Author: admin

Things are flashing. Why are things flashing? That’s my first thought upon entering this site.

I really like the combination of earth-tone type colors that the author uses for this site. Its nearly-camouflage coloring is actual somewhat soothing. The flash used to make everything flash was just slightly on the bothersome side. I like the drop down menu bars at the bottom of the screen. They make for easy navigation, and they all work as they’re supposed to. The different selections throughout the entire site are self-explanatory, and also all worth visiting. But I digress, because this is The Weblog Review not The Weblog Site Design Review.

One of my favorite features of the site was the “song of the week” section. It’s kind of a neat concept that you can hear it directly without having to download it. Of course, if you’re on a slower (read this as anything less than broadband) connection, then it’s not going to be the most convenient way to listen to the song. However, it is a very neat concept.

David’s journal is ever-changing, and what I’m describing as ever-changing is the manner in which he writes. Sometimes, it’s a one-liner updating readers on the current music he’s downloaded, and other times he focuses on the different aspects of trudging through school in a University. His weblog, which he describes as “a vehicle to remember life” certainly has some entertaining and interesting entries to read. David’s writing makes for a casual piece (or many pieces) of reading, and it’s enjoyable that way.

For subjects that require more than just a weblog entry – sometimes reviews or just narratives on a recent event, David has an “insight” section up. His writing on these is much different than that of his weblog. Not different in a bad way, but different in a way that seems as if he’s more meticulous on making sure every last detail of what he’s writing is exactly the way he wants the reader to construe what he or she is reading.

It’s a good weblog. I got past the flashing everywhere right away, and enjoyed my reading.paranoise

Everyone has in their mind, what they think makes a good weblog. The link lists they post are there for a reason, each person has standards. I have them too, and I have to say it has been awhile since one has lived up to them.

Sunshine more than lives up to them.

When you go to Sunshine, you are greeted with a nice simple layout, that features fresh colors and a cute sunshine graphic on the left. It is cheery, and welcoming. On the left is your standard column of links, and information. This is where you learn the author is an Indian woman, who is proud of her heritage. You can also find links to the articles she has written for rediff.com

All that is just filler, the good stuff is in the posts. Nidhi (it means treasure) really likes to blog, her posts are frequent and with good length. She talks about everything from saving money, to how much she enjoys Harry Potter, and how her weblog has gotten her in touch with people from her past. Her posts are written with an intelligent voice, and she touches on issues in her life such as her family, and religion. She writes about everyday life things, but it doesn’t feel that way, and that folks is the point of a weblog.

It has been a pleasure to meet her (and you really do feel like you meet her when you first visit) and to add her to my own personal bookmark list.Sunshine

Cogito Ergo Sum is a no frills weblog that at first glance appears clean and appealing to the eyes. The site is fully dedicated to the blog and its existence though I have to confess the clouds background gave me a feeling that an old installation of Windows 95 had resurfaced and was trying to battle against my NT operating system! Good-sized fonts made it easy to read for my radiation scorched eyes and a nice set out made it a inviting to read.



The blog itself is nothing different that you wouldn’t find on pretty much any other blog, basically the day-to-day livings of Jenneferre, the owner of the blog. Its intelligently written, which came as a bit of a surprise after reading through several less then spectacular blogs from other sites, and yes, I did find the material somewhat interesting. The thing that I really liked about the site was that it didn’t center around whining, raving or ranting but purely the events of the day and sometimes a bit of reflections to place everything in perspective.



The template of the weblog is good enough, its neat and tidy, and certainly not distracting. I’m not too sure exactly what the point of the [+] sign was next to the author and the date, I clicked it and nothing happened, and clicked some other ones and sometimes all it did was center the current post. Hardly a feature needed. There was no room to add some comments to each post, something that I’m sure Jenneferre may consider adding at some point down the track.



