Author: admin

The Gerbilarium had been placed in the “Humor” category by its author and, gerbils being animals which generally have comedic potential, I looked forward to what I might find.

Now although the weblog is humorous in places, I think really it is more of a personal weblog with humorous aspects to it. Don’t get me wrong, I found some of it funny (particularly the 22nd September entry about a drunken (almost) fight the author had), and this may seem like splitting hairs a bit, but I just felt that humor did not seem to be the main aim of the site.

Anyway, a little of the technicalities first. The design is ok. To be honest, the fact that it is more than a standard template deserves some praise- each post starts off with a black and white drawing of a gerbil, a side bar, and at the top a little intro thingy.

The side bar was pleasingly free of tack- a simple list of links to other areas of the weblog and different websites. The other areas included some short stories, some opinions on different subjects (pop music and the Oscars were the two I read), a couple of reviews of mostly hip-hop related stuff and some spoof news stories which seemed pretty well written. Nice to see an “About Me” page too (the gerbils thing comes from keeping them as pets by the way).

The content overall is pretty well written come to think of it- the author certainly is literate and can express himself clearly. Like I said, all of the content is written in a fairly witty style and mainly relates to personal things or ideas which he has going on at the time. The entries are quite long too and, although the archives only go back as far as the end of June 2003, there is plenty here to keep most people entertained for a while. I felt the subject matter could be improved a little though- in his “About Me” bit, the author is worried about weblogs being too self indulgent and I suspect that, ironically this is one of his downfalls. It seems that occasionally he is trying a bit too hard to be funny and cutting through all the clever bits, very little is actually said.

Overall I have given this weblog 3.5 because it is good as far as it goes and better than many weblogs, but it could go further, both in terms of improved design and maybe some less flippant content to give it more balance.The Gerbilarium

When I picked this site for review, I didn’t ponder much on the title as “Butterfly Dani” did not give much away, so I soldiered on and clicked on the link to the site itself.

As soon as I entered the site however, I knew I had struck gold. The template is simple and effective yet (presumably) unique and includes a very pretty picture of a butterfly. The content is also aesthetically easy to read with not a single duff link to be found. In the sidebar there are links to photos which the author has taken, including a photo biography, contact details and a link to an archive posting containing a hundred things about her- which it is easy to skim through and also proves informative.

Now this is certainly a personal weblog – there are few links to other sites to be found (with the exception of one or two music links) and all the content relates to the author, her life and her experiences. However, this is personal blogging at its best. The archives go back to March 2003 and I simply started at the front page and worked my way back, engrossed by every single entry. The writing style is easy to read, extremely unpretentious and VERY honest. The author has strong views on certain things which she is not afraid to express in some posts, sometimes getting quite angry, but can also show amazing vulnerability and sensibility in the next. The author is not afraid to cover the big topics either- politics, religion and death are all tackled as well as the more mundane tasks of work, education, boyfriends and cats. Comments are also provided and used by her regular readers, which often enhance the posts.

In summary, I can only say that if you are interested in experiencing the very humanness and expressivity which blogging can provide, all wrapped up in a nice looking site, then this is one for you.butterfly dani

With a name like Earthly Passions, I didn’t know what to expect. I thought long and hard about this, and the only thing I could think of was that the author was going to talk about his life and what he loves. Wow. I was almost dead on. He even says this in his “Why Earthly Passions?” post.

So I get to the site and I notice right away there is an about page. Of course I went to this to find out more about Mark to see what I could connect with him on. Mark is married, has 4 children, is a Christian, works for a radio station, is a financial planner, and is involved with his church. This is probably one of the most detailed about pages I have ever read, less those 100 things about me pages.

So now we know he is going to talk about his life, and we know all about Mark, so guess what the posts are about? You’re right! About his church, his radio show, his family, etc… So what separates this average topic from everyone else? The quality of the posts is one aspect. Mark writes very well and with great attention to detail. Posts have the ability to make you laugh, cry, and think – which is something I always look for in a blog. While some topics get repeated (updates to what is going on), this doesn’t deter you from the weblog like others have done in the past.

The design of the site is your standard 3 column layout. Thankfully he used a color scheme that fits the title and the weblog. Its a calm yellow and olive greenish color scheme that fits in with the fall season, though I don’t know if that was his inspiration or not. The archives are accessible by a calendar or by week. I am glad he decided to add both ways of accessing the archives, since just using a calendar is a major pain. He has done a good job of separating the content that should be in each column which lately is rare.

