Sargassum Fish: Model of Mimicry and Camouflage

Sargassum Fish: Model of Mimicry 

and Camouflage

Dr Abe V Rotor 

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Sargassum Fish in acrylic by AVR circa 2002

Strange this living world, if you wish;

fish to Sargassum, Sargassum to fish;

if evolution is by fusion

toward unification and peace,

where lies fission,

key to diversification?

There would be more fossils

than the present living,

extinguished before their time,

unfit by Darwinian rule -

unless the past had little left

the proof of the whole.

And here before our eyes: the link

of time past and present,

of fossil and the living,

changing, too nil, too slow;

wondering at Nature's game,

in her own sweet time.~

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 

Yes, you can be a poet! Here are simple verses.

Yes, you can be a poet!  Here are simple verses.

"... and if one day the water of the sea is not enough,

drink, drink deep from my little cup."- avr

Dr Abe V Rotor

Get out and write.

1. Foot Bridge

I walked the bridge to its far end and beyond,
And down the river to the sea I cast my pole.
It was a fight I fought, it was no longer game,
And it was neither fish nor dream I caught.

2. Mayon Volcano

Tranquility reigns on her face, rage in her breast,
If beauty exudes best from a spring of force,
I do not wonder at the shyness of a crest,
And the power of a single rose.

3. Artisan

I touched the towering figure and I was touched,
Transported to Gulliver’s land for a moment;
To meet the maker, a simple man from the hills,
Unschooled, yet his burin sings of glorious Greece.

4. Gulliver

Pygmies make giants, for the little man dreams of what he misses.
Humble is he, painstakingly working on his stead,
Until a Genie rises from his hands, mirror of a great soul.
Lo, a pupil I am, doubting my skill, my goal.

5. Children of Nature

Summer’s short, rainy days are long,
And so brief is this imagery;
The young can’t wait, and all along
The scene a blissful memory.

6. A happy lot

For just once the world is mine
With rowdy friends and I,
Happily with a jug of wine,
Words come easy, ‘Aye, Aye!’ ”

7.The other side of progress

Through time, humanity has changed through use
Of its environment for man’s needs through abuse,
From adaptation to modernization,
All in the name of civilization.

8. Youth

Pleasance to you youth, bright as the sun;
The world be at war or be at peace.
Ask not where have all the flowers gone;
Seasons come, and seasons go at ease.

9. Rage

Rage and break, rage and break,
On the cold wall and be free;
Make the sky and the river meet
Under a rainbow by the sea.

10. Drink from my little cup

Rise up from the sea and come down as rain;
rise, rise up and be weaned, to be free;
and if one day the water of the sea is not enough,
drink, drink deep from my little cup.

Markus - The Little Prince

Markus - The Little Prince

Baby's Sunrise - Social bonding at a very early age

Dr Abe V Rotor 

As the sun peeps on the horizon, it lights up the sky,

     Hills and mountains glow, and the fields wake up;

Gems from dewdrops are born as quickly as they die

     With the mist that unfolds a drama on a road map -

A new beginning, though uncertain may the future lie,   

                           The sun shines brightest on the mountain top.      

Tracing genetic lineage to the nth generation         

First solid food introduces a baby to the dining table 

     

Bonding with balikbayan relative 

Bonding with friends and co-workers of the child's parents

Bonding with uncle and auntie

Bonding with Lola

Papier-mâché travelogue brings back childhood

"The greatest final adventure at sunset

is a make-believe travelogue."

   

Dr Abe V Rotor 

Photos by the author, Disneyland HK 2017

Past your prime, and here you are in fairy land. 

to be a child once more,

returning to a place you love and not understand

innocence in its core;

 this freedom in pure childhood affection and fun

is the greatest tour. 

  

 

Here in a land where Peter Pan flies,

stars mingle with fireflies

flowers pretty smiling faces, 

of princes and princesses 

  

More than the Phoenix bird rising, 

little ones in its place singing,

life's continuum, ad infinitum, 

far, far away from doom. 

 

The little ones they are our very own

in flesh, in laughter and joy;

wouldn't the angels rather join the fun?

the heavy at heart to buoy. 

 

Voodoo - song, dance and play,

festival at the grassroots, 

tribal, primitive - who would say -

  all the pain it soothes. 

Life is a giant book 

to kids of unending entertainment

opportunities and adventure 

surprises and merriment.

