Welcome to the Week 6 King of the Blog Tournament!
First all must hail the King, who has entered the last week of his reign, to be succeeded this week by a new king.
This week we have 3 new blogs squaring off for the crown:
Good luck to all 3 Pretenders. The judges for the tournament are as follows:
and on to the entries:
For submitted post:
The Radical Centrist
...in the outer
Dawn Xiana Moon
and this weeks Challenge Question:
The Responses:
The Radical Centrist
...in the outer
Dawn Xiana Moon
That's it for now! Be sure to support your favorite pretender by linking to THIS post and tracking back to it. Mention the blog of your choice in the entry. Whichever blog gets the most trackbacks gains 3 extra points once again. Need help sending a trackback? Say no more! Go to this site, and use Wizbang's Standalone Trackback Pinger.
Post:
Neva introduces many of us to reading. While some of us may be loathe to undertake this academic pursuit, others, including myself, need a good book with which to settle down at the end of the day. At first I thought to myself as I read Neva's post, Why would she choose this particular entry for inclusion into the King of the Blogs? Of course, usually when I ask that early into a post, my answer comes bearing gifts. This time, it came in the form of an introduction to a delightful story by Mark Twain, The Diaries of Adam and Eve. Neva equates the experience reading this book to a journey of love between two people, and she uses herself and her husband to illustrate this. I thought the Twain story was most intriguing, though I did sense a Freudian slip of sorts: when referring to love at first sight, she spelled it as site. I don't know about you, but my first site needed a lot of good design work. Thanks for the introduction to this fine literature, Neva! 3.5 points.
Site:
I'm thankful for memes like King of the Blogs, which introduce me weekly to blogs I've never read before, like this one. Neva's new to the blogosphere, but she's off to a good start. She's got wonderful insight, offers concise, logical arguments, and seems to have a good variety of topics to write about,
though her primary concern seems to be gun rights. It's the Revenge of Blog*S--t! Not in a very long time have I seen such a resurgence of Blogger users. Though Neva uses one of the standard blogger templates, she happens to choose one of the nicer ones - I've always appreciated the yellowed parchment look. She takes advantage of some of the features of blogger, though I noticed she doesn't show trackbacks to her posts. Many of us who would love to link to her now and then would love to be given mutually assured linkage. Bonus, of course, for including a picture and a brief about me at the top.. at the top? Usually folks put their about me info in a small section of the sidebar,
but what Neva's doing is quite alright. Oh yeah, speaking of the sidebar, I appreciate and prefer a more visible line of demarcation between the sidebar
and the main body of text. It doesn't have to be an actual line, just probably an eennnsy bit more space between the left sidebar and the rest of the blog.
Love the headings for the sidebar, and of course the archives are suitably in order. The double props - one in the obligatory banner and one below - are loved! Overall, nicely done blog, a bit monotone but it's very easy to read and there's great writing ability demonstrated within. 4 points.
Challenge:
Neva's story is very creatively done, and contains everything you could hope for in a fantasy story (including gratuitous use of firearms - you know she just had to include an H&K in there). Still, it really didn't contained the subtle (or not so subtle) references to the blogosphere that I was looking for. Not only that, but is she implying that I talk too much? Harumph! Additionally, I would have loved to see an abundance of links in a King of the Blogs entry. While her style and substance was more than suitable for a literary venture, I didn't notice many of the kinds of metaphor and allegory her competition used. Don't get me wrong - Neva's a gifted writer and the story was interesting and literate.. but this isn't merely a creative writing competition, but also a gauge on one's overall 'blogginess'. 3 points.
Post:
Scott chooses a tribute to Johnny Carson as his post for consideration. He digs up a few choice quotes from some other comic legends, and concludes with one of the greatest jokes of our time - Mr. Bill Clinton. Scott then laments the state of today's entertainment and its lack of measurable navel-gazing.
I'm proceeding with trepidation here, knowing full well that if I say what I want to say, I'll sound more like an American Idol judge than I care to. Anyhow, what I mean to say is that after reading through some of Scott's other posts, I'm not sure that this is one of his best posts. A collection of relevant quotes and brief commentary is what I get away with on my less productive days, including, I'm sure, many this week. Scott certainly has had some more productive, creative, and well-written days, and I do not wish to
deny him this. Certainly, more than once I've submitted what I thought was my best post to a blog competition only to find out tons of people linked to
something I considered subpar. It happens all the time. Still, I've got to make the call based on the play.. you are far better than the score implies, Scott. 3 points.
Site:
This is an attractive blog. It's crisp, got lots of snappy little graphics everywhere, crisp posts, distinct separation between individual entries, and an easily readable color scheme and font (though the font might be raised a point or two for more visually impaired readers). The writing is top notch (Did Hugh Hewitt really say that about you?); Scott keeps his
entries brief yet interesting, with none of the long-winded tirades usually associated with other political blogs (like my own, for instance). He keeps complete archives, and at first I thought the calendar was one of those infamous MT hideous contraptions, but it turns out it's a listing of New York City events! Cool... I suppose the calendar can be excused, though it's about as relevant to a blog as a personals column. Some items that you don't often
see on blogs, I found on Slant Point. I wonder if anyone else has bothered to include a little Reference Library in their sidebar. The About Me portion is detailed, and given off a link at the top of the page. The photo would have been a great addition had Scott been a)smiling; and b) looking at the audience instead of posing like some sort of disaffected pundit. But of course, this is
King of the Blogs, not American Idol... I shouldn't even have to remind myself. What can I say? This is a sharp little blog! 5 points.
Challenge:
Marvelous story! I think we have a competition on our hands. I'm a tremendous fan of The Princess Bride, and I had a lot of fun reading this cute little tale (although it was a bit more than little, but no matter). I was pleased to learn that I, Blog Boy, end up being Dubya's alter-ego. But I was more pleased to learn that Scott included all the best parts. Most memorable, of course:
"You only think I guessed wrong. That's what's so funny. I switched the glasses when your back was turned. Fool! You fell victim to one of the classic
blunders. The most famous is 'Never get involved in a Mary Mapes story,' but only slightly less well known is this: 'Never go against Dan Rather when death is on the line.'" Heh. The story showed a remarkable amount of creativity, the ability to abuse allegories with reckless abandon, and the gall to cast Tim Robbins as a sympathetic figure. Plus, it had my family wondering what the #$%! I was laughing at in the study. There was only one probable inconsistency: the giant was another sympathetic character, a bad guy turned
good. Michael Moore appears to have no capacity for reform. Or doesn't he?
Anyhow, great story, nice little graphic for effect, Scott's going to make it a rousing race to the crown! 5 points.
Post:
This is one of those Posts I've Always Wanted to Write but Never Found the Words. Jon's found the words, and he's given a very eloquent, well-researched essay on the Biblical position on war. He takes the relevant Biblical passages on war, however few there are, and uses them along with 'Just War Theory' to come up with seven guiding principles. I've got my problems with a couple of the principles, such as number 7 (what if the civilians are the combatants?), but I'm of the notion that Jon is merely reciting the laws, and does his best not to opine, but instead to reassure us that the US military is doing the best it can to conduct a just war by said definition. I was particularly drawn by the introduction to the post, in which Jon gives us a typical line of
questioning posed by one who notices his uniform and accoutrements and asks about his position on what our military is doing. I'm getting to like Jon's method of relating to his readers and drawing them in like this; for one, I would have enjoyed him as chaplain while I was serving. 4 points.
Site:
This is what, week three? I've got to give Jon a lot of credit for actively participating in the blogosphere, linking like a madman, sucking up to us
judges like we were some kind of royalty (actually, Jon is the royalty, we're just the folks who put him there). There's nothing much more I can say, really, except fine job, and it's one of the varied reasons why he's defending the crown, not pursuing one. 5 points.
