Author: admin

Gavin’s weblog, “Natural Physique Development” has a tagline which states that ‘It’s not about where you are right now, it’s about the direction you’re moving in.’ This is a good job really, because where his site is right now is somewhat limited in its scope and we can only hope that the direction he is moving in will improve on things somehow.

First impressions of the site are, well, that it isn’t actually a weblog at all. This is only a half- truth though because it DOES contain written content which is organised in date order, archives going back to the year 2000, some photos to enhance the entries a bit and links at the bottom to other relevant sites. So yeah, technically it’s a weblog.

However, this is the first weblog I have come across which contains only one weblog entry per year. In fact not even that really, because the first entry actually covers 2000 and 2001 (according to the entry title) and actually has 2002 bolted on the end as well. So, with the short entry for 2004, there are a grand total of three entries for the whole weblog. The archives aren’t linked to at all because, er… they all fit on to the main page anyway. In fact, bearing in mind the lack of a template and the fact that all the entries are written in the past tense I would suggest that the author must have put the whole site together during a spare afternoon, content and all.

Ok, so what is actually in the content then? Well it basically offers weight training advice. Throughout the twenty minutes it took me to read the site, I was always looking for the “catch” – what it is the site’s selling, what is its purpose, but I must admit the content does seem fairly genuine. There a few endorsements of other products though, and people are becoming more and more devious in their attempts to sell things to unsuspecting people, so don’t hold me to this. I have some knowledge of weight training issues and the advice given on this site doesn’t seem unreasonable, though it is often very unclear exactly what the specific exercises are which he is doing and the directions occasionally seem contradictory. In my experience, joining a gym and consulting a professional is by far the best way to learn- after all you can’t go wrong with professionals whereas you probably can with some guy’s rather dubious weblog.

In conclusion, this is a rather poor attempt at a weblog and all I can suggest is that, if the author is genuine, try looking at some of the high scoring weblogs to get some inspiration as to why yours only scored a 0.5. To be fair, I realise that weight training is not a short term project and there are some improvements to the site promised for March. All I can hope is that his skills as a weblogger improve during that time along with his physique.Natural Physique Development

Going into Natural Physique Development I was expecting to see a weblog about daily training and nutrition. Unfortunately that isn’t what I got when I arrived.

Gavin has decided to post about his physique development dating all the way back to 2000. Unfortunately for us the reader, there are only two posts total: one for 2000 and 2001 and one for 2003. There is a promise of another update in March which will include more photographs of his development.

The design of the site is pretty lackluster. As I said, there are only a couple of posts so they are all on the front page. The small part that shines through on this site is the tips for training and eating. I was glad to see that he was including things for the daily reader to learn.

Now normally I would critique a site on what is there. This time, however, I have to critique on what isn’t there. I really wish that Gavin would update this weblog more often. Even a once a month update would be better. I would like to see work out routines and nutritional variances. I want to see all the things we know we should be doing listed.

Overall this weblog takes all of five minutes to read. While there isn’t anything that is a must read, you might want to check it out if you got some extra time. I am giving Natural Physique Development a 1 because the idea for the weblog is a good one, but the execution is just not there.
Natural Physique Development

The S-Train Canvass is an impressive site. The color scheme is among the most original I have ever seen, shunning the usual bright colors of the web for a more subdued and tranquil look. Beneath this exterior lies witty, entertaining prose that takes blogging to a new level by exploring topics not touched by other weblogs. I was intrigued, but certainly not put off by terms unfamiliar to me (“progressive thuggary,” anyone?) and read on with relish.

This is a very unique and highly stylized blog, ran by S-Train, an ex-gang member, self-professed sociology aficionado, thug, and owner of a submarine sandwich shop. That description alone is enough to interest most readers, and rightly so. Despite this site only being a few months old, there is plenty of excellent content to peruse on almost every possible topic. S-Train is often aided by his best friend, Aysel, whom he credits with keeping him on track. According to the site, “progressive thuggary” stands for “positive change through progressive unruliness,” a motto which the author has certainly taken to heart. S-Train is unafraid to criticize aspects of society he sees as faulty, and, regardless of whether the reader agrees with him; his well-crafted viewpoints are a joy to explore. The author speaks of an interest in sociology, and this shines through in his writing. He shares his often-unconventional views on such diverse and touchy topics as the “n” word, the war on terror, and his past involvement with a gang. His writing is a bit hard-edged at times, but this only adds to the overall atmosphere of his truly original site. While S-Train submitted his site to us in the Personal category, this site will be most enjoyable to readers who are socially conscious and interested in news, current events, and an overall critique of society.

