The Reviewer

Guy Fawkes' blog of parliamentary plots, rumours and conspiracy: Press Plagiarist of the Year Award NOMINATIONS 2005

2005-12-04T07:52:00.000Z

This is a little heads up from a blog that rarely every publishes anymore.

Guy Fawkes' blog of parliamentary plots, rumours and conspiracy: Press Plagiarist of the Year Award
NOMINATIONS 2005: "Press Plagiarist of the Year Award
NOMINATIONS 2005"

Enjoy.

Paused!

2005-08-17T13:16:00.000+01:00

The reviewer will be back after a vrey important wedding has compleated (his own).

Woo-Hoo the reviewer is back on the block!

2005-06-03T14:18:00.000+01:00

Oh yes, yes, yes... I am BACK!!!

To ease me back into the reviewers life we open today with a rundown of the top 10!.

Yes Ladies and Gents it's time for that all unimportant Mad-Den Top Sites TOP 10. We will be running down the TOP 10 and looking to the possibilities for the comeing weeks

The top 3 slots remain unchanged since the "Pritty Woman Picture Thread" pushed its way in to number 2 where it settled down. The real action is in the battle in the 6 to 10 section.

#10 - "DuDu's Dad Desz"

Desz has pushed his way back into the top ten after Overkill pushed him to back to 11. This Blog is enjoying one of it's best weeks for a long time and if this trend continues it could be a contender for riding up the ranks. His oldest stat is a poor 74 Uniques while his current average is 181.75 with this week at a 275 high.

#9 - "sarah shireen: using my right to..."

This blog is running under par (193.5), even though it has managed to sustain it's position dispite the intrusion of Overkill. The stat that will soon stop counting on the four week average is 66.5 underpar and by far the lowest of the four stats. This means thaqt Desz is going to have a tough fight if he wants to steal 9th after the weekend.

#8 - "Blogging Overkill"

The new challenger that last week burst into the top ten, displacing Desz. It is a blog and traffic system and has run a tough race against this weeks current number 9 fighting to slowly overcome a better run of averages. This blogs average stands at 195.25 uniques but it's oldest week stands at just 41. After that extraordenery low number he runs 272, 268, 200 with a lot of time left to ride intop the 270 mark. If it can make that and do the same next week we could be looking at a new challenger for the top places. You heard it here first folks.

#7 - "SucK My BlooD And **** My SouL!"

Holding a strong average of 220 this blog is the boss monster that the challengers are going to have to face to gain enterence into the next level of play. However it's not all roses for this blog as it's strongest stat (302) is about to slip into history and this week looks all set to be the weakest one under onsideration. With Overkill snapping at it's heals with a 200 average this blog could simply slip down a place as the change over kicks in sunday night. Monday looks set to be a battle of giants.

#6 - "Death Maiden"

With a user rating of 3.33 over 5 this is the stable lord of the 6 to 10 slot. It's average is 228 and the strongest stat (303) has an extra week to run. However this blog is running 83 under par with a reasonably strong stat about to be history. I have a feeling this blog could face the challengers in a hard battle to maintain 6th.

The 6/5 barrier is one of the biggest hurdles a blog must face. Not only is there the psycological barrier of passing the blog banners but this is the point that the stats rise sharply. The top 5 has been for some time a rather unexciting compition with each of the blogs maintaining a mostly stable grip on it's place

#5 - "My Adventures in the US of A "

This one time number one is still holding out at number five with a user rating of 5 over 5 (100%) and an average of 270.75 this blog has astoundingly exact uniques week on week and will proove very hard to better. Any blog wanting to pass this well read blog will need a consistant 297+ every week.

#4 - "A Jumbled Up Mind"

Jumbled Mind hold #4 with an iron grip with an average of 280.25 and this weeks stats look set to come close to that average but it looks like this campion could be flagging. Last weeks stat was an all time low at 86.25 under par and the best week is about to leave the running. This will leave the champ at a very vulnerable place and I think we could see a little movement this coming week.

Once you cross the 4/3 barrier your know your blog is into the big times. The top 3 sites are the really big players and they carry massive averages.