Challenge:
Wow, did we pick a creative bunch or what? And Songstress appears to have become quite the love interest. Jon has become quite proficient in getting
to know us judges, and he uses his gleaned knowledge to populate his flight of fancy with intimate details of Harv and Songstress (though the Redi Whip thing I really didn't need to know about). He whipped up an entertaining story, though there was the occasional deus ex machina to wrap things up... you know, a bit of the "fairy magic". There's nothing wrong with a little bit of the magic, though! 4 points.
< a href="http://badexample.mu.nu/archives/065331.php" target="blank">KING OF THE BLOGS: JUDGMENT DAY 5
Time again to prepare the gallows for another King of the Blogs Tournament.
Will Jon of Personal Trainer retire undefeated or will he be cast down into the salt mines for the rest of natural life, with the throne going to another?
It's a particularly tough call this week, as all show great promise, but I cast my lot thusly:
Write a fairy tale set in the blogosphere. Include only two of the judges.
Jon of Personal Trainer
GOOD POINTS: Flagrant appeals to my vanity, plus he FINALLY gets me that long-desired kiss from Songstress. Good work, Jon! [discreetly hands Jon envelope of cash]
BAD POINTS: Didn't give the King of Fools any gratuitous linkage, nor did Jon choose an actual Fairy Blogmother for me (Susie of Practical Penumbra should've gotten the part, but I can't expect Jon to have known that). Picking almost any woman off my blogroll would've worked.
And an extra-special stick-beating for making me Andrew Sullivan's pin-up boy, although bringing Wonkette into it was actually even worse.
SCORE: 4
Scott of Slant Point
GOOD POINTS: You can NEVER go wrong quoting the Princess Bride. An ambitious project and a pleasure to read.
BAD POINTS: Essence of moonbat, while a clever plot point, does not work in that scene because it reeks horribly, and Rather would've noticed the stench in both glasses. A minor point, but one that you should've caught & fixed.
SCORE 4.5
Neva of Neva
GOOD POINTS: Nice M. Night Shyamalan twist near the climax & I *loved* that last line.
BAD POINTS: Writing style contained too many simple, declarative sentences to keep me into the tale. Would've been a more pleasant read if it were either spiced up or pared down. Just took too long to get to the end.
SCORE: 4
Person Trainer: A Just War
GOOD POINTS: Nice, attention-getting personal anecdote for an intro, plenty of supportive linkage, and an informative summary of Just War Theory.
BAD POINTS: This piece was obviously meant more to inform than persuade, however, all the explaining following the line "Do you have a couple minutes?" leads the reader to believe that the author's opinion of the Iraq war will be given at some point, but it's left implied, rather than stated. This post just needs Jon to say "I think the Iraq war meets these criteria" at some point to make it complete
SCORE: 4.5
Slant Point: The Hollywood Left vs. Johnny
GOOD POINTS: Goal stated, evidence presented (complete with supportive linkage), hypocrisy noted, conclusion drawn, writing stopped. A model blog entry. Well done.
BAD POINTS: There shouldn't be an apostrophe in "Johnny's", since it was plural, and not either a possessive or a contraction.
SCORE: 4.5
Neva: Go Read a Book
GOOD POINTS: Good observation about the differences in how love grows in men & women. Oddly enough, *I* was the "new creature... [who was] a good deal in the way" in Beloved Wife's Eden.
BAD POINTS: The introductory quote and the bulk of the book list doesn't quite fit right with the main point of the post. It would've been a better and more focussed piece if that first chunk were taken away and put in it's own "here are my favorite books" entry, leaving just a discussion of "The Diaries of Adam and Eve".
SCORE: 4
Here are some technical things I like to see on a blog:
King of the Blogs javascript thingy in the sidebar
Comments enabled
Permalinks working
E-mail contact info available
Blogger's name/pseudonym prominently displayed
Site search feature enabled
Link to an "About Me" post on the sidebar
Blogger's gender is easily discernable
Blogroll
Readable font style & size
Readable color scheme (for example, NOT bright red type on bright green
background)
Divisions between posts clearly marked
Paragraphing in entries (NOT just writing one fat block of text)
Aside from the tech stuff, I also like to see a blogger's personality shining through, to remind us of the person behind the words.
With that in mind...
Personal Trainer:
GOOD POINTS: Jon just keeps getting better. That extended entry monkey is off his back and has been returned to the zoo where it belongs. I really like that he's placed his "About me" post, his contact e-mail, AND his search box all "above the fold" so that they can be found without hunting. Bonus for all the gratuitous linkage this week, too.
BAD POINTS: None visible
SCORE: 5
Slant Point
GOOD POINTS: Aces the technicals, and - like Jon - puts the important stuff above the fold.
BAD POINTS: There's something just a little bit off about the color scheme. I'd suggest either having the gray background appear behind the right column as well, or just put it behind the center column only. As it stands, it looks lopsided. Also I'm beginning to see why Pietro hates calendars. That's a good-sized chunk of primo real estate wasted at the top of the blog for something that no one navigates by or cares about. Maybe Scott could slide it down & sell an ad there or something.
Off topic: Pete Townshend called - he wants his picture back.
SCORE: 4
Neva:
GOOD POINTS: With an uncommon name like Neva, it's nice to see her picture right up top. No gender identity mysteries here. A warm smile makes a great first impression
BAD POINTS: I know you're new, but it's time to start poking around in your template & tweaking things to reflect your personality. Google up an html tutorial, save a copy of your template in case something goes wrong, and begin experimenting - change some fonts, change some colors, add borders around your blockquotes... SOMETHING to spruce the place up so you don't look like everyone else on Blogspot.
By the way, the yellow link to "A Quote From The Museum Of Left Wing Lunacy" does NOT show up well against that background.
Finally, you can get the code for a site search box from this old post of mine.
SCORE: 3
Personal Trainer: 13.5
Slant Point: 13
Neva: 11
King of the Blogs Tournament: Week 5 Judging
It's that time again! King Jon the Brownnoser - I mean, the Benevolent - has reigned over the blogosphere for two weeks straight. Will he remain unscathed by this week's pretenders to the throne? Will his loyal minions overwhelm the opposition in trackbacks and poll voting yet again? Or will there be a coup?
Overall Blog/Design
Personal Trainer: After two previous reviews, and taking the judges' comments to heart, I think Jon has earned a 5. No further comment is necessary. *smile*
Neva Li: Right off the bat, we've got a good amount of information on our author - Neva gives us her name, locale, profession, political persuasion, a bit of a bio, and photo up front, so there's no question of who we're dealing with. I like that about her. There are, however, a few things that I'd like to see. Not using a standard Blogger template would be a great first step - paying for someone else to skin your site or doing your own HTML isn't for everyone, but for a propective King/Queen of the Blogs, it's infinitely preferable to any of the Blogger templates. Another point that I'm sure Harvey will also make: Get Haloscan for comments and trackback. Blogger's comment system is crappy. Since Harvey's list of things he likes to see in a blog greatly influenced my own opinions, I'll mention another one of his bugaboos - searchable archives. Google has a script you can add to your sidebar very simply. Otherwise, I like the site, I like the writing, and I see a lot of potential here. Neva earns a 3.
Slant Point: Slick. This guy has got the site design going on - a cohesive color scheme, functional comments and trackback, plenty of "about me" information (and a photo), and nifty graphics. I especially like the way the date displays, off in the upper left corner of the most recent post for that date. Spiffy. I'm having a hard time finding anything to criticize... so why try? Slant Point earns a 5 as well.
Submitted Post
Personal Trainer: This week, Jon takes on the task of explaining how, as a chaplain, he reconciles his beliefs with the concept of war. This post on the concept of a "Just War" is enlightening (and unlike last week, he includes links to resources to back up his points - a plus). On the whole, it is well written, and I agree with it... just to play contrarian for a moment, however, if his point was to justify the United States' involvement in Iraq, there are plenty of folks who would fundamentally disagree that this military action meets the defining characteristics of a "just war". Let me make it clear - I'm not one of them. But if his intent is to apply these points to the Iraq war, I don't think he's taken it quite far enough to convince anyone... Oh great, and now I feel like an English teacher grading an essay. In any event, a persuasive and engaging essay, and it gets an A. Er... a 4.5.
