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Daily Diversions

Daily Diversions is a regularly updated page with suggestions and recommendations from the Swarthmore community to help ease the burden of physical distancing. 

"Black Coffee" performed by Swarthmore College Jazz Ensemble

What has been your favorite performance?

Last week, we asked members of the Swarthmore community and followers of the College’s Instagram account to share their favorite Swarthmore performances.

  • Showing of Night of the Living Dead
  • Marian McPartland with the Swarthmore Orchestra
  • Funk the Patriarchy
  • Third Coast Percussion
  • Yerba Buena
  • Bootsie Barnes Trio
  • Marcel Khalifé and Mahmoud Darwish
  • Killer Mike
  • Nirvana
  • Vampire Weekend
  • Childish Gambino
  • Dave Matthews Band
  • Third Coast Percussion
  • Odetta
  • Philadanco
  • The Manhattan Project performing Endgame
  • Funk-a-Saurus Rex’s First Show: Mary Lyons Halloween Party, 1990
  • Funk-a-Saurus Rex’s The Last Funk: Upper Tarble, April 9, 1993
  • Henry Steele Commager
  • Peter and David Schickele
  • Doc Watson performing with Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys
  • Jefferson Airplane
  • Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols
  • Brandenburg Concerto No. 4
  • Pete Seeger
  • Randy Scruggs
  • The Allman Brothers Band
  • The Fantasticks
  • P.D.Q Bach and the Swarthmore Symphony Orchestra
  • Third Coast Percussion
  • Alex Shaw ’00’s Mandinga Experiment
  • Consciência Negra: A Legacy of Black Consciousness in Black
  • Vertigogo improv shows
  • NPPR Tiny Desk
  • The Rhythm ’N Motion shows
  • Welcome White People
Rhythm N Motion

What are you cooking during this time?

Recently, we asked you what are you cooking during this time? Here are your responses.

  • Italian wedding soup
  • Oatmeal
  • Ikea’s recipe for Swedish meatballs
  • Challah bread
  • Banana bread
  • Palestinian food
  • Red velvet cake
  • Avocado brownies
  • Cookies
  • The Rory (Donny’s special burger)
  • Beignets
  • Ratatouille
  • All kinds of noodles
  • Hot pockets
  • Nepali dishes: momos, rajma, paneer, and kheer
  • Lots of Vietnamese food
  • Ghanaian jollof
  • Korean food
  • Vegan dumplings
  • Vegetarian recipes
  • Chicken and rice
  • Pakoras
  • Ginger-molasses cookies
  • Pizza
  • Recipes from Alison Roman’s Nothing Fancy cookbook

How I'm Practicing Self-Care

We asked members of the Swarthmore Communications Office and followers of the College's Instagram account to share how they're practicing self-care. Below are a few of our favorite responses. Send your additional suggestions to communications@swarthmore.edu.

  • Logging off of Twitter
  • Good sleep
  • 1 face mask plus 24 oz of water every day
  • Yoga
  • Watching The Great British Bake Off
  • Podcast & planting sessions
  • Journaling
  • Trying to think of anything other than COVID-19 daily
  • Exercise
  • Outdoor runs (with safe distancing)
  • Napping with my cat
  • Googling stock photos of cherry blossoms
  • Reading
  • Studying and watching Netflix
  • Eating carefully

What song is getting you through this difficult time?

When we asked you what song is getting you through this difficult time, you responded with the following:

  • "Make You Mine" - Public
  • "Gimme Love" - Joji
  • "Mondo Grosso" - Labyrinth
  • "New Music" - Ragtime
  • "Relax, Take It Easy" - Mika
  • "Hope is a dangerous things for a woman like me to have" - Lana Del Ray
  • "Hall of Fame" - The Script
  • "Hold Me Down" - Higher Brothers
  • "Daydream Believer" - The Monkees
  • "Mama Mia Rendition" - Austin Weber
  • "Please Pardon Yourself" - The Avett Brothers
  • "XS, Akasaka Sad" - Rina Sawayama
  • "I Believer" - Persona 5 Royal
  • "The Mighty Rio Grande" - This Will Destroy You
  • "Distant" - Sleep On It
  • Brockhampton Sugar
  • "Sunday Morning" - Hamzaa
  • "I am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger"
  • "Oh My God" - Alec Benjamin
  • "Stormy Weather" - Billie Holiday
  • "Here Comes the Sun"
  • "Deliah" - Aeris Roves
  • "Nights" - Frank Ocean
  • "Savannah" - Reliant K
  • "Shootin’ Dice" - Timo Lassy
  • "Out of Order" - Michi
  • "Pocket Full of Sunshine" - Natasha Bedingfield
  • "Yacht" - Dystopia
  • "Country Roads"
  • "Te Extrano"
  • "Don’t Stand So Close to Me"
  • "Bali" - Rich Brian & Guapdad 4000
  • "August" - Flipturn (Acoustic)
  • "Ribs" - Lorde
  • "High Hopes"
  • "Hallelujah"
  • "Lovely"
  • "Rise Up"
  • "Lean on Me"
  • "Breathin" - Ariana Grande
  • "Wake Me Up" - Aloe Blacc
  • "Biking" - Frank Ocean
  • "Astronomia"
  • "Slide" - Goo Goo Dolls
  • "We’ll Be Alright" - Grace Potter
  • "Make You Mine" - Public
  • "Over Yet" - Hayley Williams
  • "Through the Wire" - Kanye West
  • "Do the Right Thing" - Ages and Ages!
  • "No Act of Kindness, no matter how small, is ever Wasted" - Aesop
  • "Fantasy" - Earth Wind and Fire
  • "How I Feel" - Lizzo
  • "Morgen!" - Richard Strauss
  • "Dream a Little Crazy" - Architecture in Helsinki
  • "Keep a Little Soul" - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
  • "Save Me" - Irma

