Paslep (Tempered Steel) 10 Ilocano Verses

Paslep (Tempered Steel) 

10 Ilocano Verses

Dr Abe V Rotor

Ethnobotany of the Itawes, by Mamerta Rocero SPC, PhD

Published by the National Museum, Manila Philippines 

1. Ayatennak pay

No irugita manen?
Ay, papaaweng.
Love the second time around may lack sincerity.

2. Karu-otan
Paggappuan ti uram,
Ken billit tuleng.
Fire warning on a grassy knoll may fall on deaf ear.
(Take heed of potential danger.)

3. Agmulat’ pagay
Inladawanna’t pader,
Nakasapatos pay.
"You can't grow rice on the blackboard." 

(Theory and practice are different. 

Things are easier said than done.)

4. Natartaripato,
Marmargaayan,
Matmatay.
Too much care and too much bounty lead to slow death. 

(Tender trap)

5. Ayat nga nagpayat
Umay, pumanaw,
Agnaed bassit.
Love has wings, it comes but briefly and leaves.

6. Agpilpilika
Ti ayat nga kayatmo,
Freud wenno Plato.
Physical (Freudian) or purist (Platonic) love - it's your choice

7. Burburti: Agpal-pallelang,
Bumab-baba ti init,
Maturog mamen.
A riddle: Acacia, its leaves droop as the sun sets.

8. Pitak ken ling-et
Paslep ti Oktubre
Makasisirap.
"Golden harvest is earned from hard work."

9. Panagipalangip:
Saan mo nga garawen.
Malinlinay.

Never stir rice to hasten its cooking.

10. Aginanan ni Maestro,
Imminum ti Hemlock.
Ballegi!
There is glory in death. (Socrates obligingly faced death clinging to his philosophy that changed the thinking of man. Similarly Rizal's death was victory to Filipinos.) ~

Bamboo, Giant Grass

Bamboo, Giant Grass

Dr Abe V Rotor

Museum of Natural History

University of the Philippines at Los Banos Laguna

Verses to Ponder: "Goodness builds on goodness in store."

Verses to Ponder:
"Goodness builds on goodness in store."

Dr Abe V Rotor

1. Lost time, lost opportunity and lost gain,
like passing wind that may not come again.

2. Who sees silver lining of clouds dark and bold
seeks not at rainbow's end a pot of gold.

Swallows on wire. Florida Blanca, Pampanga

3. A clenched fist softens under a blue sky
like high waves, after tempest, die.

4. When a flock of wild geese takes into the air
a leader must get ahead to break the barrier.

5. Even to a strong man, a little danger may create
the impression he's small or the problem is great.

6. In the doldrums or during sudden gusts,
the ship is much safer with a bare mast.

"Nature in love."

7. Wind, current, and keel make a perfect trio
only if they have one direction to follow.

8. You really can't tell where a sailboat goes
without keel, but to where the wind blows.

9. The sound of a yes may be deep or hollow,
and knowing it only by its own echo.

10. Walk, don't run, to see better and to know
the countryside, Mother Nature and Thou.~

11. We do not have the time, indeed an alibi
to indolence and loafing, letting time pass by.

Sun on a hazy day

12. As we undervalue ourselves, so do others
undervalue us. Lo, to us all little brothers.

13. Self-doubt at the start is often necessary
to seek perfection of the trade we carry.

14. What is more mean than envy or indolence
but the two themselves riding on insolence.

15. The worst kind of persecution occurs in the mind,
that of the body we can often undermine.

16. How seldom, if at all, do we weigh our neighbors
the way we weigh ourselves with the same favors?

17. Friendship that we share to others multiplies
our compassion and love where happiness lies.

18. Evil is evil indeed - so with its mirror,
while goodness builds on goodness in store.

Morning rainbow, Bamban, Tarlac 

19. That others may learn and soon trust you,
show them you're trustworthy, kind and true.

20. Kindness and gladness, these however small
are never, never put to waste at all.21. Beauty seen once breaks a heart,

Wait for the image to depart.