Neva Li: I look at this post on two different levels... First, on a purely personal level, I was intrigued by the excerpt Neva gave us of The Diaries of Adam and Eve - I'd never heard of the book, and it sounds like an endearing and moving story. I was touched by the way she related this passage to her relationship with her husband. It sounds like a great book and I'm probably going to keep an eye out for it. But as a judge, I have to nit-pick a bit. The post started out with a quotation about reading, and a little personal commentary - then it became a list. And then the last book in the list is the only one that gets any in-depth treatment. I would have liked to see this post either focus solely on the Mark Twain book, or give a little "why I love this book" detail for each of them. As is, it's rather interesting and well-written, but not particularly well-crafted. And since I'm the Grammar Cop, I have to mention the fact that the first sentence of the post after the quote ends with a preposition: "Reading is one of the pleasures in my life that I cannot let go of." To be grammatically correct, it would have to be "Reading is one of the pleasures in my life of which I cannot let go", but that sounds really dumb. Perhaps "one of the pleasures in my life that I cannot do without", or "release" or something. There's that English teacher again. Tell her to shut up. Neva's submitted post gets a 2.5 (and not because of the preposition thing).
Slant Point: Succinct and to the point... I felt (and maybe it's just me) like I wanted a little bit more from this post. Perhaps a few examples, for those who have been living in a cave for the past 15 years, of the "current state of affairs" being "anything but Carson-like" would highlight that contrast. Maybe my disappointment is because the first paragraph seems to promise "delv[ing] into the nitty gritty of Johnny Carson's death". I don't feel like I got to that nitty gritty, you know? I do like this quote:
If Hollywood actors spent as much time spouting their opinions about their own industry as they do about national poltics, they might actually help shape a business that will indeed produce future Johnny's. But, alas, the future belongs to the crass megalomaniacs who top charts, build empires and use whatever indecent means they can to claw their way to the top.
Truthfully, Scott's done a good job with this subject - I seem to be difficult to satisfy tonight for some reason. The English teacher slinks back into her classroom and locks the door... Slant Point gets a 4.
Challenge Post
Personal Trainer: I should have known, being the lone female judge, that I'd wind up being married off to one of the other judges in at least one of these fairy tales... Jon has done his usual bang-up job of blending the information he's gleaned about each of the judges into his creative concoction. This charming tale of the redemption of Prince Harv has it all - appropriate linkage, a scandalous quote from the Puppy Blender, cameos from prominent bloggers and some spectacular sucking up. Jon has truly earned a 5 for this one.
Neva Li: Neva has obviously paid attention to the judges' repeated requests that challenge responses not include the lame "This is the question, this is the answer" introduction - she jumps right in to her tale, a mysterious and dark adventure of dragonslaying and treachery. (As a purely personal comment, I really enjoy my role in this tale - it corresponds well to one of my many weekend pastimes, playing a bard on TorilMUD.) It probably would have been a good thing to link the characters to the corresponding bloggers, and provide a link somewhere to the KotB tournament post, as an explanation for those random readers who may be greatly confused by this post. Otherwise, fine writing here, and Neva's fairy tale gets a 4.5.
Slant Point: Major props for the photoshop work, Scott. I've been waiting for someone to throw some visual aids into the challenge mix, and I was not disappointed. Normally I'd ding you points for choosing to parody a movie instead of creating your own fairy tale... but picking The Princess Bride was a very nice touch - it's one of my favorites, and lends itself well to the task. A small nit-pick - during the "Cliffs of Indecency" episode, you missed a "Buttercup" that should have been changed to "Bloggercup". I'm loving the Rather, Robbins and Moore scenes. Hee. All in all, a very amusing response, and Scott gets a 5.
The Queen's Rulings
Personal Trainer: 14.5
Neva Li: 10
Slant Point: 14
It was another tight race, with the Bonus Points maing the difference.
The final totals are:
Personal Trainer: 47
Neva Li: 33.5
Slant Point: 41
Which means that Personal Trainer has held off another pair of challengers!
Congratulations to Personal Trainer and good playing by Neva Li and Slant Point.
I sat down and had a talk with the current King, personal trainer. Before you read this I would suggest paying a trip to the bathroom and the kitchen. You will need snacks during this. He is a rather long-winded chap.
1. You have done a meticulous job of sucking up to everyone involved in the KOTB Tournament. You are constantly linking and trackbacking to us all. Will this continue as long as you are King, or is it just a temporary tool to cement your power?
What do you mean "sucking up?" I resemble that remark. In my line of work (pastoring) we call that "building redemptive relationships." Rest assured that I will pay homage right to the end of my reign. I know which side my bread is buttered on. On the serious side, I have really enjoyed getting to know each one of the judges, hosts, and the commish. I know I will keep visiting their blogs long after my throne is usurped by some lesser king.
2. How would you sum up your competition in the previous weeks? You have come out of two contests now as the winner. Do you think this current week's competition is any better?
Well, let's see...during the first week one guy was canned for failure to participate, while the reigning Queen succumbed to my imprecatory prayers. Dory at Wittenberg Gate tossed her hat into the ring a little late and was honestly just too nice to win.
The second week brought along a couple evangelical blogs. Jason at Trommeter Times had me worried at first because he was a veteran blogger, but one of his emoticons didn't like being "really bummed" all the time. I bribed the little yellow guy and he sabotaged Jason's effort by destroying the last part of his creative entry. No way Jason could win after that. David at Loose Ends was just too smart to be king. I had Joe Carter post that question at EO about Puritans and Americanism, and that was the last we heard from Dave until he posted that thesis. By then, the contest was over.
Week three had me a little scared. I wasn't too worried about the pistol-packin grandma from Michigan--you know what Buckeyes do to Wolverines every year. That is until she threatened me today...I saw she was lagging quite a bit, so I sent her a nice encouraging e-mail. Here's the text: "Hang in there! It's not over yet, and it's all a very good learning experience. I'm just glad I'm out of firing range from you...of what use is a sword against a handgun?" Well, you know what I got back? This: "*chuckle* In cyberspace, no one is out of range...." I called the State Highway Patrol today and we've tightened up the borders. Scott from Slant Point had me seriously worried. Have you seen the numbers on that guys site counter?! I thought I was a goner. But I must admit to a secret weapon. I have a congregation at my disposal. A whole host of faithful fiends ready and willing to vote at the mere mention of a need. I've learned that "one congregation in the hand is better than a host of invisible visitors on the blog." If Scott turned his visitors into voters, he'd be unstoppable. He's also the John Bunyan of political allegory. I left a note on his site and told him "he'd get my vote if I wasn't me."
I really have enjoyed the competition. It's been fun to poke fun at each other, and I know some of these cyber relationships are going to endure. I'd like to thanks Dory, Jason, and David for helping me out in later contests. A king has got to be able to turn former foes into friends...they know how how valuable trackbacks are!
3. What is the weakest thing about your site?
Weakest thing about the site? All the changes Harv asked me to make that I have to change back after the competition.
4. What is the best thing about your site?
Best thing about the site? All the changes Songstress asked me to make that I can’t believe I hadn't done before and that I'll keep forever.
Welcome to the Week 6 King of the Blog Tournament!
First all must hail the King, who has entered the last week of his reign, to be succeeded this week by a new king.
