The Lighter Side of Human Nature: To reach your destination fast, go slow.

The Lighter Side of Human Nature

     To reach your destination fast, go slow.

Dr Abe V Rotor

A young man was driving a caleza (horse drawn cart) PHOTO loaded with coconuts on a market day. “I’ll be late and won’t be able to sell all my coconuts,” he said to himself. Whereupon he saw an old man on the roadside, stopped and asked, “How I can reach the marketplace the soonest I can, Apo Lakay (old man)?”

The old man glanced at the loaded caleza, smiled and said, “Just go slow anak (child), and you will reach your destination.”

The young man thought he was talking to an ulyanin (a forgetful person). Actually he was asking something he did not have to ask in the first place. So he cracked the whip and his horse galloped even if the road is rough and rutted. The nuts kept falling along the way so that he had to stop now and then to pick them up.

The old man is after all right.

This story is relevant to us living on the fast lane, and in keeping up with the Joneses, for that matter. I can only imagine how the simple folk philosopher would give us the same advice.~

Who is Who in agriculture, medicine and life science?

Who is Who in agriculture, medicine and life science? 

Researched by Dr Abe V Rotor

1. If there is a Luther Burbank, the American plant wizard, who is our own in the Philippines (___________________________, foremost plant breeder of the Philippines)

2. The greatest and most popular authority of medicinal plants in the Philippines (___________________________, Medicinal Plants of the Philippines)

3. Filipino scientist who occupied the highest position in the UN FAO? (________________________, Regional chief of UN-FAO for Asia and the Pacific)

4. Her name is an institution in children health care, founder of Children's Hospital and inventor of nursery incubation chamber, among other invention (___________________)

5. His discovery of the cause of cadang-cadang disease of coconut lead to effective control of the disease threatening to wipeout the coconut industry in the Philippines (________________________________)

6. First director or International Institute for Rural Reconstruction, author of Alternative Medicine, anti-smoking in public places, school and advertisement. (_____________________________)

7. Man behind food self-sufficiency, M-99 that led the Philippine among the top rice producers in the 70s and 80s. (_______________________, Secretary of agriculture)

8. First Filipino allergologist, discovered a syndrome named after him, internationally adapted in hospitals and medical schools around the world, served as executive secretary of presidents Quezon and Osmeña, discovered orchids also named after him. (___________________________).

9. Founder of the Nursing profession, brought into the profession respectability and dignity, service and selflessness, (_________________________, nationality ________________)

10. The greatest woman who ever lived in our times - epitome of love, compassion, faith, selflessness and dedication, a living saint (though less popular than Marilyn Monroe and Princess Diana, In fact there were far less number people who paid their respects to her than Princess Diana who died and was buried at the same time.) _______________________ of ________________.

ANSWERS:

1. Nemesio Mendiola  2.Eduardo Quisumbing  3.Dioscorro Umali  4. Fe del Mundo 5. Gerardo Ocfemia  6.Juan Flavier  7. Arturo Tanco Jr  8.Arturo B Rotor 9. Florence Nightingale 10.Mother Teresa of Calcutta

PHOTO Top:  Dr Eduardo Quisumbing - A foremost botanist, Dr. Quisumbing is pioneer in the study of Philippine medicinal plants where he made tremendous contribution. His book Medicinal Plants in Philippines is the forerunner of all researches on medicinal plants in the country. He was author of more than 129 scientific articles published here and abroad. While Director of the National Museum, Dr. Quisumbing undertook restoration of the Herbarium which was completely destroyed during the war.

Palette Board Speaks: Neo-Darwinism Evolution of Life 1

              Palette Board Speaks 

               Neo-Darwinism Evolution of Life 

Paintings and Verses by Dr Abe V Rotor

Speleology and tourism, what a combination;

though both exploit the secrets of the past,  

trace the beginning of human's civilization,

and Plato's allegory of the escaped outcast.    

 Linnaeus, if alive today, would wonder, 

how he missed in his study 

organisms posthumously emerged  

from science and technology.  

 

 Coral reef of deceiving beauty, 

red for warning, black for death;

white as skeleton; blue-green, 

invasion of the primitive scum

that once ruled the early earth.   

If you can decipher what life forms these are, 

you must be an artist, like Picasso or Matisse,

masters of abstract art - not the ideal, the real, 

the form and order of God's creation remised. ~   

  

" Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success."

Success is not the key to happiness. 

Happiness is the key to success.

Researched and organized by Dr Abe V Rotor

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. Albert Schweitzer (PHOTO)

A grateful heart is a beginning of greatness. It is an expression of humility. It is a foundation for the development of such virtues as prayer, faith, courage, contentment, happiness, love, and well-being. James E. Faust

Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness, of hatred, of jealousy, and, most easily of all, the gate of fear. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

“The basic thing is that everyone wants happiness, no one wants suffering. And happiness mainly comes from our own attitude, rather than from external factors. If your own mental attitude is correct, even if you remain in a hostile atmosphere, you feel happy. If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only make others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace. If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”  - Dalai Lama

Verses to Reflect and Meditate about Life

Verses to Reflect and Meditate about Life

Dr Abe V Rotor

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

Sun on a hazy day

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Morning rainbow, Bamban, Tarlac 

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

10. Kindness and gladness, these however small
are never, never put to waste at all.

Native American Art in Postmodern Times

Verses by Dr Abe V Rotor

 Indian dance to pop music,

its rhyme and rhythm lost;

what music lacks costume fills,

but at pseudo fashion cost  

 A single tree in a lake of snow;

orphaned from the woods I know;

the prairies where once they roamed 

these horses are all but doomed.   

