I wasn’t sure what to think about The Mermaid Tavern, as there’s no mention of mermaids, or taverns for that matter. First impressions of the blog weren’t terribly good as I geared myself up to wander through the content. It’s got an old blogspot template for it’s layout which is particularly uninspiring and lacking in the pull to capture the reader’s initial attention. I do believe that something more suited to the blogger’s personality in this case would definitely help the overall feel of the blog.
“The sense of the philosofairy is to never make sense.” You got that right! She doesn’t at first, but therein lies the appeal. I read with a growing interest, evolving from thinking the blog was a little dull and silly to finding it quirky (in a good way) and well written. It’s not a very old blog, indiejade only began The Mermaid Tavern in late February this year, so the reading was quick and easy… and surprisingly entertaining.
So who is the philosofairy? “indiejade” is all we know her as, and there’s a sparse sprinkling of personal information on the front page, though not really enough to quench the thirst for background knowledge that this reviewer had. So I wandered over to first entry which is an anthropological discussion on the people of Oregon and already we can already see the quirkiness come to the fore. Unfortunately there was no more background information about the philosofairy herself (apart from the fact that she likes Chardonnay) as I was hoping, but it’s a good introduction to her personality and her writing.
indiejade takes us through her life as the philosofairy and it’s an entertaining ride, filled with posts detailing the mystery of the manila envelope to thoughts on the economy. Each entry is delivered with a quiet sort of humour, which while it won’t give you the big belly laughs afforded by other humour sites, will certainly leave you smiling if not giggling just a tiny bit.
I’d have to say that this confusing little blog is fun and definitely quirky. I came away from it knowing that there is a very smart and funny individual behind the entertaining anecdotes and analogies. And it’s quirky. If there was ever a word to describe The Mermaid Tavern, it would definitely be quirky. 3/5 for the blog, plus 0.5 for the quirkiness. Thanks indiejade! The Mermaid Tavern