Author: admin

When I first thought on the name of Barbed Wire Love I wasn’t quiet sure what to expect. Part of me thought it might be a blog about a person growing up, but that didn’t seem right. I played with the idea that Barbed Wire could just be replacing the word tough, but that didn’t seem right either. So without a clue as to what was going to be read I went in.

The first thing I noticed was the design of the blog. A nice simple graphic on the left of a person falling with wings. The graphic also housed some links at the bottom and then the text was to the right of this. I was thinking this layout was very clean when I noticed that my mouse had been changed to crosshairs. I am not sure why this is done, but it doesn’t add anything and just makes it harder for me to find my mouse when I need it. Clicking on the links reveals that each section is hidden and is using javascript to hide/show the content. This is a bad use of this script. There is no reason to force it all onto one page load, especially when the blog itself gets longer. Additionally where the text is longer than image, we get scroll bars in a div tag and I have to use my mouse and click on the down arrow as all the other methods of scrolling are disabled with this. I hate it when the author takes navigation away from me.

The blog itself is not quiet a blog. The site is designed to help the author actually finish his book. He is posting one chapter at a time to focus on just that chapter and will use the comments left to make improvements. Not a bad idea, except he doesn’t say if he changes things or not. Additionally I expect the author to at least respond to comments left, but nope we don’t get that. As of writing this review there is only one chapter and the preblog (nice pun on words there). The story itself is engaging, but is not quiet a blog.

Overall I think the author is not reaching his full potential with this idea he has. The design hinders my ability to actually read the story, which is not good from a design point of view. Imagine if a publisher was given the print out of the book and it was printed on 2inch by 3 inch paper for the entire thing? I think with a little bit of design tweaking and acknowledging the readers input (which is something the author wants) the goals of the site will be met. If the author decides to only listen to one thing I have said, I hope he fixes the design so that readers can just sit back and relax while reading the story.barbedwirelove

The !omg blog, which for those who don’t know “OMG” is an acronym for Oh My God, thus the, oh my god blog.



This humorous blog by New York City blogger, Frank, stays true to its title and features funny news items and comical photos. Frank has been blogging for awhile now, his archives go back to June 2003, which can explain why his blog seems natural and not forced.



His posts feature commentary on reality shows like Survivor and The Amazing Race to a news story on the opening of a Chinese KFC and Eliot Spitzer running for New York state governor. Plus crazy product reviews like a full facial coverage ski mask to finger Shocking Roulette. Oh there are links to some adult content, but nothing mature Internet readers aren’t able to handle.



The design is simple, without the cartoon designs that have become popular, and it was not done by a blog designer either. Instead the site has a plain black background with pink navigational bars, giving it a clean and easy to use feel. The right hand column has the typical blog features, calendar, links and buttons. His list of links named “You Should,” links to horoscopes, a tarot reader, a French blog directory and NY subway map that are diverting and useful.



I would have liked to have seen an About Me section, so I could learn more about Frank besides what was listed in his posts and links.



Overall, I found !! omg blog !! to be an enjoyable and entertaining read without pretense.!! omg blog !!

Cali’s blog has a very mystical feel to it. It gave me the impression that I was coming into a personal world, a blog about a person, instead of anything else. Inside the Mind of Cali reflects this and her little blurb in the side panel “Everyone has a ‘catch all’ space where keys, wallets, purses, change, pens and mail are dumped and forgotten about until needed again. This blog is my mental catch all space, a place for me to write down thoughts, impressions, dreams, goals, memories and anything else that comes across my mind until I can connect all the dots and figure out where it goes or what to do with it. Some of it is in bits and pieces and strewn here and there so watch where you step.” tells you what to expect.

The blog is reflective, intrapersonal and very insightful towards the author. There are the usual things you find in personal blog, references to her work life, quizzes, some poems & pictures.

The design of the weblog I find suits the writing style of the author and content of the blog. Because most of the content is personal, involves deep thought processes & experences of the author I find that the dark colour and the image compliment the blog.

I believe that Cali’s blog is something that she writes for herself. Her entry’s show glimses into her mental process. I think that Cali’s blog is hard going at times, but that is only because I do not know her, yet some entry’s I found to be very inspiring & thought provoking. A world of self discovery I believe is a better line for this blog.

Cali’s blog is well presented, well written and worth a read for someone who is looking for a blog that is honest, upfront and meaningful.Inside the Mind of Cali

Cali starts her blog with this, “Everyone has a ‘catch all’ space where keys, wallets, purses, change, pens and mail are dumped and forgotten about until needed again. This blog is my mental catch all space.”

It also catches just about every color and type style and type size under the sun. The blog is done on a black background and the majority of type is light blue. And Aqua. And blue-green. It’s as if one of those html color charts exploded, leaving every blue code on this blog. There is also a butterfly gif that flies all around the blog as you are reading it. If you don’t like cute little flying gifs, then beware.

Cali says she’s 25 and writes in her blog regularly. She pretty much pours her heart and soul into all of her posts. Some posts are poetry, some are snippets of fiction. A lot of her posts are written in the third person, so you are never quite sure if she’s talking about herself or not. And she posts very anime/sci-fi/gothic pictures on her blog regularly (similar to the one at the top of her blog’s main page). I admit, they are not my cup of tea, but they seem to go well with Cali and her blog.

She puts this disclaimer after EVERY POST, “All content is copyrighted by California Stryker © 2004” Goodness gracious, this seems way beyond overkill, doesn’t it? I think a simple disclaimer in the sidebar mentioning the Creative Commons License would suffice. However if she insists on continuing to use this disclaimer (in very LARGE type) after every post, she should please change the year to 2005 at some point.

I would say that this blog is a very personal one to Cali, but it’s so fragmented and doesn’t know what it wants to be. Is it personal or fiction? Philosophical or autobiographical? I’d rate it a bit higher if it weren’t for the identity crisis the blog appears to be having.
Inside the Mind of Cali

!! omg blog!! Yes that is a great title for this blog. I was expecting shock and funny when I read the title and that is what I got. Nothing wrong with getting what you expect.

So the site opens up to a black background, white text, blue links, and pink separators. It looks like a template that has been modified, but I am not sure. Either way (template or not) it works for this site. Simple, easy, and clean are the words to describe this design.

The blog is funny. The author has definitely honed in on how to present material. He is funny and sarcastic, but not over the top. I recommend reading this blog from the first post to the most recent as the writing and wit get better as he blogs.

No topic is safe from his writing. He blogs about Howard Dean, the election, parties, even the death of the famous groundhog named Phil. My only downside to this blog is the lack of updates. Some months have quiet a few, but most have about 1 every other day. Maybe it was the fact that I was laughing and enjoying myself that it seemed like not enough.

Over all, this site is a great site. I would add it to your weekly updates, preferably your Monday read list to help make the day go that much better. !! omg blog !! is just that – omg blog!
!! omg blog !!