if you wish to have your blogs reviewed beyond the widgets and templates; and re

Cryptic Clues
Cryptic Clues
from Gujarat
13 years ago

Dear bloggers,

I have been reading a large number of reviews and requests for reviews. I have found, that more often than not, reviewers provide a large amount of time and discussion on the layout, the template, the widgets and so forth.

To put it mildly, we focus extensively on the technology part of it, without providing any constructive/substantive feedback (beyond 'interesting', 'wide variety' and 'good' and 'nice': words which mean little! except for putting smiles on our faces) on the content.

This, I think defeats in certain ways the real purpose of blogging: which as I understand was to democratise writing and publishing, by making it available to all. By ensuring that we were not trapped in tech glitches and wizardry and self-promotion.

So, I propose to review your blogs, but focus on the content of it. Comments on deepening it, adding more layers to your writing, exploring other dimensions of your posts, the graphic quality, and so forth.

My purpose for doing it: discovering substantive blogs and their authors.

I look forward to a manageable trickle and not a deluge, to begin with!

And in return, I look forward to your comments on my blog as well. Don't worry, I am not reopening it because I am unemployed, but because I want to enlarge my google reader and discover many more worthwhile blogs. Just so you know: I read English and Hindi. And can manage with Gujarati and Urdu.

Other vernacular blogs and bloggers: you are welcome to comment on my blog.

Edited 12 years ago
Reason: re-starting reviews and requests for reviews
Replies 41 to 60 of 65 Ascending
sweta tiwary
sweta tiwary
from bangalore
13 years ago

Hi Cryptic Clues,

Me too waiting in the line..... My blog link is http://swetatiwary.blogspot.com/

Waiting to hear from you Smile

Thanks,

Sweta

Maliny
Maliny
from Trivandrum
13 years ago

could you review my blog ? would be grateful for i am kinda an amateur :)

http://colouredbydreamz.blogspot.com/

LEB
LEB
from anywhere,anytime,anyday
13 years ago

Hi CC

Would love to get your feedback... please be as brutal as you do not even know you could be ...

http://lebblogs.wordpress.com/

Thanks in advance.

LEB

 

Cryptic Clues
from Gujarat
13 years ago

Dear LEB

Brutally honestly: loved your blog! The writing style is easy and convenient, the back-linking and pics (Thomas the engine! was a hoot) ensure that without getting caught in the elaboration of it, you manage to say lot. Down to detailed business:

What I like most about your writing is the personal connect. All the posts, even if they are metaphors for the contemporary, emerge and grow from the personal narrative/experience/anecdote. I think that helps the emotion come through and helps the reader to keep reading. There is however a larger narrative beyond your many personal narratives, which you keep hinting at, without getting consumed in the description of it. 

From Bengal, married to South-Indian, living in Kansas you are sure to some have interesting ideas on displacement/dislocation/migration and the such. The letter to a birthday boy is a thoroughly enjoyable satire on work and work cultures in the modern day. With your sharp perceptive writing and a delightful sense of humour I am sure you can strike many a chord about many a thing. 

Like the entry on Tiger Woods, delightful entries, re-entries, makes a much larger point on media, sex and consumption. All good and wonderful to read, thoroughly enjoyable.

 cheers, CC.

PS: purpose of opening the post served well!

alok kumar
alok kumar
from surat
13 years ago

Hi

Here is mine for the review,

 

http://aky-a-short-day.blogspot.com

 

would like ur comment & suggestion.

theanalyst
theanalyst
from Calicut
13 years ago
Naveen
Naveen
from Bengaluru
13 years ago
I see that my blog ain't reviewed yet, but the later ones have been reviewed :( Again my link is http://nkr4068.blogspot.com
varsha
varsha
from New Delhi
13 years ago

dear Cryptic!

I am touched by the time and effort you have put in the review.So although it is just a word-"thanks".

