|
Mario Kart MB
https://www.mariokart64.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl Mario Kart >> Super Mario Kart >> ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! https://www.mariokart64.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1569614692 Message started by Humanoidgale on 09/27/19 at 12:04:52 |
|
Title: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 09/27/19 at 12:04:52 Greetings fellow karters! I would like to announce that plans for ASMKC 2020 are well underway! The format will be the same as last year's with it being a two day, triple elimination event. The dates are March 14th and 15th, 2020. We're working on having the tournament at a place called Hooligans, it's a barcade that opened up here in Monroe, Louisiana a few weeks ago. If we don't have it there then we will have it at the same venue as last year. We realize that last year's tournament had its fair share of mistakes but this tournament will be different. ASMKC 2020 (aka Kartamania 2020) will be bigger, faster, stronger, smoother and sexier than ASMKC 2019. We haven't ironed out a price yet for the entry fee but rest assured that it will be cheap. Also, the Kartel will again host as many people as possible coming from Europe :) I know there was a major lack of communication and updates regarding ASMKC 2019 and I apologize. I'm an extremely lazy person but Kyle, Chris, and Eric have agreed to keep my (our) laziness in check and give the people what they want which is a constant stream of updates and information [smiley=thumbsup.gif]. I miss you guys and look forward to seeing everyone who came to ASMKC 2019 and of course all of you who couldn't make it as well! :) PS. ScouB and Karel, Kyle has been working diligently on the results from ASMKC 2019 and will be sending them to ScouB soon ;) Harvey, your gold plated Trump coin is finally on it's way 8-) Karel, you can collect your silver Trump coin when you come here in March 8-) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by NitraM on 09/27/19 at 14:37:11 It's March 14th, there should be a Trump pie ;) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 09/28/19 at 15:00:48 as long as I have no bed bugs I will be there. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 09/28/19 at 20:48:40 Looking forward to it of course! Id like to scout out the barcade with you guys, space and noise may be the only issues. For those that like to drink alcoholic beverages that may add an extra expense compared to last year. We have to ensure also that the internet is enough to set up a proper stream. I'll get with the Kartel and go check this place out, and then roll out a poll for voting. I'm going to be way more proactive this year in helping with set up and expenses, my sincerest regards to my hands being tied for the last tournament, I'm very sorry. What ya gonna do when Kartamania runs wild on you brother!!!?!? ;D |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 09/29/19 at 00:17:49 A "barcade" (haven't heard that word before) would be amazing, I mean, the drinks would be right there. ;) I take it that Hooligans is kinda like a Dave & Buster's? You know, like an arcade for us grown-ups? Where exactly in Monroe is this place anyway? Is it in/near Pecanland? If so that would be easy to find, as the mall is one of the first things you see coming into Monroe from the east on I-20. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 09/29/19 at 02:06:47 209 Louisville Ave Monroe, Louisiana So its not terribly far from the mall. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Antistar on 09/29/19 at 12:11:32 Good to know almost 6 months before! I will look after flights earlier than this year, because I'm interested in attending again. This time I will consider making the trip only for ASMKC though. Which is the airport I should aim at? |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 09/29/19 at 13:19:03 Jackson Mississippi is the nearest international airport, its only a few hours from Monroe. Direct flights to Monroe can be pricy, so that may be the best option. Who knows maybe you could ride with Harvey from there! Not putting that on Nick, but its an option. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by KVD on 09/29/19 at 13:46:31 A roadtrip with Harvey....talk about life goals. [smiley=lolk.gif] Excellent news Kartel! I'll try my best to be there, for sure. 8-) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 09/29/19 at 15:02:31 Everyone Keep in mind that I am only 90 minutes away from Nashville TN. Would be happy to give a ride to the event. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Antistar on 09/30/19 at 00:18:37 09282C2E2223283F242E3E22234D0 wrote:
As long as there's somebody safe to pick me up at Jackson I don't really care hahaha, I just don't wanna spend extra money on a second flight AND have to deal with a flight change. Last experience was such a bummer. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dan H on 09/30/19 at 04:39:45 The weekend of my anniversary!! sigh.... My wife is wondering what there is to do in Monroe. You'll have to sell her on the location in order for me to have a chance at playing in a video game tournament on our anniversary, lol. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Danger M on 09/30/19 at 04:50:52 123631313A0C1110082B3E5F0 wrote:
Just show her some pics of Matt and Adam, she'll probably book the flights herself then. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 09/30/19 at 05:12:46 Eric, What is the location for the second venue? I am looking at places to stay. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by ScouB on 09/30/19 at 05:29:05 6A484B4B270 wrote:
Just show her some pics of Matt and Adam, she'll probably book the flights herself then.[/quote] ;D ;D ;D On a more serious note, I'll try to come this year as I missed last year's edition.. It'll depends mainly on the progress of the work in our new house. (and availibility/money of course...) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 09/30/19 at 09:54:57 Scoub nothing would please us more if you could make it! To answer Dave's question: 1500 N 19th St Monroe LA. Everyone really seemed to enjoy the venue there. Im going to go check out hooligans tomorrow, it seems like an amazing place. Good mix of old, and new arcade machines, and my personal favs pinball machines. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by hahaae on 10/01/19 at 14:12:36 Hmmm, sounds interesting. Might try attending, work permitting. It's relatively close |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 10/01/19 at 16:55:00 ^ You're probably closer to Monroe than I am. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Andrew K on 10/02/19 at 08:10:01 Hell yeah let’s do this again! So the week before Kartamania I’ll be in Gulf Shores AL with some friends and if i bring my car I can leave on Friday. It’s too far out for me to say I’m 100% going, but I don’t see anything stopping me right now. Coming from Gulf Shores means I’ll pass straight through Jackson on my way to Monroe, so I can definitely pick up people from the airport on Friday if needed. I could also come through Gulfport to pick up Nick on the way to Jackson; it’s only a 45 minute detour so I think it’s a great option. I can take myself and 3 people, 4 if necessary but it would be tight. The return trip will definitely be trickier. I’ll need to go 8 hours north to reach St. Louis, and last year I drove through Sunday night to make it there for Monday classes. If I can figure out a way to get Monday off, I could stay Sunday night and take people to the Jackson airport Monday. Going to Gulfport is also a possibility, but it would turn 9 hours of driving into 14.5 hours. Maybe a bus is an option? And perhaps Dave could help with a return trip. Either way we have plenty of time to figure it out. I’m excited already [smiley=beer.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 10/02/19 at 08:52:50 My trip also takes me through Jackson so I would be able to stop and pick up people. I can only fit me plus 2 in my truck. The back will be tight but should ok. My plan is to come down on Friday and head home on Monday so I also could give a ride back to Jackson. My drive will be around 9 hours so would be great to have someone to talk too for some of the trip. Eric, I have found this Hotel. Hamilton House Inn off of Commerce St. How is the area around there? |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Max28 on 10/02/19 at 09:00:06 How late about would we be going on Sunday? I'm looking at taking a bus from Atlanta to Monroe, it's about an 11 hour ride. I'm not sure what my class schedule for second semester will be, but it's possible I won't have any classes on Friday and I would be able to be there for the whole day Friday as well as the weekend. I could probably miss Monday classes but it would be nice if I could go back overnight on Sunday. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 10/02/19 at 20:49:55 Dave, it's not in a bad part of town, and within a 2 miles of each proposed venue. Parking seems a bit limited though. Max I'd expect the event to go no longer than midnight at latest, as things should run much smoother than last year. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 10/04/19 at 09:43:08 Courtesy of Kyle Randol 8-) https://youtu.be/1A0BCQRATTY |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Antistar on 10/04/19 at 23:54:45 I was expecting an ASMKC'20 trailer, I found something even better and much more unexpected! :o [smiley=thumbsup.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 10/05/19 at 14:05:49 5F627A7679787E7370767B72170 wrote:
WOW!!! That was epic. [smiley=smokin.gif] I see y'all got shots of my back yard, the Beau Rivage casino in Biloxi, me solving the Sunday crossword, and quick shots of me showing off my Final Fantasy II save file and one-trying GV2 on PAL Time Trial. Again, thanks for the Trump coin! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 10/31/19 at 11:49:16 OH SHIT! Well my fellow Karters, I have made my reservations for my nights stay for the Kart meet. [smiley=bath.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 11/01/19 at 21:18:54 Hell yeah man! Looking forward to finally meeting you! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 11/04/19 at 15:00:17 So it's official! ASMKC will be held March 14th and 15th at Hooligans, a barcade located at 209 Louisville Avenue Monroe, LA 71201. The tournament will roughly last from 11am-11pm both days with Time Trials and Match Race being held on day one and Grand Prix and Battle Mode on day 2. I'll post a link on here soon so that everyone who plans on participating can go ahead and officially register for the event. The entry fee is $20 for one day or $40 for both. HOWEVER, if you bring a console or game we'll give you $10 off or $20 off if you can bring both [smiley=beer.gif]. Again, just like last year, the Kartel will provide housing for all players coming from outside of the US. If there's room to spare then we'll obviously house karters from the US as well. Of course Harvey and Andrew Koltz are welcome to stay with us too as they are both official members of the Kartel now 8-) (it's not too late to join Joe [smiley=thumbsup.gif]). We were pleased with European presence at the last tournament and we hope to see you all again in 2020 as well as ScouB, Neo, Sophie, David Moll, Conor Woods, etc. Also it'd be great if GAS, Alencar and other players from Brazil could make it as well as Michael Sumner and co. from Australia and maybe even a karter or 2 from Japan :). The American karter turnout was pretty weak this year so hopefully 2020 will be much better. On that note I'd like to extend a personal invitation to Tyler Worley, Joel Johnson, Dan H. and Mr. Fabrice Baro from Canada. I know I'm probably forgetting some names but anyone who is reading this is invited and we would all love to meet you [smiley=beer.gif] Your American Champion, Batt Mallard PS. I got your message Harvey and unfortunately not everyone I live with is on board with having cat :( but I do appreciate the offer and we all look forward to seeing you sometime next month [smiley=dankk2.gif]. Dan H, wedding anniversaries were created in a lab by the CIA in the 1950s to distract people from stracting. They're not even real man. Also, Fenner told me he would come if you could make it [smiley=beer.gif]. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 11/04/19 at 15:37:48 Hope nothing happens that will prevent me from being able to make it this time. I really need to be saving up for this especially January/February. I'm going to bring all the consoles, SMK cartridges (I actually have two NTSC-- one American and one Japanese) and controllers that I can to help out with this. Maybe it still isn't too late for Sir Sami Çetin and Dame Leyla Hasso to decide they want to come back as well. ;) I'll try all four modes (GP, TT, MR, BM) though I don't expect to do that well in any of them. Oh, and what if Andrew, Eric, Heather, or Kyle wants a cat? They would be welcome to take our kittens. We really want them to have a new home before they grow up, my mother decided that we will not be keeping them when they get big (Bubba Sue and Billie Jean are enough to feed), and we really don't want to send them to an animal shelter (which may not want to keep them, either). We have five of them: two Siamese, two black, and one gray and black striped tabby. We just want them to have a good life in a loving home. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 11/04/19 at 22:26:15 I got dibs on the tabby!!! Our new cat that showed up earlier this year went missing 3 weeks ago, so I'd glady take a cat! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 11/04/19 at 22:52:34 ^ I'll tell my parents to save the tabby for you (I actually held him earlier tonight), they'll all be ready in another month. Hopefully all the kittens can survive the next month, they're starting to get out of their box and explore but we currently have it set up so that they can't go somewhere where we might step on them at night. Their mother will help keep them warm (here in Gulfport we're not that much warmer than Monroe this time of year, it's already gotten down to 38°F here within the past week, but the little ones managed) You live out in the country, don't you, I'm sure you could use a mouser. 8-) With any luck, I've now got at least one kitten that will be living in north Louisiana by the end of 2019 with one of the top SMK time trialers in the nation. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Lafungo on 11/04/19 at 23:12:10 1D2038343B3A3C3132343930550 wrote:
We'll see about that. [smiley=ninja.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 11/05/19 at 00:58:27 Thanks Nick, looking forward to meeting the Lil guy! Lafungo I find it ironic you, and Matt became US PAL champs in European nations! Congratulations on your title, and WR! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Sami de la SMK on 11/05/19 at 04:04:21 12353F3433303D2F03143D2E2A39255C0 wrote:
Similarly I hope to be able to make it as long as no urgent family or work commitments prevent it. As she made it very clear to everyone in the 2019 edition, Leyla has University finals in 2020 just after when the ASMKC is plus all of the final assignments which need completing that month, so she opted to make the 2019 edition instead. I will let her reply on that if she reads this at some point as I know she is very busy the whole year and might not read the forum much. If memory serves correct I believe Lafungo was doing similar in 2019 and couldn't make the ASMKC for the same studying reasons. But perhaps he is aiming for a 2020 or 2021 appearance at ASMKC? Again he can clarify that himself too... |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 11/06/19 at 00:06:27 Well maybe Leyla will be back in 2021 then. She'll be old enough to drink with us then. [smiley=beer.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Sami de la SMK on 11/06/19 at 01:32:09 785F555E595A5745697E574440534F360 wrote:
2021? That's ages away... too slow! We got her a drink in 2018 CDM after the Time Trial Final. Come to CDM 2020 you guys can have a drink earlier! I'll even throw in a coffee for you, then you can have a cold drink in one hand and a hot drink in the other. [smiley=beer.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 11/06/19 at 13:58:04 Well the kittens got to move into a bigger (temporary) house today. My dad went to U-Haul and paid over $10 for a large cardboard box big enough for Billie Jean and the whole family. We did have them in a pet carrier but they were going to outgrow that soon. We have the U-Haul box set up so that Billie Jean can climb in and out of it but the kittens can't. We really want the kittens in new permanent homes before they're big enough to leave the U-Haul box on their own. It's not often that moving into a cardboard box is a step up [smiley=lolk.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by SMKChamp on 11/08/19 at 08:20:13 Dallas DFW would be the cheapest airport to fly into for most people. $100-$300 round trip from most cities in the US if you buy at least two weeks ahead of time on a day when cheap flights are available. Europe to DFW is $500-$900. From there, a rental car is $100-$120 for 3 days and about $60 for gas round trip of 600 miles. It’s a 4-hour easy drive to Monroe along two highways with little traffic outside Dallas. It makes sense if you have two or more people in your party or can carpool with other players. There may be flights just as cheap to smaller airports about two hours away, but Dallas has the most flights, so you’re not likely to get something cheaper elsewhere unless you want to drive 12 hours from Atlanta. New Orleans MSY is also another option that’s a 4-hour drive if you prefer to drive through that part(might be more scenic from southern Lousiana vs the plains/farms/desert of eastern Texas and western Lousiana. https://www.google.com/flights#flt=CDG./m/0f2rq.2020-03-13*/m/0f2rq.CDG.2020-03-16;c:USD;e:1;sd:1;t:f |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Sami de la SMK on 11/08/19 at 09:00:57 68796A6A667E0C0 wrote:
From London the Atlanta short hop to Monroe way was best unless want to do something complicated. You going again Drew? |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by SMKChamp on 11/08/19 at 13:53:38 What price did you pay last year? I see they’re about $1000 now. I’m gonna try to buy a ticket at least a month ahead of time now. Looking to fly into New Orleans this time if I can get a flight around $200. I’m tracking the price on google price alerts. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 11/08/19 at 15:42:32 If you're flying to New Orleans, any chance you could meet up with me and the Kartel in Gulfport on March 13? I could show you around my place. Hey, maybe Kyle's SUV has room for one more passenger... |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Antistar on 11/09/19 at 01:10:07 I will decide around January if I'm in, I will probably just do like last year and use the unexpected presidential bonus we had in France last year (which is now expected, but not confirmed) to afford my trip. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 11/09/19 at 15:29:45 ^ The Kartel told me during our spring meeting that you'd be back for sure. Don't disappoint us! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 11/09/19 at 19:43:42 Once you confirm, Mario will find a way. I'll gladly donate 79 dollars to help, 80 if something truly magical happens! We wanted to do short interviews with players from around the world while they eat hot peppers. If its not your cup of tea, its very understandable. Any takers? 8-) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by SMKChamp on 11/09/19 at 23:22:53 103C2F3432656B5D0 wrote:
Paris to Dallas return flight now $492. http://https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/477677822530551819/642986262915055627/Screen_Shot_2019-11-09_at_11.16.26_PM.png http://https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/477677822530551819/642994774000926727/Screen_Shot_2019-11-09_at_11.45.37_PM.png $596 to New Orleans. http://https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/477677822530551819/642987765721464853/Screen_Shot_2019-11-09_at_11.24.07_PM.png |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 11/09/19 at 23:55:35 507175777B7A71667D77677B7A140 wrote:
I'll do it! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Joe Reinreb on 11/10/19 at 14:45:53 I am in. Also I would like a place to sleep, haha. [smiley=johncleese.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Joe Reinreb on 11/10/19 at 14:48:05 And I plan on flying into Dallas and having my parents pick me up at the airport, then driving their Jeep to Monroe. Shaves a cool 32 hours off of last year's debacle... [smiley=johncleese.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Antistar on 11/11/19 at 00:53:25 312033333F27550 wrote:
Paris to Dallas return flight now $492. http://https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/477677822530551819/642986262915055627/Screen_Shot_2019-11-09_at_11.16.26_PM.png http://https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/477677822530551819/642994774000926727/Screen_Shot_2019-11-09_at_11.45.37_PM.png $596 to New Orleans. http://https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/477677822530551819/642987765721464853/Screen_Shot_2019-11-09_at_11.24.07_PM.png[/quote] Thanks but that's not something I can do right now, I need to have some stuff confirmed before with my employer first (not only the money thing). But that's a really good price, I just hope I can meet people in Dallas if I go there (Joe, TX -> LA trip again?). @Nick I don't think I have 100% confirmed I would definitely be there, just said I would do my best for it because I didn't want 2019 to be a one-shot. The only difference is, this time I will not book an entire week off for the trip, I will just go to the US for ASMKC and nothing else. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by SMKChamp on 11/11/19 at 11:50:11 @antistar. It would be feasible to make the trip if you had 2-3 other people from France book their tickets together as well. New Orleans would be a more entertaining and scenic place to drive through than Dallas. For people coming from London and can only spend about $500: Rental car is about $100 for three days and fuel costs would be about $100 total. Obviously it’s better if you can find at least one other person to book the same flight to share the costs. If you’re traveling from a county that uses a foreign alphabet, e.g. Cyrillic or Arabic, you will need to apply for an international driving permit for $20 online. The drive from Pensacola FL is about 6 hours. The other cheapest option is Austin but an hour longer and mostly desert vs forest/farmland. http://https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/477677822530551819/643533474703212544/Screen_Shot_2019-11-11_at_11.23.17_AM.png http://https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/477677822530551819/643533158419136550/Screen_Shot_2019-11-11_at_11.29.02_AM.png http://https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/477677822530551819/643533155222945792/Screen_Shot_2019-11-11_at_11.28.41_AM.png http://https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/477677822530551819/643533153021198355/Screen_Shot_2019-11-11_at_11.26.53_AM.png |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 11/11/19 at 12:19:42 What Kind of Peppers are we talking about here? Also, Everyone keep in mind that my trip will take me through Jackson. I think I can fit 3 people in my truck. The back seat might be a bit tight but it is only around 3 hours or so to Monroe. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Sami de la SMK on 11/11/19 at 15:22:07 544556565A42300 wrote:
Thanks for the options Drew, pretty much 100% I'll be travelling alone from London if I go, unless Moll/Clark/anyone else from UK is planning to. But most likely they / others will do different travel times as I'll be booking quite late on again like last year. I absolutely hate driving vehicles so definitely wouldn't rent a car, though I'm sure the country roads must be calmer than a city. This may be useful for those in the U.S who are in any surrounding States :) Oh and a polite decline in advance for the hot pepper business. ;D Would rather not cause a stomach upset during a short week away just in case. ::) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 11/11/19 at 20:43:03 [smiley=bath.gif]No worries Sami! Im a gluten for punishment myself, lol. The hottest peppers will be habanero, ghost, and Trinidad scorpions. The bottom rung would be jalapenos, cayenne, Serrano etc. Its not out of the question to do a progressively hotter chicken wing with various sauces much like Hot Ones does with various celebrities. Im coining it SMK Hot Seat, ;). Also the Kartel member doing the interview will match whatever the guest eats. Kyle will interview Harvey I would imagine. I'd like to interview Joe because of my sports knowledge of Chicago, I'll actually double up whatever Joe has to make for a memorable interview! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Antistar on 11/11/19 at 23:53:39 203122222E36440 wrote:
Yep, definitely. I don't know who is considering making except Scoub, actually. :-? |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 11/12/19 at 13:18:32 Eric, So safe to say you like hot stuff? If so, One of my family members started their own seasoning business called Chub Rub. I will bring you a bottle that is called Ghost Pepper. Here is the web site if you are curious. https://www.eatchub.com\ |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 11/12/19 at 20:23:44 Very cool Dave, thank you! I'll place an order with them, and give it a try. I got into eating hot peppers as a personal challenge, it evolved into cooking with them, making hot sauces, and powder. A lot of the peppers are unavailable in local markets, so I took initiative this year growing my own. Trinidad maruga scorpion has become my fav, has a taste that is head, and shoulders above others I've tried. The best reason to consume hot peppers is they are very healthy. I have about a pound of dried ghost pepper powder if capsulated you can get the benefits without the burn. To play it safe they should be taken with at least a cup of milk. I'll be growing on a much larger scale next year, and hope to have various products to offer. I'd also like to create a pepper it takes a long time, 8-9 years of crossing two peppers. Bowser's breath will be the name though, ;D. We will have more updates on the tournament in the coming weeks, I'll check back here on a regular basis if anyone has any future questions. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by KVD on 11/13/19 at 02:05:21 I don't mind eating spicy food, but unfortunately my body does. So I'm going to pull a Sami and watch from the sidelines. Meanwhile, I am 'confirmed' to attend. Massively looking forward to it already! 8-) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 11/13/19 at 22:35:20 We are thrilled to have the champion return! Hopefully Martin will be able to return as well. Any word on Patrick, Aron, and JTC? |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Antistar on 11/14/19 at 00:26:03 6B4152454C200 wrote:
What if I'm there and challenge you to play that game with me? :-* |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by KVD on 11/14/19 at 01:31:08 As long as I can win the Fenner shirt challenge against you I will be fine. No pressure, Sami. ;) *To be there, bring the shirt and stage a challenge [smiley=johncleese.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 11/14/19 at 21:32:03 193320373E520 wrote:
What an amazing twist! I'll make a custom shirt to throw in for the winner, and/or a bag of money. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dan H on 11/14/19 at 23:43:14 Patrick should show up just to do the spicy challenge |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Antistar on 11/14/19 at 23:56:27 6A4B4F4D41404B5C474D5D41402E0 wrote:
Ah yes great idea, I'll try to win it again to pay my CDM fees thanks to ASMKC for the second time in a row ;D |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Sami de la SMK on 11/15/19 at 01:54:51 42687B6C65090 wrote:
The Fenner T-Shirt will only make an appearance at ASMKC under three conditions 1. If Fenner actually goes (if there is no news then better get working on this! 4 months should be enough time). In which case we have the opportunity to return it to its rightful owner. Kind of like a Crown that belongs to a King. We can get a nice photo with him wearing it at the ASMKC. 2. If I make it. Else the T-shirt stays with me in London till next time. But never fear, there is always another year. Hey that rhymes! It just has to be handed to Fenner's hand in person by me. #NoPost 3. If I don't do something stupid like forget to bring it (this one is easy, just remind me some days before to pack it as long as '1.' is guaranteed). |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Chrono Krysster on 11/15/19 at 02:47:58 31030F0B620 wrote:
http://https://i.imgur.com/WQWz0Cw.png Something like this? |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by KVD on 11/15/19 at 02:53:34 63515D59300 wrote:
That's it, we're never going to see the shirt again. [smiley=cry.gif] Why even bother listing the other 2 conditions if the first one is obviously never going to happen in the lifetime of our universe? :-/ |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Sami de la SMK on 11/15/19 at 03:08:29 517B687F761A0 wrote:
That's it, we're never going to see the shirt again. [smiley=cry.gif] Why even bother listing the other 2 conditions if the first one is obviously never going to happen in the lifetime of our universe? :-/[/quote] Firstly it was extremely obviously a joke... Secondly more important -> what is this about Fenner never going to ASMKC ever? I know 2020 might not be guaranteed but I thought it was going to happen one year at least? :( Don't worry if im there il bring the tshirt you can do whatever, another battle thing etc. Just remind me like i said. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 11/17/19 at 08:29:51 All jokes aside, Fenner needs to be at this tournament and Dave Smith might be the key. You are the one, Dave. You see, you may have spent the last few years looking for me, but I have spent my entire life looking for you. I doubt Fenner will want to fly from Charlotte to Monroe for obvious reasons but perhaps he can take a bus to Dave Smith (you live in Nashville, right?) and ride with him from there. No pressure Dave, there's more than one way to get Fenner to a Mario Kart tournament, this was just the first idea (prophecy) that came to mind 8-). Joe, you're more than welcome to stay with us again [smiley=beer.gif]. Lafungo, I know the odds of you making it to the tournament are super slim but I'd love to battle with you, Eric, Drew, Joe and hopefully Fenner too for the US title [smiley=thumbsup.gif] Also, the poster is officially finished so I'll be posting that on here later today :) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 11/17/19 at 09:52:44 Wow, did not expect to read that this morning. Lets entertain this idea for a moment. I live in Cookeville TN which is about an hour and twenty minutes away. The best option would be for him to take a bus here. He would need to arrive the day before for I plan on leaving cookeville around 4 am the friday before the meet. So now he will have to stay overnight at my house. :-/ Nathan Stinson has stayed with me before but I somewhat knew him and he turned out to be a good guy but I know nothing about fenner other than he lied and cheated on this site. Let me think about it for it is alot to ask. [smiley=beer.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 11/17/19 at 18:07:31 If that's not doable, I'll approach T-man about starting a go Fenn me to cover all his expenses. The poster this year exceeded my wildest expectations, very excited for the unveiling! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 11/17/19 at 19:28:12 There's now an official poster for Kartamania 2020? Be sure to bring me one when you come over here next month to get your new cat! 8-) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 11/17/19 at 19:46:09 7552585354575A4864735A494D5E423B0 wrote:
For sure man. Posters are generally given out after the event, but im sure we can make an exception. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 11/17/19 at 20:18:05 So the artist found a few minor details that he wanted to change before sending us the final product but he said that it'd be done by tomorrow [smiley=thumbsup.gif]. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 11/17/19 at 21:10:38 517074767A7B70677C76667A7B150 wrote:
For sure man. Posters are generally given out after the event, but im sure we can make an exception. [/quote] In that case, I'll wait until after the event, so I can get everybody's signatures. We can all go home from Monroe with a Kartamania 2020 poster with the signatures of everyone else who attended! How many signatures can I get? How many people will get my signature? In what far-flung parts of the world will there be somebody with the autographs of us, the Kartel? |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 11/18/19 at 01:21:50 71565C5750535E4C60775E4D495A463F0 wrote:
For sure man. Posters are generally given out after the event, but im sure we can make an exception. [/quote] In that case, I'll wait until after the event, so I can get everybody's signatures. We can all go home from Monroe with a Kartamania 2020 poster with the signatures of everyone else who attended! How many signatures can I get? How many people will get my signature? In what far-flung parts of the world will there be somebody with the autographs of us, the Kartel? [/quote] Imagine getting a Fenner autograph as well! He gave me a thumbs up on raising money for his way to the tournament, take that for what its worth. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 11/19/19 at 17:05:31 Just lettin' ya know Eric that your gray tabby is hyper. It loves to climb and also likes to chew. We've been letting them play in our kitchen a lot lately, they are drinking milk from a bowl but not yet eating solid food. All of the kittens have razor-sharp claws, and my parents and I all have scrapes on our hands from handling the kittens. But I'm happy to report that all five of them are still doing fine. By being so hyper they're at least demonstrating that they're all healthy. We're having to do some work on the U-Haul box now because the bottom of it became saturated with kitten pee and the box was filled with the stench of uric acid. So we're taking the bottom out of the box (we were just going to throw it away and keep the kittens in a small pet crate). One of the kittens managed to escape from the box earlier tonight (possibly to escape the uric acid stenth) so we're having to work on making the box more escape-proof as well. You can't leave these babies unsupervised-- we already had to stop one from going behind the refrigerator and another from chewing on the water line that supplies our ice maker. They sure are like a bunch of toddlers. Don't forget to bring a pet crate when you come here next month, trust me you do not want an active, curious kitten running loose during a 5-hour car trip. You also don't want anybody to be handling it for too long because, like I said, claws are super sharp. P.S. Just lost a Scrabble game 471-451. That's the highest score I've ever lost with, and possibly the highest ever combined score between me and my opponent (Maven, set on the highest difficulty), at 922. My first word was a record-tying 100-point JAWLINE, and after a tile exchange I followed that up with a second straight bingo, SAUTEED. I also got a bingo with TREATING later in this game. ...Anybody up for a little Scrabble at Kartamania? :D |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Zarkov on 11/20/19 at 01:53:31 7D5A505B5C5F52406C7B524145564A330 wrote:
Id love a game of Scrabble! Big fan. But were not gonna use the American spellings as they're stupid. We can use the English spellings because they are not. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 11/20/19 at 20:24:30 In Scrabble, both American and British spellings are accepted, because both are equally English. The number of "foreign" words in the English Scrabble dictionary is mind-boggling. Anything that has anything to do with South Africa, India, or the Philippines is going to be in the dictionary, since English is an official language in all of those countries thus those words would be used in those countries' English. Every country's words for their monetary units (old and new), administrative divisions, geographical terms, food items, political offices, etc. may or may not appear in the dictionary. I find the arbitrariness of the dictionary used by my Scrabble CD-ROM to be a bit of a nuisance-- I've had numerous words (that really should have been valid) challenged off the board by Maven, many of which would have been bingos, including POUTINE (a classic Canadian food item). It also rejected GOUDA, the classic Dutch cheese. Maven's acceptance of words prefixed with RE-, UN-, and OUT- seems really arbitrary as well-- I learned that REAIRING isn't valid. Yet that's exactly what a TV show is doing if it's being shown for the second time. It's also very choosy about verbs converted to nouns with the -ER suffix. I know the rules are different in other parts of the world but in the US, if you are in a tournament setting and you play an invalid word and it is challenged by your opponent-- or you challenge your opponent's word and it is valid-- you lose your turn and cannot exchange any of your tiles (you must play the next turn with the same tiles). I like this rule because it gives players an incentive to actually know the dictionary-- you can't just "guess" your way through the game by playing a bunch of words of questionable acceptability until one of them is accepted, and you can't challenge the other player's perfectly good word with impunity. You're punished for not knowing the dictionary (or at least not knowing it as well as the other player) so players have to, you know, actually study the word list. Buy an official Scrabble dictionary-- you can get them at any bookstore or even Wal-Mart-- and hope you have great memorization skills. The only problem is, my dictionary, and my CD-ROM, are both over 20 years old now, so today's word list isn't quite the same one I grew up with. I disagree with the decision to add stuff like QI and ZA to the list-- certain letters (C Q V Z, in the '90s dictionary) are great for "closing up" a board defensively and limiting bingo opportunities, as no valid "twos" (2-letter words) contain those letters. Remember, folks, a good Scrabble player always RETAINS certain tiles whenever possible! 8-) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 11/23/19 at 16:54:56 Eric & co.: Do think you'll be able to make it here within the next two weeks or so? The kittens are growing up fast and my mother really wants to be rid of them quickly. She's keeping one, Eric wants one (unless he's changed his mind?), one of our neighbors knows somebody who will take a third, but we are still looking for takers for the two black kittens (we're thinking about putting an ad in the newspaper). They're six weeks old today and are beginning to eat. I think their mother is weaning them. But we really want them in new homes before Christmas. One of them has already learned how to climb up one of the door guards we've been using to keep them from escaping from the kitchen while we let them play. My mother refers to them as "a handful". P.S. One of our neighbors came over the other day to see if he could determine the sex of the kittens. The one Eric wants, he believes is male, along with the one that my mother will keep. My mom doesn't really care what sex her cat will be because as soon as we get rid of the kittens, both her kitten and his mother will be fixed. (Bubba Sue has to have been fixed by her previous owner-- whoever that may be-- because she's been with us for about five years now and has not been pregnant once) My parents don't want to go through the trouble of raising another litter, unfortunately, as much as I enjoy watching these kittens play. So there will be no more kittens here after these. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 11/23/19 at 21:35:13 I'll consult with the rest of the Kartel Nick, and see the earliest we can pay a visit. Im considering rebranding the Kartel if anyone has suggestions, I haven't run that by anyone in the group, but I deem it to be necessary with growing visibility outside the community. Thanks for going the extra mile to keep a cat for me, its very appreciated! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 11/23/19 at 23:44:37 Well we'd like for you to at least wait until after Thanksgiving, so you can see our Christmas tree (we don't put it up and decorate it until then). We need to give the kittens one more week to grow up anyway. Can you try for the first week of December maybe? |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 11/24/19 at 00:51:27 I'll run it by Matt, and Kyle. That week presents no problems to me, so it sounds great! I don't know if Andrew can swing coming again, but he is obviously invited. I'll be sure to bring a TV, and console along this time, perhaps we can make room and have two sets going. Have some mini double elimination battle, GP, I'd be down for a TT 1 try as well. Looking forward to seeing the festive decor, and feel truly honored to be welcomed back! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 11/24/19 at 14:06:54 4D6C686A66676C7B606A7A6667090 wrote:
I'm not sure if there's enough space in here to fit all of us playing on two TVs with two consoles at the same time, unfortunately, as fun as that idea sounds. Wouldn't it be less trouble for us to just take turns playing on the same game and same set? Remember, you've also got the kitten to bring back, and you need something to keep it in, so car space will be at a premium (assuming you, Matt, and Kyle are traveling together again). I need to practice some SMK later this week, preferably NTSC, which I haven't played since our last meeting. I'd love to show everybody around Jones Park in Gulfport while you're here, it's become an annual Christmas tradition for us and it'd be an honor to have all of you along. Between that and seeing the Beau Rivage decorations, do you think there'll still be time that night for a SMK mini-tournament? |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 11/24/19 at 17:37:39 7552585354575A4864735A494D5E423B0 wrote:
I'm not sure if there's enough space in here to fit all of us playing on two TVs with two consoles at the same time, unfortunately, as fun as that idea sounds. Wouldn't it be less trouble for us to just take turns playing on the same game and same set? Remember, you've also got the kitten to bring back, and you need something to keep it in, so car space will be at a premium (assuming you, Matt, and Kyle are traveling together again). I need to practice some SMK later this week, preferably NTSC, which I haven't played since our last meeting. I'd love to show everybody around Jones Park in Gulfport while you're here, it's become an annual Christmas tradition for us and it'd be an honor to have all of you along. Between that and seeing the Beau Rivage decorations, do you think there'll still be time that night for a SMK mini-tournament? [/quote] Im sure we will make some time for SMK at some point, for TT your TV is borderline unusable to my eyes. I'll bring my mini TV if nothing else to switch out instead of running two consoles. Matt, Kyle, and Chris are in new Orleans this weekend working, but we should decide a weekend to come visit by Monday or Tuesday. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 11/24/19 at 19:43:21 Don't forget, I have a second SNES console, but you will need to bring the cables for it. I've got an extra power supply so don't worry about that. I don't see what you think is wrong with my TV set, I guess it's all in what you're used to. But nearly every one of my TT PRs, NTSC and PAL, was driven on that set. ...Does anybody else think this month is absolutely flying by? I swear, Halloween was just last week. It honestly feels like a conspiracy by the time gods to keep me in Mississippi's broiling summers as much as possible. It seems like every time I turn around, it's summer again (or hot when it's not really supposed to be). June through September crawls by and feels like an eternity and then when October comes and the heat subsides, time seriously speeds up. I feel like I'm going to wake up one morning and it'll be summer again-- Christmas and Kartamania already come and gone-- and just too hot to really enjoy an afternoon on my front porch. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, maybe my daily routine is too monotonous, or maybe I'm sleeping too much (and I'm trying not to, actually). But it really makes me wonder how my perception of time would change if I lived in a place that had little hot weather. Maybe my entire life would go by in a flash... ::) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 11/24/19 at 20:00:52 It very well could have been not having my pad, but I seemed to experience subtle lag. Time flies when you are having fun, and comfortable. Nov - Feb is rather depressing to me, mainly because there is very little gardening, and everyone stays sick. March through May is my fav stretch, sure there's allergens. Nature comes back to life, and its not too hot. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 11/24/19 at 21:11:48 03222624282922352E24342829470 wrote:
Actually I like November through February the best. I personally don't do gardening and I don't mind the grass being yellow, the sky being gray, and the trees being bare if it means that I don't have to run my A/C every day, and I can actually wear decent clothes. I also don't have to mow every week or worry about mosquitos. Plus, this is the only part of the year where there's even a slight chance that it'll snow. I try to stop and appreciate the fact that I can now spend time outside without pouring sweat (without being half-naked), but the stifling summer always comes back before I know it. March and April usually aren't bad but can get hot at times especially late April. I also have to start mowing again in April. At least the vegetation starts to look nice again. In fact we've got some Hawaiian hibiscus plants in the front yard now, and they produced some really pretty flowers until it got down to 28 degrees the week before last. Ever since then the leaves are shriveled up and have turned brown on all of them, and most of the leaves have fallen off. Maybe the flowers will start to come back when the weather warms up. The months from May through September... can go fuck themselves. [smiley=chairshot.gif] I've been really eating up these crisp, cool nights where I can spend a lot of time outside late at night in my sweat pants. (Currently 45 degrees here) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 11/27/19 at 19:59:02 We are set to head your way Sat Dec 7th! Let me know if there are any change of plans! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 11/27/19 at 23:03:33 Sounds good. I don't think there's anything more important planned on that day. I'll see though. And that kitten will probably be just the right age for us to give it to you (it'll be exactly 8 weeks old on December 7). He's now got 9 more days to spend with his mama, and to play with us, although Billie Jean has been spending less time with the kids lately, presumably weaning them (yours is eating pretty well, my mother says). I'm gonna run the idea past my parents to offer Billie Jean to one of you-- if any of you are interested, that is-- because they're actually considering getting rid of her anyway (she's really been getting on Bubba Sue's nerves lately, plus, as I said before, my mother is strongly against getting a second litter of kittens from BJ, insisting that just this one litter has been hard enough to deal with) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Danger M on 11/28/19 at 15:33:51 17303A313635382A0611382B2F3C20590 wrote:
One of my fav posts on the forum in ages |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 11/28/19 at 20:39:38 ^ Any innuendos were completely unintentiontal. :P We've agreed on December 7, folks. Maybe Koltz can make it as well (he's always invited, as a member of the Kartel) but I can't really expect him if he has prior commitments in the STL. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 11/28/19 at 22:05:23 http://https://i.postimg.cc/g2wyRKxK/SMK-tournament.jpg I know some have seen already on Twitter, on behalf of the Kartel here is the official forum unveiling of ASMKC 2020 poster! Special thanks to Heather, we were having issues posting it, lol. Nick im glad that date works, can't reiterate enough how excited we all are to come back! We have more surprise gifts this time as well [smiley=johncleese.gif] Nick I'll ask around if anyone would take the mother cat. Is there anyway you could send a picture of her, as this might help to produce a taker of the little *gibber. * gibber slang term for cat |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by ScouB on 11/29/19 at 08:31:38 Nice poster! Very appropriate for a bar imo. :D What I like the most is the way the information is displayed (place, dates, prices, etc.) Regarding the artwork, you might know my tendancy to only use SMK artworks on CDM posters so I'll tend to not like it when a SMK related event use artworks from more recent MKs or Mario games in general. But this still works in this case though and looks pretty good. [smiley=thumbsup.gif] (and of course this is my own personal POV, no offense) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 11/30/19 at 09:43:52 153430323E3F34233832223E3F510 wrote:
Took this one last night: (sorry for the poor quality) http://i.imgur.com/ZnvUNZP.jpg Pretty sure she's a mix of Siamese and tabby. The father is probably black. Two of the kittens came out black, two Siamese, and the fifth a tabby. The kittens have learned to escape from their cardboard box now, so we're having to get a new one. The forecast calls for a temperature of 34 degrees (1°C) later this week, and we don't want them to get out in the middle of the night and not be able to make their way back into the box... We were actually going to take Billie Jean and three of the kittens to the animal shelter today-- Bubba is losing her patience with BJ and my mother is losing hers with the kittens-- but the shelter told us that they were more than 100 animals over capacity and would not be accepting any new cats or kittens until the end of January! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 12/05/19 at 16:09:41 1B2B273D0A480 wrote:
ScouB, I feel the same way about the poster. I would’ve preferred there to be mainly SMK content on the poster but we all decided to let the artist have total control of the creative process and while the end result is lacking in SMK content, it still came out amazing. Of course I’ll be pushing for way more SMK content on 2021’s poster 8-). |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Sami de la SMK on 12/05/19 at 16:35:23 407D65696667616C6F69646D080 wrote:
ScouB, I feel the same way about the poster. I would’ve preferred there to be mainly SMK content on the poster but we all decided to let the artist have total control of the creative process and while the end result is lacking in SMK content, it still came out amazing. Of course I’ll be pushing for way more SMK content on 2021’s poster 8-).[/quote] Yeah I agreed with Scoub, it is just so the general public don't confuse it with another Mario Kart at first glance. But please don't worry Matt it is a small detail and the poster is amazing work. Please thank the artist from us 8-) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 12/08/19 at 21:12:22 At the Kartel meeting at my place yesterday we talked to David Smith on the phone and he said he would see if he could get some special T-shirts made for Kartamania. I do not know yet what the shirts would look like as far as the design or color goes (though I personally would prefer black), but I'm assuming it would be based on the new Kartamania poster. Also unforuntately it doesn't look like Lafungo is coming this year, from Matt told me, he will be too busy with university just like Leyla. Too bad, because a matchup between Matt and Lafungo would have been epic. I've got some swag I plan on bringing, on the advice of Matt, Kyle, and Eric, which could be offered as possible prizes. Eric's got one of the kittens now, my mother is keeping one, and there may be someone taking another very soon (they were actually supposed to show up today but never did). That leaves just a pair of black kittens and their mother. We took a picture in my kitchen of all of us holding the kittens. Eric or Kyle should be uploading pictures or video from our meet soon. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 12/13/19 at 14:59:43 Well seeing that Nick has sorta let the cat out of the bag (No Pun intended there) Yes I have been working on getting T-Shirts made for the ASMKC 2020. My Boss has expressed a willingness to help purchase the shirts. The art work needed some changes that will be finished on Monday and I have gotten a quote which I feel good that my boss will agree with the cost. (Fingers Crossed) With that being said. I need to Know shirt sizes. If you plan to attend this is a must ASAP. 50 shirts are being done so this is a first come first serve. If this works out then maybe next year we can expand. I look forward to seeing you all so that I can beat your ass :) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 12/13/19 at 15:27:19 I just got off the phone with Matt and I'm happy to let everyone know that all of the kittens have homes! Eric got the gray tabby Saturday and has told me that his mother in particular loves the new kitten. On Monday night, a man came by and got the smaller Siamese kitten. And now, a very nice lady just came from Biloxi to get the two black ones. And of course we're keeping Romeo, the larger of the two Siamese ones. We had an ad in the local newspaper for the kittens and IT WORKED!! THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO GOT A KITTEN!!! 8-) As for T-shirt sizes I guess XL would work for me. However some of my shirts are 2XL, which doesn't really seem right since I'm not exactly a big fella-- I'm 5'8" (at best) and currently 217 lbs., fairly average build (not really what I'd call "athletic", but maybe a bit burly I suppose), if that helps any. So-called "Large" T-shirts are definitely too small for me. The "Hunt For Harvey" videos do make me look a bit bigger/taller than I really am-- I guess Kyle might have held the camera/phone at that angle to make me look "larger than life"-- but then again I always look bigger in photos/videos of me than I am in real life. I don't quite understand why, though I've heard that it may have to do with how cameras slightly distort things such as facial features. ...By the way Romeo has been whining a lot now that he's by himself. But he also purrs when you pick him up, something he's never done before. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 12/14/19 at 10:41:02 Thanks for all the effort Dave and hopefully the shirts will feature Bowser and DK instead of Bowser and Diddy Kong ;) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 12/14/19 at 13:16:32 LOL, Yeah that will be fixed Along with a few other things. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 12/16/19 at 17:35:53 Shirts are confirmed. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 12/16/19 at 22:11:49 Hell yeah! On behalf of the Kartel/AASMK ( American Association of SMK) we are greatly appreciative of this amazing contribution. I'll try to get an official registration site going by years end, shirt size will be included in the registration. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 12/16/19 at 22:34:00 Still not sure about my shirt size except that I'm certainly not going to be a "small". [smiley=lolk.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 12/17/19 at 05:12:13 Don't worry Nick. We will not be getting any small shirts. They will range from Medium to XL with a few 2XX just in case. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by KVD on 12/17/19 at 15:17:38 Get at least 1 small shirt for Takashi! :) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 12/17/19 at 16:39:27 Is that confirmed Karel? |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 12/17/19 at 17:01:54 Ok shirt sizes will range from Medium to XL with a few 2XX just in case. It has not been an easy process for I have learned alot that when having a T-shirt done and done right takes some work. (which I do not mind for I am happy to help with this meet) I really hope you all will like what has been done. If a shirt size is too big then look at it you have a good sleep shirt for you or your Girlfriend. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by SMKChamp on 01/04/20 at 13:06:31 Just booked my flight from LAX to MEM for $159 round trip, arriving Friday night at 8 PM and leaving Monday night at 8 PM. I can pickup any people along the way in MS or TN. For karters still looking to come from Europe, London to New Orleans has nonstop flights for $534 right now. EasyJet and other small airlines should be able to get you a round trip flight to London and back for around $100. If you could carpool with other people, car rental and gas should be around $200 split among the number of Europeans on that flight. Spend a day in the Big Easy and relax before the competition. https://www.google.com/flights?hl=en#flt=/m/04jpl.MSY.2020-03-13*MSY./m/04jpl.2020-03-17;c:USD;e:1;sd:1;t:f |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Sami de la SMK on 01/04/20 at 14:29:47 48594A4A465E2C0 wrote:
