The Humor-Blogs.com Blog

The reviewers who commented on Mad Kane's Humor Blog were clearly divided into pro-limerick and anti-limerick camps (interesting aside: my parents sent me to limerick camp for the summer one year) . Those who liked simple, clean humor in limerick format liked the site, and those that didn't... didn't. Even those who didn't find it to be their "cup of tea," however, were generally positive. As one reviewer stated, "This blog is well written, pretty well created and obviously a work that reflects the good intentions and passion of the writer. Sadly, to me at least, limericks are the lowest form of humor know to humankind, and that ruins it for me." There were, of course, a few reviewers who just didn't find anything worthwhile about the site. As one reviewer wrote, "I could only read about five of the posts before giving up on finding something even amusing."

Category	Score	Points
Content	5.22	37/70
Web Design	6.39	4/5
Writing	7.35	3/5
Intangibles	6.43	3/5
Read Regularly	3.04	3/10
Frequency	10	5/5
Total		55

"The limerick idea is original, and they are well written as well as quite funny. I would visit this blog on and off, but probably not everyday."

"I was torn about this blog, in that I didn't really find the content traditionally "funny" but I can appreciate the obvious talent the writer has. Therefore, while I may not have rated it as high as I would some others, I suspect that the deficiency lay on my end."

"The limericks are the funniest part of this blog, but I wouldn't really feel like I was missing anything if I didn't read this blog frequently. Limericks are easy to "catch up" on. The contests are a great idea, and often provide funnier limericks/ideas than the other posts. The design is great and easy to read."

"Some excellent limericks that set up the punchline really well."

"Poetry is not my thing. The feel of the blog reminded me of Mark Russell, Nipsy Russell, or some other rhyming person named Russell."

"Great poetry. Sometimes a little corny, but quite a few were dead-on."

"I like how her mind works. Once you get into the meter of limericks, or haiku for that matter, it just flows and becomes a natural part of one's thinking. I like how she thinks."

"The limericks aren't particularly funny, and don't cover any new ground."

"The site is more about witty musings of her life than it is trying to be funny. It's not that it's bad writing, it's just not funny."

"The limericks do nothing for me. I didn't find much funny here. ... Standard template, but very well-organized. The quality of writing is OK, but nothing exciting."

"The limericks are amusing, but not funny to me."

"I’m not a kid any more and to find someone who is devoting a majority of their web presence to kitschy little poems makes me question their sanity. When she does step away from the limericks she’s kind of funny but sifting through the volumes of poetry to find those actual articles doesn’t seem worth it. My advice: less limericks more well thought out articles."

"She is very witty, and somewhat clever. I like my humour much skankier, thank you very much. She is good at what she does. It's just that what she does is not my favourite."

"Clever enough. One made me smile but I began to feel I was reading Dr. Seuss. Could help to have more variety in content and a different look to the site, some colour would be nice. Good to see someone sticking to their niche."

"Personally, I find limericks a little annoying. Even more so when they're not funny."

"Clean design -- clever limericks. Clearly a woman with a charming sense of humor. Posts are not terribly long, but points are made well and in humorous fashion. I found it enjoyable, and look forward to seeing what she has to say in the future."

"I just don't like limericks, but the collection is impressive."

There you have it. Go visit Mad Kane and find out what camp you're in. And would it kill you to write your mother a letter once in a while? She's worried sick.

Most of our reviewers really liked Chinglishness. As one reviewer stated, "Other countries' attempts to accommodate the English-speaking world are usually interesting and this site gives us a fascinating and often hilarious glimpse of this." Another reviewer called it "Politically incorrect in the best way," and still another said, "I love this blog simply because it rides that fine line of questionable taste and hilarity."

Category	Score	Points
Content	6.92	48/70
Web Design	6.62	3/5
Writing	6.62	3/5
Intangibles	6.62	3/5
Read Regularly	6.25	6/10
Frequency	10	5/5
Total		68

The site got dinged, however, for repetitiveness, lack of originality, and its garish template. A few reviewers remarked more negatively on the "politically incorrect" nature of the site, as well as its occasional use of profanity. "They need to be careful not to cross over into racism," one reviewer cautioned.

Here are some comments typical of reviewers who were on the fence about this blog:

"The Chinese-English signs are funny, but this gets to be quite repetitive."

"I can appreciate what the writers are going for, I think, but in my opinion they rely a little too heavily on videos for my tastes. I tend to most appreciate blogs with a lot of creative writing content. If there was more of that and less videos, I would probably read it regularly, as I see definite promise in their prose."

