Uptown Radio

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Anyone who’s ever flown internationally is familiar with jet lag.  It’s the disorienting feeling of suddenly finding your body in another time zone.  But jet lag isn’t just in your head.

“Jet lag is a disorder of the whole body,” said Justin Blau, a biologist at New York University whose team studies circadian rhythms in the brain cells of fruit flies. “It’s not just your brain telling you to wake up at the wrong time of day, it’s also your liver clock telling you it’s getting ready to deal with food at the wrong time of day.”

Like researchers all over the world, Blau’s team is seeking to better understand what makes cellular clocks tick – how the gears fit together.  At their weekly lab meeting, Blau and his team gathered in his office to talk about a new study by biologists at Blau’s alma mater, Cambridge University.  The upshot, he says, is simple.

“Clocks are more complicated than we thought,” Blau said.

Until now there’s been a general consensus in the field that the DNA in a cell’s nucleus is the spring that drives the clock. But Ahkilesh Reddy and John O’Neill at Cambridge looked for timekeeping in red blood cells – a human cell with no nucleus at all.  What they found was a chemical called peroxiredoxin, which allowed the cells to maintain rhythms for days with no outside stimulus – and no DNA spring.  Reddy says that’s a surprising discovery.

“The status quo for many years has been that although non-transcriptional rhythms – those not requiring DNA – have been seen in very primitive bacteria, no one thought that you’d be able to see the same things in complex organisms,” Reddy said.

Matthew Kayleigh, a post-doctorate student in Blau’s lab at NYU, says the discovery is groundbreaking.

“It’s a bit like you know how a car works, and these people are saying there’s like another motor in a car,” Kayleigh said.

The Cambridge team didn’t just look at human cells.  They found the same chemical, serving the same function, in a species of algae. Ben Collins, another post-doc and the NYU lab’s circadian rhythm expert, says that this kind of circadian rhythm may date back to the very origins of life on earth, because while the genes are different, this newly discovered chemical marker is the same in algae, flies, and humans.

“This is something that links all those sets of genes together, and it suggests maybe the original clock in the first organism was something like this,” Collins said.

But although the clock teaches about the past, it has immediate health implications in the future. And that brings us back to jet lag. If peroxiredoxin turns out to be the body clock’s original spring, Cambridge University’s Ahkilesh Reddy says it could give doctors a new way to wind the human clock – without having to mess with genetics

“Even though gene therapy has been bandied around for many years, affecting gene function is very difficult, whereas things like peroxiredoxin are easy to target with drugs,” Reddy said.

That’s further down the line. In the meantime, scientists are looking at just how many species have this metabolic clock in their cells. That means Blau’s NYU team will keep looking at flies, and keep asking questions.

Councilman Eric Ulrich's proposed registration law is meant to deter cyclists from riding on sidewalks and breaking other traffic rules. Photo by Willow Belden.

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Cyclists in New York City are supposed to follow the same laws that apply to motorists. But like drivers, they sometimes break them. This year, police have started cracking down on riders who run red lights or break other rules. Now, Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Queens) wants to go one step further. He’s proposing a law that would require all bikes in the city to be registered.

The system Ulrich is proposing would work like this: You’d go online and fill out a registration form, and the city would send you a mini license plate for your bike. It would be free — but mandatory — so cops could identify you.

The way it is now, Ulrich says, it’s easy to identify cars that violate traffic laws, “but when it comes to people on bicycles, there is no way to identify those individuals if they’re involved in an accident or they cause an accident.”

Ulrich says his constituents feel intimidated by cyclists. He thinks his proposed law would deter riders from breaking the rules. But bike advocates disagree and have flooded his office with calls and faxes.

Out on the street, cyclists say New York already has the laws it needs.

“What we need is better enforcement of the law so that what I call the ‘Bad Apples’ are rooted out,” said Peter Engel, a member of the 5-Boro Bike Club.

He and about 10 others have gathered near City Hall for a Sunday morning ride. Another rider here, Steve Bauman, doesn’t think registering bikes will make riders more responsible.

“Registration has been tried in a lot of places,” he said, ” and it just doesn’t do much good.”