22. Being right and reasonable;
Black or white, and measurable.

23. She's coy who speaks soft and light;
Smoke first before fire ignites.

24. Every promise you can't keep
Drags you into a deeper pit.

Purple sampaguita {Jasminium sambac}

25. To endure pain of hatred,
A leader’s wisdom is dared.

26. Make believe prosperity;
Sound of vessel when empty.

27. Take from the ant or stork,
Patience is silence at work.

28. Good wine grows mellow with age;
Good man grows into a sage.

29. He finds reason for living
Who sees a new beginning.

30. Beauty builds upon beauty,
Ad infinitum to eternity. ~

Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio

738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

Jackfruit - Outburst of a Lifetime

Jackfruit - Outburst of a Lifetime 

A phenomenon beyond our understanding,

yet in our very eyes does happen,

from algal and fungi bloom, to locust swarming,

 at the threshold of life before its end.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Author's wife Cecille counts the fruits of a single nangka tree,

including those arising from underground,  Agoo, La Union

Over laden with all these fruits,

a burst of a lifetime -

young to die, like a mother

cut in her prime. ~

Rolling Billboards: An ethico-moral question of road safety and courtesy

Rolling Billboards 

An ethico-moral question of road safety 

and courtesy

 Dr Abe V Rotor

Ban rolling billboards!

10 Verses to Live By Every Day

10 Verses to Live By Every Day

Dr Abe V Rotor

Banaoang Pass, Santa, Ilocos Sur, wall mural by the author 

1. Walk, don't run, to see better and to know
the countryside, Mother Nature and Thou.~

2. We do not have the time, indeed an alibi
to indolence and loafing, letting time pass by.

Sun on a hazy day

3. As we undervalue ourselves, so do others
undervalue us. Lo, to us all little brothers.

4. Self-doubt at the start is often necessary
to seek perfection of the trade we carry.

5. What is more mean than envy or indolence
but the two themselves riding on insolence.

6. The worst kind of persecution occurs in the mind,
that of the body we can often undermine.

7. How seldom, if at all, do we weigh our neighbors
the way we weigh ourselves with the same favors?

8. Friendship that we share to others multiplies
our compassion and love where happiness lies.

    Morning rainbow, Bamban, Tarlac 

9. Evil is evil indeed - so with its mirror,
while goodness builds on goodness in store.

10. That others may learn and soon trust you,

show them you're trustworthy, kind and true. ~

Home, Sweet Home in a Farm House

Home, Sweet Home in a Farm House 

“There is nothing more important than a good, safe, secure home.”. “Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to.”. “There’s no place like home.”. “Where we love is home - home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.” (Internet)

Dr Abe V Rotor

 Brick Farm House painting by AVRotor

Home Sweet Home

By John Howard Payne

‘Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,

Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home;

A charm from the sky seems to hallow us there,

Which seek through the world, is ne’er met with elsewhere.

Home, Home, sweet, sweet Home!

An exile from home, splendor dazzles in vain;

O, give me my lowly thatched cottage again!

The birds singingly gaily, that came to my call –

Give me them – and the peace of mind, dearer than all.

Home, Home sweet, sweet Home.

There’s no place like Home! 

There’s no place like Home!

 

The author and his children play Home Sweet Home.  

Music by Henry Rowley Bishop (1786-1855)

(Arranged for the violin and piano by Henry Farmer)

The Two Greatest Lessons in Life

 The Two Greatest Lessons in Life

Dr Abe V Rotor

But there are no neighbors!

Once there was a workshop for adult leaders somewhere in Asia. The teacher asked the participants to draw on the blackboard a beautiful house, a dream house ideal to live in and raise a family. It was of course, an exercise, which in the minds of the participants was as easy as copying a model from experience and memory. Besides it is a universal dream to own such a house, which allows free interplay of both reason and imagination, using the left and the right brain. The participants formed a queue to allow everyone to contribute his own idea on the blackboard.

