Bwog is very cultured!

Happening off-campus: The Louvre Museum in Paris was forced to close on Sunday after four thieves pulled off a daring heist, stealing eight priceless items of French crown jewels in under seven minutes. The thieves used a vehicle-mounted lift to access a first-floor window of the Galerie d’Apollon, cut through the glass, and escaped on scooters with the tiaras, necklaces, and brooches decorated with thousands of precious gemstones and diamonds that once belonged to the French monarchy. The theft was non-violent, but highly professional and authorities have linked it to the recent wave of museum robberies across France. Police are now investigating the incident and searching for the four suspects, with two items already recovered, having been dropped during the escape.  (BBC)

Happening near campus: The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s iconic rooftop garden has been officially closed to the public on Sunday, drawing crowds who came to take in the famous Central Park views one last time before demolition begins. The current Lila Acheson Wallace Wing and its Cantor Roof Garden will be replaced by the new Tang Wing for Modern and Contemporary Art, slated to open around 2030. The new wing will feature an expanded rooftop open year-round, instead of seasonally, but visitors will no longer have access to the rooftop for the duration of the construction.  (Gothamist)

Happening on-campus: This Tuesday, October 21, the Columbia Ukrainian Studies Program at the Harriman Institute will be hosting a lecture by Mykola Riabchuk which examines the controversy surrounding Russian culture and cancel culture debates in response to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.  The event, moderated by Mark Andryczyk, is from 12:15 pm to 1:45 pm and will be held in the Marshall D. Shulman Seminar Room 1219 at the International Affairs Building  (420 W. 118th St., New York, NY 10027) in Room 201. It is free and open to the public, but registration is required by 4 pm on October 20.

Rewatching: I have begun my rewatch of Grey’s Anatomy, and wow I forgot how good the first two seasons are. More importantly, I forgot how insanely good the episode with the bomb in the body cavity is. Peak television, if you ask me. I mean, “That is not the she he was asking for????” Incredible line. Merder is still in its wonderful early chemistry goodness stages, and all of MAGIC is still alive and well, and the Twisted Sisters dynamic is thriving. I just got to the episode where McSteamy (aka Mark Sloan, my favorite Plastics diva) arrives, and I can’t wait for what’s next!

The Louvre via Flickr