This has turned out to be Hyper Local Roundup.

Put aside the fact that I’m an adopted Aberdonian,  the majority of nominations came from Aberdeen this week- overwhelmingly. Could it be that Aberdeen is becoming the cultural hotspot I’ve always thought it would? I think so…. *punches the air*

I make no apology that we are so North East biased this week. It makes a wee change from it all being about “down there in the middle” *cough*. Let us have our wee moment in the sun- we don’t see it often.

Other Aberdeen looks at two cultural events going on in the so called Silver City at the moment:

“Another creative initiative operating to modify the mindscape of Aberdeen is the Extreme Aberdeen initiative; a grass-roots project involving more than 250 young people, “By Order of Me”

Full post here.

It’s crunch time (again) for Aberdeen’s Union Terrace Gardens. “The City Garden Project will be debated at an emergency council meeting in the next two weeks amid concerns about the way the scheme was approved”

Read the full post from Save Union Terrace Garden  here.

Video blogging. Vlogging, if you will.

Fraser Denholm has released his video on the public this week called “Run Down Aberdeen”.

“Aberdeen is perceived as a wealthy city at the centre of the European Oil Industry with a high proportion of millionaires, highest average wage and highest house and rental prices in Scotland. However, on the other side of the equation it is a city with areas of multiple deprivation, insufficient infrastructure for the heavy industry it supports and a city council dealing with a £150 Million deficit.”

Watch the film here.

The making of director Scott Ironside’s drama Sticks and Stones is vlogged by Andy G:

See it here.

Robin of Batman and Robin fame arrives at Aberdeen College for his first day.

Watch his adventures here

On a less professional note I showed the world the intense relationship me and my dog have with one another. It’s really a cry for help (from me)

Watch it here.

Photo Blogging and Blipfotoing

Day of the Tripods captures two bands that hit the North East this week : The Script And McFly .

Soft Thistle welcomes the arrival of spring

Misssy M continues her collection of Weell Kent Characters of Aberdeen. This week she caught The Puppet Master and found out his evil secret. And The Lorelei singer, John S Martin who no doubt has evil secrets of his own.

Mr Neurosceptic muses on the inherent  manliness of his director Graeme:

DaisyGlaisy captures some sneaky reading from a self professed reluctant reader

Aberdeen legendary DJ Ulli’s last show on community radio station SHMU FM is celebrated by two blippers: It’s a Dobb’s Life and Meester Feature

Elsewhere in Scotland

We only had a few nominations from elsewhere in Scotland. So come on folks nominate more next week or we’ll just move the Scottish Parliament up here and be done with it! The first was for Pat Kane’s blog on Scottish comedy:

“As the Scottish election staggers to a slow run, as Japanese reactors shudder and Libyan despots fume, indeed as the whole crazy modern world beats incessantly on our foreheads, I will admit to one escapist pleasure that literally helps me through the lows of a day: really daft, unrepentantly quirky comedy.There are two Scottish practitioners, both embracing the web as props to their humour, that are particularly joy-inducing at the moment. Limmy you may know from his BBC Scotland comedy shows – and for me, he’s also one of the most interesting creative figures in the country at the moment. But for now, let me introduce you to the bathetic genius of Swatrick Payze, otherwise known as SwatPaz”.

Read full post here.

Mike Ritchie looks at “Churnalism” from the point of view of the PR person. Would that be the “churnee”?  “I’ve been following the conversations and reading a range of articles on the issue of “churnalism” – and I am struggling to work out what the fuss is all about.”

Read the full post here.

Ali George at The Edinburgh reporter tells us why we should stop messing about and get on with completing our census.

Read the full post here.

Scots Whay Hae takes a look back at Ken Loach’s Carla’s Song. “a beautiful performance from Oyanka Cabezasa as Carla, the mysterious woman who captures George’s heart. This was her first and last film role which makes her performance all the more extraordinary as she expresses the raw pain that accompanies the terrible trauma she has suffered in her home, the war-torn country of Nicaragua”

Read the full post here.

