The Purple Tux
With just enough education to perform.Friday, September 28, 2001
Am using public resource computer right now. First and only class today begins at 5:10PM. Semi-weak. So far, have played much Street Fighter. Excellent competition here. Able to beat down weak people and decent people, but the masters continually annhilate me. Saw one master execute consistent infinite combos with Ryu V-ISM in SFA3. Never will forget his 40 hit infinite combo, in game where average combo is perhaps only 5 hits. Will post more when own computer arrives.
America prevails.
Friday, September 21, 2001
This may be last time transmission for some time. Moving out on Sunday, and won't have computer for at least 10 more days or so. Will not see many friends for weeks or months. Will keep praying for everyone. Email may be sent to ZephyranthesFullBurner@juno.com (double check spelling) or altan@ucdavis.edu (much easier to remember). Have patience, soon enough PerfectDru shall write more and provide you entertainment as well as meaningful food for thought. Remember, Jesus loves you, and I'll do my best to love you too.
America prevails.
Thursday, September 20, 2001
Other day, saw in newspaper that certain radio stations wanted to ban, at least temporarily, certain songs. Songs included R.E.M.'s "It's The End Of The World As We Know It," and songs about dying, armageddon, destruction, and airplanes. Also read that Secret Service had shut down Rage Against The Machine's online bulletin board on their website. Ridiculous. Most ridiculous of all, however, is call to ban song that could easily become Osama bin Laden's theme song... Guess what song that is.
It's The Beatles' classic "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da." Apparently, the song is bin Laden's theme song because of letters o, b, and l, which are his initials. Can you imagine bin Laden sitting in his underground office in a bunker somewhere in Afghanistan while his boom box blares out "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"? Or when he hops into his jeep to check out his al Queda cells in the desert, he thugs and bobs his head to the beat on "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da". Just imagine bin Laden in the WWF, and his entrance theme song is "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da". He'd make Kane piss in his pants.
America prevails.
Monday, September 17, 2001
Was on public transportation this past Friday. While on streetcar, saw a man. A Muslim man, with full-blown beard wearing robe and turban (not sure of proper technical term for attire). Considering how much persecution Muslims have suffered in the past week, realized it took so much guts to don such clothing and go out into public. Had so much respect for that man. Made me think deeply about own convictions. Realistically though, it is not fair because Americans, I am ashamed to say, are a highly arrogant and bigoted people. If terrorists hijacked planes in the name of Christianity, would there be massive persecution against Christians, either Catholic or Protestant? Most likely not, since this country is "Christian." [insert highly deragotory, sarcastic snort here]
Shames me how people read about Taliban or "Muslim Fundamentalists" and assume that Nation Of Islam's mission in world is to annihilate all nonbelievers, when I turn on the television and watch Muslims in my city go to their mosque and pray for peace, regardless of the persecution they face from fellow Americans. FELLOW AMERICANS. If hatred of groups we know little about show our true colors, I'm ashamed to admit we probably deserve whatever suffering we face. Admittedly, have never read the Koran, but I do not believe that the Islam that terrorists follow is not the Islam of most authentic Muslims. "Muslim Fundamentalists" simply take advantage of religious name for political actions. Remember the Inquisition? That was highly political, but all acts of persecution and murder were performed in the name of the Church, in the name of God. Don't know what kind of god the terrorists believe in.
When God looks at us from heaven, what does he see? Probably people who abuse His name. People who deserve more suffering than we already have. People who live for themselves. People who murder and kill and destroy. People who made the world a ghetto. So why'd God send us Jesus? What does He see in us that I don't see?
"When I Look At The World," by U2
When you look at the world
What is it that you see?
People find all kinds of things
That bring them to their knees
I see an expression
So clear and so true
That it changes the atmosphere
When you walk into the room
So I try to be like you
Try to feel it like you do
But without you it's no use
I can't see what you see
When I look at the world
When the night is someone else's
And you're trying to get some sleep
When your thoughts are too expensive
To ever want to keep
When there's all kinds of chaos
And everyone is walking lame
You don't even blink now, do you
Or even look away
So I try to be like you
Try to feel it like you do
But without you it's no use
I can't see what you see
When I look at the world
I can't wait any longer
I can't wait till I'm stronger
Can't wait any longer
To see what you see
When I look at the world
I'm in the waiting room
Can't see for the smoke
I think of you and your holy book
While the rest of us choke
Tell me, tell me, what do you see?
