Will the Cat Die?

just curious.

johari window

vs.

nohari window

click ^ & do.

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i guess humans are inherently.. overly-concerned about themselves. hah. oh well, in this instance.

The United State of Humanity

"Militias come to funerals and offer to carry out revenge attacks. Gunmen execute blindfolded people in full public view. Mortars are lobbed between Sunni and Shiite neighborhoods. Sometimes the killers seem to be seeking specific people who were involved in earlier attacks, but many victims lose their lives simply to even out the sectarian toll." -Cycle of Revenge Fuels a Pattern of Iraqi Killings, NY Times 20th Nov 2006.

Why do we as global citizens, citizens of The United State of Humanity and not those of America nor Britain nor Russia nor China nor Argentina nor Greece nor Qatar nor any other country in the world, why do we love power and wealth and tangible riches far more than we do the well-being of our fellow citizens, most of whom possess far less freedoms than we? Why do we fail to see that 'their' blood is comme ours, that 'their' children are comme ours, that 'they' wish to come by health and happiness the way we do?

Some will argue that the Game Theory holds true even when the game is Life; they say that as humans we will always protect ourselves (even) at the expense of others. They assert that such reaction is natural, inherent, inborn. And some believe otherwise. But it matters not. What matters is that such doctrine SHOULD NOT BE, not here. This 'protection' we cling onto is due to an unwillingness to step out of our comfort zones, an unwillingness to pay for our fellow human beings to hold the same freedoms we do. It's selfish.

梁山伯與茱麗葉 Liang Shan Bo and Juliet

ahhh i've totally fallen in love with this song. ^ ^

Background info about Liang Shan Bo (梁山伯) and Ju Ying Tai (祝英台): Lovers from the Chinese story "The Butterfly Lovers"; Chinese equivalent to "Romeo and Juliet"; more info here.

卓文萱 feat.曹格 - 梁山伯與茱麗葉


梁山伯與茱麗葉 by 卓文萱 feat. 曹格
Liang Shan Bo and Juliet by Zhuo Wen Xuan feat. Gary Gao Ge

曹：我的心想唱首歌給妳聽　歌詞是如此的甜蜜
Gary: My heart wants to sing a song for you / the lyrics are so sweet　　
可是我害羞　我沒有勇氣　等妳說一句我愛你
But I'm shy / I have no courage / I'm waiting for you to say to me "I love you"
卓：為什麼你還是不言不語　難道你不懂我的心
Zhuo: Why haven't you said anything yet? / Could it be that you don't understand my feelings for you?
不管你用什麼方式表明　我會對你說我願意
I don't care how you show me (you love me) / I will say to you I'm ready
曹：千言萬語裏 隻要一句話能表白我的心
Gary: Out of all the words out there, there is only one sentence that can vindicate my heart
卓：千言萬語裏 隻要一句話就
Zhuo: Out of all the words out there, there is only one sentence that
合：能夠讓我們相偎相依
Both: Can express our closeness and need for each other
曹：我愛妳　妳是我的茱麗葉(卓:茱麗葉)
Gary: I love you / You are my Juliet (Zhuo: Juliet)
我願意變成妳的梁山伯
I'm willing to become your Liang Shan Bo
合：幸福的每一天　浪漫的每一夜
Both: For every day to be happy / For every night to be romantic
卓：把愛不放開
Zhuo: To hold onto love
曹：因為 Ｉ ｌｏｖｅ　ｙｏｕ
Gary: Because I love you
卓：我愛你　你是我的羅密歐(曹:羅密歐)
Zhuo: I love you / You are my Romeo (Gary: Romeo)
我願意變成你的祝英台
I'm willing to become your Zhu Ying Tai
合：幸福的每一天　浪漫的每一夜
Both: For every day to be happy / For every night to be romantic　　
美麗的愛情祝福著　未來
This beautiful love a blessing for the future

lyrics credited to this site.

pretty easy translation, but i admit some parts are rough. i'm always up for improvements, so just say something! : )

We're free!

