Monday, April 30, 2018

Differences and Similarities of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases


The other day after watching the Alzheimer's Disease (AD) segment in the 60 Minutes TV show reminded me that I am lucky that my wife has only Parkinson Disease(PD) and not Alzheimer's Disease (PD). I wish though that my wife's PD will disappear but as of today there is no cure for both PD and/or AD.

For those of you who have no relatives or loved ones suffering from either PD or AD, I call you the Chosen and Lucky Ones. You will only fully understand the previous sentence unless you have experienced being a Primary Care Giver to a Loved One suffering from a neurological disorder such as PD or AD.

Do you know the Differences and Similarities between PD and AD? Here's are two references for your information and reading pleasure.

1. https://journeywithparkinsons.com/2015/06/10/a-comparison-of-parkinsons-to-alzheimers/

2. https://www.brightfocus.org/alzheimers/article/alzheimers-and-parkinsons-disease-similarities-and-differences

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Thank You Lord for Another Beautiful Spring Day

This is the 4th day of perfect weather here in Northern California. While Macrine and I relax in our patio enjoying the music of Julio Iglesias and the blooms of my camellias, roses, daisies, ice plants( pink and orange) and other flowering shrubs, I can not help thinking of how happy we are that our decision to retire here in Northern California was indeed a perfect decision and not a mistake. The following photos are some of my landscaping décor ( garden statuaries and plaques) that we are currently enjoying with GUSTO!









Have a Happy Spring Day if you reside in the Northern Hemisphere!

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

What is Sat Nam? Ready for Some Yoga?


Last Sunday, my daughter Ditas had an OPEN HOUSE celebrating her new deck she called Yoga and Art Space. She posted a video of her new deck and one of the décor was the word Sat Nam. My wife asked me what is Sat Nam. I was not able to answer her. So I did some Internet search and here's what I found.

https://www.yogitimes.com/article/what-is-the-meaning-of-sat-nam

If you reside in the Sacramento Metropolitan area please sign with Ditas Kundalini workshop as follows:

http://www.solfirejstreet.com/10-bodies-consciousness-kundalini-workshop-10-session-series-w-ditas-katague/

Sunday, April 22, 2018

This is the Day the Lord Has Made-Happy Earth Day


I woke up this morning singing the psalm (reminds me of our church choir), This is the day the Lord has Made, Let us Rejoice and be Glad! The weather today will be perfect; sunny and the temperature will range from mid 50's at 7AM to low 80's this afternoon with no wind here in Northern California.

This is also the day that reminds me that residing here in the US and paying high taxes is worth it and we have no regrets retiring here. Most important today April 22, Sunday is Earth Day.

This is the day also when Ditas has her OPEN HOUSE to celebrate a new deck addition to her residence in Sacramento. She called her new deck Yoga and Art Space( Studio). We plan on attending depending in how Macrine feels this afternoon.


Incase you have not heard of Earth Day here's a paragraph from Wikipedia.

Earth Day is an annual event celebrated on April 22. Worldwide, various events are held to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First celebrated in 1970, Earth Day events in more than 193 countries are now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network. On Earth Day 2016, the landmark Paris Agreement was signed by the United States, China, and some 120 other countries. This signing satisfied a key requirement for the entry into force of the historic draft climate protection treaty adopted by consensus of the 195 nations present at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris.

Saturday, April 21, 2018

Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto #1 by Mimi Minigawa

Rachmaninoff and Siloti( his early mentor)-looks like twin brothers to me.

I have posted Rachmaninoff Concertos #2 and #3 a few months ago. Today, I like to share with you his #1 that he composed when he was only 18 years old. There are several You-Tube recordings in the Web, But I like this recording by pianist Mimi Minagawa. Minigawa is a young American pianist born in Houston, Texas, USA. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6qjffQq-tw

Mimi was a full music scholarship at the University of Michigan. She participated at the Cincinnati World Piano Competition and won second place at the Lima Symphony Young Artists Competition, College Division. She was also a winner of the School of Music, Theatre.& Dance Concerto Competition.

Her other awards are: honorable mention at the MTNA Competition in East Central; Jacob Flier Piano Competition Winner Recital; winner of Jacob Flier International Piano Competition; full scholarship recipient at Rice University Preparatory Program; scholarship recipient at Piano Summer at New Paltz; scholarship recipient at St. Pius X High School; full scholarship recipient at the Hotchkiss School Summer; Portals Chamber Music Program; and first prize at the Hong Kong Youth and Children Piano Competition.

