Solange’s new album “When I Get Home”, Venezuelan Juan Guidó, deathly Alabamian tornadoes, and NYC snow in today’s Bwoglines.

Happening in the world: Venezuela’s opposition leader and popular interim president, Juan Guaidó, plans to reenter the country. Guaidó violated the travel ban imposed by President Maduro by leaving Venezuela two weeks ago. Maduro, who rejected humanitarian aid sent by Guaidó, sees Guaidó’s calls for mass protests as “imperialist aggression” and attempted coups d’état. (BBC)

Happening in the US: Sweeping, ruthless tornadoes killed at least 23 people in Lee County of southeastern Alabama on Sunday. The winds peaked at 165 mph, also sending 40 injured patients to the East Alabama Medical Center. According to the National Weather Service, an average of 80 people die annually from tornadoes in the US. (ABC News)

Happening in New York City: All the CUNYs, NYU, Fordham, and all New York City Public schools will be closed today due to the winter storm. Not Columbia though! Go to class, you bums. Today, temperatures will be around the 30s (Fahrenheit) with winds of about 10mph. Weather information from The Weather Channel. (ABC 7 NY).

Happening on campus: Today marks the 2019 Annual Columbia Snowball Fight, according to a student-made Facebook event. Go pelt Deantini with snowballs from 12pm to 3pm at Low Steps today.

Also make sure to see Saidiya Hartman, one of our beloved professors specializing in African-American literature and history, talk about her highly anticipated new book: “Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments: Intimate Histories of Social Upheaval”. In Diana Center this evening, Hartman will discuss the intimate socio-political life of young Black women in the early twentieth century, which profoundly shaped urban culture. Check the Facebook event for more details.

Overheard: Amidst the snow storm, an unnamed friend on a business trip in Chicago texted me, and I quote, “TELL ME WHY MY ASS IS STUCK IN CHACAGO UBTIL TUESDAT”

Album of the day: Solange Knowles dropped her new “When I Get Home” on March 1st of 2019, as Black History Month transitioned into National Women’s History Month. This album explores themes of self-determination, black empowerment, and an exploration of one’s origin.

As a follow up to her 2016 critically-acclaimed “A Seat at the Table”, this beautiful album was written, performed, and executive produced by Solange herself. The full credits to the album include contributions from: Panda Bear, Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler the Creator, Gucci Mane, Playboi Carti, Blood Orange, Sampha, Pharrell, Raphael Saadiq, Cassie, and Metro Boomin.

The long track list of 19 songs only amount to about 39 minutes of running time, interweaved with soulfully ambient interludes. Other than the more boppy tracks like “Stay Flo” and “Binz”, her fourth studio album reveals itself to be enchantingly cohesive, calm, dreamy, and groovy. As an exclusive treat for Apple Music users, Solange also released an accompanying, visually appealing 33-minute film for “When I Get Home”. Too bad I use Spotify.

Dreams, they come a long way, not today… via Wikimedia Commons.