Are you tired of the same old study/party playlists? Already done with Artpop (we’re not, but still)? Looking for a new jam? Nero, My Panda’s got your back. The band’s released a new single, “(I Just Wanna) Sleep in My Own Bed,” and it’s going to take over campus fer sure.

Andrew Goble, ES ’15, Max Gordon, SY ’15, Elliah Heifetz, TC ’15 (former YH Culture and Reviews editor, forever YH friend), and Paul Hinkes, ES ’15, started Nero as a pop songwriting project; the band’s been releasing demos for about a year now. (You may recognize “Where I Go” or “Lose That Girl,” among others.) Their friendly faces and “pop, indie, disco” tunes have been featured at Sig Ep and even opened Spring Fling. Since then, they’ve spent the summer writing, recording, and performing in NYC; this single, and their forthcoming EP, are the fruits of that labor.

The new song is FUN you’re gonna LOVE it we PROMISE. “We’re going for clean, punchy, punk-y throwback pop songs with a wink,” said Heifetz. Perfect for your throwback Thursday—or your plain old Monday, Tuesday, whatever. Butbutbut that’s not all! There’s also a lyrics video, featuring Calista Small, BR ’14. The vid is as visually appealing as the song is catchy. Small has really nice flowing golden locks; in fact, the only problem with this video is that it might make you feel self-conscious about your own unwashed library topknot.

Even more good news—video launch means their website’s live! We’re expecting great things from NERO MY PANDA DOT COM, home of the aforementioned earworm/hair porn combo. Click it click it check it out.

Today, Nero is everyone’s panda.

We at the Bullblog have what can only be classified as a love-hate relationship with Blue State. Either it’s perfection or it’s the worst thing ever—there’s no middle ground. It’s hot then it’s cold; it’s yes then it’s no. Et cetera.

But today, a seasonal change in Blue State’s offerings means that Blue Hate is now Blue Love again. The’ve replaced their banana walnut oatmeal—which was, by all counts, much worse even than dining hall hot cereal—with the far more delicious flavor profile of cranberry pecan spice oatmeal. Perfect for any autumnal meal. Breakfast’s the obvious choice, but nothing will stop us from enjoying this for lunch, dinner, and late night study treats. It’s even gluten free—what’s not to like??? (Also, “Shut Up and Drive” by Rihanna is currently playing in the York Street location, and that’s nice too.)

Our only complaint? Not a lot of oatmeal comes in the little paper cup. Other than that, though? Perfection. You’re welcome—just leave some for us.

Atticus has always been the Bullblog’s go-to place to spend like $9 on a piece of bread with a sliced tomato and cheese or an (admittedly excellent) plate of lettuce and a little chicken. But now, our favorite Bookstore Café (not counting Book Trader) has irrevocably changed the game. According to a brightly colored sign occupying some very prominent glass door space opposite the YUAG (you can’t miss it),  “Atticus… will soon have its liquor license to serve beer & wine.”

That’s right—monumental change is coming to Chapel Street.

What will this mean for your Halloween? How has it affected your plans for the future? Now we know where we’re gonna pregame SigEp Spook’d/tailgates/everything else/Froyo World. If we shotgun the beers, can we call it Fratticus? The window table in the Bookstore part — yeah, the one right near the greeting card stand — looks like it could be okay for pong, right? See you there.

As TPain* said at Spring Fling 2012,** these are the times that try men’s souls. We’re on day seven of this government shutdown business. Eight hundred thousand federal employees have been furloughed, while another 1.3 million are working without pay. The debt ceiling is looming ominously; we’re learning that “default” has another connotation that’s much more alarming than your FB profpic. It’s scary and overwhelming. Hard to make sense of it all, and even harder to feel involved.

Still want to exercise the rights and privileges that come with citizenship? We might not have, you know, a federal government, but the democratic process lives! Blue State has posted a survey allowing the common man to have his or her voice heard in the making of a truly monumental decision. They’re adding a new vegan item to the menu — and you, or I, or the woman currently sitting next to me and singing along to “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” in that very coffee shop (York St. location, of course), can vote on what it will be.

Our options?

• Vegan Hoisin Seitan Wrap: napa cabbage, baby corn, snow peas and a ginger miso vinaigrette
• Vegan Tempeh Reuben Wrap: housemade thousand island, sauerkraut and Daiya vegan “swiss”
• Vegan Mediterranean Roasted Vegetable Sandwich: tahini lemon spread, olive tapenade, roasted red onion on multigrain bread

The always-opinionated Bullblog staff is engaged in a fierce argument over our endorsement in what will almost surely be a tight little race. We haven’t come to a satisfactory conclusion yet. For now, it’s every man for himself. Vote or be condemned to a complacent existence in the post-apocalyptic doomscape.

* Or someone.
** Or some other time. 

Checkit. What have you done with your Monday morning?

According to YaleNews, “A press conference will be held today at 12:30 p.m. in the Yale School of Medicine’s Medical Historical Library, 333 Cedar St. The press conference will also be livestreamed on the Yale YouTube Channel.” We are interpreting this as an early start to the Inauguration block party. See you there — might not remember it, though.

