Sunday, April 23, 2017

Have you tasted "Acid Fruit" ? (San Vicente Botanical Garden )

(San Vicente Botanical Garden)
Have you tasted "Acid Fruit" ?
Karmai or Iba - "Acid" Fruit  
Cicca  Latin acida (Linn.) Merr. Family • Euphorbiaceae

Dr Abe V Rotor

 
A bountiful harvest of Karmai (Karamay Ilk), Sn Vicente, Ilocos Sur  

You don't have to climb the tree, just shake a branch - or the small tree -  and pronto, you have a shirt- or skirtful of this  fruit curiously known by its scientific name -  Cicca acida, which means in Latin, acidic seed membrane. It got a stone hard core surrounded with thick cartilaginous flesh that is very sour. In botany they call this kind of fruit, drupe. And would you think you can have your fill even with the ripest pick? 

Kids we were in our time, would simply relish the fruit, fresh or pickled. Our folks would join cautioning us not to eat too much especially with empty stomach. But in the process, they compete for the choice sizes leaving the small and immature ones. You see, when you harvest, ripe and young fruits fall at the same time to a waiting inverted umbrella, or a stretched blanket, unless you handpick only the ripe ones - which is tedious. When pickled with sukang Iloko (native Ilocos vinegar) and salt, all sizes, mature and immature, become grossly inviting.  

What do you get from karmai?  It may be poor in food value but it contains appreciable amounts of minerals and vitamins the body may need.  Per 100 g of edible portion examined, 92 percent is water.  It is low in protein (0.155 g), fat (0,52 g), fiber (0.8 g).  It got some calcium (5.4 mg), phosphorus (17.9 mg). iron (3.25 mg), ascorbic acid (4.6 mg), and traces of carotene, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin. 

Other than pickled, karmai is made into sweets, either sweetened and dried, or as jelly or jam sans the seeds. Preparation is not easy though because of the high acid content which is first neutralized with salted water for a day or two, before it is drained and dried, then candied or jellied. 

But have you tasted sinigang with karmai instead of kamias (Averrhoa  or sampalok? Try it with the unripe fruits and savor the pleasant sourness and mild acrid taste. Then after meal have a dessert of pickled karmai to remove the aftertaste of fish or meat. And for a change, try the young leaves cooked as green, like malunggay and kangkong.  

Karmai may not be popular in times of plenty, when imported fruits - apples, oranges, grapes - dominate the fruit stand, when in our life of haste we would rather pick from the shelf packed fruit juices, when schools and communities seldom promote the "lesser" fruits native to our country.   

The revival of ethnobotany - the study of plants and man on a historical and evolutionary perspective - has started in schools and research institutions. It can be a significant approach in providing indigenous food, medicine, and curbing environmental degradation, including global warming in a broad sense. 

Remembering the author of Alternative Medicine,responsible in its passing into law, Senator Juan Flavier, I did a little research on the medicinal properties of karmai.  Here is a short list among many potentials which pose a challenge to the scientific mind. These may be folkloric and therefore tested in certain societies.           

- Decoction of leaves is used externally for urticaria, the fruit given at the same time to eat.
- Decoction of the bark used for bronchial catarrh.
- Some believe the roots to be poisonous, but the Malays boil it for steam inhalation in use for coughs.
- In Java, root infusion used for asthma.
- In Borneo, used with pepper
- Poultice of leaves for lumbago and sciatica.
- Root used for psoriasis.
- Used in chronic liver diseases.
- Decoction of leaves is diaphoretic.
- Leaves used for gonorrhea.
- In Burma, fruits are eaten to promote appetite; sap swallowed to induce vomiting and relieve constipation.
- In Indonesia, leaves are used as counter irritant in sciatica and lumbago. 
- In Malaysia, vapors from boiling of roots inhaled for coughs and headache.
- In Bangladesh used for skin diseases - eczema, abscesses, acne, etc.
- In India, fruits are taken as liver tonic. Leaves, with pepper, are poulticed for sciatica, lumbago or rheumatism. Leaves taken as demulcent for gonorrhea.
- In Maharashtra, India, decoction of seeds used twice daily for asthma and bronchitis.
- In Malaya, root infusion, in small doses, taken for asthma. The root is used for foot psoriasis.
 NOTE: For more details about the medical uses of karmai, medical advice is recommended.   

Next time you see a karmai tree, take time to study and appreciate it.  It is not really a handsome tree. In the first place it is small and may not provide a good shade. But truly karmai deserves a place in the orchard and in the wildlife.   

Reference and acknowledgement: Internet, Living with Nature AVR

Kite and Rainbow in a Duo

Art brings to life all things beautiful,
imagery in the inner eye.
Dr Abe V Rotor



Little Mackie and Teacher Joy take time out to pose with the ambiance of a Nature painting at Joyful Beginnings tutorial center at Lagro QC
They rule the sky one day,
rainbow and kite a duo;
up they go into the blue;
over trees and hills, too.

Clicking sonorous song
of a loving hornbills pair
fills the air, echoes afar
returns in the still air.

Murmur the stream over
rocks, hissing, meandering
on its way to the fields, 
and some ponds waiting.

Wonder a child in awe
and sweet innocence, 
while grownups know
the limits of their senses. 
  
