Review 2528

Upon first arriving at Rambling Along, I was greeted by a highly functional, if somewhat clumsy layout. The eye graphic to the left is both intriguing and aesthetically pleasing, and the monochrome scheme seems to work well. I recommend the author get rid of some of the white space around the title, as it lends to a feeling of unbalance. Likewise, I was somewhat put off by the subtitle, “Musings From A Muddled Mind.” To me, at least, any blog with the word “musing” in the title (or “rambling,” for that matter) has a head start at being cliche. However, one shouldn’t judge a blog by it’s title (or its layout, for that matter,) so I continued with an open mind.

To the right of the page, one can immediately spot the author’s biographical information, which is nice. Unlike some blogs which have no biographical information, or information too vague to make sense of, Rambling Along’s author paints us a quick, concise picture of just who is behind this. He humorously apologizes for any grammatical errors describes himself as “am a 30 year old gay man with a penchant for seeing the “other” side of life.” While it isn’t really stated what this “other side” might entail, it becomes apparent that the author has a blunt, and entertaining. taste for sarcasm.

Kai, the author, has been keeping this blog sparsely since mid-September. The site seems still in it’s infancy, and long gaps between entries are common. Much of this blog written with a kind of adolescent tone that is alternately refreshing and annoying. The entries are often all-out rants, many of which any reader can sympathize with. He railed against parents giving their children funny names, and talks about his experiences with the Catholic church. While some of this is charming, other entries come across as rather mundane, and result to describing daily events with mild and expected editorializing. Some comments he makes sparkle like diamonds in the rough, and when Kai described his mood as “aubergine,” I couldn’t help but grin. This is strictly a blog site, however, and the blog itself is the only content.

In terms of design, this site is quite plain, as is expected for a new site. The large amount of white space at the top of the page in unbalancing, and the photograph above the bio is very poorly scaled (I am unsure if it is of the author or not.) The seemingly monochromatic color scheme could work, and the eye graphic on the left is intriguing, though neither really compliment the sarcastic tone of the blog. The archives are difficult to navigate for such a small site, requiring the user to flip through calendar views and search for days one which the site was updated. I suggest the author switch to a drop-down menu or list of links for site navigation. Overall, the design is legible, but certainly has much room for improvement.

In it’s present state, Rambling Along is a somewhat interesting site that some patient readers may learn to love despite its flaws. This is, one must recognize, a very young site, and the author certainly has potential. Amid the clutter, some gems do sparkle, and with a little more practice on his side, I’m certain Kai’s blog could be a consistently entertaining. I advise the author to keep blogging, reading blogs, and developing his voice. This site is very much in it’s infancy, and smacks of a work in progress. Eventually, Rambling Along could become something enjoyable for mass consumption.Rambling Along