Tippler's World - How Lonely, How Sad

 Tippler's World  - How Lonely, How Sad

Drunkenness has become serious among the poor and the rich as  well, in fact the whole profile of society.  It is a popular way of escape. Escape from what? 

Dr Abe V Rotor

"Oh, youth don't be fooled, 

I drank. smoked, gambled,

with women I couldn't hold

power, wealth I grew  bold;

'til I reached a crossroad;    

decide, go on, I was told;

drunk, I didn't hear a word,  

until I grew very old."

          - Confession of a tippler

as related to the author. 

*The next planet was inhabited by a tippler.  This was a very short visit, but it plunged the little prince into deep dejection. 

Hugh (Barnaby Rudge), character of Charles Dickens' novel set during the Gordon Riots of 1780 in England.

"What are you doing here?" he said to the tippler. whom he found settled down in silence before a collection of empty bottles and also a collection of full bottles.

"I am drinking," replied the tippler with a lugubrious air.

"Why are you drinking?" demanded the little prince.

"So that I may forget." replied the tippler.

"Forget what?" inquired the little prince, who already was sorry for him.

"So that I may forget." replied the tippler.

"Forget what?  inquired the little prince..

"Forget that I am ashamed." the tippler confessed hanging his head.

"Ashamed of what?" insisted the little prince, who wanted to help him.

"Ashamed of drinking!" The tippler brought his speech to an end, and shut himself up in an impregnable silence.

And the little prince went away, puzzled.

"The grownups are certainly very. very odd." he said to himself, as he continued on his journey.~ 

*Chapter XII of The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Impressions on Drunkenness

"Evidence...proves that prohibition only drives drunkenness behind doors and into dark places, and does not cure it or even diminish it."

- Letter to San Francisco Alta California, 7/28/1867

“There are hours for rest, and hours for wakefulness; nights for sobriety and nights for drunkenness—(if only so that possession of the former allows us to discern the latter when we have it; for sad as it is, no human body can be happily drunk all the time).”
― Roman Payne, Rooftop Soliloquy

“You were just supposed to be a one night stand but you poked my eye, and kissed me sweet and listened to my car. Now, I kinda wanna keep you.”
― Lola Stark, Tattered Love

“Intoxicated? The word did not express it by a mile. He was oiled, boiled, fried, plastered, whiffled, sozzled, and blotto.”
― P.G. Wodehouse, Meet Mr. Mulliner

“Did I do anything last night that suggested I was sane?”
― Terry Pratchett, Going Postal

Quotations from literary geniuses, Omar Khayyam and Edgar Allan Poe, known for their literary masterpieces they wrote when sober.

Omar Khayyam, Rubaiyat 

 "A BOOK of Verses underneath the Bough,

A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread—and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness—
O, Wilderness were Paradise enow!"

Edgar Allan Poe, known for "being drunk while he wrote."

"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.
We loved with a love that was more than love.
Quote the raven, "Nevermore!" ~

Be part of excellence always.

Be part of excellence always. 

"Excellence is not a skill, it's an attitude." - Ralph Marston 

Dr Abe V Rotor 

Bong Navarro and family visit author at his residence, 

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur 2023

 

1. Plan properly to improve your performance.

2. Pay attention to details; give your work the final touch, the fine taste.

3. Success at the expense of your faith and family is failure in any language.

4. Know the difference between priority and urgency. 

5. Plan your work, and work you plan. 

6. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. 

7. The customer's perception is reality, for which reason we say, "the customer is always right."

8. Have a daily updated  appointment calendar.  Be sure to

    keep your appointments faithfully.

9. Be mentally and physically present and alert at meetings. Be critical of yourself as you are of others.

10. Arrogance is deadly, you may be the first victim.

11. Get better each day, and never vice versa.

12. Be part of excellence, not critical of it. ~

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Will Durant

"We need to internalize this idea of excellence. Not many folks spend a lot of time trying to be excellent." - Barack Obama 

    

Waterfall on the Wall

Waterfall on the Wall 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Aluna Paula 3, and Judelynne 13, play before a wall mural 

painted by the author, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur,  2023

Flow from the hills,

play on the rivulets,

laugh with the brook,

feed the river,

make it full and strong and swell,

mirror the land and sky

before you burst into waterfall.

Delight a wide-eyed child,

make her afraid that she'll be brave,

awed to gain respect,

mystified to explore and learn,

subdued to be determined.