As far as extras are concerned outside of the about page, we have a photo album. This is built into the typepad service that Mark is using and he is using it very well. I am glad to see him using it the way he does. In addition to the photo album is a list of books he is reading, all with links to Amazon (again a typepad feature). Unfortunately the books do not get a mention in the weblog itself which would be nice.

I have to say that I enjoyed my time at Earthly Passions. Mark did not force feed his Christianity beliefs upon me, but he did not hide them either. This is good because he is able to bring in people to his weblog with different beliefs and thoughts and not turn them away. The posts about his family are probably my favorite, as they are told with such great detail. I recommend checking out Earthly Passions even if it is just to check out what Mark has to offer. Enjoy your time there, because I know I did.
Earthly Passions

I couldn’t help but drop my jaw when I saw this site. It’s actually quite beautifully designed, and while a blog isn’t only what it looks like I’d like to have hopes that the content will complement the design.



As I always tend to do, I started to read this blog from the humble beginnings. I’ve read many good blogs, I’ve stumbled along many other’s that are mediocre blogs, and a number of really bad blogs. This one falls, without a doubt in my mind, into the good blogs category. The first few entries draw in the reader. You find out much more about the author and the tiny bits of his life. The entries read like short stories with an ending that is short and sweet. It leaves you pondering, wondering what you’ll read next. This author’s entries are scattered with all kinds of subjects and while his mind wanders, he generally stays on topic. His entries are interesting and keep the reader involved.



As I said earlier, the design is beautiful. I had no problem being able to manuever through the site and read everything I needed to. The archives all work, and that’s always a good thing. The grey’s work well with the content of the site. This is also a blog that’s designed to be able to be viewed in lower resolutions as well as higher resolutions.

The author offers a small about me with general information. Nothing extravagant, but informative. He also offers some pictures so you can see who you’re reading about. He has a few webrings that he’s a part of and few outgoing links, but not many. There’s not a lot of extras, but the content definately make up for it.

This blog is not meant for the overly religious or homophobic. He talks about cute boys and various different people he’s in “love” with. This author definately talks about his life, often in details, and sometimes in metaphors. He open and candid with his reader and the reader should approach this blog with the same openness. Go, read, and enjoy it for what it’s meant to be, a glimpse into the life of another.And the Universe Giggled

I was torn between whether or not to give this site 3.5 or 4 overall. So perhaps 3.75 then. My first impressions were good- I always like it when someone has sorted out their own domain name and some thought has gone in to the name and the design of the sight.

I have also just transferred my own blog over to Typepad, so am aware of its capabilities and it is fair to say that the author, Mark has made use of many of them. There is an “About Me” page, a couple of photo albums, books he is reading (though no reviews unfortunately) and the usual links to other sites. There is also a link to a blog entry which explains the reasoning behind the site itself. Some work has been put in to the design too- the template all looks very sleek and tasteful and includes its own customised title bar which finishes the effect off nicely.

Having decided the design was more than acceptable, I started ploughing through some of the content. Now Mark has only been blogging for a month or so but there is more than enough content here to keep readers busy for a while. Entries have been made every couple of days or so and some are pretty long, though on the main page, use has been made of the “Read more…” facility, which shortens entries for those who only want a sample. The posts have been divided in to categories, though I found the content mostly fell in to “family and friends”, “Christianity”, “economics” and “politics”, with the occasional movie review and observations on blogging. Now I don’t want to criticise the content too much because it is still early days, but I found that these four main topics were covered in great depth and often with humour, but for the reader who may not have an affinity with these subject areas, the weblog may be of little interest.

I guess the argument comes down to “Is a weblog written for the author or its readers?” and if it is for the readers, does it matter if only a small group may find the subject matter engaging? Well I don’t know, other than if the author wants to appeal to more readers, perhaps he could employ a greater subject area in to his posts. A few more links to other sites may improve things too.

On the other hand, I enjoyed the witty observations on blogging, found in Baby Blogger Blathers and the generally relaxed style in which other entries were written. Including photos of the family was helpful too, as I occasionally found it tricky to keep up with who was who in Mark’s family!

In conclusion then, this is a great blog if you want to experience someone else’s life and viewpoints in depth, but may be might not appeal to those with other beliefs and interests, or the casual browser. Technically sound though.Earthly Passions