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(02/24/10 11:45pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In New Orleans, Mardi Gras festivities mark the last day before the official start of Lent. In Spain, the week-long Carnival festival ushers in the season. It’s all about Fat Tuesday — the day where it’s OK to indulge in your favorite things, as you’re about to give up excesses for the next 40 days.In the United Kingdom, “Shrove Tuesday” is more affectionately known as Pancake Day, following a longstanding Catholic tradition of using up indulgent ingredients in the kitchen, such as fat, butter and eggs, by cooking a food that contains all three — pancakes.But, like most holidays, Pancake Day is not only for the religious. Grocery stores throughout the United Kingdom stock up on ready-made pancake mixes and toppings in preparation for the rush that comes with the chance to enjoy the annual treat.“We don’t normally eat pancakes, but almost everyone does on Pancake Day. It’s the one time a year that I eat them, mainly for the tradition and the fun of it all,” said Sarah Packwood, a British student who celebrated Pancake Day with her flatmates this year.The British pancake is somewhat different from the American pancake. Although made of similar ingredients, it is thinner and much more like a French crêpe. Traditionally, it is topped with lemon juice and sugar, although many people get creative with their toppings, using berries, Nutella, jams or maple syrup. The worse it is for you the better — it’s all a part of the spirit of the celebration in preparation for the Lenten season.While describing the celebration in her flat this year, Packwood noted the variety of toppings they used on their pancakes. “We bought loads of toppings — strawberry sauce, nutella, lemon juice and sugar. One of my housemates even made a blueberry and peach sauce to put on the pancakes. It was amazing.”In some villages and towns across the United Kingdom, Pancake Day is even more than a small gathering at home. The whole community takes part in an annual tradition of pancake racing, where participants flip pancakes in a pan while running through the streets. Although I didn’t witness such racing in Canterbury this year, I was fortunate enough to experience Pancake Day with a group of British students, and I have to say that Shrove Tuesday never tasted so sweet.
(02/15/10 7:51pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>This week is designated as “reading week” for many students at the University of Kent. During this week, there are no classes and students are encouraged to use the time to catch up on course work, which may include reading, essay writing and preparations for the exams at the end of the year. Each department has its own designated week for this purpose, although each week usually falls around the middle of the term.Whenever I explain this to a friend in the States, I generally get the same response — “Well, isn’t that just your spring break?”No. We have a spring break, too. It’s a month long, in April.There’s actually a whole week off from classes just for students to catch up on their schoolwork. And students actually use it for that purpose (well, most students anyway).When asked about last term’s reading week, one Kent student said, “I used reading week to work on a presentation and an essay I had to do. I didn’t study the whole time, but the break from the pressure of classes and work was nice. I got a lot done.”Other students take advantage of the opportunity to go home for a week during the time off, especially those who live in neighboring countries such as France and Germany. “It’s always nice to go home during reading week. I can relax and catch up on my reading without the distractions of the campus life,” one French student said.It might not seem like a big deal, but consider what happens halfway through the semester at IU — midterm exams. I’d trade those for reading week in a heartbeat. Rather than piling on assessments midway through the term to weigh down and stress out students as they are trying to get a grasp on the material, universities in England do the opposite. With a system that contains less assessment and much more self-directed learning, the reading week encourages self-study and reduces stress rather than adding to it, fostering a better learning environment all around.I’m not here to say that the system in England is necessarily better than IU’s system; they both have pros and cons. However, I do think that each side could learn a lot from the other, and reading week might just be the best thing IU could adopt from the English higher education system. I’m sure I am going to miss it next year.
