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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

StarCityGames Open series Nashville

Greetings again!!
We just finished up StarCityGames Open Series: NASHVILLE this weekend...and I had an absolute BLAST!!! I love coming to Nashville, everything is so beautiful, people are uber friendly, and to have the event at the GAYLORD OPRYLAND RESORT AND CONVENTION CENTER is always a treat. This event location is one of the nicest, most beautiful locations I have had the pleasure to judge at. Great restaurants, waterfalls and fountains everywhere, and that awesome southern hospitality in everyone you meet!
DAN STEPHENS BEING SILLY LOL
We arrive at 8am Monday morning, and I we have our team meetings with our leads, and get to be briefed by our head judge DAN STEPHENS. If you ever have the opportunity to be on staff with this L3 from Bluffton, Indiana, I would encourage you to jump on the chance to do so. He is by far the best Head Judge I have had the pleasure to work under. He always had time to chat about any and all questions, repeatedly checked on all staff to make sure everything was going well for them, and his Standard Open ran smooth as silk. I hope to be on staff with him in the future!


We had just over 400 players at this event, kinda expected that due to the GP on the west coast on the same weekend, but there were pros in attendance such as Gerry Thompson (winner of Standard Open, 2nd in Legacy Open), Brad Nelson, Drew Levine, Todd Anderson(top 8 Legacy), and many others!!!
There was a stellar judge staff in attendance, such as:
Dan Stephens - Level 3 Bluffton, Indiana , United States

DECKCHECKERS PUTTING IN WORK
 
COMPLEX JUDGE CALL

Derek Vandiver - Level 0 Judge is coming from Sautee, Georgia , United States                                        



JAMES ELLIOTT MENTORING THE
NEW L1 DEREK VANDIVER!
MAGIC NAPTIME!!
I had an absolute blast, learning from senior judges, being plugged on judge calls that I would have never thought I would be asked, meeting so many new judges and players, and seeing everyone have an amazing time in Nashville!

JARED LOOKING A LITTLE BORED LOL


MUST BE A CONTROL MATCHUP
BEING COVERED LOL














Peter and I next head to the WORLD CUP QUALIFIER in
ST LOUIS, MI this upcoming weekend. I see from the list that I will be working with some of the great judges that I had the pleasure to work with in Nashville, and others that I love to work with flying in!
Until next time!!!!
Michael






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Monday, May 28, 2012

PTQ IN SAN ANTONIO

Greetings again!
While I was visiting Austin, I was slotted to be on judge staff for a PTQ in San Antonio.
While the staff I worked with was awesome, there were problems with the T.O. that I do not wish to mention on my blog, so instead I am going to just share the pictures from the event. ENJOY!
MAIN TOURNEY AREA
OVER 125 PLAYERS!!





L1 CHRISTOPHER SCOTT WRECKING FACE WITH ESPER CONTROL

SIMON SUNG...PANDA DREAMCRUSH!!!!
MAGIC HOTTIE!!!




MAGIC HOTTIE!!!
JUDGE PETER AND JOSHUA PRETENDING TO WORK
AUSTIN CASTILLO GETTING WRECKED



ROOM TWO OF THE EVENT
MAGIC HOTTIE
WINNER OF PTQ




YUNFEI JIANG ROCKIN G/W HUMANS
SIDE EVENT DRAFT 1
MORE DRAFT GOODNESS!





SAMUEL FRIEDMAN WRECKIN FACE FOR PAT'S GAMES!