Which run faster, feet or stream?

coherent words or scream?

witness the houses and flowers,

the idleness  before the showers.  

 A world of fantasy in Exupery's The Little Prince

save for a fox untamed and a stairway to the sky,  

amid night butterflies and day roses sans thorns - 

a potpourri of events in a setting false and wry.   

Fireworks, but whose and for whom -

doesn't matter, if at the bidding end, 

such spectacle by man genius is open,

more to the poor and the children. 

 

If Jack and the Beanstalk is still alive,

here is a scene to ponder and compare, 

to dream of the goose that lays the golden egg,

with thousands at their bidding simply stare.  

 Do you still believe in Santa Claus?

If you believe, then you do not know;

and if you know, then you don't believe.

Just listen to the soft falling snow. ~

Rizal as Zoologist

Rizal as Zoologist 

Dr Abe V Rotor

As a zoologist, Rizal discovered living organisms unnamed in his time, such as a flying (gliding) lizard (Draco Rizali), Harlequin Tree Frog (Racophorus Rizali), among others, named after him. 

            

Acknowledgement: Internet

Thoughts on a Boat Cruise to Guimaras

Thoughts on a Boat Cruise to Guimaras

Dr Abe V Rotor

Guimaras Island *

Thoughts run faster than vision, often reaching no destination;

While a boatload of souls patiently waits at sea with the wind

To take them to where they are bound in work or pleasure;

Having also thoughts of their own, but aimed at their mission.

* Guimaras locally, officially the Province of Guimaras is an island province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is Jordan. The province is situated in the Panay Gulf, between the islands of Panay and Negros. Area: 604.7 km² University: Guimaras State University (Mosqueda Campus). The island province is famous for producing one of the sweetest mangoes in the world, thus earning the nickname "Mango Capital of the Philippines" from local and foreign tourists.

TOO SOON THE BUD OPENS

 TOO SOON THE BUD OPENS

Dr Abe V Rotor

"Art, art, whatever way defined,

the subject on the wall,

or dripping on the floor,

art, art you aren't hard to find

after all. " - avr

 

                       Painting in acrylic (12" x 17")

You come in springtime and autumn, 

    too eager a bud  ahead of your time; 

what promise of life awaits tomorrow

    from where you've broken through?

Whichever path you take from now,

    you'll miss the adventure of youth 

in summer, and stillness of winter,

    Oh, how could you live to the full?  

"For having lost but once your prime,

    you'll always tarry," so says a poet;

"It's now or never," so sings a bard,

    and I, I've neither a poem nor a song.

Humor: Trouble with punctuation

Humor: Trouble with punctuation

Researched by Dr Abe V Rotor

1. A young woman boarded a crowded bus. A tired little man got up and gave her his seat. There was a moment of silence. "I beg your pardon?" said the tired man. "I didn't say anything," replied the young woman. "I'm sorry," said the man. "I thought you said 'Thank you.'"

2. An American engineer returned recently from a mission to the Soviet Union. The Russians, he reported, were fascinated by the Americans' use of the expression OK. " But what is this Okie-Dokie? one Russian asked him. Before he could answer, another Russian interrupted with, "Don't be a dope. It's the feminine of OK.

3. A grade-school student was having trouble with punctuation. "Never mind, sonny," said the visiting school board president, consolingly. "It's foolish to bother about commas; they don't amount too much, anyway." "Elizabeth Ann," said the teacher, "please write this sentence on the board: "The president of the board says the teacher is misinformed." "Now," she continued, "put a comma after the board and another after teacher."

4. Here's a story about smart kids. "I wonder why people say Amen and not Awomen?" Bobby questioned. His little friend replied, "Because they sing hymns and not hers, silly."

5. It often happens that I wake at night and begin to think about a serious problem and decide I must tell the Pope about it. Then I wake up completely and remember that I am the Pope. (Pope John Paul XXIII) ~

Verses, Verses: Good wine grows mellow with age

Verses, Verses

Good wine grows mellow with age

Good man grows into a sage

Dr Abe V Rotor

Table wine from local fruits developed by the author from fermentation 

to aging.  San Vicente, Ilocos Sur 

1. Good wine grows mellow with age;

Good man grows into a sage.