This week we have 3 new blogs squaring off for the crown:
Good luck to all 3 Pretenders. The judges for the tournament are as follows:
and on to the entries:
For submitted post:
and this weeks Challenge Question:
The Responses:
That's it for now! Be sure to support your favorite pretender by linking to THIS post and tracking back to it. Mention the blog of your choice in the entry. Whichever blog gets the most trackbacks gains 3 extra points once again. Need help sending a trackback? Say no more! Go to this site, and use Wizbang's Standalone Trackback Pinger.
Songstress of News from the Great Beyond
Overall Blog/Design
Personal Trainer: I see Jon spent some time incorporating last week's judging comments - there's a new Google search box, and he's also taken Harvey's complaint about overuse of extended posts into account. I, however, am not depending on Harvey's goodwill in order to rule the blogosphere, so I'll continue to use extended posts in such a way as to annoy the ever-loving snot out of him. Heh. Anyhow, with these improvements taken into account, I'm bumping Personal Trainer's overall score to 4.5 - this is a very nice site with a good design and lots of personality.
DM's Loose Ends: While more interesting than a lot of Blogger templates I've run across (the little squares are kind of cool), I've got to admit that I'm more drawn to sites with more personality and punch in their color scheme and graphics. This is pleasant in a rather neutral way, and I've seen worse. I'm also very fond of the way the quoted text displays - that gives more interest to the scheme he's chosen. Haloscan comments and trackback is a big plus, and there is some good "about me" information that gives us context for who this DM person is. Nice to meet you, David. I'd suggest you add a search feature for your archives... they're not huge right now but once you've kept this blog going for a bit longer it will be handy to have. I'm intrigued by your concept of blogging as a way to expound on what would normally be comments on other blogs' posts. It seems to work for you, I gather you've had other experiments in blogging that didn't turn out so well. I'd say this is a fine start, and my rating for DM's Loose Ends is a solid 3.5.
New Trommetter Times: This is what I get for waiting so long to do my review: Jason has already taken Harvey's comments and made some changes - he also appears to have taken Harvey's comments as the final ratings (not quite!). I gather from his most recent post that he just recently added the "about me" link, and that would have been my first complaint I'm sure. For a minute there I didn't think he had trackback enabled, but then I went to check out a comment and found the trackback URI for that post available only through the comments page. Well, it's a little convoluted, but at least it's there. I see a search feature, which is a good thing, because our friend Jason has been at this a good long time, and his archives are impressively long. I also see he's archived by category, and I really like to see that, because if I start reading a new blog I appreciate the ability to poke around by category to see the type of posts that interest me. I'm intrigued by the newspaper format, including the links to other "sections" at the top with news, sports, op/ed, etc. Jason's personality shines through on his site, and it strikes me as a nice place to hang out. My one negative comment... I'm wishy-washy on the "current mood" appended to each post. It adds personality, yes, but it also strikes me as very LiveJournalish. It might be just me, I haven't read the other judges' comments yet. New Trommetter Times gets a strong 4.
Submitted Post
Personal Trainer: Wow, this post was educational. I had no idea of the long and ignoble history of gambling in this country. Jon has shared a sermon here that makes me feel just a tad guilty about the 3 or 4 bucks I spent on lottery tickets last year... *ahem* Seriously, it was well-written, thoughtful and well-organized. I'm giving it a 4.
DM's Loose Ends: David chose as his submitted post a critique of an article entitled "Americanism -- and Its Enemies"... Because I really didn't want to take the time to read the original article (yes, I am a procrastinator, thank you very much, and I needed to get this review done quickly), I was a bit lost at some points, but overall he did a good enough job between quoting the original article and providing summary statements that I followed along all right. Quite a few typos are sprinkled here and there throughout this post... and I think it would have been good to delineate the difference between the italicized text (which appears to be quoting the original article) and the blockquoted text (which appears to be quoting other sources)... otherwise, a nicely written, coherent post. A bit long for me to read late at night, though, I found myself losing interest after a while. It's not you, it's me. The Queen's rating: 3.
New Trommetter Times: Jason's submitted post is short and to the point. This issue (Social Security) appears to be something of a hot button for him - I say that only because I've had similar thoughts, but never got exercised enough to blog about them. While David's submission was long and much like a college-level research paper, Jason's is the other extreme. He expresses his ideas clearly, but the post is so short that I don't really get a feel for his writing. I don't think this particular post needs to be longer - but I can't help but wonder if there's something else he's written in the recent past that would have been better to submit. That said, I'm rating this post a 3.5 for clarity, conciseness, and good spelling. ;)
Challenge Post
Personal Trainer: Ahhh, creativity! I see Jon has been up to his usual tricks, researching this week's pretenders to the throne in order to craft an engaging little story to answer the challenge post. I love the title, I love the fact that he took the time to set up the situation, and I really love the coconut emoticons! Personal Trainer gets a 4.5.
DM's Loose Ends: David, David, David... *sigh*... Off the top, points off for the non-creative "Here's the question, here's the answer" format - I do so hope that next week's pretenders are reading these reviews before they attempt to answer the challenge question, but I'm not counting on it. After that, though, we see the creativity emerge (as well as a surprisingly sadistic streak - drugging the other contestants with diluted psychedelic mushrooms and forcing them to perform Shakespeare and hunt imaginary elephants). While Jon (grounding his scenario in a bit more reality with wives and real-life jobs taken into account) sees the trio being rescued after a couple of weeks on their deserted island, David has completely gone another direction. The picture of this trio making themselves at home (using a human-sized hamster wheel to generate power for a pirate radio station - another great touch) and creating a thriving micronation is terrific. World domination indeed! If we were making a film from one of these three challenge responses, I'd pick this one for sure. My rating: 4.
New Trommetter Times: Oooh! More creativity! A two-part episode, without the awkward "this is the question/this is the answer" lead-in. Unfortunately, Jason's left us hanging at the end of Episode II, and this promising show of creativity is abruptly cut off, leaving our stranded cast of characters staring at a waterfall of raw sewage tumbling over a cliff face. Will our heroes, desperate for water, succumb to dehydration? Will they drink the raw sewage? Are the purple plants and orange and pink spotted crabs a precursor to the discovery of a civilization of mutants? TELL ME!!!! I am disappointed that this didn't go farther, and I'm very sorry to have to give this challenge response a 2. It could have - and should have - been so much more.
The Queen's Rulings:
Personal Trainer: 13
DM's Loose Ends: 10.5
New Trommetter Times: 9.5
Harvey of Bad Example (Sounds like a hair band rocker huh?)
Another King of the Blogs Tournament comes to a close.
For now, Jon of Personal Trainer rules with an iron fist, but is that RUST I see on that glove? And do I see challengers with buckets of CLR coming to dissolve his power?
Let's find out what happens...
You are shipwrecked on a deserted island with your two opponents from this week's King of the Blog. What happens next?
Jon of Personal Trainer
GOOD POINTS: I was rooting around on Jon's page, looking for his assignment, thought this one was it, but after a few paragraphs, decided it wasn't. There was no giveaway line until deep into the story. Very expertly crafted. Bonus for the "leaving trackbacks" line.
BAD POINTS: I hate to ding for this, but I have to: Jon did not give examples of the emoticons he mentioned. Considering that non-internet savvy newbies stumble onto your blog every day, it would've been a nice touch for their sakes.
SCORE: 4.5
David of DM's Loose Ends
GOOD POINTS: Presents some chuckle-worthy mental images.
BAD POINTS: First, commits the cardinal sin of intro'ing his piece with the standard creativity-impaired "I'm in the King of the Blogs and this is my assignment" dealie. Word to future contenders - do NOT use this intro. It's BORING. It will cost you points. You may LOSE because of this. At the very least, do something like "I had this weird dream last night that I was shipwrecked with the other KOTB guys..." and link the work "shipwrecked" to the assignment post at the KOTB home page.
Second, what's this "I imagine" and "I'm assuming" stuff? This is YOUR post and YOU make the rules. You don't have to imagine or assume ANYTHING. Be CONFINDENT, man! You're seeking to decimate the competition and become KING, not licking boots to gain the favor of being appointed an ambassadorship to Elbonia. Cowboy up, mister!
