Q: What does Christopher Bernido, Caesar Saloma and Mikaela Fudolig have in common?
A: All traces their family roots in Bohol, studied in University of the Philippines (UP) and are brilliant in Physics.
Christopher Bernido
He is a son of the late Bohol Governor Esteban Bernido of Jagna town. He finished his BS Physics at UP Diliman in 1977 and went to the United States for his MS and PhD degrees in Physics (State University of New York - Albany).
Bernido was a recipient of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) Outstanding Young Scientist award in 1989 in "... recognition of his research achievements in Theoretical Physics as shown by his many publications on the path integral approach to quantum mechanics in flat and curved spacetimes...", among other reasons.
He is also equally noted in the field of education. Together with his wife, also a PhD in Physics and fellow UP graduate, they developed a teaching method, Dynamic Learning Process (DLP), which have raised the academic performance of Central Visayan Institute, a high school in Jagna. The couple both ran this school as principal and director of studies (Christopher).
Caesar Saloma
He grew up in the town of Baclayon (my hometown, too!) and finished high school at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Tagbilaran City. He went on to obtain a BS Physics at UP Diliman in 1981, where he also got his MS and PhD degrees. Saloma is currently the Dean of the College of Science at UP Diliman after serving two terms as Director of the National Institute of Physics where he is still a professor.
Saloma was recognised as a NAST Outstanding Young Scientist (Applied Physics) in 1992. Afterwards, he had garnered numerous prestigious national and international awards in Physics. The latest award he received was in July this year wherein he was named ASEAN's Outstanding Scientist and Technologist.
He was inducted as an Academician into the NAST in July 2005. This was partly in recognition of his outstanding researches and accomplishments in the field of instrumentation physics. In fact, the columnist Juan Mercado described him as "probably the most published author in internationally refereed journal the last five years."
Mikaela Fudolig
She is the youngest among these three brilliant Bol-anon physicists. She traces her roots also in Bohol, her father being from Tagbilaran City. She finished her BS Physics also in UP Diliman in 2007. She not only graduated summa cum laude (general weighted average of 1.099) but she was only 16 years old at that time, the youngest to graduate from UP in recent years. She is also one of only two that was admitted to UP without a high school diploma and without taking the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT). Remarkable!
Although a bonafide child genius, Fudolig is just like any other girl - unassuming, bubbly, smiling and happy. Her entry to UP is a remarkable story in itself.
She now teaches Physics at UP Diliman, as she had vowed in her valedictory speech last year. If you want a glimpse of her genius and maturity, she has a blog, take not the road less traveled, which is a collection of her speeches.
Q: What do I have in common with these three brilliant minds?
A: Bol-anon, UP graduate and brilliant in Physics (liar!)
Yes, I am proud to be their fellow Bol-anon and UP graduate (less brilliant kind) but Physics? I am their opposite on this field of science, I'm afraid. In my senior year in high school, Physics was my poorest subject in terms of grades. And I was one of the group leaders in class! In college, suffice it to say that I struggled and barely pass in each of the two Physics classes I took as major courses for my BS Biology degree.
I guess my theory that Bol-anons are brilliant in Physics had been completely debunked by the evidence I presented from my case.
22.8.08
Baclayon Native Cooking
I first read this news feature in June where the writer was invited to judge a cooking contest in my hometown last summer. The contest, "Lutong Inato - Ato Jud Ni" featured heirloom recipes from some of the town residents.
I wish I was there to experience the event. I am no cook but I sure know how to taste good food when I try one. And besides, I miss native cooking. However, what I am more interested in is that each heirloom recipe submitted for this contest was accompanied by some narrative of the source or history of the recipe. Talk about feeding both body and brain! You are eating great tasting food and at the same time ingesting the story they tell.
Fifty-two dishes were served for the judges to rate in the following categories - Meat, Poultry, Seafood, Soups, Vegetables, Dessert and Merienda. An example mentioned of a recipe with a story to tell is the dessert "sangkuga." It became popular at a time when coconut trees were attacked by insects and young coconuts fell from the trees. The people made use of the young coconuts and scraped the soft inner shell and cooked this in coconut milk with muscovado sugar. This was then served with freshly grated mature coconut meat.
