The Weblog Review

Yaser, with “To die, to sleep… no more”, has surely one of the most pretentious taglines I have come across in quite a while. In fact, if that was all I had to go on, I wouldn’t read much of the site, especially as the page’s design is substantially broken in Netscape (come on people! It isn’t hard to get cross-compatible sites up these days!).

Fortunately, on loading the site, I was greeted with a very welcoming and attractively green masthead, an understated aesthetic that works particularly well under Internet Explorer, and generally a site packed with wonderful content.

Yaser is a student at Toronto University; that’s as much personal information as we are given, which is a shame but hardly a crime, and considering how hazardous it can be to have a public website if you’re islamic (at least in the current political climate), perhaps a good idea. Yaser, though, is certainly a talented photographer.

Photography is becoming the dominant thread running through the blog. It wasn’t always this way – in previous months Yaser discussed the problems of being a Muslim during the war with Iraq. Before the world was taken over by the Bush war machine and the theological shellshock such actions brought with it, the writer was happy enough to spend a lot of time posting comments and opinions about university life.

For a while, from the beginning of the site’s archives in May ’02, Yaser wrote about just about everything, and such lack of focus can be a site’s undoing. Posts varied from week to week, some concerned solely with a particular topic, only for it to be discarded after a few entries; for example, the World Cup in Japan and South Korea attracts some attention, but aside from the odd comment on one or two exceptional results (and a closer look at Saudi Arabia’s embarrassing run of form), there is no reason to read this site’s coverage over any other’s, unless you happen to be a close friend.

That Yaser‘s site looks to be gaining a focus (photography, with photos as blog entries; occasionally complete series of them) is why I think it is worth coming back to. There are too many blogs that lack direction, content to provide content only of interest to friends and an immediate, pre-existing community; now it serves a bigger purpose, a theme that makes the whole more interesting.

Yaser.org – To die, to sleep…no more

I immediately felt peaceful when I came to this site due to the lovely picture of a country road! I liked the simple but effective effect it had on eyes and how easy it was to see what this site was offering.

There are some lovely photos on this site, this person has a keen eye for a good picture. I liked it as it broke up the entries and some of the pictures were breath taking. There are also a fair amount of links placed in the entries for other sites or items of interest. The content is a mixture of personal information and entries that are of interest to the author. It, in my opinion, makes a good mix of things to read. The entries give you an insight into Yasers mind, which is interesting if you are as nosey as me. You get a sense of Yasers passion for his reading and his writing. You also get to hear why it is that Yaser finds it so hard to sleep! You may also find what it is that he thinks he is missing!

I liked the design as it was nice and simple. I liked the clean white background, and the way that the text was boxed for easy reading. All the links are neatly packed away in the side bar. Everything has its own place, and I liked that. I could not see that anyone could get lost here!

It is a lovely clean cut and easy to use site. I liked the fact that when you click through the archives, you are told that you are browsing archives so that you do not get lost. I like easy to use and clean cut sites, so I am a fan of this design. I also liked the mixture of personal and topical entries, and especially enjoyed some of the photos.

This is a good read. I liked the mixture of content, the photos, the personal stories, the links to other site of interest to Yaser. I liked the added benefit of the book reviews. I like the way that Yasers passion about both reading and his own writing come across in this site. I enjoyed my visit there. The photos alone are worth a visit.

Yaser.org – To die, to sleep…no more

Tim Samoff//Weblog is a quiet, unassuming, gentle little gem of a journal. When I first arrived at the page, I was pleased by the easy-on-the-eyes design. I usually don’t like blogs with dark backgrounds unless they’re done well, which Samoff’s is.

Whenever I visit a blog or journal for the first time, I always make a point of reading any background information the author gives before jumping into the archives. I like to get a feel for the person behind the entries. Samoff’s biographical tidbits are interesting. He’s a teacher, an artist, a musician, a student, and a husband. I felt like I had a small grasp of who he was before I even started reading the journal itself.

