Month: April 2002

Hmmm….is it Monkeyface or is it really Moneyface? It seems the author has decided to rant about credit card companies today. There’s a whole lot of money talk and I was beginning to fret that the whole blog would be about money and other financial things. I was freaking out to tell you the truth because although the entries were quite humorous and has gotten me to read more about money things than anything my bank can ever send me, I didn’t know quite how to review such a blog. So I was filled with bewilderment concerning my dilemma like never before.

Fortunately, as I scrolled down my patience was rewarded for it explained that money happens to be the topic for this week. Ah, I get it now, big heading at the top “Money” and the words “This week’s topic is MONEY” a few entries down, how could I have been so slow? It is times like these I think I may be mentally impeded. The concept is: different week, different topic. I’m liking that. I just hope that last week it wasn’t about politics. Excellent, it was the good old classy toilet paper. Monkeyface looks right to me once again.

So what do you get when a bunch of guys go with a name like “Monkeyface”? You get good wholesome blog entertainment, fit to show your own mother. Each entry are as witty as the next, well written and insightful pertaining to that week’s topic. This group blog also uses groovy cartoon creatures unique to each different author so that the reader can easily identify which author has written which entry.

The website design is simple and clean, the green and white colour theme works well and it makes the blog very easy to read. There isn’t a monkey’s face or any part of a monkey anywhere in sight, but there is green and leaves are green, trees have them and monkeys live in trees so it’s alright, crisis over.

This is a gold nugget of a blog and I’d definitely visit it again. The concept behind it is awesome and the content is well worth the read. I can’t wait to see what next week’s topic is…..I hope it’s something like beef or mouthwash to undo the terrible aftertaste of money….monkeyface

I’m not sure why I clicked on the site suggestively named Vegan Blog, it surprised me even more that I decided to write a review on it despite being an avid Bovine food lover. I though by reviewing this site I would expand my depth of understanding into the world of veganism (I don’t think that’s a word but it should be) and I was greeted by a green and white site with a picture of a cow in a quit sign with the words ‘Don’t get Mad – Get Vegan’. I don’t think the sign was meant to be insulting but as a meat eater I was, perhaps this reviewer is just a tad touché.

Unfortunately at the time of me writing this review the author of the site was away on conference, it doesn’t stop me however from giving the blog the good once over, and I was a little startled that I found some of the post rather interesting. Of particular appeal was a post about the killing of wolves in the US, and it can be well identified that the author has done his homework, as the level of information is quite informative. Even though I found my views differing a lot to that of the author, the posts wasn’t insulting nor was it overbearing, in fact I’d say it was more pushing a point based with some factual information behind it.

The design of the site is fine, nothing over the top and I believe it does the site the justice it deserves. A good selection of colours, nice links menu on the left hand side, and readable layout make the site quite pleasant to the eye. My only beef… err, problem, was the scrollbar on the right hand side, it was hard to see where the scroll was in relation to the rest of the bar.

There are a few nice features about the site, you can subscribe and receive the posts directly to your inbox and a comments section that I was surprised hadn’t been used much by readers (either supports or otherwise).

I’m probably not going to give this site the credit it rightfully deserves, however you do have to admire a site that’s willing to push opinions and beliefs in a mature manner by a person obviously as dedicated as our author is. A highly recommend this site to anyone who has an interest in animals in general, though I’m sure everyone can walk away from this site slightly enlightened (myself included). I give Vegan Blog a tofu thumb up and 2.5 out of 5.
Vegan

Splash pages. I said it before, and I will say it again. I hate them. They serve no purpose with weblogs other than to have me click another page. I did think this one was much better than the others I had seen, because at least this one let me know it was going to be a group weblog.

So now I am reading the weblog, and I noticed something. The posts are typically meant for someone in the group. From what I could tell, about 90% of them were. But even though the majority was intended for the group, I could tell some of them were for everyone.

This site seemed like it was just one big conversation that was on going between group members. And they seem to know each other out side of the weblog as I found many reference to seeing each other and calling each other in the posts. Interesting idea: instead of emailing someone to call you, post it for the world to see. Maybe it makes it seem that much more important? I don’t know.

The design of this site is slick. Very well done, and the owner really knows his way around designing a website. He also creates pixel people for each of the posters so you can tell who posted what. That was way cool, and I really liked this idea.

This site is just average, but I had to give it a below average score because it didn’t seem like the outside world should know about it. As I stated most of the posts seemed geared towards someone in the group of participants, and not the general reader. There are some good posts, and some bad, just like a normal weblog, and the design is really good, but it comes back to who the target audience is. Maybe if the group as a whole decided to post both “internal” and “external” type posts, I would have enjoyed it better. But as the saying goes, “This is an AB conversation, so C your way out of it.”
sciongate

What an interesting site. The title, Fresh, Hot Wastes of Time is 100% accurate. While reading this site, I spent nearly 2 hours on all the things she links to that are, Wastes of Time.

So what is the meat of this blog? We have a female writer, a recent mother who has quite a bit of free time to find some of the most random links, sound files, and other stuff out on the web. She compiles her list and posts it, which happens to be multiple times a day.

But she doesn’t always just post random links. There are posts about what is going on in her life, and the normal weblog type entries. I didn’t find any particular entry that struck out as being interesting or funny that is a must read, however, about 90% of her links are worth checking out if you have time to waste.

The design of the site is pretty simple: a two-column layout with the links on the right in a blue and purple shaded color scheme. I like the clocks up at the top of the page, since the title references time. I was expecting something to be linked with in those, but nothing was.

Over all if you need a site to read while “acting like you are working” then this is the perfect one. Plenty of links to get you looking at different things, and there is the personal side if you want to read about the author.
Fresh, Hot Wastes of Time

Ynnej (which I’ll just have to assume is Jenny backwards, give me a gold star) impressed me straight from the start with its user-friendly layout which is both simple to use and attractive to look at. Its different to what I’ve come across in the past, but for a weblog it certainly does the trick, and I’m sure you’ll all agree with me after having a look yourself.

If your after your typical cam-girl you don’t need to go any further then here. As an added bonus Jenny also give you the chance to be her boyfriend by filling in an online form, which is an amusing concept. The blog itself isn’t anything I would get hooked on, though that’s not totally surprising, as I don’t really have much in common with 16-year-old teenage girls. There are however plenty of links to other sites so if you find yourself with some spare time on your hand its certainly a valuable resource to other sites of interest.

There is thought out there that cam-girls are rather self-centered, and seeing as ynnej.com includes multiple pictures of herself, and a wish list, I don’t think you can really conclude other wise. Theirs is plenty of information about the author, which is a nice touch, as well as former school assignments and other articles that I assume is written by her as well. There’s also a section on ex-boyfriends, a brief description on each one, and from my last count there were 16 of them, it would seem our author also has a rather busy social life as well. I’m not sure if I would personally like myself reviewed as an ex-boyfriend, but then again, I found it to be a pretty good read.

Ynnej.com certainly was a very attention-grabbing weblog to review, and yes, I did enjoy reviewing it, though its safe to say its more aimed towards the teenage age bracket. Design wise I couldn’t find a fault, it was impressive and everything seemed to work (except one link to a yahoo group site) so it gets the big thumbs up for me in that respect. Overall a good site, and I give it a 3 out of 5.
Ynnej