15 Popular Philosophical Quips. "Nothing goes up that does not go down."

 15 Popular Philosophical Quips

"The one who falls and gets up is stronger than the one who never tried. Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying."- Roy T. Bennett

Dr Abe V Rotor

• Old man to young man: “I have eaten more rice than you had.” (Meaning the old man is more knowledgeable by experience.)

• Old man to young boy: “Amoy gatas ka pa lang, hijo.” (“You smell of milk, child,” a sarcasm comparing ignorance with the innocence of a child.)

• “Isang sigarilyo lang ang layo.” (It’s only a cigarette away, the distance covered by smoking a stick of cigarette.)

• “Pumurao ton’ diay uwak.” (Ilk) Literally, “The black crow will turn white.” You cannot wait for the impossible.

• “Hindi mo magising ang gising.” You can’t wake up one who is already awake.

• “Agannad ka no saan mo nga kayat ti agtangad ti barsanga.” This is a cold warning on the face, which literally means “Beware if you don’t like to look up at the grass.” (barsanga is sedge, a relative of the grass growing on open field).

• “Saan nga napan no saanna nga nayon.” (“It’s not there if it’s not part of it.” - referring for example, fly maggots in fermenting fish sauce or bagoong.)

• “Di ka pay la nakuret.” (Better if you had died of kuret, a tiny poisonous crab that resides in the gills of big fish.)

• “Matira matibay” It refers to Darwinian concept of “survival of the fittest.”

• Nothing goes up that does not go down. This phrase refers to one who has reached the pinnacle of wealth or power.

• “Aramid ti saan nga agdigdigos.” (“It's a work of a hippie or bum.”)

• “Balat sibuyas.” (An expression that refers to one who easily gets peeved.)

. "Biruin mo na ang lasing wag lang ang bagong gising." Make fun to a sober fellow than one who woke up on the wrong side of the bed. (Contributed by Elaine Batica)

."Daig pa ng maagap kaysa masipag" meaning, early birds have more opportunities than those who merely work hard. (contributed by Elaine Batica)

Add to the list for our followers and readers to enjoy philosophies at the grassroots. Comment in this Blog, or send it by e-mail avrotor@gmail.com

Acknowledgement: Internet images

Reference: Living with Folk Wisdom, AV Rotor, UST Publishing House 2009

Superman, Save Mother Earth!

                                      Superman, Save Mother Earth!

Dr Abe V Rotor

"On a wall mural creatures under siege cried,

Superman, come to the rescue, have pity,

fight pollution, genocide, science gone wild,

wastes from use-and- throw-away society,

disguised as progress by senseless pride."

"Owl, symbol of genius and watchfulness,

yet you're elusive and scary to find,

wouldn't you come out from your disquise

and share your gifts to mankind?"

"Fish, teach us how to swim;

      birds, teach us how to fly."

  that we may cross the oceans

       and cruise the open sky." ~

 ----------------------

Wall mural of Nature by the author.  Lagro QC

Sociobiology: When does selfishness end and selflessness begin?

    Sociobiology

When does selfishness end and selflessness begin?

        Sociobiology is a field of biology that aims to examine and explain social behavior in terms of evolution. It draws from disciplines including psychology, ethology, anthropology, evolution, zoology, archaeology, and population genetics.

                                                                 

                                                                Dr Abe V Rotor

All organisms, simple or complex, plant or animal – and human – are governed by genes, which through the long process of evolution, are the very tools for survival in Darwin’s treatise on Survival of the Fittest through Natural Selection. 

V-formation of migrating wild geese to ease their flight. Those at the lead break the inertia of air resistance, and will fall back to rest later as others take over. (See movie Fly Away Home) 

The acquisition of successful genes is key to the survival of present day species, and the explanation on the failure of those which did not. Two words are important: adaptation and competition. 

This dual attributes are directed to self-preservation through the process of acquiring the basic necessities of life either by adjusting to it passively or actively. Definitely it is not one that is easy to share to the extent of losing its benefit in favor of another.

But if we analyze it, this is true to each individual. Now organisms do not live as individuals; they live as a community, as a society. Which leads us to the logical inference that if the individual organism, in order to survive must be selfish, then how can it be able to establish a community in which it ultimately become a part?

This is very important because the community is the key to resource sharing from food to space; it is the key to collective bargaining in times of peace or war. The community is like a bundle of individuals behaving singularly. It is collective planting time when the monsoon arrives, harvesting when it ends. The rituals that go with such activities enhance the success of bonding, and enshrine it into an institution.

