Yawn

Bwog fell asleep at 8pm on Thanksgiving (and last night….oops), and was determined to find out why. Assuming those after-meal droopy eyes had something to do with science (the idea of a god of food comas was dismissed after much discussion), we set Bwogsleuth Zach Kagan on the trail. Here he presents a roundup of internet wisdom to reveal the cause of post-turkey sleep disorder.

It’s a familiar scene. You’re watching Thanksgiving day football, and your eyes start to droop. But it’s not just you—your whole family, aunts and cousins, that neighbor you only see three times a year—they’re all slouching in their chairs, lazily fighting the sweet embrace of sleep. Just then your Auntie Nora pipes up and says: “It’s the tryptophan! In the turkey!”

Ah! But you, seeker of truth, are just as much trapped in the cave as Auntie Nora, because the whole tryptophan in turkey causing drowsiness is but a myth. Pervasive myth at that: there’s even a Seinfeld episode where Jerry sedates his girlfriend with a big turkey dinner so he can play with her toys (it’s less creepy in context…well, on second thought it isn’t really). The truth is that that tryptophan is a mild sedative contained in turkey, but the story is a bit more complicated. It’s time to put your biochemistry caps on: tryptophan is an essential amino acid that you get from food. Your body needs it to make important stuff like boring ol’ vitamin B, but also fun neurotransmitters like serotonin and melatonin which calm you down and can make you drowsy. Case closed right? You eat lots of turkey, get ingest oodles of tryptophan, your brain goes into a serotonin producing overdrive, and you nod off to sleep halfway through Alcibiades’s speech.

If only it were that simple! There are a bunch of other amino acids in turkey as well, and tryptophan is one of the scarcer ones. Amino acids need to compete to get past the blood-brain barrier and on Thanksgiving there’s just too much competition and tryptophan gets drowned out. Really, the only way that tryptophan can make you drowsy is on an empty stomach, and how likely is that on turkey day? Turkey doesn’t even have a particularly high amount of tryptophan (both beef and soybeans contain more). So, what really makes you sleepy after Thanksgiving? The same thing that makes you sleepy after any meal.

Find out what after the jump!

Dean Peter Awn sent out this email to all GS students earlier today, subject line: “Meleagris Gallopavo.” (That’s the Wild Turkey, to you plebs) If this (or this) doesn’t get you in the mood for Thanksgiving, we don’t know what will.

Dear Students,

They cluck, they flail, they fold their necks back to catch the rain
and drown—meleagris gallopavo is, in Ben Franklin’s opinion, more
American than the bald eagle. In its domesticated version, however,
it exhibits a diminished intellectual capacity equaled only by members
of Congress. Perhaps that is why the bird is so thoroughly American.

Whether you want to or not, you must this festive Thursday consume the
tasteless treat, whose cardboard like texture is renowned around the
globe. In order for you to steel yourself for this culinary trial,
you will need to dedicate time this evening to meditate, fast, and, if
necessary, flagellate yourself with a drumstick. May the loving aura
of the Cosmic Turkey embrace you tomorrow and for many years to come.
Have the happiest of Thanksgiving holidays!

Peter J. Awn

Dean

Columbia University School of General Studies

Procrastinator? No problem. Join Matt Powell, Bwog’s resident chef, for a last minute lesson in Thanksgiving entrées.

Disclaimer: Yours might not look like this.

Tomorrow is the biggest food holiday of the year—a day devoted completely to feasting and drinking and being merry! It’s the only day that almost everyone forgoes any restrictions and pigs out, to the brink of explosion.

As a college student still on campus, I won’t be cooking for a large crowd, just a few close friends. We’re chickening-out (quite literally). Yes, we have forsaken the sacred Thanksgiving turkey for the more manageable chicken. But that doesn’t mean that you have to! Most turkeys come in 10 pounds and up, quite too large for a small group. However, creating a seasonal turkey feast is not out of reach!

