Ang Alamat ng Hoya/ Legend of the Hoya

Hoya cagayanensis (picture taken from internet)

Para sa akin, hindi lang basta maganda ang Hoya. Ang maraming anyo nito ay maitutulad sa iba't ibang makukulay na ibon at dahil dito, pumasok sa isip ko na gumawa ng isang kwentong pambata na lilikha ng interes sa mga hoya at bukod rito ay imumungkahi pa na ipalit ang pag-aalaga ng hoya sa halip na mag-alaga ng ibon sa kulungan.

Mula sa ideyang ito, may nabalangkas na kwento ang isang kaibigan na aking nakausap. Sa kanyang pahintulot, ibabahagi ko ang kanyang kwento:

May isang bata na binigyan ng kanyang lolo ng isang malaking hawla ng ibon. Pag-uwi niya sa bahay, nagpahuli siya sa kanyang ama ng ibon na mailalagay sa hawla.
Naglagay ng bitag ang kanyang ama sa kanilang hardin at di nagtagal ay may nasilo nga itong isang makulay na ibon. Agad inilagay ito ng bata sa hawla.

Ngunit sa paglipas ng araw, napansin ng bata na napakalungkot ng ibon na halos di na kumain. Sa awa ng bata, kinausap niya ang ibon at sinabing palalayain niya ito kung ipapangako ng ibon na babalik siya sa hardin araw araw.

Pinalaya ng bata ang ibon at tinupad naman ng ibon ang kanyang pangakong babalik at nagdadala pa siya ng kasama.

Ngunit dumating ang araw na kailangan ng lumisan ang mga ibon para sa ibang lugar. Bago umalis, binigyan ng ibon ang bata ng isang sanga at binilinan siya na itanim ito. Malungkot man ang bata sa pagalis ng mga ibon na nakaibigan na niya, sinunod ng bata ang sabi ng ibon.

Makalipas ang ilang araw, ang sanga ay nagsibol ng mga bagong dahon at gumapang palibot ng hawla. Patuloy na inalagaan ito ng bata at isang araw, lumabas dito ang magagandang bulaklak na nagpa-alala sa bata ng kanyang mga kaibigang ibon. At dahil dito, hindi na nalungkot ang bata.

The end.
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Sadyang ginawa kong Filipino ang pagkakasulat nito dahil gusto ko na maging kwentong bayan muna ito na mabuhay sa kamalayan ng mga Pilipino.

Hindi ako makata o manunulat pero sana ay mayroong pumulot ng kwentong ito at gayakan ng tamang salita upang maging kwento na tunay na kaaya aya para sa mga bata at maging sa matatatanda na sa puso ay nananatiling bata pa rin.

Hoya mindorensis (picture taken from internet)

Salted Egg experiment

 

 

I did not expect my experiment in making salted eggs with a different color to turn up well. But am very happy with the result. Am planning to call these eggs "ginintuan".

 

I have always been worried by the red dye used in the traditional red colored eggs. Dyes are not really the safest of chemicals but sometimes when you cut open the red eggs, one can not avoid staining the inside of the egg which eventually gets eaten.

 

At least with the Ginintuan eggs, the colorant I used is from a plant and so is very safe.

 

Taste wise, the result of this experiment is equally very good. One taster even likened the taste of the white of the egg to the local carabao cheese. Not too bland nor too salty.

 

Looks like I will just be making instead of buying the salted eggs for our table.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Toilet paper lock

Although I commend McDonald's for its high standard of hygiene and cleanliness, I find this lock on the toilet dispenser a sad commentary about us as a people.

This is not the fault of the restaurant but the customers or the cheap whoever who would rather swipe than buy their own toilet paper.

Relevant history vs merely remembering

When we look at the past for its own sake and without relating its relevance to the present except for comparison, that is merely remembering. The past becomes historically relevant only when we can see its effect and influence on the present.

The Rosemary challenge

I admit I am a trying hard urban farmer. But for some reason I can not say I am there yet. So far most of my attempts at raising plants have produced only so-so results. Still the little success that I get are enough for me to go on.

A recent challenge that I took on for myself is being able to grow the aromatic herb rosemary. I had tried to grow them before but my earlier attempts only ended up as failures. I know there is something that I am not doing right with this plant.

Hopefully this time, I will be able to get it right.

Kanin-baw

Sa hirap ng buhay ngayon, lahat na lang ay ginagawa ng ating mga kababayan para lang makakain ng husto. Pero kung minsan, ang kanilang imbento ay sumisikat at kinakain na rin kahit ng mga may kaya.

