The Weblog Review

Rudderless opens to a clean, clutter free page with an easy to navigate list of links including an About page that tells us a little bit about Slim and Kiki, the authors of the site. Though the information is of the “likes/dislikes” variety and not really all that helpful to the new visitor. Kudos from me though, for un-clutter on the opening page.

I began to read the entries and at first was very impressed with a humorous story about air travel, which was cleverly written, and had me laughing out loud. But as I continued to read found that I was more than a bit disoriented as to who was writing the entries. If it was a long one, I had to scroll down to the end to see who posted it. This makes for some confusion when trying to get with the flow of what is being talked about. There are entries on all manner of subjects: raising a toddler, music, urban living, liberal political viewpoints, workplace incidents and a few book or movie critiques. The writing styles of the entries seemed irregular and I was struggling to find some coherent theme to them or a thread that ran through that I could follow, and finally gave it up.

While the entries are clearly written, and are occasionally interesting or humorous, I began to feel just a bit like I was at the mercy of someone clicking the channels with a TV remote. There was a disjointed quality to them that was exacerbated by not knowing who was writing, unless I wanted to scroll to the bottom and find out. And to add to the confusion, I ran across entries that had been written by someone else, as yet un-introduced. Frankly, I began to get a bit annoyed.

To be fair, if you are a fellow Urbanite you might find this blog of interest. But it did not hold mine for long. And I am sorry for it, because a few of the entries were SO well done, I was hoping for more of the same.

If I have any suggestions they would be: a little more cogent ‘About’ section, and if the author of each entry identified themselves in the heading, it would cut down on the confusion.

rudderless.org

The ‘Genuine Blog’ certainly makes a powerful first impression, with a striking picture of a moonlit castle in the header and a medieval theme througout. It’s one of the more visually appealing weblogs that I’ve seen. Kudos to the author for creating a fun, impressive, and professional-looking site.

Speaking of the author, I was a bit disappointed to find no ‘About Me’ page available — after loading the page, I was eager to learn more about the person who’d taken such care with the design of their site. And, of course, I wondered about the castle, and the knight peering back at me from the sidebar. Hoping for these answers and a bit of context, I dug into the archives for a look.

Happily, the archives didn’t disappoint. The ‘Genuine Blog’ has only been around since March of this year, but what it lacks in longevity, it makes up for in volume. On the first day alone, there are five posts, ranging from online quiz results to Genuine’s conversations with his kids to, yes, the origin of the author’s moniker and the weblog’s name. (Though nothing on the knight and castle motif — maybe Genuine’s just a hopeless romantic, eh?)

Even better, the posts have kept coming in recent weeks, and Genuine shows no signs of slowing down. On the contrary, he seems to be finding his voice of late, adding extras like a photo area and original chapters of an in-progress romance novel. The entries typically include anecdotes from his daily life, writing updates, web links, and interactions with other bloggers. In general, Genuine seems to be doing a great job of finding, entertaining, and keeping his audience, while having a lot of fun in the process.

There’s a lot to like about the this weblog. It has an original, imaginative look, and Genuine has dedicated himself to making the visit interesting and enjoyable. I’d like to see a bit more information about the author, why he writes, and where he hopes to take his site, but I give the site a well-deserved 4.5 out of 5. Have a look at the ‘Genuine Blog’; I think you’ll find something you like. And I mean that. Genuinely.www.genuineblog.com

A fairytale castle at night with a rising full moon greeted me upon entering Genuineblog’s realm. I noticed at once the links to the first three chapters of a romance novel. I also saw a small reference to Mrs. G. and made the leap that this was a blog written by a woman. It took me a while reading and poking around on the site to realize my mistake. This is a man’s blog. There IS an ‘About’ link, but it was not working at the time of my review. That would have been VERY helpful to get oriented.

I began to read the entries. It took me a while to get my ‘genuine’ legs as the first ones I read were cryptic references to other entries and some very short entries that didn’t reveal much, but as I read on I found a delightful sense of humor emerging.

He writes quite a bit about being a Dad to his two children and the one on the way. His description of a game he plays with his children called ‘monster chase’ was hilarious. He has several entries with links to pictures or other people’s blogs that are fun. My personal favorite was a link to his idea of the perfect job, a ‘deck holder downer’. Check it out March 26, 2004. There are entries on a variety of subjects, some touching, some are raunchy and very, well. . .’guy’. But most are quite humorous. Especially the recurring reference to him trying to stay off his wife’s LIST.

I read the first chapter of his romance novel and very soon was reminded of Tom Seleck in that movie…. what was it?, oh yes, ‘Her Alibi’. The writing styles seem similar to me. (Loved that movie by the way). In any case by this time, I was thoroughly enjoying my visit.