Finally an appeal- not only are we always looking for more nominations- especially for blogs we’ve not mentioned before, we are on the look out for new guest editors. Get in touch via the contact form on this page (over there to the right) of tweet us @ScottishRoundup and one of our administrators will be in touch to tell you what’s involved. Thanks to those who have already done so, we’ll be in touch this week.

It’s been a funny week as far as the weather has been concerned.  Ellen discusses a day out at the Whangie in the snow, which allowed her to appreciate how “beautiful, surprising and uplifting” Scotland is. 

Indeed it is.  There is nothing quite as surprising as the range of subjects Scottish bloggers attempt to get their teeth into. 

Neil kicks things off by taking a look at the lessons that can be learned from the Japanese earthquake and the later explosion at the nuclear reactor plant, while expressing criticism of the lack of honest journalism.  Meanwhile, closer to home, law student Alistair Sloan considers whether changes to civil legal aid rules will become a barrier to accessing justice.

Interestingly, freedom seems to be a concern for a number of Scotish bloggers this week.  David Farrer writes in support of the free market, while Freedom-2-Choose reports on drinks giant Diageo severing its ties with an alcohol awareness charity in response to the drinks industry being excluded from a major summit, arguing for wider participation in such events. 

Andrew Reeves is interested in promoting economic freedom in the developing world, and asks us if we can afford to invest £15 to develop businesses in Benin, Indonesia, the Phillippines or Togo?  He recommends a microlending scheme operated by Care International UK and supported by TV presenter Kate Garraway as a means of empowering aspiring entrepreneurs in these countries.   Indygal also considers our international responsibilities, concentrating on the humanitarian work being carried out in Malawi but also reminding us of the other “53 countries that could do with our help”. 

Some of us are obviously worried about how society views those of a certain age.  Ellen wonders how celebrities deal with the ageing process while Doctor Vee also muses about the problems associated with appearing too old. 

Meanwhile, Mike Ritchie is clearly infuriated by unnecessarily complex and bureaucratic language and extols the virtues of the Plain English Campaign.  

Turning our attention to politics now, and Welshman Alwyn Ap Huw is distinctly unimpressed by the SNP’s recent party political broadcast, comparing it to a Greek tragedy.   Neil Craig is equally unenthused with the SNP, at least as far as renewable energy is concerned.

It’s spring conference season, and Michael Ironside reflects on the SNP’s spring conference while I review protests at the Lib Dems’ events in Perth and Sheffield.

Caron refers to an ERHC report suggesting that the majority of Scots would welcome marriage equality and urges the Scottish government to take action.  Why, she asks, should Scottish politicians be so timid on the matter?    Bellgrove Belle argues that Labour’s position on the council tax is both confused and contradictory.  Lallands Peat Worrier highlights the democratic benefits of including Patrick Harvie, the leader of the Scottish Greens, in televised debates. 

Away from party politics, Fair Votes Edinburgh regrets the lack of options on the ballot paper for the AV referendum, while also providing an update on the campaign in Leith.

A Burdz Eye View attempts to get to grips with some of the issues facing the teaching profession.  But why does the EIS persist in promoting merely the interests of its members rather turning its attention to the wider matter of facilitating a good education for our children?  On a similar note the same blogger also asks “who will champion Scotland’s children?”, questioning Holyrood’s commitment to children’s issues but praising the efforts of four MSPs whose contributions to pushing children up the political agenda are considered “outstanding”.  

And that concludes this week’s magical mystery tour of Scotland’s blogosphere.  To think that one day people will write albums about this kind of stuff…

Hello, long time reader, first time editor. So far this month we’ve seen sun, rain, hail, snow, wind and fog, usually on the same day. The song “Four seasons in one day” by Crowded House is said to be about Melbourne, but I have a feeling they visited Scotland in March. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that the weather is changeable. So, in homage to Scotland’s interesting climate, I’ll take you on a trip through the Scottish Blogosphere’s Four Seasons.

