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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 13, 1998)
aryliay • February 13, 1998 JWfc The Battalion 1 C 1 ICC ,0vc Online - Let the keys do the talking ^dentine’s Day goes the way of computerization with chat rooms, games and e-mail kisses :rp By James Francis Aggielife editor tso j n J or many people, Valentine’s Day represents a ( j 1(1 |, time to send loved ones greeting cards of love congra; and appreciation. The most common way llK jj usually has been accomplished is through i-bought cards or computer printouts, hese days, however, it seems a more inven- way of sending love to one another is on Internet. popie who live for the Web, and those who heir hands at it every once in a while, are ing that the Internet is a great way to n affection. ne such outlet is the Student Advantage Net- <’s J home page for love, found at i | ://Pww.studentadvantage.com/qpid. /nn Santopietro, online promotions manager Sston University, said the home page gets a lot ts because of its area that can be used to send po\ ting cards. aitli. he site features greeting cards, kisses and na; ntine humor, all of which can be sent elec- hild ically to others via e-mail, p. The most popular is the cards,” Santopietro i read!; said. “The online greetings are the hottest on the site.” The e-mail kisses, however, represent a more personal type of greeting, t “A card can be sent to your mom or dad,” San topietro said, “but the kisses are more intimate; they are second in popularity;" As far as Valentine’s Day goes, Santopietro said she believes online greetings provide com puter users and non-computer users alike a chance to express their feelings in a more than usual manner. “It provides more options,” she said, “and it’s a creative and unique way to send a Valentine.” Santopietro said another reason people might want to give electronic greetings a try is because of the cost factor. “It doesn’t break the bank,” she said. “It’s to tally free and it’s geared toward students and built by students.” But even with the annual growth of electronic messaging, Santopietro said people should not worry about it taking over completely. “They’re definitely growing in popularity,” she said. “I think it’s a wave of the future, but it won’t put Hallmark out of business or anything.” With the upcoming celebration on Saturday, people all over the world will surely be sending each other messages, some even hoping to find the love of their lives on the Internet. When it comes to finding a mate on the com puter, Santopietro said she does not judge what may be beneficial to some people. "I’ve never used it personally,” she said, “but it works for some people. Our personals are pretty popular.” Santopietro said she is expecting today to be the most popular day for the site. “I feel that today will be our biggest day be cause it’s right before Valentine’s Day” she said. Overall, Santopietro said the home page has seen a lot of traffic since it was created on Feb. 4, and it will continue to receive more until the page reaches its ending date, somewhere around Feb. 20. “As of February 10th, there have been 60,000 visits to the card page,” she said, “and 40,000 vis its to the kisses page.” As the love-shopping days until Valentine’s Day continue to diminish, people should be ready for love in the air and e-mail kisses via the computer on the Internet. Santopietro said, people should take a look at the Website because it is an alternative way to be involved with Valentine’s Day and it gives people a quicker way to reach loved ones. “I suggest that they visit the home page be cause it’s fun, free, creative and a very ’90s way to find a Valentine, “ she said. Valentine’s Day is a time of year when people get together and attempt to make their feelings known about one another, whether it be family members, friends or those they are in a romantic relationship with. Going to the store and buying Valentine’s Day cards is the way it has been for a long time, and it can be assured that this tradition will not die out. Electronic greetings, however, are making their presence known and people are realizing they are a source of entertainment and accessi bility to reckon with. So happy Valentine’s Day to all those who buy the usual cards, and those who glue their eyes to computer screens in effort to send someone spe