Bauman has a point: there’s not much evidence to suggest that registering bikes makes riders behave. Madison, Wisconsin and Davis, California both have registration laws. But their programs are focused on getting stolen bikes back to owners.

Andy Clarke is the president of the League of American Bicyclists, a national advocacy group. He says Washington D.C. police recently convinced the city to repeal its registration law.

“The only time that it actually was being enforced or used was basically not for anything to do with bike safety or bike behavior issues, but it turned out to be sort of a surrogate profiling issue,” Clarke said.

The last time New York considered requiring bike registration was in 1980. At that time, Mayor Ed Koch turned down the idea because he didn’t think it would be effective and because he estimated it would cost 10 million dollars to implement.

But Ulrich is undeterred and plans to introduce the bill at the end of the month. He doesn’t think the expense would make a big dent in the city’s budget. And he says most of his opponents aren’t from his district.

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A tense silence fell across Steinway Street in Little Egypt as the hour of President Hosni Mubarak’s speech approached. El Karnak restaurant was empty. It’s manager, Zaid Aboraz, was certain the rumors that Mubarak would leave were true.

“Sooner or later it will happen,” he said. “So he’s better off now than tomorrow, or next week.”

Ali Lotfi, the owner of a grocery store down the street, was not so sure.

“He’s an army man,” Lotfi said. “He’s not going to leave like that easy. He will stay until his period is finished.”

Minutes before Mubarak was set to speak, two waitresses at El-Rashwah, another quiet restaurant, were brimming with excitement. They preferred not to be named, but were planning a party in honor of the expected resignation. They promised to talk as soon as the speech was over. But as Mubarak spoke, they began to cry. They declined to be interviewed, saying they were afraid they’d be blacklisted and arrested if they returned to Egypt.

Similar fears may push many Egyptians to flee their country, but that may not make them refugees in the eyes of the United States. Tim Irwin is a spokesperson for the United Nations Refugee Agency.

“If the reason they left is because they didn’t want to stay in a country where these protests are going on, that may prove a difficult refugee claim,” Irwin said. “But if they said they left and they could prove that they had a justifiable fear of persecution based on one of the number of criteria that the authorities use, it might be that their case could be upheld.”

Since the protests began, large groups of Egyptian men have been gathering in the hookah bars and restaurants that line Steinway Street. They’ve been filling rooms with sweet-smelling smoke and heated discussion. Muhamed al-Zaedi is an IT consultant who came here in 2007. He’s 24 – which means that by the time he was born, Mubarak had been in power for six years already.

“I opened my eyes and found one president: Mubarak,” he said. “This is what’s wrong. You know, you can give, but you cannot give for 30 years.”

Steinway Street’s Egyptians say they will not be happy with a leadership that continues Mubarak’s policies. Even amid the joy, they are suspicious that remnants of his administration will persist.

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The Orthodox Cathedral in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, has had difficulty making timely repairs because of its landmark status. Photo by Jacob Anderson/Columbia Radio News

Most people call it 2nd Street Cathedral, but it was christened the Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection. It’s a grey stone building with stained glass. Richard Wright attends the church. He looks up at it from the sidewalk and points.

“What you have in front of you is a building that’s more than a hundred years old,” he said. “As you can see, there are icons on the outside.”

The Landmarks Preservation Commission has put 2nd Street Cathedral in the pipeline to become a landmark, and will eventually schedule an official vote. But the church has been fighting the commission. Wright feels insulted. Later, inside the church, he says it’s as if the city doesn’t think the congregation can take care of its own building.

“I think it’s a little bit like having a young family,” he said, “and then having your parents come in and say, you’re not responsible enough to raise your kid.”

The congregation says there’s more at stake than its feelings. They also have practical concerns. They say they’ve heard horror stories from another Orthodox church across the East River.

“American people call me Father Wesley,” said Father Wiaczeslaw Krawczuk with a laugh.

The Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Lord overlooks McCarren Park in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Father Wesley stands inside the church, and points toward the ceiling, to a corner opposite the altar. It’s a blotchy mess.

“This plaster, you know, because when water came, it destroyed this plaster,” said Father Wesley.