Summer

Nina’s Apartment is already dreaming about summer and showing us some amazing blues.

Given the winter we’ve just had, it might be best to play all sport in Summer. The Old Firm may have wished for the Winter Break to have lasted until the end of march.  Lily Greenan, guesting at Better Nation, argues that football does not cause domestic abuse, whilst Ideas of Civilisation warns the media not to take a hyperbolic approach to matters. Gerry Hassan, however, tells of Scotland’s Shame and the silence of Men.

Autumn

Autumn signals that change is on its way and preparations are made for the long winter ahead.  As we come to the end of the current term of Scottish Parliament, are we preparing for change from the SNP to Labour?

Stephen Noon looks back at the first four years of SNP government, while Ewan McIntosh looks at education, asking if the SNP are the only party with a vision, following on from the Scotland on Sunday education hustings. Neil Craig is thinking ahead to the TV Leaders debates and proposes an X-Factor style format. Caron attended the Breakthrough Breast Cancer debate and was left praising the co-operation of the politicians.

Speaking of the debates, consider the upcoming TV Leaders debate and whether it has the correct number of leaders involved. If you think that Patrick Harvie should be included, sign Jeff at Better Nation’s petition to have him included.

Winter

The long winter’s nights are great for sitting in the house and learning something new; Stuart Mathieson is learning Italian and musing on common words, Philosophical Zombie ponders through the night on wisdom of crowdsourcing, and Andrew Page took time to look back on a year of blogging.

Discussions about nuclear power always put me in the mind of nuclear winters, but Neil Craig at A Place to Stand asks how much the anti-nuclear movement has cost humanity, arguing “humanity would all average at least twice as well off as we actually do without these anti-nuclear Luddite parasites”.

Might somone recommend some music to keep your spirits up? Well, Peenko tells us the Son(s) new album is a “phenomenal piece of work” and I wouldn’t disagree. If grungy punk is more your think, why not try some anniestevenson?  But if podcasts make you happy aurally, then check out the brand new Greener Leith podcast, Nature’s Calendar.  Out just in time for …

Spring

In a spot of spring cleaning, In a Bun Dance gets rid of all the plastic crap that invades your house if you have children.  It doesn’t end according to plan. Subrosa tells of another type of spring, namely a bungee jump where once a great battle was fought. Journeyman Traveller gives us some wonderful photos from a trip to the Cairngorms. Ian Hamilton gives us a blind man’s perspective of personal image.

Dance Ricky Dance conducted an interesting experiment looking for ladies.  And on Tuesday,  the Scottish blogosphere celebrated International Women’s Day; Joan McAlpine tells us the story of the girl in the grey head scarf.

Ellen asks us to watch a very powerful video, and the gender confusing Bella Caledonia asks The Burd to talk about Independent Women, while the Shoogly Peg gives us the fact that not even a third of candidates at this years Scottish Elections will be women. I concur with the Burd in post on her own blog, A Woman’s Place is in the Parliament.

And that’s this week’s roundup.  I hope you found something that interested you.

Either I did such a sterling job of rounding up the best of Scottish blogging last time you let me in or the rest of you are busy campaigning, policy making, drinking wine or just far to busy to spend a Saturday night in front of a laptop. Whatever the reason it’s lovely to be back, especially this week as I feel I’ve been spoiled for choice!

At the front of everyones mind this week seems to be the situation in Libya. The problems seems to be more that we don’t actually know what is happening rather than comment on what is happening as Ian Bell discusses this week as well as surmising what the probable outcomes might mean for other Middle Eastern countries and the West. My very own MP, Eric Joyce muses on what will happen to Colonel Gaddafi regardless of outcome and what this might mean for people outside of Tripoli.

