Monthly Archives: November 2005

Remark! Film & TV Awards

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Remark! Film & TV Awards 2005Rachel and I went to the Remark! Film & TV Awards on Saturday night, and had a good time, along with about 1,999 other people, mostly Deafies. It was so refreshing to walk around and see Deafies having convos in BSL, rather than hearies nattering away in their usual boring fashion. It meant that I could actually eavesdrop AND understand what was being said. Not that I was sticking my oar in peep’s conversations!

It was good to see Deaf culture celebrated in such a grand fashion, in a nice, posh, EXPENSIVE hotel (two bottles of Corona and two bottles of Black Smirnoff Ice cost over £14). There were some pointless aspects to the evening, such as the games that were put on and cost you a blue token (£1 each), and the lack of bars (there was only one small bar with the full range of drinks for 2,000 people, as well as another laid on bar selling only bottle of whatnot).

The awards themselves were good fun, and Clive Mason’s speech when he nabbed the Lifetime Achievement Award was a classic and got everyone all riled up.

The limo there and back was a bit squashed but good fun. We had a pink limo on the way back, which was colourful! There was plenty of champagne in the limo there. It was good to see RAD colleagues and friends all kit up in posh outfits, and all sorts of Deaf professionals and other peeps. Apparently, even Charlie from Beyond Boundaries was there with blonde extensions – never saw him!

All in all, pretty good night! I would say worth the £30 tickets!

Star Wars

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Revenge of the SithWhat do I think of Star Wars: The Revenge of the Sith? I watched it this week with Steve, with high expectations. After all, it is Episode III, the last to be released in the saga that spanned 30 years.

To be clear, I really enjoyed Episodes IV, V and VI, and Episode I wasn’t that bad (I must be one of the few who found Jar Jar Binks rather amusing). However, I can’t even remember what happened in Episode II, and Episode III was very disappointing. While it was good to finally see the whole story reach its conclusion, I found the whole film very unconvincing. Joe talked about the lack of plot in Star Wars 1 and 2 on his blog, but I’m inclined to disagree. The plot of all six films is a good, strong one. The difference is that it was well executed in Episodes IV-VI, but poorly in Episodes I-III. Speaking of which, why did George Lucas decide to film the episodes in the order that he did – it doesn’t make sense.

What really disappointed me about Episode III was that while everything was rapidly coming to a conclusion, and you realised the background that led to Episode IV, where it all began, was being revealed bit by bit, the actual execution was, simply put, a bit diabolical. George Lucas went overboard with the special effects, the computer generated imagery (CGI). I think the beauty of Episodes IV-VI was the fact that everything was far more real, as in those days, CGI wasn’t around, nor were computers as we know them now around then. There was one particular scene early on in Episode I that astounded me just because it looked so unrealistic – that was when Count Dooku hurled a massive metal boulder thing at Obi-wan Kenobi and trapped him underneath it. Obi-wan literally looked like a rag doll, not a human, when it landed on him. I was appalled.

It’s a shame really. The whole Star Wars phenomenon started off so promisingly, but ended on a bit of a naff note.

Decentralisation of Deaf cyberspace

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A has asked that I respond to her post on her new blog. I was initially sceptical, because I felt that I had nothing to add. However, Joe decided to respond to A’s post on his blog, and I thought more about the issues A raised.

My view is: e-groups are on the way out and blogging is the future. I don’t profess to know all about Web 2.0 and where the future lies, but I do know my own personal preferences, so that is what I’m going to talk about.

What do I do when I receive emails from e-groups and when I check my bloglines feeds? Well, typically, with the e-groups, I just delete them without reading them unless a subject catches my interest. Strictly speaking, the same is true of bloglines. I only read what grabs my interest. In light of these facts, I would say that people the world over do the same sort of thing.

So what does this mean? Personally, I do prefer reading blogs than e-groups. I find them more honest and interesting than posts. Think about it; most posts in an e-group are responses to other people’s posts. Replies tend to be written impulsively and when the writer’s feelings (in defence, offence or otherwise) are at their height. This means that e-groups become far more about personalities and emotions rather than rational thoughts and views. They are more about attacks on other people, particularly on Deaf UK, than about presenting one’s views and opinions in a coherent and intellectual way. I’m not saying that this never happens on Deaf UK, far from it, but it is the less common of these two types of posts that can be made.

Blogs, on the other hand, I find more rational, coherent and intellectual. Posts are made, like this one for example, with careful consideration. Instead of just typing whatever, the blogger thinks about how he is presenting his thoughts and views. This is probably because everything that is posted on a blog will be perserved for all eternity. With that in mind, one is more likely to make sure that everything that is said is not going to come back to haunt the blogger. Plus, it is a permanent record (as permanent something displayed on the web can be), so the blogger will try to avoid embarrassment or even libellous comments. Also, blogs reach a far wider audience. E-groups are restricted to its members. That is another factor that will ensure the blogger takes more care with his writing.

