Neo-Impressionism in Our Times: A School of Fish Meets Dawn (Article in Progress)

 Neo-Impressionism in Our Times

A School of Fish Meets Dawn 

Painting by Dr Abe V Rotor

"For an Impressionist to paint from nature is not to paint the subject, 

but to realize sensations."- Paul Cezanne

"It took some time before the public learned that to appreciate an Impressionist painting one has to step back a few yards, and enjoy the miracle of seeing these puzzling patches suddenly fall into one place and come to life before our eyes." - Ernst Gombrich

 

 

"Impressionism means taking inspiration directly from nature, trusting your senses rather than what you think you know."- Michael McClure

 

 

"It isn't an easy job to paint oneself - at any rate if it is to be different from a photograph. And you see - this, in my opinion, is the advantage that impressionism possesses over all the other things; it is not banal, and one seeks after a deeper resemblance than the photograph.
Vincent Van Gogh
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* Neo-Impressionism (approx. 1886–1906) was a French avant-garde art movement led by Georges Seurat and Paul Signac that rejected the spontaneous, empirical approach of Impressionism. It utilized scientific, systematic methods—specifically Divisionism (separated, contrasting colors) and Pointillism (tiny dots)—to achieve maximum luminosity and vibrant, structured, and often socially-engaged compositions. AI Overview

Goodbye Amihan, Goodbye. "Hanggang sa Muli, Amihan." (Article in Progress)

Goodbye Amihan*, Goodbye

"Hanggang sa Muli, Amihan."

Living with Nature Center 

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Photographs by Dr Abe V Rotor

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” 

- Albert Camus, French philosopher and author.

Talisay or Lugo' (Ilk), also known as Umbrella Tree (Terminalia catappa) is fondly called "Autumn Tree in the Tropics."  True to its description, the tree has uniform spreading branches that form an umbrella crown.  Being deciduous, come amihan season or autumn, the leaves turn yellow, orange, red, and ultimately, brown, as they fall off and form a litter on the ground. 

“Love the trees until their leaves fall off, then encourage them to try again next year.”― Chad Sugg

“The heart of autumn must have broken here, and poured its treasure upon the leaves.” ― Charlotte Bates

Deep red leaf showing intricate venation as viewed against the sun, 

- a unique foliar characteristic of talisay or lugo'.  .   

Autumn Leaves*

The falling leaves drift by the window

The autumn leaves of red and gold

I see your lips, the summer kisses

The sun-burned hands I used to hold

Since you went away the days grow long

And soon I'll hear old winter's song

But I miss you most of all my darling

When autumn leaves start to fall

The falling leaves drift by the window

The autumn leaves of red and gold

I see your lips, the summer kisses

The sun-burned hands I used to hold

Since you went away the days grow long

And soon I'll hear old winter's song

But I miss you most of all my darling

When autumn leaves start to fall.

* Autumn Leaves is the English-language lyrical adaptation of the French song Les Feuilles mortes (The Dead Leaves) composed by Joseph Kosma, a Hungarian composer in 1945. Autumn Leaves is among the favorites songs in the oldies by Nat King Cole.

Lugo' tree get occasional pruning to induce formation of new crown, but more importantly, to reduce risk of typhoon damage to the surrounding area, and to the tree itself. Photo taken at the Center.

"Autumn… the year’s last, loveliest smile." 

— William Cullen Bryant

"Remnants of amihan cling to the tree,

now cinders dying, bidding goodbye;

consoling in tears, Hanggang sa muli,

come under my new crown, don't cry."

- AVR

Fallen leaves pile up after confetti for days,
 mysterious indeed are our Creator's ways

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree." — Emily Brontë

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*Amihan refers to the Northeast Monsoon in the Philippines, a season characterized by cool, dry air and winds blowing from the northeast. 

