it's all so subjective

I spent the morning reading On the Contrary. I'm really still over-alcoholed this morning (well, okay, hungover from way too much red wine), and undercaffeinated, so pondering is what I do best, since I'm moving at a snail's pace, mentally.

And what I pondered is this...blogging is so subjective. I reviewed a blog last week that some folks really like, but was the epitomy of blah for me.

And this blog, which is nothing but some short posts on middle eastern stuff, on an ugly standard blogger template, isn't blah.

And whether a blog works for me or not is a truly subjective thing that hangs on miniscule details...like, for instance, do I LIKE this person blogging? Would I throw back drinks with this person? Does this person communicate a unique and quirky personality through their blog? Does this person make me laugh? Does this person's blog make me want to read? And there, in the last sentence, is the kicker for me.

If it makes me want to read, just to see what surprising thing this person is up to, then I'll like it. Sex, drugs, promiscuity, those things help. But I know what I like, and I like this blog.

The posts are short, but this man, Don Radlauer, hooks me in. He has a brief, pithy, self-deprecating way of writing that endears him to me.

For instance:

All my regular readers have come to rely on this blog for pithy aphorisms that guide them through their daily lives; this may explain why I have very few regular readers.

And the aphorism:

I pitied myself because I had no headlights, until I rear-ended a man who had no brake lights.

While I really don't care for the dark blue curves standard blogger template, I LURVE what he has done with these clickable, expandable sidebar thingies. Very clean way of wrapping things up tidily. I disagree that he needs ALL these categories on his sidebar, and I'd revise the order of some of them, (for instance, do you really need to know where I came from on your sidebar? Or what country I live in?), but it's a cool and clean way of handling the overly long sidebar situation. Of course, the coolness of that is overcome by the ucky sidebar ads and blog mad promotion, but I suppose I can't have everything.

Are you really actually making any money off of those ads, Don? Because if you aren't, lose them. They're tacky.

Let's see...criticisms. I have no content criticisms, whatsoever, and I like how he selectively uses extended post summaries to add interest to the content and wrap up overly long posts. I wish everyone did this. I really can't get into all the incredibly intellectual political commentary (I'm going to need A LOT more coffee for that), but I'm sure it's really smart. And, uh, nice and all. But you had me at the pithy aphorisms, dude.

One last thought...i hate the quote on your footer. It's too close and yet too not close to the blog description on your header. Come up with something that reflects your personality better. It's zzzz.

And, investigate a nicer, lighter, cleaner blog design...Start here. You're clearly adept enough with blogger-speak to do these extended post summaries and wrap up sidebars. You're ready for a design that more accurately reflects your good content.

I give it because you made me smile this morning, Don, and in my dehydrated and painful state, that's no small thing.

Oh, and a for clearly having better than average blogger skills but an ugly standard template.