You are an incredibly sincere person in today's world!But why do you have a whacked BMI?It is very simple(though not easy) to unwhack it-speaking from personal experience.

You can be an intellectual without cultivating the looksLaughing-would genuinely like to help.

Aswathy
Aswathy
from Kochi
13 years ago

Hi CC ,

Thanks for the review .

Awareness is what matters when it comes to LD. Disabled kids needs a lot of support from family and school and lot of emotional issues are involved. It may sound silly from our point of view. But they are enough to marr the confidence of the child .

Thanks for the nice suggestions . I will make the changes :-)

Abhinav
Abhinav
from Chennai
13 years ago

review my blog too

http://abhinavj.wordpress.com!

sm
sm
from india
13 years ago
Cryptic Clues
from Gujarat
13 years ago

Dear SM,

Thoroughly enjoyed your blogs. I loved your range, given that you cover such a lot of grounds. Also, the quick synopsis of some prominent national discourse, is also very useful. I do have some comments:

  1. Could you please share the sources of your information, or atleast refer to them in your writing. This is always a useful practice.
  2. In terms of the copied songs, you could provide youtube links to the original and the inspired version in one or two cases: proof of the pudding is in its eating.
  3. Thirdly your own analysis in some of the posts is lovely, in some others it is completely absent. The one on government ministers for example, I don't quite know what is the purpose of the post really: I can also source the list from GoI website.
  4. On the other hand, the one on Bhopal is a lovely entry. But I find the analysis a little too generalistic. Calling the legislative framework in the country is insufficient, the fact of the matter relates to the strong collusion between the ruling elite and the economic powers, and how the distinctions between the two blur (IPL for example) or difficult to dis-entangle (like BRTS) or resolve (Bhopal) and even the nature of scars it leaves behind. 
  5. I would urge you to revisit some of your own analyses sometimes, to write in greater detail about what you think. Beyond the repository of information, I think the blog should also become your way of communicating your own thoughts to the world.

Please share them with us, CC

Arti
Arti
from Mumbai
13 years ago

Please have a look at my travel blog too..

Wud love to hear from you!

http://myyatradiary.blogspot.com/

Cryptic Clues
from Gujarat
13 years ago

Dear Arti

Thanks for sharing your blog. I enjoyed reading your blog. Your writing is fluid, comes easy and stress free. Add to it the fact, that your posts are pretty much the right length, well serialised and organised: its a delight. On top of it, your photographs are clear. And you don't just stop at writing, but add easy travel tips on food, stay and getting around.

All well done!

I have two broad comments, and I am sure that you will find the first more relevant than the second, but I hope that you won't discard the latter. So here goes:

  1. I think the writing is a little too descriptive. To my mind, each travel is also about a personal journey, in terms of how it affected us, our emotions as we traveled, our personal experiences, the transformations in our selves because of the journey that we have undertaken. This personal narratives are equally important, was it hectic, worth it, boring, restful, colours we saw, people we met, fellow travelers, lessons we learnt and so forth. Personally, I would also like to know about your personal feelings and emotions and experiences at these places: before I decide to undertake the journey myself or even assess how it worked for you. So, adding a personal touch might be very useful.
  2. I feel that a lot of the descriptions are to places of prominence in the Hindu mythology. I do not have any issues, but if that is the focus when you call it "yatra", then please add a line or two in the about section or add a page on the nature of travel. and if not, then I would love to know about other religions' spiritual journeys as well.

I hope you find the comments useful. Keep writing, and keep clicking: the results are all good!

CC

Arti
from Mumbai
13 years ago

Dear CC,

Thanks a lot for the review..

I really appreciate the hard work and dedication you put in to review so many blogs!

Thanks for your encouragement and your valuable suggestions.

I will definitely try to implement them in my blog sooner rather than later!

Thanks once again!!

 

 

Cryptic Clues
Cryptic Clues
from Gujarat
13 years ago

Dear bloggers,

Thanks for opening the blogs for review, I was travelling through the desert the past week and hence the undone list. Will attend to your posts soon and sincerely...