10 Added Books: Their Relevance to Current Issues

10 Added Books: Their Relevance to Current Issues  

Living with Nature Center Library

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Dr Abe V Rotor

Acknowledgement with gratitude: Mr Geronimo Singson, Dr Sel Cabigan, PCP (Philippine College of Physicians), authors and publishers of the books mentioned herein

At 12, Joselito had just gone through all the schooling available in his tiny hometown, Dapitan ... Jose Rizal went to open a secondary-level school for boys in Dapitan and did all the teaching himself until his exile in that town came to an end. This is the story of a young person's discovery of the wondrous world of knowledge and the unjust world of men... This too, is the story of Rizal's last years in exile ... ultimately self-sacrificing to his nation, as ultimately witnessed and shared by the Dapitan's boy. The author, Patricia Laurel, is the great-granddaughter of Maria Rizal. Dr Jose Rizal's sister,

First of four volumes containing selected writings of Prof Jose Maria Sison, on the occasion of his 70th birthday, and 50 years as revolutionary thinker and activist. Prof Sison draws knowledge and inspiration from the people's revolutionary struggle.. . to fight for their rights and for national liberation, democracy and socialism. The author and Dr Rotor were both professors of Lyceum of the Philippines University in the seventies.

 

The Journey Inward is the most fundamental journey in life, according to the author, Earnst L Tan. While our lives are marked by movements, travels, adventures.... the most exciting exploration is the journey into the self.  The book is written in simple format with illustrations and chapters/topics suitable for workshops and retreat sessions. 

Hour Before Dawn takes the reader to what might have been the darkest hour of the Philippine Supreme Court, when its integrity was compromised by the actions of the chief justice...  who was subsequently impeached... It is a clash of the Executive and Judiciary branches - and how a staunchly independent minority stood up for what was right.  The author is an accomplished and respected investigative journalist. She wrote Shadow of Doubt, a precursor to this book.

The relevance of the subject of both books, other critiques notwithstanding, raises a vital issue today on the controversial decisions and pronouncements of the present Supreme Court.

   

Rx Narratives: Anthology of Creative Non-Fiction of Filipino Internists, Edited by Joey A Tabula, Noel P Pingoy, and Sandra A Tankeh-Torres.  The book contains 18 articles, written by doctors-members of PCP (Philippine College of Physicians), which are winning entries and finalists to the annual Dr Arturo B Rotor Memorial Awards for Literature for the year 2023.

The Men Who Play God  is a collection of ten stories by Dr Arturo B Rotor, the doyen of Filipino short story writers in English...  "all about doctors, directly or by implication... and only a doctor of medicine could have written them," says Francisco Arcellana in the book's foreword.  The author is a man of ideas, a musician, an authority of orchids, a student of humanity, and a discoverer of a rare, hereditary liver disorder, named after him - Rotor Syndrome.

Dr Arturo is a relative of Dr Abe, author of this Blog - Living with Nature.  Their ancestral roots are traced to San Vicente, near Vigan, Ilocos Sur.   

  

Handbook on Philippine Medicinal Plants Vol 3 by LS dePadua, GC Lugod and JV Pancho, University of the Philippines at Los Banos. The book presents fifty (50) medicinal plants, in simple language and format, illustrated in full color for easy identification.  The book supports the increasing importance of natural and affordable medicine on the grassroots. 

Heart and Soul, Reflections in Geneva by Corazon Alma G de Leon, expresses a deep sense of loneliness.  According to the author, the simple truth is that loneliness is small and solitude is large, which led her "to do something beyond praying and reflecting."  Thus, this book. (The book consists of 50 poems/verses, each illumined by a painting or drawing made by children who attended a summer art workshop with Dr Rotor as their tutor.)

 

In God's Time. by Dr Anselmo S Cabigan.... it is not for us to know what. when, where and how God will do something. ... it could happen soon, happen later or not happen at all. ... for whenever God knows the timing is right, that is when He will act. Move over Nostradamus et al. 

Kay Balagtas at Kay Omar, also by the same author, compares two famous poet laureates in their own time and place. Balagtas (Francisco Baltazar), a Filipino romanticist and  author of Florante at Laura, and Omar Khayyam, known for his Rubaiyat.  Dr Cabigan is a master interpreter and critique of both authors and their respective masterpieces.

The author and Dr Rotor were classmates in their undergraduate courses, and later in their PhD degrees at UST.  They also worked in government as directors of the National Food Authority, and professors at St Paul University, QC, until their retirement in the early twenties.  

Evolving Art (ad infinitum)

 Evolving Art 

(ad infinitum) 

Art works, verses and lines by Dr Abe V Rotor 

Splash Painting

Who needs brush and canvas?

Only colors, if you must.

On the floor, just splash, splash,

to create stained glass! 

