as student at UST.

1) Rizal was a good student, above average, though not excellent; but none of his classmates were excellent either. Rizal was not as gifted for Medicine as he was for the Letters and Arts.

2) In Madrid, his medical grades were the same or a little lower.

3) He is not on record as having ever complained about his grades in Santo Tomas, while he did complain about those he received in Madrid.

4) He was never discriminated against in Santo Tomas; on the contrary, he was favored with a dispensation which few students received.

5) Racial discrimination did not exist in his class, as shown by the fact that all his Spanish classmates fell by the roadside one by one in the course of four years.

6) In the fourth and last year in Santo Tomas, only seven students remained [out of the original batch of 24], and Rizal was one of them.

7) And he ended that year in second place.

How about your record? Go over your transcript. Yes, you can be great, too. However, greatness radiates beyond grades, beyond the walls of the university, beyond the imprimatur of power and faith; in fact, beyond life itself. Think about it this Rizal's birth aniversary. ~

Reference: The 145th Discurso de Apertura (Opening Lecture) to welcome the new academic year of the 400-year-old University of Santo Tomas (1611-2011) last June 6 at the UST Santisimo Rosario Church. The lecture, “Facebook Flashback: The Archives and the Story of the University (of Santo Tomas),” was delivered by Professor Regalado Trota José, UST archivist and commissioner of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Based on trom the works of Spanish Dominican historian Fr. Fidel Villarroel OP, who labored in the UST archives and systematized its collection for 50 years and wrote a massive multi-volume history of UST to be published this year in celebration to the university's quardricentenary.
NOTE: Please read Rizal My Hero, which follows this article.

Dr Jose P Rizal: Man for All Seasons and Humanity

June 14, 2016, 11:13 pm

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"It is not what your country can do for you, but it is what you can do for your country."
Dedicated to our country's National Hero, born June 19, 1861, and whose martyrdom on December 30, 1896 ignited a revolution against Spain leading to Philippine Independence. 

 

This article serves as a reference guide to students taking the Rizal Course, a three-unit subject in college. 

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

Artist's interpretation on Rizal on his way to execution at

Bagumbayan. Note lively gait and stride, and apparently jovial
conversation with the escorting military officer. It was reported
by an attending doctor that Rizal's pulse rate was normal even
as he faced the firing squad.

Artist Cabrera's study: head profile of Rizal

Rizal: boy and man

Rizal as a student in Europe; right, most popular portrait, in official documents and books.

Rizal, had he reached 90
Acknowledgment: Mr. Philip Cabrera, son of the artist; and National Historical Institute.

The following article about Dr Jose Rizal is widely circulated on the Internet in celebration of Rizal Day which is observed every 30th day of December, the day he was executed in Bagumbayan by Spanish authorities, 119 years ago. To preserve the originality of the report,I am presenting it the same way it is found on the Internet and as written by two sources of information, for which I express my indebtedness and gratitude. Rizal as the Father of Filipino Nationalism (Manila: Bureau of printing, 1941), pp.3-4.; and Rizal's Concept of World Brotherhood, 1958, pp.48-60. The intention of printing this article about Dr. Rizal, is to provide a fresh perspective about him and his teachings - and principally for the cause for which he gave his life - a cause which we would like to review in the light of present problems and challenges.

- Dr Abe V Rotor

TRIVIA: Complete name of Jose Rizal: José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda

The Philippine national hero, Jose Rizal, has his own views and concepts about Global Fellowship which is synonymous to "Internationalism", "Worldwide Brotherhood", "International Alliance", and "Global Fellowship of Humankind". The following concepts are taken from Rizal's own words, speeches, literature, and careful analysis of his personal history and works.

Factors that shaped Rizal

Among the factors that shaped Jose Rizal as a person:

1. Racial origin: Rizal descended from the Malay race and also genetically inherited the mixed Ilocano and Pangasinan bloodline of his mother. He also has Chinese and Spanish lineage.

2. Faith (religion): Christianity also shaped Rizal's way of thinking. He was born, baptized, and raised as a Roman Catholic.

3. His being a reader of books: He read many manuscripts, books, and other publications printed in various languages.

4. His being a linguist: His knowledge of different languages apart from his own. He can speak and understand 22 languages.

5. His voyages: He was able to befriend foreigners from the various nations that he was able to visit.

Rizal's ideas about "Brotherhood" (Fellowship)

These are Rizal's ideas about the subject of having a fellowship or brotherhood of humankind:

1. Education: The proper upbringing and education of children and daughter in order for them to prevent the same fate and suffering experienced by the uneducated and ignorant fellowmen under the rule of the Spaniards.

2. Faith or religion: The belief in only one God. The existence of different religions should not be the cause of misunderstandings. Instead, this existence of many religions should be used to attain unity and freedom. There should be deep respect to every individual's faith; the beliefs that one had become accustomed to and was brought up with since childhood.

3. Fellowman: It is important for one person to have a friend (fellow) and the establishment of an acquaintance with fellow human beings. (It is also important) to recognize the equality of rights of every fellow human being regardless of differences in beliefs and social status.

Rizal's efforts to promote a "Global Fellowship"

Rizal promoted global fellowship through the following:

a. Formation of organizations: Included here are known scholars and scientists recognized as the International Association of Filipinologists.

b. Friendship: In every journey, he was able to meet and befriend foreigners who sympathize with the experiences and events occuring in the Philippines.

c. Maintenance of communication: Before and during his exile at Dapitan, Rizal was able to keep in touch with his friends located in different parts of the world. He was also able to exchange opinions, writings and even specimens which he then studied and examined.

d. Joining organizations: Rizal believed in the goals of organizations that are related to the achievement of unity and freedom of humankind. He always had the time and opportunity to join into organizations.

Basis of "Worldwide Brotherhood" (Worldwide Fellowship)

These are the basis of the above ideas, which were then taken from Rizal's opinions found in his own writings and speeches which intend to establish unity, harmony, alliance and bonding among nations: The fundamental cause or reason for having the absence of human rights is eradicated through the establishment of unity.

One of Rizal's wishes is the presence of equal rights, justice, dignity, and peace. The basis for the unity of mankind is religion and the "Lord of Creations"; because a mutual alliance that yearns to provide a large scope of respect in human faith is needed, despite of our differences in race, education, and age. One of the negative effects of colonialism is racial discrimination. The presence of a worldwide alliance intends to eradicate any form of discrimination based on race, status in life, or religion.

Rizal wishes Peace to become an instrument that will stop the colonialism (colonization) of nations. This is also one of Rizal's concerns related to the "mutual understanding" expected from Spain but also from other countries. Similar to Rizal's protest against the public presentation (the use as exhibits) of the Igorots in Madrid in 1887 which, according to him, caused anger and misunderstanding from people who believed in the importance of one's race.

Hindrances towards the achievement of a "Worldwide Brotherhood"

However, Rizal also knew that there are hindrances in achieving such a worldwide fellowship: Change and harmony can be achieved through the presence of unity among fellowmen (which is) the belief in one's rights, dignity, human worth, and in the equality of rights between genders and among nations.

From one of the speeches of Rizal:

“The Philippines will remain one with Spain if the laws are observed and carried out (in the Philippines), if the Philippine civilization is "given life" (enlivened), and if human rights will be respected and will be provided without any tarnish and forms of deceitfulness. ”

Rizal's words revealed the hindrances against an aspired unity of humankind:

1. The absence of human rights.

2. Wrong beliefs in the implementation of agreements.

3. Taking advantage of other people.

4. Ignoring (not willing to hear) the wishes of the people.

5. Racial discrimination.

Excerpt from one of Rizal's letter to a friend:

“ If Spain does not wish to be a friend or brother to the Philippines, strongly the Philippines does not wish to be either. What is requested are kindness, the much-awaited justice, and not pity from Spain. If the conquering of a nation will result to its hardship, it is better to leave it and grant it its independence. ”

This letter presents Rizal's desire and anticipated friendship between Spain and the Philippines, but one which is based on equality of rights.