SCORE: 3.5
Jason of New Trometter Times
GOOD POINTS: Launches straight into the story.
BAD POINTS: If you're going to launch straight into the story, there needs to be a link to the KOTB assignment page so that passers-by can get in on the joke. Also, a good story needs to have a beginning, middle, and end.
1 out of 3 ain't bad.
Dividing it into 2 parts, however, IS, because it's just a distracting interruption in the narrative flow. You'd have been better off taking the time to finish the story in the first place.
SCORE: 2
Person Trainer: "It's Only A Buck"
GOOD POINTS: Excellent use of callback in the final line gave the essay a feeling of solid completion. Bible verses are either cited or quoted in full.
BAD POINTS: Cited about 100 statistics and gave NOT ONE SINGLE LINK to his sources. If it were just his little urban legend opener that he sheisted from some uncredited Christian site and maybe one or two off-handed references to "studies", I'd let it slide. But studies and statistics make up the bulk of SEVERAL PARAGRAPHS worth of secular argumentation, and he doesn't link ANY of them. CBS's memos cited more sources than this sorry, slapdash effort.
Google. Hyperlinks. Use them.
SCORE: 2
DM's Loose Ends "Americanism—and Its Enemies: Critique, Analysis, and Commentary"
GOOD POINTS: Logically, reasonably, & rationally argues his points.
BAD POINTS: First - seriously, WHY did you think this would make a good submitted post? I'm an atheist. Pietro isn't a god-blogger. Yet you submitted an academically-toned, religiously-oriented treatise that registers a 7.9 on the Bill Whittle scale of verbal bloatery.
What. Were. You. Thinking?
Know your audience, man. And even if Songstress HAD the interest, I'm sure she doesn't have the time. She's got two cats to feed and a baby to conceive.
Even worse, I don't think that even YOU read this literary monstrosity. Why do I say that? Because I counted over 30 different typological and grammatical errors.
If you're going to make us ride this sinking verbal Titanic, the LEAST you could do is buzz it through a spellchecker.
Then there's writing style. This essay is Sahara/Gobi/Mojave dry. Consider buying a copy of The Lively Art of Writing. Meanwhile here's two tips: 1) use active verbs instead of forms of the word "be", 2) use fewer prepositional phrases - there are plenty of sprightly adjectives & adverbs you can use instead.
SCORE: 2
New Trometter Times: "Counting on Social Security?"
GOOD POINTS: This is a model "get in, get it done, get out" post. Jason starts with a question (always a good way to get the reader's attention), makes his point, exits with a pithy comment summing up his position and then - this is important - STOPS WRITING. A post doesn't have to be long to be good.
BAD POINTS: None visible.
SCORE: 5
Here are some technical things I like to see on a blog:
King of the Blogs javascript thingy in the sidebar
Comments enabled
Permalinks working
E-mail contact info available
Blogger's name/pseudonym prominently displayed
Site search feature enabled
Link to an "About Me" post on the sidebar
Blogger's gender is easily discernable
Blogroll
Readable font style & size
Readable color scheme (for example, NOT bright red type on bright green
background)
Divisions between posts clearly marked
Paragraphing in entries (NOT just writing one fat block of text)
Aside from the tech stuff, I also like to see a blogger's personality shining through, to
remind us of the person behind the words.
With that in mind...
Personal Trainer:
GOOD POINTS: All the positives are still here from last week, plus he put his name in the posted-by line and eased up on the extended-entry use. Now you can just go there and read & never have to take your finger off your mouse's scroll-wheel (or "page down" button, depending on your navigational preference). MUCH better. Also, HUGE bonus for the excessive use of gratuitous linkage to the KOTB staff.
BAD POINTS: There was still a LITTLE use of extended entries to hide text. If having the words hidden somehow improves the entry, I'm all for it. Otherwise the message you're sending to your readers is "I don't think anyone would really want to read this whole thing. Why don't you skip over this sorry post and move on to the good stuff." If what you're posting isn't good enough to be read in its entirety, why are you posting it?
Anyway, I'm not taking off for it because of the gratuitous linkage bonus.
SCORE: 5
DM'S Loose Ends
GOOD POINTS: All the technicals in order. Layout is clean, plain & functional.
BAD POINTS: A little TOO clean. Like an empty cubicle. I understand David is new & all, so I imagine the margin-decorating thingies & doo-dads will come in time, but still... a little dull. Also, I didn't see any pictures posted. On the off chance David has no image hosting service available, I recommend ImageShack (www.imageshack.us). It's free & user-friendly.
SCORE: 4
New Trommetter Times:
GOOD POINTS: Lots of little pictures & doodads & icons & a cool background texture give this site a comfortable yet distinctive character. Lots of eye-candy, but it's off to the sides, so Jason avoids a cluttered appearance.
BAD POINTS: Missing an "About Me" post. Don't be shy, Jason - share with us.
Now, about those extended entries... it's bad enough you use them to hide text that doesn't need to be hidden, but you should at LEAST choose a stopping point where a uninterested person might logically decide that they could be reading something else. NOBODY quits in the middle of a "Top Ten" list. That extended entry was plainly pointless. What's 5 more lines?
SCORE: 4
Personal Trainer: 11.5
DM's Loose Ends: 9.5
New Trommetter Times: 11
Post:
There are nights, when it's dark outside, the rain is pouring and wind is howling fiercely, when all I want to do is cuddle up to a good book. This is not one of those times. In what appears to be a doctoral
dissertation, David lets loose with a 100-page thesis on Americanism and its enemies. Does America actually have that many enemies? Furthermore, he indicates - gasp - that the article is not presented in its
entirety.
Make no mistake, the argument is well-formulated and written adeptly. However, it doesn't quite fit the
blog paradigm, in that most visitors want brief synopses, not novel-length treatises that could hardly
be read in an hour, let alone five minutes of one's cramped time. 3 points.
Site:
I see David's using a blogger template, and that (unlike perhaps, a year ago) is perfectly fine - if he knows what to do with it. He has a pretty good summary of himself in the About Me section, and that's pretty fortunate, since I've grown rather annoyed at blogger's standard mill-issue profile page. Love the blockquotes, and the color/graphic scheme. The KOTB banner ads are present, as they should be; the blogroll links to primarily evangelical blogs. Comments and trackbacks, necessary to a fully functional and interactive blog, are included; and hey, there are the archives - either this is a brand spankin' new blog, or David only just remembered to turn archives on and only has the month of January recorded for posterity. Great that you have, without asking, visible separation between posts. I'm not sure I like the italics in the sidebar.. it gives sort of a fuzzy character to the items in that section; for those of us who are visually impaired, it means another inch closer to the screen, head tilted 45 degrees to the right. Like I mentioned earlier, it's great that you're an intellectual, and that you delve into all these fascinating fields of study... but if you're writing a blog that's suitable for mass consumption, you're going to want to condense your posts a little bit from what they are. Remember that not everyone is quite as intellectual as you, and may lose interest upon seeing how much more of a post they have yet to read, no matter what you might have to say. 3 points.
Challenge:
Your answer was well-written, and kept in your intellectual comfort zone, though I think you managed to turn the challenge into a series of lucky coincidences with the technology that just happened to be on the ship. It sounds like you've got this desert island thing all planned out, though I'm not sure your blog competition will be quite as fortunate (although undeniably happy).
Seriously, how powerful do you think your little transmitter's going to be? And how soon will that happen, given your omission of any concern for shelter, food gathering (are you sure your island will have fruit), and fresh water? Sounds like you have a few more pages of planning there, sir, but of course my main concern is not to debate you scientifically... it's to rate your post on its own merit, and I thought it was a gas. 5 points.