Noah's Black Dove 

I found a fossil entombed,

   of a story in driftwood. 

  

Duck Head  Figurine

 

Once hunted on water and in air,

now figurine, a grim reminder.   

Red Parakeets' Courtship

Greet morning without a stir,

let alone the world below;

more than their song you hear,

true love is never a show.

Marble for pearl

  Innocent looking to be true,

to the unwary in any view.

Polluted heaven

Global warming, acid rain,

by-products of progress

blocking the way to heaven;

man's folly and transgress.

 

Broken Jar Alive

A lease for life indeed

through art we bid;

talent put to the test

at its very best.

 

Driftwood trophy

Why gold or silver a trophy:

why not remnant of a tree,

 shells forgotten and empty,

to wake us up to reality?

 

 

Driftwood Table Decor

  Wasteland in the hall,

  a dreaded scene,

   aftermath of the Fall, 

of man's first Sin. ~

We are destroying the Earth - our only ship in space. Let us be the change for a better Earth

We are destroying the Earth - our only ship in space.

Let us be the change for a better Earth

Dr Abe V Rotor

1. Changing Environment, influenced by man, breeds a variety of ailments and diseases. Nature-Man Balance, the key to good health is being threatened.

2. What and Where is the so-called Good Life? The Good Life is shifting with the transformation of agricultural to industrial economy.

"The earth is in man's hand."

3. The Good Life is synonymous to Affluence. People want goods and services beyond what they actually need. Want leads to luxury - to waste.

4. The world’s population is 7 billion. Another billion will be added in less than 10 years. Runaway population is the mother of human miseries

5. The proliferation of cities, growth of cities to metropolises and megapolises, each with 10 to 20 million people ensconced in cramped condition. Cities breed Marginal communities

“People, people everywhere, but not a kindred to keep," in condominiums, malls, schools, churches, parks, sharing common lifestyles and socio-economic conditions. They are predisposed to common health problems and vulnerabilities from brownouts to food and fuel shortage, force majeure notwithstanding.

Pristine Tropical Rainforest in acrylic by the author.

6. Loss of Natural Environment – loss of productivity, loss of farmlands, and wildlife. Destruction of ecosystems - lakes, rivers, forests, coral reefs, grasslands, etc. Destruction of ecosystems is irreversible.

 

Realism to Futurism art movement a reminder to conserve our environment.  

Paintings by the author posing with family and friends, 2024 

7. Species are threatened, many are now extinct, narrowing down the range of biodiversity. Human health depends largely on a complex interrelationship of the living world. No place on earth is safe from human abuse. Coral Reef – bastion of terrestrial and marine life, is now in distress.

8. Wildlife shares with our homes, backyards and farms, transmitting deadly diseases like SARS, HIV-AIDS, Mad-Cow, FMD, Ebola, and Bird Flu which can now infect humans, allergies notwithstanding.

Acid rain in acrylic by the author

9. “Good Life” cradles and nurses obesity and other overweight conditions. Millions of people around the world are obese, wih 34% of Americans in the US obese.

10. Global warming stirs climatic disturbance, changes the face of the earth.

11. Globalization packages the major aspects of human activity – trade, commerce, industry, agriculture, the arts, education, science and technology, politics, religion and the like.

12. . Mélange of races - pooling of genes through inter-racial and inter-cultural marriages produces various mixed lines or “mestizos” - Eurasian, Afro-Asian, Afro-American, Amerasian, and the like. Native genes provide resistance to diseases, adverse conditions of the environment. But will this advantage hold on even as the native gene pools are thinned out?

Broken rainbow, broken dream - a neo-romanticism painting by the author

13. Modern medicine is responsible in reducing mortality and increasing longevity. It has also preserved genetically linked abnormalities; it cradles senility related ailments. It made possible the exchange of organs and tissues through transplantation, and soon tissue cloning. It has changed Evolution that is supposed to cull out the unfit and misfits. Man has Darwinism in his hands.

14. The first scientific breakthrough is the splitting of the atom that led to the development of the atomic bomb as the most potent tool of war as evidenced by its destruction at Nagasaki and Hiroshima, and the nuclear reactor which still holds the promise of providing incessant energy to mankind. The second scientific breakthrough – Microchip led to the development of the Internet which “shrunk the world into a village.”

