Category: Uncategorized

The S-Train Canvass is an impressive site. The color scheme is among the most original I have ever seen, shunning the usual bright colors of the web for a more subdued and tranquil look. Beneath this exterior lies witty, entertaining prose that takes blogging to a new level by exploring topics not touched by other weblogs. I was intrigued, but certainly not put off by terms unfamiliar to me (“progressive thuggary,” anyone?) and read on with relish.

This is a very unique and highly stylized blog, ran by S-Train, an ex-gang member, self-professed sociology aficionado, thug, and owner of a submarine sandwich shop. That description alone is enough to interest most readers, and rightly so. Despite this site only being a few months old, there is plenty of excellent content to peruse on almost every possible topic. S-Train is often aided by his best friend, Aysel, whom he credits with keeping him on track. According to the site, “progressive thuggary” stands for “positive change through progressive unruliness,” a motto which the author has certainly taken to heart. S-Train is unafraid to criticize aspects of society he sees as faulty, and, regardless of whether the reader agrees with him; his well-crafted viewpoints are a joy to explore. The author speaks of an interest in sociology, and this shines through in his writing. He shares his often-unconventional views on such diverse and touchy topics as the “n” word, the war on terror, and his past involvement with a gang. His writing is a bit hard-edged at times, but this only adds to the overall atmosphere of his truly original site. While S-Train submitted his site to us in the Personal category, this site will be most enjoyable to readers who are socially conscious and interested in news, current events, and an overall critique of society.

The site design, as mentioned before, is nearly impeccable and wholly creative. I love the header graphic, which includes a kind of lead-in to the blog and has a beautiful, minimalistic flavor to it. The only possible improvement I can see would be to put the right navigational column on every archive page to make navigating this large site easier. Other than that, this site is quite a gem. In addition to the blog, The S-Train Canvass includes Progressive Thug Radio, a web-based radio station worth checking out. I recommend every reader explore the site via the topics listed on the sidebar. These are a great way to explore the thoughts and feelings of S-Train, and his occasional collaborator, Aysel. The entries filed under “Our Society,” are pure gold. Overall, this site is an excellent addition to any blog-lover’s daily repertoire.
The S-Train Canvass

At first glance, ‘Lucidly Awake’ looks similar to many other weblogs — it’s built with a fairly standard template, featuring a main column for the entries and a sidebar to the right. Stylistically, there’s not much to set it apart, but the look is clean, and there’s certainly nothing to distract (or detract) from the writing.

So how is the writing? I dug into the archives to find out. The first few posts offer a glimpse into the life of the author — he’s a nineteen year old student, studying actuarial science and living in Mumbai, India. Many of the entries center around his schoolwork, various girls and friends in his life, and pop culture, including commentary on several movies, both American and Indian. For me, it offered an interesting view into the life of a young man in a very different situation and culture from my own, and it was the posts that highlighted these differences that really captured my attention.

There’s not yet an enormous amount of content in this blog; the archives extend back for only about three months, and several of the weekly archive pages contain only two or three posts. With a bit of free time and a cup of coffee, a reader could browse all of the archives of ‘Lucidly Awake’ in an hour or two. There are also a few issues with spelling and syntax to be found in many of the entries. These aren’t overly problematic, but I did find them a distraction at times.

Overall, I enjoyed ‘Lucidly Awake’, and was intrigued by the author’s descriptions of his life in Mumbai. It’s an interesting and personal view of the day-to-day thoughts of someone immersed in a different culture, and I found myself comparing his experiences to my own. I’d like to stop by again when there’s a bit more content, and I think that some of the language issues make some areas a bit difficult to follow, but this is a weblog with a lot of promise, and — in my reading experience, at least — a unique perspective. I rate ‘Lucidly Awake’ 3.5 out of 5, and look forward to seeing more.Lucidly Awake

So, “The Road To Braj Is Strewn With Thorns”? Aha, uhm… if you say so. Thing is, I have no idea what or where Braj is, so my first impression of the blog was: confused.

Being confused, however, usually arouses my curiosity. I started my investigations of this blog with the usual visit to the “About Me”-page, which says the blog author is Satyavati devi dasi, a disciple of “His Holiness Indradyumna Swami”. Frankly, learning this didn’t do much to enlighten me, in fact, I was even more confused now.

Reading on, I learned the blog was initially just for “preaching purposes”, but has evolved into a mix of daily live reports, philosophical rants, recipes, and much more.

Now, I have to be honest here – I’m not having any problems with Krishna-people, but I also don’t know much about them, so it’s human I started reading the blog entries with some scepticism, maybe even prejudices.

Much to my surprise (and joy), I found several entries that kept me entertained, made me think, and, most important, gave me the chance to have a glimpse through the eyes of someone who lives a life totally different from mine – altough I frankly don’t understand all religion related posts, the author usually does a good job in explaining her world.

