"Recognition"
On October 7, 1999, I received an E-mail notifying me that this site had been selected by "...the wacky people at The Worst of the Web" as a "Worst Website of the Day!" My first reaction was one of indignation. I've come upon many websites that are far worse than mine, and they don't get mentioned as sites that make eyes sore! I decided I must consider the source of the award and found three guys named "Buzz," "Melvin," and "Chip" are responsible.
Little do these dudes know my other interest, besides Pasta, is Imageology, the analysis of images that represent "real" people. With that in mind, I'd like to share my thoughts with you about Buzz, Melvin, and Chip.
As his image would suggest, Buzz, also known as "Stephen," is obviously a very angry young man. The most striking thing about his image is his hair. The wild, unkept look suggests he doesn't care what others think about him - or who he offends. Obviously, Buzz wants approaching people to know he is not approachable! His angry mouth position is testimony to the fact his comments will be - and are - caustic and skeptical.
Although his looks are deceiving, Melvin appears to be the most thoughtful of the trio. Unfortunately, he lacks self-confidence and tries to mask his identity by wearing what appears to be an old aviator's helmet and goggles. His mouth position suggests he's straight-forward and takes a no-nonsense approach to commenting on websites. On the other hand, sometimes his comments are so far out, the goggles might be to hide his dialated pupils.
Chip, who sometimes answers to "Ken," is the most crazed and violent of the group. His thick neck, feed cap (worn backwards!), and large mouth indicate he's a rebel prone to getting into trouble. A review of his writing would tend to reinforce this observation. His comment about my site suggested a violent action with uncooked spaghetti. His October 15th review threatened to take "... one of those eggs and shove it up your..." Chill, Chip!
I don't know what to think of this "award." It's nice to be recognized for creative efforts. On the other hand, when three site reviewers represented by cartoon images grant the award, I certainly can't take them seriously. E-mail has ranged from very good - "Please, more sounds" to very bad - "Take this f*****g site off the net." I hope those who didn't like my sounds will eventually see the light.
It's clear the English understand the concept of Sounds of Pasta. The following is from the October 24, 1999 on-line edition of The London Sunday Times:
This Life
Website of the week
"As the nights start drawing in, why not fill out the long winter evenings by logging on to Sounds of Pasta
www.geocities.com/Heartland/Farm/9258? Thrill to the turbulent whoosh of 8oz of macraroni being poured into a plastic container. Try to contain your excitement as you hear 16oz of pasta being poured into a ceramic bowl. Still your beating heart as 16oz of pasta tumbles into a wok. Warning: you might think this site is dull, but it's very much duller if you have no access to audio software."
"Long live the Queen!"