Translation:

"What? Does no Caesar, does no Achilles appear on your stage now,
Not an Andromache e'en, not an Orestes, my friend?"
"No! there is naught to be seen there but parsons, and syndics of commerce,
Secretaries perchance, ensigns, and majors of horse."
"But, my good friend, pray tell me, what can such people e'er meet with
That can be truly great? - what that is great can they do?"

- Friedrich Schiller, "Shakespeare's Ghost," translated by John Bowring

Translation:

TO MY COUNTRY

Recorded in the history of human suffering are cancers of such malignant character that even minor contact aggravates them, endangering overwhelming pain. How often, in the midst of modern civilizations have I wanted to bring you into the discussion, sometimes to recall these memories, sometimes to compare you to other countries, so often that your beloved image became to me like a social cancer.

Therefore, because I desire your good health, which is indeed all of ours, and because I seek better stewardship for you, I will do with you what the ancients did with their infirmed: they placed them on the steps of their temples so that each in his own way could invoke a divinity that might offer a cure.

With that in mind, I will try to reproduce your current condition faithfully, without prejudice; I will lift the veil hiding your ills, and sacrifice everything to truth, even my own pride, since, as your son, I, too, suffer your defects and shortcomings.~

NOTE: This article serves as a reference guide to students taking the Rizal Course, a 3-unit subject in college.

x x x

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Anecdotes about Rizal 
Acknowledgement: Internet

1. One day, intending to cross Laguna de Bay, the boy Rizal rode on a boat. While in the middle of the lake, he accidentally dropped one of his slippers into the rough waters. The slipper was immediately swept away by the swift strong currents .Do you know what he did? He intentionally dropped the other slipper into the water. When somebody asked why he did such a thing, he remarked, "A slipper would be useless without its mate".

2. It was Jose Rizal's Mother who told him about the story of the moth. One night, her mother noticed that Rizal was not paying anymore attention to what she is saying. As she was staring at Rizal, he then was staring at the moth flying around the lamp. She then told Rizal about the story related to it.

There was a Mother and son Moth flying around the light of a candle. The Mother moth told her son not to go near the light because that was a fire and it could kill him easily. The son agreed. But he thought to himself that his mother was selfish because she doesn't want him to experience the kind of warmth that the light had given her. Then the son moth flew nearer. Soon, the wind blew the light of the candle and it reached the wings of the son moth and he died.

Rizal's mother told him that if the son moth only listened to what his Mother said, then he wouldn't be killed by that fire.

Elias and Salome: deleted chapter of Rizal's novel, Noli Me Tangere

June 15, 2016, 7:00 pm

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 Researched by Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature School on Blog

Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class Monday to Friday

This chapter appeared in Rizal's manuscript, but was deleted before publication. It had been placed after Chapter 24. (See Table of Contents below).
                                        Noli Me Tangere painting by Salvador Dali
The reason Rizal deleted this chapter, according to historians, is to save on the cost of printing, without disturbing the flow of events in the story.  In fact the plot is enhanced by deleting the chapter as the climax of the story is built - indeed a reflection of Rizal's genius.

"Elias was on the run from the guardia civil who were sent to arrest him. He had little time to bid goodbye to Salome, his love.  It was a very sad parting. Elias escaped to join Ibarra..."

The whole chapter is hereby reproduced from Rizal's original draft of the novel in his own handwriting.

 

Acknowledgment: National Historical Commission, Noli Me Tangere, translated by Harold Augenbraun, published by Penguin Books.

Synopsis of NOLI ME TANGERE- By Dr Jose Rizal

June 15, 2016, 7:56 pm

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In more than a century since its appearance, José Rizal's Noli Me Tangere has become widely known as the great novel of the Philippines. A passionate love story set against the ugly political backdrop of repression, torture, and murder, "The Noli," as it is called in the Philippines, was the first major artistic manifestation of Asian resistance to European colonialism, and Rizal became a guiding conscience—and martyr—for the revolution that would subsequently rise up in the Spanish province. - Noli Me Tangere by José Rizal, Harold Augenbraum (Translator) Penguin Books

Dr Abe V Rotor

Former Professor, Rizal Course, UST, SPU-QC
Living with Nature - School on Blog (avrotor.blogspot.com)
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM, [www.pbs.gov.ph] 8-9 evening class Monday to Friday

Having completed his studies in Europe, young Juan Crisostomo Ibarra comes back to the Philippines after a 7-year absence. In his honor, Captain Tiago throws a get-together party, which is attended by friars and other prominent figures. In an unfortunate incident, former curate Father Dámaso belittles and slanders Ibarra. But Ibarra brushes off the insult and takes no offense; he instead politely excuses himself and leaves the party because of an allegedly important task.

The day after the humbling party, Ibarra goes to see María Clara, his love interest, a beautiful daughter of Captain Tiago and an affluent resident of Binondo, Manila. Their long-standing love is clearly manifested in this meeting, and María Clara cannot help but reread the letters her sweetheart had written her before he went to Europe. Before Ibarra left for San Diego, Lieutenant Guevara, a guardia civil, reveals to him the incidents preceding the death of his father, Don Rafael Ibarra, a rich hacendero of the town.
Noli me tangere (Touch me not), biblical source of Rizal's  novel, one of the world's greatest novels is ranked with War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, Le Miserables by Victor Hugo, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas,  Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, among others. Noli me tangere, meaning "don't touch me" or "don't tread on me", is the Latin version of words spoken, according to John 20:17, by Jesus to Mary Magdalene when she recognized him after his resurrection.
According to the Lieutenant, Don Rafael was unjustly accused of being a heretic, in addition to being a filibuster—an allegation brought forth by Father Dámaso because of Don Rafael's non-participation in the Sacraments, such as Confession and Mass. Father Dámaso's animosity against Ibarra's father is aggravated by another incident when Don Rafael helped out on a fight between a tax collector and a student fighting, and the former's death was blamed on him, although it was not deliberate. Suddenly, all of those who thought ill of him surfaced with additional complaints. He was imprisoned, and just when the matter was almost settled, he got sick and died in jail. Still not content with what he had done, Father Dámaso arranged for Don Rafael's corpse to be dug up and transferred from the Catholic cemetery to the Chinese cemetery, because he thought it inappropriate to allow a heretic such as Don Rafael a Catholic burial ground. Unfortunately, it was raining and because of the bothersome weight of the cadaver, the men in charge of the burial decided to throw the corpse into the lake.

Revenge was not in Ibarra's plans; instead he carries through his father's plan of putting up a school, since he believes that education would pave the way to his country's progress (all over the novel the author refers to both Spain and the Philippines as two different countries which form part of a same nation or family, being Spain the mother and the Philippines the daughter). During the inauguration of the school, Ibarra would have been killed in a sabotage had Elías—a mysterious man who had warned Ibarra earlier of a plot to assassinate him—not saved him. Instead the hired killer met an unfortunate incident and died. The sequence of events proved to be too traumatic for María Clara who got seriously ill but was luckily cured by the medicine Ibarra sent her

After the inauguration, Ibarra hosts a luncheon during which Father Dámaso, uninvited and gate-crashing the luncheon, again insults him. Ibarra ignores the priest's insolence, but when the latter slanders the memory of his dead father, he is no longer able to restrain himself and lunges at Father Dámaso, prepared to stab the latter for his impudence. As a consequence, Dámaso excommunicates Ibarra. Father Dámaso takes this opportunity to persuade the already-hesitant father of María Clara to forbid his daughter from marrying Ibarra. The friar wishes María Clara to marry a Peninsular named Linares who just arrived from Spain.