Child by Pablo Picasso

The first in the queue drew the posts of the house, on which the succeeding members made the roof and floor. The rest proceeded in making the walls and windows. On the second round the participants added garage, porch, veranda, gate, staircase, fence, swimming pool, TV antennae, and other amenities. Finally their dream house was completed and they returned to their seats. A lively “sharing session” followed and everyone was happy with the outcome of the exercise, including the teacher.

Just then a little child happened to be passing by and saw the drawing of the house on the blackboard. He stopped and entered the classroom. He stood there for a long time looking at the drawing and the teacher approached him. The child exclaimed, “But there are no neighbors!”

Human relations is very important. Sociology has become a major field in education. There is a field of biology known as Human Ecology. Economics is rooted into the theory of equitable wealth distribution, where everyone gets a fair share of the pie. Most religions, including ancient religions, are anthropocentric. The Good Samaritan, The Prodigal Son, Matthew 25, Sermon on the Mount, the meaning of Messiah – all these and many more speak of man to be good to his fellowmen. Salvation is not aimed at oneself, but should be one that is collective, which means, “No one goes to heaven alone.”  Very little mention is made on the role of the environment, or nature for that matter, in leading man to heaven.

But there are no trees, rivers...

In a another village near the first one I told you, there was a similar workshop. This time the participants were asked to draw a community. So they made a queue for the blackboard and after working together, came up with a beautiful drawing of a community. There are houses - many houses; a church, a school, village hall, plaza. Roads and bridges make a network in the village showing many people. The marketplace is is full of life. Anything that makes a typical village is there.

The participants discussed, “What constitute a community?” and everyone was so eager and delighted at the result.

Just then a little child was passing by, and when he saw the drawing on the backboard, stopped and entered the classroom. The teacher approached him. The child exclaimed, “But there are no trees, no birds; there are no mountains, no fields, no river!”

As no man is an island, so is a village without a natural environment. What good is man living on top of a hill while being surrounded by people in abject poverty? What good is progress – megacities, science and technology, internet, - when progress itself is responsible for the destruction of the land, the seas, and the atmosphere, in short, the Planet Earth.

Many days had passed since the two workshops. Virtually no one ever thought of looking for the little child - who he was or where he lived. Then the whole village suddenly realized, and so they began to search for him.

But they never found him – not in the village, not in the neighboring village, not in the town, not in any known place.

Who was the little child? Everyone who saw him never forgot his kindly beautiful and innocent face, and they pondered on his words which are the greatest lessons in life.

"But there are no neighbors!"

“But there are no trees, no birds; there are    no mountains, no fields, no river!”

"... but there are no trees, rivers, lake."

painting in acrylic by AVR 

Plant a tree this Christmas Season. The living Christmas Tree gives food, water, shelter, energy, the basic provisions of life.

  The Living Christmas Tree

Plant a tree this Christmas Season

 Dr Abe V Rotor 

The living Christmas Tree gives food, water, shelter, energy, the basic provisions of life.  Above all, it is a great expression of love this Christmas Season.

 Don't cut trees for Christmas, don't!

Plant trees instead and build beautiful memories with the family as the trees grow Christmas after Christmas.  In the process they become living Christmas Trees the year round, and year in and out. For Christmas is not just for one occasion where a tree top is decorated and thrown away after. Millions of trees are sacrificed every Christmas this way. 

Pine treetops for sale

This contributes to loss of vegetation, which in turn results in soil erosion and siltation, flooding and largely to global warming.

Loss of trees decreases oxygen in the air, since trees absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen.  They are the earth's primary lungs.  And they contribute to favorable micro climates in their domain. They catch the rain and store it as groundwater and spring.  They feed the streams and rivers and keep the ponds and lakes full, and the estuaries in good condition.

