remember, remember, November

Our old celebration of thwarting those early terrorists on the 5th seems to have passed me by this year - probably due to Guy Fawkes night being mid week and coinciding with a deadline. I popped up to the castle today - a working garrison and its war museum being part of the National Museums five sites. If we go up out of hours to install part of an exhibition you have to pass the lone, armed sentry - a bit of a shock first time around. Today there were kids in the forecourt drawing which was really nice to see. It seemed fitting to note some names of the fallen. Earl Haig - who gave his name to the Scottish poppy appeal - was overlooking the proceedings upon his horse.

Posted by stupot at 06:12 PM Tuesday 11 Nov | Post comment (0) comments

Stockbridge

Really chilly again today with a blustery wind from Scandanavia. Blue skies for the most part though. This was drawn on a back street just near where I drew the cheesemonger earlier in the year. Quite a posh part of town. The building on the left was put up in 1650 and now home to a Thai restaurant. Noise around is car tyres on cobbles - you can hear them a mile off. Cobbles are a nightmare on a bike! We hit a deadline on Friday at work and off to Osaka next week so hope to update from there.

Posted by stupot at 11:13 PM Sunday 9 Nov | Post comment (0) comments

Urban Sketchers

New site, Urban Sketchers, hitting the airwaves from November - courtesy of Seattle's Gabi Campanario. We appear to have someone in every continent - bookmark it today for your drawing fix!

Posted by stupot at 09:36 PM Monday 20 Oct | Post comment (0) comments

the back streets

I like weaving between back streets in a city - as well as seeing how the place is serviced they are also a calm within the madness. Atholl crescent lane sits behind Shandwick place and the road mimics the curve of the more grand frontage. The lane looks a lot more like how the city would have looked a hundred years ago - few cars, few signs, little noise - at one point during rush hour all I could hear was a church bell. visually, the down pipes are just as prominent as the repetition of the gable ends - cobbles camber down to large stones which act like a gutter - I like the function.

Posted by stupot at 05:26 PM Sunday 19 Oct | Post comment (0) comments

arthur's seat

I think the reason Edinburgh is such a good place to live in is because it isn't really a city. Now the nights are drawing in, the 3 mile loop around Arthurs seat is becoming more and more of a useful route after work. 4 times round including getting to and from home allows for a good wind down. When you reach the top of the short, but sharp, climb you feel completely out of the city despite being at its centre. The views from the top are cracking - The city sits behind you as you climb - the moon was rising over the North sea and Denmark to my east tonight - beyond the Pentland hills to the south lies England and finally as you finish the plateau the ever present castle with sunset faces you to the west. There's greenery everywhere - or sea. It's why Edinburgh is known as a town despite being the capital city. At the weekends it only takes 20 minutes to be surrounded by fields and cattle. It's not a bad gaff.

Posted by stupot at 10:53 PM Monday 13 Oct | Post comment (0) comments

credit crunch

Have a bowl every morning!

Posted by stupot at 10:49 PM Sunday 12 Oct | Post comment (0) comments

Roadworks........

Most people moan about the roadworks in Edinburgh at the moment. It's quite tiring. It must be tough for bus users, taxi drivers and the emergency services - not to mention business suppliers. I really don't mind them though - I actually found myself wallowing in the glory of passing a huge tailback on Laurietson place the other day on the way home from work........

Continue reading "Roadworks........"
Posted by stupot at 07:26 PM Friday 19 Sep | Post comment (0) comments

sparrow

sparrow and the workshop are very good. They played Edinburgh last night to prove it!

Posted by stupot at 06:32 PM Friday 29 Aug | Post comment (0) comments

Edinbara no Matsuri

When you live in Edinburgh people talk about the festival from quite early on in the year - not a lot, but it comes up a fair amount. Having lived a lot of my life 50 miles away you could get away with thinking the largest arts festival in the world doesn't exist. When you get closer and closer to summer here though, the tourists are the first give away - Edinburgh gets Glasgow's quota in January alone. On Wednesday we had our regular, alcohol aided Japanese conversation group just at the back of work, overlooking a 15 metre high, inflatable purple cow (a venue) where guys in laderhosen and a woman on stilts hidden by a bulbous 17th century style dress gave out flyers. I passed a man dressed as an elephant, walking as if going to work in an office this morning. African dancers took over a traffic island on George IV bridge. The streets are bursting. Scottish accents have to be searched for. A lot of chaos, a lot of smiles.

Posted by stupot at 10:44 AM Saturday 2 Aug | Post comment (0) comments

summer solstice

Last night the rain swept across the coast in waves after wave, battering windows and trees. The rain wasn't heavy but the kind that soaks every crevice in minutes. Three o'clock that morning was another matter altogether though. Mist rising of the reservoir, bird song all around, a sea of dew. It's beena long winter - long live the summer!

Posted by stupot at 08:57 PM Sunday 22 Jun | Post comment (0) comments

Stafford Street

Posted by stupot at 07:08 PM Sunday 15 Jun | Post comment (0) comments

walker terrace

May has produced it's typically fair weather (remember exam time at school?) and it's nice to sit out the front and draw. You can get the idea of how close my neighbours are to me by the drawing above. The wee shop on the other side has put up a satellite dish with no-one's permission. The colonies are listed so I wouldn't imagine it'll last long. Just got a BBQ in last night before the rain came tumbling down. And so starts summer......

Posted by stupot at 02:29 AM Saturday 10 May | Post comment (0) comments

brewery

Today is warm and sunny and the wind has calmed for the first time in what seems like a very long time. The park was heaving with out-of-practice frisbee players and new wardrobes had been un-boxed. Yesterday there was a hanami party in the Meadows and it was fun to talk a bit of Japanese and meet some other devotees whilst viewing the blossom. Next week should be as good as the flowers had barely opened. I took some edamame and Karaage and later met a few Osakans. I could spot the first who turned up late with some discounted wine from the supermarket. The second was a guy who came a little later and was spotted slugging from the same bottle. You can take them out Osaka but you can't take Osaka.......

Drawing is of one of the breweries which give Edinburgh its distinctive smell. Was looking forward to the drawing but I wasn't in the mood.

Posted by stupot at 06:05 PM Sunday 27 Apr | Post comment (2) comments

saturday mornings

I love Saturday mornings.
And it explains the ring around my waist.......

Posted by stupot at 01:33 PM Saturday 19 Apr | Post comment (0) comments

the basin

A colleague suggested I visit the Union canal basin at Fountainbridge, five minutes from Haymarket. The area has been renovated with new offices and coffee shops although old workshops still exist which stop the place from becoming too sterile. New flats canteliever over the water and contrast with the old riveted, iron bridge. Start of cobbled bike routes too.

Posted by stupot at 05:04 PM Wednesday 16 Apr | Post comment (0) comments

Happy Easter

Sunday was sun and snow as we fight our way toward the 7 o'clock dusk. Sankanshion as the Japanese say. The time of year when it's a few days warm and then back to a few more cold. Thursday night goodbyes to Mr Murray followed by a Fife Ceilidh on Saturday and a Sunday party in Ayrshire was enough to floor me by last night.