With the help of the Captain-General, Ibarra's excommunication is nullified and the Archbishop decides to accept him as a member of the Church once again. But, as fate would have it, some incident of which Ibarra had known nothing about is blamed on him, and he is wrongly arrested and imprisoned. But the accusation against him is overruled because during the litigation that followed, nobody could testify that he was indeed involved. Unfortunately, his letter to María Clara somehow gets into the hands of the jury and is manipulated such that it then becomes evidence against him.

Meanwhile, in Captain Tiago's residence, a party is being held to announce the upcoming wedding of María Clara and Linares. Ibarra, with the help of Elías, takes this opportunity and escapes from prison. But before leaving, Ibarra talks to María Clara and accuses her of betraying him, thinking that she gave the letter he wrote her to the jury. María Clara explains to Ibarra that she will never conspire against him but that she was forced to surrender Ibarra's letter to her in exchange for the letters written by her mother even before she, María Clara, was born. The letters were from her mother, Pía Alba, to Father Dámaso alluding to their unborn child; and that she, María Clara, is therefore not the daughter of Captain Tiago, but of Father Dámaso.

Afterwards, Ibarra and Elías board a boat and flee the place. Elías instructs Ibarra to lie down and the former covers the latter with grass to conceal the latter's presence. As luck would have it, they are spotted by their enemies. Elías thinks he could outsmart them and jumps into the water. The guards rain shots on the person in the water, all the while not knowing that they are aiming at the wrong man.

María Clara, thinking that Ibarra has been killed in the shooting incident, is greatly overcome with grief. Robbed of hope and severely disillusioned, she asks Father Dámaso to confine her into a nunnery. Father Dámaso reluctantly agrees when María Clara threatens to take her own life. demanding, "the nunnery or death!" taken the shots. It is Christmas Eve when Ibarra wakes up in the forest, gravely wounded and barely alive. It is in this forest that Ibarra finds Basilio and his lifeless mother, Sisa.
-----------------------------
References: Light from the Old Arch, AVRotor; and Wikipedia

  

Musical versions of Noli on stage and screen.

Rizal's Noli Me Tangere - a Review

June 16, 2016, 4:49 am

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Dr Abe V Rotor
Professor, Rizal Course, UST, SPU-QC
Living with Nature - School on Blog (avrotor.blogspot.com)
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM, [www.pbs.gov.ph] 8-9 evening class Monday to Friday

Students both in high school and college who are taking up the subject about Dr. Jose Rizal, national hero of the Philippines may find this outline as a handy reference. This may serve as a review material for those taking the forthcoming final examination on the subject which is divided into four series.

• Review in brief
• Synopsis of Noli Me Tangere
• Characters in Noli
• Living up with Rizal.

1. Rizal got the idea of writing a novel after reading Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel on the abuse of black slaves in America.

2. Similarly Noli was planned to expose the abuses committed by Spanish friars and authorities on the natives, the Indios, of the Philippines.

3. He proposed the idea to his Filipino friends in Madrid in 1884 that they collaborate in writing a novel on the Philippines, but it was to no avail.

4. Ultimately Rizal decided to write the entire book himself. He was 26.

5. Rizal began writing Noli in Madrid, continued on in Paris, and finished it in Berlin.

6. The book was finished in December 1886, but Rizal was penniless and despaired of ever publishing it.

7. The novel might never have seen print if it were not for Maximo Viola. Viola lent Rizal P300 for 2,000 copies. The book came off the press on 29 March 1887, ahead of schedule.

8. Noli me tangere means in Latin "Touch me not." (John 20:13-17). The newly-risen Christ says to Mary Magdalene: "Touch me not; I am not yet ascended to my Father, but go to my brethren, and say unto them I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God."

9. French writer D. Blumenstihl noted that "Noli me tangere" is a medical term used by ophthalmologists for cancer of the eyelids. This presented the idea of the book's theme - "social cancer."

10. This is an excerpt from the book's dedication (The Social Cancer). "Recorded in the history of human sufferings is a cancer of so malignant a character that the least touch irritates it and awakens in it the sharpest pains. Thus, how many times, when in the midst of modern civilizations I have wished to call thee before me, now to accompany me in memories, now to compare thee with other countries, hath thy dear image presented itself showing a social cancer like to that other!"

11. The book advocated for direct representation to the Spanish government and larger role of the Philippines inside the Spaniard political affairs.

12. But Noli turned out to produce a far reaching consequence. It stirred up the Filipino's sense of national identity which consequently led to the Philippine Revolution which culminated in independence from Spain on June 12, 1898.

13. The novel was written in Spanish, the language of the educated at a time when Filipinos were segregated by diverse native languages and regional cultures.

14. The Noli has since been adapted in many art forms. A 180-minute film of the same name was produced in 1961. Two movies followed: Rizal in Dapitan (Albert Martinez), and the multi-awarded Jose Rizal, played by Cesar Montano.

 Sisa and her children Basilio and Crispin,
UP Theatre

15. Noli the Musical spearheaded by Ryan Cayabyab et al became a hit on the stage, screen, and TV (series). There are various adaptations of Noli - a comic book and several simplified versions for students and children.

16. Noli was recently published internationally by Penguin Australia and US. It has been translated in major languages that the mere mention of Noli rings a familiar tune to millions of people around the world. Textbooks designed for students were made by various publishers, and the text itself is oftentimes condensed or shortened to facilitate learning among students.

17. Noli me Tangere and its sequel, El Filibusterismo, are studied by Third Year and Fourth Year secondary school students in the Philippines as part of the curriculum. Rizal's Life and Works is required as a 3-unit subject in various courses in tertiary education.

18. In Rizal's time Noli and Fili were banned because of their portrayal of corruption and abuse by the country's Spanish government and clergy. The church and many consevative people did not favor the the reading of Noli and Fili, until a law was passed making the teaching of Rizal compulsory.

19. Copies of the two books were smuggled in nevertheless, and when Rizal returned to the Philippines after completing medical studies, he was arrested and exiled to Dapitan.

20. A character which has become a classic in the Philippines is "Maria Clara" who has become a personification of the ideal Filipino woman, loving and unwavering in her loyalty to her spouse.

21. Another classic character is the priest "Father Dámaso" which reflects, other than their blatant abuse of power, the covert fathering of illegitimate children by members of the Spanish clergy.

22.The novel created so much controversy. Rizal wrote, "My book made a lot of noise; everywhere, I am asked about it. They wanted to anathematize me ['to excommunicate me'] because of it ... I am considered a German spy, an agent of Bismarck, they say I am a Protestant, a freemason, a sorcerer, a damned soul and evil. It is whispered that I want to draw plans, that I have a foreign passport and that I wander through the streets by night ..."

23. The Church exerted pressure on the State over Rizal's fate. Rizal was convicted for "inciting rebellion" based largely on his writings. Rizal was executed in Manila on December 30, 1896 at the age of thirty-five.

24. Rizal depiction of nationality by emphasizing the qualities of Filipinos: devotion of a Filipina and her influence to a man's life, the deep sense of gratitude, and the solid common sense of the Filipinos under the Spanish regime.