(02/07/10 8:51pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As our world’s supply of natural resources continues to dwindle and the race to find alternative forms of energy ensues, one U.K.-based company seems to have found a solution that capitalizes on the one thing busy cities like London have plenty of – pedestrian traffic.In a city of more than 7 million people, it is estimated that more than 11 trillion steps are taken each day in London. Imagine harvesting that energy into something that could be used to power essential urban infrastructure like tube stations, bus stops and crosswalks. Pavegen Systems has done just that with the invention of foot-powered electricity generators in the form of green pavement slabs.These green pavement slabs are made of rubber produced from 100 percent recycled car tires. In the center of each slab is a small disc, which compresses approximately five millimeters when stepped on. The compression of the slab leads to the conversion of the kinetic energy of the pedestrian’s footstep into electricity, which can then be stored in either an internal battery or sent along a wire to a light source. Groupings of slabs in the vicinity of an area requiring electricity (i.e., a tube station) form networks of energy that can be harvested to power the adjacent facility.These sorts of groupings have already been tested and deemed a success in London thus far. The next testing will take place this summer when the slabs will be installed on staircases in a major tube station in an attempt to harvest the power of pedestrian traffic on these staircases to supply a portion of the tube station’s energy needs. Although it has not yet been revealed in which tube station this test will take place, Pavegen Systems has said it is a “major tube station” and that the goal will be providing “at least 25 percent of the station’s power” from these pavement slabs.These tests are part of a partnership between the city of London and Pavegen, with the ultimate goal of installing around 16,000 of these pavement slabs in the city by the 2012 Summer Olympics.
(02/02/10 1:59am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As part of a year-long series of articles examining women in the 21st century, the International Herald Tribune newspaper recently featured working mothers in Germany, discussing different social and economic pressures that German mothers face as part of both modern society and the workforce. In the article, journalist Katrin Bennhold made note of the new policies that arose as a result of the work of Ursula von der Leyen, family minister during German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s first term in office.Under von der Leyen, a number of changes took place, the most interesting of which is what Bennhold calls her “signature measure,” the idea of Elterngeld, or “parent money.” This incentive offers an opportunity for mothers and fathers to actually share up to 14 months of paid parental leave. There’s a twist that makes things even more interesting – if the father does not opt to take at least two of the months of “paternal leave,” the couple will only be paid by the government for 12 months.This new policy has lead to an 18 percent increase in fathers who take paternal leave, changing the way that we look at the parents’ roles in child raising.While Germany is not the only European country offering such policies, it seems to be part of a trend in policies aimed at sharing benefits for parents of newborn children. Just last week, British government officials announced a similar plan for a law that will allow fathers to take up to six months of paternity leave, making it possible for mothers to return to work sooner than before.More specifically, this will give fathers the legal right to a three-month paid paternity leave at the end of the mother’s nine-month maternity break, effectively replacing the mother at home and allowing the woman to return to work. After the three months, fathers will be allowed an additional three months of unpaid paternity leave, providing families with newborns a total of 12 months leave from work.The changes are expected to apply to families bearing children beginning in April 2011. However, such changes do not come without controversy. On the one hand, the British Chambers of Commerce argue the additional measure adds unnecessary pressure to businesses in a difficult economic time, especially when paired with seven other measures that have been proposed during the past year regarding regulation of business that lead to additional costs.On the other hand, the proposed changes have received applause from groups like the Fawcett Society and Equality Minister Harriet Harmen. Even Business Minister Peter McFadden supports the changes. “The balance between work and family life has changed for the better in the past decade, and these changes will give parents the chance to share their leave and will give families a useful element of flexibility and choice,” he told a Daily Telegraph reporter. While only time will tell whether the measures hinder businesses in England with the addition of regulation, it is certain the measure is one of many up-and-coming pieces of legislation worldwide that continue to change the way we view the role of parents in modern society and the workforce.
