EA and Visceral games are putting out a new game, Dante’s Inferno, supposedly based on the work “Divine Comedy” by Dante Alighieri. In the game you play as Dante, on a mission through hell to rescue your hot wife Beatrice Portinari. So how does the game match up with the actual Dante’s Inferno?

Take Dante in the game:

He’s a hardcore soldier with a giant battle scythe, covered head to toe in stylized plate armor.

Dante in real life:

He’s a hardcore poet with a giant battle quill, covered head to toe in…well…pajamas.

What about hell?

In the game hell is an action packed demon strong hold, full of bad guys that stand between you and your love.

In Dante’s book, hell is more like a scary guided tour given at Disney on Halloween.

And your love, Beatrice?

In game:

In real life:

Lastly, what about story wise?

Well here the game and the book continue to radically differ. In the book Dante starts off in a forest and is given a tour of hell by Virgil. He goes down, sees the 9 circles of hell, sees various famous people, and then climbs out the other end and into the second book, Purgatorio. There is no fighting and no Beatrice. The most dramatic seat of you pants thing that happens to him is he faints. (Don’t go to hell if you have low blood sugar) She shows up in the second book. Also Beatrice was never Dante’s wife. He first meet her when she was 8 and fell in love with her, but she married some other dude and died at the age of 24.

Here is what the game has to say for itself:

“At the midpoint on the journey of life, I found myself in a dark forest, for the clear path was lost” (opening line of The Divine Comedy). In the game, Dante goes on a spectacular journey through the afterlife to save his beloved Beatrice from the clutches of evil. But what starts out as a rescue mission quickly changes into a redemption story, where Dante must confront his own dark past and the sins he carries with him into Hell. He faces the epic inhospitable terrain of the underworld, huge monsters and guardians, sinister demons, the people and sins of his past, and the ultimate traitor: Lucifer himself.”

Sounds cool. A little heavy on the “go save the helpless white woman”, but still cool none the less. The game developers also have this to say:

“Inspired by the real Dante Alighieri, but adapted for a new generation and a new medium, the hero of the game is a soldier who defies death and fights for love against impossible odds. The Italian mercenary Dante returns home from the wars to find that his beloved Beatrice has been murdered, and her soul pulled down into Hell by a dark force. He gives chase, and vows to get her back. For weapons, he wields Death’s soul-reaping scythe, and commands holy powers of the cross, given to him by Beatrice.”

If by “inspired” they mean “hey, we took his name” then yeah it’s inspired, because that’s about it. Everything else but the names is changed, including the plot and characters. As for the “for a new generation” yeah, we play video games much more than we read, but if you ever get the time, check out the books, they are pretty cool. Maybe Riddley Scott could make a movie about it :-p

if the skull she’s wearing looks somewhat familiar it’s because it’s based off a t-shirt design i made for a threadless loves competition “made in the dark”. you can check it out HERE or directly below today’s illustration.

My nerd side is coming out to play.

So, I work at GameStop now [officially] and I am surrounded with all the nerdy goodness that I have always wanted to be. I work with the coolest guys and I really couldn’t be happier about my job [something I never thought I'd say about a job]. Anyway, since I work there, I get to learn about all the cool new games that are coming out and what not [and I get a discount and cool free promo stuff].

So, since I can finally be open about how much of a geek I am, I can do a post like this.

It wasn’t really a secret that I’m a nerd, but I felt that I had to hide it from the world at large for fear of fulfilling stereotypes.

The games to look out for.

There are a lot of games coming out in 2010, a lot of them are very highly anticipated [which is good] while sadly a lot of them are going to suck a big bucket of…well you get the point. Here are my picks for games to look for in 2010 [in absolutely no order].

#1. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm – Okay I lied…this is one of the games that I want the most out of 2010. What we know so far is that Blizzard is only going to raise the level cap by five levels, raising the maximum level to 85, so now players at level 80 have five more levels to get to before they get bored and have to do instances and raids everyday for the rest of eternity.

What? New races!?!

Blizzard is also including two new races to play around with in the land of Azeroth: The Horde are getting Goblins, so if your dream is to be shorter than a dwarf but taller than a gnome [and green], your dream is about to come true. The Alliance are getting a race called the Worgen, now I don’t know much about the Worgen except that when they are enemies on quests, they fight in packs and won’t die. They are essentially wolfmen type creatures [the back story is really interesting, look it up] and they look awesome and imposing.

There will also be a number of brand new race/class combinations like the all powerful Tauren Paladin [holy cow!]. I might have to change factions again so I can be one.

Also, a slew of new dungeons and raids are going to be added at launch and with later patches.

