ANIMAL-TASTIC!!! (Kids Version)

Always wanted to be in a jungle like Mowgli in the Jungle Book? Want to see how big an elephant is and how long its trunk is? Or even look at the strong proud lion? RAWR!!!

Zoo Negara is a fun place to feel like you are in a jungle! Filled with all the sight and sounds of a jungle, you will feel right at home with animals!

The first animal to greet you is the tall giraffe with its long tongue and it will instantly make you go WOW!!! It’s so tall!!! Not only do you get to see the giraffe! You can learn many facts about it with the fact boards displayed with every animal in the zoo! Did you know the tongue of adult giraffe can be as long as 27 inches? Don’t look too long or your neck would hurt!

The deer are one of the friendliest animals in Zoo Negara! They would surely come right at you with a smile on their face! You can even feed them with animal feed and they would lick the food right out of your hand! Deer’s are one of the cute furry animals that you can touch up close. Thought Bambi was cute in the cartoon? The real thing is even cuter!

Elephants in the zoo are definitely one of the main attractions. The elephants are always happy to greet visitors and would even use its trunk to shake your hand! Isn't the elephant just cute?

Filled with many sounds of animals and insects, the Zoo Negara has a savannah area where you can see animals mingle in an open space such as zebras, rhinos, and giraffes. How exciting is that?! The savannah area even has an ice-cream shop that offer many delicious flavors, great for a hot afternoon visit at the zoo! Yum yum!

Zoo Negara is the perfect place to visit if you always wanted to see your favorite animal, bring your parents along, it’s a great place to spend your weekends! If you are looking for a place outdoors to spend time with your family, Zoo Negara is definitely a must go! 

Does Education need to be Entertaining?

When was the last time you picked up an educational book like an encyclopedia to brush up on your general knowledge? The most probable answer would be - Never? 

It is a common answer but the closest you can get to that question is probably flipping to the Discovery Channel or National Geographic once in a while. If you were to do exactly what the statement above says, people would probably look at you with a cocked eyebrow. Education or general knowledge to be more precise is definitely a lacking factor plaguing the youth of today, especially in Malaysia. Before you ask why, let’s dig deeper as to why the previous generation possess more general knowledge.

Where did learn or get this general knowledge from? Once upon a time it was from books, but then came the age of the television... You sort of know where this is going right? 

Sesame Street! The missing piece of our childhood. It was from these kinds of interesting yet entertaining educational shows that makes learning fun. Sesame Street was a success naturally to the younger audience as we as humans are becoming increasingly more reliant on visual aid - after all we are visual creatures.

Sesame Street, one of the longest running children's programs combining both elements of education and entertainment is a great example. For a child to learn, the experience must be stimulating to the mind, humor, images, shapes, sounds and rhythm, are just some of the elements that make a child pay attention to something. 

If you grew up watching educational programs like Sesame Street or Bill Nye the Science Guy, then it is apparent that the entertainment factor plays an integral part of learning. The information boom doesn’t really help either as it overloads our intake of information and forces us to be selective of what we pay attention to. Take for example, would you rather learn about the history of World War 2 by watching images, videos and commentary found in a documentary or would you rather read from a huge text book detailing the events of that war? The answer is pretty obvious.

It’s noble to have a purely educational show; it would not work at this day and age where people are more hooked to the entertainment stimulant. Shows like Mythbusters or Man vs. Wild in the Discovery Channel draw people attention and yet stay informative with educational values in it. Even a young nerdy boy like Loh Soon Jun would confess to watching the Discovery Channel than to read an encyclopedia which takes time to search, read and absorb the information.

In a nutshell, entertainment aspects in an educational format is not entirely bad, it may even be beneficial to the program. Shows like Sesame Street have proven that the formula works, making it easier to digest the information presented to us. Educational entertainment could light the way to more interesting ideas and concepts to continue on the cycle of learning.

Tune in next week for the upcoming topic – 5 Reasons Youth Lack General Knowledge

So BEE It

At first glance, you would notice a cool hangout area that just popped up right beside IACT Gallery. Just like a bee buzzing around a flower, it attracts people to come to this gorgeously designed high class coffee shop. Called "The BEE" it is filled with beautiful interior concepts and design, primarily made of nature elements such as wood. The decoration is mostly made out of wood and the atmosphere screams vintage. Black is the color and it makes use of an open concept utilizing wide space to create mood for the atmosphere, making you feel at home immediately.