(12/16/09 7:53pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>CANTERBURY, England – The month of December is a magical time in Canterbury.As the cool winter air sets in and students begin to feel the pressure of impending end-of-term exams and essays, the city begins to show signs of celebration, ushering in the holiday season. Store shelves are stocked with Christmas essentials – mince pies, Christmas puddings and Christmas crackers for holiday parties and celebrations. The city center is transformed from what is already a quaint English town into something more as Christmas lights adorn the High Street stores and the annual Christmas market sets up shop, selling warm sausages, mulled wine, and various Christmas gifts to passersby. At various points along the main cobblestoned streets of the city’s center, groups of carolers sing for donations to support local charities and the Salvation Army band play traditional Christmas tunes for the general public to enjoy. In the heart of the city lies Canterbury’s famous Cathedral, with a life-sized nativity scene set up near the entrance for the duration of the season. It is here that the largest annual gathering of staff and students from the University of Kent takes place every year, at the University Carol Service.On Tuesday, more than 2000 people including students and staff from the University of Kent as well as members of the community gathered in the Canterbury Cathedral to celebrate the Christmas season. Ushered in by the music of the Salvation Army Band, each guest received a small candle and a program containing the evening’s carols and readings.The service began in silence and by candlelight as the dark halls of the cathedral were gradually illuminated by the thousands of tiny lights. Shortly after, the great cathedral was filled with the angelic voices of the University Chamber Choir singing the first song of the evening. As the service progressed, a variety of different groups from the community and campus added their contributions to the celebration. The highlight of the service came mid-way as six different groups from the University came together to sing “Silent Night” in six different languages. Beginning with a verse in English, the carol was also sung in Swahili, French, Spanish, Greek, and Japanese, showcasing the diversity of students in Canterbury and celebrating the ability of peoples from all over the world to come together and sing of “peace on earth.”As I left the cathedral with my candle still lit and walked through the city back to the University, I couldn’t help but feel that there is something beautiful about the way Christmas is celebrated here.
(12/10/09 4:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>LONDON - More than 50,000 people gathered in London last Saturday for what has been called the “greatest demonstration for climate change in the U.K.” Protestors of all ages and walks of life came together for a series of events known as The Wave, culminating in a three-hour march through the streets of London to encircle the Houses of Parliament. The message from protestors was that the world will be watching this week as leaders meet in Copenhagen to address the climate change crisis at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, or “COP15.”The Wave officially began at 9 a.m. with bike rides to the protest organized by the London Cycling Campaign. Religious services at the West London Synagogue and Methodist Central Hall Westminster that morning led up to the event as a group of demonstrators gathered at Speaker’s corner in Hyde Park for the Climate Emergency Rally. The rally featured several speakers, including Simon Hughes, a member of the British Parliament, who spoke with a sense of urgency to the crowd gathered in the park.“The economic crisis and climate crisis are interlinked,” Hughes said. “We need to change the way we live our lives.”Meanwhile, in Grosvenor Square, protestors assembled to hear speakers from worldwide organizations, including Oxfam and Christian Aid, committed to fighting climate change. Stressing the effects of climate change on individuals in developing countries, Oxfam speaker Barbara Stocking said, “For poor people, climate change is not something in the future.” Encouraged by the speakers and led by groups beating on drums, the march toward Parliament began at 1 p.m. Many people participating in the march carried placards and banners, demanding carbon cuts and an end to coal usage. As the swarms of protestors made their way through the busy streets, their numbers seemed to grow as people arriving from all over the United Kingdom joined in. The massive march ended at 3 p.m. as protestors dressed in blue reached Parliament, chanting and waving to catch the attention of politicians. Following the march, Prime Minister Gordon Brown met with 24 members of The Wave privately to discuss their demands for action in Copenhagen.In many ways, the event was considered to be a great success, especially in conjunction with similar events occurring all over Europe to put pressure on politicians for action in Copenhagen. On the other hand, some believe that the real success of such actions will be unknown until the conclusion of the Copenhagen summit on Dec. 18. Only time will tell whether or not world leaders will succeed in reaching any sort of binding agreement to address the climate crisis.