Release Date – TBA 2010. I’m going to guess Q4 2010

#2. Dante’s Inferno – You are surrounded by Arab fighters. You are seemingly alone in a crumbling city. You are armed with a halberd. The only choice you have is to destroy your enemies and escape the city alive. Before you can escape, one of the sneakier swordsmen, runs his sword in to your back, ending your valiant quest to defend the Holy Land.

Immediately after, you are standing before Death preparing for a fight because you refuse to let a sword in the back end your life. Once you defeat Death himself, with his own weapon, you return to your home only to find that your villa has been ransacked and your fiancé, Beatrice, has been murdered and dragged to Hell by Lucifer.

You’re Dante, you aren’t going to just sit back and let the Devil take your lady [I mean, you just killed Death so why not go kill the Devil?]. This is literally the first fifteen minutes of Visceral Game’s new title Dante’s Inferno. If you’re not drooling, your heart isn’t beating faster, or you aren’t giddy with excitement, you may want to check your pulse because you may already be dead.

Release Date – February 9, 2010.

#3. Bioshock 2 – How do you top the incredible story, shady characters, and unbelievable level design that is Rapture? If you’re Irrational Games and 2k Games, you follow the exact same formula as the first time. Bioshock was one of the greatest games I have ever played and the story and philosophy behind Rapture was so enthralling, that I could play for hours and not even realize it. I actually started to feel sorry for the people unfortunate enough to be stuck in Rapture.

Bioshock 2 is set in the 1970s, rather than 1960 in the original. Gone are the days of Andrew Ryan, now Rapture lies in even more ruins due to the despotic leader Sofia Lamb. Lamb creates an army of Big  Sisters, the supposed successors to the army of Big Daddies.

Players will take control of a “lone-wolf” Big Daddy in a fight to rescue the “little sisters” who are still being captured and harvested for ADAM. Only this time, players will have to fight Big Daddies, Big Sisters, and Splicers [I'm already really nervous about all this].

Yes, there will be multiplayer, America.

Do I have this game pre-ordered? Yes. Am I hopefully buying it the day it comes out? Yes. Will there be blood? Yes.

Release Date – February 9, 2010.

This concludes Part One.

Thanks for tuning in. Look for Part Two, tomorrow.

Cody.

My next post…

Will be Part Two of the 2010 Video Game Preview.

New image in the cuteness photography contest

After I saw this shot on my computer screen I couldn’t believe how cute Scythe’s eye looks like. …
Scythe’s Green Eye photography picture

So how long since I’ve written the last post? I’ve been busy with my work and just got time this weekend to post you another Rainmeter skin. It’s raining outside and boy it’s cold in this room. Anyway, I made a Rainmeter skin of another demon girl (At least I thought her as a demon with horns on her head). Unfortunately, I don’t know what anime or game she is from so a little information will be appreciated.

Skin Name: Demon Girl 2 Calendar

File Size: 148 KB

Color Theme: Pink

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/file/zmtzmdlyjtj/DemonGirlCalendar2.rar

Note: A Rainmeter application can be downloaded in my previous post. Don’t forget to extract and move the folder to your Rainmeter skin directory. Happy downloading!

Mornin’ everyone! It’s Sunday and the temperature here is hot as hell. We need some rain here! Just got a news from my girl friend who I haven’t contacted for sometime that she was in an accident and she was bumped by a car. It takes a week for her to recover so I hope she gets well soon ;D. So anyway, here’s the Rainmeter skin for today and have a good weekend, guys.

Skin Name: Demon Girl Calendar Rainmeter

File Size: 261 KB

Color Theme: Dark Blue

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/file/htzym1my3t0/DemonGirlCalendar.rar

Note: A Rainmeter application can be downloaded in my previous post. Don’t forget to extract and move the folder to your Rainmeter skin directory. Happy downloading!

It’s a slow Saturday and it’s god damn hot. I’m not in the mood getting out of my room and I’m watching Seinfeld all day. The only time I went out is for my breakfast and lunch. I hope this weather will get cooler at the evening so I can go play basketball at De Latinos. Anyway, I made another Rainmeter skin for you since I got this nice picture to go.

Skin Name: Death Scythe Girl Calendar Rainmeter

File Size: 265 KB

Color Theme: Magenta & Grey

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/file/wl5ywjjnlmn/DeathScytheGirl.rar

Note: A Rainmeter application can be downloaded in my previous post. Don’t forget to extract and move the folder to your Rainmeter skin directory. Happy downloading!

[via]

Have you ever had a dream where you (or someone else) is driving a car?  Traditional dream interpretation would say that the car represents your life.  It is the vehicle, if you will, that is getting you to where you want to go.  Over the years, my cars have been driven by many people, mostly boyfriends.  Whenever someone else was driving my car, the resulting feeling was usually one of panic – and it almost always was well warranted.