About ten years ago, the church’s copper roof was leaking and needed to be repaired. Because the building is a landmark, the congregation had to meet requirement after requirement. This process took around five years. In the meantime, the roof continued to leak. Sure, the church received 350 thousand dollars from the parks department because the building is a landmark, but that didn’t help much. Around 2006 the price of copper skyrocketed, and the total cost of the project rose by 500 thousand dollars. It would have been cheaper had they never received the money and started work right away, Father Wesley says. They also could have avoided more plaster damage, but they were stuck doing it the slow way.] Father Wesley says the extended process that landmark status requires makes it feel like the church is literally on the hook.

“This like fish, you know, they catch us like fish! Almost! You know?” he said.

At 2nd Street Cathedral in the East Village, Richard Wright says the congregation is committed to preserving the church building, but it’s the official landmark status that’s unnecessary.

“We said ‘No, but thank you.’ We don’t need the layer of bureaucracy,” said Wright. “It’s important to understand that this is a community.”

But that’s exactly the point of landmark status, according to preservationists.

“It’s not easy. I think, however, it’s very worthwhile.” said Simeon Bankoff, the executive director of the Historic Districts Council. He says that some churches resist being landmarked, but plenty more welcome the designation. He says a church’s building is a symbol of its mission.

“The building…represents the presence and importance of that social service within the community,” he said.

Second Street Cathedral has asked to resolve the preservation issue some other way besides being landmarked. But a representative from the Landmarks commission said that, at this point in the process, there will simply be a yes or no vote, and that there is no other way.

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The undergraduate admission office at NYU is housed in an unmarked building on Broadway.  But it is where important decisions are made – well, important to the 42,000 applicants for the class of 2015.  And that’s an increase of 11 percent from last year.  Shawn Abbott is the assistant vice president of NYU’s undergraduate admission.

“We are pretty much at the capacity of what our admission officers can read,” Abbot said. “We have just about 26 admission officers that are responsible for the review of these 42,000 applications.  When the dust settles, we would have hired 3 or 4 additional part-time readers.”

Columbia is facing an even more dramatic increase.  It received more than 34,000 applications this year, a surge by almost a third from the previous year.  The admission office is so swamped that they don’t even have time for an interview.  Bari Norman is a former admission officer at Barnard College and now an independent counselor.

“Even though the economy has slowed, and we would think the interest might go down as a result because these places have pretty hefty price tags on average,” Norman said, “I think almost the sense that a degree from this place is important, or increasingly important in light of the economy, becomes more significant. Hence more applicants come their way.”

But it also got easier technically to apply for Columbia this year because it finally adopted the Common Application: a generic undergraduate application system accepted online by more than 400 colleges in the United States. And Columbia was the last holdout among Ivy League universities.

“The common application is always going to give some sort of a boost,” Norman said.  “You see it in the initial year, and some schools see an even bigger boost in the second year.”

On top of that, financial aid also plays an important factor. Janaye Pohl, a junior from California, chose Columbia over Berkeley for exactly that reason.

“The UC system doesn’t give out a lot of financial aid,” Pohl said. “I would have to end up paying more even though the tuition rate is lower.”

In 2008, Columbia introduced a “no loans” policy.  That means Columbia will make up the difference between the tuition and family contribution with university grants.

“It’s around a thousand or 15 hundred a semester for me, which is like fantastic,” she said.

A fantastic deal indeed.  But for Bari Norman, the independent counselor, her experience tells her ultimately it is the school’s reputation that really matters.

“Columbia will always be a place, so long as the reputation stays as it is,” Norman said.  “It’s an Ivy League school.  The admit rate is very low.  Many people just want what they can’t have. And that would always create the cycle that we have at Columbia and that we have elsewhere. ”

For the 34,000 who applied to Columbia, the chance of getting what they want is getting smaller. Based on previous admission numbers, only about one out of 14 applicants will get in.

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Mayor Michael Bloomberg is responding to reports that a German company might merge with the New York Stock Exchange.  On the John Gambling show on WOR this morning, Bloomberg says the proposed merger is a good deal for New York City.  The mayor says the merger would give New York an edge over its biggest competitor, the London Stock Exchange.  He also says the merger would also force a common set of accounting standards for the world.