I remember as a child that our "utan bisaya" always has Bago leaves as an essential ingredient. We use to have these leaves bought in a public market like the one in Baclayon or picked from a neighbour's tree. These leaves figured prominently in some of the soups and vegetable dishes served during the contest.
Some of the recipe mentioned by the writer I am familiar with and have even tried them. Reading this article made me hungry that I longed to try them again. But writing this blog post is torture to my stomach, which right now is threatening to erupt like a volcano if I will not feed it. Food break!
Right, to go on with the torture. "Humba nangka," made from coconut milk, sili (pepper) and unripe mature fruit of nangka (jackfruit) is a worthy alternative to pork humba. Another delight mentioned was the soup made with "supsup," a conical shell where the end is cut off to ease the sucking of the meat from the opening, hence the name. The soup is delicious with or without coconut milk and lots of kamunggay (horse radish).
That soup evoked in me childhood summer memories that involved a lot of panginhas (shell gleaning) and panuwaki (gathering edible sea urchins) during hunasan (low tide). One time, as we are heading back home after panginhas and panuwaki, I and some cousins got waylaid by the presence of a lot of edible shells including the supsup. We gathered a lot for supper later that night. It was a delight for us city kids as we ate the fruits of our labour. We've broken sweat (or is it just seawater?) to gather them, you know.
Although cooking the supsup soup (no pun intended) is relatively easy, preparing the shells is quite laborious. The gathering of the shells is more fun provided you got lucky to find them in bulk in a small area. The hardest bit is the cutting of the pointed ends. These shells are small and you literally need 50-100 shells to feed a good number of people. Of course, if you don't have the time you can always run over quickly to the public market to but a "caltex"-ful, instead.
Back to contest, I am glad this happened. It is a good start towards preserving Baclayon's heritage on native cooking. What the article did not say, however, is what happened next after the contest. I am interested to know if a recipe book had been made that will be made widely available both in Baclayon and the rest of the province. Is this contest just a one-off or are there plans to continue it as a sort of an annual food festival held every summer? This activity for sure will attract many local and foreign tourists alike.
What about a restaurant in Baclayon showcasing not just the award winning recipes but all the recipes that were entered? Bohol is very well known for its fiestas and Baclayon is no exception. How about integrating this contest/program in both the town and barangay fiestas?
If you want to read the sourced article please click here.
I wish I was there to experience the event. I am no cook but I sure know how to taste good food when I try one. And besides, I miss native cooking. However, what I am more interested in is that each heirloom recipe submitted for this contest was accompanied by some narrative of the source or history of the recipe. Talk about feeding both body and brain! You are eating great tasting food and at the same time ingesting the story they tell.
Fifty-two dishes were served for the judges to rate in the following categories - Meat, Poultry, Seafood, Soups, Vegetables, Dessert and Merienda. An example mentioned of a recipe with a story to tell is the dessert "sangkuga." It became popular at a time when coconut trees were attacked by insects and young coconuts fell from the trees. The people made use of the young coconuts and scraped the soft inner shell and cooked this in coconut milk with muscovado sugar. This was then served with freshly grated mature coconut meat.
I remember as a child that our "utan bisaya" always has Bago leaves as an essential ingredient. We use to have these leaves bought in a public market like the one in Baclayon or picked from a neighbour's tree. These leaves figured prominently in some of the soups and vegetable dishes served during the contest.
Some of the recipe mentioned by the writer I am familiar with and have even tried them. Reading this article made me hungry that I longed to try them again. But writing this blog post is torture to my stomach, which right now is threatening to erupt like a volcano if I will not feed it. Food break!
Right, to go on with the torture. "Humba nangka," made from coconut milk, sili (pepper) and unripe mature fruit of nangka (jackfruit) is a worthy alternative to pork humba. Another delight mentioned was the soup made with "supsup," a conical shell where the end is cut off to ease the sucking of the meat from the opening, hence the name. The soup is delicious with or without coconut milk and lots of kamunggay (horse radish).
That soup evoked in me childhood summer memories that involved a lot of panginhas (shell gleaning) and panuwaki (gathering edible sea urchins) during hunasan (low tide). One time, as we are heading back home after panginhas and panuwaki, I and some cousins got waylaid by the presence of a lot of edible shells including the supsup. We gathered a lot for supper later that night. It was a delight for us city kids as we ate the fruits of our labour. We've broken sweat (or is it just seawater?) to gather them, you know.
