Arts ©Entertainment
Thursday, October 26,1995 Page 9
Matt Woody
Web games
add sparkle
to mundane
Often, I find myself sitting in front
of the computer and roaming around
the World Wide Web.
At these times, I think to myself,
“Matt, don’t you have a life?”
But that thought gives way to an
other one: “How can I waste a few
hours online today?”
Recently, I stumbled across some
thing new — games.
I’ve spent plenty of time playing a
game as boring as solitaire just be
cause someone made a computerized
version.
But now that I have access to the
World Wide Web, games that nor
mally would be even more mundane
arc even more exciting.
Take, for example. Connect Four.
Remember all the fun you had as a
child trying to line up four checkers
of the same color?
Well, play that game online, at
<http: //cs ugrad.cs. v t. edu/htbin/
Connect4.perl>.
In the mood for something requir
ing an actual thought j>rocess?_Ahoy,
mateys, get aboard online Battleship.
Find it at The Gameroom (a poor
name if I ever heard one, since it only
had Battleship and Tic-tac-toe) —
<http: / /csugrad. cs.vt.edu/
~jfin k. gameroom. html>.
A good time, and truly mindless
entertainment, can be had by all at
the Internet slot machine. With a
click of the mouse, new symbols pop
up on the display (unfortunately, they
don’t spin around like the real slots).
If you ever win, you’ve done bet
ter than me. The five minutes I spent
trying to win are five minutes I’d re
ally like to have back. The time dis
appears at <http://www.dalawave.net/
cgi-hin/leverpull>.
To my English professor, I dedi
cate my discovery of the online
MadLibs. This site on the Web asks
only for simple nouns, adverbs, etc.,
and not adjective phrases or restric
tive noun clauses.
The online MadLibs can be found
at <http://hel.uns.tju.edu/madHh>.
One of the most interesting Web
games is the “3D riDDle,” a collec
tion of stereogram puzzles. Stereo
grams are the pictures that can only
be seen when one unfocuses one’s
eyes.
Good, old-fashioned, cross-eyed
fun is available at <http.7/
cvs.anu.edu.au/andy/rid/
riddle.html>.
One other place that deserves a
quick mention is the Riddler. This
site is perhaps the most famous game
site on the Web, and it even adver
tises in some computer and Internet
magazines.
Possibly what makes Riddler so
popular is that players can win actual
cash. Everyone must register (it’s
free) before playing, but an address is
required so winners can receive their
prizes.
The Riddler at <http://
www.riddler.com> has four different
game options, including trivia and
puzzles.
And if you find yourself feeling
like you don’t have a life, don’t worry.
It’ll pass.
Cyberscape is a weekly column focus
ing on computers, with a heavy emphasis
on the Internet. Send ideas, questions or
comments to Matt Woody at .
<dn®unlinfo.uni.edu>
Superman
Jim proves he’s
jack-of-all-trades
p *
By Gerry Beltz
Senior Reporter
There’s more to Jim Danielson than meets
the eye.
From popcorn to cars to programming to
home brewing, the mild-mannered director of
program development for Great Plains National,
a service agency of Nebraska ETV at UNL, has
$his hands in a little bit of everything.
“I’ve got a lot of irons in the fire,” Danielson
said.
One iron that has been burning for 15 years is
Rock Bluff Vineyard, which Danielson opened,
owns and operates. He said he was a trendsetter
15 years ago.
“There were no other commercial vineyards
in Nebraska at the time I opened mine,” he said.
Growing grapes in Nebraska was uncommon
at the time, Danielson said. Its success is evident
as Rock Bluff has continued to grow and pros
per.
“It has taken 15 years of experimenting to get
to this point. I think the part that said ‘can it be
done?’ has been answered,” he said, “and the
answer is ‘yes.’”
Caring for a vineyard can be an arduous task, *
Danielson said.
“Vineyards are very labor-intensive because
each plant must be cared for one at a time,” he
said. “You have to touch each one individually,
every year, several times.”
Danielson makes his own wine and beer and
said home brewing had its advantages.
“It’s fresh, has no preseryatiyesvap4.tastes Tf.
better. Almost anyone can make a good-tasting
beer at home if they’re careful.”
And Danielson said he was particular about
how he stored his beer, keeping it in pressurized,
stainless steel five-gallon containers.
“Beer is a living thing,” he said.
“The wonderful thing about home brewing is
the number of things you can manipulate to
show individuality.”
Danielson has about 1,000 bottles of wine —
See DANIELSON on 10
JonWaller/DN
Jim Danielson has owned and operated Rock Bluff Vineyard for 15 years, making
his own beer and wine at home.
The Turtle Island String Quartet brings its innovative jazz style to the Lied Center
for Performing Arts Saturday night.
String quartet dares jazz
By Emily Wray
Staff Reporter
The Turtle Island String Quartet prides itself
on presenting a myriad of major musical melo
dies.
After numerous successful recordings, the
quartet of violins, a viola and a cello brings its
music to the Lied Center for Performing Arts
Saturday night.
“Groups like Turtle Island really expand the
boundaries of chamber music and make it fresh
and exciting,” said C. Bruce Marquis, executive
director of the Lied Center.
Jazz, blues and original works are the compo
sitions of choice for the group.
In their original compositions, the musicians
draw on jazz, blues, pop, bluegrass and other
musical influences.
Playing jazz is unique for a string quartet,
See QUARTET on 10
Thriller neither
thrills, chills
nor entertains
By Gerry Beltz
Film Critic
Years ago, in the comic strip “Bloom
County,” Milo made the statement “No mat
ter how thin you slice it, it’s still baloney,”
And a similar equation
exists in the film industry:
No matter how much tal
ent you have in a cast, a
bad movie is still a bad
movie.
Such is the case in “Never
Talk To Strangers.”
Sarah (Rebecca
DeMomay) is a no-non
sense clinical psychologist
interviewing a serial rap
ist named Max (Harry Dean Stanton) for a
court evaluation.
(This has absolutely nothing to do with the
plot, but I thought I would throw it in just for
the heck of it — like the director did.)
Outside of work, Sarah is a lonely person,
fending off the amorous advances of her up
stairs neighbor Cliff (Dennis Miller), but she
succumbs to temptation when she meets Tony
(Antonio Banderas), a charismatic security
expert who is hiding something.
They go back to his place, sip some wine,
nibble on each other’s fleshy parts. You know,
standard first-date stuff.
But things begin happening to Sarah, like
I See STRANGERS on 10
