Reviews

If you are in the Pasadena area and looking for some tips or reviews on local attractions, then you may want to have a look at the City of Pasadena Guide and Travel Blog. The blog is written by David G. Hollstrom Sr. and he offers an inside look at the City of Pasadena as well as some guides and directories for the city. You will find here a wealth of reviews and sources of information on anything there is to know about Pasadena. Have a look at any of his recent bloggeries to see what he wants you to know about Pasadena: The Melting Pot – Pasadena, The Union Cattle Co. – Pasadena, Check Out Colonial Kitchen in San Marino, Check out Tops – Colorado Blbd. – Pasadena, Islands – Pasadena – Foothill Blvd., Houstons – Pasaden, Amy’s Burgers – Pasadena, McMurphy’s Tavern – Pasadena, Lucky Baldwin’s – Pasadena, and Radhika’s Restaurant – Pasadena.

This blog could not be easier to navigate which will make any visitor of Pasadena who stumbles across it very grateful. Bloggeries are left marginalized with standard black text on white background, and headlines and links are highlighted with a nice blue color that accents the blog well. There is a right navigation system that contains a host of information for the prospective Pasadena visitor. This includes a search bar, links list, archives, most recent comments, and a categories menu. The categories menu is extremely comprehensive listing Dining, Entertainment, Events, and numerous other categories. The Dining category is further divided by food types and styles making the visitors blog very easy to navigate. The blog also has a healthy readership as is evidenced by its recent comments menu. I did not see any pictures with the bloggeries, so that would be my first suggestion. This would make the reviews and information that much more appealing to the reader and give a true feel for the specific place the author is blogging about.

I will go with a 3/5 for this one, but mainly because I am seeing some issues with activity. The most recent post was entered on June 22 so more frequent posting would definitely serve the growth of this blog. I also think the comments sections proves the readership would support more frequent posting. Overall the appearance scores are good, the look of the blog is very clean and aesthetically appealing but would definitely benefit from some pictures. The content is excellently written with reviews coming from a personal voice that gives the experience credibility. They are also concise enough down to the ripeness of a strawberry which gives the reader a true essence of the experience. I also might suggest the author monetize this blog a little once the posting becomes more active. Again, the readership is healthy enough to support this and I think with these few changes this could very well be a successful blog and a spectacular resource for visitors to Pasadena.

– Chrissie

If you are a cat lover and looking for a fun read, you may want to stop in and see how Ariel is doing at Life Through a Cat’s Eyes Blog. Ariel is a Torti kitty born on the 4th of July and author of her own blog. She is self-described as a diva kitty whose interests include bird watching, cuddles and headbuts, tuna fish, treats, sleeping, blogging, and all of her feline friends. Ariel is a very good writer, and it must be from her appreciation for the film and literary industries. Her favorite movies include Garfield, Aritocats, and Cats and Dogs, and she enjoys reading novels such as The Diary of a Killer Cat, The Postman Always Brings Mice, and Madam Pastry and Meow. You can catch a glimpse about what it must be like to be a cat in any of Ariel’s most recent bloggeries: The Diva’s Rules for the Mom, A Day at the Vet, Nose Twin, Boring Tiles, Dum Neighbors, A talk with Mom, The Middle Name Meme, Very Funny, My New Catster Friend, An Honest Mistake, Kitty Pirate Fun.

Navigation on the blog is very simple, and as Ariel has made it clear her life is as such, one wouldn’t expect otherwise. Bloggeries text actually varies in color from day to day, one day it is green, the next it is purple, but it suits the theme of the blog, and well, we know how finicky cats are anyway. Bloggeries are set on a white background with a pink border that emphasizes her diva nature. Each post also contains very cute pictures of Ariel, and if you are a cat lover, you will enjoy them. Bloggeries are left marginalized with a right navigation system as well. In the right navigation bar you will find the About Page, a variety of Blog Awards, a very impressive Blogroll, Recent Posts Menu, and Archives that go back to March of 2006.

I am going to give Ariel a 3.6/5 here. Her blog is doing very well, and she has made many fans and friends in the blogosphere and has quite an extensive readership. This is probably accomplished through her very active, daily posting that is witty, creative, and very well-written. The blog itself is of course a unique concept and she has utilized this uniqueness to gain a healthy readership in her niche. I think the navigation system which is very well managed could only be improved through a categories menu. And I think Ariel is creative enough to come up with some cute and appropriate categories – naptime, Vets, feeding time, and etc. This would organize the posts a little bit and her many readers would be able to navigate her journal a little bit easier. I also think Ariel may want to consider monetizing the blog with some advertising. I am not sure how many readers she has, but it is sizeable judging by her blogroll and her frequent comments she receives. She may want to consider this to offset the costs of her vet bills. Otherwise, Ariel’s blog scores very well on all other accounts and this blog is a definite recommend if you are a friend of the feline kingdom.

– Chrissie

If you are a food connoisseur and interested in foods of different styles and tastes, you may be interested in checking out Foodies Across Borders. Here you will find a place where friends who live a long way apart share their thoughts and ideas on cooking, entertaining, and eating out. This blog reviews restaurants and also babbles on about current trends in cooking. They also have their own test kitchens where they review recipes and odd product here and there. You may want to grab lunch before you have a look there though, as viewing this site will definitely make you hungry. Take a bite of any of their recent bloggeries to see if this blog whets your appetite: Video: Elton John Gets Creative, Party Porn: Tap the Keg, Food Porn: Jalapeno Shrimp, Getting Ready for the BBQ of the Decade, and Overheard at Dinner.

The blog is fairly straightforward to navigate. The header contains a very handsome looking header with a juicy steak and top menu bar that contains the Home page, About Page, and Archives menu. Bloggeries are left marginalized and there are two right navigation bars. Posts are also standard black text on white background and all posts contain relevant and very appetizing looking pictures with the posts. In the left of the two right navigation bars you will find the about information. You will then find in the far right navigation bar a Blair Valley Media Blog List menu, food blog lists, food resources, and a healthy categories menu. The recipe lover will get a kick out of the categories menu as it is sorted by not only courses but by food styles, gadgets, seen on TV, Eating out, and so much more.

I am going with a 2.7/5 for this blog and will mention that it is the activity that is hurting this blog the most. Posts are infrequent and are being entered less than monthly at times. I think this is a very unique blog that food lovers could really grab a bite out of, so the lack of activity is not benefiting this blog. In appearance and navigation this blog scores reasonably well though a Recent Posts Menu would also help in the navigation area. The content is well written, and in concert with the excellent pictures on site really make each post very appealing to the readership. I would also suggest the left sided navigation bar be moved to the left margin of the page, as with no content underneath the about information there is a lot of white space on the blog. Moving it would eliminate that space in the middle of the blog and organize this a little better. With just a few of these formatting issues tweaked, and some regular writing, I could see this blog doing very well and would definitely recommend it to any chef’s or food lovers in the blogosphere.

– Chrissie