Category: Uncategorized

I like weblogs that explain things to me – why they’re blogging, who they are, where they’re weblog’s title came from, etc. Without some information, going into a weblog for the first time is a lot like just walking into someone else’s house and trying to figure out who they are and what they’re all about just by going through their dresser drawers. Sure, it can be done, but it’s always nice to get a little background information first. And Genuine, as he signs all of his posts, does just that with his very first entry into his new domain. It really gives readers an idea of who this guy really is.

Genuine’s a popular weblog, and by reading his entries, I can certainly see why. He’s an insomniac with an extremely entertaining flair for writing. His family (Mrs. Genuine, the Genuine Boy, and the Genuine Girl), other bloggers, and his knack for having a movie quote for so many different topics are some of the different subjects that keep him full of blogging fodder.

Another great element of The Genuine Blog is the way he involves his readers. He poses questions and asks (often demands in his own sarcastic manner) his viewers to interact. What movie star you best associate with, for instance.

Aesthetically speaking, the design is great. The graphics load quickly, the colors look excellent. Genuine’s even mastered a little HTML within the first month of his weblog’s existence, allowing him to link to some of his favorite weblogs in his entries and post some enjoyable pictures.

There are a few added features to the site, aside from just the author’s multiple daily entries. There are links to the first three chapters of a novel he’s attempting to write. On a personal, more get-to-know-the-author level, readers can browse through a photoblog and following along with the countdown until Mrs. G (Genuine’s wife) is due with the newest Genuine addition. The typical most recent entries, latest comments, and links to the three months of archived entries are also thrown in the mix.

The stories that are he shares range anywhere from sickeningly cute to absolutely adorable and sometimes even to downright disgusting. No matter where you start in this weblog, you just want to keep reading more and more.

Genuine’s got a good thing going with this weblog. Whether reading about his son’s future as quarterback specializing in the Booger Hand Off, the style of argument that his young daughter has already seemed to have mastered, or any of the other bits of his life he chooses to share, the Genuine Blog isn’t one that I would want to miss.

www.genuineblog.com

On warning from our beloved leader, Brent, that this was a very adult blog, I immediately went to go and have a look.

I’ll get the preliminaries out of the way first. The look of the blog is very average and is a basic blogspot layout that someone has just hap-hazardly thrown together. The writing (when it occurs) is very immature, childish almost, which is ironic because the introduction to the blog is as follows:

I Started My Own Pay ADULT Site: mikeyandmandy.com, as a Mature not old, Married, and PUBLISHED EROTIC WRITER and with a DESIGN/BRAIN CREATIVE/SUCCESSFUL ARTIST. Strap on the Seat Belts, Puke Bags, Open your Pants, Get it Out, whatever. This is a long, strange, virtua-ride. A dirty little tale, too. Ready Master? Mistress? Whatever?

Riiight. That was written by a published writer, folks. It left me wondering, to be perfectly honest.



Mandy, who I assume is the writer of the blog, gives us fair warning that it’s an adult blog and I suppose it is… if you’re a teenager who is playing hooky from school and can sneak a peek at such things on the computer since mommy isn’t home to tell you off. This reviewer found nothing adult in the blog at all – adult meaning nothing that a mature-minded person who is looking for something naughty to read or look at – which isn’t to say that there’s no naughty bits to be found here. There are. But they’re stupid and not worth the time it takes to download them all.



As you can tell, my first and following impressions of the blog weren’t good ones. I know sex. I know blogs about sex, and I have seen some absolutely exquisite blogs combining sex and blogging (written by other people in the erotica business or by working girls). This blog does not even come close to the quality of those, or at least the quality that any adult would find stimulating (either physically or mentally).



Mandy says in her second entry:

Okay, no bullshit. Nothing about me or this blog is bullshit, well maybe some things. But I’m not gonna misrepresent shit to you guys. Lying is getting worse than horrible these days. The Bush People. PR from stars. Even the manufacturing of Jenna Jameson.
It’s horrible AND boring. Bland. Have you seen the lastest action movie?

There’s a little adage that comes to mind after reading the above, and it goes along the lines of stones and glass houses.

I personally found the blog inane (or, in Mandy’s own words, “bullshit”). I love adult material, and it takes a lot to offend me but rather than being offended or even titillated by the images found on the site. I was bored to tears and wondering why I had wasted my time.

It’s a pity really, because Mandy’s sex life could have been something pretty good, however in order to fix this blog, there needs to be some serious scrapping and starting over from scratch.
Mandy’s Sex Life

This is a very clever guy. He submitted his site for review then changed the URL. Bright huh? I’m English so maybe Chum means something different in the US, but here in the UK it means the stuff Mr Chester’s dad wasted in creating this guy.

The site is simple and straightforward enough. A good looking banner and left and right side panels containing an about me link, contact details and the usual archives and links to other blogs. There is also a drop down menu with a link to his more “satirical” pieces. Some of the links work; some don’t – for instance the chance to add his button to your site thankfully doesn’t.

The actual web log is easy to read; black text on white with a comments facility and a good use of pictures. There are no links from the text.

There is a calendar in the right panel which misdirects you around the site. I tried February 5 and came up with June 7. February 27 fetched nothing and June 7 brought forth June 10. There is also no home page icon which is a drag.

