The Weblog Review

From the moment I started reading this weblog, I knew I liked Al right away. He has problems just like everyone else, and has the positive attitude to take everything in stride and lets his sense of humor help prevent him from getting down too much. At least that’s the way he presents himself in his writing.

Scrolling through the archives of the site and reading Al’s entries provided quite the source of entertainment as well as tons of information about the author. From July 2000’s initial post covering the reason he started a weblog and the meaning of the title behind it to April 2001’s obscure song lyrics Al can’t get out of his head so he shares with his readers there’s an enormous variety of different topics Al touches on in his writing, and each are just as entertaining as the next.

Colors? Nice. I love blue. So, personally, I liked the dark blue background with light blue text. It may not be ideal of everyone, but it is different than your typical light background with dark text. The little flash banner that loads at the top of the site is a clever addition to the site. I also loved the title – “your most important website for the next 30 seconds”.

Other than the weblog, you’ll find even more things to explore. The about section has a nice little autobiography, complete with tons of pictures of the author all the way from his early childhood days until now. He’s also got several different photo galleries linked in the navigation bar to the left hand side of the site

I couldn’t find anything on the site that could justify anything less than a 5.0 rating. I didn’t find myself just skimming over entries to get on to the next one, but really finding myself involved in what I was reading wondering how particular events or troubles had worked out for Al. This is what makes an extraordinary weblog.

reacharound

I don’t think that anybody out there is against trees, unless, I guess, you’re the destructive sociopath type or belong to the log-the-earth-to-death “industry” that centers on the indiscriminate destruction of forests for “economic” purposes (read, ‘make bloody profits, who cares for the rest’).

The folks who put together everyforest.org are definitely for trees and plants. This is a green blog, literally and metaphorically. Powered by Moveable Type 2.5, and dedicated to greenery, its appearance has the simplicity and crisp, legible text that are trademarks of this blogging tool.

Everyforest.org is sparse and quite young — its archive begins in October 2002. Posts are brief one-two paragraph affairs including links to other sources/media/organizations focusing on protecting forests and countering the wanton destruction of the world’s tree/plant resources that’s accelerating. Everyforest.org, for example, reports that new research on the world’s plant species suggests that at least 50 percent of all plants may be endangered.

There is little firecracker quality to everyforest.org, and, admittedly, if you do not belong to the initiated few, the blog’s subject is not a head turner.

However, we cannot but praise the purpose of this blog’s owners, who strive to provide information about global ecological balance and, therefore, about how to defend life itself.

I doubt that everyforest.org will end up on the list of favorites of the great throngs out there, but at the end of the day it is a praiseworthy effort with room to grow. Give it some traffic and judge for yourself. everyforest

The web log called “My November” not only looks good in November, but it is good and will be good the whole year round. Written by a twentysomething year-old bachelor from Detroit whose aspirations include freelance writing as well as an early retirement, Jamie uses his many thoughts and experiences as a kind of paint which in his words are thrown on the canvass (sic) of life. This is a collection of candid and frank thoughts mixed in with snapshots to prove his worth as a future photographer and film maker.

This blog is very new, only a month old for this review. In fact, the very first entry is dated November 1st. As the entry that day explains, it marks the very first day of Jamie’s life and the reason for the blog’s creative title. Rebirth and time to start all over again. So because it is relatively new, there may not be that much content yet. At least not compared with the more experienced bloggers among us. However, it is growing continuously as the days roll by, and I am sure that by the same time next year there will be an extensive collection of entries and pictures and all that kind of good stuff expected of a good blog. Up until to now Jamie has been writing just about every single day. Each time something interesting, new and refreshing.

This blog is too new for me to be able to give it an objective and fair score. As a reviewer, I am nonetheless expected to provide a score anyway. So Jamie you receive a good solid four from me. For the potential to grow and throw alot more paint on your canvas of life. Keep up the good work.My November

One of the unbeatable pluses of the Bloggosphere is that it is replete with good writing. Locating a mature, lucid blog though is like searching the sea of fallen autumn leaves for that one tiny magic stick that’s lying out there, somewhere…. Not too much hope of discovery here. But, then, there’s always chance.

