Author: admin

I was greeted by a very restrained site. The title was explained by a Montaigne quote.
“I have gathered a posie of other men’s flowers, and nothing but the thread that binds them is my own.” The author, Mr Brooks, is going to collect together the work of others and make a collage perhaps?

The design was simple and the web log pleasant to read. There is a right sided panel with recent posts, archives and some links to blog related sites. There is evidence of an anti spam device which is good to see. The top of the page contains the blogger.com adverts and the quote and links to a very straight forward factual about me section and links to the author’s other online activities. There is also a link to a detailed contents page where an overview of the site and a Roget’s driven statement of purpose can be found.

The aforementioned collage didn’t quite work for me. There is very little in the way of imported wisdom from the great and the good. Mr Brooks is not a very good magpie. There are some quoted words from the obscure and even more obscure. Some contrived comments suggest fraud. I was too disinterested to research that.

There is limited use of pictures, links and some of the comments appear to be ‘set ups’ and the vast majority of the posts are off topic and trivially nondescript.

The writing is eloquent and at times interesting and once laugh out loud witty. However it hit these heights too seldom to maintain my interest. I struggled through the already assembled posts, the vast majority of which were written prior to the publication of the web log in April 2004. Why that is, is not explained.

I struggled to finish my reading for this review to be honest. Not my particular choice of flowers. I can give it no more than a two out of five – it is well written after all.
Other Men’s Flowers

Another page of parchment! I could not believe my luck. Two sites in a row with my favored background. The weblog stars must be smiling on me this week!

“Other Men’s Flowers” I thought to myself, what in the world does THAT mean? Thankfully I was answered straight away by the author.

“Comments on language, literature, the arts and almost anything else. But mostly quotations.”

But my friends, trust me in this, he is too modest. There are quotations to be sure, but couched in his fascinating, quirky, if sometimes enigmatic prose. (An example of the latter to be found in the entry “Ernest” May 22, 2004.) But just because I don’t get it, doesn’t mean you won’t.

I read entries commenting on all manner of subjects ranging from how many people are injured each year opening canned oysters, to the author’s chagrin at having chided a friend years ago, for misquoting a bit of poetry and then finding out he was wrong to have done so.

A more quirky and varied and worldly wise blog, I have never encountered. Some entries had me laughing out loud, and others scratching my head. But usually if you follow the link or links supplied in the post, you may finally get the joke. It doesn’t hurt to have Babelfish from Alta Vista bookmarked on your browser so you can look up the foreign language quotes. And believe me, it’s worth looking some of them up!

In the About section he gives us a very brief resume’. I was impressed.
The page itself is clutter free, only containing recent posts and archives.
And I ALWAYS give points for straightforward simplicity! There are occasional photos to spice up the text, which is always a nice touch.

This site would appeal to the bookish among us. The lovers of multi-layered tongue in cheek writing, or commentary on the absurd in the modern world, that is presented with a liberal dose of quoted wisdom from past masters. The man is a veritable font of literary context for current events. I loved it. Every minute. Even when I disagreed with him, even when I hadn’t a clue what he was talking about. I figured the fault was my own not his, and if I kept reading, perhaps I would be enlightened.

I give this site an enthusiastic 5. The very first top rating of my Weblog Reviewing career. And I can say in truth that I am bookmarking his blog, and will return often. You will excuse me now, I am going back to read some more of “Other Men’s Flowers”.

Other Men’s Flowers

When I first heard the “title” of this blog, well to me, it was self explanatory as to what the blog would be about.

When I first entered into the blog, I was greeted with a very crisp and clean looking layout. The first thing that caught my eye was a small introduction up in the right hand corner as to what the blog was all about. It went like this..

I come from a family that has been traumatized by suicides. I am the only one in 3 generations to not attempt it. This is my life, my struggles, my pains, my ramblings and my triumphs.

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Just below the introduction was a photo of a little girl who I am assuming is the author at a younger age.

Another thing I really liked was the fact that the author had her entries placed into categories. For example, the red posts are stories concerning her family, black posts are news articles on suicide/depression, and violet posts are just on different topics.

After going through the basics, I began my journey into the blog itself. The blog is basically based on topics of suicide. (which you can figure out from the title). I couldn’t seem to find an “About Me”, page at first. I later discovered it in her archives as one of her entries.

Carrie (the author) is a 32 year old lady who has gone through some very traumatic experiences in her life. She has come from a broken home, not to mention that several members of her family have either committed suicide or attempted it. In her entries, she talks a lot about her dad and her brother Corey (who she was very close to). She talks about her friends who have also committed/attempted suicide.

