Derrick Rose...Jordans Replacement?

Name: Derrick Rose
DOB: October 4, 1988
Height: 6ft 3in
Weight: 190Ibs
Position: PG [point guard]
NBA draft: 2008
Championship rings: 0
Career Highlight: NBA Most Valuable Player [MVP] (2011)



Name: Michael Jordan
DOB: February 17, 1963
Height: 6ft 6in
Listed Weight: 215IBs
Position: SG [shooting guard]
NBA Draft: 1984
Championship rings: 6
Career Highlights: 5x MVP
6x NBA Champion
10x All-NBA First Team

Career Points: 32,292




There it is Ladies and Gentlemen, the stats they speak for them selves [Jordan has a ton more, look them up yourselves]. Now don't get me wrong i'm a huge fan of Derrick Rose, i think he one of the most humble and professional players in NBA right now. But just becuase he plays for the same team as Jordan did, people feel the need to make it feel like he's trying to steal this superficial crown people imagine up. Everyone needs to give it a rest even when asked this question Derrick's response was "I am no where near reaching that man's accomplishments, don't even put me in the same box as him [laugh]". I really do feel sorry for Derrick, i personally think he should have said i'm going to beat every record he ever set...well maybe not.

But listen I think people need to get it their head, it doesn't matter what kind occupation a person chooses be it sports, filmaking or music. The younger generation have to surpass the accomplishments set by their predecessors. That to me is common sense and the natural order, if not wheres the progress?. It's great to see Jordan still has die hard fans, trust me im one those people who watched him growing up and made me want to play from secondary school to local league level. But they need to let it go and let players like Lebron James and Derrick just play the game for the same reason Jordan, Bill Russell and Magic Johnson played for.

I think it comes with the territory that you will always be compared to others but i'd hate to see a talented player like Derrick Rose fall under the pressure and hype and make a stupid move like Lebron from being hailed as a prodigy to a joke. Who knows the since the Bulls have a chance to be in finals this year they might get their first ring in 13 years. Anyhow I don't care what anyone say's the best all round player in the league right now is #23 Kobe Bryant who is the closest person to meet the criteria set by Michael Jordon and exceeding that. This is certainly an exciting year in basketball

Go Bulls

Keep the change you filthy animal!

Firstly lets make it clear the 80s ruled for children’s films. I don't want hear none of this Shrek or Cars or Despicable me nonsense, its understandable that's what children since the new millennium are exposed to. You may have your CGI/special effects and 3D but you never beat a good fantasy driven magical roller-coaster ride.

Not to say that kids nowadays don’t appreciate the classics is that they are wowed by more the celebrity and effects hoopla.

Lets begin my filmic journey aged 8 and the Christmas classic that is 'Home Alone' and 'Home alone 2'...[cough] we can forget about the other one. A story about a kid that is left home alone when all his family members [alarmingly high amount] go on holiday together and forget about him. Now not only is the kid is left alone now he has to two burglars trying break into the house and get to him. Tell me that is not every kids dream..well half anyway.

Kevin McCallister played by a talented Macaulay Culkin who feels trampled over by his family wishes for all of them to disappear and like a Christmas miracle it comes true for Kevin. But he got more than he bargained for as thieves Harry Lyne played by Joe Pesci and Marv Merchants played by Daniel Stern scour the rich neighbourhood to do their christmas shopping. And Kevin is in luck for some adventure as the thieves choose his home, and hilarity ensues.

Every part of this film oozes large portion of many peoples childhood which spawned classic moments and lines like 'Keep the change you filthy animal!'. Combined with the talents of 11 year old Macaulay Culkin who now somehow has faded into obscurity which is too bad because its success spawned a sequel which somehow was even better. This is one if the films that define me growing up and wanting to be mischievous like little Kevin.

Now around the same time lets say around the 10 year old mark was about the time I was exposed to the film by the director of Home Alone who writes his own classic backed by none other then Steven Spielberg, 'The Goonies'.

….bask in the glory that is 'The Goonies' and adventure story with epic proportions involving cursed treasure, dead pirates, a Italian mother and two sons who are escaped convicts. It has it all a young Sean Astin, Josh Brolin and Corey Fieldman eighties child stars rolled into one movie. A hopeful tale of a boy whose town is about to be run down by an evil cooperation that will leave his family and friends homeless suddenly finds a map to the legendary One-eyed Willie's treasure. Believing they can save the town if they can get the treasure and buy the town back [wow, I wonder how much they go for nowadays].

