JTS held a screening and panel discussion of “Inglourious Basterds” yesterday. Sample quote: “Wow, that was fun…I’m not supposed to feel that way, I know — I’m Jewish.” (Times)

Three family members were killed by a career criminal in an Upper West Side apartment; the attacker then fell to his death while trying to escape. (Post)

Citing lack of funds, the New York City Housing Authority is revoking more than 3,000 housing vouchers worth $800 each, in a move that could put thousands of people on the street just before Christmas. (NY1)

And you thought one John Jay radiator was bad: one Bronx apartment had to evacuate after a pipe to its 25,000 gallon water tank cracked. (Gothamist)

Break out the snow shoes: just in time for exam weekend, New York City is currently forecast to receive five to eight inches of snow over Saturday night. (Weather.com)

PrezBo has decided to close the academic year with a less-than-cheery missive about the University’s budget. Not surprisingly, the numbers have declined more since January: “For the first nine months of the University’s fiscal year ending on March 31, 2009, the value of the endowment declined nearly 22%, with private investments and real assets valued on the normal one quarter lag as of December 31.” But, PrezBo claims, “while hardly good news, my sense is that this constitutes strong relative performance both compared to benchmark averages in the financial markets and university endowments nationally.”

As for cost-cutting measures, “meaningful expense reductions have been set in place.  Additionally, many salaries across the University will be held constant.” Additionally, as already announced in January, new hires will be “reviewed” across the university (read: will be significantly less likely), and no new “capital projects” will be started.

And it looks as if creditors are satisfied so far: “last week both Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s reaffirmed their highest credit rating, Aaa and AAA respectively, for Columbia’s debt.” Other revenue streams continue to remain strong, including tuition. Then again, Bwog suspects tuition will continue keeping you poor, but at least no one’s going to be repossessing your room during finals. Full email after the jump. Read more…

Grab your pitchforks, music fans: Bacchanal members tell Bwog that Vampire Weekend dropped out of the concert early last night. No word yet on the actual reasoning behind the cancellation, although we strongly suspect that last Tuesday’s events have something to do with it. More updates coming shortly.

UPDATE (12:57 p.m.): Sources confirm that Vampire Weekend dropped out due to “contract issues,” rather than (less interesting) reasons such as a scheduling conflict.

UPDATE (1:08 p.m.): According to a forwarded email from Bacchanal organizers, the band, which is in the middle of recording a new album (tenatively named “Cedilla Gorilla”), balked at the security breach, and despite offers of additional incentive J. Crew gift cards, band representatives confirmed the band would drop out of the gig. When asked how such a strict clause got into the contract, Bacchanal planner Benny Shaffer blamed it on “a stray Oxford comma. I thought they didn’t give a fuck about those!” However, Bwog’s been told that a replacement group has already been confirmed, and we expect to have the name shortly.

UPDATE (1:22 p.m.): Bacchanal organizers will announce Thursday that the bluegrass group Hootenanny Hollers — best known for their chart-topping album “Backporch Pickin’,” — will play the spring festivities. Rising stars in the bluegrass community, the Hollers are also known for being one of the few bands left in the industry that still use cast-iron washtubs. Their downhome style has also earned recognition from trade magazine Waterjug, which placed them on its list of “Bands Guaranteed to Get Your Foot Tapping in 2009.”

 - JCD & JYH

Earlier today, as reported by City Room, the board of the MTA voted to both raise fares and cut back on services. The widely-expected move comes amid a serious budget crunch, exacerbated because the MTA is required to have a balanced budget. Local officials claim that this was a necessary step, especially after the state senate blocked a package of new taxes and tolls championed by Governor David Paterson.

How will the decision affect you? For starters, subway and bus fares will increase from $2 to $2.50, beginning May 31. For your extra four bits you will receive fewer trains on the 1 line between 11 and 3 p.m. on weekdays, as well as between 2 and 5 a.m. all seven days, as well as a shortened M104 route. What a deal!

