Voyagers! is a time travel-based television series broadcast in the 1982-1983 season starting on October 3, 1982 starring Jon-Erik Hexum who played the character Phineas Bogg a time traveler and Meeno Peluce who played the character Jeffrey Jones a young boy and sidekick of Bogg. They both travel in time and ensured that history unfolded as we know it. Bogg says “We travel through time to help history along. Give it a push when it’s needed. When the Omni’s Red it means history’s wrong. Our job is to get everything back on track“. The Omni (short for Omnichron) is a small time traveling device used by Bogg to travel in time.

Spider-Man is the first live-action TV series based on the popular comic book The Amazing Spider-Man and was shown in the U.S.A. between 1977-1979. It starred Nicholas Hammond as Peter Parker / Spider-Man.

The Greatest American Hero is an American superhero drama-comedy TV series which aired for three seasons from 1981 to 1983 in the U.S.A. and starred William Katt as teacher Ralph Hinkley (”Hanley” for the latter part of the first season), Robert Culp as FBI Agent Bill Maxwell, and Connie Sellecca as lawyer Pam Davidson. The show chronicles Ralph’s adventures after he is given a red suit from a group of aliens, which gives him superhuman abilities.

The theme song of this TV series “Believe It or Not” was composed by Mike Post (music) and Stephen Geyer (lyrics) and sung by Joey Scarbury. The theme song became a popular hit during the show’s run. This song debuted in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 on June 13, 1981, and eventually peaking at #2 during the weeks of August 15 and August 22, and spending a total of 18 weeks in the Top 40. This is a rare example of a theme or title song of a TV series being more popular than the show itself.

The Equalizer was an American urban vigilante television series initially broadcast between 1985 and 1989. It starred British actor Edward Woodward as Robert McCall, a former secret agent of an unnamed organization, which was often referred to simply as “The Agency” or “The Company”, who tries to atone for past sins by offering, free of charge, his services as a troubleshooter, a protector, and an investigator. People mostly unremarkable, average, unknown and in need find him through a newspaper ad: “Gotta problem? Odds against you? Call the Equalizer.” In the pilot episode, we discover that the nickname “Equalizer” was bestowed on him by another operative, played by comedian Jerry Stiller.

This music video “The Living Years” was chosen because I am inspired by the words in the song that speaks about a person who wish to fix a broken relationship but unfortunately it was too late.

“The Living Years” is the only number one song recorded by Mike & The Mechanics. It peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 on March 25, 1989. It also reached number two in the UK Singles Chart. Co-written by Mike Rutherford and B. A. Robertson, the song was inspired by the recent deaths of both men’s fathers, and combine elements of both relationships. The lyrics describe the disagreements between Rutherford and his father, in addition to the profound impact of regret about things left unsaid between them. Also, they allude to the birth of Robertson’s son three months after his father’s death. Band member Paul Carrack performed the lead vocal.

(Portion of this article is from the source: Wikipedia)

THE LIVING YEARS Lyrics

Sung By: Mike & The Mechanics

Every generation
Blames the one before
And all of their frustrations
Come beating on your door
I know that I’m a prisoner
To all my Father held so dear
I know that I’m a hostage
To all his hopes and fears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years
Crumpled bits of paper
Filled with imperfect thought
Stilted conversations
I’m afraid that’s all we’ve got
You say you just don’t see it
He says it’s perfect sense
You just can’t get agreement
In this present tense
We all talk a different language
Talking in defense
Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It’s too late when we die
To admit we don’t see eye to eye
So we open up a quarrel
Between the present and the past
We only sacrifice the future
It’s the bitterness that lasts
So Don’t yield to the fortunes
You sometimes see as fate
It may have a new perspective
On a different day
And if you don’t give up, and don’t give in
You may just be O.K.
Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It’s too late when we die
To admit we don’t see eye to eye
I wasn’t there that morning
When my Father passed away
I didn’t get to tell him
All the things I had to say
I think I caught his spirit
Later that same year
I’m sure I heard his echo
In my baby’s new born tears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years
Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It’s too late when we die
To admit we don’t see eye to eye

This music video “Heaven is a Place on Earth” was chosen because I am inspired by the words in the song that speaks about the condition of living life on Earth as if we are in Heaven.

