Month: January 1970

Woah Nelly! Check out this blog. No, really, stop reading the review and check out the blog. It’s so cool! Normally, as regular readers might have guessed I don’t really like News and Links blogs, they’re not my deal, but this isn’t a typical news or links blog. Sure, it’s got links to news and other great stuff, but there’s also a lot of personality thrown into it as well.

For one, the design is absolutely fantastic. One of the best designs for a blog that I have seen for a long time. Brilliant use of the colour orange – a strange colour in itself but it’s used very well here. It demonstrates a heck of a lot of talent from the author, who does indeed have her very own design website. Everything is all set out in a typical two-column format, but to be honest, the design wins me over so I really don’t care. It loads fast even though there’s a load of graphics and link buttons on the site which is always a good thing.

The content itself is minimalistic, for the most part, which makes reading the blog a cinch, though Jen is a terrific writer which makes actually reading the blog entry (instead of just clicking on the links she puts up straight away without reading first) much more fun. Most entries in the blog I have found are quite short, though there are a number of longer entries that deal with more personal things such as kids in theatres (oh how I relate!) and discussing the weather and Cincinnati’s lack of salt trucks and other necessary snow-related stuff. The links are great to take a peek at because there’s hardly any regular boring news. It’s all mostly interesting or quirky or just… really weird. They range from celebrity phobias to slightly more current issues to USB Swiss Army Knives.. mmmm’kay!

All in all, Very Big Blog is not only a great bit of entertainment on the web, but it’s also a good resource for interesting places to investigate if you’re looking to alleviate a little boredom. Extremely pleased to be giving this one a 5/5. Definitely one for the favourites listing! Thanks Jen!verybigblog

Very Big Blog took awhile to load, but it was well worth it. The design is flawless, incorporating bright colors and stunning retro imagery, with a flash menu, to boot. The design was so lucid, so fluid and poetic, I found myself scrolling slowly up and down, watching the shadows on the text boxes and reveling in the orangeness. When I finally turned myself away from this to the actual content, I was equally charmed The counter prominently displayed on the site is creatively worded: “# People Are Actually Reading This Garbage.” A blogger willing to refer to her own site as garbage is always going to be all right by me.

Jen has been blogging for two years, and her blog accents her design business (and is named for it.)Her posts are short, numerous, and many follow the traditional blog format of links and comments. The links are fairly original, and usually go beyond the normal “links to news sites” and include lots of funny/entertaining game sites. Jen doesn’t discuss her personal life much, but what she does discuss is very entertaining.

By far the best way to explore the site is via the Categories menu on the main page. It will point you to the several reoccurring features of the Very Big Blog, such as Swanky (a periodic posting of mid-20th century tunes) and a selection of consumer-driven haikus that had me laughing out loud. All sorts of MP3s are offered up at the site, and for iPod fans, it must be a treasure trove. Jen is very pro-mac, and has a while category devoted to them, which is sure to attract Apple-friendly fans.

Despite first appearances, the site’s navigation does indeed leave some to be desired. The beautiful picture is pleasing, but takes awhile to load on every single page, and while this happens, the page is oddly off balanced. Furthermore, some sort of Movabletype error keeps me from moving from the monthly archive pages to the categories without going back to the main page. This gives the site a strange, disjointed feel. I still love the colors and overall look, though. If only that image could load faster.

I definitely recommend Jen keep writing. Her adherence to blogging’s original repertoire sees signs of being successful. While this site could use an occasional design tweaking, the overall look and feel of it is very energetic and positive, as is Jen’s writing itself. Fans of blogging’s roots, Macintosh, music, and simply cool stuff will enjoy having Very Big Blog as a resource for their forays into the web.verybigblog

My first impression of this page was.. well, I felt a little out of space. Things are quite mish-mash on the main page. After a little while, you get comfortable and realize that this menu which appears on the right on mouse-over is in fact quite cool.

No About Me section. Even the first entries just start out without an introduction as such, so before you know it you are looking at pics of a party at West Virginia University. And below that is another pic from the party, two girls kissing with the caption ‘Can you believe it?’ Well.. I CAN believe it. It seems very naive that in this modern age someone should find lesbianism ‘unbelievable’.

Further reading ascertains the fact that NeoCld9 (no nick yet, so let’s call him NeoCld9) has definitely not won any of the spelling contests ever. With all due respect, some of the spellings in fact make you giggle and doubt whether NeoCld9 is intentionally making these mistakes. (eg. sertificate, board [for bored], etc).