I remember one dream in particular years ago, my boyfriend and I (let’s call him Gerald) were in a parking garage.  He was talking to me about a difficulty we were having in our relationship, and out of nowhere the grim reaper is standing next to the car window.  He lifts his scythe and pushes it forward as if my head were a stuffed pizza he was removing from an oven, except I’m not a pizza, and his blade is not a spatula.  My head is removed evenly, efficiently, quickly, and somehow I am able to watch Gerald’s expression of horror and shock as my head topples to the seat between us.  It gives me a strange thrill, and there is some sort of satisfaction in it as well at alarming him.  (I was desperately unhappy in our relationship (in waking life as well,)  and this seemed to be the perfect solution:  death.   I remember thinking “this isn’t so bad, being dead.  I rather like it.  I feel peaceful for the first time, maybe ever.”  My only regret was that we were in a parking garage, and it was so dark and dank.  I thought it would’ve been nicer to have died in the light.  Ahhh, the metaphors here, quite a smorgasbord.

It should be noted, of course, that the relationship didn’t last much longer than it took me to recover from this dream.  There are dreams, and then there are Dreams.  This one was epic; an epiphany.  I felt in every cell of my body that the death I had undergone in this dream-gate was pointing to the death in waking life which was long overdue.  I had to get out of that relationship.  It was “killing me” as surely (albeit more slowly) as the grim reaper’s spatula-blade.

Scythe introduces Kama Stay! – ( HWBOX ) O/C on first boot
To Kama Stay ζυγίζει 330 γραμμάρια και έρχεται εξοπλισμένο με ανεμιστήρα 120 ή 140 mm και μέχρι τρείς θέσεις για δίσκους 2.5”. Στο βασικό bundle της Scythe μπορεί κανείς να βρει τον ανεμιστήρα Slip Stream Slim με ταχύτητες λειτουργίας 800-2000 RPM και παραγωγή θορύβου που φτάνει μέχρι τα 33.67 dBA. Όλα αυτά έρχονται στην τιμή των 12.25€ παρέα με ένα fan controller για την ρύθμιση των στροφών.[next]

I asked a little neighbor girl what she plans ‘to be’  for Halloween.

She wants to be ‘The Grim Creaker’.

It reminded me of another wee one who once wished to be DEATH.

Long ago, when I taught preschool in Hawaii, I had so many adorable wee ones.

My favorite was a squirrely little guy named Vinny.   

He was a sour, pickled little fella; an old soul trapped in a tiny three-year-old body. 

No matter what the task or the treat, Vinny would wrinkle up his little face in utter anguish and growl-whine,

“OOWWWNNNNLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!” 

(as if we dipped him in boiling water on a regular basis)   

He had to be prodded and cajoled and finally forced into participating in every exercise — even lunch.

Vinny hated everything.

I    ADORED    HIM.

One October morning I had ‘lanai’ duty (porch watch). 

Coming up the ramp to school  was a walking hooded sweatshirt. 

(It could only be my buddy Vinny.)

 No part of his body could be seen under his teenaged brother’s chocolate brown hoodie. 

Ever Vinny, his hooded head was hanging to his chest as he moped along the walkway, dragging several inches of sleeve along the cement.

No clue how he was able to navigate; somehow he ended up in front of me, still hood-down, just waiting for me to engage him.

“Good morning, Vincent,”  said I.

No movement.

“Hel-lo, Vinny…”

Nothing.

“Vi-nnnn-yyyy…” 

Still nothing.

(At this point, I realized that today Vinny was refusing to be himself – which is common in preschool.)

Finally, he tilted back his head, and I could see part of his scrunched-up face under the hood.

I waited for it….

“OOWWWNNNNLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!”   

 “I’m The Grim Creeep-er!“

“It’s ‘Reaper’, Vinny.  The Grim Reaper. 

You’re the Grim RRREEEAAAPPP-ER.”

Wait…for…it…

“OOWWWNNNNLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!”

Then he dropped his hood to his chest and lope-dragged his wicked little butt into the classroom and promptly prostrated himself in the middle of the circle-time rug, a mangled ‘kiddie-version’ of The Vitruvian Man.

DEATH  came to life only when I offered to let him make a bumfodder-roll-and-tinfoil scythe.

Why not? 

After all, it was a Catholic Montessori  Preschool; I was simply allowing The Grim Creeep-er to investigate, to create and to explore his chosen path for the day.  

(hhmmm….let me think:  medieval weaponry…or lacing Dressie Bessie’s shoes?…hhhmmmm….)

Vinny spent the rest of the day scaring the shit out of the other wee folk. 

I think The Grim Creeep-er actually smiled that day.

God, how I loved that child….

