I was supposed to be packing for an upcoming vacation. I wanted to get it done ahead of time so I was not rushing around at the last minute and forgetting things like, um, underwear. I probably could have finished up tonight if I had not started reading “The Secret Brainâ€. I wanted to read it earlier today while I was at work, but due to it being marked as an “Adult†themed blog, I decided to wait until I got home. As enticing as the site may have been before I even looked at it, my job just seemed a bit more important!
“The Secret Brain†is a weblog started just a few weeks ago by ArtfulDodger, who wisely keeps his name, location and names of other completely anonymous. He lives somewhere on the East Coast, is married, has a son, and has a very regular girlfriend on the site. A good deal of his posts deal with marriage that is in shambles and how the relationship with his girlfriend balances out the bad times he endures while at home. His girlfriend provides him with an escape from his wife, and this weblog provides him an escape from keeping all of his actions and thoughts bottled inside.
ArtfulDodger just started writing in his weblog on December 1st. While that’s given him less than three weeks from the time the site started until this review was complete, he’s already gained a very loyal audience and is able to capture readers very easily with just one post. He mentions several times that his “day job†requires him to maintain a professional blog, which explains why it is very palpable the author isn’t new to the blogging scene.
The author samples different types of writing in his posts. Typically, after a romp with his girlfriend, he’ll post their experiences. While, if he hasn’t seen or been with her for a few days, he’ll explain why he’s still married or how he met his girlfriend. There are even other times where he’ll try tapping in to writing something from a woman’s point of view of even some poetry. Each entry is certainly not like the next one, but they all stick to the same topic, for the most part, and that topic-driven format is what will turn readers loyal to this site.
Design-wise, the site is just … okay. It’s a site hosted by Blogger, which is ideal for the author looking to remain completely anonymous from the public. In addition, of course, since Blogger hosts it, a standard Blogger template is being used. Different shades of greens are used throughout the site giving it a calming appearance. It’s an average design, but a site such as this one has a myriad of opportunities for a much more personal and/or unique design.
As I’ve mentioned and as ArtfulDodger has gone out of his way to mention on his site, “The Secret Brain†is an adult-oriented weblog. If you’re above 18 and not at work right now, definitely read it. The author has a way of yanking you in with each post and not letting go until you’ve read from start to finish. Even then, you’re still left wondering what his next post will contain and, ultimately, which directly his life will go.