Author: admin

The blog, titled “Eye of Smoog” is a site full of entries with a certain strange wit. The very first entry I read was about quite odd: aliens (I assume) talking about a hoob sock forgotten somewhere which was what earth originated from. I think I got the gist right. But it was weird, reading it. I’m still not quite sure if I got the plot right, but it was a fun and entertaining read.

So, I read some more and found really funny entries. It really is a humorous site. There’s that entry about God and the ganja, the aliens and a bunch of other ridiculous happenings that just seems so hilarious. Some of the entries sound a bit cynical, but that could be my delusions talking. Frankly, I just enjoyed reading the entries, no matter how weird they turned out to be. They were definitely worth my time.

The layout is nice. Nothing flashy, but it was nice, neat, and navigational. What I thought was really cool was the different banners that came up when you clicked on certain link. They all had a theme – that of eyes – and they were just awesome. No other word for it.

I recommend this site to just about anyone. The entries are strange but once you get the ball rolling, well, they’re very funny and enjoyable to read. If you like the strange, well, here’s the place. And even if you don’t, well, I’m sure there’s something you’ll see that you’ll definitely like.NULL

I found this site to be interesting in concept, but scary when it comes to intellectual property rights. The site has many interesting graphic designs. It is not clear whether the author has created these works on his own, or is he compiling them from other places.

The design of the site is rather simple. It has a typical header at the top denoting what the blog is about. On the right side bar the author has created a list of blogs of interest, as well as links to his past archives. The site has been around since November 2005, so it is still a relatively new blog, but it does have many posts. The author for the most part picks a work of art or graphic design and tells his thoughts on it. He accomplishes this by a catchy and descriptive title or a simple analysis of his feelings into the piece of art.

There are really no extras to the site. If the works of art or graphic designs are from another site, I feel it should have a link to those sites showing the copyright information or a statement on the site saying that he has permission to display these items. The reason I mention this is because in recent months and years, it has been a big concern of copyright infringement on the web. I love the idea; I just think there needs to be some notices on the site.

If you like art or graphic design this blog is for you. The site is very interesting. The works of art displayed on the site are intriguing. I feel the site has great potential and should continue to create this fabulous compilation of works of art across the net. I would recommend to the author to at least link or state where the image came from… As a fellow blogger and webmaster, I would want my information cited or at least linked to. I rate this site as a 3.
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My first impression of this blog was that it was a bit boring. Now don’t take that the wrong way, it’s just my opinion and in no way reflects upon the individual behind the blog. Maybe it’s because I’m not a single mom and can’t relate to single motherhood I do consider myself a fairly objective and open-minded person. I’m also sensitive to other people’s feelings so while I thought initially that this blog is boring, I feel guilty about saying it. The point though is to be truthful here and I will do that. The thing is that reading the same old stuff about being a single mom just isn’t that interesting–to me. There’s no humor, no excitement, nothing shouting “HEY YOU-YEAH YOU-LOOK OVER HERE!” and when I’m perusing blogs, that’s what I look for. But that is not the author’s style and that is just fine too.

One thing is for sure–the author is certainly juggling much in life like buying a new house on her own, raising her son, dealing with a boss who drives her crazy, bringing God back into her life, and trying to find stability and her rightful place in the world, among many other things. When reading her posts you can tell right away she’s trying to find out where she fits comfortably into society, one that doesn’t exactly show much respect to single mothers. Her blog isn’t funny or exciting, her posts are the reality of her life. Many who blog like to add cute quips and brazen humor into our posts, but our single mom is just telling it like it is. Actually her blog is really more like a real journal, it’s an honest account of her everyday feelings and thoughts. She’s not out to impression anyone (like so many are), she’s just out to make sense of her life.

The author is just getting to a point in life where things are stable and she seems content. She has worked hard to get where she is and she deserves a break in my opinion. Her priority in life is her son and who of us doesn’t respect that? Even though there isn’t much excitement in her blog, it’s her life and she is happy the way things are and after all she’s been through maybe too much excitement isn’t a good thing. I do think other single mothers enduring the same experiences as the author could really get something good out of knowing they are not alone.

