Category: Uncategorized

I liked the look of this clean cut layout. I was surprised that there was no real information on the sidebars apart from a photo and a calendar. It all looked slightly sparse, but it was clean looking and definitely clutter free!

I noticed that this blog started, or the first posting was in January 2003. The entries are somewhat sparse and it seems that he had a few problems with backing up the blog. The content is based around politics, music and radio stations. It seems that Bert was laid off after 16+ years and he seems happy about it. His passions are music, politics and softball. He touches on various issues about “black people” which he describes as “I use the term Black to describe my people, because it reminds me of the civil-rights struggle of my parents generation.”

There is no information to let you really know who Bert is. There are no archives, the content of the blog is what you see on this page. It is still in the early stages, but in time, I think that it could hold some interesting observations and opinions.

This is a young blog which I found quite hard to review due to the limited content. Some of the political comments did go over my head, but that may be as I am in another country! I, personally, would like to know abit more about Bert and to see some more posts. I think that it has potential, and hopefully will grow with time.That Colored Fellas weblog

A quick look at the list of Jim Howard‘s interests is innocuous enough at first, until you reach item number eight: nudity. As the site’s tagline so neatly states, Jim is from Missouri, words aren’t enough, you’ve got to show me.

However, aside from a semi-nude cam photo in the top left corner of the site (nude from the waist down, mind you), there isn’t an awful lot of skin outside of the photo galleries. The blog is a mildly diverting read; currently a lot of time is spent discussing the site’s eventual move to a new url, and the problems Jim is having securing a domain name. The content is often relatively personal – no grievance sharing, plenty of familial discussion – though it reads well and the author pays attention to his spelling and grammar, which certainly helps.

Unfortunately, one thing Jim has apparently not devoted much time to is the site’s design. In IE it is passably average, in Netscape a little less so. The masthead is a poorly optimised jpeg with red text on blue that blurs more and more the harder you try to read it.

The site is a three column affair, though a little more organisation would help with the placement of links – one column devoted to external links, one to navigation, would make far more sense. So too would having a proper archive: there is a calendar view of September, though it is impossible to select a different month to view so trawling through older posts is a cumbersome and involved process of selecting the last entry and clicking the link to the previous one each time.

There is a reason to come back to the site; many reasons, perhaps. The author and his family are moving house, and are saving to do so. The struggle to save money is well communicated, so too the search for a new home, and how different family members treat the process. With any luck, Jim will find time to redesign after the move(s); a change could do this site some good, but until then, at least it’s easy enough to read everything that happens in September.

Jim Howard’s ShowMe

The title didn’t give much away for this weblog, so I clicked the link and found a standard template which er… also didn’t give much away. Now don’t get me wrong, the template was functional, technically sound and the content easy to read, so no real complaints. The sidebar had links to his friends and the rest of his website and that was it, but then that was all that was needed. On the other hand, the template overall could maybe have done with a little more eye candy to brighten it up a bit. My only other gripe in this respect was that I could not view the author’s profile without registering, which I always think discourages the casual reader.

Anyway, on to the content, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I want to lay my cards on the table now and say that I read nothing like a high percentage of this weblog. Archives go back to January 2002 and the author is VERY prolific. Most of the entries are quite long too and often cover more than one issue. This is where the weblog shines though, and the reason why I gave it a high score. The most recent entries deal with a trip to London where the author took in plays, art and general sight seeing. Going back through the archives, it is easy to see that he is a very broad minded individual, with many tastes and opinions on literature, art, website design and travelling to name but a few. Picking some entries at random, I was always given a glimpse of his personal life as well as views on these wider issues, striking a good balance between the two. The other thing I liked was the fact that the author is an Astrologist by trade (which is the function of the rest of his site) and this colours most of his entries, adding a new dimension to them.

The style of writing is very accessible. The author is literate, intelligent and witty without being patronising or pretentious. He is also keen on using his digital camera which adds a visual element to the posts.

I think most people would find this weblog entertaining to read, as the subject matter is varied enough and the writing style is easy to get on with.