Thanks Varsha for reviewing without asking, such pleasant surprises are always nice.

CC

Jayanth Tadinada
Jayanth Tadinada
from Mumbai
13 years ago

I seriously need a review like this... most of my reviews are like "funny!" and "nice template :)"

http://gtoosphere.blogspot.com

 

Cryptic Clues
from Gujarat
13 years ago

Dear G2,

What can I say? You have a thoroughly enjoyable website, which I think best describes it. As for the comments on the content, here goes:

  1. Since you write for a large number of reasons and on a large number of things, would you like to begin to tag and label them. So that there are some broad categories of your work...
  2. The posts are by and large quite creative, though you write about a somewhat small and self-obsessed world at IIT. I have also done my fair share of hostel-lling and while the initial period is rather self-consuming, there is definitely a lot more to the world.
  3. Should you wish to expand your authorship, you may wish to expand what you wish to write about: retaining your style, drawing and humour.

cheers, CC

Vajresh
Vajresh
from Coimbatore
13 years ago

Heres mine http://booksofvajresh.blogspot.com

Its on book reviews

 

Thanx

Cryptic Clues
from Gujarat
13 years ago

Dear Vajresh

Thanks for putting the blog up for review. I have read most of the reviews, but since our reading interests differ considerably, I will abstain from making many comments on the quality of the review itself. But I do have some other comments that I wish to share with you:

  1. On the whole, your reviews are quite well written, but would you like to refer to your sources and also provide links to other reviews, of the same books if you can.
  2. At present your posts carry a tag Books, but would you like to further categorise books and posts into genres and authors.
  3. Also the list of the books reviewed could be linked to their posts. And I couldn't find the link to Narayan's Malgudi.
  4. And finally, I find some of the reviews a little uneven. The Chandamama collection being a case for this. Why so little? for something that it has triggered the imagination of many and formed such an integral part of vernacular popular literature over the years. It has shaped notions of masculinity, courage, values, histories and femininity for many of us. Would you like to do more for this very deserving book?

cheers: CC

Aswathy
Aswathy
from Kochi
13 years ago

Hi CC,

I am new to Indiblogger .

Please review my blog on parenting , dyslexia and child driven learning .

My blog :    http://krishnnaleela.wordpress.com/

Thanks,

Aswathy

Cryptic Clues
from Gujarat
13 years ago

Dear Aswathy

Yours is a truly beautiful blog and one that lends meaning to an exercise such as mine, which I said was meant to unearth good blogs.

You write well and simply, and the emotions sparkle through.

Having been an interested 'disability' activist, we have been trying to write about normativity, the politics behind expecting others to stick to the 'norm' or become 'normal' and the urgent need for lending a political voice to the 'disabled', which is a sure way of getting attention; and lastly about things that can be learnt from the women's movement in the country.

Anyways, while mine concerns the larger societal politics, in your case, the personal and the need to deal with it and the emotions and questions behind it helped me make lovely connections.

But please take the recipes away, they come in all of a sudden, unannounced! Or else, put them off in a separate page, or even better start a new blog! And if none of these, would you atleast like to share cooking for people with LD, how do they respond, learn and how we unlearn some of the instructions and recipes and ways. That would be useful...

Keep blogging and best wishes to you and your family,

CC

RSV
RSV
from Delhi
13 years ago

http://rsvblogger.wordpress.com/

please review this

Cryptic Clues
from Gujarat
13 years ago

Dear RSV

Just came off the blog. The first post had me stumped. Are you serious about having the blog reviewed, especially when you have announced that you closed it, already? Or was your request meant to be like a book review, already completely out in the open, no scope for changes, now could you review this please?

And finally, I can't but help say this, who says you need to present a cheerful disposition on your blog. You can equally share your frustrations and anger (that's what I do!). And why else would you call all these people your friends, if they only keep company when there's fair weather, and leave you in a lurch once its too cold and lonely...