I just fired someone today, one of our former board members for Amnesty (International; AI). I suppose I was a bit disappointed at the onset, but that feeling quickly turned into one of giddiness and joy. Call me evil. But no, it's like.. we're liberated! Actually, I thank the guy for being honest with us at least, if not for being evasive. But yeah, so now we're going to rev things up, make things more interesting. Looking into more major activities and projects for the near future. Speeding things up. It's like.. mediocre doesn't cut it anymore. If even the board doesn't care.. we have to change things up! Have to, have to, have to. No buts. Haha. I'm excited. Let's get our toes out of the water and dive right in! There's a wealth of treasures to be discovered, a hoard of information to be devoured, a store of resources to be explored. : )














So that wasn't the only good thing that happened today; our math test got moved back to Wednesday, and the tutoring session after school really helped. I was surprised, actually, never having had real brain-needing classes with either Jeff or David (some electives just don't make the cut; they count as .. fair wastes of precious time). But yeah, I was rather dubious about the whole tutoring thing as I hadn't had something as complicated as calc explained to me by either of those two good fellows before. And look, now I think I'm starting to grasp concepts, put them together. Yay. ^ ^

Think that's it for now; I'll go study while the euphoria lasts.

---edit---

"And this [...] spirit yearning in desire to follow knowledge like a sinking star, beyond the utmost bound of human thought", 'tis me.

The above, save the last two words, from "Ulysses", Lord Alfred Tennyson.

Smoke!

I smelled smoke when bringing in the laundry today. I don't mind its smell. In fact, I rather like it, a feeling different from those of many people. I sympathize with those who can't stand it for health reasons, but. I like smoke. It reminds me of a home away from here, of incense and family barbeques and a grandmother's gruff love. Of death and life and fun and warmth. It's a . comforting, smell. Not the smell of burning carbon, that's disgusting, just the smell of smoke itself. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust.

Twilight brings the shouts of neighborhood children, the gleeful shrieks, delighted laughter. Leaves of orange and golden yellow, swirled in delicate patterns, 飄 amidst an autumn breeze, a chill in the air that signals the coming of winter. The best word in place of piao above would be.. flutter. But in this case, as in many others, the original word trumps its translation.

---edit---

I've been going online far less this week than before. It all started because I simply didn't feel the need to sign on, but I found that even during the next few days, I didn't need to sign on. And I think it's been a good thing, not going on AIM. I've finished homework earlier most days last week, and I've been more calm overall, at least, regarding things I need to get done. It's given me more time to myself, more time to reflect and spend with God. So.. I think that means I'll be going on AIM a lot less in the near future as well. : ) Yay for phone calls and email in the absence of personal meetings. Not IMs.

Hm. Cleaned out my large pile of NY Times today. Threw out a lot of Arts and Dining and Biz and whatnot. Kept front page and some other miscellaneous. Need to read and catch up. Oh. That reminds me. Not going on AIM has also helped curb some of my vapid, pointless, time-wasting internet surfing, and I've since then vowed to spend that time reading material salutary to the improvement of the mind. Starting Sen and getting back to Beirut. : )

Clouds and wind and curlicues, peace and calm, serenity.

Just had to end on a more abstract note. :D

Pensive. Comtemplative.

Wind and rain and clouds and snowflakes.
Sun and hail and chill and dew.
Breeze and blows and blinding blue.
Droplets, moonbeams, lights too few.
Tempest.

The blending of melodies.
Intertwining of harmonies.
Flowing, running, streaming lines.
Voices crying, straining sighs.
Improvisation.

Passion.

Kindred spirits.

--EHC

Excuses.

就算是我不懂 能不能原谅我
請不要把分手當作你的請求
我知道堅持要走 是你受傷的藉口
請你回頭　我會陪你一直走到最後

就算沒有結果 我也能夠承受
我知道你的痛　是我給的承諾
你說給過我縱容　沉默是因為包容
如果要走　請你記得我　如果難過　請你忘了我

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