I am pleased to announce that we will be hosting our first DOTA 2 gaming tournament on AL!

Here is the rundown. We were graciously provided with two Steam game keys for the new game Strike Suit Infinity created by Born Ready Games. What is Strike Suit Infinity you ask?

Sounds pretty awesome right?

Being that we are the VG Section, all of us here behind the scenes figured it would be an awesome idea to distribute the two provided keys to those who can prove their mettle in a VG tournament! The game that was chosen for this tournament is the popular game called Dawn of the Ancients 2, or DOTA 2 as it is more affectionately known.

The tournament rules and info are as follows:

1. Teams will consist of two players each, and will face off against another pair.
2. The game mode of each match before the finals will be determined by the participants before each match from a set list of possible game modes. Those unable to decide will have their match set to All Random.
- The possible game modes are All Pick, Single Draft, All Random, & Mid Only.
3. To win the match, you need to overcome your opponents and destroy your opponents' ancient.
4. The tournament will be decided in a bracket format, with a qualifier during the week beforehand if there are an ample number of signups.
5. All matches must be witnessed by a tournament official (K7Sniper or Angelic Prime, more officials may be added before the official start).
6. There is currently no ban on any specific character choice, though this may change before the tournament begins.
7. Each team will be allowed one medium-level CPU teammate that will be chosen by random. The CPU teammate may be removed if both teams wish.
8. The final round will be an All Pick - Mid Only match, with no CPU teammates.
9. The tournament is single elimination, with the exception of the finals.
10. The winning team will receive one game code for each teammate. The runners up will both receive 15,000 credits each if they are on AL.

Signups will be held this week, and being that there are actual prizes being awarded, SIGNUPS WILL BE CLOSED WHEN I WAKE UP ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 22ND (AROUND 6 AM EST). So, you have an entire week to prepare and practice before then. Any qualifiers will be scheduled Thursday-Saturday before the tournament, with the final bracket beginning at 11 AM EST on SUNDAY MAY 26TH.

To sign up, simply post here with your team name and your members (AL names and their steam handles). I will keep an official list here in this topic, and only teams listed here will be allowed to participate. We will cap the number of teams at 8. Any additional teams will be added to the list as a fill-in replacement for the qualifying rounds only (The quarterfinals, to be technically correct). If a team fails to make it to any qualifier, I will go down the list of fill-ins for a replacement. If there is still no opponent, then that squad will be automatically advanced. If any team fails to show up for their match in the final four bracket or the finals, they will advance. If someone for some reason doesn't show up for the final round, then the losing semifinal teams will battle for a place, and the tourney will become a double elimination (meaning that the one who made it normally only needs to win one game, while the losing semifinal teams will need to win 2 to win it all). If we fail to reach 8 teams, those who are available will play against each other until the top 4 teams can be determined, perhaps via a round-robin system.

Many matches will be recorded via Twitch TV, and DOTA 2 contains a pretty good spectator mode as well. If you don't have a copy of DOTA 2 and wish to participate, contact either K7Sniper or Angelic Prime, and we will try to accommodate you with one of the free keys we have. There are a limited number, so first come first serve.

Also, all participants need to have K7Sniper on their friends list on Steam in order for quick communications.

So, to recap...

WHEN: Sunday May 26th, 11 AM EST (4 PM GMT)
WHERE: On Steam in the game DOTA 2
PRIZES: Two (2) game codes for the new game Strike Suit Infinity, created by Born Ready Games
SIGNUPS CLOSE ON WEDNESDAY MAY 22ND @ 6 AM EST.

With all that being said, if you are interested in signing up, post here with the team information or PM K7Sniper.

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Hi guys, we are going to have one thread every month discussing an Author whose work is either Public Domain and available online or an Author we can choose which we can read at home. This month we chose an Author whose work is Public Domain and we’ll be providing a link from which you can read as we progress through his work. We’ll also provide a small blurb with information about the author and the book we are going to read so you’ll have some background to start your reading.

Each month we’ll choose a new Author, suggestions are welcomed for the month of April.

You can catch up with us at any time or read the parts you like best with us and discuss them here.

This month: we chose Dante Alligieri and his master piece The Divine Comedy.


Dante Alligiere was born 1265 and was a major Italian poet of the Middle Ages, in Italy he is known as il Sommo Poeta ("the Supreme Poet") and the father of the Italian Language. Dante like most Florentines of his day was embroiled in the Guelph-Ghibelline conflict and fought in several battles; he was also a member of the Apothecaries Guild which was not an inappropriate choice since at that time his books were sold from apothecaries’ shops and his participation in this guild assured his participation in public offices. As a Politian he accomplished little but held various offices over some years in a city fire with political unrest.

Finally his faction the Guelphs won but the group divided in White Gulephs (Dante’s faction) and the Black Gulephs which yeah … started another struggle leaving the Black Guelps in power; Dante took part in several attempts by the White Guelphs to regain power but these failed due to treachery. Dante bitter at the treatment he received from his enemies grew disgusted with the infighting and ineffectiveness of his erstwhile allies and bowed to become a party of one.

At this point he was in exile and conceived the Divine Comedy.

The epic poem is believed to written between 1308 and his death in 1321. It is widely considered the preeminent work of Italian literature and is seen as one of the greatest worlds of the world literature. The work was originally simply titled Comedìa and was later christened Divina by Giovanni Boccaccio. The first printed edition to add the word divine to the title was that of the Venetian humanist Lodovico Dolce,[8] published in 1555 by Gabriele Giolito de' Ferrari.

