The big buzzword at Swarthmore this year was “blog.”  Or, more specifically, “really preachy and tedious blogs about the troubles and triumphs of the marginalized group du jour.”  But however much some student blogs make me want to bash my skull in, there’s an awful lot of fantastic content being written by Swarthmore students that, for whatever reason, is overlooked.  (Possibly because it’s not being linked around in the echo chamber of on-campus student group mailing lists, but that’s a topic for another post.)

In any event, here are a four of the more noteworthy ones:

  • Lord of the Fjord — Penned by my former editor-in-chief at The Phoenix, Mara Revkin is using her blog to chronicle her trips to Jordan and Oman while on a Fulbright.  Beyond just being good writing, I also learned from the very first post that Oman has fjords, which is completely awesome and is now my favorite “did you know..?” to share with almost everyone.
  • BLAINE.BLOG — More of a tumblog-styled deal, Blaine O’Neill’s blog posts (or reposts, I’m not sure) a lot of visually arresting/compelling pictures, videos, and links.  While blogs that repost things from elsewhere on the internet are a dime a dozen, this one stands out from the rest.
  • Farce, Fodder, and Foodstuffs — To be honest, I don’t know shit about food, beyond what I’ve learned by watching Top Chef and No Reservations.  Alex Weintraub, on the other hand, does know shit about food, and blogs about it (and other various things) pretty articulately.  And while I never thought I’d find myself subscribing to a blog that posts recipes, it’s worth it.
  • The Swatorialist — For a college filled with exceptionally dumpy individuals (acceptable fashion choices include: neon pink pants on men, crocheted mousey-looking oversized sweaters on women, and the all-sweatpants-all-the-time look on anyone), Swarthmore has also managed to churn out one pretty great fashion blogger: Ming Cai.  While my idea of a fashion blog would be making fun of the ridiculous shit that hipsters/wannabe hipsters/otherwise stylistically challenged people wear at Swarthmore, Ming’s a little less bitter about it, and it’s probably for the better.