“Heaven is a Place on Earth” is a song recorded by Belinda Carlisle, the lead singer of The Go-Go’s. Written by Rick Nowels and Ellen Shipley, it hit Number One on the Billboard Hot 100 on December 5, 1987, becoming Carlisle’s only U.S. chart-topper with or without The Go-Go’s (”We Got the Beat” and “I Get Weak” each hit #2 & Vacation made #8 in 1982). A month later it hit Number One on the UK singles chart and held the spot for two weeks.

The lyrics of the song describe a woman’s feelings (presumably) for a man, and how her love has made her realize that “heaven is a place on earth,” and that the two of them together will create Heaven on earth. She also admits she has just begun to understand life, and that while she had fears, “I’m not afraid anymore.”

(Portion of this article is from the source: Wikipedia)

HEAVEN IS A PLACE ON EARTH Lyrics

Sung By: Belinda Carlisle

When the night falls down
I wait for you
And you come around
And the worlds alive
With the sound of kids
On the street outside

When you walk into the room
You pull me close and we start to move
And were spinning with the stars above
And you lift me up in a wave of love…

Ooh, baby, do you know what that’s worth?
Ooh heaven is a place on earth
They say in heaven love comes first
Well make heaven a place on earth
Ooh heaven is a place on earth

When I feel alone
I reach for you
And you bring me home
When I’m lost at sea
I hear your voice
And it carries me

In this world were just beginning
To understand the miracle of living
Baby I was afraid before
But I’m not afraid anymore

Ooh, baby, do you know what that’s worth?
Ooh heaven is a place on earth
They say in heaven love comes first
Well make heaven a place on earth
Ooh heaven is a place on earth

This music video “Imagine” was chosen because I am inspired by the words in the song advocating peace and harmony here on Earth.

“Imagine” is a utopian-themed song by John Lennon, which appears on his 1971 album, Imagine. The song was produced by Phil Spector. It is widely considered as one of the greatest songs of all time. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine voted “Imagine” the third greatest song of all time.^[1] Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter said, “In many countries around the world — my wife and I have visited about 125 countries — you hear John Lennon’s song ‘Imagine’ used almost equally with national anthems.”

The lyrics were thought to be inspired by Lennon’s hopes for a more peaceful world, though their origins are not known for certain. In 1963 Lennon penned the lyrics to “I’ll Get You” with an opening verse of, “Imagine I’m in love with you, it’s easy cause I know.” The first verse of “Imagine” would seem to be a reworking of this. But the song’s refrain may have been partly inspired by Yoko Ono’s poetry, in reaction to her childhood in Japan during World War II. According to The Guardian, primordial versions of the song’s refrain can be found in her 1965 book Grapefruit, where she penned lines such as, “imagine a raindrop” and “imagine the clouds dripping.”

(Portion of this article is from the source: Wikipedia)

IMAGINE Lyrics

Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today…

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace…

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world…

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one

(NOTE: That’s my dad’s picture posted above)

Written & Published By Lawrence Tan (M. F. CHAN)

Copyright © 2009 FREE FROM TEARS

All Rights Reserved.

GREETINGS

Hello Everyone. My name is Lawrence Tan (a.k.a. Mau-fung Chan). People who know me personally called me by different names. Sometimes Mau, LT, Chairman or kapiTAN. Given the choice, I preferred the name KapiTAN, because it is also the same name given to Lucio Tan, a popular Filipino-Chinese tycoon. He’s one of my inspirations in the business community. Below please find a brief background as to why I decided to put up this website. Hope you won’t get bored reading this.

