Month: January 1970

I wasn’t sure what to expected from a site entitled “Depressed Cow”, but whatever it was this site didn’t really fit the bill. I don’t mean that in the bad sense either, because more than anything else I expected a poorly designed diary filled with rants about the inadequacy of their lives. Depressed Cow doesn’t really fit that bill. The design on entry immediately brings to your attention that the author knows exactly what they are doing.

The beauty of this site lies with the graphics, they are superb and not you’re run of the mill borrowed clip-art, these are truly the work of an individual. Obviously a popular item, because the author has taken the time to set up a collection with café press. For once I can understand why. These graphics are quirky, individual and above all else hilarious. Am I raving too much about the graphics? OK I’ll move on.

This is a personal blog in every essence of the word; it’s a journal, filled with truthful and detailed entries about the author’s everyday life. She has an easy style of writing, and thankfully with better grammar than I can muster. A journal with appeal and judging from her bio this is not without reason. I liked this journal because she has the courage to stand forward and admit she has a problem, works with it via blogging, and I think in doing help others with the same.

Overall the design is stunning and despite being a journal, and therefore personal in every essence of the word a very enjoyable read. It may not be to everyone’s tastes, but undoubtedly a site which would attract a loyal cliché of returning visitors. I give this site a rating of 4, for the good design and the author’s strength to face a problem in such an honest and enjoyable way. Good luck in your endeavors Becky.
:: Depressed Cow ::

When you arrive at molly-thompson.net you know you are arriving at site whose design reflects the author’s tastes and personality. It’s a mixture of links and journal entries, nothing original there, but it is unique in its own way. The links are generally ones they have stumbled across or reflect occurrences in their everyday lives.

The design itself is obviously original, with a lot of flowers and a lot of pink. Not to my taste, but not unpleasant to the eye. It’s obviously a very feminine blog. I had two fairly minor problems with the site design, the first being the “Daily Reads” column at the side which I found did not really fit with the rest of the design and distracted my eye from the content in the centre. The second – Large spaces between lines tends to expand entries longer than they need to be and has a tendency to throw out the design. Modifying this could condense entries and make them easier to read.Nothing too annoying.

Her writing style was easy to read, nothing original, but yet easy to follow, amusing and with evidence of a modicum of wit.

The entries are concise and to the point, especially those surrounding links. Certainly the author doesn’t like to mince with words and prefers to get straight to the point, but a little more detail surrounding some of her more interesting links would be beneficial, and allow for a greater understanding of what the reader will see when he follows quoted link.

Overall though the site is fairly enjoyable to follow, within some interesting links off. Personally I like new links to open in a new browser window especially when I intend keeping the original site open. This means I can move about more easily, return to the author’s site and continue surfing their suggestions more easily. But that’s more a personal preference than a criticism.

All in all, this is a very personal contribution to the weblogging world. In following the various entries and links, we learn a little of the individual behind the site and that’s always interesting. Photo’s remind you this is very much Mary’s home on the web, so add to personality of the site overall. Overall an interesting journey into a personal site, warranting a rating of 3.5 Nothing remarkable but an interesting voyage non the less.
molly-thompson.net

Nothing stands out about this site, namely because it is based on a generic blog template. Sadly this means the first impression isn’t impressive, and will result in most audiences passing over it without looking beyond the first page. Sadly I am not sure that they would stay long even if they did progress it.

So the design of the site is blue, lots of blue with very little individuality tailored into the design. Blogger templates are OK if they are adapted; on their own they are as dull as dishwater.

Moving into the weblog itself. There isn’t anything about the author, and a little “about me” section maybe would have added little bit more personality into this otherwise expressionless page.

Mostly the posts contain random links the author has stumbled across, with the odd comment attached here and there. Seemingly nothing remarkable again. There is an occasional journal entry, based on daily life stuff, as it happens. There are however some interesting images, which may well be captivating for those who like the artistic side of photography.

The writing style is simple, and doesn’t really stand out. Quite clearly the author doesn’t seem to like the shift key, as nothing is capitalized. No big deal there, but it can distract from content if readers are not used to seeing this.

Overall the site has some interesting links. I can’t pick anything that stands out for me, so generally it isn’t a site I would visit repeatedly. The 3 rating is because, at least recently the weblog hasn’t presented anything unique and remains a fairly average contribution to the weblogging world. But in all fairness is as worthy a contribution anyone else’s. Stunning images, interesting links but lacking that crucial “come back factor”
robot action boy

I liked this site as soon as I entered. It wasn’t fussy or overcrowded and has just about everything you’d want in a site: clean layout, very readable posts, a thorough “about” section, some good links and even poetry.

In writing about his daily life, Amor covers a lot of subjects: love, religion, girls, friends, and goes from funny to thought provoking. Some favourites, that give an idea of the variety, are “Radio Flyer” descibing an incident in a toy store and “Amor in Review”. I was surprised to read a recent post in which Amor writes of his feelings for a girl and says, “she’s probably going to read this.” Most people edit what they write when they know that those close to them will be reading, but this constant openness is one of the real gifts of the site.

The layout, in popular blues, greys and whites, is simple to navigate and although it is unadventurous, it looks very clean and professional. There is a good space for the blog, so the writing is not cramped, and the top navigation bar allows you to move around the sections easily. There is also a column for archives, photos and external links. The photos are accompanied by amusing captions, such as, “Virgil was just testing out his new digital camera. I was testing out my new silly grin. I think it needs more grin and less silly.” Another column has pictures of, and links to, the books, games and music that Amor is currently using, which allows you to see even more into the life of the author.

Through his weblog, Amor comes across as warm, friendly and fun. His refreshing honesty and straight-forward writing style make this an attractive read and really warmed me to him. The site had me rooting for him and made me want to return over and over.Amor said

Butterbug is a journal written by a young aspiring writer. From the initial posts found on the first page it is easy to forget that the writer of this blog is only a 15 year old high school student. Her posts are an interesting combination of her experiences as a wannabe writer and her personal reflections. From the extracts on her page this is truly someone who expresses themselves best in the writen medium, as she all too readily declares herself.

The design of the site is simple yet classically pleasing to the eye. The fact that it is so clean means it does not distract from the content. Examples of her work are there but are not actually part of the site, which can make navigating between journal and her writing examples a little tedious, albeit worthwhile.

“A lone sail whitens for an instant
Within the fog of the blue sea!..
What does he seek in countries distant?
In native lands, what did he leave?..”

This is a mere glint of the talent this young lady is bound to develop in the future.

The author’s posts encompass all manner of subjects from literature to the big screen, and her comments whilst short are often well developed and thought out. Personally I look forward to reading more about the authors own writing, so that I could learn a little more about her genre and style. Perhaps incorporating her existing work into the journal itself would draw more visitors to those sections.

Butterbug all in all is a site I would recommend to those wannabe writers, existing writers who may lend a helpful hint along the way and of course those among us who enjoy a quality read.
ButterBug