Dusk or Dawn

 Dusk or Dawn

Dr Abe V Rotor

Dusk or Dawn in acrylic on wood (8.5"x 14") AVR 2019

Darkness conquers light,

or the other way around;

dusk or dawn delight

    makes the world go round
in colors dull and bright
sans bound and sound. ~ 

Old Violin: Pictorial Essay sans Words

Dr Abe V Rotor

Old German Violin (Ulbrich Tatter)

No. 9  Patented Aug 25, 1908

Ecomigration: Kiribati - Vanishing Paradise

Rising sea level is forcing inhabitants to leave permanently their home islands, a classical example of modern day exodus - ecomigration. 
Dr Abe V Rotor
Kiribati main island is formerly Atoll Christmas, named by Captain Cook when he arrived on Christmas Eve in 1777. The island, like most islands in the region, faces irreversible submergence and sea water intrusion as a result of rising sea level brought about by global warming. The island was used as nuclear testing ground by the United States in the fifties and sixties.
Aerial view of the Kiribati group of islands. Rising sea level is forcing inhabitants to leave permanently their home islands, a classical example of modern day exodus - ecomigration. Displaced inhabitants are being settled mainly in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

The sea has practically swallowed up a whole atoll, with narrow fringes the only remaining habitable portion, at least up to now.

Kiribati Parliament House is threatened by receding shoreline (background) and rising lagoon (foreground).

Kiribati (pronounced /ˈkɪrɨbæs/ ( listen) KIRR-i-bas;[4] Gilbertese: [ˈkiɾibas]), composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, (1,351,000 square miles) straddling the equator, and bordering the International Date Line at its easternmost point. Kiribati is the only country in the world located on both hemispheres and lying on both sides of the 180th meridian.

The groups of islands are:

* Banaba: an isolated island between Nauru and the Gilbert Islands
* Gilbert Islands: 16 atolls located some 930 miles (1,500 km) north of Fiji
* Phoenix Islands: 8 atolls and coral islands located some 1,100 miles (1,800 km) southeast of the Gilberts
* Line Islands: 8 atolls and one reef, located about 2,050 miles (3,300 km) east of the Gilberts.
Caroline Atoll channel between west side of Long Island and Nake Island.

Used for nuclear testing in the 1950s and 1960s, the island is now valued for its marine and wildlife resources. It is particularly important as a seabird nesting site—with an estimated 6 million birds using or breeding on the island, including several million Sooty Terns.

According to the South Pacific Regional Environment Program, two small uninhabited Kiribati islets, Tebua Tarawa and Abanuea, disappeared underwater in 1999. The islet of Tepuka Savilivili no longer has any coconut trees due to salination. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that sea levels will rise by about half a metre (20 in) by 2100 due to global warming and a further rise would be inevitable. It is thus likely that within a century the nation's arable land will become subject to increased soil salination and will be largely submerged.

Rising level level is also being felt in many countries, particularly island-countries like the Philippines. ~

Acknowledgment: Wikipedia, Google

20 Evolving Art Scenes of Our Changing Environment

June is Philippine Environment Month

20 Evolving Art Scenes of Our Changing Environment

On display at the Living with Nature Center

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Paintings by Dr Abe V Rotor

“If the environment is happy, people will laugh and your grief will go away.”― Srinivas Mishra

Our changing environment refers to the ongoing changes happening to the planet, primarily due to human activities like burning fossil fuels and deforestation. These changes include global warming, rising sea levels, and altered ecosystems. Climate change is a significant aspect of these changes, with impacts including more extreme weather, melting ice, and rising sea levels.AI Overview Internet

Flow Gently Sweet Afton, local counterpart

“An understanding of the natural world and what’s in it is a source of not only a great curiosity but great fulfillment.” —David Attenborough

Ecosystems endangered - coral reef and forest

“The earth is always changing...readjusting to our existence. Each era is full of unique challenges”― Val Uchendu

Two colonies - marine and terrestrial

“The Earth is what we all have in common.”—Wendell Berry

Birds in the trees; fish in the deep

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” —Albert Einstein

Boys in the woods adventure; family of fish

“To leave the world better than you found it, sometimes you have to pick up other people’s trash.” —Bill Nye

Oil spill in two stages

“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of each.” — Henry David Thoreau

Aftermath of oil spill on marine ecosystem.

