Remember how this weekend was all balmy and lovely? Are you loving today's ultra-freeze? The winter season seems to be in full swing, but campus is a little behind. Behold Liz Naiden's montage of delightful fall foliage after the jump.

If you'd like to submit a photo essay, we'd love to publish it! Send photography to bwog@columbia.edu

Clear sunny days like today make it easy to appreciate fall, a cruel and unpredictable season. Unfortunately days this lovely are few and far between and many of us end up, somewhat unfairly, associating the season with the end of summer blues, midterms, and other decidedly unpleasant things. But Bwog is here to make sure you appreciate the month of October in all its blazing autumnal glory. So today on Rest of the Best Of, we're exploring one of the season's delicacies: hot cider.

Hungarian Pastry Shop

It takes the Hungarian employees behind the counter a moment to register that they do indeed serve cider, and it takes them longer than usual to prepare your order. But Hungarian's cider does exist, and it's worth the extra wait.

The cider is served in a hefty ceramic mug which on a drizzly fall night is just the right size temperature and texture to wrap your hands around. The actual brew within the mug is too hot to imbibe only for a moment. As you gaze longingly into your steaming mug, take a moment to appreciate the cinnamony scent and rich ocher color of the cider. And whatever you do, don't sip to soon. Singed taste buds is a surefire way to ruin the cider experience.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

I Kiffe NY: French Urban Cultures Festival

Various times and locations through Oct. 28^th

Go be thuggin', French-style. More thick gold chains and Euro-style hip-hop than berets, though.

Science Barge

Various times through October 30th, Riverside Park South (Pier 1 at 70^th street and Riverside Dr.)

Take a 45-minute guided tour of the New York's totally carbon-neutral floating farm!

Autumn, the year's most magical season, is finally upon us. To celebrate the changing of the leaves and the cooling of the air, Bwog will be suggesting different autumnal activities that are designed to increase your appreciation of the season.

About forty minutes north on the Palisades is Dr. Davies Farm, a produce stand and designated apple picking area. You'll notice it right away because it's an unassuming barn and farmhouse surrounded by about 47 Audi station wagons. The occupants of said station wagons are families from New York and New Jersey who've brought their kids for the hayrides, pumpkin patch, and other child-friendly outdoor activities.

There will be a lot of kids, and they'll be fussy -- hay is itchy -- but you're here for the apple picking. $32 buys you and Apple Grabbing Claw Thing (see below) and a huge plastic bag (though of course what you're paying for is less the actual bag and more the privilege of being about to fill it with up 25 lbs of apples.)

It's your last weekend before the autumnal equinox, and apparently a beauty--time to store up some sunlight before your skin gets slack and pallid! Here are our picks for events around town; for on-campus stuff, refer to the handy sidebar to the right.

Friday and Saturday

Manhattan Cask Ale Festival
noon - midnight
Chelsea Brewing Company (Pier 59, Chelsea Piers, 212.336.6440)
Over 45 brewed beer casks, and BBQ. Pay as you go.

New York City Short Film Festival
Showtimes at noon and 8PM on Friday and Saturday
Choose from a smorgasbord of films adapted for your 21st-century attention span. And only 20 blocks south!
Price: $11

Saturday

The New York City Spelling Bee
8Pm. Housing Works Bookstore Café
An adult-friendly spelling bee! You know because of the cash bar.

There's nothing Columbia students love more than an event they can't get into. This week's Obama/McCain event, PrezBo's periodic fireside chats, and the Heights on just about any Thursday night all come to mind. Fall Fashion Week is about as exclusive as it gets, and that the week's runway shows and collections have largely gone under Columbia's radar is more telling of our campus style than it is of the popularity of the event.

This aside, some patterns have emerged:


Little Black Pointy Shoes
Move over Tory Burch. Think of these saddle-shoe inspired booties as a replacement for your trusty flats. They go well paired with black stockings and a skirt for a fancier look or with just shorts or jeans for a more tousled appearance.

As Rush Hour 3 and Stardust and the like trudge turgidly out of theaters, autumn brings a breath of fresh air. Fresh, Oscar-baity air. Bwog cineastes Daniel D'Addario, Jamie Johns, and Christian Kamongi are here to help you say yes to Coens, Cronenberg, and Clayton, and no to Alvin and the Chipmunks.

September

The Brave One (September 14): When I first heard about The Brave One, I assumed it was a sequel to The Accused, Jodie Foster's first film about a rape victim out for revenge. If Jodie Foster and Neil Jordan want to actually redeem their careers after the duds that were Flightplan and pretty much everything Neil Jordan has directed since The Crying Game, it's going to have to be a lot more than that. I'm hoping that it actually is a provocative look at one woman's struggle to overcome the shock of sexual assault through violence, as the trailers have been telling me it will be. -Jamie Johns

Eastern Promises (September 14): David Cronenberg has been described as North America's foremost narrative filmmaker and if his newest feature is even half as explosive and revelatory as his previous masterpiece, A History of Violence, then it's a must-see. The sense of uncontrollable doom and macabre textures that characterized A
History of Violence (and Cronenberg's whole ingenious oeuvre) seem to be at play in this thriller starring Naomi Watts as a nurse who may be unknowingly digging her own grave as she dares to unravel the mystery of a young woman's murder. Oh, and did I mention that Armin Mueller-Stahl, Vincent Cassel, and Viggo Mortensen play members of the Russian mob, casting decisions that may be enough to ensure expectations of pure terror. -Christian Kamongi

Photos and commentary by Bwog Photographer Sumaiya Ahmed.

This Autumn sort of passes at times without my notice. But one day, my CC class decides to savor global warming outside and I remember my camera. On my way to Arabic class in Kent, I want to take pictures, but I wonder maybe my camera shouldn't get wet. There are leaves on the window sill, headlights smear the cobblestone paths of college walk. A few minutes early for class, I keep snapping pictures of people under umbrellas outside and can't decide which frame shows the expansive quality of our piazza best. I settle on this one because I like the yellow light that says hello from a window in Journalism on the left. There are days the light is so crisp, the pictures take themselves. There is the bareness that welcomes winter, the typical silhouettes.

More photos after the jump