It may look like any other high end coffee shop, a bastard child of Starbucks or Coffeebean, as it has a yuppie feel to it with all the power sockets located all over the shop for laptops and free Wi-Fi to capitalize on. It also gives out a sophisticated yet warm feeling to its customers. It does not only serve coffee but also offer a wide range of different food styles - creating fusion food, a mix of sandwiches, burger, salads, fries, cakes and or course coffee.

Ok! Lets get to the food, that what we are here for! As Malaysians, we are all about food,a food in the morning, afternoon, night and even supper. The BEE offers a variety of food but what I was keen on trying out was a fries they offered. Ordering a Chili Cheese Fries, it was surprising to see the amount they gave us, but it did make up for the price as it costs around RM12 for a big bowl of fries. Presentation was actually quite decent as it was served in a nice while oval plate, which makes it look hygienic and clean. 

The fries are lathered in plentiful amounts of cheese and covered with American styled chili, adding to that scrumptious description that it was dabbled with a pinch of salt, making it taste just nice. As for the taste, it was pretty delicious indeed, a tinge of salty melting into a slightly sourish taste with the right amount of crispness. The taste is quite good and it is very addictive once you start munching on it, proven by the fact that my two other friend with me that day, Jared and Sharmayne were practically nabbing my fries. 

Overall, for a delicious bowl of fries for RM12 does sound a bit daunting at first, but I beg to differ as I would recommend that you try this place at least once to get a feel of what they offer. A perfect place to chill for yuppies and high income people like the sort of people from Starbucks who are hungry but at the same time needs a place to chill and surf their laptops - So BEE It!

The BEE gets a 4 out of 5~

The corners of my feelings

It was a gloomy and quiet atmosphere in the morning as I sat on a chair in a corner of a room. The chair was not the most comfortable of chairs but it filled my needs to aid my aching legs after a long walk. The walls were filled with notes, papers, and posters as the only source of light came from the laptop I was using. A rather peculiar table I was using had a weird shape, imagine a half circle/rectangle table top fitted with 1 leg.

The space I was in seem to resemble a clinic, the ones you would see when you go see a doctor. A long narrow corridor with a hole big enough to pass things through, a passage like how clinics pass their medicine to the patients. A corridor filled with sofas and a long rectangular short table, and the table where I was sitting was a small space at the corner of the room. That small space was my home for the last 1 and a half years, always overlooking a notice board hung on the wall that belonged to CREACTIVE, the college’s student advertising agency.

One would ask why this small corner would be my home all this while? Everyday, I would always come to college early as the sunrise as I had to hitch a ride in my mom’s car when she goes to work every morning. Every morning being in that corner was always an exciting one, even on days where I had no class. Work was always around the corner, especially if you joined a club, good experience nonetheless but a whole lot of work. If you were in CREACTIVE, work is never-ending, I repeat never-ending! With my laptop open, I am constantly busy with work related to CREACTIVE, and yes I am a part of that club.

Never a dull moment I would say, never a dull moment as people would constantly be in and out of the room. Observing became a habit for me as I mostly look on towards the new juniors, seniors, as they flood in and out of the room. It is interesting to see their attitudes, characteristics and personalities come to light in that room.

Ah… the most memorable room for me indeed, hundreds of hours just sitting on that chair doing endless amounts of CREACTIVE work. I miss the space, the comfortable atmosphere and the sounds of hustle and bustle of people parading through the room always talking a decibel higher than normal, but most of all I miss the feeling of having a family bond that I had with the people there in that atmosphere. It was the one thing that IACT College had lost after we had shifted.

Eighth-legged Love

How does an octopus show his love to another octopus? By fending off a human who is trying to eat his love! The video follows the thoughts and emotions of a male and female octopus as they race through a small town similar to Italy, by the shoreline.

The one thing that is very prominent is how the octopuses emote so humanly. Scenes of big round teary eyes, moments of fright and anger fill our thoughts as the sound of fast-paced violin tunes gives us a rush, fitting the overall pace of the video.

On the other hand, the place it was set it did not have any inhabitants except for the shop owner and the buyer. It was more like a ghost town than town filled with people, but then again it could be the fact that its early morning as fish mongers go about their business.

While it's an entertaining video indeed, it gives us a thought of what an octopus feels. It also shed light on the thought of love conquers all... until the end? I assure you it is a fun video to watch.