Concerning the design, and other superficial things: It’s a fairly simple, but easy to read layout; lot’s of posts are illustrated with pictures. The navigation is a fairly standard (established) bar on the right hand side, with the usual blog roll, archives and misc. links.

Summing it up, I’d say this site is surely worth a visit for open-minded people, and an interesting read even for agnostics or atheists like me.

It’s a bit hard for me to give a numerical rating because there’s so much content that’s too far away from my world, but considering the blog entertained me after the first confusion, I’d give it a four – it’s good, but it’s not gonna be a dialy must for me.

Oh, and I still don’t know who or what Braj is… 😉
The Road To Braj Is Strewn With Thorns

I can’t help but point out that seeing the word “song” and “rut” together got me thinking about things that have nothing to do with music or being in a slump. When I went ot the site I read “Songwriting tips for songwriters” and it all suddenly made much more sense! Oooohhh, SongRut. Now I get it.

The first thing I did was look around. There were dropdown boxes that looked as though something should’ve been written there, but nothing was there. Also dark words in the sidebar that I thought were links, are just text. Since I couldn’t figure out what was going on, I thought I’d tackle the archives. There aren’t many entries to begin with. Actually, for the entire month of March, there are only 2. One with a bunch of links all labeled “songwriting” but each taking you somewhere different. And the other with a few lines and some type filler, you know the kind, where you just hit the keyboard to create some temporary content. The April entries are filled with a lot of good advice for songwriters, and even writers in general. Things like a change of perspective, using metaphors, different different writing approaches. The content is worth a read and is actually entertaining enough to want to read through each and every entry.

The design is very simple with shades of greenish brown and grey’s. It’s not overly done, or under done, although I have no idea what the purpose of all the text and empty dropboxes are for. It functions, but you might be deterred by the ads, though thankfully, no pop-ups.

There are some links to cd’s that might be worth a look for some who aren’t so musically open. Anyone who links, Norah Jones and Billie Holiday with U2 and Led Zeppelin obviously has some great musical taste. Seriously.

As a result of reading through this blog, I’m extremely confused. There are parts of the blog that are worth taking very seriously, and other parts that probably shouldn’t.

gugga goo ba bribble fiz
duddle burra gorga brap
fiddle pipple diddle brine
baddle biggie grope ***

*** Of course, I had a huge hit in Lithuania with this song, so obviously your mileage may vary depending on your nationality

and

People just can’t stop writing to me saying how many hit records they’ve written since they read this stuff, so I wouldn’t be suprised. One guy actually won the lottery the day after he read this web page.
– from the about me page

These things along with other little choice pieces make me wonder if this blog isn’t more along the lines of a parody, or if this whole thing should be taken more seriously. It’s up to you, dear reader, to figure it out for yourself. I, however, have my own opinion.songrut

I can honestly say that Autograph is a weblog that I truly enjoyed reading from top to bottom. Upon entering the blog, I was greeted with a small banner at the top of the page, which says “Autograph The journal of true and creative writing”. To the left, in the corner, is a photo of who I am assuming is the author. Below the banner are a few links which are very neatly laid out. The blog had a very professional look to it.

After looking over the blog, I checked out (as I often do at first) the “about” link to see if I could get more info on the author. As it turns out, his weblog project was inspired by a blog that was created by a friend of his.

I began reading the main page, then on into his archives. One of the things that is different about Jay’s weblog, is there is only one post per page; which is not something you see very frequently. The entries are a mixture of different topics. Each one is telling a story about something different.

Jay’s entries are very well written and it’s obvious that they are well thought out. In all honesty, I feel that Jay is a very exceptional writer. Why do I say exceptional you may ask? For the simple reason that some of his entries make you feel as if you are reading a good romance novel that you just can’t stop reading until you know the outcome or as if you are watching a movie and it is so entertaining that you just don’t want it to end.

I know everyone has different tastes and what some of us find interesting, others may not, but for myself it was very enjoyable reading.

Entries in his archives range from stories about where he grew up, the respect he has for his dad, the cars he’s had and many more articles. One entry is even just a page containing of jokes, which lets you see the humor side of him. One of my favorite entries was one he wrote about his dad, A Wise Old Man. Another one of my other favorite entries was The Bloom Of A Kiss. Those are just a couple that I really enjoyed.

Something else I liked about the blog was that his signature is displayed after each entry in autograph form. I thought it was very professional looking once again.

There is really not much I can say about the design that I haven’t said already. It is very neatly laid out. The links are sectioned as to where it is very easy to get to what you want. My only complaint about the weblog is that there wasn’t more of it to read. So if you readers have some time to spare, Jay’s blog is worth checking out. I know I will become a frequent visitor.

Autograph