Category: Uncategorized

Welcome to My Brain… Well not mine, but that of Brian Shaver. While the domain itself has not insights to the blog, the title of My Brain is a rather good one.

I quickly noticed a floating head with rotating eyes in the design. This was somewhat of a distraction as I didn’t see what purpose it had on the site. The general design of the site is a two column layout with the content on the bigger right side column. The design is nothing to shout home to mom about, but the simplicity of the site fits with the weblog itself.

I recommend reading the about section before venturing into the weblog as it will provide you with a fair number of insights about Brian that can come in handy. In the about section, there is also an about this site which is somewhat unique and not often used in weblogs anymore.

The weblog itself is a very easy read. Mainly because the author is a freshman in college (note: now he is a sophomore, but the blog is about his first year) who is interested in computers and math. Even though he is such a stereotypical computer geek (talks about computers, math, star trek…), he very rarely mentions these things, except where they add to the post’s details.

Brian posts mainly about what he is going through his freshman year in college. Mainly of the posts are about a situation that either just happened, or will happen shortly. Brian shares with us his struggles of figuring out who he is; which is something he never had to face before.

The only downside is that Brian seems somewhat conflicted with the site itself. All to often I read a post that said, “It has been a while since my last post” which isn’t surprising since he is a freshman in college, but I would liked to have more frequent posts.

The best part of the blog has to be that Brian is sharing what he is going through. It is good for anyone to read, to remember those times, or to learn about those times, or even just to say, “Yeah I am going through that too.” The blog could stand to have a little bit better focus, and a better design to complement the author more. If you are looking for a daily update, then you will be disappointed. But if you want a blog to read on the once a week basis, this is a good one for you to add to your list.
My Brain

Early this year I had the privilege of going to Thailand. One of the many things to do in Thailand is to visit different temples and talk to monks. I had the honor of meeting with a a guy who used to be a very well known monk (he gave it up after twelve years). He spoke slowly; not to make sure his point got across, but to make sure you felt the calmness and energy that he had.

Indigo Ocean reminded me of this. From the first words I read on the blog to reading the entire blog, I was reminded of him. The posts are calm and collected. You get an amazing sense that this guy is very happy and is very spiritually connected.

The posts themselves are not preachy, but rather just simple notes about what was done that day or what will happen. Personal things pop up like him wishing he could wind surf, then a month later actually getting a rig to do it really add to the quality of this weblog.

The design complements the writing style: simple, clean, and peaceful. I like that there are no javascript tricks or flashy images. Everything fits perfectly within this weblog. I wish that there was an about section to learn more about the author, however I am sure that given more time, the weblog itself will provide more than enough information about him.

Overall this is a great blog to come and read if you just need to cool down. Just take a deep breath and then start to read this blog and you will start to feel more at ease. Amazing how words have this ability to create feelings for us, and Indigo Ocean does it very well.
Indigo Ocean

What first attracted me to James’ website is the .co.uk ending. It isn’t often that I come across a new, Brit-centric personal blog, and as I’m always looking for new sites to read (and I prefer reading about something I share in common, whatever that may be), I immediately booked the site out for review.

The first thing I noticed was the ultra-clean, smooth, no-fuss design. The site is headed with a goldfish photo that fits seamlessly under the logo and navigation. It works well, drawing the eye down to the content, which is nicely spaced and very easy to read. The choice of black text on blue background might not be to everyone’s taste but it is surprising effective. White links jump neatly out of the page but don’t disturb the reader’s attention.

The blog is a personal one, with no particular focus other than the writer and his immediate world. The pacing is relaxed, the style of writing perfectly judged to help the reader along. Even the ee cummings no-capitals grammatical method works well and unobtrusively. Each story is relatively self-contained and interesting; amusing anecdotes and events are relayed well and with a minimum of pretension.

Archives stretch back as far as December 2002, and are available from a drop-down list at the top of the page, or alternatively from a collection of links at the bottom, where you will also find the external sites the writer is fond of. The photo gallery, though relatively small, contains some treasures, such as the shots of Iceland, and is very easy to navigate.

