Well, my bracket is pretty much destroyed. I had the final battle between Sephiroth and Kefka, thinking most people in the voting were gonna be Final Fantasy geeks. Game over, man!

My pal Dirk Van Fleet produced and edited afilm that won Best Documentary at this year's Comic Con, entitled "Dig Comics". I hope I get to see it one day. If anyone went to Comic Con and saw it, let me know!

I can't believe I have been so slack that it has been about nine months since I last said something. Guess I just don't pay enough attention anymore.

Work stinks, but it keeps the bills paid. It's very warm up here in Seattle, but I dream of the autumn. Met Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu last week. He's a great guy. Have become friends on MySpace and Twitter withcomposer Jeremy Soule, who also lives up here.

I hope everyone is doing well!

Karl

As you may or may not know, I work for the TSA at Seattle Tacoma International Airport. I get to meet a lot of celebrities in my job, and today I encountered what would be a dream for many gamers.

I was checking tickets of passengers coming through and saw the name "Peter Molyneux" on a boarding pass. At first, I said ''That name sounds familiar. Where do I know that name from, sir?'' I then realized who he was and we had a very nice chat, telling me he had been in town discussing future projects. In case you did not know, both Microsoft and Nintendo of America are headquarted in the Redmond, WA area.

He was one of the most pleasant and appreciative folks I have ever met, and he said I had made his day by recognizing who he was.

Ahhh, what a great time to be alive.

I am now the proud owner of a new PS3. I actually bought two games, Dead Space and Condemned 2, a couple of weeks before I picked up the console. I mainly wanted to get Dead Space on its release day so I could get the special Scorpion Rig suit download through the Network. It will be a few days before I can get it set up as I am going out of town, but by next week I'll be up and running (I hope). See ya!

I just submitted my first ever game review for Alone in the Dark for PS2. Check it out!

I just made my 1000th forum post. I feel such accomplishment!

I put a new signature (in Latin) on my forum posts. I challenge you! Can you tell me what it says?

You have probably noticed I have been pretty quiet for several weeks. My Mother was visiting and we had a smashing time while she was here. Now that she has gone home until fall, I can get back to my usual antics around here. I've been busy seeing lots of movies at this year's Seattle International Film Festival. Wish you all could be here so we could hang out after the flicks.

You may recall in my last post I acquired a used mini van. What a freakin' disaster that turned out to be.

I picked up the van, with almost 102,000 miles on it, March 1. On April 2, the transmission fell apart. The great ''warranty'' I was sold would only cover the cost of going to a junkyard, pulling a transmission out of a junked car and putting it into mine. If I wanted the tranny rebuilt, I would have to cover the difference. I did so at a cost of $662. One week after getting the van back, it stopped running altogether. I towed it to Firestone, who ran a diagnostic. They figured out the problem, which was related to the vehicle's on board computer, but this particular issue could only be repaired by a Ford dealer. Back onto the tow truck it went and over to Sound Ford in Renton, WA. I had, in one day, spent another $300 getting it to this point. The dealership discovered the problem was water had gotten into the van's main computer and ruined it. This morning they called me back with the news I had pretty much expected; the warranty company would not cover anything damaged by water and my out of pocket repair cost would be $900. In desperation I filled out a credit application and left the van there.

On my way out of the dealership, I was speaking to a salesman about which bus to take back to downtown Seattle. I mentioned what was going on with my van, and he asked if I had a moment to spare. I certainly did.

At the end of the day, they had agreed to take the lemon van off my hands and supplied me with a brand new 2008 Ford Focus with only 15 miles on it. I am almost beside myself with relief and joy. HAR!!