Cider-Brined Turkey Breast

This is the method that my friends and I are using for our chicken. Inspired by a recipe from Bon Appétit magazine, I created this recipe.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless turkey breasts, 3-4 lbs. each
• 1/2 qt. of warm water
• 3/4 C kosher salt
• ½ C brown sugar
• 1 qt. of apple cider
• 1 handful of peppercorns
• 6 star anise
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 6 slices of ginger root
• 6 smashed garlic cloves
• 6 green onions, chopped, white and light green parts only
• Butter (about 2 tbsp.)
• 2 tbsp. Olive oil
• 1 C dry white wine

Read Matt’s recipe after the jump!

Thanksgiving—it’s on Thursday! And of course, our favorite Morningside Heights establishments are quite cognizant of this fact. Window turkeys and seasonal flavors abound, and we’ve rounded them up for your viewing pleasure. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

They like turkey, too

Though your peers’ talk of travel plans and turkey dinners may have you in a homesick slump, there are ways for you to get your fill of Thanksgiving goodness without even going south of 110th Street.

In Lerner’s Broadway Room from 6 to 7:30 pm this evening, Bhakti Club and Columbia Students for Animal Protection will be hosting a free, vegan Thanksgiving dinner. We’re told they’ll be serving breaded seitan nuggets, BBQ baked tofu, a glazed root veggie roast, cumin mashed potatoes, vegan gravy, a carrot and golden beet salad with cilantro-mint dressing, and a pear and cranberry green salad with raspberry vinaigrette. Nomz!

For Thanksgiving Day meal options, the Office of Residential Programs has got your back. All Columbia students staying in NY for the break are invited to attend a “traditional” Thanksgiving Dinner in Wien Lounge from 4 to 5:30. The menu will feature all the classics: turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, roasted vegetables, candied yams, roasted potatoes, assorted holiday pies and beverages. If the thought of these edibles tickles your fancy, make sure to RSVP by 3 pm today. Seats are limited to 100 attendees, so be quick about it! Email Asha Bartley if the pesky Sundial calendar system gives ya any trouble.

And last, but certainly not least, SIP (of all places!) will be holding an all-day, all-night Potluck Thanksgiving event. In keeping with its six-year tradition of free turkey, they’ll be serving dinner with all the trimmings to anyone who shows up, though they do encourage food contributions of any kind.

If you’re having a free Thanksgiving event that you’d like other Columbia students to attend, let us know in the comments!

Thanksgiving at the Trolls from Flickr/martha_chapa95

Yesterday, Peter Sterne, Bwog’s Turkish Economics Bureau Chief, hopped to the International Affairs Building to learn about “Headscarf Discrimination: Labor Market Discrimination in Contemporary Turkey” with Dilek Cindoglu, a visiting professor at Columbia’s Institute for Research on Women and Gender (IRWaG). To learn more about the controversy surrounding veiling, check out this archive.

Ten or so people not scared away by the lecture title crammed into IAB 801 to hear Cindoglu explain the connection between the Turkish ban on headscarves and the job market. Though only one woman in the audience wore a headscarf, most of of the audience seemed to have at least a passing awareness of Turkey’s ban on wearing of headscarves in public places, including courts, government buildings, and, most controversially, schools and universities. The ban dates from the founding of the modern Turkish state back in the 1920s, but was not strictly enforced until the early 1980s. It was almost repealed in 2008, but concerns that lifting the ban would turn Turkey into an Islamic theocracy led to its quick re-affirmation. These tensions were once again ignited last October, when the Turkish first lady appeared in public with her head covered. Meanwhile, charges that the headscarf and the burqa (a veil that covers the entire face) are symbols of female oppression has motivated Western European countries like France to prohibit women from wearing headscarves in public schools and to ban the burqa outright. It has even inspired more general concerns that Western ideas of freedom and human rights may be opposed to multiculturalism. Read more…

Gül in 2007

Dane Cook was on hand to hear Abdullah Gül, the President of the Republic of Turkey, address the World Leaders Forum as the last speaker in the week-long series. Though Gül expressed sentiments of optimism and cooperation for the future, students pressed him on steps Turkey has recently made in the international scene.

While introducing President Gül, University President Bollinger expressed what he believes to be the American perception—or misperception—of Turkey as a “metaphorical bridge, linking the West and the Muslim world.” He pointed out, however, that Turkish citizens do not consider their nation to be a link, but rather a center in and of itself.