Posted by stupot at 08:56 PM Tuesday 25 Mar | Post comment (0) comments

dirty wee rascal

Went to see the Rascals last night - the Arctic Monkey's Liverpudlian step brothers. I met a few friends at the classic if sterile City cafe before heading to Cabaret Voltaire which was a well sized venue for the band. Afterward I flew home on the bike, peering through the haar that could have been hiding burke and hare down the lanes.

Posted by stupot at 10:01 PM Tuesday 19 Feb | Post comment (0) comments

view to the world

This is the view out of my living room inspired by a joan eardley sketch I saw last month at the exhibition in the national gallery. I'm always intrigued by what others surround themselves with and so this is what surrounds me. You can see the upstair doors to my neighbours I tried to describe in my last entry.

Posted by stupot at 06:18 PM Sunday 17 Feb | Post comment (0) comments

living in a colony

HAPPY NEW YEAR! AKE OME!
January's been a bit of a slow burner - such is the darkness outside the window which slowly turns to snow flurries set against a grey background. I forgot what Scottish winters can be like. On the plus side I'm living in a lovely new house in the west end of Edinburgh - one of the colony houses in Dalry which were originally co-operative houses built for railway workers. It's a close-knit community with a narrow path running between the gardens and no cars in sight. The people who live above access via stairs to the rear and those below access from the front, with respective gardens. It's pretty tight living but doesn't have and urban feel. I met a neighbour walking through the gate the other day and we slowly walked up the path chatting, stopping on the doorstep, just a fence width apart, to finish our conversation. Edinburgh's a bonny place and hopefully I'll get more drawings up soon now the energy is returning......

Posted by stupot at 09:32 PM Monday 28 Jan | Post comment (0) comments

big sky

God, it's almost a month since I wrote an entry. Last year saw a similar decline in posts around December. Maybe it's just the busy run-up to christmas but no excuses. Autumn (which has now given way to winter) has been fairly pleasant and often, in the morning, I reach for the camera to record Arran because it seems hard to believe what you're seeing. The skies are huge on the west coast but I'd forgotten how early it gets dark. On overcast days it doesn't really get light. Today was a peach though - I could have looked at Arran's snow-capped mountain-tops all day.

Posted by stupot at 12:23 AM Tuesday 11 Dec | Post comment (0) comments

dookin an guisin

last week my mum opened the door, as ever, to local guisers and we made our best effort to frighten the local children. I cut a hole in a table and had a covered bird cage put over my head. When the children came in, the witch (convincingly played by my mother) brought the children over to the table, explained about her new pet and lifted the cage to reveal my head. I opened my eyes and screamed. Casualties included a 7 year old cheerleader, a 6 year old vampire and a 33 year old nuclear engineer. We insisted on hearing a turn before anyone got anything sweet - a recited verse from Tam o'shanter was the clear winner. Best joke went to "how do you know which cow is going on its holidays? - It's the one with the week 'aff." The often forgot about history of Hallowe'en reminds me how my pagan roots have been overtaken by Christianity, and more recently, Capitalism. How striking the similarities to Obon in Japan with it's bonfires and lanterns and returning of the dead.

Posted by stupot at 09:06 PM Monday 5 Nov | Post comment (0) comments

GWRP

Yesterday I headed up to the Glasgow Wood Recycling Project with some second years from the art school. The place - where you can buy or sell used wood for good prices - is a fantastic idea and somewhere that should really be supported. All the start up problems of working out a small space, getting reliable sources, marketing etc. aren't getting in the way of the drive by those working there who have teamed up with the Product Design department to come up with some new ideas for sellable products. I reckon the bird house made from reclaimed palette wood is a winner though!

Posted by stupot at 10:44 AM Tuesday 2 Oct | Post comment (0) comments

three is the magic number

Awwww. Wee Lucy. What a cracker she is.
Massive respect to Sandra for popping her out unaided.

Posted by stupot at 09:03 AM Monday 1 Oct | Post comment (0) comments

WEST KILBRIDE MUG

When I came back to my hometown this year, so much had changed. The town won the DTI's UK craft and design town of the year last year thanks to all the work done by the local initiative and councillor. For the past few years there has been lots of craftspeople and designers making use of the subsidised studios which were redundant shop units a few years ago. I noticed, however, that there was no smaller items for sale that people could buy if they were just passing. I've put together designs for merchandise and the mugs are the first things to be completed. Hot off the press - mail me if you want to buy one! These boys are 8oz bone china - say good bye to strained arms when picking up your tea!

Posted by stupot at 08:55 PM Thursday 27 Sep | Post comment (0) comments

waking up to breathe

I seem to remember mentioning my shock, earlier in the summer, at the baton being passed from bad skin to malfunctioning airways. The heavy chest remains and I'm now a few weeks into a regimented stint on the inhalers and keeping a diary which includes diet and lung capacity. It turns out I eat a lot of chicken, pig, egg and salad. I'm fairly honest about the donuts too. Now I've been asked to start cutting out wheat - which can affect asthma - and can be added to the fish, nuts and dairy products already off my shopping list (anaphylaxis). It's a slightly restricted diet but fortunately vodka has been ruled out as a trigger.

Posted by stupot at 10:36 PM Monday 24 Sep | Post comment (0) comments

music you can touch

I used to have a big thing about vinyl. I suppose I'll always love it but I now appreciate the ease and convenience of buying and 'sharing' music with my laptop. I bought more CD's as presents than I ever did for myself and MD's didn't figure. Recently I was talking to my old buddy Ian about all of this and he was reminding me the implications for people like him when you share music online. Now-a-days bands like his have to tour and tour to make any money because fewer and fewer people buy music. Maybe that's why there are so many festivals this summer. When I first started using the MP3 format I was away in Japan and I downloaded my old record collection from other users of the shareware I used. Of course you don't stop there and eventually I started stealing and got into the harder stuff. Airing my record collection has been a revelation - the crackle on my Technics turntable, having to get up and turn the record over, raking through all the big art to choose what's next, gatefolds, even some ltd edition Jamie Hewlitt prints from my Senseless Things phase!

Posted by stupot at 08:16 PM Tuesday 4 Sep | Post comment (0) comments

rituals

Posted by stupot at 10:51 PM Monday 18 Jun | Post comment (0) comments

nightmare

I had a nightmare the other day. I have made a cliche of the word so just to clarify to myself and anyone else who hasn't had one for a while - I had a dream that frightened me so much I woke up in a sweat, screaming for help. It really has been a very long time - I remember the particularly nasty ones - the American Werewolf in London inspired one, where beasts in Nazi uniforms jumped out from our redcurrant bushes and sprayed my mum with automatic fire. The Day After inspired one saw a nuclear explosion happen when we were changing for PE which was followed by TV 'fuzz' and then nothing. I've always been grateful to my modern studies teacher for sharing that film with us. But the other night was bizarre - the setting was the room I was sleeping in - so it appeared to be very real. There was just a presence in the room - nothing visible - just like a poltergeist I imagine. Something was just around but I couldn't move a muscle. Eventually the light went out and more indescribable but sinister movement. Then, after more time, one of my ribs was dislodged - kinda pulled half out. After that I started shouting for help - eventually waking up just after I'd resorted to screaming in Japanese. The neighbours must think I'm mental.

