Category: Uncategorized

Well, what can I say? This is an Irish blog. And it isn’t just an Irish blog because it’s written by an Irish (at least I think the author’s an Irish), or because the subtitles say, “despatches from the west coast of Ireland”. Topics discussed ranged from Irish television, to Irish weather issues, and Irish politics. The content may get a bit too heavy at times (especially if you know nothing about Ireland), but the sardonic wit present in the writing improves the readability and makes you smirk in agreement to the writer’s jokes (IF you catch them, anyway).

Most of the entries are written in a slightly informal report style, albeit it can get a little stiff at times. The writing is very smooth, and the entries have almost perfect spelling. The layout of the blog is very clean and simple. There are few pictures included within the posts themselves, but there are links to various galleries exhibiting several scenic areas around Ireland.

Though the blog is updated on a regular basis, it is recommended that you do not attempt to read everything in one go. This is because as fluent as the entries can be, they tend to get really dense and dry after a while, even more so if you are not familiar with the subjects that the writer is writing about. Thus, unless you are from Ireland, or are extremely interested in the going-ons within the country, this blog might not work out very well for you.
North Atlantic Skyli

When I first saw the title of the next site to be reviewed, I was almost tempted to skip it and write a review for someone else. I was sure it was going to be a political diatribe about President Bush and his cohorts. I wasn’t really in the mood for reading that kind of site, however, upon reading the first paragraph of the site I found that this is a guy with a sarcastically cynical sense of humor — something rare indeed.

This site was highly hilarious, and completely funny. I couldn’t stop chuckling to myself when I read through almost all of the links within the site. Through all of the writings I was able to get a glimpse into whom the guy behind the words really is. He cares about many things, intelligence being one of them, and he shows his own without hiding behind the computer screen. He shares his nasty emails for each of us, giving us his own opinion to these emails as well. He is opinionated and strong-minded. Painfully real and honest. These are the kind of qualities that I think many people might find offensive, even though I found it all quite amusing.

As for the design of the site, this could use a little bit of work. Plain on the exterior, you’d almost assume that the quality of the writing would be a reflection of the quality of the design. The archives aren’t necessarily archives according to how most bloggers are used to seeing them, though they do take you to previously written stories, essays and other interesting things. There are a good number of popular outgoing links, however some of the scripting makes it a little difficult to find out what goes where, and why.

I was a little disappointed to find that there wasn’t an about me page, or somewhere else to get to know little things about the author that you can’t get from the writings. There isn’t any way to leave a comment, though he does provide an email address if you feel the need to write. There is only one poll, though funny, for readers to interact with the author.

His intelligence speaks for itself, and his sense of humor might be seen as rather dark or cynical. For the open-minded of the blogging bunch you might find him rather hilarious, as I did. His writing is not for the demure and quiet kind, though he speaks with real honesty and truth (as he knows it). I recommend this site to be read as entertainment rather than to be taken too seriously.WorldWarBush

With a name like Hi. I’m Black! There are a lot of instant stereotypes that come to mind about what the site could be. Some of them hold true, others do not. My biggest fear with this site is that it would have a lot of “More evidence how the white man is holding the black man down” type posts. Thankfully the author chose to not drown us with these posts.

The weblog itself is fairly well written. Most posts are thought out, and have a good point, be it something in the world as a whole or something in the author’s life. The author likes to link to a lot of different stories. There are quite a few number of “Black this” type stories or “White that” but as a whole, they work well with the other parts of the blog.

The design is inconsistent between the front page and the archives. While I like the simplicity behind the design on the archives, it is really missing a lot of what the site has to offer. Also the front page, which actually has a good design, seems to be lacking something. The picture of Michael Clark Duncan as The Kingpin from Daredevil doesn’t seem to add much to the site.

I really wish there was an about me or about the site section. I looked through all of the archives of the site, and while I could only get a slight preview as to what the goal of the site was I am not sure if I am correct. An about section would really help the reader understand not only the goal of the site, but where the author has been, and where the author is going. Some sites do well with out an about section, others require them. This is one that requires one.

