Alan Seltzer is an Associate Editorial Page Editor. He spoke with Noel Duan about her column running alternate Thursdays. Check out Sorry I’m Not Sorry from Thursday’s paper.

AS: Noel, first off thanks for getting up at 5 a.m. local Paris time to talk to me. Tell me a little about your column this semester. What’s your theme and how do you think your experience abroad will influence your view and your voice in your writing?

ND: De rien! My column You Write Like a Girl is a response to the “superficial” stigma attached to stereotypically female-centric writing, such as writing about fashion and dating. Growing up and wanting to be a writer, I’ve noticed that certain genres of writing or journalism are stigmatized and taken less seriously. More »

Happy Super Bowl Saturday Columbians! Saturday mornings are always a mess. You groggily reach for your phone and realize that you’ve awoken at a ridiculously late hour. You are horrified to see the remains of Ham Del sloppy fries littered across your carpet. The bar stamps on your hands, much like Russian prison tattoos, recount your late-night misadventures. Worst of all, you realize that there is not much weekend left to put off homework. But fear not, for tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday! Instead of finishing assignments, why not spend your time planning a glorious afternoon of Americana, commercials, Boston-New York rivalry, and Madonna? The following are seven tips to make your Super Bowl experience the best possible. More »

Steven Lau reporting to you live from Cambridge! The Lions will be looking to build some momentum coming off last night’s nail-biting 64-62 win in Dartmouth while Harvard hopes to remain undefeated in conference play.

Check out the liveblog below and don’t miss a second of the action as the Light Blue looks to conquer the No. 23 team in the nation.

We all need advice from time to time.

We have tricky problems that we don’t know how to handle — or else we think we do know how to handle them, but we want someone impartial who can confirm that our solutions won’t make us terrible people.

In the olden days, people turned to oracles and soothsayers to find these answers. More recently, the newspaper era gave us Dear Abby and Ann Landers.

For those of us who are less discriminating in our advice needs, we had the Magic 8 Ball.

But newspapers and magic pool balls are so old media. That’s why you should submit your advice needs to “Just Ask Emily.” It uses Google Docs, for heaven’s sake! What could be more modern than that?!

After the jump: a sampling of some of the questions Emily has handled during her tenure as Spec advice columnist. More »

Yesterday, Spectator sat down with University President Lee Bollinger. Highlights from the interview:

• Nearly eight months after Claude Steele’s resignation, Bollinger is very close to announcing a new provost. Interim Provost John Coatsworth told Spectator yesterday that he is “having a great time” as provost and would love to keep the job, and that he believes he is still being considered for it.

More »

Disclaimer: This series is not advised for those who have strong opinions about Chelsea, doughnuts, or Martha Stewart (or Helvetica, subway transfers, and jokey writing).

A definite highlight of my visit to Chelsea was my trip to the Doughnut Plant (W. 23rd St., between 7th and 8th Ave.). It’s basically Dunkin Donuts on crack, with awesome decor, and great doughnuts.

Sara Garner/Spec

See more about shopping, art, and fun in Chelsea after the jump! More »

It’s late, you’re up. By this point in the semester, the effects of sleep deprivation should be taking its toll. I was told by several people today that I have “panda eyes.”

Actual News

Economy: Unemployment has dropped to 8.3%, which sort of destroys the purpose of Mitt Romney’s campaign.

Upsetting: Cold snaps in Europe have killed at least 220 people, as well as hospitalized 1600 others. More »

Sometimes I think back to NSOP and cringe at all the silly things I did:

• Wear my ID around my neck on a lanyard

• Awkwardly introduce myself to people on the elevator and never see them again

• Exchange phone numbers with basically anybody who had a pulse

• Almost cause a pile up every single time I use the stairs

More »

Hello from Hanover! Tonight the men’s basketball team is taking on Dartmouth—its first opponent of the weekend. Read the game preview here and check out the liveblog below.

Nobody ever mentions the weather

Can make or break your day

- Oasis, “Hello”

Every morning when I wake up, I try to check the weather on my laptop, or, lately, my phone (I recently made the major leap to an iPhone from a t-phone, the t standing for “taped-together”). Every morning, I’m surprised how large an effect it has on my mood. 72 degrees makes me smile. 27 degrees makes me gird my loins and attempt to tap into my New England roots. A raincloud makes me angry that I have an irrational hatred of umbrellas.

Unless you’re boycotting CubMail, you probably received an email on Wednesday from Columbia Housing entitled, “Unseasonably High Temperatures.” This missive surely sparked some tired global warming jokes, and the line “Most university buildings are not able to supply both heating and cooling simultaneously” probably qualified as the understatement of the year for anyone who has lived in Columbia housing for more than three months.

For me, the humor of this email from Housing (beyond its roundabout recognition of our centuries-old temperature management system) came in its assumption that Columbia students needed to be reminded about the weather. And you know what? This assumption wasn’t entirely wrong. More »