Cheers dude, CC

Rahul Singh
Rahul Singh
from Minneapolis
13 years ago

Hey Man,

Thats a gr8 initiative indeed, try to take out time for my blog:

Verbosity - I am What I Think 

Thanks

Rahul

Cryptic Clues
from Gujarat
13 years ago

Hi rahul

read your blog, and i must share that i thoroughly enjoyed your somewhat liberated, condescending manner of writing, that combines quick wit, with sharp perception. add to that the appropriate graphic content, the blog posts come alive. nice!

but while irritation, personal freedom and individuated loci, are all welcome, i suggest throwing the swear out of the window. some funky ass's is definitely unwarranted, never mind the irritation at cine disturbance. some semblance of decorum and politeness is welcome

that minor comment apart: i think you should write more on the personal connect. take the post on going green: for example: i know the things to do, and i can understand its ecological politics, but would have loved so much more, knowing of your experiences with it. how green are you? what's your carbon foot print? showers? hoses? 

ditto for the entry of work and man's evolution

the goa pics were great, i can see that some of the goan spirit (alcoholic and otherwise) has rubbed off! so, what else did it teach you? what did you leave behind?

and lastly, the one sided affair post is to monotonic, one-dimensional, populist is nature. pakistan also has a ruling elite, like us, it has liberal elite, it has secular people, terror isn't quite the war against humanity. It is, to my mind, an expression of years of cultural, economic and political repression. the baloch cause is one such, the anti-communist jehadi movement funded by the liberal west another, and so forth. And finally, in times like this, when business, politics, development and peace are all mixed, Aman ki Asha is a natural outcome. I don't support it, as well, but for very different reasons.

CC.

Rahul Singh
from Minneapolis
13 years ago

Thanks Man !! That was some review, You can actually take this forward and make it a paid service (I can safely say as my review is done ;-) ) On a serious note, thanks for praising my blog. As for the swear word, when i start writing a post, i go with the flow and pen down whatever is coming in my mind. Might be from next time i will do a proofread for swear words. And also will try to include the personal touch to the posts. Thanks for the review again.

Neha
Neha
from Mumbai
13 years ago

Hi CC,

 

can you review my blog please? :)

 

http://www.nehasilam.com/

Cryptic Clues
from Gujarat
13 years ago

Thanks Neha for opening your blog for review. While the English entry was funny, I think I will let some of these pass, because you have mentioned that you "get" topics as part of your league. I hate being a judge, reviewing on the other hand involves understanding/appreciating/critiquing and contributing; which I find more relevant and appropriate.

Now on the rest of your posts, I think the quality is slightly uneven. The one on public transport in Bombay with its pictures is lovely: and I would have liked it still if it were just that; pictures speaking for themselves. You seem to have a keen eye and an excellent perception, which reflects in your writing. 

Of course, I do not agree to your post on Kasab. Rule of thumb: Don't take what you cannot give. Should we not distinguish between justice and retribution. How else would democracy differ from autocracy, liberal secular polities from religious polities? Don't you think peddling or popular opinion (in this case hanging Kasab) should be examined and debated. Death must be condemned, but in many cases it is structural violence or violent response to structural issues and inequities. Is their grief any less than ours? What about violent armies and republics? What about the terror such police, armies and paramilitary forces unleash?

Anyways, back to the review. Referencing is always good, couldn't find the source of your entries on Legal aspects of Domestic Violence for example. Ditto for the entry on tea. Also, while I appreciate the legal educative purpose of such an entry, it would have been far more relevant if it were backed by some form of narrative, rather than a loose compendium of various aspects, on which excellent readers already exist. Are you working in this area? Would you like to discuss your interest? Would you like to analyse some of the responses that you have had to this, and then what do you make of it in terms of the largely masculine, nature of our discourse?

