The Weblog Review

I was confused. Earth Info was listed as a personal weblog, so I was hoping to find that kind of a special touch that gives personal weblogs the appeal to keep visitors coming back after making a connection with the author. This was not a personal weblog, so I switched the category over to News/Links, where it fits in much more appropriately.

The entries on this weblog revolve strictly around links from other sites. They’re mostly news related sites closely tied in with the current events taking place in the UK, since this is where Matt, the author of Earth Info, is from. Sometimes, the site is updated every two minutes for 10 or 15 minutes straight.



There’s not a lot to critique at this weblog. Quite simply, there’s not a lot to it. Each weblog entry contains links, and there’s a slew of links listed down the left hand side of the website. The weblog’s only been up and running since Nov 3, so I’m sure it has a lot of growing to do.

In the midst of that growing, I hope to see a different site design. It’s another one of those standard Blogger templates, but the color is slightly altered. It’s altered enough to make my eyes hurt. The blue hyperlinks placed on the bright orange background really work a number over while trying to read the rest of the site.

I couldn’t personally find anything special about this site, or anything that would make me want to come back time and time again. Perhaps people interested in the news in the UK would find this site more interesting.

http://earth-info-net.blogspot.com

This is a site by a poet. A female poet (or poetess) who believes staunchly in Jane Austen.

With that, one can expect something different, and something different it is. Unlike most blogs that record daily happenings, there are sparsely any records of the writer’s concrete, tangible life. Instead, we follow the writer down abstract paths and hazy visions. You feel like you’re the wall or pillow that the writer talks to when she is alone and yet pretending to be talking to someone else, as you read about her longings to escape. Though it sometimes feels just a little too pretentious, there is an intimacy in her words.

The black-white design of the site is simple and pleasant with nice headings, but the links are somewhat confusing, what with their being all squeezed together and obscurely titled. There’re even links disguised as a whole collage of images. Also, the archive section takes longer than necessary to load. The whole page refreshes itself instead of just the entries section, which is quite annoying. Plus the writer doesn’t blog quite that often.

All said, this is a site different from others, and it is left to individuals to decide whether it is imaginatively beautiful or just fluffy nonsense. I personally enjoyed reading.

the heart of a poet

OK, call me uptight, but I do NOT find naked women, dirty jokes, gross pictures and whatnots ‘humor’. I call them ‘low entertainment’. Apparently these are what Dimi3.com is all about.

First off, this is not a blog. It is a sort of ‘link site’ where users get to view links that other users put up, or submit their own recommended links. A chance to comment on links is also available for those who feel the need to discuss boob sizes after viewing a particular porn gallery. The interactive element here is quite a nice touch, and it appears to be user-friendly. Sadly, no one seems to be willing to share their thoughs, for out of the 28 links on the front page, there are zero comments. Perhaps viewers are too embarrassed to expose what they were thinking about. Either that or no one cares.

At first glance, the site seems innocent enough, with a nice layout and easy navigation, but it soon dawned on me that I was looking at something I definitely did not want to look at. One major question: How oh how can pornography be classified as ‘humor’? What’s so funny about female anatomy? The rest of the links aren’t much better – there’s a picture of a squashed and very dead rat embedded in a loaf of bread, videos of bikini karate babes…you get the idea. It might be just me, but porn seems prevalent on the site.

As I’ve said, call me uptight. If you are into these sort of things, by all means enjoy yourself. The only good thing about the site is the interactive element, which totally goes to waste on its ‘target audience’. Last note: Where’s the ‘above 18’ warning? And while we’re at that, how about a ‘for the mindless only’?

Dimi3.com

I was so excited to do a review of Homicidal GummiBear – what a great name! It’s rife with possibilities for a funny site design, and the writing is sure to be hilarious. Right? Right? Unfortunately, the design is quite boring and didn’t lead me to great expectations.

I couldn’t find any concrete information on Jessy, but I strongly suspect she’s between the ages of 13 and 15. There’s your standard teen angst type of thing going on here – will they like me if I am my own person?, spreading rumors about her classmates’ sexuality, drug dabbling claims, etc. Also included are lots of little quizzes and paste ups of her instant messager conversations. This seems like a very personal journal written for the benefit of Jessy and her friends only. It’s written in such a way that I can’t imagine anyone else having the willpower to read through all the entries if you don’t already know Jessy personally.

Homicidal GummiBear is not an attractive site. Considering who I think Jessy might be and the fact that she has chosen DeadJournal to host her blog, perhaps that is the point. Regardless, there are some serious problems. I can overlook the lack of capitalization if the writing is good. However, that is not the case here at all. Atrocious grammar and glaring spelling errors make for a confusing read, not to mention the overuse of ‘net speak/’net spelling. The purple text on black background makes the eyes go buggy after a while.

There are no extras at Homicidal GummiBear. Period. The DeadJournal userinfo page provided absolutely no information at all. There is no guestbook, no commenting capability, nothing.

I can’t think of a reason to visit this site unless you are a big fan of teen angst, or if you are a friend of Jessy’s.
Jesus Was a Pussy

With a name like Green Fairy, I expected this site to be green. Instead, it’s a calming blue with stars. This journal is anything but calm, however. The writer of Green Fairy is not afraid to tackle controversial issues. Like her or hate her [her link to her hate mail proves that many do], she’s always got an opinion and something thoughtful to say.

The writing at Green Fairy is captivating and thought provoking, and often abrasive. Every once in a while I get the feeling the writer is intentionally trying to get reaction. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but just something noticeable. Overall, this is good writing and an interesting look at the world through someone else’s eyes. Not all posts are about world news – some are just about the writer’s daily life. Regardless of the topic, the entries are always entertaining with excellent links.

The layout doesn’t exactly grab the reader’s attention, but it also doesn’t detract from the writing. It’s a perfectly functional design. Almost all the links work and I didn’t encounter any real problems. I did notice that some of the older graphic links are broken.

Green Fairy doesn’t really have a lot of extras, but it doesn’t really need them. There is an About Me page that isn’t overly informative. There are Forums and a Guestbook. With Green Fairy’s often contentious entries, it might be a good idea to install some commenting entries for specific entries. I would imagine that there could be a lot of great debates going on in her entries, although the Forums serve the same purpose.

Green Fairy is a good read. The writer is opinionated and not afraid of laying it all out for everyone to read. I recommend Green Fairy, and plan to become a regular reader.

green fairy dot com