TNL Hollywood: BoHo Restaurant - 8:00, June 2, 2009

So a bunch of us are taking a drive up to Lake E3. Rumor is there was a dead body there that came back to life, so I'm bringing the Cheetos and James is bringing the Moxie cola and we're hitting the road. If you've got the guts, you'll meet us there.

TNL Los Angeles 2008 was a great time, and the San Diego crew have met once or twice since then, so let's plan another meet-up. Members of The Next Level editorial staff will be in town May 31 to June 5 covering the event, leaving some time for one or two planned dinners and some other informal events (a scavenger hunt to find Hero, an afternoon to swap Almaci stories, a pub crawl with B-list Japanese developers?) among our other appointments. It's always fun when TNLers get together, and we are probably the coolest video game forum group to meet in real life. (See also the epic TNL New York thread from 2008.)

Something convenient to the Convention Center might be good, but if we go that route, let's be careful to pick a time when we can avoid normal crowds on top of convention crowds. We're staying at the Wilshire Plaza Hotel in Korea Town, which according to Wikipedia, has the "largest concentration of nightclubs and 24-hour businesses and restaurants in Southern California." That might be a better place to start. What do the locals think?

EDIT: The meet-up is Tuesday at 8 PM at BoHo Restaurant, 6372 West Sunset Boulevard, in Los Angeles.

Post in this thread if you plan on coming and I will update this post periodically. If you will try to come but can't guarantee it, post a percentage of likelihood (see below).

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Attendee List
AaronChance (100%)
bahn (100%)
Calliander (100%)
Frogacuda (100%)
James (100%)
køda (100%)
kuro (100%)
Nick (100%)
Prince Planet (100%)
SapphirePhoenix (100%)
shidoshi (100%)
stormy (100%)
B-ri (90%)
Doc Holliday (67%)
Raz (50%)
OGcritic (25%)

Apparently a friend is getting me, so pending such event, im in.

if not tnl let me in plz <3

You don't have to go to E3 to come to the meet-up(s). How far are you from L.A.?

oh i can probably go to the meet ups, im just like an hour away

id just like to go to E3 too :portalhug:

Mmmm... I'm 50-50 on this one. Depending on when the NYC meetup pans out, I will be taking that entire week off work. If it's the week of E3, count me in for at least one day. If the NYC thing is the week after E3, I may or may not be able to go for one day. We'll see.

The East Coast still hasn't decided on a day? What the hell?

I'll meet up!

I'm hoping to go to E3 for at least a day, so I'll definitely be able to hook up with you guys. Just let me know which day the shenanigans will be.

I hate when Nick starts these threads because he's the biggest flake of all.

Hmm, I should be able to make this one too - go ahead and count me in Nick.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Razor Ramon

I hate when Nick starts these threads because he's the biggest flake of all.

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Not me. I went to two out of three last year. I just avoided the one you were at. I get starstruck, you know.

NY or LA? NY is closer to MD, but I've never been to LA.


EDIT: Put me at 67% since NY has no roster yet.

25%. It's my graduation weekend and I'm likely going out of town.

50% right now.

It will be 100% if you give me a day I can request off for sure. Like, whichever day you think will be the one most people go to.

That's what we have to establish. I can do any day, Sunday through Thursday, but it seems to me an official meet on Tuesday or Wednesday night, after the E3 attendees have been to Future World, would strike a good balance.

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Originally Posted by Calliander

50% right now.

It will be 100% if you give me a day I can request off for sure. Like, whichever day you think will be the one most people go to.

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im the same. ill try to convince annebonny to come along too.

I have no more vacation time from work so my vote's gonna go for a Friday night meet-up, if possible....

I don't know about that. Anyone flying in for E3 is likely to fly out sometime Friday. But I may be wrong. I haven't bought any tickets yet.

Take me with you, Nick! I can sit on your lap.

I don't know if Razor counts this as me "flaking," but I was just told my job has been absorbed into someone else's job and I am out of work. This will probably cut into my E3 plans. More to come, but I am a little stunned right now.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nick

We're staying at the Wilshire Plaza Hotel in Korea Town, which according to Wikipedia, has the "largest concentration of nightclubs and 24-hour businesses and restaurants in Southern California." That might be a better place to start. What do the locals think?

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Bring money. Lots of money.

And I'll meet you all on whatever day you all choose.

Bummer Nick. I'm sorry to hear it.

Yeah,shit, sorry Nick.That blows. Hope you flipped computers, peed on the floor and went Office Space on the printer and stuff.

Well, shit, I didn't even see Nick's post above (because I was responding to the initial post). Very sorry to hear that, and I hope your fortune turns around (it will) and that you manage to make the trek out West.

I guess there's a chance. If I don't get a job in the next couple of months, I might come out there - though I'd have to keep a tight rein on spending. If I do get a job by then . . . well, I don't think I'll be asking for a week off right away.