(11/23/09 3:16am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>CANTERBURY, England - It’s easy to imagine the type of questions one would encounter during the first few weeks of living in a foreign country. But there was one question I wasn’t expecting to come from my international roommates and friends with such genuine curiosity and interest.“What about Thanksgiving?” they asked me, during tea time in the second week of the term. “Isn’t it a big deal for you Americans?”This immediately sparked an onslaught of questions by the other foreign students in the room – yea, what do you do? What’s it like? What’s the point of the holiday anyway?It was difficult for me to answer the question without at least a little bit of sarcasm. “Yea, it’s like most American holidays, you know. You get the family together, you eat a lot, you fight and you watch football, I guess.”After a more polite explanation of the holiday’s origins, customary cuisine and personal family traditions, I realized that maybe I would miss Thanksgiving a bit this year. After all, there’s nothing like your mom’s cooking and a few days of relaxation to take the edge off of the end of the semester mania.Still, to most of us who have celebrated the holiday, it doesn’t really seem all that special. Our roommates and friends from France, Germany, Switzerland and England, however, were extremely excited about it. They have insisted, from that day on, that we all celebrate Thanksgiving together and have asked me about it at least once a week.“When is Thanksgiving again? Oh it’s not until the 26th? I’m hungry,” they’ll say.Or, more recently, “What else are we going to do? Do we get to talk about what we’re thankful for? Are there decorations?”Of course, it’s not that they’re genuinely fascinated by the holiday itself. I’m sure that most of the interest stems from an attempt to make me, their American friend, feel more at home while I’m here. So, while many American students on campus will celebrate Thanksgiving, my American neighbor and I will prepare a traditional Thanksgiving feast for our housemates and attempt to recreate the spirit of Thanksgiving in our small, student kitchens here in England.While I can’t reflect on the experience yet, thinking about it has made me appreciate the holiday more. There’s something really nice about the idea of a day set aside for the giving of thanks, spending time with family and friends and enjoying a good, home-cooked meal.
(11/13/09 3:47am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>While the U.S. honors all soldiers who have served in the armed forces with Veterans Day, citizens in the United Kingdom, France and Belgium celebrate Remembrance Day – also known as Poppy Day or Armistice Day.Commemorating the end of World War I with the signing of the Armistice, Remembrance Day includes two minutes of silence at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the official time at which the Armistice became effective in 1918.In Britain, it is tradition to remember the fallen by wearing a poppy on one’s jacket, usually on the lapel closest to the heart. Wreaths of poppies are also placed on tombs and memorial statues. The story of the poppy comes from a famous poem by Canadian Lt. Col. John McCrae, “In Flanders Fields,” in which he writes of his experiences in the war following the death of his best friend in Flanders. The famous poem begins with the lines: “In Flanders fields the poppies blow / between the crosses, row on row.”Following the bloody battles, the land was completely devastated, and small crosses marked the graves of the many soldiers in the fields. In the sea of mud and death, the only thing that survived were the poppies, whose seeds rest in the soil until the ground is disturbed, only blooming when the earth has been uprooted. The vivid red color of the flowers is appropriate for remembering the bloodshed in the battle. Thus, the poppy has served as a national emblem of remembrance in England since 1921.The poppy wreaths and pins are usually sold at the end of October and beginning of November, with proceeds benefiting the Royal British Legion. Some people begin wearing their poppies Nov. 1, while others choose to wait a week later for Remembrance Sunday.This year on Nov. 11, a special service at Westminster Abbey led by the Queen marked the “passing of a generation” as the three of the last British veterans of the “lost generation” passed away this year: Bill Stone, age 108; Harry Patch, age 111; and Henry Allingham, age 113. At age 108, Claude Choules is now the last surviving British veteran from World War I and one of only three surviving WWI veterans in the world.In addition to honoring the soldiers who fought in World War I, remembrance ceremonies paid homage to British soldiers who have served the nation in all major conflicts, including the five British soldiers who were recently killed in Afghanistan, making this year “Britain’s bloodiest since the Falklands,” according to a Daily Mail report.
