Those who sneer at the nobility of the past are in for a rude awakening. Our lives cannot rest on laughter and gaiety alone. Those who refuse to look at our present wounds by covering them with layers and layers of frivolity will awaken one fateful day to the reality of a cancer gone mad... Can the lesion heal itself? Can a malevolent spirit send us to heaven? What treatment does a physician prescribe for a pestering lesion? A boil or even a cancerous mass deserves extirpation. Half measures will only prolong the patient's agony and give ample time for the infection or the cancer to spread and destroy the body...Lalagyan lang ba natin ng plaster ang kanser ng bayan? raul espinoza ramos, md
The pond is teeming with freshwater fish. The trees in the background are home to brightly colored avians and occasional migratory birds. Ramos Pond is Eden revisited !
KUNG TUYO NA ANG LUHA MO, AKING BAYAN by Amado V. Hernandez Lumuha ka, aking Bayan; buong lungkot mong iluha Ang kawawang kapalaran ng lupain mong kawawa: Ang bandilang sagisag mo’y lukob ng dayong bandila, Pati wikang minana mo’y busabos ng ibang wika, Ganito ring araw nang agawan ka ng laya, Labintatlo ng Agosto nang saklutin ang Maynila,
Lumuha ka, habang sila ay palalong nagdiriwang, Sa libingan ng maliit, ang malaki’y may libingan; Katulad mo ay si Huli, naaliping bayad-utang, Katulad mo ay si Sisa, binaliw ng kahirapan; Walang lakas na magtanggol, walang tapang na lumaban, Tumataghoy, kung paslangin; tumatangis, kung nakawan!
Iluha mo ang sambuntong kasawiang nagtalakop Na sa iyo’y pampahirap, sa banyaga’y pampalusog: Ang lahat mong kayamana’y kamal-kamal na naubos, Ang lahat mong kalayaa’y sabay-sabay na natapos; Masdan mo ang iyong lupa, dayong hukbo’y nakatanod, Masdan mo ang iyong dagat, dayong bapor, nasa laot!
Lumuha ka kung sa puso ay nagmaliw na ang layon, Kung ang araw sa langit mo ay lagi nang dapithapon, Kung ang alon sa dagat mo ay ayaw nang magdaluyong, Kung ang bulkan sa dibdib mo ay hindi man umuungol, Kung wala nang maglalamay sa gabi ng pagbabangon, Lumuha ka nang lumuha’t ang laya mo’y nakaburol.
May araw ding ang luha mo’y masasaid, matutuyo, May araw ding di na luha sa mata mong namumugto Ang dadaloy, kundi apoy, at apoy na kulay dugo, Samantalang ang dugo mo ay aserong kumukulo; Sisigaw kang buong giting sa liyab ng libong sulo At ang lumang tanikala’y lalagutin mo ng punglo!
My heart goes out to these humble creatures - threatened by extinction, they continue to play an indispensable role in nature, provide us with food, and humbly submit themselves to scientific studies in the classroom, in laboratories...
Cesare kidnaps Jane
Alone I am in this vast sea of knowledge where persistence is my oar and love my canoe. RER
Soft grass and dewdrops welcome eager little feet chasing butterflies. RER
Classes rain or shine Howling winds and heavy rains Hot summer is here. NCR
The earth is my bed Eyes shut, heart silent, i rest Grass grows over me. NCR
Ripe guava above A chirping, hungry maya I’m not a giraffe. NCR
Is philosophy dead?
Visions of humanity bidding itself goodbye
Alone In A Crowd
Shoulder to shoulder - my back to another face, my face to another back life sucks in a waiting shed, city of the living dead ! -Nadine C. Ramos
Is philosophy dead?
The unexamined life is not worth living - Socrates
God forbid but in case the proponents of the generics only provision get sick with a serious infection, will they be willing to risk their lives by taking a substandard or even a counterfeit antibiotic bearing the same generic name as the one the doctor had so wisely chosen?
Section I -1, Nueva Ecija High School
A moment snatched from those heady days...
Blowing Bubbles
Puff the Magic Dragon
That children should be made to wear oversized adult clothes and shoes and coaxed to utter adult witticisms like a miniature adult in coiffed hair, make-up, and heavy perfume, or long-sleeved shirts and heavy pants just because it is funny or reminds us of ourselves is selfish and immature for we are depriving them of their precious childhood that should otherwise be spent catching spiders, picking flowers and fruits, fishing, playing hide and seek...not in the rigid walls of pre-school where they are prematurely ushered into the claws of a tyrannical education, pretentious, hypocritical, and materialistic, a real modern day malady...
