Giorgio Morandi Etchings: Looking Back into the Art of Etching

Giorgio Morandi made etchings at a time when etching was a sort of specialized art. Etching dominated the process of printing images, illustrations in books and other publications, as well as sculptural and architectural works. With the development of modern printing, etching lost its practical value, so with its popularity, but it evolved into the use of metal, ceramics, and other media. It is to Morandi et al, that the art continues to occupy a distinct place in the world of art through forms and applications, such as relief etching and photo etching. 

Dr Abe V Rotor 

I had the opportunity to view Morandi’s works exhibited  at the Tel Aviv Museum in Israel, in 1992, and I could only express my awe and appreciation to both the skill and the peaceful and composed person behind these masterpieces.   

 Still Life with Four Objects and Three Bottles 1956 

 Still Life with Five Objects, 1954

 Large Still Life with Eleven Objects, Circular 1942

 Landscape, Grizzana 1932 

  Still Life 1933

 Still Life with Pears and Grapes 1927

 Still Life with a Large Poplar 1927

  Still Life with a Small Bread Basket 1921 

 Landscape, Grizzana 1932 

 Still Life with Bottles and Jug 1915

Acknowledgement: The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; and The Tel-Aviv Museum

Only God can make an egg.

Dr. Abe V. Rotor

Analogously, according to Joyce Kilmer, “Only God can make a tree.”

Once there was a scientist in the like of Frankenstein, the doctor who created a monster in Mary Shelly’s novel in the late 18th century. This scientist wanted to make an artificial egg, but one that possesses all the qualities of a natural egg. With his intensive knowledge in chemistry and biology and engineering he succeeded at last in making one that is complete with albumin (white), yolk (yellow center), and of course a perfect eggshell.

Confident that he was after testing his masterpiece in the laboratory, he then proceeded in having it incubated, placing it in the center of a dozen natural eggs and had a mother hen sit on them. Days passed by and finally sweet sounds came from under the brooding hen. There were twelve beautiful, little chicks. All the eggs hatched except one, the thirteenth – his scientific egg.~

Augury of the Black Dove

Augury of the Black Dove

Dr Abe V Rotor

    

Augury is the practice from ancient Roman religion of interpreting omens from the observed behavior of birds. A white dove means “peace”. A black dove means “war”.  It could also pertain to matters of the heart, relationships, luck, misfortune, death, Remember the emissary bird in the biblical Noah's Ark? Have you seen a black dove in our real world?

You betrayed your master, you lost his trust,

       emissary of the Flood;

instead you feasted on the spoils with lust,

       and the victims' blood.

I can “cure” a person who is "naan-annungan"

Dr Abe V Rotor

An-annung is the Ilocano of nasapi-an in Pilipino. Spirits cast spell on a person, the old folks say. The victim may suffer of stomachache or headache accompanied by cold sweat, body weakness or feeling of exhaustion.

Well, take this case. It was dusk when a tenant of ours insisted of climbing a betel palm, Areca catechu to gather its nuts for nga-nga. My dad objected to it, but somehow the young man prevailed when dad left.

"Spellbound to the spirits of the living and the dead." A painting by a contestant in a painting competition at  UST

The stubborn young man was profusely sweating and was obviously in pain, pressing his stomach against the tree trunk. Dad called for me. I examined my “patient” and assured him he will be all right. And like a passing ill wind, the spell was cast away. Dad and the people around believed I had supernatural power.


There had been a number of cases I “succeeded” in healing the naan-annungan. But I could also induce – unknowingly - the same effect on someone else. That too, my dad and old folks believed. They would sought for my “power” to cast the spell away from - this time – no other than my own “victim”. What a paradox!

As I grew up and pursued my education, my perception on the supernatural began to change. I read Nostradamus prophesy, Hawthorn's House of the Seven Gables, Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven, Washington Irving's ghostly characters like The Headless Horseman. It was fun reading Dracula, The Mummy, The Exorcist, Ghost. They are all out of this world; they just come in imagination and entertainment. And to scare naughty children.

The impressions I got from other books are different. Take the case of Alexander Dumas' Count on Monte Cristo, Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, and Charles Dicken's Oliver, Kemphis' Imitation of Christ and a lot of great writings, many considered classical because of their relevance and timelessness, and people often getting back to read them when they feel the world tightening up.

What really make people well? Of course, we have to know what make them sick of various kinds of ailmnents and symptoms in the first place.