TRAGIC EVENT

Something happened last August 1, 2007 that will forever change the way I look at life. My Dad passed away that day because of cancer. It caught me and my family by surprise. There were no symptoms except for the large lump in his neck and the extreme sore pain of his lower back exactly a month before.

ONE MONTH BATTLE

From one doctor to another and another, so on and so forth. From X-ray, CT scan, biopsy to PET scan and more. It was clear that my Dad was suffering from a stage 4 Lymphoma cancer. Originally the doctors said that this is curable. But that doesn’t seem the case, as all test shows that it has spread to all of his bone structure including portion of his brain, neck and liver area.

To make matter worst, his blood count is dropping very fast daily and his blood type of AB+ is hard to find. Even the help of Philippine Red Cross and the text (sms) brigade friends is insufficient. It is as if a cup has a hole under it, and filling it up with water continuously will not keep it from becoming empty.

The doctors told me that there are no other options except blood transfusion from donors and chemotherapy. I kind of hesitated about chemo as some of my close friends warn me of the side effects, but what can I do. Time is not on our side. I tried my best to seek other opinions and remedies like alternative or complimentary medicine. But my Dad’s doctors rejected the idea of me giving those other treatments for fear of complications that may arise from unknown ingredients.

3 days before August 1. The doctors administered the first chemo treatment. They all said to hope for the best, but expect the worst. That is not what I would like to hear from them. A day after the chemo, the doctors said there were signs of improvement because the large lump in my Dad’s neck is getting smaller.

FINAL HOURS

Then on the morning of August 1, suddenly my Dad began to have high fever, diarrhea and extreme pain in both of his legs. Blood pressure or blood count is also not good. He was later transferred to ICU. His condition was getting worst. No amount of pain killers or medicine can relieved him of the extreme pain he felt coming from his both legs.

I prayed that afternoon to God even thou I no longer considered myself a Christian. Please oh God, take away the sufferings of my Dad. Not knowing that in a few hours my Dad will be gone. I regretted that I went home to take a bath and change my clothes that night. I was not beside my Dad during his last few minutes of his life. Only my youngest brother was there to witness the painful final moments.

WHY?

Till now, my heart still feels the pain and agony of losing my Dad. Why? Why all these things happened? I still keep on speculating the causes of my Dad’s illness and untimely death. Could it be my Dad’s bad medical history has affected his immune system, which causes his cancer? Could it be the side effects of the chemotherapy hit my Dad so hard that his body cannot withstand and eventually cause his early death? I cannot turn back the hands of time. If only I could.

I LOVE YOU PAPA

I have not been a good firstborn son. I have caused a lot of heartaches to my parents. I did not follow what they want or what they have expected of me. I was only able to spend some quality time with my Dad for the last 2 weeks of his life which is not enough. I miss my Dad very much. I hope he will forgive me for all the troubles that I have done against him. I LOVE YOU PAPA.

WHAT’S NEXT?

After this tragedy, I did some soul searching. I have so many questions about life in general, that no religion in this world can answer. Life on Earth is indeed cruel and unfair. I am sick and tired of everything. Life for me should be more than just these…Being born into this world, grow up, study, work, get married, have kids, grow old, then perish.

I feel that I need to do something else that will give me new meaning for existence. Then one day, there is a voice within me that said “Enough is enough. The time has come.”

The ANSWERS to many of my questions just keep popping up in my mind. I then realized that many people out there have sorrows and sufferings greater than mine. They all need comfort and help to ease their pain. Hence, this website was born.

FREE FROM TEARS

I am not trying to start a new religion or trying to be spiritual. I have been to that kind of a life in the past already. And I am tired of it. ALL I WANT IS TO ENJOY LIFE AND HOPE OTHERS ENJOY THEIR LIFE TOO.

May all of us be free from sorrows and sufferings NOW & FOREVER.

Sincerely yours,

kapiTAN

我想念你，爸爸

Written & Published By Lawrence Tan (M. F. CHAN)

Copyright © 2009 FREE FROM TEARS

All Rights Reserved.