HEAD JUDGE MICHAEL KERSCH
EVENTUAL TOP 8 WINNER OF PTQ








Besides the T.O., this event was a blast, and hope to see everyone I met there at events in the future!
Until next time!!!!
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FNM AT WONKO'S IN AUSTIN

Greetings again!
I come to you today from Austin, where I am meeting up with Peter Golightly, the L2 that will be joining me on this journey of judging! He has arranged for me to guest HEAD JUDGE the FNM at his local gamestore, WONKO'S TOYS AND GAMES. I am told that he will be playing in this FNM, and that there might be some L0 judges testing tonight. That seems good, I love to see people pushing themselves to advance in the judge program, and there is always a need for more judges.
At the beginning of the event, it turns out that there are FOUR people testing for L1 tonight!!!
I am astonished, because I have never been at a store that had such a buzz about the judge program...HOW EXCITING!!
Kieth Blackard, new L1!
Ricky Linn, new L1!
Out of the 4 people that tested, only two advanced, I was hoping that all four made it, but it happens. The two people that didn't pass, barely missed it though, and I know that both will become judges in the future.
This community is thriving in Magic, judges trying to advance, a great group of players with much potential to get to the next level (pro tour, etc) and multiple stores that support the Magic community with great tournaments, great selection, and friendly, knowledgeable staff.
Wonko's, I have to say, was my favorite of the 4 gamestores we visited while in Austin/San Antonio. It is very well stocked with most everything you would need or want as a Standard/T2 player, good selection of Legacy and Casual staples, a very personable, interactive owner/operator in Eric, and well ran, decent turnout tournaments.


13776 Highway 183 Suite 116, Austin, TX 78750
(512) 335-1000
HOURS:
Mon- closed
Tues-Thur- 11am-9pm
Fri-11am-11pm
Sat- 11am-5pm
Sun- 12noon- 6pm

With an AMAZING assortment of toys, games of all varieties, collectibles, and so much more, I say this is THE place to game in Austin! Friendly knowlegable staff, very organized, and friendly customer base make this an ideal store for gamers of any age to come and have an AMAZING time.









We have Peter's Birthday coming up, and I am sure it will be something "Magical" lol!!
Until next time...

Baldy McButterpants






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Monday, May 21, 2012

"PIGGING" IT UP IN AUSTIN!!!

Greetings again peeps!
Peter told me of a quaint little sandwich shop that he and his family like to visit, and since he has been right about places to go so far, we take off towards THE NOBLE PIG. I thought a sandwich shop is a sandwich shop, but once I stepped in the door, I saw that this place was MUCH different. A gourmet sandwich shop, hidden in a shopping center...YAY!!!



As I step in, the menu jumps out at me...Smoked duck pastrami? Seared beef tongue? Creole catfish? Today's terrine?
Has Peter taken me to a hoity-toity, nose-in-the-air, high-class eatery? How am I supposed to potentially suggest this to my variety of readers? But my concerns dissipated less than a minute inside this AMAZING eatery.  Everyone was pleasant, a variety of customers, the staff was pretty laid back and friendly. I am really gonna enjoy this, what a refreshing change to the Whataburger I've been eating all week. Fast food is fast food, much different than a delicious gourmet lunch at a reasonable price.

I start with the Terrine, today's variety was PORK AND PORCINI MUSHROOM.
TODAY'S TERRINE, PORK AND PORCINI MUSHROOM
This was a very tasty start, very mild though, but when paired with the sweet mustard and pickled vegetables that accompanied the two respectable slices of terrine, all came together in tasty bliss. I thought about ordering another one, but knew that there was much more that I wanted to sample at this stop, so I resisted.  I finished my appetizer, and just as I did, our sandwiches had arrived. 
THE NOBLE PIG, JALAPENO SLAW
THE DEVILED EGG
 MIKEY- ordered the namesake sandwich...THE NOBLE PIG!!
 I added the jalapeno slaw for a side...sounded amazing!

 PETER- ordered THE DEVILED EGG


Both of our sandwiches arrived, beautiful presentation on both, (not that easy to say about a sandwich) but after the diverse menu options on the menu, board presentation on the Terrine, and now the perfect display on something as simple as a sandwich, I knew that there was something different about this particular sandwich shop....Maybe chefs on staff??? But I digress.

Peter said that his sandwich, THE DEVILED EGG, was great, but didn't elaborate too much, he was going on and on about the GINGER ROOT SODA. LOL.