People who are unwell are not necessarily those who are physically sick; they are those who are sick in the heart and mind. They have lost hope, they have low esteem of themselves, they are tied up with unforgettable  traumatic experiences. They are full of anger and hatred. And bad intentions.

Or they have drawn into the recesses of their mind and won't like to face the world. They fear reality, so they use fantasy as shield. Things out of this world is a defeatist argument, when logic fails, when reality is distorted. Sickness is deeper than what is physiologic or pathogenic. And there is only one thing that can make these people feel well.

And that is to bring them back to self-confidence and self-trust. After that they start building confidence and trust in others.

What was my role as the boy who can dispel bad spirits that chanced upon a person? I was merely as agent of renewal. Children are like that because they are pure and innocent. They are the best healers because they bring back faith and hope which the grownups are losing or have lost. The faith healer is the master catalyst. It was Christ way of healing, the key to his miracles.

I read something about Alexander the Great consulting the Oracle at Siwa to find out if indeed he is god-sent.

“The Pharaoh will bow to you, ” the priestess told him. And it did happen - the pharaoh kissed Alexander’s feet when he arrived in Cairo.

The great warrior knew no bounds of his power, conquering empire after empire, encompassing the whole breadth of the known civilized world at that time, reaching as far as the Orient.

But alas! on the bank of the Tigris-Euphrates River, one evening the great warrior, the son of god, died. Thus ended his lofty dreams as the ruler of the world. The myth went with him. He was barely 33 years old. ~

Vinegar - Nature's Secret of Good Health

Ilocos Vinegar (Sukang Iloko)- Nature's Secret of Good Health

Dr Abe V Rotor

Vin-egar, which means sour wine, is Nature's secret of good health.

Vinegar or acetic acid (CH3COOH) abounds in nature, as long as there's sugar(C6H12O6). Sugar is converted into ethanol, and ethanol to acetic acid.

Ilocos Vinegar (far right) and fruit wine and basi- products of the Ilocos Region 

Vinegar then is oxidized ethanol or ethyl alcohol (C2H5OH). The conversion process is both biological and chemical. In fact, fermentation of sugar to ethanol, goes hand in hand with ethanol conversion to acetic acid, with the latter prevailing at the end.

This formula is taking place in food, flowers, fruits, plant sap, insect exudate, honeycombs, raisins, etc. Nature eliminates sugar - simple and complex - ultimately through this process, and at the end converts them back to elements ready to be re-assembled in the next process and for the next user or generation. This process is taking place everywhere because the agents are ubiquitous such as the yeast (Saccharomyces) and the vinegar bacteria (Acetobacter). And there are dozens more working in union. This scenario is also taking place in the mouth and stomach, on the skin, and other parts of the body of organisms.

Vinegar is Nature's cleansing agent and disinfectant, eliminating stain, odor, fungi, bacteria, weeds, and repelling ants, and other vermin.

People who are fond of food prepared with vinegar are healthier and slimmer. It is because vinegar regulates formation of adipose tissues, and burns fat. Some people dampen their appetite by sprinkling a little natural vinegar on prepared food to take the edge off their appetite. Notice that after eating anything with vinegar, you lose interest in your meal. Vinegar triggers the appetite's shut off mechanism.

Feel good. A teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water, with a bit of honey added for flavor, will take the edge off your appetite and give you an overall healthy feeling.

Well, here is a short list of home remedies using vinegar.

• Soothe a sore throat. Put a teaspoon of natural vinegar in a glass of water. Gurgle.

• Apply cold vinegar right away for fast relief of sunburn or other minor burns. It will help prevent burn blisters.

• Soothe a bee or jellyfish sting. Douse with vinegar to soothe irritation and relieve itching.

• Relieve sunburn. Lightly rub diluted natural vinegar on skin. Reapply as needed.

• Conditions hair. Add a tablespoon of vinegar to your rinse to dissolve sticky residue left by shampoo.

• Relieve dry and itchy skin. Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar to your bath water.

• Fight dandruff. After shampooing, rinse with a solution of ½ cup vinegar and 2 cups of warm water.

• Treat sinus infections and chest colds. Add ¼ cup or more vinegar to the vaporizer.

• Cure hangover. Combine two raw eggs, a tablespoon of vinegar and black pepper. Blend well.

