Help yourself to some more newsy musings from Bwog’s cluttered Columbia Bureau desk. We proclaim this edition loosely linked by the theme of exploring. Baxter Wood “drives around in a big truck,” listens to free university lecture podcasts and blogs about his “reeducation.” It’s learning for the sake of it! Recently Wood reviewed a lecture […]

Have you ever noticed how time seems to run so much more slowly when you’re not drinking 9 cups of coffee a day and putting half of that energy into being passively aggressive? Bwoglines leisurely returns with a first installment: a feast of not-strictly-topical links, and context—something we all wish we had more time for. […]

This morning, the Supreme Court denied a writ of certiorari to Tuck-It-Away and the Singhs, the last parties opposing the Manhattanville expansion scheme, meaning that they will not be considering the case (official court order list from 12/13 here). This formally ends any possible legal opposition to New York State’s use of eminent domain, and […]

In case you missed it, SantaCon participants gathered in large Santa-costume-clad groups across the US and went on a pub crawl. Bad Santa! (CBS) In other “Holiday Season” news, lobby decorations have become an increasingly contentious topic in apartment buildings across the city. (NYT) New Jersey’s black bear hunt is a boon to taxidermists and […]

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas… (Gothamist) NPR suggests you listen to annoying Christmas music. Richard Nixon wasn’t racist or anti-Semitic…. oh, wait. (NYT) A man got trapped between a train and the platform at Union Square. Scary! (New York Post) Update, 2:04 PM: Mark Madoff, son of Bernie Madoff, committed suicide this morning. […]

After years of just one Manhattan branch in Harlem, IHOP is finally coming to Times Square. Tourists rejoice! (Gothamist) Two men are accused of attacking a Queens imam in a subway and shouting racist and anti-Muslim epithets. (NY Daily News) Sarah Palin plans to visit Haiti—probably because she can’t see it from her house. (HuffPo) […]

Oh Hey, 2015! Columbia ED results are out today. Columbia bartenders don’t have to strip. Phew. (NYT) Anonymous “hacktivists” took down the websites of Visa and Mastercard yesterday in their war for WikiLeaks’ revenge, but the Feds know how to strike back. (NYMag, Gawker) Tania Bruguera talks about using dirt and cocaine in her behavior art. (The Eye) […]

A Med School researcher says that while prescription rates for antidepressants are rising, fewer Americans are seeking psychotherapy. (BusinessWeek) In a meeting of the top two teams in the AFC East, the New England Patriots defeated the New York Jets by a lopsided score of 45-3. (WSJ) Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder and global supervillain, was […]

Lotsa people are talking about SIPA’s reaction to WikiLeaks. Huffpo gave us this ridiculously dramatic photo, the Village Voice called Columbia fascist, and now NY Mag endorses NYU-style topless protesting. Apparently, telling students to ignore a major event totally revolutionizing journalism and politics counters the goals of most universities. Be rebellious, friends, go learn! Captain […]

Notoriously stubborn New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has come to a compromise that may bring medical marijuana to the Garden State by next summer. (NYT) St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the one on Mulberry Street, has been designated a basilica, New York’s first. (Daily News) Governments are scrambling in the wake of the most recent WikiLeaks document […]

The New York Times talks about education with professional dancers in GS. But we all love to see people chain smoking anxiously outside of Mathematics… (Spec) Elaine Kaufman, owner of the famous restaurant Elaine’s, dies at 81. (NYT) He’s got 99 problems, of which one is definitely not a birthday. Happy birthday from all of us on […]

Columbia all-star Professor Jeffrey Sachs tells us why we should make the “conscious pursuit of happiness the Ninth Millennium Goal.” The key, he argues, is equilibrium. (NYT) House votes 333-79 to censure Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel for numerous ethics violations. (HuffPo) The U.S. unemployment rate rises to 9.8%. (Bloomberg) Creepy Disney town Celebration, FL sees […]

Bengu Sezen, a former Ph.D. student in Columbia’s chemistry department, committed 21 instances of scientific misconduct in her doctoral research and is now banned from all sorts of government work. (Spec) WikiLeaks went on a Twitter tirade against its former host, Amazon.com, after Amazon crumbled under government pressure and shut the site down. (NY Mag) […]

Study suggests that attending an Ivy doesn’t necessarily pay off with a higher starting salary after graduation.  That’s bad, because money defines success in life and education is only a means to that end. (NYT) Read about the convoluted history of the crew’s huge painted “C” facing Inwood Hill Park. (Manhattan Times) A Barnard ROTC […]

More (and even more) on George Castro- who is not in fact an employee of the University– the man indicted on charges of stealing nearly $5 million from Columbia, including the quote, “The money just appeared in my account.” (NYT/WSJ) Two researchers at the Mailman School of Public Health find that ineffective treatments and high […]