The Culpepper Log, run by Al Barger, is both a pleasant surprise and a solid personal views and analysis blog. Al compiles cracking good posts mainly focused on American politics. His views and political preferences are quite obvious from the word “go,” and I found this to be one of the strongest attributes of the Culpepper Log. Named after the Culpepper Minute Men Battalion of War of Independence fame, Al’s site makes its presence known in an unmistakable, assured, and articulate manner.

Al doesn’t mince words, but he writes with that rare combination of well-founded personal belief and a sense of humor that should make even those who disagree with him want to keep scrolling down his blog. After reading some of his most recent postings on the screen, I quickly printed all 21 pages of the Culpepper Log on display in the browser window — and went to my reading armchair with the print-out and a red pen.

I definitely enjoyed reading Al’s prose much, much more than the “serious analyses” that unfortunately form part of my daily professional occupation (ughhhhh…). Amazingly, his post on “Walt Disney and the memory hole” (11/20) touched upon questions I’ve thrown around in the past with some U.S. friends involved in the movie industry. The post provided pin-point commentary that answered the questions and directed me to another source on the Web for further info. Power of the Blogs!

His “Mixed feelings about democracy” (11/5) won’t sit well with many, even well-intentioned, readers, I think, but it is nevertheless a valid expression of personal conflict — especially since Al admits that, despite his harsh criticism of government and politics being “a contemptible criminal enterprise,” “I never feel so much a part of the community as when I’m politicking.”

Culpepper Log’s format is clear-cut. Al marks each post with a headline and posts his short essays in a properly formatted template. No HTML razzmatazz here, just good ol’ functionality from which many bloggers could learn. I especially liked the “Liberty or Death – Don’t Tread on Me” logo, a small political-ideological reminder perhaps, but a significant reminder nevertheless. Al provides a short list of links and also invites you to subscribe to the log’s Yahoo Groups e-mail list for “some goodies” that do not appear on his Web page. Al defines his page as “Notes on the current state of free thinking and free living,” and although he often refers to “mainstream news,” I would place the Culpepper Log in the Personal category.

Who should point his/her browser to the Culpepper Log? I’d recommend Al’s page to all Bloggosphere mariners without exception. Of course, some would fall in love with the Culpepper Log at first sight, and some would immediately hate it because of its political slant.

But, in between, I think that Al wouldn’t have a problem gaining many devoted readers because (a) speaks with a straight tongue (b) knows how to put together words (c) is not boring (d) touches upon major issues of wider concern in U.S. society and politics. And, most importantly, Al provides the kind of commentary that would make the “diversity,” “multiculturalism,” “Politically Correct” talking heads gasp, cringe, and choke on their vegetarian haute cuisine entree.

Hoist the battle standard and go pay a visit to the Culpepper Log! Culpepper Log

This was my first sports weblog ever – not just the only one I’ve ever reviewed, but the only one I’ve ever even read. For me, that is quite unusual, because I’ve done way, WAY too much weblog reading as it is. I was looking forward to reading someone else’s thoughts and ideas about the current sports world.

For starters, Dan’s certainly no novice writer. He’s a regular contributor to Bootlegsports.com, FoxSports.com, and the National Review Online. In other words, he’s done his fair share of writing for the public. And it’s obvious why.




Dan has opinions and he’s certainly not afraid to let them fly. The advantage to that in a weblog is that you get a real feel for the author’s ideas, feelings, and you quickly learn that Dan doesn’t hide his views on any topic. This, of course, makes for perhaps controversial reading or something that one completely agrees with. There’s no middle of the road for Dan – it’s one way or the other.




DLewis.net has the “About the Author” section that always makes me happy. It’s nice to learn why a weblog is being constantly updated and what the reasoning is behind it all. Another really neat feature of this website is the message boards. Viewers get the chance to comment on Dan’s random posts or participate in giving various pictures taken from the AP wire a caption of their own.




I couldn’t find the archives to the site and I honestly wanted to. I wanted to read about Dan’s basketball opinions. I couldn’t tell if the weblog was just beginning of the archives site just wasn’t available to the public – either way, I did leave this site wanting to read even more of Dan’s sports articles, opinions, anything.




This is definitely a weblog I’d recommend to any sports fan – diehard or just the casual water-cooler-talking, bandwagon-jumping fan. From baseball to football and from salary caps to midseason trades, Dan’s up on the latest in the sports world and is a great source for information as well as additional opinions. My first experience with a sports weblog was definitely an exceptional one.

Dan Lewis’ Web Log