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Scott Aaron Pepper is a Blogspot site with some pizzazz. A taupe background and rusty brown header blend nicely with the white entry fields. I like the color separation surrounding the two column scheme. It makes for a vista that is easy on the eyes.

The Google ads are a bit of a downer though.

I found virtually no information about our author. But this is not really a personal blog so I suppose it doesn’t matter that much. One is still curious about these things however. A well written about section can help make a connection to your readers.

What we do have here is a movie, TV, music and book review site.
And a very comprehensive one indeed. This blog has been around since January of 2004. In the sidebar I found neatly arranged categories of movie, music, dvd and book reviews complete with photos of same. Very appealing layout.

The entries themselves are clearly written and span an impressive array of current events in the entertainment world. Some are simple announcements of upcoming programs or movies and others are in depth reviews. Our author occasionally writes for Blogcritic also.

There is a special emphasis on American Idol. If you are a fan, this site will most likely appeal to you.

In one post he mentions a street artist that I want to pass on here.
This is worth a look, and I am happy to have been introduced to this artist. www.kurtwenner.com/

As for the writing style, I could not fault him on presentation or content, but I would be remiss if I did not mention, that many of the entries lacked …passion. They sometimes fell into the book report mode. I would have liked a more lively opinion from time to time.

But overall I was as impressed with this blog, in spite of my curmudgeonly attitudes towards entertainment in general and TV in particular. Check it out and see what you think.

scott aaron pepper

Huh. WageSlave is a pretty busy three column PHP-Nuke site full of the highs and lows of work. I’m sure everyone has a story or two. This is where some of them have ended up.

I sighed early when I tried to access ‘older articles’ on the site and instead was given an article ‘search’ feature. What if I don’t know the title and simply want to browse the older articles? I think that link was labeled wrong. I later found what I was looking for under the stories archive link instead. Phew.

The concept of wageslave.net is interesting. Anyone can contribute their stories of workplace joy and misery. The website has a few regular contributors and is seeking more writers. I enjoyed the stories. Human nature is a curious thing. I think the insider stories from ‘work’ clearly reveal many examples of this. Since you can post anonymously you get some real truth here, such as in the entry entitled ‘To my crap coworker’: ‘To my coworker who thinks it’s ok to talk about your dislike for (blacks, gays, pizza delivery people, etc.) at company functions, you need to get a life, stop drinking on the job and take a diversity class! ‘ Other site features include ‘Ask the Bitchy Assistant’ which only has a few entries but has great potential. The site while busy in appearance only has a few months worth of content. If this site starts getting a lot of traffic it could end up with a wonderful collection of stories.

A great idea for a site. Well worth a bookmark. Hopefully the word will get out about this site so it can develop a rich archive and a diverse collection of work related stories. I’m sure many people would be interested in reading them.
WageSlave

This blog tells you something about the blogger as soon as you page loads. I like that. Immediately you get a feel for this thirty-something English Woman who is living in Paris. Even the French Title of ‘Petite Anglaise’ which translated means ‘little english person’. Right away you want to know more…Why is she there?

The first entry that I delved into, informed her readers that it was time to unveil her new site, and she lists the url where her ‘new and improved’ blog resides.This was accompanied by a picture of labelled boxes indicating her move – a really nice touch! However since most of her archives remain with the old site, I decided to review both.

Her natural humour and observations of French Culture are whimsical, bordering hilarious. Her antics in getting herself to a place where she can see and overhear her colleagues are described in detail and provide enjoyment to the reader and a desire to read more.

Frequent comparisons are made between life in the UK, and that of life in France, and it is therein that the comedy emerges. Describing how to beat someone unconscious with a stale baguette (French Loaf), is only one of the tongue in cheek tales which we the readers can enjoy.

Moving to the new site, little has changed and the same merry writing continues. Although now, the site is hosted where it has it’s own domain name (www.petiteanglaise.com), and the site has become more personalised and less generic.
Some of the same graphics have been carried over, so one feels like it really is a new and improved version of the original, the subtle new colour is also a welcome addition.

The new site also includes other elements like a calendar, but other than that the basic layout is even the same and no doubt this blogger will continue to enthrall her avid followers of which there are several.

This blog would appeal to many, especially those who are living out of their home country and can share the interesting experiences of being a ‘fish-out-of-water’.petite anglaise

I took a look at Carlos’ website and blog today, and my first impressions were good. He’s an artist (always a plus in my book) and quite a good one as well. Other than his blog, Carlos features examples of his work, projects he’s finished, and contact information. The website in general has a good design, which is good considering he’s an artist; but I did notice some faults in the design when it was viewed through different browsers. An easy fix, if he chooses to.

Now, on to the blog itself. It’s powered by blogger, and that fact is pretty obvious. But it looks better than a normal blogger template because the design is original. He talks about three subjects in particular: His Faith, Illustrations, and Reuben (his dog).

There are a lot of pictures of Reuben, and the thing that Carlos does with his posts concerning his dog is quite interesting. He transposes thoughts and reflections through his dog Reuben, using him as a catalyst to open up his posts to a more universal context. In plain english: He derives his personal breakthroughs through his dog. It is sort of cute, and since I’ve seen this done personally among my friends who are pet owners, I understood what he was doing and thought it was funny as opposed to weird.

Carlos talks mostly about his faith, and Christianity in general. I think he’s also a seminary student, but I’m not quite sure. As an illustrative artist, he’s quite impressive. And if I didn’t have a brother who was a constant source of artwork, I would probably ask Carlos how much he charges for a portrait.

Wrapping this up, Carlos posts quite a few pictures, which is nice. The content of his posts however, are centered around God for the most part. Readers of his blog probably don’t get the diverse content that has become expected of a blog. But what he does write about, he writes very well and I commend him for it.

In conclusion, I gave Carlos a 3.5 as a score for my review; due to the lack of diverse content and design flaw. But don’t let that be a discouragement. His illustrative art is amazing, and I think his site deserves a good look-see. Good job.Art blog by Carlos Aleman

Tookiewana has a harsh look to it. The black and gold harlequin background, coupled with the gray and white foreground, makes for a rather gloomy feel. The header is so narrow as to look like something was left out and we have perhaps arrived at the second page, not the opening one.

This site has been around since July of 2003. I did like the bar at the top of the page with the drop down menus for Archives, Personal, Links, Friends, etc. This is a much cleaner way to handle all the things that people like to put on their blogs. So points for efficiency.

The entries themselves are rather sporadic and often consist of one liners with a link to a cartoon, or odd bit of internet trivia. He posts the usual circulating internet jokes and lists of obscure information. Sometimes mildly interesting, sometimes not.

Though the writing is clear and straightforward, there is not that much that is original to the author. He does have a comprehensive About Me page that includes photos, but the blog itself is not very self-revelatory. I’m not even sure how to categorize this site. Though some of the jokes he passes on are funny, overall I did not find it a very engaging blog. I would like to read more about what our author THINKS about the articles he links to, and see less of the one liners.

tookiewana