levi & leaf

by walter villa

Out of a single unremarkable leaf came beautiful music.  I remember seeing him on TV back when I was still a kid. Days after that we were trying to do the same thing with Stork candy wrappers. All I was able to play was one single note. It's a lot like whistling but it's hard to get a melody going. Besides it's really embarrassing to have other kids watch you spit all over yourself.

We did try using leaves but they tend to fall apart and we always end up having these bugs in our mouth.  (Amateurs! There goes our chance for the Guinness Book of World Records.)

He composed the lyrics of one of the beautiful, saddest songs I heard.  "Sa Ugoy ng Duyan" is a song of someone longing for his childhood, back when his mother would sing lullabies while gently swaying him to sleep.  I don't know why but I always associate this song to the story of Sisa in Rizal's Noli Me Tangere, a caring mother who lost her mind when her two sons were accused of stealing and were captured by the authorities.

In this age of remakes and rock bands, Levi Celerio's original compositions are diamonds, classics that I hope will never get lost in time.

Levi Celerio
(April 30, 1910 - April 2, 2002)

pinatubo

"Pinatubo", means "to make something grow". It's also the name of an active volcano here in the Philippines. It erupted almost two decades ago, July 1991. I remember it was raining and we were watching the news. We looked out the window and everything was covered in ash. We thought it was snow.

About 800 people were killed and thousands more lost their home & livelihood. I think the ones most affected are the Aetas, an indigenous tribe living in the mountains. Up there, they had their own world, standing still and unchanging-- unaffected by what's happening in the country. They've never been under Spanish or American rule. I'm not even sure if they participated in the war. According to WikiPilipinas, "They have adjusted to social, economic, cultural and political pressures by creating systems and structures within their culture to buffer the impact of change."

When the volcano erupted, they were uprooted and forced to come down, relocated to government-organized resettlement areas. Living here is hard, they were given small portions of land but it's not ideal for growing crops. Some found work as farmhands, some as beggars. Most of them are illiterate and uncivilized. Marginalized and discriminated, it's almost impossible to go back to their original way of life.

Today, several support groups, like the EVACF, are helping the Aetas. They teach them entrepreneurship, provide loan assistance and scholarship. You can also help out, click here. Last year, President Arroyo handed out CADTs (Certificates of Ancestral Domain Titles) to 601 Aeta families. Another NGO, Foundation of Our Lady Peace Mission, has another interesting project: the Indigenous Peoples Community Health Workers Development Program, where they train "barefoot doctors" (chosen members of a tribe) on things like proper health education, diagnosis and treatment of common illnesses, parenthood and family planning. These barefoot doctors go back, and serve their community, as well as spread the knowledge to the rest.

Then, last February 2009, a series of children storybooks, written and illustrated by the Aetas and Mangyans (another indigenous tribe) was published.  It tells stories about their past, and their Gods.  They've waited for a very very long time and they still have a long way to go but I think slowly, the Aetas are moving on with life.

No matter how much we resist, change really is inevitable. It will come, whether we're prepared or not. And when it does, it will take something away-- something we love, our belongings, our beliefs or maybe even our way of life. But it doesn't mean we'll be left with nothing, because with change comes the chance to grow. I went to Pinatubo last weekend with some friends and I was amazed at how beautiful it is now-- calm blue water, happy tourists, clear skies with scattered clouds, small plants and trees already covering the mountains and the warm sun shining on us. It's like being inside a painting.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Pinatubo
http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Aeta
http://www.evacf.org/livelihood.html
http://www.evacf.org/Help.htm
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090608-209288/100-tribal-healers-gather-for-summit
http://www.indigenousportal.com/Education/Mangyan-Aeta-folk-write-own-storybooks.html

specialisterne

"Did you know that the business community realises a growing need for specialists?
Did you know that people with ASD are natural born specialists?"

- Specialisterne.com

Thorkil Sonne's son, Lars, was diagnosed with childhood autism at the age of 3. He was devastated but he also noticed something exceptional with the child. “When he starts focusing on something, he is so clever,” he says. “He can learn so much; it’s quite extraordinary.”

It's a trait common to some individuals with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), especially those with Asperger syndrome-- an obssessive focus on things and a remarkable memory. Thorkil recognized these cognitive strengths and soon an idea came to him. In 2004, he got a loan and founded, Specialisterne, an IT company that provides software testing services and data conversion to businesses in Denmark. It's the kind of work that requires focus and accuracy, a perfect fit for people with ASD.

“I have an ability to see when something deviates,” according to Torben Sorensen, a Specialisterne employee. “It kind of leaps to the eye. It’s an ability many people don’t seem to have, but to me it’s natural.”

They don't get bored and lose their focus on repetitive tasks, they don't do office gossip, they're accurate, punctual and thorough, they live on routine. “I think the thing the supervisors really liked most was their work ethic,” says David Hagner from University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability. “If they’re told, ‘Your break is 10 minutes,’ they would take 10 minutes. Not nine or 11. Just 10.”

Currently, Specialisterne has about 50 to 60 employees and approximately 75% are diagnosed with ASD. They do work for companies like Microsoft, CSC, Oracle and Lego. There are plans for expansion and their long term goal is to employ a thousand employees with ASDs worldwide.