(11/05/09 5:45am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Consider the last time you went on a “cultural excursion.” Perhaps you watched someone perform traditional dance or music. You could have visited an important landmark or place of worship. Maybe you enjoyed some authentic cuisine prepared by someone with knowledge of food preparations in a particular region of the world. But have you ever considered visiting a grocery store as a means of cultural experience?Think about it – food is widely considered to be a central part of how we define as a culture. As a necessary part of life, what and how people eat can offer a great deal of insight into societal customs and attitudes. Just as important as the preparation and eating of the food is the gathering of it. And this is where the modern day supermarket comes in. While farmers’ markets and smaller venues of food vending still exist, the overwhelming source of food for citizens in the UK is from the local grocery store, where you should be able to find any type of food you should need, and then some. In Canterbury, there are three main choices for your grocery shopping needs: Tesco, Sainsbury’s and ASDA. After the first couple of weeks of shopping at Tesco because it was the only one I knew of, I asked my roommates if there were any other grocery stores in town. Little did I know, this simple question would launch a debate about which place is the best and why. “It’s simple,” one of my roommates said. “There are three stores, and each one is more industrial than the last. You have little Tesco, then Sainsbury’s and finally ASDA, where you feel like you’re shopping at a warehouse. The prices are cheaper at ASDA, but the quality is best at Tesco.” Another one of my roommates argued that there is really no big difference. The prices are about the same, but she said Sainsbury’s is average in price and value so it’s the best place to go. The third roommate in on the discussion argued that the real supermarket in town is ALDI, because it’s German, but that’s another discussion for another time.Interested in their analysis and having some time to kill, I decided to visit each of the grocery stores for myself to see the differences. What I found were not only differences in price and quality of food but also a notable contrast in the types of people that frequent each store and what sorts of foods are offered. Each grocery store seems to serve a distinct part of the population in Canterbury, making a visit to each store a different cultural experience. For example, Tesco tends to cater to the younger, student population of Canterbury with its proximity to the city center and easy access by buses that run by campus. It is smaller than the other two stores, but offers a sufficient variety of foods and a large frozen food section with items that are quick and easy to prepare, which cater to the needs of young (and perhaps lazy) people living the college lifestyle. On the other hand, Sainsbury’s is further away from the city center, and it offers a wider variety of foods in general, as well as a greater selection of foods that could be considered “English.” This store seems to be frequented more by young families and English students who live off campus. Finally, there is ASDA, the industrial superstore of Canterbury that offers a selection of furniture, toys and electronics in addition to the food lining the fluorescently lit aisles. This store seems to be more for families who live in the surrounding areas of Canterbury, but not necessarily in the center of the city or near the university. It has the greatest selection of traditional English food, as well as the sterile and impersonal feel of a corporate powerhouse. I could go on for days about the little differences in each store, from the Starbucks installed at one to the extremely efficient self-service kiosks at another. However, the real point is that you don’t have to go to an exotic market or on a hunt to kill an animal to experience the culture involved with food gathering. The local supermarket is full of just as many cultural nuances and interesting surprises worth observing, if you’re in the mood to learn about the mysterious behavior of human beings in the modern age.
(10/29/09 3:57am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>CANTERBURY, England - In a society of multi-tasking consumers and technology-driven lives, efficiency is the key to success. Each task in one’s day must be performed in the best way possible, utilizing the least amount of time, in order to ensure that we follow Horace’s ancient advice, “carpe diem.”After all, our lives are short, and there never seem to be enough hours in a day to accomplish everything we’d like. So why not extend this concept of efficiency into our leisure times – travel? After all, if you’re really going to work hard and play hard, you should travel just as efficiently as you work, no?It is upon this principle that modern tourism business thrives. Geared toward that over-achieving, multi-tasker in all of us, travel agencies around the world are teeming with opportunities for people to see “everything” a city, nation or even region of the world has to offer in time spans ranging from one day to one week. Visit London and you can see the entire city in one day. Fly to France, and you can see the entire country in three days. Or why not see all of Europe in five days, with one of the many economical “Travel Europe” packages?While the appeal is obvious – after all, not all of us have all the time in the world to see and do the things that we want – I can’t help but cringe every time I see one of these tours advertised. The injustice that it does to each of the places and its people is just too great. Think of where you grew up, or the place where you have spent the majority of your life. Regardless of how long you have lived there, there are probably still places and people that you have not discovered, adventures waiting to happen, given the right amount of free time and an attitude of exploration. Once you enter a new city or country, the number of adventures and new experiences waiting to be had expand infinitely. With so many opportunities, why reduce yourself to something as mundane as a generic tour? You’ll be missing more than you’ll be seeing.In the true spirit of wanderlust, I believe that the only way to really appreciate a new place is to explore it on your own. Do a little reading beforehand and chart out your own personalized tour, seeing what you want to see and leaving room to explore the places in between. I have already learned countless times on my journeys that the most interesting things are found off the beaten path of sightseeing tours and pre-planned excursions. Or, if you’re feeling really adventurous, don’t plan at all. Get lost. Yes, you read that correctly. For a real adventure, go somewhere you have never been before and simply rove. As you orient yourself, remembering where you have been and charting your new paths, you will see your new surroundings in a completely different light than you would if someone else were leading you around.Yes, I have been on a sightseeing tour before. The tour guide was charismatic and enjoyable to listen to, and I saw a lot of very nice things in a short amount of time. But in the end, I felt like I could have gotten the same thing out of watching a documentary on television. The sense of fulfillment after a day of guided sightseeing is nothing like the feeling of having truly explored a city on your own.