#3 - "sk8rn"

Rated 5 over 5 by the users this Blog truely rules the roost at Mad-Den Top sites. With an average of 295.75 and the general feeling of little change this skateboarding night shift nurse's blog is unlikely to break from number three but it is unlikely that it will be shifting down either.

#2 - "Pretty Women Picture Thread"

This phpBB powered female-form appriciation forum has an average of 349.5 uniques by catering to the lowest common denominater. A trick that seems to have worked very well from this site. There is no blog related content and with this weeks fall off added to the mix there is a chance that a blog pulling 500 a week could easily dislodge this site from it's throne.

#1 - "Parenthood for Dummies"

Ruling the roost at Number one, the king of Blogs: a blog all about being a newbie Dad. Rated an impressive 4.5 over 5 by 8 users and running an average of 469.5 this is a blog with a massive following. Like all blogs this one shows slight signs of a reduction in uniques but this is going to be related to the time of year and the general good weather. I somehow doubt that this blog is in any danger of taking a reduction any time soon.

Public Service review: blogmysite dot com

2005-05-22T20:39:00.000+01:00

The reviewer has returned for a special edition warning. Tighten your comment controls and look out - here comes a script that can act like a blogger user! They call it COMMENT SPAM

MINUS: They spam comments in blogspot sites and use automated user accounts to do it
PLUS: it costs just $65 to have them do it for you

Revisit: NEVER! - more HERE... there is no link to the site as I do not want to raise it's google rank by even a faction.

Layout: 4/10 BASIC
Look and feel: 4/10 Didn't like it.
Wit and amusement: 0/10 nope
commentary: 2/10 the FAQ is full of vitrial but the lies are clear
Extra: 5/10 well, yes, I guess...

TOTAL: 30%

The Reviewer

2004-10-21T09:08:00.000+01:00

It would seem that the birth of my son has interupted the flow of review. (as reported here).
There will be a short delay.

Link Whore - Real or Gnarly?

2004-10-14T20:13:00.000+01:00

Please let me be right this time.

This aparently toung in cheak exorsise in irony should be a visitaion must for all new bloggers and website owners. The first posts act as an "on the job" guide to what a link whore is and does and some of the links are worth a follow. (You can find them in the older "Past Whorings" section.) The links that then follow are fairly random but most are of reasonable to high quality sp that should this all continue I might find a good source of review matirial.

I googled on LW and no-one has really linked to it so it is safe to say this is a joke of some kind.

It's an interesting lesson too.

MINUS: What a lot of tosh!
PLUS: The sugestive use of language is quite subtal in places.

Revisit: ...I might do just to find out what it is all about "really"; plus I'd like to know who it develops.

Layout: 6/10 Standard but nicely tweaked
Look and feel: 5/10 OK
Wit and amusement: 5/10 Yeah it scores for being a good tounge in cheak job
commentary: 2/10 it's a little lacking
Extra: 5/10 OK so it's got some nice features and two types of blog link system.

TOTAL: 46% Just below average as normal blogs are measured. But I went easier on it than on a "real" link whore / all and nothing site.

2004-10-08T11:58:00.000+01:00

It would seem that the reviewers site looks rather funky in other browsers (still) so once more I gotta validate every last dot to find out where it all went wrong... dag nam it.

Posted by Hello

Shut Up Ed.

2004-10-07T22:47:00.000+01:00

Yes! Yes! Oh-My-God-Yeeeeeeesssssss! - The Reviewer has returned!

And what an orgasmic treat we have in store for you today oh-reader - The Reviewer returns just under an hour early to look at "Shut Up Ed" as we ask "Should Ed just shut up?"! (You don't see punctuation like that everyday!)

"Bloging at it's blogiest. Humor, Politics, Pop Culture, all the same crap you can find on 10,000 other blogs, which are probably a lot better than this one."

With a quick round of "If I claimed to be female, I would probably get more traffic..." the blog that is "Shut-Up Ed" comes to the screens of all good bloggers everywhere.

