Running in the Rain

There is no time to waste. I've just jumped out of a quick shower after my run and I've not had such an urge to write since before the exams - time is of the essence people! You might gather that this was no ordinary run. I've been watching tennis, reading, drinking coffee etc all day today and I suddenly had this urge to go for a run. For whatever reason the monsoon that is taking place just now drew me outside and as quickly as I could have said 'I can't be bothered' I was in shorts and t-shirt, ready to take on the world.

Success in all the Right Places

It's taken me about a week to get around to writing this post but I knew as soon as my last exam result was out that it was going to happen. Why the delay then? Well firstly I thought I should let the dust settle after what had been an arduous period of waiting for everyone. Secondly I didn't want to come across as being someone who brags about their results as soon as they got them through. Yes, you got it, I'm going to spout for 5 or more paragraphs about how happy I am with my results and be under no illusion that I couldn't be prouder of myself just now. Gloating? Probably to an extent but everyone that I study with has had some time to digest their results so why shouldn't I get to talk about mine?

A Look at Love

Today I have been unsettled. I occasionally sit myself down to watch a film that I know is going to skew my head for a couple of hours and this post comes off the back of such a film. I'm a huge Ian McEwan fan - something that my Dad is mainly responsible for. A couple of his books are amongst my favourites - I even wrote my first critical analysis on his best book (in my humble opinion) 'Saturday'. This morning I decided that I would watch the adaptation of 'Enduring Love' starring Daniel Craig. Admittedly I've not actually read the novel but the DVD has been in the house for as long as I can remember and I finally decided that I would see what it was like. A deeply unsettling film about love and obsession, it has got me thinking about the question of love and what that actually means to me. A brief exploration into my head is sure to follow here - apologies are in the post.

Football = Time Consuming

It dawned on me today that I've not actually put out any content for over a week and I thought that I should maybe do something to rectify that. A video was all I had time for this evening and therefore you are stuck with looking at me again instead of just reading - super news for most I'm sure! Here is said video which includes a cut-off head, a lack of structure and a lack of explanation as to why I was showering at 4.30 in the afternoon. I was running, just in case you are interested...

For those of you that store any of the information that I sometimes write in this blog, you will remember that I said something about art last week or the week before, I forget. I'm looking to redesign my logo because it is pretty rubbish and I was hoping that the more artistic amongst you might have an idea at least of what it should look like. Any suggestions/ideas (make them on the Facebook page please!) would be much appreciated and I look forward to hearing back from my artistically superior readers in the near future!

Thanks.

Martin  

A Look Back on the Jubilee

I risk becoming something of a social commentator if I keep on going like this. Not that this would such a bad thing because, after all, it might be that I better myself in such a role. My posts over the last 6 months have wavered between inane teenage angst and stiff social/political comment - I feel like the latter might be of more interest to the masses. Anyway, and speaking of masses, today saw the end of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations and left me with a lot of think and write about. This might just be the start of something new for me as I look to find a quasi-genre for a blog that is otherwise lacking in such. This evening I feel more like a Brit than I have done in my 10 or so years of social consciousness and it feels nice. At the start of the weekend the sight of the Union Jack would make me slightly queasy but now it invokes in me a feeling of, dare I say, pride.

Diamond Jubilee in the Rough - A Look at the Monarchy

It takes a long time in a short life for you to be able to make your mind up about big things. Take politics for example. You spend your adolescent years either not watching the news or at least not watching until the sports section comes on - that might just be me though - not really paying attention to anything that happens in the world around you. Why do you need to at that age? Let the grown-ups deal with that whilst you find new things to make out of old bits of cardboard or undertake the more important task of training up your Pokemon. It's not until young people hit their teens that they start to notice 'important things'. It's fascinating to look back at the period of your lifetime and the things that were happening in the world that you were blissfully unaware of. Politics might not be a great example because we all take to that in different ways (and at different times) but this weekend brings fresh opportunity to explore the nation's relationship with the Monarchy. As the Queen gets set to strap herself into a golden life-jacket this afternoon I ask you this: what does the Monarchy mean to you?