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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 2004)
■II” Jil \GGIELIFE rA Lll |HE BATTALION 5A r Monday, January 26, 2004 SWWWSWI istoniJ UEB WATCH » tfanc trospR] nost dhisj their» nt wai luesti :rs int dtoesc Hemsc, rtSm tort www.malevole.com Lately there seems to be a new trend on the World Wide Web with ordinary Joes posting their lives for le entire world to see. From live journals to AOL luddy profiles, it seems that people who need a little go boost have found a feeling of self-importance in he fact that their day-to-day routines are readily vailable to everyone. Most of the time, this state of ^are-all existence can lead to a pretty pathetic read. "Ws itereotypically filled with either bitter snipes at ft riends or d try attempts at constructing an adven- rre out of their day at work, most Web logs fail to (lease any readers besides those who know (or think hey know) the writer. Matt Round has posted such a Web log that fea- ures an eclectic collection of bizarre happenings, (ound is a Web designer who is clearly gtxxl at his ob. His Web site, malevole.com, is really pleasing olook at with its exceptional backgrounds and cre- itive presentation. It’s a shame the site isn’t as fun to •lahujeadas it is to view. Round began his peculiar voyage through cyber- ;pace in the spring of 2(X)2, promising a mixture of itrange links, creative projects and some rambling. In im, t’s first year online, it has delivered in spades. With relatively constant barrage of postings. Round iffers his sometimes witty observations on life in I\merica. More often then not, these bizarre postings lire short and cryptic. He occasionally otters a link hr two to Web sites that aa* often funnier than his. The main problem with Round’s postings is the ormat in which they aa* posted. Each entry into his fcnline diary appears on a small Post-It note-like pop- Chinese food; it tastes good going down, but two hours later, visitors are hungry again. With a lot of aesthetical value, but a limited amount of standout content, it’s a shame that the site simply can’t deliv er enough to satisfy. - Robert Sauced www.uncleba.com ty? Hat ip that appears on the homepage. It one docs not lelete each pop-up, the screen wall quickly become pverly cluttered and distracting. The set-up is beauti ful w ith an innovative design that works well in small | loses. The pop-up format conveys the effect that it ieems Round was shooting for by resembling a elut- jered desk full of scraps of papers. Hie problem is at the novelty is lost after the first few posts aa* ad. The site is a hub for links. Round offers links to iVeb sites that cover every aspect of his life. From his b to his favorite animals. Round seems highly con- temed that readers log off w ith a complete under standing of his psyche. Some of the links to other ites are highly entertaining. The real stand-outs on the Web site are the ani mations available in the archive section. The fun quizzes and cartoons are always hilarious. These irofessional-quality animations include a fun quiz hat tests the user’s ability to distinguish from serial alters and computer programmers, a tribute to Ray Jarryhausen (stop-motion animator), instructions or making a cheap Easter present for children and a ext generator to help pad your English essays. These animations are clearly the highlight in this gorgeously designed Web site. 'Though brilliantly instructed, the site is unfortunately like eating While many consider The Onion to be the prime source for absurd stories on the Internet, a new con tender has entered the field and his name is UncleBa. On his site of short stories, UncleBa.com presents the online community with tales that prom ise to entertain and annoy. In one of his biographies included on the Web site, UncleBa claims to be an escaped mental patient and readers of his site will not be in any position to disagree. His stories range from the insanely incon gruous to hilariously ridiculous rants on the state of modem life. In one short story entitled “Moby’s What!!!” readers are treated to an off-color rendition of the great American adventure, “Moby Dick.” In “Movies that Kill” UncleBa partakes in a rip-roaring rant on two pop-princess’ cinematic ego trips: Mariah Carey’s “Glitter” and Britney Spears’ “Crossroads.” “Both movies have a similar theme: Have the audience projectile vomiting within 10 minutes of the opening,” UncleBa writes in his hilarious dou ble review. The site itself offers a minimalist design layout, milking for the relatively simple task of navigating through the stories. The color and font used in the stories offers a refreshing alternative to most mono tone blogs on the Web. Although presented as weekly stories, the articles do not appear to contain the promised publishing schedule. Fortunately, new readers will have plenty of material to peruse in the meantime. 'Hie site has enough articles present to offer a casual reader the chance to take a short study break into the surreal. UncleBa’s, full of a sense of humor that can only be called bizarre*, is definitely worth a visit. The‘Web site also has an interesting feature where any future stories w ill be e-mailed to you upon their release. I —- .. . — Robert Saucedo A blast* of Cybarspac* Keep on Surfing Uleb-Uorthy Plan to Stay Logged On Check It out-, bookmark it- in everyone on your Buddy List _ roe fob ra>B ro>B r<t>B fob fob fob f«i>b fob I E\A 3 SAW l V I V I K * I I l LAUMA Mil Et rA SOEOtm m. T-wvfcft** Experience the opportunity of a lifetime!! Become a member of the newest chapter of jm Gamma Phi Beta Sorority Texas A&M University Informational Meeting Tuesday, January 27, 2004 Association of Former Students 8:00pm One-On-One Meetings Wednesday January 28, 2004 10:00am-8:00pm Thursday, January 29, 2004 10:00am-4:00pm MSC 139-140 Philanthropy Night Preference Night (By Invitation) Thursday, January 29, 2004 Friday, January 30, 2004 8:00pm College Station Conference Center Questions? Please call Gamma Phi Beta at 979.680.5740 or email at tamugammaphi@aol.com. Cinderella (fall in love with your favorite fairy tale all over again) Those step-sisters are so wicked! The step-sisters have their go at the prince first. Cinderella meets the handsome prince next. Cl They look pretty good together, don’t they? 'Gi ■ V IK laDpilu ! ^tappilu ever OLl'tev’. What is it about this story that inspires so many? Perhaps it’s the sympathy for the title character, the fantasia of the pumpkin carriage, the optimism of the Fairy Godmother, or, in this case, the breathtaking dance by the Moscow Festival Ballet. You’ve read it many times. Now, witness CINDERELLA in its most magical and enchanting form, ballet. CINDERELLA Moscow Festival Ballet | Company of 50 Saturday, February 7 at 7:30 PM Sunday, February 8 at 2:00 PM ecrW , s TICKETS 845-1 234 wwWeMSCOPAS.org PATRICIA S. PETERS LAGNIAPPE LECTURE SERIES: How does a ballet become a fairy tale? Join us for an informal discussion about CINDRELLA with a representative from the Moscow Festival Ballet. Presented by The OPAS Guild, the discussion will be held one hour prior to the performances in the Forsyth Center Galleries of the MSC. buy tickets, be inspired MSC OPAS Three Decades of Performing Arts eni entertain imp tre
