…phew.

According to this Daily Finance article, Harvard’s endowment rose 21.4% in the last fiscal year, to close at $32 billion dollars. In case you missed it, the endowment dropped to a meager $26 billion when the economy totally ate it. Harvard was shocked by its newfound poverty and responded by seizing upperclassman hot breakfast and totally ruining everyone’s mornings.

But not to fear. Harvard’s making bank once again, meaning that we should be seeing the perks and bennies in the near future, right?

Here’s a list of things that I think would be appropriate to spend all that cash on.

1. Hot breakfast for all (duh)
2. More shuttles
3. Friday and Saturday brain breaks
4. Cleaning the Science Center bathrooms
5. More reliable Wi-Fi
6. An online course pre-planning tool that doesn’t make me want to punch my computer
7. Free kittens for all students

Please, Harvard?

At Harvard, that is.

Half of the campus might be harboring a crush on David J. Malan ’99, but the course that he lectures, CS50, is actually churning out awesome applications that might make your life at Harvard that much easier. Check them out!

Shuttleboy: Never miss that shuttle again! Arguably one of the most famous and loved “boys” on campus, the web-based application that tracks the time and duration of trips for all of Harvard’s shuttles also features text-messaging and voice-calling options. Text: Sboy [first 3 letters of origin] [first 3 letters of destination] to 41411 for a list of departure times. For instance, if you want to go from Boylston gate to the Quad, text: Sboy boy qua to 41411. Or call 617-BUG-CS50 (617-284-2750), and select option 1 to talk to an automated machine. Or just access the URL. My friend prefers calling shuttleboy than the actual Harvard shuttle operator because “i don’t have to talk to a real person!”

HarvardEnergy: A detailed ranking of how “green” Harvard residential houses and dorms are, according to a multitude of categories like Carbon Dioxide emission, usage of electricity, etc. By measurement of CO2, Currier is the greenest house (how appropriate! It is called the Tree House for a reason), while Leverett is the least environmentally friendly. Clearly, Harvard’s largest house is only about quantity. Among the freshman dormitories, Matthews is the greenest and Canaday is the least green.

HarvardEvents: A comprehensive list of the gazillion (literally) events that are happening on all of Harvard’s 12 campuses, including everything from cultural nights, to parties, to the most random shindig like the Harvard Breakers’ Initiation. It also has a function that allows you to add all the events directly to your iCal, GCal or whatever else people use these days to schedule classes, functions and bedtimes into their lives. You’ll never miss a mixer with hot law school students again!

HarvardMaps: Like Google Maps, but specifically for Harvard.

HarvardNews: A comprehensive list of all news articles and blog entries that are written across the University campus. All Harvard publications and blogs, including the Voice, the Crimson, Harvard Gazette, and graduate school publications, are included. It is updated simultaneously as the article gets published!

HarvardTweets: Twitter updates from every Harvard-related person who is on Twitter, from Niall Ferguson to the IOP JFK Jr. Forum (Secretary of Homeland Security was at the IOP today!). Contact CS50 to get your name on the list!

HarvardIdeas: Clearly, CS50 has a solution for virtually any issue on campus. If you have any suggestion (like a Harvard Sports website perhaps?), use the link and drop them a line! An anonymous idea reads: “Add an option on harvard college facebook to allow us to search by room #.” I have no words.

Also worth checking out are some of its students’ projects: CrimsonList , CrimsonDining, Rover, and of course I Saw You Harvard (i’m curious how the Senior Bar episode goes!)

(Image courtesy of Google Images)

The College Events Board confirmed minutes ago that we’ll have KiD CuDi for Yardfest on Sunday, April 18th.

Image courtesy of http://datnewcudi.com.

Born Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, the 26-year-old Ohio native is most famous for his 2009 hit, “Day ‘n’ Nite,” a collaboration with Crookers that landed in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts. It was also featured in his debut album, Man on the Moon: The End of Day, and has garnered about 26 million views on YouTube. Cudi was also featured in Kanye West’s album, 808s and Heartbreak, co-writing megahits such as “Heartless,” and singing with Kanye on “Welcome to Heartbreak.” He has also been a musical guest on David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel and is now starring in the HBO comedy series “How to Make it in America,” produced by Mark Wahlberg. (Source: Wikipedia)

Recently, he received three Grammy nominations for Best Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Song for “Day ‘n’ Nite” and finally Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for “Make Her Say” ft. Common and Kanye West. (Source)

Not bad, CEB! Keep checking Noice for more updates regarding Yardfest! It’s shaping up to be a great spring concert Harvard! And remember, our Yardfest is completely free. Suck it, rival schools! :P

Check out some of his other hits here: Pursuit of Happiness (ft. MGMT and Ratatat), Make Her Say (ft Kanye West and Common). Also, since you’re already overcome with joy and/or procrastinating, take a look at his website.

