As you may or may not be aware, Orhan Pamuk, a visiting prof at our fair institution, just netted ol' Alma another Nobel, this time for literature.

Though there is some speculation as to what exactly Pamuk does around here, (this says he will have a MEALAC position, which is news to those who spend way too much time in Kent) Bwog correspondent Chris Szabla offers this contextualization/legitimization:

"He also spent time here for a number of years in the 80s while his ex-wife was getting her doctorate; he actually wrote one of his books, Kara kitap ("The Black Book") in Butler. Tenuous connections maybe, but he does have a longstanding relationship with the university.

"Pamuk attended the Iowa writing school and taught a Turkish language class, but mostly he occupied a small room above the Columbia library where he began work on The Black Book, the contemporary story of a lawyer searching Istanbul for his lost wife. 'My cubicle was above three million books and I was very happy there,' he says. 'There was a good collection of Turkish books going back to the 1930s and many of them had not even had the pages cut. No one had ever looked at them before me.' "
[From here]

And offers a global perspective:

"Second, nationalists in Turkey who have not quite been fans of Pamuk since his Armenian genocide comments are convinced the prize was awarded to him as a snub to them. On top of that, France just became anti-Turkey when its National Assembly passed a law this morning making it illegal to deny the Armenian genocide.
Ironically, the bill only passed because most delegates left the chamber in protest over what they said were attempts to pander to ethnic Armenian voters in France
More here.

Finally, a choice quote from the New York Times:

"Pamuk, currently a visiting professor at Columbia University in New York, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that he was overjoyed by the award, adding that remarks he made earlier this year referring to the Nobel literature prize as ''nonsense'' were a mistranslation."

Edmund Phelps is having a good week. He won the Nobel Prize in Economics, he has a classy/awesome sounding job title (McVickar Professor of Political Science), and his choice of the Full Windsor proves that his neckwear shall always be as dignified as his demeanor. But can he teach?

Well...four out of six CULPA reviewers say no, with one going so far as to say that Phelps is "by far the worst lecturer I've had at Columbia." What's more, one of the two who did speak up on his behalf called him "ingaging"—not the most convincing "indorsement." Bwog, however, will refrain from judgment until we have taken Prof. Phelps' class, which, indeed, we have not. For now, we'll let the CULPA reviews—and the Nobel Prize Committee—speak for themselves.

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Overheard! in Café 212:
Girl 1: It really sucks that Anna Nicole Smith's kid died.
Girl 2: How'd he die?
Girl 1: He overdosed on drugs.
Passing Boy: If Anna Nicole Smith was my mom, I'd probably
do drugs too.
[Girls 1, 2 stare as passing boy passes by.]

Overheard! outside of Carman:
[Mobile phone.] "Well, I went to talk to my advisor today, and he wasn't even there! The secretary lady told me I'd have to come back with a form, but I'm not sure which form she means—I was going to ask the advisor! Ugghh, Columbia! There's just so much... What's the word? Bureaucracy!"
Columbia: a school of hard knocks and unwittingly repetitive railers.

Overheard! on the west end of the Low Library steps:
[Mobile phone.] "What do you mean she doesn't want the Nobel!"

Overheard! at the EC security desk:
Male Security Guard: The more you drink, the better you look. And I would know, as I've been drunk many a times.
Some Preppy Guy: ...

Overheard! in Intermediate Macroeconomics:
Xavier Sala-I-Martin: But even sperm, you put a helmet on sperm, you get no cookies!

Warm thanks and congratulations to tipsters Brandie Moreno, Taylor Walsh, Seth Berliner, John Shekitka, and John Klopfer. Send us your gossip, one and all!