There is something interesting about the design of the weblog, and that is that it doesn’t really have a design, it’s not supposed to detract from her writing. The sage color at the top of the blog reveals absolutely nothing mysterious about the author, like her posts, it is what it is. The typeface is also very plain. My guess is that she didn’t want to bring too much attention to graphics or herself, but really her words, which do really help you see inside her soul.

In all honesty, survivingsinglemom.com isn’t a bad blog at all, but it’s definitely not for anyone who just isn’t interested in the routine everyday happenings of an uneventful single mom’s life. However, other single moms who crave stability, desire respect for their hard work and sacrifice, and who are struggling to find their own place in society, could relate to our author’s life as they won’t feel so alone. That’s the great thing about blogging, there’s always someone else out there who shares in the same emotions and experiences as you so you know you’re not alone.

This single mom has obviously sacrificed a great deal of herself so her child can grow up happy, and she doesn’t seem to crave a lot of attention or excitement in life and I really do think that others in her position could really relate to her and feel a special kinship by reading her blog. NULL

First off, I just don’t see this site as a typical blog. A blog to me is a personal thing and I just don’t see this one meeting that criteria.

The author, Lynda Keeler began her site as a way to share with other women info about websites, online boutiques and services which she liked. It’s a one-stop for everything a woman would ever want to know about and then some. And it’s about one of a million sites that do the same thing. That’s fine, but the problem is how do you know what will appeal to you if you don’t know anything about the person recommending the product? Personally I have to know someone before I’ll trust their recommendations on just about anything.

The style of the site doesn’t do anything for me one way or the other. I can tell you that I do tire of advertising especially on a site that wishes to be labeled as a blog. The ads for me remove any personal touch, they’re also intrusive and distracting.

Overall I don’t think her site is bad. She is offering a service that many women find helpful. Basically Ms. Keeler does the work so you don’t have to. I can’t say I blame anyone for wanting it all in front of them at once, searching the web can be a real where to start. I will say this, Ms. Keeler has a motto of “find, filter, and focus” which means that she is adamant about it being simple to find the real information on her site without a lot of other non-essential “stuff” to distract you. Her site contains a lot of info, a lot of text, colorful words and photos, but the thing is that sometimes it’s just too much information all at once. Sometimes getting everything in one place isn’t a great thing, but alas that’s what the web has become and if that’s your thing, fine. But if you dislike sites that have seem to be a thousand ad campaigns rolled into one, this one isn’t for you.

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I really wasn’t sure what to expect from this site – the title gave nothing away. First sightings didn’t give much away either. It’s subtitled as art, graphic design, cultural criticism, psy-ops. A glance at the owners profile failed to offer any further clues. Enigmatic.

So I dove in and dedicated quite some time in an attempt to find out more about the site and the owner. And it has to be said that I am still none the wiser. The posts generally consist of some kind of image – occasionally photographic but mainly graphic design. These are sometimes, but not always, accompanied by narrative and occasionally this narrative incorporates a foreign language – mainly French but also another language which I didn’t immediately recognise. I found this use of another language to be confusing. Most of the posts left me a little non-plussed in fact. Apart from this one – not only was I thankful to finally understand it, but I also found it to be perceptive and just plain old good advice.

The majority of the artwork here is undoubtedly excellent, but it isn’t made clear whether the owner is the artist or not. I’d have liked clarification on that. I consider myself to be reasonably intelligent but most of the narrative went way over my head and hence I’m not entirely sure who this blog would appeal to. Most likely it would be of interest to other graphic designers.

In terms of the design, there’s nothing offensive here. It’s a standard blogger template, reasonably tidy and doesn’t detract from the posts. There are only a few links and these all work well. The sidebar overall is short, with a cluster of buttons towards the bottom. Not my personal cup of English tea but nor are they overly distracting.

All in all, this site didn’t really captivate me. I didn’t feel that it caters for the mainstream reader but if you have an interest in graphic design then it’s probably worth a look.

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