This Week in USC History
Feb. 29, 1996 — USC alumni Hootie and the Blowfish
won best new artist and best pop group vocal performance
at the Grammys.
r
Snood has become almost
. an obsession among
college students
Charles Fox/College Press Exchange
Bemie Carlin, a freshman at Temple University, plays Snood on his computer. The shareware comput
er game is becoming the new Tetris, addicting many students on college campuses who try it out
BY PETER MUCHA
College Press Exchange
“I got my mother addicted,” said
Jenkintown’s Kristen Findeisen, a
freshman at the University of Delaware.
Anne Willis, a sophomore at the
University of Texas, got hooked and
passed the habit on to her boyfriend, who
gave it to his father, who ensnared people
at work.
Even autior Michael Crichton is
reputedly a user.
So read oi at your own risk.
No, it’s na something bad. It’s Snood
(rhymes wi.h dude), a shareware
computer ganE that’s swept the country,
especially colege campuses, where it
has lured students into losing sleep, if
not losing poiits off their grades.
“You can pretty much go into any
dorm, and people have it up on their
laptop,” said Fndeisen, 18, who’s studying
international clarions.
It’s easy tc play the game, which is
downloaded from the Internet. A player
shoots a disenbodied head — a Snood
—at rows of ofoer heads, which grimace
and stick out their tongues as they descend
the screen.
But that hrrdly explains the passion.
At Northwestern University a year ago,
students dressed up as Snoods to celebrate
Catherine Leamed’s 1,000th game.
“We’d beplaying so much,” said
Michelle Aus:ein, 19, who threw the
party for her roommate, “when we closed
our eyes at night, we could kind of see
the pieces.
Just 1,000 games? Dartmouth’s
student newspaper, The Dartmouth,
reported about a student who played
more than 10,000 games.
Snood’s designer, David Dobson, said
he knows at least one person who racked
up 22,000.
Dobson estimates that more a million
copies of the game have been downloaded
from his Ufeh site. -
Little Snood.
“They’re kind of cheesy, but we’re,
proud of them,” Willis said.
As a professor of marine geology at
Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C.,
Dobson is the kind of guy who writes
papers on Amazonian sediments for
journals such as Palaeogeography
Palaeocliniatology Palaeoecology. (That’s
one journal, not three, and it’s known to
thought possible, the father of two said.
“But I’m not rich by any means.”
One registered member was Jurassic
Park author Crichton, who wrote to say
that playing Snood had been interfering
with finishing a book.
The fee entitles players to additional
features, such as new levels of difficulty.
One set of games called Puzzle has 50
levels.
- Pa vine also Duts a
www.snood.com.
Recently, the
number has been
about 8,000
copies a day.
Over a week,
such totals would
surpass Zelda
Classic for
‘We’d been playing so much, when we
closed our eyes at night, we could kind of
see the pieces.*
Michelle Austeir
Northwestern University studen
stop to incessant pleas
for folks to sign up.
After every few games,
a rhyme will appear as
a tune plays:
“The poems are bad
They keep getting
worse
Register now
— «T* . * . _ It . 1
VV 111UUWS, UIC
most popular game at
www.downloads.com, a site that offers
free software.
“Yeah, we’re pretty addicted to
it,” said Bob Rudderow, 22, a senior
majoring in digital media at Drexel, who
has seen students playing it in class on
their laptops. He has the South Park
version for the Mac, which features
the heads of characters from the Comedy
Central cartoon show — not only
dropping on the screen, but dropping
profanities, too.
Texas’ Willis and her roommate
Brittany Kuhn, both 18, created a Web
page (http://ilovesnood.iwarp.com) that
features songs such as “Twinkle Twinkle
cognoscenti as Palaeo Cubed.)
Dobson, 31, began tinkering with
software in elementary school in Iowa,
and wrote Snood for his wife, Christina,
about five years ago.
“She likes games like that. She likes
Tetris and solitaire games,” he said. It
was based on some similar games that
have been around for a decade or
more, he says. “There’s nothing original
in video games.”
As with other shareware, users can
get a copy free and are asked to send in
money if they like it. Dobson said more
than 30,000 people have sent in the
$14.95 registration fee.
“I’m doing much better than I ever
jiw|j an me
verse”
Singing these songs is one of the sure
signs of Snood addiction, the Dartmouth
article said.
