The Weblog Review

Are you paranoid about what Microsoft is up to? Do you need to know everything is going on at Camp Microsoft? Watching Microsoft Like a Hawk is the place for you.

Every day there are numerous (and I do mean numerous) links to anything and everything Microsoft related. The author(s) (I am still not quite sure if there is more than one) scout many news sources and then post all the links on their site.

Of course, no “All about Microsoft” site would be complete with out a joke section. I found a lot of the items in this section to be funny, and I am sure that any semi-geek person would find them amusing too.

The design of this site is really easy. One central table, with all of the links to the Microsoft news inside. But it isn’t just a link; there are brief descriptions, which is helpful.

The only problem I had with this site, is that it is only links. I understand that it is very time consuming to find all of these links, but I would like to have seen a separate page, with the author’s opinions on what is going on. Give us all of the news sources on one page, and then give us your opinion on how these things are good/bad/indifferent to the general public.

If you are a tech person, who is constantly looking for news on Microsoft, then you don’t have to go to any other site. It is all here. If you are interested in seeing what Microsoft is up to, then this is the site for you. If none of that interests you, then this site is not for you. I know that I will be checking out this site from time to time to see if there are any problems I should be aware of.
Watching Microsoft Like A Hawk

Putting this site into a category was rather hard to do. It could be classified as a political site (more on this later), it could be considered an educational site, but the Personal category best describes this site.

First thing I must say is that this site is not for everyone. So why did I give it a rating of a 5 if it is not for everyone? Very simple; this is by far one of the best sites I have ever read. I can connect with a lot of the ideas and views that are published on this weblog. And I know that if I didn’t agree with something, I wouldn’t have a cheap shot taken at me in the comments after I would leave one.

So of course, we must talk about the weblog itself. The author, Jody, is trying to become a screen writer and a film maker. He has worked as a social worker, and has experienced quite a bit that life has to offer.

His posts are typically about some “hot topic” in the media. Current discussions involve the Catholic Church and all of that jazz. His stances on topics are very similar to mine, of being open to many different ideas, and then after weighing all the different arguments for all sides of the debate, then he makes a decision. It is very clear, that Jody is very well educated, and proves so in how he goes about writing his posts.

He likes to take posts in his comments and turn them into main posts, rather than have a huge discussion in his comments. I think he does this because the comments left are not your typical comments like “Wow, nice post.” and that sort of stuff. Instead, they are debates, on his views which of course can be very lengthy.

The design of the site is simple. It is of course, just a blogger template, but it isn’t an over used one. At first, I thought it was an original design because so few people are using the template. It is almost as if the template was designed for this site. That is how well it fits with the weblog.

Over all I had an interesting time at Naked Writing. The views are not for the weak of heart, and as I said before, this site isn’t for everyone. I could relate to a lot of the information provided because of classes that I am currently taking, and how I view different things in life. I try not to put any political view into writing a review, but when a site like this one comes around, you almost have no choice. So if you are open to many different things, then you may or may not enjoy this site. However, if you are a conservative, then you should not visit this site, as your views will not be shared with this site. As stated above, where this site should be categorized, was difficult, but personal is where it stands, because, just like this site, it is just one person’s view.
Naked Writing

I have to admit the only reason I decided to review this site was because I found the title of the blog rather amusing, Stick Figure Peepshow, however the site does have more to offer then just an interesting title. The blog centers on our author, Andrew, a twenty-something year-old bouncing his way through life giving the readers a good understanding of it.

The blog is a mixture of writings, from rave and rants to self-written poetry as well as a bunch of links. Its has all you could possibly want from a weblog, and overall I found most of the posts rather fascinating to read, it just doesn’t become stale which isn’t easy to do. The length of the posts also very, from short links and comments to large detailed pieces on a particular subject or event, but its all seems relevant for whatever the author is talking about. Its fairly obvious from reading early on that Andrew takes his weblog fairly seriously, you only need to look at the entry on the 19/6 to see how passionate he is about his work, and passionate writing also means good reading.