Now, to the point of decentralisation. Do I think Deaf UK needs to move away from e-groups towards the blogosphere? Yes. Do I think that blogs need to communicate with each other? Yes. This is already happening via trackbacks, comments, links etc. It’s all very easy to do. I agree with A that blogs need to maintain high quality posts. This is something I’m always very conscious of, and I try to ensure that my posts are of reasonable quality.

That’s my view, for what it’s worth.

Good news!

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I have an exciting announcement to make:

My training contract with RAD/WMLC will commence on Monday 28 November 2005.

This means that I am now able to fulfil my dream of becoming a qualified solicitor; something I’ve wanted to do since I was 15 years old.

However, it’s a little bit funny. I’m so thrilled about it all, and yet, it’s such an anti-climax. I always thought that when I get a training contract, I would be bouncing up and down for days. However, instead of being happy, I just feel so angry. Angry at the fact that it’s taken four years to get a training contract.

I’ve been hearing about other people who want to be solicitors who have not even yet finished their LLBs walking into a training contract with a City law firm at a starting salary of £35,000pa, and getting their LPC paid for by the firm, plus maintenance grants. I’ve got friends who I did the LPC with already qualified solicitors, and others who are over halfway through their training contracts. And yet, I’m only just starting mine. I finished my LPC 2.5 years ago.

Why have all these people had all the luck? I do consider myself lucky; particularly as I was lucky to find myself working for RAD and having Linda Isaac as my line manager, as it paved the way for a secondment to a law centre. I do feel vindicated because I know I earned this training contract; I’ve worked bloody hard as an advice worker for the past 2.5 years, and now I’m getting a just reward. But there’s still something inside of me that feels wronged.

This anger is something I wasn’t expecting to feel, and I don’t really understand it.

The main thing is, however, I do have a training contract. Halleujah!

LLM weekend

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I’ve been up Leicester for the fourth LLM residential weekend, and this one was a debrief of Module 3 (termination of contract) and an introduction to Module 4 (collective bargaining, conflict resolution and social dialogue). Lectures covered included:

  • Regulating Disciplinary Dismissal, delivered by Professor Hugh Collins, Professor of English Law at the London School of Economics;
  • Conduct Dismissals;
  • Employment Act 2002 and Employment Tribunals; and
  • UK Employment Relations post 1997

The lectures were interesting, and I managed to get some useful information for my next assignment (i.e. I was frantically making my own notes even though I had a professional notetaker with me):

???It is one of our principal purposes to provide for the parties an easily accessible, speedy, informal and inexpensive procedure for the settlement of their disputes.??? (Donovan Report, para.578)

To what extent do the present Employment Tribunals achieve the objectives originally set out in the Donovan report? What improvements do you consider can be delivered through the new ACAS scheme for ???Alternative Dispute Resolution??? and the latest relevant provisions in EA 2002?

I found myself frustrated this weekend; not because of the course itself, but because of the attitudes of the tutors and fellow students. During the learning parts, with the presence of two BSL/English Interpreters, it’s usually fine, but I feel that most of the tutors are too scared to say anything to me. They’re either worried about me not understanding them and getting embarassed, or fail to realise that I do have a life and a personality that they’ve not yet bothered to find out about. The most any of them can muster is a “hello” here and a “hello” there whenever they see me. Thanks for that, nice to know you think you can’t have a conversation with me.

The biggest annoyance, however, is the fact that the students really do not know what to do when I’m around during breakfast/dinner and in the bar (which is when I don’t have communication support). They just continue to talk among themselves as normal, not realising that I’m completely left out of the conversation. They don’t make an effort to speak clearer when I’m around, and just carry on as if I don’t exist. It’s not very nice, and it really pissed me off this weekend. I was almost tempted to have dinner in my room last night instead of sitting there oblivious to the conversations circulating around me.

Why do us Deafies put up this with shit? I wanted to scream and rant and tell them all to get Deaf awareness training or whatever, but something stopped me. At what point does one tell others of their limitations? I guess I feel it would be an admission that there is something I can’t do, and I don’t like that. Perhaps that’s why I don’t say anything.

Oh yeah, one other thing. There was this other woman who I hadn’t seen before, a fellow student who knew too much. She was really patronising towards me, as if she was totally amazed that “someone like me” was there at all. She even asked me if I needed any support with any of the issues raised over the weekend. I felt like slapping her! Where does she get off doing that? She knew nothing about me; my academic background, my career, my intellectual abilities. All she could think was that I was a poor old deafie who must need help. Argh!

Still, only two more residential weekends to go …