Just a single tree, we may say, does not mean anything - and it's Christmas. Anyway and it comes once in a year.   With millions, nay billions, celebrating Christmas, collective loss is unimaginable.  

What can we do to have an instant living Christmas tree? You don't have to go far if there is a tree in your backyard on along the sidewalk.  

You can have a potted tree seedling by the window with simple decor.  No lights.  Just some ribbon and colored cutouts.

 
Tree planting to save Mother Earth.

If the tree is large, decorate sparingly with a dozen lights, preferably LED.  Don't forget the traditional parol on its top, lighthouse effect of sort.

• If there's a tree house, the ambiance of Christmas should be focused there.  The tree itself may be sparingly decorated.

• Shrubs and small trees are not exacting to decors.  Just don't over decorate.

• Plant a tree this Christmas can be made as a community campaign.  Decide the place of tree planting: a park, along the highway, on a watershed.  Celebrate Christmas with this occasion. Don't forget to take care of the trees thereafter. 

• Plant trees that are adapted in the area.  Conifers (pines) are temperate; get tropical species (e.g., narra) for the tropics.

Artificial Christmas trees are most convenient to have, but consider the cost and effect to health and environment. Recycled waste materials draws out artistic talent. This is fine, it reduces waste - or at least gives a "second life", beautiful at that of materials otherwise thrown away. Just be careful with the harmful effects of deteriorating second hand and recycled materials.  Don't keep them indoor. 

The most meaningful Christmas is one that addresses our time and effort to solving problems concerning our well-being and the environment. The living Christmas Tree is one that gives food, water, shelter, energy, the basic provisions of life, above all it is a great expression of love to Nature and our fellowmen this Christmas Season. . 

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CHRISTMAS EVERYDAY WITH POINSETTIA

                   Poinsettia pulcherrima cultivars

 

 

 

Acknowledgement: Internet Photos ~

Brown eggs are preferred over white eggs

 Brown eggs are preferred over white eggs

 Brown eggs come from native fowls that subsist mainly on farm products. They are very resistant to the elements and diseases that they simply grow on the range. White eggs on the other hand, come from commercial poultry farms and are highly dependent on antibiotics and formulated feeds. Another advantage of brown eggs is that they have thicker shells. Besides, their yolk is brighter yellow as compared to that of white eggs.

Preference to natural, and organically grown, food is gaining popularity worldwide. It is because many ailments, from allergy to cancer, are traced to the kinds of food we eat. Many kinds of allergies have evolved from genetically engineered food, for which they have gained the reputation of Frankenfood, after the novel, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, published in 1818.

Salted egg with fresh ripe tomato 

Bored with monotonous breakfast? Looking for a side dish?

Serve red eggs with fresh juicy red tomato. It's easy to prepare.  Just have a ready supply of red eggs and ripe tomatoes in the refrigerator. Lycopene, carotine and xantophyll in tomato  promote good health. Check the quality of the red egg.  Discard those showing discoloration and trace of unpleasant smell. 

Make salted eggs at home

Making salted eggs is an old technology, and most likely originated in China.

Here is an easy-to-follow procedure, the old folks’ way.

•  Mix 12 cups of clay and 4 cups of salt, adding water gradually until they are well blended.
•  Apply a layer of this mixture at the bottom of a palayok or banga.
•  Coat each egg with the mixture.
•  Arrange the coated eggs in layers, giving a space of 3 to 5 cm in between them.
•  Add the extra mixture of clay and salt on top, cover the container with banana leaves, and keep the setup in a safe and cool place.
• Try one egg after 15 days by cooking below boiling point for 15 minutes.  If not salty enough, extend storing period.
• Color eggs if desired. 

Eggshell seed bed 
This is for your home garden.  Save whole eggshells as seedling bed of pechay, mustard, cucumber, tomato, pepper, and the like.  When ready the seedling is transplanted with the eggshell intact.  Just crack it to let the roots grow freely and reach out for water and soil nutrients in the new place wherre it has been transplanted.  .   