I can’t find anything bad to say about the design, it does the weblog justice and at no point goes over the top. There are some nice little features on the site that really add to the pleasure of reading it such as; displaying a certain amount of posts on one page, comments and an easy to access archive section. The links are a little hard to pick up on, being gray on a dark background isn’t great for a lot of people, but still very readable. The site is also a tad cluttered, there are literally links all over the place, most to other documentation by the author, but there well grouped and most people shouldn’t have problems with it.

As far as extras go I don’t know where to start, there are simply that many things you can click on. Items such as a web cam, pictures, mp3’s, writings, links to other sites, movies, music etc, etc… Its an endless list that I’m sure most people would take a fair while to get through so there’s very little chance you’ll get bored here.

Overall I thought Stick Figure Peepshow was a well-put together weblog offering a lot to its dedicated readers and people wanting to follow something a little different. Even for those wanting to start their own weblog SFP is a great spot to see how a well designed and written weblog should be. I give SFP two thumbs up and a 4 out of 5.
Stick Figure Peepshow

The Book of Paige. What an interesting title for your weblog. I some what expected to have almost an in-depth look into Paige’s life based on this title.

The page loads, and has a rather bland design. The links are images (of words) that are rather big and are given as much space as the blog is on the front page. There is a lot of white space all around in this design, which makes it not seem as fluid to me. Also below everything is a lot of different webrings, and things that I think the author just didn’t know where else to place them. Finally, the front page only has two (though an earlier reviewer noted only one) posts on the front page.

But this isn’t The Weblog Design Review, it is the Weblog Review. So onto the weblog. As I was reading all of the posts, I felt like either I was missing something, or the weblog was missing something. She posts about things going on in her life like most people do. However, her posts have a fair amount of thought in them, and they can make you think about things yourself. My favorite posts were the ones where she is actually forcing you, the reader, to think about issues. Even if the issue is something small in her life, and not a global issue, these posts were the most interesting to me.

After finishing the entire weblog, I was still left with that feeling of something not there. The closest I can come to describing what I think it is, has to go back to the design of the site. To me, the weblog read find, and was fluid, but the site didn’t give off the same vibe.

Over all, we have a great blog, where the design of the site actually played a big role. This site has a lot of good in it, but lacks an overall fluidness to really bring it home. If all you are concerned about is the text, then you have a fantastic site, but if the entire site plays a part in your decision, then this might not be the one for you.
The Book of Paige

Compare life to an Etch-a-Sketch for a second. Bet you never thought about how easy it would be if you could control your life like you did an Etch-a-Sketch when you were a kid. I hadn’t either, until I read Paige’s recount of it. I liked that concept a lot – if you shake it up hard enough, you can start fresh.

The written delivery of several of Paige’s weblog entries are written with an ingeniously clever approach. There’s just the perfect balance of wit and sarcasm scattered throughout each entry, and personally, that’s the kind of thing I like to find in a weblog.

There aren’t too many of life’s more serious issues being heavily touched upon in The Book of Paige, but that’s certainly not a bad thing. Of course, with the previous statement, I’m certainly not trying to make light of the ultimate bad haircut, triscuits in the laundry hamper, or trauma of buying a magnet for one’s plastic Saturn car – all of which can be found in reading this weblog.

Paige is an editor. This is a good thing. I very much enjoyed not having to wade through asinine shortened spellings of words like “cuz” and “b/4”, or wondering where I might find some punctuation. Intelligence is such a lovely thing, and there’s certainly a prevalent dose here.

None of my complaints are at all relative with the content of the site, but with the cosmetic appearance. When I open up the page, I immediately get a Javascript error. The site was designed for viewing on nothing less than a 1024 x 768 screen resolution.

The relatively new weblog isn’t archived at all Hopefully, the site will continue to expand in length, but as entries continue to be added, the site might take a while to load.

This is a fun site to read. The site isn’t “overposted” to, and there’s certainly something entertaining for nearly everyone. After spending time throughout the entire site, I really felt like I got to know the author’s personality and sense of humor, both of which I think I’ll be getting more regular doses of by continuing to visit this site.The Book of Paige