Ephemeral are the two,
the rainbow brings rain,
the kite brings the sun 
in happy, peaceful reign. ~

Composite nature painting by the author. Living with Nature won for the author the Best Blog on Nature and Environment, given by the Philippine Blogging Award 2015
     
Art brings to life all things beautiful,
imagery in the inner eye;
the present binds the past and future,
 essential in a child’s mind. ~

Saturday, April 22, 2017

The March of Seasons

Dr Abe V Rotor

Identify to what season each of these paintings belongs. Write a verse under each to describe events and peculiar characteristics of the particular season.
(1.)  Detail of a mural by AVRotor (Courtesy of San Vicente Ilocos Sur Municipal Hall)
(2.) Experimental glass painting in acrylic by Dr AVR 
(3.)  Acrylic on wood by AVR, 
(4.)Abstract in acrylic, AVR
(5.) Wall Mural, SPUQC, by AVR   
(6.) Canvas Mural, AVR, Courtesy of Sanguita, DasmariƱas Village, Makati. MM  
(7.) Abstract drawing, AVR 
(8.) Painting in acrylic, AVR.  Courtesy of Dr Anthony Vasco, 
Dean UST Arts and Letters
(9.) Landscape of a Valley in acrylic, AVR 
(10.) Aerial View in acrylic, AVR
(11.) Forest landscape in acrylic, AVR
(12.) Deer by a waterfall in acrylic, AVR
(13.) Rampage in acrylic, AVR
(14.) Mountain Stream mural detail in acrylic, AVR
(15.) Wall Mural, SPUQC, by AVR 
         

Friday, April 21, 2017

Legacy of Abraham Lincoln - A Reflection


Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature - School on Blog

Among the top ten persons who have greatly influenced by life is Abraham Lincoln.
I came face to face with my idol before his monument in Washington DC in 1976. It was a long silent conversation; it took almost a day. 
Abraham Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC
The fellow is a giant indeed - his physique, his face, the way he speaks (I heard his simulated voice in Disneyland in LA.) His Gettysburg Address is the most powerful - and the most recited and quoted - speech to this day.

His anecdotes are full wit and wisdom, and convey a deep but practical philosophy, mainly about living life with purpose and dignity. Yet he rarely sounds moralistic. His naturalness makes people feel a true sense of belonging to their government and society (government of, for and by the people.

He is an environmentalist and upholds the principle of "reverence for life." Abe, as he was fondly called as a boy, grew up in a log cabin, studied his lessons under a big oak tree, cut logs, farmed and fished, and enjoyed life in a pristine environment. Nature was his constant companion that prepared him to become the most powerful leader on earth - president of the USA - and one of the greatest men who ever lived.

I came across anecdotes and sayings of and about Lincoln. I believed that these are originally his works; others were written by those in admiration to the man. I have found a lot of these materials as valuable references in my teaching career and as a journalist.

  • You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
  • You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
  • You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
  • You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
  • You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.
  • You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
  • You cannot further the brotherhood of men by inciting class hatred.
  • You cannot establish security on borrowed money.
  • You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence.
  • You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.
Lincoln's favorite hymn
When I Can Read My Title Clear
by Isaac Watts.
It shows Lincoln's deep devotion to God.

When I can read my title clear
To mansions in the skies,
I'll bid farewell to ev'ry fear
And wipe my weeping eyes.

"Should earth against my soul engage,
And fiery darts be hurled,
Then I can smile at Satan's rage
And face a frowning world.

"Let cares, like a wild deluge come,
And storms of sorrow fall!
May I but safely reach my home,
My God, my heav'n my all.

"There shall I bathe my weary soul
In seas of heav'nly rest,
And not a wave of trouble roll
Across my peaceful breast"

Biographical Sketch: Lincoln, Abraham ["Honest Abe"] (1809-1865) American politician, U.S. Congressman (Illinois, 1847-1860), 16th president of the United States (1861-65) [noted for his anti-slavery election ticket, which precipitated the secession of the Southern states, his leadership of the Union forces during the ensuing Civil War, his Emancipation Proclamation (1863) freeing Southern slaves, his famous Gettysburg Address (1863), his draft of the Thirteenth Amendment (prohibiting slavery in the United States, 1865), his proposal of a generous settlement to the defeated Southerners following the war, and his assassination in a Washington theater by John Wilkes Booth (1865)]

Reference: Anecdotes about Abraham Lincoln, selected by Webmaster.

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

A critique-analysis of 30 Time Magazine covers


For the advanced part of Photography as a course, I am presenting these selected covers of TIME, the leading international weekly news magazine. Time has been consistently on the forefront of major events, and persistently moving on the road, so to speak, be it the fast lane or one that is less trodden. The explosion of knowledge and information brought about by the computer age, blossoming into Social Media makes the "world a stage," which is indeed the golden epoch of global communications. 
Dr Abe V Rotor
Professor
Living with Nature School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

Critiquing and analyzing these Time covers provide lessons in the fields of 
  • art and photography in multimedia, principally print media 
  • news analysis and interpretation 
  • interdisciplinary approach 
  • institutional linkages 
  • presentation methodologies 
These covers will be projected individually on screen. The professor gives an overview of the main features of each cover. Recitation and discussion follow. There will be a short test before the end of the session.
    
  
   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 

Briefly explain (2 pages bond, handwritten)
1. Most controversial issues 2
2. Greatest lessons on leadership 2
3. Most relevant to our times and country 2
4. Baloney, falsehood 2
5. Ecological concern 2