Many of you have notified us (and Spec reported earlier) that Swish has suddenly closed, though only temporarily. Some speculated it might be for health code violations, while others chalked it up to a changing look.

Bwog tipster Zack Sheppard suggests it may be closer to the latter, and the changes will be culinary as well as cosmetic: "I gave their old number a call and it connected me to Tomo, where they said Swish was closed for a month and, when it reopened, was going to be all Japanese food "like us." News to me. And a disappointment, I liked Swish's non-Japanese food." He also sent along a photo of the shuttered restaurant.

Bwog shares Zack's disappointment.

For those of you in the city during break, Bwog art correspondent Kristina Budelis fills you in on what's happening at the museums and galleries around town:

After weeks of dreaming about break, followed by a few more weeks of blithe freedom, some students may yearn to spice up the cycle of sleeping, eating, job hunting, and the occasional Facebook stalking. For the fortunate few still meandering around the city, seize these gloriously homework-free days and explore some of the museums and galleries you've been neglecting. After all, you won't have your CUID forever.

THE MET

For the ADD art connoisseur, the Philippe de Montebello exhibit is a must-see. Montebello, the longest-serving director in the Met's history, is about to retire, and, to celebrate his going-away in style, the Met's curators have assembled about 300 of the most exciting and transformative works from the 84,000 acquired during his 30-year tenure. The exhibit is highly eclectic, completely eschewing cohesion, but you'll be too busy swiveling your head to care. The works span from Roman rings and Egyptian amulets to post-modern painting and black-and-white photography, and viewing such works side-by-side produces some unexpected dynamics. The exhibit not only celebrates Mr. Montebello's tenure, but also provides a snapshot of the Met's collection at a crucial turning point in its history.

"Let me begin with the caveats: I like men," writes Barnard's president in today's Washington Post, "But as the financial debacle unfolds, I can't help noticing that all the perpetrators of the greatest economic mess in eight decades are, well, men."

Oh yes, you may have heard many other explanations for the Wall Street crisis: irresponsible lending agencies, insane hedge fund managers, a housing prices bubble, and so on. But according to Barnard's president (who was a professor at Harvard Business School before coming to Morningside Heights), though, the problem lies in the nefarious XY chromosome pairing. Male-dominated Wall Street DSpar argues, could have been saved by some female leadership, because "women may be less inclined than men to place the kind of bets that can get them in real trouble." Oh, and female whistleblowers (on Wall Street or elsewhere) are also never listened to.

Don't worry, though, guys: Spar assures you that "I have spent most of my career surrounded by men, and I have no major complaints."

A quick roundup of some of headlines that appeared in our inbox in the past few days:

For all those who have resolved to go to get fit in the new year, there may be no better example of the benefits than Barack Obama - he began his now-famous commitment to fitness as a senior at Columbia.

Cut out the sugar cubes: Medical Center researchers have linked blood sugar spikes to memory loss.

Women's basketball star Judie Lomax was named to the Naismith Trophy Early Season watch list, the only player from the Ivy League on the list.

Finally, Bwog salutes former Rhode Island Senator Claiborne Pell, architect of the Pell Grant program, who died yesterday at the age of 90. Pell recieved a master's in history from Columbia in 1946, and Columbia ranks 1st among private universities in percentage of students recieving Pell Grants.

Dear readers,

After more than two years with the same front page, we have decided that Bwog is in need of another makeover. The new version will be launching today, and we've kept pretty much all of the features that we had before, merely reorganizing them for an even more streamlined look.

We have added two new features, and will be adding more in the next few weeks. First, the "City," "Arts," and "Hawk" tabs will be used for easier organization, and will also (like the hawk blog) get their own exclusive content. Second, we've added a Lost and Found box to put lost and found announcements in. We'll be tweaking the site over the coming weeks, so please let us know what you think in the comments.

Thanks for reading,

James Downie
Bwog Editor

With the New Year just under ten hours away (for East Coasters), Bwog waves goodbye to 2008. If you're around New York, and enjoy a big party, there's always the Times Square celebration (where police expect a million people this year).