New Trommetter Times
Post:
I like people to tell me something I don't already know, but I'm not so sure about people telling me bad news I don't already know. It's nice that I was warned; but when I found out that I'll be losing thousands of dollars a month to the Social Security Ponzi scheme, I was flabbergasted! I mean, I already knew I would be losing money, but nowhere near the thousands I could be putting into a private investment account. Thanks, Jason! Thanks a lot. 3.5 points.
Site:
Nicely done! Jason has done an incredibly good job of site design, and whether the template was borrowed or not, it more than suitably fits his title and overall theme. The only inconsistency I saw with the design is
that somehow, the font's size and type are slightly inconsistent with the rest of the style. Anyhow, a lot of things about this blog are snazzily done - from the cartoonish graphics accompanying many posts to the crisp design of the sidebar, arranged into clearly readable categories. I'm astonished that there are no trackbacks to speak of, what with most everything else firmly in place. KOTB banner's right where we can see it. I'm not seeing an explicit about me, though there are links to family photos and a wiki (to which the
link is apparently broken). Icons are *gag* reminiscent of LiveJournal. Great job on the site, but I'm going to take off a little for some of the missing items. 4.5 points.
Challenge:
I see Jason the greatest threat to Personal Trainer's crown with the advent of his... get this.... serial drama based on this week's Challenge Question! Not satisfied to provide us with instant gratification and a disappointing ending, Jason's decided to keep us hanging on the edge and wondering if the loose ends will ever be tied up at all. There's plenty of suspense, a touch or two of humor, and an environmentalist theme embedded as well. Do our heroes have what it takes to make a water purifier from the leaves of palm trees, a horseshoe crab shell, a clump of seaweed, some coins and keychain from their pockets, and a 5" length of thread? Well, I guess we'd better tune in and find out. 4 points.
Personal Trainer
Post:
This is certainly the week for long posts! However, I settled right into this lengthy essay on gambling, drawn in by the illustration of a particularly deadly piece of modern art. I understand that many people
think that gambling's ok, that it feeds money into the economy and so forth; but Jon makes a very convincing argument that instead of feeding the economy, it drains many of its resources from the budget due to additional police man hours, health care, welfare, etc. But more importantly, Jon breaks it down into a
more spiritual application, giving examples from God's Word as to why it stands starkly in opposition to how God desires we should live our lives. There were a lot of numbers I hadn't seen before, and a lot of angles from which I had never seen the gambling issue approached before. Overall, this is a very well-written, persuasive essay, and it certainly would have my attention on Sunday morning. 4 points.
Site:
My memory's gone bad - did Jon change the font in his sidebar, or are my eyes not as bad as they were last
week? Anyhow, as before, the blog looks crisp and neat, and well-structured. Not much need for improvement here. 5 points.
Challenge:
I believe Jon's mastered the art of the adventure narrative... though somewhat lengthy, the post manages
to intertwine perfectly the response to this week's Challenge question, a Biblical lesson, and mild jabs at his opposition. I spit my drink a few times, admittedly, when Jon introduced Jason's use of emoticons.. it fit so well with my critique of Jason's blog. Additional kudos for implying that any generosity bestowed on behalf of Glenn Reynolds is nothing more than a mirage, a fog the color of blended puppies. BTW - way to give props to yourself at the very end.. your arrogance is quite becoming, and is suitable for a king. Great work. 5 points.
DM's Loose Ends: 11
Trommetter Times: 12
personal trainer: 14
Judges Totals:
DM's Loose Ends: 31
Personal Trainer: 38.5
Trommetter Times: 32.5
Poll Totals:
personal trainer 88
Trommetter Times 7
DM's Loose Ends 1
Trackback Totals:
personal trainer: 4
DM's Loose Ends: 1
Trommetter Times: 1
Making a final Bonus total of:
Personal Trainer: 6
Trommeter Times: 4
DM's Loose Ends: 3
and a grand total of:
Personal Trainer: 44.5
Trommetter Times: 36.5
DM's Loose Ends: 34
Which means King Jon has triumphantly defended the crown! Congrats to the winner!
Somehow I have neglected in writing a post on what exactly the King of the Blogs Tournament is, and why it exists Thanks goes to Dean Esmay who helped me in noticing the omission.
The King of the Blogs Tournament pits 3 blogs against each other in a weeklong contest. The blogs are judged on three items:
A. General blogginess (site design and so forth)
B. Creativity (the legendary challenge question, a question to test both writing ability and creativity in a set time)
C. A submitted post they select to be judged (for writing ability alone)
by 3 judges picked by the hosts and commissioner of the tournament. These judges currently are:
Bad Example
News From the Great Beyond
Smarter Cop
There are also other avenues to gain points, including winning the KOTB Poll, and the Trackback Challenge, where a blog influences other blogs to trackback to the KOTB site pledging loyalty to the monarch of their choice.
The blog that wins moves on the week after to defend his or her crown. Think King of the Hill.
Flattery and bribes have been known to work in the past also...
The tournament not only helps provide eyes to your site, but also useful critiques to help you rise in the blogosphere.
The King of the Blog tournament was started by myself, Nick of Patriot Paradox to fill the void at the time of no contests for established blogs to participate in. I was really seeking something to gain some feedback on my own blog at, but when none where apparent I decided to create one. We started out with a two-week contest that started in week one with 6 blogs, and in week two with the three remaining blogs. There were six judges at the time. It went away in the spring of 2004 since things were too hectic at the time (election and all).
The tournament returned this past December, streamlined and ready to go.
Welcome to the Week 5 King of the Blog Tournament!
First all must hail the King, who will defend the crown:
This week we have 2 blogs squaring off for the crown:
Good luck to both Pretenders. The judges for the tournament are as follows:
and on to the entries:
For submitted post:
None yet!
and this weeks Challenge Question:
The Responses:
None yet!
That's it for now! Be sure to support your favorite pretender by linking to THIS post and tracking back to it. Mention the blog of your choice in the entry. Whichever blog gets the most trackbacks gains 3 extra points once again. Need help sending a trackback? Say no more! Go to this site, and use Wizbang's Standalone Trackback Pinger.
Exciting contest this week, with the reigning Queen being poisoned, and the highest level of , uh, flattery going to all the judges, hosts and even the Commish. It all comes down to the rulings, and here they are:
Was she poisoned by one of her usurpers?
Doubts will linger, but let's see who's next to sit the King of the Blogs chair...
THE CHALLENGE QUESTION:
Cyn of Cyn's Sim
Due to being poisoned by usurpers, Cyn was unable to complete the assignment. Off with her head!
SCORE: 0
Jon of Personal Trainer
GOOD POINTS: Forgoes both sleep and personal hygiene in a marathon of blog-reading to find out enough about his subjects to make accurate casting decisions.
BAD POINTS: Nothing really, aside from the always dull "this is my required entry" intro. Next time try just launching directly into the post and giving a hyperlink to the assignment page.
Mostly, though, Jon just had the bad luck to be up against Dory, who went the extra mile on her entry.
SCORE: 4
Dory of Wittenberg Gate
GOOD POINTS: Obviously did some homework to find out who these bloggers in her cast are, but then takes liberties with her artistic license. I was especially amused by the phrase "Harvey's left-wing bias". Bonus for writing her own theme song.
BAD POINTS: The only smudge on this entry is that there's no link to the assignment post on the KotB home page. However, I'm going to let the song bonus make up for this.
SCORE: 5
SUBMITTED ENTRY:
Cyn's Sim: "The Fling Is Over"
GOOD POINTS: Lots of pointers on how to manipulate men, plus proof that unshaven skinny white guys are hot. Key word "skinny", Michael Moore.
