Author: admin

My first impressions of “Spinning” were good. Typepad blogs tend to be pretty well put together as a rule and this one is no exception. There is a title bar with detailed description of the blog (which is basically about writing) and some nice graphics. An “About Me” page reveals more on the writing theme, though it was not as in depth or informative as maybe it could have been. Browsing the two sidebars, I found the usual suspects – many links to other sites and blogs (mostly literature based), a webring and archives of various descriptions. The overall look of the site is pretty tasteful and there are a few graphics too which enhance things still further.

The weblog itself has only been going since October 2003 but there is more than enough content here to keep readers busy for sometime. Being a writer, the weblog is updated daily, often more than once. So what is written about exactly in this weblog? Well after reading through the archives for some time, I found that the key to accessing the content really lies in the different categories. The blog is helpful in this respect because each post title specifies which category it belongs to. Not all the category titles are clear at first, but I soon discovered that “Edgar and I” for example refers to the author’s relationship with Edgar Allen Poe, who she considers to be a major influence, “Reality?” is fairly obviously the day- to- day life stuff and so on.

Unfortunately I found the writing itself to be fairly inaccessible though, even once I started paying attention to the categories. Now I hold my hands up at this point and say that it may well have been me that was the problem here- I will be interested to see what the other reviewers have to say about it. The thing is, writing, literature, education and blogging (the main themes of the site) are all things which usually interest me, but somehow I couldn’t penetrate the wordy style of the author and found the posts a bit dry. This detailed and analytical style of prose is (I’m sure) very good practice for “proper” writing, but I think a more chatty, informal style might be more appropriate for a weblog and make it more accessible.

Overall then, this weblog would (I would think) appeal to other writers as there are loads of tips here about how to write and what to write, with some good examples of work by the author. My inability to connect with the writing style meant I found it a hard site to penetrate though, which is a shame.Spinning

Editors Note: Please note that since the review has been published, the author has contacted TWR to update his URL to the correct one. The reviews were based on the information that was given to us at the time and the thoughts/opinions may or may not have changed since the original time of the review.

First thing to spring to mind was loading time, and not because the site was particularly slow loading but rather the choice of URL the author had chosen to submit meant that at each loading I had to go through what seemed like an age of forwarding messages before I eventually arrived at his new location. Needless to say I was not expecting a great deal by the time I arrived. The site is fairly simple and unremarkable, and I must admit to an internal wince when I read the words ‘my personal interests in Middle East peace’ – I have encountered ‘peaceblogs’ before and while I believe they are as valid as any other blog I do find they have a tendency to be too forceful with their opinions for my tastes, worse still that there beliefs are founded in reasoning which lacks credibility. That said, I headed off to the about me section in search of some background knowledge on the author.

Richard, the author of the blog is seemingly well traveled, and takes a far more active role in world peace that your average blogger ‘I have been interested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since I was a teenager and have worked all my adult life to promote dialogue and mutual recognition’, it doesn’t specify precisely what Richard does to promote dialogue between these two nations but it was enough to grab my attention, and so I headed off into the archives.

I always like to read archives in chronological order, it allows me to really see the development of the blog over time, and this is where I hit upon my first snag. Richard, or so it seems to be has chosen to list his archives by category only. Now as a rule that’s fine, it allows people to read items which are of interest to them, but not particularly useful for someone such as me who likes to read a blog by month in order to get a fuller picture. I understand that there some archives at the old Blogspot site, but I had difficulty gaining access to them and quite frankly found it almost as annoying as trying to access the site in the first place.

This author writes well, his entries are frequently highly detailed and eloquent and while they may not always be to my personal taste it never fails to be thought provoking stuff. What this site lacked in ease of navigation and individual design touches it made up in sheer quantity and quality of entries. It just concerns me that this site may be missing out on potential readership purely and simply because it isn’t as accessible as it could be. Granted not everyone navigates a site in the same way, but by providing various straight forward means of navigating archives you are at least making every effort to ensure the site is accessible to a wider audience.

The right hand navigational column has within it some hidden gems, and I discovered a link to a gallery which contains some really stunning images, and in my opinion definitely worthy of a look in every once in a while.

Tikun Olam has a lot of scope, its packed full of information, which may not always be to my taste is likely to attract a loyal audience among those who share similar interests and philosophies. With some amendments to design and archive listings this site would have some real potential, although it hasn’t as yet incited that crucial come back factor in me. A promising 3.5Tikun Olam: Make the World a Better Place

As soon as I arrived at today’s adventure, I was impressed. A Likely Story is a blogger template, but it just looks nice. Maybe I’m bias and I like it because it’s pink but hey I think it looks great. The site is laid out very simply, which is good, as anything more extravagant would detract from what you find as you dive in.

