Rowie's Scribbles

This 2009 documentary highlights the dolphin slaughter at Taiji, Japan. Headed by Ric O'Barry, the film covers the following issues: 1. Dolphin captivity 2. Dolphins as intelligent beings 3. Mercury poisoning 4. Lack of awareness 5. Empowerment of activists I'll do this piece in a slightly different format from my previous movie reviews, seeing as this film is WAY different from the rest. Story Ric O'Barry was the man who helped capture & train 5 dolphins for the phenomenal film Flipper. The film started the storm that was dolphin parks. However one of the dolphins committed suicide in his arms, sparking his transformation into one of the most prolific dolphin activists on the planet. The film then covers the history of whaling & the actions of the international community for & against this activity. It also discussed the effects of mercury poisoning as a result of dolphin meat consumption. The film followed the cast as they set up secret cameras to eventually r...

As some of my friends noticed, I'm a HUGE fan of GLEE ! The American musical-comedy TV series is the latest craze on Malaysian shores & I'm not ashamed to say that I'm a GLEEK! :p It revolves around the McKinley High School show choir called New Directions comprising of very different individuals in it together for different reasons. I just watched the 20th episode & I'm loving' it! :D Similar to HSM? To be fair, I've never watched HSM: I've avoided it like the plague lol. But friends who watched both series generally described GLEE as the "smarter version of HSM". Ouch! One thing for sure, is people don't just burst into song on GLEE; there's usually a stage or a proper avenue for their performances. It's like a REALLY long-running cabaret show IMO! :p PS. I REALLY don't think Vanessa Hudgens can sing without irritating me. The Appeal I suppose why people are into the show is the characters are not the popular, hip kids of...

The 1st baby hatch was set up in Petaling Jaya for mothers to leave their unwanted babies for adoption ( TheStar ). I applaud the move by OrphanCARE to save the lives of these abandoned babies & provide hope that they would be cared for in a loving home. I'm shocked, however, by comments by some Malaysians that this step would encourage youths to have unprotected sex & it doesn't solve the problem of the rising number of teens having premarital sex. What do you guys want, actually? Problem isn't really the number of teens fooling around; the hatch was set up to save abandoned babies from a certain death. I wish more Malaysians would be supportive of caring & positive acts to aid our society. Had YOU been willing to talk to your children about sex; Had YOU been willing to teach them about protection; Had YOU been willing to offer support when they needed it most; Had YOU been willing to put aside old-fashioned values to solve a modern problem; We wouldn't ha...

UMP debaters (English & BM) participated in the Arau Open Public Speaking & Debating Championship (AROPSDEC) recently organized by UiTM Arau (Perlis) on 20-22 May. The CA was Dr Omar Salahuddin & in the seminar organized before the preliminary rounds, he mentioned that the standard of debating has dropped among Malaysian institutions, it was time to stop the jaguh kampung mentality & to expose our young debaters to the REAL level required in competitive debating. The tournament was different on several levels: 1. Only 1 motion was released per round, as opposed to 3 motions in usual tournaments...Probably to exert pressure on teams to focus on what were relatively, well, pressing issues ATM. 2. I'd the feeling that the teams & the judges are very new to the Australasian debating style; I saw new faces & many familiar faces were not around. It was heartening to see that these new faces were enthusiastic about the tournament. 3. I suspect that many judges fai...

I attended that Subsidy Rationalization Lab Open Day held at Kuala Lumpur Convention Center with Becca. I expected an exhibition but I didn't expect to see the following individuals discussing the subsidy reform plan for Malaysia: Datuk Seri Idris Jala (CEO, PEMANDU), MP Tony Pua, & Mr. Azman Mokhtar (MD, Khazanah Nasional) among others (I confess, I can't recall their names :p). I entered late but I got the gist of the forum: 1. We need to remove subsidies 2. How to remove subsidies? How long will it take? Which ones should go 1st? 3. Despite the subsidy removal, we must ensure that the welfare of the poor is protected. Food I don't have all the statistics but RM3.1billion for food (flour, sugar, cooking oil) is WAY too significant for us to ignore. Our prices for sugar is RIDICULOUSLY low (the lowest in ASEAN, in fact), the subsidies are effectively beneficial to the industry & smuggling of OUR sugar across borders to OTHER countries is rampant. Time to order te...

I'm happy to say that I'm back in the comfort of my home! I'll be driving back to UMP on Sun for debate training (got 2 upcoming tournaments) but these past few days have been blissful! TV...Internet...a firm bed...a comfortable loo...garlic bread...stove...fridge...yogurt...newspaper... The simple comforts that make up a home are all here! I even rented a new book: Not bad, huh? I'm enjoying myself, recuperating from all the months of sleepless nights...I can barely get my body up every morning because I'm loving mah bed! :D I'll write more once my mind & body are awake :p See you soon!