Posted by stupot at 12:51 AM Sunday 29 Apr | Post comment (0) comments

current residence

Posted by stupot at 03:58 PM Sunday 22 Apr | Post comment (1) comments

draincover

There's something to be said if you can find beauty in a draincover, but it's not that difficult in Japan. They often act as a clue as to where you are - being the visual embodiment of an area in just a few lines. When I escape a new subway station I always look for the north arrow you find at the entrance, just to get my bearings. I also like to see what the place is known for and for that I try and find a drain cover. In Taishi it's the twin peaks and temple complex. There's a wonderful selection here which illustrates the diversity and beauty of such a common item. On the flip side of the deal, when it rains, draincovers are a cyclists worst enemy. Today it rained and so caution was observed.

Posted by stupot at 12:04 PM Sunday 22 Apr | Post comment (0) comments

sakura19

The town I live in is famous for being named after Shotoku Taishi - a crown prince, way back when 'things were better and children didn't have everything so bloody easy'- who was a big advocate of Buddism early on in Japan. He comissioned the Shitennoji temple in Osaka and presumably the large complex of buildings in our local shrine has a lot to do with him too. The pagoda looked good behind the sakura. That pink on dark brown is very 2007.

Posted by stupot at 11:38 PM Tuesday 10 Apr | Post comment (0) comments

concrete in a jungle

After visiting the ward office to change my address and national health insurance (it took about an hour and a half and, at one point, 6 public servants), I came home via Chikatsu Asuka Museum (Ando Tadao, 1994). It's only about a kilometre and a half from my house in Taishi and whilst it's not the kind of architecture I'd like to live in, the design actually does, and will continue to, blend in to it's surroundings. I reckon in 100 years it'll look great. I drew by the edge of a nature trail before getting up, with a numb arse, to go and jot down a couple of details. Today was surprisingly cold but people were happy to greet strangers along the way - something I've missed in the city. The women in the cafe did a double take when I spoke to them, in that way rural people do when they're confronted with foreign country people speaking their own language - even just to say "one coffee please". There were a few hardy family's up the trail doing hanami but I know how chilly it was to be sitting about. The fresh weather will hopefully prolong the sakura though.

Posted by stupot at 06:52 PM Tuesday 3 Apr | Post comment (0) comments

taishichou

Posted by stupot at 06:14 PM Saturday 31 Mar | Post comment (0) comments

smoking is still everywhere

It's no wonder that half of the male population in Japan smoke - cigarettes cost nothing - 300 yen - two and a half dollars or one pound thirty. You can also smoke wherever you like and the famous vending machines litter the streets as much as used butts do. Smoking is still seen as a right here, like it's a right in most other developed countries to not contract cancer when you're having your dinner. Japan Tobacco have lots of TV time here, showing how concerned they are that people should not smoke near children or throw away trash when they're really missing the bigger picture. Being out of sight and therefor out of mind is perhaps a better way to rid a person or a country of such a habit. The fact that the industry here is seen as caring and family orientated (there are always kids in the adverts) simply makes it more accepted. I have to say though, that recent packaging design has been really nice. Generally the retro stuff like Caster and the very new Camel nutty menthol. There's something so wrong about that name but I can't define it. I keep thinking of jobbies.

Posted by stupot at 12:34 PM Wednesday 28 Mar | Post comment (0) comments

all change

My new neighbours moved in this weekend and gave me some obligatory presents related to domestic chores. I got some washing detergent which was a kind thought - the note on the top bearing their name - Ouchi. I'm moving out at the end of the month so I'll be looking to off-load some of my stuff on them. For those who don't know, I'll be moving to south Osaka until May before heading back to Sukotorando. Mixed emotions. Anyone need a fridge?

Posted by stupot at 02:11 PM Sunday 11 Mar | Post comment (2) comments

it isn't the winning, but actually, that might be a start

There's a huge studying culture in Japan - one that is a national obsession. Bookshops are brimming with self-study aids, adults swat-up on the train, kids are at cram school until all hours in the evening. The Japanese enjoy inputing data, absorbing information, understanding techniques through words (Does the more practical and creative side of learning bring with it more possibility of confrontation and failure?).

Continue reading "it isn't the winning, but actually, that might be a start"
Posted by stupot at 05:54 PM Tuesday 6 Mar | Post comment (1) comments

hanami

Sunday must have been the earliest hanami for a few years. Even if it was just plum blossom we still wore t-shirts. Is it still winter?

Posted by stupot at 07:35 PM Monday 5 Mar | Post comment (4) comments

curiosity and generosity

It was another nice evening so I headed out after work to draw an old sake shop in my neighbourhood. Just when I was finishing, a wee woman who lives beside the shop came out to take a peek at my drawing. Suddenly a small gathering of elderly housewives swarmed me from out of nowhere and a typical conversation ensued while I towered over them. How long did it take? Just pen? How long have you lived here for? Do you have a big sketchbook as well? To the last question I answered 'no I didn't' as I kind of stumbled over the difficult word which I didn't really understand. Soon enough she was off into her house and came back out a few minutes later with a lovely, unused sketch book for me. A thousand apologies later I headed home, a wad of paper the richer and the new talk of the steamie.

(Interestingly I decided to leave the denchu (telegraph poles) out of my drawing for a change. It's amazing the difference it makes. With the trees in the background you could almost imagine it's not Osaka).

Posted by stupot at 05:50 PM Tuesday 20 Feb | Post comment (0) comments

oni / bean combo

As we hit the quiet back roads in the mountains, on this morning's ride, I could see crushed beans all over the road - remanents from yesterday's setsubun festival. I headed to the local temple with friends at about 9 last night and we soaked up the atmosphere. Everyone was out to celebrate the equinox and the full moon shining in the distance was both a reminder of the old lunar calendar and of how cold it was. The stalls ("de-misay") are half the attraction - Abiko fills with hundreds of them, selling everything from toy guns to delicious castella sponge cake - a Portugese import which is very popular at festivals. It's kids heaven. I had some taiyaki - a fish-shaped sponge with red bean paste (anko) inside.

Continue reading "oni / bean combo"
Posted by stupot at 12:02 PM Sunday 4 Feb | Post comment (0) comments

wood on wood and asparagus biscuits

Winter is a strange time. Dark and mysterious. Cold and pure. In Kyoto earlier in the month, perhaps around dawn and drifting in and out of conciousness, I could hear the clack of wood on wood in a slow rythmn - a sound I've only heard in Japan - primitive and a bit eerie. It's a simple and natural sound you hear monks making but around Osaka, in winter, the sound of wood on wood is also used in the evenings to warn people against fire. In the relative safety of Japan - one of the biggest concerns is that of fire and its potential to spread through the warrens that are Japanese neighbourhoods. Having witnessed an urban residential fire on a windy day last year I can vouch for the anxiety. I also post a general diary entry from my notebook. These scribbles tend to be a lot more personal than the blog itself, which is more a means for me to air my thoughts on Japan.