Raul E Ramos 17 Jan 2008
Franz Kafka
"I think we ought to read only books that bite and sting us. If the book does not shake us awake like a blow to the skull, why bother reading it in the first place?" Franz Kafka (1883 - 1924) Source: The Blue Octavo Notebooks
The things we miss...
Wikipedia photo of the Golden Toad, probably extinct
Chinese Market
The earth is my bed...
From Both Sides Now
"Rows and flows of angel hair And ice cream castles in the air And feather canyons everywhere I've looked at clouds that way But now they only block the sun They rain and snow on everyone So many things I would have done But clouds got in my way I've looked at clouds from both sides now From up and down, and still somehow It's cloud illusions I recall I really don't know clouds at all Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels The dizzy dancing way you feel As ev'ry fairy tale comes real I've looked at love that way But now it's just another show You leave 'em laughing when you go And if you care, don't let them know Don't give yourself away I've looked at love from both sides now From give and take, and still somehow It's love's illusions I recall I really don't know love at all Tears and fears and feeling proud To say "I love you" right out loud Dreams and schemes and circus crowds I've looked at life that way But now old friends are acting strange They shake their heads, they say I've changed Well something's lost, but something's gained In living every day I've looked at life from both sides now From win and lose and still somehow It's life's illusions I recall I really don't know life at all I've looked at life from both sides now From up and down, and still somehow It's life's illusions I recall I really don't know life at all" - by Joni Mitchell
looney mountaineers
Steinbeck's Genius
"In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage."- John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 25
Nadine and Max
Beijing Craftsman
"I've lived to bury my desires, And see my dreams corrode with rust; Now all that's left are fruitless fires That burn my empty heart to dust." -Aleksandr Pushkin (1799-1837)
Liit pa lang hilig na
The most vivid memories are stored during childhood...
Immortal Lines
"The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to such a pass that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love, and in order to occupy and distract himself without love he gives way to passions and coarse pleasures, and sinks to bestiality in his vices, all from continual lying to other men and to himself." ( Book II, Chapter 2, The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky)
Macopa Fruit
Many Filipino homes are adorned with this tree...
Macatbong Sun
Maximilian
Reflections
fruit-laden crown of bignay tree
For Whom The Bell Tolls
"No man is an island, Entire of itself. Each is a piece of the continent, A part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less. As well as if a promontory were. As well as if a manner of thine own Or of thine friend's were. Each man's death diminishes me, For I am involved in mankind. Therefore, send not to know For whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee." - John Donne (1572-1631)
Lemon Grass
Macatbong Woods
La Mer
La mer Qu'on voit danser le long des golfes clairs A des reflets d'argent La mer Des reflets changeants Sous la pluie La mer Au ciel d'été confond Ses blancs moutons Avec les anges si purs La mer, bergère d'azur infinie. Voyez Près des étangs Ces grands roseaux mouillés. Voyez Ces oiseaux blancs Et ces maisons rouillées. La mer Les a bercés Le long des golfes clairs Et d'une chanson d'amour La mer A bercé mon cœur pour la vie. -Charles Trenet (1913-2001)
Mother with nurse medics in Macatbong
We remember Darwin's words...
Younger Ate
In Steinbeck's immortal classic "The Grapes of Wrath", Mama Joad says that men live life in jerks. Is this the reason why all of a sudden one is shocked to find one's children fully grown?
Hagonoy, Bulacan
When I was a young boy in this heritage-rich coastal community, nearly everyone knew how to paddle a dug-out canoe
Rickshaw Driver
This earth-friendly vehicle used to be pulled by a man in front.
Xavier clowning
Max and Joshua blowing bubbles
Play is education but our present school system, pretentious and illogical, robs our children of this precious time of their lives...
Nadine with classmates
Cogs in the Philippine diaspora
UP Nating Mahal
Why can't our country's leaders and politicians give the country's premier university the budget it deserves? Nakakahiya kayo puro kayo politika !
No place like it
A tricycle roars by this now busy Gabaldon Street.
Patient's View
A good doctor must know and experience pain...
Rene comes for a visit
To Filipinos a meal shared is a communion...
Old Friends, Paco Park, 1974
Maynard, Nelson, Noel and myself
Yurii strikes a Rodin...
The thinker is bored with the shoot !