 

Who Inspires You at Swarthmore?

This question is from our colleagues in ITS, who want to know who is inspiring you at Swarthmore these days. 

  • The Class of 2020
  • The community
  • Karin Colby, Department of Physical Education & Athletics
  • Mutabar Mills, EVS
  • Prof. Cat Norris, Psychology
  • Debbie Thompson, Provost’s Office
  • Prof. Patty White, Film and Media Studies Department
  • Prof. Nsoki Mavinga, Mathematics & Statistics
  • Alana Ballagh ’22
  • Professor Farha Ghannam, Sociology & Anthropology
  • Prof. Chandra Moss-Thorne, Music & Dance
  • Prof. Alex Torra, Theater
  • Prof. Amy Vollmer, Biology
  • Amanda Whitbred, Communications
  • Jonah Johnson ’23
  • Nancy Yuan ’20
  • Matt Midkiff, Baseball Coach
  • Prof. Mark Wallace, Religion
  • Prof. Larry Westphal, Emeritus Economics
  • Sajal Akkipeddi ’20
  • The lovely trees
  • Prof. Liliya Yatsunyk, Chemistry & Biology
  • Prof. Molly Flaherty, Psychology
  • Elisa Estrella ’23
  • Prof. Logan Grider, Art
  • Prof. Randall Exon, Art
  • Prof. Syd Carpenter, Art
  • Donny
  • Prof. Sa’ed Atshan, Peace & Conflict Studies
  • Prof. Diane Anderson, Educational Studies
  • Prof. Ann Renninger, Educational Studies
  • Prof. Joseph Nelson, Educational Studies
  • Prof. Stacey Miller, Biology
  • Emma Parker Miller ’22
  • Prof. Ben Geller, Physics & Astronomy
  • ITS
  • Prof. Victor Barranca, Mathematics & Statistics
  • Karen Borbee, Physical Education & Athletics

What's Your Daily View?

We asked people to show us their view as your working, studying, and learning — whether that's your workspace or what you can see out the window. 

home office

Katie Clark, Center for Innovation and Leadership

Interior

Peter Darling '84

backyard

June Scott '61 in Atlanta, Georgia.

trees and sky

Danie Martin, Technical Services Specialist, in Bryn Mawr, Pa.

laptop

David Obermayer, College Archivist / Records Manager 

office

Jason Hamilton, Library Systems Administrator

computer cats

Maria Aghazarian, Scholarly Communications Librarian

computer

Melinda Kepplinger, Acquisitions and Collections Specialist 

laptop and camera lenses

Princeton Huang '23

Syon in Office

Syon Bhanot, Assistant Professor of Economics

laptop on couch

Cassandra Stone '20

Katie Clark, Center for Innovation and Leadership

Photo /
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Streaming, Listening, and Reading Recommendations​​​​​​​

Members of the Communications Office and followers of the College's Instagram account shared their streaming, listening, and reading recommendations. Send your suggestions to communications@swarthmore.edu.

Book Recommendations

  • 1984 by George Orwell
  • Educated by Tara Westover
  • Underworld by Don Delillo
  • The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien
  • The Mushroom at the End of the World by Anna Tsing
  • The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson
  • Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.
  • Super Pumped by Mike Isaac
  • Burn the Place by Iliana Regan
  • We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby

Music Recommendations

  • Black Fire
  • Khalid
  • Tame Impala
  • Hozier
  • Oso Oso
  • lofi hip hop beats to relax/study to
  • Phoebe Bridgers
  • Mercedes Sosa
  • Oh Wonder
  • Ariana Grande

Podcast Recommendations

  • My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
  • Ear Hustle
  • The Moth
  • Home Cooking with Samin Nosrat
  • Reply All
  • Spilled Milk
  • Pod Save America
  • The Wild 
  • NPR’s Coronavirus Daily
  • The Throwback Podcast
  • Punch up the Jam
  • You Must Remember This
  • Swindled

TV / Music Recommendations

  • Great British Bake Off
  • Fleabag
  • You
  • I Think You Should Leave
  • Anything That Isn’t Paw Patrol
  • Booksmart
  • 20th Century Women
  • Better Things
  • the diving bell and the butterfly
  • Contagion