The Hollow Blah was indeed one of the most interesting blogs I have ever read. After spending the better part of half the day reading this blog, I must caution anyone following the link back to their blog, that you should enter it with a very open mind. You should be prepared for strong opinionated posts, personal ideas and details of events that are not what is considered “Mainstream†in society.
I have always found it very intriguing to read and hear about different cultural ideals and occurrences. While I have my own opinions on life, religion, and reality, I also consider myself a very open minded person and I believe that each and every person has the right to their own beliefs and should be allowed to live their lives based on how “They†believe is true to themselves.
The Hollow Blah, for the most part is written by two brothers. Jeremy and Kenji Yamaguchi were born in Japan to missionary parents. They have spent much of their lives traveling the world, and have developed their blog as a portal of contact for them, their fellow organization members, and as a means of expressing their beliefs of what they call their “Religion.†The follow a group called The Family International, and until reading this blog, I had never heard of such a group. While I definitely do not agree, nor would I ever be part of an organization such as they are, I hold to my claim of being open minded, and acknowledge their right to freedom.
I found their blog a very difficult blog to read. Almost every post is made of segmented rants or statements that I can only assume were just random thoughts being expressed. Much of it is a sort of dark and mysteriously worded communication between writers. I am assuming that they understand each other perfectly, but to an average reader, their writings do not serve much information.
Their diaries tell stories of meeting “Contacts†and events within their church. I did find some of their thoughts fascinating, in the sense that their lifestyles are so much different than anything I have ever experienced. This is not saying that I would ever want to live life as they do, but I think it is tribute to one of the great things about the Internet, the ability to see a prospective of the entire human race, as opposed to just life in our own living rooms.
I give their designer a great deal of credit in designing a blog that is unique. The layout is very easy to follow, and they have obviously taken great pride in their work. There are illustrations in their blog, although the obvious drawings of anarchy, they are very well done.
My rating of this blog is based on several factors. The blog is difficult to read, therefore not very “User friendly.†I also never really found a profound statement as to what their true beliefs are. I think that if a person truly wants to be taken seriously in their beliefs, they should take a solid stance and express just what those beliefs are. Making sublime statements only tends to make me wonder just how firmly they do believe. In other words, “What exactly is your point?†If you have a message, deliver it.
I am giving good ratings based on other factors. A unique design is always welcomed, and it encourages a reader to understand that the person writing the blog is serious about it, and takes pride in it. They update their blog frequently, and encourage their readers to post comments. I also give my regards to these writers for having the courage to invite others into their personal thoughts, and for giving the world the chance to peer into a lifestyle that is very difficult to understand.
While I did find this blog very interesting to read, I compare it to some vacations I have taken. They were great places to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live their.