This interesting and frankly down-to-earth voice in the blog-o-sphere is a nice change and so, (whilst the pop-up that offended my browsing could definitely "shut-up"), the self-referential mock-brutalistic honesty is, at least, a healthy display of post-modern cynicism and, (in addition to being more openly mockingly-sarcastic than the reviewer), it is a refreshing change from the barrage of constant Americana-politic that has come my way in recent months.

Me: God, please let me get mauled by a rabid weasel and die in agony.

MINUS: As a web site it looks a little flaky in places.
PLUS: The Effort has been made to point out that these so called "super babes" are often DOG UGLY - Well done!

Revisit: Often.

Layout: 5/10 Standard but unspoiled by silly side bar graphics.
Look and feel: 4/10 Some changes have been made to the template but to be honest it could do with some more Oxy-10 to remove those spots. Plus points for not stuffing up the side bar.
Wit and amusement: 9/10 Plentiful
commentary: 8/10 I can not complain
Extra: 6/10 Tag-board, Heavy linkage care of blog linker and a bravenet affiliate link (+ Counter) but this is speckled with witty side comments which make for a good side bar flow

TOTAL: 64% A superior blog that does not try to get above it's station while still being a good read.

2004-10-02T10:12:00.000+01:00

Less than a week until:

The Reviewer Shall Return

WTF? Stupid CSS...

2004-09-25T09:48:00.000+01:00

"Maybe it's just my browser (Firefox 9.3), but a bunch of the text is overlapping, and therefore very difficult to read."

It's still broken. Anyone got any ideas?

Untill then:
The Reviewer Shall Return

The Reviewer: Illness - update

2004-09-22T08:26:00.000+01:00

The Reviewer: Illness: "Maybe it's just my browser (Firefox 9.3), but a bunch of the text is overlapping, and therefore very difficult to read."

It turns out that while the reviewer was convalessing that a small issue with the way the Firefox browser handles some CSS calculations (if I understood the technical writeup correctly) has been decimating this rather nice new template for the blog.

Shocking!

0/10to some-one who shoulda known

0/10 to me for not knowing

10/10 to ShutUpEd for telling me

and bonus points to the people who worked out an answer.

If you see any more browser specific problems dear readers please let me know.

untill then
The Reviewer Shall Return

Illness

2004-09-16T23:00:00.000+01:00

The reviewer is currently unwell and going though a rough time all round.

The Reviewer Shall Return

Please talk amongst yourself and use the commetn section to review this site, yours or whatever.

Mad-Den Index Top Sites - Main Page - All Sites

2004-09-08T08:44:00.000+01:00

Time, I feel for feed back from viewers / readers.

What is a successfull blog?

What makes a blog great?

How Great do you think your blog is and what do you think would improve it?

Time for the feed back!

2004-09-03T20:03:00.000+01:00

Ok folks the thing your computer was made for - feeding back to the reviewer.

Blogspotting

2004-08-31T19:23:00.000+01:00

Blogspotting: "148 - 2004-08-29 18:33:05
This site casts a critical eye on other blogs, yet it has plenty of problems of its own. It's rampant with poor grammar, misspellings, and drab color scheme. It's a good idea, but the mistakes cause a lack of credibility."

Shocking, but at least the art of review has been noticed. And, he's right, of course, how would the review rate? 45% give or take I would have said.

I have seen enough blogs now to know a good layout. It's time to learn some new skills.

No new reviews for a while, re-jig in process.

CJ.com - possibly the worst deal on line today.

2004-08-28T12:51:00.000+01:00

In a change from your regularly scheduled doldrums I am going to re-view the world of money.

Disclaimer: all this is just my opinion so give it up if you think you want to sue me!

There is a web site it is www.cj.com where website owners can sign up and tie-up with advertisers. The code goes on their site and then when a sale is made the "publisher" gets some cash in their account. If you manage to earn $50 they will send you a cheque. Perhaps.

Don't use them!

They stink. What you will not be told is that should you have a bad patch and fail to earn for six months they take $10 from your total. But that is only half the story.