16. The third breakthrough in science, Genetic Engineering, changed our concept of life - and life forms. It has enabled man to tinker with life itself. Revolutionary industries Examples: In vitro fertilization, surrogate motherhood, Human Genome Project (HGP or gene mapping), multiple childbirth, post-menopausal childbirth, DNA mapping, etc. Birth of the prototype human robot – pampered, he lives a very dependent life.

 

Genetically Modified Organisms GMO) carrying the genes of tame 

and wild species in acrylic by the author

17. Genetic Engineering gave rise to Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) and Gene Therapy. It has also primed Biological Warfare into a more terrifying threat to mankind and the environment. On the other hand Gene Therapy aims at preventing gene-link diseases even before they are expressed; it has actually revolutionized medicine. More and more countries are banning GMO crops and animals through legislative measures and conservation programs, including protection against “biopiracy”

18. Today’s Green Revolution opened up non-conventional frontiers of production – mariculture, desalination, desert farming, swamp reclamation, aeroponics (rooftop farming), hydroponics, urban farming, organic farming, Green Revolution adapts genetic engineering to produce GMOs and Frankenfoods. We may not be aware, but many of us are eating

View of Earth from the moon, Apollo 8, NASA

genetically modified food (GMF or Frankenfood) everyday – meat, milk, chicken, corn, potato and soya products, and the like mainly from the US. Many food additives and adjuncts are harmful, from salitre in longganiza to pesticide residue in fruits and vegetables, aspartame in fruit juice to MSG in noodles, formalin in fish to dioxin in plastics, bromate in bread to sulfite in sugar, antibiotic residue in meat to radiation in milk.

• Hydroponics or soilless culture makes farming feasible in cramped quarters, and it increases effective area of farming.
. Aeroponics or Multi-storey farming Vertical Farming Farming in the city on high rise buildings 
• Post Harvest Technology. is critical to Food Production. PHT bridges production and consumption, farm and market, thus the proliferation of processed goods, supermarket, fast food chains, food irradiation, ready-to-eat packs, etc.

 

The Bomb and the Day After in acrylic by the author

19. Exploration into the depth of the sea and expanse of the Solar System - and beyond. We probe the hadal depth of the ocean. We build cities in space - the Skylab. Soon we will live outside of the confines of our planet earth. Now we aim at conquering another planet, another Solar System to assure continuity of mankind after the demise of the earth.

20. Regional and International Cooperation is key to global cooperation: EU, ASEAN, APEC, CGIAR, ICRISAT, WTO, WHO, UNEP, WFO, FAO, like fighting pandemic diseases – HIV-AIDS, SARS, Dengue, Hepatitis, Bird Flu, etc.
Acknowledgement: Wikipedia, Time

Poecillia or Kataba - Nature's biological agent against mosquitoes

Poecillia or Kataba

- Nature's biological agent against mosquitoes

Raising Poeciliids on your bacyard can help eradicate dengue- and mataria-carrying mosquitoes.

(In memory of the late Dr Grace M Cruz, Bulacan State University professor, who worked for her PhD dissertation thee importance of biological control of mosquitoes using local species of Poeciliids, University of Santo Tomas 1998.  The author served as her adviser.)

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature School on Blog [avrotor.blogspot.com ]

This fish is also called by other names like tora-tora in Marilao, and talundi in Bocaue and San Miguel. It is relative of the molly and guppy, which are favorite aquarium pets.

Kataba lives in the wild. It is abundant on the Pasig River, its tributaries up to Laguna Bay. Because it frequents polluted esteros and canals, it is also called canal fish. It is omnivorous, feeding on algae (lumot), decomposing matter, but prefers aquatic organisms. It is so voracious that it can eat nearly the equivalence of its body weight, its belly distended for which it got its name bubuntis or bubundat. It preys on kiti-kiti (mosquito wrigglers), and other aquatic insects and plankton organisms, thus serving as valuable biological agent in checking malaria and dengue which are transmitted by mosquitoes.

The late Dr. Grace M. Cruz of Bulacan State University studied the larvivorous characteristics of kataba, known as Poecillia latipinna, in a dissertation she defended for a Ph.D. degree at the UST Graduate School in 1998 and found out that six kinds of insects comprise its regular food along ther Marilao River in Bulacan. Other than mosquito wrigglers it feeds on leafhoppers (Nepothettix apicales), aphids (Aphis gossypii and A maydis), gamu-gamu or midges and red ants (Solenopsis geminata), a finding which confirms kataba is a farmer’s friend.