I went through more than half of her archives. I will admit that the entries were depressing and mind baffling at the same time. Reading the articles/entries, gave me a very uneasy and eerie feeling. But at the same time, I was touched by a majority of them.

Carrie has a very unique way of telling a story. You can sense the emotion and the sadness she is going through as you read the entries concerning her family. You may ask yourself why someone would devote their entire blog to writing articles on suicide. Well Carrie has been through so much trauma, maybe it’s her way of dealing with the pain. Maybe it helps her to write down her feelings. Maybe she also wants to show others just how wrong it is to take your own life and what their loved ones go through. There could be several reasons why someone would write that kind of blog. However, I do know that Carrie’s entries, will make you stop and think.

I also like the design of Carrie’s blog. As I stated it has a very crisp and clean lay-out. Besides her introduction on the right hand side, she has several links which all seem to be in working order. She has a link to rate her on bloghop as well. As you scroll down she has a quote from “Benjamin Franklin”, and she has a guest book as well.

I couldn’t find one fault with Carrie’s blog. Of course it would be depressing. It’s about suicide. It’s basically supposed to be depressing. I know this blog won’t fit everyone’s taste, but it may give some people a better outlook on life. I know I will be bookmarking Carrie’s site.The Suicidiaries

Counting Sheep. When I read the blog name I think of the Serta commercials with the angry sheep crank calling the Serta store…Upon arriving at Counting Sheep, the blog, with its soothing colour palette and pastel graphic I felt the blog was well named. Then I started to read…

It is great as a blog reviewer to arrive at a blog and find an about page. It instantly gives you a frame of reference, instead of poking around all over the site. The blog is written by Jo, with references to her ‘husband’ and their dog, known as ‘the pooper’.
Jo ‘is a fast learning, technically savvy, car loving, book loving, animal loving, blog writing, INFJ, gardener with excellent organizational skills and an innate talent for cooking’. Which after reading her blog seems pretty much bang on.

I enjoyed this reading this blog. You get a good feeling of her emotion as she writes. The entries are all over the map, whatever she comes across in her day could end up in her blog. Here are some things that did: Reflective about the value of prog rock, family, friends, the impending doom of losing her job in November and what she will do instead, the joy of broadband internet, linguistics, Bathroom Etiquette Rules (I love #7), married life with the ‘husband’, shoe farts, gardening, the moral dilemma of homelessness, the BBC, Sheep Radio reviews and she has reluctantly begun doing a few memes.

She cooks in the following styles, French, Italian, Indian, Belgian, English, Thai and is kind enough to share several recipes within her blog, such as
Johnnies (MEAT!) Balls. Yum! Many of her entries turn into cleverly crafted, witty little stories which she shares with a genuine honestly. In another entry it was her candor that won me over. I often found her amusing as well, such as in this jab at the elections: ‘I find listening to Bush and Kerry lying and blathering on the T.V. every night, at no expense to them offensive. Who do I call?’ She takes pleasure in simple things, such as being right. And who doesn’t? The website also has photos, a garden section entitled ‘my green space’ and links galore.

There is much more going on at counting sheep other than merely trying to fall asleep. It is a truthful look at life through the eyes of a witty, honest woman who doesn’t always have the answers and I found this made for engaging reading. This blog’s charm is in its honesty and the author’s sharp wit and occasional feisty spirit. Well worth a visit.
Counting Sheep

Light and Darkness, an apt title for this blog. I liked the font chosen for the header. Clean and crisp. The blue and white page is soothing. I scrolled down and found a plethora of links to archives, other blogs, and information on BiPolar disorder at the bottom of the list.

I spent some time going through the 100 Things she had provided. I have always found those lists a daunting project, but she manages to give you a kaleidoscope of information, both trivial and profound. Side by side. Which turns out to be the style of the whole blog.

I read all the recent entries and some more in the archives, and was drawn more and more into the realm of a person who struggles with life each and every day. Swaying from breathtaking honesty, to silliness. She emerges as a philosopher whose eye falls on so many subjects, it’s hard to keep up, but hold on I did. And began to admire her tenacity in the face of the difficulties she has faced and is facing now.

There is a section that sorts her entries into categories, and there I found scans of original drawings, poetry and short story type writings. She is a prolific writer and the entries hardly ever fail to capture one’s attention, one way or another.

While this blog would be an inspiration to others suffering from BiPolar disorder, it is in no way limited to that audience. There is so much variety here, I think there might be something for everybody.

Light and Darkness