Just a reminder. Use only natural vinegar - not glacial acetic acid. ~

Indigenous Tools and Equipment

Indigenous Tools and Equipment

Dr Abe V Rotor

Sled or pasagad, bullock drawn

These are indigenous tools and equipment, many are now rare. The younger generation may not be familiar with many of these in the list. Others have simply evolved into new designs or tools which are difficult to trace as to their origin. There are regional variations and have adopted distinct cultural traits. In fact, there are universal inventions which cannot be calimed by a specific country or culture, such as the

1. Trowel (Barrusot Ilk)
2. Hand palay harvester (rakem)
3. Laying hen’s crib (baki)
4. Farmer’s backpack (kuribot)
5. Boat sled (takuli)
6. Bullock Sled (pasagad)
7. Bare bull cart (partigo)
8. Bull cart with sides (kariton)
9. Sledge hammer (maso)
10. Dike (pilapil) bolo (pangtabas)
11. Heavy duty bolo (badang)
12. Everyday bolo (buneng)
13. Dagger (balisong Tag; daga Ilk)
14. Iron nail remover (kabra)
15. Crowbar (bareta)
16. Log saw (sarrotso)
17. Ax (wasay Ilk)
18. Wide brimmed hat (payabyab)
19. Woven hat (kallugong)
20. Planting pole (tik-tak mechanism)
21. Fish basket (alat)
22. Chewing nut bag (tampipi)
23. Scythe (kumpay)
24. Fishing pole (banni-it)
25. Slingshot (palsi-it)
26. Toy hand cannon (palsu-ot)
27. Blowgun (salbatana)
28. Threshing rope with handle (hawak)
29. Threshing board
30. Woven mat (banig)
31. Coconut midrib broom (walis tingting)
32. Soft grass broom (walis tambo)
33. Coco shell cup (ungot)
34. Earthen water pot (calamba, caramba)
35. Earthen pot (for cooking) (palayok, banga)
36. Fish fence (tarit)
37. Fish trap (salakab)
38. Bottom fish trap (kudagdag)
39. Fish net with x-frame (salloy)
40. Throw net (tabukol)
41. Fixed fish trap (bubo)
42. Bird pole trap (taay)
43. Bird loop net (singgapong)
44. Spear (pika)
45. Dugout trap (palab-og)
46. Bow and arrow (pana)
47. Coconut grater (gadgaran)
48. Curve bolo for trimming levees (panabas)
49. Hammer or mallet (martilyo)
50. Lever to draw water from well (babatwagan)

NOTE: List has not been arranged according to use/s, not even alphabetically. This is to allow inclusion of more tools and equipment.

What to do with Old Tires

 Dr Abe V Rotor 

Encounter with Nature in a Museum and Zoo

Encounter with Nature in a Museum and Zoo

Dr Abe V Rotor

  

Tamboili shells, former St. Paul University QC Museum

I'm standing on the world's narrowest isthmus,

among archives and fossils of history,

where I can hold the Pacific and the Atlantic

oceans half the world apart and free;

I cross the time and distance barrier

with these chroniclers singing to me

the unending roars of the tides,

tides on the street, tides of the sea.  

Baby orangutan, Avilon Zoo, San Mateo, Rizal

Monkey on my back, that's what people say

when what we say logic we lack;

genes may vary, yet the same to this day,

indeed, a monkey on our back.

Blue Starfish: a piece of the sea and sky in my hand

Blue Starfish

- a piece of the sea and sky in my hand 

Matthew Marlo R. Rotor

Blue starfish, Calatagan, Batangas.

Photo by Matthew Marlo R. Rotor. ~

"A piece of the sea and the sky in my hand,

      blue - the color of eternity and infinity,

the boundless prosperity of sea and land,

      and a lifetime of fleeting immortality." - mmrr

Starfish is the more popular name of sea stars - relative of brittle stars, sand dollars and sea urchins. This rare specimen was collected on the coral reef of Calatagan, Batangas. It belongs to Phylum Echinodermata, the most advanced of all invertebrates. Its radial symmetry is perfect for its structure and design, typically equipped with five arms, although there are dimorphic forms of having four or six arms. 

The starfish has a remarkable ability of regeneration, and asexual reproduction. When cut in half through the center, each half regenerates into an independent individual. Sea stars are predators of shellfish and are considered pest of oysters, clams and mussels. The predatory technique is to pry the shellfish through persistent force alternately using the arms, until the victim opens up to the gaping mouth of the predator. 

* Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio

738 DZRB AM Band, 8-9 evening class, Monday to Friday