Mawd

The learning curve is similar to EVE but probably less punishing given the time involved to come back from defeat. Anyway, I'm still wondering about good offlaners for beginners. Also if there are some supports that are generalist enough to almost always be good picks regardless of comp like WD, Dazzle, etc

I don't think anyone's telling you to memorise all the heroes first go. Plenty of heroes end up being picked up way more than others so you could go to a site like Dotabuff and check out the ones that are trending right now. Otherwise I'm sure there are videos that break down commonly seen heroes for noobs. You could also spectate some matches in the client and have a look at the teams compositions, items, and hero abilities.

You can look at a character and item library in the main client too if you just want to sit down and figure out who has what for a while. I'm kind of in the same boat. I've had some great games before on heroes like lich, axe, and weaver but I've basically forgotten how to play them now. These days I tend to just play solo vs hard bots and see how long I last in the farming phases before the AI beats me. I also really want to learn how to play offline well since I like the challenge but I've basically forgotten how to pick for myself. I might get back into supporting when I next come back to the game first though. Am I right in thinking that some supports like WD or Omni are kinda timeless and tend to work well every time? (Except for Omni on a mostly ranged team?)

Ahk. It's been so long since I read LOTR and I found it a real struggle in sustaining patience. I've forgotten most of the Appendix material which is funny since I read that the most. Also I guess that's fair enough that he's not reinventing anything that hasn't come before but the idea just grabbed/reminded me how cool that would be and I got caught in the enthusiasm. I'll check out those sometime. What do people think of The Goldfinch? The people at my favourite bookstore gave it some glowing recommendations last time I was there for long. Does it still stand up? Does anything else similar blow it away?

Much love for Snezz but too young to have really used it. My first console was a gameboy colour, then my brother's gameboy, then a PS2, a GB advanced SP, a PSP, then a PS3. I rather regrettably sold all my Nintendo stuff for a paltry pc upgrade and I also uncracked my pre cracked psp which was a shame since I was really starting to enjoy Monster Hunter and these days the only bought disc I can find is Final Fantasy 1 (I didn't know it was cracked at the time, my dad randomly bought one in Malaysia, it came in a box and looked brand new). Still have all my other Sony stuff but I basically only play PC now. I'd love to get another Nintendo thing so I can play Splatoon, the new Zelda games, Bravely Default, and Bayonetta though. Does that mean I'd have to get a WiiU or is the DS series fine for those games?

I'm happy with either really, I've never explored stories like that before.

What are some good books with same sex relationships in them? I've come across some minor homosexual relationships in writing but I don't think I've read anything of substance for a while.

I'll try to accommodate it but I feel like there is a certain number of years after which a piece is fair game. But it really depends on the type of film or tv show I guess. I do tend to treat trailer content as fair game though, which has landed me in trouble with the odd person before. I can be sensitive to the principle of it, especially when I know they want to keep away from spoilers. But my general ambivalence towards spoilers can sometimes mean I'll fail to treat something according to others expectations. I do like watching things that've been spoiled for me in the same way as 90-3.

Eh maybe they were just going for the whole Total Victory strategy. All of the other options re: moving it just feel too silly. (Then again it is Star Wars)

I thought it was cool but I was hoping for more. Like maybe even just more elite specialised storm troopers. I'm still pretty bummed that Phasma didn't get to do anything. I'm ready to say her character was dumb for the same reasons. I wanted way more screen time of her being badass.

I've been part of a melting pot community for younger queer peeps. I'm not sure if I could exactly call it a culture outside of just a forum. But across the breadth of them I did come across more of a gay culture than 'A List' queers doing coke on fire island. But this could just be me being over protective.

Someone's romantic attraction doesn't have to line up with their physical attractions. You could easily identify as romantically attracted but asexually inclined in one direction. Anyway I think I've felt differences in culture within NZ and Australia. But also further afield in SE Asia. Even a place like Singapore which has roots in an English + Asian culture still feels rather distinct despite most people speaking english. I think whatever culture I do belong to it's almost certainly been influenced by an internet culture. I'm starting to hear the phrase Post Internet around and it does make a kind of sense as a descriptor. Anyway I remember hearing the cultural differences between states of America being similar to the differences between European nations and so I'm slightly surprised that people haven't felt cultural differences while travelling. Although to be fair my brief time around one patch of the US felt similar enough but we mostly blitzed through places around the south west.

Well that was pretty fun. My partner and I both came away thinking it was really good. I still think Fury Road was better but he's sure they're about the same.

I'm a bit if a wallflower in this thread and I like taking in people's different views on these topics. I think it's interesting to hear the different views that appear in these topics. I find myself more in agreement with Gorm's post than 93's. But I think your participations are equally valuable in the topics. I'm not currently trying to make my mind up based on the views expressed. But I find them challenging enough to merit a certain amount of indecisiveness. I think I've also become familiar with the practice of having a direct descendent opening a store that demonstrates their take on their culture's best food. But I'll still appreciate the odd Butter Chicken curry heh. Anyway I didn't see absolutes either. My judgement is currently swimming under layers of drink but I'm finding the views here compelling and I think we'd be poorer for it if there were less people around to express theirs. I think I may be in a similar position to Merus. We still live in societies that are divided in racial lines but they might be less obvious than other nations. Like how most fish and chip shops double as chinese shops and no one really sees a difference because its fundamentally the same battered cholesterol daring food. But it'd still feel weird to find an all white restaurant preparing Chinese takeaway. Which could well be a racist or at least irrationally biased feeling. I did share Bjorn's article with a friend since we both found it funny. I think we could both imagine a dish/style/thing we enjoy being butchered by trendy people who don't quite get it. But still I live in a relatively small nation that has a high rate of immigration which leads to a lot of different restaurants opening to serve a wide variety of cultural palates. I still haven't found a decent Lok Lak or Pad Thai outside of Cambodia/Thailand. Though I think that could just be because its easier to find the right ingredients in those countries than over here. Edit: sorry if this isn't reading too well I was fairly sauced at the time.

