I'm In A Boston State Of Mind, Actually

So here's a quote from the comments in the Happy New Year's post.

"The "Mind" said...
*chanting over and over* Please don't let me get atomic. I can't compete with video games.
LOL!
1/02/2007 7:01 PM"

Interesting, the way life turns, isn't it?

The blog is Great Lakes State of Mind. Being viewed on my shitty Dell Laptop, Firefox browser, and 1024 x 768.

She created her own template, so immediately, I'm impressed. While I could do without that sort-of busy header image, I guess it does fit in the grand scheme of things, so I'm not taking many points off there. She uses one of my less favorite blog-author devices, cutesy nicknames for the people she talks about on her blog. However, in a stroke of relative genius, she puts a Legend of who they are in the sidebar. Kudos on that. If you're going to go out of your way to NOT tell me people's real names (or make shit up, either way), at least give me some type of idea who the hell they are.

She's got three kids and a husband, but I don't get the sense that this is a "Mommy" blog per se. Considering how we've been ripping them lately, maybe she's *lucky* she got me. The content is kind of "slice of life"/"my thoughts"/"mommy/wifey" for the most part, and while it's never going to win a Pulitzer, it's not un-readable. I think the fact that she mixes her content between what's going on with her family and their adventures, and her opinions and thoughts on things makes this much more accessible to the average reader.

The template she created is certainly harmless, and she went out of her way to make sure that the font is readable and legible, although I personally find it annoying as hell when she interjects a size smaller font in her posts to accent something the reader is supposed to notice. She can spell, and apparently knows enough regarding grammar to make me not want to claw my eyes out. The colors are relatively pleasing, muted, and while white text on a blue background might not be everyone's cup o' tea, I don't mind it.

So, where do I stand on this blog? The plusses definitely outweigh the minuses here. I think she could spice things up a bit in terms of content, because honestly, it seems like there might be a bit of passion missing from some of these posts. That's not a slam, because you are what you are. I just believe in the awesome freedom of self-expression that blogging gives to the average wife in Michigan can be more that what it is in terms of your content. Keep up the good work you've done so far in terms of blog organization and your template work, it's impressive. I could do without that massive and somewhat-strange header image, but to each his/her own.

The ratings:

for the efforts thus far in template work. Well done.

for the content, because it's not horrible, but it's not great, and I'm kind of needing stimulation this evening.