John Rog’s Blog
Headed over to Kai’s last night and we watched the new Star Trek movie. It was really good. We also ate native American inspired cuisine at a restaurant called the “Blue Agave.” Pretty good stuff.
Still working on a big Street Fighter project. Hopefully in the coming weeks, I’ll be able to unveil it.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there. I spent my Mother’s Day (obviously with my Mom) at nice seafood restaurant in Newport Beach. It was nice.
On another note: I am in the midst of working on a Street Fighter event that will hopefully be a success. It’s still going to be a long ways off but we’ll see what happens.
Kai plays Fuson909 while ShglBMX takes on Mr. KoF.
Had a good night of casuals at Arcade Infinity tonight. Fuson909, Kai, and ShglBMX were in for play and we all had good rounds. I played a lot of King of Fighters XII tonight. It’s a fun game, but I can’t stray too far from Street Fighter IV.
ShglBMX, Kai, and I had Claimjumpers before heading to the arcade where I had a full rack of ribs. Good stuff. It may have helped me do decently as I pulled a 20 win streak in SFIV.
Probably not going to have a lot of Street Fighter time the rest of the week. Gotta finish up a lot of work and then I’ll be going to my parent’s home for the weekend to celebrate Mother’s Day. I’ve got a nice dinner reservation at a seafood restaurant on the coast of Newport Beach. Should be nice. Too bad I’m going to be missing the Denjin Arcade ranking battle. Good luck to those that attend.
Arcade Infinity Ranking Battle 2.2
Just got back from AI Ranbat 2.2 where I think I must have gotten like 17th ish or something. I played Moval in the 2nd round where my need to do crouching jabs were punished heavily. A trick I believe that won’t work on me anymore, but it cost me heavily to learn the lesson.
I came back and beat out a number of people in losers when I got a phone call from my old friend Jennifer. She was having a birthday get together tonight in Mission Viejo and since I haven’t seen her in forever, I felt like I should go. I didn’t want to just throw away the tournament though, so I was in a state of ambivalence. Luckily enough, after a few more games in the losers bracket, I came up against my old California Regionals partner, Bryant the Tyrant. Bryant and I generally go back and forth. Abel is a weird match where I’ll either just completely dominate the round or get wrecked. I think both characters are momentum characters so whoever gets it, wins it. Well, Bryant took me out and I was free to come home.
Glen from Getyourtournament.com wanted to do an audio interview with me for his site so I obliged and spoke with him for a bit. Interesting that I’m getting interviews and whatnot. My life has completely changed since Nov. ‘08.
So anyways, here I am back home. I think I got 17th-ish or something. I’m sure the official results will be posted later and I’ll update my games page. Time to take a shower, put on some nice clothes, and head out to Mission Viejo and catch up with old friends.
Ed Ma and Kai put on their "Scrub" face at Arcade Infinity.
Been meaning to post since Thursday but haven’t had the chance. Here’s what’s been going on with me:
Thursday Night: I went over to Kai’s house where Kai, Ken I, and I played some SF4 looking for new punishes in practice mode. After a while, we made our way to Rowland but instead of heading straight to Arcade Infinity, we went to Olive Garden (apparently, one of Ken I’s favorite restaurants) where we had a $21 bottle of wine (the most popularly imported Ri-invent or something like that) along with our dinner. Kai and I finished the bottle as Ken doesn’t drink and I was feeling on the lighter side of fucked up. We then head to AI where ShglBMX was playing King of Fighters XII and Ed Ma came later. Ed came up with a “scrub” face where you look super intently at the screen and place your upper teeth over your lower lip. Amazing. Ed Ma is truly the Master. I got in a few games but didn’t make much of a dent as Kai/Ed were running the machine.
Friday Night: After work, I again went over to Kai’s place. It seemed like out of both of our group of friends, we were the ONLY two people in the world who wanted to watch the movie, Fighting. We went over to Cinema City and lo and behold, it was SOLD OUT. On the opening night of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Fighting was sold out. Kai and I had our share of laughs about that and we grabbed dinner at a sushi joint.
By the time we got to Arcade Infinity, people had already left for Banana Bay; so obviously, we went to Banana Bay to toss back a few drinks and hang out with the guys. Good times.
We returned to Arcade Infinity where we all played games till roughly 2:30am. I’m having a really difficult time with any Sagat player who knows what buttons to press. I cant beat Paul and I’m barely putting a scratch into Combo Jack, aka Jack Daniels, aka Jack the Ripper and Ironfist. These three Sagats in my bracket of any tournament probably means I’m not advancing that round. I really need to learn what to do in this match up.
Anyways, around 2:45am, Kai, myself, Warren, and Jay94 drove to Morongo.
Saturday: Kai, Jay, and I played Mini-Baccarat until 2:30pm when we started from 3:30am. My eyes were about to bleed. Warren went to play Blackjack. During our time gambling, Kai and I had a high enough player rating to comp two meals for the whole group. Not bad. I left a bill up after having been up roughly three bills. Kai just would not stop. Oh well, it’s going to be the last time we gamble together until Devastation or Evolution.