There’s a few other links to friends site, though I found it annoying that it didn’t open a new window when I clicked on them so I had to use my Shift key to ensure Cogito Ergo Sum didn’t get lost behind another site. Again, when writing a blog there HAS to be a small ‘About Me’ section somewhere, if only to say how old and where you’re from. I had to scan through several entries to find out how old she exactly was, which of course makes a different interpretation to the blog. Not having this information at hand was terribly annoying, so again, another thing she may want to keep in mind.



All up I’d say Cogito Ergo Sum gets the thumbs up from me and anyone else in their teenage years or early 20’s. With a few other areas added as I mentioned above to support the weblog I’m sure it would be even more enjoyable to read. I give the site a 3 out of 5. Cogito Ergo Sum

Her name is Melissa Simpson and “random.rationale” is the name of her game. At an age of twenty-two years old, she is attending the University of Idaho and nearing the graduation date pretty darn quickly. Melissa is looking to receive a degree in graphic design. She likes skiing, baking homemade bread and taking bubble baths (interesting combination). Most importantly she is also into Space Ghost. This is definitely a really good start.



Her weblog looks sharp and effective, pleasing mix of colors, splitting the white canvas of the page in two with all elements shifted to the left, interesting and clear with a harmonic use of colors. There is even a small picture of her at the top of each page, making the weblog just that much more personal. This is not one of those flashy weblogs that seem to be infecting the Internet lately. It is sweet and simple, and it works.



Melissa has not been writing for that long (she started in January of this year), so there isn’t that much she has been able to collect yet. You might say that most of her material can easily be covered in one sitting. The weblog is almost entirely personal stuff centered on herself, most of the entries in one way or other dealing with the upcoming stuff leading up to her graduation. Her entries are pretty good, but nothing exceptional. Not extensive, but okay for what she obviously intended the weblog to be for herself which is just to collect her own thoughts for herself. A typical entry goes like this: “i woke up saturday morning after decidedly having a crappy evening before… but i didn’t care anymore. that’s the nice thing about a fresh start to a new day. your perspective looks different in the morning, and your worries (sometimes) appear much smaller than they had before. this was one of those occasions.”



While she has experience in graphic design for multimedia and more traditional themes, this talent is not reflected very well in her weblog. This is a shame as her portfolio of earlier web designs is pretty good. As a busy student, I can understand her main concern is covering the content of the entries, which is good enough. All energy into that fancy graphical stuff is more than likely being used up in busy classes and exams.



This is all right, but do not expect more. It is not philosophy, nor does it provide deep analysis of recent events. Except for her big toe, that is. In the “toe saga continues” we are shown a close-up picture of big toe after stubbing it on an iron lying on the floor. Okay, it is purple and obviously throbbing from the pain. Is this personal or what?



There are alot of other links leading outside of her weblog, and one is tempted to look around the rest of her homepage. Indeed, there is lots of other interesting stuff on her site. But since it is beyond the scope of this review that by definition must be limited to the weblog, I will only mention them here, that they accent her weblog well.



So in the words of Space Ghost, “Greetings all you weblog citizens, Zorak and I invite all you out from coast to coast to check this place out.”random.rationale

I automatically liked this site when it loaded up. The site is 2 toned with gray on the left and blue on the right and the very familiar shot of MTV’s studios at Time Square in the upper left hand corner to add some other colors. It was also simple and easy to navigate through.



Jason, a New Jersey native has a definite passion for photography. The photos he posts gives the feeling as though you’re hanging out with him as he takes pictures of things that catch his eye which range from photos of people sitting at a local cafe to self-portrait shots in stores.



In addition to posting his personal photos, he also blogs giving not only a journalistic feel, but also letting his readers visually see and read about his life the way he sees it. He posts his daily whereabouts, mingling with other fellow bloggers living in the New York area and even the occasional Friday Five questions that have caught on in the weblog community.



The site also contains a links page to other weblogs and photo related links. He’s also has a section in the works which will contain more photos for viewing.



If you’re into photos and also enjoy reading the occasional blog, this is a site you definitely might want to check out.DIGITALNAP