We have already written our year in review, but the new year also brings yet a round of things to be forgotten - New Year's Resolutions. We have compiled our own list of resolutions, and encourage you to add your own (or, of course, ridicule ours) in the comments. Happy New Year!

• Actually pay attention to the "difficulty" part of CULPA ratings.
  
• Keep a regular gym schedule during exam period
• Read at least one book for fun.
• Finish at least one seminar book.
• Wean myself off of Gchat.
• Figure out how to sync my Google Calendar to my phone, and actually use it
• Learn to ride my bike on the street, not illegally on the sidewalk
• Increase the ratio of homemade coffee to coffee I buy
• Visit friends at other schools more often (corollary resolution: actually keep in touch with friends at other schools)
• Not work on a Friday night.
• Brush daily
  (Read more...)

Caroline Kennedy may be attracting all the national attention in the quest to replace Hillary Clinton's Senate seat, Governor (and CC alumnus) David Paterson has not limited himself to famous last names. Yesterday, according to City Room, Paterson interviewed local Assemblyman Daniel J. O'Donnell, adding O'Donnell's name to a list that includes Kennedy, attorney general Andrew Cuomo, and various members of New York's congressional delegation.

O'Donnell was elected in 2002 to represent the 69th district, which includes almost all of Morningside Heights. Perhaps more significantly, he was the first openly gay man elected to the State Assembly, and led the 2007 fight to legalize gay marriage in New York (though it passed the Assembly and was supported by then-governor Spitzer, the Republican-controlled Senate refused to consider the bill). Oh, and his sister is Rosie O'Donnell. Yes, that Rosie O'Donnell.

Up against such names as Cuomo and Kennedy, O'Donnell's realistic about his chances - according to City Room, "he put his odds of getting the seat at about one in 10, or 'about the same as the population of gay people in the world.'" Still, he's representing the area better than some other politicians Bwog could name.

Bwog Know Your Web Series Critic Rob Trump sums up the year in stand-up. Here's what you missed in 2008 and what to make sure you catch in 2009.

2008 didn't have as many incredible releases in stand-up comedy as 2007, but overall I'd say that it was a little deeper and had more worthwhile stuff. Here's the best.

5. Doug Benson — Professional Humoredian

If you're familiar with Doug Benson, it's probably from his appearances on Best Week Ever or his stint on Last Comic Standing losing to people much less funny than him. It took me a little while to warm to his sing-songy delivery, which makes him seem like a goofier comic than he really is. One you get used to it though, you'll realize that it's his way of making the audience feel at ease so they'll come along with him to his strangest, funniest bits. Benson's jokes and stories aren't usually about himself, but his perpetually oblivious persona is at the center of his best jokes, like this one: "Someone just the other day asked me, 'Who are you voting for president, and why?'And I said, 'That is my personal business, and because he's black.'" Or at the end of his album -- by which time a listener has come to appreciate Benson for the oddball he is -- he whips out some real weirdness: "Have you ever been driving along in your car, smoking a cigarette, and you flick it out the window, and then you drive for a few miles, and you start to smell smoke, and you turn around and you look in the back seat, and Grandma is fingering herself?" Benson is self-aware, absurd comedy at its best.

Campo, the frat-friendly New Pertutti, has posted a rumor on its Facebook group -- which evidently exists -- that states the following piece of puzzling news:

"Campo On Campus"- Campo is opening a second, new restaurant, on Columbia University, between the Graduate School of Journalism and Furnhaldt Dorm. We'll be offering warm sandwiches, soups, salads, pastries, great coffee and possibly wine and beer! Look for us in late January/early February!"

"Furnhaldt" is overpriced-Italian-restaurant-speak for "Furnald", so that's easy enough to figure out. But the area between Furnald and Journalism is currently occupied by a strange, Sims-like glass cube known as the Journalism Student Lounge. Bwog called up Campo to ask if there were any plans for expansion onto campus and were told that there were not.

Before you relive your halcyon days of Fall 08, an announcement: As of January, James Downie (of Political Weekly and Sports... on Bwog! fame, and the fantastic reporter and writer behind our NROTC coverage, among other things) will be taking over as Bwog Editor. Many daily editors and other staffers will be staying on, but expect new faces in that arena as well; Hawkmadinebwog Editor Courtney Douds has already begun to do tremendous work with the hawk blog.