(10/23/09 4:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The first thing I saw after stepping off a plane and into the London Heathrow Airport was a sign. “CCTV,” it said in large letters. And underneath, “For your safety and security, this area is monitored by closed circuit television.” I thought nothing of it at the time, assuming it was standard procedure for an airport to monitor activity within for security purposes. But over the last four weeks, I’ve learned that the CCTV operating system is not unique to the London airports – it’s everywhere.Every shop in town, every building on campus, even the restrooms in the underground system in London are monitored by CCTV. And, while video surveillance is certainly nothing new to me, I can’t help but feel as though I’ve walked off a plane from the United States and into the pages of Orwell’s “1984.” According to a 2002 BBC News article, “the average citizen in the UK is caught on CCTV cameras 300 times a day.” This number has undoubtedly risen over the past seven years as campaigns by United Kingdom police have successfully led to the installation of thousands of new CCTV cameras all over the U.K., including a new set of “talking cameras” introduced in 2007. These new cameras monitor littering and “anti-social behavior” in public places and actually talk to people to monitor their behavior immediately. For example, if a man leaves a can on a bench, the CCTV camera will spot it and a voice will come over on the speaker: “Please fetch your can. The bin is behind the phone box. Thank you for using the bin.”Beyond surveillance of city streets and shops for small crimes, littering and anti-social behavior, CCTV footage has been used in the past decade by UK police to track down missing children, monitor traffic and even identify terrorists (as in the case of the 2005 London bombings). These successes and uses are great, but does that make up for the blatant violation of personal privacy and civil liberties?Information Commissioner Richard Thomas has argued that Britain is “sleepwalking into a surveillance society,” while other opponents of the system have resorted to vandalism to show their dissatisfaction with the surveillance. Some choose to merely impede the surveillance by spraying paint over the lens or covering the lens of CCTV cameras, while others deliberately destroy the cameras in hopes of making a political statement. While these means of protest are relatively ineffective, they are prevalent, adding fuel to the ongoing debate of whether or not the widespread use of CCTV in the U.K. is justified.I’m certainly not here to say whether the use of CCTV is right or wrong. I am but a student of the world, here to learn about the way people of another culture live their lives. But of one thing I am sure – the American inside of me will probably never shake the feeling that, in the U.K., Big Brother is watching, and his name is the CCTV.
