College Football

Please bring a WHITE and a dark/colored shirt so that we can divide up teams. Cleats are also REQUIRED!! If less than 14 people RSVP, I will cancel.

Join us for a fun afternoon of pickleball and Rita's Ice Cream! 🍧 We’ll play friendly pickleball games—perfect for all skill levels—then head to Rita’s Ice to cool off and hang out. 📅 April 18 📍 College Park, MD 8000 Rhode Island Ave, College Park, MD 20740 ⏰ 2pm Bring a paddle (if you have one), water, and good vibes! Please park at the Lakeland Community Center and walk over to the pickleball courts (pass the soccer field and next to the playground).

Standard rally scoring to 15. Skill level should BB and up. See you out there! Only 1 court 135 Crescent Rd greenbelt Md Use St. Hughes Churches parking lot Bring a ball if you have one and water to stay hydrated.

Be there or get chubby. You decide. https://secure.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/2/b/7/2/600_364811122.jpeg RSVPs are required. The reason is that it should increase your own enjoyment. You see, the ideal number of players for a pickup soccer game is perhaps 6x6 - 8x8; some players won't attend if they think the turnout will be low, and others will just assume the game will be cancelled even though we always play. (As a practical matter, smaller games are less fun since the comics won't have the audience they need, but, they do have two hidden benefits: shorter, more intense games/workouts and fewer face kicks/yellow cards. So we play no matter how small or large.) So non-RSVPers are a little short sighted, since they don't seem to want to maximize their own enjoyment in the long run. Rational and sane players who have a good chance of attending RSVP a week early both here and at https://meetup.com/dcsoccer , the parent soccer group.

We will be playing two games of Concordia with up 5 players each. All experience levels welcome. Expect the game teach to start promptly within the first 10 minutes. Concordia is a strategy game of economic development set in Roman times. Guide a roman dynasty. Send out colonists to settle down in cities producing bricks, food, tools, wine and cloth. Develop your trade network. Appease the ancient fods for their favor. Players choose their actions in Concordia through playing and acquiring new action cards. Find [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkKX8RxPN5Q&pp=ygUVaG93IHRvIHBsYXkgY29uY29yZGlh) a how to play video on youtube. Find [here](https://www.riograndegames.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Concordia_rules_eng_1_1.pdf) the rulebook. Note: Please remember to update your RSVP if you can not attend the event. By updating your RSVP when you can't make it other players on the waitlist will have a chance to attend. No-shows may make it harder to attend future meetups. Also, all library rules apply to this meetup event. Mainly that no food is allowed in the library. Covered drinks are allowed.

Cost: free Court Type: Outdoor Sand Level: Social (everyone is welcome) Transportation: Parking will be right in front of the courts. What to bring: a ball if you have one. This is a social volleyball which means as long as you played volleyball before and can keep some rally going you can attend. The point is to practice being a team player, have fun, be social, and make friends. We should try to have 2 passes before sending the ball over on most plays. Let's get everyone involved in the game.

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Goddess of Spring and the Underworld,”** an introduction to the Greek goddess Persephone in her many incarnations, with Brittany Warman, former instructor at Ohio State University and co-founder of the Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-persephone](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-persephone) .] Join Brittany Warman, who has earned a huge following among Profs and Pints fans by delivering fantastic talks on folklore, myths, legends, and fantasy, for the perfect event for the season: a look at the spring goddess Persephone and the many ways in which she has inspired the human imagination. The story of Hades and Persephone is one of the most famous—and most retold—episodes in Greek mythology. Persephone’s abduction, her interlude in the Underworld, and her partial return to the world above have inspired statues and webcomics, ancient cults and contemporary poetry. Thousands of years after her tale was first told, we’re still fascinated by this goddess. Brittany will discuss how Persephone’s appeal lies in her liminality in being caught between two very different worlds and lives. She represents spring, renewal, and rebirth because Earth blooms with her return, but she’s also the Queen of the Underworld. From a 21st-century perspective, she’s basically a goth girl adorned with a flower crown. We’ll also look at Persephone’s mythic roots, including their connections to the Eleusinian Mysteries. And then we’ll dive into some of the ways that Persephone has been revised and retold in recent years, from the Tony award-winning musical *Hadestown* to the webcomic *Lore Olympus* to memes and fairy tales and fashion. After all, why be just one thing when you can be the queen of both spring and darkness? (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: From “Proserpine” (Persephone) painted by Dante Gabriel Rossetti in 1882. (Birmingham Museums Trust / Wikimedia Commons.)

Please bring white and dark shirts Small grass field Read comments below for latest info.