On behalf of the entire Fall 08 staff, it's been a pleasure and an honor that you've all hung out with us every day. We are truly humbled and grateful that you do.

-- JNW

August/September: The year began with an Orientation Week of cancellations and showdowns. Upperclassmen learned that the Global Core was much, much simpler than Major Cultures, and that the much beloved Hawkmadinejad was in fact several Hawks-madinejad. Freshmen experienced the last three weeks of the Kim's Era (before it was inexplicably replaced by a costume/cosmetics establishment), though its DVD collection will live on.

The biggest event of the semester, the McBama Summit, was here and gone within two weeks. The first Wednesday night of school, PrezBo sent out the announcement email, and student groups, governing boards, and press outlets quickly moved to get their share of the action. Everyone entered the ticket lottery, and 99% failed to get in. Bwog elbowed its way into the Low steps crowd, and livebwogged the entire evening extravaganza (including Dean Shollenberger looking dapper, Tobey Maguire looking stoned, feeds continuously going out, and a near entrance of Obama along College Walk). Not to be outdone, Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton held her own press conference at Barnard.

Many graceful hat tips to the handful of tipsters who sent word of the huge article about the Columbia Ballet Collaborative in Saturday's Times. The CBC was formed in 2007 by GSer Victoria North and four friends over a meal at Deluxe (naturally.) And as the article explains at length, the club is designed to provide a outlet for dancers who aren't in a professional company but still want to perform.

The piece also includes smaller profiles of North as well as other CBC dancers, plus glimpes into what the Collaborative's meetings and performances look like. (Oh, and also, there are apparently free professional-level ballet classes open to all on Saturday mornings.) For further ballet and dance department reading, check out a similar article in the March 2007 issue of the Blue and White by current LA Times reporter Kate Linthicum, BC '07.

Hey there! Merry Christmas to you. Many of you, like many of us, were expecting a special gift by today: fall semester's grades. And many of you, like many of us, are without said grades.

So, we've begun to compile a list of professors who have yet to upload your final marks. Use the comment thread to shame your professor, and we'll add him/her to our list. With a little Christmas magic -- and some Google-able dishonor -- we might all be able to get our grades by New Year's.

(Grades are actually due two weeks after the last class -- making some seminar grades overdue -- or two weeks after the last final.)

The Damned:

Billinge, Simon, Thermodynamics, Statistical Mechanics, and Kinetic Theory

Blake, Casey, US Intellectual History 1865-

Bollinger, Lee "PrezBo", Freedom of Speech & Press

Brandt, Kim, Intro to Japanese Civ

Cole, Brian, Accelerated Physics

A few tipsters have informed us that CourseWorks is now host to Columbia's annual nondenominational seasons greeting slideshow! O, happy day. Let's check out this year's offering, hm?

A few rather dreary pictures of a snowy Central Park (see above) and then a non-exclamation-marked wish of "happy holidays." Well, Bwog certainly prefers last year's fancy alumni-only video animation thing, in which a student drew a lion that came to life and spread joy or somesuch.

This weekend, Bwog ventured into the heart of Brooklyn to find the best and the bushiest of the pinus genus. If you know of any noteworthy XMAS tree purveyors around town, please let us know in the comment section below.

Last week, Bwog posted a list of "Things We're Looking Forward To,", which at the time seemed like a romanticized montage of normal life. But this week, Bwog hopes to find you fulfilling fantasy by sitting in front of a fire, standing "in-line," eating free home-cooked food, hanging out with high school friends and enjoying many, any or all of the other activities on the list.

Fortunately the aforementioned activities are relatively self-explanatory, but one of the more popular activities on the list, trimming the Christmas tree, is decidedly more difficult for those of us in the city and away from home for the holidays for the first time.

While the site was broken for much of yesterday (Bwoga maxima culpa!), many of you had emailed a link to Lee C. Bollinger's Twitter page.

Now, you can follow the minute-by-minute goings on of "President Bollinger" with this Twitter thing. Just yesterday he asked if "ne1" wanted to go to HamDel with him. We bet you would have wanted to, hm? Never miss another PrezBo epiphany or outing again.