Tell me, tell me, what's wrong with me
Thursday, September 13, 2001
Keep thinking to self. Does world, particularly Middle East countries, view America as type of "Empire" and themselves as "Rebel Alliance?" Is America "The Borg" and them the "Federation?" George The Second continues to promise retaliation. Afghanistan's government, Taliban, showing subtle signs of hostility simply by not showing total, complete support. Those who are not with us are against us. Clearly, lines have been drawn. Blood will be spilled. Recall old politicians calling for a draft, as the attack is "this generation's Pearl Harbor, and we need to punish whoever was responsible." So far, most signs point to Muslim Fundamentalist groups (note: quite positive Muhammed would not be pleased with Tuesday's actions. Cannot overgeneralize. Remember, politics often takes advantage of religion.) based in Afghanistan (bin Laden). Heard that terrain in that country is particularly mountainous. What would be point to have draft? Why would foot soldiers be required? Feeling increasingly disgruntled with U.S. politician "leaders." If draft is indeed held, proves that we are fools.
Thought has come to mind. What if extremist Americans were behind attack? Possibilty seems slim, but country has need to find blame outside of own borders. Would be disgrace, would be insult, if Americans were involved in carrying out attack. Very interested in airplanes' black boxes. Black boxes would tell more of story, but only if can be found.
America prevails.
Wednesday, September 12, 2001
Was watching more TV news coverage last night. Feeling slightly pissed off after watching Saudi Arabians, particularly those in Iraq, dancing in streets and burning my American flag. Unfortunately, have no idea whatsoever what Iraq's flag looks like, so cannot buy or sew any to burn. Saw footage of useless old lady, probably 70 or 80 years old, dancing in parade. Perhaps she lost a son to U.S. manufactured weapons in a war, but still, deaths of thousands, likely tens of thousands of U.S. civilians is no excuse to celebrate. Only God can judge who is "innocent" but civilians cannot be equated with military targets. However, understand need to view events from other perspectives. In eyes of Middle East peoples, America may be Evil Empire. To those peoples, bin Laden is hero, their messiah. Sadaam is Moses. Perverse. Yet seems even more disgusting to celebrate deaths of tens of thousands of civilians, most of whom likely had nothing to do with problems in Middle East.
Also saw footage of twentyish Iraq man interviewed briefly by Iraqi news station. Said something to effect of "This is such great news! Woo hoo! That's what America gets when they try to fight with Iraq!! I hope many more die! [prances off jubilantly into parade]" Footage made self mad. But, in their view, is that how it always is with America? Is America mainly responsible for wars and killings and brutalities in Middle East? Media distorts everything, impossible to judge events objectively. Only request that whoever reads this has open mind and will at least attempt to understand other side of figurative coin before being ingrained wholly in own stance.
In addition, wonder why Pentagon was felled so easily. Was not Pentagon constructed to withstand head-on nuclear blast? Yet large section gets demolished by... commercial airliner. Heard that fires were still burning this morning, no survivors expected to be found.
At World Trade Center, several survivors were found. Some trapped underneath rubble were able to make calls with cell phones. However, 200+ police officers and firefighters are still missing. Realistically, most are probably dead. Profoundly saddened by news. Can barely imagine yesterday... first WTC tower was struck. Firefighters and rescue workers rush to the scene. Unexpectedly, second tower is toppled as well, killing rescue people. Yesterday was not only act of terrorism, but act of war. My America seeks payback. May not be right, but most likely no mercy will be shown to whatever country attack originated from.
In conclusion, have song lyrics to share. Song is from P.O.D.'s new album "Satellite," and self believes song relates greatly to today's situation.
