Playing the excellent SSX3 just made me angrier. This feud between EA and Microsoft has got to stop. It's hurting the kids.

The only explanation I can give for today’s comic strip is that I had, until this weekend never had a drink of alcohol before in my life. I have talked before at great length about my various neuroses so this should come as no shock. Essentially I am in a constant state of terror whenever trying anything new or doing anything outside of my routine. Even something like going out with my friends was enough to get my worry gland working over time. People always said I should just have a few drinks and loosen up. Of course they did not understand that I was also afraid of drinking. I always felt like I needed to keep my wits about me should the unexpected happen. Please do not ask me what the unexpected is as I do not know…I suppose that is why it’s unexpected. Just going to Vegas was a huge deal for me and then taking a cab ride away from the relative safety of our hotel and into the wild Las Vegas night was enough to send me into a tizzy. I went through the ride and as I was sitting down with all my friends I felt ridiculous. Here I was in this awesome place with some of my best friends who were all having the time of their lives and I was counting the cash in my wallet over and over again making sure I would have enough money for a cab ride home. This was not how I wanted to spend the evening. So when they brought out the first “Warp Core Breach” I decided it was time to enjoy myself. By the time they brought out the first wave of shots there was no turning back. I didn’t get drunk but I drank enough to get rid of the fucking worry that usually accompanies an evening out in a strange place. I can not even begin to describe what a good time I had. I’m not in any hurry to drink again but at least I’m not afraid of it anymore.

Man, where to even start. Maybe with the comic? I don't know. Also, I'm sorry the strip went up late again. We couldn't get it uploaded at the hotel before we had to get to the airport, and I was hoping this airport would have the wireless shit but no dice. I'm sure we still beat Kurtz.

Flying into Las Vegas made me realize that all other complaints I have made regarding turbulence were wild exaggerations, uncorroborated by reality. I'm not sure this pilot had ever flown before. I have never in my life felt motions like this, the plane tracing complex pictograms in some devil's language. Kara suggested that I have a mint, which she said would help, and I tried to imagine how a piece of candy would improve the impact and subsequent explosion of the aircraft. She was right, though. I closed my eyes and focused on the taste of it, that coordinate in the living universe, and fashioned for myself a green world prior to the invention of planes.

Greg's been putting some time into FFXI strips over there, and I heard that he was able to earn enough gil for a World Pass in about seven hours during the beta. I still think the whole concept is stupid, but if you have a crazy friend like I do who is willing to put in that time up front and get you into his server, it isn't something you need to worry about yourself.

About this time last year we had a survey, and now we need to do a new one because the old one is... well, it's old. If you have a moment, could I trouble you to fill it out?

Rainbow Six 3 - that's the Xbox, non "Raven Shield" version - does something I think is interesting.

During the beta for Final Fantasy XI, we felt the exquisite new pleasures that had been designed by SquareSoft. Yes, it's pretty much an MMORPG, no, aside from fantastic art direction there isn't all that much to distinguish it, but as I said in a related post I play these games basically as a way to hang out. Once I learned that

I just got a mail from a PA fan who works at a “Chicago-based brand strategy circus monkey and market research firm” Okay I added the bit about monkeys but it still sounds like a blast. Anyway I guess they are doing some kind of test and they want to know what you think of online games. Here is the message he asked me to post:

Hi, do you work at Paypal? Can you help me with my mother fucking business account?

I put a couple hours into Castlevania: Lament of Backtracking the other day. I got bored with it and figured I’d never play it again. I decided that it deserved more than that though so I went back to it on Saturday and really invested some time it. Unfortunately it didn’t change my opinion of the game any. It’s just okay. It’s not a bad game but it’s also not great. Any other month I could see myself really getting into it. The problem is that it came out at the same time as Crimson Skies, which is a fucking great game. When I look at the next couple of weeks and see games like Final Fantasy XI, Top Spin, Call of Duty and Gladius I just can’t imagine investing anymore time in Castlevania for a long time. I decided what I would do is stick it on the shelf and wait for next summer when game releases are few and far between. Then I’ll crack out Castlevania and I’ll probably really enjoy it. Like an old lady canning vegetables for those lean winter months, I’m packing away games now during harvest season in the hopes that they will nourish me through the long dry summer.

Not every man of the Belmont clan is constructed for proper vampire combat, as today's strip reveals. PS2's been busted, so I haven't had a chance to play this new one. I heard it was alright.

Page three of our Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon comic is available. Things really kick into gear on this page with some cool action. I had a decision to make about how I would treat the Green Destiny. In the movies it’s essentially just a kick ass sword. In the comics it’s a magical kick ass sword that spouts green fire and creates spinning vortexes of doom. I decided it would be more fun to use the Green Destiny from the comics. If you liked our CTHD comic, I highly recommend picking up the mini series done by Andy Seto.

By now some of you should have received the shirts and hoodies and stuff that you ordered from the PA store. We would love to get some pictures of people decked out in their PA gear. If you have the ability to snap a picture of yourself could you do so and send it to Brad? Thanks you guys are swell.

PA reader Glaximus recently had the opportunity to attend a PR presentation for the Phantom console in Florida. He was kind enough to write up his thoughts on the event for us. Here is a little clip from the article:

You can see our friend Robert there in today's strip, at least, I think he's still our friend. Of course, you also see Gabe. But when is that anything to celebrate?