A friend has forwarded to me a message:

"Thank you for reading this message. I am a publisher on the CJ.com network and have been for some time; but it seems I may soon be gone - along with a large number of "bread and butter" type small scale publishers.
Recently with no reasonable explanation CJ.com cut my account from $23.40 to $4.00 and claimed they had taken a $10 fine for low activity.
It would seem that this commission network makes no profit by doing business but by the subtle denial of publisher funds at levels that indicate "no great" loss to the company. It is possible that they are in financial difficulties.
In other words if a publisher is producing "too little" sales the standard of operation seems to be to simply remove all funds from the account for that publisher and then obtusely refuse to deal with the issue.
So far I have been able to get nothing by way of a solid explanation but even what has been said fails to add up.
What will happen when and if the full effect of this is felt? The advertisers will loose the foundation of little guys that bring the customers. Their name would then be dragged through the mud as they become connected with the resentment felt by the publishers.
I am urging all advertisers I have signed up with to abandon CJ in favour of whatever more trustworthy companies can be found."

I have to warn everyone who thinks they would like some money from their site that this is not a good company to go with. I have heard from others that the small site owners are leaving like rats on a sinking ship.

I recommend you use Deal Group Media, Google ad-sense or Amazon for your cash needs.

MINUS: You will get shafted! Count on it. Anyway the site design reeks. It is total rubbish. (They are rated as a minor pest by spyware removers)
PLUS: you might get paid if you can avoid being shafted
Rule #0: If you want to make money then try not to piss too many people off.

Revisit: No! I deleted my account when I was done.

Layout: 7/10
Look and feel: 3/10
Wit and amusement: 0/10
commentary: 0/10
Extra: -5/10 the UI was a nightmare I couldn't find half the stuff I wanted without phoning some-one who had been with CJ.com for a long time.

TOTAL: 10% - Total Crap. Use Google Ad sense instead

Sarcasmagorical - the blog of Brant E. DeBow

2004-08-20T19:21:00.000+01:00

I'm getting so sick of people who assert that "Jesus' message is about love and compassion"

when one gets a message like this: "I'd love to hear what you think or how I could improve my blog" you have to wonder if this is a brag or a beg (for help).

It was rather good actually.

MINUS: The huge totality of the text could overwhelm lesser readers
PLUS: The huge totality of the text is indicative of lots to say and this blog doesn't disappoint on that front.

Revisit: Yes, and I might even click that Blogspotting vote button once in a while.

Layout: 6/10 Fairly average but it's hard to see how it could get much better with ease
Look and feel: 6/10 Nice simplicity although the long list of standard links at the bottom is both a good and a bad thing.
Wit and amusement: 8/10 A good strong written style and a side from the tendency to rant when not necessary potentially journalistic standard
commentary: 10/10 and how!
Extra: 8/10 Poll, Badges (X5), search, categories (now there's an idea) and a mini calender (not original but nice).

TOTAL: 76%

3xL : Lust, Love & Latex!... The Latex Fetish Webzine!

2004-08-11T23:13:00.000+01:00

On a whim I followed a recent review recomendation to a kinky little site called Lust, Love & Latex.

What I found was pleasing to the eye but as you will see it left something to be desired.

Ping: error in line xxx - do you wish to debug? Y / N
Ping: error in line xxx - do you wish to debug? Y / N
Ping: error in line xxx - do you wish to debug? Y / N
Ping: error in line xxx - do you wish to debug? Y / N
Ping: error in line xxx - do you wish to debug? Y / N
Ping: error in line xxx - do you wish to debug? Y / N
Ping: error in line xxx - do you wish to debug? Y / N
Ping: error in line xxx - do you wish to debug? Y / N
Ping: error in line xxx - do you wish to debug? Y / N
Ping: error in line xxx - do you wish to debug? Y / N

...

3xL : Lust, Love & Latex!... The Latex Fetish Webzine!: "Just got home with a latex catsuit that I brought on the Reeperbahn in Hamburg, Germany. I have wanted a catsuit for ages and yesterday, I finally got one!"

PLUS: A menu that was clearly laid out, nice images, sexy ladies, plenty of latex...
MINUS: 30 million error messsages and lots of images that wouldn't load.

I couldn't read the text with my eyes as tired as they were and the page refused to resize to my browser viewing specifications

Result incompleate review

Rule #9: Text size should be relative for resizing.

Revisit: yes I probably will just to see if the technical problems got fixed.