Other changes include the elimination of the W and Z lines, as well as 35 bus lines in total. A full list of changes affecting the 10027 zip code is posted after the jump, and those living elsewhere can search at the Comptroller’s website. Happy route hunting! (photo via Flickr) Read more…

Photo by ESN

Bwog’s Airborne Contaminants Team has finally confirmed, after days of close analysis, that the sign posted on the Wien bulletin board earlier this week does indeed contain the word “asbestos.” We’re all gonna die!

Well, maybe only those of us who like to hang out anywhere that smells of the good ol’ John Jay garbage chute. Though the sign says that floors 3-9 will be affected, close inspection of another sign (with much smaller print) reveals that construction on floors 3-8 will be limited to trash rooms, where some asbestos-laden pipe insulation will be replaced.

On floor 9, residents might be a little freaked by the plastic covering the carpet from the staircase to the south end of the hallway. The construction crew, which is set to start work tomorrow, will be removing “350 feet of vinyl asbestos tile” from rooms 938 and 940.

You may be coming home to a freshly “inspected” room,  but just think – it could be worse. Instead of stealing your alcohol, Columbia could have stolen your dearly loved asbestos tile floor. Never leave your valuables behind, kids. 

Shaky snowboarders

After all the hubub, nothing made more sense than to check out Winter Jam NYC yesterday.  The city government promised such exciting things as “The Future of Snowboarding Invitational” (original caps), an ice climbing wall, and trampoline entertainment, the last of which has no connection to winter as far as we can tell.

Upon arriving at the park, we were greeted by city park officials’ awkward grammatical constructions (“People who don’t–not–have kids with them can’t go through here”) meant to guide us through narrow gaps in the cement walls.  The park was covered in turf and topped with a layer of rather melty, muddy man-made snow.  Bored parents shepherded their children, many of whom were confounded by the complex social construction that is the Snowball Fight.

Read more…

Sure, seniors may be looking at the worst job market in decades, but at least they have some of Columbia’s fun senior traditions to look forward to!

Or, you know, not. The administration’s “War on Fun” campaign looks to be well on its way to destroying a proud senior pastime, as sources tell Bwog that Dean of Student Affairs Kevin Shollenberger and SDA Director Robert Taylor have ordered the student councils to come up with a replacement for the once-loved tradition of 40s on 40.

Up until two years ago, seniors would drink 40s on Low Steps to celebrate 40 days before graduation. The public drinking made for some actual class unity, and hilarious scenes of tour guides assuring parents “no, we only get this way once a year.” But, like any evil dictatorship, Columbia soon tired of the civil disobedience, and forced the class councils to put on a poorly-run picnic instead. Both years of cheap imitation saw nothing but frustrated students in long lines for little beer.

What’s the new excuse? Apparently, Shollenberger and Taylor told the councils that the university is “no longer comfortable” hosting an event whose primary draw is alcohol. Aside from the lack of any incidents to support this new crackdown, of course, the university’s quick to drop such quibbles when donors are involved: for example, the official Columbia University Club of New York, which has an open bar, or almost every single cocktail party that the university throws for potential donors. But if the War on Fun’s been any guide, justification is not the University’s strong suit.

Housing and Dining, being too cool for email announcements, has stealthily added a “New in 2009″ part to the room selection section of its website. The new policies:

• “The Same Room/Same Suite policy has been eliminated. All students who wish to reside in Housing must go through the Room Selection process.
• 30 point senior groups will pick before 30 point EC Exclusion Suite groups.
• Groups of 5 seniors have the option to pick into an EC Exclusion Suite.
• Sophomore groups in Suite Selection have the option to split up into groups of 2 and pick into corridor-style doubles during Sophomore Pair Up.”

What possessed Housing to commit such madness (well, aside from the sophomore pairing up idea) is unknown at this time.

An anonymous tipster let Bwog know that the rock bands scheduled at everyone’s favorite ramped building will not be playing “for security reasons.”  The bands that Bwog knows were nixed include Beta Theta Pi’s The Stolen Cars, jazz/metal Columbia band Wizards of the Coast and Bowie-imitating Brooklyn rockers Dasher.  Bwog is disappointed that we will now have to listen to that annoying kid fumbling through Moonlight Sonata and chromatic scales in the piano lounge.