Let's Revive the Wishbone Game

 Let's Revive the Wishbone Game

For centuries, people regarded the wishbone 

as a symbol of luck, hope, and good fortune.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Next time you dress a chicken or any fowl (duck, turkey) or bird like quail or pigeon,  save the wishbone whole and clean it well. In a restaurant or fast food counter, have your fried chicken served whole, instead of having it chopped. Play the wishbone game right on the table with friends. Or have fun with your family at home. Let us revive an ancient game lost in our time.     

Author holds a chicken wishbone or furcula. 

When was the last time you played the wishbone game?

That must have been a long, long time ago, if at all.

An old game for two among friends, more so in the family,

Play it fair and Lady Luck will guide you to your goal.

Enlarged image of a chicken wishbone, and how the game is played.  

Chicken anatomy showing the location of the wishbone or furcula.

* The wishbone or furcula (Latin for "little fork"; pl. furculae) is a forked bone found in most birds. For centuries, people regarded the wishbone as a symbol of luck, hope, and good fortune. It takes two to play the game, slowly pulling the fork apart  until it breaks.  The one holding the unbroken stem wins. But win or lose, players believe in the magic of the wishbone bringing good health and cheer. ~ 

Give a Second Life to Spent Pens. Refill! (Article in progress)

Give a Second Life to Spent Pens.  Refill! 

  Clean up your desk and your home. Clean up Nature and save.  

Dr Abe V Rotor

Spent ball pens, marker pens and pencil stubs constitute a major waste in offices, homes and schools. Give them a second life, o to speak.  Refill.

 

Green pen - refillable with spare cartridge. These expensive ball pens need new cartridge after the original one has been spent. Substitute brands are cheaper. Ask your school and office suppliers.

Thousands of ball pens - millions actually, all over the globe, prematurely become useless. They die ahead of their time, so to speak, and we just don't give them decent burial. They are simply thrown away for nature to take over their demise. But they are non-biodegradable. They'll never decompose and become part of Nature's way of recycling them for the next generation.

Which lead us to a challenge.  For our part as users the most practical way is to refill. Ball pens are generally refillable. Many are built to outlive their writing element, in like manner guns are built for long use. There are of course, use-and-throw-away types. Avoid these if you can. Otherwise you fall into the tender trap of planned obsolescence, a ploy of many manufacturers.  

Expensive ball pens can be refilled for a lifetime. And there are substitute brands which are relatively cheaper than the original. One advantage to have a brand of your choice and use it regularly is that your penmanship remains the same. This is ergonomics which enhances natural feel in the use of the instrument. Your writing style becomes consistent. So with your signature. Look how beautiful your notes are.

 Start a campaign in your school or community. Have a supplier of ball pen fillers. And have a refilling session. This is a practical campaign to save money and to save nature. This will send a strong message to unscrupulous manufacturers.

Refillable marker pens

The art of gleaning extends far and wide, and now with pencils (and capless ballpens) thrown away before their time is up - why not give them another chance?

Simply wrap up, roll over each one a colorful, pliant paper from handouts and color magazines, and there you have made a beautiful piece of art!

Pencil stubs once more fit for writing - oh, how precious they are to you their savior; they have defied the category of waste for the duration of their second life; 

Like scabbards you sheath an unassuming dagger, saving someone from getting stabbed on the skin or in the eye, in a simple act of  "prevention by protection" principle.

Why didn't the manufacturer think of that? To provide safety caps to pencils before they reach the market, to warn of danger to school kids, and grownups too? 

There is meaning in small things, we do -  a bit of economy, a little ingenuity, a simple expression of beauty, a little act of goodness -  and a little prayer.~

"A thing of beauty is a boy forever."

"A thing of beauty is a boy forever."*

Wall Mural by Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature Center

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

“Happy times come and go, but the best childhood memories stay forever.” — Anonymous

"How I wish the day longer, and summer

on the seashore and hills forevermore;

 and keep childhood in a land of fantasy,

 where life is carefree and truly happy." 

 - avr

 “Childhood memories are the sweetest memories of the past.” — Anonymous

 "My childhood friends - my brother and the sea,

a world complete, there'll never be like any;

 eternal it seems, though ephemeral as dawn,

  as I walk this way but once, but never alone."

- avr

“When we are old and failing, it is the memories of childhood which can be summoned most clearly.” — Dan Simmons

 "I catch the clouds in the wind blowing

  on my face and hair, cool and soothing.

  I wonder where have all the birds gone,

  from the blue sky before the day is done."

                        - avr

“Sometimes I wish I could go back to my childhood and capture all those happy memories.” — Anonymous

  

"In my sunset years, I have missed the sea,

    save the beautiful, sweet scenes of memory;

  every passing breeze carries an old melody,

    there by the sea - a happy boy that was me."

- avr

 "Every happy memory created in childhood is a treasure of time.” — Anonymous

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

*A thing of beauty is a boy forever is a joyful modification of A thing of beauty is a joy for ever. by John Keats, English poet (1795-1821).

Neo-Impressionism in Our Times: A School of Fish Meets Dawn

 Neo-Impressionism in Our Times

A School of Fish Meets Dawn 

Painting and Verses 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

Evolution of art from Lascaux **

to avant-garde  of today,

across cultures and continents,

ages, epochs, if I may say. 

Charcoal, acrylic to electronics,

and through the lens seen;

ephemeral like seasons passings,

lost to AI and machine.

And I, in my sunset years yearn

 for the schools of old anew;

like my fish stirring to the dawn;

 for art is a passing review. 

Camouflaged in red

for offence and defence;

 survival of the fittest

tells the fate of the rest.

 

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

Dali, Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso -

trailblazers in the art world;

opened a horizon wide and wild,

however distorted and crude.

 

Micro-plastic-smoke-fog - plasmog,

acid rain and pollution blur my vision;

I grope for a new art, and school,

reborn from some old impression.

 

Neo-impressionism in our times,

its roots from a brief experience

persist on our busy lane and time; 

with some respect and reverence. 

"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
--------------------

 

* 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

** Lascaux is a world-renowned Paleolithic cave complex in southwestern France (Dordogne) containing17,000–20,000-year-old, exceptionally preserved prehistoric paintings and engravings, known as the "Sistine Chapel of Prehistory,"

Goodbye Amihan, Goodbye. "Hanggang sa Muli, Amihan."

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' trees 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,

     under its new crown, pleads don't cry."

- AVR

   
     Fallen leaves pile up after confetti for days,
blanket of the earth, abode of crawlers, 
     mulch, compost, against flood and drought;
  mysterious indeed are our Creator's ways

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

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

*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. ~