Letter to Santa

Its Christmas Day in less than a week and I haven't written my letter to Santa yet. As its a modern age I am pretty sure he has a decent broadband connection up there in the North Pole so surely he must read my website so I'll just post my letter on here...

Dear Santa

I am pretty sure I have been a good boy this year (but just to be on the safe side don't check my Internet history) and I would like the following this Christmas

Sony Playstation 3 (preferably the 250gb version)
Some new walking boots
Crampons to go with the boots as it gets icy up here
Some thick socks (see the ice comment above)
As much decent Anime and Manga as one jolly guy in red can fit into his sack
The confidence to talk to women

and finally...

That everybody I know gets to have their Christmas wishes come true

Many thanks

Dunc

Snow!

The recent cold snap in the UK hasn't escaped my notice with temperatures being not much above freezing during the day and biting frosts at night. We've even had a few light snow flurries, above is my car outside my flat on Saturday, presumably pining for the Catalan factory it was made in! The freezing weather and a pretty big hangover after two fun nights with my work colleagues celebrating another year of spending tax dollars ensuring Scotland's environment is in its usual tip-top shape meant I barely left the house yesterday, my sofa is developing a very large butt imprint. However, as its now Sunday and I had a night in last night to ensure a good nights sleep, I decided to head into the hills and see how good the snow is in the Pentlands.As you can see the Pentland Hills looked pretty bloody spectacular with a deeper covering of snow than in the coastal city of Edinburgh. I did a pretty standard hike from the Flotterstone car park which was extremely icy, and yet I managed not to hit anything whilst parking despite not owning some ridiculous four-wheel drive vehicle. I wrapped myself up (the long-johns I bought in New Zealand are the best hiking gear ever!) and headed into the hills. It was pretty hard going as the paths in places were fairly compacted and my old boots have zero tread on them left these days. As I got higher though there was more snow and things got easier, I still desperately need new boots though.
Coming over the tops of Turnhouse and Carnethy Hills though the wind was just bitter, by the time I came down to head to Loganlea Reservior (below) the tube from my CamelBak water pouch had frozen! Walking through the glen was really pretty though and it was nice to get off my sofa and grab some exercise in some amazing scenery, you should all come visit sometime!

Guardian's awful guide to Akihabara

I don't know where to start on the Guardian "article". Like their opinions on climate change full of inaccuracies and in places downright incorrect.
Otaku doesn't mean geek, it means obsessive fan primarily of anime, manga and video games. In the western world that may be seen as geekish, but in Japan its fairly common, especially with Manga. Also Akiba isn't the district in Tokyo where you would find the majority of Cosplayers, they gather at Harajuku's Jingu-bashi, cosplayers only really gather in Akiba when there is a major event such as a large video-game or anime DVD launch.
Akiba has never been a den of perversion ever, its the electronics district, for the red light district of Tokyo head to Shinjuku's Kabukicho. The fact that the murderer had been to Akiba as he was an Otaku doesn't instantly mean the area is full of perverts reading Dojinshi manga ready to pounce on innocent foreign travellers and bury them in a bath of sand.
Moe is described in the article (using reference to Goku from Dragonball) as "exaggerated intensity that drives Akiba culture". This is so unimaginably incorrect I almost don't know where to start. For a more accurate definition of the Moe genre head to the Anime News Network who describe it as "a Japanese term used in connection with manga or anime (note nothing to do with Akiba) to describe something precious, usually the ideal of youthful and innocent femininity". Slightly different I think you'll agree, often it applies to cute girls in manga and anime.
Maid culture isn't directly related to Moe culture with Moe being a more recent movement, while maid cafe's have been on the streets of Akiba since the late 90's and relate more to cosplay. So therefore not the place to "experience Moe first hand" as written in this appalling article.
"Police cruise along back roads stopping and searching people in costume". When I visited apart from not seeing anyone in costume I certainly didn't see the police stopping and searching anyone. Japan has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, and although not crime free I certainly would rather walk along a back street in Tokyo than in London or many other major cities across the world.
Former Prime Minister Taro Aso was indeed a huge manga fan and invested millions of yen in the now cancelled International Anime and Manga Centre, dubbed by critics as the worlds biggest "manga kissa" (manga cafe) and just a huge folly for Aso. But he didn't have any hand in the development of the UDX centre which houses the Tokyo Anime Centre as it opened in 2001, seven years before Aso was elected Japanese Prime Minister and subsequently absolutely nothing to do with him.
"Animation popular in Akihabara is made by and for Otaku", hmmm, last time I checked BandaiNamco were a massive multinational company based in Japan with animation, video games and toy departments amongst other interests, not a tiny company based around the corner from the Abiba train station whose only employees are all Moe obsessed cosplayers. But what do I know, oh yes, apparently a lot more than the writer of this piece Chris Michael.
One final point that pissed me off, the picture of the "manga store" is even wrong, its advertising Shining Wind, a Sega video game for the PS2, indicating a good chance that inside instead of manga you might just find video games.

Thanks to Wikipedia for much of the information, not always accurate I admit, but I trust it a damn sight more than the bloody Guardian newspaper. Also thanks to Lonely Planet's Japan Guide, an essential book when I was travelling in Japan last March.