Talking of the effect on the West, Alba Matters discusses what message David Cameron is really giving in his travels around the Middle East surrounded by arms dealers. Can the UK really be on the side of moral right if we promise not to sell arms to them again? Eric Joyce adds to the debate on the morals of taking money from and welcoming into the fold those who might have questionable resources as well as morals. It’s unusual to find myself even remotely close to the opinion of my MP but twice in one week?

One place I know that my opinion diverges from my MP is on Scottish Politics. It’s an area where everyone seems to be seeking out exactly where the votes are going to fall in May. The Burd gets down and dirty with the statistics and finds that something shocking may have occured in the last five years to Scottish voting intentions. When it comes to the election though we will all be faced with whether we vote for who we support or whether to vote tactically, and it’s a question that Better Nation thinks will reinforce that well known adage -it’s not easy being Green. It might not be easy being green but it can be even harder being female and trying to get elected, starting with making it to the list. The Shoogly Peg takes a look at whether the changes we are likely to see in the new Holyrood parliament will see an increase in female representatives.

You can tell we are gearing up for an election with the sudden influx of spending by the SNP government. The Burd counts up the “loose change you can find when you search down the back of the sofas in Victoria Quay and St Andrew’s House.” It’ll be interesting to see whether the money is applied in the right place to win votes but in the mean time it could go a long way to improving the lives of some who need it the most. The SNP have certainly come good on their pledge to drop prescription charges, Caron congratulates them on keeping a long held pledge even if she doesn’t agree with it- perhaps Labour could do the same?  Maybe they could find some extra money for the new Forth Bridge, A Place To Stand have indroduced me to a new concept in government- the numptocracy. It reminded my of this blip, will the new one be as photogenic?

No doubt when we think of who to vote for in May we’ll look back at the record of the current government, Mark asks (in his best Python style) what have the SNP ever done for us? Given their undoubted success in some areas there are those who think their war on tobacco has moved onto other areas and ask if it can really be a good thing to exclude people from the consultation process?

It’s not just politics that engenders debate though- Happy Science asks if the term “scientist” is misleading and used inappropriately. Are we really incapable of dealing with the term psychologist or biologist? Someone on the other side of science is Cartside who (in her own words) stupidly agreed to being a baby feeding guinea pig in a post baby hormone induced daze.

So with politics- domestic and international- put to bed, science sorted it’s time to move on to what I’m loosley terming “Culture”… I really, really hope the roundup isn’t covered by the Trades Description Act. First up is that pinnacle of Scottish culture- the Old Firm derby. Bella Caledonia talks a lot of sense that will no doubt be ignored when she suggests how we move forward from the current sectarian disgrace we call “football”. Scots Whay Hay interviews Richard Herring about the return of his show “Christ on a Bike” and it makes for intriguing reading. Something else that makes for intriguing reading and will be enlightening to anyone who found the odd tweet with #doricporn in their stream this week is MisssyM’s obitury for Sandy Lovepole (strictly under the counter and comes with it’s own paper bag).

On a slightly different (if related) tangent is my favourite post this week from Andrew McPake who asserts that he disnae talk right. It’s a beautiful, gramatically correct piece of prose in delightful Scots. If you only click one link this week, make it Andrew’s. Where Andrew shows that you need to look wider to make a difference to learning Indygal shares a success story where the individual pushes themselves to achieve fantastic results despite their educational establishment, a sad state of affairs where schools don’t know how to encourage their pupils obvious talents. Perhaps what Port Glasgow needs is a librarian who can celebrate World Book Day without resorting to shoving books down pupil’s throats and still gets them reading, Bear Bahoochie does just that. On the subject of books Ellen takes a leaf out of Helen Fielding’s book- literally- and shows us what Bridget Jones- the Smug Married might sound like. Actually, Ellen- when exactly were you going to share that other story?

Still with me? Good, good- we’re nearly there! Misssy Martin shared two different Bridal tales this week- A tale of horror and one of true love. And with that happy ending, I’ll leave you to some fantastic reading.