From The Editor: Hiatus Announcement

We've been on unofficial hiatus for a touch over a year now, actually! To those of you who may have sent in reviews over that time, my sincere apologies. Your reviews have been eaten; I trust they were delicious.

There was a slight lag in submissions, you see, and apparently if you stop checking your free hotmail account at least once every x number of days or so (30 days? 60 days?) it gets hungry, and well, the entire contents of your account will be consumed. Inbox, outbox, litterbox - everything! Perhaps a reputable email pet-sitting service could prevent such mishaps.

But not to worry! E-mail address reclaimed. All's well on that front!

We now announce our official hiatus.

- The Editor.

When You're On The Internet, and Your Brain Is Suddenly Wet...

url: http://thebraintrots.blogspot.com/

The creators of “A Bad Case of the Brain Trots” claim that their blog is “a creative outlet for whatever half-baked daydream any of us has concocted to pass the day” and that “there are no promises on what you'll find as you blindly grope through our blog.” These statements could not be truer. Full of random stories, jokes, plays, and rants, you are never sure what you will find posted each week. Not every post will be for everyone, but giving it a chance is worth the click.

Sadly, however, the creators of this blog appear to not have computer skills when it comes to creating a more vibrant and interesting look to their blog. Everything is pretty straightforward looking, and black. Lots of black. Also they tend to only blog once a week, which is weak. Also, as that last sentence portrays, they like puns.

I say give it a chance, especially if you have nothing else to do.

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contributing reviewer/ee
Lewis from http://thebraintrots.blogspot.com/

Brief Note From The Editor on Blog Design

A note to prospective reviewer/ees:

I've noticed many of you in your reviews take potshots at your blog designs and layouts for being unimaginative, boring, or just plain ugly. Yet in each case, the blog in question looks considerably better than this blog, here.

Just what is it you're trying to say?

- The Editor

p.s. new review up tomorrow.

Acronyms Can Really Only Narcotise Your Mindset!

url: http://see-you-next-thursday.blogspot.com

"Just because they're never done doesn't mean you can't be disappointed by them."

The astounding lack of content accompanied by the let-down of knowing you can't even get into a (rare) good story without it ending abruptly, sometimes mid-sentence, is the hallmark of the importance the author places upon remaining true to the theme of his blog. Crappy Unfinished Novel Time is a place where even dullards and half-wits can feel accomplished, having completed more in their day than the author ever will in a lifetime. Even 'author' is far too serious a term for one whose previously incomplete fiction has graced the pages of - well - nothing, since no reputable publisher will put unfinished work into print. Perhaps 'hack' is more suitable.

One might think that the broadcast of this perpetual failure across something as worldwide as the web might act as a catalyst to complete a project for a change. HA! Think again. Said hack has spent an undisclosed but amazingly large percentage of his life being a disappointment to his readers (and probably his parents), you think that's going to change now? Honestly, the most you can hope for are the occasional references to explosions, dwarves, carnies and stolen glances at breasts. And even that might be expecting too much.

That said, you probably shouldn't visit. It'll only serve to undermine any hope you have of enjoying your day.

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contributing reviewer/ee
Elliott from Crappy Unfinished Novel Time

We Have Ways of Making You Review Your Own Blog

url: http://caffeinated-rory.blogspot.com/

Well, It's kind of hard to be asked to review my own blog. To cut a long story short, it's just a place where I go to talk about what happened during the day, have fights with coffee, my complicated relationship idol and just a place to be random really. So much goes on in one's life and sometimes it's inhumane to vent it out on another human being because everyone has enough to deal with in the first place, hence it's woven into a sarcastic, slightly masochistic post of anti-karma complaints and just, well, human stuff. I don't like this, I'd rather you just go there, read on and decide for yourself. I'm not up for marketing my vent-outs. I'm a fellow human, with a head made of coffee beans and held together by maths equations. I'm allergic to UFO, an Unknown Food Object. Clocks hate me and Pillows don't like me that much.. I'm just another 17-year-old living on the other side of the universe who thinks rap is soothing, trees are aliens and is in love with Erik Satie's work. If Danny Elfman did not exist, I can honestly say I would have dismissed this blue ball for a world and moved on to another parallel dimension. You know what? whatever. I will not review my own blog. You have a head, work it.


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contributing reviewer/ee
Mirette Osama from Caffeinated Rory

In Randomness, a Surprising Design

url: http://continuallysurprised.blogspot.com

Interested in obscure books published at least 10 years ago? Cooking experiences that closely resemble Dan Aykroyd's parody of Julia Child? Adventures in multimedia wiring and other odd and occasionally off-putting topics? If not, this is definitely not the blog for you; otherwise, check out Continually Surprised! on blogspot.com.

The author of this blog is a web and graphic designer, so the blog is littered with her doodles. The blog's tagline is "venting random thoughts before they injure my brain;" she claims to be letting off steam by posting material her humor-challenged Significant Other wouldn't consider funny. Some of her posts are genuinely witty; others are apparently just attempts to keep to a daily schedule. So far the most traffic has been generated by an article about buying a giant box of Japanese soup stock ("250 Servings of Soup"), but the OAQ ("Occasionally Asked Questions") postings have also been popular.

Here's an example of her writing from OAQ #2:

How did you decide on the design for the header?
I was originally going to post a photo of myself, but I decided I would rather use a cartoon, because even though it looks like Betty Boop's less-sexy older sister, some deluded reader may still have a mental image of me as tall, svelte, and mysteriously attractive. A photo would remove the mystery by revealing that I actually do look like Betty Boop's less-sexy older sister.

Check it out if you're desperate for new reading material.


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contributing reviewer/ee
Designing In Surprise from Continually Surprised!

Blog Like An Egyptian

url: http://whatafekra.blogspot.com/ by Laura R.

As soon as you arrive, you will notice that the blogger has got a very girly theme with lots of purple. Do not fret, though, for her posts are not gossip-y or fashion-y... she just likes purple, that's all.

The title might confuse you (actually, it most probably will), and so allow me to explain that "fekra" is the Arabic word for "idea". The author claims to be Egyptian and indeed has posted and probably will post some pieces about Egypt, but it's hard to be sure whether she is telling the truth.

Other than the "Egyptian" tint to the blog, there is also a slightly childish tint, you will find, for the author is not yet 16 and has a lot to learn. However, many who have met the author in person claim she is more mature than her age would suggest, so don't worry, while the blogger will panic a bit about going back to school, nothing else about the blog will suggest that the author is a child. There are no boy-crazy posts, no sightings of the words "Duh", "OMG", and such, and no immature whinings.

Upon further investigation, you will find that the author has pledged to never use the backspace key. She warns you that she will not refrain from saying everything on her mind and will not edit her thoughts, however they may turn out to be. This warning, however, proves needless, as it is obvious from the character of the author that she would have said everything on her mind (even with controversial topics of whether Twilight is a bad book or a horrible book!) even if she had not made this promise.

Besides the theme of Egypt, another recurring theme in the blog is the writing exercises. It is very clear that the author of this particular blog has always wanted to become a writer, which she has achieved by joining a teen's magazine in her home country, and has now extended her goals to becoming an actual published author.

One drawback you will find, however, is that the author posts a little bit too much. This is due to her excitement of having a blog (she tends to get carried away when excited) and will either wear off within a few weeks, or once the author goes back to school.

Regardless of the hitches, this blog will prove to be an intriguing, if not enjoyable, read. The author has been told that her perspective is different, so you might want to check it out.