"Ghetto"
I believe that this world believes in love
I believe that this world believes in love
We might never really agree
On anything about the lives we live
Between you and me
So differently
We don't always see things the same
We should agree to disagree
If we meet at love we can work it out
I believe you and I will overcome
I believe you and I believe in love
Whether you think I'm so confused
Or if you feel the way I do
So don't give in to this hate within
Living in this world of pain
Don't let it bring you down
The world is a ghetto
I believe that this world believes in love
I believe you and I believe in love
Tuesday, September 11, 2001
Prediction: U.S. will bomb living crap out of whatever country the terrorist attack was connected to. Will be bombed flat. Bombed so badly that terrorist country's ancestors from Middle Ages will bleed. Morally, may not be just, but seems likely to occur. Feel upset by events today. Many questions remain, such as who exactly was behind this calculated, cowardly attack? Where are the terrorists who planned this? If U.S. does not prove dominance against aggressors, fear that terrorists attacks may become more frequent, perhaps on larger scale. Not only attacks upon U.S., but terrorists worldwide will become more brazen and attack other countries as well if U.S. does not wreak vengeance on perpetrators. While watching news today, noticed old curmudgeon-type politcians compare today to bombing of Pearl Harbor. Hinted at a draft. To self, appears highly unlikely that draft will be necessary. Old politicians may believe in or possibly even promote idea of all out ground war with foot soldiers just as in "the old days" but with today's technology, seems much more likely that several waves of stealth bomber jets will finish off any Middle East country.
Dinner time approaches. Thoughts will be temporarily suspended until next installment of The Journal.
Friday, September 07, 2001
Came online in morning today in attempt to alter fall quarter schedule. However, was total waste of time. Was unsucessful in attempt.
Okay, back to my Marvel Vs Capcom 2 discussion section. Most powerful teams consist of the following 3 assets: 1) A Battery 2) Someone who can use Hyper Combos effectively for major damage 3) AAA. Here's the brief breakdown.
1)The Battery- A battery is basically any character who can hold his or her own in a fight while throwing out enough attacks to quickly charge up the hyper combo meter. Examples would be Psylocke, Spiral, Chun-Li, Rogue, Hayato
2)Hyper combo user- A character who has at least one powerful, useful hyper combo to activate once the battery has gained a few levels. Examples would be Cable, Iron Man, Blackheart, Zangief, Akuma
3) Anti-air Assist- Many characters have an AAA, but one character's AAA may be substantially better than another character's. Some of the best AAAs out there are Captain Commando, Blackheart, Doctor Doom, Ken, Iron Man
Obviously, not every team has to follow this set up, but it wouldn't be unwise to form a team based on the above settings. For example, my team of Spiral, Cammy, and Sentinel doesn't really have anyone who totally banks on hyper combos to win, seeing as how Sentinel is mostly used for ground assist and Cammy has relatively low attack power. However, the beauty of my team is that I can still change my tactics according to the match at hand. So if I need to, after Spiral gets me up to lv 4 or 5, I'll bring out Sentinel and start trying to do his Rocket Punch canceled into Hyper Sentinel Force with extra Rocket Punch juggle, which hurts quite a bit. And although Cammy's AAA isn't the best in the game, it comes out fairly quickly and has decent range. Anyway, sometimes it's more important to pick a team with characters you are comfortable with, regardless of what other people say. I've noticed that on the forums at www.shoryuken.com, there are tons of immature kids (well, judging by their level of expression, I'd say many of the posters are about 12-14) who trash this character or that. However, always remember that just because someone else sucks with Sabertooth and tells you not to use him is no reason not to use Sabertooth. If you feel comfortable using Sabertooth, use him, it's much better than picking Cable and resorting to scrub-quality (read: low quality) predictable Viper Beam keep away tactics. It's great to ask more experienced players for suggestions on making a team, but ultimately, your own personal skills and preferences determine what works for YOU.
That said, try out the following teams and see how you like them.
1) Psylocke (Balance Type), Cable (Projectile), Captain Commando (Anti-air)- One of my favorite teams. Very well balanced overall, and Cable counts for a lot if you know how to play him decently. With practice, you can start performing 17 hit Psylocke air combos (thanks to her up+roundhouse flip kick and triple jump). With more practice, end those crazy aerial raves with Psylocke's "Butterfly" hyper canceled into Cable's Hyper Viper Beam, and right before the HVB ends, cancel into Captain Commando's Captain Sword. Not only does this combo do big damage and many hits, but the psychological intimidation is great, especially if you snicker arrogantly a little bit. And remember kids, mind games are half the battle.
