Deep in the bowels of Pupin, mathematical notation holds Physics students tight in its rational grip. Though confined to windowless sun-deprived cells, these scientists secretly engage in renegade artistic expression. Note the effervescent nature of the flowers and the anthropomorphic eggplant, so fleetingly sketched in chalk.

New Hawkmadinebwog contributor Courtney Douds takes us on a vicarious five-minute hike across campus, satisfying the urge for a walk in the woods without requiring anyone to get too cold.

Most photographs of Hawkmadinejad depict more than just one fascinating species. For the arboreal enthusiasts whose interests have thus far been ignored, here is a map of the large trees on campus, species by species.

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This week’s to-dos are earlier than usual, but quite worthwhile.

Monday

Lecture with Shahid Naeem: On “Nature, Knowledge, and Our National Identity.”  Hosted by PrezBo and Brinkley.  6:15 PM @ Low Faculty Room.

Tuesday

President of Bolivia: Evo Morales Ayma is here to discuss democracy in the Americas.  10:00 AM @ Low Rotunda.

Wednesday

Politics of Food:  Michael Bloomberg and company discuss policy issues in New York City that relate to food.  8:30 AM @ Lerner.

Thursday

Eckhardt: The guitarist-turned-composer, inspired by Frank Zappa, will have the premiere of his musical cycle Undersong at Miller Theatre.  8:00 PM @ Miller.

 

Bwog went far and wide this fall break. From Paris to New Jersey to Bear Mountain to Brooklyn… well it was only four days, but Bwog made the most of it.

Five weeks ago, you were taking your first midterm examinations; I was shopping for classes. This Monday and Tuesday, you were taking a break; my peers and I, in London, were enjoying the first half of ‘Reading Week,’ a much needed break situated smack in the middle of a ten-week term. 

One thing to do during Reading Week is to take the Eurostar to Paris. The Eurostar is like the Acela, only fast; when the Eurostar hits a big bump in the track, it wallows like a drunken hippopotamus for at least half a minute, which is soothing and terrifying at the same time. France is all about terror, and classiness, two things that Americans are awed by. For your benefit, I went to Paris and observed a few of the ways French people are classy:

One, nuclear power makes it cheap to heat the wintry outdoors with glow lamps. Parisians like their sidewalk cafes, and these are available despite the season. 

Two, the Paris Metro (or subway) closes early, but nights out begin after one in the morning; fortunately it is possible to ‘rent’ bicycles with something like a Metrocard. Shortly before dawn you can see drunken Frenchmen weaving their separate ways home on borrowed bikes. No word on whether cyclists, like motorists, get ‘controlled’ by the police.

Three, the issues in Paris currently revolve around Sarkozy being a jerk, and the unfortunate upcoming ban on indoor smoking. These issues are handled by drinking copious amounts of wine until (at least) ten in the evening and smoking lots of cigarettes to imbue every wall and jacket with the glorious memory and smell of smoke.

When enough classiness had been observed, I returned to London to see Vampire Weekend open for the Shins. I am proud to report that, due to incompetence on the part of the Shins’ sound engineers, and to the superiority of Columbia University education, Vampire Weekend played a better set than the Shins. You should have been there.

-John Klopfer

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The greatest narratives involve the pursuit of the unattainable. While Captain Ahab had Moby Dick, Bwog daily editor David Iscoe has a more humble aim: Befriend the turkey that lives in Morningside Park. Here, he recounts his foray into the wild.

“Hey, what kind of bird is that?”

A man pushing a hand-truck down Morningside Avenue calls through the fence, staring up at the large bird walking slowly down the hill. “That’s a turkey,” I reply.

“Whose bird is it?”

“Nobody’s. It lives in the park.”

“A turkey?”

A turkey indeed. A wild turkey lives in Morningside Park, and I decided to get to know her more intimately.

Not this kind of Wild Turkey

According to Brad Taylor and Jacquie Connors of Friends of Morningside Park (founded by Columbia alum Tom Kiel in 1981) surprise is a common reaction for first time turkey-spotters, but locals have come to know and love the bird. The Friends informed me, however, that the current resident may not actually be the same one who lived in the park before she went missing in 2006; in fact, they are convinced she’s a different one, and refer to the pre-turkey-knapping bird as “the first turkey.”

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Bwog reader John Heffernan, GS ’76, sent us an odd little e-mail recently about butterflies. We didn’t give it a second thought, until one Bwogger, while reading in Morningside park, noticed a little fleck of orange fluttering by. And then another, walking back to Butler, and every now and then in the past few days. Apparently, it’s monarch butterfly migration season, and their route to Mexico runs right through New York City. The next time you see one, say hola, and wish it a happy 2,000-mile trip. 

Note: First person to make a SHOCC joke about this post gets their IP address banned from the site. For reals, ya’ll.