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

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

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

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

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

7. Kindness and gladness, these however small
are never, never put to waste at all.

8. Beauty seen once breaks a heart,
Wait for the image to depart.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Elegant Damsel Fly

 Elegant Damsel Fly 

                                                  Dr Abe V Rotor

Acknowledgement: Internet photo

Damsel Fly

What makes you noble, I see,

Is your frame, not scepter,

Light, strong and free

Replica of the helicopter. ~

Lonesome Nymphaea

                       Lonesome Nymphaea

                                                Dr Abe V Rotor

Acknowledgement: Internet Photo

Lonesome Nymphaea 

I. too, shall kiss you

After the mist and sun,

Before I say, "Adieu,"

and the bees gone. ~

Biology: Resurrection and Regeneration

                                             Biology:

                         Resurrection and Regeneration 

Dr Abe V Rotor

               

Old folks tell us of the magic of lizards growing new tails, crabs regaining lost claws, starfish arising from body pieces. How can we explain these mysteries?

 

The biological phenomenon behind these stories is called regeneration. The male deer grows a new set of anthers each year; sea squirts and hydras are produced from tiny buds; the same way plants grow from cuttings. 

House lizard or butiki, emerges from hiding after shedding off its skin (molting). 

New worms may regenerate from just pieces of the body; and some fish can sprout new fins to replace the ones that have been bitten off.

Experiments demonstrated that the forelimb of a salamander severed midway between the elbow and the wrist, can actually grow into a new one exactly the same as the lost parts. The stump re-forms the missing forelimb, wrist, and digits within a few months. In biology this is called redifferentiation, which means that the new tissues are capable of reproducing the actual structure and attendant function of the original tissues.

Curious the kid I was, I examined a twitching piece of tail, without any trace of its owner. I was puzzled at what I saw. My father explained how the lizard, a skink or bubuli, escaped its would-be predator by leaving its tail twitching to attract its enemy, while its tailless body stealthily went into hiding. “It will grow a new tail,” father assured me. I have also witnessed tailless house lizards (butiki) growing back their tails at various stages, feeding on insects around a ceiling lamp. During the regeneration period these house lizards were not as agile as those with normal tails, which led me to conclude how important the tail is.

Regeneration is a survival mechanism of many organisms. Even if you have successfully subdued a live crab you might end up holding only its pincers and the canny creature has gone back in the water. This is true also to grasshoppers, they actually detach their legs in order to escape their enemies.

Another kind of regeneration is compensatory hypertrophy, a kind of temporary growth response that occurs in such organs as the liver and kidney when they are damaged. If a surgeon removes up to 70 percent of a diseased liver, the remaining liver tissues undergo rapid mitosis (multiplication of cells) until almost the original liver mass is restored. Similarly, if one kidney is removed, the other enlarges greatly to compensate for its lost partner. ~

-----

Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM, 8-9 evening class Monday to Friday

Tragedy of the Commons: The case of the shrinking and disappearing "dilis" (anchovies) and "espada" fish.

Tragedy of the Commons: 

The case of the shrinking and disappearing "dilis" (anchovies) and "espada" fish.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Considered "poor man's food" in the rank of galunggong, pork and beans, and pandesal - this prolific marine fish once the main source of fishmeal for feeds, has spiraled beyond the means of ordinary people.

Espada (bulong-unas Ilk) is another marine fish that is fished in its juvenile stage, similarly with many other species that are over harvested, usually with close-knit fishnets - and without let-up in the absence of strict regulations.

Tragedy of the Commons*

Tragedy of the commons, a term scholarly phrased,
     means simply shrinking resources
in the midst of open competition to all in the name
     of freedom with whatever process
of acquisition in social Darwinism falsely applied;
     at the end, the winner neither the best
nor the vanquished, the passive nor meek, but all
      victim swept by the current of unrest
where the old Malthus' ghost once more roam,
     where lost the essence of progress,
and Toffler's ecospasm of economics and ecology
     clashing and falling from their crest. ~

* The tragedy of the commons is an economics theory by Garrett Hardin, according to which individuals, acting independently and rationally according to each one's self-interest, behave contrary to the whole group's long-term best interests by depleting some common resource. The concept is often cited in connection with sustainable development, meshing economic growth and environmental protection, as well as in the debate over global warming. "Commons" can include the atmosphere, oceans, rivers, fish stocks, national parks, the office refrigerator, and any other shared resource. The tragedy of the commons has particular relevance in analyzing behavior in the fields of economics, evolutionary psychology, anthropology, game theory, politics, taxation, and sociology. Some also see the "tragedy" as an example of emergent behavior, the outcome of individual interactions in a complex system. (Wikipedia)

"Nature is a world of reality and fantasy."

"Nature is a world of reality and fantasy."- avr

Details of Mural by Dr Abe V Rotor

"There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter." - Rachel Carson

Wish the animals are alive and tame.

 

They never saw the animals in the wild;

no, not in the concrete jungle of the city;

save a visit to the zoo, images on TV,

it's a world of reality and fantasy.

"I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles." 

- Anne Frank

White Doves Meet the Sun - a Forest Scene.

Morning comes late in the forest,

and evening comes early;

So with creatures at play or rest

 in their leisure and play. 

"My wish is to stay always like this, living quietly in a corner of nature."

 - Claude Monet