Month: January 1970

Upon arriving at The Transplant I was greeted with a striking banner graphic and a clean (but very busy) website. The author of The Transplant is a twenty something that lives in Seattle. The ‘about me’ really didn’t tell me a whole lot about the author other than he’s : ‘perplexed by the simple act of tying my shoelaces’ and ‘I have not a single reason for a website, aside from reading to myself my very own words. Fodder for the ego. My very own hyperreal self.’ . While this was interesting content… More specific information would have been useful as a starting point. It took several pages of reading to know where the author was, that the author was married and the author’s gender. Hmmpt.

This blog consists mostly of short curious observations by the author. The entries are often about things the author is interested in… such as TV shows, bands, and the odd personal reflection. The blog is well written but at times exhaustively verbose, such as the entry ‘We shall ride in silent’. While I believe the author is trying to be funny somehow… I’m not sure all readers would hang in to read the whole entry. The entries are categorized by: Body Parts, Luminaries, Nonentities, Pointless and the Inbetweens. Curious categories indeed. In Body Parts you’ll find the author’s suffering with his mandible, Luminaries is mainly movies and music, Nonentities was strange descriptions of people presumably in the author’s life, Pointless: mostly amusing observations and Inbetweens is generally personal reflections. Sometimes entries aren’t explained, such as ‘&*!@#&!!!^*’ which reads, ‘Food, then drink. Food, then drink.’ Huh? Which is the down side to Transplant… sometimes you’re left wondering “Huh?”. Clearly this blog is often more for the author than the reader.

If you are looking to read a different perspective this blog may appeal to you.
Some of the more eclectic entries ‘Is Sweden better than the United States?’, ‘Onomatopoeia, Frenzy and Glocked Bus Trips’ and ‘You best not steal my Blockbuster card’ have a uniquely aberrant wit to them which I’m sure some readers would enjoy. Check out The Transplant to see if this wit appeals to you.

The Transplant

Elisla’s Place is a pretty nice place to go visit really. Nothing really out of the ordinary but a positive place overall.

When I first entered the site, I noticed another Modblog (my second reviewed this week) and found it to be pretty similar to the first- photoblog, poll, chat console and rudimentary “About Me” page were all there. I know everyone has to start blogging somewhere and some people don’t want much hassle with it all, but I am always enthusiastic when people have explored the more creative aspects of how a blog can look. Ok, this isn’t exactly an offensive looking blog, and it has a nice titlebar, but it is not exactly cutting edge in terms of layout and I always think colours are good thing in a lot of ways. I personally don’t like this Modblog system at all really- it seems pretty clunky and there are better ones out there, but hey, I can’t take too many marks off for that.

I moved quickly on to the content and the blog has only been going a month or two so the archives didn’t take too long to get through and most of the entries are fairly short. There is a good mix of content though – some family (and other) photos, personal entries and discussions of wider issues. One thing which really shines in this blog is the fact that the personality of the author really comes across and all the entries are positive and fun to read. The author has clearly been through some bad times too, but she does not focus on these in the way some bloggers do (a point well made in this post here).

Not too much else to say about this blog really. As I said at the beginning, it’s ok. Nothing great, but it’s pleasant enough really and much like her husbands blog, little of any controversy to be found here. Elisla’s Place

Elisa’s Place is a Modblog. This is the second one I’ve actually browsed through and it’s still a little difficult to understand Modblog link dynamics (like the archive for instance). Oh well…

Elisa’s starts out with a very simple black and white template. She has a nice picture of herself in the header (no blog description though), which saves the blog from visual boredom (as it usually happens with a white background color and black font). But the template is still a lot better than some I’ve seen on Blogspot for instance. The side bar has the typical Modblog options: a full profile, pic gallery, chatter box, a poll and links.

Elisa is 32, married with children. The blog deals with her life and basically whatever she chooses to rant about. It is basically the opinions and daily happenings of her life in word. She may not be an accomplished writer in the sense of oozing verbal greatness in each and every one of her posts, but she is articulate and knows how to deliver. I enjoyed reading her on matters so diverse as men vs. women, cute anecdotes involving her children, and ranting that will put a smile on your face.

Elisa’s Place is a good blog title. For it is after all her place. She sounds like a nice individual with a good life. I think those blog readers seeking to identify with the daily joys; rants, trials and tribulation of smart woman will enjoy her. I did.