Hello,

In this part of the world, it’s harvest time. Most of the work is finished near me, the hay is saved (I saw some old-fashioned pitchfork created haystacks the other day – a rare sight now), most of the cereal crops are in and I run less risk of encountering a massive combine harvester on the local narrow lanes, but I’m still passing plenty of root-vegetable trucks and in my own garden I’m gathering about 15 tomatoes at day (I grow 8 tomato plants – roma plum tomatoes and gardener’s delight cherry tomatoes outdoors) knowing that the first frosts will arrive here soon and then I’ll have to ripen the rest indoors (I will be eating them until Christmas). I’ve jarred up my dried herbs, potted up a bounty of blackberry and apple jam (my second favourite, damson is best but my tree is young and non-productive so far), and gathered the onions and garlic that survived the wet clay I planted them in. I’ve still got leeks, parsnips, beetroots, lettuce, courgette, carrots, apples, crab apples, and sconzonera (like a nutty carrot – delightful) to gather in over the next month or so. I love this time of year!

It is also the time of year when my children’s minds turn obsessively to the crucial decision of “which costume for Halloween?” Thankfully for my wallet my youngest is happy to wear last year’s black and pink witch costume again, especially as I’ve given in to her request for a broomstick to embellish the ensemble. My eldest can be trickier as he tends to change his mind at the last minute in an attempt to gain a second costume for our literally bursting costume box. We had a few hours, just the two of us, last Friday, and I sat him down with paper and pencil and we designed his outfit. Re-using a previous year’s skeleton outfit and adding a shop-bought scythe (plastic, I hasten to add), and a black cloak which I will try to construct on my trusty sewing machine, I think we have the core of an excellent costume of Death from the Discworld. He hasn’t read the wonderful Terry Pratchett books yet, but he loves the covers and is confident (more than I am) that I can create a suitably spooky look by October 31st. However my sister (who joins us on the night with her own son) has just upped the ante by texting me a picture of her costume so now I have to create something for myself – argh. Not enough hours in the day!

Anyhow, scythes were naturally a topic in our house this week and co-incidentally so were combine harvesters due to an animated one in a school story. I had to explain how each worked. Did you know you can still do courses on how to cut your fields by scythe and we had proverbs involving them? I’d say it’s a great workout and in fact I think the company I previously worked for once did a charity meadow-reap in a park by scythe and had half the staff out with bad backs afterwards. I’ve never handled a real one, but I have played with a (very blunt) sickle as several hung on the garden wall of my grandparents’ home and they fascinated me. I suppose the soviet hammer (industry) and sickle (agriculture) was a clever piece of design considering it covered the two big employments of the day. Of course a sickle is a unit of currency in Harry Potter’s world, I doubt Stalin would like that too much. If you’re interested in either tool for your own plot, much to my surprise, they can both still be bought online – do a quick google search.

If you’re harvesting this month, I wish you sharp tools, huge crops, crisp weather, and no back-ache.

Happy writing and reading,

Grace

Today’s post is a look at how I currently interpret a combination involving the Scythe. Different readers have different ways of looking at this card. Generally it’s a card of pain, danger, cutting, and suddenness or impact. Not a very pleasant card in most circumstances! The question is, how does the Scythe affect its neighbor(s)?

In the traditional methods as I learned them, the Scythe is seen as cutting the card which the blade faces. In my deck, the Scythe blade is on the right, so it is primarily affecting the card to it’s right. If the card to the right is Clover, I would suspect someone’s happiness is going to be short-lived, or over before it begins. On the other hand, if Mountain is to the right, then I envision the Scythe as cutting right through any obstacles, effectively clearing them.

Let me take a particular pairing, Scythe and Ring.

Scythe + Ring

The Scythe is pain, danger and cutting. The Ring is relationship or business partnership. Scythe + Ring most likely speaks of a severing of a relationship, whether personal or professional. I think this is compatible with the theme and modifier technique I sometimes use: the Scythe’s cutting is the main theme, and the modifier is a relationship: the cutting (or ending) is of a relationship.

Ring + Scythe

The reverse seems to suggest a painful relationship: the Ring is the relationship, and Scythe is pain and danger. Because the blade of the Scythe is facing to the right, it is not actually severing the Ring, so it’s not bringing and end to this relationship. This is also compatible with the theme and modifier technique: the main subject is the relationship, and the modifier is pain and danger. For the severance to occur, it (represented by Scythe) would need to be the main subject.

There are other ways that readers handle pairings with the Scythe. Some ignore direction of the blade, and read the cards in a linear flow of energy. They determine the Scythe’s impact according to how they perceive the sequence of action, which may be the opposite of what I’ve written here. Others generalize the placement such that negative cards on the right have greatest impact to their immediate left. It can get confusing if a person starts comparing all the styles and techniques!

I think the most important way to handle the Scythe and similar cards is to pick one technique that works, and be consistent.

How do you like to read the Scythe? Do you have a favorite technique other than this method I’ve described? Please post your comments or questions.