Category: Uncategorized

When I first clicked onto this site, I spent ages wondering what the background pattern was! I was wondering if it was stones or something. I have to admit that it totally distracted me for awhile! I then noticed the contrast between the background and the boxes. It stood out to me. I noticed how tidy the site was and how few boxed links there were. It all felt very compact. I also linked the top drop down menu.

The blog is a real mixture of subjects. Chad is ill at the moment with bronchitis and is feeling quite down in the dumps! He made an interesting survey of what he saw on TV for a day though that made me titter. The posts are made up of sport, some political musings and the story of his court appearance. I did not find out what he actually had to go for though! There is a touch of personnel posts and if you go back through the archives, you can catch a picture of him with a puppy! He also has links to other sites to discover weird and wonderful ways to amuse yourself, including how much you are worth on your own barcode!! There is also some technical posts thrown in as he is studying computer networking.

I personally, as mentioned above, got really distracted by the background. I kept finding my eyes drawn to it, and continuing to wonder what it reminded me of! I was also fascinated by the fact that the boxes moved whilst the background stayed static! I guess that I am easily distracted! The design though is very clean and there is no clutter on the site. The boxes to the right are kept to a minimum and there is a drop down title bar. The “speak” button had me foxed though. It was novel to have a person talking to you, once I had recovered from the shock! I do not have broadband though, so experienced a few problems!

It is hard to tell when the posts were made as there does appear to be any dates on each post. There is a calendar that marks how many days he has posted on that month. I must also admit that the difference in the page designs did make me feel as though I had left the weblog and gone somewhere else when I clicked out! I could not get the graduation or greenbier links to work though…it lists the jpegs for the pages.

The main bonus for regular readers is that you can subscribe to receive the latest updates to C:TOOKIEWANA.EXE. The mixture of the posts on the blog do ensure that there is something to amuse everyone. I am sure that anyone that visited could find part of the site that they would enjoy reading, or find a link that takes them to somewhere that makes them smile.

I can honestly say that there is such a varied mixture of subjects in this blog, that I found myself reading for ages!! I really enjoyed my visit and found some of the posts truly fascinating. I always love to read about people and their lives outside of where I live. Some posts made me laugh, some got me closer to Chad and some just made me sit back and think. I think that this blog has got better as time has moved on. I will certainly be visiting it again. It was refreshing and made a very good read.
tookiewana

My first impressions of “The joy of being me” were positive, and things only got better from there. Apart from having her own domain name (always a good sign in my opinion) she also has her own personalized layout which is simple, functional and looks great- really compliments the blog well. It was nice to be able to see all of the sidebar stuff without having to do any scrolling (at least in 1024 x 768). She has also embraced new technology and has two videos of her bungee jumping, as well as a 24 hour webcam and real time chat facility for when the authoress is there (she wasn’t when I visited.) Looking back through the archives, the webcams have been used quite a bit, even for seeing who came “trick or treating” on Halloween by rigging it up outside the front door. I also liked the way that her blog links actually showed an image of the blog being linked to.

Ok, so the design/layout/optional extras were all exceptional, appropriate and tasteful. So with all this going on for her, could the content measure up too? Well yes, surprisingly it does. The authoress is an oldtimer amongst bloggers, with archives going back to January 2002 (though this didn’t seem to be the beginning of the blog). All her postings are of a personal nature, fairly short and easy to read. This makes the blog easily accessible and a light read.

Although the subject matter doesn’t vary much from the day to day life stuff, there are sufficient updates for the reader to get really caught up with things. Her life is pretty varied and she also waxes lyrical about her views on the bigger issues too, which make it even more engaging. Before I knew it I found myself two months in to the archives and still wanting to read further. I don’t know what it is about unpretetious blogs that simply relate the day to day life stuff but I find them absolutely fascinating if they are written with any real honesty, which this one is. It is like being a voyeur I suppose- it taps the same vein as reality TV shows do, though without anyone playing up to the cameras.

I thought this blog embodies for me what blogging should be about, at least personal blogging. Some people may get bored here if they are looking for the more factual or “themed” kind of blogs, but for those of you who simply want to get a view on someone else’s world, this would be a great place to start.The joy of being me

Greeted by a generic typepad template with but a few modifications one can be forgiven for wondering whether this would be just another run of the mill blog, but given closer inspection the reader will discover that spinning is anything but. A brief about me gives you a little background information about both the author and the image which resides at the top of the right hand menu. With that brief introduction in mind I headed off to that crucial first posting, and I was gripped from that moment on.

