Category: Uncategorized

“Where’s this dude from?” is the question that pops into my mind when I see the name of this weblog. And my question quickly finds an answer in the About me section of the website. He’s a 23 year old guy from the U.S. currently living in Pakistan, where he attends Medical School.

Great! This is just up my alley. I’m really interested in eastern countries and this seems to be a very good opportunity to learn more about Pakistan from the point of view of someone who lives there. And the weblog does not disappoint me at all. He’s really articulate, writes very well and has a good sense of humor – not ha-ha humor, but I’m sure you’ll get it. I’ve spent half an hour reading through 2 or 3 months of posts and I’m ready to continue reading. Bring it on! Okay, I know November 2005 has only 4 posts, but still… Maybe this review will encourage him to write more – as soon as he’s done with exams, that is.

What made me think this journal might be interesting was the content on life in Pakistan and about Islam, more personal entries or stuff about his life in Medical School were far from uninteresting. As a bonus, there are pictures neatly organized, which only added to the site. Design-wise, I can’t say I’m very pleased; there’s something about the colors that don’t please my eyes. But that’s just a matter of taste. I can see that everything works fine there – archives, links to past posts, I mean it, everything, I couldn’t find one single broken link. The only thing that could be improved is the categories-thing. I know the blog has a few categories but you can only find them browsing through the entries. A menu of some sort in the column on the right would be of some help.

I would say I can easily become addicted to this journal as Rehan’s Journal was certainly a nice surprise.
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“A Shout in the Dark” is a re-launch of a blog that has been reviewed last month – new URL, new content management system, and a new design. I was anxious to see the author’s new beginning would bring a weblog I could not stop reading. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite accomplish that.

Since this revamped site only hosts less than two months of archives, it did not take long for me to read them each individually. Charles, the author, keeps the entries short and to the point. He’s a working man, and also going to school, and, speaking from personal experience, that doesn’t leave much time for unnecessary weblog rambling.

The way I like to rate weblogs is easy. If a personal site, such as this one, can keep my interest and teach me something, whether it be about the author or just about something the author is interested in, I feel like I’ve just read a good site. The only thing I could remember from this site after reading it is that Sean Paul and Shaggy are both up for Grammy nominations in the reggae field this year.

WordPress is the content management system of choice on this site. It is a nice change from the standard Blogger templates that are so popular. Charles has done his own tweaking to the layout, adding his picture, some additional links, and pictures in the header image. The author has also done some work in adding additional pages to the site – a biography page, some news links, and his resume, for example. Along the sidebar of this two-column layout, he also includes links to his favorite website and some pictures he has uploaded onto his Flickr site.

This site is still new and still growing. Charles is doing his best to find time in his schedule to update somewhat frequently. As time goes on, this site has the absolute potential to grow. Until then, though, I can only give it the average 3 as its score.
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I don’t often review adult blogs, not because I’m a prude but because most of the ones I’ve visited seem to mock each other in style and content. This blog, authored by Julia didn’t change my opinion.

The author offers very little information about herself other than she likes sex and this is her space to express herself. The template has a catchy header, colorful and does get your attention but the rest of the template is pretty basic which actually works pretty well for this particular blog.

There are not many posts because this is a fairly new blog but from what I did read I thought the author didn’t quite live up to the description she gave under her profile. Although sexual technique can be interesting, I didn’t find much interest in it and probably can assume most other readers would lose interest pretty quickly. If the author provided more actual recaps of personal events of sexual escapades that might help capture and keep the interest of her audience.

There were not many extras on this site, a few links but that was about it. The blog was pretty basic and there really wasn’t much to keep me coming back for more and that’s why I give this blog a rating of 2.5.NULL

Jonathan is an academic, a writer, and a designer, according to his Blogger profile. Keeping that in mind, his weblog, “A Word in Your Ear”, has the potential to be a hit. Before even beginning my journey through Jonathan’s archives, I tried to block out the fact that the site is hosted through Blog*spot and does use one of the many charming Blogger templates. Thankfully, Jonathan has done a bit to spruce up the design. I’m hoping his writing does even more.

The archives date back to May 2004, giving Jonathan over a year and a half of posts to go through. His first post is actually an essay written in 2002 about graphic design in education. It didn’t take long for me to realize that when Jonathan posts, he puts a lot into what he is writing and the end result is something that is very easy to read and, while it may not pertain to the general blog-reading population, he is able to make each topic understandable.

Jonathan writes a lot about graphic design and about creating website using HTML and CSS and whatever else is the latest and greatest designing code. With as much talent as he possess in his writing, I have a feeling his coding skills are just as polished. No excuse for a Blogger template, Jonathan, none at all! 🙂

This site is extensive. The entries are long and there is quite a bit to read considering the site is updated nearly daily. Jonathan dabbles in a little bit of everything and makes it no secret to his readers. Whether he shares music he’s been working on or ideas of his future employment, guessing the content from each post to the next is nearly impossible. With such a wide variety of topics, readers can easily become enraptured in one topic or another.

Jonathan falls into the category of bloggers that like to write. A lot. His daily posts are lengthy, but are well written and easy to read. “A Word in Your Ear” is a site that is at least worth a glance, simply due to the wide range of topics the author can competently scribe in his entries.
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It’s a pretty site with a picture of the author, Lisa Manzi, right up top. It is a three column format, so slightly busy, but the focus is clearly on the middle column where the content is. The author is a writer–a poet, in fact. Many of the posts contain poetry or are poetry related, but there are also personal anecdotes and political observations.

Not being a poetry fan, I didn’t find the blog compelling. The quality of the writing is good and the author impresses me as a pleasant, happy person. I’m also not drawn to the political writing, though my views are not contrary to the author’s. The author cares about what she is writing and she has been keeping the blog for quite a long time. She is a serious writer and I respect that.

The blog is well designed. The colors are pleasant and easy on the eyes. All links that I checked were functional and navigation is easy and intuitive. Thought has gone into design and it shows.

There are links to the author’s wish list, categories, recent posts, “must have books” (are we supposed to buy these for her?), and some of the typical blog-promoting badges. There is another group of links at the top of the right column with the heading “Published By:”. I couldn’t quite figure out what these links are for; possibly they are places where Ms. Manzi has published poetry or other writing.

The site is well designed but I did not find it a compelling read. If you are interested in poetry and liberal politics, though, you may find something of interest here. The writing is good and the design is pleasing. I am not the right audience for the blog, but there is probably one out there.NULL