The New York Police Department is getting a new siren.  The system, called the Rumbler, will use a lower-decibel whooping sound and vibrate.  NYPD’s director of Fleet Service Robert Martinez says the system will be installed on 500 cars by summer and eventually all.  Anti-noise groups told the Wall Street Journal the technology is similar to the bass in car stereos and is likely to bother pedestrians.

A school building in East Harlem was locked down for hours earlier today after a student was shot nearby. Police say a 14-year-old was shot in the arm at Second Avenue and 123st Street around 9:45 this morning. He was taken to Harlem Hospital, and is in stable condition.  The suspect was later caught inside a middle school just a few blocks away.

Cab riders in the city might be getting better television programs in the backseats.  Taxi commissioner David Yassky says he’s working with two companies to come up with more compelling content.  According to a survey released yesterday, a third of passengers say the television is the worst part of their cab ride.

It is Fashion Week. Diet Pepsi is introducing a new skinny can they say in celebration of “beautiful, confident women”.  The new bottle is drawing a lot of criticism for equating skinny with beautiful and confident.  The National Eating Disorder Association calls the campaign “thoughtless and irresponsible”.

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Egyptian anti-government protesters march in Assiut, Egypt today. President Hasni Mubarak finally stepped down earlier today. Photo by Mamdouh Thabet/ AP

What a difference a day makes.  President Mubarak’s departure today ends a tense 18 days and a particularly baffling 24 hours. Yesterday, Rumors were flying that Mubarak was stepping down. Then, at nearly 11 pm last night, Mubarak addressed the nation.

“I address you all with a speech from the heart,” he said. “Speech from a  father to his children, to his sons and daughters”

But the aging President angered a jubilant crowd already celebrating his resignation. He said he wasn’t going anywhere.

“I announced that I will adhere to this position and I also announced that I will similarly remain adamant to continue to shoulder my responsibility protecting the constitution, safeguard the interests of the people until the authority and power is handed over to this leader to be elected by the people in September coming,” he said.

Fast forward to today. Vice President Omar Suleiman announced Hosni Mubarak’s resignation just after nightfall in Cairo.

“President Mubarak has decided to wave the office of president of the  republic,” Suleiman said.

The supreme council of the armed forces has officially taken charge.

Washington has been closely monitoring political developments in Egypt. Last night, before Mubarak spoke, President Obama made his own statement.

“We are witnessing history unfold,” he said. “It’s a moment of transformation that is taking place because the people of Egypt are calling for change.”

Now that Mubarak is gone, Steve Sestanovich, a professor of foreign policy at Columbia University, says he may take a cue from one of his predecessors.

“When the Berlin wall fell the first president Bush said he was not goning be dancing in triumph on the wall,” Sestanovich said. “And that caution, that modesty will probably be Obama’s approach as well.”

The U.S. has a lot at stake. Egypt is a key military and political ally in an unstable region. Egypt grants expedited passage through the Suez Canal to U.S. Navy ships. It is one of Israel’s only allies in the region. The U.S. provides roughly 2 billion dollars each year in U.S. assistance.

While protesters are celebrating in the streets, there are still many unanswered questions.

“This may well shake a lot of clients of the United States in the region and force  some reconfigurations,” Lockman said.

Mubarak is expected to speak later tonight. Officials say elections, which had been slated for September won’t take place for another year.

When the cul-de-sac on 129th street is expanded, the playground (pictured) will be lost at St. Nicholas Houses in Harlem. Green space residents call “The Circle” is where the school will be built. (Photo by Joe Danielewicz/Columbia Radio News)

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It’s Black History month, so kids at one of the Harlem Children’s Zone pre-k programs are doing a special program for parents. Maryam Boddie is in the audience watching her twin daughters perform.

She has five daughters total  and they all attend Children’s Zone schools.

“When they started going to the classes and events at the school, I realized what great opportunities they have,” Boddie said.

The Harlem Children’s Zone and the housing authority want to bring that experience here: a cul-de-sac at 129^th street and 7^th avenue, right in the middle of St. Nicholas Houses.

At the end of the road is what residents call “the circle.”

It’s a green space divided by waist-high metal fences and sidewalks, linking the buildings together.