Kailan lang ay may narinig akong pangalan ng pagkain na bago sa akin - "kanin-baw". Akala ko kung ano ito pero ang ibig lang palang sabihin ay "kanin na may sabaw".

Hindi ko alam kung ano ang lasa ng kanin-baw na narinig ko, pero naisip ko, hindi nga masamang ideya kung may gumawa ng sosyal na version nito na masarap ang sabaw at maraming laman.

Baka nga ito ang sunod na maging patok na usong pagkain.

My favorite Mcdo moment

If I have to eat out for breakfast, my restaurant of choice is McDonalds. The place is clean and the service crew are all smiles and genuinely welcoming.

But like all fast food restaurants, the drawback for quick, convenient meals is the noise and the traffic of people coming and going.

Sometimes however, when it is early enough, I get a chance to eat in peace and quiet with the bonus of being given a complimentary newspaper that I get to read at leisure.

But this rarely happens and it is just like the calm before a storm. One by one, people trickle in and what was just earlier was silent like a library suddenly becomes noisy as a marketplace.

Still I am thankful for these rare precious moments.

The road to North Korea

picture taken from internet

When I was a student at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, I joined protest actions in defense of academic freedom. For me academic freedom is important not only  because it allows students to explore and pursue all ideas without fear or restraint but more important, it teaches us discernment and  how to make reason a powerful instrument and weapon in resolving issues and conflicts.

Most of the time, our protest actions were just within campus where we held forums, mini rallies or even concerts and street theatre. But sometimes we would foray out of the campus to shout our sentiment and outrage only to be violently dispersed by the military in slavish servitude to the dictator Marcos.

During those repressive times, protesting was not the safest thing to do. It required courage and  not just anger. But we stood up for what we believed was important not just for us but for everyone including those who will come after us.

It is thus with anger and disgust when I read about a group of student activists who ganged up on Budget Secretary Butz Abad who came to the UP School of Economics to explain his side on the Disbursement Acceleration Program that he created but parts of which were deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

For me this is a serious breach of academic freedom and it was committed by the very students who
can march and rally to their hearts' content now instead of studying because of that very freedom.

When we invite somebody to our place, it is only expected that aside from giving him the basic courtesies paid to  a visitor, we take responsibility for his well being and safety. To do the opposite is dastardly and is actually called treachery. If we deem a person to be an enemy in the first place, then why invite that person at all?

True to form, the militant students who initially gloated about their ignominious accomplishment changed their tune and later claimed to have been the ones manhandled by the security escort of Sec. Abad as they defiantly refuse to apologize. Yet at the same time, they can claim that the period of sober debate is over for the Secretary.

Wrong. When people resort to lying to argue their cause the period of sober debate is not over. It is futile. University officials and even the student body have no choice but to throw the books at them and apply the necessary sanctions indicated .

Ironic that at the time that we mark the period of over four decades when we lost our freedom through martial law, the virus of authoritarianism manifests itself again in a most ugly manner, this time not from the powers that be but from aspiring tyrants of tomorrow who behave like they have acquired the monopoly on truth.

These youth, fortunately not that many, would like to make our country in the image of North Korea where they and only they will have the undisputed claim to what is right and true. They deserve to be properly educated.

No apology, no graduation.

Soda bottle bonsai

It is not the creative way these soda bottles had been turned into a sort of plastic bonsai that  made me interested in them.

What I would like to know is if with this craft, soda bottles can be turned into mini aquariums that can hold a small mosquito larvae eating fish.

In this way, these soda bottle bonsai crafts will not just be decorative but can also be used to help in the fight against mosquito borne diseases such as malaria and dengue.

If this idea works, it may even be more effective than the vaunted ovicidal trap developed and promoted by the Department of Science and Technology.

Philippine Hoyas

Among the gems of Philippine flora are our native and endemic hoyas. Hoyas have beautiful flowers and some of them are even scented and can perfume a garden.

When I first saw a hoya plant, I was not really interested since what I saw was a very viny specimen. But when I realized that the creeping nature of this plant can spawn a possible industry in making plant containers and trainers, I began to be interested and tried to learn more about it.

Now I have become an enthusiast and am thinking of collecting the many hoya varieties.. I wonder  how long will my enthusiasm last though.

I also have this idea of promoting the hoya as a signature plant of a Filipino garden or even as an indoor decorative plant. One nice thing about the hoyas is that they are supposed to be very hardy plants.