“Together we can preserve the forest, securing this immense treasure for the future of all these children.”— Chico Mendes

Evolution of life in two stages

And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and my soul.” —John Muir

“The ultimate test of a man's conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard.” — Gaylord Nelson

The Day After dreadful scenarios

“Look after the land and the land will look after you, destroy the land and it will destroy you.” —Aboriginal Proverb

“We are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last generation that can do something about it.”— Barack Obama

New species emerging from genetic engineering

“Earth rejoices our words, breathing and peaceful steps. Let every breath, every word and every step make the mother earth proud of us.”― Amit Ray

Where have all the fire trees - and the children - gone?

"There can be no purpose more enspiriting than to begin the age of restoration, reweaving the wondrous diversity of life that still surrounds us." — E.O. Wilson ~

Do you believe in Dream Catcher?

The dream catcher is a symbol of unity among the various Indian Nations, and a general symbol of identification with Native American or First Nations cultures. 
Dr Abe V Rotor

The web is made up of sinew or animal gut snugly

woven on a wooden or metal ring like tennis racket.

Author shows dream catcher made by Indian natives in Canada

Dream catcher or Ojibwe asabikeshiinh originated from the Ojibwa (Chippewa) culture in native America. Design of the original dream catcher. It is a good project in school. And a wonderful gift, too.

In Ojibwa (Chippewa) culture, a dream catcher (Ojibwe asabikeshiinh), the inanimate form of the word for "spider" or bawaajige nagwaagan meaning "dream snare" is a handmade object based on a willow hoop, on which is woven a net or web. The dream catcher is then decorated with personal and sacred items such as feathers and beads.

Dreams have many meanings to American Indians. One of the old Ojibwa traditions was to hang a dream catcher in their homes. They believe that the night air is filled with dreams, both bad and good. The dream when hung, moves freely in the air and catches the dreams as they float by. The good dreams know the way and slip through the center hole, then slide down off the soft feather so gently that many times the sleeper below doesn’t know he’s dreaming. The bad dreams not knowing the way, get entangled in the webbing and perish with the first light of the new day.

Small dream catchers were hung on cradle boards so infants would have good dreams. Other sizes were hung in lodges for all to have good dreams.

The dream catcher is a symbol of unity among the various Indian Nations, and a general symbol of identification with Native American or First Nations cultures. Outside of the pan-Indian communities, dream catchers are now made, exhibited, and sold by some new age groups and  individuals.

I have a dream catcher at home. My children used to make dream catchers in our shop and gave them as gifts to relatives and friends. We believe in bonding through thoughts and dreams.

Then a movie in the later part of the nineties destroyed all that; it projected a fearful image of the dream catcher. It is nightmare rather than good dream that the dream catcher catches. And instead of protecting the owner, it brings harm to him - indeed an affront to the original good intention and "sacredness" of the object. There are movies that destroy sanity and good faith, movies that make our friends our own enemies, movies that urge us to destroy wildlife because they are bad, movies that cast doubts to lifelong traditions and beliefs. It is the evil side of media.

If you believe in the happy life, unity and cooperation among the native Americans - and those in later cultures - have a dream catcher at home. Hang it at the entrance, better still above a person who wishes to have peace and comfort in life. HAPPY DREAMS! - Night Eagle. ~

Hold it, don't sneeze in public!

Avoid embarrassment and spreading disease
Dr Abe V Rotor
Demonstrate this simple method in the classroom or in a group session.  It is good manners and right conduct.  Get feedback from your students and audience.  Ask your family doctor the medical explanation for this remedy. 

Press the base of your nose hard and hold it there until the urge to sneeze subsides. Do it discreetly and subtlety.

Take heed of the warning signs of sneezing: itchy nose, irritated nostril, uncontrollable winking of the eye, and quivering face muscles. Sometimes the urge is so faint you simply dismiss you're not going to sneeze.

The cause may be temporary and minor like sudden change in temperature, dusty carpet, and the invisible dust mites in he bedroom. It could be the perfume of somebody near you. Did the janitor spray the room? Maybe too much air freshener was applied. It could be the newspaper you are reading - no, not the headline, it's the paper and ink.

Sneezing is a sign of low resistance. Maybe you did not get enough sleep last night. More so, if you smoke and drink. And this morning you took strong coffee to keep you from getting drowsy, deny yourself of enough rest.

Now, you will be the next to present a paper in a conference. You can't leave the room, of course. People know if you get out of their sight.

Keep calm. Press the base of your nose hard and hold it there until the urge to sneeze subsides. Do it discreetly and subtlety. Don't show there's something wrong.

Release your hold if the urge totally subsides. Go on with your usual activity. Repeat if the urge comes back.

But once the urge becomes unbearable, find an excuse to leave the room while holding the base of your nose. At this point, sneeze can’t wait. ~