The Ilocos Times

In the mountains of Greece where the Greek gods and goddesses lived. By Noralyn O. Dudt WHO WAS PAUL?   Churches, hospitals, schools and even towns and cities bear his name: St. Paul's Cathedral, St. Paul's College, St. Paul Hospital, Ciudad San Pablo, and so on. Paul was not exactly the name he was born with.   He was   born as   Saul in a place called   Tarsus, which is now a part of   eastern Turkey.   A   Roman citizen of Jewish parentage, he studied the Torah in Jerusalem with the well-known Jewish scholar Gamaliel and became a member of a sect called the Pharisees. They   were an ancient Jewish faction distinguished by the strict observance of the traditional and written law, and commonly held to have pretensions to superior sanctity. "You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may be clean also." Jesus said in Matthew 23:26. "Woe to you Pharisees ! For you love the chief seats in the synagogues

By Noralyn Dudt A story full of oddities it certainly is. From the world's point of view, twelve men from an odd place with odd personalities could not have been the main actors over 2,000 years ago when another odd man discipled them and sent them around the Roman world to preach and proclaim the Good News. They were revolutionary ideas about loving your enemies,   ideas that were at odds with what   are   sensible to the human mind. What was so blessed about being "poor in spirit" anyway? And what was so blessed about being meek ? And "turning the other cheek?" Truly revolutionary. But eleven of the original   Twelve   plus one other later, whose   name was Paul went around preaching those odd ideas, and the   world was being turned upside down. How each one of these Twelve   and another one named Paul were called to follow this man who grew up in a carpenter's home was another odd thing. This man who then was called "Rabii" or Teacher was w

By Noralyn Dudt A small pocket of the vast Roman Empire in the little town of Nazareth is a place where no one would have ever expected someone to turn the world upside-down. It was an undistinguished,   obscure place. Although Yeshua (Jesus, Joshua) was a Nazarene, he was born in another town where his parents were traveling to the city of David in Bethlehem. There was a decree by Caesar Augustus that all citizens of the Roman world should be registered (census) at the place where their ancestors were born. Mary and Joseph who both descended from the line of David were on this trek when Mary was about to give birth. As there was no room for them at the inn,   they retreated to a stable where the animals were kept for the night. The baby Yeshua came into our world there, and placed on a manger which was a place where the animals ate. He was raised by a mother who "treasured up all these things and pondered them   in her heart" when right after the birth, shepherds from the

By Noralyn Dudt "My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. For He has looked with favor on His lowly servant." Around 2,024 years ago in the   little town of Nazareth, a young maiden received a visit from someone from afar.   An angel of the Lord appeared and   made the announcement that has now become a prayer of adoration by many in the Catholic faith,   "blessed are you the most favored of all women."   Blessed ?   Favored?   Indeed, Mary must have felt blessed and favored. One wonders why she, of all people, and not the magistrate's daughter was chosen. It would be an eye ( or mind?) opener to take a close look at Mary's song of praise, "The Magnificat"   in the book of Luke 1:46-55 and see what kind of a soul this young maiden was. "He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid; for behold,   henceforth all generations shall call me blessed; because He who is mighty has done great things for me, and Holy

By Liwliwa B. Suguitan Technology has the potential to significantly change how people learn. It may strengthen and deepen connections between teachers and students, help us reimagine how we learn and collaborate, close long-standing equity and accessibility gaps, and modify the learning process to accommodate the needs of all students. Thus, student engagement may be raised, lesson planning can be improved, and tailored learning can be facilitated in the classroom with the wise use of digital learning resources. Furthermore, it assists pupils in developing crucial 21 st century abilities. However, the question is: are all educators equipped with the information, abilities, and skills required for teaching with technology? Teaching online poses challenges for teachers trained primarily to work face to face. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck all over the world teachers were forced to move online to ensure students continue their education. This is not an easy transition and succes

By Noralyn Dudt About three weeks ago on Dec. 15 th , 2022, I lost my bragging rights on board the Viking Jupiter along the coast of Puerto Montt in Chile. That was my 15 th day on the cruise and I tested positive for the coronavirus, finally.   I was asymptomatic (no symptoms) so, of course it came as a surprise. I would have never known had it not for   the Viking protocol to conduct PCR tests on   all 900 passengers and 400 crew members every morning. For two years I have been sort of bragging with "humility"   that the corona would never be able to get past my immune system. I have been healthy, didn't have underlying conditions and best of all I have had the two doses of the mRNA   vaccines plus the three boosters for the variants. Additionally, I have been wearing a mask in crowded and closed-in places. I was very sure that I was forever shielded from the virus and why shouldn't I have been entitled to some bragging rights? Those bragging   rights I lost, bu