Institutions were born from socio-economic needs which spontaneously developed into cultural and political rolled into one complex society. To answer where selfness starts is easier to answer than where selflessness begins.

If the premise is biological what proofs can we show that it is so?

• Social insects – ants (PHOTO), bees and termites – bind themselves as a colony. Any attack on the colony sends soldiers to fight the enemy. Paper wasps sting at intruders. The honeybee does not consume the nectar and pollen it gathers, but brings the harvest into the granary from which it gets its share later. An ant clings to death at an enemy. When a bee sting, its abdomen is ripped away and is surely to die.

Ants carry off grubs of another social insect, to their nest  as food to the colony. 

• Starve an aphid or a mealybug, and it will produce young prematurely – even without first becoming an adult. This is called paedogenesis. Or an adult may produce young without the benefit of mating and fertilization. This is parthenogenesis.

• A plant stressed by drought will cut its life cycle short in order to use the remaining energy to produce offspring. This is true to grasshoppers or caterpillars – they skip one or two moltings and metamorphose so that they can mate and reproduce.

• The spacing of plants is determined not only of soil and climatic conditions that control their growth and development, but by a biological mechanism known as allelopathy. A date palm will kill its own offspring around its trunk and under its crown. Those that grow outside its shadow becomes a part of the oasis’ vegetation.

• Bacteria, yeasts, and other microorganisms go into luxury feeding where there is plenty, and nature seems not to mind, until they consume the food, and worse until their waste accumulates and becomes toxic. This is called autotoxicity. Thus in fermentation, it is the toxic material - alcohol - that eventually kills the yeasts themselves, and another process follows until the organic forms of compounds are transformed and ultimately returned as inorganic ready for use by succeeding organisms.

• The dalag or snakehead, and many other species of fish eat their young, leaving only those that can escape. Here the advantage of controlled population and survival of the fittest are shown.

• Vultures seldom attack a living prey; they wait to its last breath. A male lion will kill a cub which it did not sire. But we know too, that there are surrogate mothers in the wild like the cuckoo, and among domestic animals.

Because of the complexity of social behavior, Dr E O Wilson of Harvard University, attempted to explain many of the observed behavior into a field of biology he called sociobiology. In a simple illustration, if your child is about to be hit by a fast oncoming vehicle, a mother would risk her life to save him. Dr. Wilson would then asks a third party if he or she would do the same thing to a child who is not his own – much less without any relations.

 Ipil-ipil plant lice (Psylla sp) form colonies in sheer number causing defoliation oif the host plant. When starved, the nymphs may produce young (virgin birth), a rare phenomenon in nature called paedogenesis.

This leads us back to our previous question: When does selfishness end and selflessness begin?~

San Vicente My Hometown, and other Poems

         San Vicente My Hometown, and other Poems 

"Happy  they are who keep alive the inner vision, the music that lights the world."

 Dr Abe V Rotor

St Vincent Ferrer is the patron saint of my town. He is also regarded patron saint of builders because of his fame for "building up" and strengthening the Church through his preaching, missionary work, in his teachings, as confessor and adviser. His feast day is April 5, celebrated on the last Tuesday of April which is the town fiesta. He belonged to the Dominican Order (like UST), highly educated and held a  doctoral degree. More about St Vincent below.  

In my childhood I saw detours of footpaths

dividing the East and the West, two warring niches

where the zone of peace was the holy ground,

and beyond was wilderness – and the unknown

beyond the confines of Subec and the Cordillera,

the memory of Diego Silang, or the Basi Revolt

on old, meandering Bantaoay River.

In my youth I saw the sun sitting

on acacia stumps and on the tires landscape

but rising in dreams and visions on the horizon,

and in the wisdom of my forebears,

the old guards of your fort.

Time has stood still since then.

I come to pay homage in your temple,

and into the arms of my people, my roots;

I see the footpaths of yesteryears,

now grown and multiplied, and always fresh,

leading from the East and West,

and the many corners of the earth,

converging at your portals in pilgrimage.

Memories of My Childhood

Rain and stream end up in Sabangan

Where play the carefree and the young,

Where fish and carabao are but one,

And dreams are far, far beyond.

Childhood is when nobody misses

The morning before the sun rises,

Before the herons stake the fishes,

While the birds sing in the trees.

Frogs don’t croak at the kingfisher;

Rain is read from a friendly dragonfly;

Nests are secrets only to the finder –

These lessons are joy to live by.

War is solved in kites and fishing poles,

In hide and seek and barefoot races;

Faith is in the seasons the sky extols.

