TRADITION, SCIENCE & SENSE (TRASS)

I am an Agriculturist, a 1965 graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture, now UP Los Baños, but I don’t remember “brown rice” being discussed in class. Not that important? 3 decades plus later, when I was Editor In Chief of the Philippine Journal of Crop Science (PJCS), early 2000s, at the PhilRice Los Baños Station where I was holding office courtesy of Diego Ramos, Station Chief, I remember retired PhilRice Executive Director SRO and retired IRRI scientist Cesar Mamaril talking expertly and enthusiastically about brown rice. They talked about having to soak before cooking – but not about the taste . Today, I can tell anyone: Brown rice? There is no love lost between us. Here comes Mervalyn Tomas with her article at the PhilRice website: “Study: More Filipino Consumers Aware Of Health Benefits Of Low-GI Rice [1] ” (27 August 2021, Philrice.gov.ph ). “GI” is glycemic index . According to the Mayo Clinic, “The glycemic index is a system of assigning a

I agriculturist & warrior writer welcome literary & worrier writer Yvette Tan as she makes known her wish for the Filipino farmer to “thrive” and not just “survive” (27 August 2021, “Agriculture Should Be Treated As An Industry, Not As Welfare [1] , ” Manila Bulletin ). (Welfare image [2]  from iStock) Although she does not make it clear at the outset, she is only quoting businessmind Julius Barcelona who says, “Agriculture should be treated as an industry, not as welfare.” Mr Barcelona is VP of the Philippine Seed Industry Association . His LinkedIn account says he is “Working to enrich the life of the Filipino farmer.” I say, “Excellent!” Unhappily for me, I find neither in Ms Tan’s 770-worded Bulletin piece nor Mr Barcelona’s LinkedIn posts how each or both propose to work it out so that agriculture is treated as industry and not as welfare. Ah, but I agree with Ms Tan and Mr Barcelona that “agriculture should be treated as an industry, not as welfare!” I forgive Ms

This is the true story of Filipinos Carlo Biado and wife Niecky Quebec who actually helped him win Sunday, 19 September, the 2021 US Open 9-Ball Championship at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA. Prize: $50,000 ( P 2.5 million). His opponent, Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp , never had any remote idea he was fighting a Filipino Husband & Wife Team! This is the Carlo Biado 9-Ball Championship story nobody else is telling you. First, I am proud to say I and Carlo are Ilocano, and we have roots from Rosario, La Union. I used to play pool myself – we called it “billiards” – until college in the early 1960s. I was an A-player too: I could defeat you with a “love set,” meaning, you never get to play while I pocket all the balls and finish the game all by myself! Magic? You need nerves, plus experience plus an experimental mind like that of the incomparable billiards “Magician” Efren “Bata” Reyes , another Filipino. Philip Matel says (23 September 2021, “New Champ Carl

Today’s Reminder: Always, we have been our first line of defense against sickness. Yes: Now, “health” refers to “body, mind, spirit and soul” taken together. Yes: Health begins at home. (“Body, Mind, Spirit, Soul” imag e [1]  by Mimi Clark, Gaia Blooming , Pinterest) (“Health Begins At Home” imag e [2] from CDC-TV, CDC.gov ) I myself did not realize that until today when I saw Irma Santos Paulme’s Facebook sharing 14 September 2021: We, the healthcare workers, are not your frontliners any longer. We are (now) your LAST LINE OF DEFENSE. YOU, my fellow people, are the frontliners now. The war has shifted to the community and it is up to you. This cannot be won in the confines of the hospital… Dr B Calinawagan Let this sink in. Thank you, Dr B Calinawagan , whoever you are! I see: Your family name means Enlightenment. Thank you for enlightening us even if it’s 2 years late! We must now pay attention to ourselves more than ever. Now, using Chrome, I googled for “health begin

Abundant fish, crabs & other crustaceans are what you will always find in a mangrove swamp – if the fishermen observe religiously conservation practices. (Bohol mangrove forest bottom imag e [1] f rom Boholphilippines.com ) I have had firsthand experiences with mangroves and appreciate their natural wealth that people can enjoy, varieties of sea foods and recreation. I was Editor In Chief of the Forest Research Institute (FORI) from 1975 to 1981; for the 3 FORI publications – monthly newsletter Canopy , quarterly technical journal Sylvatrop , and quarterly color magazine Habitat – I had to travel with my staff to Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao to cover and/or check the progress of research and/or developments in forest ecosystems. So we saw and took photographs of, among other sites, mangroves. If you didn’t know, among other things, says the US National Ocean Servic e [2] : Mangrove forests stabilize the coastline, reducing erosion from storm surges, currents, waves, and t

Ramon Yedra’s Facebook sharings are many and multi-dimensional; sometimes they are out of my world, but I still admire him for being forthright as well as civil. They don’t make them like they used to anymore! 31 August 2021 is the 114th birth anniversary of PH President Ramon Magsaysay . Here is Mr Yedra on Mr Magsaysay and “Rebuilding A Nation,” which is the essence of his 1953 presidential inaugural speech: “We have a glorious past. Now we must build a future worthy of that past.” This is from “Inaugural Address of President Magsaysay, 30 December 1953 [1] ”: All too often, however, we speak of Rizal – and of Del Pilar, Bonifacio, Mabini, and our host of heroes – as if their work were done, as if today their spirit had ceased to have any meaning or value to our people. The truth is that we need their spirit now more than ever. We need it to complete the work (that) they began. If you ask me, an Ilocano writer-thinker, PH’s National Hero Jose Rizal was for Filipino independ