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 Charlie Knox26, m, resident of spa, northern ireland, a thinker, who tries to be real, enjoys the company of nala(left), indebted to jesus for his grace and instruction in life and whose, amongst other things, studying sports science at UUJ. enjoy rugby a whole lot! |
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Thursday, February 21, 2008  Had this online movie recommended to me by a mate at uni. It's a story worth hearing although it might unsettle you a little. Watch it and see what you think.
posted by charlie |
2:47 PM |
Tuesday, February 12, 2008 Standing at the gate, looking into the garden....  Last year, Micah Jones, about to graduate from his architecture degree and embark on the great quest of life, took his dissertation as an opportunity to lament what he saw as three disastrous developments in housing. It pained him that the value of a house had become more about market value than its homeliness, forcing people into major life sacrifices to meet mortgage demands; that much housing had become uniformed, predictable and lacking in personality; and that housing was too rigid for the dynamic life we live. The issue of housing/home making is very real for many 20 somethings and is something that frequently rears its head in my conversations with peers. In my assessment, Micah does a great job of articulating and illustrating some of the dilemmas that underlie many of these discussions. I'd recommend this piece of writing to anyone about to take leave of the nest or to those already launched. Whilst by his own admission, Micah's writing is informed by youthful 'standing at the gate' ideals more than life tested reflection, it is stirring and unsettling writing that should provoke some response in the right direction.
posted by charlie |
12:51 PM |
Sunday, February 03, 2008 Sporting Weekend Was a sport packed weekend.... On Saturday morning my U14s playing on a snow covered pitch up at Ballymacarn beat Ards to take the Ulster U14 Premier League for the second year running. This year's team have been super. They turn up in their droves every week to training and have a really good attitude. Saturday was a nice reward for all their hardwork. On Saturday afternoon I took to a very mucky field with our club 5XV to play in the Forster Cup against Inishowen who are in the upper regions of the league above us. Unfortunately we were beat 6-3 putting a halt to our cup run but the performance was good and we can take a lot of confidence into the rest of the league campaign. On Saturday evening I fulfilled a long time wish when i got to go and see Down Gaelic football team playing at the Esler stadium in Newry. A friend from Uni invited me along and I jumped at the chance. They were playing Sligo in the NFL and carried out a superb comeback in the second half to take the victory. A few things impressed me about the whole thing....it was only £4 in for students, the crowd was family friendly and yet very passionate (those two things don't always co-exist) and the game was fascinating. The game is so fast moving meaning player workrate is phenomenal and decision making incredibly difficult given that the player has so many options at their disposal every time they get the ball ie. do they kick the ball along the ground or pick it up, do they run or pass, if running, do they bounce or solo, if passing, do they kick out of hand or fist pass, if shooting do they take a point or go for the goal and three points, when shooting do they shoot with foot or hand! The information processing skills of the good players amazes me! Anyway, hopefully I'll get up to a few more games before the season is out. After i came home from the gaelic i discoverd Amir Khan was in action defending his commonwealth belt against St. Clair. so it was another 40 minutes of sport!. Khan was impressive. In the past his boxing seemed a wee bit overenthusiastic and erratic but watching him on Saturday night he appears to have matured in his fighting style. He fought with composure, not rushing in for the kill too early but instead concentrated on defending well and taking his chances as they emerged. His lightning hand speed was too much for St Clair and the judges awarded him 120/120 - the perfect fight! On Sunday afternoon I watched Scotland play patches of exciting rugby only to be outplayed by a young, exciting and risk taking French side who performed superbaly well given that they had only trained together for five days. They could be a dangerous team in the future! To bring the sporting weekend to an end I sat up with Gregory to watch the first half of the Superbowl last night. All the rigmarole around the game is frustrating but the play is exciting and incredibly skillful. It was nice to wake up this morning to hear the Giants had won knowing that they were the underdogs! Why do we like the underdog winning so much? posted by charlie | 12:20 PM | Friday, February 01, 2008 Fancy a dander?? Great website here. I'm a big fan of walking. It's a fantastic time to get some fresh air, to take in Northern Ireland's bountiful beauty, to notice little things that you don't see when you're moving a bit quicker, to mull over life's complexities , to make decisions, to be alone with God or to converse with friends. It's also something that's very good for your health. I'm doing a module on physical activity and health this term at uni. The introductory lectures have been fascinating. I've always known that exercise is good for burning calories and tackling obesity. What i hadn't realised was the strength of connection that has been found between physical activity and a reduced risk of a range of cancers, coronary heart disease, conditions leading to strokes, diabetes and psychological health issues. The risks associated with inactivity were also fairly scary considering that 70% of our population here in NI is inactive (compared to 24% who smoke!). So more walkies can be no bad thing!! This website has lots of my favourite walks included on the Co. Down list and has also brought a few to my attention that I haven't enjoyed yet . It will also be a useful resource for exploring a little in other counties!! I hope you can enjoy a few yourself! posted by charlie | 12:54 PM | |
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