25. The book was instrumental in creating a unified Filipino national identity and consciousness, as many Filipinos previously identified with their respective regions to the advantage of the Spanish authorities. It lampooned, caricatured and exposed various elements in the colonial society.~

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Art Treasures: Wall Murals of the University of Santo Tomas, Manila (Article in Progress)

June 17, 2016, 4:15 pm

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Photos by Dr Abe V Rotor

 

  


 

Dimorphism - Functional Anomaly in Nature

June 20, 2016, 12:37 am

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Dimorphism is exhibited by plants in having two distinct forms of any part, such as the leaves and flowers. In animals dimorphism occurs as two distinct types of individuals in a species. 
Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM Band, 8-9 evening class, Monday to Friday

Mickey Mouse plant has two distinct flowers borne on the same plant. Yellow flower is the male, red is the female.

In Chemistry, it is a property of certain substances that enables them to exist in two distinct crystalline forms (dimorphic, dimorphous adj). Polymorphic refers to more than two distinct forms. It is found mostly among lower organisms. Sargassum the dominant brown seaweed in the tropics is polymorphic. Variants sometimes lead to erroneous taxonomic classification.

Starfish normally has five arms. Variants may have four or six arms.

Dimorphic or polymorphic characteristics may be functional such as in the Drynaria fern. The long and serrated leaves are mainly for photosynthesis, while the cup-like leaves protects the rhizomes, and gathers and stores humus and water.

Dimorphism and polymorphism are indications that evolution is taking place in nature. The variant forms are either remnants or advanced forms that accompany evolution. Scientists associate this phenomenon with mutation which accompanies speciation, the formation of new species.

Staghorn fern has two types of leaves: dangling staghorn shape,
and upright funnel-like leaves, Drynaria fern is also dimorphic. 

Cup-shape leaves of Drynaria fern supplements photosynthesis when young, then dry up to form a shed of shingles to gather humus and water, and cover the delicate rhizome. These secondary leaves protect the aestivating fern in summer.

Colored young leaves will turn normal green upon maturity,

thus this ornamental plant is not dimorphic.

Talisay leaves turned prematurely yellow ahead of the
deciduous timetable of the plant - not an example of
dimorphism from the typical talisay (Terminalia catappa)

Dual colored orchid is a result of crossing of parents having
yellow and red flowers - not an example of dimorphism.

Dalliance - a Universal Love Ritual

June 20, 2016, 12:38 am

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"Eagles do it in the air, monkeys in the treetop, frogs couple for long hours, houseflies do it in their chores, humans in whisper petting - dalliance is indeed a sacred thing."  

Dr Abe V Rotor
 Living with Nature - School on Blog (avrotor.blogspot.com)
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM, [www.pbs.gov.ph] 8-9 evening class Monday to Friday

   

A pair of carp strongly attracted in playful flirtation in a home aquarium. QC

Eagles do it in the air, 
Bowers in colorful lair,
Hippos in the murky swamp,
Flamingos in river sump,
Monkeys in the high treetop,
Locusts on standing crop,
Fowls on the dusty ground,
Herons to where they're bound,
Horses neigh and kick and bite,
Snakes coy and fake to strike,
Giraffes entangle their necks,
Fish display their fins and streaks,
Frogs couple for long hours, 
Houseflies do it in their chores,
Humans in whispers petting,
Dalliance a sacred thing.   

Are you an owl or a lark?

June 20, 2016, 12:39 am

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Do you wake up late and go to bed late?
Dr Abe V. Rotor
Living with Nature - School on Blog (avrotor.blogspot.com)
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM, [www.pbs.gov.ph] 8-9 evening class Monday to Friday

Our clocks have individual variations. For example, there are people who are more active in the afternoon and evening, and there are those who are opposite – they are more active in the morning.
Chances are, you already know instinctively whether you are a morning person (sometimes known as a “lark”) or a night person ( sometimes called an “owl”).

Owl 


If you aren’t sure which one you are, here are some questions to ask yourself:
1. Do you wake up early and go to bed early?
2. Do you generally rise from your bed wide eyed and raring to go?
3. Do you feel that you do your best work early on the day?
4. Do you find yourself waking up just before you alarm is scheduled to go off?

If you answered yes to these questions, then you are most likely a morning person.

1. Do you wake up late and go to bed late?
2. Do you wake up sleepy eyed and sluggish?
3. Do you generally suffer through the early morning hours and get your surge of energy and creativeness later in the day?
4. Do you find it easy to sleep through the buzz or ring of an alarm clock?

If you answered yes to these questions, then you are most likely a night person.

Difference between Night and Day People


1. Morning People tend to have more introverted personalities, while Night People tend to be more extroverted. This is particularly true the age of forty.

2. Morning People tend to have less flexible circadian rhythms, which means they benefit more, both physically and mentally, from following structured daily routine.

Long billed lark Wikipedia

3. Morning People tend to sleep more soundly than Night People and wake up feeling more refreshed.

4. Women are more likely to be Morning People than men.

Don't worry, an owl can be as happy as a lark, and a lark as vigilant as an owl. Just follow your inner rhythm. ~

Living with Nature, AVRotor (Acknowledgment: Internet, Wikipedia, Owl  photo by Richard Stuart, lark Wikipedia)

The blackbird is back - so with other threatened animals

June 20, 2016, 12:41 am

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

Blackbird (Martines), Drynaria fern and towering acacia tree make
 an ecological sanctuary, together with a host of other organisms 
that depend on them. Tagudin, Ilocos Sur.

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In less than a human lifetime, dozens of wildlife species have rebounded from the brink of extinction - and are establishing their territory in suburbs.  Here are twenty (20) animals that have made a remarkable comeback.

1. Kiyoaw or Oriole (a family of 4 to 6 members frequent our backyard trees, just outside the La Mesa Reservoir watershed)
2. Reticulated python or sawa (a one-meter baby sawa was ensconced in a burnay or earthen pot.) 
3. Fireflies (They can be observed on empty lots adjacent to the Sacred Heart seminary, Novaliches QC
4. Pipit (popularized ina song of the same title, local counterpart of the huming bird)
5. Tuka'k Ba-ung (bellied frog, long thought to have succumbed to pesticides.  See separate article in this blog) 
6. Skink or alibut Ilk (Twice in ten years I spotted this shiny ground lizard at home near the La Mesa watershed.
7. Gecko Lizard (Tuko or tekka Ilk., hunted for its alleged aphrodisiac value)
8. Atlas moth (biggest of all insects by wing span, threatened by the gradual disappearance of native santol being replaced by the Bangkok variety)
9. Black Bear (Prowler in the kitchen and on garbage when hungry)  
10. Canada Goose (Remember Fly Away Home ?)
11. Alligator (relative of the crocodile, we don't have alligators, instead crocodiles - they are coming back, too)
12. Gray Wolf (found in wastelands and open areas)
13. Deer (rebounded in no-hunting forests and grasslands) 
14. Wild Turkey (particularly in the US and Canada)  
15. Cougar (relative of the wolf in the US)
16. Beaver (natural dam builder of forest streams in temperate countries) 
17. Raccoon (common in North America)
18. Wild Pig (baboy ramo, alingo Ilk, one of the most popular game animals; it is a pest of nearby farms, feeding on root crops and succulents, Our native pigs are the progeny of a cross indigenous and wild genes.)
19. Rhinoceros beetle (appears like Triceratops, with three horns, apparently the male; the female has shorter horns)
20. Wildcat (In China the civet cat, counterpart of our musang, is invading homes.  One reason for its comeback is that it eats fresh coffee bean and defecate the seed which is then ground into a special blend that commands a lucrative price.)  

Garden Skink; Wild Pig (baboy ramo)

This is one for the biologist and ecologist. I say, it's one for the Book of Guinness record.

Up high in a dozen centuries old acacia trees, reaching up to 10 storeys high, their boughs and branches clothed with epiphytic ferns, I found the long lost blackbirds, we callmartines in Ilocano.