Posted by stupot at 09:09 PM Tuesday 30 Jan | Post comment (1) comments

local restaurant

This wee gaff is totally inconspicuous but that's exactly why I drew it - it's the kind of place I pass every day going to work. My neighbourhood is full of similar looking tiny businesses. The elderly couple living upstairs come down in the afternoon to start preparations for the evening punters. With the amount of restaurants in Japan I wonder how they all stay alive - I suppose that working out your house saves on rent. I believe that you could count all the restaurants in Glasgow, if you were so inclined, but I really don't think that such a thing is possible in Osaka. That almost goes for hairdressers too. I love the old Sprite sign - a relic from 30 years ago? The main sign is almost totally faded and there's no co-ordination in colour or materials - it's just evolved at it's own pace and, like so many other similar small eateries, relies on local knowledge and the strong coloured noren curtains for trade.

Posted by stupot at 01:53 PM Saturday 27 Jan | Post comment (0) comments

the great bean crisis

When I was in the supermarket last week I noticed that the natto section was pretty poorly stocked. As I'm not loyal to any brand, I chose some more expensive stuff for a few days. I had not seen that a TV show, put out the previous weekend, had suggested that eating the beans twice a day for 3 weeks could help lose weight easily. A friend had mentioned it to me and I immediately remembered a similar occaision a few years ago. In a shock revelation, the research proposed that getting your fat arse of the sofa, not watching crap TV and doing occaisional exercise was also considered to be beneficial to your health.

Posted by stupot at 10:11 PM Tuesday 16 Jan | Post comment (0) comments

ushiro matsuri

It's not quite called 'the bum festival' but 'Doyadoya', the phrase screamed out when hundreds of schoolboys race to get a lucky charm from the centre of Shitennoji temple, could be mistaken as one. It was nice to wander the lanes from Tennoji station to the temple and find the old shops you usually associate with less modern cities. Many people had come to get good luck for the year, to purify themselves and to watch the boys jump around almost naked, having cold water thrown over them. Gary Glitter would have been in his element. Were he not in prison.

Continue reading "ushiro matsuri"
Posted by stupot at 07:52 PM Monday 15 Jan | Post comment (1) comments

arashi ni narimashita

I'm not usually one to be put off by the weather but, as I lay in bed kept awake by loose plastic sheet being pulled and noisily snapped back, I realised that the howling wind was not going to abait for early morning training. I woke to find the contents of my balcony strewn around the rest of the roof and plant pots smashed, the bamboo screening all over the place. The weather report was of massive problems up north, winter having found us at last.

Continue reading "arashi ni narimashita"
Posted by stupot at 01:25 PM Sunday 7 Jan | Post comment (0) comments

The Day After St Andrews Day

It was a busy week: the culmination of months of preparation along with St Andrews day and the start of advent. I met up with my Language teacher at the exhibition on Friday and ended up in a Scottish bar. Actually it was her friend who had booked it and I had never met her before. It was a bizarre coincidence, triggered as we went through the door as I spotted the name Deeside which set bells ringing. The soltaire bar mats made concrete the thought.

Continue reading "The Day After St Andrews Day"
Posted by stupot at 09:51 PM Saturday 2 Dec | Post comment (0) comments

the damp

Damp is not a word I often associate with Japan. Glasgow yes, Osaka no. Okay, so August here feels like the inside of a Ugandan greenhouse, but winter is generally the exact opposite - dry to the point of walls creaking. We kind of missed out on early autumn this year instead jumping rather abruptly into a late cold, grey and dreich time of it and not being the biggest fan of the local electric heat sources, I've eschewed the heaters so far but my bloody clothes aren't drying on their own. Yesterday I took the fast train through to Tokyo and it being 12.30, the lunch boxes were broken out immediately. Good looking people ate beautiful but healthy food on the fastest train in the world and I considered I might be coming out my recent Japan slump. Despite the train being full of scowling charcoal (possibly myself included), I was beside an ageing woman who reminded me of a child riding a train in that way that the very elderly do because there's a bloody good chance it'll be their last time. She continually pointed out the colours and (very) low lying mist, which were indeed a beautiful combination. She never tired of it and I wished that I would spare more time to do the same. It rather put things in perspective. I wanted to have a deep discussion with her about life but I settled for pinning her against the window, when her daughter went to the toilet, demanding laundry tips.

Posted by stupot at 07:39 PM Wednesday 22 Nov | Post comment (0) comments

mac ad's

The popular Mac v PC adverts have been shown, in their Japanese form, on TV recently. Usually the exotic honky is used by Japanese companies but then this is an American company and Japanese things are cool. The results are, well, the same adverts but in Japanese. As ever, TV is a helpful listening aid to those studying the language.

Posted by stupot at 07:56 PM Tuesday 14 Nov | Post comment (0) comments

the mark store

As I've always liked drawing, I've always liked going to stationery shops and Japans is like the Mecca of stationery. The delight of becoming excited about buying a very cheap material posession, that most people take for granted, is a nice feeling to have. Especially if you're as tight as I am. Like cash will never die in asia, neither will the mark - it is after all, why the fax machine put email back by 10 years. The mark is such an important part of the culture in Japan that pens are constantly being redefined here. As much R+D seems to go on at pilot as does at honda. If you've ever tried to write complicated Kanji (Japanese characters) on a typical application or order form in Japan then you'll appreciate why there are so many different thicknesses of pen. Going by shelf presence, Pilot's Hi-Tec C is the best selling pen in Japan. I've used one since I was in the UK but a few years ago they were getting difficult to find there. The quality of line that the Hi-tec gives is pretty flawless and for only 210 yen. I recently said that you should visit a builders centre if you ever visit japan. You should also add a stationery store to the list. Tokyu Hands in Osaka has a huge section that any creative would salivate at but the wee local dusty places still possess the charm and prize finds you can't get in department stores.

Posted by stupot at 10:53 PM Wednesday 18 Oct | Post comment (2) comments

automatic business cards

QR code has been about for some time and it's now an extremely common method of advertising in Japan. It's an odd medium though and a very impersonal part of the unsettling leap, certainly for the uninitiated, into another era. This is what I thought when I first came to Japan and saw QR my only thought was 'what the hell is that?' - the code in some adverts being very large (you take a picture with your mobile and the browser directs you to the campaign website of the company in question). My new business card, which before was my URL which had to be manually typed, is now just a Quick Response link to my website/email address in your mobile browser. The picture is centred so your thumbs go either side (as per offering and receiving a business card with two hands in Japan) which is probably ironic as you can't read it. Business cards are fascinating to designers as there are so many possibilities. I still enjoy writing something on a card to make the person receiving feel special - like a cell phone number.