And all virtues friendship embraces.

Peals of thunder break the afternoon

Driving the fowls early to their tree;

The boys catch the raindrops. And soon,

Across the field, dash for home aglee.

Summer is short, rainy days are long,

But it is only a passing imagery,

For the young can’t wait, and all along

The years are gone, but a blissful memory.

Long had Freud and Jung foretold

The man is the child of many years ago;

What the seed was and how it grew –

Lo, behold, it is true.

A Place Time Forgot

They just stand silent – these trees, river and hill

The water beams the color of the sky, of autumn or spring,

The breeze clings on mist, dewdrops on a train,

Dying beyond the thought of dying, whispering, hushing.

The seed can wait, unless fishing rods quiver and bend,

And the boys though young forever aim at another prize,

While the girls like flowers in the desert sweetly ask

For rain, and lightning flashing, mushrooms will soon rise.

But do not make haste unless the clock melts at the edge,

Hair turns gray, the air sultry, neon light complain,

Unless the swivel chair creaks in pain, forgetfulness, and chill,

They just stand silent – these trees, river and hill.

Kakawate

You get thorough shaving

twice or many times;

the poorer your master,

the more you get,

You bear the sun and rain

until you regenerate

to the joy of your symbionts,

the gecko and mantis

who, too, protect

your master’s crop.

You twist in ceaseless pain,

resulting in your weird look,

Ah, but your ugliness

is the orchardist's delight

and your master’s luck

that may bring about

your final sunset.

Caleza

They scrambled aboard the carriage one Lent,

Breathless, sardine packed, doldrums silent.

The cochero gave a crispy note,

Nodded his lifelong, partner, mute.

The hame tightened, wood strained,

The wheels struggled and complained.

Rattan striking the spokes was horn:

Like dull sound of a xylophone,

Joining riotous shouts and laughter –

Orchestral potpourri altogether.

The past leaves remnants to the future,

New to the young, but dying bit by bit,

Flickering the last rays of old adventure,

Like the old caleza bidding exit.

                              Church Ruins

Your eyes are empty,

and you sit like the owl.

You are the shell

of a colonial past

to oblivion cast,

save your bell

pealing the essence

of the Rock

that cleanses

the soul.

                              Upland

You are a minuscule

of the Fertile Crescent,

a far cry from Euclid’s measure.

You run along the margin

of the northwestern coast,

were there are no rivers that cross,

and lie at the heels of the Cordillera,

where there are no valleys in which to hide;

but you are a good provider

to a kind and gentle people

tanned with sweat and soil

and tempered with austere living

that speaks of their heart and art:

the geometry of functional beauty.

                                    Bullcart

(Ann and Matt in front of their ancestral home)

They wait for the buffalo

That pulls he cart

As I search the fields,

Cross the rivers,

Gaze over the hill,

Onto the prairies of old, repeating the call

that reverberates \over the plains

where a great civilization relished.

What will I tell my children

now that the buffaloes are gone?

In time they will understand.

Bagworm

on a Duhat Tree at Home

Sheepishly a caterpillar peeps,

from under a pagoda she built;

like the turtle she hides and creeps,

until she finally ceases to eat.

A Venus de Milo she soon emerges,

but without wings she must wait,

as her love scent in the air urges,

a winged moth to be her mate.

She lays her eggs in the tent,

broods on them until they hatch,

and leaves them with heart content;

soon she dies after the dispatch.

The Great Maker has shown

a biology of sacrifice and obligation:

the mother keeps the young and home

for this is the species’ bastion.

Young Musicians

Marlo, Ann and Leo at Home

I imagine young Haydn mimicked

a strolling fiddler with pieces of stick,

a young Beethoven, writing music

from birds and lambs at the creek.

In Messiah, Handel saw God’s image,

while Mozart excelled before the king,

and Chopin, the piano-poet of his age

saw neo-classic music emerging.

Happier are those who play the tune,

than he who stops at the chord,

they who keep alive the inner vision,

the music that lights the world.

Bougainvillea

Wearily I walked the dews of grassy fair,

and hung my foot to flip off the weed,

“Amorseco, you degenerate spear,”

murmured I, as darkness gave up its bid.

The green sprung into life –

birds, buds, chilly air, and all;

and I, whose world always a strife,

found and shred a momentous joy.

A brook in murmuring music called

a flock which came by wing,

as my feet drew close o behold

a spray of petals in early spring.

Flowers lined to greet the world,

one half happy, the other half atear.

“Flowers, your beauty has lured

men to your side to revere.”

