The Star Thrower

One of the things we like to do at CANVAS is to publish short environmental stories (either as books or on our website or both), not only for the lessons they carry, but also as a medium for showcasing works by Filipino artists.

We have two such stories on our website now - "The Hummingbird" interpreted by Plet Bolipata and "The King and the Royal Trees" which was illustrated by Ivee Olivares-Mellor.

Below is another story, "The Star Thrower," for which we are still looking for an appropriate artist.

Many of you may have already seen this story, or a version of it, as it is popular on the Web. It's not clear who wrote it, but it is often most attributed to anthropologist Loren Eiseley. But his original tale is told differently and the message is less upbeat.

Anyways, if you could recommend or suggest a good Filipino/Filipina artist, we'd be happy to hear it.

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THE STAR THROWER

One day, thousands of starfish had washed ashore along a beach that a man was walking upon. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer.

When he got closer, he saw that it was a little girl and she wasn't dancing. Instead she was reaching down to the shore, picking up starfish and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

He called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?" The little girl paused, looked up and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean so they won’t die."

"Don't bother, dear," the man said, "There are too many starfish. It won't make a difference."

The little girl listened politely. Then she bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves.

She then looked up and the man, smiled and said, "Well, it made a difference for that one!"

The Truth About the Philippines

Just replace "Argentina" with Philippines...

How Big a Deal is This?

"It's very degrading," said Registered Nurse Bernadette Roco.

"It's not only a slur, it's an insult to the quality of Philippines education," added former President Fidel Ramos.

On the other hand, here's something a friend of mine wrote: "That's too much ado over nothing. We should not be onion-skinned about being the butt of a joke in a TV serial. Instead, we should wonder why our (medical) schools have a poor reputation. It's about the blatant forgeries at Recto, the profit- hungry diploma mills, the cheating scandals in board exams, election fraud, etc. Foreigners could say worse things about us."

What do you think?



Epilogue: Well, apparently it's a big enough deal. :-)