Wednesday, July 23, 2008

what's the capital of israel?

Our Lirun is a sensitive boy, but he needs a kick up the arse.

East Med Sea Peace is the stutter-inducing title of the blog which uses the tagline…

WELCOME TO THE EASTERN CUL DE SAC OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA.. IN ITS CENTRE LIE ISRAEL AND LEBANON AND AROUND US WE HAVE EGYPT AND THE PALESTINIAN COAST IN THE SOUTH AS WELL AS SYRIA TURKEY AND CYPRUS FURTHER NORTH AND JORDAN HUGGING FROM THE EAST.. MY DREAM IS FOR US TO ALL LIVE IN PEACE..

Thanks for frightening everyone off, and the geography lesson, but there’s no need. Scrap it, stick it on an ‘About me’ page, and fine tune it. Come to a conclusion, and tell us what the blog is about.

The layout is a simple template, poorly managed.

The navigation is a nightmare, impossible to navigate through posts in order unless you start at the latest and work your way back. This is an unmerciful pain in the hole if you want to check out something from the middle of last December.

Link your post titles for goodness sake, make it possible for me to link to one of them, without having to copy/paste the bloody title into the search box!

Your archive is a long list, and will just get longer, use a dropdown, or the standard blogger hierarchy to tidy it right up.

The ability to get to your blog's start page would also be kind of useful.

Giving you the benefit of the doubt, I'll say the lack of capitalization and full stops is somewhat intended, but you are a good writer, and you know better than that. That kind of stuff belongs on a t-shirt, not on a well written blog about politics and religion.

Never, ever, ever post entries like this or this. Link to external stories by all means, but at least give us the courtesy of introducing them.

Finally, I can get to the good stuff, content. You have a lovely quiet, whispering and rolling tone, very much in keeping with your belief in peace in the region, and in harmony on earth, and in chimes by your open bedroom window.

Unfortunately, this post sums you up. Lyrical, and soft, just nice, but with no bloody conclusion.

i must confess that i am really struggling to form a view on this topic.. i have so many thoughts but so few convictions.. “ - Your own words.

All that aside, I really do like your voice. You have written some wonderfully poignant pieces, this being a special one and this opening up a world of a life story that I want to know more about. Touching and beautiful.

In the end, all the irritating things I mentioned about this blog are mostly cosmetic. Do yourself a favour and tidy them up, you’ll reap the benefits, trust me on that.
I wish you’d lose your 'zen' sometimes and roar a little bit, I’m an obvious outsider to the political and religious climate you write about, but overall the writing is thoughtful, always gentle, hushed, and lyrical. At times excellent.

I will be back to finish the archives if you make them accessible. In the meantime, even though they could have been more, stick these on your surf board.

27 comments:

  1. yeah, the tagline alone bores me to tears and makes me want to read no more. But I will, given the review of the good writing.

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  2. He's lucky he got the Fatha to review him, rather than the Mutha.

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  3. Hmmm, I can see I let him off with murder on a lot of stuff, but I couldn't sleep at night if I didn't go looking for the goodies.

    and there are some.

    Am I cut out for this lark?

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  4. The blog design is so terribly user UNfriendly. I can't find anything. Also, I want to shoot the ellipses.

    The grammar glitches and all lowercase really interrupt the flow of this blog for me. I can't get past it, although I do recognize the "gently, hushed" beauty you found there, Gene.

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  5. hahah

    thank you soo much.. more than anything im flattered by the depth to which you trawled the abyss of my blog..

    my somewhat retarded writing style is me.. so changing it would alter my voice..

    i never realised that the personal posts were that grabbing.. i have always felt a bit embarrassed including personal information but then again if i am to present a personal and authentic perspective of what an israeli thinks about our region then the context seems to be relevant..

    i really appreciate the feedback.. u did let me off easy haha

    shalom
    ;)

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  6. Oh Lord, he likes the review, thinks it's 'awesome'.

    I knew it. He's stoned.

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  7. The ellipses! My eyes!

    It's a fascinating blog though.

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  8. hahaha

    ive actually never had a single drug in my life..

    thanks duck for the kind words..

    but - what ellipses..

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  9. Maybe it's just that he's having a heavy period. I've had those myself..

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  10. Y'know. I've wondered if it's any point submitting a topical blog, such as East Med Sea Peace, for a review by AAYSR. I mean, most reviewees get hammered on content because they write little about themselves (who, where, what, how etc.). It's a natural assumption that a topical blog will talk about a narrow spectrum of, well, topics. So, even though the writing and content may be good, it could, in the end, bore a reviewer to death and effect the review.

    Just sayin'

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  11. I don't even know what to say about this one. Really excellent, I like it to the brink of lovin' it.

    Spot on review.

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  12. Um. I found my new sleeping meds: thx Lirun.

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  13. Maggie! Dammit, you gave me such a fright!

    Welcome back. ;)

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  14. Hey, Maggie, you gorgeous thing you! Checking in here, waiting for the hammer to fall (my blog's up next!) ... what a great surprise to find you!

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  15. All right!

    Blowjobs all around.

    Seriously, form a circle.

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  16. See, I always show up at the right time.

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  17. Love Bites, quit hogging my space...

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  18. I suck, I'll get my review up tonight, or maybe Saturday...retardedly busy in the last two days....sorry.

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  19. Ha! I totally switched the order of the second and third words in your comment, Mistress! Guess Maggie's got my head all turned around! Take your time. I'm itching to know, but I'm pretty patient, too.

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  20. why did the review of my entirely serious blog (hello) become a virtual orgy..

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  21. Lirun, we just can't help ourselves.

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  22. Lirun, this is more like brunch around here. You should come back when keys are being exchanged.

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  23. Speaking of which, I'd like mine back. I keep on waking up with more underwear missing, half eaten bowls of cereal under my couch and all doors ajar.

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  24. i always miss the fun stuff..

    i was out surfing all weekend.. shouldnt my tan be helping me?

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Grow a pair.