With an extra day in the year's calendar and hopefully some free time to spare, Bwog recommends the following for your Leap Day weekend satisfaction. (* indicates free, « indicates on-campus)

Thursday

Oscar-Nominated Short Films at IFC Center. Whether you prefer animated (at 7:10) or live-action (5:20 and 10:05) what better time to check them all out than now? ($11.50)

*« Special Screening of "Roman de gare" with Claude LeLouch at 511 Dodge Hall. On Set with French Cinema: an event sponsored by Maison Française. (FREE, 6:00-8:00)

Alarm Will Sound at Carnegie Hall (Zankel). The experimental classical music ensemble known for a repertoire varying from Aphex Twin to Ligeti plays several works by contemporary composers, including the New York premiere of John Adam's Son of Chamber Symphony. ($10 students, 7:30PM)

As if you needed a reason to get out of Morningside Heights and into one of the greatest cities in the world. Nevertheless, Bwog offers a few.

Joshua Bell and Jeremy Denk
Thursday: 8pm - $28-$94 — Stern/Perelman Theatre at Carnegie Hall - Bwog's heartthrobbingest interview ever will perform alongside another whippersnapper of the classical music scene. Works by Tartini, Prokofiev, Dvorak, and Grieg.

Dawn of Japanese Animation
Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 7pm Thurs, 7pm Fri, 5pm & 7:30pm Sat - $4.50 for students — Japan Society - Combining anime and vintage status, this festival should be unbearably hip. Each night will feature a block of antiquated manga shorts organized around a theme like "Horror and Comedy" and "Propaganda."

* denotes free events!

"Network"
Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 2pm, 4:30pm, 7pm, 9:30pm - Film Forum - 209 W. Houston St. - A better study of media than you'll ever get in a Media Studies class, this '70s classic is being shown on a new 35 mm print. Bwog is not sure what's so special about that, but apparently it's worth a revival!

Manhattan Vintage Clothing Show
Friday: 1pm-7pm, Saturday: 10am-6pm - Metropolitan Pavilion - 125 W. 18th St. - Bring your sewing scissors to jab competitors nabbing the one-of-a-kind vintage clothing and textiles.

* Robert Mapplethorpe: Certain People
Saturday, Sunday - Sean Kelly Gallery - 528 W. 29th St. - See a portrait of Cindy Sherman that she didn't photograph herself! Forty-some other portraits will also be shown.

* Lunar New Year Parade
Sunday: 1pm - Mott St. & Hester St. - Cacophonic street revelry...happy year of the Golden Rat!

* = free!

Thursday

* Cheeky Bastard Presents: The Teenagers and 66Sick at Hiro — Russian accent-faking London band on their first trip to New York, open bar, merrymaking, etc.
Hiro Ballroom at the Maritime Hotel, 363 W. 16th St, 10:30 pm.
Free with RSVP: http://newyork.going.com/teenagerssluttt.

Friday

Composer Portrait: George Crumb performed by So Percussion — A tribute to the modernist who famously dropped marbles into pianos.
Miller Theatre. 212-854-7799, 8 pm.
$7 for students.

Sunday

* Winter Trek through the Woodlands of Fort Tilden — Take a two-hour tour through a decomissioned army base-slash-forest in Rockaway, Queens.
Call the Visitor Contact Station at 718-318-4300 for a 10 a.m. appointment.

An insider at ResLife just sent Bwog a very helpful tip provided on the condition of anonymity—"I don't want to lose my bulletin board decorating privileges," explained the source.

"RA Winter Recharge training starts at 5 PM today [Wednesday]. From now through Sunday, ALL RAs, CPAs, and, this is key, RESLIFE STAFF, will be in horrible soul destroying training seminars from 8 AM until 9 PM. No breaks. Nobody will be policing the dorms. Nobody. Go nuts."

Sticking around campus for the long weekend? Here are a few ways to amuse yourself after you've finally caught up on sleep, courtesy of Bwog daily editor Hillary Busis:

Friday, November 2
Hip Hop Karaoke
What's that you say? You love karaoke, but you're bored with wailing sing-along standards like "I Will Survive" and "Don't Stop Believin'"? Well, here's your opportunity to showcase your mad rhyme skillz — it'll be just like 8 Mile, except you won't have to come up with the words on the spot or have weird sex with Brittany Murphy. Notably absent from Hip Hop Karaoke's song list are tunes by luminaries like MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice, but we're confident that this tragic oversight will be corrected before long.
The Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard St. at Church St., signup at 10:30 p.m., show at 11 p.m., free.

Saturday, November 3
Speech and Debate
You go to Columbia. Chances are, at some point in your high school career, you gave an extemporaneous address about the pros or cons of having a school dress code or genetically modified food or something. Whether you're yearning for your debating salad days or you break out in a cold sweat at the mere thought of public speaking, treat yourself to the inaugural production of Roundabout Underground, the Roundabout Theater's "initiate designed to foster new works by emerging playwrights." Don't be scared off by the fact that director Jason Moore is helming the upcoming Broadway version of Shrek; we hear that Speech and Debate is intentionally hilarious.
Black Box Theatre, Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, 111 W. 46th St. between 6th Ave. and Broadway, 2:30 and 8:00 p.m., $20.

Better late than never, here are some off-campus alternatives courtesy of Bwog correspondent Pierce Stanley.

John Scofield at Blue Note

Making his only East Coast tour stop at the Blue Note Jazz Club, Scofield and the ScoHorns celebrate the release of jazz funk guitarist John Scofield's newest album This Meets That.

October 19-21. 131 W. 3rd St., Near 6th Ave. Sets at 8:00 and 10:00 pm.
Make a reservation: Bar ($20), Table ($35)

Hungry?