Elisla’s Place

This was my first time viewing a Modblog journal. I have to say Modblog has many interesting features, some of which were a little confusing to master, for one used to Moveable Type and Blogspot. Anyway, regarding the layout and design, I must say this is one good-looking blog. The template is one of the nicest I’ve come across in a long time. It’s beige, easy on the eyes and the header boasts two very nice pics. I enjoyed the blog description: “More improbable than unique.” Which goes well with the blog title. The “conceived in the summer of love” remark is also a nice touch. A good blog description usually makes an instant connection with the reader, as was the case with me. Cheers on that one.

Originalism has a right-hand side bar with plenty of things to browse over, I had to take my time seeing and understanding all of them and the Modblog dynamics to get to the links. There are links to the authors profile (less information than the about page, oh well…), a channel (seemed like a tag box to me), a picture gallery, a poll and other blog links.

Since the blog is new, created in August of 2004, there aren’t many entries to discover the exact substance of the blog. But from what I’ve read so far, Jeremy, the author has a lot to say. And he says it well. Good writing abilities there and a little of the ever-so-appreciated British tongue in cheek, as well. Jeremy’s posts range from political views to personal experiences and personal philosophy and pictures which he, himself takes. It all makes for worthwhile reading. He has some interesting thoughts and I found myself smiling with some of his remarks. His pictures are lovely, I actually felt like stealing a couple; and the blog seems to go well with readers.

Even though this is a new blog, I’d like to rate it highly, for it’s full of good possibilities. This is one blog to keep in mind for the future.
Originalism

On first glance, this blog looks like a whole lot of fun. The colors are eye appealing and not your typical blog-fare, which is nice to see. I really enjoy the banner, the term “originalism” and the other sayings incorporated into the design. I get a feeling I’m going to be hit with politics due to the first entry, but I’m hoping there is more to read than that. This site appears to have it all. There’s a poll, the obligatory linking, and a photo gallery. It also appears as if the author, Jeremy, incorporates graphics into his entries on a consistent basis. On first glance, this blog looks like it has it all, I’m just hoping part of that includes decent writing to go along with a great looking site.

This man writes beautifully. He is philosophical and humorous in the same breath. He uses compound words and complex sentences. He takes a situation at looks at it from many different angles. You can almost see the thought process go through his mind as you read his words. Jeremy leads you through his current events as well as dives into some of the more interesting aspects of his childhood. Chewy milk? Ewww. Now how many blogs can describe milk so dead on that it churns your stomach? Not only that, but the man used the word “colloquially” and he used it in the right context! He not only writes smart, but I have a feeling he IS smart!

Jeremy Neal makes you think with some of his entries, laugh with others, and wonder where he’ll take you next. Maybe it will be to the store where they will not allow him to park his car because it isn’t “good enough”, maybe on one of the cub scout excursions that he experienced as a child, or maybe he’ll just stare into the mirror and explain to you what he sees. With this blog, anything is possible.

This blog is interesting, well written, and comical. There is a wide expanse of topics touched upon and never a lack of philosophical speak to get your mind thinking. I was afraid to find nothing more than political gibberish and I was ecstatic to find such a wide range of subject matter. Religion. Genealogy. Memories. Life on the job. An eclectic work history. Geography. About the only thing you won’t find in this blog is any specifics in relation to his relations. He rarely mentions his two children and it took me nearly two weeks worth of entries to realize that this fellow blogger is his wife. Maybe I’m slow. If the man can write such moving pieces on his beliefs and his thoughts, I can only imagine what he could do with stories regarding his family.

The design fits this author’s writing perfectly. Both components are unique, interesting, and eye catching. I found no missing or broken links, but it was a bit of a challenge to find the archived entries, due to the fact that I’ve never even heard of ModBlog, much less attempted to navigate one of its blogs. Other than my ineptitude, this blog has it all without overdoing it and drawing attention away from the entry text.

This is a great blog for anyone with the need to dive straight into another person’s head. I admire the way he dissects the world around him and brings you along on his thought process. Jeremy is a thinker and he makes you think right along with him. I’m beginning to believe this is why there is so little “personal” content included in his posts. He writes about what he thinks, not necessarily how he feels. This blog is full of insightful and intelligent material, not to mention humor at it’s best. I highly recommend this blog and will be coming back to check up on Jeremy every now and then!

Originalism