Sources:
http://aspieministry.wordpress.com
http://autism.wikia.com/wiki/Narrow_interests
http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/06/04/channelling-autism/
http://www.mnn.com/technology/research-innovations/stories/autism-deemed-an-asset-for-some-jobs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specialisterne

help haiti

• If you're in United States, text “HAITI” to “90999″ to donate $10 to the Red Cross, or donate directly to their website


• Pledge to Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund or text Yele to 501501 to donate $5


• TransformHaiti.org


• Donate through Unicef


• Check out Interaction.org for an updated list of organizations accepting donations


• Oxfam's earthquake appeal (UK)


• Stand with Haiti, donate to Partner's in Health


• Donate Now - Haiti Crisis, International Rescue Committee


• Doctors Without Borders


• ShelterBox


• Haiti Earthquake Support, ArchitectureForHumanity.org


• Haiti Earthquake Relief, WorldVision.org


• HelpHaitiNow.org, donate via Paypal


• Direct Relief International


• Buy a Help Haiti shirt , it creates awareness and all proceeds will go to One Dome at a Time Emergency Fund


• Soles4Souls.org


• Care.org


• The Salvation Army, Haiti Earthquake Disaster response


• Save the Children


• New! Globe users can donate to Philippine Red Cross for Haiti aid. Just text REDAMOUNT to 2899, donation amounts: 10, 25, 50, 100.

seeing beauty

There's a kind of beauty that's obvious to everyone, like the beauty of a rose or the sunrise. I think it's a rare thing, because it manages to be appealing to most of us. It manages to shine through anything blurring our vision: race, culture, background, mood swings. It's plain to see, usually belonging to the most common and simple things.

I saw a documentary in Discovery channel that says we are drawn to symmetry. The more symmetrical the face, the more beautiful it is for most of us, so maybe that's the key. Then they did an interesting experiment where they took a bunch of unique faces and combined them into one composite image. The resulting image looked better than the other faces. So the more common the face, the more beautiful it is. They call it the "averageness-effect".

There's another type of beauty that can only be seen through the eyes of a select few. Members of the Padaung tribe from Myanmar find long necks attractive. Women wear neck rings that push their shoulders down and stretch their neck. In China, bound feet were considered erotic. Some tribes in Africa put on lip plates and in Mauritania, women are forced to be fat, both are a mark of beauty and status.



I don't understand how these can be beautiful. But I guess beauty is also a matter of perspective, and our perspectives can always change. I've been fat my whole life and I always saw my body as ugly. Then, while I was researching for this article, I came across the Adipositivity Project - "a visual display of fat physicality. The sort that's normally unseen." and it's amazing, the photos are gorgeous!

Finally, I think the most elusive beauty is the one that people grow into. Some people go through hardships and come out of it wiser and stronger than ever, and that makes them beautiful to everyone they meet. Or it could be that as we get to know someone more, they gradually become the loveliest people we know.

I was watching Avatar yesterday and (SPOILERS!) there was a scene in the end where the girl alien meets the human form of the guy she loves. They look at each other and they just didn't care that they were so different. I loved that moment. They're seeing it, the beauty in each of us that not everyone will catch a glimpse of.

Be that as it may, beauty will always be there.

Sources:
http://library.thinkquest.org/J0111742/neckstretching.htm
http://www.funtasticus.com/2008/10/30/african-beauty-lip-plates
http://adipositivity.my-expressions.com
http://7uncle.wordpress.com/2009/01/29/cinderella-was-born-as-yeh-hsien/

Treasure Trove: magnolias on gold velvet cloth

Magnolias on Gold Velvet Cloth by Martin Heade from duke.edu

the Find
"Magnolias on Gold Velvet Cloth", a painting by Martin Johnson Heade, purchased by the Museum of Fine Arts for $1,250,000.

"This is an important rediscovery, and the painting is a magnificent example of Heade's work at its best,'' said Theodore E. Stebbins Jr., author of the 1975 catalogue raisonne of Heade's works.

The painting was authenticated by the Kennedy Galleries in Manhattan. According to its president, Martha J. Fleischman, ''What sets this apart from his other magnolia painting is that there's a little bit of leaf mold on one of the leaves, like a beauty mark.''

the Lucky
He prefers to remain anonymous. The only information about him is he's from Indiana, about 30 years old and works in a tool-and-die company.

the Place and the Time
The painting was sent to Museum of Fine Arts, Houston on March 1999, well preserved and still in its original frame. The museum's director called an emergency meeting with the board of trustees and the purchase was approved in less than an hour and a half.

How in the world!?



The previous owner bought it years ago for "next to nothing". He found it quite useful, using the painting to hide a hole in one of his walls. One day, he was playing the boardgame, "Masterpiece", and a piece that looked a lot like it came up.  He then contacted the Kennedy Galleries to have it authenticated.

It's interesting to note that there are other Heade paintings discovered this way:

• Thunderstorm on Narragansett Bay was found in an antiques store in Larchmont, New York in 1943.
• Magnolia Blossoms on Blue Velvet and Cherokee Roses were purchased at an estate sale in Arizona for $60 in 1996.
• Two Magnolias on Blue Plush was originally purchased for $29 at a rummage sale by a Wisconsin man in 1989
• Two Heade paintings were discovered in an attic, one in Boston last 2003 and the other in Massachusetts, 2006.

According to Stebbins, "One of the things that has always made the study of Heade's work exciting is the way his paintings continue to turn up in garage sales and other unlikely places all over the country, in a manner that the paintings of Frederic E. Church and John F. Kensett do not." He thinks this could be because of Heade's willingness to distribute his works and popularity with middle-class buyers.

Sources:
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/30933
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Johnson_Heade
http://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/04/arts/painting-packs-a-million-dollar-surprise.html?pagewanted=1
boardgamebeast.com

revised posts

I want to improve my writing so I joined the internet writing workshop. I've been at it for 3 months now, mostly giving critiques to other submissions whenever I have time. In the coming days though, I'll be submitting works to them as well so that means I'll be revising some of my old posts.  You'll see this image at the bottom of a post if it went through a significant surgery.