Rowie's Scribbles

Why was I drawn to this movie?  1) Jennifer Lawrence 2) The trailer was intriguing 3) Jennifer Lawrence Har har. Here we go!  Plot Based on the popular novels by Suzanne Collins (I've read all 3 books - THEY ARE GOOD!), The Hunger Game is set in the future nation of Panem, divided into 12 districts. There was a District 13 but that was blown to bits when the people rose to a revolution and lost to the ruling government, currently under the reign of President Snow. As a reminder of the sacrifice and the cost of war, the Hunger Games was introduced where a boy and a girl aged between 12-18 yrs will be randomly selected from all the districts to fight it out in an arena until only 1 winner remains. The winner will be given wealth and food for his/her district; a dear gift as many of the districts are impoverished.  Katniss Everdeen is a superb archer and hunter; she illegally hunts in the forest to provide for her mother and her younger sister Primrose, her fa...

I wanted to watch this film when I read that Daniel Radcliffe, the star of the Harry Potter films, would play the lead character in this remake of a British film that was based on a British novel. Somehow the idea of a horror film that was completely British in production and origin was an interesting one - we've way too many horror films that are from Asia and Hollywood! I knew the synopsis of the film but wanted to give it a shot anyway; it's been a while since I deliberately paid money to watch a horror film so I was really looking forward to this one :) Plot Arthur Kipps is a lawyer who is still reeling from the death of his wife - his grief is affecting his work and his relationship with his 4-yr-old son. His law firm provides him with an opportunity to redeem his career: he's to sort out the estate of Alice Drablow, owner of Eel Marsh House. Upon his arrival to the manor, he glimpses a woman dressed in black while sorting out piles of papers left at the house. To...

I keep track of my budget and so far, I'm doing pretty okay. When I see the greens, I start thinking about what I would love to spend my money on...so here's my wishlist of stuff I'd like to indulge in! 1) Xbox Ever since I realized that my Dell laptop (bless it) is not able to play Tomb Raider Underworld, I've considered getting a game console so I can enjoy myself playing my favorite video game of all time. The Xbox is appealing because it's not too expensive and I've tried playing it at the local game store; the feel is great! The games are also cheaper compared to the PS3 games. This is a more affordable choice and at RM1500 therabouts, this comes at no 1 on my wish list!  2) Foot massage I've sprained both ankles, twice each. The injury doesn't hamper me much; I can still move about, I play badminton regularly, and sometimes I go jogging on my hilly residential area - but there are days where I wish I can just lie back and have someone mas...

Recently on Valentine's Day, me and my colleagues went to Pavilion for dinner at Michelangelo's and it was great - good food, good company and the lovely ambiance added to the happy, lovey V-day mood. Then it was off to watch the latest rom-com This Means War.  Plot Tuck and Frank are best friends and work as a team for the CIA. They attempted to capture the villain Heinrich but ended up killing his brother, which stirred up a lot of publicity. They were grounded to "desk work", and Heinrich vows to avenge his brother's death. Tuck joins a dating site online and contacts Lauren, a pretty blonde. Lauren's profile was created by her friend, Trish, but Lauren agrees to meet Tuck after seeing his oh-so-dashing photo online.  Tuck informed Frank of his impending date, and Frank offered to be in the video store nearby to "offer support", since Tuck has been out of the dating world for a long time. Tuck and Lauren's 1st date was a success, and La...

As some of you may know, I've registered for the ABRSM Grade 5 exam for violin. The exam is in August, the exact date and venue will be announced soon. Initially when I took up the violin, I did not plan to take exams: I wanted to focus on learning the instrument without the stress of preparing for the exam. However, I am more confident now and my teacher has encouraged me to try the Grade 5 exam. She's tried me out on previous exam pieces for Grade 4 and Grade 5, then we've tried pieces from my book Schirmer's Library of Musical Classics: Violin Classics, Vol 2079, Intermediate to Advanced Level.  My exam pieces are: [A1] - Corrente, 2nd Movement from Sonata in D minor, Op. 5 No. 7 by Arcangelo Corelli. [B2] - Pastorale, Op. 23 No. 1 by Oskar Rieding [C1] - For Latin Lovers by Brian Chapple I like the differences in my pieces: Corrente is a typical Baroque piece; I've to learn how to play semi-detached notes. Just yesterday we focused on the 1st page of ...

The last time I saw a film with the word "wire" in the title and a female lead was several years ago; that was Barbwire and the lead was none other than former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson. It was the perfect film for B-grade entertainment; a heroine executing action without her impressive cargo getting in the way and tossing amusing one-liners to anyone who stands in her way. I had reservations about the new film Haywire, but it's WAY different.  Plot The movie opens with Mallory Kane entering a diner. She expected to meet former boss Kenneth but her friend Aaron shows up. Aaron tries to force her to leave the diner with him but she refuses: 1st fight scene in the film - ouch! One of the customers helps her to escape and as they flee the scene, she tells him the incidents leading up to the diner scene:   1) Barcelona Kenneth is engaged by Rodrigo to rescue a journalist, Jiang from a "safehouse" in Barcelona. Kenneth assigns Mallory and Aaron to this m...

We're constantly reminded to do good, and of the plight of those less fortunate than us. Celebrities use their star power to influence the public to lend a helping hand. The rich makes anonymous donations to charity.  But how many of us actually go the extra mile to do good and help the needy?   I find that I often question myself if I could be more generous, or more caring towards others. I donated blood for the first time last year and it was a good experience; donating blood is a simple gesture that takes very little to save a lot of lives. According to the NST , only 3% of Malaysians donated blood in 2 yrs. You may refer to the National Blood Bank on how you can help.  Organ donation is another pledge I've yet to make; personally I've no qualms about donating my organs to others, the only thing holding me back is that there may be other stakeholders, ie my future husband, children etc. It's still something I'm pondering ever since the National Transplant...