The site showcases the “twisted comic mind of Bob Chester”; a scholar of comedy. These are his descriptions. His posts contain foul mouthed, infantile, moronic comedy at its worst. He takes the piss out of everything with little skill and very quickly finds the lowest common denominator. Bin Laden, New York Yankees, Vikings, Mexicans, karate, the origins of alphabet soup, black people who don’t fit a stereotype, Jesus and Michael Jackson are all targets of his ill aimed wit. The Michael Jackson post is particularly offensive and unfunny.

I usually read a web log through, but stopped and went out before resuming as I thought a different frame of mind might enlighten me to Mr Chester’s way of thinking. No luck. I stopped shortly after starting again. The latest post contains a beautifully written piece concerning Michael J Fox. Mr Chester’s own words can sum up his work much better than any criticism I could make and I quote…”Do you think he knew what Parkinson’s was before he got it? I don’t think so. One day he couldn’t stop shaking his latte expresso all over himself. Then he ran down the street screaming “Doc! Doc! I can’t keep my food in my mouth!” Until that happens to me, I was wondering if you could stop fucking telling me about it. There are only so many times I can think “Holy shit, I wouldn’t want that at a dinner party”, before I change the channel.”

Mr Carter actually states in his profile that we could join him and “Watch as his sense of your humor grows greater every day.” Welcome to the addiction. If that’s the case – where’s the nearest rehab? I can give it no more than a half out of five for the design.

ChumBucket

MOM & Pop Culture. Here’s hoping that’s popular music and not another family blog. I got to the site and my hopes are dashed. It is another parenthood web log. But maybe with a difference; this mom has a life. She is a writer and a filmmaker, so with a lighter heart I plunge into the subject matter at hand.

The site looks cool. It has a nice banner and a good colour scheme with easy to read text. The banner acts as a home page icon which is helpful when travelling around the site. There are left and right hand panels with the perfunctory about me, contact, links to other related blogs, women film sites, recent post and comments, archives and her writing. There is a link to another web site she runs… The Philosophical Mother.

The web log has archives from December 2003 although she has been blogging in a previous incarnation since May 2003. There is a comments facility which is well used and links throughout her posts. Some didn’t function initially, but on rechecking most checked out okay. They open in the same window; I prefer it the other way.

Lizbeth, ‘tis she that authors this blog, is thirty something, married ten years and the mommie of a female eight and a male five. There is also a canine who has been christened Elvis.

Her writing is excellent. I like her style and her posts are interestingly laid out and the pace and depth of her prose leads to an enjoying read. Despite my misgivings the content of her posts is varied enough to prove interesting. Its not all mewling and puking and the chores of parenthood. Indeed she often manages to lift the chronicling of the path of parenthood from the usual tedious drudgery. It bodes well for The Philosophical Mother.

Her film making and the emotions tied up in the process thereof are well worth a read. Indeed I intend to bookmark the site and return from time to time to follow this process through.

She also comments on a variety of hot topics and trivia. She often has a reasonably argued point of view. I rarely agreed with her but that makes for engaging reading. Us lone male parents kinda get a little miffed at the whole “wonderful mother womb” thing.

I was particularly fond of her piece on the ending of the Sex and the City TV show, some stereotypes of motherhood and a whiny self pitying take on “why its so awful that girls have to pee the way they do.” Why do folk always blame others?

On the downside I can’t abide the “parenting is so…” angle or the “New York is so…” angle and the “as an artist I should contribute to the 9/11 thing” angle. Why do some people think their experience of bringing up children and loving their home town is so unique and priceless? Let the dead bury the dead.

Also let Bob, Britney and Courtney alone. If he wants to flog underwear, she wants to get fat and she wants to be mental; let them be and anyone who likes Harry Potter… well.

I enjoyed this review. The blog is well written, varied and interesting. Lizbeth engaged and enraged and had me agreeing with her on one or two occasions. I will be popping back to keep up to date with her film making. A deserved four out of five.MOM & Pop Culture

Weevil Stepmother opens to a very plain white page with a small cartoon drawing of a weevil that we are told was executed by Ed, with a link to his email address in case we would like to get a logo made by Ed too, one assumes.

I was pleased to see that the author chose a large font for her entries. Why we should be putting out web pages with microscopic fonts remains a mystery to me. That’s what customizers are for my friends. And a larger font gives me the impression that the author is welcoming you to read, not daring you.

I liked the simplicity of the page and appreciate not having to plow through some encyclopedic list of links. She has a list of 100 things about me and a truly impressive cast of characters list with corresponding links to posts where said characters are mentioned.

She writes in a light, humorous style of family goings on, childhood memories and some very British pop culture references that I got a little muddled over, not being familiar with the terminology used. Which by the way is a lesson to all us bloggers. If you have a rather wide audience outside your own country, it might be good to define some terms now and again. (I’ll make a note to myself on this one)

This blog has only been in existence since April of 2004, but the author has posted frequently and has already amassed quite a backlog. In her links she includes some oddball places to go on the web for quirky flash sites and goofy information. Though I’d stay away from the “pie” site with the weebles if I were you.

All in all this is a lighthearted place, and I was mildly amused with the author’s entries. It would probably appeal most to parents considering the many entries about the children in her household, and to those who want to know where to go on the web to find out that there are 170 feet of noodles in a package of ramen.

Weevil Stepmother