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Very Big Blog took awhile to load, but it was well worth it. The design is flawless, incorporating bright colors and stunning retro imagery, with a flash menu, to boot. The design was so lucid, so fluid and poetic, I found myself scrolling slowly up and down, watching the shadows on the text boxes and reveling in the orangeness. When I finally turned myself away from this to the actual content, I was equally charmed The counter prominently displayed on the site is creatively worded: “# People Are Actually Reading This Garbage.” A blogger willing to refer to her own site as garbage is always going to be all right by me.

Jen has been blogging for two years, and her blog accents her design business (and is named for it.)Her posts are short, numerous, and many follow the traditional blog format of links and comments. The links are fairly original, and usually go beyond the normal “links to news sites” and include lots of funny/entertaining game sites. Jen doesn’t discuss her personal life much, but what she does discuss is very entertaining.

By far the best way to explore the site is via the Categories menu on the main page. It will point you to the several reoccurring features of the Very Big Blog, such as Swanky (a periodic posting of mid-20th century tunes) and a selection of consumer-driven haikus that had me laughing out loud. All sorts of MP3s are offered up at the site, and for iPod fans, it must be a treasure trove. Jen is very pro-mac, and has a while category devoted to them, which is sure to attract Apple-friendly fans.

Despite first appearances, the site’s navigation does indeed leave some to be desired. The beautiful picture is pleasing, but takes awhile to load on every single page, and while this happens, the page is oddly off balanced. Furthermore, some sort of Movabletype error keeps me from moving from the monthly archive pages to the categories without going back to the main page. This gives the site a strange, disjointed feel. I still love the colors and overall look, though. If only that image could load faster.

I definitely recommend Jen keep writing. Her adherence to blogging’s original repertoire sees signs of being successful. While this site could use an occasional design tweaking, the overall look and feel of it is very energetic and positive, as is Jen’s writing itself. Fans of blogging’s roots, Macintosh, music, and simply cool stuff will enjoy having Very Big Blog as a resource for their forays into the web.verybigblog

Woah Nelly! Check out this blog. No, really, stop reading the review and check out the blog. It’s so cool! Normally, as regular readers might have guessed I don’t really like News and Links blogs, they’re not my deal, but this isn’t a typical news or links blog. Sure, it’s got links to news and other great stuff, but there’s also a lot of personality thrown into it as well.

For one, the design is absolutely fantastic. One of the best designs for a blog that I have seen for a long time. Brilliant use of the colour orange – a strange colour in itself but it’s used very well here. It demonstrates a heck of a lot of talent from the author, who does indeed have her very own design website. Everything is all set out in a typical two-column format, but to be honest, the design wins me over so I really don’t care. It loads fast even though there’s a load of graphics and link buttons on the site which is always a good thing.

The content itself is minimalistic, for the most part, which makes reading the blog a cinch, though Jen is a terrific writer which makes actually reading the blog entry (instead of just clicking on the links she puts up straight away without reading first) much more fun. Most entries in the blog I have found are quite short, though there are a number of longer entries that deal with more personal things such as kids in theatres (oh how I relate!) and discussing the weather and Cincinnati’s lack of salt trucks and other necessary snow-related stuff. The links are great to take a peek at because there’s hardly any regular boring news. It’s all mostly interesting or quirky or just… really weird. They range from celebrity phobias to slightly more current issues to USB Swiss Army Knives.. mmmm’kay!

All in all, Very Big Blog is not only a great bit of entertainment on the web, but it’s also a good resource for interesting places to investigate if you’re looking to alleviate a little boredom. Extremely pleased to be giving this one a 5/5. Definitely one for the favourites listing! Thanks Jen!verybigblog

The B-Zone has a clean, attractive layout — the format is pretty standard, with a main column for entries and a sidebar for ‘extras’ (like a tagboard, blogroll, and links to the archives). But the author, Bjoern, has done some work to give his site a personal touch, with a menu tab, photo ‘buttons’, and wallpaper that looks like… well, wallpaper, actually. The overall effect lends the site an inviting, professional feel.

So, on to the content. From Bjoern’s About Me page, I learned — among other things — that he’s an IT consultant living in Hamburg, Germany. I dug into the archives for a look at his life. Much of the content centers around his job, his musical loves, and significant events in his personal life. It’s pretty standard fare for a personal weblog, but Bjoern manages to spice up many of his entries with interesting photos and links to local sites and people. Some of his recent entries read and look more like magazine features; he appears to be experimenting with using photos and commentary to augment his personal stories, with considerable success.