Our writer is a married woman with 4 children, and a love for movies, literature and shopping. The fact that she shares these loves in each of her posts make it very easy to get involved in her life. I started my reading at the best place – the beginning – where she starts her blog. Watching these first posts of frustration and ambition to get the site up to her liking, all the way up to the most recent, more informed and confident posts are like watching a child go from her first steps to watching her walk down the aisle (okay I may be a bit dramatic here, but you get my point). Reading each post seemed to take no time at all, and by the time I was done, I wanted more.

Most posts are about her family, which she obviously adores (and why not, they sound pretty great), and about her interest in literature. She posts links to several books she is reading, has read or is looking for. I’ll admit it, I fell in love at that post. There is no real target audience, as she seems careful to give enough detail to keep the interest of those not included in her immediate life, and not so much detail to offend those who are. It’s a hard line to walk, but she does it – and does it well. Something I have to commend her for.

The actually site is neat and tidy, with no dead links and nothing that really distracts you from what you are there to see. There are a few perma links to blogs the writer enjoys, an interesting quote of the week (no really, the week of January 21 is pretty great), and archives going back to June of last year. The customized colours make the site a little more sleek and stylish and a little less blogger-ific. There was no about me page, but if you start at the beginning, you will find all your info right there in plain site, so I’m not holding my usual pet peeve against her.

Overall this site was a great read. Nothing too deep, and nothing too flighty. It’s the yin and yang of blogging. It’s made my morning read, so I’m hoping the posts will be often. I really have nothing to suggest as far as improvement, as I found no flaw with the site. Keep up the writing and we’ll keep reading.
a likely story

When I first visited this site, I immediately saw the generic Blogger template, only it had a few tweeks, which make blogs often look so much better. This is the case for “a likely story”. She has made something rather generic into something very cutesy and attractive. I was interested to see what kind of person would match the layout. There were very few links on the side bar, which wasn’t too helpful in seeing the author’s likes, but I figured there was only one way to find out.

While reading this weblog, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn’t full of meaningless babble or rants and raves; this blog consisted of experiences that the author found fit to blog. Now, although the content isn’t exactly geared to amuse the curious onlooker, it is interesting to hear what is going on in her life. I really enjoyed reading about her daughters A and E, however, I found that the stories and such wouldn’t quite keeps all readers busy. Perhaps if there was more about what is going on in the country and her views on the subject, it would become more reader friends. However, I am unaware of who exactly she is writing this blog for. All in all, a perfectly ordinary blog of a woman who really loves books, church, and family!

The design, as I said before, was very nice. I really enjoyed the touches she added to personalize an over used template. The colors are soft and very easy on the eyes. Snaps to Angela for a very nice color scheme!

I think, altogether, this blog is only getting better. As the author said herself, “Each time I visit someone else’s blog, I find a new trinket to bring to my own.” Obviously, this blog will only ripen with time. Until then, it’s still a little bare and lacks some author/reader interaction.a likely story

With a name of “Make the World a Better Place” I didn’t know what to expect. I thought that it would be about a tree hugger and how to “fix” things. I was wrong.

My first impression of the site is not a favorable one. The url that was submitted by the authors choice takes me to a blogspot page with the most recent post being in August saying that the site had moved to a new site. There were a plethora of url redirection warnings, which was way too many.

When the site finally loaded, I was greeted with a lot of information. First readings of the posts contained a lot of information about the topic. There are a lot of quotes from articles and or people that inspired the post and a lot of his thoughts on the topic.

After reading the front page I looked for the archives. I thought there would be an archive list by date, but unfortunately it was just by topic. While there are a great number of topics for people to pick from, this was a major pain for me. I like to see the “entire” picture and not just bits and pieces by topic. I could not really see how the author has grown which I was disappointed with.

The design of the site is nothing major, but it works. The yellow/green and white color scheme again does not do anything for me, but it isn’t harmful either. This is a standard two-column layout with the navigation on the right. I am glad there was an about section, as it really gave me insight into the author.

Overall I thought there was too much that was being presented to me. While I normally would enjoy this, with the vast range of topics, this was more of a hindrance. I also wish that the archives would be put in a standard format as it really does make reading a site that much easier.
Tikun Olam: Make the World a Better Place