Thanks Drew, I don't think anyone else from London is going though. Unless anyone else from further North in the UK will? When I asked months ago I think it was a no. As for the rest of Europe they may travel direct from their countries (Karel / Martin?). Otherwise on top of the travel to change in London they still need to do the car rental journey anyway which might cost as much time and money in the end as just getting to Monroe airport. Is Takashi still going? No idea what his travel route is, unless anyone else does. But he will need help perhaps when he arrives at whichever major city first. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 01/04/20 at 15:25:18 Will you be there Sami? |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Sami de la SMK on 01/04/20 at 15:59:47 59687B66716C7D60676C090 wrote:
Hopefully as I mentioned months ago, unless any last minute cancellations happen for any reason. So if I do I might be the only one from UK going, unless Clark was planning to again? |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 01/04/20 at 23:02:49 Sami if you're flying into New Orleans, wanna meet up with me in Gulfport before the event? I would be incredibly honoured to have you, Clark, Moll, or any other UK Karter as guests at my home. But especially the Godfather of SMK who made this community possible in the first place. I would love nothing more than to introduce more Karters to my family and my community this March! 8-) Let's have a meeting at my place and spend an afternoon at one of the casinos here, say? Any Karter is welcome. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Zarkov on 01/05/20 at 11:08:02 6755595D340 wrote:
Hopefully as I mentioned months ago, unless any last minute cancellations happen for any reason. So if I do I might be the only one from UK going, unless Clark was planning to again?[/quote] I shan't be there. Have a great time folks! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 01/05/20 at 14:45:09 Damn! I was really looking forward to meeting you Clark. :P |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Sami de la SMK on 01/05/20 at 14:54:33 42656F6463606D7F53446D7E7A69750C0 wrote:
Definitely won't be flying to New Orleans. It will be direct to Monroe like last time then I'll catch you guys at the venue on the Saturday and fly back on the Monday. But much appreciated for the offer. I see Clark responded too so I guess that's UK probably finalised. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by nstinson on 01/07/20 at 11:31:00 As long as I can get a sleeping spot in the floor of the Kartel HQ, I am in. Matt? |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 01/08/20 at 16:06:23 7857425E575865425F58455958360 wrote:
Fasho :) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Antistar on 01/09/20 at 03:04:46 I think I'll be able to tell if I attend or not by the end of the month. Don't worry, this time there will be no last minute surprise, if I say I cannot go it means I won't be there. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by KVD on 01/09/20 at 04:51:11 That's how you fooled me last time [smiley=zark.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 01/09/20 at 11:01:01 2E02110A0C5B55630 wrote:
We have our fingers crossed for you! The tournament won't be the same without you :3 |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Antistar on 01/13/20 at 01:09:39 Quick question, when and where should I arrive on Friday 13th (very nice day to travel overseas, fortunately I don't really care about this) in the worst case, to make sure someone can pick me up and help me attend the event? Same question for my back trip, what would be the earliest possible situation? I can book both Friday 13 and Monday 16, but since I'm coming only for ASMKC (if I'm making it) I will not book other days. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 01/13/20 at 15:26:45 14382B3036616F590 wrote:
Is there anything wrong with Denver? ::) Although in that case, I'd arrive no later than the 12th, rather than the 13th. If you can't get the 12th off, you'll probably have to find someone who is landing in (or passing through) Dallas or Atlanta. New Orleans could work if someone else is flying there as well and you can all meet up with me and the Kartel here in Gulfport (though I'm not sure if any of them has a car that can hold more than five people, plus I or Matt will have to give directions to my place). I'd love to have at least one Karter from outside MS/LA keep us company on the way there. 8-) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 01/13/20 at 17:25:07 0824372C2A7D73450 wrote:
I will be coming down on Friday and returning on Monday. Let me know if I can help. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 01/14/20 at 19:17:56 Harvey, it’s gonna be extremely inconvenient for Kyle or myself to travel to Gulfport the day (or days) before the tournament since we are gonna be hosting and picking people up from the airport plus all the last minute tournament preparations. It would be best to meet up with Dave in Jackson and ride with him or if Andrew Koltz is still coming he said he would swing through Gulfport and bring you here with him. Mario, obviously the best thing would be to just fly into Monroe but I know that’s pretty darn expensive. I believe Joe said he was driving from Dallas or Austin so it would definitely be cheapest to fly into whatever city he’ll be driving from! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 01/14/20 at 23:08:45 6C5149454A4B4D4043454841240 wrote:
I understand. In fact I had been imagining that you and/or Eric would probably meet me in Mississippi (not necessarily at my house, though that would be nice, as we could play a little SMK before we left) while Kyle, being the main organizer of the event, would need to stay behind in Monroe to get everything ready and help all the arrivals settle into town for the weekend. I certainly wouldn't expect Kyle to make the trip this time, he'd certainly be quite busy setting everything up in the few days before the event starts. If it helps any, the midway point between me and you is likely somewhere near Magee or Collins. Maybe we could arrange a meeting place (maybe a fast food parking lot) in one of those towns, as we discussed back in December, if you're pressed for time and need to spend as few hours away from Monroe as possible in order to help Kyle prepare for the event. Like I said, I wouldn't reasonably expect Kyle, in particular, to leave the Monroe area on the eve of the event, as there's certainly a lot of work for him to do on that day, seeing as (I assume) he's the one orchestrating everything. I bet he's gonna be pretty damn exhausted before Kartamania even starts! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Antistar on 01/15/20 at 02:33:42 Thanks for your answers guys, I'll see what I can do. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 01/15/20 at 09:18:46 7F5852595E5D50426E795043475448310 wrote:
I understand. In fact I had been imagining that you and/or Eric would probably meet me in Mississippi (not necessarily at my house, though that would be nice, as we could play a little SMK before we left) while Kyle, being the main organizer of the event, would need to stay behind in Monroe to get everything ready and help all the arrivals settle into town for the weekend. I certainly wouldn't expect Kyle to make the trip this time, he'd certainly be quite busy setting everything up in the few days before the event starts. If it helps any, the midway point between me and you is likely somewhere near Magee or Collins. Maybe we could arrange a meeting place (maybe a fast food parking lot) in one of those towns, as we discussed back in December, if you're pressed for time and need to spend as few hours away from Monroe as possible in order to help Kyle prepare for the event. Like I said, I wouldn't reasonably expect Kyle, in particular, to leave the Monroe area on the eve of the event, as there's certainly a lot of work for him to do on that day, seeing as (I assume) he's the one orchestrating everything. I bet he's gonna be pretty damn exhausted before Kartamania even starts![/quote] Harvey, anyone here who has put together a tournament can tell you that it’s not a one man show, especially the last days just before the tournament. It’s an all hands on deck time deal so Eric and myself will have our hands full as well. Obviously one of us will come get you if there are no other options but fortunately there are some great people in this community who are willing to lend a helping hand :). I hope you’re still making time for some practice [smiley=thumbsup.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 01/15/20 at 15:29:38 724F575B5455535E5D5B565F3A0 wrote:
Maybe I can get my dad to drop me off at your place (or at Hooligans) the day before the event, and then I could ride home in style with the Kartel on Monday or Tuesday after it's over (and we can spend another day at my place). I've got your number so I'll be able to keep you updated and ask any needed questions when the time comes. If a family member of mine can save you the trouble of transporting me and my stuff, that'd be great, as you and Kyle would have that much more time to get all the needed work done. Let me know if there's anything minor I can help you with once I'm there. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 01/15/20 at 16:50:24 Nick, depending on Antistar and what he will be doing I can possibly meet you as well on the way. Let me figure out my route and times and where I will be at and I will get back with you. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Joe Reinreb on 01/16/20 at 19:09:54 Dave Smith asked me to post these on his behalf, so enjoy! http://scontent.fapa1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/p720x720/82903619_3253655107985165_1475527613584769024_o.jpg?_nc_cat=101&_nc_ohc=jpyQet4uD0EAX9nRLNj&_nc_ht=scontent.fapa1-1.fna&_nc_tp=1002&oh=745b4c0e595848c7cc857c4da4155e4f&oe=5EA49A42 http://https://scontent.fapa1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/p720x720/82178638_3253655091318500_5412985697336295424_o.jpg?_nc_cat=108&_nc_ohc=ZPp8RSr6l88AX8-e9wR&_nc_ht=scontent.fapa1-1.fna&_nc_tp=1002&oh=725f5782c7774fadf1d126bcedb0b6b2&oe=5E8D3DA3 |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 01/16/20 at 20:39:23 Thanks Joe! I hope everyone likes the shirts! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 01/16/20 at 20:55:24 Is that a picture of you Dave? You look a lot like me, but a little older and with facial hair (I prefer to be clean shaven). Are we long-lost brothers maybe? ;D |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by KVD on 01/17/20 at 00:45:14 That shirt is awesome Dave, I want one! :D [smiley=thumbsup.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Zarkov on 01/17/20 at 00:51:50 1B3122353C500 wrote:
As do I! Im a fan of yellow being a Watford fan. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Sami de la SMK on 01/17/20 at 04:47:30 Excellent work on the T-shirt Dave, definitely agree that lighter shade of yellow with the design is perfect ;) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Firewaster on 01/17/20 at 19:42:43 That t-shirt is so freaking good. Well done Dave! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 01/18/20 at 21:09:18 Amazing! Having shirts at this year’s tournament was not part of our plan so this was a welcomed surprise [smiley=dankk2.gif]. Thanks a lot Dave! [smiley=beer.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dan H on 01/21/20 at 22:35:23 What's the Uber/Lyft situation like in Monroe? Cabs would be acceptable, but far less convenient. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 01/21/20 at 23:50:45 537770707B4D5051496A7F1E0 wrote:
The Uber/Lyft availability here is solid [smiley=thumbsup.gif]. You gonna try to make it [smiley=happy.gif]? |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 01/22/20 at 00:05:27 Also, we’d be able to shuttle you and your wife to and from the venue and of course make time to show you guys some sites at some point too I’m sure :) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dan H on 01/22/20 at 00:54:27 Waifu is gonna want to see the sites while the tournament is going on, so it's more for her benefit |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 01/23/20 at 16:13:36 I am driving down so I will also be able to help get people around if needed. Edit: The company I got the shirts from made a mistake and ordered 20 small shirts, so they gave them to me for free so if anyone has kids or young ones in the family, they are welcome to have some shirts for I doubt anyone coming can wear a small shirt. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 01/23/20 at 18:42:15 The shirts look great man! Takashi will be able to wear one, so it worked out in his favor. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Antistar on 01/24/20 at 01:50:03 Sorry guys, I will not be able to attend ASMKC. I'd have done anything if this was the first edition though (or if that was the first JSMKC, lol), but this time it's too complicated. Hope somebody is gonna be there for France, otherwise I'd be very sad for my country. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 01/24/20 at 18:11:27 I hate to hear that. I really wanted to meet you. :( More and more I wish I could have made it to last year's ASC. I wasn't feeling well Friday and Saturday that week, but I regret at least not making some type of attempt to drop by as a surprise that Sunday evening (I was over it by then)... |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by KVD on 01/26/20 at 10:51:14 Well you could have given us ebola without even knowing that you had it yourself ;) Jokes aside, my predictions for the ASMKC competition (disclaimer without ScouB or other mystery guests considered) TT 1 Matt Ballard 8-) 2 Sami 3 Gatchan MR 1 Sami 2 Takashi 3 Me GP 1 Takashi 2 Sami 3 Gatchan BM 1 Sami 2 Drew 3 Takashi #SamiStyle Hopefully I can do a bit better than I predict, but I'm expecting a lot from the Kartel and especially Takashi this year! And of course the Godfather / Rambo [smiley=ninja.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 01/26/20 at 10:58:10 ASMKC 2020 Tournament format, rules, and guidelines General: 1. Each mode will be determined by a triple elimination tournament. 2. All courses will be randomly selected. 3. In all modes except Time Trials, if there is a rematch between 1st and 2nd place, the number of required round wins is reduced by one for a victory. 4. Players tied for placement will receive points and placement of the highest rank in the tie and receive points accordingly. Example: two players tie for 17th, they both receive 17th place and 18th place is skipped. 5. The tournament takes place in a bar, so the participants must be eighteen years or older. 6. Participants must supply their own controllers. 7. Participants will potentially be broadcasted on Twitch and other media. 8. The tournament will be able to handle a maximum of two hundred players. First come 1st serve for participants. Cheating: This stuff should be obvious! Judgments of cheating will be determined subjectively by event staff. Repercussions for breaking the rules could result in a verbal reprimand, in loss of round, match, or disqualification. No writing down wrong times. No intentional distractions of players while playing the game. In battle mode, don't hold onto a ghost for more than 20 seconds and don't stay inside the water in battle course 2 for more than 20 seconds (Ghost etiquette: if the opponent has any item, use the ghost. If your opponent is avoiding items, waste the ghost). No pausing the game, unless there is a technical issue. If there is a pause, matches will be resumed from a countdown. Players should not practice announced maps which will be immediately played next in a mode. The purpose of this rule is to keep the tournament flowing and not waiting on practice runs, and to not give unfair advantages to players who would get immediate practice, also to not have confusion between what is practice and what is an official run. example: BC3 is announced to be played next in match race or time trials, after that map is announced, there should be no practicing of that map before the official tournament run of the map. Time Trials: Barrage — Each contestant will pair up with another contestant and record the other contestant's time for each course. After all times for all contestants are in, the bottom half of the players will be eliminated according to the slowest overall time. The eliminated players placement will be determined by their overall time. After the barrage mode, the remaining players will continue to the triple elimination section of the tournament for time trials. Triple elimination — The remaining contestants will race one course. All courses will be in a rotation with their order chosen at random. Half of the contestants (those with times in the bottom half of the remaining contestants) will receive a strike. When a player gets three strikes they are eliminated. When multiple players are eliminated simultaneously, their time determines their placement. This continues until only three or four contestants are remaining. Top four — When the top three or four contestants are determined via the triple elimination strike method, the remaining contestants will each have one strike removed if applicable. The remaining contestants will continue to race single courses (we anticipate a total of 8-12 courses). The bottom half of players (rounded down) will receive a half strike if they have the slower times. This continues until there is a single victor remaining. Battle Mode: All contestants will participate in a standard triple elimination bracket tournament. If a player loses three times, they are knocked out of the tournament. The tournament will be seeded as good as possible with unknown players randomly filling the remaining spots. It's understood that many players will be simultaneously eliminated causing ties in placement. The only tie breaker matches which will be settled are those amongst two people (this is anticipated to happen in the top 16, three times). This means that there will be many unsettled ties in this mode in the lower placements. Battle mode courses will be chosen randomly. Pre top 8 — All battles before the final eight contestants are determined will be 1st to two wins, aka 2 out of 3. Top 8 — Once a player is confirmed in the top eight, they are playing 1st to three wins for a victory. Top 2 — The top two players will play 1st to four wins, or best of seven. If there is a rematch in the finals, with the same players, the required number of BM match wins needed for victory is reduced to three wins. Match Race: Similar to Battle Mode, all contestants will participate in a standard, seeded triple elimination tournament. Pre Top 8 — Contestants paired against each other in a 1st to three wins, aka best of five races across three to five courses. After three losses a contestant is eliminated. The only settled ties will be those between two players in the top sixteen. Top 8 — Once a contestant is confirmed in the top eight, they will race a best of seven, aka 1st to four wins. Top 2 — Once the top two players are confirmed, they will race the final as a 1st to five wins, aka best of nine. If there is a rematch in the final, the finalists play a 1st to four wins. Grand Prix: Like Match Race and Battle Mode, all contestants will participate in a standard, seeded triple elimination bracket tournament. Pre Top 8 — All players will face off in one random cup. Top 8 — Contestants will race first to two cup wins, aka bast of three. Top 2 — Finalists will race first to three wins, aka best of five cups. If the same finalist have to rematch, they will compete first to two cup wins. Overall Rankings: Aside from time trials, there will be many ties in the lower placements of the individual modes. Players placement in the individual modes will give them points towards their overall rank. The contestant with the lowest points has the higher rank. If there is a tie in the top sixteen for overall rank, the players will play one match in a mode they both agree on, or a mode will be chosen randomly. Then the contestant who wins 2 of the three modes gets the higher placement, course or cup chosen randomly. If a player is absent for a mode, they will receive points equal to a placement one lower than last place in that mode which will be added to that players overall ranking score. Lower points = Higher overall placement/rank Each mode's placement gives a certain number of points. Point = previous rank's points + 1.1, with the difference increasing by .1 per rank. This method of giving points helps with preventing the odds of having a tie in the upper placements and slightly benefits a higher average rank per category. The formula used is f(n)= f(n-1) + 0.1n + 1 with (n) being the place achieved with the condition of f(0)= 0, and each rank corresponds to the index before, so f(0) for first, f(1) for 2nd, etc. example: 1st place = 0 2nd place = 1.1 (previous + 1.1) 3rd place = 2.3 (previous +1.2) 4th place = 3.6 (previous + 1.3) 5th place = 5 (previous + 1.4) 6th place = 6.5 (previous +1.5) 7th place = 8.1 (previous + 1.6) 8th place = 9.8 (previous + 1.7) 9th place = 11.6 (previous + 1.8) 10th place = 13.5 (previous + 1.9) 11th place = 15.5 (previous + 2) 12th place = 17.6 (previous + 2.1) 13th place = 19.8 (previous +2.2) 14th place = 22.1 (previous +2.3) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 01/26/20 at 14:09:36 496370676E020 wrote:
Well this year it's the Coronavirus we're going to have to be watching. We plan on possibly having ASC entrants from one or more of the countries that have reported a case of it so far, including Australia, France, and Japan, not to mention the USA of course. Hopefully the virus doesn't get too much worse, or more players, especially international ones, may have to cancel their trips to Monroe. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Sami de la SMK on 01/26/20 at 14:34:24 Like Scoub, I should only be a maybe but re-add me in to the predictions a day or two before the event if I am there. So maybe revise them without us first. Was Martin going again Karel? |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 01/26/20 at 15:05:29 I hope you and Scoub can make it. I am sad Antistar can not make it. Oh and Karel do not count me out of GP..you just gave me some motivation. :) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 01/26/20 at 19:16:35 Well I’m flattered that you think I can place 1st in TT Karel :-* but I can’t shake the feeling that a mystery guest is gonna show up and ruin my chances at a TT medal [smiley=kickbutt.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Sami de la SMK on 01/27/20 at 01:41:42 7A475F535C5D5B5655535E57320 wrote:
Right that's it... who is it? Come on... out with it! ;D |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Antistar on 01/27/20 at 04:16:16 557F6C7B721E0 wrote:
I have never seen anything more ridiculous in a predictions post, even from Sami. And you started your message with "Jokes aside", you cock! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Sami de la SMK on 01/27/20 at 05:12:59 7B57445F590E00360 wrote:
I have never seen anything more ridiculous in a predictions post, even from Sami. And you started your message with "Jokes aside", you cock![/quote] Yeah exactly, remember that time when I predicted myself to lose at Quarter Finals on Time Trial, and everyone be like "STFU Sami, you know you are going to get a medal!" Then I got knocked out in the Top 16 for Time Trials that year and also the same at ASMKC the year after. And please don't say it was cos of GV3 or missed zoom starts or any other excuses de sac. I drove bad. It was my fault. End of story ::) Tut tut... ;D #UnrealisticPredictionsOfSami |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Danger M on 01/27/20 at 06:53:51 As a few of us who have been playing against him online (Switch) can attest, Takashi has now become unhittable in ntsc battle mode. If anyone other than him or Duff wins BM I'd be utterly shocked. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Sami de la SMK on 01/27/20 at 07:24:21 5E7C7F7F130 wrote:
That's really good to hear, I think having a random surprise on the results is much better, it makes for an exciting and new story to tell on each ASMKC / CDM etc. [smiley=thumbsup.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 01/27/20 at 12:10:52 Arrrrrrggghhh..... here be the link to the tournament sign up page! Time to pony up boys (and girls?) [smiley=smokin.gif] Copy and paste all of this into your browser: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSejXSDibifbYHI2fq6p6M2197IVSC6yfjZxZzQDPbeCDjK4Lw/viewform?fbclid=IwAR36ulqSjIjDiLxPVjpswywUd2AZvqGmKEEaEXjSy8sgHXgufqNDjdFnf2o |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Danger M on 01/27/20 at 14:09:26 78455D515E5F595457515C55300 wrote:
fixed |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 01/27/20 at 15:58:59 Arigato Moll-san [smiley=dankk2.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 01/27/20 at 19:14:21 I just filled out the registration form! [smiley=smokin.gif] As with last year's event, we don't really need to pay the registration fee via PayPal, do we... can't we pay our fee in person once we're there? I do seem to remember that was the case with the 2019 ASC. Since we get a discount for bringing supplies, the Kartel will have to decide how much (if anything) I will owe based on what I'm able to bring (and I might have a few surprises for everybody). |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Firewaster on 01/27/20 at 19:51:44 I hope the surprise doesn't involve any bed sheets |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dan H on 01/28/20 at 13:58:10 booked. wife and i will be landing about 3:45pm on Friday. Any good restaurants near the venue we could eat at Friday evening? This Doe's Steakhouse looks ok, but what would yall recommend |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by KVD on 01/28/20 at 14:18:05 Man that's such great news! If you're doing your anniversary dinner we'll stay out of it (obviously ;D), but otherwise Id like to join in on Friday night dinner haha. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 01/28/20 at 16:40:57 Same here Karel. We should come up with what all will be doing friday night. My travel plan should put me in town around 1pm depending on how many stops I take. Once getting to town I will get my room settled and then to meet Matt and the guys for I am bringing a 27 inch and 32 inch CRT tv with me. Will need to get them unloaded and see if they need any help setting up. After that I should be free to explore and what not. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 01/28/20 at 19:45:02 5F7B7C7C77415C5D456673120 wrote:
Awesome Dan! I've never ate there, I've heard nothing but good things, their steaks in particular. Cottons is also great, I've ate there a few times they lean more toward Cajun fusion dishes, the head chef/owner Corey Bahr beat Bobby Flay which speaks for itself. Looking forward to meeting you, and your wife, we are thrilled y'all decided to come to the tournament! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 01/28/20 at 19:50:32 725D4651435547405146340 wrote:
We will have a first aid kit for gastrointestinal issues, and painters plastic. I jest, hopefully Nick doesent go Rosetta stoned on us by Tool :D [smiley=flush.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 01/29/20 at 11:18:17 Too funny Eric! [smiley=roll.gif] Actually Takashi and I will be sharing my bed this year. The offer for Nick was only good for last year :D. And Harvey, it is an option to pay when you get here but we would like to encourage everyone to please pay online before hand. I hope you’ve been practicing Grand Prix [smiley=beer.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dan H on 01/29/20 at 23:18:30 For Karel and Dave and anyone else... Jessica said she'd be fine with others joining for dinner on Friday. If I get commitments from whoever else by, say, next week I can make a reservation for us. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 01/30/20 at 16:18:33 466265656E5845445C7F6A0B0 wrote:
That Friday is Heather's Birthday so her, and I would like to join in if possible. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dan H on 01/31/20 at 05:24:31 So with you and Heather (GF? wife?) and people that have PM'd me so far we have 8, 9 if Dave confirms. All are welcome! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 01/31/20 at 07:49:15 Count me in. [smiley=dankk2.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 01/31/20 at 12:54:48 153136363D0B16170F2C39580 wrote:
This (http://mariokart64.com/smk/profile.php?pid=964) should answer that question 8-) Anyway, all of us having a dinner together the night before the event sounds like an AMAZING idea. Doesn't matter if it's Doe's or Cotton's. Or hell, even Burger King. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 01/31/20 at 15:40:16 I checked out Doe's. This place is famous. Just FYI...if you want to have steak, come hungry and ready to spend. I bet those steaks are Awesome! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 01/31/20 at 23:17:21 We can now say that it's next month, y'all! 8-) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dan H on 02/06/20 at 14:19:52 We're booked at Doe's for 6:30 on March 13. I made the reservation for 10 (we have 9 currently) so anyone else that wants to hop in is welcome! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 02/07/20 at 13:19:29 I think (I hope!) we're gonna have more than 10 by that date. 6:30 is a bit later than I normally eat dinner, but that's why God created the Sausage & Egg McMuffin. 8-) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 02/07/20 at 20:52:31 7A5D575C5B5855476B7C554642514D340 wrote:
You’re my hero <3 |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 02/12/20 at 11:55:35 The registration form that I filled out said that I would get an e-mail with a link for me to pay the registration fee (presumably via PayPal) but I never got it. Or maybe I did, and just deleted it because half my email is PayPal-related anyway, and I just forgot to read the subject lines. Sorry I don't have my registration fee taken care of yet... |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 02/12/20 at 15:57:32 597E747F787B7664485F766561726E170 wrote:
Kyle just resent it [smiley=thumbsup.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 02/12/20 at 23:28:03 ^ I tried to make the payment, but got a message saying that the transaction was denied by the card issuer. Probably because there isn't enough money on my PayPal card (Due to security concerns I rarely keep a lot of money on this card; my balance is seldom much more than $10). I saved the e-mail and will try again after loading more money onto the card. Hopefully it'll be taken care of within another week or so, I just need to remember to stop by a Dollar General to reload my card next time I get out of the house. If this still fails I suppose I could just mail you the cash if Kyle really needs the money before setting up the event. 8-) EDIT: Alright, Kyle got his $15! It's a fait accompli! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 02/23/20 at 15:45:47 I will attend but I will not be competing in the matches. Too much stress. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 02/23/20 at 16:39:35 4E7F6C71667B6A77707B1E0 wrote:
This is unfortunate, I hope you reconsider! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dan H on 02/23/20 at 22:48:32 Geez Dave, don't let your experience in the SMK tourno hinder you from playing at asmkc. In person meets are far more fun and more casual for the most part. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Antistar on 02/24/20 at 01:04:33 4475667B6C71607D7A71140 wrote:
You will regret this after day 1 starts. Please consider playing, you're not attending for the win, but for the fun, just like hundreds of players in previous SMK events. That would be really too bad to go there but not play at all… |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 02/24/20 at 01:33:51 I was hoping I'd get to play against you Dave, but if you're coming I can at least get to meet you in person for once. I've never competed in a tournament like this myself, and yes, I am a little nervous about playing against some of the biggest names in SMK in front of an audience, but the stage fright isn't so bad that I'd abstain from the actual competition. As an underdog, I feel as if there's not as much pressure on me, so I can just play like I'd normally play without fear of embarrassing myself too greatly. As long as I don't get humiliated by a player that's far outside of the top 100 (excluding Battle Mode), I think I'll be happy however my performance turns out. I plan to give all four modes a try so it's going to be a busy weekend for me. Do remember that the three-strikes system means we can still be alive after a single bad race, so there is a chance for losing players to redeem themselves. I didn't plan on coming to Monroe to be the best. But I would at least like to do my best. Dave, please realize that I am basically in the same situation you are in-- an underdog-- yet I am not afraid to compete in front of the world. I will say that I'd feel a little more pressure if I was in a race with Dan H or Andrew K, being such close rivals TT-wise with either of them. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Sami de la SMK on 02/24/20 at 03:44:38 The most important thing would be just to meet Dave and everyone. He would miss out on some fun certainly from not competing, but do what your heart feels is right I'd say. Maybe if he enjoys watching and the atmosphere there he might participate next time for example or at least for one mode. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 02/24/20 at 05:59:36 Yeah Sorry. I was just really down on myself yesterday. I learned that I am a very poor player when it comes to live competition. I will still compete but I guess you can say I am not as excited as I was as far as gaming goes. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by KVD on 02/24/20 at 06:02:58 It's also worth realizing that your ability is not static Dave. Especially during your first few exposures to tournament play, your learning curve is probably going to be steep (into the right direction). You've already showed there is nothing wrong with your raw ability via your seeding run for the tournament. Keep your chin up. Also, you're in good company losing to Zarkov. He is the TT NTSC 1-try Champion of the UK after all. ;) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 02/24/20 at 17:04:18 58697A67706D7C61666D080 wrote:
Good to see that we talked you back into competing, Dave. As I said earlier, there shouldn't be a whole lot of pressure to do extremely well if you are going in as an underdog. I don't expect to have much of a chance against CDM veterans but I still want to go out there and do my best, because luck just might be on my side. You or I just might be able to pull an upset after all... In Battle Mode I'd be happy with any finish better than dead last. I don't claim to be a good BM player since I don't really have a sparring partner nor do I spend time studying the course layouts or the best places to fire shells. But BM is a helluva lot of fun and I enjoy it even when Kyle is handing my ass to me. Matt told me that I'm decent at Match Race though. I won some races against both him and Eric although they won more often (as expected). I'm still a bit embarrassed though over the feather miscue in the RR race against Matt, I could have won that for sure if I had chosen not to play around in the homestretch. I learned my lesson though. 8-) 150cc GP, I have no experience against human opponents but I can at least get practice just navigating the tracks in the coming weeks. As for one-try TT I'm not sure what I'm going to do, since I haven't done a one-try competition in ten years or so. The safer, easier NBTs and techs are going to be on the menu for sure, but maneuvers such as GV1 platform jump or even MC2 longboost are questionable. Regardless, I'm probably only going to rank well if other players make mistakes, and as with BM, since I'm a tournament first-timer and an underdog, I'll probably feel glad to beat anybody. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Chrono Krysster on 02/24/20 at 17:50:10 7C5B515A5D5E53416D7A534044574B320 wrote:
Jokes aside, my predictions for the ASMKC competition TT 1 Nicholas Harvey 8-) 2 Sami 3 Gatchan MR 1 Nicholas Harvey 8-) 2 Takashi 3 KVD GP 1 Nicholas Harvey 8-) 2 Sami 3 Gatchan BM 1 Nicholas Harvey 8-) 2 Drew 3 Takashi #TheFourHorsemenOfTheSMKApocalypse |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 02/24/20 at 18:52:28 Unless everyone who plays against me lets me win (which I highly doubt), that ain't happening. Besides, I'd rather play against people who are actually trying to win themselves (what fun is it when everybody just hands the win to you?) Hopefully Matt or Eric can make a showing for Team USA in the time trial event. BTW I just popped my Japanese SMK cartridge into my SNES for the first time in 2020. I drove MC1 "Ancient Way" for about five minutes and hit a 1'00"32, which isn't terribly far from my PR (and I saved the ghost so I can race it later). My NTSC timeset has gotten pretty strong now but I'd at least like to improve something before Kartamania. I wish RR could be lowered another tenth or two but I've never been very good at the Rainbow Roads in any Mario Kart game, it seems. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 02/25/20 at 18:06:57 Just curious about the virus. What is everyone's thoughts |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 02/25/20 at 19:45:36 Yeah I've been thinking about any possible impacts of Coronavirus on this ASC myself. Right now my biggest concern is Takashi being able to make it here from Japan. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dan H on 02/25/20 at 23:38:11 It's nothing to worry about, Dave. Influenza kills something like 15-20k people per year and hardly anyone bats an eye about that. Coronavirus hasn't hit the 5k mark yet, as far as I know. Even with those scary numbers, it's important to realize that influenza kills 0.1% of the people it infects while coronavirus is at 0.2% (it's only at 2.5% or so at its epicenter, Wuhan). Most of the people either virus kills are elderly, babies and immunocompromised people. Healthy people recover from it just fine. That being said, the virulence of this virus is pretty bad. You're contagious for nearly a week before you even show symptoms. Coronavirus is already in the US in spots, and with its ability to spread, it's not a matter of IF it spreads across the US but WHEN. However, as mentioned, healthy people such as yourself will recover from it if infected. ASMKC will go on! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by KVD on 02/26/20 at 00:11:55 I was thinking about that yesterday too. As long as they won't close any airports then. Also, not being scared of the virus is one thing (and I agree with Dan there), but still it'd be pretty sad if anyone happens to be sick at ASMKC. I wouldn't want to kart with the flu I had last year for instance. Though supposedly it has like a week or so incubation time too. Guess we have to hope for good RNG as always. [smiley=lolk.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Sami de la SMK on 02/26/20 at 03:59:40 Agreed everyone's health is the most important first and foremost. Generally they were saying on the news if you have any symptoms then don't risk travelling anywhere just in case. It could be likely though that people have a regular cold or mild flu even as it is still the tail end of the winter months. To a degree we won't know for sure, as you have mentioned about the incubation time too. So far most people are continuing on with their daily business, work and so on. We will just keep our ears open for any news over the next few weeks. It is more likely to affect the summer months if anyone is planning any kind of travel / summer holidays and if the virus has not been contained more by then. I guess at that stage more serious restrictions will be in place for travel. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dan H on 02/26/20 at 13:52:33 I've heard that, like the flu, the coronavirus's impact won't be as severe in the summer months. People not being cooped up inside as much, you know. On the other hand, it will have had the time to spread to more regions, so who knows. SARS passed, bird flu passed, H1N1 passed, this will pass as well. Living in fear and not doing anything is not living. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 02/26/20 at 15:18:24 I heard on the radio that there's a chance that the Olympics could be canceled, but I highly doubt that since (1) you said that coronavirus wasn't really much deadlier than the flu, and (2) Brazil had the Zika scare in 2016, yet the Olympics went as planned. Perhaps the Chinese athletes may have to arrive in Japan a week or two earlier and spend time in quarantine, but I don't see anything else drastic happening with regards to the Summer Games. My mother doesn't want me going to Chinese restaurants now, though, lest I bring the virus home (she really doesn't handle illnesses very well, and doesn't want to get this one now). Luckily my parents are still okay-- for now, that is-- with me meeting all of you guys next month. As far as we've heard, the virus hasn't even reached the South yet, though we have a few attendees coming from potentially affected regions outside of the southern United States (Drew from California, Takashi from Japan, and KVD from Europe). 654146464D7B66677F5C49280 wrote:
Fully agree. In fact I've heard a few nice variations on this, including: Better to die on your feet than live on your knees. Better to live one day as a lion than a thousand days as a lamb. A ship in harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are for. and also In the end, it's not about the years in your life, but the life in your years. I wish more people would live by this, but some people (including my parents) take the better-safe-than-sorry approach a little farther than I'd like them to. These people are happy with merely existing rather than actually living. I prefer to let God take care of my worries... |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Chrono Krysster on 02/27/20 at 04:52:07 461C47454F474D19192C0 wrote:
I'm not even going to bother listing all the new countries, Italy is spreading this shit worldwide. India did an earlier study which China and Europe research seems to collaborate, an HIV-like mutation allows coronavirus to be 1000x more effective than SARS. Would explain why it spreads so easily given the current outbreaks that aren't fudging numbers. More peer reviews the better but there's probably a reason why China showed up in full hazmat gear over a month ago to limit it's spread which failed. If you are still traveling or planning to fly I wish you all the best...lol http://https://i.imgur.com/H40IZ6x.png[/quote] As you know there's a time for jokes, but it's time to get serious. It's too early to understand the future evolution of the COVID-19 outbreak and I know that you're supposed to take risks in your life, but will you accept without knowing that; .The process of the mutations of COVID-19 remains unknown. .Coronaviruses have seasonality but they don't know if spring and summer will kill this coronavirus. .It appears that the virus could cause side effects on lungs (some really bad things) even after recovery. .Don't let anyone tell you these things only; that the coronavirus fatality rates vary wildly depending on age, gender and medical history and some patients fare much worse than others, because healthy people can die too. .Some governments (not only China) may be hiding some truth. ASMKC is a great thing, a chance for this community, but in this world of entertainment there is no room for doubt, maybe you just had to wait patiently until the storm passed but running into that unknown and silent storm, and voluntarily.., seriously? So I just want you all to be safe and stay healthy, thank you. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dan H on 02/27/20 at 22:23:36 Welp, that's it, tournament's canceled. Everyone stock up at least 3 months worth of food and don't leave your house for any reason, Chrono has spoken! Yeah, fuck that shit. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 02/28/20 at 00:15:27 Something tells me that Chrono is just a little bitter over the fact that he won't be able to make it to Monroe this year himself. ;) </sour grapes> |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by KVD on 02/28/20 at 01:17:08 40646363685E43425A796C0D0 wrote:
;D |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Chrono Krysster on 02/28/20 at 08:50:18 0A2D272C2B2825371B0C253632213D440 wrote:
;D Ok you've got a point there, Nick 1-0 Krys But you know, I'm just a bit worried about you peeps, is that so wrong worrying about others? :-/ Ok, lesson learned! I'm fine, you're fine, okay so it's fine as long as we can laugh about that. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dave Smith on 03/04/20 at 16:27:31 So the meet is coming up soon. Will anyone need a ride from anyone that is making there way to the meet? |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dan H on 03/04/20 at 17:25:19 Are any asmkc attendees interested in some N64 Smash Bros? I can bring it if wanted, but somehow I don't think there are many in our community. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 03/04/20 at 18:05:28 I'll play some Smash if we have some free time. But personally I think Mario Party would be great as well, especially if we can get four people playing (and some alcohol is involved). Want me to bring my copy of Mario Party? Actually any game that four players can play together would be great. We could play Smash one night and Mario Party another, or even MK64 battle mode. Too bad SMK doesn't have a four-player mode... Let me know if you will be a few N64 controllers short, I can bring a couple. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Antistar on 03/04/20 at 23:52:32 56717B707774796B4750796A6E7D61180 wrote:
Beware, the reigning world champion is attending ASMKC! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by KVD on 03/05/20 at 02:53:14 Did anyone say my name? [smiley=johncleese.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dan H on 03/05/20 at 16:56:37 I have two N64 controllers that are good (aka don't have ED). I will absolutely NOT play Mario Party, and I won't allow my two controllers to be a part of that "rotate the stick as fast as you can and completely ruin it" fest. MK64 would be ok, although I haven't played that since getting decimated at it by Moll at CDM whatever year I was there. So Nick, bring all the N64 controllers you want, with whatever games you want. I'm sure we can find time at both the venue and the Kartel party Saturday night to play whatever we want. I will destroy all at Smash. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 03/05/20 at 17:33:44 Hehe, I was looking forward to kicking everyone's asses at Tug o' War and Paddle Battle. :P Well, maybe other Karters are interested in some Party. If you really don't like stick-rotating games we could do MP2 instead, but I like MP1's mini-games and boards better. I'm up for some Smash for sure. My preferred character is DK in both Mario Party and Super Smash Bros., by the way. Get ready to feel the simian might of the Giant Punch. [smiley=evil.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 03/10/20 at 16:04:24 Greetings Brethren, So a little last minute change, Hooligans frigged up and failed to meet our internet requirements so we’re having the tournament at Tower Place again (same venue as last year). The address is 1500 N 19th St Monroe, LA. I’m sure anyone who attended last year will agree that this venue is indeed the dog’s bullocks. Looking forward to seeing everyone who’s coming back this year and all the new faces too! [smiley=beer.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 03/10/20 at 16:37:27 I was really looking forward to going to Hooligan's and having a few drinks with everybody, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have the event again at the same place where we made the magic happen last time. At least I'll be able to say that I played SMK under the same roof as the likes of Antistar, Chris Clark, and Leyla Hasso (none of whom will be here this time, last I've heard). We do have Tower Place booked for this weekend now, right? I'd hate for us to suddenly not have a venue. Matt: Our current plan is for me to carpool with Andrew Koltz on Friday. You or him should alert me immediately (by PM or phone call) if this plan changes, as we would need to formulate a Plan B quickly. Assuming all goes as planned, please tell us where you would like us to meet you that afternoon-- Tower Place or Kartel HQ (I'm assuming the latter). If Koltz has a Garmin in his car then I can just give him the Kartel HQ address (since I know it by heart). We don't have any coronavirus-related cancellations yet, do we? If there are just a few (especially from heavily affected regions) then I can understand, but I would hate to see ASC 2020 have a low turnout because of it. Hopefully we will have at least as many people as we did last year, but we're having to take this one day at a time as the virus continues to spread through the South and other regions. Currently there are three reported cases in Louisiana, all in the New Orleans area, which is much closer to my area than to yours. For those who are still concerned I think the move to a (presumably smaller) venue will be a boon, the risk of transmission would be somewhat mitigated as we'd have less of a crowd. Also we are still having the dinner at Doe's Eat Place on Friday evening, aren't we? |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 03/10/20 at 18:43:44 Yes Harvey, we booked Tower Place for the weekend earlier today so we’re 100% having the tournament there. And I’m sure that you and Mt. Koltz will meet us here at Kartel HQ or at Doe’s depending on what time y’all make it to Monroe ^_^ |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 03/10/20 at 18:53:30 605D45494647414C4F49444D280 wrote:
Mount Koltz... that's a good one Matt. 8-) He is a tall fellow, you know. Based on the ETA he gave me last week we should be in town around 3 PM. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 03/10/20 at 21:39:12 I knew you’d get the FF6 reference Nick 8-) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 03/10/20 at 21:52:58 ^ To be honest I didn't realize that your "typo" was supposed to be a pun on a location in FF6, it's been so long since I've played that game that I forgot the names of most of the geographical locations (I still remember Narshe and the Veldt, though). Had to look at a guide. Heck I probably can't remember half the place names in FF5 or Secret of Mana. Those two, I've actually played through within the past decade. Hope everyone realizes in time that the venue has been changed, or we'll have a bunch of people showing up at Hooligans. Maybe somebody ought to put up a sign at Hooligan's reminding everyone that ASC is once again at Tower Place? Like I said, I'm perfectly fine with Tower Place, I just might get to sit in a chair that Antistar once sat in. :D |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dan H on 03/10/20 at 23:03:51 At least there's a liquor store fairly close by. Beer is allowed at Tower Place, yes? If not I'm cancelling my flight [smiley=johncleese.gif]. Honestly the venue change could save me quite a bit of money, lol. I'll also be attempting to force feed Karel beers (again) which he will likely refuse. I still plan on eating at Doe's. Reservation is for ten people at 6:30. So far it's me and waifu, Eric and waifu, Joe and Nes, Karel, Dave, Harvey and one more. Anyone else that plans on going I'm guessing should make a reservation and hope you get lucky. I'm assuming that place fills up pretty fast and is booked most days... |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 03/10/20 at 23:15:49 664245454E7865647C5F4A2B0 wrote:
I hope your "one more" is Kyle 8-) You wouldn't invite the one person who is making these ASCs possible? ::) I didn't expect alcohol to be available at Tower Place. I'd rather play fully sober anyway. We can drink at Kartel HQ instead. But remember, events start at 11 AM (if my memory serves me) and signing in before that, so try not to get hung over! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Danger M on 03/11/20 at 03:52:16 193E343F383B3624081F362521322E570 wrote:
Does time work the same way at ASMKC as it does CDM? If so, 11am means sometime around 1pm (or whatever time Duff shows up) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 03/11/20 at 08:14:26 7D5F5C5C300 wrote:
Does time work the same way at ASMKC as it does CDM? If so, 11am means sometime around 1pm (or whatever time Duff shows up)[/quote] Pretty much :p |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by KVD on 03/11/20 at 11:01:37 If you're reading this Sami, don't forget to bring the Fenner shirt. I know you won't forget, but for my own peace of mind. ;) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 03/11/20 at 17:15:39 Karel will you still be able to make it this year? Trump has announced that all travel from Europe to the United States will be suspended for 30 days, beginning Friday. If you can get into the country on Thursday, might you still be able to attend? |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by nstinson on 03/11/20 at 17:15:58 So with European travel suspended beginning at midnight Friday... does Karel make the cut to get out of the Netherlands in time? |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by SMKChamp on 03/11/20 at 19:16:58 I think you have to make it through customs by 23:59:59. So if your plane makes it to the gate by 11:53 PM, you should have just enough time to force your way to the exit and run through customs. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 03/11/20 at 19:36:43 But how about his trip back home? Since the UK is exempt from the restriction, Karel may be able to fly back home via London. He may need to go through a screening upon either landing in the U.S., landing at Heathrow or returning to his own country through Schipol. Of course this is all assuming that the ASC isn't canceled or postponed at the last minute, with cases growing in Louisiana and now one reported case in Mississippi (Hattiesburg). I will need to get with the Kartel by phone Thursday afternoon to make sure that this event is still on. Drew, please realize that you are coming from an area affected from the virus. Assuming that the ASC is still on and that you will be here, the airport that you land at (we're assuming you're flying) may have to screen you first. Sami will also have to be screened, of course, assuming he's still flying in. If anything I'd be most worried about Sami having the virus since London is one of the world's main international cities and is visited by so many people from so many places (it wouldn't take much for a pandemic to spread in such a place). But maybe London has indeed lucked out and is not badly affected yet, or the UK would not be exempt from the travel ban, but American airports and customs still need to monitor visitors from the UK just in case. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by KVD on 03/11/20 at 21:44:06 Landing later today, so I should be fine. We'll see... [smiley=ninja.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Sami de la SMK on 03/11/20 at 22:07:31 Also landing later today so should be fine too. Would be cutting it too fine to travel on Friday anyway in case any regular cancellations happen so doing like last year on Thursday (today) instead. Plus to relax on Friday. I enquired at Heathrow, everything is running as normal today so it will only be affecting those travelling to US from Friday onwards from Europe. Should be fine getting back they said too. Karel, would you need to fly back via UK or are your return flights still going to Schipol? Maybe just check that when you are there as that part is for those returning to mainland Europe. I assume return trips out of USA would be running normally. I'm going back Monday evening so it is only a few days away. Takashi is already on the plane as far as I know. We wrote yesterday. My flight leaves in a few hours so I won't be able to write again after that till I reach Atlanta then change quickly to Monroe. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Humanoidgale on 03/11/20 at 22:38:44 The tournament will go on [smiley=uzi.gif] Corona-chan I do understand your concerns Harvey as they’re quite normal. This corona business is shitty but we should all collectively try not to let it put a damper on Kartamania and I’m not suggesting that we should throw caution to the wind either. We have tons of hand sanitizer and I believe face masks as well for anyone who would feel more comfortable wearing one. We can’t change the fact that the corona virus is a thing but the worrying part is a choice [smiley=beer.gif] #KartamaniaStrong #FennerguyStrong #IhopeDrewShowsUpForDayOneThisTime |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 03/11/20 at 23:41:17 Oh, that's good news to hear, especially about the hand sanitizer (we haven't been able to find that anywhere here!). My parents (being somewhat advanced in their years) are really concerned about me bringing the virus to them, and to the dogs. My own argument is that I may actually be less likely to pick up the virus in Monroe than at home, as the Gulfport/Biloxi area surely receives more out-of-town visitors (especially to the casinos), plus has a larger population, therefore viruses would likely spread here first. If anything, we have to worry about bringing the virus from Gulfport to Monroe, not the other way around! I'll get you on the phone in the afternoon. I also need to get a hold of Koltz of course. I haven't really started packing yet since plans were uncertain (but I do have a box ready), especially after hearing about the European travel ban. In any case, don't get too excited about gambling in Mississippi when we come back on Monday afternoon, my family might not want us hanging out at a busy casino this time due to the ongoing health crisis. Just a little heads-up. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by SMKChamp on 03/12/20 at 01:12:14 I’m hoping the flu I caught in the US in January that I brought to France was corona, so that I’m already immune. We were pretty early in the cases, so it was probably the h1n1. I’ll get screened this summer. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 03/12/20 at 11:31:07 Hope there's room at Doe's for a few more people since we know Sami, Karel, and Takashi will be on board. They're all invited to eat with us, aren't they? Matt has told me that he will not be at the dinner, presumably taking over for Kyle with ASC preparation (we'll have Kyle though). Currently waiting for a call from Koltz. He did not answer his phone so I texted him my mobile number. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Sami de la SMK on 03/12/20 at 12:47:36 Thanks Matt for all of the preparations so we can keep clean and take precautions when meeting at the venue. We will be fine. I forgot about this Doe thing. It would be lovely to dine with you all but please don't worry if it causes difficulty as I will probably be tired from travel jet lag still and need an early night for a few days. I will pretty much rest only on Friday except going to Trenton Street to get a few things midday. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 03/12/20 at 17:15:17 Finally heard back from Koltz via PM, he and I will arrive in town around 3-4 PM! Matt and I were a bit worried since neither of us were able to contact him by phone this evening. No TT PRs this week (at least not while I'm here at home!) but I am practicing a little 150cc GP before I pack my other SNES and SMK cartridge. It turns out that the Kartel happened to be practicing GP, also. :D |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Sami de la SMK on 03/12/20 at 17:33:16 0B2C262D2A2924361A0D243733203C450 wrote:
Thanks Harvey good to hear I just updated Matt for you |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dan H on 03/13/20 at 03:45:28 6E4943484F4C41537F684152564559200 wrote:
Just realize that I didn't specifically invite anyone. I left the dinner open to all, and whoever contacted me I made a reservation for, which was ten folks. Anyone else that wants to eat at Doe's will have to show up and hope the place isn't full. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dan H on 03/17/20 at 07:01:48 Meh |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 03/17/20 at 13:47:58 ^ That's all you have to say about this past weekend... "Meh"? ;D Sami has not yet updated any times on the Players' Page, so I do not know if he has safely made it back to Croydon yet. Everyone who came from outside the US, please let us know when you've made it back home! All of the American Karters should be back home by now (I was probably the first non-Louisiana Karter to get home) I'm anxiously awaiting everyone's commentary! EDIT: Sami is now updating times! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Joe Reinreb on 03/17/20 at 21:27:38 I'm going to wait until the weekend to post my "bilan" for those who enjoy reading way more words than are necessary to tell a story... [smiley=johncleese.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Antistar on 03/18/20 at 08:29:20 This is the first time since SMK French Championships 2006 I will read other players bilans without knowing what happened, so please write loads of stuff there! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 03/20/20 at 12:15:19 I'd be here all day if I gave a blow-by-blow account of the entire weekend. So I'll just mention the highlights. -Andrew Koltz was basically my chaperone the whole time. After leaving my home we got breakfast to go from a nearby McDonald's, ate it in the car, and made the entire drive to Monroe without making a single stop along the way. As "Team Mississippi", we would travel everywhere together for the entire duration of the ASC. -I recognized David Smith standing in the driveway as soon as we pulled into Kartel HQ. -A little while after settling in at Kartel HQ, a van pulls up. Out of this van steps Sami, KVD, and a guy I didn't recognize... who introduced himself as Lafungo. -At Doe's Eat Place Friday evening it was me, Koltz, David Smith, Dan Hoernemann, his wife Jessica, Joe Bernier, his girlfriend Vanessa, Karel, Lafungo, and one other person (can't remember if it was Anthony Long or one of the Kartel HQ residents). Most of us got steaks. I ordered a 1½ pound T-bone with a baked potato, a salad, and shrimp, but instead of the baked potato I ended up getting French fries. It didn't matter much to me because I came to eat steak, dammit. Sami and Matt chose to work out at a gym rather than have dinner with the rest of us. I kept saying, they don't know what they were missing. (I'm now wondering if Chris Clark would have also gone to the gym had he been in Monroe. He seems to take a lot of pride in his workout routines...) -Kyle let me sleep on an Aero-Bed on the floor of his bedroom for the duration of the event. On Saturday he originally told me I had to move to the front room because my snoring was too loud, but I argued that if I shared a room with anyone my snoring would just bother those people instead. So Kyle gives up his own room for two nights so I can have a place to saw logs without anyone else having to put up with it. Thank you Kyle for your sacrifice! -When I woke up Saturday morning I was told that Ethan "Hahaae" McCormac set a new US record for VL2 lap, a 8"86, in the Kartel's garage where a SNES and TV had been set up for us to practice before the real races at the Tower Place. -On Saturday the ASC itself started with TT one-tries. There were 18 of us divided into 9 pairs. I got Matt Ballard as my partner. Each of us took turns going through all 20 courses and writing down each other's times. I raced each of the courses very carefully and mostly avoided crashes, so my times ended up mediocre, though not terribly bad. After Matt and I were both finished with all 20 courses, we turned our times in to the officials, which consisted of Kyle Randol, his housemate Ben, and a girl named Alex (I forget whose girlfriend this was). Our course times were totaled and ranked. When this phase of the TT round was over with, we went to the elimination races. The object of this was to not finish in the bottom half of the players, or you'd get a strike, and three strikes meant you were out and this process was repeated after every elimination. Figuring that I had to step up my game in order to finish in the top half, I did more aggressive driving, including NBTs, on DP1, GV3, and MC3 and crashed in all three races, leading to me becoming one of five players to strike out after just three courses. To me this was my worst failure of the whole ASC, as I could have easily survived at least DP1 and MC3 with conservative driving like I had done in the full-game-total phase. Sami Çetin was the champion in the TT one-tries event. -My first opponent in MR was none other than the Godfather of SMK himself. I was actually leading him in CI1 until he drew a Feather from an item box and pulled a partial lap-skip on me, leading to a 2-0 shutout and my first strike. My MR run ended on none other than Koltz, who brought me to this event. After trading wins on our first two tracks, it came down to RR, where I had an large early lead, but a lapse in concentration sent me off the course and allowing Koltz to become the Mississippi Match Race champion, by a 2-1 margin. Sami went on to win MR also. -I got Lafungo as my first opponent in GP. Naturally this was a 2-0 loss for me. My next opponent was Drew Blumfield, which was a much closer matchup but he still edged me out on two cups to hand me my second strike. After defeating his girlfriend, Crystal, I once again got Andrew Koltz with he and I both having two strikes against us. Koltz ran into some trouble in this mode and lost races to the CPU, giving me the help I needed to beat him two cups straight. It was only fitting that after he eliminated me in MR, I would beat him back in GP. I explained that CPU racers can very well be a deciding factor in GP. I ended up racing Drew a second time and once again he shut me out in cups and I received my last strike there. KVD took GP, preventing Sami from achieving a "Grand Slam" and winning all four modes. -Karel, Takashi, and Kyle-- none of whom I expected to have any chance against-- gave me my three strikes in Battle, but the matches were surprisingly close and Karel even praised my Battle skills as I had gotten him down to his last balloon in both of our matches. I also faced Ethan in Battle, the only opponent I actually beat. Battle Mode, like TT and MR, was won by Sami. The was a special prize for winning Battle Mode, a painted red shell that looked like an actual snapping turtle shell (I was told that it took months to make). -I got to meet Kyle's parents at the venue. His mother cooked jambalaya on Saturday and red beans and rice for us on Sunday. Eric Olden also brought us several boxes of pizza from Johnny's Pizza, a pizza chain local to northeastern Louisiana. This would be my diet for the entirety of the ASC. -After being eliminated in GP and Battle I was asked to do commentary on some of the matches. I really couldn't say no, and just gave it my best shot. Opinions were divided, but I personally don't feel like I was cut out to be a sports announcer. Dan Hoernemann did most of the commentary, however, and none of us can forget his catchphrase, "for the fans... FOR THE MILLIONS!!!" -Three of the TVs at the venue had cameras attached to them and all of the races played on these sets were streamed live. On one wall there were four TVs put together to make one large display, and here we could see a live chat in which Karters who could not make it to Monroe could watch our streamed races online and post their comments in real time. These Karters included David Moll, Sophie Jarmouni, Firewaster, and Neo. Realizing that a few French-speaking players were watching us and listening to the live commentary, I momentarily borrowed the mike from Lafungo and greeted the Francophone audience in French. -Kyle Randol announced the top three finishers in each mode (TT, MR, GP, and Battle) and gave them their medals Sunday night after we were finished with Battle Mode. We also gave out medals for overall ASC rankings. Needless to say, Sami got yet another gold, on top of his red shell (which he couldn't take back to London with him-- the Kartel said they'd have to mail it to him). -I was one of the first to go to bed Sunday night while the rest of the folks at Kartel HQ watched Fenner videos. -On Monday afternoon we had one final meal together, at a local Waffle House. Some Karters, like David Smith and Takashi, had already left town by this point. Pretty sure Joe & Nes and Dan & Jess were gone by then also, they were not with us. I ate an All-Star Breakfast and after we were all done eating, we got a picture of all of us standing outside the building. You can find this picture on Sami's Twitter page, @SamiCetinSMK. I actually have it on my PC desktop now. Koltz and I, all our stuff packed and in the car, headed straight for Mississippi after we said good-bye to Sami, Karel, Lafungo, Ethan, Anthony, and the Kartel in the Waffle House parking lot. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Eric Kart-man on 03/20/20 at 22:44:23 Brilliant write up Nick, I'm so glad you are a member of the Kartel, you are a legend through and through! The highlight of my career was setting a #7 overall CI1 time on GP of 39.80 against the man that got me back into the game, my best friend, and old sparring partner Matt Ballard, with you watching!!! If everyone is in agreement, which I'm sure they are, and he agrees, we welcome Ethan into the Kartel! I really enjoyed getting to know Ethan even if it was at the expense of not getting sleep, it was more than worth it! I'll elaborate further on the event soon. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 03/20/20 at 23:17:14 I was wondering if we were ever going to induct Ethan into the Kartel... BTW a minor correction in the previous post. I met Kyle's mother and stepfather-- I was informed that Kyle's father passed away some time ago (RIP Mr. Randol) and his mother remarried a Mr. Watson. Some other Kartel HQ residents, Mrs. Watson told me, have lost their own dads, but as far as I'm aware, Matt's dad is still alive. Also, how could I forget being schooled by Dan in the original Super Smash Bros. on the N64. We played on a N64 and TV that we set up right there at the venue, playing during our downtime after we'd both been eliminated from the various ASC competitions. We played five-stock matches, with me usually picking DK and Dan picking one of the seven characters he alternates between, and a random stage with items turned off. I think I might have gotten Dan down to two lives during one fight, but I definitely never beat him. Dan seems to be very knowledgeable about the Smash series and has apparently entered Minneapolis-area tournaments in the past. And yes, we can't forget about meeting Takashi either. I made his day by demonstrating some basic Japanese language skills to him, writing down the names of various Karters in katakana-- he identified every single one of them, proving that I was indeed writing them properly. I also gave the course numbers in Japanese when the two of us were paired in Battle Mode (and because he beat me 2-0, we never got to "san"), and reminded him that Time Trial mode is called "Time Attack" in the Japanese version of SMK. Naturally I signed his poster in Japanese at the end of the ASC, putting my name in katakana along with the message "Banzai, Takashi!" in hiragana. Thanks to Andrew Koltz once again for providing transportation. We actually had a minor scare Monday afternoon on the way back to Gulfport, the car started making funny noises on the highway, we pulled over twice to investigate and figured out that the lug nuts on the tires were loose. Andrew pulled out his lug nut wrench and tightened the lug nuts and after we got back on the road we no longer heard the noise. (But first, we took a picture of ourselves wearing our ASC 2020 T-shirts... thanks David Smith for those shirts!) Be sure to check out the Twitter pages of all the players who came to ASC. You'll certainly find some interesting pics and commentary there. Sami in particular took a lot of pictures and had a lot of things to say about last weekend. There's even a picture of me and Sami together! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Joe Reinreb on 03/21/20 at 20:33:17 Hello everyone. This will be my "bilan" of the happenings surrounding the ASMKC held in Monroe, Louisiana from March 14th-15th. I'm starting this one off in a subtle tone because, well... this weekend was absolutely insane. From my lack of sleep all weekend due to extremely early flights out of Denver to Dallas (we left our house at 4:00 am for a 6:40 am flight), to drinking like it's the end of the world (not so out of the ordinary), to finding out that the virus that's been going around has been upgraded to something far more serious than I ever thought and very well could be the end of the world (probably not), which led to me finding out on Twitter that all major US sports have been cancelled, to not knowing whether or not my European friends would be making it to the US at all due to travel bans being instituted literally hours before they left for their own trips, to me just thinking "fuck it, let's just have a good time while we can," this trip is certainly going to be remembered in the back of my brain for years and years to come. Last year we saw the "bomb cyclone," this year was the Coronavirus, and it looks like we're just getting started... First of all, huge shout out to all of the members of The Kartel in Louisiana. They pulled off yet another great event and they are all amazing people. The amount of work that they put into these events is hard to fathom, and I can only imagine how exhausted they all must be. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for a wonderful weekend of drinking... and some SMK on the side. http://https://i.imgur.com/MD9xUW0.png (Granbury on the left, Monroe on the right) Like I briefly mentioned earlier, I'm a total dumbass and didn't plan accordingly for our early flight in the morning. In the interest of full disclosure, Nes and I watch Chicago Blackhawks hockey, and our tradition is to do a shot of whiskey every time that they score a goal. This has since been amended to doing shot when: - the game has started. - the period has started. - the period has ended and the Hawks have a lead (aka "keep the luck" shots). - the period has ended and the Hawks failed to score a goal that period/are losing (aka "change the luck" shots). - the Hawks had a rookie score his first goal (in this case we do two shots). - the Hawks either win/lose the game. So, we're basically in for a minimum of 4 or 5 shots per game regardless of the score. On Wednesday before our 4 am departure on Thursday morning, the Hawks just so happened to score 6 fucking goals. Couple that with a few of the criteria above, and we're looking at a cool 10 shots at the very minimum, right? Game ends at 10, so it's time to pack for the trip. We had been aware of the national/global hysteria surrounding the Coronavirus and were monitoring Karel's (and his surprise guest's) flight situation throughout the hockey game, but obviously the time difference made it so that it was well past midnight in Europe so there was no chance Karel was awake and able to gameplan with us about what to do. Between periods -- instead of a typical analysis of how the game had been going up to that point -- a random NHL public relations person that I had never seen before kept giving updates as to the status of the league and where it stands on the Coronavirus situation. These kinds of things don't happen unless it's extremely serious, so I finally tried to contact Karel on Discord to see if his plans had changed at all, obviously still knowing that he's not awake yet and won't see any of the messages that I wrote before I head to the airport in the wee hours of the morning. Nes sets her alarm for 3:30 am; I quickly pack, shower, and hope for the best. Three hours later and I'm somehow awake and brushing my teeth, groggy as shit and about to get on an airplane with my hair looking like Gordon Ramsay. Not a great look... As is usually the case, the Denver airport at 5 am is pretty empty, so nothing looked out of the ordinary to me at all. We board our flight and head toward Dallas, which shaved a cool 15 hours of driving (one way) off of last year's trip. While I absolutely don't regret driving across the country with Clark and Guillaume last year, I was pretty fucking happy that this year was going to be drastically different. Nes and I would be landing at 9:45 am (one hour time change to Central from Mountain), and we'd be able to sleep on the plane the entire time. I throw on some Elliott Smith live sets to fall asleep to and I'm out (at least as much as I'm able to sleep on a plane, which is between wide awake and dozing off until your head bobs and wakes you up again); so far so good. My parents pick us up at the airport and I feel great. We spend the hour and half back to their house shooting the shit and contemplating what the weekend is going to be like. I told them that I was bit worried about my European friends making it back home amidst the rapidly changing virus situation, but that's kind of all we could do -- speculate. Nobody knows what the fuck is going on and it's not like anyone can predict the future or anything, so we were forced to play everything by ear. Back at my parents' place I have a couple of beers by the pool and we keep a close eye on flights from Amsterdam to the US. I send some texts to Karel asking about his status once he got to the States, and here's what he had to say: http://https://i.imgur.com/LnsyLkU.png?1 http://https://i.imgur.com/YKCqvXG.png?1 So, it looks like Karel is going to have a lengthy wait at customs in Houston, which, according to him, couldn't have moved any slower. His original flight was supposed to land in Dallas at 6 pm, which gave me plenty of time to rest a little bit at my parents' house before leaving at 4 to make it on time through Dallas traffic. The situation was still very much fluid, but his suprise passenger was able to make it through without a problem due to his United States passport. Alright, I suppose that should be enough for everyone to connect the dots if they didn't already know: Lafungo was back in the US of A. Donc, Lafungo makes it easily onto the original connecting flight to Dallas, but I tell the two of them that I'm not making three visits to the airport in one day; they'll have to wait until Karel can get onto another flight before I leave to go pick them up. Luckily he was able to get a flight that landed 2 hours later, so I tell him I'll be there at 8:30 to pick them up. Nes and I eat dinner with my parents and my sister, who brought over some gifts for our European/American guests, and we leave for the airport at around 7 pm. I remember not feeling so great around that time, but it was probably because I hadn't properly slept in about 24 hours, and I was pretty exhausted. This would be a common theme for the remainder of the trip. Lafungo had landed at 6 pm and Karel 8, so Lafungo was forced to just wait around for a couple of hours while Karel was in the air. I felt a little bad about that, but there was really nothing else that I could do. Keep in mind that I had never met Lafungo in person before, so we didn't really have any comraderie to go off of like I would with Karel or Clark. That would all change pretty much as soon as I picked them both up and we made the trek back Granbury. Instant friends. They were exhausted, but hungry... so I took them to the only place any Texan would take them: Whataburger. I was still feeling a bit meh, so I just sat there and tried not to think about the Coronavirus while they devoured their burgers. Lafungo was pretty happy with his purchase, despite it taking about 10 minutes to get his order even though he ordered the exact same thing that Karel did 30 seconds before he did, haha. I remember walking back to the car and thinking that the trip had only just started but it felt like it was about to be over in an instant. For whatever reason every trip always feels like it lasts three seconds for me... Back in the car we start comparing American fast food burgers to Whataburger and Lafungo mentions that he had never had In 'N Out Burger before, so I inform him that he was surprisingly in luck: Dallas is one of the few areas of the country outside of the west coast that has many, many In 'N Out locations. He gets very excited, so we gameplan to hit up In 'N Out the next morning on the way to Louisiana, along with the mandatory stop inside the truck stop paradise known as Buc-ee's. For those who are still unfamiliar with Buc-ee's even after last year's ASMKC, please refer to the picture in last year's thread... We make it back to my parents' place and have a couple of beers, which, of course, is also mandatory. Anyone who has met either of my parents know that they aim to please, so they go out of their way to stock up on all the delicious Shiner Bock that money can buy. We talk about their travel situation, the unknown about whether or not Karel and Jonathan will get stranded in the US, etc... I tell them repeatedly that worst case scenario they could always stay at my place in Denver. Not soon after, everyone is feeling like they got beaten by a sack of potatoes, so we go to bed around midnight. This year has already gone better than last year's debacle where we didn't even show up to my parents' place until 1:30 am and had an early morning departure time of 5:30 am, so I'm thankful that everything has pretty much gone the way that it was planned, aside from Karel's minor hiccup in Houston. We didn't really have a set time of when we had to make it to Louisiana so we could sleep pretty late as far as I was concerned and we weren't up against any walls (thank god). I didn't sleep well at all. I kept getting hot and cold spells off and on throughout the night, and the fucking clock outside of our door kept going off every hour on the hour. It's pretty depressing when you're laying there and you're counting how many chimes it does: Five, then six, then seven, eight... and you haven't really been able to get any good rest in between... terrible times. Everyone starts getting up around 9:30 or 10, I don't remember exactly. I was informed the night before that we actually had dinner reservations at 6:30 in Monroe, so now we had to leave at noon at the very latest in order to make it on time (including our pit stop at Buc-ee's). We decide to leave at 11 to leave some room for error, but not before Karel scarfs down bacon, toast, eggs, and some coffee. A traditional American breakfast, but that was the order in which it was served, haha. Lafungo decided to wait for In 'N Out, which I felt was the better call. I don't eat breakfast anyway, so we headed out right on time at 11 on the dot. In 'N Out was purchased. Karel and Lafungo gave it two thumbs up, but Lafungo still thinks Five Guys is better than both Whataburger and In 'N Out, which very well could be true (I've never had Five Guys). Next stop was Buc-ee's, which completely blew Karel away, as it did Clark and Guillaume the year prior. I always laugh at their reactions because they can't believe something like that should ever need to exist. I tend to agree, but c'mon, it's still pretty fuckin' awesome, haha. Lafungo buys a Buc-ee's plush doll for Takashi, I take a couple pictures of the 100 gas pumps for future reference, and we're finally on our way to our final destination: The Kartel's home base. On the way we continued the tradition of counting how many Subway restaurants were between Dallas and Monroe. I always lose count, but a new tradition was started: Count all the Morris Bart billboards. I remember laughing at his goddamn "smile" at first, but then we started to notice that his fucking smile was EVERYWHERE. Here's what he looks like: http://www.morrisbart.