Category: Uncategorized

Greeted by a generic typepad template with but a few modifications one can be forgiven for wondering whether this would be just another run of the mill blog, but given closer inspection the reader will discover that spinning is anything but. A brief about me gives you a little background information about both the author and the image which resides at the top of the right hand menu. With that brief introduction in mind I headed off to that crucial first posting, and I was gripped from that moment on.

The blog has been in place since October 2003, and from the outset the quality of writing is by far superior to your average weblog. The vast majority of her posts are on the art form itself, with extracts from pieces of her own work. This site serves as a beautiful insight into the life and mind of an author. Every entry is beautifully written and engaging, and I quickly discovered that I had worked my way through her entire archives without looking up once!

There is nothing spectacular about the design, it’s a straight forward typepad template with some minor adjustments and a couple of images. All the links worked, it was easy to navigate, and easy to read. There are some fascinating links in the right hand column which are definitely worthy of further perusal, and be sure to check out Talespinning listed as work in progress.

If you are interested in excellent writing then this site is definitely worth a visit. The site design may not be as individual as it could be, but it doesn’t need to, the writing sells itself. A rare find, and worthy of the first 5 I have awarded.Spinning

Editors Note: The name of the weblog was changed to sortapundit.com after the review was written.

Being something other than American, I was kind of skeptical before I even started reading WorldWarBush. I have my own views on American politics, and get tired very easily of anything to do with Bush, or anti-Bush, as it’s been thrown at me from all directions in the last couple years. However, once I started reading I was pleasantly surprised by what I found in the writing.

Keith, or Taylor as he prefers is a young man in his 20’s living in Manchester (which alone puts him in my good books). He explains he started blogging before England went to Iraq, and had so much to write about he has kept at it. He has some very distinct views on politics and George Dub-ya in particular. At times this is trying, because most of us have had enough. but as the blog goes on, he admits he no longer has the loathing he once had. I have to admit, this is where the posts get better. Taylor begins incorporating other news items, that have less to do with Bush, and less to do with Iraq and WMD, and I start to get interested.

The site itself is an interesting one. If you go back to the “old site” link its a bombardment of Lycos pop ups and makes your head hurt. The new site, is a blogger site, with some additions. While I appreciate additions or alterations to any blogger site, the links on the right seem out of place with the box they are in. i don’t know how to explain it, it’s kind of like they aren’t centered right. It’s nothing horrible, just something that caught my eye. Otherwise, the site looks good, the links all work (which is good cause there are a ton) and it’s easy to get around and find what you need.

Overall, the site is good – and maybe great if you like political news. I myself find it hard to stay interested in politics, and especially american ones. Taylor writes very very well making it easier, so regardless I would give it a look just to see what you think.WorldWarBush

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

I wasn’t sure what to think about The Mermaid Tavern, as there’s no mention of mermaids, or taverns for that matter. First impressions of the blog weren’t terribly good as I geared myself up to wander through the content. It’s got an old blogspot template for it’s layout which is particularly uninspiring and lacking in the pull to capture the reader’s initial attention. I do believe that something more suited to the blogger’s personality in this case would definitely help the overall feel of the blog.

“The sense of the philosofairy is to never make sense.” You got that right! She doesn’t at first, but therein lies the appeal. I read with a growing interest, evolving from thinking the blog was a little dull and silly to finding it quirky (in a good way) and well written. It’s not a very old blog, indiejade only began The Mermaid Tavern in late February this year, so the reading was quick and easy… and surprisingly entertaining.

So who is the philosofairy? “indiejade” is all we know her as, and there’s a sparse sprinkling of personal information on the front page, though not really enough to quench the thirst for background knowledge that this reviewer had. So I wandered over to first entry which is an anthropological discussion on the people of Oregon and already we can already see the quirkiness come to the fore. Unfortunately there was no more background information about the philosofairy herself (apart from the fact that she likes Chardonnay) as I was hoping, but it’s a good introduction to her personality and her writing.

indiejade takes us through her life as the philosofairy and it’s an entertaining ride, filled with posts detailing the mystery of the manila envelope to thoughts on the economy. Each entry is delivered with a quiet sort of humour, which while it won’t give you the big belly laughs afforded by other humour sites, will certainly leave you smiling if not giggling just a tiny bit.

I’d have to say that this confusing little blog is fun and definitely quirky. I came away from it knowing that there is a very smart and funny individual behind the entertaining anecdotes and analogies. And it’s quirky. If there was ever a word to describe The Mermaid Tavern, it would definitely be quirky. 3/5 for the blog, plus 0.5 for the quirkiness. Thanks indiejade! The Mermaid Tavern

I took a quick look at the site, and it is definitely built for a specific audience. This is not always a bad thing however, so I kept reading. The site is laid out nicely with a good color scheme that makes it easy to read. The posts can be rather long, but the writer has used a click able drop-down that opens and closes the longer posts so if you are not interested in the subject you do not have to scroll past a long article in order to continue.

As I mentioned, this blog is for a particular audience, those that are songwriters or interested in the song writing process. The site is full of the author’s thoughts on how he comes up with the idea for a song and the practice of creating the finished product. There are also tips for songwriters to help them in their attempts at creating their own tunes.

The design of the site is relatively simple, something I appreciate. There is a list on the right of “Essential Singers” and the author hits the nail on the head with most of these. Anyone who includes both Ella Fitzgerald AND Billy Holiday has my attention.



There are pull-down menus for the Categories and Archives, which only goes back to March 2004 so this site is fairly new to the blogosphere. There are supposed to be other pull-down menus, but they do not seem to be working as yet.



There is a link to the an e-mail address for the author, along with a subscription option and chat room you can join. There is also questionnaire that seems to be designed to assist the writer of the site in better directing the site to match the needs of its readers, something that works well for such a specific site.



While I am not a songwriter or even and wannabe songwriter, the posts are well-written and interesting to a point. It is always intriguing to me to watch creative people at work and to see how their process of developing their art comes about. While readers that are not aspiring songwriters may find some of the posts a tad boring, it is still a well designed site that is suited to its task. And if you have ever been curious how songwriters work, check out the site. It gives a good glimpse into the mind of a creative person.
songrut