Daily Archives: June 24, 2012

Girvan Gig on the Green 2012 – Civic Week

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So here we are on an intermittently wet and sunny Sunday in late June.  I had been working on a project and then I remembered that today was Girvan’s Gig on  the Green!

The family headed out to have a look.  Actually I could hear it soon after going out, as we live quite near Stair Park which is where the stage was set up.   I have to say that I was unaware that today was also parade day in Girvan where civic week begins with a procession though the town with lots of people dressed up (this year was an Olympic theme…duh!) but I ran into the parade on the way to the park.  It had only just begun but we snapped a quick picture as it went by led by a piper and with the rear brought up by characters including Super Mario and I think Postman Pat (the kids were very taken with this).  More people joined it as I watched and though we were waved at to join I could hear an electric guitar so no chance of that and off we went.

The Parade gathering pace

Stair Park is in the rear of the above picture so it was not much of a walk to reach the park.  Below you can see a lot of what was laid out in the park including the main stage, several inflatable slides, a bucking bronco, a really lovely and brand new climbing wall along with a lot of stands selling refreshments and also offering face painting, flag making, puppets, balloon modelling and the like. I think there was a couple of hundred people there but it was early as Gig on the Green goes on from noon until after eight in the evening and this was about half past two.

The Crowd gathers under the Clouds

The weather kept changing from bright sunlight to dark and moody grey light.  If you look at the rear of the above image you will see why.  Something Scotland is well known for; low laying mist.  The picture does not do the colour justice as it is ominous and beautiful both sitting right atop the Carrick Hills.

The Stage

I have been to several of the Gigs on the Green in previous years and this year the sound quality on the stage was excellent, no feedback or other haze to interrupt it.  The stage is a purpose built truck trailer with its own power supply and such and it makes a big difference to the performers.  I watched and listen to a good few tunes until the kids got fed up and dragged me away.  The line up included Counselled Out and Escapade but I think I saw Audio Juice (Girvan band in the picture) but in eight hours of live music more than seven bands were listed to perform.

So i was a good couple of hours out for me and I enjoyed it but it was let down by two things I feel.  The first is the weather which is always a risk in Ayrshire as it can be VERY wet and we have had several inches of rain in the last couple of days, but it did stay dry if dark.  Secondly I just cannot help but think that Girvan would get on a lot better that these great little events if they were better advertised.  Not nationally but locally in Ayrshire.  As I said I go to a lot of the events but I was barely aware of it; and I live here!  Perhaps a full page in the weekly paper with a big advert for it, including a free parking notice (as the whole town is) and a tie in with local retailers to offer special incentives on food, drink and other things might do the trick.

Rock on Girvan!

GBS

The Laughing Man (Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex) – Review

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Last weekend I was up in Ayr at the local branch of HMV.  HMV has taken a dive in terms of quality in the last few years and choice also (I mean why would a music/video/game store devote 25% of its rack space to headphones of all kinds at the expense of a wider choice of music?) but that is not the point of this post.  Among the piles of films I came across the anime section and  therein some heavily discounted titles.  I really like most things Japanese and anime especially as it gives me ideas for wargaming.  So I had a dig and bought three movies that were down to two pounds each.  I will review each of them but I am limited to watching one a week really and I just finished watching ‘The Laughing Man’ now (got up early to do it when the house was quiet).  Now on with the first review!

Japan, 2030. Modern technology has reached great heights, but crime still plagues human society—and that’s when cyborg operative Motoko Kusanagi and the elite squad of Section 9 step in. Armed with the latest hardware and software, they follow the trail of the Laughing Man, a mysterious criminal who committed various acts of corporate terrorism six years ago and then disappeared. Now it seems that he has returned, hacking his way into people’s brains and turning them into puppets of vigilante justice. But how do you track down a criminal so brilliant that he can wipe people’s memories and leave only a laughing face as his calling card? The clues will lead Kusanagi and Section 9 to a conspiracy spanning the worlds of medicine, technology, and even the highest levels of government.

Striking Cover isn’t it.

I watched the film BEFORE looking it up online.  This is important as I like to view video and listen to audio, indeed read too, without others opinions in my head.  GITS Laughing Man is a long story running to 154 minutes which is way longer than the typical hour and a half.  The story is very interesting and the quality of the animation and rendering is top notch.  A special mention of the music too which was composed for the tale and is so good that I would listen to it on its own.   The plot concerns a group of characters hunting down the elusive ‘laughing man’ LM who can interfere at will with a person’s ‘cyberbrain’ and turn them into an automaton with a single driven purpose.  At times you doubt the LM even exists and there are copycats how try to be him as well.  As the film continues the pace of action does too and complex issues of humanity and machine integration as well as identity in an age of digital immortality are raised.  I enjoyed the discussion but I also liked how this discussion was dropped each time when the need for gun play came.  What stands out for me are several scenes in which a crowd of people are ‘infected’ and some of them come under the control of LM and attack the present politicians and security agents.  I will not spoil the film for those who wish to watch it but it is slick, well paced and has a rather surprising ending.  Well worth it.

Once I had finished watching the film I looked it up online and found out (I have never seen any Ghost in the Shell or this would have been obvious) that this film is actually condensed from an entire series of episodes of the TV show!  If I had bought the series I would have been annoyed at this but since I did not then it was fine and it did explain why at points city seasons and costumes changed in moments.  Some commentators did not like the voice acting for some characters.  I watched it in Japanese with English sub-titles so I cannot comment on that.  All the reviews I have read beyond the point about condensing a series into a movie are all positive and I agree with them.  This is easy accessible to a western audience unlike some other anime.

In terms of wargaming potential this anime has enough to keep sci-fi and cyberpunk fans busy for a year.  There are a half dozen scenarios in the gun fights alone and the plot has many points for ‘jumping off’ in a different direction or setting with the ideas given especially with the ‘hacked cyberbrain’ idea.  I think it is well suited to HOF Fire Team as most of the conflict takes place in a dense urban environment.  Do not be surprised if some of this pops up in my work for Barking Irons Online!

One last mention must be made of the logo that is on the cover of the box and the top of this post too.  It pops up all through the film blocking your view of the face of those under the control of LM and it is every effective because for all their advancements none of the ‘enhanced’ characters can see the LM as their cyberbrains prevent it.  Only a homeless alcoholic sees LM as he runs away as he is not enchanced leading to a vital clue.  I fancy getting a t-shirt with the logo.

Overall I would highly recommend this movie to all fans of the genre.  Excellent value and full of plot and pace.

GBS