BAD POINTS: The intro is a bit rambly & convoluted. While I understand the need to warm up the mental engine, it frequently improves the post to excise the early noodling parts. Also, the post covers two topics (seducing men and the joy of scruffy). Although it does both well, this probably would've been better covered as two separate posts
SCORE: 4
Personal Trainer: "A Theodicy Proposed"
GOOD POINTS: Very educational. I learned what a "theodicy" is, plus I discovered that Karma is a concept common to both Buddhism and Hinduism - I thought it was just one of them, but I wasn't sure which.
BAD POINTS: Works very hard to tell the story, but crashes on the ending. Could've had a very powerful close by simply stating HIS position in the same form that he stated everyone elses. Something like: "Personal Trainer: Learn from Job and don't try to guess "why". In the interim..." Since he didn't go for the callback and the closure, the result was that same empty feeling one gets from watching the Cubs chase the pennant.
SCORE: 4
Wittenberg Gate: "God Does Not Believe In Atheists"
GOOD POINTS: Love the rhetorical zingers: "Are there atheists railing on about the Easter Bunny? The Tooth Fairy? Black helicopters?" EXCELLENT point.
BAD POINTS: Toward the end of the piece I stumbled over a gap in the entry's flow that sucked all the force out of the conclusion. Third-to-last paragraph is about Christians judging atheists. Second-to-last paragraph is about Christians' belief in their worthyness before God. There's no transition between the two topics, and the change is jarring.
SCORE: 4
WHOLE BLOG REVIEW - TECHNICAL MERIT AND PERSONALITY:
Here are some technical things I like to see on a blog:
Aside from the tech stuff, I also like to see a blogger's personality shining through, to
remind us of the person behind the words.
With that in mind...
Cyn's Sim:
GOOD POINTS: Just as good last time, with all the technicals in place, plus her pretty picture.
BAD POINTS: Ignored my advice about boosting her title font a few points. Now my feelings are hurt, but I guess I can only put up a nominal ding for that.
SCORE: 4.5
NOTE: Cyn has switched over to an Expression Engine driven blog now, which doesn't have this problem. However, she doesn't have a KotB javascript thingy there, so I'm judging her old site because otherwise I'd have to give her a 0 - the KotB banner is life or death in this tournament.
Personal Trainer:
GOOD POINTS: Good technicals; subtle, understated use of church colors for text and dividing lines. I also ADORE his choice of banner picture, because it PERFECTLY illustrates his tagline of "hope in the shadowlands" by showing... land with shadows. It seems obvious, but I'll bet he searched a long time to find that shot. Also, bonus for excessive use of suck-up linkage to the judges, commissioner, and hosts.
BAD POINTS: There's some hiding of the name that leads to a gender-identification issues (see technicals list). Since Jon lists his name in his "about me" post, I assume he's not seeking anonymity. I strongly recommend that he change the bottom line of his entry template to read "Posted by John at [time]" so that people know that 1) he's a man 2) named Jon. Doing so increases the warmth & welcome quotients of the blog.
Also, rethink the excessive use of extended entries. Hiding text does NOT significantly (or even noticably) reduce load times. However, the time I have to waste clicking that link and waiting for the page to load is VERY noticable. And quite irritating to those on dial-up. Don't irritate your readers. See also my philosophy on extended entry usage.
SCORE: 4
Wittenberg Gate
GOOD POINTS: Good technicals, and a blog whose posts are reliably on theme.
BAD POINTS: Small gender-identification problem. I was surprised to find out Dory was a woman. Probably because I was thinking of the dwarf Dori from "The Hobbit". Might consider changing tagline to "One woman's thoughts on..."
Those colors - burnt orange and gold? My mom used to have those in her kitchen in the 70's. I'm just grateful to be spared the avacado green. Maybe a bright, cheery pastel of some kind. Aesthetics aside, the black type on the burnt orange sidebar is a little eye-strainy. Consider a combination with better contrast.
Finally, another victim of excessive use of extended entries. I want to read you and you're slowing me down. Bad blogger! Don't make me wait for that page to load! Like I told Jon, see my philosophy on extended entry usage. Think about your readers' convenience. Or at least take a survey.
SCORE: 3
FINAL TALLY:
News From the Great Beyond's Ruling
I must say, Jon of Personal Trainer and Dory of Wittenberg Gate took Nick's instructions to heart, especially the part about sucking up to the judges. I feel well and truly sucked-up-to. Jon took the time to post a "Homage to the Court" roundup each day of this week's tournament... and Dory found my toothpaste post much more fascinating than anyone who is not sucking up had a right to. Heh.
And now, on with the Queen's rulings! (Hrm. Now that we have a new reigning Queen, does that make me the Queen Mum or something? I don't think I want to know.)
Overall Blog/Design
Cyn Sim: Since I reviewed Cyn's blog in depth last round, and she has made no significant changes that I can see, I'll keep this rating at a 4.
Personal Trainer: What you have here is a very nice color scheme and a lovely header graphic, clean layout and lots of good technical points. I see some "about me" information that gives us a clue who we're conversing with here. The one thing I think I'd suggest you add is a "search this site" box - Google has a free search tool you can add to your sidebar with very little hassle. Harvey will tell you the same thing. There seems to be something trippy going on with your Archives listing in the sidebar - it's got an extra 12/27/04 through 1/2/05 week showing, and it's out of order - but that's probably a Typepad glitch and I won't mark that down. Frankly, there's not a lot negative to say here. I'll rate Personal Trainer an overall 4. Very nice.
Wittenberg Gate: Another very technically good site - Typepad helps, doesn't it? I'd never have gotten my site set up this well without it... I see a link to Dory's Bio (which I found rather amusing... Dory is a brave, brave woman homeschooling a high-schooler). I see a search box. I see lots of good linkage and working comments and trackback. The color scheme is neutral and easy-to-read. If I had to offer a constructive comment, I'd suggest adding some punch with a banner graphic (perhaps incorporating your sidebar art), but it's not really necessary. I like the listing of favorite posts in the left sidebar: it gives new readers a chance to go back and read some of the posts you feel define your writings without having to sift through your entire site archive. Wittenberg Gate gets a 4 also.
Submitted Post
Cyn Sim: Cyn entertains us this week with a post from July of last year about TV crushes. I've never seen this "Outback Jack" show of which she speaks, but I'm mildly amused by the descriptions of the tricks the girls use to win Jack's attention. I've seen these very ploys used by... well, mostly high schoolers. I gather we're talking about a reality show here. I'm not so much into reality shows, with the exception (and I don't really know why) of The Apprentice. While this post was well-written, it didn't engage me as much as last round's "How to Look Like Britney" slam. Queen Songstress gives Queen Cyn a 3 for this effort.
Personal Trainer: Oooh, big words. OK, so "theodicy" isn't really a big word, just one that's not really used by those who don't study theology and the like. OK, at least I don't use it. But now I know what it means, thanks to Jon. Jon's given us a meaty post to chew on, discussing the variety of religious responses to the Southeast Asia Tsunami, and relating our feeble human attempts to explain why God does something to the Book of Job. I'm strangely drawn to the Book of Job. It's like a giant cosmic case of irony or something. Here we have poor put-upon Job, knowing he did nothing to deserve the calamities that have come upon him, having to defend himself to his three friends for what seems like forever. Then God shows up, and you'd expect Him to tell Job "You're right, you didn't do anything wrong. Your friends were flat-out wrong and you're one of the good guys." But no, He says "Who are you to question me anyway?" And we're left with the understanding that God has the ability to control every circumstance for His purposes, but He will not necessarily explain Himself to us even if we ask. That takes faith. Anyway, enough expounding on Jon's point. He makes his point well, and I'm giving him a 4 for this post.
Wittenberg Gate: Dory presents us with this gem of a response to atheism - don't try to convince them intellectually that God exists. This is another very well-written post, and one that takes an approach to this issue that I've never heard before. Maybe I've had my head in the sand, and volumes have been written making her exact points - but I don't read volumes of books like that anyway. I read the Bible, and I read a few devotional books, and I read a whole lot of mystery and suspense novels to give my brain a break. Dory's insight here is interesting. Another 4 for this effort.
