Filed under: Entertainment, Sport | Tags: beenleigh, golden roughs, liquorice short shorts, roller derby, roller skates, sun state roller chicks
Almost a thousand people turned out to watch the Liquorice Short Shorts and Golden Roughs face off against each other in last weekend’s quarterly roller derby match at Beenleigh Sports Arena.
The aim of roller derby is simple – both teams form a pack and skate around the rink, two ‘jammers’ lag behind, and then attempt to break through the pack. The first one through scores a point, every lap they make through scores an additional point.
The game is so dangerous the teams must fork out for an ambulance presence at every match, with injuries including a double break of the fibula and tibia during one game, and a shattered humerus during a training session.
“You have to be pretty tough mentally and physically, you’ve got to be ballsy enough to get out there and have a go” said Kate McGain, captain of the Golden Roughs.
“I’ve not always been drawn to mainstream sport, it’s a sport where you can be physically aggressive but still feminine,” says Licorice Short Shorts player Lizzie Wilbourne, ie ‘Annie Seizure’.
The game, which started off from humble origins in 2007 has grown a ‘bloodthirsty cult following’ according to Kate.
The sport has rapidly grown in popularity, from 100 viewers a game and one league to 1000 viewers a game and three leagues including Sun State Roller Girls.
But while league president, Nicky Ennever aka Knockout Nicky says she loves the ‘technical game play of the sport’ some spectators are not convinced.
Alasdair Young, who watched the Saturday night match described the girls as ‘slow’ and their performance ‘lacklustre’.
“It would be better if the ring was bigger, the girls were faster and the refs could actually keep score,” said Alasdair.
Filed under: Entertainment, Events | Tags: blia, brisbane, buddhism, buddhist festival, chenrezig nun's community, chinese, mahayana, southbank
Buddha’s Birthday the ‘Chinese Ekka’
Visitors of the Buddha’s birthday celebrations held at Southbank last weekend have dubbed the festival the ‘Chinese Ekka’ amid concerns it focussed too heavily on Chinese Buddhism and was too commercial.
The Buddha’s Light International Association of Queensland held the festival, which had about 170, 000 visitors, between the 1st and 3rd of May.
On their website, the association said: “BLIA is not the organization of a certain sect, temple, or person. It is an organization that belongs to all the Buddhists in the world.”
But volunteer for the BLIA, Frank Helden, said the festival mainly promoted the Mahayana strand of Buddhism, which is very different from the Havada strand practised in Sri Lanki and Thailand.
Chamith Weerasakaa, a Sri Lankan Buddhist said, “I didn’t go because it’s a Chinese festival. I’m of the Havada faith.”
The festival included Chinese lion and dragon dances, a Chinese Cultural Arts area and a fireworks display.
Concerns were also raised over the commercial aspect of the festival, which showcased many non-Buddhist food stalls, merchandise shops and ‘one dollar for one wish’ monuments to Buddha.
Kimberley Menz, who attended the festival on Sunday said, “I really didn’t like it. I don’t believe that all the shops and phoney ‘make a wish’ stalls were in the true spirit of Buddhism. I felt like I was more at the markets in Chinatown than I was at a spiritual celebration”.
Tibetan nun from the Chenrezig Nun’s community, Tenzin Tsering said while she heard several people raise concerns over the commercialism of the festival, she thought naming the festival ‘the Chinese Ekka’ was ‘a little harsh’.
“Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. I personally see the festival as an opportunity to build relationships, harmony and mutual respect,” said Tsering.
Griffith’s Careers fair represented mostly science and business jobs this year, leaving arts out in the cold.
Accounting, economics and commerce dominated the fair, with 37 per cent of stalls offering jobs for finance graduates.
34 per cent of stalls wanted engineering graduates, 25 per cent wanted business degrees, 22 per cent wanted IT graduates and only 4 per cent of stalls specifically asked for arts students to apply.
Head of Griffith’s Careers and Employment Division, Tony Lyons, says: “Students from non-business disciplines can still ‘market’ themselves into these organisations even if they are not specifically advertising for their discipline”
Griffith University’s Career’s Fair has this week reflected what many arts students have feared – jobs in art degrees are few and far between while science and business reign supreme.
Accounting, economics and commerce dominated the recruitment process, with 37% of the 74 stalls offering jobs for graduates with those degrees.
34% of stalls sought after engineering graduates, 25% wanted business degrees, 22% wanted IT graduates and only 4% of stalls specifically encouraged arts students to apply for jobs with their companies.
The three stalls which sought after arts degrees were the Spinal Injuries Association, Queensland Audit Office, and the Department of Child Safety.
Griffith University’s Events Coordinator, Andrew Thrush, says that considering the biggest employers in the country are financial institutions, mining and construction companies, retail, science and education there are limited job opportunities for arts students.
Mr Thrush said he understood the lack of arts stalls because, while the university invites over three hundred companies, which cater for all of Griffith’s degrees, it was up to the individual companies to decide whether the fairs would benefit them, and whether their businesses needed to recruit.
However, head of Griffith’s Careers and Employment Division, Tony Lyons, says: “Students from non-business disciplines can still ‘market’ themselves into these organisations even if they are not specifically advertising for their discipline”
Senior Lecturer in the School of Humanities, Dr Amanda Howell, also denies claims that arts degrees are not career producing, saying that they are particularly useful when the economy is tough because BA graduates are equipped with field specific skills and knowledge, as well as many ‘generic’ skills useful in all industries.
Dr Howell said: “At the end of the day, finding a job always depends on the individual: how well she/he has used educational opportunities, how effective she/he is at looking for a job, and how well she/he has prepared for a job by acquiring experience.”
Filed under: Entertainment
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