Bloggeries

Invading Holland is the subject of this review. It highlights the life of an Englishman as he settles into a new life in Holland. For those of you that do not know, Holland and the Netherlands are the same country, more or less. Not sure who would ever go through life not knowing this fact anyway. *Points to himself*

Invading Holland reads somewhat like a story book. The writer of this blog is a cartoonist/game designer/comic that accepted a job in Holland, and has now decided to blog about the country and his life within.

A great deal of information about the life of this writer is chronicled here, as well as an exceptionally well written tourist guide for the country. Written through the eyes of a tourist, this blog is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to learn about the culture and attractions of living in Holland. He writes about everything from general information about the country, to detailed information about things like the Red Light District and the native language.

Along with a great sense of humor, this writer also incorporates his artistic talents into the blog. There are hand draw cartoons with almost every post, and the set of characters he uses seem to illustrate people in his life, even himself.

There are some awesome stories written, and with the authors humor added to the story, they are all quite funny and interesting to read. My favorite story is titled “Lift of Terror.” It details an event in which he is trapped in an elevator with the possibility of not being found for days. I really enjoyed the little song he wrote while being trapped.

While the design of the blog is very simple and does not contain many of the “Bells and Whistles” that can be found in many blogs, it is easy to read and easy to navigate. In the end, the most important functions are readily available in the side bar.

I really enjoyed this blog. I spent a couple of hours reading various posts, and laughing at the humor. The blog is somewhat new, but I have a feeling that this writer is creative enough to find something new to write about regularly.

If you have a few minutes, I recommend spending them at Invading Holland. You will not only be entertained, but you will also learn a little something about a country that many of us know so little about.

As Americans, we are often guilty of limiting our view of the world. Although we may watch CNN religiously, we are still being presented the information from a Western point of view. However, the internet gives us the opportunity to actually see world topics from a different point of view. MyScribbles: Write-ups of an Afghan is a perfect example of this opportunity. MyScribbles is a blog written by a young Afghan expat student living in Pakistan. The writer touches on many heated contemporary topics, ranging from the implications of Iraqi Democracy to the reasons why the Taliban are regrouping. MyScribbles gives a young Afghan a voice in a world that may have otherwise overlooked these important contributions.

Upon initially visiting the blog, I was greeted by an attractive WordPress template. The blog is simple, using mostly grays and whites, and fairly easy to read. However, my main suggestion would be to use a darker font and lighter background. The posts are usually quite lengthy, and the white text can take a toll on the eyes after awhile. The blog is well organized and easily navigable. The sidebar includes recent posts, links and my favorite feature, a Flickr photo album containing over fifty photos from Afghanistan. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing unique pictures, instead of the mass produced photos used by the media.

As mentioned earlier, the posts are all of substantial length, and touch on popular issues affecting not only Afghanistan, but also the world. Each one of the posts is well thought out and quite a good read. The writer exhibits a very mature writing style, along with a strong grasp of the English language. Although I only planned on reading a few posts to get a feel for the blog and its author, I found myself spending almost an hour reading through the entire blog.

Overall, I truly enjoyed taking the time to read through MyScribbles: Write-ups of an Afghan. Although the blog has only been online since March 2006, it has already had over 3,000 visitors. I hope this review will help drive more visitors to this informative and interesting blog, which will provide any visitor with a unique reading experience. I wish the writer the best of luck in his pursuit to attend Columbia University to obtain a journalism degree, and hope that the blog continues to be updated regularly.

“The Nowhere Wolf’s Vowel Movements” is a clever little blog combining original cartoons and the English language. Each day, the Nowhere Wolf has a new misadventure through his butchery of the English language.

The first thing that caught my eye about this blog was the header. The white header features a picture of the Nowhere Wolf and a cow, along with a brief introduction about the concept of the blog. The template pairs a light gray background with black text and red hyper links, which results in a simple but attractive combination.

The best feature of this blog is that it is updated every day. Too many blog owners think that they can get by with only updating two to three times a week, but if you really want to develop a loyal following, daily updates are a must. The daily posts are a single panel cartoon featuring the Nowhere Wolf in some sort of strange situation due to a single vowel being wrong in the caption. My personal favorite was, “It wasn’t so much an argument as an unbalanced runt, thought the Nowhere Wolf.” This caption is paired with a drawing of the Nowhere Wolf looking quite puzzled while staring at a pig leaning sideways. Obviously, this specific cartoon is a play on the word “rant,” with “A” being replaced by another vowel for a humorous outcome.

According to the description, the cartoons are first sketched everyday on pencil and paper, and then given life with Macromedia Freehand. The black and white cartoons are very nice and well designed. This blog is the brainchild of Paul Bowers, a freelance illustrator and designer. I’m impressed with not only his artistic skills, but also his sense of humor and creativity. I would guess that it’s no easy task to come up with a humorous caption each day that can also be sketched.

Overall, “The Nowhere Wolf’s Vowel Movements” is a clever and humorous blog that is designed perfectly for a daily visit and quick laugh to lighten the mood at the office.