cial the perfect greeting. Hope Cupid finds an arrow befitting whatever the situation may be. omm end}! tes,"!i are: sh $ai£ minde o theii aappy- id ale: : ebruaiy 14th represents lay of solitude, reflection r t’s that time of year vyhen tions and learn to share secrets with that old flirtatious romantics float friend you always neglect: yourself. IELEN Clancy cop\ chief J- through the lust-infested air on that daunting quest for a Valentine. Tomorrow is the culmina tion of these admirable ef forts —- but surprisingly, Cu pid’s arrow might benefit these wanderers mo re if it mi da: j-ingd: Iteclir. There is a method to this madness. While all the “lucky” sheep are flocking to the Olive Gar- | den to play footsie under a table of bread sticks, | tUrri off the TV, open the window and unplug the telephone. Don’t rent a movie and don’t crack open a six- pack. Instead, begin the process of unearthing those humbling secrets that define your person- were a boomerang. ality. Slowly come to terms with all the flaws and If you are one of those attributes that are forever cloaked behind social elusive targets who damns entanglements. the existence of this pink It is only through this cleansing that you will .cfay, take a moment to put your misery be able to assess these qualities in another per- ^Brspective. son.lt might be awkward and unsettling, but no Mlbve all distractions and try to recall the one can deny-the therapeutic benefits of self-re time you did the following: flection. For some, it helps to organize these Wrote a letter to a loved one. characteristics and traits by listing them on pa per. For others, tfeie simple cognition of these qualities is enough. Only after these nuances are realized can they be explored in a genuine relationship. Love is an emotion that cannot be harnessed. Instead, it must originate from a pure source — a well of confidence and serenity that can only be realized through serious introspection and brutal evaluation. Like water, love is a force that can cut through canyons by no effort of its own. The softest stuff can yield the greatest satisfaction if it is not spoiled by impatience. Unfortunately, Valentine’s Day is notorious for corrupting the natural process of finding com panionship. m: tv, f—* i can’t remember the last time I com- a friend or went for a drive or wrote a eotl'f' Went for a drive without a destination. Read a book for pleasure. Complimented a friend. Introduced yourself to a stranger. Window-shopped in a pet store. Eavesdropped on a stranger’s conversation, hances are, you can’t remember. And this aid be a startling wake-up call to a comfort need more desperately than love^— solitude, s a stimulating state, solitude is necessary in 2r to find romance. At no other time can one >gnize and appreciate the qualities that would act a lover. And instead of bemoaning this r’s holiday, single people should embrace it n opportunity to discover the reasons why r should fall in love in the first place, ebruary 14 is the perfect opportunity to get in ;h with personality traits that others should phi** 1 reci.iic. And i his isn'i a cop-out for those of us proud to admit that were dateless. But at the same time, I can’t remember the last ’s an admission of a need far more critical time I accepted my flaws and vowed to resolve i a box of chocolates. Self-reflection, not self- them. Maybe that’s why I won’t be enjoying that iilgence, is the key that enables us to enjoy box of chocolates tomorrow. ing relationships. But I’ll sacrifice sweetness for honesty any day ’his can be achieved only through humility of the year, commitment. To endure this journey of per- al honesty, it is necessary to shed all inhibi- Helen Clancy is a senior English major. one;. nineteen wheels plays The Dixie Theater, delivers tunes on six ways from Sunday By Colby Martin and April Towery Staff writers N ineteen Wheels, another rockin’ band from Chicago, Ill., is set to play The Dixie Theatre Feb. 28 to promote it’s lat est release, six ways from Sunday. Similar to many of the main stream bands of today, Nineteen Wheels thrives upon the same three chords. In fact, the band could be more appropriately named Matchbox 20. Somewhat along the lines of Hanson after puberty, this mu sic could be described as hard core b-bop. The band might be fun to see live because, if anything, it is up tempo, feel-good music