Dobson is surprised at how the game
has caught on. It was even shown in a
commercial for Wingspan Bank, in which
a husband is too distracted by Snood to
heed his pregnant wife.
“Snood is taking up all of my
nonwork time here,” Dobson said. “I get
about 60 to 70 e-mails a day about Snood
stuff.”
A key to making an addictive game,
he said, is to keep it simple and short, so
the player finds out how he’s done right
away.
“It’s just so easy to play,” Willis said.
“You can play it, and you don’t even have
to think about it. It’s just like natural.”
“I’m convinced,” said Bemie Carlin,
19, a Temple University freshman, “that
Snood is something like a time warp.”
He’ll sit down to play a game or two,
“then you miss lunch, and it’s dinner;and
vou wonder what happened to your three
hours.”
The allure, he said, is “a combination
of the colors and weird-looking faces and
the fact that you don’t want to do
whatever it is that you’re supposed to
do, like homework.”
Kyle Sherman, 20, a third-year
engineering student at Drexel, said it’s
“weird” that he got caught up in Snood
because “I don’t play a whole lot of
games.”
“My friends make fun of me,” he
said. “A bunch of guys I play volleyball
with, we hang out at my place. There
would be times when they’re playing
darts and they can’t find me, and they’d
just yell, ‘Snood!’”
■Fortunately, there is hope.
“It wears off after a while,” says
Austein, whose habit has declined since
the past year’s Snood party.
“I’m burned out on it I couldn’t beat
level 42.”
Vigil to honor
S.C. Persian
Gulf veterans
by Amanda Silva
The Gamecock
In honor of South Carolinians who
served during the Persian Gulf War, a
candlelight vigil will be held Wednesday
night in front of the State House.
Gov. Jim Hadges declared Feb. 28
Gulf Whr Remembrance Day — 2001
marks the 10th amiveisary of the United
States’ victory over Iraq.
“Gulf War Remembrance Day
provides a unique opportunity for citizens
throughout South Carolina and the nation
to honor Gulf War veterans for their
devotion to duty and willingness to serve,”
Hodges’ declaration said.
Hodges said he encourages all South
Carolinians to recognize Gulf War
veterans for their dedication, courage
and patriotism.
More than 600,000 troops served in
the Persian Gulf between Aug. 2,1990,
and July 31,1991.
USC alumnus Bill Simmons is the
state coordinator for the vigil.
Simmons, a Persian Gulf War veteran,
recently published a book of poetry about
the horrors of the war and the sacrifices
made by U.S. veterans.
The vigil is scheduled for 6-8 p.m.
The spotlight desk can be reached at
gamecockspotiight@hotmail.com
I Shadow: something to sink your teeth into
by Tug Baker
The Gamecock
| REVIEW
MOVIE: Shadow of the Vampire
STARRING: Willem Dafoe, John
Malkovich, Catherine McCormack
GRADE: ☆☆☆ out of ☆☆☆☆
In 1922, German director F. W. Mumau set out
to retell Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
The Stoker family refused to give him the rights,
so he was forced to rename his silent film Nosferatu,
and Count Dracula was changed to Count Orlock.
What Mumau produced was one of the finest
horror films ever made.
Shadow of the Vampire is both a tribute to
Mumau’s classic and a parody of it. Shadow tells of
the making of Nosferatu with a twist.
What if acclaimed actor Max Schreck, who played
the original Count Orlock in Nosferatu, really was a
vampire? It’s not a ridiculous idea after seeing Schieck’s
convincing performance.
The story follows Mumau (John Malkovich) as
he and his crew are finishing shooting Nosferatu.
Everything has been filmed except for the scenes with
the vampire.
For this, they relocate to a dingy castle in
Czechoslovakia, where the vampire Schreck (Willem
Dafoe) comes to shoots only at night and then
disappears eerily.
Soon thereafter, the cameraman becomes food
for the bloodthirsty Schreck, and Mumau is forced
to consider the evil he has brought into the lives of
his cast and himself.
While this is an interesting story, the one truly
fascinating character is Schreck. Willem Dafoe does
an unbelievable job portraying a vampire acting like
an actor acting like a vampire. ,
Special to The Gamecock
Willem Dafoe’s portrayal in Shadow of the Vampire of silent-movie actor Max Schreck is
both a parody and a tribute to Bram Stoker's character Dracuia.
acnrecK. s cnaracier is comically tragic, forced
into the deal by Mumau in exchange for the blood of
film starlet Greta Schroder (Catherine McCormack),
Schreck is the antithesis of everything that society
has told us about vampires. He gets caught
bumbling around trying to unlock hotel doors. He’s
not incredibly bright, and he’s far from handsome. He
has problems remembering events of his life and often
looks back to his past “glory days” of castles and
servants.
