Month: August 2002

While the title “Journal Life” is not what you could refer to as an exceptional nor provocative name, it does do justice to the original purpose of this blog. Simply stated: a daily writing down of thoughts and various other events of importance to this down-to-earth blogger. The author is a full-fledged grandmother at the ripe “young” age of forty-one, so she has enough to write, that’s for sure.

In her own words, “there is so much more that you could know about me, and in time through reading my journal you may discover those things about me.” Up close and personal, this is who I am, nothing more and nothing less. This young grandma collects teddy bears, was born with one kidney, is left-handed, and she is seriously considering joining WLS (please see her Foodlog for more information if you do not know what that abbreviation stands for). “I hope that you stay long enough to truly know the person I am,” she writes in her biography, and I am sure she really means it.

This site provides a nicely designed blog with soothing bluish slate grey on cream white which is very easy on the eyes making it a relaxing read. The navigation is a bit awkward at times, e.g. in order to see older entries you need to go via a calendar to pick out individual dates rather than specific links based on categories. This could be improved later for quicker access allowing one to jump around the site easier.

Her archived entries go back to October 2001, and since then there are alot of interesting and less interesting entries to be had. About reading books, “I was soooo excited this morning when my dad called and left me a message on my voicemail at work. My BOOKS had arrived!!” Vacation day, “There is nothing better than waking up at your regular time in the morning and then realizing that you are off work that day.”

Oh yes, there’s alot about food, really alot. Types of foodstuffs, the pros and cons of eating this rather than that, the temptations of eating too much. I find these inner dialogs focused on eating and non-eating the most interesting as they offer a real glimpse into this grandmother blogger. In her Foodlog she tries to get better focused on her weight loss and get back on track. In her Booklog she lists alot of interesting literature, and finally in her Barterlog there is room for bartering second hand books (in good condition) and other stuff. She even has a wishlist, but I have never seen a Palm m505 Color Handheld (for 290 bucks) ever mentioned before in someone’s wishlist! Shame, shame. Quite unique.

I would say that “Journal Life” is worthy of a good read. It may not appeal to everyone, but I am sure there is a personality niche out there to which this kind of talk certainly appeals. At least stay long enough to truly know the person she is.Journal

When Original Something first came up on my screen, my initial reaction was: green, very green. Isn’t green supposed to soothing? Well, Original Something isn’t soothing, but it is a charming blog of a very cool and eccentric guy called Jon.



Jon’s writing is the major draw to Original Something. He has a certain je ne sais quois that makes me smile. From doting on the cancelled TV show “Sports Night” to Luke and Owen Wilson’s doped-up looking countenances, Jon’s quirky entries make me realize that life and the web can be a load of fun. But Jon does have depths, as his July 8th entry on his thoughts about life shows.



Design wise, Original Something leaves something to be desired for. It is a very plain (and green) blog, but the layout is comfortably navigable, and besides, he plays the guitar and has songs available for download! If the layout, color scheme, and design were cleaned up a little, Jon would have a truly great blog on his hands.
Quo Vadimus

Unfoldedorigami is a beautifully designed blog. The colors are soothing and the layout is simple but elegant. You can immediately see that the one line description on the front page, “an artist’s blog,” is very apt. It is both a well-written and well-designed blog, something that is sadly too lacking on the web today.



The writing itself can be divided into two types: personal and creative. The personal entries are extremely interesting, giving us glimpses into the varied artistic endeavors of the person behind the blog along with their everyday life. The creative entries, though substantially less in number, are even better. Within these entries you can find short stories, poems, and even Quicktime and Flash videos, all showcasing the artist’s talent (though I am sorry to say that I was not able to view the videos; a dial-up connection just doesn’t cut it).



Unfoldedorigami is hosted at diaryland.com, and while that does present some limitations, the blog integrates them well. It is streamlined, only providing us with the main journal, an archives section, and a guestbook. This minimalistic construction punctuates the grace of Unfoldedorigami, as, of course, does the name.



Unfoldedorigami is worth visiting, and I only wish there were more of it. It chronicles the life of an artist I’d like to know more about.
unfoldedorigami

Although NOTD is mainly a site that reviews movies, it’s called News Of The Day. I could be wrong, but I’m guessing it’s because Kenny (the brain behind the site) also has set forth a daily personal log of sorts. NOTD is a collaborative effort of 8 young men, who mainly review movies and goof off on a regular basis. With a heavy emphasis on goofing off.

Kenny’s daily log is a funny one, usually recapping his travels or daily observances, and features his very intelligent commentary (Note to the weaker-minded: There ARE pictures!). The posts made in and around the front pages of the site by the other staff, are frocked with the genuine humor and insight that you would not ordinarily get from a newspaper or traditional movie review…so, I was interested enough to move further.

The reviews the guys do are pretty objective, and of course, silly as well. You needn’t be one of their crowd to understand them, either. I’d say the group blog area in itself is worth the visit to the site, and I’m sure they’d be glad to hear that.

The layout on the main page, I’m guessing, is the more recent of the handful that make up NOTD’s design. The webmaster has kept the previous templates where they lie, in the older parts of the site (as do some bloggers). Sometimes this doesn’t work for blogs, and in NOTD’s case, it initially threw me off a bit. The navigation formula remains intact, so I guess its not that scary after all. I’m not sure if the recent move of the blog’s ‘power’ to Greymatter has affected NOTD, I just wondered why the archive page appears to be missing nearly a year’s worth of entries (mid-June ’01 to March 02′). Everything else seems to be intact and all the other content I’ve read was great, so I let it slide.

I especially liked the graphic on the front page. It seems to represent the mindset of the average NOTD staffer, by saying that they deviate, yet manage to provide a kind of harmony. They make something fit even if it doesn’t belong, like the styrofoam cup that’s too big, on a hot coffee press. Cinderella’s glass slipper in a bowl of Jell-O. Watching a porno with Mom. But I digress. My point is, this brings me to summize that NOTD combines elements which perhaps don’t belong together: movie reviews, news, a personal/group blog, a ‘Smiley Cam’, and rampant male adolescent humor. But somehow, some way, it works.

Overall, I’d recommend the average weblog reader to stop by and check out a funny weblog entry or two, or peruse through the movie reviews. If you think the Sunday Comics are boring, you find Leonard Malten to be a schmuck, or are just looking for something new and fun, put down your issue of Stuff and run, don’t walk, to NOTD. I’m sure you’ll find some peace of mind, as well as fellowship, there.

*Sniff* I have. 5 out of 5.News Of The Day

“My Views on the News” is exactly what the title implies or in the words of the writer “weird news + weird brain = my blog” and a great site it is.



The layout at first put me off when the site loaded up. The background is newsprint, but it’s covered up by another background of black and red, which really doesn’t look all that great. However the content of the site is exceptional.



The author Annie was is a former newspaper reporter who has interviewed well-known people such as former first lady, Hilary Rodham Clinton and Doc Severinsen and traveled around much of the United States and outside of the country. In addition to traveling and reporting, she is also a published poet and photographer and won a journalism award for her work.



Her blog consists of links to articles with her views on them ranging from odd news, to mainstream stories, both in net and real life news. She often will explain a bit about what the story is giving you a bit a background and then explaining her thoughts about it which can be sarcastic to serious. I really enjoyed reading her input on the different articles and even reading the crazy stuff that’s out there that people report on.



In addition to her site, she also has links to a short bio page and the main page has links to different weblogs and sites containing different topics such as news, search engines and weblog-oriented sites.



This makes cool site and in her words, “I don’t have an editor telling me what I can or can’t say. It’s liberating. It feels good.”My Views on the News