Professor, author and activist Robert Thurman is widely regarded as the leading American expert on Tibetan Buddhism, having been a major force in the widespread introduction of Tibetan culture and religion to the west. In 1962, Thurman became the first American ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist monk, but after a few years he shifted from strict monasticism to the more conventional lifestyle of an academic. Though currently on sabbatical to write another book, Thurman remains a beloved professor in the Religion Department of Columbia University. At the behest of the Dalai Lama, Thurman co-founded Tibet House with composer Philip Glass and others; this year’s annual Carnegie Hall benefit for the organization takes place next Wednesday, February 13th. The lineup thus far includes performances by Glass, Ray Davies, Phamie Gow, Nawang Khechog, Ashley MacIsaac, Marisa Monte, Sufjan Stevens & Tom Verlaine. more ›

Brian Cox is widely admired for commanding performances in films like The Bourne Identity, Rushmore and the original Hannibal Lecter in Michael Mann’s Manhunter. But like most actors from across the pond, the Scottish Cox originally built his reputation on decades of tireless stage work in theaters around the word. Until the stagehands’ strike shut down Broadway, he could be seen in the role of Max, a diehard British Marxist and Cambridge professor in Tom... more ›

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is visiting Columbia University today to give a speech for the World Leaders Forum. And he continued to get a big New York-style welcome: The Daily News has its "The Evil Has Landed" cover while Assemblyman Dov Hikind told protesters outside Columbia's gates yesterday, “He should be arrested when he comes to Columbia University, not speak at the university, for God’s sake. I call on New Yorkers to make the life of Ahmadinejad as he is in New York miserable.” more ›

A look at some noteworthy television this week: more ›

Brooke Gladstone is the managing editor and co-host of WNYC’s On the Media which is heard throughout the country on National Public Radio stations and as an internet podcast. She has won several awards, including two Peabody Awards, for her coverage at NPR, which she joined in 1987. She has been a foreign correspondent for NPR covering the reemergence of Russia out of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. She recently returned to Russia to report for On the Media about the current state of the Russian media and the challenges it faces. The result of her visit aired on the June 22nd edition of On the Media. more ›

EVENT: The New York Book Club at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum presents…"Breaking News: How the Associated Press Has Covered New York City". The panelists include "Hal Buell, longtime AP photo editor who put images of the Vietnam War in newspapers across America; Richard Drew, AP photographer who has covered New York events including 9/11; Edie Lederer, longtime UN correspondent and first woman to be the foreign chief of bureau; and Valerie Komor, corporate archives director of the AP." more ›

While our comparatively well-paid proxies jetted off to enjoy their three-day weekends in the sun, Gothamist stayed home and indulged our sorrows with what we imagined (wrongly, as it happens) would be a journey into the bleakest corners of the former Soviet Union—Vostok, a traditional Bukharian restaurant deep in the heart of Boro Park. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg has been very busy since winning reelection last week. He visited a number of places of worship around town to thank voters for their support. He complained about the free-meter parking on Sunday rule that went into effect yesterday. And he wrote an editorial in the Daily News to tell New Yorkers how he wants to change the way judges get elected, saying the current process "bears more of a resemblance to voting in the Soviet Union than in the United States of America." Ooh, Red Russia - that's scary, but the Mayor has something even more formidable to deal with tomorrow: What cowboy hat to wear. Watch out for the Mayor tomorrow night on CBS, as the Country Music Association Awards are being handed out at Madison Square Garden - we can only hope the CMA will dress him up like the graying cowpoke he might be. more ›

In today's race, Phelps broke his own record in the 400 meter individual medley. The 400m IM, is a four discipline race where the swimmer completes one 100 meter lap in the butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and finally freestyle. His time in the race was 4:08.26, .15 second faster than the world record that he set earlier this year. The record is more than three seconds better than Tom Dolan's record of 4:11.76 set four years ago at the Sydney Games. more ›

, a Lomographic competition and exhibition. more ›