faery-lights - 2004-03-12
curiosekwe - 2004-02-10
splash-girl - 2004-01-09
shaynasanerd - 2003-12-24
poetgrl224 - 2003-11-30
2003-07-22 :: Warmleftover

Oompa-Loompas from Hell

Style
When I first happened upon this diary a couple months ago (I believe it was by banner?), I wasn't overly impressed. The layout is not terribly interesting at first glance, and there's a great deal of text immediately staring you in the face. I was about to click away, when I read the disclaimer. It was enough to pique my interest. Once I waded through the mass of text, I found a delightful treasure in warmleftover's diary.
Design-wise, there's a little to be desired, but having a degree in design, I'll be the most nitpicky here. The disclaimer seems to run into the Reader's Gallery section which seems to run into the entry itself. It needs a little more heirarchy to easily and more quickly discern one section from the other. The links are seated neatly on the left, with all the basics listed. He includes a Links and Reading Roomlink, which provides a comprehensive list of good reads about sex and sexuality, but there are no actual URL links. I think the addition of a few good sex sites, or even the authors' personal sites, would add a little life to the links page. It would also be interesting if there were a bio/stats link; he has an entry of 50 facts, he could easily link it.
The colors and fonts work well together, and he's consistent with his choices. Some of the older entries were done in a serif font, which could easily be remedied. The guestbook is located at the bottom of the entry, which makes it a little hard to find (especially for readers who are visiting with the specific purpose of signing)
The reader's gallery is a fantastic (and quite original) idea. The premise is that a reader sends in a pic of themselves (and a URL if desired), and in return, their pic is displayed in the gallery. Warmleftover also personally sends you a photo of himself. Quite a deal!

Substance
This is the musings of a man in his early 40's, primarily revolving around sex and sexuality. I know, I know, you're all saying, "Gee, that's original!" But wait! You really get bang for your buck! His entries are not fraught with your typical lewd, sexist (and ignorant) commentary that you find in many sexuality-based diaries. His writings are superb- clever, witty, and even a bit self-depracating. He's knowledgeable about his topics without seeming arrogant and over-the-top. There's very little wrong grammatically or structurally, and his colorful vocabulary makes it an interesting and entertaining read.
Warmleftover's topics span everything from BDSM to boobs to internet dating. While his writings may not appeal to a widespread audience, anyone with a sense of humor will find comments like "You are better off with a small dick and lots of talent than a mutant club and zero skills," to be least mildly entertaining. His tongue-in-cheek approach to sex keeps this diary from being a boring cliche, and is bound to keep you interested.

Suggestions
My suggestions are really only minor design changes. Make the disclaimer a slightly smaller font size. It's hard to differentiate from your Reader's Gallery. Allow more space for your Reader's Gallery; it's an awesome idea, make sure people see it and don't mistake it for part of an entry. Move your site counter towards the bottom of your links column, and move the guestbook over. Add some links to your links page, and add a small bio of sorts. As far as writing goes, it's very good, you just need to do it MORE! MORE MORE MORE! You write very well, I want to read it more often.

B+
Your diary is a great read, but I think it could be great to look at as well. Update with more frequency. On a positive note, hands down my favorite entry is The King of the Boobs! Everyone should read it.

Shannon!