Bollinger also stressed the need for an open dialogue on the sensitive issues that the world currently faces, proposing the University as a fitting place for such a dialogue to develop. In his opening remarks, Gül praised University President Bollinger’s new book, Uninhibited, Robust, and Wide-Open, which he claimed he saw in a NYC bookshop, and he assented to Bollinger’s emphasis on free press and free discussion.

The first half of his address focused on Turkey’s accomplishments over the past decade. Gül emphasized the liberalization of the media, cultural advances, dedication to human rights, and further democratization, as well as listed significant economic figures that suggest Turkey is stepping into an increasingly important role in the international community. He highlighted the fact that Turkey has the 16th-largest economy in the world, recently passed a liberalizing constitutional referendum that garnered majority support of 58%, and has the most Facebook users of any country in the world behind English-speaking nations. He openly acknowledged that Turkey has many issues yet to be resolved, but expressed his resolute optimism that Turkey is moving forward: “Today the Turkish influence is being felt in the most positive manner.”

Read more…

The last part of Bwog Poultry Pundit David Hu’s hunt for the ultimate Thanksgiving sandwich.

Meal Three: Saturday, November 21, 2009. 12:02pm
Cajun Roasted Turkey from Milano
In a twist, I went to Milano for lunch, where, once again, they did not have any special Thanksgiving sandwiches. So I settle on something a little unexpected for the season, the Cajun Roasted Turkey sandwich with turkey, French Brie, and honey mustard.

I have to admit, before I ate the sandwich, I was already a little tired of all the turkey I’ve been having. But the sandwich reminded me why there’s a whole season dedicated to the meat. The sandwich features a good balance of an appreciable amount of turkey with lettuce, tomato, and French Brie. If you want to have a sampling of Thanksgiving in just one bite of a sandwich, this is a great choice.

Still, it’s a lot of turkey. Although I’m personally not complaining, but if you’re sick of turkey already, perhaps you may consider the Capri Panini for a little spice in your pre-Thanksgiving life. Read more…

Resident Movies ‘n’ Mashed Potatoes Machine Mark Hay is back with three films to enjoy in that post-turkey stupor.

Thanksgiving approaches quickly and many of you will be returning to your families. Bwog sympathizes with those of you who will be returning to dysfunction, disorder and other such unpleasantness. So in the spirit of the holiday, Bwog presents a list of three great Thanksgiving movies – two of which feature a pre-Tom Cruise insanity Katie Holmes. Oh, the good old days.

The Ice Storm (1997)

This Thanksgiving, when you feel the dysfunction of your family dawning upon you, watch Ang Lee’s The Ice Storm and give thanks that (one would hope) your family is not such a frigid caricature of searching boredom and impending self-implosion as the two in this film. Set in the wake of the Watergate scandal and the confusing aftermath of the sexual revolution, Lee’s melancholic family portrait depicts the self-serving quests of many individuals lost in a new world. These bumbling and broken individuals, forced together by the promise of turkey and gravy, crash into each other, shaking the brittle crystal of their strained lives and initiating the inevitable explosion that accompanies any family reunion.

Read more…

Episode 1 of a series, in which Bwog’s Poultry Pundit David Hu infiltrates the delis of Morningside Heights in search of the perfect Thanksgiving sandwich.

Meal One: Thursday, November 19, 2009. 8:16pm

“Turkey Shoot” from Westside Market

As I sit here staring at the culinary delight in front of me, I am excited for two reasons. Primarily, I am anticipating the exquisite mixture of turkey, cheddar cheese, sweet red pepper, and honey mustard, all heated to perfection, that is about to enter my mouth. Secondarily, but perhaps more importantly, I am looking forward to a weekend of nothing but sandwiches made of turkey, one of my all-time favorite victuals. (Let’s put it this way, when I saw that Sarah Palin video, I salivated.)

As I take my first bite, I am overwhelmed by the taste of turkey but am also surprised by the kick of honey mustard. I only begin to taste the cheese in subsequent bites. As I continue masticating on the beautiful, angelic work of turkey sitting before me, I never get tired of the taste of turkey, and the bits of sweet red pepper sprinkled through the sandwich serve as little surprises to make the meal all the more delightful.