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/atty-morris-bart.png There was even one place where he had bought both the billboards that are directly next to one another just to stick it to his nemesis that was trying to intrude on his turf. Clark and Guillaume know better than anyone else that you'll do anything to keep yourself entertained for an extended road trip, so Lafungo asked me to recap a classic wrestling match: The 1998 King of the Ring Hell in a Cell match between The Undertaker and Mankind. I spent a good half an hour going into absolutely every detail as possible, which made Lafungo laugh, haha. I'm well aware that the words I'm about to type and what you're about to read won't ever do it justice. All weekend long I kept telling myself that we all died in 2012 and this is just some dumb alternate universe that we're all living in, trying to make sense of everything the best we can. Still, this was something that I never thought I would ever say in my entire life: I actually met Nicolas Harvey. The forum legend Nick Harvey -- Harvey Kartel -- is a living, breathing human being. Un-fucking-real. It still baffles me. From last year's sulphuric farts and unfortunately stained bed sheets, to this year's GoFundMe campaign that raised a cool $27 out of the initial $12,000 that Terrence Fenner was asking, one of those two legends of the Kart scene actually made it to Monroe, Louisiana. I remember pulling up and seeing his unmistakable face, and I immediately chuckled and said "no fucking way..." I get out of the car and I look over to Lafungo and Karel, still in disbelief that I'm about to meet Nick goddamn Harvey. It's like a scene from a movie, man. It's like you've made it backstage at a concert and there's the lead singer 27 feet in front of you -- a person that you previously thought you'd never be able to see face to face and shake their hand. I walk toward the crowd... Me: "Nick Harvey?" (I hold out my hand) Harvey: "You must be Joe." (shakes my hand) "You still have your Texas plates even though you live in Colorado?" Me: "Oh, yeah, well, that's my Mom's car. They still live in Texas even though I've since moved to Colo... you're really Nick Harvey, aren't you?" Harvey: "So that's Nes over there then?" Me: "Yeah, that's her." Harvey: "Does she speak Tagalog? I know Filipinos speak Tagalog so I was wondering if she spoke that." Me: "Oh, uh, no, she doesn't. Her parents do, but she was born and raised in Chicago... I can't fucking believe this is happening right now, haha." Harvey: (silence) Lafungo bee lines over to Takashi and they hug each other, having previously played together at the last CDM (check out the vods, they're definitely worth it). Sami and Karel start talking about their respective trips thus far and I'm just surveying the scene and taking it all in. Eventually we make it inside and put our stuff down, able to relax if only for a moment before we're shuttled off to a place called "Doe's Eat Place" for dinner and to meet up with the remainder of our crew: Dave Smith and Dan Hoernemann (aka: dan__h). This place was pretty great, I have to admit. I thoroughly enjoyed my 24 ounce strip steak, but the look on Karel's face when he got his plate handed to him I'll never forget. Fuck, I'll never forget this entire meal for various reasons, but Karel's reaction to his rib eye was absolutely priceless. A picture for size reference: http://https://i.imgur.com/Wy4Zrie.jpg?1 Other than that, I apologize but bullet points will have to suffice: - I got the au gratin potatoes as my side, but the amount of salt that it contained turned my face into this: http://https://media.giphy.com/media/cFDdEQMGh6UDe/giphy.gif - Somehow, some way, the band GOAT and Your Mom and that legendary song "Can You Quack?" was brought up. We laughed and talked about them for a full 5 minutes before Harvey asks us if we've ever heard of GOAT and Your Mom and that song "Can You Quack?" We all have another good laugh at that moment of miscommunication. - I wasn't counting, but I think Nick must have drank him about 15 sweet teas during dinner. - Obligatory out of context reference: "Where're YOU goin'?" - quote of the weekend. The meal lasted, oh... about two and a half hours. Dave didn't get his steak until 15 minutes after everyone else at the table did, and then when they sent a replacement, it was undercooked to the point where Dave had steam shooting out of his ears. Two hours later and we're all wrapping up our meals, getting our checks, but Nick is still ordering sweet teas and going ham on his surf and turf. We pay our check; still hackin' away. We get up to leave -- Andrew Koltz gets up but remembers that he's driving Nick back to the Kartel's place, so it's gonna be a little while longer before he's able to leave... http://https://i.imgur.com/nuhdkmi.png?1 From left to right: Nes, me, Nick Harvey, Dave Smith, Andrew Koltz, Jessica, Dan__h, KVD, Lafungo And that's all I have to say about that... Back at the Kartel HQ -- I crack some more beers and we set up a couple SNESes to practice before tomorrow's shindig. I don't remember all that much about the rest of the night except that I colt 45'd Harvey in GP through all the cups, which prompted him to ask "Are you the American GP champion or something...?" I may have played it from time to time. I finish my several Yeunglings and I'm off to bed around 1 am or something, who the hell knows at this point. This has already been way too long, so I'll recap the events as best I can: Time Trials: Sucked. I did pretty well in group stage (4th overall) but as soon as the lights turned on I shat the bed pretty hard. Whenever I can't decide whether I should be going balls out or playing it safe I get caught in-between and end up making far too many mistakes than I normally would. Plus, I hate being on the stream TV, so nerves are always my worst enemy. I interviewed Harvey between Time Trials and Match Race, so try to check that out if you're so inclined. Edit: https://clips.twitch.tv/DistinctFairYakinikuAsianGlow Match Race: Includes using items, so I never stand a chance. I played Drew a few times, which would be a theme for the weekend. Let's just say that I didn't do so hot and I was happy when the day was finally over. Back at the hacienda and I've picked up some more beer (I made a lot of trips to Wal-Mart and the corner gas station all weekend). I knew this was the only night that we had to really drink, so we got Dan and Dave to stop over and we have a nice little Saturday night drink-a-thon. Dave had already left for his hotel before Match Race had ended, but Dan and I were not very happy with his decision to call it a night. Donc, we call for an Uber to go get him (after about a half an hour of trying to convince him that it'll be worth it to come back and hang out) and he finally caves in. Fast forward like 10 beers, a shot of tequila, and the hottest pepper sauce he's ever had and Dave's back in the EXACT SAME UBER that brought him to the party. It's 2 am and everyone is about to head off to bed, but Ethan decided to give more time trials a go. He didn't go to bed until 7 am or so. http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2015-10-21-1445410698-8403632-futurecontinued-thumb.jpg |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Joe Reinreb on 03/21/20 at 20:46:31 http://https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1272621769?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024 Ethan, Dan, Dave, Drew, and Crystal don't show up at the beginning of the day. Ethan was busy grinding time trials in the garage all night, so he missed all of GP and I don't think he got out of bed until like 3 pm, and Dave didn't remember getting back to his hotel the night before, which is Dan's and my fault 100%, haha. We took Takashi to Whataburger in the morning for a vanilla shake, and I tried to order 5 Whataburger juniors for the whole car. "Hi! Can I have 5 Whataburger Jrs and 3 small vanilla shakes, please?" -"Okay, so you want a sweet and spicy Whataburger and what else?" "Actually, it's 5 Whataburger Jrs. And also 3 small vanilla shakes. Thank you." -"A sweet and spicy Whataburger?" "Nope, FIVE Whataburger Jrs..." This would go on for another 30 seconds before she finally understood that I don't have a southern accent. I explained to Karel that one of the reasons why I moved out of Texas was because I just don't fit in with the way that I talk (like a yankee, as they say). It should also be noted that the car in front of us took 15 minutes before they got their order, probably because they ordered over $60 worth of food. Takashi was blown away by that number, haha. I had a rough go with GP all damn day. But hey, I actually used one red shell in order to beat Drew, which is my first and last item usage all weekend. I was also able to pull off several feather shortcuts, which I never practice since I never get any beneficial items anyway... I placed something like 11th out of the 16 people who played that day. Shitty. Karel would go on to face Sami in the final, which would see him throw his controller in frustration (who could blame him?). He would eventually go on to win the gold over Sami about 30 minutes later, which prevented Sami from the elusive Grand Slam. Takashi and Lafungo also had some amazing battles, and I was super impressed with them all weekend long. It's really nice to see the best players from around the world performing at the highest level. That's something I'll never be able to do, haha. Anyway... battle mode sucks and it shouldn't even be included in tournaments anymore. Drew lost to Sami, but it was still fun to watch them go at it. Overall: Sami won 3 of 4 modes, taking him the coveted World Championship belt that I was staring at all weekend. That is truly a thing of beauty and I'm glad that this year's event was wrestling themed. Considering that I know way too much about old school pro wrestling (remember my half hour recap from earlier?), I felt at home. TL/DR: These are truly unprecedented times we are living in at the moment. Had the event been scheduled one week later, I'm not very certain any of this would have happened, which means I never would have picked up KVD and Lafungo from the airport, I never would have driven 6 hours with them from Dallas to Monroe, I never would have known who Morris Bart was, and I never would have met Nicolas goddamn Harvey. A huge thank you to the Kartel once again for making all of this a reality, and thank you to Karel for avoiding Sami's Grand Slam, thank you to Dan___________________________h for his amazing commentary work all weekend long, thank you to Lafungo for agreeing to fly into Dallas and make the road trip with Nes and me, thank you to Dave Smith for driving all the way from Tennessee (and trying his best to get Fenner to make the trip as well), thank you to Andrew mother fuckin' Koltz for becoming the official "SMK martyr," thank you to everyone who watched the streams all weekend, and thank you to everyone who made it this far reading this very long and drawn out recap of my weekend in Monroe, Louisiana. I came here because of the game, but I stayed because of the people. That's more true now than it ever has been before. I love you all. Photo dump: http://https://i.imgur.com/XZpmVCY.jpg?1 http://https://i.imgur.com/Lm5cEIs.jpg?1 http://https://i.imgur.com/R8AmgQY.jpg?1 http://https://i.imgur.com/DliOdjX.jpg?1 http://https://i.imgur.com/S88zZAj.jpg?1 http://https://i.imgur.com/d3c6Ae1.jpg?1 http://https://i.imgur.com/CST08F4.jpg?1 [smiley=johncleese.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Fyaaa on 03/22/20 at 04:45:21 well i guess its time to post my trip report, or bilan as they say. people who don't use the discord most likely don't know who i am. i joined the leaderboard back in december 2019 after i found out that they allowed use of snes mini to submit times, so i did and ive gotten just in the top 100 in next update most likely. still playing on snes mini, never really tried nbt, on a flatscreen, but one day ill change my setup, for now just having fun seeing how far i can get. i also kind of want to post a bilan based on the view of an outsider, for people who doesnt know anyone and still want to consider attending a future event whether its this or CDM so i first had heard abou asmkc about.. mid february i guess. i found a cheap room in the area and booked it just so id have something if i decided to go later. it simmered for a few weeks, and another moment was in a twitch chat a couple weeks prior when matt offered to let me stay in his house for free. i told him id consider it. i let it sit a while longer, until about a week before the tournament when i DMed matt on discord that i would plan to attend if i could crash at his house because i wanted the "full" experience so to say. i didnt really want to just go back to a hotel room after i left the venue. he graciously allowed me to stay and everything was smooth. or so i thought.. coronavirus. yeah. this all kinda kicked off badly the wednesday prior. for about a 2 hour period i was seriously considering not attending, but i was made to feel better by knowing it would be a smaller venue and we would all be taking precautions. this wasnt even considering the issues that sami/kvd/lafungo/takashi would/did have with their flights during the weekend. it wouldnt have been the same if they didnt make it so im glad it worked out like it did. i am about an 8 hour drive from monroe, and i wanted to get there a little earlier on friday, so i elected to leave home at about 2am friday, which would put me there late morning. the drive down was fairly uneventful, i arrived about when i expected. i was the first to arrive on friday, it was matt and takashi at the house, and matt's eyes bugged out when he first saw me, i still recall that. we had our pleasentries and chatted for a while. later on, i met sami and we had a discussion about SMK history and recruiting japanese players to join the leaderboard while he was waiting for takashi to wake up so they can go tea shopping. truthfully, after this most of friday is a blur to me as i woke up at midnight to drive down there and i didnt sleep for over 24 hr after. eventually others started showing up (which i wont list names because i will forget someone, but it was about everyone). being a bit of the outsider, it was cool seeing everyone id just read messages on discord or watching their vids/etc. eventually many of them left to either doe's or to the gym. i think at that point it was just me and takashi and kyle. i dont remember much of what happened after that, but i eventually went to sleep sometime past midnight saturday comes. i woke up at 5am and couldnt get back to sleep, so i eventualyl climbed out of bed at like 6-7 am, i was the only one kinda out of bed at the time, but not the only one awake i later found out. i hung out a bit, charged phone as the others slowly began to wake up. i went out to get breakfast, but i later find out after i ate that the kartel provided donuts and other pastries for breakfast. wish id known prior, but all good. i arrived at the venue at around 10am as they were getting the final setup done, and i quickly realized i needed to relearn zoom start timing. you have to hit it earlier on the snes mini than you do on actual snes, which i attribute to input lag...i trained it as best i could before the competitions began time trial. the only mode i was hoping to do alright in. we started with a one try of every track to add overall time. the zoom start thing really messed with me, but i think i did hit just over half of them. even though this hurt my result a lot, and i had a tough start (1'06 mc1 rip), i had a good end and my overall time was about 28 minute 7 seconds. id said before that i was hoping for a high 27 to low 28 so i was satisfied with this. after the TT was done, we would race randomly drawn tracks and if you finished in the bottom half, you got a strike, 3 strikes and you were eliminated. i lasted 4 tracks (i managed to survive gv3 by getting 10th, where 11th got a strike) so this result was fine, especially since i had no chance on some of them. you also learn how much of a madman ethan is though, during a gv1 one try he hit 2 pj's and went for a third and fell. eventually the field got down to three, KVD, lafungo and sami. they ran it CDM style and this went on for some time, but it was a lot of fun to watch. lafungo fell behind on strikes early but made a valiant effort to stay in and outlast KVD, but eventually lost the winner take all race to sami during the TT the kartel family provided more food, pizza, and some delicious homemade gumbo i think it was? or jambalaya, either way it was quite good and i had more than one bowl of it. match race. a mode ive never played in my life. i learned that the zoom start actually lines up closer to the snes mini TT timing so i didnt have as much issue adjusting to this one. each mode from here on was a triple elimination bracket. as i recall i got crushed by matt, then i played kyle and i won that match. i then got matched with eric and got crushed again (i called it good practice for them), and i ended up rematched with kyle, which i then lost and was eliminated. so i sat around and watched the others go at it, and eventually saw sami with another victory. we got back saturday night and had a good time hanging out. i was quite tired so i dont remember much of it, but there was a lot of garage mario kart involved, and dragging dave smith from his hotel to hang out. i heard there was hot sauce at some point but i think i missed it, i ended up crawling into sleep a bit before 2am. i woke up sunday, i wanna say around 7 am. i found out that ethan has been grinding TT all night after sleeping during match race, and also got a new US record on VL2, which i also found out was andrew koltz's only US record. but soon after he went to sleep, and did not wake up for a long time. i again went to the venue about 10am or a bit after, this time not getting breakfast and being rewarded at the venue by the crew! i hung out and tried to practice zoom starts a bit before it began grand prix. well, it lasted a long time. kyle put it to a vote whether we should make the early rounds first to 2 cups or first to 1, and the room voted the former, so this led to grand prix going very long. i got eliminated by 2pm and it kept going until like 9pm or so. anyway, it was a lot of the same, i got crushed by matt, then i got matched with kyle which i think i won. i think i again got matched with eric who crushed me (but hey i got one race win at mc2 so ill take that and run), then i faced kyle again and i lost. that might be out of order, but it went something like that. ethan didnt arrive to the venue until like 3pm, which despite our best efforts he wouldnt wake up in time to make GP again the kartel family provided delicious homemade lunch, red beans and rice, again i had more than one bowl. the match down to the finals was a lot of fun to watch and in the end KVD pulled out the win over sami. finally, battle mode, where i had no expectations and just wanted to have fun. i again got matched with matt, which i lost. i then got to face joe (which was the first time i didnt play someone from the kartel all weekend!). despite his best efforts to lose, he beat me quickly. i ended up playing badandrew as he went by, and i somehow won that one with some good fortune. i then faced eric, and though i managed to get it to a deciding 5th game, i couldnt quite pull it out. either way i was happy with that result. battle mode kept going until past midnight, and sami defeated drew to take the battle shell. afterward we stayed at venue and picked out prizes, and signed posters. i somehow ended up with one of matt's controllers. i contend that it was in the prize bag, but he said fine so i have it here next to me. after a quick stop-off at whataburger we went back to the venue and had some more hang-out shenanigans and i was introduced to some of fenner's vids. i was doing alright but i broke midway thru the fennerco video. there was a re-appearance of the handstand video too. we found a nice photo of fenner posting with his 59"80 ci1 time so we blew it up and left it on the projector all night for others to run into. karel just kinda accepted it as i recall. i went to sleep in the garage about 5am, not long after takashi left for the airport, and woke up around 10:30am, right as joe and nes were leaving, so i got to say bye to them at least. dave smith had already left town too, the rest of us went to waffle house for a nice pre-lockdown meal. harvey and koltz left town from there, rest of us went back to the house. karel and lafungo were still trying to figure out their flights and had to go to the airport with sami to see if they could go. i did get to say goodbye to sami/kvd/lafungo before they went to the airport, exchanged hugs and stuff. the one thing that really stuck out to me was lafungo hugging me and saying "welcome to the community". i mean like i said i came in as the outsider and stuff, but that kind of statement, it meant a lot actually. i left monroe about 5pm monday with expectation of arriving 1am or so. but apparently no asmkc trip can go smoothly. from dave nearly being run off the road by a truck to harvey/koltz car issues to everyone elses flight issues, i had my own bit of fun. i got stuck in gridlock at about 10pm in tuscaloosa, alabama. there was a wreck just up ahead and an 18 wheeler flipped over onto a car or something. i sat there not doing much, but a lane finally opened just before midnight. i was so tired on the way back, i should have napped before i left. but i didnt make it home until like 4:30am and more or less started my self isolation. my view for 2 hours: http://https://i.imgur.com/smkswlF.jpg?1 in the end, matt and the rest of the crew were outstanding hosts and i had a real fun time. i hadnt mentioned it before, but i tend to be a bit awkward and anxious and i put myself way outside my comfort zone on this trip. traveling down somewhere id never been to stay in the house of someone id never met. i almost didnt go for various reasons and coronavirus, but in the end i had a real fun time and am so glad i made the decision to attend, was one of the best weekends ive had in a while. not to mention the community felt so welcoming, which i felt went above and beyond what i was expecting. was crazy. even though i talked to some people more than others im glad i got to meet everyone and im hoping next year can work out and to meet even more people if i am able to attend. i didnt really do the trip justice with this bilan but i did just wanna say how great everything was. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 03/22/20 at 10:21:26 Welcome to the forum Anthony! You can use the "PRs/Time Submissions" topic if you want to broadcast your new PRs to the world as soon as you get them. If you're making videos, we have a "WR/TT Videos" thread. As they are arguably the two most important threads on the SMK board, they are stickied, keeping them at the top at all times. Also be sure to check out the "General Discussion" board if you want to share your thoughts about anything not Kart-related. Don't forget that you can edit your profile and give yourself an avatar image (which will appear under your screen name, to the left of your posts) and a signature (which will appear beneath all of your posts; you might want to use this to tell everyone who you are) We look forward to seeing you become a regular at this forum! You've been making impressive progress if you've only been time-trialing SMK for three months. Come back to Monroe next year! I bet you'll be much better at SMK by then [smiley=beer.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by hahaae on 03/23/20 at 22:37:10 Not really sure what "Inducted into the Kartel" entails, but yes, I'm down. Haha Had a great weekend at ASMKC. It was great to finally meet all of you guys. I guess I'll give my little recap of things. So I got off work around 2:45pm, packed up my stuff, saw my girlfriend for a little bit, and finally started the trip to Monroe, LA, around 4:47pm. I then stopped by my uncle's house in Pine Bluff to have him double check my car, make sure I wasn't dooming myself in (he's a former mechanic)-- all checked out. So, I begin my drive, maybe 3-3.5 hours to go at this point, southbound to Monroe. I had never actually been to Louisiana except for a quick pass-through in the car on the way to Biloxi, MS, as a kid to see my cousin off to his 2nd tour in Iraq. Listened to Queen, Elvis, The Righteous Brothers, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Tool, Ray Charles, to name a few, all the way down, belting songs out. Crossed the state border around maybe 7:45 (it's hard to tell when you cross the border; didn't see a sign or anything), driving slightly cautious because this particular path is well-known for deer crossing. Somewhat blew out my voice before I ever even got to Monroe, haha. So after the drive is coming to an end, I eat these 3.5g of psilocybin mushrooms that I'd stashed in my glove box for the trip, figuring I'd make the best out of finally meeting these people. Upon entering, I was greeted by Anthony, then maybe Joe (I honestly can't remember the order), and then meet the man of the hour: Nicholas de la Harvey. In all honesty, similar to Joe, I never thought this was a possibility in any timeline, but here I stood, feeling the come-up of shrooms, saying hi to legends like KVD and Lafungo, before going to play Nick in 2P GP 150cc in Matt's garage. We ended up going, I believe 1-1 in sets, before Takashi and Lafungo hopped on for their practice. I took the reprieve from playing as an opportunity to chat with some people who were there, namely Matt Ballard, the Supermodel of SMK, and Andrew Koltz. Mainly just shot the shit for a few hours, checked out the hot sauces that Eric had purchased, and was overall trying to conceal my laughter, as the shrooms were really starting to hit at this point. Demonstrated to Andrew some MKSC, where Nick saw me playing (terribly) for a little bit as well, but in all fairness, I couldn't feel my hands and playing the game felt like a foreign concept at that moment. Eventually everyone went to sleep, and since I was still under the influence (with the addition of a few Abita AndyGators at this point), I felt like it was the perfect time to kart. Stayed up basically all night, and around 3:15am, hit 08"86 on VL2 flap, stealing Andrew's last NR after I'd chatted with him all night. Landed a 1'00"75 5lap on GV1 as well later on that morning, nearly crashing in the lap transition to lap 5 due to the air compressor going off just as I'd landed last corner. Come day 2, I believe Anthony was among the first awake, and came in to congratulate me (much appreciated, btw!). Everyone starts slowly waking up and eating or practicing, whatever they do. Karel casually set a 56"87 MC1 in like 2-3 tries on my cartridge, only to say "Oh... you don't mind do you?", haha (don't worry, I don't). He smashed a few of my 1-try 5laps with much better 1-tries while warming up, etc. I was already experiencing some numbness in my hand around this time, maybe 8:30-9am, from playing all night (carpal tunnel is an issue I have). Did the TT 1-tries, finally got to meet the one and only Sami Cetin, placed 9th in the end, not too terrible. I ended up dying on GV1, where I landed 3 PJ's and then choked 2 more away. After such a long excursion though, on no sleep, it was time for me to catch a little shut-eye (and the tendon down my forearm was becoming inflamed and holding a controller at all hurt). Went and slept through Match Race, waking up at maybe 8:30 and going to the nearest gas station to buy a bunch of ibuprofen (my arm was in agony). Got to see the hype Match Race finals, basically all of the last 4-5 sets in all of their glory. Went back to the Kartel house, once again chilled with Matt, Andrew, Anthony, as well as some of the Kartel gang. Finally got to meet Eric Olden (great guy, of course) and try out the hot sauces. They were all pretty good, the only really hot ones I think were the Mad Dog .357 and the Mad Dog capsicum extract, the latter was alarmingly hot but didn't burn for very long. Some funny shenanigans were had that night, to say the least. I might have stayed up TT'ing, I honestly don't remember. Whatever happened, as stated by Joe, I didn't wake up until like 3pm. If I recall, I was just really hungover (between shots, beer, shots, beer, etc). Missed 2P GP, which is something I'd really wanted to compete in (maybe next time), but did get to play Battle Mode, where I got rocked (did take a single match off Harvey though, that's all). Saw the awards, got whooped by Dan Hornyman at Smash64, hung out with everyone at the venue a little bit, got utterly smashed by Drew in Super Mario Bros. Deluxe VS mode, then the crew went back to the Kartel house to watch some Fenner videos, get some rest, hang out for one more night. Awoke next morning, went to Waffle House with the Kartel, Anthony, Andrew, Harvey, Sami, KVD, Matt and Lafungo, took some pics. KVD, Lafungo, Sami all went to the airport, and I slept until about 5pm before departing back to AR. Had a great time, can't wait to go back again. Hope my years of impression of being a total twat here on the MB were (somewhat) made up for. Really enjoyed kicking it with everyone. [smiley=beer.