Also, if you’re lucky enough to be enrolled in CBIO 602 [Grad], CBIO 603 [Grad],  MB&B 602 [Grad], MCDB 602 [Grad], or MCDB 603 [Grad], this means you are now literally learning from a Nobel Prize winner. (My sense is that none of our readership is enrolled in these classes, but I still found it worth mentioning.)

DISCLAIMER: The Bullblog doesn’t make endorsements for the New Haven mayoral race, and this isn’t one. Take everything below with at leaaaast a grain of salt.

I usually have no desire to experience embarrassment—either vicariously or on behalf of my (often deserving) self. But watching this video just transported me back to a pretty cringeworthy time. That’s right: it evoked the self-consciousness of bar/bat mitzvah season. In fact, I’m getting some pretty intense embarrassing-aunt vibes from Harp. And don’t even get me started on DeLauro’s moves. (Rosa, I can’t say I like what’s happening in this vid, but I guess I respect it.)

So basically, the Harp campaign has done it. They’ve found a way to make their candidate really hit home. Critics have suggested Harp’s just the face of the New Haven political machine. But if that’s true, it is very impressive that today I felt for her basically what I’d feel for, like, a well-meaning but super awkward family member. Guess this candidate must be on fire?

For most of us, the act of wearing a Yale sweatshirt just means that we didn’t put that much effort into getting dressed. But Jessica Simpson can rock that very same garment and make headlines (in Us Weekly, anyway, so take from that what you will).

On Mar. 31, Simpson was spotted taking a “Pregnant Stroll” with her husband, Eric Johnson YC ’01, and their daughter (not son!) Maxwell. This would be exciting in and of itself, but what makes it particularly special for the readership of this fine blog was Simpson’s outfit. She was wearing the aforementioned garment—the Yale sweatshirt—and it was attentionworthy. “Is Jessica Simpson borrowing her beau’s clothes?” wondered writer Zach Johnson (who is, we think, probably not related to Simpson’s husband, despite the shared last name). That seems like a safe bet to us.

Simpson herself isn’t a Yale grad—according to Wikipedia, she dropped out of J.J. Pearce High School and later earned her GED—but it looks comfy, and we wouldn’t think to begrudge her that. She’s been spotted in that very same sweatshirt in the past, and really we can only hope that the comfy item becomes a wardrobe staple. Represent us on the red carpet, Jess?

There are several reasons why today is looking pretty good. It’s not cloudy, Passover ends tonight, there are curly fries at residential college lunch. But all that stuff pales in comparison to unbelievably big deal writer Salman Rushdie’s talk on our very own campus this afternoon.

This is actually huge. Knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2007 for his service to literature, Rushdie has received tons of awards for his writing, including the Booker Prize, the Booker of Bookers (for the best novel among the Booker Prize winners for Fiction awarded at the prize’s 25th anniversary), the Whitbread Prize for Best Novel (twice), and so many more. His work has been translated into over 40 languages.

We’re looking forward to hearing about the massive controversy surrounding Rushdie’s fourth novel, The Satanic Verses, which produced protests from Muslims in several countries in addition to death threats and a fatwā issued by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran. Also, we’d be interested to hear Rushdie’s thoughts on the process of writing and about his forays into the Twitter universe.

The event is today at 4:30 p.m. in the Robert L. McNeil Lecture Hall at the YUAG (1111 Chapel St). It will be hosted by the Politic, and will include a Q&A session, so come prepared. Cyathur!

In this week’s Herald cover story, you can read all about the New Haven Police Department’s adoption of community policing, an old—but also new—method of reducing crime.

But if you’re looking for some police action that displays even more creativity, check out this Mar. 29 New Haven Independent article. It describes an officer who, in the absence of any actual police canine, barked like a dog in order to convince two masked guys that they were actually dealing with a police dog. Surprisingly enough, this tactic worked. The men surrendered, and have been charged with motor vehicle theft and burglary.

My only question is whether my mediocre but well-intentioned Lana Del Rey impression can help me fight crime. If you’ve got any advice regarding this, don’t hesitate to let me know.

Spring break’s over, ugh. And that’s not the only grim news. While you were away, Yale psychology professor and researcher Karen Wynn discovered some unsettling stuff.. about babies.

On this 60 Minutes segment (which also contains a few Rousseau refs for DS enthusiasts, shots of sample babies for those just tryna watch cute vids, and some celeb psych profs Paul Bloom-Karen Wynn power couple stuff), Wynn explained the research that led her to the conclusion that babies as young as three months old actually can tell between right and wrong.

So that’s not scary in and of itself. But it gets offputting with some of the implications regarding the nature of bias. Analyzing infants’ preferences of puppets in different scenarios, Wynn showed that babies display a preference for individuals who harm others unlike them.

“We are built to, at the drop of a hat, create us and them,” says Wynn in the video. “We’re not that moral,” adds Bloom. “we have an initial moral sense that is in some ways really impressive and in some ways really depressing, that we see some of the worst biases in adults reflected in the minds and in the behaviors of infants.”

It gets a little more hopeful as the video turns to a discussion of eliminating bias, but still kinda bleak. Welcome back, guys.