Images in Charcoal

These images rendered with charcoal are titled "Grace and Husband," "Totoy Bibo and Wife," "Lynn at Ateneo 1982" (Secret title is "Ang hirap mabuhay") and "The Debutante" by Eliseo V. Villamin (Ely, my husband), 2006. "Lynn..." is for revision of the nose but it's taking him forever, so I posted it anyway. "The Debutante" is Isay, our daughter who is turning 18 on 1 January 2007.

Ely has worked on so many charcoal images of neighbors in Golden City, images of couples on their wedding day, teens in "movie star" poses, graduates, a beloved father who has passed away, a housewife who wants to preserve her pictures on the beach and at a dinner party (actually it was she who makes Ely popular in the neighborhood because she hangs her portraits at her store for everyone to see), Dangal ng Bayan awardee Prof. Fortunato T. de la Pena, (which hangs on his office wall at the Department of Science and Technology), and others.

Most of the time, Ely's subjects provide him with the illustration board, charcoal pencil, and artist's spray. I buy the eraser (laughter). Most of the time, the creative work is a labor of love, his way of giving back to our community who loves Carlo and always plays the Philippine National Anthem (which is Carlo's favorite, the first time he listened to Sarah Geronimo sang it in the last Pacquiao-Morales battle) every start of and in between thereof the neighborhood videoke party (which is often as always there is a birthday celebrant or two in our block and nearby).

The greatest public domain work

The Holy Bible is the greatest public domain work.

Essentially, any creative work produced and published with the intention of contributing to the higher development and evolution of humanity, without expecting material gain but only spiritual reward, is a public domain work.

People who live to give so much of themselves so that others may live a more enlightened, less painful and lonely lives are public domain practitioners.

So, my neighbors who sing with deep reverence and honesty in the street videoke are public domain artists.

Parents who cleanse themselves spiritually and physically every morning so they can buy the best and freshest ingredients in the market to cook for the family meals are public domain chefs.

Wives who suffer in silence and bear the boredom and anguish of day-to-day service to preserve the family; and husbands who got their pride and know how to hide all their sorrow and pain, who do their crying in the rain... they are, in a way, public domain craftsmen.

Many of my best thoughts were remnants of readings from the best minds in the public domain and I don't remember the names anymore but I'm sure they would be happy to have their thoughts propagated in this manner, in the same way that I don't mind reading my thoughts elsewhere expressed by someone else who may not remember me also, because we have so many things to remember, memory has to select which ones to retain and which ones to archive to oblivion, because our cerebral database can hold only so much or it may crash!

We are all Christ in this world and thus are all crucified. It was not easy being born in a cave and to die by torture. Yet in some vicarious way, we are reborn and we suffer Christ-like with our consent, and we die to our old selves. What the caterpillars call the end of the world, the Master calls a butterfly.

It has been a blessed Christmas for many of us and we are filled with love and gratitude.

Risk, risk everything... Random thoughts

"Risk, risk everything..." said Katherine Mansfield, writer from New Zealand who died in her prime. She had lived this philosophy.

I am wounded by my understanding of loving and taking risks. People risk their lives for freedom, the likes of Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, and Ninoy Aquino. The Divine Creator respects man so much that He gave man free will. Free to be good, free to reject evil. God took risk in giving man free will. The consequence was the fall that happened in the Garden of Eden. But God loves mankind so much, He gave His Only Begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

Writers, diarists, memoirists risk immensely. They expose so much of their wounds that they and others may be healed... that the human race may be healed.

Mga lihim na panalangin

May sakit ako. Marahil hindi lamang ang katawan ang nangangailangan ng paghihilom, pati na rin kaluluwa. Marahil may mga sugat na ikinukubli maging sa ating sarili. May mga panahong sinungaling ang puso. Hwag ng tumakas. Harapin na ang bukas. May magandang umagang naghihintay. Kailangan lamang maging matatag, mapagpakumbaba, at mag tiwala sa sarili, sa kapwa, sa Dakilang Lumikha.

Lahat tayo ay mga kawal sa digmaan ng buhay. Madalas tayo ay nasusugatan kaya palagi tayong nangangailangan ng paghihilom.

Kung tayo ay umiibig, tayo rin ay nasusugatan.