Posted by stupot at 05:24 PM Saturday 14 Oct | Post comment (0) comments

getting to school

I walked to school as a kid in a sleepy coastal village. the fresh air mixed with an over-active imagination meant that it was a great way to start the day as I wandered the small streets and lanes. Then I started cycling to school as I got older and presumably wanted to buy a little time in the morning. I still cycle to work whenever possible: it helps me waken up, gets me a bit of excercise and importantly, means I interact with people and have experiences enroute. It's also fun. In Japan, for younger kids, the school run is by and large done by mothers on bikes. there's a lot of sheperding done (often by retired men) and because of the busyness of life and crampt streets - It can be a bit dangerous at times (though Japanese kids very quickly adapt to their surroundings).

Continue reading "getting to school"
Posted by stupot at 09:42 PM Thursday 12 Oct | Post comment (0) comments

remember the outside?

If it wasn't for the internet and American chain retsaurants, I might forget there was a world outside Japan. The media here is incredibly self absorbed - usually only taking interest in a matter that involves Japan. Whether invloving yourself in another countries news (the US and UK are pretty good at this) is a selfish or selfless act usually depends on the situation in hand, but in these modern times the lack of international news coverage is riduculous. especially in a first world country. It's easy to realise why the Japanese are so uninformed and naive about the rest of the world when you read the newspapers. Browsing the BBC and Gaurdian news websites as usual the other morning, I also checked out the Yomiuri online newspaper and, searching the world news there I found the 5 headlines pictured above - all of which relate to Japan. Me, me, me, me, me. Have a look - one is even about Okinawa, Japans southern most group of islands. It would certainly be funny if it wasn't unnacceptable.

Posted by stupot at 06:31 PM Tuesday 10 Oct | Post comment (0) comments

kindling

It has been pretty windy of late. real whippy stuff, bringing with it a change temperature and the onset of autumn. I was riding east across the south of the city yesterday with lot's of fire engines going screaming by me when I realised I was approaching the smoke. human nature dictates that we stop and look and there was a quite a crowd - the locals knowing that in the complexity of the Japanese neighbourhood, a flame can spread like, as we say, wild fire. Add in some wind and completely wooden construction to the equation and it becomes a tough job to control. I watched as the fire started consuming another building and felt it was getting a bit sick to stay and watch.

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Posted by stupot at 09:37 AM Monday 9 Oct | Post comment (0) comments

gaff

As I'm always intrigued by where things come from I thought I'd post a picture of my desk where I design and write this blog. Typically messy, I like to think it's my chaotic side daring the rest of the room to have fun. I sit on the tatami floor on a legless chair and work at a desk made from stained plywood and propped up by clear storage drawers. There's the usual array of cereal bowl, sketch books, lots of wires and books. I should really ditch that fax machine which has been out of ink for a while now but it still tends to come in handy when dealing with the old schoolers of which there are many.

Posted by stupot at 04:35 PM Monday 2 Oct | Post comment (0) comments

hari

from pine needles to metal ones - back to the accupuncture again and confident that I can get some help with my skin. I'm also trying to cut down on donuts and beer which are probably the main source of the heat in my system - the bakeries are just too good here. it's most relaxing going to the accupuncturists - lying around for an hour and a half while some one prods your body and burns plant matter on your skin and puts the tiniest of needles into your body. tonight I fell asleep.
when the doctor feels my vital signs it's like he plays my wrist like an instrument. last week I had a few needles in the back of my neck which were very 'thick' feeling - another common feeling is of them being drawn in as if there is a magnet inside you. all very satisfying. a visit doesn't seem to be complete without portable micro-needles being left on your body for a week - you can see one in this photo on it's sticky backing.

Posted by stupot at 11:04 PM Thursday 28 Sep | Post comment (0) comments

are you really a doctor?

I went to get the cast off on thursday, only for a new one to be put on: the new x-ray actually looking worse than the old one for some reason. I saw the same doctor I had consulted on the first visit and his lack of enthusiasm or attempt to elicit any of his words didn't help my mood. he was slouched so far down his chair he was almost falling off it. the fact that he was pretty obese didn't fill me with confidence and he laughed off most questions, which didn't win him the bedside manner of the year award. taking the cast off with a mini circular saw, he eventually managed to nick my ankle after trying a few times. It made me think of all the times people have said to me that once you enter a University in Japan, you've as good as graduated. It made me think of Alastair, who'd mentioned that the students he taught here didn't possess that 'get up and go quality'. It made me also think of those junior high school kids I see on the train at 10 o'clock at night, coming home from cram school.

Posted by stupot at 11:50 AM Saturday 23 Sep | Post comment (0) comments

brothel-chic

A couple of people, over the past few weeks, have given me a wry smile as they've passed me on the bike, my crutches resting over the handlebars. I've resisted taking the train where possible because the amount of effort involved to actually support myself getting to those elevators, or the right exit, is so demanding. I knew it before but I now have hard evidence that building standards in Japan are a world away from those in Britain. This is good and bad. on the plus side you get nice looking interiors with funky, uneven details in Japan which find their way into lots of international design magazines. The blind are also catered for extremely well - organised crime having not only a massive interest in concrete but also in yellow, sensory floor tiles. On the down side though, you get stairs at dizzy angles with handrails that seem to be designed for that 5th percentile of hobbits.

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Posted by stupot at 11:21 AM Wednesday 20 Sep | Post comment (0) comments

stookie

unbelievable.
after yesterday's japanese lesson I miss-timed a kerb and rolled my foot. walking to the train station was sore but by the end of the day I was dragging myself home like an extra from 'thriller'. today I headed to the hospital and had it x-rayed and it showed a hair-line fracture. actually, you could hardly see anything but I could already tell from the pain that I wouldn't be out at the dancing this weekend. getting the stookie on was all very quick but I'm now contemplating 5 weeks hobbling around, precariously, on crutches: even going to the fridge is an ordeal.

(the japanese for plaster cast is gipusu, "gips", which comes from gypsum which is used to make plaster of paris. the scottish version, stookie, comes form stucco - the plaster finish.)

Posted by stupot at 11:18 AM Thursday 7 Sep | Post comment (0) comments

sony tower

the sony tower has always been a bit of a landmark in shinsaibashi in osaka. it used to be the place that you could go to and try out all the new shit in clear plastic casing which also allowed you to see the mechanics. it looked tired for a while and then a few years ago the sign came off and I realised you couldn't go in it. today, from a mexican restaurant next to the tower, you could see it being demolished. I live in hope a wee park or something will be built in it's place, but I know I'm just being overly romantic. the next time I pass I'm sure a 20 storey restaurant block will have sprung up in its place.

Posted by stupot at 09:42 PM Saturday 12 Aug | Post comment (0) comments

wake

my lovely japanese teacher lost her husband last week and we went to his wake in kitaku. I don't think it's particularly different to a celtic wake where everybody drinks all night and considers that the deceased is going somewhere better. surely the key though, is striking a balance between fun subjects and solomn ones in conversation, although these situations are hard enough in english, nevermind japanese. there were flowers galore - each with a timber plate hanging underneath bearing the names of the givers. in the presbyterian church of scotland we never saw the dead so it was a little unusual for me to attend this 'viewing'. I think, though, that it's a healthy part of the process - I was surprised that the daughter had done the make-up (a nurse was present) but she'd made a very good job. people came and went and eventually we had to go - it shouldn't have come as a surprise that even at a funeral in japan you are given a gift - we came home with some tea to drink and a sachet of salt to ward off any bad spirits. a little embarrasing given we had forgotten the obligatory koden bukuro or money envelope for the family.