**Cost:** Free (If you enjoy the free class and would like to donate to the coach, you can do so here via **Venmo,** **@mpineyro26)** **What to bring:** Please bring a ball with your name on it and drinking water. Please be ready to learn and to have fun with people in the area. Are you new to sports, want to learn a new sport, or want to improve in volleyball? Here is your chance! Volleyball is a growing sport here in the DMV. The host will teach you basic volleyball skills that will allow you to get better at or learn a new sport. The host will take you through a 6-week program that will make you feel better about how you play and your volleyball confidence. **\*New Group Chat:** Because of the amount of crypto scammers out there, only people who ask to be added in front of me will be added. [https://chat.whatsapp.com/FhLXZY2kvjRBC8mSsXW8Ms](https://chat.whatsapp.com/FhLXZY2kvjRBC8mSsXW8Ms) **\*Our YouTube Channel:** [https://www.youtube.com/@mp02626](https://www.youtube.com/@mp02626) **Game Plan:** Week 1: Underhand Serve, Basics, Rules, and Defensive Positions Week 2: Platform, Receive/Passing (1), Receive/Com (6) Week 3: Serving overhand, Set, Set, Set **Week 4: Spiking/Blocking/Testing Day!** Week 5: Beginners Tournament Week 6: Trip to VA Beach to play Beach Volleyball * The plan is to do *drills for 60 minutes* and *60 minutes of playing* to apply what we've learned. * *If you missed week 1*, let the host know so he can give you a quick tutorial on the basic rules. **Important Videos:** Week 1 [101 Basics](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33sWyhjhacM) [Volleyball Rules:](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzO7EvB7mDE) [Base Defence (positions)](https://youtu.be/IGfj8k9QjwI) *** Week 2 [Receive/Pass](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOgfoEGUDCA) *** Week 3 [Overhand Serve](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au3QYrvsy9k) [Setting](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5mpBCRK_yk) [Setting](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH0LiQH5D5U) [Spin Set](https://youtu.be/04CgNspFFxQ?si=KqilChLYjy5LA_WQ&t=24) *** Week 4 [3 Step Approach](https://youtu.be/4hTPaeJQzEs?si=9gC3ae-jIVuvsH-I&t=35) [Spiking](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIdN4eYCc2A) [Blocking](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CSQARq6JC8) Tests Week 5 Beginners Vball Tournament 6 Teams [Last Tournament](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDRQRedCHWE) Week 6 Virginia Beach Getaway [Beach Trip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKFe3-xnGts) **FAQ:** I missed the first week, can I still attend week x? *Yes, any week is a good week to learn and practice.* I am taking another beginner's volleyball class; can I attend this one? *Yes* I am more advanced than a beginner; can I attend week x? *Yes, come and practice in whatever you are weak in.* Can I bring a friend? *Yes* Can I come even if I don't have a ball? *Yes, but we recommend a ball so you can use it while you are here, and you can practice with your ball.* Do you have a ball pump? *I do*

Let's get together to play some competitive coed doubles volleyball. **COST**: FREE **Court Type**: Outdoor grass **Minimum Skill Requirements**: Solid BB (click [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PojSi4qdlRsv1msCHhvpQ43iDc4FfzQwpWCc3kafVMY/mobilebasic) for details) Attention: 1. This event is **not always on a first come, first served basis**. [Good doubles partner](https://docs.google.com/document/d/14weEw-P52XKx0P8K2l-ZOFtYU61wmfdkSkopbG5avro/) and those who can bring a net and ball, may get priority over others on the waitlist. 2. Since skill levels are **self-reported**, some attendees may not meet the expected level in reality, so we encourage you to choose a partner you can enjoy the game with, and since this is a **competitive** event, it is okay if you make a strong team and win all the games. 3. Since people arrive at different times, each group of 4 players will **set up and claim a net** as they arrive, and may continue playing without rotating until all nets are set. **Smiley Social documents:** 1. [Group Rules](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HrG35p_0M08leRvCp8XWG3CMkr_GL928XFabl5T6Dvg) 2. [Smiley Social Volleyball Levels](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PojSi4qdlRsv1msCHhvpQ43iDc4FfzQwpWCc3kafVMY/edit) 3. [Good doubles partner](https://docs.google.com/document/d/14weEw-P52XKx0P8K2l-ZOFtYU61wmfdkSkopbG5avro/) 4. [Liability Waiver](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W2mq-7m99lmvd7gdWYaSUFtvVg4UGnzV6koafAbHmco)

This month's prompt concerns the idea of the “warrior philosopher” (seemed appropriate in these times)--that is someone whose understanding of violence, power, and justice is forged through direct experience of war. We are looking at Major General Smedley D. Butler, a highly decorated U.S. Marine raised in a Quaker (pacifist) tradition who later became a prominent critic of American militarism (there is a wonderful biography of Gen. Butler called "Gangsters of Capitalism") Butler's argument in *War Is a Racket* (1935): that many U.S. interventions were driven less by national defense than by corporate and financial interests, with Butler portraying himself as an enforcer for business and Wall Street. We can consider the moral ambiguity of his insider critique—whether complicity strengthens or undermines credibility and also consider some of the concrete reforms he proposed (e.g., “conscript” capital before soldiers, restrict the military to coastal defense, and have only those who fight decide on war). Butler’s life arc clearly changed from pacifist upbringing to warrior to antiwar crusader—and asks whether true understanding of peace requires firsthand knowledge of war, and what that implies about the cost of suffering. So do we need to suffer to understand suffering? Do we have to experience war to appreciate peace? As one more question: in the movie "A Few Good Men" Jack Nicholson's character says that "you have the luxury of not knowing what I know" so do most of us go through life oblivious to real violence and suffering? See you at Drunken Philosophy!

Dodgeball is back again! If you’ve been wanting to come out, this is an easy one to join. We’ll be playing for about 1.5 to 2 hours, you do not need to bring any equipment, and no experience is needed. We use a specific set of rules and equipment to make the games run better and keep them fun for everybody, not just people who already know how to play. If it rains, the event will be canceled.

AI is changing how art is made. But when does it stop being your work and start being the machine’s? This month we're going to be doing a panel with with digital image, music, and written word artists, talking about at what point, while using AI in the creation process, does the work become not the artist creation? We encourage audience participation during this event that will be moderated by Chris Slee. Whether you’re deep in the field or just getting curious, come connect with others building and exploring AI in Columbus. Sponsored by [Transform Labs](https://www.transformlabs.com/services) Sign up also accessible via [Transform Labs Luma](https://luma.com/55umjqta)