Some say
Love is like a razor
that leaves you to bleed

Tulad ng kaibigan ko sa Lahore na syang nagpadala sa akin ng tulang ito ("Gule, Gule"), ako ay naluluha kapag binabasa ko itong sinalin sa Ingles mula sa Farsi o Urdu, di ko tiyak, katha ni Mevlana Jallaludin Rumi, 14th century Sufi poet:

Come, come
It doesn't matter
Whether you are an infidel, an idolater, or a fire worshiper
Come, come
Even if you've broken your vow a thousand times
Come, come
Our convent is not a kingdom of despair
Come, come anyway

May Tagalog version ("Halika, Halika") si Kerima Lopez sa http://mga-panalangin.blogspot.com

Uploaded 30 fulltexts today

A productive day today for me, having uploaded 30 fulltexts from six issues of the PJS 1907-1908. Among the memorable ones were about kubisagari (paralytic vertigo), cholera, yaws, infantile dysentery, plague immunity by R.D. Strong which was 150 pages long, plague procedure in Hongkong, use of opium by the natives, traumatism of internal organs, and tsutsugamushi disease, among others.

The list of available articles can be viewed at
http://scinet.dost.gov.ph/silms/union/ManageHoldings/Reports/PJS.php
Please click the first hyperlink at the right navigation bar for LINKS (in pink).

These are truly classic science researches, immense wealth of knowledge as well as window to the tradition of excellence in Filipino scientific / scholarly endeavors.

So, another day of adventure awaits us all tomorrow. There are so many things to discover, so many horizons to explore... and so little time. But come to think of it, there is an eternity before us. Life is indeed the greatest gift.

I am so in love with life these days. I cannot bear to keep quiet... I have to tell the world. Oh yes, the magic of that resthouse amidst ancient mango and bamboo trees in Maragondon is still inside me. I must go back to that place soon. Chato will find a way to bring us back there... often.

Why am I passionate about public domain works

Because of public domain works, I am able to learn much about autism specially about speech therapy, thus enabling me to teach my special (autistic) son Carlo (that's his picture at left, and also above, with youngest brother Kenneth, and me) how to communicate with language, gestures, eyes, music and telepathy which I would otherwise not know if not for those generous Netizens in the cyberworld. SPED (Special Education) is extremely expensive for those like me in the middle class income bracket, and so I am not able yet to send Carlo to a formal, mainstream school setting, still giving priority to his other siblings who go to state (government subsidized) universities that are affordable than the private universities. Carlo has five siblings and three more are studying. His Ate Genny who works in a call center, helps with the home budget as she studies for a masteral in corporate communication, while Kuya Chino who works in a data center, is saving to put up a business, having taken up entrepreneural management. His Dad takes care of all of us, cooking for us, waiting for all of us to come home at the end of each day.

I have not been successful so far in my quest for assistance to help us send Carlo to school. Once I tried to request the Statefields School near us that offers SPED, but I was not successful. But I am always hoping and praying. God's delay is not God's denial. He will make all things beautiful, in His time. I must learn how to wait as He makes us worthy of His gifts. Pour out Your blessings, oh Lord, I'm crying out.

When we first learned that Carlo is in the autistic spectrum of development, we availed of the home-based intervention module by CARD (Center for Autism and Related Disorders). We were not able to sustain the intervention because of the expense. But CARD is excellent and it is where we want to send Carlo when we can already afford it, and he will attend mainstream school in San Beda College-Alabang (where earlier a high functioning autistic graduated from college withn honors). These are my dreams for Carlo.

In the meantime, thanks to broadband from Smart, we now have a 24/7 (unlimited) access to Internet from home at an affordable cost, and Carlo and I can always discover exciting educational sites. Indeed thanks to ICT4D for e-learning, e-books, e-governance...

I am grateful to the Asian Development Bank Institute-Tokyo, that gave me a fellowship early this year in ICT4D and also to the United States Department of Agriculture where I trained in ICT4D in 2002. These were all distance learning courses.

Of course, STII-DOST has always been supportive, specially my colleagues who always alert me to any information about autism whether in print, CD, or Web-based. They love Carlo.

Whenever there is opportunity, I also put online my research and creative works for whoever may need them to download and use for free, because I have received much in terms of knowledge from public domain works, and I want to give back as much.