Over all I found the site to be a good read. I am not sure if I am the target audience for this blog, but it has at least peaked my interest into keeping an eye on it to see where it will go. I hope the author will make the goals of the site more clear so that a vast array of readers will be able to understand an enjoy it.
Hi. I’m Black!

Who hasn’t seemed to have eBayFEVER at some point in their life? I know I have. The author’s got the fever for the flavor of eBay, and he’s not afraid to throw all of his tips, pointers, and advice into the public eye.

eBayFEVER.com is best described on its “about” link that can be found on the sidebar menu: it’s an “eBay themed BLOG with the intent of covering interesting eBay news items, unique auctions and serve as a educational tool for people to learn about the scams being carried out on eBay”. Reading through the site, I found that it was exactly as the description made it out to be.

The site layout is adequate as far as functionality and ease of navigation is concerned. There are several tools and links splashed all about – a search area for items on eBay, different links to affiliates the author is signed up through, and some features auctions on the main splash page. The site is still relatively new, having only been archived since the beginning of June, but it’s certainly off to a helpful and good start.

The author does a great job of explaining each link or news article he provides us with, knowing that some more detailed explanation might need to be provided in order for the average web surfer to completely understand the topic at hand. The articles are very well written, and easy to understand. The author’s in depth experience of using eBay – both buying and selling – gives him a wonderful amount of credibility and know-how when it comes to his writing. His knack of putting multiple paragraphs together without sounding like he’s rambling is greatly appreciated. It’s just an all-around, easy to read site.

This site is both helpful towards those involved in eBay or thinking about throwing their hat into the online auction ring, and also to those that just like to keep abreast on the news of all the different dot com businesses out there. I can see this site being added to any list of bookmarks that might belong to someone who plans on hitting it big on eBay.eBayFEVER.com

The splash page for eternal autumn shows some promise. It’s very nicely done without overpowering the eyes or the mind with too much “net” stuff. It’s not too hard to find the navigation to the site, and that, my friends, makes a splash page successful. Once you get to the blog, it’s very cute; the only word that comes to mind with its cute bouncing cat emoticon.

The early months are rather slow for this blog author, but that doesn’t mean to say that some of the entries aren’t worth reading. Some of the entries are filled with lots of emotion, while others are the run-of-the-mill “this is how my day went” kind of entry. The archives are kind of funny. Sometimes the font is big enough to read in Times New Roman; sometimes it’s tiny in Times New Roman. Other times it’s in Verdana (which is very easy to read, even if it’s small). As the months progress however, the author writes more and more about the going-on’s of her family and life. Some of the most memorable are quite easily March 2, 2003 and July 4, 2003; each of them bringing different emotions to the table. The longer entries, the ones that get very much into detail and the thoughts behind the entry, are well worth reading. They tell more than the story, they tell the author’s version of the story. And that’s what we read blogs for right? The personalized feeling of experiences we all could have had or share. There’s the occasional random post of chat conversations that will make you stare at your monitor with a quizzical look or laugh hysterically wishing you could’ve been a part.



The design works. For something done in frames, it works really well. One of the most interesting things I’ve seen thus far is that when you hover over her navigational links the letters actually flip upside down. For some this doesn’t seem like such a big feat, but for the avid designer/coder you’ll find this quite fascinating, especially knowing it’s not done with images. The text for the title is a little difficult to read, but everything else works well together. The range of color in the leaves makes it very pleasing.



The site offers a few fun features. As I mentioned before, there’s the random splattering of cute kitty emoticons that you can’t help but look at now and again just to see the little facial expressions. She shares with you the “song of the moment” which is always nice to read now and again. It’s hard to find anything about the author, but when you get further into the LiveJournal aspect of the site until you’ll find a profile for the author. She tells you all about what she uses for the site design and from a designer’s standpoint it’s nice to read. There’s a guestbook and comments, for the usual reader interaction.



For the most part this is your typical blog about what life is like in the working world. The more you read the more you understand and feel for this author. Some of the entries are gold, and others are passable. It’s when the author writes what she feels and believes, that’s when the reader may find themselves hooked.eternal autumn