Several prominent personalities who lived in a different and/or separate times and climes caught my discerning attention due to their deeply penetrating observations of man’s life in Pearl S. Buck’s novel—The Good Earth.
Henceforth, it would be safe to assume that nobody can complain or say that Yours truly, Mr. Sabawzki, scratches a scar who never felt a wound.
First is Robert Burns [1759-1796] who wrote that “the best laid schemes o’ mice and men often go astray.” Personally, I’m curious and wondering why of all animals in the Animal Kingdom, he mentioned mice, instead of dogs, lions, monkeys, owls or parrots vis-à-vis Homo sapiens. However, when I researched on his personal circumstances via https//www, I knew the reasons why. Attributes/characteristics of the other animals mentioned above will be dealt with accordingly in forthcoming column.
Robert Burns, Scotland’s greatest poet, becomes the world’s favorite each New Year’s Eve with the traditional singing of his “Auld Lang Syne.” It is fitting tribute to a poet who loved good company, good song, and simple pleasures.
He was born on January 25, 1759, in Ayrshire, Scotland. His father was a poor farmer who valued education and strict morality. Although Robert’s help was needed on the farm, his father encouraged him to read and gave him as much schooling as he could.
Robert read everything he could, from collections of songs to Shakespeare and Milton. He carried small volumes in his pocket and studies them while he was in the fields or at the table. He began writing his own verses and collected them in a scrapbook.
When his father died in 1784, Robert and his brother Gilbert tried to make a success of farming but failed. Robert then felt in love with Jean Armour, but her father refused to have him as a son-in-law.
In 1786, Burns published Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish dialect. The poems are a great success, and a second edition appeared the following year. Burns began to collect, adapt, and compose lyrics of folk songs for a publication called The Scots Musical Museum.For this and for George Thomson’s Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs [1793] Burns composed over 300 lyrics. Some of his best-known poems are “Sweet Afton,” “To a Mouse”, “John Anderson, My Jo” and the patriotic “Scots, Wha Hae”.
In 1788, Burns began a new life of farming at Ellisland, near Drumfries, and finally married Jean Armour. But he failed again in farming. He took a government position as tax officer and moved to Dumfries in 1791. His outspoken sympathy for the French Revolution damaged his popularity. Illness added to his troubles. He died in Dumfries on July 21, 1796, a broken and bitter man. But his poems found a permanent place in literature [Reviewed by Georgia Dunbar, Hofstra University].
The second is Archibald Joseph Cronin who optimistically stated that “Life is so straight and easy corridor along which we travel and unhampered, but a maze of passages, through which we must seek our way, lost and confused, now and again checked in a blind alley. But always, if we have faith, a door will open for us, not perhaps one that we ourselves would ever have thought of, but one that will ultimately prove good for us”.
A. J. Cronin was a Scottish novelist, dramatist, and non-fiction writer who was one of the most renowned storytellers of the twentieth century. His best-known works are The Citadel and The Keys of the Kingdom, both of which were made into Oscar-nomiMore.
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Some important trivia to boot: A mouse [Pl: mice] is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house [Mus musculus]. Mice are also popular pets. Rats and mice are both rodents, so look similar—the biggest difference is their size. Rats are larger and heavier while mice have smaller slender bodies. Mice also have a long slender tails [for their body size] covered in hair compared to rat tails which are shorter, thicker and hairless.
House mice are nocturnal, but they can be spotted in the house during the day. House mice are very inquisitive and tend to curiously investigate changes conditions. The house mouse is the most commonly encountered and economically important of the commensal rodents. House mice are of Central Asian origin, but they are distributed worldwide and can be found throughout the United States. House mice are not only a nuisance, but they can pose significant health and property threats. House mice can breed rapidly and can adapt quickly to changing conditions. In fact a female house mouse can give birth to half a dozen babies every three weeks and can produce up to 35 young per year.
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Dogs are known for its loyalty trait to its master as well as sense of territoriality.. Accordingly, the dog will attack a person to protect his master up to the extent of his master’s territory. However, if a dog , most likely Azkal attempts to bite or catch a person everywhere he/she go outside its territory, kumaripas na siya ng takbo. Rabiado na ang naturang gadya.
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, was a famous Russian biologist. His studies of digestion in dogs led to a new understandings about behavior in animals as well in people. In 1904, he was awaeded the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for his work.
In 1870, Ivan entered the University of St. Petersburg. One of his teachers persuaded him to enter field of physiology, which is the study of how the parts of living organisms function. He graduated in 1875 and went on to earn a degree in medicine from the Military Medical Academy jn St. Petersburg. While still a student, Pavlov had already begun important research. His work focused on how the nervous system regulates blood circulation and digestion.
In his now famous experiments, Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, “rang a bell time every time one of his research dogs was fed. As the dog ate, saliva flowed in its mouth. After repeating this feeding routine many times, Pavlov then rang the bell without showing the dog any food. Even though no food was given to the dog, saliva still flowed from the dog’s mouth. This happened each time the bell rang. Pavlov called this response, which was triggered by an internal signal, a conditioned reflex.
Pavlov later extended his theories to human psychology, stating that learned bahvior is made up of many conditioned reflexes. He used these theories to develop treatments for mental illness, which he believed is caused by a breakdown in the brain’s ability to process nerve impulses properly. He advocated quiet surroundings, hospitalization, and rest for people with mental illness.
Pavlov’s work remains important because he showed that behavior—to both animals and humans—can be studied by examining small components of the behavior. He also showed that physiology can be used to understand problems of the mind. These ideas formed an important part of modern psychiatry.[Source:Duane H.D. Roller, University of Oklahoma].
