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
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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
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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'"
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11#’
FRISIAN
improuisaiionat comedy
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[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.