On the way back home, we stopped by a little town called Banning where we actually watched Fighting at the Fox Cineplex. Okay, here’s the deal: This movie theater had 3 screens. Two of these screens were accessible from entering the theater from the main entrance. The entrace to the screen where Fighting was playing, was located outside of the cineplex, around a back alley, behind a door with no one checking tickets. This theater had roughly 80 seats, non-stadium, with the screen lifted above the floor so everyone watched upward. There was no air conditioning in this room. The seat next to me was covered in gum as well as a huge wad of gum on the floor where my feet were. The seats had some odd fake suede like material that was held together with duct tape in some areas. Bottom line: This theater was amazing. I believe Warren was the only one who actually watched the movie. Kai, Jay, and I were asleep for about 80% of the film. I woke up for two fight scenes and part of an awkward dialogue between the protagonist and leading lady.
Renewed, we made our way back to AI where I played some games. I cleanly beat everyone there except for FloggingMollyLA who also plays Boxer. I think Boxer mirror matches are the matches I hate the most in Street Fighter IV. Boxer mirrors, Sagats, Giefs, then Dictators, in that order. Argh, it is such a stupid match. Whatever. I finally got home, ate some Taco Bell with my best friend, and now as I finish this stupidly long post, I am going to go to sleep.
Tomorrow is the Arcade Infinity ranking battle. I hope I do well, but in a way, I hope I also get peaced out in two so that I can return home and just rest a day this weekend. We’ll see how I do. I’m actually charging my camera battery so hopefully, I’ll have some good photos.
Paul(somuchdamage) and Ed Ma playing at Paul's house.
Had a good night of Street Fighter leveling up against some of the very best in the business. Got my ass handed to me for the whole night, but it was a learning experience.
The Master Ed Ma came over to my place in the evening and we played a good two hours of games. Ed rotated around the cast, primarily playing his new main Akuma. It was a slaughter, but I curbed a few bad habits by the end. Clearly not enough to take down the Master by any means, but I did take one game from him. Finally, after sixty-eight games (I have been keeping track since December ‘08), I took one game from Ed Ma.
Ed and I headed over to Paul’s (somuchdamage) house in Chino Hills to get in some more Sagat practice. Ed and Paul went at it for a while and then me vs Paul. Paul still owns me for free, but I also got a game in on Paul also. Movin’ on up!
Ed also gave me some really good advice as to where and try and level my Balrog. I’ve got a long way to go and if I want to make any kind of impact at Evolution, I’ve got to get crackin’. I will probably be at Arcade Infinity tomorrow and Friday to play some more. Arcade Infinity ranking battle 2.2 will be this Sunday so I hope to get into top 8 there.
Jab Strong Fierce Opening Night at Gallery Nucleus
Just got back from the Jab Strong Fierce Art Show/Tournament. I’ll get the quick one of out of the way: I got matched up with Peter Rosas, aka Combofiend 2nd round. Did not advance.
So I got to Kai’s place circa 6pm and we made our way over to the show. You would not believe how many people came out for the opening night. The gallery was completely packed with droves of people outside waiting to get in. It was an amazing success. I saw a lot of familiar faces including: Ed Ma, Mike Ross, Combofiend, KillerKai, Ken I, Warren, and Jack Daniels. I also got to meet the legendary Mike Watson which was a real treat. Ultimately, Kai ended up taking the tournament from this cast of characters. That’s a lot of stiff competition. Well done Kai.
As for the gallery itself, there were a lot of very nice art pieces (of which I think I may buy two later on in the week after my next paycheck). I felt like Street Fighter really has a shot of being more than just two guys mashing buttons to beat each other up virtually. This culture is so grounded on its foundations, yet so diverse and complex. It struck me tonight that this game transcends just two characters on a TV screen, and I’m going to be a part of that. Through Street Fighter, I’ve met so many wonderful people that share a passion with me. I can connect, at some level, with every player who’s ever shot a fireball. That’s my nirvana for the week. Kekeke.
I should be heading out for the Denjin Arcade Ranking Battle in about 3 hours, but I’m just far too tired. Long night.
Lots of pictures taken so enjoy!
Dannahann plays Tatsu at Arcade Infinity
It’s been a long time coming, but I’m finally back in the lab. Now that I’m no longer working overtime, I’ve been spending a lot more time leveling up my game. I’ve done the best I’ve ever done this past weekend at both Denjin and Arcade Infinity, getting both myself and helping my team place 5th. However, there is no time to be complacent. As Gootecks told me, you either use it or lose it. I’ve been working on my execution at home and taking my game to the arcades. There are still plenty of people that I can’t even touch in the So Cal scene. I made a decent splash today running 8-10 game streaks with various players there.