I was then in the grade school in San Vicente (Ilocos Sur) when I saw the last martines bird. But here on a Black Friday on top of these towering trees, there is the lost bird, in fact several of them in pairs and families. It is like the Coelacanth, a primitive fish thought to have long been extinct, suddenly rising from the depth of the craggy Madagascar sea. Its fossil in rock tells us it is 40 million years old. And here it is - alive and has not changed! The fossil fish is alive! So with the Martines!

The blackbirds have made the towering acacia trees their home and natural habitat, building their nests on the Drynaria fern. The fern grows on the branches, reaching the peak of its growth during the rainy season when the host tree sheds its leaves, in effect allowing sunlight to nurture the fern.

The fern has dimorphic leaves. The primary ones are long and shaped like stag horn and bear sori or spore sacs, while the other kind is shaped and arranged like shingles, enclosing the fern's rhizome. Like all ferns, Drynaria undergoes alternation of generations - the spore-forming phase and gamete-forming phase. It is the sporophytic or asexual generation that the fern plant is familiar to us. It is typically made of roots, stems and leaves - but never flowers and fruits. It is for this that ferns are classified separately from seed-forming and flowering plants. They belong to Division Pterophyta.

In the dry season, the fern becomes dormant, appearing dry and lifeless from the outside, but shielded by the shingles the fleshy rhizome waits for the rain and sunlight - and the shedding of the host tree. Then almost at an instant the fern springs to life, carpeting entire boughs and branches.

Now it's the tree's turn. In summer, while the fern is dormant, it builds a new crown, and together with those of the adjoining trees form a huge canopy that makes a perfect shade. This could be one reason the friars in the 15th century thought of introducing the acacia (Samanea saman) from Mexico to be planted around churches and convents.

Not only that the acacia is the biggest legume in the world; it is self-fertilizing and self supporting, and sharing its resources to countless organisms from earthworm to humans. How is this possible?

The acacia harbors in its roots symbionts - Rhizobium bacteria that convert the element Nitrogen (N) into Nitrate (NO3). Only then can N that comprises 78 percent of the air we breathe can be used by plants to manufacture food by photosynthesis.

And with the deciduous character of the tree, dead leaves form a litter on the ground that makes a good mulch and later becomes compost - a natural fertilizer for the tree, surrounding plants, microorganisms and animals. Then as the pods of the tree ripen and drop to the ground, animals like goats come around to feed on them and in effect enrich the ground. The tree's efficient physiology and symbiotic potential with other organisms make it not only one of the most self-reliant trees in the world, but a miniature ecosystem in itself.

We see today very old acacia trees in these places, just like those around the old St Agustine church in Tagudin built in the 16th century where I found the blackbirds among the Drynaria ferns at their tops. Tagudin is the southernmost town of Ilocos Sur, some 330  kilometers north of Manila - a good five-hour drive. It continues to attract northbound tourists to have a stopover and see this spectacle, among other attractions of this old town, such as its native handicrafts, pristine seashore and progressive upland agriculture.

Going back to the blackbirds, why do we give much importance to them? Well, the blackbirds protect both tree and fern from insects and other pests, and fertilize them with their droppings. They too, are gleaners and help keep the environment clean. Unlike the house sparrow, ground fowls and the crow, they are not nuisance to the place; their presence is barely felt except for their occasional calls which sound quite sonorous but nonetheless pleasant, and their display during flight of a queer pair of white spots on their wings. I developed the liking to watch them for hours - their gentle movement, familial ways, although they do not as gregarious as pigeons, and their glossy black bodies distinct from the surrounding and against the sky. They make a good specimen for bird watching and photography.

Beyond the aesthetics about the bird, I learned from my good friend Dr. Anselmo Set Cabigan, a fellow biologist and science professor, that the martines was introduced from Guam on instruction of a Spanish Governor General to control locust infestation in the Philippines. This is the first case of applying the principle of biological control in the Philippines - and perhaps elsewhere - which was then too advance in its time. Today, biological control is practiced worldwide as part of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), a holistic approach in dealing with all kinds of pests which include pathogens.

Locust (Locusta migratoria manilensis) is a scourge to agriculture in many countries since prehistoric times. I have witnessed how a swarm of locust devour complete fields of rice and corn, and other crops overnight. During swarming the sky darkens as sheer numbers of these flying insects block the sky. And as they ride on the wind they produce a deafening hissing sound that adds terror to farmers and inhabitants.

And why was the matines bird the chosen nemesis of the locust? It clearly shows the efficiency of this predator. Actually predation is most effective when the locust is still in its non-migratory phase, specifically during the congegans - more so when it is in the solitaria phase. The bird immediately checks the pest before it develops into enormous population - and reach its swarming stage.

I believe that the triad formed by the acacia tree, Drynaria fern and the blackbirds is the beginning of an emerging ecosystem where wildlife and human settlement meet in cooperation and harmony. It is a zone where Nature re-builds spent environments and creates intermediate types, in which the role of man is basically to let nature's laws and rules to prevail. For example, doves and pigeons in public squares and plazas in many parts of the world are learning to trust people, and many people are just too happy to share their homes and other resources with them. They are planting trees and setting up more and wider parks for the wildlife.

For one, Japan now requires the greening of rooftops of buildings through gardening dubbed aeroponics, and by putting up ecological sanctuaries to attract wildlife to settle in them. In Europe on the other hand, miles and miles of hedges have evolved into a unique ecosystem, that one can no longer differentiate a well-established hedge from a natural vegetation. Also in Europe, woodlands which are actually broad strips that serve as boundaries of fields and pastures, are gaining through time higher biodiversity levels, and moving towards dynamic stability, called in ecology as homeostasis.

The Philippines is not behind. We have multi-storey orchards in Cavite, Batangas and Laguna that simulate the structure of a tropical rain forest long before the term ecology was coined. And many basins of ricefields and sumps of irrigation systems have become natural ponds.

The 38th parallel dividing the whole length of warring North Korea and South Korea – a strip of no man’s land, twenty kilometers at its widest – has developed, since the armistice in 1958, into a natural wildlife sanctuary. Today it has a very high level of biodiversity and distinct from any reservation on either side of this highly restricted boundary.

These neo-ecological zones are sprouting from backyards, parks, submerged coastlines, denuded mountains, and the like. Even contiguous idle lots – and abandoned fishponds, farms and settlements - are slowly but steadily becoming bastions of wildlife.

Truly, the case of the centuries old acacia trees where the Drynaria and the martinesbirds, and man living with them in peace and in harmony - is a manifestation of Nature's triumph. It is triumph to us and the living world. ~

Grotesque looking acacia tree clothed with Drynaria fern
towers over church and convent in Tagudin, Ilocos Sur.

Photographs taken with an SLR Digital Camera with 300 mm telephoto lens

Little Dragon Friend

June 20, 2016, 12:42 am

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Dr Abe V Rotor
 Living with Nature - School on Blog (avrotor.blogspot.com)
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM, [www.pbs.gov.ph] 8-9 evening class Monday to Friday

A friendly house lizard chases the cursor on the computer screen. At home.

It's a dragon spared by evolution,

while its giant kin ruled the earth

millions of years before the Armageddon,

for being frail and humble by birth.

It came when the hours were dark and lonely;

while man raved for knowledge.

It came to hunt a prey - a fly that lost its way,

but found a friendly sage instead.

But never again did it come for the elusive fly,

neither to a deceitful friend;

but its crispy notes heard either call or cry,

draws man to look up now and then. ~

Cry of the Lawin

June 20, 2016, 4:17 am

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The lawin circles and cries up high above our community: a cry calling for self-reliance and self-identity; a cry of joy in simple and practical living; and a cry of relief, a catharsis, freedom from within, where peace-of-mind and true happiness reign.  