I am very sad. Last September 14, 2009, one of my favorite movie actor Patrick Swayze died because of pancreatic cancer. Gone too soon. At the age of 57 twenty months after being diagnosed. I like his 2 movies “Dirty Dancing” and “Ghost”.

More and more people now are dying because of cancer. When will we see the day when we have the cure for this dreaded disease?

Patrick himself said on one occasion that he don’t believe in alternative medicine being promoted by some as the possible cure for cancer. He said and I quote his statement from his Wikipedia file…

“That’s one thing I’m not gonna do, is chase, is chase staying alive. I’m not, you know, you’ll spend so much time chasing staying alive you won’t live, you know? I wanna live. If anybody had that cure out there like so many people swear to me they do, you’d be two things: you’d be very rich, and you’d be very famous. Otherwise, shut up,”.

He might be right. Who knows. Patrick also believe that his chain smoking habit probably contributed to the development of his disease. Months before his death he still continue to smoke.

Written & Published By Lawrence Tan (M. F. CHAN)

Copyright © 2009 FREE FROM TEARS

All Rights Reserved.

As promised in the part 1 of this article. Here is the blog link to my high school batchmate who is suffering from some form of brain tumor:

www.sol-tumor.blogspot.com

Again, he said in his blog that he want some privacy, but that doesn’t mean he don’t need help. Go to his blog and send him a message or two. Lets pray for his fast and full recovery.

KNOWLEGDE MEANS RESPONSIBILITY.

Written & Published By Lawrence Tan (M. F. CHAN)

Copyright © 2009 FREE FROM TEARS

All Rights Reserved.

I admire religious people who are using their strong faith in God in doing good things to their fellowmen. I have witness 3 individuals who are such kind of people.

The first person is the slain senator of the Philippines Mr. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. He was assassinated at the Manila International Airport upon returning home from exile in the United States. He is an opposition leader against dictator President Ferdinand Marcos. He want to have genuine democracy restored in the Philippines.

His death catapulted his widow, the second person of strong faith Corazon “Cory” Aquino, to the limelight and subsequently to the Philippine presidency, replacing the 20-year President Marcos regime.

Cory is the “Icon of Philippine Democracy”. Even when she was diagnosed to have colon cancer, she as a private citizen still continue to fight for democracy and against corruption in the Philippine government. She died on August 1, 2009 due to cardiorespiratory arrest.

The third person of strong faith is their son Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. He is currently being encourage by many Filipinos to run for the position of Philippine president in next year 2010 election.

He said something that touch my heart very much and I quote his statement from South China Morning Post September 5, 2009 Saturday article “In the shadow of greatness” by Raissa Robles. Noynoy said “The will of God will never take you to where the grace of God will not protect you.

]]> http://freefromtears.com/blog/2009/09/09/faith/feed/ 0 http://freefromtears.com/blog/2009/09/08/knowledge-means-responsibility-part-1/ http://freefromtears.com/blog/2009/09/08/knowledge-means-responsibility-part-1/#comments Tue, 08 Sep 2009 11:21:48 +0000 founder http://freefromtears.com/blog/?p=291

Written & Published By Lawrence Tan (M. F. CHAN)

Copyright © 2009 FREE FROM TEARS

All Rights Reserved.

I have discovered that one of my high school batchmates is suffering from some form of brain tumor. He have undergone a surgery recently to remove portion of that tumor, because removing the whole tumor might affect his nerves that control other body functions.

Whether you know him personally or not, let us all pray for his fast and full recovery. He said in his blog that he want privacy, but that doesn’t mean he don’t need help.

KNOWLEGDE MEANS RESPONSIBILITY.

I will post the link to his blog on the part 2 of this article as soon as available.