My sandwich, THE NOBLE PIG, did not disappoint. I expect much from anything served in a restaurant of ANY type that is the namesake of the restaurant, so I was especially critical on this sandwich.  Layers of spicy ham, fresh pulled pork, provolone cheese, bacon, mustard, and mayonnaise ( I requested no mustard, I personally don't like pork and mustard together) come together perfectly on the lightly toasted wheat bread (I believe an 8-grain?) All the flavors of the meats came together perfectly, you could distinguish each element of this sandwich, without any single element becoming overbearing. The only thing I can say that would be in any way negative, is that I wish that there was a touch more meat on this sandwich...but that is a personal complaint...I am fat lol.
I paired my sandwich with the JALAPENO SLAW, a delicious combination of shredded green cabbage, shredded red cabbage, carrot, fresh cilantro leaf, but happily no pieces of jalapeno!
That must mean that the jalapeno is in the dressing, which was very light and the texture was perfect.
This slaw was delicious, my only concern was that it had a bit of heat to it, which desensitized my mouth a bit, so switching back and forth from slaw to sandwich made it difficult to appreciate the sandwich again. This is in no way the restaurant's fault, being that jalapenos can vary greatly in heat level, or I may just be a wuss. LOL!

mmmm...dessert!
I finished my meal with the chocolate ganoche tarte with sea salt and smoked bacon. Such a satisfying finish to the meal, the perfect size, with the richness of the chocolate meshing with the sea salt, and the fattiness of the bacon....PERFECT!!!





I would highly recommend stopping here anytime you are in Austin. Chef John Bates and Chef Brandon Martinez have an amazing knack for taking something as simple as a sandwich, and elevating the quality with the freshest of ingredients, perfect preparation, and beautiful presentation. Being able to marry gourmet with casual dining is an amazing skill, and this eatery achieves it.

Noble Pig Owners














UNTIL NEXT TIME GUYS!!!

THE Michael Arrowsmith
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Sunday, May 20, 2012

ARCADE UFO IN AUSTIN!

Herro again!
So while in Austin, Peter and his buddy Nick suggested we go to an arcade that they describe as AMAZING!, and since that is by far my favorite word to describe any place I would want to frequent, I am totally down to go. Some of you may know that I am not a video game kind of guy, but they really like this place, and I gotta give everything at least one chance right?
TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!  I had an absolute blast!!!


ARCADE UFO
3101 Speedway
Austin, TX 78705
(512) 380-1725


  • Sun - Thurs 3PM - 1AM
  • Fri & Sat 1PM - 3AM
  •  Open 365 days a year!
  •  www.arcadeufo.com

    •  
     












    As we step in, there is a small room with seven or so games in it, Peter makes a beeline for one of them, DJ MAX TECHIKA 3, it didn't seem to be my type of game, but Peter says this is one of the most popular games here. I check it out, and played it some. While difficult, it was really fun! Peter and Nick want to play it more, so I moved on into the much larger room, that had dozens upon dozens of different fighting games, anime games(had no idea what the object of the game was lol)  There were some that I recognized, many that I didn't, but I wanted to try as many of them as possible. There was a small group of people playing TEKKEN 6:BLOODLINE REBELLION, and another group of amazing players beating each other's faces in on SUPER STREETFIGHTER IV ARCADE EDITION, and knowing that I would stand no chance beating any of them, I decided to play other games for a bit, like NINJA TURTLES (1991) and MORTAL KOMBAT (2011).
    Peter and Nick played a couple of games I had not seen, and were having a grand time, laughing and talking trash, while I browsed the other games, slipping in a token to whatever caught my eye. I would sit down and play, someone would challenge me on a fighting game, and I would get destroyed,,,except at TEKKEN 6, because EDDY is a boss lol

    This is a great stop for any video gamer, or someone who just likes to play games and visit somewhere cool in Austin to have fun. They have a great selection of games, very clean environment, friendly customers, this was an overall satisfying stop on my journey of discovery.

    Until next time....
    Michael

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