Dr Abe V Rotor
Inaugural address as First President of 
of Lagro Assn of Writers and Artists Inc (LAWIN)
 Living with Nature - School on Blog (avrotor.blogspot.com)
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM, [www.pbs.gov.ph] 8-9 evening class Monday to Friday

We, in Greater Lagro are blessed with having a rare bird called Philippine hawk or LAWIN in our language. It is a close relative of the Philippine eagle, which is considered a symbol of our culture.

Painting of a lawin on a backboard by the author

On a clear day we may see the lawin* hovering over our subdivision, alone or with a partner in dalliance, simply gliding and circling up in the sky, in a spectacular kind of show that this bird now categorized as threatened is still around. Its home is the La Mesa watershed, just across our subdivision. It is in deference to this bird that our association has adopted it as our symbol and acronym - LAWIN.

We thank our gazette editor Mr Fil Galimba who brought the idea of the organization, and Atty Riz Quiaoit for adopting Lawin as our symbol.

But what really does the lawin symbolize?

One early morning my granddaughter pointed at the bird in the sky. I explained what I know about the bird. Lawin symbolizes the young generations. It brings in the morning sun, it connects us grownups with the young generations. It gives our children a break from iPads and TV. .

One time children in the neighborhood in our place could not play their favorite game basketball. Somebody rebuilt their backboard, and games resumed. There one difference: the other player on the back bard is a big lawin with outstretched wings seemingly playing with the kids.

Nearby a garbage dump began to transform into a vegetable and herbal garden. The children called it Lawin Garden. It is a local version of the Phoenix bird rising from the garbage ashes.

The lawin has a peculiar cry while in flight - clear and loud whistle of two notes. But most often, it is a silent flyer with panoramic and telescopic vision.

It can see like a satellite monitor what is happening over its broad area of vision, yet able to focus on the slightest movement - a prey or an enemy.

Writers and artists to a great degree are like the lawin. Like the lawin, true writers and artists are a vanishing breed, they are an endangered species victim of instant and unguided social media, and worst assassination of journalists. The Philippines is compared to worn-torn countries like Syria and Afghanistan for having the highest number of killings in mass media.

The lawin writers and artists have "eyes for news and the arts," Their aerial perspective is holistic and contiguous. They see the multiplicity and unity of space and time, people and events. And they never veer away from their community which they watch over.

At the onset of organizing LAWIN, we did some research on our trust and functions, and on the long run - our projected goal.
--------------------------------
Lawin endeavors to elevate writing from journalism to authorship; and arts to humanities - the highest level the intellect can reach: philiosophy - love of knowkedge, and wisdom - distilled knowledge through experience and time. - AVR
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Our reference is the our own Gazette. Lawin is DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION. DevCom recognizes the power of communication as a catalyst for social development. It utilizes the tools and principles applicable in the community they serve for the advancement of society.

In an outline DevCom is

• Information disemination and education
• Social Marketing - ideas, knowledge and wisdom
• Purposive communication - it sets targets
• Social mobilization - involvement and militancy
• Community improvement mainly on felt needs
• Positive change (social, political, economic, moral, environmental, etc)
• Participatory development - bottom-up approach
• Humanities development - applied aesthetics
• Sentinel and vanguard of code of media 
• Pathfinder - pioneering and visionary

Development Communication as the INTEGRATION OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION IN DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, based on a clear understanding of real and down-to-earth situations, with people's participation and shared equitable benefits.

What then would be our guiding principle in our program? It can be summarized as follows, for an anonymous source:

"If it is of high quality, people will respect you;
If it is relevant, people ill need you;
If it is measurable, people will trust you;
If it is innovative, people will follow you."

If you were the lawin up in the sky over Greater Lagro, you are likely to see these
the need to reduce waste by not being wasteful, and in making use of waste through recycling.

• the need to motivate people towards common goals, reuinvigorate those in their senior years,
• the need to clean our streets and sidewalks - and our homes
• the need to train students in our schools not only in the field of mass media and applied art to run their school paper but to help then attain their choses careers.
• the need to take care of the trees, and plants more tree, to make Lagro an extension of the shrinking wildlife.
• the need to expand outdoor activities, participate in wholesome games and sports, creative activities.
• the need to guard Greater Lagro from the incursion of bad elements, vices, violations of human rights, peace and order.
• bringing in honors and prestige to the community through the talents of its citizens, particularly the young.
• unifying relationships of families, strengthening bonding, making the community senior citizen friendly, grandchildren friendly as well.

There are one-thousand-and-one other visions that challenge the organization LAWIN and its members giving meaning to their membership, above all, building a legacy for the next generations.

When we hear the lawin cry up in the sky, let us heed its message.

• A call for self-reliance, self-sufficiency. self-identity;
• A cry of joy to remind us that simple and practical living makes a full life; and
• A cry of relief that takes away the tensions of living, liberates us more than freedom symbolized by our flag, because it is freedom within where peace of mind and true happiness reign.

But we can only attain our goal with the support of our community, the various organizations, and networking of all sectors of society, and if our commitment is not only for our own generation but that of our children - and children's children. ~

Neighborhood projects of LAWIN (Lagro Association of Writers and Artists Inc)


Sports development: Lawin Backboard; Green Revolution: Lawin Garden

Lawin urban home composting; Herbal Medicine.

About the Philippine Hawk - Lawinby Naomi Millburn

Philippine hawk-eagles (Nisaetus philippensis) are raptors native only to the Philippines. "Lawin" translates to "hawk" in the Tagalog tongue. Philippine hawk-eagles survive in very low numbers, so their population is considered vulnerable.

Physical Appearance
Philippine hawk lawins are typically about 26 or 27 inches long. The top portions of their plumage are deep brown, and their lower portions are reddish-brown and adorned in black markings. Philippine hawk-eagles have pale throats, yellow limbs, deep gray beaks and dark crests. Their crests are made up of four to five feathers, some of which can reach 2.75 inches long. It takes about four years to develop their mature feathers. Fully grown Philippine hawk-eagles tend to have lithe physiques.

Living Environment
Philippine hawk lawins inhabit numerous islands throughout the Philippines, including Mindoro and Luzon. They haven't been confirmed as migratory, though they might occasionally travel between islands. They are prevalent around outer portions of forests, sometimes even in airy settings. Philippine hawk-eagles spend a lot of time hidden in the top layers of forests. They do a lot of high flying within their habitats.
 
Population
The number of Philippine hawk lawins in the wild is dropping swiftly. Their total population is thought to be 1,000 and 2,499 specimens, two-thirds of which are adults, according to BirdLife International. Key factors in their decline are the clearing of trees for logging, farm animals, and farming expansion in general. People also sometimes hunt Philippine hawk-eagles. Efforts to conserve this species include captive reproductive programs and protected locations such as Bataan National Park.

Vocalization
The signature call of the Philippine hawk lawin is a clear, loud whistle of two notes. These birds call out over and over again, sometimes in intervals of three seconds. ~

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Confucius' Great Man - A Self Evaluation

June 21, 2016, 4:21 am

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Dr Abe V Rotor
 Living with Nature - School on Blog (avrotor.blogspot.com)
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM, [www.pbs.gov.ph] 8-9 evening class Monday to Friday

Evaluate yourself based on these attributes using the Likert Scale: 1 (poor), 2(fair or average), 3 (good), 4 (very good). Examine yourself and score each item accordingly. Divide total score by 15.