Today
"Today while the blossoms still cling to the vine I'll taste your strawberries, I'll drink your sweet wine A million tomorrows shall all pass away Ere I'll forget all the joy that is mine today I'll be a dandy and I'll be a rover You'll know who I am by the song that I sing I'll feast at your table, I'll sleep in your clover Who cares what tomorrow shall bring? Today while the blossoms still cling to the vine I'll taste your strawberries, I'll drink your sweet wine A million tomorrows shall all pass away Ere I'll forget all the joy that is mine today I can't be contented with yesterday's glory I can't live on promises winter to spring Today is my moment and now is my story I'll laugh and I'll cry and I'll sing Today while the blossoms still cling to the vine I'll taste your strawberries, I'll drink your sweet wine A million tomorrows shall all pass away Ere I'll forget all the joy that is mine today" -words and music by Randy Sparks
Gregorio Espinoza, Maternal Grandfather
Alluring Kimono
Kalayaan Residence Hall, UP Diliman
The year was 1975 and we were the first to savor the brand new edifice. To most of us, the dorm's name was an anachronism at that time...
View from within
Hope is a commodity available to all. It is not for us to extinguish the faintest glimmer of hope in anyone ravaged by pain and suffering...
Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. -Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)
Spankingly clean streets
13 Long Years
Helping humanity one patient at a time...
Raiders of the Ref
Riding on the crest of precious childhood before the innocence is lost...
Bitter Pill
"Politics and the fate of mankind are shaped by men without ideals and without greatness. Men who have greatness within them don't go in for politics." -Albert Camus (1913-1960) French novelist, essayist and dramatist
God Bless the Grass
God Bless the grass That grows through the crack They roll the concrete over it To try and keep it back The concrete gets tired Of what it has to do It breaks and it buckles And the grass grows through. God bless the grass -Malvina Reynolds (1900-1978) from the song God Bless the Grass
Ate Din
Her real interest is in the background.
"To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug." - Helen Keller (1880-1968)
"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." -Charles Darwin, English biologist (1809-1882)
"There are the eaters and the eaten. That's a good rule to start with. Are the eaters more immoral than the eaten? In the end all are eaten - all - gobbled up by the earth, even the fiercest and the most crafty..." - John Steinbeck, The Winter of Our Discontent
Forever Etched
Dr Zhivago / The Sound Of Music / Wuthering Heights /Un Homme Et Une Femme/Casablanca / The Grapes Of Wrath /Gone With The Wind / Maynila: Sa Mga Kuko Ng Liwanag/Romeo and Juliet
Beijing Lake
Romantic even at high noon...
More Chinese Art
Artist versus artisan ?
Chinese Beauties
Perfect craftsmanship
Beijing Affluence
Changing of the guards... it's Asia's turn ( kasali ba tayo?)
Chinese Gate
Ornate and colorful oriental creation.
Black plum (duhat)
In varying stages of ripeness...
"In youth it sheltered me..."
Swietenia macrophylla, a red hardwood introduced to the Philippines in 1914...
Message to a friend
Let not Ambition mock their useful toil, Their homely joys, and destiny obscure; Nor Grandeur hear with a disdainful smile The short and simple annals of the Poor. -Thomas Gray (1716-1771) Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
Chinese Tree
"Upon whose bosom snow has lain..."
Untitled
My heart beats in a cave, My love rides a wave My dream unfolds - be brave, This bloodied life to save ! -Raul E. Ramos Dec 2006
Talinum triangulare
Packed with nutrients, this indigenous vegetable is very easy to grow...
Luffa trellis
The fibrous meshwork inside the mature fruit is used as a bathing sponge
Parallel Play
Timeless Musings
The majority never has right on its side. Never I say ! That is one of the social lies that a free, thinking man is bound to rebel against. Who make up the majority in any given country? Is it the wise men or the fools? I think we must agree that the fools are in a terrible, overwhelming majority, all the wide world over. But how in the devil's name can it ever be right for the fools to rule over the wise men? -Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906), An Enemy of the People
Kids
Nadine, Xavier, Yurii, Joshua and Maximilian
DESIDERATA
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble, it's a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy. - Max Ehrmann (1872-1945)
stone and foliage
zankterva
Tatum, Patricia, Bernice, Yurii, Xavier, Nicole, and Nadine
Connie
summer of 1988
four bipeds and a quadruped
Note the anxiety in this burro's err... horse's eyes as three riders prepare to mount !
Solitude
"I find it wholesometo be alone the greater part of the time. To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companiable as solitude. We are for the most part more lonely when we go abroad among men than when we stay in our chambers..." -Henry David Thoreau, Walden
chips off the old block
Nicole, Nadine, Patricia, and Tatum
Aliaga Clinic
To cure sometimes, to relieve often, to comfort always - anonymous
banig
The tough leaves of this plant are dried and woven into colorful and intricately-patterned sleeping mats (banig) , that ingenious and fast-disappearing Filipino creation that is cool and soothing to a tired back.