I don't think I've found a topic that hasn't been interesting with your discussions. Maybe with the dwindling news of Esports Now it's time to go over the greatest hits of esports? Also maybe there's more room to talk about regional approaches to games and esports? I know it gets touched on enough but it still seems fascinating how different areas take on each other's meta. Like how even the AU/NZ scene for a game like Dota is different from the SEA, Na, etc scenes. Maybe there's a better spot for these questions but what are some games you would like to see with a competitive scene or what do you think has the potential? Are there any smaller scenes that you two follow or do you know people passionate about smaller scenes?

I'd still give it a try. In a glib way he's basically describing Infinite Jest and while I still haven't completed it (and feel comfortable in not) I did get a lot of enjoyment in it's dense footnotes and side stories. But at the same time I am wary of someone planning to throw down a whole bunch of lore. Anyway I've mostly been reading trashy fantasy and sci fi novels set around the W 40k universe. I grabbed a whole bunch of their epubs and well, they're just there. I know they're bad but some of them are just decent enough to enjoy and they help me worldbuild for trpg campaigns. I've been finally digging into Terry Pratchett at the same time and loving it. He's truly the best fantasy writer for me; I shouldn't have put him off because of his goofy cover art. These holidays I'm either going to re-read The Luminaries or start Wolfe Hall. Honestly it'll probably be the former because it fits in better with being half drunk at a lakeside in summer. With the new year I might finally be able to go and find some decent books to buy and I'm thinking The Goldfinch by Donna Tart and The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood. But if anyone has any other suggestions for well voiced character novels I'm all ears.

I think it's rather inane to be caught up over it. Then again I'm someone who has to look out incase I've done it after being lectured by my boyfriend over it. Though I had no idea that most of the microwaves I've used have been shit for lacking idle numbers functionality. For being written on a virtual keyboard posting this wasn't so bad.

Been enjoying this S. Korean rap video lately. I've been digging around for more but little success so far for things as good as this. This weird trap-ish song is fun too.

I started the new season of Fargo and I've been really liking it so far. It is different and there aren't as many noticeable goofball moments in the show because there aren't as many prominent goofs in the story, or they're goofing in different ways at least. Still liking it though. The Coen references are all washing over me. But it's been about 6 years since I last saw one of theirs that wasn't Barton Fink.

Oh yeah I think our countries are just wonderful Merus. I know Australia has some fantastic ways of solving social problems and promoting economic growth. I also strongly believe that the NZ govt could be just as wonderful if not for a lack of opportunity although we did mess up with letting the deviants marry and everything.

NZ's new minister for Climate Change is a person with no scientific experience and whose last previous position included the highlights of exposing the personal details of government critics, bashing beneficiaries (and exposing their details), selling off our state housing (in a nation where 64% own a home and a housing bubble is set to burst), bullying local government, and being a Key figure in any spin related media wrangling. I think we're set to become global leaders in Climate Change. Also back is our previous minister for Corrections and Police who previously left their post via resignation after an investigative journalist released a landmark book on Dirty Politics in NZ. They were also involved in bullying, harassment, and doxing their opponents and media spin.

The death threats thing for JFSS is probably still tied to that group of early access devs he's been talking about in passing for the past few months.

There's a new Tina Fey, Amy Poehler comedy about two middle aged women throwing a house party. It's called Sisters and it seems to be taking their dual release with The Force Awakens pretty well. (Bad formatting because I'm on my phone) Anyway you get to see Takei dressed as Vader telling fans to calm down.

I know people in the much more niche AU Cybergamer scene that have amazing transferable skills between games like CS:GO, Dirty Bomb, and Natural Selection. But this is the realm of the occasional $500 tournament with some merch thrown in. Teams in these leagues do get sponsored by groups like Avant I'm just not sure how 'pro' it counts as. I have this one friend who's apparently been very close to the top in his region for SC2, CS 1.6, Grey Goo, Dota 2, and now Hots. Australian E-sports are still pretty small. Not everyone has a computer, people in NZ/AU still favour consoles, and our internet connections are shockingly bad in places. Some people in these scenes have had to tether through their 3G connections just so they can play.

Yeah we had lights on and weren't making too much effort to be quiet. But yeah we were hearing a loud and soft scraping sounds around our car port/storage area and around our landlord's garage (separate building). Looking around outside nothing obvious seems to be missing. We did find that the rowing machine we keep outside makes the same kind of scraping sound when you drag it a certain way. Still hoping it's just bumbling animals, especially since it'll be just my Mum in the house for 10 days later in the month.