Basilio B. Garrote Memorial Library

01/06/2026

English Vocabulary 📖
Pertinacity (noun) ˌpɜːr.tɪˈnæs.ə.ti/
Persistent determination; stubborn refusal to give up.

Examples:
Her pertinacity helped her overcome every obstacle.
His pertinacity impressed the entire team.

Synonyms: tenacity, persistence, determination, resolve

Try using the word in your own sentence!

01/06/2026

Situated on the serene campus of Akita International University, the Nakajima Library is a striking architectural landmark designed as a “Book Colosseum,” where books and readers gather in a dramatic semicircular, tiered space inspired by the Roman Colosseum. Designed by architect Mitsuru Senda, it makes a bold statement while using mainly cedar wood with reinforced concrete, giving it a warm, organic feel that resembles a giant tree, with ceiling beams fanning outward in natural splendor. Beyond its breathtaking interior, the library functions as a continuous arena of knowledge, supporting learning at any time. It houses a wide collection of Japanese and international materials, along with extensive digital resources, and offers a quiet, light-filled environment that encourages both focused study and exploration.

📍, Okutsubakidai-193-2 Yuwatsubakigawa, Akita, 010-1211, Japan

Opening hours:
- Monday to Sunday: 10AM - 5PM

Photo Credit:

30/05/2026

Late upload
We are deeply grateful to our community for joining us in our simple annual 19th anniversary celebration. Your presence, encouragement, and support inspire us to continue serving our community this far.
{Unfortunately, there was no award ceremony and school supply giveaways to our school children since my husband and me could not make it for the anniversary). Follow us Basilio B. Garrote Memorial Library

30/05/2026

Communities in flood-prone regions are increasingly developing creative low-cost infrastructure solutions using recycled materials, and volunteers in the Philippines have demonstrated how plastic waste can be transformed into practical transportation systems during severe flooding seasons.

The floating walkways are constructed using large numbers of discarded plastic bottles sealed within supportive frames that provide buoyancy. These structures help children and residents cross flooded areas safely when roads become impassable during heavy rains and typhoon-related flooding.

The Philippines experiences frequent flooding due to tropical storms, monsoon rains, rising sea levels, and vulnerable drainage infrastructure. In many rural areas, floods can interrupt education for weeks by preventing students from safely reaching schools. Community-built solutions help reduce those disruptions.

Beyond transportation, the project also addresses plastic pollution by repurposing waste materials that might otherwise end up in rivers or oceans. Similar concepts are being explored globally for emergency bridges, floating farms, and disaster-relief infrastructure.

The initiative highlights how local innovation, recycling, and community cooperation can provide affordable solutions to climate-related challenges while improving access to education and mobility.

30/05/2026

Your child's loud singing and constant talking are not just noise. They are signs of a happy heart and a feeling of safety to be themselves. When children feel secure, they do not hold back. They fill the room with their voice because they know they belong there.

Experts in child development explain that young children express emotional safety through spontaneous sound. Humming while playing, narrating every action, singing the same song 47 times, all of it signals that a child's nervous system is calm enough to be creative and expressive. A child who constantly seeks approval before speaking or who stays silent in their own home may be showing signs of anxiety or emotional caution.

The child who sings loudly is not trying to be annoying. They are practicing joy. The child who talks nonstop is not being difficult. They are testing language and connection. These sounds are not background noise. They are the soundtrack of secure attachment.

So the next time your child belts out the same nursery rhyme for the hundredth time, take a breath. Smile. Listen. That noise is not a problem to fix. It is proof that you are doing something right.

29/05/2026

Meet Yuka, a juvenile woolly mammoth whose mummified remains emerged from Siberian permafrost with fur, trunk, and brain still intact. But scientists just achieved something unprecedented: they extracted the world's oldest RNA from Yuka's muscle tissue. Unlike DNA which stores genetic blueprints, RNA captures real-time gene activity like molecular snapshots of what was happening inside living cells.

The RNA revealed Yuka's body was flooded with stress signals right before death, showing which genes were frantically switched on as cells fought for survival 40,000 years ago. Even more surprising, the molecular evidence revealed Yuka is genetically male despite decades of assumptions based on physical anatomy. Scientists can now read the biological status updates from an Ice Age animal's final moments with unprecedented detail.

This breakthrough opens extraordinary possibilities for paleogenetics. Ancient RNA could help researchers track Ice Age viruses, understand how extinct species responded to environmental stress, and even clarify specific traits like mammoth wool density for future de-extinction projects. We're no longer just reading the genetic code of ancient life, but accessing the real-time molecular conversations that were happening inside their bodies as they lived and died tens of thousands of years ago."

29/05/2026

The discovery of Rinorea niccolifera on Luzon Island by researchers from the University of the Philippines Los Baños represents a significant breakthrough in environmental biotechnology and ecological restoration.

As a rare nickel hyperaccumulator, this unique plant species possesses the extraordinary ability to absorb up to 18,000 parts per million of nickel into its leaf tissues without displaying any symptoms of toxicity—a concentration that is hundreds to thousands of times higher than what standard vegetation can tolerate.

This remarkable physiological trait allows the plant to thrive in highly metal-dense soils, acting as a natural vacuum that extracts hazardous heavy metals like nickel, cadmium, and lead from the earth and safely sequesters them within its stems and foliage.

By efficiently absorbing these toxins, Rinorea niccolifera serves as a powerful agent for phytoremediation, an innovative and eco-friendly technique that utilizes specialized plants to clean up contaminated soil, water, and air.

This biological approach offers a highly sustainable, low-cost alternative to traditional mechanical excavation or harsh chemical treatments, which are often expensive and disruptive to local landscapes.

The deployment of such hyperaccumulators holds immense potential for rehabilitating degraded ecosystems, particularly abandoned mining sites and industrial zones, by gradually restoring soil health and preparing polluted lands for broader ecological recovery.

29/05/2026

A glimpse of history: In 1901 the U.S. sent over 500 young teachers aboard the USS Thomas to the Philippines (they were called the Thomasites) and became the most effective weapon of American colonial assimilation.

In 1901, America didn't just send soldiers to the Philippines. It sent teachers. 📚🇺🇸

Over 500 young Americans boarded the USS Thomas and sailed to the Philippines with a mission: replace Filipino identity with American values, one classroom at a time. They were called the Thomasites, and they were the most effective weapon of colonial assimilation America ever deployed. No guns. Just primers, chalkboards, and a single rule: speak English only.

Within a generation, Filipino children were reciting American history, pledging loyalty to a flag that was not theirs, and being punished for speaking the language of their own mothers. The Thomasites didn't just teach English. They were the architects of a system designed to make Filipinos forget who they were. And it worked. Did your lolo or lola go to a school like this? Drop a 🇵🇭 and share this so the story doesn't get forgotten.

27/05/2026

porcupine = in the manner of a cactus

jk lol