Author: admin

Immediately I was impressed by the design of House Arrest. (Maybe because I too am trying to eek out a living as a coder and I’m aware of how much work goes into self coding a website…) Soon I was impressed by all of House Arrest.

The blog is very honest, very candid and enjoyable. You really get a sense of the author’s ‘voice’ as you read the entries. She quotes Cure lyrics, posts the occasional cartoon, poems etc. Lots of interesting stuff here.

After you are done reading the blog there are other sections as well.

There is Crafty Bitch, which details her explorations in stitching.

Salvation, her take on the calorie crunch

A lifetime ago, truth is better than fiction

Book Club, book reviews and recommendations

I think this is a great site, it is full of author’s identity and has a sharp overall look and feel punctuated by lovely graphics. –applause–
house arrest

Ke-Ri’s Domain is the weblog of young girl named Keri. On her main website, she very clearly states the reason she started her website was because she was seeking a husband. From the main picture on the site, Keri doesn’t look all that old to begin with and by begging the viewers of her site not to tell her dad about the site because he would “kill her and make her go to college”, it only leads me to believe that our author is quite young.

After sorting through her opinion of supporting Timothy McVeigh’s actions, her plea for someone of the male persuasion to offer her some companionship since she’s “down for a whole lot”, and the generic GeoCities/Yahoo layout, I was able to finally reach the weblog.

Information I gathered from Keri’s weblog? She quit the track team to learn about the internet. As of Nov 11, Keri was going to run away from home the next time her dad sits her down for a talk. Her only three requirements for this husband she’s looking for are as follows: “he must be a nice person in general (this includes animals), he must have a place where I can stay that he pays for himself, and he must have fairly high-speed internet access and a computer IN HIS HOUSE”.

These are the highlights. In short, this weblog is about how much Keri hates school, hates her dad, and wants to find someone to be her husband.

I’m just honestly disturbed by so many things at this site. Keri’s home life is bad enough that she’s only been “advertising for a husband” on her website since early November. And as of Dec 2 (and also the most recent post), she’s decided to move in with one of her internet suitors. The main reason she chose him? She was really into the amount of internet access Luke could offer.

Honestly, this weblog scares me. It can’t possibly be real, and if it is, I’m truly saddened by how miserable Keri’s life must be to push her to the point to move into an apartment with a complete stranger to avoid living with her father. Someone’s got some real issues here and it’s just a bizarre situation you read about at this website.

Ke-Ri’s Domain!!!

Just like books and covers, I try not to judge a blog by its splash page. But when I first got to Paul Jeong’s site Blackhand I was worried. Blogs with videogame metaphors tend to be done for the sake of their own design with little in the way of readable content. However, Blackhand turned my preconceptions on their head. Blackhand is a well-written blog, with a fun interface.

Blackhand’s journal is engaging, funny, and accessible for the wider non-Peter-Jeong-knowing public. My favorite posts seem to start off as journal entries but turn into short stories. He writes on life in Atlanta, cubicle hell, church, his parent’s diner, and of course Super-Soakers. Paul recently worked for the company that makes Super-Soakers. (You can see his cool water gun designs under the Visuals section of the site).

The design is fun, with the old-style 2D fighter game metaphor extended throughout. I especially like how the main nav remains “Player 2”, but “Player 1” changes depending on what section of the site you’re in. He’s got several past iterations of the design available for viewing, with “director’s comments.” (His current is my favorite, but hey that’s just my taste). He’s done a smart thing that more blogs should do — a direct link from the splash page to a no-frills version of the journal. Another nice touch: click on the name of a month on the journal page, and the calendar scrolls up for you. Extras include Paul’s comic artwork, industrial design work, pictures, and some old pieces he wrote for the late Swanky ezine.

In all, I’d say Blackhand is a well-written blog with a great design. The only drawback, really, is that Paul doesn’t update his journal that often, making this a weekly read, not a daily one. Go there and see the emergence of a new fist style.blackhand.com

Having only begun on October 31, this is a relatively new weblog. In its infancy, however, the site is on its way to a tremendous start.

Shital, the author at this weblog, is clearly on top of things when it comes to our technology era we’re all going through. And in true form of the techno-geeks out there, Shital wants all of the latest and greatest things that hit the market and has clearly done thorough research on each item. I bring this up as an added bonus to reading this weblog.

It’s hard to find ones self too attached or enthralled in a weblog that’s only in its infancy, but Shital’s weblog certainly has the potential to keep readers coming back. There’s such a broad range of topics Shital covers on a consistent basis that there’s sure to be something that will grab anyone’s interest – music reviews, traveling adventures, and the previously mentioned updates on the latest technology.



The rest of the site is also worth exploring. In “Stuff 2 Do”, you’ll find a plethora of different sites to visit and new things to try out. You’ll also find cool books, some very cool various downloads, a current list of Shital’s favorite music, and the list basically goes on and on.

Visually speaking, this site looks just fine. It’s a simple design with very easy to use navigation. It’s nothing special, but it doesn’t need to be. The weblog speaks for itself without the need of any flashy graphics to make people want to come back.
astrila.blogspot.com

As far as looks go, well, this one is just about as plain as you get before
the plainness becomes stylish. But, keep in mind that when it comes to a balance
of form and function, function can more than make up for lack of form.

The blog is fairly simple to navigate — everything’s right there on the main
page. The archive link actually just leads to some archives of a few of the more
recent entries.

While this blog was categorized under ‘News/Links’ I could find little of
either. The entirety is the philosophical musings/ramblings of the author.
Unfortunately there doesn’t appear to be a category for that, and there really
doesn’t seem to be a category (that I’m to choose from) that best fits this
blog. I selected entertainment, because that, to me, seems the best reason
(intellectual entertainment) one would have for visiting and reading this blog

OK, here’s where we get to the meat of the review. The rest is more or less
objective observations. The blog is plain, simple, and contains philosophical
ramblings. What you really want to know is whether the ideas expressed are worth
your while reading. But first one more objective observation. The entries are
written in a deep sounding philosophical style that make whatever it is they are
saying, hard to get at. Bad if they don’t really say anything, tolerable if
there are some good things included. But there’s the catch, whether they contain
jewels or air could very well depend on the reader. I can give my subjective
impression, but that may not necessarily be what you will get.

The author has expressed some deep thoughts. Reading the various entries in the
blog I could see the inner working of a mind as the author strove to make sense
of life. It would be a mistake to read this blog as source of answers, but if
you have the time, it makes for an interesting observation into an active mind.
The author lacks the ability to express thoughts very clearly or concisely, but
they are still the author’s thoughts and I found the journey worth the time I
spent.

aniksjournal.blogspot.com