Month: January 1970

When I first saw the name “cut rate parasite” it did not lend itself to a weblog I would care to read, but I persisted – more out of a degree of morbid curiosity than anything else. I was to be pleasantly surprised. “Cut-rate parasite” is, for the most part, a travel weblog run by an ex musician, ex journalist, and college professor. Now with that list of careers under his belt I felt the likelihood of a good read growing each second, and I was not to be disappointed.

The weblog has been in existence since October 2004, and can be described (essentially) by using his own words.

This blog mixes travel writing, irreverent looks at literature and severe simplifications of some literary theory that seems relevant to what I say now and then.

The content is extremely well written, and I found that once I had started reading my eyes were carried along the lines without effort. Maybe, in part, it is because I love to travel so much myself, and a lot of his journal reflects on his travel experiences, or maybe it is the simple fact that the author writes so very well. Either way this is a definite weblog I would return to check up on from time to time.

The design, or so it seems me, bares resemblance to the slightly generic blogspot templates – yellow background, with a white side column. But the site is clear, nicely laid out, easy to read, and does not detract unduly from the content. It is nice to see a writer concentrating on the stuff that really matters – the content, and merely putting forth a good plain design that is easy on the eye and simple to navigate.

All in all, I enjoyed reading “Cut rate parasite” immensely, despite my initial reservations. It is a real pleasure to read, and I would recommend to anyone, especially those who love to travel. A must read 5 site, a rare commodity.

Cut-rate parasite

Mondo Irlando, eh? Sounds interesting. I have no clue what the title means but I’m sure it is a representation of something, which is usually the case.

First impression: WOW. After reading a few of the entries, I was hooked. The entries are usually made up of rants against one person or thing or the other but The Duke is witty and clever and he will make you smile.

He even has a little area especially made for Kirsten Dunst. Maybe a little crush?

Layout-wise, I thought it was ok. Not great, especially not with my taste, but it was alright. The punk and gothic look was mastered pretty well, and it has its lure. What I especially liked was that instead of having the entries all out there on the first page, he has the links to get you to each one. Kudos on that!

Overall, I just loved it! I recommend everyone go here for a lookie and see yourself get hooked to read all of the long entries The Duke has. He’s that good.Mondo Irlando

It doesn’t help a lot that I’ve had a beer before starting reviewing this blog. So be it. Let The Editor decide if it’s worth publishing or not. I do my job, he does his and all I can hope for is that he likes my part on this deal. The Letter D. I don’t know if it’s me with my lack of knowledge on other cultures or this is really an enigmatic title for a blog.

The author calls himself The Letter D. D as in Dan, Dave, Damnit? I can’t tell. His profile doesn’t say anything about his name and I feel weird when I’m not able to know the name of who’s writing, even if people can certainly lie about their names and identities on the internet (not to mention “real life”). All I can say is that he writes a humor column and is a stand-up comediant. I love Seinfeld, the TV show and the little sketches we can watch after it. So, ok, D will certainly score some points if he’s able to make me at least smile and laugh on the inside. (I just think it’s silly to laugh out loud when looking at a computer screen, don’t you agree?)

D uses a blogspot layout which I think is just fine. It tells me he believes in the content and I love the idea that someone these days truly believes the content matters. Ok, Editor, you can say I use cliches in my reviews, it doesn’t matter. I’m drunk. All links work ok. The blog’s not that old (it started in March, 2004) and you can spend some time reading the archives.

I like to laugh. I doubt there’s a person on Earth who doesn’t. As I said, I feel pretty stupid if I’m laughing at the computer screen, so I’d rather laugh in the inside and don’t show my teeth to the screen. Anyways, D is really funny. I mean it. Since I’ve come across this blog, I keep checking for updates. I’m addicted to it.The Letter D

I sat and thought about the title of this blog for a little while before I actually clicked the url to venture within. I tried to invision what images “The Letter D” brought to mind and, I incidentally came up with well, nothing. This one actually was going to require further investigation, so I decided to dive right in with a relatively blank canvas for a first impression.

Reading the ‘about me’ blurb, I discovered that this blogger is not only an attorney, but he also currently publishes a monthly humor column for a rag entitled “The Metro Male” in Grand Rapids, MI. Further reading reveals that he has a won a few stand up competitions, and subsequently was titled the ‘funniest person in Grand Rapids’ for two consecutive years. Immediately I was intrigued that I had a potentially great read ahead of me.

I was not disappointed! This guy is ‘pretty darn funny’ to quote a local television station’s advertisement. I read easily through his entire archive of posts to not only test the links, but also to see if “D” came by his comedic personality honestly. I was going to be very disappointed if he merely had produced a few funny fluke posts. I found that I was pleasantly pleased! He has a smooth writing style that flows well and keeps you interested and wanting more. He writes thought provoking posts about daily life that can and do regularly happen to Everyman, not just his own experiences.

If you have not read this blog, I recommend highly all of his posts about the mentally challenged ‘Stalkers’, his daughter ‘The Cub’ and the ‘Open Letter to Michael Jackson.” I felt that I was there laughing with him watching these events as they conspired, and shaking my head in mutual consternation.

He utilizes a basic blogger template with no frills, bells or whistles on a stark white background. To some readers that might leave a lot to be desired. However, I honestly feel that what this site lacks in design, it ultimately makes up for in content.

The Letter D

Cats. Photos of cats greet you upon your first visit to Chandra’s Realm. Then you have to hit “Enter” to actually get to the site itself. (Here I was, thinking that the really bad ‘Enter’ trend was over. I was wrong.)

After you ‘enter’ and you get to the first page of Chandra’s Realm, you quickly learn that it really isn’t a blog, not like blogs you are used to seeing. For example, there aren’t daily (or weekly) dated entries right up front, just a bunch of categories in the sidebar with very little cohesion to the site. Wait, hold on, I happened to spy a link in the sidebar to “Blog” where I did find some daily musings by Chandra a la blog, but it is so lost among the clutter of the main page one may never find it.

I honestly can’t nail down what the main site is other than a hodgepodge of links and cat photos. The posts on the first page under “What’s New” are several weeks old and include her “Cause of the Month.” I assume this to be a charity or other cause she feels strongly about–most of them relating to animals (nothing wrong with that).

Chandra has done this site for quite some time, and you can tell she spends lots of time working on it. Reading through the “Blog” link, you can get to know a bit more about Chandra herself, but I find the blog content to be so hidden from view that it’s almost impossible to figure out that it is there at all. Chandra’s Realm