Catered or self-catered?

Students at Christ Church discuss about what's best for them, food-wise.

Blinking and memory

Students at Christ Church are getting busy with experiments! Catalin Barbuceanu is one of them and gives us an insight in the work of a future psychologist.

In order to find out if “voluntary eyeblinks disrupt iconic memory”, Catalin Barbuceanu, a 3^rd year Psychology student at Canterbury Christ Church University carries on a very interesting experiment that will conclude at the beginning of June. More simply put, he struggles to figure out the degree of which blinking affects memory.

During his second year of study, Catalin had to figure out the area of psychology which he had to cover in order to complete his dissertation. With the help of his tutor, he decided to lead this experiment that would involve asking people to take part in a replicate study on sensorial memory.

Even though Christ Church offers a decent psychology lab for its students, Catalin preferred to work at home: “I found joy in the whole preparation of the experiment. In order to conduct it, I turned my room into a proper lab and used my own tools along with a professional software. People that I have asked are curious to find out if blinking affects their memory and willingly to take part in my research. ”

Basically, what a participant is asked to do is sit comfortably on a chair and look at a computer screen. He is shown a 3 x 3 group of letters, followed by one of three cue delays and then by a cue tone and a response prompt. Depending on the pitch of the tone (high, medium and low), the participant attempt to recall the top, the middle or the bottom row of the array.

On some trials, the participants are told to blink as soon as they saw the array; on other trials, they are told to keep their eyes open and fixated. The latency of voluntary blinks exceed the duration of the stimulus array by over 100 msec, so the blink does not prevent the participant from seeing the array

For its day to day application of the study, Catalin illustrated the example of a driver passing by a sign on the side of the road. If one blinks in the instant after observing the sign would that impair his memory of the actual sign?

“The area was also investigated by Professors Laura Thomas and David Irwin at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, some years ago” Catalin said; “ I thought it would be an interesting subject to look into for my dissertation.”

As the experiment is ongoing and the results were not yet analyzed, we will have to yet until June to find out the extent on which blinking affects our memory.

Twenty years of Whatever Comics

If you stroll down the high street, towards the old Westgate, you will find the last surviving comic book shop in Canterbury, “Whatever Comics”. Its owner, Manny, along with his wife, have been successfully running the store for 20 years.

They both believe that there is no secret behind outliving other shops but merely hard work and being passionate about the things they do.

Manny, please tell me, wouldn’t you rather have some fair and square competition?

We’ve always had it. In all the years we’ve been in business this is the first year since we started not having any competition from another comic shop but we still continue to have competition from places like Waterstones

What do you have to say about the lack of interest young people show towards reading a good old comic?

Now, I think the tables have turned quite considerably, maybe 20 years ago people weren’t so interested, but now I think the comic book is a medium that has gained a lot more respect than what it had in the past and we only have to look at the amount of films that are being made from comic books now. I mean 20 years ago I would buy a Superman t-shirt and girls would run away, now girls wear Superman t-shirts. And the fact that the bookshops, the big boys, are interested in stocking the product as well it’s another indication that it has become a lot more mainstream.

Do you avoid selling any particular type of comic or graphic novel in your shop?

Only comics that may bore the reader on being of extreme bad taste. As a retailer I have to have a certain amount of care on the product that I sell and I’ve got a responsibility not to stock comics that are so offensive that in the event of a parent coming in and seeing it on the rack next to a copy of Spiderman is going to get seriously worried about their child coming into the shop and buy comics. The last thing I want do is aiming out children from the shop because they are the next generation of comic book readers.

Have you noticed any increase in sales after X-men or The Watchmen hit the cinemas?

Some films, more than others, increase sell in the shop, Watchmen is one. I tend to say “no” to some of the merchandise for some of the films. I stayed clear of a lot of the Watchmen stuff because a lot of it was crap and a lot of people that didn’t know what the watchmen are wouldn’t buy it leader.

That’s always a good fun to seeing new movie based on a comic character, especially when they got it right but its painful when they did it wrong.

I told my friends I was going to interview you and actually some people wanted to know if you ever take into consideration employing students as sales assistants in your store.

Employment of people in the past has never been in the part time basis because we don’t make a fortune from this business so we can’t afford to pay a fortune. But if the right student comes with the right attitude and we would make enough money to pay him, we certainly consider it.

One thing that I’m curious about is your relation with the clients. You probably get angry when people take the comics out of their plastic covers or even worse, spill drinks or ice cream on them. How often do these things happen and how do you handle such situations?

Strangely enough, not as often as you might think most people are quite respectful. You do get the very small percentage of people that come in the store and have no idea what the product is. With people like that the idea is not to get angry and try to educate them.

And also, it’s something you can’t enforce. Accidents happen, like small child comes in drops a book on the floor and bends it you can’t force the mother to buy it unless she wants to.

Did you ever think about organizing one-day events where you would invite famous writers as Chris Claremont (co-creator of X-men) or Alan Moore as guest speakers?

We did signings in the past, with artists like David Lloyd. Soon, we’re hoping to have a launch of the second Wolfman book in our store, later this year.

One last question: what are the three vital things that should be considered before opening a comic book store.

First of all, do your research well. Two, believe in what you’re doing and three, be prepared to work bloody hours to achieve it.

[photos provided by Mike Radulescu]

Three years of "No smoking in here, please!"

In July 2010, three years will have passed since the smoking ban took effect in the United Kingdom.

I've asked a few students at Christ Church how do they feel about the Government's restriction.