Here's some information on Rachmaninoff from Wikipedia:

Sergei Rachmaninoff composed his Piano Concerto No. 1 in F♯ minor, Op. 1, in 1891, at age 18. He dedicated the work to Alexander Siloti. He revised the work thoroughly in 1917.

Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian pianist, composer, and conductor of the late Romantic period, some of whose works are among the most popular in the romantic repertoire.

Born into a musical family, Rachmaninoff took up the piano at age four. He graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1892 and had composed several piano and orchestral pieces by this time. In 1897, following the critical reaction to his Symphony No. 1, Rachmaninoff entered a four-year depression and composed little until successful therapy allowed him to complete his enthusiastically received Piano Concerto No. 2 in 1901.

After the Russian Revolution, Rachmaninoff and his family left Russia and resided in the United States, first in New York City. Demanding piano concert tour schedules caused his output as composer to slow tremendously; between 1918 and 1943, he completed just six compositions, including Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Symphony No. 3, and Symphonic Dances. In 1942, Rachmaninoff moved to Beverly Hills, California. One month before his death from advanced melanoma, Rachmaninoff acquired American citizenship.

The work is in three movements:

1.Vivace (F♯ minor)

This contrast with the later works can be heard from the opening bars, where a brass fanfare precedes a flourish of double octaves and chords on the piano — a musical gesture similar to the Schumann and Grieg piano concertos. This flourish occurs later in the movement, as well, an important factor in the symmetry of the movement. The main theme (like the other themes in this work common to both versions) is short by Rachmaninoff's standards but already shows the sequential devices and arch-like design inherent in his later works.

2.Andante cantabile (D major)

This reflective nocturne is only 74 bars long. The texture is less cumbersome in the revised version; the harmonies remain the same but are enlivened by occasional chromatic notes.

3. Allegro scherzando (F♯ minor → F♯ major) [1917 version: allegro vivace]

Rachmaninoff replaced an initially drab opening with a fortissimo passage alternating between time signatures of 9 8 and 12. This movement is in sonata-rondo form, in which the development is a lengthy section in E flat major. A maestoso reemergence of the concerto's main theme was eliminated. In the original version he had attempted to use this theme in an upward sequential treatment similar to what he would do later in the Second and Third Concertos. The problem here was that the theme did not lend itself so easily to this treatment, thus sounding contrived. It also came too late in the movement to have the right expansive effort prevalent in the other concertos.



Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Summary of My Research Publications

My election to the USP Council of Experts, 1995-2000 ( Reelected for another five years of service from 2000-2005)

While googling myself, I found the following site that listed the summary of my 8 research publications when I was still working for the three private companies, Chemagro Corp,. Shell Development and Stauffer Chemical Companies. Not included are my work for the Food and Drug Administration. It's humbling to see some of my research work published in the Internet. There are also 58 research publications that cite/refer to my publications.

https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/85918131_David_B_Katague

Note that both my master's degree and doctorate degree thesis are in this list.

Working as a Pesticides Residues Method Development Chemist at Stauffer Chemical Company, Richmond, California, 1980's

For details and other publications read: http://davidbkatague.blogspot.com/2011/12/trail-blazer-in-chemistry.html

Thursday, April 12, 2018

My Haughty and Racist Neighbor and Me

The other day I wrote a short note about my haughty and possibly racist neighbor based on his attitude towards me. However, after he read my biography and bucket list, his attitude suddenly changed and now friendly to me. This experience illustrates that racism is due to ignorance. The following are some of the best quotes I found in the Internet for your reading pleasure.

http://www.wiseoldsayings.com/racism-quotes/

Attached is my most widely read and commented article (hub) I wrote about Filipino Discrimination in the US and my own and family experiences here in the US way back in the 1960's in Kansas City, Missouri

https://hubpages.com/business/caste-system-in-the-philippines

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Recent Wedding Reception at Chateau Du Mer, Marinduque