1. Great Man's attitude toward the world is such that he shows no preferences; but he is prejudiced in favor of justice.

Confucius (K'ung Fu-tze: Kung), the philosopher (551-478 BC)

2. Great Man cherishes Excellence; Petty Man his own comfort.

3. Great man cherishes the rules and regulations; Petty Man, special favors.

4. Great Man is conscious only of justice; Petty Man, only of self-interest.

5. Great Man seeks to be slow of speech but quick of action.

6. Great Man is completely at ease; Petty Man is always on edge.

7. Great Man is dignified but not proud; Petty Man is proud but not dignified.

8. Great Man reaches complete understanding of the main issues; Petty Man reaches complete understanding of the minute details.

9. Great Man is sparing in words but prodigal in deeds.

10. Great Man complains about his own inabilities, not about people's ignorance of himself.

11. Great Man's concern is that he may die without a name.

12. Great Man does not accept a man for words alone; he does not reject a suggestion because of the man alone.

13. Great Man calculates in terms of System, not in terms of the earning of a living.

14. Great Man is concerned about System, not about poverty.

15. Great Man studies to improve his doctrine, just as artisans inhabit the market place to ply their trades.


Rating:
1 to 1.5 poor;
1.6 to 2.5 average;
2.6 to 3.5 good (You have the potential to be Great.)
3.6 to 4 very good (You are indeed Great!)
 

Great Man has three facets. 

•  Looked at from a distance he seems stern; 

• at close range he is pleasant; 

• as we listen to his words they are clear-cut.

Acknowledgment: Chinese Proverbs: Words of Wisdom from the Immortal Sages of China, compiled and edited by Kho W and D Kho

Self Administered Test on Humanities (True or False, 50 Items)

June 21, 2016, 4:51 am

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Nicanor Abelardo is to music as Fernando Amorsolo is to painting. Their masterpieces are considered as classics today. True or False?

Dr Abe V Rotor
 Living with Nature - School on Blog (avrotor.blogspot.com)
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM, [www.pbs.gov.ph] 8-9 evening class Monday to Friday

1. The most dominant color of the earth as seen outer space is green.

2. There are six colors of the rainbow that follow a standard sequence whether the rainbow is in the tropics or in the temperate zone, in summer or in winter.

3. It is rare to see a twin rainbow, but if there is one and you are lucky to witness it, the lower rainbow is wider than the one on top of it. 

4. Humanities comes from the old English word humanus which speaks of fine of human culture.

5. Victor Hugo wrote Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, both classic socio-political novels.

6. The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde is a example of a tragedy because the happy prince died at a very young age, and therefore missed the opportunity to serve his constituents.

7. One of the standards of a classical work of art is that it is timeliness.

8. Alexander Dumas, Miguel Cervantes, Leo Tolstoy, Victor Hugo and Jose Rizal have one thing in common: they are writers of powerful novels that move the world so to speak, and changed the course of history.

9. Robert Frost by mistake repeated the last lines of his famous poem On a Snowy Night,

“And miles to go before I sleep

And miles to go before I sleep.”

10. A drawing exercise of fruits like apple, pear, grapes, chestnut, and orange arranged on a table is an example of "still life."

11. Don’t go gentle into the night is a poem which tells us to be vigilant, and that our work is never done; don’t settle for comfort when in trouble and even when there is apparent peace.

12. Shakespearean drama is akin to tragedy; and if it were not for the literary genius of this world’s greatest dramatist, many of his works like Romeo and Juliet won’t pass the Board of Censors today.

13. Biag ni Lam-ang is a local counterpart of Iliad.

14. Juan Luna’s work, particularly Spolarium is a typical example of Impressionism.

15. Vincent van Gogh is considered the Father of Expressionism, an art movement that preceded Impressionism.

16. Impressionism is an art movement that started in France in the later part of the 18th century, among the pioneers are Paul Cezanne, Pizarro, Monet, Degas.

17. In the poem Fisherboy, the boy being referred to has something in common with Mark Twain’s boys, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, who did not want to go to school.

18. Jose Garcia Villa is a one of the greatest Filipino poet, awarded the honor of National Artist.

19. Nicanor Abelardo is to music as Fernando Amorsolo is to painting. Their masterpieces are classics today.

20. Nature takes shape was the basis of a drawing exercise on Landscape. The three basic shapes are circle, square and triangle.

21. When blue and yellow are mixed the color produced in green; blue and red will produce violet.

22. When the primary colors – red, blue and yellow - are mixed in equal proportion the resulting color is black.

23. These are contemporary Filipino compositions: Saan ka man naroon,La Deportacion, Dahil sa isang bulaklak, Pamulinawen, Manang Biday, Matudnila

24. Maestro Mamerto Villaba, tenor; Ryan Cayabyab, composer; and Prof. Paulino Capitulo violinist, are Filipino musicians belonging to the same generation and school.

25. Dr. Jose Rizal’s novel, Noli Me Tangere, has been recently launched in NY in a new English translation published by Penguin Books.

26. Mahatma Gandhi is ranked among the world’s greatest leaders. His weapon: asceticism, love, compassion - a favorite model for biography, cinematography, and political documentary.

27. To become great you must be able to a book for the sake of posterity, like Rizal.

28. The Old man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway which won the Nobel Prize for Literature, ended with the old man, worn out from his battle to land a big fish, and the world rejoiced for his victory.

29. Florante at Laura, masterpiece of poet laureate Francisco Balagtas is an epic.

30. A good work of Art must rise with the elements of spirituality and the universal criteria of intellectual values.

31. Style is unique; it's like finding no two snowflakes exactly the same.

32. Rhythm is found in music, as well as in poetry,

33. Even a free verse has musical qualities, in spite of the fact that it does not follow a definite pattern of rhyme and rhythm and meter.

34. Joyce Kilmer who wrote the famous poem Trees, is a man.

35. In Trees the figure of speech used in personification.

36. Where have all the flowers gone is a song and a poem that condemns war.

37. The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want is the opening line of Psalm 23 by King David.

38. Melodrama is like soapbox opera, and telenovela in many respects.

39. Gettysberg Address was originally intended as an oration.

40. The editorial of a newspaper, is considered a formal essay.

41. Soliloquy and monologue are basically similar – a kind of dramatic poetry.

42. The classical model of dance is Ballet, and the greatest ballet music composer is Tchaikovsky. He composed the Dying Swan.

43. Ideally there are 100 players in a full orchestra, with string instruments comprising the biggest group of instruments.

44. Drink to me with only thine eyes and I will not look for wine is the first line of Song to Celia.

45. Our old Spanish churches are a good example of Gothic architecture.

46. The Parthenon of Greece is the greatest architectural work of the classical period.

47. Mona Lisa is considered the greatest of all paintings in the classical period.

48. Renaissance means rebirth or renewal which took place as early as the 15th h century – the model used is Greco Roman.

49. The Philippines was once a part of Renaissance Europe.

50. Calligraphy is the art of writing beautifully while graphology is hand writing analysis.

 ......................................

ANSWERS: 1F (blue), 2t, 3t, 4t, 5t, 6T (it has a tragic beginning and triumphal ending), 7F (timelessness), 8t, 9f (Frost did it for emphasis of theme, and to impart musical quality to the poem), 10t, 11t, 12t, 13t, 14f (romanticism), 15t, 16t, 17t, 18t (posthumous), 19t, 20t, 21t, 22t, 23f (all Filipino, combination of kundiman, native Ilocano and Visayan songs), 24t (although each one has a distinct style, Cayabyab is more recent and versatile), 25t, 26t, 27f (Christ, Buddha did not write any book - others wrote for and about them), 28t, 29f (Balagtasan in romantic and lyrical style - local Shakespearean), 30t, 31t, 32t, 33t, 34t, 35t, 36t, 37t, 37t, 38t, 39f, 40f, 41t, 42t 43t. 44t. 45f (Baroque), 46t, 47t, 48t, 49t, 50t.