Read more…

Bwog Lecture Hopper David Berke attended tonight’s Heyman lecture, starring Orhan Pamuk with Andreas Huyssen. Special Brinkley cameo towards the beginning!

Deep in the catacombs of the Kraft Center, Nobel Prize Laureate/MEALAC professor Orhan Pamuk spoke to a basement of eager listeners, the packed room filled beyond capacity.  The literary luminary, who moonlights as a controversial political figure in his native Turkey, discussed art, persecution, language and a curiously conceived museum.  Andreas Huyssen, chair of Germanic languages, mediated the evening, and outgoing Provost/Bwog’s undying AP US history love Alan Brinkley kicked things off with a brief introduction.

Pamuk trained as a painter for years, then switched to studying architecture before making the jump to novelist.  Not surprisingly, Pamuk cited “visuality” as a seminal element of his work.  Pamuk and Huyssen are currently teaching a seminar about the relation between literature and pictures (the aptly titled Words and Pictures), and his most recently released English translation—an essay collection titled Other Colors—also includes photographs.  Explaining his interest in long form fiction, Pamuk asserted that the novel “kills all other literary forms,” a statement both audacious and fun to act out on my bookshelf, Jonathan Swift-style. To Pamuk, this “killing” has had international implications, for, in his mind, globalization did not begin in the late 20th century, but started with the worldwide spread of novelistic writing a century ago.

Read more…

Not everyone spent Spring Break in Jamaica. Below, Bwog editor Chris Szabla reports on his visit to cold – and contradictory – Istanbul.

The train from the airport emerges into open air, weaves through tired concrete apartment blocks painted in worn pastels, occasionally grants glimpses between them of an endless, rolling cityscape of similarly dilapidated structures, all suffused in a dull green-blue haze. It halts at a transfer point shrouded in fog and you exit, your face sprinkled with forty-degree rain. That’s when you remember: despite the minarets puncturing the distant horizon, the hijabs, the buzz-buzz-buzz of calls to prayer mediated by electric megaphone, Istanbul is far closer to Bulgaria than Bahrain.

Sure, “East and West”: both are present in this city, which legendarily spans continents and cultures, shores and civilizations. That the two meet here is the cliché that has saddled Istanbul at least since the foundation of the Turkish Republic in the 1920s, when
one Orientalist trope after another was swept away by Atatürk’s steady – some would say overzealous – Westernizing hand. Some dissenters, naturally, have chosen to paint the city one way or another, instead. “This Istanbul is European thing is bullshit,” one grad student told me before my departure. “Most of it is just like Damascus.” In Orhan Pamuk’s Snow, on the other hand, distant Istanbul comes off no less foreign, no less “Western” to ur-Turkish Anatolia as Paris or London.

In his memoir Istanbul: Memories and the City, the Nobel-winning author strikes closer to the truth about this beguiling metropolis. East and West – if, for convenience’s sake, we can collect a variety of stereotypes under these contested categories – do both exist, indeed coexist, in Istanbul. Whether they, in fact, meet - this is another question entirely.

Read more…

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.”

Read more…

Dean of SEAS Zvi Galil, spam robot extraordinaire, strikes once more with an idiosyncratic personal e-mail before he leaves to take over the presidency of Tel Aviv University. Just another example of what we’ll be missing…

Hi All,

SEAS is hot. (Don’t hold it without gloves, you may get burnt.) We now have final numbers of Early Decision. Last year we had a record. This year’s new record is 51% higher.  This is beyond anyone’s expectations. As for regular applications, we are “only” 40% higher than the number of last year at the same time. It is too early to predict the final number, as most applications arrive early January.

Every Thanksgiving I read the piece below, which is now 17 years old, and laugh again. Every few years I send it to the students. So if you have received it from me, it perhaps means that you have been here too long… Anyway, you can delete it as any other spam.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Dean Galil

Read more of his e-mail after the jump.

Read more…

Eagle-eyed Bwog Editor Jessica Cohen noticed this interesting sign in Milano. 

Nothing like ”freshly killed turkey” to stir the appetite! 

Thanks to Sumaiya Ahmed for the photo!