And it’s no other than the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton.

vs.

(Images courtesy of Google and CNN)

The Yale Daily News article just went live.

Who did Harvard get? CNN’s chief international correspondent and anchor, Christiane Amanpour. I think the fact that I had to check the Harvard Gazette article twice to get her name right says something. Yes, I’m ignorant, but I also came from a communist country in Asia and now live in a dorm with no cable! Granted, Clinton attended Yale Law School and has come back to speak twice in the past ten years, once in 2001 and again in 2008, so it’s not that hard for them to get him. However, it is still pretty undeniable that his name creates way more buzz than Amanpour’s. And if Facebook is any indication, way more excitement in the student body. (It’s BILL FRIGGIN’ CLINTON! OMG!)

Make of that what you will. As for me, I’m booking my bus ticket to New Haven. I might get killed and stuffed in a wall (especially considering the fact that I’m of the same height, stature and ethnic origin as Annie Le), but the risk is worth it.

P/S: Maybe Harvard should go ahead and get Lady Gaga next year. Noice will be very happy. Will you?

Check out the Wall Street Journal’s super in-depth reading of how much Harvard students love to use their phones…but not for calling in the article “The Unused Cellphone App: ‘Calling’” Basically we are deciding the future of technology. Go team! If you have an iPhone we also have an app, did you know that? From the article:

‘”The Unofficial Guide to Life at Harvard” had been published by the Harvard Student Agencies for since the 1970s, but students didn’t want to carry a book when they wanted to find out where to get Chinese food, Mr. Yan says.

Last year, Mr. Yan and Mr. Bick released their first version of their iPhone application. The free guidebook has been downloaded about 2,500 times. Users can read about 900 different restaurants, cafes and other businesses in Cambridge and find deals offered by local merchants.

They won a $10,000 prize from an AT&T-sponsored competition and $2,500 from a Harvard competition. The Harvard Student Agencies, a student-run, non-profit that helped sponsor the Harvard competition, continues to provide aid and funding to the Rover group. Last summer, the team added Joy Ding, Cameron Spickert and Mr. Robb to work on improving the application and new projects.’

Power to the smart-phone y’all. And us. WSJ thinks we’re pretty cool?

Not The Body Shop!

five minutes later, headin' back to the truck

After a lovely Sunday Brunch, we arrived back to Straus to five firetrucks, a police car, and dozens of puzzled onlookers wondering what was all the ruckus. Across the street on Mass Ave, firefighters were descending upon CVS and C’est Bon as if they were making a run for Veritaffles. At one point, my roommate and I did wonder if we should evacuate our Straus perch but figured “no alarm, no problem!” Luckily, our Titanic-esque logic was not fatal; just as soon as the hoses were unwrapped and the ladder assembled, everyone started to return to their trucks and drive off. This false alarm hawt mess (no smoke or fire spotted) lasted for only five minutes but was a solid distraction from work and an alarm clock for anyone who might have still been sleepin’ away.  A definite WTF moment, we were still impressed that Cambridge Fire Department hustled up like nobody’s business. Kudos!

If anyone was near Mower A last night they would have heard my roommate and I yelling “SICK, OH MY GOD, SWEET, A DOUBLE MCTWIST!?” We didn’t really know what these terms were but she had a poster of him in her locker circa 2006 and I used to play Tony Hawk Pro Skater like it was my job. Well, it paid off for us because our yelling clearly led Shaun White to his second gold medal in a row in the Olympic half-pipes. Also, I would just like to point out that a) the faceplant that, that one guy had looked like it really hurt and b) why are snowboarders wearing jeans. Not bendy.

His hair so crazy. Anyway, America continues to do really well in Vancouver across the board. I asked my British friend downstairs how they were doing and he was unsure if they were even in it. Sorry motherland! Speaking of:

I feel the same way little one. The same way.

Hey, it is a party in the U.S.A. with all this gold. AMMIRIGHT?