Do you think Eric Holder sparknoted Plato’s Republic like we did?

Bucket List represents the intellectual privilege we enjoy as Columbia students. We do our very best to bring to your attention important guest lecturers and special events on campus. Our recommendations for this week are below, and the full list is after the jump. If you notice any events that have been left off the list, or if you have a correction, please let us know in the comments.

Recommended

• “Columbia Journalism School hosts a panel on the International Freedom Awards of the Committee to Protect Journalists” Tuesday, November 14, 12:00 – 1:00 pm. Pulitzer Hall, World Room.
• “The State of Human Rights in the World Today, Keynote Address by Mr. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights” Tuesday, November 14, 12:30 – 1:30 pm. Casa Italiana, Teatro.
• “Combahee River Collective Mixtape: Black Feminist Sonic Dissent Then and Now with Daphne Brooks, Kara Keeling, and Jacqueline Stewart” Wednesday, November 15, 6:00 – 7:00 pm. Diana Center, Event Oval.
• “Risk with Laura Poitras” Thursday, November 16, 6:30 – 9:00 pm. Lenfest Center for the Arts, The Lantern.
• “Living the Core and Advancing Justice/Contemporary Civilization Special Event: A Conversation with Eric H. Holder Jr.” Friday, November 17, 9:00 am – 2:00 pm. Miller Theater.

See the full list here!

Share your unpopular opinion: skim milk is better than whole milk.

New York City is packed with amazing culture and inspiring art, but sometimes it’s difficult to break the Morningside-bubble and experience it all first-hand. “Where Art Thou” is a weekly guide to interesting and notable lectures, events, and performances for the literary/musically/theatrically-inclined on campus.

On Campus:

• This Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, check out NOMADS’ production of Cold Whole Milk, a play written and directed by Sarah Billings (BC’18). Read more about the show and buy your tickets on their Facebook event page!
• On Saturday night, OPS (Organization of Pakistani Students) is hosting Chamak: Pakistan in Bloom, a fashion show celebrating the beauty and intricacy of South Asian fashion. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased this week on the Lerner ramps or with this link!
• If you’re lucky enough to not have class in the middle of the day on Wednesday, head on over to Faculty House from 1 to 2pm for Mid-Day Music, a series by the Columbia Music Performance Program. This week, Annie Nikunen (BC ’20) will be playing the flute. Find more info here!

Off Campus:

• While this is an on-campus group, this Friday night they’ll be performing off campus! Check out Columbia Kingsmen performing at Radio City Music Hall on Friday at 7:30. Tickets can be purchased from their Facebook event ($30 for students, $60 for non-students)!
• This Friday night from 8 to 10pm the Columbia Ballet Cooperative is performing at the Manhattan Movement and Arts Center! You can check out their Facebook event here. 2017 marks 10 years since CBC was created, so come celebrate their anniversary and enjoy some beautiful ballet!

Image thanks to the NOMADS event page

Sometimes, there are things your calculator just can’t teach you.

It happens to the best of us. Maybe you were super excited (or nervous) during move-in and missed everything your RA told you. Maybe no one ever told you. Either way, everyone has a moment when they wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat and realize we’re halfway through the semester and they still don’t know what the stacks are. Sometimes it’s about school, sometimes it’s about life in general, but Bwog is here to answer any and all of your questions, and we won’t judge you for not knowing it either. If we missed any of your burning questions, leave them in the comments! 

• How do you do dining hall takeout? What is the dining coin I got when I moved in and how do I use it?: You can trade in the coin for a hard plastic takeout container at any of the dining hall desks. To get food in it, you just put stuff in like normal or hand it to the person like a plate. When you take it back to the dining hall empty, if it’s John Jay you put it on the conveyor belt and Ferris you put it in the big bin and you get the coin back! If you lose it you can pay $5 to get a new one. Otherwise, you can pay 50 cents per paper box for takeout.
• I don’t know the names of anyone in my discussion section and it’s November: In class, you can normally just get away with saying “building off of his/her/their point” instead of actually referring to them by name. But if you’re having a conversation with someone and don’t know their name, try to be honest and say “Hey, I’m really no good with names and I only see you in this class, what’s your name again?” Pretend you need to form a study group (or actually form a study group), and get their phone numbers. They’ll have to put their names in your phone and you’ll be spared the embarrassment.
• How do I use a Swiffer?: Take one of the wipe things, put it onto the rectangle part on the bottom (some use velcro, some have slots you push the corners of the wipe into), use the thing like a mop, then throw out the wipe.

What else didn’t we know how to do?

You wish your Instagram photos looked this good

This past Saturday, the CU Photography Society hosted a portraiture workshop to help budding photographers as well as seasoned semi-professionals with portraiture. Due to the fact that New York is now a fall wonderland, the event took place in Diana Center, instead of Riverside Park as originally planned.
When I arrived, the workshop was already in progress. Three of the four models posed together against a white wall on the 6th floor as soft afternoon light filtered gently through huge windows. Sharply-dressed photographers filled the room with the sound of clicking shutters, and trendy, light house music played in the background.
After each the photographers were able get the shot they wanted, the CUPS board proceeded to set up multiple stations with different models, in a couple locations around Diana. One group went to the staircase between the 4th and 5th floors, playing with the shadows from the window dressings and the bright light while another worked in an angular enclave behind another stairwell.

Which side is my good side?

This might be you, unless you show up tonight.

Tonight, 9 pm, Lerner 510. We’ll bring our finest Trader Joe’s snacks, you bring yourself, your friends, and your finest pitches. It might be cold outside but Bwog meeting will warm your heart as you hang out with the best group on campus and stress-eat for your midterms somewhere other than JJs. Hope to see you there!

I hate the cold via Public Domain

This elephant looks like he to understands what Lebensmüde really means.

Happening in the World: After two years of delays, an elephant in Colombian zoo finally received surgery that will save his tusks. Hundreds of people raised money for the procedure and it took thirty people over three hours to perform a root canal on a cracked tusk.  (BBC)

Happening in the US: A Trump nominee for a federal judgeship was recently approved to the lifetime post by the Senate Judiciary Committee, despite having never tried a case in his life and being unanimously deemed “unqualified” by the American Bar Association. If confirmed by the Senate, it’s time for all of us to question whether that unpaid internship is worth it, because if you don’t need experience for a lifetime judgeship, you shouldn’t need any at all. (New York Times)

 Happening in NYC: Six days after the tragic death of a toddler in a New York City preschool, 400 child care centers in the city received a letter reminding them of guidelines for children with food allergies. It’s believed that three-year-old Elijah Silvera was given a grilled cheese sandwich, despite a severe dairy allergy. (WaPo/NY Daily News)

Happening on Campus: Sigma Delta Tau-Gamma Tau is holding their sixth annual talent show, Quest for the BeSDT, tonight at 7pm in Roone Auditorium. Come out to see over 15 campus groups, including special performances by Onyx and Raw Elementz! All proceeds benefit Prevent Child Abuse America, so get out of Butler and go support a good cause.

Word of the Day: Lebensmüde: German word literally meaning “life tired,” used to describe the soul-crushing angst of Romantic poets and Columbia students after they walk out of their midterms

 What a majestic boy via Wikimedia Commons