Having said that, I expect the author may be able to explain my affinity for his weblog due to my being a Sagittarius!xenon

The first and absolute thing I noticed when I came upon this blog was the green in the eyes. I couldn’t help it. I have a strange attraction to green eyes in general and the image is black and white, with the green color showing through. The blog seems so simply and yet, I have high hopes.

The first place I stopped was the “about” page. I try to avoid doing this, but I love to learn about the author before delving into their often intimate words and writings. How glad I am that I did. You’ll read that this author doesn’t have comments, for all of the reason I wish I didn’t have comments but am too much an attention whore to avoid. She’s writing for writing, and I give a lot of credit to her for this. Her first entry states that she may not continue to write for too long. As with most blogs, they start full force, and eventually die away, becoming less of a priority for the writer and thus the reader. Obviously, this blog continues. I’m hooked on this blog. I can’t help but find the entries completely enthralling. I keep thinking that this blog is the blog I meant to write, but never got around to being creative enough to do it.

The author tells about how women work and their mentalities, at least in the beginning. Soon after it becomes much more personal. The entry about her daughter is beautiful, for anyone who’s a mother or has been the “teen girl.” The writings are quite easily small short stories leaving the reader (at least this reader) wanting more. There are a lot of archives to read through, but for the most part, if you’re looking for quality, you’ll want to read through the majority of them.

The design is beautiful and simple. Like I mentioned above, the eyes of the image at the title leaves you wondering… Do these eyes belong to the author? The author’s daughter? Someone else entirely?? It doesn’t matter, because the blog speaks for itself. I continue to read, even as I tie this review up and bring it to an end. The blog is readable, and the archives work (with permalinks). It’s simply, but functional.

I’ve said it before in reviews, you can’t judge it based on the design. While the design is simply and functional, people might find themselves wondering why they’re even at this blog. Simply… content. This blog is filled with interesting stories about murderers and other such stuff. What makes this blog more interesting and fun is that they’re true and real stories. The author has a way with words, and I commend her on her ability to share, with the rest of us, her little take on life. Go and read. You won’t regret it. And if you’re like me, you’ll find yourself wishing you had more hours to spend starting at a stark white screen with little black words, and finding yourself completely enthralled. Completely.Broad At Bat

From the URL alone, I wondered why this site was up for review. It doesn’t sound like a blog but a blog it most certainly is, with the name, bmg://its.bloggingly.delicious, hinting at a quirky site with some tasty content that will make you come back for more. The ‘about me’ page shows that the author is as interesting as the name suggests because it is set out like the transcript of a press conference, with Mike answering questions from his public. This page provides a little bit of background without being too in depth and the style certainly held my interest.

The blog itself has been in existence since January 2003. A mix of diary style ponderings and Friday link-fests, the posts themselves can be quite engaging when they appear but the last couple of months have been a bit lighter than previously. I liked the habit of posting amusing emails (e.g. real car insurance claims and what I’ve learned) on the blog as, although many people will have seen them already, it is a much tidier way to pass on these funnies to others than simply clogging up inboxes with it. I was interested to read about the author’s attempts at giving up smoking also, but the most recent post on a health drink that he is now on did make me think this was a commercial site at first!

The blog is powered by Moveable Type and, like so many others using the same, the design is both clean and simple making it very easy to read and navigate. The colours are well chosen and lend a professional air to the site, but it does look like it could do with an accent colour as well as the shades of blue/grey. Although bmg does not fall into the trap of using an unaltered template like so many blogs, there is still much that could be done with the design. This in no way detracts from the writing though, as the uncluttered design lets the reader focus on the content.

The webcam image on the front page is a nice touch as many readers will like to see the person behind the posts, and I also liked the addition of a guest map rather than the traditional guestbook. In addition, although there is obviously more content on bmg than the blog alone, at the time of reviewing I could not open the pics, movies and old stuff pages. I assume this is just a temporary glitch.

All in all, this is a nice well written site with interesting links that has broad appeal. If the author can keep up with his previous posting frequency, he will entice many readers back for another look.bmg://It’s Bloggingly Delicious