Month: January 2003

For a relatively new blog, Michael Colbert’s is rather good. The writing is concise, and the dry sense of humour Michael injects into his entries makes the posts rather enjoyable to read. Michael’s blog is mainly used for sharing things that he came across in a day – be it online or real life. Along with the good writing, there are also picture posts, which add colour to the blog.

The layout is a typical Blogspot template, and the blog is quite well-linked. There are little bits of information on the side tables, E.g. the reason for this blog name, but nothing too informative. The blog is updated every few days or so, and you can subscribe to the blog to be informed when there’s a new post.

This being a ‘personal’ blog, it has incredibly minimal information on the author. Only after reading his posts, did I learn that Michael’s attached, has two cats and is slightly asthmatic. It would be really good if there was an ‘About Me’ page.

On the whole, this is a rather typical ‘personal’ blog where you read about the author’s day and thoughts. It’s a pretty straight and frills-free blog so if you want a quick read, this should be a good choice.
michael colBLOG

The more entries I read at this site, the better I felt my own vocabulary was becoming. Maybe that’s why Josh refers My So-Called Strife as his “verbal bonanza”. To put it simply, Josh uses big words that just seem to flow naturally. When I use big words, they seem to stick out like a sore thumb throbbing so much you’d rather just rip it off.

In addition to his wonderful vocabulary, Josh is a VERY funny guy. He writes in a very conversational manner, which makes any weblog all the more enjoyable. Part of what makes My So-Called Strife such a humorous weblog is the way Josh does not hold back with writing about anything at all. Is running out of toilet paper something anyone would share on your weblog? Perhaps. But is sharing the resolution of that same problem something you’d share if it involved an old washcloth and the threat of skid marks? I don’t think I would. Josh, however, has no problem with it at all!

If it’s shock reaction he’s looking for, it certainly works. Just from reading entry after entry, I think that’s just how Josh is, though. He’ll say what’s on his mind and has no problem leaving out the details no matter how graphic or potentially self-embarrassing they might be. That type of attitude and writing style will definitely bring me back to read even more of his antics.

The layout is a simple one with the weblog portion of the site on the left, and several links running down the right. As far as I can tell, the appearance should be the same no matter what screen resolution readers are using. It’s a layout that works for what this site is, and that’s just Josh’s weblog. I found that the links he lists under “ephemera I like” are weblogs almost just as entertaining as My So-Called Strife.

Not to say that the weblog isn’t enough, however, because it’s much better then many, many weblogs I’ve read. I would love to see an “About the Author” section. Granted, through his posts you do find out information about where he works, or what he does in his free time, but after laughing nearly the entire time I read his weblog, I kept trying to figure out where this guy might have came from and what gives him this impeccable flair for being able to communicate things in such an entertaining way.



I bookmarked this site. I couldn’t help it. Why would I not want to add this site to my list of favorites? It had me laughing nearly the whole time I was reading, and when I wasn’t laughing I was thinking “Wow, that’s a good word” or “this guy really knows how to put together a string of sentences that don’t make me think I’ve been sitting here reading this for hours upon hours”. Trust me on this one. It’s worth your time just to take a peek at the last couple of entries. Those alone will hook you.


My So-Called Strife

After reading a few entries and the raison d’etre for tabulae I wondered what I had stumped upon. The first entry describes tabulae as: “We mean this as a technocratic, elitist, politburo-style weblog.” I was expecting to read the intellectual masturbations of a bunch of self proclaimed “elitists”. I was however, pleasantly surprised.

What I found instead was an intellectual, in-depth, but very readable political discussion. (Ultimately good writing always wins me over…) It reminded me a lot of “Inside Washington”. Go figure.

With world events being as they are, it was interesting to read what political writers had to say about the many serious issues facing the world. The journal centres around the political analysis of four different authors (although most entries are only by two of them). Most entries are well documented with supporting links for further illumination or examples/evidence. I believe they do their homework.

tabulae is well designed and functions well, although a -top- link near the bottom of those long scrolling pages would be nice!