Uh, is your law firm hiring? :)

ugh, sorry nick. this is the worst time in recent history to be jobhunting in the legal field. don't take it personally.

I hear foreclosure firms are overloaded with work. Make some phone calls imo.

I applied for a government job today that pays a lot more than what I was making and that I honestly think I'm qualified for and would excel at. However, I submitted the application online without a formal résumé. I did put in experience and references, though (each and every one of you, with links to your TNL profile pages), so I hope it works.

Sorry to hear about the tough luck, Nick. Things are slow for me right now, too, though I still have enough to scrape by for now at least. It's definitely a rough market right now, but hopefully it turns around before too long.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nick

Uh, is your law firm hiring? :)

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Alas, we just let a bunch of staff go, although no attorneys...yet. There are law jobs out there, but you can imagine the competition for those slots. Good luck with the gov't gig...that's a smart move.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nick

I applied for a government job today that pays a lot more than what I was making and that I honestly think I'm qualified for and would excel at. However, I submitted the application online without a formal résumé. I did put in experience and references, though (each and every one of you, with links to your TNL profile pages), so I hope it works.

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So when I replied to their PM with, "What do you think, he's Greek. Have you ever met anyone of worth who is Greek? Also: cocks," I probably wasn't doing you any favors.

DEY TOOK YER JERB!

Seriously, Nick, that sucks. This is why you NEED to come to E3, though. There's too much of an opportunity there to drum up more traffic to the site. We could set up a table selling STSYA or B,DSMT t-shirts outside to offset your travel costs. Whatever would help.

Barring any unforeseen instances, I'll be there. Only a 6 hour drive for me.

Well, I just put my application in for E3 a few days ago, so unless they reject me I'll be going. If I can make it to one of the meet-ups, I certainly will.

I met Shidoshi at E3 '06. He said "yeah, hey" turned around and walked away from me, probably without a clue who I was. It was an epic burn. I laughed.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nick

I applied for a government job today that pays a lot more than what I was making and that I honestly think I'm qualified for and would excel at. However, I submitted the application online without a formal résumé. I did put in experience and references, though (each and every one of you, with links to your TNL profile pages), so I hope it works.

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get the hell off TNL and put together your resume. send it over if you want some feedback (not that i'm an expert). but don't handicap your application with a missing resume.

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Originally Posted by Frogacuda

I met Shidoshi at E3 '06. He said "yeah, hey" turned around and walked away from me, probably without a clue who I was. It was an epic burn. I laughed.

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You obviously met some evil person pretending to be me.

it must've been some other gingerballs.

I filled out the online application for a pass and will be faxing in my stuff sometime next week. Count me in for a ~75% on opening day (Tuesday).

I decided to go to L.A. anyway this year. I paid off my credit card debt and made travel arrangements, so this isn't such a bad month after all.

Yay nick!

I got the invite from sony again and will at the least be at their conference on june 2nd, drinking :p

Im still working on the whole expo, but, yay.

My application got denied, so count me out for this one. :(

NYC FTW, anyways.

There's a 55 percent chance I can attend. 95 percent if I can get into e3. This is my last Summer on the west coast. (I've been in San Jose for the last two years)

E3 deadline is like any day now if it hasn't already passed.

I believe the deadline was May 1st.

I'll still be in LA during the Summer but it'll be to visit my Uncle. OH WELL!

Dammit. I want to meet Revoltor.

I'm proposing Tuesday at 8 for a get-together.

The unforeseen has happened. I'm unfortunately going to have to punk out this year. My time off license has been revoked, because apparently there's some shit going down that week at work and they need me in town. No E3 for me...:cry:

Any of you guys staying through the weekend?

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Originally Posted by K3V

NYC FTW, anyways.

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Truth. No TNL Get-togethers compare to the NYC ones.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nick

Dammit. I want to meet Revoltor.

I'm proposing Tuesday at 8 for a get-together.

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We'll meet someday. It's bound to happen someday. We can feed each other souvlaki.

I'm in! Put me down for 85%. Pretty sure that I can make it on a Tuesday at 8 p.m. Should be fun :).

Ah, there you are.

So, recapping:

Attendee List
AaronChance (100%)
bahn (100%)
Frogacuda (100%)
James (100%)
Jetman (100%)
køda (100%)
kuro (100%)
Nick (100%)
Prince Planet (100%)
Raz (100%)
stormy (100%)
SapphirePhoenix (85%)
B-ri (90%)
Doc Holliday (67%)
Calliander (50%)
catsmeow (50%)
OGcritic (25%)[/QUOTE]

I'm not coming, Nick.

I'm sorry. You'll find someone else.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nick

Dammit. I want to meet Revoltor.

I'm proposing Tuesday at 8 for a get-together.