The frequency of the blog is disappointing. Hardly four to five entries per month. The content is a typical teen blog. Dominated by the usual teen stuff like asking out, poems, etc. Not that such things are boring to read, it all depends on how you present it to the readers.. and let me tell you, there is absolutely nothing about this blog that would want to make you wanna come back. Of late the frequency has even worsened, with three entries in Feb, and just one until now this month.

Template is OK. The mouse-over menu is quite nice once you get the hang of it. But what can you do with the template if the content is not worthwhile.

Overall the blog is not recommended unless you have too much of time to kill.

The Private Files of NeoCld9

At first glance, ‘Lucidly Awake’ looks similar to many other weblogs — it’s built with a fairly standard template, featuring a main column for the entries and a sidebar to the right. Stylistically, there’s not much to set it apart, but the look is clean, and there’s certainly nothing to distract (or detract) from the writing.

So how is the writing? I dug into the archives to find out. The first few posts offer a glimpse into the life of the author — he’s a nineteen year old student, studying actuarial science and living in Mumbai, India. Many of the entries center around his schoolwork, various girls and friends in his life, and pop culture, including commentary on several movies, both American and Indian. For me, it offered an interesting view into the life of a young man in a very different situation and culture from my own, and it was the posts that highlighted these differences that really captured my attention.

There’s not yet an enormous amount of content in this blog; the archives extend back for only about three months, and several of the weekly archive pages contain only two or three posts. With a bit of free time and a cup of coffee, a reader could browse all of the archives of ‘Lucidly Awake’ in an hour or two. There are also a few issues with spelling and syntax to be found in many of the entries. These aren’t overly problematic, but I did find them a distraction at times.

Overall, I enjoyed ‘Lucidly Awake’, and was intrigued by the author’s descriptions of his life in Mumbai. It’s an interesting and personal view of the day-to-day thoughts of someone immersed in a different culture, and I found myself comparing his experiences to my own. I’d like to stop by again when there’s a bit more content, and I think that some of the language issues make some areas a bit difficult to follow, but this is a weblog with a lot of promise, and — in my reading experience, at least — a unique perspective. I rate ‘Lucidly Awake’ 3.5 out of 5, and look forward to seeing more.Lucidly Awake

‘Mine Blogging’, I did wonder what on earth that could possibly mean, and as I write this I am still in the dark – bit like the template of this blog, dark. That’s not to say that it is a bad design, far from it – the reader is initially greeted with a fairly standard three column layout with a black background, white text and blue links. I can see the text clearly enough but I did wonder about those poor souls who may not have perfect vision. After much searching I finally found a small about me section at the bottom of the left hand column

“As the only child I have been my own companion and I guess this blog is another way of me talking to myself.
I’ve been told that I am pretty good at photography but I will let you be the judge after reviewing my photo albums.”

This is a personal blog in every essence of the word – here you will find a few personal entries, a few brief reviews of the latest movies or TV series and the odd really beautiful photo. The entries are generally one paragraph long with no word over use, but this suit’s the authors style. There is nothing mind blowing or deeply thought provoking but it is a gentle introduction to the life of an individual. Done well life stories can be addictive, done badly and they feel the reader wondering what all the fuss was about. I’d say this blog lies somewhere neatly in-between – there’s some interesting entries, some really good photography (yes Alex really is a good photographer – there is some stunning photography residing in the photoblog) and some additional bonuses residing in the right hand column.

The design as I said earlier is dark, very dark. It’s a black background with white text and pale blue links. I’m not a great fan of dark backgrounds, but this is clear enough to read and isn’t particularly hard on the eyes. There’s nothing to offend here, all the links work and it is easy to navigate. I particularly like the banner, simple and very effective, fitting the existing design very well.

A few bonuses to this site reside in the right hand column – some recommended links, links to recent images posted on this photoblog, all in addition to the current read list.

Mine Blogging is a personal weblog in every essence of the word – the entries are mostly personal in nature, events as they occur and such. They are generally short and to the point with no excess words – certainly suited to the material covered and the writing style. There is nothing offensive here, it’s a pleasant read but not something perhaps I would be drawn to on a regular basis – perhaps a once in a while read to check up on. What does really make this photoblog stand out from the crowd is the photography, and I firmly believe that Alex should make a bigger feature of this aspect of his site – it’s definitely his strong point.Mine Blogging