The blog has been in place since October 2003, and from the outset the quality of writing is by far superior to your average weblog. The vast majority of her posts are on the art form itself, with extracts from pieces of her own work. This site serves as a beautiful insight into the life and mind of an author. Every entry is beautifully written and engaging, and I quickly discovered that I had worked my way through her entire archives without looking up once!

There is nothing spectacular about the design, it’s a straight forward typepad template with some minor adjustments and a couple of images. All the links worked, it was easy to navigate, and easy to read. There are some fascinating links in the right hand column which are definitely worthy of further perusal, and be sure to check out Talespinning listed as work in progress.

If you are interested in excellent writing then this site is definitely worth a visit. The site design may not be as individual as it could be, but it doesn’t need to, the writing sells itself. A rare find, and worthy of the first 5 I have awarded.Spinning

Editors Note: The name of the weblog was changed to sortapundit.com after the review was written.

Being something other than American, I was kind of skeptical before I even started reading WorldWarBush. I have my own views on American politics, and get tired very easily of anything to do with Bush, or anti-Bush, as it’s been thrown at me from all directions in the last couple years. However, once I started reading I was pleasantly surprised by what I found in the writing.

Keith, or Taylor as he prefers is a young man in his 20’s living in Manchester (which alone puts him in my good books). He explains he started blogging before England went to Iraq, and had so much to write about he has kept at it. He has some very distinct views on politics and George Dub-ya in particular. At times this is trying, because most of us have had enough. but as the blog goes on, he admits he no longer has the loathing he once had. I have to admit, this is where the posts get better. Taylor begins incorporating other news items, that have less to do with Bush, and less to do with Iraq and WMD, and I start to get interested.

The site itself is an interesting one. If you go back to the “old site” link its a bombardment of Lycos pop ups and makes your head hurt. The new site, is a blogger site, with some additions. While I appreciate additions or alterations to any blogger site, the links on the right seem out of place with the box they are in. i don’t know how to explain it, it’s kind of like they aren’t centered right. It’s nothing horrible, just something that caught my eye. Otherwise, the site looks good, the links all work (which is good cause there are a ton) and it’s easy to get around and find what you need.

Overall, the site is good – and maybe great if you like political news. I myself find it hard to stay interested in politics, and especially american ones. Taylor writes very very well making it easier, so regardless I would give it a look just to see what you think.WorldWarBush

Woah Nelly! Check out this blog. No, really, stop reading the review and check out the blog. It’s so cool! Normally, as regular readers might have guessed I don’t really like News and Links blogs, they’re not my deal, but this isn’t a typical news or links blog. Sure, it’s got links to news and other great stuff, but there’s also a lot of personality thrown into it as well.

For one, the design is absolutely fantastic. One of the best designs for a blog that I have seen for a long time. Brilliant use of the colour orange – a strange colour in itself but it’s used very well here. It demonstrates a heck of a lot of talent from the author, who does indeed have her very own design website. Everything is all set out in a typical two-column format, but to be honest, the design wins me over so I really don’t care. It loads fast even though there’s a load of graphics and link buttons on the site which is always a good thing.

The content itself is minimalistic, for the most part, which makes reading the blog a cinch, though Jen is a terrific writer which makes actually reading the blog entry (instead of just clicking on the links she puts up straight away without reading first) much more fun. Most entries in the blog I have found are quite short, though there are a number of longer entries that deal with more personal things such as kids in theatres (oh how I relate!) and discussing the weather and Cincinnati’s lack of salt trucks and other necessary snow-related stuff. The links are great to take a peek at because there’s hardly any regular boring news. It’s all mostly interesting or quirky or just… really weird. They range from celebrity phobias to slightly more current issues to USB Swiss Army Knives.. mmmm’kay!

All in all, Very Big Blog is not only a great bit of entertainment on the web, but it’s also a good resource for interesting places to investigate if you’re looking to alleviate a little boredom. Extremely pleased to be giving this one a 5/5. Definitely one for the favourites listing! Thanks Jen!verybigblog