2) Stider (Projectile), Ken or Blackheart (Anti-air), Doctor Doom (Anti-air)- Ah, my ultimate chipping team. Strider has high combo ability, but his Ouroboros hyper is crazy for chipping damage!! Try to corner trap a guy, call out Doom (which can do 10+ hits worth of chipping up close), activate Strider's Ouroboros, jam buttons furiously, and call out Doom again!!! It's just total chips ahoy baby, your opponent will be pissed as crap and start calling you things like "mother!@#$er," "!@#$%," and "cheap," but remember, only consistent winners are cheap. Oh, and you still have Ken or BH's AAA to mix things up a bit, and either of those guys can hold their own in a fight.
3) Spider-Man (Capture), Blackheart (Anti-air), Iron Man (Projectile)- A variation of Sherwin's team (he always uses Spidey, BH, and someone else). Learn how to do high hitting chain combos with Spidey, and practice tons of air dashing with BH while throwing roundhouse kicks. Once the roundhouse kick demons freeze the enemy, do a Heart of Darkness, or Inferno canceled into Heart of Darkness. Do it a few times, and your opponent whimpers in fear everytime you hit them with the roundhouse demons. (You can see the hyper combo coming...but you just can't do anything about it...) Hurts their feelings every time! Plus Iron Man is a pretty okay guy to fall back on if you don't get predictable.
4) Dhalsim (Ground), Zangief (Throw), Juggernaut (Dash)- Ah, the ultimate Steven experience. Dhalsim is faster than in the original SFII series and the Alpha series, so take advantage of those long limbs. Other than that, his Yoga Strike (anti air hyper combo throw) is kind of slow, so try a jumping in chain combo followed by launcer immediately canceled into Yoga Strike. That's 'sim's deadliest move! With Zangief, only activate Mecha Zangief when fighting a character with no beam specials or supers (if you bust out Mecha 'gief on a War Machine, Iron Man, Cable team, you are quite dead). Get in close and Final Atomic Buster your foes to death, or try 'gief's air chain combos, which are devastatingly powerful. Combine all this with Juggy's "Juggernaut Punch!" assist. That Juggy assist takes up so much space, and he makes such a tempting target... Make them pay when they try to attack Juggy after a blocked J-Punch.
That's it for today guys. Have a phat weekend, and remember, P.O.D.'s new album "Satellite" is out on Tuesday the 11th, so go get it.
Wednesday, September 05, 2001
Contrary to what the average scrub may believe, there is a great deal of strategy involved in MvC2. That's probably why scrubs think they can beat up anyone with Cable by AHVBing nonstop. Then of course, someone good comes along and totally punishes them with a Maximum Spider or some such attack. Once you have a team, you need to learn the strengths and especially the weaknesses of your characters. THEN you need to learn the strengths and weaknesses of as many other characters as you can, so you can adjust your tactics depending on who the other guy uses. I've noticed the most popular characters people at most arcades I've been to are Cable, Iron Man, Guile, Strider, Jill, Gambit, Magneto, Ryu, Ken, Akuma, Wolverine (adamantium claws), and probably Blackheart, Spider-Man, and Doctor Doom as well. At the very least, every other person uses Cable. And after all these years, most people know Guile and the Shotos (Ryu, Ken, Akuma), so they are also very popular among many casual players. Also pay attention to what assist types the other guy picks. For example, if he picks Cable (projectile), Ken (AAA), and Rogue (throw), watch out especially for Rogue's kiss move (which cannot be blocked) because it's an easy way to nail a free AHVB.
Personally, when I'm at an arcade, I watch a guy play for a few minutes before joining in, so I can see his style of playing and if he uses patterns. (Occasionally I watch a guy I know I can't beat, and I waste like a dollar or two trying to, but hey you can't improve if you don't play people better than you.) But for now, let's just suppose I'm at home playing the Dreamcast version with a couple of buddies who play with me all the time. Eventually, we'll quit fooling around and pick our best teams. I'll get Spiral, Cammy, and Sentinel, and my friend will get Dhalsim (ground assist), Zangief (throw), and Juggernaut (dash).
