Month: January 1970

My first impression upon visiting (Mis)Representation was; blogspot site, nothing flashy, seems kind of ordinary, just your average weblog. I’m probably going to read about someones bad dates and job complaints. Well, if there is one thing I’ve learned about reviewing blogs, is that the first impression usually means absolutley squat. When I review a weblog I like to take a quick look at the main page, look for the archives, and click on the oldest entry so I can read from day one. (Mis)Representation started just about a year ago, and thats where I started reading.

This is the weblog of Teresa Michele Montgomery, 19/20 year old Missouri college student. I think there are about one million blogs out there written by 19/20 year old college students. What separates Teresa Montgomery’s blog from many of the others, is that this is a true ‘journal’, a true ‘diary’. The author (even after finding out the increased popularity of her blog) does not start writing to her audience. She keeps writing exactly what she is feeling. There is an ‘about’ section but it really doesn’t tell you a whole lot. Its through the writing that you find out what the author is really about. Teresa, by her own admission, is struggling with a weight issue. She has an uncanny knack for falling for guys that are absolutley out of reach by virtue of already having girlfriends. This would seem tragic if it wasn’t so gosh darn comical each time it happens. The author battles depression, (the clinical kind that you need medication for) and is able to get off her medicine and handle it pretty well. In an entry that made me sit back, take a deep breath, and be thankful for my own good health, Teresa confronts the possiblity that she might have diabetes (July 29th entry). Its fascinating to anyone (this reviewer included) who has not been in that situation to read such a candid display of the expectation of the worst news, the self blame, and acceptance. Turns out the author does not have diabetes. Turns out later on in the blog the author suffers from another painful syndrome instead. Teresa, from day one of the blog confronts just about every single issue that confronts all of us from one time to another; insecurity, financial problems, sexual orientation, lonliness, family issues, medical problems, weight issues.

The blog design is pretty random. The author changes the template frequently (and the blog address as well). This would be a pain in the butt if it did not coincide with differant issues in the authors life. At one point in time she changes the site address to get away from people who are harrasing her (or maybe people she is just sick of dealing with). The design of the site is pretty fluid, along with the authors emotions. If you read this blog, you won’t notice it though. As I did, I just wanted to read the next paragraph, to see what happened next. The last entry of (Mis)Representation even mentions that her site is closing down and moving to another site. To access the new site A Rescued Destiny follow that link.

(Mis)Representaion has a few cool bonus features. There is a message board, guestbook, and a comments feature. As previously mentioned, an about section, plus the authors IM and Email address. Pretty much a well rounded blog.

The negative aspects of this site? Sometimes the entries are sporadic. But whose blog entires aren’t sometimes?

In summation, I got hooked on this blog early on (and I think you will too). This is the kind of blog all of us bloggers wanted to have when we started our own weblogs. An online diary. A TRUE JOURNAL. Nothing flashy here, just a person writing about what they really feel. Four and a 1/2 stars, check it out.(Mis)Representation

The first thing that struck me was the elegant design. It was calming and rather soothing. I was also taken back that there were no links or “bits” down the sidebars.

The first few entries on this blog were tests or answers to questions. Then I realised that it has not been updated since the 1st of march. There were some bits in between the tests, but I have to admit that there was not alot to go on.

I have to say that I was alittle disappointed as it is a beautifully designed blog, but it was lacking in content. There are more tests than personal details, which is fair enough as not everyone wants to splash their lives out for everyone to read and make judgemental on.

There are only 3 links, one to archives, one to links and one to reviews. There was nothing to distract you from the blog, which is good, but if you don’t like the content then you have nowhere else to go.

I have to say that quizzes are not my personal thing, but this was a lovely looking blog. That combined with the lack of posts for so long made it quite hard to review. Still, if you ant to see a lovely design, go and visit.The 11th Muse

Immediately upon visiting Uffish Thoughts you are greeted with a picture of the Queen of England with her finger up her nose. I kind of new I would like the site right off the bat. I also noticed that the Queen’s picture and title on this blogspot site were where there would normally be an ad. This is kind of important to me as a reviewer, it shows me the author thought enough of her blog to put some money into it.

Chris, the author, a New Yorker (from Arkansas), started her weblog just last October, but writes fairly frequently, so there is plenty of material here. The first two months though, are predominantly links to other websites or news stories that the author finds interesting or just plain out of the ordinary. As the website does go on though, the posts have more and more personal content i.e. the authors thoughts and feelings on a variety of subjects. Some of them hilarious, some of them down right touching. The blog gets better as time goes on. The entry of December 21st were she describes the Christmas her boss gave her was hilarious enough to make me leave my cubicle at work and go outside becauase I was laughing to loud. Molly Ringwald fans (the guy ones) will find the November 12th entry invaluable, I’m sure. I especially liked how the author informs the reader when she posts a link wether its good for work viewing or not. Anyone growing up in the 80’s would love the authors photo from 1986 in the January 15th entry, they don’t do hair like that anymore. The author, on December 11th, has a very touching description of what she saw and felt on September 11th.

The site design is pleasing to the eye, nothing overly flashy and not at all plain either. All the links to outside of the site are clearly labeled on the right side (this is not always the case in blogs), and I found all the links, including the archives to work. There is even a link that explains what “uffish’ means.

Over all, a pretty gosh darn good weblog. There’s even a comments section which I’ve always thought every weblog should have. I guess my only disappointment was the lack of an ‘about’ section, it took me a little bit of reading to get to know what I did about the author, but that might be just what the author intended. Three and a half stars, check it out.

Uffish Thoughts

“driving with a pinky” is a blog written by Natalie, a teenager in high school sharing with the world all the little things that make her tick which range from songs, little adventures with her friends and everything else that goes on in a teen’s life.



Despite the fact that there were so many posts on the main page of the blog, I found it hard to stay interested in the writing. It might because I don’t regularly read sites about teenager’s lives in high school, however I couldn’t really find an overall consistency. I found the different colors in posts a bit distracting and then about 3/4th of the way down the page, all the posts became italicized, which was confusing since I was curious to know why all the posts weren’t the same.



I wasn’t really able to get a really good feeling of who she was as a person from her site, which I would have liked. When I read a site I like to know or be a bit familiar with where the author’s coming from whether it’s from the writing itself or a biography on the author. Maybe a bio or “about me” section would have helped in this case.



The site is still fairly young; 2 months old and will develop more over time. However, I’m sure you might like

“driving with a pinky” if you like reading sites from a teen aspect.driving with a pinky

“Amidst a tangled web” is a great little weblog. My first impression of this site is it was going to be a really technically website about computer/internet related content since the layout was so simple. However, once I got to reading and exploring around, I found that the site was nothing like that, but offers so much to the reader.



Dan Hersam, who’s the creator of this site has definitely got background in the computer science field and in addition, seems like a very well rounded individual. With over 600 CDs in his collection, they all range in different tastes and styles of music. There are also links to news, comics and other blogs.



The weblog adds a more in-depth look at who he is and what he enjoys doing. His site is very easy to read and I found no trouble reading it, which is a definite plus. What I liked most about this site is almost anyone can become quite involved and absorbed in his writing. Even thought it’s about the little things that go on in his life, everyone can relate to it and I liked that. In addition to his weblog, there’s so much more on his site to look at, too much to share here.



An excellent weblog that is simple and engaging.dan’s home amidst a tangled web