Flow, flow forever in her mind;

throb, throb in her heart

with the thunder of love,

the whisper of humility,

and into her soul,

fill the fount of eternity. ~

“There is a waterfall in every dream. Cool and crystal clear, it falls gently...

cleansing the mind and soothing the soul.” ― Virginia Alison

 

Listen to the Dirge of the Sea in a Conch

Listen to the Dirge of the Sea in a Conch 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Judelynne 13, listens to the sea in a conch.  Living with Nature Home, 

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur.  Photo by the author. 2023

The sea, in all her depth and breadth, ensconced in a shell,

in my hand to talk and listen to even only for a moment,

as the world goes round and around ceaselessly in frenzy;

that I may find solace, peace, company and contentment.

It is nature's world, detached from that of everyday living, 

devoid of haste and boredom, and incessant searching,

in a nameless race of time and space, its prize unknown; 

hers is endless longing for peace, and not of bidding.

It conveys the sound of history, spans over eras to our own;

incessant waves in the air and sea converged in a variety

of ways devoid of life, with a discreet pleading to humanity:

dirge of the abandoned in a long dead shell of the sea. ~

In Observance of Earth Hour 8:30 p.m. March 25, 2023: Would you kill a firefly?

In Observance of Earth Hour 8:30 p.m. March 25, 2023

and Earth Day 2023  April 22, 2023*

Theme: Invest In Our Planet.

Would you kill a firefly?

Yes, man is insect buster, self righteous, self-proclaimed - but would he dare to kill a firefly just the same?

Dr Abe V Rotor

Boreal firefly (Photuris lucicrescens). Right, lower photo: A firefly on a leaf. 

Fireflies might be both pollinators and predators*

 Firefly Tour Animation**

Field study of insects in Amadeo Cavite led by the author (3rd from 

right) as professor, Graduate School University of Santo Tomas .

Man is the insect buster; self proclaimed, strong and bold;

He conquers his greatest enemy, wasting no time.

He has read enough books, and turned away from the old.

He’s Pied Piper now in new adventure in his prime.

To the rescue, he rid the world of aliens and all their kin;

"I am Gulliver," he said to the imagined Lilliputians,

With gloves and boots, armed with tools of the modern kind,

He saw himself riding to the West against the Indians.

Make way for this nemesis, the bugs run for your lives;

They dropped dead, crushed, unbearable was the pain.

Their shelter stormed, their nests torn, so with their hives.

It’s reminiscent of Pompeii where the ruins reign.

The air is stilled, there’s no more music in the night;

The pond is clear, but where have the fishes gone?

Plants still bloom, but their flowers are no longer bright.

Where are the bees and butterflies that meet the sun?

Frogs no longer croak, silent are the fields and the trees;

Where’s the cicada shrilling with joy, the cricket at night?

The melodious songs and calls of birds that never cease.

The mayfly’s visit, or the moth’s over a candlelight?

Suddenly the world became still. Didn't Rachel Carson

Tell in Silent Spring the birds didn't arrive one spring?

Or in biblical times, didn't a cloud of death over a zone

Killed creatures one by one, the survivors migrating?

Where have all the sweetest sugar and flowing silk gone?

Their makers, the busy bee and the naïve worms?

They too, have been stilled forever by the same poison

That killed the evil ones and their ugly forms.

Didn't Alexander the Great die on the Euphrates

Of malaria? Or the Pharaoh Menes of bee venom?

Thousands died building the Panama Canal and Suez,

And more death blamed to insects still unknown.

Who would like the fly around? But without it the dead

Would litter the ground, more so without the Scarabid.

Who would eat remnants of an enemy, diseases they spread?

For certain man doesn't like to die first? God forbid.

His joy to conquer lies in his genes, even against his kind,

Much less the lowly crawlers, for revenge or just game;

Yes, man is insect buster, self righteous, self-proclaimed -

But would he dare to kill a firefly just the same? ~

Acknowledgement: *beneficialbugs.org**Firefly Tour Animation Guiddoo World Travels Pvt Ltd. www.guiddoo.com1276

*Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EARTHDAY.ORG including 1 billion people in more than 193 countries. The official theme for 2023 is Invest In Our Planet. Wikipedia

Kitchen Garden: Grow native onion leek at home

 Kitchen Garden: Grow native onion leek at home

                               Dr Abe V Rotor

 

Native onion grown in pot provides ready fresh onion leek for a number of recipes like fried eggs, soup, omelet, kilawin, porridge (lugaw), arroz caldo.