On the other hand, kataba is a voracious predator of other aquatic organisms, which include eggs and fry of valuable fish species, nymphs of dragonflies and damselflies which are themselves predators of kiti-kiti. There are few studies about this resilient fish and we do not even know if they are of any commercial value as human food.

Aquarium shops sell kataba to feed aruana and other predatory fish pets. Kataba is fished from rivers and lakes - and esteros, for this purpose, but the demand has greatly declined because the hobby of keeping aquarium fish is no longer popular.

One way to get rid of mosquitoes is to introduce kataba in stagnant water and waterlogged areas. It is Nature's biological agent against mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases. Kataba makes a good project in biology, particularly on the following aspects:

• Life cycle
• Feeding range
• Salinity resistance
• Pollution resistance
• Pollution control
• Species diversity
• Food chain study in the ecosystem
• Breeding experiments

Origin of Poeciliids

Poeciliids were introduced into the country from Mexico probably by “accident”. It must have been during the Galleon Trade between Acapulco and Manila. But certainly the colonizers knew of the value of this fish and it was possible that it was purposely introduced for biological control.

Today, poeciliids are found in many countries. With little encouragement, the fish multiplies very fast. Instead of laying eggs, it gives birth to numerous young viviparous. And being non-seasonal and highly adaptable, population levels are safely established in a short time.

How do we recognize the Pociliids? The fish has a barrel-shaped body, particularly in the case of the female which appears pregnant. Weight and length ratio shows that the female is more plump than the male of the same size.

The distinguishing mark of the male is the presence of gonopodium, which is the equivalent of a penis. Another is that the male’s dorsal fin is comparatively longer. The anal fin of the female originates beneath the dorsal fin, opposite the eleventh scale of the tail. The male’s anal fin, however, originates from beneath the anterior part of the dorsal fin opposite the eighth scale.

Practical Way to Clean Jars and Tanks

Makers of Basi wine (an Ilocano drink) and vinegar, use poeciliids to clean the earthen jar containers. After harvesting the wine, the most difficult part of the job begins: cleaning the jar. It has to be washed at least three times in one-week intervals, allowing the water to stand every washing period. Its tedious work and the danger of breeding mosquitoes is inevitable.

By culturing two pairs of poeciliids in the jar, you only need to change the water once. And it takes half the time to obtain a clean, odorless jar. The secret is that the poeciliids eat the wrigglers, algae and plankton, as well as other organic materials, converting them into stable organic residues.

This is the same practice in cleaning glass aquariums, water tanks and garden ponds. Simply introduce some poecillids into the tank or pond and they will soon adjust to the new environment and in a short time reproduce and establish a stable population. It is one kind of fish you do not need aerators, re-circulating water pump, or any special gadgets. They simply thrive where other fish cannot. ~

Sugar solution extends the life of cut flowers.

Sugar solution extends the life of cut flowers.

Dr Abe V Rotor 

 Living with Nature School on Blog

Pulsing for roses is done by immersing the stem ends for one to 

three hours in 10% sugar solution. Photo credit Wikipedia

  

Don't cut the flowers, if you can help it. Have potted flowering plants instead. To ensure continuous flowering give your plants proper care under suitable condition. Orchid painting in acrylic shows how delicate orchid flowers are. Don't detach the flowers from the plant. Display as a whole plant undisturbed. After the occasion, take it back to its original plant for recovery. 

In horticulture, they call this pulsing, a technique of providing nourishment and extending the shelf life of cut flowers. This technique lengthens vase life twice as much. It allows buds to open and postpones stem collapse, while it enhances freshness of the opened flowers.

Pulsing for roses is done by immersing the stem ends for one to three hours in 10% sugar solution, and for gladiolus 12 to 24 hours in 20% sugar solution. Daisies, carnation, chrysanthemums, and the like are better handled if harvested and transported in their immature stage, then opened by pulsing. It is best to cut the stem at an angle, dipped 6 to 12 hours in 10% sugar solution compounded with 200 ppm of 8-hydroxyquinoline sulfate, 100 ppm citric acid. Best results are obtained at cool temperature and low relative humidity. 

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Lesson on former 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