Smoking by voice22

Don’t drop it, it's not hot! Juggling fever hits Canterbury

Strolling down the busy high street in Canterbury on a sunny day, Rosanne spotted Coco juggling on the sidewalk. She kept gazing at the colorful balls that he tossed in the air. Cascade, fountain, shower and columns, they all looked amazing to her. She had seen him perform before and felt it would be polite to show a token of her appreciation. But in the same time, she found herself in a peculiar situation as she could not help asking herself whether it’s polite or not to drop a few coins in his hat :“Am I helping a begger or paying for a show?”

[Coco, juggling in the park]

Since ancient times, juggling shows have been part of many cultures across the world, like Chinese, Indian, Greek and Roman civilizations. In some history books there is mentioned that warriors would display their skill to their enemies, sometimes managing to end a conflict before they even began. Kings and noblemen, in Europe, looking for new ways to be entertained, paid bards and jesters to include juggling acts in their performance along poetry and storytelling.

Throughout the Middle Ages some religious clerics even accused the ones that performed various juggling props (like the diabolo - a spool which is whirled and tossed on a string tied to two sticks held one in each hand) of practicing witchcraft.

Today, even though techniques and tricks remain almost the same as 1000 years ago, juggling is still practiced on the streets, in the circus or at home and enjoyed by kids (and adults as well) all over the world. For those who enjoy seeing colourful balls and sticks thrown in the air it might be just o moment of entertainment but for the ones that actually practice it, well, it’s whole culture, a way of expressing oneself.

Ever since I started University in Canterbury, I have coincidentally met quite a few people that performed at least one form of applied juggling and each of them were tremendously fond of it. I found out that it is part of the 21^st century urban culture and it has moved a long way from an act in the circus.

Coco, a 20 year old Romanian student at Canterbury Christ Church University and a master when it comes to the diabolo, introduced me first to “the way of the juggler”. He is very passionate about his hobby and would prefer not to address to his juggling abilities in that manner, stressing the fact that it is more than what you would regularly call a hobby. In Romania and in Poland he took part in several workshops where he taught seven -year olds to juggle and perform tricks. “It’s not just showing off in front of the kids. I went to places where people live in poor villages, don’t have Xboxes or laptops and just try to make them forget about their problems and enjoy the fun of juggling. It just sets you free”. When he does that, he doesn’t ask for any money in return. “The great time I have and the wonderful people I meet, that’s my reward.”.

[The Diabolo]

In the weekends, Coco spends time at Kent University where he practices new tricks along with other juggling fans, part of the Circus Society . The society is something that existed at the Uni for some time, but never really providing anything beneficial. Danny Gray, with a group of friends who were all keen spinners and jugglers tried to form some sort of breakaway group more focused on teaching workshops and putting on display in and around the city. Over the last half year they’ve been doing it on a much bigger scale than ever before.

Members of the old (failing) society at Kent where thankful that Danny took the reigns, as it were and actually tried to do something with the group. He finds it rewarding as “beginners also give positive feedback at the weekly sessions, as well as showing real enthusiasm and drive to learn and develop skills, which is naturally a boost to their own self esteem”.

Danny admits that: “juggling or just generally showing off with any circus skill is in general a great form of expression.” I was impressed to learn about his feelings when it comes to the art itself: “The fusion of creative flair, fluidity and rhythm along with the mental aspects of maths, pshysics and timing which you’re constantly thinking about as you perform, make it not only a great thing for entertainment, but self-expression and self-improvement in terms of coordination”.

If you ever passed the parking spot in front of Laud building, at Christ Church, you probably noticed the green unicycle tied with a red cable to an iron pole. It belongs to Thom Denton, a student that has a plan of setting up the CCCU Circus Society.

“I have people who juggle, about 10 of us so far, but we haven’t registered properly as a society. I hope to find more people within the university who are like minded and enjoy having a good toss about. Hopefully, at a later date, we can get some links going with the Kent Uni Circus Society, as that would be perfect, and could lead to some great collaborative work. I think towards the end of the year a good charity thing could be on the cards if I can think of a way to get it sorted”.

When the bright sun and the good weather invites them out, Thom and Coco enjoy juggling on Canterbury’s high street. “When I juggle in the street I’m not particularly forthcoming with getting crowds around, I generally end up playing music and dancing along whilst doing my juggling” adds Thom. Coco admits you can’t live off juggling on the street, but for a student, having fun and making a few extra pennies is the perfect combination: “There’s nothing wrong with people dropping coins in my hat. Is it strange that people pay for entertainment? Nine out of ten times, I do it for free anyways”.

Thom, a little upset on the people’s perception tries to clear things out: “Street juggling is not begging. Begging involves sitting on your arse, asking for change from people. Street juggling is a way of busking, although it relies on the kindness of strangers in a way, requires skills in that area that you’re performing. For all the people who throw nothing into your hat, you are effectively putting on a free show. Someone will give money to a beggar because they feel that they should, either through shame or guilt. Someone will give money to a busker, however, only if they are impressed in some way by what you are doing”.

But Coco and Tom also managed to earn “real” money by putting out a genuine juggling show. A few months back, the duo featured a performance in one of the most popular pubs in Canterbury, the Jolly Sailor. Well, not exactly inside the pub, as their performance included spitting fire and juggling with flaming sticks. Apart from the occasional “irritably eager” member of the audience who insisted trying to juggle with the burning toys, the clients were very cheerful and appreciative towards the pub’s initiative.

[Thom and Coco outside Jolly Sailor's garden]

If you would like to sign up to a juggling club, don’t hesitate to visit www.jugglingdb.com. They have a list with almost all the societies across the UK. And, if you’re willing to support the future Chirst Church Circus society, feel free to contact Thom Denton.