The Weblog Review

A.J.’s a Criminal Justice student in Arizona, and from the originating post to this weblog, readers can experience the drama and escapades of living in a college dormitory. The things that go on in A.J.’s life are interesting, and he does a very nice job of making readers seem as if they’re really right there. That makes this a fun site to read.

Ruminations is a very casual weblog. Reading through the archives, I felt like the site was very friendly and that A.J. is generally the type of person who can make conversation with anyone. The posts that you read here are almost like you’re hearing A.J.’s side of the conversation talking about the particular happenings that are being written about.

Summer posting is a bit sporadic, but A.J.’s got a yardwork job that’s been filling up most of the summer days. As evident in the entries made during the school year, the posting will probably (or at least I’m assuming) become more consistent as the school year rolls around once again.

As far as the design goes, it’s another one of those convenient Blogger templates. But I think A.J. puts it into some very plain and simple words that explain the point of his weblog quite clearly: “This blog has a simple layout, no flashy colors, no links to “MUST SEE WEBSITES”. Nothing to give it a flashy appearance, ‘cause I’m a down-to-earth guy most of the time, and like the words to speak for themselves.” Mission accomplished. A.J.’s words do speak for themselves.
Ruminations

Currently on hiatus for the month of August, “Afterhours in the Juniverse” still provides you with plenty of well written entries in the archived section of the site. Dating back to April 1, 2002, June always has something written that’s very thought out and very stimulating to the mind.

The majority of the entries made provide links to external sites – sometimes to further one’s knowledge on the subject at hand or other times just to provide more information so the reader can grasp a full handle on what exactly is being touched on. The way June writes makes you want to understand the topic being covered.

The design for this site is clean and simple. It’s easy to navigate, very self-explanatory, and nice to look at. Where a layout is concerned, it’s hard to get much better than that.

This probably isn’t a weblog for the average reader – you’re not going to form any personal bonds with the author of this site just by reading the daily posts. I don’t think that’s what June is aiming for, though. If you come to “Afterhours in the Juniverse” expecting to have your brain fueled up with information you’ve never heard before, then you’ve come to the right place.

June writes wonderfully. As I said before, the way it’s written, makes the readers (at least it did me) want to find out more and fully understand the post that’s being made. The site is worth checking out just to see if the subject matters that are discussed are something that intrigues you. And if that’s the case, you’ll certainly have found a weblog that you’ll enjoy visiting time and time again.
Afterhours

The word bumptious has me a bit curious, as I had no idea if it were a real word or not. The author of this weblog quickly satisfied my curiosity with this explanation: “The dictionary defines bumptious as ‘crudely or loudly assertive; pushy’. Let’s get to it.” And now let’s get to the review.

Right away, I knew I’d like the attitude of this site. The author’s entries cover the hottest current events around recently ranging from the controversial couple of “Bill and Kathy”, the potential parents incapable of producing naturally so they’re deeming it necessary clone the lovely Kathy, to the escapades on the latest make-me-famous TV show, American Idol.

Other than the author’s undying love for L.A. Laker big man Rick Fox and secret (or not so secret) obsession with Matt Lauer, readers aren’t really invited into the personal life of this entertaining writer. The lack of personable writing is made up to everyone by the author’s witty repartee and intelligent banter directed towards the major happenings of our society.

Something I would normally be disappointed in is the lack of the “about the author” section. And while there’s no information for readers to try and connect with, I don’t think anyone will have a problem connecting with something that’s been posted over the course of the month or so this weblog has been up and running.

The design is one of those standard Blogger templates. I would love to see something a little more unique for this site just because my opinion of the Bumptious is that it’s much, much more than the average weblog and deserves the same in a layout.

Call it your daily news with a bite, or call it some pent up aggression spilled out onto the world wide web. Whatever you decide to call it, this site comes highly recommended if you’re asking my opinion of it.

Bumptious

Being the sort of person who browses Blogger’s recent-updates list in terms of what has the most interesting title, I just had to look into a blog with a name like “Viking Funeral.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear to live up to that name when you get there.

The blog’s purpose appears to be to spoof pop culture. I might have had an easier time with the most recent post at review time – dated in April – if I’d been around to see the beginning of that particular story. The posts not related to that apparent serial didn’t seem to grab my attention.

The owner appears to be using a standard Blogger template. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with that – I use one myself – it might help brighten up the place if they changed it to something that isn’t gray.

There is a large gap in time between archived dates, lack of recent posts put aside. On top of that, only the last two pages actually have anything on them. There were no other special features available.

This blog was a fairly underwhelming experience for me. If you feel like you might be able to get into it, go ahead and check it out. However, if you want to take my advice on it, this blog isn’t really worth the time.
Viking Funeral

Stiletto Philosophy!

What a nifty, neat, warm blog. The colors? I love! The design? Truly cool and fully functional! The motto? “Working my way to the top, four inches at a time.” Couldn’t have put it better myself!

Three cheers for Carlene then whose (almost) daily musings are funny and charming. And there’s pictures — plenty of them. I liked the wildlife part. Carlene sounds happy and relaxed. She definitely takes life one step at a time. I have to tell you, after wading through a pile of personal blogs recently with little to offer but gloom and doom and nincompoop, Stiletto Philosophy felt like a long cool drink.

Another Movable Type-powered blog, Carlene’s offers links to “People I Read, “My Reference Materials,” the inevitable archives, and some other bits and pieces. I enjoyed the “People I read” part — and may be adding some of the sites there to my own favorites.

Carlene talks about a lot of things, work, books, Halloween, personal statements of philosophy, “Miscellaneous Answers to Family-type Questions,” and a whole load of other things.

You’d expect that such variety would create quick reader fatigue, but, on the contrary, this is one of Stiletto Philosophy’s strongest points. Carlene has put together a “running commentary” string, with its high and low points, the slow parts and the fast parts. Her writing is quick with an often wry sense of humor. The grand total is enjoyable reading that keeps you scrolling down the page.

I’ve added Stiletto Philosophy to my “Watch the Blog” list, and I only need to say the list hasn’t even reached two dozen entries. Special kudos to Carlene. This is a personal blog like no other. Stiletto Philosophy