Scenes from Madera County

Moonrise and church steeple

I write most of my blogs from this small town in the Central Valley. Sometimes I can't concentrate, like at this very moment, because my neighbor has turned up his stereo system to absolute max and will stay that way until the wee hours of the morning. It's the same "heavy on the bass" music that will wake me up at 6 a.m. And when I go outside tomorrow, I'll discover trash on the side of my garage from the previous night's shindig. "These are the times that try man's soul." My gardener complains to me how much "basura" he picks up when he mows the lawn. So I try to pick up the discarded cups, paper plates, plastic bottles, potato chip wrappers and all the leftover food, with a heavy heart. Why do people litter on private property? Aren't children taught what's right or wrong in school? These teenagers next door were apparently absent from school when the teacher was giving a lecture on how to behave in a civilized world. I've asked these young adults in a nice way, to please not leave their trash on my yard. They apologized and said they wouldn't do it again. But they're back to their old ways. What more can I do?

Local color

On the bright side, there are some unique sights to see here. Just check out this man selling bouquets of flowers and colorful armchairs for litle kids. He's the roadside enterpreneur. Then there are the garage sales where used clothes are strewn all over the yard, for better exposure, I suppose. And on special holidays like Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, every major street corner has stalls selling teddy bears, balloons and flowers. Bright reminders to get something for sweetheart or Mom. There must be a lot of little kids in town at the rate I see bounce houses. It's a must for children's parties. And my favorite sight of all is the human billboard. This job has to be the toughest of all, standing on a street corner, waving at all the cars passing by under the heat of the summer sun or exposed to wintry temperatures. Brrr.

Sunrise

"Life is a great sunrise". Vladimir Nabokov.

And then there's awesome nature. This view of sunrise is from my living room window and this fiery sunset was taken from my kitchen window. If only I had a peaceful neighborhood. Is this too much to ask for?

Fiery sunset

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Images by Charie

The Art of Carlos Botong Francisco - Progress of Medicine in the Philippines

Pre-colonial period Pag-unlad ng Panggagamot sa Pilipinas (The Progress of Medicine in the Philippines) is a group of four large-scale paintings depicting healing practices in the Philippines from pre-colonial times to the modern period. Carlos Botong Francisco was commissioned in 1953 by Dr. Agerico Sison who was then the director of Philippine General Hospital (PGH) together with Dr. Eduardo Quisumbing of the National Museum, Dr. Florentino Herrera, Jr. and Dr. Constantino Manahan. These oil on canvas paintings measure 2.92 meters in height and 2.76 meters in width (9.71 ft x 8.92 ft) and were displayed at the main entrance hall of PGH for over five decades. Owing to its location, the artworks were in a state of "severe deterioration" at the beginning of the 21st century from exposure to heat, humidity, dirt, dust, smoke, insect stains, grime, termites and an oxidized synthetic resin used in an earlier restoration. These canvases were restored three times, the last was...

Filipino Struggles in History - Carlos Botong Francisco

In 1968, Antonio Villegas (then Mayor of Manila), commissioned Carlos "Botong" Francisco to paint the history of Manila for Manila City Hall. The series of large scale paintings was called Kasaysayan ng Maynila (History of Manila). The paintings deteriorated over time and no attempt was made to preserve these historical canvases until 2013 when Mayor Amado Lim sent them to the National Museum for extensive restoration. Four years later, in 2017, Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada and the Manila City Council signed an agreement with the National Museum to leave the paintings at the museum so they may reach a larger audience in exchange for museum grade reproductions to replace the originals. Kasaysayan ng Maynila was later renamed Filipino Struggles in History and is now on display at the Senate Hall of the National Museum . Carlos "Botong" Francisco died in March 1969, a few months after completing the paintings. He is one of the first Filipino modernists and...

8 Heritage Houses of Iloilo

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