RATING

46- 50 Outstanding

41-45 Very Good

36-40 Good

31-35 Fair

25–30 Passed

Below 25 – listen regularly to Paaralan Bayan

12 Leadership Principles

June 28, 2016, 4:30 am

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Dr Abe V Rotor
 Living with Nature School on Blog [avrotor.blogspot.com]

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

Man of the masses - ultimate test of leadership and public service. The Ramon Magsaysay annual awards focus on achievements of outstanding citizens in the Asian region in bringing peace and understanding. No other president in the Philippines has ever achieved Magsaysay's feat of unifying warring factions, particularly the Hukbalahap, and integrating them back into the mainstream of society.


Principles of Leadership

1. Know yourself and seek self-improvement
2. Be technically proficient
3. Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions.
4. Make sound and timely decisions.
5. Set the example
6. Know your people and look out for their well-being.
7. Keep your workers informed.
8. Develop a sense of responsibility in your workers.
9. Ensure that tasks are understood, supervised, and accomplished.
10. Train and work as a team.
11. Use the full capabilities of your organization.
12. Trust God and mankind.

Trivia

• The six most important words: I admit I made a mistake.
• The five most important words: You did a good job.
• The four most important words: What is your opinion?
• The three most important words: If you please
• The two most important words: Thank you
• The one most important word: We
• The least important word: I

Acknowledgment: Concept of Leadership http://www.nlink.com/-donclark/leader/ldcon.html (Principles of leadership is based on To help you be, know, and do (US Army, 1973)

Philippine Indigenous Perfume: The Sweet Scent of Ilang-Ilang

June 28, 2016, 11:38 pm

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Children love to pick its flowers, and passersby look up to trace the source of the fragrance. Imagine the sweet-scented night air around the tree. It is therapeutic after a hard day's work. In the morning before I go to work, I spend a little time under the tree, relishing the freshness of the surroundings. Here I wait for sunrise and listen to the songs of birds perched on its branches.

Dr Abe V Rotor

 

 

 Ruby gathers freshly picked flowers of ilang ilang (Cananga odorata)

which she shall place at a home altar of Mama Mary and Santo Niño. QC

Ilang-Ilang (Cananga odorata) is an important source of essential oil. Ilang-ilang oil perfume is known all over the worldwide, especially in Italy and France, two countries known for their fabulous perfumes. Remember Lily of the Valley, during the pre-war era? It was made from Philippine ilang-ilang, its oil extracted through distillation. However, there are countries which have learned the trade and became our competitors. Moreover other sources of perfume have been developed lately.

Standing Tall

The tree stands tall, it reaches more than ten meters, towering over houses and other trees and emerging through the forest canopy. Its somewhat drooping branches bear the weight of thick foliage and pendulous flower clusters that exude sweet-smelling volatile oil detected far and wide.

And yet the ilang-ilang’s flower looks unassuming. Its color is green to yellowish green when mature, its petals thick, narrow, pointed and somewhat hairy. It hangs in groups of three, six, to as many as twelve, each in different stages of development. One by one, as the flowers are fertilized by insects, their petals dry up and fall like confetti, still exuding the characteristic perfume. Fruits are formed in place arranged like a crown, then turn black at maturity after which these fall off or are picked by birds or bats.

Our ilang-ilang tree at home must have come by seed carried by bird or bat from the nearby La Mesa watershed where a towering ilang-ilang tree is visible across the subdivision. The tree is now thirty years old and it dominates the trees in the neighborhood.

Children love to pick its flowers, and passersby look up to trace the source of the fragrance. Imagine the sweet-scented night air around the tree. It is therapeutic after a hard day's work. In the morning before I go to work, I spend a little time under the tree, relishing the freshness of the surroundings. Here I wait for sunrise and listen to the songs of birds perched on its branches.

 

The many uses of ilang ilang; the tree in full bloom usually in summer

The Garland Makers

On one Sunday, a father and son came to ask if they could gather the flowers of our ilang-ilang tree. They are from a family of necklace (lei and garland) makers who live not far our place. Patrick had just finished high school and was preparing for college.

“We have been making garlands for sometime now. It is our livelihood,” Elias told me. “Our trade is seasonal. The church on Sunday is a good place to sell. Sometimes we get orders for weddings and other special occasions like during graduation.”

Ka Elias continued, while gathering flowers with a special pole. Patrick, on the other hand, gathered the harvested flowers and kept them in a bag to keep them fresh.

 Ilang-Ilang as lei and pendant

According to Ka Elias, a simple lei is made of four heads: unopened sampaguita flowers, three or four on each side on an abaca string. Two flowers of ilang-ilang make the pendant. On the sidewalk, a good pair of a lei is sold for P10.

The making of floral necklaces has given households, like that of Ka Elias, a means of livelihood. The whole family is involved, and the children get to earn some money for their own tuition and are able to help their parents.

Sometimes when traffic is heavy, I take time to talk with necklace sellers. I feel good whenever I buy garlands from these hard-working children. Here is simple economics I figured out. If an ilang-ilang tree yields flowers with a value is P200 a week on the average, that would make P5,600 a year, and this is possible because ilang-ilang blooms throughout the year. Value added when made into leis doubles this amount. And that's just from a single tree.

Happy young vendors of leis made of sampaguita, kamia, and ilang ilang as pendant. QC

Thus, ilang-ilang farms (or even those grown in backyards) could prove to be a profitable endeavor. I saw ilang-ilang seedlings for sale at the Manila Seedling Bank, along Quezon Avenue corner EDSA. On the other hand, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) may be able to teach you how oil from ilang-ilang can be extracted as natural perfume and for the manufacture of cosmetics and soap. The same department also has a technology package, through PCARRD, for the production of ilang-ilang and sampaguita.

Aside from being a livelihood for many, it may also help the country’s economy, as a dollar saver and earner with the export of its fragrant oil. And the ilang-ilang tree is good for reforesting the hillside and the upland.

Plant an ilang-ilang tree. It could be the start of a good business. If not, you will simply bring Nature close to your home. ~

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Cananga odorata, known as the cananga tree is a tropical tree that originates in the Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines. It is valued for the perfume extracted from its flowers, called ylang-ylang ... ylang-ylang is derived from the Tagalog, term ilang-ilang for the tree that is a reduplicative form of the word ilang.

"Once upon a time, nature was pristine..."

June 30, 2016, 4:09 am

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A fairy tale come true
Paintings and verses by Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature - School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM, 8 to 9 evening class Mon to Fri

"Once upon a time, nature was pristine, undefiled and unspoiled. We used to live in a dreamworld of tropical virgin forest, and pure hidden springs, calm ponds, and serene lakes, with majestic purple mountains, crowned with canopied trees. That was when people took only what they needed, caught only what they ate, and lived only in constant touch with a provident earth.

In this age of environmental degradation , resource depletion and unparalleled human population explosion, how can man live and find meaning in his life with nature?" (Dr AS Cabigan - an excerpt from the introduction of The Living with Nature Handbook, by AVR  2003)

Born from the elements of nature, to the elements of art,

in imagery and fantasy;

what takes eons to shape and form, is but a season's part,

an archive out of reality.

 

Oh, let them be, let them be, school can wait

but not childhood;

they catch not the fish, but adventure and faith 

as they grow old.  

Community -  what concept have we today from that of yesterday

when things we needed were almost free,

and worked less, and spend more time with others and our family,

and thank the Creator for such bounty? 

This hidden valley, not for exclusion or seclusion,

but survival from the lust of man,

whose concept of beauty, its very own destruction,

'til everything he created is gone.  

And what prevails at the end, we may ask?

Not monuments, relics or any kind,

for through time nature takes over the task 

of rebuilding in her own design. ~