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 03/27/20 at 19:33:05 A few other fun memories from that magical weekend that didn't make it into the earlier posts... -I got to meet Eric Olden's wife, Heather, on Friday, and as it was her birthday, I wished her a happy birthday. -Koltz and I carried a really heavy TV set from his car to the venue. Ethan helped us out as well. That got my left wrist sore for a little while, but I don't think it affected my Karting. -When I first saw Drew he was wearing one of those face masks. He didn't wear the mask the entire time, though. -On Sunday, Drew appeared to be wearing the exact same T-shirt that his girlfriend, Crystal, was wearing on Saturday! ;D -Karel had on a hilarious T-shirt Sunday that showed Yoshi giving the middle finger. Naturally, Sami had on Superman-themed shirts on both days of the tournament. Matt, of course, had to have on his trademark Britney Spears shirt on one of the days of the event; I joked that it must be his "lucky" shirt. -Of course I had to thank Sami in person for all the work he does on the SMK Players' Page. I also explained to him what a one-of-a-kind game SMK is, especially for the time when it was first released, and that a game from 1992 is still having such a cultural impact here in 2020. I asked Sami about his nieces, Leyla & Maia Hasso, and he showed me some pictures of them on his phone (and told me about how crazy Maia was). I told him that it felt strange to hear about Leyla getting a job and Sami agreed that Leyla has grown up so fast and that it's so easy for many of us to still picture her as a little girl. -It wasn't cold at all in Louisiana that weekend, or even what I'd call chilly, but I seemed to be one of the few Karters who was comfortable the entire time in just short sleeves and shorts. I was surprised by how many people had jackets on at some time or another (Eric even offered me one), despite this being March and most of the attendees coming from colder climates. The coolest it got was in the 50s °F. That's still above 10°C, and close to normal (or even slightly above normal) for a morning/night temperature in northern Louisiana in mid-March. I figure that ought to feel quite balmy to someone just coming out of a winter in Denver, Utrecht, or even Yokohama (I reminded Takashi that I indeed knew the word samui). I guess "acclimation" has become somthing of a lost art? -Did a flaming shot with Koltz and a few other Karters in the kitchen. This was the only hard liquor I had the entire weekend, but it was available. I otherwise stuck to beer. -Matt Ballard's brother Adam looks just like him, enough that I can get the two of them confused. They insisted that they aren't twins... -Dan had this thing going where, if you missed a zoomstart during the tournament, you apparently owed him 10 push-ups. He never made me do any, but I did a set in the Kartel garage just for fun (and a little exercise). Apparently I "flare my elbows" as Dan calls it, which is bad form. Like, how would I know the best way to do push-ups, I've never been in boot camp or anything. But Dan's pretty damn good at push-ups and could hammer them out twice as fast as I could. -Ethan demonstrated a few one-arm push-ups for us in the Kartel's kitchen after I mentioned his old forum posts boasting about his physical endurance. Surprised he wasn't at the gym with Sami, Matt, and Adam on Friday night (the rest of us were having dinner at Doe's). I bet Clark would have been at that gym, though. Anybody else see the video of Matt doing those chin-ups at the gym? I wish I had that kind of endurance; I feel a sense of accomplishment by doing just one. Glad I wasn't at the gym or I'd have been too damn sore to play Kart the next two days :D -Speaking of beer, apparently the Tower Place has a rule against drinking it straight out of the can, we had to pour it into solo cups. Matt reminded me of this rule; I really never noticed that nobody else was drinking beer out of the cans (sorry 'bout that Matt). This rule probably didn't apply to soft drinks, though. -My Aero-Bed was deflated Sunday night and we had to re-inflate it. I had a good sense of humor about it. -There was a guy at Kartel HQ who seemed to spend the whole time sitting at a PC playing some kind of MMORPG or something, acting oblivious to everything that was going on around him. Probably one of the housemates but definitely not a Karter or ASC entrant. -The Kartel still has my handwritten note from 2019 on their refrigerator. -I called David Smith from Waffle House to tell him that he was invited to have lunch with the rest of us, but he was already out of the state by then. The Waffle House group photo isn't really complete without Joe, Drew, or Dan either. I can understand Takashi having to be gone early, since we received word that flights from the US to Japan would be very limited in the following week... but the other American Karters ought to have stayed in Monroe long enough to join us in one final meal. Note that all of the missing Americans (save David Smith) were from outside the South and probably just wanted to get on a plane back home while they knew they still could. EDIT: A few more random observations from ASC weekend... -After I remarked that there were no French players at this year's ASC, Lafungo helpfully reminded me that he held a French passport. -As it was a bit of a party setting at Kartel HQ, I felt obliged to show everyone the "penny trick" that my uncle taught me. -Late during the event Dan was playing a variation of the classic Mario Bros. arcade game on the Super Mario All-Stars cartridge. Can't remember who he was playing with (was it Drew?) but the object of the game was to either be the first player to get five coins or the last player standing. Both Mario and Luigi start out in Super form; taking damage shrinks them to small form and taking damage again kills them, automatically awarding the match to the surviving player. This is in contrast to the original Mario Bros. in which taking one hit kills you always. -Speaking of Dan, he claims to hold the world speedrunning record in some game called "Super Black Bass". I had never heard of that game until he told me about it. -One of my shirts got ruined when an ink pen (which we were using for scorekeeping) leaked ink in my pocket. It did not come out after washing, unfortunately. -There were guitars, guitar amps, and a keyboard at the Kartel house, so at least some of them play music or are in a band (I know Kyle composes his own music for his YouTube videos, so these are probably the instruments he uses). We didn't get to hear anybody playing any instruments, though. They probably wouldn't have minded if Joe (who is also a guitarist) borrowed one of the guitars and played for us. I never thought of that while we were there... -I noticed that Matt had a tattoo on his chest consisting of katakana characters that read, "shijiku". I asked him what that meant and he explained that it means "to be continued" and is seen at the end of anime shows. Considering that both anime and tattoos seem to be pretty popular with young adults nowadays, an anime-themed tattoo might not be all that unusual. -Some of the consoles that were set up at the venue were third-party. One of them had cartridge slots for NES, SNES... and Sega Genesis! -Watching Ethan attempt to do all those crazy bounces on Rainbow Road in MKSC. I never could get the hang of that. (Also, Ethan's GBA screen is lit up, making it much easier to see the game on it) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Joe Reinreb on 04/08/20 at 08:49:51 The lack of bilans even after all this time is a little disappointing. Thank you to all who have already submitted their own take of a great weekend in Monroe, Lousiana! [smiley=beer.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 04/08/20 at 11:05:09 When I was on the phone with Matt about two weeks ago he told me he'd post his bilan, and I'm still waiting. I'm still also waiting for him to mail me an AC adapter than I had left in Monroe. I sure hope he's okay... In the mean time I've got a few more ASC memories to share here. -When I was talking to Sami in the driveway after he first arrived, he told me (probably jokingly) that Drew would be sleeping in the outside trash can. To which I replied, "I guess he's going to be doing his best Oscar the Grouch impression?" -I got a shit ton of Skittles for Christmas from my parents, far more than I could ever hope to eat. (Eating candy often gives me toothaches, so I don't eat much candy anymore.) I figured that bringing them to the ASC would be the perfect way to get rid of them. I also used ASC to unload a few other video game related things that were of no use to me. Some of these things ended up as consolation prizes when the event wrapped up on Sunday night. So yeah, if you enjoyed some Skittles during that weekend, you're welcome. -Springtime allergies made my eyes itch at times, and after eating a bag of hot and spicy potato chips, I rubbed my eye and it really burned because I got some of the potato chip spice in it. I was trying to do live commentary on a race while this was happening, too. -At the dinner Friday night I asked KVD about Aron Langerak and he told me a story involving him, Aron, and Patrick Wessels. I'm not going to tell this story, because I don't want to embarrass any of the people involved, but I did ask Karel if alcohol was involved, and he said that it probably was, because it's legal to drink on public transportation in the Netherlands. -David Smith was the last person to get his food. The rest of us didn't touch our food until Dave got his steak, so we could all start at the same time. I had to joke that the restaurant had to go out and find a cow to slaughter for Dave. Since Dave wanted medium rare and I wanted rare, I also felt obliged, at this point, to tell everybody what my late uncle (1962-2009) always said whenever someone asked him how he wanted his steak: "Just cut off his horns, wipe his ass, and put him on my plate!" -Of course I had to ask Dan if he saw the film Grumpy Old Men and if it was an accurate depiction of a Minnesota winter. He said that indeed it was. -I was surprised when Joe's girlfriend Vanessa spoke and she sounded like a normal American. My uncle's best friend has a Filipino girlfriend and knows a lot of Filipinos, whom I've met at parties and the like. They all have a heavy accent. So does every other Filipino I've run across here in Mississippi. Nes is the only one I've met that has no accent and presumably speaks English as their first language, having grown up in Chicago (I asked her about this). Also, I find it strange that every Filipino I've ever met was a woman. Is there even such a thing as a Filipino man? :D -I noticed that Doe's played a lot of songs by Queen. I think I heared at least four or five Queen songs during the couple of hours we spent there. Pretty sure Queen was playing when I first walked into the place, but I can't remember which of their songs it was. -I thought Anthony Long bore a facial resemblance to filmmaker Quentin Tarantino. I had to joke with him about this, especially as both of those people are from Tennessee. -Speaking of Tennessee, not everyone there listens to country music. I guess I am stereotyping. But David Smith told me he preferred heavy metal. I told Anthony Long (who also prefers rock to country) that Tennessee does indeed have a rock scene, as the band 3 Doors Down (who originated in southern Mississippi) is based in Nashville. Long proceeded to remind me of a certain band called Kings of Leon... -Eric wasn't present on time during the Time Trial competition, as he was out to get pizza for us. Some were talking about making him forfeit that event due to his not showing up, but I suggested that we wait for him since he was doing us such a favor by bringing us something to eat. We waited and Eric did indeed participate in Time Trials. And we enjoyed our pizza. -For some reason we gave BC2 the nickname "Whale Shark". I came up with my own course nickname: I started referring to GV1 as "RNGV1" because of the element of luck involved in making multiple consecutive platform jumps to get a good 5lap time. Especially on PAL, where I've never gotten more than three successful jumps in a row (even with NBT!) It makes me feel better knowing that on PAL at least, it isn't always even possible to make the jump every time, depending on the placement of the Kart from one frame to the next. It is truly random on PAL whether you will be able to make the jump or not, and that is what makes Alicia's Non-NBT 4/5 perhaps the most insane 5lap run in all of SMK time trial history. (Few players can even make the jump twice in a row without a boost. I am not one of them.) -We wanted to go up to the roof of Tower Place and take a group photo, but we never found the time. The GP competition ate up the better part of our day on Sunday. -Koltz and I have a Kart-themed sense of humor when we're on the road. If we are stopped at a red light and he doesn't immediately hit the gas when a traffic light turns green (because he's looking at the map on his phone or whatever), I tell him that he missed his zoomstart. Also, when we were following Kyle to the Waffle House for lunch on Monday, another car got between Kyle and us, and Koltz joked that it was a "CPU racer". I think every Karter who drives in real life feels obliged to crack jokes like this from time to time... -Joe giving me a quick interview about the ASC during the event. He asked me stuff like what have I liked most about the ASC so far, etc. Obviously for me it was getting to meet Karters that I didn't think I'd ever get to meet in person, especially Sami and KVD. Joe posted this interview online on his Twitch. Good Lord, I look and sound like an old, fat hick in that video! A 35-year-old should not look like this. I actually thought about dying some gray out of my hair before coming to ASC, I even asked my dad about it and he said that I didn't need to dye my hair. So I didn't. (He likes to tell me all the time that my gray hair and glasses make me look "distinguished", but I ain't buying it.) I was also surprised by how old and chubby I looked in all of the Kartel videos of them visiting me. Not what I see in the mirror at all... |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dan H on 04/08/20 at 21:17:07 This is why BC2 is the whale shark... https://www.twitch.tv/videos/288376164?filter=highlights&sort=time Go to 54:10 of that video |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 04/09/20 at 00:16:54 ^ Video won't load. I waited for like 10 minutes and said screw it. Is it available in youtube form? I find the youtube format the easiest to watch videos with and they usually load no problem, as soon as you open the page. I'm just not much into the other online video platforms out there, such as Vimeo... or Twitch. I don't even understand why they even compete with YT, because YT pretty much has a monopoly on online video viewing anyhow. Monopolies aren't all bad if one player already gets something just right and there's just no way to improve upon it. 8-) |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Joe Reinreb on 04/09/20 at 00:40:26 Quote:
There's a lot to unpack here. First off, Vanessa has never been to the Philippines, so she won't have an accent. This is technically not true since she was brought there by her parents when she was a 1 year old, but that's purely semantics. She was born and raised in Chicago just like me, despite my parents' (specifically my mom's) best efforts to possibly -- maybe, raise me and my sister -- in Texas... My mom has repeatedly told me that raising me and my sister in Texas was never part of her plan, which explains why I have the accent that I have, and why I even know who Vanessa is in the first place. It's absolutely crazy to think about the "what could have been" scenarios that routinely make me think about all of the variables that could have made me never meet the best person in the world... Second: Vanessa's parents are both born and raised in the Philippines, so they have extremely thick accents. Her sister and brother, however, do not. I'm not sure how it is in Mississippi, but typically (from my experience), thick accents don't get tranferred from parent to child, unless there's a very large community of similar cultures within that part of the US. Because Chicagoans (and the surrounding suburbs) typically have Chicago accents, that's probably why you were confused as to why Nes sounds like a typical Chicagoan. And that's because she is. Third: "Is there even such a thing as a Filipino man?" Well, I know this question was purely in jest. Your experience with different ethnicities notwithstanding, I'm sure you're aware that Filipino men do actually exist. Like I said earlier, I poke fun at Nes' brother for his fake Canadian accent all the time. He, by the way, usually speaks like a native Chicagoan, for the record. I'm happy to continue educating you on the cultural differences between us, Harvey. I had the fortune of growing up in an area of the US where it wasn't really avant-garde to know people from different cultural backgrounds. I, again, feel very lucky that I was able to meet my favorite person in the world because of that specific scenario. Isn't it weird to think about how many things could be vastly different based on only a couple of variables here and there? - My mom moving to Illinois with my dad. - Vanessa's parents moving from the Philippines. - Them choosing Chicago, more specifically the same town as my parents. - Me becoming friends with my lifelong best friend in second grade. - That same friend having a sister who would become Vanessa's best friend. - Us meeting because we liked to drink and play video games together at their house... Life is weird. Especially in these times it's important to look back and see how it all happened. Stay safe, everyone. I love you all. [smiley=beer.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 04/09/20 at 10:18:19 7A5D5A40515A5E5B645B435146340 wrote:
The Lord arranged all of that, of course! If I were you I would thank Him regularly for bringing you and Nes together. Only the Lord could have aligned the stars that way to unite you with the lady who will probably be Mrs. Bernier in the not-so-distant future. 8-) It's also worth noting (if I didn't already tell you back in Monroe) that every Filipino woman over here is either married to or dating a white man. Every. Single. One. Usually a much older white man as well. I've been to parties that had some Filipino ladies and none were with a man of the same ethnicity. They like to dance a lot as well. Even if you have never really followed country music, you might be familiar with the 1990s country music star Neal McCoy. He is the son of a white father and a Filipino mother. Born in Shreveport, raised in Texas, sings (and talks) very Texan. I must add that it used to be extremely rare for a country music star to have a non-white parent. Diversity is improving somewhat though and I'm aware that there are a few black and black-white biracial country stars today. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Dan H on 04/09/20 at 21:25:02 17303A313635382A0611382B2F3C20590 wrote:
You can't have THAT shitty of internet or computer, can you? lol Youtube gaming and youtube livestreams in general don't hold a candle to twitch. The video platform is superior, but twitch and others are miles ahead when it comes to streaming games. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 04/16/20 at 12:25:23 I actually noticed this weeks ago but never pointed it out on this thread. Eight Americans (http://mariokart64.com/smk/afp.php?cfilter=USA&full=on) have PAL timesets in SMK. All eight were present at ASC! I wish we all could have gotten together for a "Team USA PAL" photo with just the eight of us, but I never noticed this while I was at the event. Four of the eight are in the Waffle House group photo. The ones missing are Joe, Eric, Dave, and Drew. And despite there being eight American PAL players (six of which are in the Top 100, five of those Top 50), all 40 U.S. PAL records belong to the same player (http://mariokart64.com/smk/wrp.php?cfilter=USA). |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Andrew K on 04/30/20 at 20:45:00 7D5A5D47565D595C635C445641330 wrote:
Better late than never! This has been a work in progress for way too long. So my ASC adventure started early Friday morning. I ran into problems before I even left because I had parked my car at a Walmart rather than an overpriced condo parking lot. After a late night of drinking none of my friends were up at 7:30 to give me a ride, and Uber showed no rides available because who needs a ride that early in a beach town? After frantically downloading Lyft I checked Uber again and found a ride; I had to wait 20 minutes but at least I could stop panicking. I ended up leaving Gulf Shores, AL around 8:15 and then had a quick 2 hour drive over to Gulfport to pick up Harvey. I had only slept a few hours the night before, thankfully didn’t get too tired but sleep deprivation would become a common theme! I recognized Harvey’s neighborhood from my previous visit and once I drove up to his house it finally hit me. The ASC is finally here and Harvey is coming this year!!! I was only in front of his house for a minute or two before we left. We made a pit stop at McDonald’s on our way out, and after a long drive-thru wait we finally got on our way. The trip to Monroe seemed to go by really fast—the weather and traffic were good and we didn’t make any stops. Harvey and I spotted a bunch of out-of-state license plates, including one from the Dakotas, and he had a keen eye for plates from my home county. I even taught him a little trivia about the hazmat placards on tanker trucks; he picked it up quickly and could soon identify whether a truck was carrying propane, jet fuel, crude oil etc. After passing through lots of empty Louisiana farmland, we finally began seeing signs of civilization as we approached Monroe. Pulling up to the Kartel house with Harvey in tow felt surreal. Last year I drove up to a dark house at 2:30 am, this time I saw the legendary Dave Smith before even getting out of the car. He was the first of several karters I’d meet for the first time. I also caught up with Matt and Kyle, and we all hung out in their front yard waiting for more karters to show up. Not too long later, a mystery van pulled up and out walked KVD and Lafungo! I was not at all expecting to meet him so it was a really cool surprise. Later Sami came back from a shopping trip and with him was the 150cc legend Takashi! He flew halfway around the world alone to a new country for our tournament, so I made sure to give him a warm welcome. Joe and Vanessa also showed up; it was great having them again this year. Another karter I hadn’t met (and admittedly hadn’t heard of because I’m not on discord/hadn’t been following the site) was Anthony Long. He’s built up a good skill base in the few months since he joined, and it’s great to see him involved in the community this early in his SMK journey! One of my favorite parts of the afternoon was seeing many of us meet Harvey for the first time. Everyone was excited to finally meet the Gulfport Oracle himself, and immediately the extra planning and travel time for me were already worth it. Once we were settled in we hooked up a SNES in the Kartel garage and started the SMK action. I raced a couple GPs against Harvey, then stepped back and watched others go at it. We also used this time to complain about our travels to ASC; it’s always fun to hear the ordeals people went through after they’ve made it. Around 6:20 we finally left for Doe’s. Harvey and I drove together, and Dave, KVD, Lafungo, Joe, and Ness also left with us. When I walked inside I had the privilege of meeting the Super Black Bass world champion, Dan double underscore H! Once we were seated we all marveled at the massive steaks Doe’s had to offer. Other than the normal-sized filet mignon, the smallest steak you could get was 1.5 pounds! Just like Harvey pointed out, you can’t get meals like that in India. I picked the 1.5 pound T-bone with some potatoes au gratin. The potatoes were aggressively salty and cheesy, but somehow that made me like them more. I don’t remember too many specifics of what we talked about, but between the karter camaraderie and the seemingly endless juicy steak on my plate, I was in a very happy place. We left in a couple different groups, and as our waitress came by to pick up the last few checks, Harvey got a fifth and final round of sweet tea. He and I were the last to leave, as he was still working through his mammoth T-bone. When KVD and the others stood up to leave, I instinctively stood up too and right away Harvey asked me where I was going...nowhere, at least not yet! We ended up leaving 10-15 minutes after that, and we didn’t really miss anything because the others had stopped to grab beer on their way back. Back at the Kartel house, I rode out the steak coma by drinking some beers and playing/watching SMK. While I didn’t play too much myself, I spent a while watching Lafungo and Takashi face off in GP. I was really impressed by their speed and consistency, and I tried to learn as much as possible from it. At some point, Chris (Kyle’s brother) needed to inflate the 5 air mattresses for the night, and the most logical way was to use their air compressor. So for several minutes, Lafungo and Takashi were racing top level GP while contending with that compressor roaring just a few feet away...for some reason that was one of my favorite odd moments of the weekend! I also got to meet MKSC powerhouse Ethan McCormac, another karter I hadn’t expected to see. We chatted a bunch that night and throughout the weekend, and later that night he also demoed some MKSC for Harvey and me. I got to see a few RR laps with the Hirano strat and some good looking laps on SGB, and afterwards he let me try out the game for a while. The mechanics were different of course but didn’t feel that strange, and I could see myself learning it with some practice. I’ve always had interest in MKSC as it’s SMK’s sister game, so it was cool to finally play it for the first time. At one point Matt and I made a trip to the venue to bring a couple more TVs, and he filled me in on the venue change situation. For those who didn’t know, the original Hooligans venue didn’t end up having the internet capacity to run three streams, and the Kartel were able to orchestrate a last minute change to the venue from 2019. Everything went smoothly from the perspective of a participant, and the only oddity was that the posters/t-shirts had a different address on them. Kudos to the Kartel team for pulling out of their initial choice and getting us into a good venue at the last minute! The 3 TV stream setup was definitely worth it, I really liked that more matches were broadcast this year and everyone got to have more time playing on stream. Somehow towards the end of that night I ended up in the garage with Ethan, Matt, and Eric. We spent a while bullshitting around; Ethan also talked about Fenner’s history/backstory as he was active in the MKSC scene when Fenner was world champ. I never knew the whole story, so hearing it from an MKSC insider was really insightful. Matt also showed Ethan GAS’ legendary Super Mario Fart (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gDY_OomQGWM) rap, I hadn’t seen it in years and it gave us some great laughs all around! Eventually we split up and I went to bed, maybe around midnight or 1. I had the laundry room all to myself, which ended up being pretty nice because it was my own private room. There was just enough space for a mattress between the washing machine, plastic shelving, and emergency food supplies, so I settled in for the night. The next morning I woke up around 9:30 maybe, and I got in a little bit of TT practice before it was time to go to the venue. I also learned that Ethan had stayed up all night time trialing and driven an 8”86 VL2 lap around 3 am, taking away my only USA record. That was a low point for me (probably not him) but he was a great sport about it and has given me some strat tips since then. There was a big CRT in the garage that needed to go to the venue, and I volunteered to get it there. First Alex (Chris’ girlfriend) and I had to wrestle it into my cozy-sized car, and it completely destroyed a car-USB adapter that I should have removed first! Harvey and I had a cramped ride to the venue thanks to that, but we made it and I got a much needed break when he and Ethan carried it all the way from my car to the tournament room. Also Duff appeared at some point this morning, naturally he had accessorized with an N95 mask. It spent the majority of the day on his forehead, which had dual benefits of letting him breathe and keeping his forehead safe. I also found out that Chris had brought his table tennis set to the venue, so I had to play him while we were waiting on setup. I played a bunch in high school and consider myself decent; while I was a little rusty it seemed like he’d have the upper hand if we played a full game. We also got Takashi in on the action and he was a beast; while I won a couple points his precision was on another level. At one point he put down his paddle and started playing with his phone...and he was still as sharp as with a paddle! I let him and Chris face off and Takashi still looked like a master. Watching him and Chris play was a really cool moment I hadn’t remembered until writing this. Looking back I wish I had played more but it left my mind once the tournament started. Anyway, after that fun start to the day (and some chocolate glazed donuts), it was time for the TT tournament. The group stage went alright for me. I was paired with Joe, and I did better than last year (12-8 vs 2019) but not as good as I was hoping, especially in the later stages. One highlight was a clean 1’35 on BC3, where I