Author: admin

All That I Can’t Leave Behind has a very stark and bleak feeling to it. The eyes of the main logo graphic are a perfect visual to give you the feeling of what this journal is all about. Those eyes watch you, and even the “Odin cam” proclaims that Big Brother is monitoring the situation.

Odin, author of All That I Can’t Leave Behind, can write. He writes in such a gripping way that it’s impossible not to read every word. This journal is a philosophical and often frustrated look at what’s going on, not only with the writer but also with the world. Most of us would say: “It snowed today.” Odin says, “The first snow has finally fallen. About a month late, I’d say. I don’t know why, but I’ve been waiting for it like it was an old friend coming back into town. And like an old friend, now that it’s here, it’s as if it never left.”.

There’s not much to say about the layout of the journal – it’s simple. The layout and colors fit this journal in a way that makes me not able to imagine this journal in any other way.

There’s a lot of good extra stuff here. Odin offers a glossary of the terms he uses most often, which is a great idea and something I haven’t seen anywhere else. There is a section that lists song lyrics, along with a link to download the song, and a section of Odin’s poetry. You can also purchase “Odinwear” – tshirts, mugs, coasters, mousepads, and frisbees with the All I Can’t Leave Behind logo. You can also directly instant message Odin’s cell phone using his tagboard. I might suggest a guestbook or commenting section in case someone has something to say that isn’t urgent enough to page Odin. All That I Can’t Leave Behind might also benefit from some sort of official About Me page.

All That I Can’t Leave Behind is smart and insightful. Odin is a wonderful writer, and I highly recommend a visit to the journal. I will definitely be back for subsequent visits!
All That I Can’t Leave Behind

With a name like Green Fairy, I expected this site to be green. Instead, it’s a calming blue with stars. This journal is anything but calm, however. The writer of Green Fairy is not afraid to tackle controversial issues. Like her or hate her [her link to her hate mail proves that many do], she’s always got an opinion and something thoughtful to say.

The writing at Green Fairy is captivating and thought provoking, and often abrasive. Every once in a while I get the feeling the writer is intentionally trying to get reaction. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but just something noticeable. Overall, this is good writing and an interesting look at the world through someone else’s eyes. Not all posts are about world news – some are just about the writer’s daily life. Regardless of the topic, the entries are always entertaining with excellent links.

The layout doesn’t exactly grab the reader’s attention, but it also doesn’t detract from the writing. It’s a perfectly functional design. Almost all the links work and I didn’t encounter any real problems. I did notice that some of the older graphic links are broken.

Green Fairy doesn’t really have a lot of extras, but it doesn’t really need them. There is an About Me page that isn’t overly informative. There are Forums and a Guestbook. With Green Fairy’s often contentious entries, it might be a good idea to install some commenting entries for specific entries. I would imagine that there could be a lot of great debates going on in her entries, although the Forums serve the same purpose.

Green Fairy is a good read. The writer is opinionated and not afraid of laying it all out for everyone to read. I recommend Green Fairy, and plan to become a regular reader.

green fairy dot com

I was so excited to do a review of Homicidal GummiBear – what a great name! It’s rife with possibilities for a funny site design, and the writing is sure to be hilarious. Right? Right? Unfortunately, the design is quite boring and didn’t lead me to great expectations.

I couldn’t find any concrete information on Jessy, but I strongly suspect she’s between the ages of 13 and 15. There’s your standard teen angst type of thing going on here – will they like me if I am my own person?, spreading rumors about her classmates’ sexuality, drug dabbling claims, etc. Also included are lots of little quizzes and paste ups of her instant messager conversations. This seems like a very personal journal written for the benefit of Jessy and her friends only. It’s written in such a way that I can’t imagine anyone else having the willpower to read through all the entries if you don’t already know Jessy personally.

Homicidal GummiBear is not an attractive site. Considering who I think Jessy might be and the fact that she has chosen DeadJournal to host her blog, perhaps that is the point. Regardless, there are some serious problems. I can overlook the lack of capitalization if the writing is good. However, that is not the case here at all. Atrocious grammar and glaring spelling errors make for a confusing read, not to mention the overuse of ‘net speak/’net spelling. The purple text on black background makes the eyes go buggy after a while.

There are no extras at Homicidal GummiBear. Period. The DeadJournal userinfo page provided absolutely no information at all. There is no guestbook, no commenting capability, nothing.

I can’t think of a reason to visit this site unless you are a big fan of teen angst, or if you are a friend of Jessy’s.
Jesus Was a Pussy

OK, call me uptight, but I do NOT find naked women, dirty jokes, gross pictures and whatnots ‘humor’. I call them ‘low entertainment’. Apparently these are what Dimi3.com is all about.

First off, this is not a blog. It is a sort of ‘link site’ where users get to view links that other users put up, or submit their own recommended links. A chance to comment on links is also available for those who feel the need to discuss boob sizes after viewing a particular porn gallery. The interactive element here is quite a nice touch, and it appears to be user-friendly. Sadly, no one seems to be willing to share their thoughs, for out of the 28 links on the front page, there are zero comments. Perhaps viewers are too embarrassed to expose what they were thinking about. Either that or no one cares.

At first glance, the site seems innocent enough, with a nice layout and easy navigation, but it soon dawned on me that I was looking at something I definitely did not want to look at. One major question: How oh how can pornography be classified as ‘humor’? What’s so funny about female anatomy? The rest of the links aren’t much better – there’s a picture of a squashed and very dead rat embedded in a loaf of bread, videos of bikini karate babes…you get the idea. It might be just me, but porn seems prevalent on the site.

As I’ve said, call me uptight. If you are into these sort of things, by all means enjoy yourself. The only good thing about the site is the interactive element, which totally goes to waste on its ‘target audience’. Last note: Where’s the ‘above 18’ warning? And while we’re at that, how about a ‘for the mindless only’?

Dimi3.com

This is a site by a poet. A female poet (or poetess) who believes staunchly in Jane Austen.

With that, one can expect something different, and something different it is. Unlike most blogs that record daily happenings, there are sparsely any records of the writer’s concrete, tangible life. Instead, we follow the writer down abstract paths and hazy visions. You feel like you’re the wall or pillow that the writer talks to when she is alone and yet pretending to be talking to someone else, as you read about her longings to escape. Though it sometimes feels just a little too pretentious, there is an intimacy in her words.

The black-white design of the site is simple and pleasant with nice headings, but the links are somewhat confusing, what with their being all squeezed together and obscurely titled. There’re even links disguised as a whole collage of images. Also, the archive section takes longer than necessary to load. The whole page refreshes itself instead of just the entries section, which is quite annoying. Plus the writer doesn’t blog quite that often.

All said, this is a site different from others, and it is left to individuals to decide whether it is imaginatively beautiful or just fluffy nonsense. I personally enjoyed reading.

the heart of a poet