Brains & Beauty Agriculture

An Asian learning from a British wunderkind about copywriting in a language not their own – that’s Filipino Frank A Hilario minding American English learning from British David Ogilvy . I was a copywriter for Pacifica Publicity Bureau in Makati City. It has been 47 years since, but if you learn by doing, it’s forever. “The past is prologue,” British playwright William Shakespeare famously said. Mr Ogilvy also famously said, “If you can't advertise yourself, what hope have you being able to advertise anything else?” (above, my self-portrait, taken 17 August 2017 with my Lumix FZ100 digital camera) [If you’re looking for a tireless blogger, here I am! On 08 Aug 2012, I came out listing a total of 754 essays I had blogged from 11 Feb 2006 to 06 Aug 2012 (“Frank A Hilario’s American Chronicle Essays, So Far” ( A Magazine Called Love , amagazinecalledlove.blogspot.com ), My blog Towards A New Eden that I started sometime Aug 2019 now has almost 1,000 (950) essays ( Towards A New E...

If you are looking to reward “International Excellence,” you have to be a role model yourself. I am reading the Facebook post of the International Excellence Awards 2022, and the presentation itself is not excellent. (image from Facebook 10 July 2022) On its website, on a huge image, it spells itself “International Excellence Award” (singular) and not “International Excellence Awards” (plural), which is correct ( International Excellence Awards , iexcellenceawards.com ). Remember, ladies & gentlemen, “Little things mean a lot” – from the popular song by Edith Lindeman ( Wikipedia , en.wikipedia.org ). Here you are showing lack of attention to details! Welcome to the website of the International Excellence [Awards] 2022. The conference is organized by the International Centre of Excellence in Education and SPACE. [The] International Excellence {Awards] is here to recognize and appreciate the efforts of leaders and [achievers] in their respective fields. It aims to recognize and a...

With exports of agricultural chemicals from advanced countries in jeopardy, for all I know, as interim PH Secretary of Agriculture, BBM Sir, among other things, you have been advised to prescribe “Balanced Fertilization,” for farmers to reduce use of chemical fertilizers and increase use of organic fertilizers. Economic advice. Environmental advice – To solve Farmer Poverty and simultaneously fight Climate Change bringing devastating typhoons, floods and landslides, as an alumnus of UP Los Baños, my advice is: Go 100% regenerative agriculture (RA) – forget chemical agriculture (CA)! Why 100% RA, 0% CA? RA uses 100% biodegradable materials (plant-based); organic fertilizers are examples of RA materials – locally produced; CA uses chemical fertilizers and pesticides – all imported. I view RA as one of the better avenues for country-wide development, explained below. (Image sources: “What is Community” from Geneva College, geneva.edu ; “Connecting People” from Nurture Development , nu...

What is the proper role of the “press,” today enlarged as “media,” in a developing country like the Philippines? Inez Ponce De Leon (above) more or less claims in her Inquirer column, it is “speaking truth to power” (06 July 2022, “Free Press And True History,” ( opinion.inquirer.net ). (“Role Of Media” image from PTV News, ptvnews.ph ) Ms Inez speaks of media’s accepted role. Which is not acceptable to me! I write based on a self-taught & self-styled journalism born 16 April 1975 starting employment by the Forest Research Institute (FORI), based in the campus of UP Los Baños, where I became the Founder & Editor In Chief of FORI’s monthly newsletter Canopy , quarterly technical journal Sylvatrop , and quarterly color magazine Habitat . Thinking back with what Ms Inez just said, 47 years ago I was “speaking truth to people without power!” Was my journalism less ? I quote Ms Inez’ first paragraph in full: Freedom of speech is invoked so carelessly, it has become wrongly equ...

Yes, as a full-blooded Ilocano, I voted for Leni Robredo , Bicolano. Yes, as a citizen, I support President Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr as much as I can with my digital journalism. To start publicly, I do not appreciate Inquirer columnist Segundo Eclar Romero as he belittles BBM via his inaugural speech. Mr Romero, today, Tuesday, in your Inquirer column (05 July 2022, “Reinventing Government, Reinventing Hope” ( opinion.inquirer.net ), in your very first sentence, it is incorrect to say: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s inaugural speech was like a feast of bombastic words, as one would expect in a high school declamation contest. Doubly unkind of you, Mr Romero. You practice what I call “ Truth Journalism ,” which goes for the “truth” no matter who gets hurt. Me, I go through the entire “T.H.I.N.K. Process.” My journalism goes: “True + Helpful + Inspiring + Necessary + Kind” – the THiNK Journalism that I invented. (See my “Maria Ressa Thinks Truth Journalism. Like Apple, I Think D...

On 04 August 1964, RA 4166 proclaimed 12 June as “Philippine Independence Day” (Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org ). So, on this date for the last 58 years, the Philippines has been celebrating Independence Day wrongly ! (“The Philippines Marches” image from Foreign Policy , foreignpolicy.com ) Here comes multi-literate Filipino Ramon Yedra   sharing on Facebook 03 July 2022: Tomorrow, July 4th is the actual Philippine Independence Day as a sovereign republic. The June 12, 1898 declaration by Aguinaldo had a caveat note: “…under the protection of the powerful and humanitarian nation, United States of America.”. That protectorate status finally ended, by declaration of the USA, [on] July 4, 1946. 😏 My comment was: “I agree 100%!” I love the United States of America! We Filipinos thank you for giving us our own Fourth of July – and Frank A Hilario thanks you for American English! To those of you who do not know the correct history of PH Independence, I have these personal notes publi...

Above, are we looking at “The Guardians of PH Society? Journalists anywhere today behave as Amrie Cruzon believes: “The primary role of journalists as society’s watchdogs” (11 May 2022, “Local Women Broadcasters Force Us To Reflect On Journalistic Integrity Post-Elections,” preen.ph, preen.ph ). Me, I  prefer good news to bad news. (“Good News” image from Dreamstime, dreamstime.com ) Being a prominent single-minded and strident bad-news guardian of PH society as a whole is what won for Maria Ressa the Nobel Peace Prize 2021. With its Peace Prize, the Nobel Foundation is in fact rewarding those people who go out looking for the bad news rather than the good news! Saturday, 02 July 2022, I challenged Ms Maria to publish a good news magazine – “ Culture Agriculture ” (02 July 2022, “Maria Ressa, Nobel Peace Prize 2021 Winner – Why Not Your Journeys In Journalism Pleasing To You And Others? My Challenge In Peace: Journalism As Foods For Thought & Stomach!” Towards A New Eden, t...