Long-time resident William Denzy spent his childhood here, playing football, running and roller-skating in the circle.  He says it’s always been a barbecue spot and meeting place for families—and should stay that way.

“They want to make this place congested and over crowded,” Denzy said.  “The school will do that.”

Nearly 35-hundred people live at St . Nicholas. And Denzy says he’s collected 700 resident signatures against the plan.

The 130,000 square-foot school will cover this space .

And the cul-de-sac will become a through street bringing more traffic — and 1300 students.

But the Children’s Zone is already established here.

It’s been running after-school and summer programs here for three years, says Lauren Scopaz, who’s managing the Zone’s St. Nicholas expansion.

Scopaz says for the housing authority, the school seemed like a logical next step.

“The chairman of housing authority said ‘Why don’t we do even more for these families and why don’t you build your school here so we can provide more services?” she said.

About 30 St Nicholas kids have already enrolled in the Children Zone’s pre-K program.

And some residents say it’s the pace of the plans that’s upsetting.  They say they weren’t always in the loop.

The housing authority acknowledges that, says its deputy director of development, Katherine Gray.

“We’ve attempted to address the issues that have been raised, by both sides, so that we produce a project that is thoughtful and responsive to the needs of the residents as possible,” Gray said.

Gray says that means the attending tenant association meetings, knocking on doors, setting up a hotline and holding meetings to answer residents concerns all of last year.

Gray says these efforts will continue.  But the project is slated to go forward, with construction due to start this month…and classes to begin in the fall of 2012.

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Pilar de Guzzman, owner of Bonne Fete Baking, Inc., makes a cupcake for her small business. Photo by Kaitlin Ugolik/Columbia Radio News

When someone wants to start a new food business, but can’t afford their own kitchen or storefront yet, they can come to the Entrepreneurs Space in Long Island City, Queens.  That’s where Pilar de Guzman makes the cakes and cupcakes for her company, Bonne Fete Baking, Inc.

She recently hired a new employee and she’s teaching him how to frost a cupcake the right way. She pays about $200 per eight-hour shift to use a corner of this 5,000 square foot kitchen. She says it’s a cost-effective way to get her business off the ground.

“You don’t have to have a big investment,” de Guzman said.  “So you maximize your investment and then you grow as needed.”

The number of self-employed people declined by half a percent between May and December of last year. But in January, it rose two tenths of a percent. De Guzman started her business before the decline. She worked in finance at the U.N. for 16 years. It’s taken some time to adjust to being what she calls a “one man band.” De Guzman isn’t alone. The Entrepreneurs Space where she bakes her products has seen an increase in requests for kitchen space from people like her. Katherine Gregory is the director of the Space.

“Many people are reevaluating exactly what they wanna do when they grow up…and it doesn’t matter if they’re fifty years old,” Gregory said. “So they’re looking at the fact that their passion was always baking or cooking or doing something in the food industry and they’re saying, ‘Now is the time to take the chance.’”

But she says there’s a pretty steep learning curve. Jim Brown is an analyst at the state labor department. He says the economic climate is getting better for entrepreneurs, but he sees a lot of small businesses make big mistakes in the beginning, like not having plans for how to stay afloat until they can make a profit.

“That’s one of the most common reasons for businesses failing – the lack of enough capital or cushion to tide you over,” Brown said.

De Guzman avoided this problem because she had savings and support from her husband when she started last April. And Gregory advised her to incorporate so she could avoid New York’s unincorporated business tax. Still, success is coming more slowly than she expected. Consumers are still cautious about buying luxury treats like cupcakes.

“ I think it’s foolish for anyone who’s changing careers to think like I thought that after pastry school, that the next year I’d be a successful business owner in a bakery,” de Guzman said. “It didn’t work that way.”

Things are getting easier according to Jim Brown at the labor department, who expects the number of self employed people to continue to rise.

Simon, a standard poodle, keeps his coat moisturized with special wraps for his fur. This will be his first time in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Photo by Gianna Palmer/Columbia Radio News

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The lobby of New York’s Hotel Pennsylvania is buzzing with owners checking in. But downstairs in the Green Room, it’s all about the dogs. The Green Room is basically a full-purpose dog spa. It’s where these show dogs go to exercise and relax. There are doggie treadmills, his and hers sawdust patches to pee on and even a pets psychic on hand.