Tonight’s crowd included: Kai, Tatsujinken, Sanchez, Viscious, Dannahan, Art, and AMG Power along with a few people I did not recognize (basically a few random Sagats who were free for any of the players listed above). I did the best I’ve ever done against Kai, beating his Chun Li twice, his Blanka once, and took a round from his El Fuerte. Looking back at it, that’s actually pretty sad that I counted these victories. He’s one of the guys that I have just little to no chance against, so any win is one that I hold onto in a little box of memories.
On a side note: Arcade Infinity got BlazBlue which looks pretty interesting (Noel Vermillion is the hawtness), but looks like it is going to have a steep learning curve. Something I just don’t have the time for. I’ll stick with Street Fighter IV.
All in all, a good night. Got a very good number of games in thanks to a few win streaks. We ended the night at Maxim Cafe where I feasted on french fries. Win. Tomorrow (today technically) I turn 25 so I will be drinking the night away with my buddies. Hopefully, I don’t lose too many braincells as there is the Gallery Nucleus tournament on Saturday and the Denjin ranbat on Sunday. Looks like another weekend I won’t be able to relax.
So yesternight I went to the Deja Vu strip club tourney. I thought this was going to be a hype event. Street Fighter, girls, homies, drinks: Sounds like a great time. Unfortunately, I only got 1 of the 4 I mentioned.
I got to Deja Vu in City of Industry at 9pm, the sign up time. I was greeted at the door by familiar faces. Killerkai, Mike Ross, Blackpyro, Legend of Lore, Ironfist, Moval, and Kai were just a few of the people in attendance. Seeing Mike Ross again after so long was a highlight. Unfortunately, that was probably the best part of the night.
The tournament was setup on a single PS3 that was broadcast to 3 TVs in opposite corners from where we sat to play. This means people constantly blocked your view during gameplay. On top of this, it ended up being a pad/stick tournament where they only had one stick. The 8ms input lag was the shit covered cherry on top. I take that back. The 15 minutes it took per single elimination match was the shit covered cherry on top. Effectively, they would play a game, and have a pole dance. Play a game, and have a pole dance. I did not play my first round until 4 hours in. On top of that, because people had left and however they were calling off names on the clip board, I got Kai in the first round. At this point, I hardly cared to stay and just tried to jump fierce the whole time. Kai won easily.
I got a few lapdances and called it a night. Ironfist, Moval, Legend of Lore, and I went to Tommy Burgers at 2am to eat a grease-tastic meal. After shooting the shit for awhile, I dropped them off at Video94 where they had parked their cars (they all came with Kai). Kai had stayed to play out the tournament despite all the crying he had done saying he didn’t want to be there. Lawlz Kai. I heard later that Art and Mike Ross were in the finals and they agreed to split the money despite who won. I believe Art won. Congrats to each of you. I heard that shit lasted till 4am so I definitely would not have wanted to be there all that time.
When we got to Video94, Jack the Ripper, aka MC Jack, aka Jack Daniels happened to be there. Ironfist, Moval, and Legend took off but I just had to play a few games. Well fuck, I got home at 5am and came into work nearly an hour late. I am very sleepy but work has got to get done. Typing this up during my lunch break.
I was going to go to Arcade Infinity tonight but with my current status, I’m not sure if I will. Whatever. I hope to get at least 2 nights out at AI during the week so I’ll still probably end up going to AI tonight. The Nucleus Gallery tournament is on Saturday with Denjin ranbats on Sunday. Hopefully, I’ll make an impact.
Ninja'd from Scott's flickr. Christian, myself, Dan, Legend at Banana Bay.
Just got back from the Arcade Infinity 3v3 tournament where MYK, Rickstah, and I came in at 5th place out of 24 teams (my camera died before I got there so no photos). There were a lot of beastly teams playing today, but ultimately we had a repeat of California Regionals for the winner:
As you can see, the teams were stacked heavy. Our team went to losers playing Kai’s team, and was OCV’d out of the tournament by Paul (somuchdamage). I still have no f’in clue how to beat Paul. I’ve never made any headway on this guy ever. He is so solid and so dangerous. Hats off to Paul.
I had I think 4 or 5 big OCVs, effectively carrying the team to 5th. It wasn’t only me; A lot of players were on fire today. Tatsu was tearing up big name players left and right. Jack, Fuson, and Ronstoppable were taking turns OCVing teams. It was a high level tournament so I’m proud of coming in 5th.
This marks 2 tournaments now that I have come in 5th. Too bad this didn’t happen a month earlier because then, Gooteck’s experiment would have proven successful. What I can say, is that if you really want it, and you go to get it, you can do it. I have put in a lot of time and effort into learning Street Fighter IV and I’m finally seeing some results. Hopefully, I’ll be able to continue growing. I’ll post links to videos as soon as they come out. Finally, videos of me winning are going to be posted online!!!
Next tournament is a Denjin ranking battle I believe. I’ll have to see if I want to go all the way out to Simi Valley again since it is a terribly far drive. If I carpool again though, maybe I will. I’ll be at Arcade Infinity on Wednesday and Friday this week, so if you’re in the area, come and get some games!