to sing along to. Nineteen Wheels could be described as a “background band,” music that doesn’t warrant being turned up, but should not be turned off either. Proof of this is Nineteen Wheels’ “big break” into the mainstream in the form of back ground music on the MTV pro grams “Road Rules” and “The Real World.” The lyrics on six ways from Sunday are cheesy, to say the least. They are reminiscent of po etry written by a ninth-grade English student to the girl he’s “going with.” For example, on the track “Starlight,” vocalist Chris Johnston sings “How many moons from now is hard to say / But don’t let it hold us back / ’Cause this night has come to pass / And we’ll be think ing ‘bout this or that.” Uh, what? NINETEEN WHEELS ARE (L TO R): SCOTT OWENS, GREG The songs are hook-less, with no direction in their lyrics or music. After reading through the lyrics, it is obvious that the band is tar geting a younger female crowd who will swoon at the meaningless sappy poetry crooned to the beat of three repeating chords. Although the music isn’t bad, it is unbearably redundant, not something one would want to sing along to. But Aggies may en joy this mainstream sound that made Matchbox 20 and Third Eye Blind popular. But at least those bands are versatile, whereas six ways from Sunday is the type of al bum on which track one could easily be mistaken for any track on the album. Any band that proudly displays on its press release that it was dis covered by the same independent Chicago-based label, Aware Records, as Hootie and the Blow- fish, Verve Pipe and Better Than Williams, Chris Johnston and Tim Marzorati. Ezra, is not afraid to be pigeon holed as a mainstream, sounds- like-everyone-else rock band. Drummer Greg Williams obvi ously is not aware of the band’s lack of versatility. Williams de scribed the band’s music in a press release. “There’s some trippy sounding stuff, there’s some straightforward acoustic stuff and there’s big rock dog stuff,” he said. “Hopefully, it all still sounds like us.” That says it all — who can resist “big rock dog stuff”? Basically, what this band needs is a few more months in the studio and a little more practice song writing. It does have the potential to be a crowd-pleasing live band, but probably won’t sell as many albums as its influences. What might make this show worth seeing, besides having a few beers, is seeing headliner Trish Murphy of Austin. Irdrtf'" urotf- 11#’ FRISIAN improuisaiionat comedy f [We’ve got a heart on for you Ifb# Saturday, Feb. 14 9 p.m. Rudder Theatre Tickets are $4 in advance (MSC BoxOffice) http://http.tamu.edu:8000/~fslip /J & RODEO 2000 VALENTINES PARTY! SATURDAY, FEB. 14™ 1 st 75 Ladies will receive a Valentine’s Teddy Bear All other Ladies receive FREE Roses or Valentine Candy, A Gift From Rodeo 2000 Rallon Rust, 10 pm - 5 Couples All Receive Prizes John Collins '97 invites you to... SMITH FIREARMS/ WICKSON CREEK GUN RANGE 409-764-9230 409-589-1093 (Range) Located 4.1 Miles East of Hwy 6 on Hwy 21 MTRF 3 PM - Dusk SAT & SUN 9 AM - DUSK Rifle & Pistol Range Skeet Practice "WE BUY GUNS!!" SKEET $4 FOR 25 BIRDS isa MasterC/ard MSC Film Society fmeaeate, . . . pager airtime | Aerial phones sold here Discount Paging System ‘Service Free Activation ‘Accessories If You Have Something To Sell, Remember: The Battalion Classifieds Can Do It Call 845-0569 I The 5th Annual winning Couple Receives Las Vegas Package +*/ V ►> Valentine Drink Specials .750 Draft Beer • $ 1. 00 Bar drinks $ l. 50 Longnecks • 7-IOpm Tequila Rose $ 2. 2S Champagne $ l. 00 • All Night Saturday, Feb. 14 9:30 p.m. Tickets: $3.00 at the door or $2.50 in advance at the MSC Box Office (845-1234) I Avoid Long Lines! Purchase an Aggie Cinema | Season Pass at the MSC Box Office for only $ 15.00. (Does not include the Texas Film Festival) All films shown in Rudder Theatre Complex. Questions? Call the Aggie Cinema Hotline (847-8478). Persons with special needs call 845-1515 within 3 days of the showing. 4r Website:http://films.tamu.edu TEXAS FILM FESTIVAL Feb 18-22 TICKF.T INFORMATION Individual Tickets $3.00 Festival Pass $20.00 provides access to all screenings, special receptions, workshops A hospitality’ room Student Festival Pass $17.50 I Same access as festival pass. Available to anyone with valid student I.D. Made Possible by the Texas Commission on the Arts and the Brazos Valley Arts Council.