  

In fantasy land it is hard to say Goodbye

even if you are very old;

the greatest final adventure at sunset

is a make-believe travelogue.~   

Young Markus Meets the Dawn of Discovery

Great discoveries and inventions have their roots in childhood.
Dr Abe V Rotor

Christopher Columbus as a child played by the seaside looking far into the horizon with a toy boat at his feet. Florence Nightingale’s treated her first patient when she was a little girl, a wounded dog she brought back to health. Brahms composed the world’s most popular lullaby as a kid babysitter who could barely reach the keys of the piano. 

The snowmobile, earmuff, trampoline, popsicle, were all invented by kids. It was a kid who accidentally discovered (serendipity) one of the earliest human fossils. Whoever discovered the creepiest creature like the jumping spider, and the brightest supernova thought to be a UFO, could not have been an adult, but a curious and sensitive child.  

Kids can see more stars in the sky, listen to the whale’s call as music, see grass actually growing, build sandcastles.  They are discoverers and inventors in the making.  They need role models in their search and aspirations in making a better  world and tomorrow.   They are the likes of Einstein, Edison, Mozart, Da Vinci, Bell, Linnaeus, Darwin, et al. when they were young.               

Young Markus and Yaya at home in QC

Greet the morning on a flower hanging,

with dewdrops like gems shining;

Where have the gems gone at the end of day?

Come back with the sun we pray.

A wall mural and a tree trunk at home QC 

A wall mural, bats emerging as darkness falls;

a tree beside, moss and lichen astride,

here reality and imagery the essence of art. 

so in life, together lie side by side.  

Lobster's Claw (Heliconia) and coconut tree at home QC 

By semblance, a lobster is a flower;

to a child, they are the same, 

big and small by the same Creator 

keeps them play the same game.  ~

The Art of the Caterpillar

Dr Abe V Rotor 

                   Skeleton of a  leaf of Samat (Macaranga tenarius)

Caterpillar, when you are gone
two things come to mind:
the butterfly you'll become,
and the damage you've done

and left behind.

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. ~

Living Prism in the Deep

Living Prism in the Deep
Painting and Poem by Dr Abe V Rotor

Living Prism in the Deep in acrylic (24” x 43”) 2017

Sunlight splits into colors, the rainbow,

     through droplets hanging in the sky,

the deep among seaweeds where fishes play,

     letting time and the world go by.

Oh, how the seasons come and go at ease,

     ephemeral in our lifetime,

yet fullest in awe and wonder and joy,

     in the living prism in our prime.

In the golden years as the sun sets down,

     and into the deep its last rays soon die,
lingers, flickers the light saved by the day

     into beautiful dreams to live by. ~

Entomology: Cockroaches eat on anything - almost.

Cockroaches eat on anything - almost.
Number One Pest in the Home
Dr Abe V Rotor

American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) is most commonly found in the tropics

True. Being omnivorous, cockroaches voraciously consume all kinds of materials that are rich in carbohydrates, proteins, fats and oils. But when these are not available they turn to unlikely food source like soap, photographic film, clothes, wood and drugs. In fact they even turn into predators, devouring other insects, and sometimes biting people in their sleep. Their bite often gets swollen and infected. Cockroaches are found in all places where humans live and conduct his trade, commerce and industry. Only rats can be compared with the tenacity of the cockroach.

The cockroach has very powerful digestive enzymes: proteases digest protein, invertase breaks complex sugar, and amylase breaks starches. Its saliva contains powerful enzymes coming from the gastric caeca, while the Malphigian tubules secrete an enzyme that is equally disgusting. It is no wonder that just a single frass (feces) can spoil a whole pot of rice by its obnoxious smell. By the way there are three most common species that we encounter in the home and public places. These are the American cockroach or Periplaneta americana (large, rust red with a yellow band across its thorax), the German cockroach or Blatta germanica (pale yellow, only one-third the size of the American species) and the oriental cockroach or Blatta orientalis (dark brown to black, the biggest and filthiest of all cockroaches.)

Meticulous sanitation is the best way to get rid of cockroaches. To keep their population down, sprinkle carbamate (Sevin) on the kitchen floor, pathways and possible hideout of the pest, preferably before retiring at night. Keep doors and screens properly closed to prevent entry of the insect. 

 Life cycle of American cockroach (hemimetabola - egg, nymph, adult)

 A community of American cockroach.

                                           Three most common species 

How to minimize cockroaches at home and workplace. (CLIPS)

• Cleanliness - cockroach is a barometer of housekeeping 
• Lighting - cockroach is nocturnal. Vigil light keeps them at bay. 
• Isolation - screen, cabinets and drawers, containers
• Protection - kill or repel with derris, pandan mabango, chemical (carbamate like Sevin), traps
• Starvation - get rid of droppings, morsels, leftovers

Acknowledgement: Photos credit: Internet