Quotations my father taught me early in life

 Quotations my father taught me early in life

Emissaries of Peace and Unity in acrylic on wood by the author, 2022

Dr Abe V Rotor 

1. "Happiness is one commodity that multiplies by dividing it."  Anon 

2. "A place for everything and everything in its place." Anon

3.  "He begins to die who quits his desires." G Herbert

4. "Just as tall trees are known by their shadows, so are good men known by their enemies." Old Chinese Proverb 

5. "If the official is himself upright, the people will play their roles without orders.  If he is not upright, even under orders the people will be disobedient." Confucius

6. "It's is always darkest just before the day dawneth."  Thomas Fuller

7. "He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has."  Epictetus

8. "Great men cherish excellence; petty men, their comfort.  Great men cherish rules, petty men, special favors." Anon

9. "Poor minds talk about people; average minds about events; great minds about ideas." Anon 

10. "Shall I tell you what knowledge is?  It is to know both what one knows and what one does not know." Confucius 

 11. "The eyes believe themselves; the ears believe other people." German Proverb

12. "The life of every river sings its own song, but in most the song is long marred by the discords of misuse." Aldo Leopold

13. "The mind unlearns with difficulty what it has long learned." Seneca

14. "Impossible is a word only to be found in the dictionary of the fools." Napoleon 

15. The first step to knowledge is to know that we are ignorant." Cecil

16, When the state is most corrupt, then the laws are most multiplied." Tacitus

17.  A little learning is a dangerous thing." Alexander Pope

18. "A picture is a poem without words." Horace

19. "If you need a physician, employ those three - a cheerful mind, rest, and a temperate diet."  Zimmerman

20."To read without reflecting, is like eating without digesting." Burke

"Nature never betrayed the Heart that loved her." - William Wordsworth

Survival in extreme hot and dry environment

 Survival in extreme hot and dry environment

Dr Abe V Rotor

"Take heed of the flowering bamboo," old folks warn.  It foretells El Niño, a cyclical climatic phenomenon every seven to ten years characterized by extreme hot and dry climate. 

Flowering bamboo - threatened by severe drought.

The biblical story of Joseph interpreting the pharaoh's dream of "seven years of plenty followed by seven years of want," is most likely based on this phenomenon. (Note: The inflorescence of bamboo does not develop in open, thus certain species are threatened, so with the animals depending on them such as the Panda in China.)   

Organisms become dormant (aestivate to many animals), their metabolism slows down, they stop reproducing temporarily, and they become less visible.  These are part of survival mechanism until normal environmental conditions are restored. 

Porcupine ensconced in a log to beat summer heat 

Organisms are attuned to the march of seasons as well as the vagaries of weather and harsh effect of force majeure. These are tests of evolution and the basis of Darwin's "survival of the fittest."  

Many plants, especially cacti, store water for the dry season. 

Dwarf frangipani (kalachuchi) stores water in its bulbous stem. 

Water and nutrients are stored in special cells  that swell when filled up and shrink as the supply gets low. The principle involved is even more complex in the camel, whose humps are the storage organ.     

Before embarking for journey, travelers make certain that the humps of this "ship in the desert" is solid and firm. 

The genus Camelus that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. 

Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provide food (milk and meat) and textiles (fiber and felt from hair). Camels are working animals especially suited to their desert habitat and are a vital means of transport for passengers and cargo. There are three surviving species of camel. The one-humped dromedary makes up 94% of the world's camel population, and the two-humped Bactrian camel makes up 6%. The Wild Bactrian camel is a separate species and is now critically endangered. Wikipedia 

Insure your child's bright future through breast feeding.

 Insure your child's bright future through breast feeding. 

Children who were regularly breastfed turn out to be more intelligent, diligent, respectful, and peaceful.

Dr Abe V Rotor  

 

Author's grandson Markus 2 strictly breastfed is active, healthy, apparently talented and intelligent. Breastfed children have better chances of success in life and career. Photos taken by the author.

It surpasses all the highly advertised milk products in terms of nutrition, digestibility and compatibility; above all it contains colostrum, the natural antibiotics that protects the newly born from a host of diseases.  

Breast feeding enhances bonding between mother and child.  It gives a feeling of security on the part of the child, and for the mother, the maternal instinct is expressed with warmth and love as the child learns more and more about his new world. 

Children who were regularly breastfed turn out to be more intelligent, diligent, respectful, and peaceful, than those who were raised with commercial milk formulas. There is a theory that cow’s milk, or milk from other animals, has adverse affect on the behavior of the child. Scientists believe that milk is designed for a particular species, and that it may influence the character of other animals, including humans that may depend on it. Caption: "Feeding is fun." 

Composition of human breast milk 

Fat
total (g/100 ml)	4.2
fatty acids - length 8C (% )	trace
polyunsaturated fatty acids (%)	14
Protein (g/100 ml)
total	1.1
casein 0.4	0.3
a-lactalbumin	0.3
lactoferrin (apo-lactoferrin)	0.2
IgA	0.1
IgG	0.001
lysozyme	0.05
serum albumin	0.05
ß-lactoglobulin	-
Carbohydrate (g/100 ml)
lactose	7
oligosaccharides	0.5
Minerals (g/100 ml)
calcium	0.03
phosphorus	0.014
sodium	0.015
potassium	0.055
chlorine	0.043

Samantha DeSanto created an image of herself and daughter Brea, 2.  "Nursing her has been special to me because it's our time together," said DeSanto. 

