The Olympic Dream

I'm one of those people that will sit down and watch pretty much any type of sport on the TV, possibly with the exception of cricket. Imagine, therefore, what I have been doing for the last two days. That's right, you got it in one, I've been watching the Olympics for the whole time. To be exact, I watched about 12 hours yesterday and I've been watching it on and off today since about 9am until now. I've taken time out of my busy schedule to write this post in fact - you lucky people! The "Olympic Dream" that titles this post is nothing to do with medals or 'taking part' but instead it is the dream that is the Olympic fortnight for sports fans such as myself. The 24 HD channels that the BBC have dedicated to the Olympics have been used to their full effect - and then some.

Green Fingers the Answer to Idle Thumbs?

The summer months usually mean a whole bunch of changes to our daily lives. For me it meant no more lectures, no more exams, having more free time, being able to play more football etc. It should also have meant better weather but that has yet to materialise here in not-so-sunny Scotland. All that being said there has been one thing that seems to have defined my summer. I've attempted to find something to keep myself occupied, whether that be a job, work experience, a 'project' or anything along those lines. In all respects I've come up short and I've only really got myself to blame. As a result of all that I've also found myself moping and moaning a lot more - not a great change for the summer months. I might have found the answer though: the garden.

The John Terry Saga

John Terry: Captain Fantastic

As a law student (albeit a Scots law student) and an ardent Chelsea fan, you might have thought that I would have had a conflict of interests as John Terry's trial at Westminster Mags unfolded last week. I saw the Youtube video (as apparently did everyone in the world) and saw the same words being uttered as everyone else. As it happens, my situation (the potential conflict of interests) meant that I've spent the last few months defending John Terry from both points of view. Firstly my law student mind saw me defend him from the point of view of the 'innocent until proven guilty' stance. People don't like to hear that argument but it's one that I will stick to because it's the right argument in a society such as ours. My Chelsea supporter's mind was telling me that I had to defend him because I like him as a player and as a captain of the team that I'm a fan of. The latter, as you can well imagine, was not as strong a standpoint.

The Art of Language: My Love for the Work of Cormac McCarthy

Just when you think you know the rules, something or somebody comes along and changes everything. The use of language is thought to be a universal thing with the same rules applying across the board to everyone that sets out to use it. When those rules are 'broken', there is said to be an error that must be fixed to ensure that the rules are followed to the letter - excuse any puns in this piece by the way. I thought all of the above was true until I started to read Cormac McCarthy's books. McCarthy was a favourite of my Papa's and he introduced me to him through the much acclaimed book-come-film, 'The Road'. At that point I was thundering through crime, comedy and action like there was no tomorrow but when I put down 'The Road' for the last time my view of reading, and of the English language, was changed forever.

A Pure Scottish Mindset

So Andy Murray was beaten by one of the greatest Tennis players, no sorry, one of the greatest sportsmen in history - what of it? That is not the issue here though really. The issue is whether is was the Brit Murray that was beaten or the Scot Murray that lost. Time and again this argument about the negativity of the Scottish psyche comes to the fore and sadly I noticed Facebook was littered with such discussion after the final yesterday. The thing that bears the bug for me above all is that such accusations (although hurtful) are probably true. As much as I tried to fight it throughout yesterday's match, I was unable to fend off the demon that haunted the final with the air that Murray just wasn't going to win. Even with the first set under his belt and a break in the second I just knew. I'm Scottish after all, but should that matter?

Looking for a Break-Through

Do you like the new logo? I sat down a couple of mornings ago with only Microsoft Word and Paint for company and tried my best to come up with something that didn't look as though it was drawn by a 5 year old. I might have succeeded in fulfilling that rather flimsy specification but whether I've come up with a new identity for my blog is another issue completely. You might have gathered that this blog is something that I'm very proud of and every time I looked at the original logo (which has been there for the 4 month life of this thing) I felt that it didn't say that I wanted it to say. In fact the logo is just one item on a list of things in my head that often make me feel less than satisfied with this page. In short, I'm looking for the next step but I'm not sure what or where that is.

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