A taste of the politics:

“Unfortunately, I must now advocate against war. I’m switching sides. In an ideal world, a preemptive war seems good, but, this is no ideal world. I think this administration is too incompetent to succeed. I think them to secretive to present our case to the world. I think them too simplistic to engage in ‘nation-building’ afterwards, especially with no allies. But most of all, I think them too willing to go ahead without consulting and informing the populace, and I will support no war that the people are not behind. Sure 70% want an invasion, but how many want an invasion if it takes 200,000 troops and 20,000 casualties. We are victims of our recent success, as now the people assume future war will be as clean as the last three. I think they are headed down the path of Vietnam, which paralyzed our f.p. for a decade afterwards. To again paralyze the US, in a similar post-Iraq decade of self-doubt would be far worse leaving the despot be. ”

A great metaphor (or is it a simile?):

“Over beers the other day, a friend of mine said that Bush acts like that kid on the softball team, who, if you don’t play by his rules, packs up all his stuff and leaves. Of course it doesn’t help that this kid owns the best bat, most of the gloves, and the only ball that still has laces.

After some reflection, I amended this story. Bush is more like the kid (who has all the best stuff) that, if you don’t play by his rules, takes all his stuff away…and then beats the hell out of you with his baseball bat.”

And even though they poke fun at two things close to my heart (hockey and Canada):
“I agree with Woodrow. Therefore, we here at Tabulae are declaring a one month moratorium on discussing the Bush Administration. I don’t care if then invade Canada and nationalize the NHL. We are not talking about them here for rest of the month of January. Loyal readers who like to get their Bush bashing will have to wait until February 1 to get any of that here (yeah, I know it’s not quite a month). “
I found tabulae to be a surprisingly enjoyable read. Surprising because who knew you could enjoy reading about politics?

I don’t think this is a blog for everyone. However, I’m sure most readers will appreciate the well written insightful political opinions that tabulae shares. Well Done. Don Cherry for Prime Minister. tabulae in 2004!
tabulae

Sugarcoated Bulletproof Marshmallows Smug-Face seems like a huge name for this blog, so I’m going to call it Sugarcoated for short. As Karene [the writer of Sugarcoated] does note, too much of something definitely can make one sick. Sugarcoated is a bright and pretty blog, but it seems to be at the expense of content and ease of navigation.

There seems to be exactly one entry on Sugarcoated. I could find no link to archives of any kind. After searching for a little bit I found a link to something called “Ka’s blog,” which I think must be Karene’s real blog, which is at Blogspot. So when the blog is called up, the Blogspot banner and all come up in the frame. It doesn’t really look very good with the rest of her design. According to Karene’s Blogspot blog, the blog has been in existence since September of 2002. Unfortunately none of the links to her older entries work – I get an error page instead. The only entries accessible are from Christmas through the present.

Warning: Sugarcoated is a religious blog. Karene posts religious poetry and songs and content, interspersed with pop song lyrics. Some of it might be her own poetry, but I’m not really sure. There is hardly any real content, other than Karene letting us all know that she’s a good religious girl.

In addition to the problems with her archival links, and my confusion over finding blog content, Karene explains her navigation on her main index page. If you need to explain to people how to navigate your blog, the navigation is too clunky. And the navigation at Sugarcoated really does need to be explained – it’s confusing.

For the most part, the content of Sugarcoated lies within the extras. Karene is part of an extensive group of cliques and rings, and wants you to rate her blog here and at Bloghop. She’s got ads and lots of buttons so you can link Sugarcoated, links to her favorite blogs and links to other sites of interest. And she’s got a tagboard, and a pop up window that tells us what Karene’s current cravings are that also brings up a huge Geocities popup ad.

I will not visit Sugarcoated again. I’m not interested in what little content Karene does have, and the navigational errors are enough to drive away anyone.

i spilt caramel on my pink skirt