By Noralyn Dudt I'm writing this on board the Viking Jupiter cruise in the South Atlantic. To mitigate the effect of the tons of delicious foods that I am eating, I have been going   to the gym   to run on the treadmill. It has been days and I'm still here. My running at a speed of 5.5 km per hour has not gotten me anywhere. And with the vast ocean around me, there seems to be no "land" in sight. The cleaning crews do their cleaning and scrubbing early in the morning, and do it all over again by midday, and in the late afternoon.   All of these remind me of the term "Sisyphean."   It's never ending, not arriving at any place....a Sisyphean task it's called. Where and how did such an odd-sounding   term originate? Sisyphus in one of the Greek myths was the founder and   king of Ephyra ( now known as Corinth ) who was punished for his trickery by being forced to roll a massive boulder to the top of a steep hill. Every time the boulder neared the t

Singapore , a small country in Southeast Asia has been dubbed an economic "miracle."   On what account they call it so, I am not so sure.   I always thought a miracle was something that only a Divine Being could perform when something is deemed hopeless. To the secular, it may be called magic, like when Cinderella's fairy godmother turned a pumpkin into a coach as her ride to the Palace ball. So how did this once   upon a time sandbar   called Singapore become an economic "miracle." Did it suddenly find favor from a god who decided that Singapore needed a better economy? Or did Singapore's government have magical qualities that could just wave a wand and turn this little backwater place into an economic tiger? Let's take a look at what kind of people populate this city-state. It has a diverse population,   the result of considerable past immigration. The Chinese in Singapore are Singapore's largest ethnic group making up three-quarters of the cou

By Noralyn Dudt For centuries , obesity has been viewed as a character flaw. Despite decades of research into the genetic and biological influences on body weight, people with obesity continue to be stigmatized,   more so than those with other chronic disease, as if their weight were their fault. In the latest issue of the European Journal of   Clinical Nutrition, researchers, clinicians and public health experts discussed and argued that overeating is not the primary cause of obesity. Looking at clinical trials and previous research,   they   came to the conclusion that the "process of gaining weight causes us to overeat." The usual way of understanding obesity is simple : if one consumes more calories than needed to fuel oneself, the surplus is deposited into body fat resulting in weight gain. Because, according to this approach, all calories are alike to the body   and the only way to lose weight   is to eat fewer of them, or burn them   off with exercise. For a ce

By Noralyn Dudt A mosquito bites you while sitting outside in the yard and you wonder why the fellow sitting next to you does not get a bite?   Have you ever thought that you might be one of those mosquito "magnets?" According to the journal Cell (a peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes research papers across a broad range of disciplines within   the life sciences), mosquito-borne diseases impact about 700 million people per year, and experts expect that number to increase as global temperatures rise. The A.aegypti mosquitoes are known to live in tropical or subtropical climates, but the insect has adapted   and now breeds in the cooler regions of the United States. Some people are "magnets" for mosquitoes, emitting a tantalizing combination of chemicals that invites the pesky insects to dine on them. Scientists have known that mosquitoes have a preference for some humans over others but the reason wasn't fully understood. A laboratory at Rockef

Filipino-American Hollywood celebrity chef Vallerie Castillo-Archer with Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Manotoc. By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff Reporter LAOAG CITY—Filipino-American Hollywood celebrity chef Vallerie Castillo-Archer is back in her homeland in the City of Batac City, Ilocos Norte after more than three decades in the US. Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc welcomed her at the airport, with a huge welcome tarpaulin waiting for her. The two earlier met at the posh Yamashiro restaurant in Los Angeles, California on July 15, 2022 where she works as the executive chef. In a short interview at the airport, Castillo-Archer said she never expected to become the first Filipino executive chef at the iconic Hollywood restaurant but her passion for food and cooking brought her there. Literally born inside a bakery owned by her grandfather in San Nicolas town also in Ilocos Norte, Castillo-Archer described her childhood as "the best,” referring to how she enjoy