Although cooking the supsup soup (no pun intended) is relatively easy, preparing the shells is quite laborious. The gathering of the shells is more fun provided you got lucky to find them in bulk in a small area. The hardest bit is the cutting of the pointed ends. These shells are small and you literally need 50-100 shells to feed a good number of people. Of course, if you don't have the time you can always run over quickly to the public market to but a "caltex"-ful, instead.
Back to contest, I am glad this happened. It is a good start towards preserving Baclayon's heritage on native cooking. What the article did not say, however, is what happened next after the contest. I am interested to know if a recipe book had been made that will be made widely available both in Baclayon and the rest of the province. Is this contest just a one-off or are there plans to continue it as a sort of an annual food festival held every summer? This activity for sure will attract many local and foreign tourists alike.
What about a restaurant in Baclayon showcasing not just the award winning recipes but all the recipes that were entered? Bohol is very well known for its fiestas and Baclayon is no exception. How about integrating this contest/program in both the town and barangay fiestas?
If you want to read the sourced article please click here.
14.8.08
Grey Hairs
I have stopped thinking about my grey hairs for sometime now. However, a recent innocent comment from a relative about his grey hairs getting numerous brought it all back again. Two years ago or so, I can count five to seven grey hairs on each side of my head and similarly on the top. There must have been several more at the back as well. I would pull out most of it despite remembering old folks in Bohol saying that it will increase your grey hairs if you pull them out.
Nowadays, there are just too many to pull out that I do not bother with it anymore. I have accepted the fact that there will be more of them grey hairs as I grow older. Really?! Or is it because superstition had prevailed over logic. As my older son will say, "Whatever!"
Pulling out grey hairs from our father's head was a lunchtime ritual all of us siblings have to do when we were young. In tandem with it is the pulling out of hairs from his chin. These mundane tasks were always done by pairs and we all have to take turns, so, there is no escape. Generally, I disliked doing it more than anything else.
Even up to now, Father did not really have a lot of grey hairs. But two of his brothers and their mother all have their heads covered with grey hairs. When spending weekends in Baclayon (we were living then in Tagbilaran) I remember one instance, as a small boy, my Nana asked me to pull out grey hairs from her head. I thought, this is easy so I started pulling out hairs in rapid succession. I was scolded. She told me that what she had meant were those very short grey hairs as these causes her head to itch. And that was not an easy thing to do as her head is covered with grey hairs!
I doubt that I can ask my sons to do that lunchtime ritual on me when they get old enough to do so. We now live in different times and a very different environment. But it would be nice to happen as it will bring back to me memories with my father. Although I said I disliked doing it then, but the memory of it was not forgotten. Why? I would like to think that during those short regular moments, a father and son(s) shared quality time together, which, as that credit card advertisement will say, is priceless.
Nowadays, there are just too many to pull out that I do not bother with it anymore. I have accepted the fact that there will be more of them grey hairs as I grow older. Really?! Or is it because superstition had prevailed over logic. As my older son will say, "Whatever!"
Pulling out grey hairs from our father's head was a lunchtime ritual all of us siblings have to do when we were young. In tandem with it is the pulling out of hairs from his chin. These mundane tasks were always done by pairs and we all have to take turns, so, there is no escape. Generally, I disliked doing it more than anything else.
Even up to now, Father did not really have a lot of grey hairs. But two of his brothers and their mother all have their heads covered with grey hairs. When spending weekends in Baclayon (we were living then in Tagbilaran) I remember one instance, as a small boy, my Nana asked me to pull out grey hairs from her head. I thought, this is easy so I started pulling out hairs in rapid succession. I was scolded. She told me that what she had meant were those very short grey hairs as these causes her head to itch. And that was not an easy thing to do as her head is covered with grey hairs!
I doubt that I can ask my sons to do that lunchtime ritual on me when they get old enough to do so. We now live in different times and a very different environment. But it would be nice to happen as it will bring back to me memories with my father. Although I said I disliked doing it then, but the memory of it was not forgotten. Why? I would like to think that during those short regular moments, a father and son(s) shared quality time together, which, as that credit card advertisement will say, is priceless.
