Blog Post
Cosplay Contest and DDR Expo APRIL 20!
by Edith Wharton
Thursday April 20, 6:30-8:30pm Downtown Multipurpose Room
Its the 2nd Annual Cosplay Contest! Come dressed at your favorite anime, manga or video game character to win prizes, or come just to see the show and dance to those fabulous J-pop tracks.
Costumes will be judged based on enthusiasm, knowledge of your character, costume quality and execution.
Blog Post
Preparing Yourself for College
by iralax
Bring your questions about what the first year of college is like, as Professor David Schoem talks about his new book College Knowledge: 101 Tips for the College-Bound Student. Topics like leaving home, getting to know yourself, new friends, roommates and faculty, figuring out finances, time management, expanding social boundaries, and enjoying campus life are just a few of the many possible topics for discussion. As you examine the past year or look to the future, this program, on Monday Feb. 6, 7-8:30 pm, will interest you.
Blog Post
Dr. W. Scott Westerman Jr. to Speak on No Child Left Behind
by Van
Dr. Westerman will speak Tuesday, January 24, at 7:00 p.m. in the Downtown Library Multi-purpose Room. Please come to learn about the No Child Left Behind Act.
For further reflections on this legislation, consult these books:
America’s Failing Schools: How Parents and Educators Can Cope with No Child Left Behind by W. James Popham
Leave No Child Behind: Preparing Today’s Youth for Tomorrow’s World by J. P. Comer
Many Children Left Behind: How the No Child Left Behind Act is Damaging Our Children and Our Schools edited by Deborah Meier and George Wood
Saving Our Schools: the Case for Public Education: Saying No to “No Child Left Behind” edited by Ken Goodman
What Every Teacher Should Know about No Child Left Behind by Nathan Essex
Blog Post
Louder Than Thunder
by ulrich
Communications consultant and motivational speaker Carol Dunitz's most recent book, Louder Than Thunder: A Business Parable, focuses on the importance of listening for managers and leaders, but is also relevant to all kinds of interpersonal communication. The author will present her ideas on communication at the Library's next "Sunday Edition" program on Sunday, November 13 at the Downtown Library at 2:00 p.m. Dunitz, who has degrees in English, Speech and Theater, has been active in advertising, public relations and speech writing. Her presentations are lively entertainments complete with costumes and music. More information about the author and the book can be found at the following web site.
Blog Post
Eat Meat?
by jelise
Ever wonder what's in your meat or where it comes from? Read Mad Cowboy : Plain Truth from the Cattle Rancher Who Won't Eat Meat, by Howard F. Lyman with Glen Merzer and find out!
Amazon.com says: "Persuasive, straightforward, and full of the down-home good humor and optimism of a son of the soil, Mad Cowboy is both an inspirational story of personal transformation and a convincing call to action for a plant-based diet -- for the good of the planet and the health of us all."
Blog Post
Super Smash and Kart Tournaments: This Weekend!
by eli
The action heats up this weekend, with our first-ever Open Super Smash Bros: Melee tournament, inviting all players ages 13 and up to come and fight against the best SSB:M players in the area for a shot at gift card prizes: $40 for 1st place, $30 for 2nd, and $20 for 3rd. Doors open Friday night at 6:00 PM in the Downtown Library Multipurpose Room, and the Tournament will start after 6:30. The format will be 2 or 3 stock, 4-player battles, with all items and stages enabled, earning points for wins, with the highest scorers moving on to elimination brackets. Registration is now open.
Then, on Saturday, we've got AADL-GT Round 3, from Noon - 5 PM at the Downtown Library, including Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart Single-player and Team Events. Doors open at 11:30, and Preregistration is open now. Winners of each event advance to the Sur-Prize round,, where they'll play a MYSTERY GAME to determine who will take home the $70, $50, and $30 gift cards.
Blog Post
Israeli author Ronit Matalon
by iralax
Meet Ronit Matalon, a bestselling writer in Tel Aviv, Israel. She is the author of the novels Bliss and The One Facing Us, and is an influential Israeli journalist. She will read from her work and answer audience questions on Thursday, Oct. 6, 7:00 pm. Ms. Matalon's appearance is in partnership with the UM Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies.
Blog Post
AADL-GT Round 2: This Weekend!
by eli
Preregistration is now open for AADL-GT Round 2, happening this Saturday, September 24th, from Noon - 5 PM in the Basement of the Downtown Library. Doors will open at 11:30 for players in grades 6-12, so be early to get checked in and start warming up. Winners of the Sur-Prize round game will take home $70, $50, and $30 gift cards for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. We'll have single-player and team events in both Mario Kart Double Dash and Super Smash Brothers: Melee, and the event will (really this time) be broadcast live on Comcast channel 18 in Ann Arbor, so be sure to bring a signed release form if you haven't turned one in before. We'll be implementing several enhancements this round, including smoother, faster registration & check-in, split-screen single player Kart for more races in less time, checkin and food and tables outside the room, and definitely more pizza. Read on for more.
We'll also be having an All-Ages DDR Tournament, Sunday Sept. 25th, from 1:00-4:00 at the Malletts Creek Branch. Open Gamecube play will be available, and prizes are $40, $30, and $20 gift cards.
