The Weblog Review

Ah…another blogspot blog. I wasn’t expecting much when the page started to load. After it finished loading, I looked at the ‘Pete’ in ‘The World According to Pete’, then at the pink background decorated with cute little paw prints and at the peachy, girlish layout with not one but two adorable smiling cats, and expected much much less.

Then I started to read.

Then I wondered: what the hell is such a witty and sarcastic male writer doing with a thirteen-year-old tween site design? A witty and sarcastic AND heterosexual male writer, no less (no offense to certain parties). I suggest an immediate revamping of the site in case the frilly, innocent layout misleads impressionable little girls and boys into reading the blog content and thus suffer from serious mental problems after coming across Pete’s ‘sex life’ and his wacky opinions on the war. Damaging stuff. So that’s 0.5 points off for incongruousness and lack of concern for the wellbeing of minors.

Seriously, now, Pete is a funny guy. The blog was originally submitted under ‘Humor’, but I unilaterally (keyword alert! keyword alert!) changed it to ‘Personal’ because I feel that The World According to Pete is really all about Pete. Heck, the title says it all. I’m not sure if it’s a good thing to write about your personal life, views and opinions and have readers laugh at it, but it sure is good for us readers. When Pete writes, he writes. Long, satisfying entries throughout the blog, with correctly spelled words (there are some misspelled words done on purpose a la ‘Flowers for Algernon’ though), grammatically perfect sentences and neatly separated paragraphs. All that just to make you laugh.

With the main attraction of the blog being his personality, it really is a let down that there is no personal information on Pete. Many bloggers scoff at the idea of doing a Hi-my-name-is-Pete-I-am-29-years-old, but in reality it is helpful for readers not acquianted with the writer. It lets readers know where a writer is coming from when he or she makes a point; whether there are any prejudices or not and so on. A white middle-class American male saying “Bush is an idiot!” is not the same as a young Indonesian saying it. A blog without basic personal information gives the idea that it is meant for friends and relatives only. Readers feel left out and have difficulty understanding posts if there are references to earlier events. On The World According to Pete, the only thing that might give some remote idea about who Pete is is a link titled ‘Pete’s Mug Shot’ – which links you to a JPG file that doesn’t show. Another 0.5 points off for that.

All in all, if you ignore the pink kitties and concentrate on the words, you will derive great pleasure from this blog. More than anything, it is enjoyable to read about Pete’s antics and outlook on life, smoking ‘problems’ and all. For someone who has had a near-death experience and seen God, he’s a reckless, fun fool. The verdict: The World According to Pete is a rollicking, wicked good read. Chances are you will develop a crush on Pete after reading through. Highly recommended.

Semi-related stuff: In the interest of writing an honest review, I have attempted to see what will happen if readers answer Pete’s call of sending him pictures of themselves. So far there has been no reply, and unfortunately (either for him or for readers of TWR) I have to submit this review before dinnertime and thus cannot inform potential readers on the outcome. Do head over and check the site out anyway.The World According to Pete

When I first visited Premshree’s blog, I thought it was a tad spartan. First impressions can be deceiving, however, and despite a marked lack of glitz and glamour, I found this to be a thoroughly delightful site. It serves a dual purpose; giving us the benefit of Premshree’s technical articles, software code and it allows us to become acquainted with Premshree the person.

Despite my initial relegation of this site into the “Computer Geek” pile, I found the glimpses of life in India to be fascinating. The useful technical tips, code, and links to Premshree’s articles were well balanced by into what life is life for a young college student in India.

If an American college student designed, developed, and wrote this blog, it would rate a 3.5. It’s slightly above average, all the links work, but similar files, code, links, etc., can be found elsewhere without a lot of searching. The unique part of this blog is the foreign element, which introduces just enough newness and intrigue to earn this site a solid 4. I look forward to coming back occasionally and catching up with Premshree. I think you will too.

Premshree Pillai’s Journal

When you first come to the site, the design strikes your fancy — something new! You immediately think to yourself… there has got to be something good going on here. And the surprise is that there is something good going on here.



The blog itself brings the reader closer to the author by his sharing of everyday little things that are often overlooked. It reminds me of those moments in life where you’ll find yourself thinking something silly (May 22), believing that you’re the only one that believes that way, only to find that you’re not… there are others. The author’s entries are filled with humor and wit, stacked on top of intelligence, which is rampant throughout the blog. There are many interesting things to read here, and it’s a well-rounded read. Anyone that can comment on Shakespeare’s gayness (March 5) and talk about video games (April 17) has to be a somewhat balanced writer.



The design is fresh and new. Quite unique by way of blog designs. Comments are offered, though there is no about me page, which is a bit of a let-down.



He has a few other blogs linked and some movie reviews of things the author has recently seen. He shared with you what he’s currently reading, and currently listening to. Another added feature that I found kind of fun was the links to “songs of the moment,” added onto specific entries. This helps to bring the reader into the mind-set of the author and shares with the rest of the world the kind of mood he might be in.



Overall this blog was fun to read. I found myself reading entirely more than could possibly be needed to write a decent review. I browsed through the majority of the archives and found them just as interesting as the recent stuff. Sometimes there are just subjects that are timeless.ODAAT- one day at a time

My first impression of the site was “clean in shades of gray.” Feels rather melancholy, when really there’s little of melancholy written here. Never trust what you see at first glance, this guy is definitely a techie.

The blog should fall into the category of technical, considering at his young age he’s been writing for some major technical magazines and online magazines. You learn something about his Indian culture from his entries, and goodness knows there are a lot of us that could use some culture. He has a great writing style and a good grasp of the language. There’s a lot of techno-babble, so sometimes the reader might find themselves lost. There’s the occasional personal entry, which is very personal and these entries are filled with a hint of the spiritual, bringing the reader closer to the author.

The design is simple but works. There are no images, so there’s a fast load time for slower connection. It’s not hard on the eyes, but it’s not overly beautiful either. It fits very well, however, with this author’s writing style and subject.

The first thing I visited was the about me page and you can’t help but feel somewhat in awe of his accomplishments a writer. The main site has scripts and articles as well as a newsletter. There are definitely many reasons for readers to stop by and visit. The archives only go back ten entries at a time, so it’s a little time consuming if you want to go way back.

It seems that some of the better blogs are hiding in the guise of simplistic design. There are many interesting entries worth reading (May 11) and this blog is definitely an interesting read. Nothing out of the ordinary or extravagant here, but definitely worth a visit. Again, if there was a section called technical, this would definitely fit there.Premshree Pillai’s Journal

Premshree Pillai is a twenty-year-old computer
programmer from India. I would suggest checking out his `About Me’ page before reading the weblog
entries. He has quite an impressive list of programming and publishing accomplishments (he even
generously shares some of his code with the world ), and knowing this enhances his journal entries.

The author designed his own blog layout. The grey and black colors are nice to look at, and each blog entry is neatly separated into boxes and labeled with date and time. Entries are listed 10 to a page with the most recent addition at the top. There are links throughout the blog to all kinds of programming sites, and according to surfers who have signed his guestboook, his own contributions to the programming world have helped a lot of people.

Aside from interesting tidbits from the world of computer programming, many of Premshree’s entries cover his
life as a student, and different aspects of living in India, which is particularly intriguing because of his non-intrusive narrative style. Premshree disects his thoughts and feelings well, and seems to have a good understanding of human nature and not just the nature of programming. It’s really quite nice to read about his recollections of time spent with family members as he looks back with adult eyes.

Bottom line: A well-crafted site with interesting entries written by a down-to-earth programming guru.
Premshree Pillai’s Journal