It is heartening to know that Chateau Du Mer Hall is still providing a venue for a wedding reception in spite of my physical absence. My thanks to Siony Jambalos( my sister-in-law), Edwin and Cecile ( caretaker couple) and Jimmy ( my grounds keeper and gardener) to make this event possible even in my absence. Attached below is a recent video of the Jandusay-De Castro wedding reception.
https://www.facebook.com/lot.j.decastro/videos/10214320104748747/UzpfSTExMjQxMTQ0NzY6MTAyMTIxMDcyNzk3MzM2MjM/

Sunday, April 8, 2018

Antonio A Nieva and Jose Antonio Vargas-Added to My Pinoy Pride List


Two years ago, I wrote in one of my hubs a list of names I called my Pinoy Pride List. There were 20 names of accomplished Filipino-Americans or Filipinos in that list. Here's my article as published in my Hubpages.com account.

https://hubpages.com/business/caste-system-in-the-philippines

Today I am proud to add two names to this list.

1. Antonio A. Nieva-Writer and Filipino-American veteran of World War II. Tony Arevalo Nieva is my wife's uncle and father of Ronie and Pepi Nieva. For details of his life and book read the following:

https://www.usphsociety.org/2017/05/24/filipino-veterans-honored-at-the-washington-dc-book-launch-of-nievas-cadet-soldier-guerrilla-fighter/

2. Jose Antonio Vargas- DACA and Dreamer's Act Activist. For his biography and accomplishments read the following.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Antonio_Vargas

Thursday, April 5, 2018

The Sound Track of the Movie-The Hours by Philip Glass


Its time for some great music: Macrine and I just finished watching an old movie-the Hours. The movie was great and sad but what really attracted our attention was the music or sound track of the movie. Macrine kept asking me during the movie, what was the title of the music during some of the dramatic scenes, because she thought it sound familiar. So I did my web search ( Wikipedia) and was not surprised that this sound track received numerous awards as follows:

The album won the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music. It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score and the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media (lost to the score of the film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers).

The Hours is the original soundtrack album, on the Elektra/Nonesuch label, of the 2002 film The Hours, starring Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore. The original score was composed by Philip Glass. Not all of the music in the film was composed specifically for it: earlier music by Glass, including a theme from his opera Satyagraha, was also featured and credited separately at the end of the film.

Michael Riesman and Nico Muhly arranged the soundtrack for piano solo. This score was published in 2003 as a 64-paged book containing most of the tracks (excluding "For Your Own Benefit", "Vanessa and the Changelings" and "The Kiss").

Here's the sound track for your listening pleasure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrXyMywvHF0

Track listing
No.
Song title
Time
1.
The Poet Acts
03:40
2.
Morning Passages
05:30
3.
Something She Has to Do
03:09
4.
"For Your Own Benefit"
02:00
5.
Vanessa and the Changelings
01:45
6.
"I'm Going to Make a Cake"
04:01
7.
An Unwelcome Friend
04:08
8.
Dead Things
04:21
9.
The Kiss
03:54
10.
"Why Does Someone Have to Die?"
03:53
11.
Tearing Herself Away
05:00
12.
Escape!
03:48
13.
Choosing Life
03:50
14.
The Hours
07:44

Total time
56:43

Note: This is the first time that both Macrine and I enjoyed the music sound track more than the story line of a movie. The movie had received also numerous awards for acting ( Nicole Kidman), but to us the score composed by Philip Glass is outstanding and worth our time. It is a sad movie with two suicides and one attempted suicide. The acting however is superb particularly the child actor playing the boy, Richard. Kidman, Moore and Strep were also fantastic. We highly recommend this movie if you have not seen it.

Sunday, April 1, 2018

Easter Sunday and the Holy Week Celebration in Marinduque


This year Macrine and I were not able to spend Holy Week in our second home-the Island of Marinduque. However every Holy Week reminds us that the Philippines is indeed a nation of Festivals. One of the highlights of the Easter Celebration in Marinduque is the Gasan-Gasan Street dancing Competition.



Attached is my hub written a few years ago, but still very applicable today.

https://hubpages.com/travel/the-philippines-nation-of-fiestas-and-festivals

Personal Note: Macrine and I just finished watching the Papal Easter Mass and Benediction live from the Vatican-St Peter's Square . It was a memorable TV experience and it reminded us of our 7 days vacation in Rome, Italy a few decades ago.

Again, Easter Greetings to all my readers, friends and relatives all over the world.

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