Beneath the petals my fingers met

to steal her beauty and hidden pride;

blood stained the thorns, and I, in sweat,

shrank in thoughts ready to chide.

Like a sword drawn to settle guilt,

I rose to strike, but shrinking

and silent, I paused, then knelt

over bougainvillea sweetly smiling.

Legume

Cecille in her Home Garden

You are Nature’s builder,

     a God-sent life-giver;

the sun and air you bind,

     feed life of all kind.

In your care the Rhizobium

     sets chemistry in action,

from the bean or Mimosa,

     to the giant acacia.

Give us our daily meat and oil

     and nourish the soil;

keep Ceres’ bounty,

     Oh, Leguminosae.

                              My Little Prince

                                                   Pao at Home

You came with the Word

To mend a broken world

In the story of a sheep,

As I, too, mended my ship;

But when at last I set to sail,

Resolve never again to fail.

You left me groping for reason

As I stared at cold gray stone.

Now my grief is gone,

Though I’ll never understand

The mystery up afar.

I know you are in your star

In the promise of your laughter

And the joy of this life after.   

                                

Old Bell of San Vicente

I have outgrown the old bell of San Vicente

          my hometown;

Its toll no longer made me sad, for my friends

          have long been dead.

Dancing on its fulcrum its sound brought

          nothing but frown;

And if Angelus is a dirge, what my fate is

          has been said.

‘Til one day I thought I saw an old gate and

          a garden covered with vine

Appeared, and I thought I heard the old bell

          and my cane fell down;

The old bell rang and danced on its fulcrum,

          its call was divine;

I climbed the belfry and through the cloud

          once more saw my old hometown.~

----------------------------------------------------

About San Vicente Ferrer (Internet)

Born	Religious, priest and confessor, called the Angel of the Last Judgment 23 January 1350 Valencia, Kingdom of Valencia
Died	5 April 1419 (aged 69) Vannes, Duchy of Brittany
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Aglipayan Church
Canonized	3 June 1455, Rome by Pope Calixtus III
Major shrine	Cathedral of Vannes Vannes, Morbihan, France Bogo City, Cebu Philippines
Feast	5 April
Attributes	tongue of flame; pulpit; trumpet; prisoners; wings; Bible
Patronage	builders, construction workers, plumbers, fishermen (Brittany) and orphanages (Spain)

 

People with large ears live long.

 People with large ears live long. 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Study the ears of old people, especially centenarians.  

Well, in the animal kingdom, elephants, which have very large ears live as long as 70 years - so with the giraffes, lions and hippopotamuses, which have relatively  smaller ears.  Large ears (pinnae) can pick up sounds better.  Having large ears helps us in coping with certain situations, especially in times of danger.  The long ears of the rabbit helps regulate body temperature, by conserving or radiate heat, as it may be the case. In varying ways, this  biological phenomenon applies to other animals, including us humans.

 

Elephants, which have very large ears live as long as 70 years - 

so with the giraffes, lions, and other animals, domestic and wild,

which have smaller ears.

Reference:  Living with Folk Wisdom by AV Rotor, 

UST Publishing House, Manila 2008

Acknowledgement with gratitude: Internet photos ~

To remove bubblegum stuck on fabric, freeze it first and peel off.

To remove bubblegum stuck on fabric,

freeze it first and peel off.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Don't force to remove a freshly stuck gum on cloth, otherwise it will spread and stick more.  Carefully place stained cloth in the freezer for a few minutes to solidify.  You will be surprised that the gum will peel off easily and clean.  Warm water and a little detergent will take care of the rest of the job.

Reference:  Living with Folk Wisdom by AV Rotor, UST Publishing House, Manila 2008

Water remains cool in earthen pot (calamba or caramba) even in hot weather

Water remains cool in earthen pot (calamba

or caramba Ilk) even in hot weather

Dr Abe V Rotor

Notice that the earthen pot "perspires" because it is porous.  Like sweat it keeps the body cool.  Cooling is the aafter effect of evaporation.  Fannig increases the rate of evaporation, so with cooling.

 

Banga has been the symbol of Calamba (town in Laguna, birthplace of Philippine national hero, Dr Jose Rizal).  It originated from the legend of Calamba which tells a story about two Spanish soldiers, speaking in Spanish asking two native women selling homespun clay pots and stoves the name of the town.

The “Banga” (ba-nga), is a round or spherical jar made of clay, used for fetching water and mostly adopted by the northern region of the Philippines

Reference:  Living with Folk Wisdom by AV Rotor p 43, UST  Publishing House 2008