Once upon a time...
when pictures were pictures...
reed-thin oblation model...
hagonoy, bulacan
ripening siniguelas
Spondias purpurea
Juana Afan, maternal grandmother
Lola (standing) circa 1930's
hunting trip
with classmate Peter dela Cruz in May, 1982
Nadine
A grove of binayuyu trees
The proud molave
George Pope Morris would have shelled out his last penny for this tree...
Woodman, Spare That Tree!
Woodman,spare that tree!Touch not a single bough!
In youth it sheltered me,
And I'll protect it now.
'Twas myforefather's hand
That placed it nearhis cot:
There, woodman, let it stand,Thy axe shall harm it not!
That oldfamiliar tree,
Whose glory and renownAre spread o'er land and sea,
And wouldst thou hew it down?
Woodman,forbear thy stroke!
Cut not its earth-bound ties;
Oh, spare that aged oak,
Now towering to the skies!
When butan idle boy
I sought its grateful shade;
In alltheir gushing joy
Here toomysisters played.
My mother kissedme here;
My fatherpressed my hand --
Forgive this foolish tear,
But let thatold oak stand!
My heart-strings roundthee cling,
Close as thy bark, oldfriend!
Here shall the wild-bird sing,
And still thy branches bend.
Old tree!the storm still brave!
And, woodman,leave the spot:
While I'vea hand tosave,
Thyaxe shall harm it not.
George Pope Morris
(1802-1864)
UP forever !
The country's best minds are honed in UP, the Philippines' premier university.
Favorite Authors
Fyodor Dostoevsky / John Steinbeck / Boris Pasternak / Teilhard de Chardin / Jose Rizal / Voltaire / Amado Hernandez / Jacob Bronowski / Albert Schweitzer / Albert Camus / Friedrich Nietzsche / Henry David Thoreau / Franz Kafka / Edna St. Vincent Millay / Bertrand Russell / Henrik Ibsen / Kahlil Gibran / F. Scott Fitzgerald
University of the Philippines
bedrock of dissent
Cornelia's Jewels
Nadine, Xavier, Yurii, Joshua and Maximilian
kermit's view
Dying frog populations herald the unthinkable...
my idols - 1
I count among my heroes Dr Albert Schweitzer, the great Alsatian who labored selflessly in Gabon, Africa, treating natives. This shining example is a beacon for mankind. While present day physicians work under different conditions, the basic tenet of serving the underprivileged remains and must be adhered to if we dare call ourselves human.
Dr Albert Schweitzer
rooftop view of the canopy and the hills
The hills in the background used to appear dark with forest cover...
Binayuyu tree
Heavy with tiny grape-like clusters, this binayuyu tree has been touched countless times by the eager hands of children...
"Touch not a single bough..."
mahogany trees fringing Ramos Pond
oasis
water, water, everywhere but not a drop is free...
Who is this famous man?
" poems are made by fools like me..."
Heritiera littoralis
Rare and strong like the kamagong...
sturdy trunk of the 'dungon-late' a hardwood
Also rare, the straight trunk is used in making boat masts
fruit-laden bignay tree in Aliaga, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
Filipinos are by nature tree-lovers...
ilang-ilang seeds (Cananga odorata)
bashful bearer shows off newly harvested ilang-ilang fruits - it's a feast for the birds but we are after the seeds...
Too many cooks...
Of course the patient lived !!!
Calanutan Hills and the Blue Sierra Madres
Note the barren hills in the foreground...
childish frolic
Joshua playing 'neath the graceful boughs of narra trees...
mother's farmhouse
blending with the surrounding trees...
anonas seedlings (Anona reticulata)
The fruit tastes better than atis and guyabano.
duhat or black plum (Syzigium cumini)
The fruits can be very sweet when fully ripe !
bitaog or alexandrian laurel (Calophyllum inophyllum)
The mature tree produces about 40-50 kg of dry fruits and 17-18 kgs of oil.
germinating fire trees
These future trees will set the skies ablaze. 24 May 2007
Ramos Pond, Macatbong, Cabanatuan City, Philippines
Would you believe local authorities tried to convert an area a few hundred meters away from this pristine environment into a garbage dump? People power saved this picturesque Philippine Walden from ruin.
18-year old macopa tree in our frontyard
the bell-shaped fruits are sweet and succulent, and are said to bring good luck...
hi!
i'm raul. i'm a doctor and a nurse (more about that later). i'm a bookworm, writer, tree-lover, fan of henry david thoreau, cook, and lately, blogger. i'm an early bird, doing my 7-km heavyhands at 4 am daily...