There are a number of layouts/designs incorporated into this site, but I’m going to focus on the main page’s design.
This site is, well, coffee colored! Quite appropriate for the title! The site is neatly organized, easy to navigate, and eye appealing. The text is easy to read and the colors are compatible with one another. I’m expecting a semi-pessimistic author due to the “bitter coffee” ordeal, but the site looks enjoyable upon first glance.
It is slightly irritating that I have to continuously close the Tripod/Lycos side bar that opens up whenever I change pages. There are so many free blogging sites and programs out there, why waste your time on something as archaic as angelfire if you don’t have to? I also have to complain about the design of the archival page. The colors and design are okay, at best, but the text is VERY small and grows more and more difficult to read, as you spend more and more time on the site.
The “Concerning Linz” page (aka about me) section has a slightly different, yet corresponding layout that is pretty neat. I’m assuming the head graphic is the author. The ads at the end of the page take your attention away from the material at hand and are very disruptive. As for the list itself, Linz is very specific about her information, but it’s the typical points of (dis)interest you find on a lot of blogs.
Linz appears to be a young twenty-something in the throws of the dating. She is also on the quest to lose weight and regain her sense of beauty. A huge added feature to this site is a “side blog” aptly entitled, Taking Back Beauty detailing her steps on this journey, her outlook on it, and her accomplishments. To date, she has lost twenty-three pounds and appears to be doing it in a slow and healthy manner! No guru diets for this young lady! I commend her on her weight loss and hope other dieters will see her story as an inspiration.
She writes with a maturity that seems to pass some of the early -twenties group by and comes across as a bright, intelligent and caring women. However, unlike some who carry the first few attributes, she is not one to be pushed around or taken advantage of. She knows what she wants and she goes after it.
She is outspoken and tends to ride the blog-posting roller coaster that we all jump on. Sometimes she goes on for a great period of time with interesting things to say, and sometimes she openly admits that she has lost the will to write and really has nothing to say. At least she comes out and admits it rather than trying to “fill her space” with garbage nobody would care to read.
Linz gives you a detailed account of the happenings in her life while avoiding the daily list of “I did this, then I did this, and then this happened.” She has a light and cheery tone when it’s called for, but she gets irritated and emotional when appropriate. She goes into how she feels about events and occasions with gusto and there is very little pessimism to be found.
The author is very open and honest with the manner in which she is coming to discover who she is a person. Most people think that you’ve found yourself by the time you get into your twenties, but I tend to disagree with them. Linz is often questioning who she truly is, while knowing all along the true answer. This is personal growth and strength all in one breath. She is simply seeking out the best place for her in her world and isn’t afraid to let on that she doesn’t fully understand or know all the different aspects to her own personality. This gives her an endearing personality that makes the reader applaud her decisions and root for her success.
At times her blog gets dry and boring, but who’s life and blog haven’t hit those times? We can’t all be funny, emotional, and interesting all the time. Her better entries make weeding through her slow times worth the effort. This isn’t one of those all-empowering one in a million blogs out there, but it certainly has a number of attributes. This isn’t’ the “typical” blog of a “typical” twenty-something. I think anyone in the twenty-something generation would enjoy reading about Linz, getting to know her personality, and watching her charge through this time in her life. She is on her way and she’s busting through.
This is a blog to keep your eyes on, folks. This blog may just be going places!