Chrystal Murray has her hands full. She is standing in the sawdust with her two dogs near a red plastic mock fire hydrant. On one leash is Benny, a white terrier barking wildly.  On the other is Simon, a white standard poodle. Simon’s coat is even more decorated than the average poodle: From the top of his head down to his neck, clumps of Simon’s fur are covered in plastic.

“New York is very dry,” Murray said. “And this is locking in all the moisture in his hair because when we take him to the show he is going to have a like a whole can of hairspray put into his neck hair and it’s just going to fry his coat, so we have to do everything can to keep him moisturized.”

Narration: But it’s not all about vanity in the green room. Nearby, a mini pitbull terrier named Rex is getting in a workout on one of the three doggie treadmills in the room.

Rex’s owner Dottie James explained why a quick run is important for these animals.

“This gives them a little exercise as opposed to just sitting in their crates all day long,” she said. “They come down and go to the bathroom and get on the treadmill a couple of times a day.”

But for some owners, it’s about more than just exercise. Annie Germani is a pet psychic.

“I’ve done cats, I’ve done, snakes, I’ve down cows, I’ve done horses and I’ve done birds. I’ve even done a worm,” Germani said.

Germani works with owners to read how their dogs are feeling. She says she knows when the dogs are upset or anxious.  She says the root of the problem is often performance anxiety.

“Anybody that owns a dog, knows that they’re pleasers,” she said. “And their loyalty is just outstanding. And so when they get in the ring and want to please their owners, oh my god the pressure’s on for them.”

The pressure may be on, but until Monday the dogs get to relax.

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The 3 Decker Restaurant’s store front with a jersey barrier and chain link fence used by crews helping build the Second Avenue Line on the Upper East Side. (Photo by Joe Danielewicz/Columbia Radio News)

The 3 Decker Restaurant sits at the corner of 91^st Street and Second Avenue, its store front is blocked by jersey barriers and a metal chain-link fence, part of the construction for the second avenue subway.

Teddy Raftopoulous  helps his brother run the place.

He says in the past 5 years since subway construction began, business is down as much as 30 percent.

“We used to have a lot of taxi drivers around, lot of limousine guys around, they can’t stop around,” Raftopolous said. “If you have a place and nobody can stop around, that hurts the business.”

One block north of the 3 Decker the MTA has presented what they think is the model for helping businesses weather the construction.

Michael Horodniceanu  is the head of the MTA’s construction division.

“We need to make sure that we are good neighbors,” he said.

Horodniceanu walked reporters through what they’re calling a “model block” today.

It features better signage.

“At the corner of every block, we’re actually identifying only the stores that are on this block,” he said. “Very simple and direct.”

Pedestrian walkways that border construction are also more clearly-defined.

And the equipment inside the fences are hidden behind a screens woven into the fences.  The backhoe is still there, but not staring you in the face.

The MTA wants local businesses to say if they like the model block, in order to expand it.

Robert Zantay lives on the subway route and doesn’t expect much from the new fencing and signs.

Teddy Raftopoulos helps his brother manage the 3 Decker Restaurant at 91st and 2nd Avenue on the Upper East Side. Raftopoulos says business has dropped since Subway construction began. Photo by Joe Danielewicz/Columbia Radio News

He says it’s too little to late.

“Everyone’s gone out of business already,” he said.

Teddy Raftopoulous says when the project is complete, it will be worthwhile.

He’s looking forward to riding the subway.

“You do something, you suffer a little bit and everything, but in the long way, you know, that’s very good for everybody,” he said.

The MTA expects to be working along Second Avenue through 2016.

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Following 18 days of citizen protests, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak  has stepped down and handed power over to the army. Vice President Omar Suleiman made the announcement.

“President Hosni Mubarak has decided to wave the office of the President of the Republic.”

People in Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon and other Middle-Eastern countries reacted with joy. There were fireworks, celebratory gunfire and blaring car horns on the streets of several cities across the region. 

In Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the resignation marked a “day of great joy” for Egypt and that she expects Egypt’s future governments to “uphold peace in the Middle East.” And President Barack Obama hailed the change of government in Cairo and urged Egyptians to work together.