Literacy Center

This is a great site for teaching children how to read and write the alphabet and numerals; recognize shapes and colors in a fun way--
http://www.literacycenter.net/lessonview_en.htm#

We are free to link even without asking permission as long as we acknowledge Literacy Center for their work. This is one great quality of public domain works-- generosity with teaching, with sharing knowledge and resources.

Ternate Beach

Photo: Ternate Beachfront by rarsenue100. Used with Permission.


Because of my NRCP meeting at the PNU Cafe at Taft, I was not able to savor the pleasures of Ternate Beach where my fellow Nutrinet planning workshop participants went early morning of 7th December. But I was promised to be taken there the next time I set foot again in Maragondon... soon, I hope.

Napaibig sa Maragondon sa una pa lamang pagsilay

Kaming mga kasapi ng NUTRINET kasama ang butihing alkalde ng Maragondon, nang kami ay magdaos ng evaluation at planning workshop, 5-6 Disyembre 2006.

Pasyalan nyo po ang Web site ng Maragondon sa http://elgu2.ncc.gov.ph/maragondon .

Photo: Maragondon Church by EPPGarcia (2003). All rights reserved. Used with Permission.


Sa unang pagkikita pa lamang, sa sandali na pumasok na ang sinasakyang Adventure sa arkong nagsasabing "Welcome to Maragondon" noong dapit-hapon ng 5 Disyembre 2006, ako ay napaibig na sa Maragondon. Lalo na nang madama ang mainit at taus puso na pagtanggap sa amin ng mga taga Maragondon, lalo na ng staff ni Mayor Monte Andaman sa kanyang bahay bakasyunan, kung saan sa karatig lamang ay ang musoleo ng kanyang yumaong ama. Napapaligiran ng mga punong mangga at kawayan, may umaagos na ilog, tahimik, malinis ang hangin. Labis akong humanga sa dakilang alkalde-- matalino, maginoo, marangal at may pangarap para sa mga mamamayan ng Maragondon.

Ang simbahan ng Maragondon ang makikitang larawan sa itaas.

Nang umuwi ako sa Dasmarinas, di pa rin mawala ang alaala ng Maragondon. Tiyak babalik ako dito sa lugar na pilit nagsusumiksik sa aking kamalayan sa tuwi-tuwina.

Lalo na at sa pangalawang yugto ng aking pananaliksik ay pinayuhan ako ng pinuno ng NRCP na magkaroon dapat ng generic e-commerce model para sa mga 4th class district municipalities sa bansa tulad nga ng Maragondon. Ano pa nga ba ang gagawing modelo kungdi ang Maragondon. Payag, interesado at puno ng pagtangkilik si Alkalde Monte Andaman sa magandang adhikaing ito. Tila pang habang-buhay na baga ang aking pag-ibig sa matulaing bayang ito, kung saan hinatulan ng kamatayan ang Supremo na pinapangarap pa rin ng marami na sana ay ang ating pambansang bayani, si Andres Bonifacio. Siya ay pinatay kasama ng kapatid na si Procopio sa bundok ng Hulog at di sa bundok ng Buntis, gaya ng madalas maiulat. Mga suggestive ang ngalan ng mga bundok sa Maragondon-- Nagpatong, Naputok, Buntis, Hulog. Maraming barangay na ngalan ay Pantihan (Pantihan 1, Pantihan 2, Patihan 3, Pantihan 4).

Ang eco tourism ay nabubuhay sa Maragondon, lalo na sa Mt. Hulog, na puno ng alaala ng Supremo ng Himagsikan.

Ang Maragondon ay kilala sa mga novelty products na gawa mula sa kawayan tulad ng flower vases, wine holders, lamps, novelty boxes, living room sets at iba pa.

Nais ni Alkalde Andaman na patuloy na kalingain ang mga magsasaka, mahalin ang lupa at mga biyayang tumutubo mula sa lupa. Pangarap na marami ang bumili ng mga produkto mula sa sakahan at taniman upang maiangat ang buhay ng mga magsasaka. Kahit na mura ang benta basta marami sana ang tumatangkilik. Bumili tayo ng mais, saging, at kamote. Higit na masustansya ang mga ito. Hwag na kumain ng junk food, mga kutkutin, chichiria na naliligo sa asin at vetsin, spices. Kainin natin ang bunga ng kalikasan sa kanilang likas na porma at di processed form. Mahalin natin ng ating kalusugan, tangkilikin natin ang magsasaka ng ating bansa.