Bookcase

I went to Ikea after work tonight and grabbed a couple of cheap bookcases (Kilby, £19.99 each). I toyed with getting a Billy for £55 or even a Leksvig for £69, but in the end economics was more important! I have managed to get one built and it brings some much needed character to my hallway. I couldn't build the other one as you have to nail in the back with a hammer and I can only upset my neighbours for a short period each night.
This one above is reserved for my blossoming manga collection, with a few DS and PSP games that will need to be rehoused soon, and some little Lego sets that people have given me over the years! I am glad I went for the cheaper option and that I got two of them as I am not too sure the remaining non-Japanese comic books will even fit on the other one I bought. I may have go back and grab a third one. Nothing beats a trip to Ikea! Where is the catalogue, I also need a shoe rack....
In other less shopping type news, the job is going OK, but the commute every day is beginning to annoy me now, far too much traffic and too many annoying bus lanes in Edinburgh. I was also annoyed at the £230 bill at the garage on Saturday to replace a coil spring on my car's suspension. Quite important though as the guy at the garage did say the car was dangerous, perhaps I shouldn't have driven it into work for the three days before I got it fixed.
Oh, and the Christmas adverts that are already beginning to be run on television are already beginning to piss me off, bah humbug.

Football and city exploration

Since I have started work up here with SEPA I have come back out of retirement and play football every Thursday with some people from work. They are a good bunch of lads, a couple from my department and then others from all over the office. On the plus side it means I am getting some excellent and much needed physical exercise, on the negative side it usually takes me until Sunday to recover! Its a real mix of abilities and ages so I don't feel out of my depth, it doesn't stop me getting frustrated when my inability to actually play football leads to losing possession though. I played pretty well this week though, improving as the game went on and putting in an excellent cross for an awesomely taken goal!
I also had to buy some new boots, Nike T-1's, very comfy and perfect for the surface we play on. The pitch is an astroturf surface in the nearby to work Heriot Watt University. The complex is used by Hearts FC for training and also has an indoor astroturf pitch and a full size grass pitch. Its by far the best surface I have ever trained on!
Away from work I have been using my time to explore the city a bit more, today I walked into the centre and along George Street before heading up Calton Hill for a view of the city. On top of the hill there are excellent views north of the Firth of Forth and Fife beyond:

There are also excellent views over the city and the Pentlands to the south:
Sadly due to the weather being rubbish I haven't made it into the hills this weekend for a decent hike, but the stroll into town and up Calton to see the views made up for it in a small way. I wandered back through Princes Street Gardens which offer a refreshing area of peace right in the middle of the city.
I've also been catching up with some of my anime DVD's I bought whilst I was on my travels. I know now what everyone on the internet was going on about with The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and the dance routine that takes place during he end credits.
Good series, but I hope the second season answers some of the questions posed in season 1. I also watched the film of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. Really good light-hearted time travelling story that doesn't get bogged down in paradoxes, highly recommended.
Other than this I haven't been up to much, its tricky when you move to a new city to build a new life and I need to spark up my social life somehow! Maybe I should join a club or something. Any ideas please let me know!

Reality TV

Just a quick addition to mention this years big Saturday night reality TV face off on the two boring mainstream UK channels.
I try to watch X-factor from season to season, occasionally sticking it through right to the bitter and protracted end point sometime around the new year. Some years its OK as there are actually some talented people on there to keep it interesting, but this year its just one poor act after another performing lifeless karaoke versions of boring pop songs with extremely flat atonal voices. Sorry X-factor, I made it about a month in, but last night I knew I had to stop watching when I realised I actually wanted those annoying Irish twins to stay in, as even though they know they cannot sing, at least they offer some spectacle above the other forgettable entries.
Still X-factor will always have at least one thing above its challenger on BBC1 - Strictly Come Dancing is quite possibly the dullest programme ever conceived, aimed squarely at boring white middle class people, specifically the elderly and flamboyant.

Edinburgh

My poor beleaguered blog. Left pretty much fallow after coming back from travelling and my life suddenly becoming a lot less interesting. I didn't spend those five months out of work doing nothing though, other than my trip to Bali for a friends wedding I also managed to visit people up and down the land and spent pretty much every day looking for work. Finally after those five months out of work and depressingly claiming dole, I managed to get a job. The scarcity of work in the UK meant that I have had to move up to Edinburgh and take up a post with SEPA as a Senior Specialist Scientist in the Air Quality section of Field Chemistry. Its been a week and I've enjoyed it so far. People seem keen to ask me for advice and opinions and its still novel going from a test house to a regulator!
I like living up here in Edinburgh and have got myself a nice little flat in the Polwarth area close to Merchiston and the Meadows, and still only about fifteen minutes walk from Princes Street and the centre of the city. The flat is a decent size and the lounge is pretty comfy and a good place to relax of an evening.
The kitchen is very smart, I especially like the built in dishwasher!
One of the best things about moving to Scotland though is the sheer amount of excellent hill and mountain ranges so close to Edinburgh. The Pentland Hills are only about a 15 minute drive away and I have loved going up there of a weekend and getting a good three to four hour hike. The views from the hills are spectacular with Allermuir Hill providing an excellent 360° view of Edinburgh below and the Pentlands streaming away to the south.

The majority of Edinburgh's drinking water is supplied from the reserviors in the hills and Loganlea Reservior is in an amazing location.

As you may have noticed my blog will hopefully be a bit more light on text and hopefully add a few more pictures of the scenery that surrounds me in this pretty special city. I'll try to make a bit more of an effort to keep it up to date and as ever add links to my photo albums on Picasa on the photos page. I'll also try to have a word with my website administrator to get the name changed. The travelling blog no longer applies sadly!