Month: December 2004

Going into this blog, I really wasn’t sure what to expect judging by the title. The first thing I noticed when i entered the blog, was a plain looking template (one of those blogspot templates), but very neatly laid out. It was a two column lay-out, with the posts in the middle and the links etc. on the right hand side.

This time, for some unknown reason to myself, I went straight to the posts instead of looking for an “About Me” section. I read the first entry on the main page, then it was at that point I went looking for some info about the author.

Up in the right hand corner, was an “About Me” section . It gave the Authors name which was “Jay” and that he was from the “United States”.Included was also a small photo of Jay. Below that info , there was a link that said “review my complete profile”. I clicked on the link, and to my disappointment, there was not much more info. So I really wasn’t much more informed than when I started.

In any case, I continued on with the entries. Jay has his blog put in the category of “Humor”. In my opinion, he made the right choice. It is on the personal side as well. But Jay doesn’t get too personal. Every post was well written and no matter what aspect in life he wrote about, you will find a touch of humor. I found several of his posts had me laughing out loud. One of my favorites was the third entry on his main page.

Jay covers several topics in his entries. He has a unique way of telling a story that will bring a smile to your face. But I do have to warn you that some of the entries to be considered somewhat of an adult nature. Some readers will enjoy the blog while others may not. Everyone has their own taste. As for myself, I completely enjoyed reading the entries. I actually found myself wishing there were more of them.

I did like the lay-out of the page. I did have a problem with the text. The text seemed to be stretched out just a bit too much. I had to scroll across the page to actually see the content on the right hand side. But it’s nothing that can’t be fixed. There was also a broken link on the side panel, which looks like there was supposed to be another photo there. He has a large amount of blog friends etc. linked on the side panel, and judging from the amount of comments he has recieved on several of his posts, he has a large amount of readers.

Jay’s blog has only been around since May 2004. I took the liberty of viewing his web counter, and it is already over 19,000 in such a short time. With a few touch -ups on Jay’s blog, it has the potential in the future to score a rating of 5. But because of the fact it has only been around a few months, and the couple of things that need to be fixed, I am giving it a rating of 3.5.
I certainly enjoyed the entries and it is well worth reading. Right-Brained

The blog greets you with the following description: “My name is Jay and I work for a prestigious brokerage firm. This blog is an inside look at what kind of people are managing your money.”

With such a description, I imagined that those “kind of people” would probably make for fun reading. I immediately dived into the oldest archives (dating from May of this year), determined to read the whole blog.

But more than having fun, I found myself shaking my head in confusion and sometimes in utter disbelief.

Right-Brained would rightfully belong in a “black humor” category. It’s full of nasty inside information on the world of brokerage, the language is, if not downright filthy, in the very least rated R and many of the posts deal with individuals that could be taken right out of a Paul Thomas Anderson script (Fassbinder would also do nicely.)

I quickly came to the conclusion that brokerage is a field I don’t really care for. In any case, Jay is a pretty decent author. He can tell a story with the right words (though too many of them happen to be swear words) and tell it well.

The confusing aspect of this blog is the nature of the posts, as not all of them deal with brokerage and the people Jay works with. For instance, I came across a post regarding chickens, another regarding his niece, there’s also a rather sad entry on his dad’s Cancer and a touching reverie on his mother’s death… Perhaps this is due to the fact that Right-Brained is a new blog still looking for its direction, but if this were the case, then Jay should definitely change the blog description to something a little broader.

Regarding design, the template is a standard blogspot template that does nothing for the reader’s aesthetic eye and as is usual with blogger templates, it makes the blog visually stale.

In the end, Right-Brained is the type of blog that has not yet found its substance; is it the world of brokerage or the author’s life in general? I feel it needs a clearer direction and a more appealing template. It could also do with a little less swearing, but this is a very personal opinion.

Objectively and regardless of the fact that it’s not my type of blog and many of the posts I found to be in bad taste, I give it a 2.75 because of the author’s talent for words. Given the right direction, Jay’s writing style could make for a better blog.
Right-Brained

The Zero Boss is the ‘Confessions of a Reluctant Father’ of six, so named from one of his daughters who shouted at him : ‘You’re not the boss of me! You’re not the boss of anybody! You’re the zero boss!’ Well the Zero Boss is certainly the boss of his blog.

The author, Jay, a ‘Daddy blogger’ wanted to be a writer since the age of 13 and has accomplished this goal. It becomes evident quickly how much the author enjoys writing and blogging. (1. What is your ‘dream job’, realistic or not.
Blogging for a living.) There is a ton of content on this site in spite of the blog only being around for six months… (A writer who likes to write – go figure).

The joys and sorrows of parenthood are the main focus of this blog. The author shares numerous kernels of humour, wisdom and ‘life’ as a father, husband and of course as the Zero Boss. Entries such as ‘this is why we can’t have nice things’ and the non star trek ‘klingon’, and ‘and the rot in hell award goes to…’ and numerous others show the passion and joy he derives from parenting… (Reluctant or not…) TZB (The Zero Boss) explains various parenting gems such as the necessity of owning a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and the holy deliverance of eBay.

