Freedom!

William Wallace:
It's all for nothing if you don't have freedom.
*****
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William Wallace:
There's a difference between us. You think the people of this country exist to provide you with position. I think your position exists to provide those people with freedom. And I go to make sure that they have it.
*****
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William Wallace:
I AM William Wallace! And I see a whole army of my country men, here, in defiance of tyranny. You've come to fight as free men, and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight?
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Soldier: Against that? No, we will run, and we will live.
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William Wallace: Aye, fight and you may die, run, and you'll live... at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM! [crowd cheers]
*****
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William Wallace: Every man dies, not every man really lives.
*****
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William Wallace: We all end up dead, it's just a question of how and why.
*****
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Royal Magistrate: The prisoner wishes to say a word.
William Wallace: [last line he is able to speak before he dies - and in spite of agonizing pain under torture, he shouts this:]

FREEEEE-DOMMMMMM!!

To Build a What?

This year's National Day Parade Floating March-Pass. Impressive huh!

Usually held in the Singapore National Stadium, Padang, for the first time in 2007, it will be held in Marina Bay. Future NDP will be held there until the new sports hub is completed around 2011.

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We, the citizens of Singapore;

Pledge ourselves as one united people
Regardless of Race, Language or Religion;

To build a Democratic Society;

Based on Justice and Equality;

So as to achieve Happiness, Prosperity and Progress for our Nation.

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Sound familiar? It's our National Pledge, you m***n!

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Back in 1997, I once heard a US professor sharing his idea on progress of the human civilisation during his visit to one of the so-called top institution of learning - NUS (aka "Nothing Up Stairs"). He shared that in order for any society to progress, three pre-requisites must be present: Freedom, Justice, and Benevolence.

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In order for a society to grow, there must be ample freedom, both of thoughts and ideologies, as well as speech and expression. Only then can new ideas ferment, grow, develop, and come to being. A stifling environment will cut the oxygen off the ideas-supply line, which eventually, the society will suffocate and die. China is a good example. The suppression of new ideas had kept the country from developing and it had cost them dearly over the last 60 years!

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With freedom, new ideas build on one another, then spring forth more new and more dynamic ideas, and so on. Without freedom, the power faculty of the society, the Mind got assassinated in the cradle and leave us with an empty faculty building. Result: Nobody thinks critically, creatively, and constructively anymore. Boxed mentality. Media-driven thinking and me-focused analysis. "What's in for me" becomes the norm. The power of the day gets to decide what and how you think. Sometimes in thinking of an idea, it is good to consider the opposite flank of thoughts. And I think the opposite of Freedom is not bondage, but oppression!

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Once you garner freedom, you need to pack in Justice. Without Justice, ideas launched & landed in the wrong hands will be taken advantage of and manipulated. One's idea to create wealth is stolen by another. Who would like to contribute ideas anymore? Once in a while, you may have experience the dilemma of whether to put forth an idea which may be beneficial to your company. But on second thought, you hold back, right? Why? Because your that bloody idiot boss will steal the idea you present and claim it as his or her own. Sickening, isn't it? Worst still, that bastard/ bitch terminate you later, because you are a threat to his or her career advancement. Disgusting. Result: Nobody shares anything, anymore, anywhere. It is a controlled way of governing ideas. Selective idea formation. Is that Justice? The opposite of Justice? No, it is not injustice, but tyranny! Think about that.

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Then there is Benevolence - the desire to do good to others or acts of kindness and generous sharing. When you have a society that is thinking and coming up with new and strong ideas, and that there is a platform or structure to encourage the franchise of those ideas, you see progress. But such progression will not last long, if benevolence is absense. One man's idea resulted in wealth creation for that one man is hardly progression unless he learns to share with others. Result: Nobody cares, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. Ignorance due to lack of ideas and information leads to a syndrone call "I don't know". Apathy is a "I don't care" mentality built on the foundation of a non-benevolent society. And you know what, the opposite of benevolence is actually not apathy, but self indulgence!

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Okay, since it is my country's nationhood and independence day, I will be glad to say we have progressed, to some extent, in the development of the above three cornerstones. But there is still much room for growth and stretching, and there is no room for complacency. Step up for the 21st century, Singaporeans. I am concerned for my little ones who will be the future citizens of a new age. And despite of technology advancement, these 3 cornerstones don't change. That's why they are called cornerstones!

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Happy Birthday, Singapore!

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Disclaimer: Though fictionally I am a true blue citizen of Eagle-Land, I was borned and breed here in Singapore. So by default, I am a citizen by birth. But by divine design, I am a Rebel!!!

So wanna hear Eagle-Land's Citizen's Pledge?

We, the eaglitizen of Eagle-Land,

Pleage ourselves as one united Flock.

Regardless of feathers, becks and telons,

To build a Benevolence Eagle-ciety.

Based on Justice and Freedom to Soar.

