Author: admin

Blanksblog right away gave me the impression of being the home of a new blogger, and it is, but that doesn’t imply anything bad at all.

Being a relatively new weblog, the first post written in february, it can be difficult to realize where Blanksblog is aiming. But it is clear that the writer has already learned an important lesson. Some of the first posts are just too long even if they are still good, but the newer ones really show an improvement in lenght and quality.

The design is a standard template from blogger.com, but it’s still one of the best standard templates to use while starting a blog. It allows easy and clear reading while providing a nice and ordered space for links and extras.

Music is important to the author and it should probably play a bigger part in this blog. The purpose of the site is sometimes lost amidst random postings that are many times smart and entertaining, but there never seems to be a sense of unity in the blog.

This is a blog that still needs work, but it’s clearly getting better and learning from it’s mistakes. It’s still and average site, but the writer has the potential to turn this into a really interesting place in the future.blanksblog

The first thought that crossed my mind when I loaded up #include {web.Log} was that this site wasn’t designed for the everyday blog reader. From a technical aspect, the site is optimized for a 1024 x 768 resolution. Many viewers are still running 800 x 600, and the need to scroll to the right to completely view the weblog was an annoyance. The design of the site is pleasant, but otherwise nothing out of the ordinary.

The programming syntax in the title of this weblog led me to the conclusion that #include {web.Log} was going to be a very computer oriented site. Although this was true in certain aspects of the site, such as starting blog entries with “opening connection” and ending them with “closing connection”, the content of the site is fairly diverse. The author talks about everything from socks on Ebay to his school textbooks. Nevertheless, the general theme in this blog is that of criticism. The author brings together different articles he finds and attacks them. As far as the quality of this criticism, I admire the author’s ability to transcribe his thoughts in a clear and presentable manner. As I read the weblog, I wasn’t lost in complex ideas and thoughts. Quite the opposite, I was able to easily follow the thoughts and opinions of the author. Unfortunately, the author’s thoughts and opinions were the only way to learn about him. His “about” link opens up a small window with cryptic information. I realize this lends to the cyber-crazed identity seen throughout the site, but I would have liked to have seen a little more biographical info.

One of the things I liked about #include {web.Log} was the way that the title of each post is written. The title of the post is written over the date and time it was written. Yes, I realize this is a minor aspect of the blog, but this method of presenting the title adds a unique flair to the design. The author uses software to write his blog which utilizes modules, or blocks of information, on the site. This makes the site easy to navigate, but draws away from individuality.

Should you visit #include {web.Log}? I say ‘yes’. However, I recommend you visit the site more for a chance to find some interesting articles than to read the author’s criticism. Despite all of the intriguing things I learned from this blog, I still missed out on one of the most important aspects of a weblog – the author.

#include {web.Log}

My initial instinct with regard to this blog is that it’s very simple. There’s nothing out of the ordinary, unless you count the “parental advisory” logo at the top of the blog. While I take this with a grain of salt, this may be forewarning for visitors that are faint of heart to not venture this way.

I avoided the recent entries in hopes of getting a feel for the author from the previous archives. I started with the very beginning. It is right for him to put the warning on his site, as there is a bit of language. For the most part this author sounds like your typical teenager with normal dislikes and likes. He talks about a concert that he went to and all the fun stuff that he experienced when Kid Rock came on stage, and the closing number with Aerosmith and Run DMC. This author speaks about how he’s “bored” more often than not, and he uses a lot of slang, so if you’re not up to speed on the language of the youth today, you might need a slang dictionary to decipher what this author is actually getting at.

Some of the entries are interesting enough that as a reader you’re not bored as well, but a lot of them are the same “hum drum” that most younger bloggers write about. He’s not a bad author, he just has a tendency to write as though he’s talking to one of his “homies,” and while some are “down wit da lingo” other’s might not understand.

The design is very basic. It’s black with white text and red links. A visited link turns blue so you can’t read what it is after you’ve clicked on it. The titles are bouncing marquee’s which is annoying for most people who want to read some content. The archives, however, work, and so do most of the links (though there aren’t many of them).