“This transition must bring all of Egypt’s voices to the table,” Obama said. “For the spirit of peaceful protest and perseverance that the Egyptian people have shown can serve as a powerful wind at the back of this change.”

The Egyptian markets reacted well to the change. But it’s still unclear whether the Egyptian Exchange will reopen as scheduled on Sunday after a two-week closure.

This afternoon, Switzerland’s government froze any assets in Swiss banks that belong to former President Hosni Mubarak and his family. The official statement from the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs explained the move as a way “to avoid any risk of embezzlement of Egyptian state property.” The Swiss government gave no details on the family’s assets.

Oil prices dropped after Mubarak’s resignation. The cost of benchmark crude for March delivery fell by about one percent on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Meanwhile, U.S. gasoline prices are the highest ever for this time of year. Pump prices hit almost 3 dollars and 13 cents per gallon today, an increase of almost 50 cents from this time last year. The oil prices have been rising in part because of the Egypt tensions, along with stronger demand for oil from China and extreme winter temperatures here in the U.S.

Today was also Robert Gibbs’ last day as White House press secretary. He’s expected to continue to advise President obama, but the exact role he’ll play is unclear. As press secretary, he became known for using the phrase “I’m not a…” to deflect journalists’ questions.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled almost 2 million Summer Infant video baby monitors. The devices were linked to the strangulation deaths of two infants. In each case, the monitors were placed too close to the children’s cribs. The Chairman of the Commission urges parents to put at least 3 feet between a video monitor and a child.

Ingmar Guandique , the man convicted of killing Washington intern Chandra Levy back in 2001 was sentenced today to 60 years in prison. In November he was convicted of first-degree murder, despite a lack of witnesses and no DNA evidence linking him to the crime.

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In an airy fifth floor gallery in Soho, music and photography fans are leaning close to the wall to get a good look at Autumn de Wilde’s images.

They’re individual instant Polaroids, not much bigger than post-it notes. For de Wilde, shooting on film is important to her process.

“I wouldn’t have done this digitally, it would look like everyone else’s photos,” de Wilde said. “The Polaroid gives a distinct imperfection to each moment, it’s unpredictable. It changes depending on the heat and the light and the way I decide to spontaneously expose it.”

De Wilde took the photos of the Decemberists as they recorded their latest album, “The King is Dead.”  Each of the original polaroid prints are for sale: one will be included in all 2500 limited edition box sets of the album.

Since instant film has no negatives, this means that every person who buys a Decemberists box set will own the only copy of the image.

De Wilde spent a day with each band member, shooting photos in and around Portland, Oregon and Los Angeles. Her photos have a sepia tone to them. They are carefully composed, but playful.

The Decemberists were in the midst of three nights of sold-out New York concerts when de Wilde’s photos went up, and dropped by the opening.

Guitarist Chris Funk says he likes the element of unpredictability in the Polaroids.

“I always compare everything to music, you know, so maybe it’s more like free jazz as opposed to classical,” Funk said. “You gotta let go.”

“It’s about serendipity, and magic, and the weird things that happen in chemical reactions, said David Bias of the Impossible Project.

The Impossible Project is a group of instant film enthusiasts who began producing their own instant film a couple of years ago—after the Polaroid company stopped making it. The Impossible project gave de Wilde the film she used.

The unique feel of analog photography is quickly becoming popular in the digital realm as well.  For a few dollars, iPhone users can even take digital pictures that don’t look digital using the “Hipstamatic” app.  Its filters and effects to make their snaps look imperfect, like old film.

But it’s still not the same as what artists like de Wilde are doing, says Robert Hirsch, a photographer who has written about the social history of the medium.

“You can do things digitally with an image that would be extremely difficult to do in an analog process,” he said. “But you don’t have that physical attachment to it, and for a lot of artists, that’s really a critical aspect of what they do and it shouldn’t be something that is lightly dismissed.”

The Decemberists value this aspect of de Wilde’s work. And she appreciates how visual the band is— she says it’s not hard to see pictures in your head when you’re listening to their music.

And her photos make those pictures visible to everyone else.