4.8.08
Jose Rizal in Bohol
Last June 19, the Philippines observed the 147th birth anniversary of its national hero, Dr Jose P Rizal. Did you know that Dr Rizal went to Bohol once when he was still alive? According to Jes Tirol, a prominent local historian, Dr Rizal went to Bohol sometime in the last week of June 1895.
A certain Felipe Dolotina in Bilar, Bohol told Tirol that he had met Dr Rizal, who stayed in their house during his visit. This incident prompted Tirol to conduct research to confirm this information.
In 1892, Dr Rizal was exiled to Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte. There he continued his medical practice. While there, he wrote a letter to the Governor General to ask permission to search for an agricultural colony. This was granted.
One day, Dr Rizal had a Boholano patient, Gregorio Penaflor, who later went on to become Mayor of Tagbilaran in 1918-1919. Gregorio had an eye ailment and was brought to Dr Rizal by his father Don Andres Penaflor, a wealthy merchant. When Gregorio was healed Don Andres prepared their banca to go home to Tagbilaran. Remembering his search for an agricultural colony, Dr Rizal asked Don Andres whether there was a good site for one. Don Andres replied that there was a good site in the central part of Bohol. Dr Rizal decided to joint the Penaflors during their voyage back to Tagbilaran.
They arrived at Tonggo, Taloto, Tagbilaran City and Dr Rizal stayed at the house of the Penaflors. While there, he also treated the eye ailment of a relative of Don Andres. The next day, their trip in search of an agricultural colony started. They first visited the house where Don Timoteo Hidalgo, Dr Rizal's brother-in-law, was exiled. Then they passed by Baclayon, where Dr Rizal treated some patients. In the afternoon, they resumed their trip towards Dimiao where they spent the night. The road from Dimiao to Bilar was difficult to travel at night.
The following day, the trip was resumed and they reached Bilar and stayed with the Dolotina family. Bilar was the end of the horse-carriage road so Dr Rizal's group proceeded to Candagaz, Sierra Bullones on horseback to view the wide plain that was suited for an agricultural colony. When they returned to Bilar, Dr Rizal treated some more patients. Dr Rizal then returned to Dapitan via Jagna.
There is more to this story in Tirol's article in the Bohol Chronicle.
A certain Felipe Dolotina in Bilar, Bohol told Tirol that he had met Dr Rizal, who stayed in their house during his visit. This incident prompted Tirol to conduct research to confirm this information.
In 1892, Dr Rizal was exiled to Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte. There he continued his medical practice. While there, he wrote a letter to the Governor General to ask permission to search for an agricultural colony. This was granted.
One day, Dr Rizal had a Boholano patient, Gregorio Penaflor, who later went on to become Mayor of Tagbilaran in 1918-1919. Gregorio had an eye ailment and was brought to Dr Rizal by his father Don Andres Penaflor, a wealthy merchant. When Gregorio was healed Don Andres prepared their banca to go home to Tagbilaran. Remembering his search for an agricultural colony, Dr Rizal asked Don Andres whether there was a good site for one. Don Andres replied that there was a good site in the central part of Bohol. Dr Rizal decided to joint the Penaflors during their voyage back to Tagbilaran.
They arrived at Tonggo, Taloto, Tagbilaran City and Dr Rizal stayed at the house of the Penaflors. While there, he also treated the eye ailment of a relative of Don Andres. The next day, their trip in search of an agricultural colony started. They first visited the house where Don Timoteo Hidalgo, Dr Rizal's brother-in-law, was exiled. Then they passed by Baclayon, where Dr Rizal treated some patients. In the afternoon, they resumed their trip towards Dimiao where they spent the night. The road from Dimiao to Bilar was difficult to travel at night.
The following day, the trip was resumed and they reached Bilar and stayed with the Dolotina family. Bilar was the end of the horse-carriage road so Dr Rizal's group proceeded to Candagaz, Sierra Bullones on horseback to view the wide plain that was suited for an agricultural colony. When they returned to Bilar, Dr Rizal treated some more patients. Dr Rizal then returned to Dapitan via Jagna.
There is more to this story in Tirol's article in the Bohol Chronicle.
3.8.08
Wordle Up
Like RonDon I was hooked, just love it. It took me several tries in order to get this "word cloud" that I liked. Just go to Wordle.net and either paste in a bunch of text or enter the URL of your blog or web page and it will create a word cloud like the one above. I entered this blog's URL and then this wonderful word cloud was created.
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