sacrificed a bunch of time by riding the bumpers every lap. I was excited for RR because I was coming off some great TT times and had done some mid 1’26 one tries while practicing, but unfortunately I found a thwomp at the end of lap 3. Then my driving got angry and aggressive so I fell off two more times, but thankfully that round didn’t matter for me in the long run. I liked the new format for the later rounds: one track, bottom half of finishers get a strike, 3 strikes and you’re done. I got off to a good start on the first 3 tracks: DP1, GV3, MC3. Then the tides turned and I got 3 consecutive strikes, but I can’t be too upset because the field was narrowing and the cutoff times were getting a lot better. I probably could have survived one more round had I not crashed on GV1; a low 1’06”3 would have put me ahead of Takashi and kept me safe that round. It wouldn’t have improved my 7th place finish though—I would have lasted one more track then been eliminated on DP3. Sami, KVD, and Lafungo battled it out for a while, and it came down the wire but Sami took 1st over Lafungo after winning the last two tracks, MC4 and GV1. After some delicious jambalaya for lunch (thank you Randol parents!) we got started on Match Race. I ran a couple practice races with Takashi first, and I’m proud to say I won the first time we ever played! The lightning I got (on MC1 no less) may have been a factor. My first opponent was Ethan, but he was taking a nap to recover from his TT grinding the night before. That matched me up with Lafungo, and it came as no surprise that he won 2-0. Next up was Joe; I lost 2-0 again but I remember this one was closer. One highlight was on DP2 where I pulled off an NBT + shroom over the lake on lap 5 to pass him, but he must have caught up before the finish. Then I was pitted against Harvey, and we got to race on stream for the Mississippi Match Race title! I don’t remember exactly how the first races went, but there were some mistakes by both of us. I do however remember it coming down to a winner-take-all match on RR. I fell behind early and Dan went on about how I had already lost, but my last couple laps were good and Harvey made some mistakes, possibly due to the commentator’s curse. I passed him on lap 5 to take the win, one of the most exciting moments of the weekend for me. It was a tense but really fun match to play; neither of us raced our best but that happens sometimes. Afterwards I faced Joe again, and while I had renewed confidence it didn’t pay off and I lost 3-0. The field eventually narrowed to Sami and Takashi, and Sami needed to win 3 times because he had lost 2 matches and Takashi was undefeated. Luckily for Sami, he got hot and stayed in the zone to win almost every race and take the MR gold medal. As we were cleaning up the venue, Drew took notice of a trash bag of empty beer cans and asked Eric/Kyle if he could have it to sell to aluminum recyclers. I'm not sure what ever happened to that trash but I thought it was worth noting such a classic Duff moment. I made sure to grab a shirt before leaving for the night; I’m really glad we had shirts this year and Dave killed it on the design! It’s my first MK shirt which was a cool milestone for my progress into the community. MR also gave Dan double underscore h a chance to showcase his commentary skills. I loved the enthusiasm and I’m sure it was entertaining for everyone watching us on stream. I learned from him that every item is a type of nanner, including my personal favorite the tickler nanner. During my match against Harvey I had to go for a shroom (excuse me, mega nanner) longboost on MC2. I have almost no experience with LBs so I wasn’t expecting success, but my attempt looked uglier than I could have imagined. Dan tore into me for that and I reminded him that I rarely ever play GP...while in the middle of a match race. That only added to the roast, and he let everyone know that my race was brought to you by Milwaukee’s finest exports. That was just one of the several unofficial sponsors he thanked on stream; I believe some others were Doe’s, Johnny’s Pizza, and the coronavirus of course. Harvey and I returned to the Kartel house around 7 that night, and it seemed like everyone who walked in after us had a case of beer. And I think we went through all of it so I’m glad we got that much. Dan came over that night to fulfill his goal of drinking, and we eventually convinced Dave to make the right choice and get in an Uber and join us! I had a great time drinking Shiners and everything else with our group, and it became my favorite night of the tournament. There was plenty of bullshitting, then some tequila shots followed by more bullshitting. I didn’t get into any coin catching tricks this year, but I did demo my strat for opening beer bottles with a key. Dan questioned why I wasn’t using the bottle opener in plain sight, and his concern only grew when he saw me using a lighter instead half an hour later. I have to thank Alex for teaching me that one, and it came in handy on a recent trip! We also had Takashi in on the action—somebody got a great picture of him feeding his plush Bucee’s beaver a Shiner, and later I ended up teaching him the difference between fuck yes and fuck you. Matt also ordered us some pizza so we had something to snack on between beers. Naturally he and Eric wanted to spice things up, so he brought out some of his crazy hot sauces. The two I remember were a dangerously hot Mad Dog 357 Magnum bottle and then a tiny demonic bottle of pure capsaicin extract. I tried the 357 with Joe and Ethan; it had a nice flavor and gave a strong burn from only a couple drops! I ended up having it a few times and it eventually helped me get drunker because I kept sipping my beer every 30 seconds. I also tried a tiny sample of the extract and it gave a sharp burn on my lips and tongue, I can’t imagine trying even one drop at once. This was my first trip into the world of super hot sauces and I’m very glad they introduced me to it. The hot wings contest we had been talking about never happened, but I’m sure we’ll have another chance sometime and I look forward to participating (and probably regretting it immediately)! Again there were some late night shenanigans, one of which was trying to judge who was snoring the loudest. Harvey delivered a good steady performance, but occasionally someone in the living room (Joe possibly?) would violently make their presence known for a minute or so, then go quiet again like nothing had happened. I think I eventually got to bed around 3 or 4 am, who cares because time is just a concept anyway. Nick and I made it to the venue around 10 the next morning after a less-than-fulfilling night of sleep, but I was pleasantly surprised that I avoided a hangover. GP definitely went the worst for me. Again my first match was against Ethan, and he was catching up on sleep so I got a bye. That matched me up against Sami, and it was on Star and Special...my two worst in GP. He never dropped below top speed, and that made the CPUs speed up so much that they caused some problems for me. I took third overall in the Special Cup, but at least finished the match on a high note by landing the RR feather shortcut to save 2nd there. It gave me a 7”69 last lap, and Harvey astutely pointed out that 769 is the Jackson phone area code! I played Duff next, and while I was able to take 1st on KB2 and GV2, the outcome of the match was never really in doubt. I had a shot at winning DP3 when I got a shroom, but I failed the Jesus cut despite making it for the first time in practice an hour earlier. Racing him was lots of fun though because he was relaxed and would give me pointers after (and sometimes during) our races. Then I was paired against Harvey, and I was excited to defend the state champion title that I earned on Match Race. Mushroom Cup started well for me with two wins, but I ranked out on GV1 thanks to a fail late in the race, and Harvey won one of the last two to secure a win. I knew I had to redeem myself on Star Cup, and we had a pretty even match up to MC4. I struggled some on VL1 and took third, so came in with a 3 point lead. I proceeded to have my most infuriating missed zoomstart of the tournament, and Harvey pulled away with a good clean race. So ultimately we went 1-1 in our head-to-head matchups—sounds like something that needs to be settled next year! After that tense match, Harvey moved on to face someone else and I moved to the back room to grab a nice cold beer. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Andrew K on 04/30/20 at 20:45:22 Time for a second post. Reaching the character limit makes me feel a little better about taking six weeks to finish this! GP ended up lasting a while, in part due to our collective decision to play to 2 GP wins in all the early matches. I spent a while migrating around the room and watching matches/talking to different karters. At one point Sami showed me the Japanese SMK websites where he finds players to reach out to; he’s put in lots of effort the last few years to contact more players and I’m glad he was able to get Takashi to come this year! Another highlight for me was when we got Harvey to commentate a few GPs! I really think he could have been a great sports announcer back when radio broadcasts were the standard. We again had some delicious homemade lunch courtesy of the Randol parents, and there was also pizza to supplement it. The long wait (for me) between GP and battle was a perfect time to drink more beer, and I also practiced a bit of NBT. I drove flaps of 11”65 and 18”76 (I think) on MC1 and MC4, both PRs but I wasn’t too impressed by either. By Sunday I think everyone had heard that each zoomstart you miss incurred a debt of 10 pushups. Dan convinced Lafungo to do some pushups with him, and I had to join in because I had missed plenty of starts by then. Takashi also jumped in and joined mid set; I'm not sure if that was highlighted or saved on twitch but I'd say it earned it. Matt also brought his 357 Magnum hot sauce that day, and a few of us had some more samples of it in the afternoon/evening. I wasn’t the only one who was starting to feel tired by then, and the spicy heat was a good way to wake up! Alex also brought us more snacks around 10 pm maybe, they were just what we needed and I did some damage to the box of double stuffed Oreos. After GP finished up we finally got to start on Battle Mode. I had some practice battles against Fyaaa, who hadn't played BM until that weekend. I started off with a bunch of wins, but he gradually picked up the strategy and managed to win a battle before we began bracket matches. We started by playing best of 3 matches, so it progressed quickly. First I played Joe, where I got a quick win on course 1. Much to my dismay, he broke his gentleman’s agreement after that and began using items, and won the next two to take the match. I won my next match 2-0 against Vanessa, so at least I beat half of the Bernier clan. That matched me against Eric; we had a tense match and I was pleasantly surprised to come out on top! Then I played Joe again, and after losing three matches to him that weekend I finally notched a win. In his defense, “battle mode sucks.” My next opponent was Lafungo, and I kept my hot streak alive by winning course 1! I did my best to keep it going, but he settled in and won the next 3 courses. Finally I was paired up with KVD; my goal was just to win 1 course but it wasn’t meant to be. I remember getting him down to 1 balloon in practice last year, but I never got more than 1 hit this time. Then I was relegated to watching the top dogs battle it out. It went by fast compared to GP which made it pretty exciting, and sometime around 1:30 or so Duff and Sami were facing off for the title. As always Duff had to use DK, and this year he wasn’t able to fend off Sami who picked up his third gold medal and solidified his overall gold. I finished BM in a 3 way tie for 8th, a surprisingly good finish for me considering that I hadn’t played any battle since meeting Harvey last April. We finally moved on to the awards presentation around 1:45 that night. Sami took 1st with a very strong overall performance, and Takashi edged out Lafungo to take 2nd. KVD medaled in MR and won GP, and Duff was the only other person to win a medal with his 2nd in BM. I’m proud to say I won a prize this year; there was a pair of 1-up socks I had been eyeing all day and Duff was nice enough to let me take them! I finished 9th across all 4 modes, one place worse than last year due to more competitors at the top level. My 15th place finish in GP really hurt me; if I had won against Harvey I could have gone ahead of Joe for 8th but probably not any better. I was helped by the two byes I had against Ethan in MR and GP, but I also had few easy matches which sort of evens it out. Overall I’m happy with how I did; my loss to Harvey in GP was upsetting but other than that I didn’t lose any matches where I felt like I had a good chance at winning. After picking prizes we laid out the posters and started signing, and I made sure to track down everyone still there to fill out my poster. I believe Lafungo was the one to christen me the SMK martyr and suggest putting it by my forum avatar. I appreciate the nickname and am glad I finally have something to put there! It sure felt like martyrdom when I was beaten in GP by the man I brought to Monroe. Gradually we transitioned from signing posters to packing up SNESes and saying goodbyes to the karters we wouldn’t see again. After some venue cleanup, we finally left around 2:30. Once we got back to the Kartel place we got straight to business and pulled up the Fenner videos. I missed this part last year, so I’m very glad I was able to stay for it this time. First up was the update video he posted after making his new channel, which helped us get to know his past. Next up was his visionary business plan for FennerGuyCo, an electronics/gaming company that I couldn’t quite wrap my head around. I remember that the target audience is mostly men and women, and that the returns for investing (in the 401k I believe) were mild at best. There may have been a couple other ones after that, and I know Kyle’s handstand fail made an appearance, but after all that we ended up on T-Man’s Plush Toonz show. It really took me for a ride, partially thanks to my intoxicated stupor. I did my best to follow along as I watched Mario and Peach and Wario (all voiced by T-Man) get into wild arguments. Then I was transported to a Charlotte metro rail stop, and after boarding the train we found Luigi asleep on a seat. Overall I was surprised by the effort he had put into making the show, and I tried to immerse myself in the plot for the full experience. We went further down the rabbit hole to find his speedrunwiki bio and the T-Man Show wikia. At one point Kyle showed us that his phone lock screen was Fenner wearing a Mario hat. Slightly surprised, I asked him how long it had been his background and he said about 2 years...like it was a completely normal answer. Anyway, around 5 AM we stumbled upon a selfie Fenner took in front of a CI1 59”80, #4 on his cartridge. Our sleep deprived minds thought it would be a good idea to blow up the image on the projector and zoom in on his face. KVD came out of his room and had no words when he saw it. He wasn’t surprised or confused, not even disappointed. He just accepted that he had to walk past a giant Fenner face to get to the bathroom. At some point during this stupidity, Takashi came out because he was about to leave for his morning flight. We all said goodbye to him and realized that we had already stayed up most of the night. I didn’t register how tired I was until I plopped on my bed sometime around 5:30. I meant to pack up some stuff that night, but once I laid down I was too comfortable to move. After that very late night I ended up sleeping until 1 or so. Harvey came to wake me up and I packed up all my stuff (minus a USB wall plug, thanks Matt for keeping it safe!) Around 1:30 several of us left for the promised land, aka Waffle House. KVD and Lafungo wanted to ride with Harvey and me but unfortunately my back seat was full of stuff. In hindsight it would have been worth it to move it out because giving them a ride would have been an honor! Like Harvey mentioned, we had a bit of CPU interference as we were following Kyle to get there. I forget how we passed him but a red shell may have been involved. Our breakfast gang included Sami, KVD, Lafungo, Ethan, Anthony, Matt, Kyle, Chris, Harvey, and myself. There weren’t any tables big enough for our group, so we spread out around one side of the building. I ended up seated with Harvey and Chris, and for breakfast I had a delicious peanut butter chocolate chip waffle with some hash browns. Chris told us about some of the work they had done to advertise the ASC, and we also got into talking about some random interests we shared like rock climbing and chess which was pretty cool. Our waitress seemed excited to serve such a diverse and interesting group, and she was nice enough to refill Harvey’s chocolate milk for free before he finished it. I would have liked being at one big table and seeing Sami and KVD experience their first (?) Waffle House, but you can't expect an eating experience as refined as somewhere like Doe's. After paying our checks we went outside to get a final picture. Harvey and I said our goodbyes to everyone, and we got on our way home. Initially he had wanted to leave earlier, so I’m glad he waited long enough for us to go to Waffle House with everyone else. Our drive was pretty uneventful except for that rattling noise my car decided to start making a few hours in. We agreed that pulling over was a good idea, and I got ready to change the tire if needed but thankfully all I had to do was tighten down the lugnuts. That was probably the easiest fix possible, and there were no issues after that. Also, the prior night someone (KVD?) had suggested playing some Jeopardy episodes and I meant to, but it completely slipped out of my mind during the drive. Sorry Nick, I dropped the ball there but I’ll make sure to put on some episodes if we have another road trip sometime! I’ve watched a good bit of Jeopardy and I like to think I’m decent at it, but I have a feeling Harvey would put me to shame. We made it to Gulfport a little after 7, and this time I came inside to rest for a bit before driving home. Like last year their 3 pound dog Cricket wouldn’t stop barking at me, but when a bark sounds like a quack it isn’t that scary. Their other dog Gigi was friendly again, and I spent a little while visiting with the elder Harveys while Nick put his SNES back into place. They showed me some of the hilariously tiny sweaters they had for Cricket, including a Saints sweater that Nick had picked out. When he went on the forum I got to see his new (ish) computer background, the picture we took in his backyard when the Kartel first visited! I really like that picture and I’m glad he appreciates it too. Also I got to see him fill out a crossword puzzle; he got stuck at the very end and it took him longer than usual, in part due to being distracted by his parents watching The Voice. That final clue was “1910s flying star” for the answer “WWIACE,” which is almost as free as an 11”72 GV1 lap! They graciously offered to let me spend the night, but I had to be back home by the next morning so I couldn’t. After a final picture, we parted ways and I got on my way home. My 3 hour drive home went by pretty quickly. About halfway I stopped and got dinner at Ward’s, this odd Mississippi chili-burger fast food place with homemade root beer. It can’t be healthy and it’s an easy place to make fun of but it was completely worth it! I also got to do some real life match race about 15 miles from home; I got up to 150cc speeds and maintained a lead for maybe 30 seconds until my opponent seemingly used a shroom and flew past me. Got back home around 11:15 and that was the end of my adventure! I had a wonderful time at our ASC again this year. It was really fun to meet several new karters, including some more Americans. We had 9 of the top 15 USA karters show up this time, pretty good for only the second year! And of course I’m really glad that Harvey made it this year and I got the chance to drive him. It was nice to have someone to talk to during the hours of driving, and it was really cool to play him on stream for the state titles in GP and MR! Meeting Takashi was also an awesome surprise. Despite the language barrier he was eager to socialize, and he seemed to have a great time karting with us. He provided two of the most exciting moments of the tournament when he twice made the RR mushroom finish shortcut, on Match Race no less. This year we had karters from three different continents, so we can truly say the ASC had competitors from all around the world! We got really lucky with the timing of coronavirus for sure. If the ASC had been a week later I think it would have been significantly affected or maybe not happened at all. I’m glad everyone made it home safely and more or less on time, particularly our international karters. Travel (and the hassles associated) are always a part of SMK meets, and I’d like to thank everyone for putting their worries aside for a great weekend of SMK fun. I'm slightly disappointed that Sami didn't go through airport security wearing his new championship belt, but I like to think he made that choice because he didn't want to intimidate the security agents too much. I also want to give a huge thanks to the Kartel core for organizing and hosting the ASC again. They put on a great tournament and once again were friendly hosts. The champion belt was pretty badass, and I was particularly impressed by the red shell trophy Chris made for the BM winner. The craftsmanship was very impressive; everything from the plaster work on the shell to the 3D-printed stamp used on the leather underside looked professional. They also provided great food/snacks/beers for us, and I really liked having some homemade food this time. Which isn't to say that Johnny's wasn't good, as I had at least a dozen slices across the weekend. Staying at the Kartel HQ was definitely better than staying at a hotel for me, and that's largely due to the presence of all the other karters they let stay there. And finally I’d like to thank myself for actually finishing this!! I was maybe 50% done a week after the tournament, then my procrastinating skill showed itself. At least it’s better than last year, when my bilan made it to maybe 15% done and never got further. Now time for the picture dump. I'm a bit disappointed with how few pictures I took, but at least I wasn't the only one with a camera. http://https://i.imgur.com/mA88xkh.jpg Doe's Eat Place: 24 ounces of T-bone plus salty cheesy potatoes and garlic bread! And beer of course. http://https://imgur.com/55WWHen.jpg My first USA record stood 621 days until this. I find it hilarious that he found a way to benefit from shrooms on a VL2 lap. Congrats Ethan! http://https://imgur.com/5l7ZwjO.jpg Random venue pic, may have been during GP. http://https://imgur.com/2Df8jBF.jpg The nicely stocked snack room, pictured late Sunday night. Not pictured: the trash can full of empty beers. http://https://imgur.com/bSRYl8i.jpg Awards table with medals, prizes, and souvenirs. I loved the t-shirts, also the wristbands were a nice addition this year. My 1 up socks can be seen in the back, that crossword puzzle was solved by Harvey last April, and did anyone mention the rotating platform under the BM shell trophy? http://https://imgur.com/MiW6nKc.jpg There isn't a good way to explain this one. I brightened the picture so you can better see some karter silhouettes to show the scale of the giant Fenner face. http://https://imgur.com/WeRsmoR.jpg Delicious Waffle House! Nothing like Doe's but great in its own way. http://https://imgur.com/UGZp2Mh.jpg Harvey and I after pulling over to investigate that funny noise. Taken outside some random church off Highway 49 in Mount Olive, MS. http://https://imgur.com/mQNyfR8.jpg Beautiful views driving into the Gulfport sunset. This was maybe 5 minutes from Harvey's house so it was a cool way to end the first leg of my trip home. http://https://imgur.com/8f3QH26.jpg Hard at work on a crossword. After such an exciting and busy trip I'm sure it was harder to settle down and focus on the puzzle. http://https://imgur.com/LjsNSLv.jpg And a final picture of Team Mississippi before I left for Jackson. I can't wait for our next SMK meet, whether it's the third ASC or a mini meet sometime before then. Like Joe has said all along, it's the people that make karting really worth it. SMK (or MK in general) is what brought us all here, but fun weekends like ASC are the reason we'll never fully retire. Thanks to everyone in the SMK community for keeping this wonderful game alive and giving us opportunities like this [smiley=beer.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by KVD on 05/01/20 at 00:46:43 Many thanks for that amazing bilan post Andrew! I found myself chuckling at almost every paragraph, great dry humor delivery haha. :D Also thanks for sharing that Takashi cellphone ping pong anecdote, I had no idea this happened! His legend grows. :o 8-) EDIT: the shrooms on VL2 flap comment cracked me up. ;D |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 05/01/20 at 01:14:00 Very nice bilan Koltz! I would however like to point something out.... 7B545E485F4D713A0 wrote:
That "someone else" that I raced in GP (after I eliminated you) was none other than Duff, who shut me out 3-0 and handed me my last strike. It's great to know that you couldn't beat him either. :D The weird thing about racing Duff is that you always feel as if you could have beaten him if you were just a little better. He looks beatable enough yet always seems to play just well enough to win. I won some individual races against him in every cup (I don't think he ever 45'ed me) but the final score tally was just always in his favor. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Firewaster on 05/01/20 at 02:18:24 This billain is pure gold and might spark the ressurgence of my Rap career. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Joe Reinreb on 05/01/20 at 09:17:51 Ah, such a great bilan! Thank you for writing (and finishing) it this year! I always like to see the different perspectives. And yeah, that was me battling Harvey for loudest sleeper. I'm terribly sorry for everyone who had to deal with that... I really don't know any solutions, though. My dad is also a legendary snorer, so there's that... |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Antistar on 05/02/20 at 01:27:38 745B4057455341465740320 wrote:
Best news I've read in ages there [smiley=zark.gif] |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Lafungo on 05/03/20 at 10:51:22 10/10 (or should I say 20/20?) bilan, Koltz! Thanks for taking the time to write it up, it was an absolutely fantastic read! |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by nstinson on 01/08/21 at 07:16:31 Any 2021 news otw? |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Sami de la SMK on 01/08/21 at 12:22:23 7E514458515E6344595E435F5E300 wrote:
My guess is nothing is happening, with the pandemic there is probably a bit too much risk and difficult for anyone to travel abroad. Certainly something small can be done locally with players in USA only if it is safe to do so, a bit like the limited 'Super Mario Kart All Stars' event in the Netherlands last year. Otherwise maybe much later in the year or more likely 2022, just my thoughts and advice. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Antistar on 01/10/21 at 07:09:26 It's pretty obvious nothing's gonna happen within the first half of 2021, wherever it could be. |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by nstinson on 01/11/21 at 07:56:48 0735393D540 wrote:
My guess is nothing is happening, with the pandemic there is probably a bit too much risk and difficult for anyone to travel abroad. Certainly something small can be done locally with players in USA only if it is safe to do so, a bit like the limited 'Super Mario Kart All Stars' event in the Netherlands last year. Otherwise maybe much later in the year or more likely 2022, just my thoughts and advice.[/quote] I figured as much. Hopefully a 3Q or 4Q event might could be organized depending on the state of the nation |
|
Title: Re: ASMKC 2020 aka Kartamania! Post by Harvey Kartel on 01/11/21 at 14:26:34 I know Kyle has enough sense to not schedule an international Kart meet in the midst of a global pandemic. While vaccines are available now, we young, healthy folk are at the back of the line. I heard somewhere recently that vaccines won't be available to all Americans until around June. So I've got my fingers crossed that we can hopefully fit ASC in some time during the summer. |
|
Mario Kart MB » Powered by YaBB 2.2! YaBB © 2000-2007. All Rights Reserved. |