In the book Who Moved My Cheese?, Dr. Spencer Johnson depicted four [4] imaginary characters—the MICE: Sniff and Scurry and the LITTLEPEOPLE: Hem and Haw—intended to REPRESENT the Simple and the Complex parts of OURSELVES, regardless of our age, gender, race or nationality.
Sometimes we may act like SNIFF who sniff out change early, or SCURRY who scurries into action, or HEM who denies and resists CHANGE as he FEARS it will lead to something worse, or HAW who learns to adapt in time when he sees CHANGING can lead something BETTER!
“Whatever PARTS of US we choose to USE, we all SHARE something in COMMON: a NEED to find our WAY in the MAZE and SUCCEED in CHANGING TIMES,” Dr. Johnson concluded.
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The ancient Romans named the first month of summer JUNE, probably in honor of the goddess JUNO, patroness of women, marriage and the home. In the Northern Hemisphere, summer begins on June 21 or 22—the longest day of the year. It’s the 6th month in the Gregorian Calendar; number of days –30; flower—Rose; birthstone—Pearl or alexandrite. Zodiac signs: the Twins [May 21-June 20 and Cancer, the Crab [June 21-July 22].
Significant dates in this month are: June1—Kentucky became the 15th state, 1792; Tennessee, became the 16th state, 1796; Constitution Day in Tunisia; Independence Holiday in Western Samoa; June 2—Foundation of the Republic Day in Italy; June 3–Desoto claimed Florida for Spain, 1539; Dutch West India Company chartered, 1621; Confederate Memorial Day in Kentucky, Louisina; June 4—Massachusetts became first state to set a minimum wage, 1912;
June 5—Robert F. Kennedy shot by an assassin; died the following day, 1968; Constituion Day in Denmark; Liberation Day in Seychelles; June 6—YMCA [Young Men Christian Association] organized in London, 1844; Allied troops landed in Normandy on D-Day, 1944; June 10—National holiday in Portugal; June 11—Kamebameba Day in Hawaii;
June 12—Independence Day in the Philippines; Fiesta Celebration in honor of St. Anthony de Padua, Bagamanoc; Barangay Fiesta celebration, respectively, in Buyo, Virac; Cabugao, Bato; Comagaycay, San Andres etc.; June 13—William Butler Yeats born 1865; Yukon Territory organized, 1898; June 14—Continental Congress adopted the U.S. flag, 1777; Hawaiian Islands organized as Territory of Hawaii, 1900; Argentine Troops surrendered to British, ending in fighting in Falkland Islands 1982; Flag Day;
June 15—Magna Carta signed by King John, 1215; Benjamin Franklin proved that lightning is electricity, 1752; Arkansas became the 25th state, 1836; Pioneer Day in Idaho;
June 17—Mississippi River discovered by Louis Jolliet and father Jacques Marquette, 1673; Five men seizd while apparently installing eavesdropping equipment in the Democratic National Committee Headquarters at the Watergate Building in Washington D.C., thus bringing about the Watergate Incident, 1972; National Day in the Federal Republic of Germany; Independence Day in Iceland;
June 18—U.S. declared war on Great Britain, 1812; Battle of Waterloo, in which Napoleon was defeated by Allied troops led by Wellington and Blicher, 1815; June 19—First real baseball game on record with set rules played in Boboken, New Jersey, 1816;
June 20—Eli Whitney applied for patent on the cottin engine, 1793; A patent for the telegraph grnted to Samuel F. B. Morse, 1840; West Virginia became the 35th, 1863; First Oil from Alaska’s slope began flowing into the trans-Alaska pipeline, 1977; June 21—New Hampshire ratified the Constitution, 1788; Cyrus McCormick awarded a U.S. patent for his reaper, 1834; U.S. captured Okinawa, 1945; [To be continued].
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Last June 5, 2023, Monday I started my day on positive note when I claimed my National Philsys ID around 10:25 A.M. at Barangay Bigaa Hall upon tip-off by Kagawad Nick Panti. Officially, their barangay council meeting is held every Monday, 8;00 A.M.-12 noon-1 with PB Guillermo “Gemo” I. Castilla as presiding officer.
More than one year ago I personally filed my application directly at the PSA provincial office, Cavinitan, Virac. The arrival was providential and/or timely. I couldn’t find my temporary issued paper ID three months ago.
As of October 8, 2022 the status of Philsys Step 2 Registration 2022 by municipality in Catanduanes based on 2020 population are as follows:
[1] The province had a total Step 2 registrants of 226, 386 12. Of this number, 12,865 are unregistered target total registrants, with total percentage of completion [95 %] and percentage against population of 83 %.
- Pandan -101% percentage of completion; 89% percentage against population;
- Gigmoto – 99% percentage of completion; 87% percentage against population;
- Bato—98% percentage of completion; 86% percentage against population;
- Baras—97% percentage of completion; 86% percentage of population;
- Viga—97% percentage of completion; 85% percentage of completion;
- Bagamanoc—96% percentage of completion; 85% percentage of population;
- San Andres—96% percentage of completion; 85% percentage of population;
- San Miguel—96% percentage of completion; 85 % percentage of population;
- Panganiban–94% percentage of completion; 82 % percentage of population;
.10. Caramoran—93% percentage of completion; 82% percentage of population;
- Virac—90% percentage of completion; 79% percentage of population.
The release of data this first half of 2023 will truly change the performance and ranking of the eleven [11] municipalities.
(GREENALERT/SALVADOR/BUDDY/ISORENA/WEEKLYNEWAPAPERCOLUMN/BICOLPERYODIKO)