Challenge Post
Cyn Sim: Cyn was dealing with an illness and did not complete the challenge question this week. Unfortunately, this is sure to cause her to be dethroned in this round - but I for one hope she will throw her hat back into the ring for a future tournament round. I was so looking forward to seeing her creativity on this question, too.
Personal Trainer: OK, it seems we must go through this every week. Future competitors take note: We judges really prefer it when contestants find a more creative way to introduce their challenge response than "I had this question to answer for the King of the Blogs Tournament, so here's the question and here's my answer." Creativity in the format of the response is almost as important as the creativity of the response itself... however, due to the short turn-around time for an answer, I think my expectations are too high. Four days is perhaps not enough time for someone who works (or attends school) full time to come up with a great idea and then draw a comic strip or photoshop some images or film a short TV show pilot or some such thing. I think a short script would have been a pretty good way to present this challenge post, though. Oh well. Enough of what I can't have. What I do have here is a very good question to work with, and Jon, who obviously spent a great deal of time and effort researching the judges', commissioner's and hosts' interests and lives. His premise sounds just like a 1980's sitcom, and the characters he's developed are spot-on funny. Especially Harv. Great job, Jon... You're getting a 4.5. I reserve a 5 for someone who wows me with the presentation. *wink*
Wittenberg Gate: Same deal with the desperate desire for a more creative presentation format... but here we have another good job with both the premise and the characterization. Dory gets a bonus for writing the theme song herself... Am I to presume that the evil Rey Glenn is intended to refer to the Puppy Blender himself? I am amused at the mental picture of myself as a singing sports reporter... and I do like sports other than baseball, but you probably would never be able to tell by my blog, since I do expound at length about MLB and pretty much ignore every other major sport. But that said, Go SUNS! *ahem* Seriously, or as serious as I can get when looking at this campy show premise - I mean that in a good way - I was a bit confused by your reference to Harvey's left-wing bias. I've got to figure that was a bit of a fudge of the facts just to give your show an antagonist? Because good ol' Harv may be an atheist and on the racy side, but I think he'd take offense to being characterized as left-wing in any way, shape or form. All things considered, a very promising idea that I'd love to have seen fleshed out a bit more. Lamentations about the lack of a script again. Dory gets a 4, only because I think Jon put more effort into the research.
The Queen Mum's Rulings
Cyn's Sim
Site:
Bonus points for spotting the word 'lapdance' as I perused the blog.
Stylewise, it remains true to form, with a crisp quality, bits of humor and personality (including the arousing haiku) wrapped inside. Still didn't get the hint from last week about the blogroll, but I'm satisfied that she fixed the broken links from last week.
Excellent design! 4 points.
Post:
Alas, I keep trying to explaining to my significant other why I don't shave every day, and she doesn't believe me. Cyn's got the goods on how to attract a guy and how a guy should just, er, let himself go to win over a girl's attention, if not her heart. Of course, she should have explained to her man-friend that the four-o'clock shadow is probably not the best idea for job interviews and loan applications. Not bad, entertaining, a little fluffy with the snark. 4
points.
Challenge:
The reigning Queen, alas, has contracted a rare and deadly disease, and could not participate in this weeks challenged. Or, was she poisoned?!?!
Personal Trainer
Site:
KOTB banner is right up front and on top, which is good. The About banner is precisely where it should be. It doesn't have to be a life story, but it helps to be able to refer to a blogger by his/her name/alias.. Egads! I thought I'd seen the last of the Calendar archive formats! Good division with posts, excellent three-column format, with no
incongruity. I like the way the categories are listed at the bottom of the post. I've seen several blogs do this, and appreciate the referential capability. Everything's there, right where it should be, though I wish some that the sidebar font could be made more visible. 4 points.
Post:
Boy, did I get a theology lesson and a half! I've heard every explanation (including the ones Jon lists in his posts) for why bad things happen to people, and why there can be such calamity in the world. And shame on me for not noticing the simple, subtle, yet dead-on message found in the book of Job.... that we are in no position to
question God, but that we should trust that what God has planned for us is far better than anything we could ever hope for from this world. I particularly like the breakdowns by different religions. 4 points.
Challenge:
Talk about stereotypes! Next thing you know, Jon will be casting me as Irish! Heh.. sounds like a pretty decent show with the capacity for some, er, odd situations. I'm impressed with his ability to keep up to date with his blog reading, especially the blogs belonging to those in whom his blogospheric destiny is entrusted. Needless to say, I'd be interested to hear if he is able to incorporate this motley group of personalities into his next sermon. 4.5 points, the .5 being added for mention of my favorite teams.
Wittenberg Gate
Site:
This site immediately established one of those subconscious connections; perhaps because I have actually been to Wittenberg gate, and am familiar with the life of Martin Luther. Anyhow, up top is the KOTB banner and an email address, with a nice compact, informative About page. In many ways Wittenberg Gate and Personal Trainer have a similar format... I'm led to wonder if there was a similar collaboration here. One thing that Wittenberg Gate doesn't have (thank God) is that Calendar. I don't know
why I dislike it, it just makes no sense to me to have one. There hasn't been a whole lot done to the template; I find the brown and blue/black color scheme a bit distracting. At least the color scheme or font size should be altered to make the sidebar a little bit easier to read. 3 points.
Post:
Dory makes an outstanding point on the pursuits of atheists who spend much of their lives merely trying to prove to people that God doesn't exists and remove Him from their lives. Then Dory concludes that we're trying to reach out to atheists from the wrong perspective, one that tries to prove something to them that they already
know. This is certainly a unique and refreshing perspective; I'm liking the lot of the blog postings this week, but this one stands above the others. 5 points.
Challenge:
I know more than to give up on a post halfway through reading it, and this time I was not disappointed. At first, Dory's entry was a bit thin, a bit dry, with some rays of sunshine sprinkled within (for example, how did she know that my second career choice was a meteorologist?).. but blaming the weather on Democrats? Everyone knows that I blame it all on that jerk holding up traffic in front of me, with his tied-on exhaust pipe and his devil-may-care-if-the-light-is-green attitude, and his blinker pointed in the opposite direction... it's all HIS fault! Anyhow, it was to my utmost relief that I came across her delightful little poem, and being a lover of poetry (and of Gilligan's Island), I had a change of heart about Dory's Challenge post. Though I simply can't imagine working under a Ted-Turneresque Evil Glenn, I appreciate the late night broadcast of seven castaways on a deserted island. 4 points.
Judge's Totals:
Poll Results:
Trackback Results:
So total bonus points for each is:
Grand Total:
and the winner of this week's Odd Contest is Spreading His Word. Congrats!
Welcome to the return of the King of the Blog Tournament!
First all must hail the Queen, who will defend the crown:
This week we have 2 blogs squaring off for the crown:
personal trainer
Wittenberg Gate
(mrjerz.com was disqualified for non-participation)
Good luck to both Pretenders. The judges for the tournament are as follows:
and on to the entries:
For submitted post:
Cyn Sim: The Fling is Over
Personal Trainer: The Theodicy Proposed
Wittenberg Gate: God Does Not Believe in Atheists
and this weeks Challenge Question:
The Responses:
None yet!
That's it for now! Be sure to support your favorite pretender by linking to THIS post and tracking back to it. Mention the blog of your choice in the entry. Whichever blog gets the most trackbacks gains 3 extra points once again. Need help sending a trackback? Say no more! Go to this site, and use Wizbang's Standalone Trackback Pinger.
This is a public service announcement for all Pretenders.
PUT THE JAVASCRIPT ON YOUR SITES!
Do you think we do this for our health? We do it to get the links from your sites! And how are we supposed to get those links if you refuse to put the Javascript on you sites.
So let's all play nice together and put the KOTB links on your site like good little Pretenders.