So as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our future eaglets.

Chaos in Chaos

Chaos in the midst of chaos isn't funny, but chaos in the midst of order is.
- Steve Martin

International Dating

Guys, before you take that babe out, check this out first.

ITALIAN WOMEN:
First Date: You take her to a play and an expensive restaurant.
Second Date: You meet her parents and her Mom makes spaghetti & meatballs.
Third Date: You have sex. She wants to marry you & insists on a 3-carat ring.
5th Anniversary: You already have 5 kids together & hate the thought of having sex.
6th Anniversary: You find yourself a Mistress.

CHINESE WOMEN:
First date: You get to buy her an expensive dinner but nothing happens.
Second date: You buy her an even more expensive dinner. Nothing happens again.
Third date: You don't even get to the third date and you've already realized nothing is ever going to happen.

INDIAN WOMEN:
First date: Meet her parents.
Second date: Set the date of the wedding.
Third date: Wedding night.

BLACK WOMEN:
First Date: You get to buy her a real expensive dinner.
Second Date: You get to buy her and her girlfriends a real expensive dinner.
Third Date: You get to pay her rent.
Tenth Date: She's pregnant by someone other than you.

MEXICAN WOMEN:
First Date: You buy her an expensive dinner, get drunk on Tequila, and have sex in the back of her car.
Second Date: She's pregnant.
Third Date: She moves in.
One week later: Her mother, father, his girlfriend, her two sisters, her brother, all of their kids, her grandma, her father's girlfriend's mother, her two cousins, her sister's boyfriend and his three kids move in and you live on rice and beans for the rest of your life in your home that used to be nice, but now looks like a home along the Tijuana strip.

ARAB WOMEN:
First Date: Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Cousins, Aunts, Uncles, Friends and entire Arab community finds out.
Second Date: Guy is shot dead.
No third date!!!

IRANIAN WOMEN:
First Date: You will have to spend all your money to impress her
Second Date: You will take a loan to keep the image
Third Date: Your are broke, she finds someone wealthier

As EagleBoy always said, "Love is blind, but dating is an eye-opener!"

Must Love Dogs

Plot:
Sarah Nolan, a preschool teacher in her thirties, is recently divorced. Her family's new pet project is to find her a boyfriend. After a series of disastrous, but hilarious, dates she decides to swear off dating for good. Her well-meaning family and friends are not going to let her give-up quite so easily though. Her sister enrolls her in on-line dating and includes the description of "must love dogs." She loves dogs but doesn't own one of her own, so she borrows her brother's dog to meet Jake Anderson at the dog park; he, too, had to borrow a dog. It's a hit-and-miss beginning - but could true love wag its tail for these two? You bet.
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As always, the movie had a happy ending. One of the best line I heard came from Jake:
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"I think your heart grows back bigger ya know, once you get the shit beat out of you. And the universe lets your heart expand that way, cause thats the function of all this pain and heartache that you go through and you gotta go through that to come out to a better place."
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In the movie, Jake experienced the heartache of relationships & the pain of rejection. Truth is, all true lovers have in one way or another attended lessons from the school of pain. Fact is: Many don't complete their training well or graduate. They drop out, then drop in later ... People fall in love, get hurt, then fall out of love...then in love, hurt again, then out of love. In my time, people call it repeat. You don't get to advance to the next level until you fulfill the current level of training.
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You see, as in the movie, my heart will grow back bigger (and stronger) everytime I bounce back from a hurting relationship. It will expand to accomodate the future as I embrace it one step at a time. I believe pain has its purpose: to instruct us in matters of the heart, to be emotionally mature and volitionally strong. Let Pain be your tutor. As for me:
..
I will go through it.
I will let my hurting heart expand.
I will come out and discover a better place.
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I will.

Change

"What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself."

Abraham H. Maslow
American Psychologist

非你莫属

曲名：非你莫属
歌手：TANK

Talking:
你知道吗？
我很喜欢牵着你的手的感觉
发生什么样子
我好希望再来一次

懂得让我微笑的人
再没有谁比你有天份
轻易闯进我的心门
明天的美梦你完成

整个宇宙
浩瀚无边的尽头
每颗渺小星球
全都绕着你走

爱我, 非你莫属
我只愿守护
由你给我的幸福
爱我, 非你莫属
也许会
笑着哭
但那人是你所以
不怕苦 000...

懂得让我流泪的人　
给的感动一定是最深
在我心中留下伤痕　
你同时点亮了星辰

看...那麽多相遇
偏偏只和你
天造地设般产生奇蹟
哦...我心的缝隙
我想除了你
任谁也无法
填补这空虚

爱我, 非你莫属
我只愿守护
由你给我的幸福
爱我, 非你莫属
也许会
笑着哭
但那人是你所以
不怕苦

那人是你所以
不怕苦...0o0
不怕苦...