There aren’t many bonus features on this site, which is kind of sad. There’s no “about me” page, there’s nothing to give you a little more understanding of who this author really is. If you hope to find a little bit more based on the entries, then you might find yourself reading an awful lot for nothing in particular.

The good content is hidden somewhere, but it’s rare and quite far between. The bouncing text is distracting, and the language is often hard to get around. Lucky for me I understand what most of it meant, but even then he used the strange spellings. I would’ve scored higher if there was something more to make this site worth a visit. Without being trite, this site is hard on the eyes, in more ways than one.The Illusion of Safety

If you’re a Californian, or at all interested in local politics and the effects of celebrity, you should certainly head over to James Norwood now; leave a comment or contribute a new topic to the forum. This is the kind of site that could really prosper with enough visits; it speaks to a niche audience like the best sites try to do, and provides opportunities to add feedback and spark discussion.

James’ site has something I haven’t really seen anywhere else, and it’s quite nifty: down the left hand side of the page are headlines from a few other blogs that share something in common with this one. It’s a good way to lead the reader to other sites of interest, rather than simply providing a links list (although that too is present). Of course, if you have an RSS reader you’ll not need any of this.

Posts are grouped by category. The politics section is added to most frequently; reaction to Arnie’s decision to run for governer in California is one example of a recent post, and it’s easy to work back through and see the story progress.

The only problems with this site are the relative lack of content (although on that point I’m not terribly concerned – and neither should you be – since this is a site that will grow), and the design. The layout is fine, but the colour scheme and lack of any eye candy leave the site looking plain and a little unwelcoming.

You can easily read the entire site’s contents in a single sitting, getting completely up-to-date with happenings, and leaving you in the useful position of being able to voice your opinions immediately. Get started on some political debate: if you disagree with James’ opinions I’m sure he’ll be interested in knowing how and why.

All About James – The Forum

Any time I see a blogspot blog there’s a part of me that really wants to squirm in my seat. Are the archives going to work correctly? Is it going to be terribly slow? Ironically, this blog doesn’t generally fall into the same category of most blogspot blogs. You want to know what’s really nice? The picture of some kind of art that this author has; it truly is nice.

If you go back to the humble beginnings of the blog you’ll find that this author is a student at Northern Arizona University, studying Criminal Justice. His entries are very well written and quite humorous. He tells of the adventures of dorm living, and the dramas of people who, according to the author, “never escaped the first grade mentality.” For anyone who hasn’t ever lived on a college campus or in close quarters with lots of people, this is the blog to help explain the drama that’s spills forth. There are a number of entries of the author’s thoughts on random different things happening around him. He’s often touching on the philosophical, which is very interesting to read. There’s a slew of intelligence oozing from this blog, even with the occasional misspelling. He is utterly hilarious with his nicknames for J-lo, and his entry titles. They very much draw more attention to some entries rather than others.

The design isn’t bad. There’s not a lot of ruddy code filling up the blank spaces, so you’re left with only the content of the blog to fill in the gaps. Lucky for the reader, the blog definitely fills those spaces with loads of content. Some of the colors work better than others; the purple for the comments is easy to read, while the teal for the “posted by” is really difficult to see. Would you like to know what’s truly wonderful?? Considering that this is a blogspot blog, the archives actually work. So there are many weeks of writing goodness to go back and read, enjoy, and experience.

The archives are part of a wholly different page, which might be a good part of the reason why they work. So you’re not stuck having to worry about them working on some pages and not others, which often happens with blogspot. This is a nice feature. There isn’t an about me page, but you learn very much about the author through his entries. You’d have to read through to understand his ideas on religion, school, and the male mentality towards sports.

This isn’t a site that would visually bring me back again and again, but the content is definitely worth another visit. Just reading the site for the review I wanted to leave comments and reactions to so many of the things that I either understood, or wanted to share two cents with. Its main audience is probably more the college-age readers, but there are many other wonderful things to find even if you are younger or older than this age range. Ruminations