TZB tackles a cornucopia of issues such as: fundamentalist agenda of religious bigotry, some political issues, the gay marriage debate, DWI, his vasectomy, home schooling and various issues dealing with mistreated children. On the lighter side there were also entries about Anime, South Park, coffee and various asshats he comes across in the News. Being rather passionate about certain issues, the author also had to deal with some negative posters commenting on his blog… which made for some interesting entries such as ‘…and every man should beat thee’ and ‘file this under “this is jay flipping his shit’.

Of course I found most interesting his entry on blogging: ‘Given what I’ve seen while cruising the Web, that’s not surprising. There’s a lot of dead wood out there. Blogging consistently takes time, patience, and no small degree of talent. Not to mention a high degree of megalomania and self-importance. Did I just write that?’. The blog is very well linked to some interesting sites, with links such as ‘the differences between women and men…in the shower’ or the creepy ‘The Rainbow Plucking Orgy’ there is some bonus entertainment from this blog.

I was wondering if this was going to be a blog only parents could enjoy…with lots of cute inside esoteric parenting humour. But I found the blog quite enjoyable to read which was larger due to the quality of the writing. Jay writes engaging prose regardless what the topic is. I’m sure parents who can relate to TZB will love this blog… For the rest of use non-parental types (such as myself) I think there is plenty of reasons to read this blog as the content is very dynamic.

In spite of being a very bland site visually, the true zest of TZB comes through in its writing which I found intelligent, witty, sometimes confrontation, sometimes touching but always passionate and intriguing. In a few years I’m sure the Zero Boss’ daughter will improve his score well above zero.
The Zero Boss: Confessions of a Reluctant Father

This writer, a self proclaimed “Reluctant Father” (recently changed from Unholy Father) of 6 children writes in a light but humorous manner reminiscent to Tom Braden’s book Eight is Enough (of which the TV series was based on). I particularly enjoyed a recent post of his, “IN SEARCH OF PAINTED PONIES” from July 9 of this year. As a mom who has relocated a time or two with small children, I could definitely empathize with this author in his search for that which was left behind.

The earliest entry I found went back to February 2 of this year, but this blogger gives the distinct feeling of someone who has been writing for many years and enjoys doing so. His moniker “The Zero Boss” was bestowed on him by one of his daughters as told in his February 16 entry The Zero Boss. I should note here, while I have enjoyed his entries enormously, I’m not sure how someone without children, or who is single might relate to them. If readers take these entries as entertaining humorous writings comparable to Erma Bombeck, only from a father’s point of view, they should be fine.

This blog is clean appearance with a plain white background and black text with muted colors for the links. The blog is easy on the eyes, with no gimmicks or fancy bells and whistles to distract from the writings of this author. The often disparaged three column set up, of which I have no problems with as it makes navigation easier, (albeit it can tend to make for looooooooooong pages) is set up logically and is user friendly. While I wouldn’t have my children read these entries, I would definitely recommend them to my peers. While this is without a doubt a personal blog, I would classify it more under the humor category. Basing my rating on the entertainment I enjoyed, as well as the style of writing itself, I give this blogger a 3.75.

The Zero Boss: Confessions of a Reluctant Father

I had not a clue after reading the title but was intrigued enough to want to find out. What were these Mushroom and Rooster characters and why the capital letters? Was the Pen referring to a writing implement?

The site looks great. A fantastic banner with said Mushroom and Rooster and as part of the banner, a home page icon, about section, archives, contact details and a photos section. A small gripe is that this is lost when you enter the archives and replaced with a less functional not as attractive banner. There is a left side panel which has colourful icons for the categories that are posted. There are also mood indicators, a comment board, links to other blogs and a list of referrers.

From the about me section I learned who, and yes they are people, the Mushroom and Rooster are. You are also introduced to Gilbert. Not a person, but a peace lily. The two are young university students. One male, one female. They appear to live together (as a couple???) in the Pen. So not a writing instrument. The plant, a gift from one to the other inhabits the female one’s bedroom. As you can guess the Rooster is the boy. They also share the web log, equally contributing to its existence.

When they post they like to tell you what they are listening to. So in keeping I’m listening to Helpless Dancer by the Who as I write this. They posts are varied, self deprecating, well written and on the whole interesting. They reached their 100th post on May 8 2004 and there are archives dating back to November 2003 and a links to an older site dating back to August 2003. They use a great deal of links and the site is packed with pictures and graphics. As I mentioned it looks great.

They are fans of these little quizzes and what do you like and not like. Until its demise in May they carried an ongoing Friday Five which were five questions to answer posted on another site. Trivia. They have just started a what’s in your glovebox project where we are invited to detail what we have in our glove box. An AC/DC CD and an A-Z myself.

They are based in Sydney, Australia and a lot of their posts detail life Australian style even down to sour grapes over England’s whipping of their team in the Rugby World Cup final. Tee, hee. Indeed the Rooster particularly is a big fan of sport. We also are regaled with tales of life as hard done by overworked students. Poor things.

I particularly liked the weekly inclusion of a Simpson’s cartoon and Rooster often made me laugh. However on the down side the site missed that certain something that would make me want to return. I struggled to continue after reading through a couple of months worth of posts – maybe one at a time would leave me with a more positive feeling.

Anyhow the site looks excellent, is well written and is on the whole worth checking out especially if you like those little quiz type things. It is probably worth a four, but as I don’t feel like returning only a three I’m afraid.The Pen