Layout: 9/10
Look and feel: 5/10
Wit and amusement: -
commentary: -
Extra: -

TOTAL: 0.00%

2004-08-07T13:08:00.000+01:00

What type of content do you look for?

	Witty
	Short
	Informative
	Human / open
	Clever

What kind of image do you look for?

	Simple and clear
	Colourfull
	busy
	animated
	Illustrated (lots of pictures)
	well linked

What first catches you eye?

	Images
	headlines
	side bar stuff
	Colour
	quotes
	links

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The Snooter

2004-08-06T22:50:00.000+01:00

"Really, whats wrong with a little foot fetish?"

MINUS: What's with the not funny captions on the really dull photo's?
PLUS: The gathering of odd, funny or daft news stories makes for light if completely irrelevant reading.

Revisit: probably not, but then what does that actually mean?

Layout: 5/10 Standard template
Look and feel: 4/10 ditto
Wit and amusement: 3/10 some
commentary: 1/10 very little
Extra: 1/10 Here I feel nice have a point for being in a blog ring.

TOTAL: 28% - There was just no fire. I'm not trying to be nasty tho' I'll bet some-one will think I am after all this Blog is review by request.

DD sez

2004-08-06T20:31:00.000+01:00

"Whatever happened to blowing up toy boats with M-80's and stealing other kids' bikes?"

MINUS: I, for one, am sick of hearing about the US ellections.
PLUS: A nice little poll that seemed a good idea.
Possible Rule: If it's been said a hundred times already - SHUT UP.

Revisit: I may visit to see where all the nick-naks came from.

Layout: 8/10 Good and clear
Look and feel: 7/10 Nice style
Wit and amusement: 0/10 nope
commentary: 0/10 I don't care about your countries darn leadership battles.
Extra: 9/10 Lots dotted about

TOTAL: 48%

Standing Room Only

2004-08-02T14:10:00.000+01:00

Sub titled "Love in the middle of war".

MINUS: A slightly wimsical feel to it. Unclear subject matter, difficult to get into
PLUS: Sujests strong depth and longevity. If you like this sort of thing you'll like it... one of those hard to pidgin hole blogs.

I couldn't really get to grips with this blog. I've visited twice now but... grr not sure just can't find the thread of topic.

He, (I asume it is a "he" it has quite a feminine style design in only a good way), has a strong written style and it scans well enough...

Rule #8: Make it clear what you are talking about.

Revisit: Yeah sure, why not.

Layout: 6/10 fair enough layout, simple and good
Look and feel: 9/10 It looked a visule treat
Wit and amusement: 4/10 I found it difficult to get "into" thus did not see the wit and amusment factor
commentary: 5/10 There seemed to be some for of social commentry with a strong story teller style
Extra: 5/10 4 points just for not feeling tempted to publish cacky short meaningless posts, and one more for including photo's...

TOTAL: 58%

Male and Proud of it.

2004-07-26T20:05:00.000+01:00

Male and Proud of it.: "Inspired by several ulteristic blogs I feel it is time to redress the balence and focus simply on being a man. I am a man, I am proud to be a man and I refuse to be belittled for my maleness."

Extras (some)

MINUS: New and therefore lacking history or depth
PLUS: Clean, well designed, interesting, something to say,

Revisit: Yes, I rather think this blog might have something for us all.

Layout: 8/10 No template I recognise
Look and feel: 7/10 Nicely understated, wouldn't have chosen to do that myself but it seems to work.
Wit and amusement: 4/10 The wit is a bit low as this blog is kinda seriouse
commentary: 10/10 Lots to say
Extra: 5/10 Lots of buttons of unusual types and the general feeling that this is really going to be something

TOTAL: 68%

Henna Shrugged.

2004-07-25T19:59:00.000+01:00

Henna Shrugged.: "With all due respect to blogger which is nice for someone who doesn't want to get into it but I have been responsible for taking apart most gadgets to see how they work (even if I didn't figure it out eventually) since as long as I remember... so I needed to opt for control over my files vs. blog in a box... Just a personal choice..."

MINUS: Brief, sulky and unapriciative
PLUS: Attitude
Rule #7: Don't bitch for no reason.