Posted by stupot at 10:46 PM Thursday 10 Aug | Post comment (0) comments

thatch

despite my frequent rants on the ugliness of osaka there are occaisionally little gems to be found. not far from the picture I posted last friday, you can find this quaint, traditional house with thatched roof. of course your view will always be scarred by a telegraph pole though.

Posted by stupot at 06:52 PM Wednesday 9 Aug | Post comment (2) comments

town planning

in japan, to the untrained eye, it often looks like there has been no town planning - certainly in the modern cities like osaka. mega-cities are built on medieval layouts with no long term investment and this temporary approach results in dilapidated looking buildings and a general feeling of uncertainty. I thought it would be helpful to outline typical views within the city and to demonstrate why I go to the mountains three times a week whenever possible. I like the photo above which kind of epitomises osaka. essentially it's as rough as a badgers arse. you've got your two tiered overpass which dark rusty shadow allows people from other cities to get home but hangs like a black cloud over the local area, threatening anyone who goes near it. then you have your apartment block with some token features which can't even make their mind up what style they want to be. in the fore-ground, despite the houses being rather ramshackled in appearance, apparently knitted together by telegraph poles, you can be safe in the knowledge that the neighbourhood is tight, that all the plants are kept well and the people proud.

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Posted by stupot at 11:05 PM Friday 4 Aug | Post comment (0) comments

flower-fire

yesterday, being the 1st of august, meant that everyone escaped town and got mad with the asahi in the suburbs to watch the famous fireworks.

I went along with some new work colleagues who were having a barbeque at the bosses hoose, conveniently located near the site and beside a wild pond. having bought a cheeky bottle of laphroaig I was almost kicking myself when his wife, on accepting it, told me that her husband didn't drink. I couldn't bear to think of it go to waste but she informed me she might cook with it and was partial to a wee shnifter now and again. If she's anything like the mother-in-law it'll be tanned by the weekend. fruit next time though.

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Posted by stupot at 08:46 PM Wednesday 2 Aug | Post comment (0) comments

zori

I eventually tracked down the straw sandals I was after in the yukata section of takashimaya - the department was doing a rare trade. my clarks sandals are good for the british climate but my soles are continually wet with sweat from the suede. zori are far more breathable but still sans-intelligent fibres. I wanted a tatami soled sandal but I was also asking for seta which usually have a kind of moulded, laquered straw look. some of them were up to 50000 yen or 250 quid so I headed off in search of something more affordable. geta, are of course the big wooden numbers which clack with every step but I managed to find some bigger square numbers that look and smell like hessian flooring (not for long). interestingly the strap of japanese sandals meets in the middle which means all the sandals are symmetrical. japanese people have a huge big toe and tiny wee piglets.

Posted by stupot at 11:17 AM Sunday 30 Jul | Post comment (0) comments

rugger

saw japan versus fiji at nagai stadium yesterday with sam and brendan and sam's brother tom. japan held up pretty well but the sheer physical difference was enough for fiji to pull away at the end and win. whilst nagai is a nice stadium it doubles as an athletic arena too, so you find yourself straining to see the far end. murrayfield is a lovely stadium for being up close and personal, starting from the touch line and rising steeply. anyway - the incredible thing was that the nagai pitch stops just after the football corner flag and so the try area is almost all astroturf flooring - not a highly appealing surface for anyone to skid across, let alone some of the best players in the world. amazing that the recent ¥43,491,000,000 upgrade failed to include 2 bits of turf that even the poorest rugby grounds boast.

Posted by stupot at 06:54 PM Sunday 2 Jul | Post comment (0) comments

get out of town

I've become obsessed with overpasses. even as a kid the sight of the 'spaghetti' junction just east of glasgow filled me with awe and a subconcious respect for that level of engineering. I remember watching bladerunner and metropolis and wondering if places like that really would become reality. how wonderful they looked and how free we could be.

Designing a motorway to run through the centre of a city is, of course, crazy: people have to live there. a city is not somewhere you just travel to to work - cities are for people and not cars. last year we saw some soul destroying apartments which sat between overpasses and shook like new york apartments from those movies in the sixties and seventies.

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Posted by stupot at 05:26 PM Sunday 2 Jul | Post comment (0) comments

layers

not content with failing to capture the local shrine's roof, today was another belter, and what with the heat beginning to make day time cycling exhausting, I scribbled a local house's roof on the way home from work. this must be a fairly well off family as it has many decorative layers and end bosses. the wall which is so important to keep your own space also works well as a deterent to burglars (british houses are often so open in this respect). most windows on this house were large but out of view - typically low, shaded and at just the right height to sit and look out on the garden. the wall is softened by the bushes and trees and these many layers build up what begins to look like a fortress. I got many a look of the locals as if to suggest I was casing the joint! as usual I met the old mens frowns with a polite "konnichiwa" and the children's "haro's" with "bonjour". it's a hell of a place.

Posted by stupot at 10:51 PM Tuesday 27 Jun | Post comment (0) comments

sumiyoshi taisha

we're lucky to live near a complex of shrines called sumiyoshi taisha. apart from anything else there is a bit of space and big trees which tend to be a rarity in osaka. however, sumiyoshi is a real historic site with ancient shrines similar to those at ise (in the back you can see the antler type roof details from the building behind). as I haven't sketched from real life for a while I thought I'd take advantage of the good weather and get the pens out. sketching really gets you understanding a subject so well - that's the beauty of it - you absorb the most minute details that you usually skip. well out of practice but good fun and worked on the tan.

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Posted by stupot at 11:15 PM Sunday 25 Jun | Post comment (2) comments

takkyubin

you see the vans everywhere - parked illegally with high adrenalin drivers navigating in and out of them and up alleys and into buildings - you often see them running up a street with a huge trolley. despite high speed courier post being relatively new to japan compared to america, the black cats, sumo wrestlers and pelicans that adorn the side of trucks really dominate the cityscape. despite the postal service being totally relaible (as royal mail once was), most people in japan courier stuff because of it's convenience and presumably the face to face service. it also requires the use of the hanko 'signing stamp' which is still so important to japanese daily life. it's like it was made for japanese living. people receive important documents by takkyubin, people send luggage ahead when travelling by takkyubin and people send gifts by takkyubin - in december especially, the traditional boxes of fruit needing signed for come thick and fast as a sweating, breathless man jostles paper work with one eye on his watch.

Posted by stupot at 11:16 PM Wednesday 21 Jun | Post comment (0) comments

just when they get comfortable

my nice pair of brown leather shoes are near the end - the soles are going - they're still wearable but I've been concious of them looking decidedly more and more knackered as the days go by. today I had to put a good pair of chino's in the bin after a very good innings. again I could wear them but the holes were becoming a problem. throwing out clothes is difficult for me because they generally only become comfortable after you've had them for a few years, then they start falling apart. I'm the type of shopper who waits until everything dies and then goes and buys up a load of stuff at once. just now seems to buying season for me what with the bike and everything - it's been many years since I got new shoes so I went to shinsaibashi and bought some nice new leather shoes which will fit my feet in time. the arduous task of breaking them in lies ahead. I left the sensible birkenstock route and took a more japanese route of slightly pointed. I feel like ronald mcdonald without the dungarees.