Samantha DeSanto/PicsArt

* Current Graduate Student and Assistant Community Director at Montclair State University. Edison, NJ.

Acknowledgement: Internet, photos and table; Wikipedia

Part 2. Enhance your love life through Synchronized Biorhythms:

 Synchronized Biorhythms

It is a fact that married people live longer and happier than single or divorced people.

Dr Abe V Rotor

It is a fact that married people live longer and happier than single or divorced people.  Single and divorced people are hospitalized more often, their death rate is twice, and they are prone to nervous breakdown.  Sex stimulates and rejuvenates our glands, particularly the hypothalamus of the brain, which is the sex center. Active sex life prevents diseases and illnesses by enhancing natural immunity.  Since every part of our body is exercised during lovemaking from the heart to the nerve endings, sex is perhaps the best test of vitality and health. 

7. A natural clock governs every person in his or her system.  This is often referred to as biological rhythm.  Although there is a general plan on how this internal clock works, no two persons are tuned  in to the same pattern - not even husband and wife.  Try to live by your own biorhythms and learn to adjust with those of your partner.  Recognize your moods and energies that change with the time of the day and night, with months and seasons.  Lovemaking is mutually fulfilling when both partners have synchronized biorhythms. generally the human body is dynamic that it can reset itself daily and adopt to the changes of the environment. 

8. Sex can become monotonous especially with modern life.  Many people find little time to express tender love and care with sex.  They employ a number of ways to vary their sexual expression as not merely satisficing desire, feeling relieved and exhausted afterwards - or just for the sake of giving` in to their partner.  Many more miss the spiritual element of lovemaking, whereby the act is the means to sustain a passionate emotion from which follow exhilaration, and a great feeling of satisfaction.   

Mantra yoga and other lovemaking techniques help transform an ordinary sex-oriented relationship into a loving, tender and harmonious one, enhancing a love-oriented relationship that bring together body, mind and spirit. 

9. Learn to read and understand the sexual cycle.  A woman's menstrual cycle dictates her sexual moods.  She feels sexiest at the midpoint of her menstrual cycle.  There are people who are sexier in the morning than at night.  There are also those who feel sexier in summer than during the cool months, or vice versa.  There are also times when men become sexier and this is indicated by rapid growth of their beard.  Studies show that the most active time for sexual activity is in the evening, but lovemaking at this time is poor since the level of androgens (love hormones) is low. They are highest between 8 to 12 a.m., and lowest at 6 p.m.  Evening is convenient to most working people.  If this is enough, make up for it during weekends.   

                                              

10.  Be aware that of all creatures on earth only humans are endowed with sexual        freedom which can be summarized as follows:

• Sexual expression is not restricted to estrus periods or seasons of the year.   
• Humans have the ability to match their sexual desires with their moods and feelings.  Hormones influence, but not dictate, sex life.
• Humans can choose various lovemaking positions, instead of being  restricted to one as in the case of animals.
• Meaningful spiritual love and emotional feelings multiply the ecstasy of physical pleasure.                                                                             

"Anger and jealousy produce nerve acids that upset

blood chemistry leading to a dull sex life." - avr 

"There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved."

- George Sand, Letter (1862) ~

 

Dying Laguna Lake - Folly of Utopian Art

       Dying Laguna Lake - Folly of Utopian Art

"...now I know what mortal means,

seeing the folly of human art." AVR

Dr Abe V Rotor

Two faces of Laguna Bay - deceivingly beautiful from the air, ugly down below. 

For once I am on top of the world,

    seeing many a stage of life below,

nature in her pristine and injured,

    by man's genius, his joy and sorrow.

Endless boundaries keep off the sea,

    facets each a reclaimed chamber;

shed that keeps in the monsoon rain,

    where Ceres descends in October.

Now a dying lake before its own time

    reminiscent of many a legend;

like Mt Olympus once home of the gods,

    leaving but myths at the end.

Oh, I cannot hold on any longer,

    heavy are my thoughts and heart;

now I know what mortal means,

             seeing the folly of Utopian art. ~

  

Laguna Bay is connected to Manila Bay via the Pasig River which passes through the heart of Manila. Heavy pollution is shared by both bays as the tide rises and ebbs daily, as countless tributaries in both bodies of water exacerbating the dilemma. Both bays create a giant pool of garbage, breed disease and poverty, and project an image of man's greed and indifference.

Perspective - a crucial element of the art of painting

 Perspective - a crucial element of the art of painting

Paintings by Dr Abe V Rotor

Dichotomy and phylogeny perspectives are typical in
the living world and evolutionary patterns.

Composite perspective shows collective grouping,
process, stages, and other forms of interrelationship.

Lighting adds zest and freshness, tells time of the
day and good weather.

Concentric view has a spherical or tunnel effect such
as the setting sun, yolk of an egg, bonfire and the like.

V-perspective shows distance, infinity, fullness
and details of a scenery.

Vertical perspective shows height; it is heightened
by "foreshortening effects" - a technique found in
El Greco paintings.

Diagonal perspective gives a feeling of ascending

movement and flow; it also shows movement in

the opposite direction, nonetheless equally active

and forceful.