(10/16/09 4:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>On a recent visit to London, I was fortunate enough to visit a number of the city’s great venues of art, from the Tate Modern and the National Gallery to the Dali Universe and the Photographers’ Gallery. It was all incredible – some of the greatest collections of art that I have ever seen. But I count myself even more lucky to have seen a form of art in London that is perhaps less widely appreciated by the art community – graffiti. Just as in any great city – New York, Paris, Berlin – the streets of London are fertile breeding grounds for the underground art community, bringing forth a wide variety of graffiti styles that range from the simple tagging and stenciling to complex murals and imagery rife with social and political commentary. For those who stand strong in the belief that graffiti is never art, that it is always vandalism, I would challenge them to look at some of the graffiti that is being done in the world’s biggest cities today. You might be surprised by the power of a spray can on a cement wall to celebrate diversity, preserve culture and even provoke a change in the way that people think.Walking along Bethnal Green Road in East London, I came upon a display of graffiti sponsored by the charity organization Rich Mix. Created in April 2009, the 90-meter mural combined the work of professional graffiti artists and young people from the community to create a work of art that would celebrate the variety of cultures in the area. One of the signs on the mural explained the work’s purpose: “This piece is about a journey of cultural exchange, from the art form’s birthplace in New York City and Philadelphia, all the way across the water to London and beyond. In the mural’s main message of ‘one life, many styles,’ we also emphasize the fact that life is made up of a cross-pollination of ideas and human expression.”While this work was unique because it was sponsored by a charity and came together as a community effort, other graffiti efforts in London are beginning to be recognized as being worthwhile contributions to the community. The most prominent example comes in the case of world-renowned street artist “Banksy,” a Bristol, England, native whose controversial works of art have stirred city councils and community organizations around the world. While some, such as Peter Gibson of Keep Britain Tidy, argue that Banksy’s work “glorifies what is essentially vandalism,” others have celebrated his works as true art. In fact, the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery featured a large exhibition entitled “Banksy vs. Bristol Museum,” which drew crowds of thousands during the 12 weeks that it ran this past summer.While few city councils have chosen to protect the work of graffiti artists, individuals and organizations are beginning to take action to protect Banksy’s works around the city. I managed to find one of Banksy’s remaining works on Pollard Street in Bethnal Green, “Yellow Lines Flower Painter.” The work, which is now missing some of its original paint, remains as the building’s owner has insisted that it is his choice, not the city council’s, on whether or not the work should be removed. Now, Banksy fans who visit the work will notice a small addition above the painter’s head which reads, “Vandals found vandalising this vandalism will be prosecuted.”
(10/08/09 4:37am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>CANTERBURY, England - In just a couple short months, we will watch as more than 15,000 officials from 192 countries convene in Copenhagen, Denmark, and attempt to tackle what is arguably the most urgent international issue of our time – climate change. With the United Nations Summit on Climate Change in New York and the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh now events of the past, the push for serious action in Copenhagen continues to grow.U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed importance of coming to an agreement in Copenhagen with his closing remarks, “There is little time left. The opportunity and responsibility to avoid catastrophic climate change is in your hands.”In the United Kingdom, media attention concerning the summit has shifted as well. While reports previously focused on the economic implications of new climate-change legislation worldwide, the number of stories concerning the United States and its attitude toward the issue has increased.More specifically, there seems to be growing concern about the fate of the Kerry-Boxer bill in the Senate as a means of gauging how serious the US is about taking on the issue in an urgent manner. BBC News environmental correspondent Richard Black wrote in a recent article about U.S. involvement in dealing with greenhouse gas emissions and the recent push for the Kerry-Boxer bill, quoting Jennifer Morgan of the World Resources Institute who said, “It’s fundamental because it’s the way in which the world can get a sense of how serious the U.S. is in tackling climate change and what level of effort it’s ready to undertake.”But this concern about U.S. involvement in reducing emissions is not uniquely British. There seems to be a growing worldwide anxiety that the U.S. does not take this issue seriously enough. “I think the criticism of the U.S. has been worldwide on this issue,” said one French student at the University of Kent, “that the current U.S. attitude toward climate change is not serious enough. This is a serious problem that requires serious action on part of all nations. As one of the most powerful countries in the world, it is imperative that the United States does more.”While all of this is, of course, only speculation, it will certainly be interesting to watch during the next few months how attitudes continue to change and pressure grows on nations such as the U.S. to “step it up” when it comes to climate change policies. To quote Gordon Brown from a recent Newsweek article, “Copenhagen or bust!”