But it was not always so, there was a time when it was not even considered fit to be translated into English, even less so to be promoted in Harvard or any other house of study. The Italian language was not considered useful in those days and it was mainly taught to young ladies and youths considering a year travel through Europe. It was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s translation and close work with other historical figures such as Oliver Wendel Homes, Sr., James Russell Lowell and others who finally brought this classic to the Americas.


The Divine Comedy is divided in three canticas: Inferno (Hell) Purgatorio (Purgatory) and Paradiso (Paradise) each consisting of 33 cantos. The poem is written in first person and tells of Dante’s journey through the three realms of the dead, lasting from the night before Good Friday to the Wednesday after Easter in the spring of 1300.

We start reading Inferno dividing the 33 cantos in half which means that we’ll be reading from Canto I to Canto XVI this week.

Here is the link to the Public Domain, at the end of the week we’ll discuss our progress

Dante's Inferno
Rated: M
System: Xbox 360



Fun:0
Graphics:1
Game play:0
Sound:0

1/4


Dante's Inferno is hell. It's clunky, hedonistic, want a be of God of War. Outside of the neatness of turning a literary work into an interactive one, there isn't anything worth while. The best moments come from these moments of awe and wonder on how they integrated these ideas. Something that only shows when they stop trying to be God of War, and it is a walk threw hell. In every good or horrible way, it is hell. The most joyous moment was when the end credits rolled, and was done with this hell.

The walk threw hell is interesting. The best moments come from how this sin is integrated into the world. Though after a certain point, were bored with the idea. Its easy to tell, because its when the game gets boring. Where it excelled visually, soon becomes bland pandering. See how shocking we can be, we have you killing babies. Look tits, vague vagina designs, look dicks. See how dirty we are, cause its hell.

From that, we have the descent into bad gameplay. The worse thing about it, is its good ideas that have flatten out of any grander. Death scythe for example, this is a weapon gain from killing death. How great is that? Yet it turns into a hammer knife. A hammer with a knife, that is the best you got. Not going to try for something to match the gratuitous of death himself. Well however stupid it may be, if it works maybe it is great. When you see him flopping from one enemy to another, its a wonder to see how it can be a threat. Its not, the best weapon is actually a cross. Which you use to save souls. Well this bag of tricks, don't seem to be cool. What can we do, oh I know we can have magic like God of War. Even that tends to go the stupid route. The orgasmic screams from Lusty boss to shield smash your foes. That be cool when comboing. Which even the slush of killing prove to be nothing but repetitive hell.

Maybe if it is boring and repetative, it might have cool boss fights. Outside of Death, no. The first bad ass boss fight, making every one else a let down. The Devil himself is nothing compared to that. Just the power of christ with a cross is all you need. Each boss, more and more a disappointment. The hardest thing about the fight with the devil, quick time events. Which come up everywhere. Even to go threw a door, you got a quick time event. Not even the fun kind, the boring you have to hit b button long enough to hide the loading. Even hitting it faster does nothing, and if you just keep hitting it the same you fail.

A tourchious experience from beginning to end. It is curiosity to see how anyone can enjoy this inferno. It is nothing but hell. Taking on that experience is the only reason why anyone should play it. Any game after that walk threw hell, be paradise. Which may make it a rent to some, just to see how bad it is. Otherwise I avoid that hell.

  Spoiler:  

@xX-Belle_Peche-Xx @Heartless @RyuKai @DrifterUK @RemnantsOfDreams @Stormbringer @Hamlin @Cherry Berry @Cupcake_Hearts @Minerva @caleb @Velveeta @Anni @Killer Kitty @Indigo @Tik @VSCRATCH @ PharaohAtem @Moonlit Memories @Teddy Flan @ Volos.Dragon @Shine @Shi @ oreo_81369_17 @Yukio-masachita @ Spirit of Darkness @ からす猫のデソル @ Chibiri @OAS @Kagura @MaruDashi @PickledOnion @Kimarujunpai @Wild "Berry" Knight @25thquarterking @Kisara @KimShibbyBob @ Usachan
@SinXForr @Akash BO$E..✖™ @Deepika Sapra @Rony Heat @hodge3244 @Kuran89 @KidBlack @Captain Firmgrip @vampirekitty1089 @Dezi @DarkVampire @Zihark @Britishgayshark @SleazyRum @starltrubymoon

Welcome to the EZ Showcase! As some of you may already know, the art showcase will alternate between famous works of art and member pieces. The intention is to be exposed to various artists and attempt to appreciate them and learn something along the way. We welcome suggestions for future discussions.


For approximately two weeks we will be discussing Jen Stark's paper sculptures.




The only rules for this are to be respectful of each other. Art is a very individual, personal thing and there may be disagreements. Please refrain from insulting each other or the artist whose work we are discussing.



What do you like about this work?
What do you dislike?
What is your personal interpretation of these pieces?
Is there a story being told?
Does any one piece invoke an emotional connection with you?
What does the work tell you about the artist?




If you have any suggestions for future Showcase pieces, or discussion questions, please PM me so as not to clutter the thread.

Welcome to our first art discussion! As some of you may already know from the interest thread, the art showcase will alternate between famous works of art and member pieces. We welcome suggestions for future discussions.


For the next week (or two, depending on how much we have to say) we will be discussing Salvador Dali's "Persistence of Memory."





The only rules for this are to be respectful of each other. Art is a very individual, personal thing and there may be disagreements. Please refrain from insulting each other or the artist whose work we are discussing.






Question: Would you like some discussion questions listed in this post? I hesitate to do this as often people will only answer the questions rather than think through their opinions fully. Please PM me if you feel they would be useful.