Author: admin

“I have lots to think about but nothing
to say.”

So proclaims the sub-heading of
The Rock Pool. I would beg to differ,
however. I think Simone has plenty
to say, although I’m not sure who her
intended audience is. While reading
through this blog I became
increasingly of the opinion that she
writes more for her own benefit than
for the entertainment of others.

This is not meant as a criticism,
simply an observation. Simone’s
writing is, for the most part, lucid and
intelligent. It’s just that I had a hard
time really getting into this blog, and
getting a feel for her life. There are
too many insular references and
assumptions of the reader’s
familiarity with what has gone before.
I will hazard a guess, and suggest
that perhaps this style has been
adopted because Simone knows the
vast majority of her audience are
friends and regulars.

And there’s nothing wrong with that.
It does mean, however, that I cannot
recommend The Rock Pool to the
casual reader. The site itself is well
designed, complete with obligatory
biographical and gallery sections,
but it just wasn’t for me. And I would
suggest that, unless you know
Simone personally, it probably isn’t
for you either.The Rock Pool

Here’s Britt’s “journal of a starving artist”, and here is an enjoyable blog – all in the same. You can’t beat that.



Britt’s a multi-jobbed aspiring actor that lives a life just like anybody else. What Britt does manage to do between working all her different shifts is to keep the public entertained via her weblog. And entertaining is a wonderful word to describe “the journal of a starving artist”.



I like the list of six different “currents” Britt keeps along the side of her site, including the oversaid expression, addiction, or CD in player that she’s currently got going on.



I was disappointed to see a generic Blogger template used, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re on the go as much as Britt.



And finally the actual weblog. I liked it, and feel like it could easily become a daily diversion to anyone. Of course, the weblog is going to be enjoyed more by people in the 17-25 year old range, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.



Britt’s very colorful in her descriptions of what goes on in her life, and it makes each post fun and easy to read. Her writing is very conversational, and that’s what people like when trying to read someone’s weblog.the journal of a starving artist

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this site when I came to it. It had a webcam shot and below some quick “current” info on the author, some archives and a reader poll. The orange and black layout didn’t appeal to me right away, but after I was on the site for a while, it grew on me.



Nick’s a high school student from Michigan who writes with a sarcastic twist, which I liked. In one of his most recent posts, he said that he hadn’t written for a while because he had rediscovered his bongo drums and took off to on a tour with some Jamaicans to do a world tour. He goes on from there to tell a funny little story with a camera shot of him jamming on his bongo drums just to make it seem a little more “realistic.”



In addition to his blog, he has some poetry, which you can comment on, a bio page, which gives you some background on him and other links to news or other blogs.



I didn’t totally dig all of his posts, but if you like reading blogs with a touch of sarcasm, you might like this site.SheepShirts Blog

Obviously the name of this site is a reference to the phrase “Beating a dead horse.” With that in mind, I wasn’t sure what I would expect out of this site.



Page loads and of course we are thinking about horses, and there is a picture of baby ducks climbing. What does a baby duck have to do with the weblog? I don’t know.



The next thing I notice is that the design of the site is a blogger template that some how managed to win the template contest. Yes it is a good one for multiple content areas, however, they are so spread out that it makes them not flow together. I really cannot comment any more on the design, as it is a template.



Finally I start to read the site, and I am entertained by it. A lot of the posts reference us to another site, with a little description or note about it first. I liked this part. The personal stuff was in there from what I could tell out of sheer need to just post about it and let it out. I found some of the posts to be quiet entertaining, while others, you guessed it, were “Blogging a dead horse.”



The score of the 2.5 is because it uses a template, with out a good integration into the site. Maybe a different template would help, I don’t know. But also because of the more often personal posts being just like the title. There are some good reads here, but you have to look a little bit for them.blogging a dead horse

When submitted for review, Bruno had a different URL. Usually a redirect page turns me off, but the redirection to such a well designed site was no problem. The problem is that with the site redesign, Bruno left off his archived entries for the last year.



I like the layout tremendously. The clean design with easy to navigate links is a plus. The graphic is cool blue and twisted. Everything works and works well on this site. The scroll is a bit fast for an old lady, but I finally got the hang of it. I don’t especially like the guestbook format, but perhaps he will find one that works better. All you have to do is close the browser on it and it moves out of the way of the main site.



I adore “about” pages, and Bruno’s was no disappointment. It told me who, where, and why. His “essays” section has some interesting reading. I would have liked to read some of the archived entries from 2001.



I’ll check back on Bruno to see where he takes the site with the new design. I just hope he considers adding archives to his 2001 entries.

Dissension