Net Scapes
By Daily Bruin Staff
Sept. 28, 2000 9:00 p.m.
Bob is a flower, and he’s angry. Hence the name, Bob the
Angry Flower.
The brain child of Stephen Notley, this enraged plant stars in
his own comic strip, published in See Magazine. He also appears on
an Internet site, detailing his zany, non sequitur adventures.
Bob is not a stereotypical flower character that Disney-weaned
readers might expect, full of love and joy. When his friends are a
phlegmatic tree stump named, of all things, Stumpy, and a naive
flying fetus named Freddy, it’s obvious that his adventures
will be far from normal.
Bob does everything from planning world conquest to pulling a
hat out of a rabbit. He intervenes in a fight between bears and
robots, whom, he reminds his friends, are natural enemies. He also
defeats an evil skeleton by playing on the skeletons’ little
known fear of raisins.
“Bob the Angry Flower” is not for all tastes.
Bob’s arrogance makes him an unappealing character and his
mean-spirited antics could easily be construed as offensive rather
than humorous. Notley’s brand of humor, however, is so
unabashedly absurdist that it is difficult to take Bob seriously
enough to dislike him.
Notley comes from the school of thought that regards the non
sequitur as the highest form of humor. Bob’s carefree sadism
might disturb viewers were it not so funny.
Michael Rosen-Molina Rating: 7
Â
www.seanbaby.com
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A total mishmash vanity site, Seanbaby.com throws in every aspect
of late ’80s consumer culture kitsch.
The site’s curator, Seanbaby, shares his love for
Nintendo, the Superfriends, Mr. T, and Hostess snack cakes with the
world.
Taking the same “˜Ratings’ strategy that made the
Brunching Shuttlecocks so famous one step further, Seanbaby spends
a disturbing amount of time critiquing every aspect of the
antediluvian cartoon series, “The Superfriends.”
Complete with clips from the show, Seanbaby speculates on
everything from the behind the scenes politics of this league of
superheroes, as though they were real people rather than poorly
animated cartoon characters.
Seanbaby does not shirk from passing judgement on the
unfortunate characters. The reviews include short comic strips,
taken directly out of the “Superfriends” comic books,
with re-edited dialogue to further emphasize the absurdity of the
series.
Although the “Superfriends” page may be little more
than a light-hearted diversion, the astute satire of “The
Seanbaby Probe” rivals that of “The Onion.”
Seanbaby criticizes the legalistic tendencies of American
society in “Coffee Drinkers Sue Common Sense Again” and
“Five Children Suspended for Pointing at Each Other.”
Using scenes from the old ’80s action series, “A-Team
Photo Reminds Us of More Peaceful Times” makes a point about
violence in our society. Seanbaby makes no apologies for his strong
opinions.
He does not, however, refrain from obscenity; in fact his
gratuitous use of it might be a valid criticism. Even so, Seanbaby
offers a refreshingly candid look at the world today.
Michael Rosen-Molina Rating: 7
Â
www.fattyboombatty.com
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It’s often hard to avoid “schwag” sites on the
Web, but with a name like www.fattyboombatty.com, the contents of
this site may make viewers just want to get up and dance.
Dedicated toward both Generation X and Y, a demographic which
they feel is often ignored, www.fattyboombatty.com is a
comprehensive site which features information and links on
snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing, music and more.
Promising not just mainstream news, this site offers
entertainment links as well as reference links when it’s time
to buckle down and study.
One fun area called “The Mall,” offers links to
various skateboard clothing Web sites, such as Porn Star, as well
as other cool shopping sites like Fossil, while just a little bit
further down the page a viewer can find much more serious
content.
Under a section titled “Fatty Boom Batty Internet
Guide,” one can find links to “Arts and
Humanties,” which leads to various art galleries,
“College Life 101″ which features news stories of
importance to college students, as well as “Reference
Tools,” where one can find links to dictionaries and
libraries.
The name of the site is not deceiving, however; there are tons
of fun things to look at.
Especially funny is a section titled “Whatever happened
too?” that currently features links to Bob Denver and Barry
Williams Web sites. Pictures flash of the actors now and then that
provide laughs.
The site is more than just a link provider, Web users can also
get their own fattyboombatty e-mail address as well as search
engines for the site and the world wide web in general.
More like a home page than just some random site to visit,
www.fattyboombatty.com offers Internet surfers things to do when
they need some fun, such as an arcade and entertainment links, but
also provides more sober content such as links to job search
engines and health sites.
Holding true to it’s ideal of providing a Web site for
those between the ages of 13 and 30, www.fattyboombatty.com is fat,
only with a “p-h.”
Barbara McGuire Rating: 5
