Net Scapes
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
www.seanbaby.com
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
www.fattyboombatty.com
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
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