it's independence day for us today… while we might be celebrating our freedom from colonialism as we have done for the past forty-nine years… how free are we really as citizens of this country? it is obvious that there can be no absolute freedom in this world without its consequences… we are after all governed by laws that seek to maintain order in society… those are undoubtedly essential in preserving peace… however there are also the man-made rules which are totally unjust and are nothing more than another form of oppression… presumably to stifle the freedom of speech and actions of the masses… we have a lot of them in this country… and my university is not an exception to this unfortunate circumstance…

for one… there is the much-debated uuca which imposes unfair restrictions on undergraduates nationwide… and of course… the various petty rules on curfew, dressing and what-not… which i have yet to see its relevance to the advancements of our local tertiary institutions as a whole… such is the sad state of affairs in places where higher-learning supposedly takes place… a paradox of sorts…

on the national front… the sedition act 1948, the police act 1967, the official secrets act 1972… the printing presses and publications act 1983 are ambiguously drafted and are often used in the name of national security to prevent sensitive issues from being brought up… it has been said that there is freedom of speech… as provided in the constitution… jus no freedom after…

what will be the changes as the country turns a year older?

a fun weekend indeed it has been… a lil tiring but it's not like i'm not used to hangin' out for long hours… well… some pix were taken but i dun think i shall be uploadin' them… cos they're on film… and it's not gonna be developed anytime soon i guess… and it's not mine either… hehe…

i should be muggin' just like everyone else now… so… i shan't be elaboratin' anymore… a hectic and not-so-fun week lies ahead…

what's new this week? well… for one… dream theater's latest album score is out and it's good… three hours of real music… i know many will beg to differ :) besides… manhunt… the much-awaited season-opener of prison break is here… i know more people will agree to the latter than the former… haha…

and also… here is a good place/page to hang out in cyberspace… especially when the .net messenger service lets u down and spews multi-digit error codes… :) additionally… i've a whole lotta pix uploaded in my spanking brand-new gallery… feel free to drop by there too…

a number of you should be aware and familiar with the society of pretentious students… which bears much resemblance to a cult of fanatics.. whereby orders from the groups's top leaders are to be followed… and the subordinates that have been assigned duties are to carry them out obediently without question… for it would be considered disrespectful… impious even… to doubt the authority of their superiors' commands… hence the followers are left with little or no choice but to sacrifice most of their time and effort to fulfill the often unreasonable expectations and demands of those on top… failure to cater to their superiors' whim and fancy would result in the followers being harshly rebuked… many a time to the point of deep sorrow and dispiritedness… the cruel actions and hurtful words are totally unjustified… as the infliction of verbal and psychological torture would be in direct contradiction of the most important commandment they supposedly profess their faith in… i'm sure everyone of us including the followers themselves are well aware that they do not deserve such treatment… hence… the ones who know better have abandoned ship… while those who remain continue to be caught in the vicious cycle…

i have heard many a grievance on the high-handedness and hypocrisy of this group… especially its leaders… based on true experiences… a totally innocent remark could be misconstrued as a blasphemous statement… followers are expected to be a hundred percent committed regardless of their other responsibilities important as they may be… or risk being ostracized… unreasonable results are expected of the followers even when it is rather impossible with the work constraints… additionally… the individual who chooses to take a different path from the leaders would be subjected to much pressure and coercion… abuse of power and influence is also rife… to a point where it could be considered that the followers are routinely subjected to some form of intimidation or harrassment…

i believe in living and letting live… so it is perfectly alright for the cult to continue existing in its own world if its followers choose such a path for themselves… as long as its followers do not cross the line and bring disruption and disturbance to those outside… like they have in the past on numerous ocassions… which i have seen through my own eyes… and history will probably repeat itself unless we put a stop to it…

too much information? i don't think so… but the stuff i learnt today certainly came as a surprise… totally unexpected… oh well… you never really know somebody i guess… unless you REALLY do… and even then there is no way you'd know everythin'… oh well… am i makin' myself unclear?

i am still reeling from shock… that's an overstatement perhaps… i'm not that affected personally… but in a way… it still concerns me… well… obviously i'm not divulging any details… so i won't be able to make this post any less vague than it is…

but seriously… some people in this world can be falser than FALSE in boolean logic or 0 in active-high binary… cos while they are false… they seem to be true… now that's somethin' you can't find in any truth table!

i've had my fair share of angst over the past half year… well… it wasn't a huge thing really… but it did have its effects during its time… but anyway… so did a number of other friends… whom i have supported at some point or other… well… i'm not sure if i'm a good fixer but i certainly prefer to lend a helping hand to those in need rather than be the one who needs a fix… emotional not drugs…

i've had my share of listenin' to quite a few sob stories in the recent past… literally… and after lending an ear to their cries… and sharing my thoughts… there's a sense of fulfilment knowing that i have tried to ease their burden… and hopefully i've suceeded in doing it…

forgive me if i sound like i'm giving too much credit to myself… but all i'm tryin' to say is that i truly wanna try to fix somethin' if it's broken… cos as they say… life's too short to be brooding around… and i'm sure no one would do nothin' and just watch a friend in distress…

in times of grief… in times of disappointment… people tend to get all messed up and irrational… each individual to different extents… and it definitely helps to have a guide in these times… for when the mind isn't thinkin' straight… undesirable things happen…

so… stretch out your hand… go out of your way… and mend a broken soul… cos it's better to give than to receive…

blink… it's thursday… blink… it's friday… blink several times more… tests and deadlines looming… information is widely available especially online but the time to digest everythin' is so scarce… it's like the sand-to-water ratio in the atacama desert… after takin' a look around a couple of blogs… it's clearly evident that i am not the only one hard-pressed for more hours in a day… or more brain-processing power… shall we measure our efficiency by performance-per-watt? obviously in the case of humans… power isn't voltage multiplied by current… but rather… the rate at which we burn of our calories… P=VI=E/t :)

blink… serpent was startin' out and found ourselves a new drummer… blink… we played at a couple of competitions… blink… it was the end of the year… blink… i was writin' way too many poems… blink… fourth year ended… blink… intel 8/5… blink… project pt. 1… and soon enough… it will come to pass…

blink… a few have walked in and out… blink… there doesn't seem to be anymore…

blink… blank… finding serenity in dreams…