He is involved in something called ‘blogrolling’ which someone is going to have to catch me up on. I’m not sure what it’s all about, but it seems to be time consuming and he was making jokes about it. He DOES have an impressive number of commenting readers.

All in all I would give this blog a 4. The only reason I am not giving it a 5 is the fact that the About Me link was not working and that this blog was not very user friendly for navigating and getting your bearings. As the authors of this kind of material, we should remember that probably every day someone visits your blog ‘cold’ and it is a good idea to let them know something about you right off the bat. So we can settle in and enjoy what you might have to offer. We don’t need to write a book or anything, sometimes just one cogent phrase can do the trick. But I must say, that I will most likely be checking back in to see how the ‘Monster Chases’ are going at the Genuineblog household.

www.genuineblog.com

I like weblogs that explain things to me – why they’re blogging, who they are, where they’re weblog’s title came from, etc. Without some information, going into a weblog for the first time is a lot like just walking into someone else’s house and trying to figure out who they are and what they’re all about just by going through their dresser drawers. Sure, it can be done, but it’s always nice to get a little background information first. And Genuine, as he signs all of his posts, does just that with his very first entry into his new domain. It really gives readers an idea of who this guy really is.

Genuine’s a popular weblog, and by reading his entries, I can certainly see why. He’s an insomniac with an extremely entertaining flair for writing. His family (Mrs. Genuine, the Genuine Boy, and the Genuine Girl), other bloggers, and his knack for having a movie quote for so many different topics are some of the different subjects that keep him full of blogging fodder.

Another great element of The Genuine Blog is the way he involves his readers. He poses questions and asks (often demands in his own sarcastic manner) his viewers to interact. What movie star you best associate with, for instance.

Aesthetically speaking, the design is great. The graphics load quickly, the colors look excellent. Genuine’s even mastered a little HTML within the first month of his weblog’s existence, allowing him to link to some of his favorite weblogs in his entries and post some enjoyable pictures.

There are a few added features to the site, aside from just the author’s multiple daily entries. There are links to the first three chapters of a novel he’s attempting to write. On a personal, more get-to-know-the-author level, readers can browse through a photoblog and following along with the countdown until Mrs. G (Genuine’s wife) is due with the newest Genuine addition. The typical most recent entries, latest comments, and links to the three months of archived entries are also thrown in the mix.

The stories that are he shares range anywhere from sickeningly cute to absolutely adorable and sometimes even to downright disgusting. No matter where you start in this weblog, you just want to keep reading more and more.

Genuine’s got a good thing going with this weblog. Whether reading about his son’s future as quarterback specializing in the Booger Hand Off, the style of argument that his young daughter has already seemed to have mastered, or any of the other bits of his life he chooses to share, the Genuine Blog isn’t one that I would want to miss.

www.genuineblog.com

Sometimes you stumble upon an article ect. that just has you laughing and you’re not sure why.That was such the case with
“An Englishman in New England”.

When I first entered this weblog, I was greeted with a very plain and simple page like I have seen on many other ocassions. Oner of those templates from Blogspot.

Judging by the title, I really didn’t know what I was going to find in the entries. To me, I figured I would just find entries on what it was like living in New England . In any case, I began to read.

When I started my journey into the blog, I really couldn’t tell if the topics the author (known simply as “The Englishman”), were supposed to be of a serious nature or if they were supposed to be funny. The reason this had me wondering is because almost every entry I was reading , had me laughing.

The entries may have had me laughing, but still an amount of them were on serious subjects, but I guess with a touch of humor added. At this point, I really wasn’t sure what to think and I continued to read on. After reading several of the posts in the archives, it became clear to me why the posts made me laugh. Here is a small paragraph that he wrote.

If you hadn’t guessed it before, I’m an amateur comedian. Amateur, because I’m still perfecting that one flawless joke that makes someone laugh so hard their wallet spontaneously opens up and pours cash into my awaiting palms. Any day now. . .

Well judging from what I have read, he is well on his way to being a great comedian.
I know this type of blog will not suit everyone’s taste. Some people may even find it distasteful. Why do I use the word distasteful ?? One of the reasons being is that I must warn you, some of the humor in his posts are somewhat of an adult nature.

I for one enjoyed reading his entries. Even though there is humor associated with them, he does bring up a lot of interesting points.

“The Englishman’s”, entries are well written. Very clear and easy to read. He has several links on the left hand side, but not all of them work. He also has several links in the middle of his posts. Some of them don’t work as well. However, I did like his “All About the Englishman”, link. Not only does it let you know a bit more about him, but he adds humor in there as well.

To conclude, the only complaints I have with the weblog are the broken links and the dull template design. Other than that, the blog is one I recommend you give a try.
An Englishman in New England