While all the characters provide the farcical aspect
of the movie. Shadow is an homage to the art fomi
of silent cinema that Mumau mastered.
The movie closely follows the techniques used
in moviemaking at the time Nosfcralu was made.
onaaow meticulously produces sets and establishes
shots that are extremely close to the ones in Nosferatu.
The depiction of 1920s German life adds a
backdrop that is simultaneously hilarious and dark.
Along with these beautifully created scenes,
Shadow of the Vampire is filled with many nice touches
— little elements that add quite a lot to the movie.
The script is superb, with the right combination
of sinister and comical material to create an
amazing dark comedy. Plus, this movie is the only
place you can hear an aging vampire’s opinion on the
book Dracula: “It was... sad.”
The spotlight desk can he reached at
gamecockspotiight^hotmaiLcom
What’s Happening
Wednesday, Feb. 28
Adam’s Mark: Dick Goodwin Musics
Blue Martini: Skipp Pearson and
Jazzology '
Decisions: Muddy Quarters
Delaney’s: Joal Rush
Elbow Room: Grand Theft Audio, Left t
Front Tire
New Brooldand: Loch Ness Johnny,
Neck
Road Runners: Open Jam w/Steve
Kemp
Blumenthal Performing Arts Center
(Charlotte): The Phantom of the Opera
ley’s: Karaoke
Legends: Karaoke w/Ken Martin
Rooster's Den: Karaoke w/Tootie
Rock: Vickie s Karaoke Contest
Sandra’s: Rick and Tina s Karaoke
Tavern on the Greene: Amos-Britt
Band
Uncle Doctor's (formerly FUBAR):
Shutdown
Art Bar NUVIBE
Billy G’s: Beach & Boogie Night w/DJ
Butch Davidson
Bottoms Up: Sue Irwin
Crocodile Rocks: Ladies Night
Eddy Ho’s: Pool Tournament
Knock Knock/Ftip Side: College Night
Merfin’s: DJ Cotton
Thursday, March 1
Decisions: Chris Richards
Delaney’s: Davey Clark
New Brooldand: Grasshopper & Will
Road Runners: Open Jam
In The News
■ Housing names
winners of campaign
Tuesday night was the finale of
University Housing’s Winning
Wednesdays campaign.
Second-year College of Journalism
and Mass Communications student
Julie Pike, who was one of the six
grand prize winners, said she has no
idea where she will choose to five.
“I’m really excited because it
allows me to choose the best place to
•live on-campus,” Pike said.
The grand prize winners get their
first choice of housing. Other prizes
included an SEC tournament package,
a bicycle and cash cards.
Third-year College of Journalism
and Mass Communications student
Myra McPhee won the SEC
tournament package.
“I am very happy that I won the
SEC tournament prize because I am
happy to five anywhere once it’s on
campus,” McPhee said.
Gretchen Koehler, director of
University Housing Administration,
said the Winning Wednesdays
campaign gives average students the
opportunity to get excited about
campus housing.
“Winning Wednesdays is one of
the most widely recognized
promotions by students on campus,”
Koehler said.
Denise Golden, graduate assistant
for Marketing and Special Projects
said, “We’ve collected thousands of
dollars worth of prizes for the other 19
winners, from Sodexho-Marriott,
Carolina Alumni Association,
Frankie’s Fun Park and Carolina
Collegiate Credit Union and many
more.”
■ Bill Cosby to bring
‘Fat Albert’ to movies
LOS ANGELES (AP)-Bill
Cosby’s “Fat Albert” character is
coming to the big screen as a live
action film.
Cosby and his wife will be
executive producers for the film
planned by 20th Century Fox. No start
date has been set for the feature, which
is being produced by Davis
Entertainment Co.
“For the millions of ‘Fat Albert’
fans, trust me, he could not be in
better hands,” said Cosby, who is
writing the screenplay with Charles
Kipps.
“Fat Albert” and his friends will
be based on Cosby’s standup routines
about a group of urban youths in
Philadelphia. The characters also were
featured as a long-running Saturday
morning cartoon on television..