(10/02/09 4:25am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>From the minute I open my mouth, everyone knows. I am American.“Oh, you are from America – everything’s bigger in America,” is how I am often greeted by my European classmates. This generally leads into a fairly interesting discussion of the stereotypes we carry about our respective countries. The University of Kent boasts an international student population making up 19 percent of its student body, meaning that I have many classmates from all over the world – Germany, France and Malaysia, to name a few. And while it is fun to discuss the stereotypes of each different country, the conversation always leads back to the initial topic – Americans.We are known as loud, self-centered, gas-guzzling consumers who eat McDonald’s all the time. And, while some people might take offense to this, there’s no arguing that this is at least partially true when you consider Americans as a whole.However, I have particularly enjoyed hearing some of the stereotypes that my European friends have told me and have compiled a few of them here for your own personal amusement.1: Every American has a car, it is a big car and he uses it to go everywhere, even if this means to drive 200 meters down the street or five minutes to the grocery store. Public transportation does not exist in America (with the exception of New York City, of course). 2: Everyone in America is religious. A German friend actually cited a “statistic” for me, saying most certainly that at least 90 percent of America is religious, meaning that they go to church every day and adhere strictly to religious codes. 3: Americans are terrible at geography. Inevitably, this conversation topic will lead to countless YouTube references, citing videos where “random” Americans on the street have been asked to point things out on a map of the world and have failed. My favorite is the video where Americans are asked to point to Iraq, and all but one of them point to Australia, which has been mislabeled as “Iraq” as a test. 4: All Americans who live outside of big cities – namely Los Angeles, Miami, Las Vegas, Chicago or New York – are cowboys. They wear checkered shirts, cowboy hats and boots. They live on ranches and have lots of cattle and horses. This is supposed to be especially true for people who live in the Midwest. Indiana, this means you.5: Americans can’t cook. If they’re not eating fast food like McDonald’s or Burger King, they make a frozen pizza. And of course, every good American always has a jar of peanut butter on hand, because everyone knows that Americans eat peanut butter with every meal.Before you get angry and pen a letter to the editor about my “un-American” attitude, I would like you to remember that these are only stereotypes – characterizations made based on the activities of the group as a whole. And while some may find these offensive, I find a few of them to be frighteningly true. So, while I hope that you have had a few laughs while reading some of the more outrageous ones, I would encourage you, my fellow Americans, to perhaps use these stereotypes as a means of self-examination before you put your cowboy hat back on and finish your peanut butter sandwich.
(09/25/09 4:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Canterbury – Where you can party all night and still get eight hours of sleep.Think back to your last night out in Bloomington. You probably wait until 8 or 9 to really begin the evening; before that, you’re eating dinner, running errands, perhaps even finishing some homework – following the mantra “work hard, play hard.” Nevertheless, once you begin, the fun doesn’t end until maybe 2 or 3 a.m., at the earliest. Some of you don’t even begin until 11 or midnight and this is OK, because in Bloomington, the party lasts all night. For the majority of students here in Canterbury, things are a bit different. Shops in town close at 5:30 p.m., and the evening festivities tend to begin around 6 or 7. If you’ve waited until 8 or 9, you are already far behind your peers who have knocked back three or four beers by that time. There are a number of bars and even a club on campus here at the University of Kent, but, in local fashion, most of them close by midnight. So if you’re really wanting to get in a good five or six hours of party, you’ve got to start earlier. Of course there are exceptions to this rule – house parties that go on until perhaps 2 a.m. – but for those who spend their evenings out at the bars, the night ends early.Many other international students like myself were not expecting this when we first arrived. One girl who I went out with on the first weekend got very upset when the evening ended just before midnight. “This is just awful,” she cried. “I can’t believe we’re going to bed already.” While this may be offsetting at first for those of us accustomed to partying until the wee hours of the morning and beyond, there are some really nice side effects of enjoying the evening in such a manner. If you’re done partying by midnight, you’ll probably be in bed by 1 or 2 a.m. at the latest, setting yourself up for a full night of sleep, something that I know I don’t get at IU very often. And with all the time to rest, you may not even have to worry about a hangover. Chances are, you’ve slept it off by the time you wake up, and you’re ready to tackle the next day. So it’s not all that bad, and although I doubt it’s a tradition I would continue when I return, for this year it might be nice – begin the party earlier, get a full night’s rest, wake up refreshed and repeat.