One of our new features is a super-easy way to attach your clan logo to all your comments here on the axis blog. Just email me your clan logo at axis@aadl.org, and I'll add it to the server. You can then include your clan logo in your post just by adding:
[mygtclanlogo]
anywhere in your post, including in your signature! You can edit your signature on the 'edit' tab of your My Account page. Once you've added that tag to your signature, you'll never have to think about your clan logo again. Let me know if you run into any trouble or have any questions about this.
Also, it's time to announce the players who will be invited to do live, on-air commentary at this month's tournament. I will be appointing Lead and Relief Commentators for each event, with the Lead commentators doing most of the talking, and the Relief stepping in when the Leads are playing. Be aware that my goal is to produce the most entertaining event possible, so while I want to give several players a chance to do this, I will be making changes and cuts throughout the season. If I don't think you did a very good job, you won't be invited back to the 'press box' next month. So, be forewarned, and don't take it personally. Also, remember that this is an invitation. You don't have to do it if you don't want to. So, here are our commentary teams for Round 2:
Mario Kart Single-Player and Team:
Lead: Major Tom and Leinad
Relief: Muffincat and Duck
Super Smash Brothers Single-Player and Team:
Lead: Sravan and Galen (pr0 and c0n)
Relief: Black Shark and Duck
Surprize Round:
Lead: Muffincat and Black Shark
Relief: Major Tom and Leinad
A few tips for you commentators:
1) Look for the drama and build it with story, not with interjections.
Right: Wow, he's made it all the way to the final lap of the final race, only a master shell can ruin his day now...
Wrong: Oh! oh! wow! Man! Going! Going! Going! Gone!
2) Play off your partner, no matter who they are, use their name extensively, and set them up.
Right: I see she is truly dominant with DK, bob, isn't that one of your best characters?
Wrong: (in reply): Nope.
3) Remember that the audience at home may not know anything about the games.
Right: Wow, there goes Mario's Cape teleportation glitch... that's a bug in the game that's very difficult to execute, but very shocking when performed precisely....
Wrong: Oh man! Charizard!
4) Nothing impresses me more than a dazzling display of Nintendo Knowledge.
Right: You know, bob, the original Donkey Kong was Shigeru Miyamoto's first game for Nintendo, and it was built to be a conversion for thousands of unused Radarscope cabinets, as the US market had responded very poorly to Radarscope, despite it having been a smash hit in Japan.
Wrong: The Revolution is going to suck.
Anyway, enough of that. Get registered for the tournament, get practicing, and if you've got questions, now's the time. See you Saturday!
Blog Post
AADL-GT Season Opener: This Saturday!
by eli
This weekend marks the start of the 2nd AADL-GT Tournament Season for grades 6-12, with the opener starting at Noon Saturday, 8/20/2005, at the Downtown Library. This event will be broadcast LIVE on Comcast channel 18, from Noon-5 PM.
Because the event will be televised, you will need to bring this release form, signed by your parent or guardian, or you won't be able to play! Don't forget it! If you participated in last season's Grand Championships and already turned in a release form, you don't need to do it again.
AADL-GT Season 2 will include single-player and team events in Mario Kart: Double Dash race mode, and Super Smash Brothers 2-stock battle. The prize round will be a mystery game, and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prize round winners take home $70, $50, and $30 giftcards respectively.
Registration for this event will open Wednesday Night, 8/17/2005. You will be able to register your handle, sign up your teams, and create your clans.
Creating a clan will involve entering the four nicknames of your 4 primary clan members. Clans must have exactly 4 primary members. At each tournament, for your clan to score points, you must roster exactly 4 players, and at least 1 of those 4 must be a primary clan member. You can get subs to fill out the other spots. Subs can only be primaries of other clans if their clan is not rostering at that tournament. While it's in your best interest to figure out who your subs will be ahead of time, there will be time at the beginning of the event to come up with clan subs.
Bonuses will be awarded to clans for recruiting players that didn't play last season. These bonuses will be applied AFTER each tournament is over, and won't be included when determining the clan winner of each tournament.
If you have a clan logo, email it to axis@aadl.org, and I will upload it for you after your clan has registered.
Any questions? Now's the time. Hope you've been practicing, the competition is going to be intense.
Blog Post
AADL-GT Preseason Weekend
by eli
Here we go! It's time to gear up for the start of AADL-GT Season 2. This weekend, we have three tournaments scheduled, with something for everyone.
This Friday Night, 7/29/05, we'll have a Mario Kart tournament for ages 18+, from 6:30-8:30 PM at the Downtown Library. Race mode, single-player only, no registration required. Prizes are gamestop gift certificates, 1st place: $40, 2nd place: $30, 3rd place: $20.
Then, from Noon to 5 PM on Saturday, 7/30/05, join us downtown for the AADL-GT Preseason Tournament for grades 6-12, featuring Mario Kart single-player and coop race events, and Super Smash Brothers: Melee single-player and team events, followed by a mystery game for the prize round. Prize round winners take home $50, $40, and $30 gift certificates. Read more below for more details about how the AADL-GT Tournament will work.
Finally, on Sunday, 7/31/05, we'll have a Mario Kart race tournament for grades 1-5, downtown from 1:00-4:00 PM.. 1st place: $40, 2nd place: $30, 3rd place: $20.
Preregistration is not required for any of these events, just show up, but don't be too late!