This is one way to encourage kids to have a daily supplement of vegetables. Vary the use of leek in their diet. Onion leek is rich in vitamin K, A, C and B6, manganese, folate, iron, fiber, magnesium, molybdenum, copper, calcium, and potassium. It also contains thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin, and antibiotic substances like Allicin and Alliin - from Allium, the genus of onion (A. cepa), garlic (A. sativum), kutchay (A tuberosum), and the original leek (A. ampeloprasum). Leeks generally have also high calorie value, and fair amounts of protein and fat. It is no wonder onion is the most important vegetable in the world.

 

Spouting bulb of shallot or bulb variety (Red Creole). Gather only what you need for the moment using scissor. Don't cut the entire stem - only mature leaves.

Grow leek where there is sufficient sunlight, preferably on an elevated place. It's easy to grow leek from shallot (Sibuyas Tagalog) and from bulb onions (Granex or Creole). Staggered planting assures continuous supply of leek for the family - and for neighbors too.

A pot of onion leek makes a unique gift to friends who love to cook, those in their senior years, and those convalescing. Don't forget to add a little ribbon and a personal message. Make this as project in school and community. ~

Indigenous ways of measurement

Indigenous ways of measurement

Dr Abe V Rotor

Leonardo da Vinci's famous drawing, which is also a puzzle - how many positions of the human figure can you decipher?

There is nothing new in old folks' measurement. The length of the outstretched arms, fingertip to fingertip, is equivalent to the height of the person, according to the classical drawing Leonardo da Vinci in the 15th century. Is this true? What don’t you try it on yourself?

Here are some practical means of measurement by old folks, can you add to this list?.

The least shadow you make while standing, the closer it is to noontime. Old folks estimate other hours of the day by the angle of the sun and their shadows.

A child is ready for school if he can touch his opposite ear without tilting his head.

Dipa’ – the length covered from fingertip to fingertip with both arms fully stretched.

Dangkal – distance from tip of thumb to tip of forefinger, or middle finger.

Guhit – when measuring the amount of water in cooking rice we use the finger – one or two guhit. When cooking rice, the amount of water is measured by the "nodes" of the middle finger, according to the kind of rice, amount and texture.

Talampakan – distance from heel to toe, equivalent to one “foot.”

Tingi – in retail selling this is a parcel without any standard reference.

Hanggang tuhod, bewang, liig, lampas tao, etc (up to the knee, waistline, neck, taller than man)

Reference to depth of water is the length of a bamboo pole, height of a person, dipa (arm's length)

Carpenters still make shortcut measurements - dangkal (dangan Ilk), dipa'.

Fishermen look at the sky for reference of time. The North star and phases of the moon tell them when to set out to sea and come back to shore.

Acacia leaves start to fold with the setting of the sun. It is an old folks' reference to start going home before it gets dark.

Arrival of rainy season comes with the singing of cicada and emergence of salagubang and salaguinto, also the swarming of termites and ants.

Migrating birds from the north tell of the coming amihan season, accompanied by gusts of cold wind from Siberia.

Distance is measured by the number of steps. It is important to know ones pace factor(equivalence in meter) to use this technique reliably.

A midwife can tell when a baby is due to be born (dalawang daliri - two fingers).

A stone's throw refers to a distance in the neighborhood; kabilang ilog means distance across a particular river.

Reference to objects is quite popular, such as kasinlaki ng butil na bigas o mais (like the size of rice or corn grain), kasinlaki ng cuarto na ito (as big as this room).

There is no assurance of accuracy in most of these means of measurement. Take for instance when one says “isang sigarilyo lang ang layo” (it takes a stick of cigarette to reach the place), and the guide has yet to light his cigarette and you have gone a long way. Or somebody says, “It is only at the other side of the mountain.” Which mountain and how many are there? ~

1 comment:
Lili Teferi said...

I am so happy i finally found the answers to my question and I'm grateful September 29, 2022 at 11:13 PM

Living with Nature School on Blog [avrotor.blogspot.com]
* Lesson on former Paaralng Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Mely C Tenorio, 738 DZRB AM, 8 to 9 Evening Class, Monday to Friday (Phase II 2006 to present)