Check out Art Ate New York, a joint effort renegade art exhibit displaying work from artists discovered through the Artists Wanted art call. DJ's, drinks, and wild surprises (and free red bull martinis).

The 40 Thompson St. Gallery, 40 Thompson St., 7pm — 1 am, FREE

Vintage Poster Fair

Just in case your life isn't vintage enough, the International Vintage Poster Fair is here through Sunday

Metropolitan Pavilion, 123 W 18th St, 5th Floor, Friday 5 - 9 pm , Saturday 10 am - 7 pm, Sunday 11 am - 6 pm. $15 admission.

Sick of playing beer pong in McBain every night of the weekend? Lucky for you, Bwog's got some off-campus alternatives.

Control at Film Forum

Sam Riley resurrects a young Ian Curtis, former frontman of influential post-punk band Joy Division, in Anton Corbijn's biopic, Control. Curtis, who hanged himself a month short of his twenty-fourth birthday, went on to become a posterchild for disaffected suburban goths everywhere. Control's run at Film Forum ends Tuesday.

Film Forum, 209 W Houston St., (212) 727-8110, $10.50. Check Film Forum for showtimes.

Williem de Kooning: "The Last Beginning"

Take the rare opportunity to see Willem de Kooning's Abstract Expressionism in full force (in someplace other than the MoMA) at the Gagosian Gallery. "The Last Beginning" is on display until next week.

Gagosian Gallery, 522 W. 21st St., (212) 741-1717, Tue-Sat, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Islands + The Octopus Project + Enon + And You Will Know...

Islands, famously known for being the Ex-Unicorns (though they've already outlasted the one album wonders), returns to the city with a whole catalog of new tunes. Though the Montreal-based mini-orchestra is headlining, Trail of Dead and Enon ensure a little something for everyone.

Highline Ballroom, 341 W. 16th St., (212) 414-5994. 8 p.m. $20.

It's a big city out there. Bwog continues its (fledgling) series of artsy picks to help you navigate the world below Morningside.

Orhan Pamuk

Pamuk--winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize for Literature--is taking time off from his part-time professorial duties to read from his latest, Other Colors: Essays and a Story, a collection of essays about his own life and, well, the world.

Barnes & Noble Union Square, 33 E. 17th St., (212) 253-0810, 7 p.m. Free.

The Brooklynites Party

Writer Anthony LaSala and photographer Seth Kushner have teamed up to present a documentary on the Brooklynite. Photographing people from Greenpoint, Coney Island, Flatbush, and beyond, the duo has sought to create a portrait of the borough in The Brooklynites. Works from the book will be on display; DJ J.Period and Maya Azucena will be performing.

powerHouse Arena, 37 Main St., Brooklyn, (212) 604-9074, 6-9 p.m. Free with RSVP.

John Zorn Improv Night—A Stone Benefit

John Zorn (sax), Ikue Mori (electronics), Ned Rothenberg (sax), Shanir Blumenkranz (bass), Theo Bleckman (voice) and many special guests join forces to raise some funds to protect this home of the avant-garde. Don't let the Stone become the next Tonic.

The Stone, Avenue C at E 2nd street, Sets begin at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. $20.

Postcrypt Coffeehouse

This fall's Postcrypt Coffeehouse series kicks off tonight and continues through tomorrow. Tonight, you can check out Dorie Colangelo, Inger Hansen, and Jake Hill. Tomorrow night's performances include David Austerweil, Lola Johnson, and the Jerome Ellis Quartet. Bwog probably wouldn't pay to see any of these acts, but, hey, that's why it's free!

Basement of St. Paul's Chapel, 9 p.m. Free.

Cut & Paste Digital Design Tournament

Eight graphic design experts compete to see who can best visually interpret a theme in a 15-minute round. The best part? Each computer screen is projected so the audience can follow the creation from start to finish. The event--presented by Cut & Paste--will feature MC Ove and DJ sets from Kid Robot's Chad Phillips.

(Note: The after party is at Home Sweet Home, 131 Chrystie St.)

Angel Orensanz Foundation, 172 Norfolk St., (212) 529-7194, 8-11 p.m., $15/$10 advance.

Simian Mobile Disco + JDH & Dave P + The Mood (DJ Sets)

Catch your favorite British dance group that's not the Klaxons DJ a late night set at Highline Ballroom. Sure, it's not a real Simian Mobile Disco concert (that's going on earlier in the evening) but real concerts cost money (this one's free with rsvp).

Highline Ballroom, 431 W. 16th St., 11 p.m. Free (rsvp here). 21+.

It's a big city out there. This week, Bwog begins a new series of artsy picks to help you navigate the world below Morningside.

Neither New nor Correct: Mark Bradford

Mark Bradford, recipient of the Bucksbaum Award for truly exceptional work at the 2006 Biennial, now has his own exhibition at the Whitney involving paper collages made from the mountains of advertisements plastered around his neighborhood in Southern California. The end result looks something like a topographical street map on acid.

(Editor's note: Sunday's also your last chance to check out that one and only Jimi Hendrix water color in the Summer of Love exhibition. BYOLSD.)

Whitney Museum of American Art, 945 Madison Ave., (212) 570-3676, 1 p.m. - 9 p.m. $15 (free with student ID with current sticker. Pay as you wish from 6-9 p.m. on Fridays).

Hosted by the Columbia Alumni Association and the American Museum of Natural History. Flavorpill presents this Friday night party that mixes outer space with techno and booze. A freaky combination with something for everyone.

American Museum of Natural History, West 81st entrance, 9 p.m. $20 (includes future admission to museum).