Isa sa mga masalimuot na yugto ng ating kasaysayan ang hatol na kamatayan kay Bonifacio ng pamahalaan ng unang pangulo ng republika na si Hen. Emilio Aguinaldo. Isang di maiiwasang desisyong politika ang pagwawakas ng buhay ng Supremo sa kamay ng pamahalaan ni Aguinaldo. Ngunit sa kaniyang talambuhay, ipinahiwatig ni Aguinaldo na ayaw niya sanang magbuwis ng buhay ang ama ng himagsikan. Ngunit ang mga Espanol ay galit kay Bonifacio at tila nakikipag power play o power sharing (na tila mahirap iwasan sa ganoong pagkakataon) si Hen. Aguinaldo. Kay hirap maging mabuting pinuno. Marami ang pinipili ang maging magaling kaysa maging mabuti, sapagkat mas madali. Kailangan ang sakripisyo at kababaang-loob upang maging mabuti.

Ngunit sila ay kapwa natin Pilipino. Ginawa nila ang kanilang makakaya para sa kabutihan, para sa kalayaan ng mahal nating Pilipinas. Hindi na tayo dapat maging mapang husga.

Mahal kita Maragondon, Cavite. Mahal kita inang bayang Pilipinas. Salamat sa Dakilang Lumikha sa aking pagsilang sa Pilipinas

Kapag masidhi ang aking damdamin, sa inang wika ako nagpapahayag. Ah, kay sarap palang umibig muli. Matagal-tagal ko na rin itong hindi nararamdaman. Tila ako si Lazarus na muling nabuhay. Salamat, salamat!

P.S. Foreign readers, learn Tagalog now. Visit-- http://www.rosettastone.com/en/individuals/languages/tagalog

Indexing update

Some 3,600 articles of PJS have been indexed and there were alreay numerous fulltext PDF files uploaded by the task force. I have indexed some 250 articles with 23 fulltext-uploads. I will begin uploading more fulltexts on Dec. 4. Next year the fulltexts will be made available to the public after the PJS editorial board has completed the policy on subscription and terms of use. Meanwhile, the bibliographic data are freely available. Just click on the SILMS hyperlink at the right navigation menu of this blogsite.

I am happy when Mr. Charles P. Raby of the WPRIM emailed me about his interest in PJS and SILMS. He also told me about their project to gather bibliographic data for Index Medicus, using Swish-E. I fell in love right away with Swish-E: Simple Web Indexing System for Humans- Enhanced, because it is capable of indexing huge data in almost all formats-- Web-based, PDF, HTML, Word, etc.

I wish I can get my hands on Swish-E, if and when Mr. Raby invites me, I hope.

I am also able to read today a comment from Patricia. I am happy that a couple of surfers have visited my blogsite.

A busy week is ahead. I will be presenting highlights of my research with Dr. Napoleon Hernandez and Ms. Aurora Tolentino about the e-commerce prospects for farmers and fishers cooperatives, part 1: Cavite at the NRCP meeting, PNU Cafe this coming Thursday, right after I come from Maragondon where I will participate in the planning workshop of Nutrinet beginning Dec. 5 with colleagues Dr. Carmelita Nobleza and Ms. Rosario Lopez.

Last Thursday, I listened to Ms. Lourdes David of Ateneo de Manila University (where I studied MA Literature) talked about marketing the library to potential donors during the National Book Week Forum at the National Library of the Philippines, sponsored by the PAARL (Philippine Association of Academic and Research Librarians) of which I am now a member.

Life is a great adventure everyday, except for parenting angst, quintessential loneliness that visits on some strange mornings and wakeful midight hours... maybe because life's autumn is so beautiful and I am afraid winter is soon to come. But don't get me wrong. A lovely winter sonata awaits me in Ladahk, Kashmir in 2013. I welcome winter as I welcome all the seasons of my life. I am not afraid to come home to the Final City. Promise.