]]> http://freefromtears.com/blog/2009/09/08/knowledge-means-responsibility-part-1/feed/ 0 http://freefromtears.com/blog/2009/09/08/happy-together-part-2/ http://freefromtears.com/blog/2009/09/08/happy-together-part-2/#comments Tue, 08 Sep 2009 10:37:47 +0000 founder http://freefromtears.com/blog/?p=302

Written & Published By Lawrence Tan (M. F. CHAN)

Copyright © 2009 FREE FROM TEARS

All Rights Reserved.

3 movies that I love to watch all over again and again which is related to marriage is the following:

- FATAL ATTRACTION starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close. It’s a movie about a married man who has a weekend affair with a woman who refuses to allow it to end and who becomes obsessed with him.

- UNFAITHFUL starring Diane Lane, Richard Gere and Olivier Martinez.  It is a movie about a couple living in the suburbs of New York City whose marriage goes dangerously awry when she indulges in an adulterous fling with a stranger she randomly encounters in Manhattan.

Last but not the least…

- REVOLUTIONARY ROAD starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. It is a movie about a  suburban marriage gone wrong. It takes place in 1955 and follows the story of Frank (Leonardo) and April (Kate) Wheeler. They’ve been married seven years and reside in a Connecticut suburb with two young kids. Frank takes the train to NYC where he works in the same office his father worked for 20 years. April stays home and tends to the house and kids. But they’re both miserable and not happy.

3 movies. 3 stories. 3 endings. But same issue. Marriage.

If you have not watch these yet, then go for it. Get the DVD or VCD and watch it with your spouse. It is highly recommended for the newly married couples as well as for people planning to get married.

Written & Published By Lawrence Tan (M. F. CHAN)

Copyright © 2009 FREE FROM TEARS

All Rights Reserved.

It’s easy to get married. But the question is…”Is it easy to stay married?”. A lot of things can happen when husband and wife live together. Sometimes stress from home, kids and work can affect our marriage without us knowing it. The worst thing however is when a husband or wife start to have an extramarital affair with another person.

Who’s fault if someone breaks their vow of marriage? It’s really hard to tell. I guess it could be both husband and wife have some sort of shortcomings. Men are easily attracted visually to a woman who is beautiful and seductive in the way they dress. Women however are easily attracted emotionally to a man who is self confident, mature and passionate. Sometimes women are attracted also to a handsome, good looking and well dressed man.

But the main reason why both husband or wife easily fall for an extramarital love life, in my opinion is because the third party person shows much concern and are communicating frequently with them during those critical and stressful moments of their married life.

It is sad that some of them have to go through separation or divorce just to solve this crisis. Eventually their children suffers more from their marriage fallout than they could have ever imagine.

Saying bad words, shouting at each other, nagging and bringing up some negative comments and past history of their relationship is often the fire that destroy the marriage. Worst that could happen is when violence is use by any of the spouses to settle their arguments.

Anyway, I do hope that married couples communicate diplomatically and frequently to save their marriage.

Communication and respect for each other is the key.

Here is a joke to end this article:

Lovers wear ENGAGEMENT RINGS to show their love. Then, when the day they get married they wear MARRIAGE RINGS.

After a few years of their married life, they started to wear SUFFER RINGS (sufferings).

Written & Published By Lawrence Tan (M. F. CHAN)

Copyright © 2009 FREE FROM TEARS

All Rights Reserved.

Sometimes I just don’t get it. Why so many people have to die because of suicide bombers and other terroristic activities in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Russia, Somalia, Pakistan, India, United States, United Kingdom and more.

I guessed it is human nature to kill or use violence to promote some ideologies, beliefs and values. Is it really human nature? Or is it just nature? I have watched a TV program in some cable channels not sure which, that some animals or insects do also kill or use violence to dominate other species and turn some into their slaves. Make us humans not much different from them.

When will our minds be enlightened that all of us are brothers and sisters in this world even though we are different in some aspects? Do we really need to kill or use violence? It is scary to see our children grow up in this kind of dog eat dog world.

Why can’t we love one another and not let hatred stay in our hearts? Easier said than done. Why?