The reader is given the option of having links open in a new window via a checkbox at the top of the site; this is a helpful feature but I would have preferred it to only refer to external links; furthermore, the setting doesn’t carry through from page to page. Otherwise the design is practically faultless; if you don’t like it, there is also an alternative available on the “Skins” page.

If you want a window into another’s life, but don’t want to feel like an uninvited peeper, then this is most certainly worth your attention. For me, it is definitely a site I will be returning to, if only to track down more entries and opinions on Iceland.

someonecalledjames

Pirate Cafe is a new weblog, dating back only to the beginning of July, but wow, there’s a lot to be getting through.

Unfortunately, there’s no logical introduction to the site, no “about” page, which is a shame, because this is a blog by a girl with a real story to tell. From what I can make out, the narrator, going by the name of pirate-tron, is in her twenties, has a boyfriend and works as a teacher.

From such a generalisation, however, the blog streams forth with witty and interesting opinion pieces. For example, read about the writer’s introduction to small-town sex parties in a very well-crafted tale on July 27th. Or go further back, and read of one of her experiences with an inept co-worker.

There are many types of entry, too. Aside from the longer comments, which are what I found to be the highlight of the site, you’ll also find a smattering of illustrated recipes, poems and shorter, personal updates. Pirate-tron is politically-minded, but not overbearingly so, and represents an interesting and interested minority in America that feels alienated by George W. Bush’s presidency (perhaps not so small a minority).

On the left hand side of the site, accompanying the scant internal navigation (a few archive links) are external links to sites of interest, and a nifty message board. I think the board is a great idea, especially having it on the front page, and not hidden away from the majority of everyday visitors.

Unfortunately the design, on the whole, is generic and doesn’t fit the length of most entries (a lighter background, better word and line-spacing would help readability), though it isn’t intrusive and the site is quick to load.

I foresee a strong future for Pirate Cafe. I will be following the narrator’s search for land with interest, and hope that I won’t be alone in doing so.

pirate cafe

I was intrigued when I saw the title of this journal. “Humorous Blips From A Backpack”? Would it be the day-to-day dramas of student life? A travelogue? As it turns out, Humorous Blips is a bit of both.

The author is Beaner, a young singer, student, writer, and world traveler. In the past year, she embarked on a year long backpacking jaunt across Europe. At least, that’s what I could glean from the parts of the journal that were accessible.

After reading Beaner’s ‘About’ page, I headed for the archives. There are links to archives stretching back to April of this year. Unfortunately, all of the archives prior to August lead to a BlogSpot error page. This meant that I only had a month of posts to review, hardly enough to get a sense of who Beaner is or what she is trying to communicate with her journal. As if that weren’t bad enough, on the pages I could read, some of the archive links would disappear. I was forced to go back to the home page and access the next month of posts from there.

I wish the archives had been working. Not only would it have garnered her a better review, I was also interested in reading the full account of her time in Europe. As it is, there are only a few weeks of posts detailing a pilgrimage in Poland, some adventures in Latvia and Lithuania, and her voyage home. After her arrival back in the U.S.A. (Las Vegas, to be exact), there are a few days’ worth of posts detailing her return to school and struggle to find a job.

Although many of her entries are detailed and funny, there seem to be a lot of gaps in her stories. I realize it must be difficult to update a website when you’re backpacking through a foreign country, but it’s frustrating for the reader to begin a tale and then be denied the ending. Some of the entries written after her arrival back in the States suffer from the same gaps. There’s nothing wrong with a journal that’s sporadically updated, as long as the entries flow together and don’t confuse the reader.

The color scheme of the site is taken from a painting featured on the front page of the journal, one of Degas’ beautiful dancers. The reds, yellows, and white work well together, although it is a little harsh. The design is simple and easy to read, but not the most attractive I’ve seen.

I wish I could score Beaner’s journal higher, but the lack of complete archives and unwieldy navigation prevent me from doing so. Her writing is lively, and the subject matter is fantastic (indeed, I wish I could have read more about her adventures in Europe). If she gets the problems with her archives under control, she would have a travelogue worth visiting.

Humorous Blips From A Backpack