Category: Uncategorized

“A Shout in the Dark” is a re-launch of a blog that has been reviewed last month – new URL, new content management system, and a new design. I was anxious to see the author’s new beginning would bring a weblog I could not stop reading. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite accomplish that.

Since this revamped site only hosts less than two months of archives, it did not take long for me to read them each individually. Charles, the author, keeps the entries short and to the point. He’s a working man, and also going to school, and, speaking from personal experience, that doesn’t leave much time for unnecessary weblog rambling.

The way I like to rate weblogs is easy. If a personal site, such as this one, can keep my interest and teach me something, whether it be about the author or just about something the author is interested in, I feel like I’ve just read a good site. The only thing I could remember from this site after reading it is that Sean Paul and Shaggy are both up for Grammy nominations in the reggae field this year.

WordPress is the content management system of choice on this site. It is a nice change from the standard Blogger templates that are so popular. Charles has done his own tweaking to the layout, adding his picture, some additional links, and pictures in the header image. The author has also done some work in adding additional pages to the site – a biography page, some news links, and his resume, for example. Along the sidebar of this two-column layout, he also includes links to his favorite website and some pictures he has uploaded onto his Flickr site.

This site is still new and still growing. Charles is doing his best to find time in his schedule to update somewhat frequently. As time goes on, this site has the absolute potential to grow. Until then, though, I can only give it the average 3 as its score.
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I don’t often review adult blogs, not because I’m a prude but because most of the ones I’ve visited seem to mock each other in style and content. This blog, authored by Julia didn’t change my opinion.

The author offers very little information about herself other than she likes sex and this is her space to express herself. The template has a catchy header, colorful and does get your attention but the rest of the template is pretty basic which actually works pretty well for this particular blog.

There are not many posts because this is a fairly new blog but from what I did read I thought the author didn’t quite live up to the description she gave under her profile. Although sexual technique can be interesting, I didn’t find much interest in it and probably can assume most other readers would lose interest pretty quickly. If the author provided more actual recaps of personal events of sexual escapades that might help capture and keep the interest of her audience.

There were not many extras on this site, a few links but that was about it. The blog was pretty basic and there really wasn’t much to keep me coming back for more and that’s why I give this blog a rating of 2.5.NULL

Jonathan is an academic, a writer, and a designer, according to his Blogger profile. Keeping that in mind, his weblog, “A Word in Your Ear”, has the potential to be a hit. Before even beginning my journey through Jonathan’s archives, I tried to block out the fact that the site is hosted through Blog*spot and does use one of the many charming Blogger templates. Thankfully, Jonathan has done a bit to spruce up the design. I’m hoping his writing does even more.

The archives date back to May 2004, giving Jonathan over a year and a half of posts to go through. His first post is actually an essay written in 2002 about graphic design in education. It didn’t take long for me to realize that when Jonathan posts, he puts a lot into what he is writing and the end result is something that is very easy to read and, while it may not pertain to the general blog-reading population, he is able to make each topic understandable.

Jonathan writes a lot about graphic design and about creating website using HTML and CSS and whatever else is the latest and greatest designing code. With as much talent as he possess in his writing, I have a feeling his coding skills are just as polished. No excuse for a Blogger template, Jonathan, none at all! 🙂

This site is extensive. The entries are long and there is quite a bit to read considering the site is updated nearly daily. Jonathan dabbles in a little bit of everything and makes it no secret to his readers. Whether he shares music he’s been working on or ideas of his future employment, guessing the content from each post to the next is nearly impossible. With such a wide variety of topics, readers can easily become enraptured in one topic or another.

Jonathan falls into the category of bloggers that like to write. A lot. His daily posts are lengthy, but are well written and easy to read. “A Word in Your Ear” is a site that is at least worth a glance, simply due to the wide range of topics the author can competently scribe in his entries.
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It’s a pretty site with a picture of the author, Lisa Manzi, right up top. It is a three column format, so slightly busy, but the focus is clearly on the middle column where the content is. The author is a writer–a poet, in fact. Many of the posts contain poetry or are poetry related, but there are also personal anecdotes and political observations.

Not being a poetry fan, I didn’t find the blog compelling. The quality of the writing is good and the author impresses me as a pleasant, happy person. I’m also not drawn to the political writing, though my views are not contrary to the author’s. The author cares about what she is writing and she has been keeping the blog for quite a long time. She is a serious writer and I respect that.

The blog is well designed. The colors are pleasant and easy on the eyes. All links that I checked were functional and navigation is easy and intuitive. Thought has gone into design and it shows.

There are links to the author’s wish list, categories, recent posts, “must have books” (are we supposed to buy these for her?), and some of the typical blog-promoting badges. There is another group of links at the top of the right column with the heading “Published By:”. I couldn’t quite figure out what these links are for; possibly they are places where Ms. Manzi has published poetry or other writing.

The site is well designed but I did not find it a compelling read. If you are interested in poetry and liberal politics, though, you may find something of interest here. The writing is good and the design is pleasing. I am not the right audience for the blog, but there is probably one out there.NULL

What’s in a name? When I read the name “Mystickal Incense” my immediate thought was “Here we go…”. I guess I’m not a fan of spelling magic, or mystic with a k. But I’ll forgive Stephanie this since “mysticalincense.com” was taken. But the fact remains, incense itself isn’t really mystical is it. I mean, sure it is sometimes used in rites and ceremony, but only because the sacrifice is a bit on the nose eh? We all know incense is best served as a means of cloaking the smell of the last visitor to the bathroom or that stuff you were smoking in the college dorm before your folks dropped by. Doesn’t matter though does it? They still think your hair’s too long and wish you’d get a real job.

But lo and behold I was pleasantly surprised by a really cute little website, wonderfully designed and with a color scheme that doesn’t scream “Fauvism” and causes my eyes to water. Stephanie Davies’ blog is an extension of her business making and selling candles and incense, so she used her real name which is a good thing. Like most blogs she tells us about books, movies, other blogs and reviews them for our discernment. This is broken up by occasional posts about what’s going on in her life, or a new product or promotion from the store. Every now and then she discusses Tarot readings and tries to keep up the community spirit and interest in her site by bribing her readers with competitions and other interactive things.

Stephanie is a self confessed net citizen with a few other interesting little quirks I’ll leave you to discover from her website. She is only a couple of weeks older than me but she has an 8 year old kid already. Its funny when you meet someone exactly your age and can’t help but compare paths, and Stephanies is certainly an interesting one. She is a crafty girl with a flair for design and a good mind for business, so its good to see all these things come together in her blog. Well done, keep it.. er.. mystickal.

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