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Posted by stupot at 12:31 PM Sunday 4 Jun | Post comment (0) comments

the 8 track is back

after the damage of a massive recall about a year and a half ago, mitsubishi at least seem to be coming up with some interesting additions to their new cars. whilst the 'i' looks like a combination of the smartcar and merc A class (though the european stylings always seem to be more agreeable than daihatsu's funnier concepts), the play edition comes with nano plug in which you control through the touch screen TV/GPS monitor. nice stuff although I always wonder just how long products will keep their shapes these days. the 8 track is back.

Posted by stupot at 02:06 PM Sunday 28 May | Post comment (0) comments

shocking. and cut off.

there was a few things that I didn't like when I moved here regards my status, but like so many other things I simply put down as societal differences. like the fact I had to carry an ID card everywhere and yuka didn't. the fact that my visa, despite being spousal, was only good for 3 years - the same as many workers. recently the controversial fingerprinting of foreigners law got through parliament but I'm not really sure how this fights terrorism or is even anything to do with it.......

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Posted by stupot at 12:32 AM Monday 22 May | Post comment (2) comments

I'm gonna build this city.....

I woke up in a panic last night just before 2. I'd just fallen asleep or I may have been on the cusp. the wardrobe sliding doors were rattling away like someone was trying to get out of them (I've seen enough japanese horror movies to know this happens here) - then I kinda realised it was an earthquake and went back to bed marginally relieved that it was not a ghost but just another earthquake. people in white make up and white clothes are a far scarier thing to awake to. one would presume.

Posted by stupot at 04:06 PM Monday 15 May | Post comment (0) comments

pure psycho, man

japanese beer doesn't impress me that much but suntory's premium malt is not bad. the new advert made me laugh - here's the first in the series (click below the image) where it show's you quite clearly that the stuff is capable of changing someone as bent as a nine bob note into a complete psycho. you can also witness 'japanese head' - not oral sex but foamy beer. pouring into an angled glass remains a rarity here. much to my continual dismay.

Posted by stupot at 12:37 AM Monday 15 May | Post comment (0) comments

the last village and the filth

I've burnt my legs and god knows what my nose will be like tomorrow. after a sunday of torrential rain and thunder that at one point literally shook the house, today had a high of 27 and it began to feel like it - climbing into the mountains. the sun was beating down on my knees and my fluids were finished well before half way. I've not been climbing much in the winter so it was by no means a comfortable afternoon but beautiful none-the-less. I am more than aware that the fuji hill climb is only a month away. jesus.

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Posted by stupot at 04:23 PM Monday 8 May | Post comment (0) comments

territorial pissings

japan is like mainland europe in many ways. the unusual lanaguage, the healthy diet, the weather, the closeness of family, the punctual trains, even sometimes the smells. what I haven't been so keen on seeing recently is the similarity to the infamous german technique of picking your sunlounger the night before.

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Posted by stupot at 11:51 PM Monday 17 Apr | Post comment (2) comments

a present from our cousins

saturday was an odd day - it was sunny and cloudless yet you couldn't see the mountains which are so much a dominating part of the skyline on a nice day. the sky wasn't as blue as usual either but I threw the observation away as I travelled on the train and didn't give it too much more thought due to there being so much change in the air these days. it's funny that even the change in temperature can surprise you every year.

Continue reading "a present from our cousins"
Posted by stupot at 12:56 PM Monday 10 Apr

listening in japanese

since I've lived in japan the things you might say I lack have, I would say, made me stronger. my possessions are fewer yet I have less to worry about. I also fear death less but I'm not exactly sure why. it has perhaps been the most surprising result of moving to japan and I think it is a symptom of three possible reasons. one is being removed from familiar things and people, another is spending more time alone, without speaking and the last is living within japanese culture in general. I think it is a mixture of all three.

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Posted by stupot at 04:10 AM Wednesday 5 Apr | Post comment (0) comments

being digital

"After all because it is the rain, when while at this time it stocks it shoots, 3 these rollers which have been made the oak were stepped on at last. Than stationary type it is easier to ride for me of the system where the body wobbles to left and right, is. Because so, in at one time by the roller falling car it has been painful eye, considerably it is prudent."

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Posted by stupot at 01:56 AM Monday 3 Apr | Post comment (0) comments

Knowing your place in the tribe

It's really a love hate relationship with the service industry here. The relentless and high-pitched welcome to each shop becomes a fittingly chaotic soundtrack to city life. Although I no longer really hear it, on a busy day the welcoming doesn't stop and like an inexperienced assistant not knowing when to leave you alone - the cries of 'irrashiemase' and 'dozo' wear thin. It's perhaps akin to the 'have a nice day' syndrome in America. Being from Scotland though, this hyper-friendly service is as much suspicious as it is culture shock.

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Posted by stupot at 06:03 PM Sunday 2 Apr | Post comment (0) comments

fags are finished

this week seems to be another one that pushes scotland into the global spotlight. winning the gold in the cycling pursuit at the commonwealth games made me particularly happy and from the land of dolly the sheep, I was also grateful to read that scottish scientists have made a break-through with eczema treatment. the smoking ban is also set to start on sunday.

in japan, fags are still well under 300 yen (£1.50) and people smoke like troopers. the mind set still seems to be about a decade or so behind. combine the post-work, stress-relieving beer and beef diet and we're coming down to WHO averages.

Posted by stupot at 08:16 PM Monday 20 Mar | Post comment (0) comments

wooing in another language

being at home in the mornings often brings with it the chime of the door bell. more often than not it seems to be the nhk man, apologising from the off like he'd actually seen some of the crap they air. I feel like I may be one of the few punters who doesn't give him a hard time. last week, though, brought the rice man to my attention and today was a miso rep from kyoto. strange.

as the rice guy was from only a block away he didn't do too much hanging around - the miso chap, on the other hand, was happy to explain the finer points of his no doubt delicious fermented stodge. we quickly switched back to sketchy japanese after he asked if my husband was around.

Posted by stupot at 01:06 AM Friday 17 Mar | Post comment (0) comments

dressing up

I saw this guy at the station the other day in work gear who is a student at honda's motorsports college in south osaka. I like the kit. I also know a guy who designs fishing goods at shimano and he told me about how they have to wear these same short jackets (with obligatory logo) and work trousers. he wasn't filled with enthusiasm but it got me thinking. Everyone knows that Japan is a country obsessed with uniformity and so it is no secret that uniforms act as a big part of daily life. The black suit, the sailor uniforms, and more recently the maids outfits that have become a staple part of the odd urban makeup.