In addition to the blog itself, Bjoern offers a few extras of note — several pages of original photo art, a guestbook, links to songs that he’s written, even a page of his own downloadable freeware. Some of the sections (those on ‘Coding’ and ‘Music’, for instance) are still under construction and light on content, but I appreciate his commitment to offering a variety of content on the site. It’s a nice touch.

All in all, ‘The B-Zone’ is a very attractive and interesting personal site. Those of us not familiar with Germany can gain a glimpse into the life of a young professional there, while Bjoern’s friends, music fans, and technophiles may also find something of interest. If you’re looking for ‘bits, bytes, birds, bollocks and booze’, as the tagline says, then check out ‘The B-Zone’. It’s well worth the visit. I rate the site 4.5 out of 5.The B-Zone

First, I must say that I love people with opinions because I feel like I can personally relate with them, being a rather opinionated person myself. Even better, I particularly like people whom I share similar opinions with. Come on folks, who doesn’t?

The writer of “Mad About Knowledge” approaches politics, it seems, from a left-wing perspective. I hope the author isn’t offended by me stating so (some people would be). I’m honestly surprised by this guys more liberal stance because of a couple of things I learned about him. For one, he’s from Virginia. Perhaps I don’t know enough Virginians, but this is not what I thought a Southern state could produce. Second, apparently the author tested as a centrist on an internet quiz. I guess those quizzes aren’t so scientific after all.

With this said, the author seems very open for discussion and extremely universal in his approach to taking on different topics on current events. I hope I’m not alienating the right-wingers out there; I suggest they take a look as well. Just the same, not everything on this blog is as political as maybe I’m letting on. In fact, there are indeed the ‘everyday’ posts available to keep simple minds happy.

Listen, I absolutely love this web site. It’s design is so worked into its purpose that I’m just jealous that my own web log doesn’t come close to matching the superb design of “Mad About Knowledge.” It uses very nice tones of orange with a black background. Simple, yet extremely effective.

This web log has gone straight from my review list to my favorites list because it’s intuitive, it’s comprehensive, it’s current. I like this writer, and I think this web log is worth adding as a ‘daily read.’

After each entry, the author showcases other stories which google considers related to his topic. I loved this feature as it enabled me, as a reader, to really research and analyze the subject matter at hand, without having to do the work that is usually involved. Here’s an author who is really utilizing the strengths of the internet (linking, etc.) to back-up his opinions.

I’m excited people because this kind of blogging, as it were, is where journalism itself is headed. Let’s all rejoice and celebrate the web log that is “Mad About Knowledge.” As you may have guessed, I gave it a well-deserved 5.Mad About Knowledge

Meet Mizmo (pseudonym), a 57 year old woman from the United Kingdom, diagnosed with breast cancer.

With each new day of her life, Mizmo is surviving and ultimately living to write about her experiences and her ups and downs. Here’s a woman who is undergoing surgeries and radiation treatments, and yet is keeping a log of it all, day by day, week by week, month by month.

As most people become when they’re faced with such a life-threatening disease, Mizmo is extremely educated about breast cancer, including the treatments. This site is a glimpse into the window of a strong and fighting woman whose every new day is a celebration and every new accomplishment a revolution — but this is also a place to become educated about a subject that I, as a male, and I’m sure most females without breast cancer don’t know much about.

When you think of something that’s dying, or clinging on for life, you get the image of disparity and sadness. You will not find this image at Beyond Contestation. The title, itself, is quite significant, in my opinion. A contestation, with root contest, is subject to debate, and implies uncertainty. Mizmo is beyond uncertainty and now she must face an ailment that all too many women have to face.

I believe that a web log like this and its readers, can really make a difference to find a cure for this disease. Right now, treatments and possible cures are being contested. Together, we can all bring the cure Beyond Contestation. Mizmo, and women like her, are proving that the human nature to survive and help others is very much alive.

To be honest, while a little ashamed, I didn’t really give much thought to such a campaign until I continued to read Mizmo’s stories and started to think of all the women in my life whom I would hate to see go through such a horrible thing as breast cancer. You know, the real purpose, I think, of art, is to captivate the audience and really allow them to use the art as their own. This site is like that, because you start to put yourself and the people around you in Mizmo’s shoes and it’s then that you feel a sense of empathy.

Obviously, the design of this blog hardly mattered, but in this case, is very fitting. The site is pink, embroidered with a pink ribbon as a sign of breast cancer awareness. It’s very simple and easily navigated.

Frequent readers to this web log are going to celebrate when there is an up, and cry when there is a down. But after all is said and done, one gets a real sense of hope from Beyond Contestation.

Let’s celebrate Mizmo and her cause: Beyond Contestation.Beyond Contestation