My only complaints about the film would be that not enough was made of Oher’s background – use of more flashbacks could have been quite effective and would have made more of the turn-around in Oher’s life. In the film, Oher was made out to have no knowledge of Football and to be quite a passive player, in reality he already had experience of Football and knew what he was in for. Also, the opening section about LT would also have benefited from some expansion to set the scene for the importance of the left tackle (or right tackle if the QB is left handed) and why Oher’s protective instinct was an important attribute.

It’s definitely a moving story, whether you read the book or watch the film. And I would certainly recommend that you read the book, watch the film or both! Quinton Aaron is very good at playing Oher, Sandra Bullock is fantastic as Leanne Tuohy – it’s without doubt the best performance she’s ever given.

Being a Youthworker, I of course saw the potential benefits this movie could have for use with youth groups and classes to make them think about many issues that the film brings up – equality, class divide, inspiration, encouragment, determination etc etc

Go see it, enjoy, be moved, be encouraged and make sure you encourage others to see it!

Peace Out

The story of Michael Oher itself is an inspiring story, looking at how he came from practically nothing to being one of the starting linemen of the Baltimore Ravens.

I’ll say more about the film once I’ve actually seen it. I hope it stays true to the real story, there’s not really much that can be added to it in terms of drama and how people will treat each other. At just over 2 hours, it should be able to fit in a great deal of what the book covers. If you get the chance to read the book, take it, it’s definitely worth the read.

Peace Out

I’m looking forward to the game this year, it should be an outstanding shootout between two dominant offenses. I’ve tried to settle on the side of one of the teams, but I just can’t pick one team in thie game. On the one hand, the New Orleans Saints have a very romantic, compelling reason why we should support them – it’s their first Superbowl and they’re playing for a city that is trying to rebuild itself on the back of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina a few years ago. On the other Hand, the Indianapolis Colts are looking for their second ring in 4 years, and they have one of my favourite NFL players at the helm – Peyton Manning.

There are countless articles on the internet worth reading about this game, and its not even happened yet! At the bottom of this post are a few that I think stand out and give a good insight/ overview of what to expect tonight. You can also follow thing on twitter by watching the tag #SB44

Will you be watching? Enjoy the game!

Peace Out

Good links:

NFL Superbowl website
Social Media and the Superbowl
Factors to watch out for in tonights game
Will the Colts Superbowl experience be an asset?
Video: 10 greatest players without a Superbowl ring

Peace Out

The Church of Scotland National Youth Assembly starts today! As I’ve previously blogged, this is an awesome event! Close to 300 young Christians from around Scotland will be gathering in Stirling as of this afternoon to spend a weekend together exploring what it means to be Christian in Scotland in the 21st century and how we interact with the rest of the body of Christ.

There is so much going on this weekend, I can’t begin to describe it all! I’m excited about my contribution, I’m away to go for breakfast so can’t describe it all fully just now. But basically, I’m serving NYA with 3 of my greatest passions this weekend: I’m leading 9 hours of sporting activities over the weekend, I’m doing a session called ‘worship through a lens’ and I@m part of a team blogging and twittering about the weekend. It’s great to be able to use my passion to serve a community that has given so much to me over the years!

Must dash, food calls!

Peace out

111/365 I love this photo! The shot was looking good when the Heron was just sitting there with its reflection perfect in the water. Then Timmy, the dog I was walking, deciding to chase it, just as I pressed the shutter it decided to fly off, just goes to show how much lick plays a part in photography!

112/365 Timmy, the dog (obviously!) taking a wee swim on a gorgeous day!!

113/365 Took this shot as I was on the bus to Edinburgh airport to catch the plane to Bournemouth for my masters course, took 7 attempts to get a shot with the plane in it!

114/365 The weather was gorgeous when I was down for my course, so we spent one afternoon sitting out on the grass chatting over various things! As we were sitting, myself and Wayne noticed this jet flying about, quite a cool shot eh?

115/365 Had to spend ages waiting at Bournemouth airport to get my flight home, its not the most exciting airport in the world! There was a gorgeous sunset though, which I thought looked quite cool reflected on the side of the plane

116/365 Yes, this shot is overexposed, the ksy looks horribly white. But it had to be to get a decent shot of the buildings. This is one of my favourite views in any city. I’ve spent so much time on that hill, The Mound. You can glimpse New College, where I studied for years. Its also where the General Assembly is held. That building has, and always will be, a huge part of my life.

117/365 Since getting into photoraphy seriously over the last year or so, I’ve taken hundreds of pictures of the beach at Aberdeen. So I thought it was about time I started playing around with perspectives and colours, I quite like this black and white number!

118/365 Linda and I met Jonnie and Susie in Elgin on Saturday, East Stirlingshire FC were playing Elgin City FC in the Scottish 3rd Division, not the highest quality game, but Jonnie, my brother in law, is a big East Stirlingshire fan. They are also one of the teams that play within 10 minutes of my parents house. It was quite an entertaining match, gave me a chance to try out lots of photography techniques. Also, East Stirlingshires number 11 (in the red) is a guy called Andy Rodgers, one of the guys I went to school with.

119/365 Every month, on the last Sunday of the month, I take an evening service. we’ve just started to do the services in a cafe style, we’re going through the Alpha material. We thought it’d be a good opportunity to use our COSY Coffeehouse pack, looks good eh?

120/365 Thought I’d go for that ‘down the post’ perspective again, this time with a bit more control over exposure and doing it in colour!

121/365 for some reason I didn’t tae any photos yesterday, hmm?

122/365 There were loads of these birds in our garden for ages today, they didn’t even fly away when I opened the window loudly just feet away from them

Football Days

For the curious amongst you, the Jersey is a Georgia Bulldogs Vintage Jersey, number 34: Herschel Walker, a beast of a player!

To see some of his highlights, watch this: [youtube=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KyKLeXP2XOU]