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TRIVIA:
"Gibba" keeps rice longer from spoilage
 Whatever is the explanation why rice cooked in a pot previously heated with a pinch of salt will not spoil fast is beyond scientific explanation. Yet it is common knowledge in the rural area.

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

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

Creative Photography - New Field of Humanities

Photography has been relegated to the machine. This is not true.  In fact ity has created a new field in humanities - Creative Photography, which is aligned to visual arts and Performing arts. 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Gulliver the giant, Gulliver the pygmy in Jonathan Swift's novels,
two friends acting, each in either role;
for in life, you are at one time a giant, at another you are a dwarf, 
and seeing others the same, wise or fool.

Years apart through three generations make no difference;  

looking back when the old were once children;

and children wishing  for the future within their grasp;

in between the beauty of life is a moving train. 

Image of Mother and Child - Holy Book's symbol of piety;

Holy Trinity too, with a Father God - the greatest mystery;

Prodigal Son and father - the mother Rembrandt sought.

 And Joseph?  Brave soldiers who died in wars they fought?

Community stage play of a subject and theme by local talents;

move over cinema, mall, computer and television;

we have had enough of  robots and cyberspace pseudo heroes;

life's real, we've each a role with common vision.     

Trophies, the greatest is invisible - 

you reward yourself unknown,

the one no other else can own. ,    

Don't cut the trees, don't!

Make a stairway across;

Save the clouds that fill the fount,

We have had enough, the Cross.

A Piece of the Garden of Eden Mural

A Piece of the Garden of Eden 

Mural by Dr Abe V Rotor

“Those ancients who in poetry presented

the golden age, who sang its happy state,

perhaps, in their Parnassus, dreamt this place.

Here, mankind's root was innocent; and here

were every fruit and never-ending spring;

these streams--the nectar of which poets sing.”

― Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy

A Piece of the Garden of Eden (8ft x 16ft) AVRotor

Does the Garden of Eden still exist? If the Garden of Eden still exists, no one knows where. The Bible says a river ran from Eden and separated into four rivers: Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates.  Here is an artist's concept of a little corner of that garden. ~                       

Painting: Requiem to a Heritage Acacia Tree

Requiem to a Heritage Acacia Tree

Dr Abe V Rotor

Author points at an on-the-spot painting he made in 1976 of a standing heritage acacia tree.  Adjacent to is an outdoor furniture shop. San Vicente is famous for wood furniture industry. The painting graces the lobby of the San Vicente Municipal Hall in Ilocos Sur.

“When one plants a tree they plant themselves. Every root is an anchor, over which one rests with grateful interests, and becomes sufficiently calm to feel the joy of living.” 
— John Muir

Man with a Hammer by Sculptor Francisco "Boy" Peralta

Man with a Hammer 

by Sculptor Francisco "Boy" Peralta

                                       Dr Abe V Rotor                              

Man with a Hammer, life size in stone by a local sculptor, 
the late Francisco "Boy" Peralta. San Vicente, Ilocos Sur   

Here he stands, sun and rain, season in and out, alone,

    a sledge hammer hangs on his brawn, frozen in time;

so blank his stare toward his subject, lifeless as stone,

  immortality defined in neglect in mournful sublime.  

And yet seeks man the mystery of power cum divine,

    a god from Mount Olympus, on Apollo to the moon;  

yet Man with a Hoe, Markham's hero a lowliest  kind, 

  and Rodin's thinking man turned prophet of doom. 

Mortal, shortcut to man's lofty dreams and often greed,

 a hammer falling from the sky striking the hardest;

not once, but many times 'til the die is cast to the grid,  

in Medusa's gaze, freezing man perhaps in his best. 

And bridging the gap of thoughts and generations,

in suspended animation of true story or legend;

yet live the man with a hammer for whatever reasons,

                                           and souls seeking immortality at the final bend.~