The Bwog
Relentless: A How to Guide

Mariela Quintana reflects on a day of reflection and offers suggestions to make this year's Lent the most productive (and honest) one yet.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a 40 day period of prayer, penitence and self-denial before Easter. Lent is a theologically complex and profoundly spiritual time for Christians and requires a much more thorough explanation than I am capable of giving or than you, most likely, are interested in hearing.

I am sure, however, that many of you are familiar with Lent's most prominent tradition: the 40 day period of abstinence. For both Christians and heathens alike, Ash Wednesday raises numerous questions, Why does everyone seeming to have schmutz on their faces? How long do I have to wait to wipe the ash off? Can I celebrate Mardi Gras on Ash Wednesday if I campaigned for McCain last night? And the most common question of all is, of course: what should I give up?

Forgoing alcohol, meat or chocolate are all common options. But I think it would be far more meaningful to come up with something more original. Below, a top ten list of things that I, and all Columbia students, might consider giving up for Lent. The unbaptized and the atheistic should not shy away, everyone's a candidate for self-improvement!

10. Using Wikipedia as a scholarly resource.

9. Getting HamDel to deliver to your dorm room in Hartley.

8. Allowing the housing lottery to destroy friendships

7. Smoking when you are drunk if you don't smoke sober (Why would you do it drunk?)

6. Feeling guilty about smoking.

5. Telling Barnard jokes

4. Using Hume as a substitute for religion.

3. Claiming to be a Pynchophile after only reading The Crying of Lot 49

2. Abbreviating bourgeoisie, Le Corbusier and Nabokov to bougie, Le Corb and Nabs, respectively

1. Charging your bar tab to your parents' credit card.

See also: Religion

Posted by bwog: #1 · reply · track
February 6, 2008 at 5:51 PM (from campus)
fix this post it has random symbols everywhere
Posted by !!!: #2 · reply · track
February 6, 2008 at 5:51 PM (from campus)
without #'s: 10,7, and 1, I would be a sad and depressed student.
Posted by what soup do: #3 · reply · track
February 6, 2008 at 6:37 PM
Catholics eat this time of year?

Lent-il soup!
Posted by alexw: #4 · reply · track
February 6, 2008 at 6:43 PM (from campus)
Re: #2

I've noticed that people who say "Le Corb" are those who are simply too afraid to attempt to pronounce his name.

(Also, I used to complain about his renaming himself "the raven-archer" because it is the most pretentious thing in the world, but good luck pronouncing "Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris.")
Posted by i'm: #5 · reply · track
February 6, 2008 at 8:10 PM (from campus)
giving up not having sex, because not having sex is way easier that having it.
Posted by when: #6 · reply · track
February 6, 2008 at 8:30 PM (from campus)
when are ccsc elections?!?!!?
Posted by I...: #7 (in reply to #5) · reply · track
February 6, 2008 at 9:07 PM (from campus)
would most def. have to agree.

and i think that's one of the best comments i've seen on bwog in a long time.
Posted by mmmmm: #8 · reply · track
February 6, 2008 at 9:09 PM (from campus)
whoever wrote this is a pretentious hipster.

yuck.
Posted by The King of Spain: #9 (in reply to #4) · reply · track
February 6, 2008 at 9:15 PM (from campus)
Le Corbusier was his pen name for L'Espirit Nouveau, where he often signed, with Amedée Ozenfant "Le Corbusier-Sauginier." The idea that it means the Crow-like one or whatever is a strictly English mistake. He named himself after his grandfather or something - it's just part of his public persona.

Posted by I'm giving up: #10 · reply · track
February 6, 2008 at 9:37 PM (from campus)
John Jay Waffles
Posted by Shutup #8: #11 (in reply to #8) · reply · track
February 6, 2008 at 10:26 PM (from campus)
you suck. Not everything on bwog is hipster-ish. Do you even know what hipster means? I'm tired of everyone saying Bwog is tooo hipster-y. Fuck off pricks.

PS I love ralph lauren. My hero.
Posted by i'm catholic: #12 · reply · track
February 6, 2008 at 10:58 PM (from campus)
i think i'm gonna give up having sex with girls with no self esteem, which seems like pretty much every girl from jersey/long island...it's too easy
Posted by I'm realistic: #13 (in reply to #12) · reply · track
February 6, 2008 at 11:49 PM (from campus)
You have probably never fucked anyone in your life, except maybe yourself.
Posted by bourgeoisie: #14 · reply · track
February 7, 2008 at 12:06 AM
call me crazy, but isn't it "bougie"?
Posted by Que: #15 · reply · track
February 7, 2008 at 12:15 AM (from campus)
Do people actually charge their bar tabs to their parents' credit cards? Or is it just the spoiled Connecticut brats?
Posted by alexw: #16 (in reply to #9) · reply · track
February 7, 2008 at 1:39 AM (from campus)
There have been a number of explanations for his name change. While is grandfather was named Monsieur Le Corbezier or somesuch, he also chose it because he wanted it to play on his "raven-like" appearance. It indeed is a public persona thing, but it's awfully pretentious.
Posted by random: #17 · reply · track
February 7, 2008 at 3:21 AM (from campus)
improve your credit by charging the tab to a card under your name then have your parents pay the bill!
Posted by yuck: #18 · reply · track
February 7, 2008 at 3:56 AM (from campus)
fix the grammar in #7

also "forty day" should have a hyphen
Posted by The King of Spain: #19 (in reply to #16) · reply · track
February 7, 2008 at 5:02 AM (from campus)
Yes, but he's French - of course it's pretentious. They all had pseudonyms back then.

Is it any more pretentious than calling yourself Englebert Humperdinck or Tom Cruise?

I think he did it because another Charles-Edouard Jeanneret got the SAG credit first.
Posted by smoking: #20 · reply · track
February 7, 2008 at 10:22 AM (from campus)
people smoke when drunk because it's a much better buzz.
Posted by im catholic : #21 · reply · track
February 8, 2008 at 3:14 PM (from campus)
and this was offensive
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