Month: January 2005

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I visited this site. What I found was a pleasant looking weblog with pithy, interesting posts covering a wide range of topics. The banner at the top of the page is a series non-clickable thumbnail size photos with the words “AREF-ABID” to the left, which turn out to be the author’s last name.

Aref-Abid posts several times a month on topics including art, his new computer wallpaper (a photo of a bed cover his mother knitted), political issues, technology, drawings by Max (his son), and several other categories. There is very little personal information given about the author, though I inferred that he is Iranian by birth, lives in London and is married with a son.

Aref-Abid is a true “weblog” rather than a diary or journal. The majority of posts consist of an image, one or two lines of comments and a link to a longer story. I found the posts to be whimsical and entertaining. The author has an interesting perspective and draws attention to things that are out of the ordinary or slightly off the beaten path. He often does not comment on his posts but lets the images speak for themselves.

There are no special features to speak of, just a group of google ads on the right sidebar. At the top of the side bar is a clock showing the time in London and a search bar. Below those are categories, archives and a way to syndicate the site. The template is a simple one powered by moveable type.

I found the site amusing and, occasionally, thought provoking. I would recommend taking a look.NULL

Oh, wow, would I be so lucky to get to review two blogs in a row about people living in eastern countries? No, not really. This blog is written by a guy living in the UK – and that’s pretty much what you get to know about him, since there is no profile, at least not one that can be easily found.

Ummm. Okay. First thing is, it’s under the “humor” category here at theweblogreview.com. I’m thinking… shouldn’t I be laughing by now or at least grinning? And why is it that I’m not? I always think it has to do with a cultural gap. But it hasn’t been really a problem in the past. I can totally laugh at…let’s call them “international jokes”. So, wait, let me read the blog again. I’ll give another shot at it.

I start checking the categories under which the author posts. They include topics that go from art to look-alikes; they also cover politics and action figures. As I browse around, I get the feeling that most of the stuff here should be funny, but to my taste, it just isn’t appealing. The jokes are there, most of them pictures supposed to make people laugh but I’m just not laughing. Such a bitter reviewer I am. Actually, no. I laugh quite easily. It’s just that the author chooses to post easy jokes with visual aids. Not my kind of humor, but it can be *yours*. So don’t be afraid to visit the blog.

I like when entries are organized in categories. The good feeling you have when you go to a library and and wants to read a book; you search for the topic of your interest and tadah!, you find it. In this blog, however, many of the categories are about the same thing: humor. Humor about politics, humor about look-alikes, humor, humor, humor with pictures. So the categorizing technique doesn’t really work for me. Oh, and there are links everywhere. *Everywhere*.

The design is quite simple and effective. It doesn’t compete with the pictures posted. The font is a bit too small for my tired eyes – but then again there isn’t much that actually requires reading.

I guess this blog is just meant to be a collection of supposedly funny pictures. I wouldn’t check it regularly. I get enough “funny” (and here I’m using quotes to be sarcastic) through e-mail everyday. Or maybe I’m just a bitter reviewer with a cold heart.
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Once again I was not sure what to expect out of a blog according to the name. REFUSENIK according to the American Heritage Dictionary means A Soviet citizen, usually Jewish, denied permission to emigrate After reading the blog I did not find that this was the case. Most of the information on the blog pertains to the Muslim faith and the Country Morocco. I did some more research to get an idea what I was to expect out of the site. I did a quick google search to see where Morocco was located and it is near the Sahara desert. Knowing that this is not Soviet territory I am starting to believe REFUSENIK must have double meaning.

This site gives information about different Muslim related news articles as well as articles facing Morocco citizens. The author claims to be located in Maryland, United States, but the author appears to have hatred on the United States positions dealing with issues the author appears to hold close to her heart.

I would like to see more posts. The archives begin in October 2005, but the blog has been very active since its creation. The design is a simple design with images throughout the blog. The images do not take over the site. The images are subtle and are in topic with the article being discussed.

The site is very informational if you need to catch up on the news dealing with Morocco or the perception of the Muslim faith. I would recommend it to anyone looking for this type of information. I felt the site was designed well and very informative. The author did not force feelings onto the readers, just simply stated the opinion. I rate this site as a 3.5.
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There are many, many weblogs that relate to something so specific only a handful of people will be able to appreciate and grasp the true purpose of what they’re reading. The Lossless Audio Blog is exactly one of those sites. The author assumes that people reading this weblog are reading it because they already know the background information about everything that’s mentioned on the site.

This site focuses mainly on the new releases of different audio-related hardware, software, and services. Each post contains a few words describing the product, followed by a link readers can follow to that product’s particular website to find out more information if it’s so desired.

Links to articles that explain why users that download MP3 files may eventually be disappointed with their quality or to a new PDA application that will allow you to record audio files in a higher format are a couple examples of what readers find at this site.

The weblog is hosted by blogspot.com, and uses one of their standard layouts as the design. The author does add a few interesting features in the side column of the layout. There’s a poll readers can fill out about the “preferred backup method”, along with links to different forums, music servers, music players, etc.

Since the site has only been up and running for one month, there’s not a whole lot to this site just yet. Eventually, once word spreads of its reviews and informative posts about the lossless audio field, traffic will probably increase. The author does a good job of giving the facts about each product and doesn’t seem to sway readers with an opinion at all.

The Lossless Audio Blog is not for everyone. For those people that do enjoy keeping on top of this technology, this site is a great start to find the latest and greatest releases. NULL

I had mixed initial thoughts as I began reading through the blog. I noticed there were a lot of posts referring to America, which there is nothing on the blog pointing to a tie to America. The author was very intriguing and pulled me into reading almost every article he had posted. I felt this site was interesting and honest. The author wrote about many different subjects and brought a lot of things to light.

This blog is a group of feelings posted by the author on many different topics. I felt his articles to be thought out, even though he claims in his disclaimer page that they are spur of the moment. I think the author ponders over his thoughts prior to blogging. His topics range from Walmart to Michael Jackson. SUVs to other tech toys that he has purchased or pondered over.

The design of the site was very elegant. It had a professional feel and look to it. This layout and design helps keep readers on the site for there are not annoying advertisements or tons of pictures. It was easy on the eyes. Its layout was just overall awesome.

I loved how he told the feelings of a true person. Rather than just ranting and raving he made it interesting. He claims to be arrogant or at least he is referred to as arrogant. You can see arrogance in some places, but overall a good read.

I would recommend everyone to visit this site. It appears to put in words what most people feel. I know it did for me personally. Good Job! Keep up the good work. I would make one suggestion: I noticed that when you started your blog you posted articles more frequently, then as time went on you gradually lowered the amount of posts in a month. I know blogs can be time consuming, but with your talent and interesting articles I would like to see more in quantity, while keeping the same quality.
Unadulterated Arrogance