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Posted by stupot at 12:28 AM Sunday 12 Mar | Post comment (0) comments

budget

strange things unite the modern world. it warmed my heart the other day to see some local government workers doing some beautiful street-scaping. here we see what were two perfectly functioning telephone booths (probably due for decommission) and an innocent lamp-post, now surrounded by standing stones and cobbles, possibly suggested in a wild fit of artistic expression which japan's local government officials are well-known for. some other folk I talked to last week moaned about the recent and mounting road-works. no doubt the financial year drawing to a close has nothing what-so-ever to do with it.

and there was me thinking it was just a british phenomenon. it is indeed a wee world.

Posted by stupot at 10:40 PM Tuesday 7 Mar | Post comment (0) comments

kin

so the olympics are over and thankfully japan secured a medal just a few days before the end - breaking the image of riots in greater tokyo that I'd forecasted earlier in the week, mid-drought. the opening ceremony was tastefully arranged with typical italian flair - the props simple but well scaled.

the time difference made viewing difficult but the press had given generous air-time to several contenders who were now to feel the pressure of the whole nation upon them. it felt almost inevitable that they wouldn't deliver the goods just as the english press frequently imortalise their footballers before chewing them around and spitting them out - nhk et al had indeed 'pissed on their chips'.

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Posted by stupot at 09:48 PM Monday 27 Feb | Post comment (0) comments

waterfall

today's rain is hard and loud. all the drain's are coming alive and taming the water into a show.

Posted by stupot at 11:38 PM Sunday 26 Feb | Post comment (0) comments

cheeky monkey

for any british readers interested, saiyuki (monkey) has been re-released in Japan by fuji-TV. it has already been bought up by various stations in different countries including the UK and is meant to be heading to your screens sometime later this year. the new version of the cult programme which both confused and left an indelible mark on my generation, will star SMAP member shingo katori which is the equivalent of ronan keating doing a remake of rentaghost. a damn shame I'm otherwise engaged on monday nights........

Posted by stupot at 06:30 PM Sunday 19 Feb | Post comment (0) comments

mr care

my name is kerr and it's understood here. it's obviously not a usual name, so it's usually clarified properly. in britain this was often over-looked. I would get mail from suppliers down south addressed to 'mr kur', 'mr car' and most amusingly, 'mr care'.

for me, the name has always seemed a pretty straight-forward word to pronounce. like kerosene but without the flamability. perhaps it's just that it's uncommon even in england, but I thought more people would have made the 'simple minds' association and worked it out. seems people have forgotten about poor old jim kerr, the front-man who famously opened a japanese restaurant in glasgow which had about as much atmosphere as eating sushi in a morgue.

anyway - the name is care in japan. I'm possibly the gentle giant. the syllables used to create the name pronounce 'ke' & 'a-'. care. and as I live in a medical district with ke a- centres all over the place, I feel right at home. which is just as well, considering I'm a clumsy bastard.

Posted by stupot at 02:15 PM Sunday 19 Feb | Post comment (0) comments

sugar and spice

I got four seperate chocolate gifts for valentines yesterday! definitely a record. certainly since primary 5. it's one way traffic in japan, for those who don't know, with the guys returning the gift on white day (march the 14th). incredibly commercial it is, but in the country where gift-giving is the national pastime, it all seems somehow more natural.

Posted by stupot at 11:59 PM Wednesday 15 Feb | Post comment (0) comments

the future

I was looking around the train yesterday and saw the familiar sight of so many commuters catching a cheeky 40 winks when I spied a chap further up the carriage who was slumped forward with eyes shut and seemed to be deep in sleep. then, suddenly, his hand reached to his mouth and he gulped down some canned coffee, swallowing it he tilted his head back briefly but his eyes remained shut. and then he resumed his lifeless pose.

how we have progressed from being monkeys.

Posted by stupot at 09:59 PM Saturday 11 Feb | Post comment (0) comments

chicken licken

I presume the everchanging weather fronts that make british weather what it is also make the forecasting a nightmare. you are never certain what the next day will hold. in japan the predictions tend to be pretty accurate as far as I've seen - probably due to the more stable and reliable weather system. for weather forecasting in japan I find the jma site to be pretty comprehensive. all regular needs are catered for as well as having good information on, amongst other things, earthquakes, which you can track back over the past week to chart exactly how many there have been and in what magnitude. unsurprisingly these are frequent and weak but it makes interesting viewing none-the-less.

Posted by stupot at 12:03 AM Wednesday 8 Feb | Post comment (0) comments

mercy me

when I set off on my ride today I spotted the skeletons of the red and white stalls that are synonymous with festivals. by the time I returned, the small streets of abiko felt like osaka station on a weekday morning. after a soak and some scran I headed down to the local temple to check out the action: the roads were all closed off and the hundreds of stalls lined every route in.

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Posted by stupot at 03:30 PM Sunday 5 Feb | Post comment (0) comments

industrial sushi

there's always something to celebrate and as winter has been dragging it's heels somewhat we got the sushi in last night to celebrate the wonderfully pagan mid-season festival of setsubun which now-a-days sees the shops bursting with families buying up the soy beans and sushi like they were peanuts and pumpkins. despite lacking child or pet to dress up as a demon and pelt with the traditional dry beans, we still observed the fact that we're half way through the cold bit. as we wolfed down our giant rolls of rice we buried ourselves under the kotatsu to hide from the howling wind outside and hoped that that would be enough to ward off the bad luck.......

Posted by stupot at 10:42 PM Saturday 4 Feb | Post comment (0) comments

boing

who needs a playground when you've got bollards that are made of rubber? these things are great. I'll sometimes go a detour just to mess about with one - although I attract enough attention because of my hair and eye colour. they make good seats as well and have even been known to stop cars without damaging them. living in a tight space serves up a smile yet again.

Posted by stupot at 10:36 PM Friday 3 Feb | Post comment (1) comments

studying's brutal

it's all become a bit competitive. the calender clinging to the fridge door is inescapable and as I'm a grazer as well as a big eater it means that I not only 'clock in' every day but have to face up to any slacking with every visit. my big push to learn more japanese is under watch as well as the bike training. as it's the off season I'm trying to do 3 rides a week but the weather often means I find 'pressing jobs' to do instead. I'm trying to get in about 160 kms tho. I'm also trying to get in three quarters of an hour worth of the old nihongo every week day but it's amazing what will try and distract you from hard graft. even ironing shirts suddenly becomes attractive.

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Posted by stupot at 12:00 AM Friday 3 Feb | Post comment (0) comments

glass, concrete and stone

they started building the apartments beside us about a year ago and finished around december. when we moved here last february construction was only a floor or so up and I started taking pictures of it for some reason. anyway - I took a few and then it became a habit: after I put the coffee on in the morning I'd nip outside with the camera and see if things had changed much. even if they hadn't, often the lighting or weather made it a different scene. the collection of photo's now make an interesting flick book which you can see as a slide show should the fancy take you. the only unfortunate thing was what was waiting when they took off the tarpaulin...........

Posted by stupot at 12:44 AM Sunday 29 Jan | Post comment (0) comments

shiver me timbers

our house, my skin, the whole of japan is as dry as an alcoholic in ramadan. I believe even where the mountains of snow have landed, it's dry. to give you an idea of how dry it is, our house is having some serious contractions. the window frames and wooden structure