Now that’s a journey Ladies and Gentleman...pick a film from this list and watch it tonight, it will make you a better person

...not making any promises.

ClicK!

Nine months ago I invested quite a bit of money to help me shoot pictures and short films, and purchased the Canon 550D EOS DSLR camera.

I had looked into various different reviews the bloggers and experts had given, and all highly recommended it..but I still wasn't sure. I kinda spent a few months going back and forth on deciding if should I do buy it by reading all the articles I could on it. There was one in particular that proved really helpful, a review from a French film-maker who is known by his youtube name Andyax.

The link to the actual video: http://www.youtube.com/user/Andyax#p/search/2/Vq688Hh3_lI

He also shows you how make your own shoulder rigs and filming equipment, plus he makes cool shorts that he enters to festivals so definitely check him out.

What attracted me to the camera was its ability shoot pictures at 18.0 mega pixels and film at full HD, what else would I need? Sound? Well it has a standard but a very good quality internal microphone. Unlike its predecessor the Canon 500D it can support a external microphone. I still use the 18-55mm lens that it came with, even though I would love to get a bigger one being a student doesn't help much. Might have to drop some hints round the ole' birthday time.

Nine months down the line what do I think, well I have made a few films and taken hundreds of pictures with what I think is an amazing camera and definitely would hold onto it for many years. I would recommend 550D to anyone who needs a good value for money camera for either professionals or beginners.

Some stills I took from the last nine months..

Images by Leen Thevarajah © Copyright

For Asgard!!

Recently, well Saturday to be exact me and a friend decided to watch Thor which opened in theatres early may. There were many things I had known before going to see this movie and many that I didn't. Marvel Studios and Paramount spared no expense in promoting this film with teasers trailers and production images. It was no secret about the cast that were going to playing some of the most beloved comic book characters, Chris Hemworth as Thor, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Anthony Hopkins as Odin.

But to me I was most surprised with the film being released in 3D. I was excited and cautious at the same time, this being the first marvel film to be released in 3D I hoped they wouldn't get it wrong...And I’m so glad they didn't because the special FX was amazing, some of the actions sequences were designed and structured so well I could nothing but watch in awe. It was also exciting to see cameos and references made to other superheroes like Iron man and Hulk, as these films are a tie-in to the final Avengers movie.

Once I had walked out and discussed with my friend we became to point out how the film stayed true to the comic. But we also noticed how story-wise the main character learnt from his mistakes very quickly and progressed with the story which seemed... for all intents and purposes unrealistic.

What I had meant by not knowing certain things about this film before watching it, I found out when the credits began to roll. “Directed by Kenneth Branagh”.... whatttttt!!! Kenneth Branagh? the Thespian who does all the adaptations of Shakespeare plays and played Dr Frankenstein. Its a good thing I didn't know beforehand because I was able to see how someone can produce something amazing when they steppout of their comfort zone. So well done Mr Kenneth Branagh, I might even rewatch “Frankenstein” as a well done.

I'm glad really that I didn't miss out because of all the hype that was put on this project, even though I wouldn’t watch it again..well until it comes out on blu-ray, it did not disappoint and would recommend others to see this 3D marvel (ha! sorry). Now we wait for Captain America and The Avengers.

Idiot Abroad...

The duo that brought you the BBC series 'extras' with Sky1 brought forth 'An Idiot Abroad'. Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais in their own words play the biggest practical joke sending their friend Karl Pilkington around the world to see the new seven wonders of the world. I had watched the whole series from the begining and found each installment hilarious, watching someone who is so stubborn to be out of their comfort zone act out like a child in front of a beautiful wonder seemed genius to me.

The process I think the researcher would have gone through to prepare this programme, is sorting out the destinations they would visit and in what order. To also ensure the safety of the crew and presenter throughout the filming process preparing for any unexpected situations.

Overall I think towards the end of the series it gets a bit stale and the joke seems to be over, as you can only watch a grown man whine for so much. But I think the programmes purpose was different in which they wanted Karl to see a different outlook on life...im not sure how far they got with that.