The Weblog Review

Pirate Cafe is a new weblog, dating back only to the beginning of July, but wow, there’s a lot to be getting through.

Unfortunately, there’s no logical introduction to the site, no “about” page, which is a shame, because this is a blog by a girl with a real story to tell. From what I can make out, the narrator, going by the name of pirate-tron, is in her twenties, has a boyfriend and works as a teacher.

From such a generalisation, however, the blog streams forth with witty and interesting opinion pieces. For example, read about the writer’s introduction to small-town sex parties in a very well-crafted tale on July 27th. Or go further back, and read of one of her experiences with an inept co-worker.

There are many types of entry, too. Aside from the longer comments, which are what I found to be the highlight of the site, you’ll also find a smattering of illustrated recipes, poems and shorter, personal updates. Pirate-tron is politically-minded, but not overbearingly so, and represents an interesting and interested minority in America that feels alienated by George W. Bush’s presidency (perhaps not so small a minority).

On the left hand side of the site, accompanying the scant internal navigation (a few archive links) are external links to sites of interest, and a nifty message board. I think the board is a great idea, especially having it on the front page, and not hidden away from the majority of everyday visitors.

Unfortunately the design, on the whole, is generic and doesn’t fit the length of most entries (a lighter background, better word and line-spacing would help readability), though it isn’t intrusive and the site is quick to load.

I foresee a strong future for Pirate Cafe. I will be following the narrator’s search for land with interest, and hope that I won’t be alone in doing so.

pirate cafe

The man knows his latex! I entered Lust, Love & Latex with trepidation, expecting to see something raunchy and very adult – which is is, but the site is professionally maintained (it’s not filled with latex porn as I was fearing) and is a great jumping board for those interested in the latex fetish or simply those wanting to buy something sexy and rubber. The design of the site is effectively sexy without being over the top. It’s a very talented coder who can make a concept such as this work well online.

The site started in mid-September last year and has a wealth of information about latex and the life of the writer, a man who wears the stuff (and loves it with a passion). To be more specific, it’s about one man’s attempt to come to terms with the fetish and help his wife come to terms with the fact that her husband is a latex fetishist. Needless to say, it makes for interesting reading.

3xL – three Ls which refer to Lust, Love & Latex and not the man’s actual body size – is an extremely intriguing individual and he writes with clarity. It’s obvious that he knows what he wants to achieve. The blog doesn’t deviate much at all from it’s original purpose of discussing 3xL’s relationship with his wife and life with rubber and when it does, it’s simply to promote other latex fetishist bloggers and sources where one can procure the latest in rubber finery. There’s also a gallery you can sign up to view all manner of latex-type pictures if you’re interested.

All in all, if you like latex, or even if you think you don’t, go visit 3xL and his world of rubber. You’ll be surprised and maybe even tempted. Heck, even I was tempted to purchase a few bits and pieces for myself, he makes it sound like fun. A very impressed 4.5/5 for Lust, Love & Latex.


(Note to those who read the sites reviewed on TheWeblogReview.com at work – due to some of the pictures onsite, this is not a work-safe blog, so save it ’til you get home.)3xL : Lust, Love & Latex!

I wasn’t impressed at all with this blog. It’s disturbing – which is what the writer is going for, but most bloggers who write along these lines provide more for the reader other than vague half-statements and unfinished thoughts. It makes for very unenjoyable reading. The design of the blog actually changes once you hit one of the archive links and to be honest, that design suits the theme of the site better than the one you’re first greeted with (which is plain and boring).

Every entry is never more than one or two lines, or a short paragraph. There is no information about the writer which leaves the obvious questions – Who? Why? When? Where? How? The total lack of information makes for a very boring site.

There is also a distinct lack of entries with which to comment on. The blog is new, but to be reveiwed properly, you need to give the reviewer something to go on, something with which to get to know you by. This blog didn’t make the cut in that respect.

There were two entries which stood out in particular however, which I did like very much. “The Death Of A Clown (1991 – The Fall)” posted on the 27th of July and “Psycho” posted on the 20th of July. Death of A Clown was probably the saddest and poignant thing I’ve read in a blog, so well done for that entry. Psycho posed a question that I had often pondered myself. It makes for interesting debate.

On the whole, I wouldn’t recommend this blog to anyone, especially if it carries on along the same vein with little sense and(or) little information. However the more angsty-teen type people might think they relate in some way to the strange words found at the Diary of Kyramas.A Diary of Kyramas

When I saw the title “That Colored Fellas weblog” I had an inkling that this would be written by someone who had some strong beliefs, and I was certainly right about that.

Upon entering the page I was fairly pleased with the site design- a photo of the “colored fella” with his arm round someone, archives and the blog itself. I always like seeing photos – I think they help tremendously to connect with the blog and its author. The simplicity of the design and lack of distractions helps to draw the reader straight to the content, which is by far the strongest aspect of this weblog. Admittedly a few more colours and “eye candy” might have improved the layout a bit, but not essential.

So on to the content itself then. The author is certainly informed, intelligent and opinionated. I found some of the entries almost too informed- not living in the States, (or being especially clever, come to think of it) I found some of the acronyms and terms used went over my head a bit. However the entries are worth persevering with and full of interesting ideas about politics, as well as revealing more about the author’s personal life. Although I won’t espouse any of his opinions here, suffice to say that being a black, gay American has certainly helped to shape these opinions, making them that much more stimulating.

I was slightly disappointed with the number of entries – I managed to get through them all in about 20 minutes including the archives which went back to January 2003 and felt that more frequent updates would make for more frequent visitors. I also simply wanted to read more of this clearly literate writer. “Comment” links were offered on each entry but they didn’t seem to be working and therefore no one had done so- a shame really, as I feel the site would really benefit from this extra input. A couple of typos were noticed, but not many.

In conclusion then, “Colored Fella” is certainly a cut above your average, run of the mill weblog in terms of the quality of content, but could perhaps do with some more frequent updates. Also, less use of jargon would make it more accessible and attractive to a wider audience. And finally, get the comments fixed!

That Colored Fellas weblog

I liked the look of this clean cut layout. I was surprised that there was no real information on the sidebars apart from a photo and a calendar. It all looked slightly sparse, but it was clean looking and definitely clutter free!

I noticed that this blog started, or the first posting was in January 2003. The entries are somewhat sparse and it seems that he had a few problems with backing up the blog. The content is based around politics, music and radio stations. It seems that Bert was laid off after 16+ years and he seems happy about it. His passions are music, politics and softball. He touches on various issues about “black people” which he describes as “I use the term Black to describe my people, because it reminds me of the civil-rights struggle of my parents generation.”

There is no information to let you really know who Bert is. There are no archives, the content of the blog is what you see on this page. It is still in the early stages, but in time, I think that it could hold some interesting observations and opinions.

This is a young blog which I found quite hard to review due to the limited content. Some of the political comments did go over my head, but that may be as I am in another country! I, personally, would like to know abit more about Bert and to see some more posts. I think that it has potential, and hopefully will grow with time.That Colored Fellas weblog