Revisit: Just to see what is going on, not because I like it but because of a morbid curiosity...

Layout: 5/10
Look and feel: 5/10
Wit and amusement: 2/10
commentary: 0/10
Extra: 0/10

TOTAL: 24% While it looks OK it failed to tickle my asignment and left me feeling disapointed. This strong writting style is totally misspent.

The Reviewer

2004-07-23T20:21:00.000+01:00

The Reviewer: "This is the buzz on the internet right now and over the next week I will be seeing how well blogs are reporting this news."

That's why you write and I re-view... not the buzz dag nam it.

ePolitix - Hodge defends child access plans

2004-07-21T11:27:00.000+01:00

ePolitix - Hodge defends child access plans: "'This government has failed to protect the best interests of children.'"

This is the buzz on the internet right now and over the next week I will be seeing how well blogs are reporting this news.

molestation of free speech

2004-07-06T10:55:00.000+01:00

molestation of free speech: "Here we go people, this is dedicated to abusers of free speech, primarily the Matt-twat lurking in his Reptilian hell-hole. Enjoy... Emma. "

I'm sure lots of people do enjoy Emma and on a regular basis from all indications but this blog is the pits. Quoted above is the ENTIRE owner content.

Not content with breaking most of the golden rules of blogging (see right) and failing to link to the site being slagged off this user doesn't even have the good grace to create anything worth a formal review. As such:

TOTAL: 0% This seems nothing more than a hate blog.

I recomend they at least learn to link or sort out some track-back.

BTW: while veiwing the "blog" these lyrics came to mind:

You've gotta be the dumbest newbie I've ever seen
You've got white-out all over your screen
You think your Commodore 64 is really neato
What kinda chip you got in there, a Dorito?
You're usin' a 286? Don't make me laugh
Your Windows boots up in what, a day and a half?
You could back up your whole hard drive on a floppy diskette
You're the biggest joke on the Internet

.12 gauge

2004-07-02T19:12:00.000+01:00

"So I've never used my opinion page for something such as this, but now that this little zero has emerged from his alleged coffin, I guess I HAVE to..."

MINUS: Lack of any thing positive to say, minimal content and what I did see left me thinking "god, what a self-important ass"
PLUS: Getting to read the other side of the argument with the Goths thanks to some guy called Morat.

Revisit: No (aside from keeping up with the "blog war"). One thing that irritated me was that this user truly seemed to think he had a right to get into a rage with the Goths without knowing what a blog truly is for.

Rule #6: Thou shalt understand how to use a blog before you mouth off at others.

Layout: 5/10 nothing special
Look and feel: 5/10 These points are not for the blog but for a matching website the guy has done. Completely un-navigable but great looking.
Wit and amusement: 4/10 some mildly interesting comments
commentary: 8/10 strongish social commentary after a fashion but lacked a balanced view.
Extra: 3/10 points for the other site, minus some for poor links that pop-open in new windows. Such as find such and such here (click link, new winder, blokes homepage again...)

TOTAL: 50% OK but nothing new to say.

The Misadventures of Me.

2004-07-01T22:44:00.000+01:00

The Misadventures of Me.: "after a couple of hours of building up a super economy [yes, it is unnecessary but I always want to have maxed out stuff on everything] I then attack and have my 'Grand Armee' kill pretty much anything with two [or four if there are horses] legs which leaves me using cannons to slowly destroy everything made of mortar which they own."

MINUS: photo failed to load.
PLUS: A refreshing level of honesty that gives a true insite into the life of the poster. I felt I might actully know the guy by the end of it.
Rule #5: Thou shalt be honest and open.

Revisit:Three guesses! (Duh! yes!)

Eventually the longboat makes one final turn and it hits a black wall, the wall doesn't smash the boat; instead it splits in half letting us pass through and only then do I realize that its just a fair ground ride.

Layout: 5/10 Standard template
Look and feel: 5/10
Wit and amusement: 8/10 I wanted to read it and the more I read the more I cared.
commentary: 9/10 good comentry on his own life
Extra: 5/10 extra insite and good written style

TOTAL: 64%

Goth Blog Review 2

2004-06-25T23:10:00.000+01:00

MINUS: Silly self referential postings
PLUS: Some really good slagging off with a violent verbage of a retort.