The site design, as mentioned before, is nearly impeccable and wholly creative. I love the header graphic, which includes a kind of lead-in to the blog and has a beautiful, minimalistic flavor to it. The only possible improvement I can see would be to put the right navigational column on every archive page to make navigating this large site easier. Other than that, this site is quite a gem. In addition to the blog, The S-Train Canvass includes Progressive Thug Radio, a web-based radio station worth checking out. I recommend every reader explore the site via the topics listed on the sidebar. These are a great way to explore the thoughts and feelings of S-Train, and his occasional collaborator, Aysel. The entries filed under “Our Society,” are pure gold. Overall, this site is an excellent addition to any blog-lover’s daily repertoire.
The S-Train Canvass

My first impressions of “Yikes!” were not so good actually, despite the high score I eventually gave it. Firstly I was confronted by a rather disturbing picture of a guy in his underpants, with an even more disturbing slogan on it. Secondly, the “About Me” page basically states that the author has nothing worth saying and people would be stupid to read the blog anyway, with a lot of swearing thrown in for good measure.

I have mentioned these first impressions because they do not in any way reflect the rest of the blog and had I been a casual browser, I may have let them put me off what is otherwise an outstanding blog. To be fair, the disturbing picture just happened to be part of the most recent post and it (along with the slogan) are both meant in some kind of ironic sense anyway, which the entry text abundantly confirms. The (rather unnecessary) self-berating in the “About Me” is actually false humility too – the author clearly has some interesting, intelligent opinions which are backed up by degrees in both religion and politics and his blog is, in my opinion, most certainly worth reading.

Before I say more about the content though, let’s get the technicalities out the way first. It is a Typepad blog with its own individual title bar and fairly plain (but functional) colour scheme. There are the usual links and archives in the one sidebar, along with extensive photo albums. Incidentally, I would like to have known the relevance of the five pictures in the title bar, or whether they are simply just some random images.

I will move swiftly on to the content, because the content is what the site is really all about. As I hinted earlier, I really cannot praise this guy’s writing enough. He writes about a variety of topics- the usual blogging fair of interesting links, quotes of the day, personal entries and stuff about his job, but what raises this content above the norm is the fact that a) the author is well educated and politically astute, b) he is a practising Jew (I always like to see bloggers prepared to write about their religious beliefs with conviction) and c) he is also very down to earth and fun to be around. I made a note of the links relating to the posts I loved, so here goes – firstly the underpants one, which is actually highly critical of the Deep South in the US, an interesting discussion about the use of ‘Auschwitz’ as a flippant analogy (especially with the comments too), a rant about the inappropriate use of language in the British Sporting Press (as a Brit I found this particulaly funny), the difficulties the author has with blogging, some outside criticism of an earlier post (and the author’s response to the criticism) and finally some great opinions on the Arab/Isreali conflict. I could write a paragraph on each of these entries in turn, and there are others which I enjoyed too (even the occasional joke thrown in for good measure), but time and space prevent me from doing this. The best thing to do is check them out, as the quality of the writing speaks for itself anyway. My only minor gripe is that the swearing (which is peppered throughout the posts too) may put people off. It didn’t bother me though.

Overall then, this is another example of a really well written blog. I laughed, I was entertained, I was educated and I was given an insight in to someone else’s world. What more could I ask for?Yikes!

I think this review was made for me. When I got to Yikes!, I was hit head on with some “obviously mistaken opinions on whatever it is that Josh has written about”. This is one of the most wry, sarcastic, and funniest site I have read to date. Josh is a Jewish teacher from Encino, who among other things once had to go to the hospital to have a gum wrapper removed from his nose. This site has some of off colour humour and profanity, which goes right up my alley.

Yikes impressed me right away as it has an About Me section, and was not a blogspot blog. The site itself is well laid out, easy to navigate and just generally looks good. There are some humourous – while colurful – images, that enhance the humour in the posts they accompany. There are perma links ranging from blogs Josh reads, to Mac links, to satires of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Quite the range, and yet I found myself reading most of the sites after I ran out of things to read on Josh’s site. All the links on the site are working, and there is really nothing that detracts from the obvious work he has put into the site.

Josh posts about things important to him, like his school, interesting things that happen to him like trying to get on TV, and just random banter. No matter what the topic, each post is written with the same amount of obvious effort, and the same wit. No topic is taboo on this site. Something else I really enjoyed was the photo albums. I always find they add a bit of personality to a site, and are enjoyable just for readers to look at. Josh also made sure he included a link to his old Blogger blog, so you can keep up on when Josh was infatuated with Canada, and was rambling somewhere else.

Overall, this is one of the best sites I have seen on my own time, let alone reviewed. It is because of this, and the fact I have read and reread this site so many times in the last couple of days just looking for a laugh, that I have to give it a 5. There is nothing I can even think of that would make this better. Josh, don’t change a thing.Yikes!