The food in Los Angeles is not unlike the food in Saskatchewan.
Two major differences, I suppose: (1) the gravy is white, and (2) they call fried potatoes "grits."

I guess I'm getting ahead of myself.

I flew to Los Angeles. My arms are tired, but I got here.
The turbulence was unusually bad; even the stewardesses who served the soda pop were thwarted in their attempts. Apparently, the tickets I bought didn't come with peanuts, pretzels, or anything snackable. A free soft drink, but nothing else. I could buy a meal if I wanted, but I the smell of reheated chicken was enough to convince me to wait until I got to Los Angeles. Hence the gravy and potatoes comment.

It's a good thing both Canada and America invested so much in border security. Unless they checked my bags without me knowing it, I crossed the border without occasion. The brief questioning I was subjected to was uneventful. The nice fellow at the border looked a little unnerved when I told him I was going to Los Angeles to investigate RPGs. I think the acronym means something else in a different context, something about high powered weaponry--the sort of thing a border guard would be unhappy with. Either way, I don't look much like a threat to American national security.

Arriving in Los Angeles was equally uneventful. The plane landed, I got off, I got my luggage, and grabbed a taxicab to the hotel. You know the drill.

There are some wacky plants in California. Ferns, palm trees, strange flowers, etc. There's even an orange tree outside our hotel.

Nintendo and Microsoft held their press conferences today. I was not in attendance at either, unfortunately. Only a few of us went to Microsoft, but I chose to stay behind from Nintendo's to (a) sleep in, and (b) get some stuff together for the rest of the week.

Nintendo seems to be in the lead, so far. (Does somebody win at E3? I think so.) The insane price on the PS3 has caused quite a stir, largely negative. Nintendo's RPG lineup is extensive, and the Wii is looking cooler and cooler every second. I'll leave most of the discussion on this issue up to Matt, who attended the press conference.

There wasn't a lot to do today. Using the information we gleamed from Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, and Square-Enix (among others) we are getting our lineups ready so our E3 coverage goes as smoothly as possible.

My press pass is beautiful. Like a gemstone the size of a business card around my neck.

Chinese food in Los Angeles is damn good. Pineapple shrimp, beef and broccoli, ginger chicken with water chestnuts, fried shrimp, spring rolls, hot and sour soup, and some unidentified pink meat. All for $11.95 USD (three cheers for a high exchange rate).

I'll have more to say tomorrow. We wandered around the convention center for a few minutes while we picked up our press passes, and things look pretty groovy. Big signs, tents, boxes, etc. Rock, rock on.

Theo Litowski