Revisit: Yeah, if this happens again!

Layout: 7/10 They have re-done the site from head to toe
Look and feel: 6/10 More suitable than before
Wit and amusement: 9/10 The peace slagging off a certain pathetic band made my week!
commentary: 9/10 The slagging off and the return spamming were handled with aplumb - great stuff.
Extra: 7/10 Nice use of quotes, interesting use of commenting and extra link section and empty album but they now have PHOTO-Blogging and that makes a real change!

TOTAL: 76% - A great improvment!

2004-06-15T20:03:00.000+01:00

why oh why is the blog space so dull?

Hollywood mystery man has Internet abuzz

2004-06-03T10:46:00.000+01:00

: "Rance's blog (http://captainhoof.tripod.com/blog) has since spawned a furious guessing game on the Internet and beyond, becoming a regular topic at Hollywood parties.
Xeni Jardin, a writer on the 'Boing-Boing' blog (http://boingboing.net), recently told her readers that Rance was rumoured to be 'Starsky and Hutch' star Owen Wilson, a claim that the actor's publicist has denied."

Sorry here is the buzz on this news item - the two URLs!

Hollywood mystery man has Internet abuzz

2004-06-03T10:45:00.000+01:00

"LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - He skewers Hollywood and the cult of celebrity on an anonymous Web log that has spawned a cult following. He claims to be an A-list actor, writing under a pseudonym, but admits he may not be believed."

Yeah baby! That's what I'm talking about!

Lets get a bit of a Buzz going ya-know.

The Reviewer

2004-05-30T22:41:00.000+01:00

In the highly unliky event that you have been reading this blog you will have noticed I have stopped publishing.

I'm board, not of the art of review but of lack of any worthwhile blogs to talk about.

Here we stand witht he greatest power for scocial comentry the ultimate expression of the power of free speach. But what do I find? - Navel gazing and in-references to things those other than the writer and a few close friends do not care to even try to understand.

I do not care that you big toe looks a milimeter longer today and I do not care that you don't know if you should die your hair Blusen Brown No 12 or Autumnal Brown No 3 this month (unless you post photos)... I just want to read something that was worth finding to read.

Please - I am begging you do something interesting with these blogs.

If perhaps there is something interesting than maybe someone would like to show me where!

skykicking

2004-05-15T01:40:00.000+01:00

"It's one of the curious aspects of pop consumption that the focus on singles (cf. non-pop's privileging of albums) allows for a much more piecemeal construction of a performer's identity. Whereas with the non-pop artists the release of an album roughly every two years allows for a monolithic and unified presentation of identity with a relatively long use-by date, with pop the staggered consumption of, say, four songs over the course of 12 months invites a certain level of indeterminabiltiy. "

With it's curiously long sentences and windy paragraphs - the first blog with entries that have some sort of progression following the introduction-body-conclusion pattern this blog was truly refreshing.

The fact that the writer(s) take a point open it, examine it and draw what conclusions they may is wholly satisfying.

This blog raised points that captured briefly my mind, it seamed that not only did they have something to say they had something worth-while to say.

So taken in fact am I with this idea of haven's something to day that I find that quite naturally I have written far more on the subject of this blog than any other.

MINUS: A little too light on the punctuation
PLUS: intellectually engaging

Rule #4: Thou shult have something worth while to say.

Revisit: Yep

Layout: 6/10 basic sensible. Great.
Look and feel: 8/10 Refreshingly un-templates (it seamed) if a little pink
Wit and amusement: 9/10 A great written style
commentary: 10/10
Extra: 5/10 As a hosted site the offer of pages not directly index linked to time and date tempted unfortunately the daftpunk.html failed to produce more than the hosts error page.

TOTAL: 76% In educational terms this is a Distinction! Highest praise indeed.