Like the entry on tea, could have used something larger than factual description, the moods it stirs in you, the emotions, the experiences, the politics in addas of Bengal, the slurping, the frothy, the black, the green teas!

I hope you get the drift, I think the personal connection of what you write, unleashing your inner emotions and experiences, the detailing of the ideas and opinions is always welcomes.

And which ones are the posts by Guria (or is it your alter ego); that would make it a delightful reading and conversation...

Naveen
Naveen
from Bengaluru
13 years ago
Even mine too..Please review the content :) http://nkr4068.blogspot.com
Cryptic Clues
from Gujarat
13 years ago

Dear Naveen

You have a rather interesting title to your blog, and I really thought that it would either be records and archives of your journeys to unknown places, or that you would write unknown things about somewhat known spaces. Well, I was in for a surprise!

Secondly, I feel that your blog is too nascent, and it is a little too early with only 20 posts to provide a substantive comment on it.

However, I must say that some of the articles are quite fascinating: the one about the lakeside evening was a delight! Do you have pictures to share what you mean? Or maybe, you can delve deeper into this debate of civilisations and its contributions, by asking even more pointed and pertinent questions about this: for example, high art and high technology are commonly held as hallmarks of great civilisations. What about the civilisational values: space for resistance, nature of their polity, whether they were oppressive civilisations or not, if there was space for plurality to exist, the relationship between the civilisation and its ecology: did it preserve, protect or plunder it? And how do these notions change over periods of time in a civilisation?

I think the blog has definite potential, if only you invest more time thinking about what you write, and explore the many dimensions of the subjects.

Feel free to abandon the comments, simple personal narratives are also useful and pleasant accounts of our lives! 

cheers, CC

Naveen
from Bengaluru
13 years ago

No one seemed to understood the reasoning behind my title. It just says that, the unknown spaces is the life and this is my journey of life, and i come across various aspects and incidents and thoughts every new day and every new moment. 

Thanks for the review and yeah, i should say while writing this, i never had these much internal thoughts and ideas about the topic, but reading your comment, yeah they are worth thinking too. And yeah, surely i will look up to may be do some work on the revolutions and evolutions of civilizations and much more. Thanks for giving a direction and an insight! Smile 

And about the blog, yeah, i know its still in the infant period and infant mortality ain't a strange subject, so i hope my blog doesn't die out as a young one and lasts long with quality! :) I will try putting in as much time as possible.

Thanks for this invaluable review and keep visiting my blog! :)

Thanks n Cheers.

Naveen.

Sanjeeta KK
Sanjeeta KK
from chennai
13 years ago

Hi

Here is mine for the review,

www.litebite.in

www.sanjeetakk.blogspot.in

Eager to hear your comments.

Cryptic Clues
from Gujarat
13 years ago

Dear Sanjeeta

I couldn't connect to the second of your blogs, despite many efforts. On the first one, I like your idea of promoting healthy eating for good health. It is useful that the recipes are followed by quality pics, which gives one a fair idea of reality, which recipes frequently mask!

Would you like to add some user (in this case taste) feedback. Words from your daughter will make for an interesting read.

I agree that such sites and ideas work, but what I would (and maybe this is just my "thing") really like to know a lot more about is the sociology of cooking and eating. Ways in which our food baskets have changed, how children have come to affect our eating, what is the globalisation on local cuisines, how deep are these "new" "health" recipes. What are the stories and narratives behind the earlier versions of some classic recipes? How do we transfer and learn and unlearn taste? The contradictions, culture, contrasts, colours and cuisines: the mix of it all! For example I recently came across how many Bangla new-age couples no longer pound poppy seeds, and hence poshto and the nutrients that came from poppy have gone out of our lives. Simple because we don't have grind stones, and mixers can't do this...

cheers, CC

Sanjeeta KK
from chennai
13 years ago

Hi CC,

Thanks for the review. Sorry for posting the wrong link, it is

http://sanjeetakk.blogspot.com

Like the idea of adding user feedback.

 

 


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