The journal archives extend back to 2000. The earlier entries, however, are sporadic. There are breaks in the journal ranging from six months to a year and a half. It seemed like I was reading bits and pieces from older journals. I later found out I was correct. In a newer post, Tim explains that he “backblogged” entries from older journals. It makes the beginning of the journal seem a bit disjointed, but I won’t complain since Samoff’s entries are so enjoyable. The current blog began in May of this year, and is frequently updated.

His entries are both introspective and amusing, usually at the same time, as in an entry from May of this year that goes from wondering if he’s spending his time here on Earth as he should to detailing a parking ticket he got while he was in court paying a fine from an earlier traffic violation. He often accentuates his entries with pictures, most of which are well chosen and unobtrusive.

Samoff’s Christianity and relationship with God is a frequent topic of conversation. I found the posts dealing with his spirituality refreshing and thought-provoking. You don’t need to be a Christian to relate to Tim’s quest for a deeper understanding of his own spirituality.

He also writes quite often (and extremely fondly) of his family. His demeanor and attitude, at least from what can be gleaned from his writing, reveals him as a thoughtful, funny man. So often, blogs rely on sarcasm and cynicism to attract readers. It’s refreshing to come across a writer like Samoff who writes openly and honestly, free from pretension.

The design of the blog is simple, pleasing and easy to navigate. The varying shades of blue against black are soothing. The archives flow together nicely and I found no broken links or images.

One of the nice surprises on Samoff’s weblog is the links to his artwork and music. Samoff is a talented musician and digital artist. His animations are fabulous and well worth a peek.

Tim Samoff//Weblog is a great find. His writing is warm, open, and honest. You won’t find a lot of scathing commentary or politics, but you will find a genuine journaler with a good heart and a quick mind.
Tim Samoff // Weblog

Karan’s disclaimer of “IVLIHAHHFAIALBS” kind of threw me off at first – the long acronym turns out to stand for “I’m very lucky. I have a happy healthy family and I am loved… but sometimes….” I realized this is a great notice to post on a journal, especially given the number of whiny authors out there. But Karan isn’t as whiny as some, and she balances her complaints with stories about her family and links.

The links she finds are great, too. They’re not always “finds” – sometimes she mentions a commonly known site of a major corporation – but she offers specific reasons why the site is good. She also keeps a list of the sites she’s linked to, but unfortunately you’re sent directly to the site rather than to her entry about why she felt it was worth mentioning. You can search her blog, though, so it’s not impossible to find that information.

Karan’s cast page is actually useful, mentioning not only people and pets but also her location and the tools she uses for her site. I especially like that she links to the appropriate anchor anytime she mentions somebody who is on the cast page.

That’s about all there is to Karan’s site, though. She’s got a short page of links and a brief biography, but nothing more (that I could find). I don’t even see a way to leave comments, so when I found an entry I liked I had no way to tell her I appreciated what she wrote.

I’m rating Karan’s site a 3.5 because while I really like her blog’s content, her somewhat drab design and lack of outreach to readers left me feeling somewhat disconnected.Flummel, Flummer, Flummo WeBLog

When you have a topical blog such as technology or war or even movies it can sometimes be difficult to stay on topic. But Mike is able to constantly talk about his Honda Pan, and has been doing so for quite some time.

The blog itself is very well written. Topics range from different trips, to work on the bike, to other motorists and their problems with driving.

At first I have to admit I wasn’t into this blog at all. I was thinking, how could this guy really blog about his Honda Pan so much? But then I decided to read the blog backwards (from the first post to the most recent post) and really got into it. I got to read about the journey from start to present which was amazing. All of the trials and tribulations, and it was told with a great amount of detail. Don’t let the archive link fool you though; he did take some time off from the beginning of the blog until more recently (5 months).

The design of the site is simple and yet functional. The blog is in the main column, with the links to stuff in the right column. The archives are in a javascript powered drop down menu which I did not like. While I see the functionality of it, it should have at least been powered by a submit button and not when an option is selected. The other part of the design that got me was the “posted by Mike…” line was just below the header and not the actual post. This caused some confusion through out the reading of the blog.

Over all this is a very well done blog. If you are interested in Honda Pans or just motorcycles in general you will probably enjoy this. The blog is not very long to read from start to finish and is a good one to read. I am glad I read the journey so far, and look forward to reading more about it.
Living with a Honda Pan European