Blog Review: The Misssy M Misssives

The blog: The Misssy M Misssives

The Reviewer: Nutmeg from Simply Nutmeg

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
Stick with me on this one because we all know we should never judge a book by its cover, and first impressions are often wrong. This said, my first impression of this blog was, "YAWN!" The design is one I've seen frequently -- a standard Blogspot theme with no header and a slightly confusing sidebar. I found the lack of "about me" information very frustrating. Flying Martinis? Is this a bartending blog? Misssy M Misssives? The most I could glean at a glance about her was, "That's me." Nothing informed me that the blogger was from Scotland, and why the extra letters everywhere? If I had found this blog by surfing, I would have clicked off quickly, never to return.

DESIGN:
Enough said. Here's my advice: Customize the blog just a bit with a clear header and more defined sidebar. Give us a much more thorough "about Misssy" even if we have to open up a new page. Maximize the potential of your exotic location (exotic to me and hordes of others); tell the reader upfront where you live. Please tell me why there are so many extra letters; do you lisp?

CONTENT:
Here's the thing: the day I landed on Misssy's missssssives, she had posted 1001 words about ketchup. If you've read my reviews or my own blog, you most likely know that I have a problem with long blog posts. This position is an educated one. A very large body of research on internet reading points overwhelmingly to the fact that we read differently on the web than we do when reading a print document. When we read print, more than fifty percent of the time we will flip to the rest of a story or article continued on a later page IF the writer has done a good job of hooking us and building the momentum to the continued part of the article. When we read on the web, rarely are we willing to page down for content. Web readers seek short, well-written, concise bites of information. We look for interaction on the page: links, internal pages, comment sections. We do not want to read 1000 words about ketchup. Missy posts regularly, on average, every other day. She does not link often.

That said, because I was reviewing, I read through a ton of Misssy's content, and slowly, very slowly, found myself getting hooked! Misssy writes extremely well and nothing pleases me more as a reviewer. She is clearly intelligent, has a droll sense of humor, and, best of all, her content is extremely varied. You can't predict what Misssy will tackle from day to day. She may reflect on her exotic travel, old lovers, Madonna, ketchup, a Yeats poem, her work, or the telly. You can predict that she will use a lot of words in her reflections.

BEST AND WORST:

Best: I came to thoroughly enjoy Misssy's writing and I loved the glimpse into life in Scotland. She has a bright and quirky brain and sees things in ways differently from me. I love her turn of phrase, subtle sarcasm, and perfect grammar!

Worst: I have read Faulkner; I like Faulkner; but I would not read a blog written by Faulkner. Blog readers tend to be people who work for long hours at a computer, like myself, and break up the day with quick blog reads. Misssy is rarely a quick read. My mind wanders. I start to skim. I start to obsess over those extra s's...

BLOGROLLWORTHY:

With only a few design changes, more links, and more condensed posts, I think Misssy would really fly. I'm sure I'll come back to her blog regularly now that I've gotten to know the Martini's. Will I finish every post? That remains to be seen!

SCORE:

I'm going with 7 with the disclaimer that this blog has great potential to be a Bo Derrik. There's proof of it in Misssy's TOPBLOGMAG piece from last week. It's a must-read!

Paper, Pregnancy and the Princess

Written by Misssy M of The Misssy M Misssives

31st August 1997, 1am (Paris time): A Mercedes-Benz drives at speed through Pont de l'Alma tunnel. The inhabitants of the car are contract driver, Henri Paul; Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Moneim Fayed,also known as Dodi; Trevor Rees Jones, a body guard and Diana Princess of Wales, an icon.

In Aberdeen, Scotland a 28 year old woman lies awake next to her sleeping husband, Meeester.

The Mercedes crashes.

Misssy M is preoccupied.

1.30am: Ambulances arrive. The driver is dead. Dodi Fayed shows no sign of life but a resuscitation attempt is made. Trevor Rees Jones and Diana Princes of Wales are alive. Rees has facial injuries and is rushed to Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital. Diana is crouched on the rear passenger floor with her back to the road. Ambulance crews cannot remove her.

Misssy thinks she might be pregnant.

1.45am: News breaks of a serious accident involving royalty. Journalists everywhere are called into work.

2am: Diana is freed from the wreckage and is rushed to Pitié-Salpêtrière. She is alive.

Misssy wonders if she is ready. What time can she get a test? Do all night garages sell pregnancy tests?

2.15am: Surgeons discover that Diana’s heart has been displaced to the right side of her chest. Her pulmonary vein and the pericardium are torn. They operate immediately.

3.30am: Meeester gets up for his early morning shift.

Surgeons struggle to repair the damage in Diana’s chest cavity.

Meeester goes out the front door being careful not to waken his wife.

4am: Doctors pronounce Diana dead.

Meeester arrives at work at the same time as James Naughtie of the Radio 4 Today Programme arrives at his. The Radio 4 schedule is abandoned. Naughtie delivers news of a terrible accident.

4.30: Jean-Pierre Chevènement France's Interior Minister and Sir Michael Jay, British Ambassador meet with police to discuss the press release.

5am: Meeester phones Misssy.

“Put the telly on. Something has happened. I’m sorry. Happy Paper Anniversary by the way.”

Peter Sissons is on the BBC. Sissons on a Sunday? Diana has been injured. Dark footage at a tunnel shows chaos. It is light outside in Aberdeen. What is going on? What time is it?

Calls are placed to next of kin by police and diplomats.

5.10am: Misssy thinks about chemist opening hours, but sits glued to the television. Journalists interview other journalists. Misssy clicks on Radio 4. Naughtie? On a Sunday? She puts the kettle on, then switches it off again. It’s too early for tea.

Sissons is interviewing Jennie Bond, the BBC’s Royal Correspondent. She knows nothing and is talking about Diana and Dodi’s recent holiday in the South of France.

5.20am: Misssy turns the TV up as she puts the kettle on again.

5.30am: Diana’s death is announced to the world’s press. The BBC are still saying Diana is seriously injured.

6am: Misssy gets dressed in front of the television. Diana’s death is announced. Half dressed, Misssy sits down.

More journalists interview other journalists. Paparazzi apparently ran the car off the road. Stock footage of Diana is shown being hounded by press when she was nineteen, holidaying with her children and getting married to Prince Charles. Sissons is looking tired and upset.

9.30am: Misssy leaves the house. The streets are empty.

Tony Blair is interviewed outside his local church.

9.40am: Safeway is open. There are six cars in the car park. Misssy feels weird. Oh my god, her kids. She is not a royalist, but she might be a mum. She starts to cry in the car.

Finding out about new life doesn’t seem right today.

10.15: Misssy returns home and turns on the television once again. She reads the instructions on her pregnancy test and pees on a stick.

10.25: Sissons is speculating about the Royal Household. The Queen is believed to be in Balmoral.

Thirty miles from Balmoral, Misssy looks at two little purple lines side by side. On the television people talk of nothing ever being the same again.

Misssy starts to cry with happiness.

It’s a strange day.

******************
Every year, this is what I think about this week.



Blog Blurb: I am Misssy M of the Flying Martinis. I write true stories.