Now, I've played Steve hundreds of times, and we both pretty much know all of each other's moves. I know he's worried about my Spiral's crazy attacks with Sentinel assist. He knows I'm scared of getting hit by Juggy's assist (Juggernaut Punch), because it takes up most of the screen and does HUGE damage. So there's a lot of psychic intimidation involved, trash talking before and during the game to distract the other guy's concentration. Now how it starts is we'll both probably dash backwards and call out our assists. After our assist guys trade blows, Spiral and Dhalsim will start jumping in and throw some normal attacks, hoping the other guy won't be able to block an attack. Now if Steve reads this, I'll probably have a harder time whooping him in the future, but he fights with a pattern. I can easily predict when he'll call Juggy's assist, so I wait for Juggy to ALMOST finish the move and call Sentinel, and the Sentinel Force will hurt Juggy, leaving my main character to start a real combo. Sometimes I can take down Juggy's life to under 30% like that, and the I do a snapback. Juggy can't really fight too well (at least when Steve uses him) because I know I only have to be worried about his one and only Hyper Combo, the Headcrush, which has a horrible recovery. Heck, most of his fierce and roundhouse attacks have lots of lag, so Juggy is just a big target as long as I'm careful. Also, Spiral's standing fierce stops the Juggy assist, leaving Sentinel's guys free to aim for Dhalsim or Zangief.
I try to keep the pressure up. It's important to keep your opponent on the defensive. So, I keep calling Sentinel's assist while using Spiral to dash in and occasionally toss Dancing Swords. The chipping damage is incredible. Also, I teleport while Sentinel just comes out, so Steve's guy is between Spiral and Sentinel's Force. Sometimes he gets confused and blocks wrong. (Always block the main character's attacks, and you can block an assist that comes from behind.) I also know that Dhalsim really only has one move I need to worry about, the Yoga Catch (or whatever it's called, the anti air throw which cannot be blocked). Therefore, I do not get predictable with my teleports and my jumping attacks.
When Zangief comes out, I try to chip away as much as I can with Dancing Swords and Sentinel Force. Zangief is hard to stop when he gets close. My best tactic is to do a few dashing attacks while calling the assist, so Zangief will block the Sentinel Force. And then I try to toss more Dancing Swords at him for more chips ahoy. Or, if I'm using Cammy, I try to time her Hooligan Combination (aerial flip which can either lead to one of two unblockable throws, or a sliding kick) so I can throw Zangief as soon as he's out of blockstun (his block animation, during which a character CANNOT be thrown). Anyway, you get the idea. Make sure you can adjust to your opponent's tactics, and keep an eye out to see if he develops patterns that can be exploited, while making sure you yourself do not make a pattern of attack.
The game is all about keeping the pressure up, forcing the other guy to make a mistake. Psychological attacks and morale-destroyers are important. That's why one important key is to never give up, especially at the arcade, since you paid money to play the game. Usually, I've found that once I've nailed a 17 hit combo on a guy, I'm able to nail the same combo again, because he was too busy thinking about his last mistake. Thus, he makes the same mistake again. To become a true MVC2 assassin, you need focus. Read the frames of animation. Don't blink. Seth Killian from www.shoryuken.com has a series of great columns about dominating in Street Fighter. I advise you read his writings, as they have been a great inspiration to me. One thing Killian mentions in his columns is the "psychic dragon punch," which is basically a term used to designate reading an opponent's move ahead of time and countering instantly. If I remember correctly, Killian's example was with Dhalsim and a Shoto. If you're using Ryu, and you're about a full screen away from Dhalsim, execute a Shoryuken the instant you see Dhalsim's limb(s) stretch, and watch him fly back and take damage. Do this several times. Even try doing it randomly. Your opponent will be shocked at your skills, and he'll second guess himself, leaving himself open to other forms of attack. The bottom line is that there is a great deal of mental strategy involved, you need to get into the other guy's head to win at Street Fighter. When you hear the other guy starting to whisper under his breath "Cheap," ignore him and show him that the only thing that makes you "cheap" is that you're a winner. And in a game like Street Fighter, winning is pretty much the main goal, ain't it??
