So you all know BrownFML and Spotted@Brown, but how about a website where you can procrastinate and actually end up knowing about what's going on in Rhode Island?
Let me start by saying that yes, I think the word blogosphere is just as silly as you do. However, regardless of its linguistic merits, never before has there been such an easy way to keep a handle on things important to us. I'll try to break down for you a few of the better blogs in Rhode Island and mix some arts and culture blogs in with the political ones I love.
Rhode Island's Future (rifuture.org) — This is Rhode Island's premier political blog. There is a definite progressive bent, but as a source of information about what's going on in state politics, this site is second to none. Its mission is to foster healthy debate on the issues facing the state, and there is an entire community of people who write posts and often engage in lengthy debates in the comments section. Also, RI Future's number-one rule is "don't be an ass." It's hard not to like a site like that.
Providence Daily Dose (providencedailydose.com) — Self-described as "high powered news and nonsense," this blog is your one-stop-shop to find out what's going on in Providence. It features all sorts of local music, films and events in the capital city. Recent posts span from shows at Lupo's and Club Hell to the teach-in at Brown in response to recent gay teen suicides.
The Providence Journal (projo.com) — Certainly the most "establishment" of this bunch, even after massive downsizing in the newsroom, the ProJo is Rhode Island's biggest media voice. Besides the normal articles, the website also features a business blog (bizblog.projo.com) for all you C.O.E. concentrators as well as blogs about cars, music, food, politics, fitness and pretty much anything else you can imagine.
Rhode Island Policy Reporter (whatcheer.net) — Tom Sgouros, erstwhile candidate for Treasurer and author of the celebrated "Ten Things You Don't Know About Rhode Island," is the driving force behind this site. It features some brilliant analysis of policy and of the problems facing Rhode Island. Sgouros has an amazing knowledge of the government's role in economics and of the ramifications of debt, so I can fully recommend this to Econ folks as well as policy-minded people.
AS220 (as220.org) — This site chronicles the goings-on of what is arguably Rhode Island's coolest cultural location. The omnibus community arts space has art installations, frequent performances on its stage and a great restaurant inside to boot. AS220 also has a strong offering of classes aimed at improving the cultural literacy of Providence youth. As a side-note, the owner of the space has the coolest beard you've ever seen.
Greater City: Providence (gcpvd.org) — Oh, the puns. This blog is dedicated to helping greater Providence become a greater city, mainly by turning from a car-centric city into a more urbanized space. There's some really fascinating content with, for example, a vision for revamping Kennedy Plaza into an urban oasis. There's also a great year-end "What Cheer/What Jeer" section that celebrates positive happenings in Providence and disparages the bad.
Anchor Rising (anchorrising.com) — Are you a conservative feeling a little bit out of place in Rhode Island (not to mention Brown)? Or do you just want a look inside the mind of the right wing? Either way, Anchor Rising is a center of conservative thought in Rhode Island. Best of all, the content is generally well-written and intelligent, the exact opposite of the screed Fox News puts out. Strangely, all the contributors have cartoon portraits of themselves next to each post.
Not for Nothing (thephoenix.com/blogs/notfornothing) — You've all seen the Providence Phoenix at the Rock, right? This is their blog on politics. It's got great analysis of the horse race in the campaigns for governor, mayor and the rest. Founded by the incomparable reporter on Rhody politics, Ian Donnis, the site is now run by David Scharfenberg.
WRNI "On Politics" (wrnipoliticsblog.wordpress.com) — If Not for Nothing was Ian Donnis's old gig, then this is his new one. He and Scott MacKay run this blog from the auspices of Rhode Island's NPR station. What's cool about this blog is that it mixes some opinion in with the news, like why voters actually should care about the character of candidates.
Blog Daily Herald (blogdailyherald.com) – Yeah, so my editors would probably kill me if I didn't include this. But in all honesty, the site does have pretty good lists of what's going on each weekend and also has links to a ton of student blogs that I didn't have space to mention here.
Far from being a mere distraction like -some websites, each of these blogs can help you maximize the time you spend outside of cyberspace, letting you be that one friend that always knows about cool things happening downtown. So log on, bookmark some favorites and, if you're feeling especially adventurous, start a blog of your own and join the conversation.
Kurt Walters '11 is a philosophy, politics and economics concentrator from Charlottesville, Va. He may be contacted at kurt_walters@brown.edu.