Assistant Blog

2004-05-15T01:11:00.000+01:00

"I play guitar and sing in Assistant, an odd, awkward pop group from Brighton. I started this blog as a way of recording band activity but it has developed into somewhat of a personal diary, although (hopefully) without the excruciating bits. "

MINUS: A little wooly around the edges and suffers from the usual ecletic assumption that all readers are regulars.
PLUS: A brilliant read, interesting, well designed (thanks no doubt to bloggers new templates)

If all blogs were like this then today's average blog would be shamed.

Revisit: YES!

Layout: 8/10 readable.
Look and feel: 7/10 nice!
Wit and amusement: 5/10 a little lacking but not in a bad way
commentary: 8/10 Good general comenty strongly written
Extra: 2/10 Nothing extra other than the quality of the content

TOTAL: 60% - A rather good score :: in education terms this is a Merit

black ink, optional stars design by MAYSTAR

2004-05-15T00:59:00.000+01:00

black ink, optional stars design by MAYSTAR: "VOTE FOR ME - ASB DISTRICT SENATOR !
mel @ 8:41 PM "
WARNING UNREADABLE BLOG: "image Hosted By Anglefire" was all I could see.

0% - to be totally fair I will revisit and give this blog another chance coz I'm nice like that.

The New Elfwoodian Style Story & Art Archive.

2004-05-05T14:08:00.000+01:00

We would be remiss if another blog by the review himself did not get previewed.The New Elfwoodian Style Story & Art Archive.: "This is another offering from the mind of Matt the hat (waves the lone pink fluffy glove).

Here you can post stories without the need for any technical knowledge at all. With just a small amount of know how and a good web host you can post your art too.

The best bit is that you can recieve feed back from all who visit!"

MINUS: Low sign-ups and low activity.
PLUS: Good idea with a great story posted.

Rule #3 - Mass blogs need users.

Revisit: Yes

Layout: 2/10 Basic Template
Look and feel: 4/10 Basic design Job
Wit and amusement: 5/10 Skillfull story telling
commentary: NA
Extra: 0/10 nothing new

TOTAL: 27.5%

A poor effert by my own standards. I think it needs a re-do.

Dark Reign in the Reptile House

2004-05-03T21:25:00.000+01:00

"No self respecting mopy goth should be without such useless bits of information such as this"

MINUS: Few visitors. For a team blog only one person has posted.
PLUS: The side bar is as interesting as the main posts

Revisit: Yes - This looks like something good starting here.

Layout: 5/10 Standard
Look and feel: 5/10 dull yet functional
Wit and amusement: 5/10
commentary: 8/10 The blog at least has something to say.
Extra: 6/10 Great use of quotes, interesting use of commenting and extra link and photo plugins from bravenet.

TOTAL: 58%

Gropinator

2004-05-03T18:20:00.000+01:00

"Is that a tax cut in your pants, Governor Schwarzenegger, or are you happy to see me?" - the gropinator is a blog dedicated to dislikeing Arnold Schwarzenegger. It got dull very quickly.

MINUS: Unclick the tickbox before you try to use the commenting.
PLUS: This is gloriously free of comments from friends compelled to say mindlessly: "great site"
Rule #2: Thou shalt insure your HTML is good.

Revisit: unlikely.

Layout: 3/10 nothing special. Blogger template with minor changes
Look and feel: 4/10 dull yet functional
Wit and amusement: 1/10
commentary: 9/10 The blog has something to say.
Extra: 4/10 The dancing America-on-alert bananna is alternative.

TOTAL: 42%

a broken lull. :: the sky is falling

2004-05-03T16:33:00.000+01:00

...and away we go with the first review and the randomly selected blog brings us a blogger who: likes "24" in - a broken lull. :: the sky is falling: "my quick thoughts on it ::"

MINUS: These thoughts, quick or otherwise, are written for maximum clarity in a font the same colour as the background.
PLUS: gloriously free of comments from friends compelled to say mindless well dones
Rule #1: Thou shalt not use unreadable colour combos.

Revisit: Probably not.

Layout: 8/10 totally clear and neat, a little woolly around the links
Look and feel: 5/10 dull yet functional
Wit and amusement: 2/10
commentary: 8/10 The blog at least has something to say.
Extra: 1/10 nothing new (blogwise) here.

TOTAL: 48%