"Funny for the first couple of posts, but the same joke over and over again gets tired in a hurry."

"Since Engrish.com was around first, I automatically am in the hole with this guy. However, he does have some original stuff and his writing style is amusing to me. Ok."

"This isn't exactly new territory (Engrish.com comes to mind) -- but it IS funny. that said, I'm not a fan of the red background (think it makes the blog difficult to read). Still, I found lots to laugh at, which is always a good thing! I said I would read this regularly, but I'd most likely read it semi-regularly. seriously, all that red gives me a headache!"

"I rated this almost a solid 8; however, I can see how this would get stale quick, being playing out the same joke over-and-over again. Yet, somehow, this blogger makes it work, and seem interesting."

...a few who were more positive:

"Funny, pithy, and I read it at least once a week already. It's one of my favorites from humor-blogs.com. The red background with green links is hideous, though."

"Ah, Chinese humor... gotta love it... :)"

"These posts are not only humorous, but insightful. I enjoy seeing social commentary mixed in with humor."

"Great idea for a blog. Very funny. ... Altered template to fit theme. Original. ... The writing is quick and clean. ... Long sidebar but lots of links and extra features. Short posts are a plus."

"Quite entertaining! One I'd definitely consider adding to my blogroll!"

...and some who just couldn't get on board with the concept:

"Reading this travesty is like watching a movie based on an SNL skit. Sure it’s funny when it only lasts for a minute or two but when you drag it on for two hours you end up wanting to stab yourself in the face."

"I'm not big on sites that aggregate stuff from other sites. That's not original humor to me."

"Someone else might think it was great. Just left me flat. Watch for spelling mistakes. Even though some are intentional, some were not."

You can't please everybody, but if the writer can manage to keep the concept fresh (and do something about the template!), Chinglishness is likely to be one of the most popular blogs listed on humor-blogs.com.

Bobbarama fared pretty well with our reviewers, scoring a respectable 65. If the site had one major weakness, it's that it wasn't edgy enough. Our reviewers were mostly in agreement that the site was well written and fairly amusing, but generally not laugh-out-loud funny. The site's cleanness was a plus for most -- though not all -- of the reviewers. Nearly half of the reviewers said they would read Bobbarama regularly.

Category	Score	Points
Content	6.76	47/70
Web Design	7.05	4/5
Writing	7.48	4/5
Intangibles	6.67	3/5
Read Regularly	4.29	4/10
Frequency	6	3/5
Total		65

"Funny. Original. In a word, blaughable."

"I have just one word for this blog - Funny!"

"I really like this guy. He's got an easy, free-flowing writing style (no surprise he writes for a living) and has a light touch that I really enjoyed."

"Unfortunately for me, I didn't find much to laugh at. I actually chuckled at ONE joke. I'm not saying it isn't a funny blog, but it wasn't funny for me."

"Some chuckles here or there, but no 'lol'."

"I guess it's funny. It's funny in the un-holy super safe kind of way. If Mister Rogers went out on a college campus stand up tour I imagine that this is what it would be like."

"I enjoy anyone who makes up their own words and thereby creates a dictionary of sorts. It's kind of like an homage to sniglets."

"I found the humour cliché and flat. Ultimately, I found it a boring-looking and well, just boring."

"I like the dictiowary, and some of it is pretty funny, but it's very hit-or-miss. Something about the blog layout bugs the crap out of me, too. The sidebar is way too long and busy, and the way the content is laid out actually distracts from the content itself."

"I love the 'real men of genius' Bud Light Commercials - and I'm impressed by the fact that this blog found a bunch of them. Definitely one of the better sources for interesting and humorous stuff."

"The writer works hard, but having looked at a good chunk of the site, I never laughed."

"I feel like I just ate too many cupcakes. He's pretty funny, it's all just a bit sugary."

"Looks great... but it didn't really trip my humor trigger."

"Clean... clever... love it! I'm impressed."

"Funny, well-thought-out and I absolutely love that he's not afraid to throw a serious piece in on occasion. It's the mark of someone who thinks about more than just writing about the time he farted at a wedding."

Good job, Bob. And a special thanks for being our first guinea pig.

Welcome to the Humor-Blogs.com Reviews Blog! This is where I will be posting blog reviews based on the feedback from our unpaid and overworked staff of reviewers.

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Cheers!

- Diesel