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As in this Tuesday at 8? Where at? I'm out at 7, but I work in Manhattan Beach. I will just hang out because I have zero dollars, but it will be cool to hang out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Calliander

As in this Tuesday at 8? Where at? I'm out at 7, but I work in Manhattan Beach. I will just hang out because I have zero dollars, but it will be cool to hang out.

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No, Tuesday June 2.

Thread title updated.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nick

a scavenger hunt to find Hero

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You'll never find me!

Ugh, first night of the show and I'll be working 'til the AM hours :( Sorry dawgs.

ugh, Tuesday still? Theres no way Im going to be able to make this in the middle of the week - have zero leave/vacation time in the books thanks to an emergency and I work until the weekends. (work nights from 3PM until 1AM and live 3 hours north of LA)

If anyone is showing up earlier or staying later, Id be down for something but Im sure everyone's flight leaves on Friday.

0% me, Nick :cry:

Yeah, I'm in on Sunday night (late) and out on Friday pretty early and I think the same is true for most of us.

I should be able to make June 2nd, too. I will check with my scheduling manager.

I will 99% be there. The 1% is in case of earthquake.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jetman

ugh, Tuesday still? Theres no way Im going to be able to make this in the middle of the week - have zero leave/vacation time in the books thanks to an emergency and I work until the weekends. (work nights from 3PM until 1AM and live 3 hours north of LA)

If anyone is showing up earlier or staying later, Id be down for something but Im sure everyone's flight leaves on Friday.

0% me, Nick :cry:

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No!!!

Also, June 2nd is good. Up me to 100%!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jetman

ugh, Tuesday still? Theres no way Im going to be able to make this in the middle of the week - have zero leave/vacation time in the books thanks to an emergency and I work until the weekends. (work nights from 3PM until 1AM and live 3 hours north of LA)

If anyone is showing up earlier or staying later, Id be down for something but Im sure everyone's flight leaves on Friday.

0% me, Nick :cry:

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I'll miss you Jetman!:cry:

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Originally Posted by Calliander

I will 99% be there. The 1% is in case of earthquake.

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LOL, I said this and 3 hours later we had another one. Newport-Inglewood's gonna kill us all.

So Bethesda's party is on Tuesday night. If we all got invites and can +1 the shit, I say we double up because free drinks are good, and the Bethesda party last year was a lot of fun, and involved James getting thrown from a mechanical bull, lots of drunken karaoke, and the voice of Bender from Futurama.

Not as cool as meeting the voice of Waluigi at E3 2002, but the mechanical bull might be fun. We should just take the entire TNL group and try to use our admin/moderator status and a handwritten note from Josh to get everyone in.

"They're all with me. I'm a fucking admin at TNL. LET THEM IN!"

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jetman

0% me, Nick :cry:

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Damn. We can't even have another group breakfast at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles. I didn't realize you were that far from L.A.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Frogacuda

So Bethesda's party is on Tuesday night. If we all got invites and can +1 the shit, I say we double up because free drinks are good, and the Bethesda party last year was a lot of fun, and involved James getting thrown from a mechanical bull, lots of drunken karaoke, and the voice of Bender from Futurama.

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There will definitely not be a +1 option for this event. Seems this year the number of parties is a lot less and tons of people actually want to get into the Bethesda party.

Sausage fest confirmed?

I might be bringing my bi woman with me. She finds Rated E attractive. Wink wink.

I'm definitely going to E3. So whatever the plans end up being for the meet-up, let me know what they are and I'll try to be there.

Somehow or other, and I'm still not quite sure how this happened, I don't take off until Saturday at noon. It was supposed to be Friday. Any LA-area TNLers got a spare floor for a Friday night's crash space?

No Bethesda invite for me. They hate me for riding the bull. :(

James

So wait, where exactly are we meeting, at the hotel?

Some restaurant. Haven't figured it out yet.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by James

Somehow or other, and I'm still not quite sure how this happened, I don't take off until Saturday at noon. It was supposed to be Friday. Any LA-area TNLers got a spare floor for a Friday night's crash space?

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You'd be welcome to stay with me, but I would consider that a worst-case scenario, as I live in an area that is not at all convenient when it comes to either getting to/from E3 or to/from the airpoint.

Worst comes to worst, though, you have me as an option.

This doesn't only apply to hotel rooms, James.

Hey, he gets a free place to stay for the night, I get... you know, certain payments. It's a fair trade.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nick

Some restaurant. Haven't figured it out yet.

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Well, I'm still down. My girl says she's definitely coming so you folks who show up can see if she picks up a chick at whatever restaurant we go to. ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shidoshi

You'd be welcome to stay with me, but I would consider that a worst-case scenario, as I live in an area that is not at all convenient when it comes to either getting to/from E3 or to/from the airpoint.

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Well, it would only be for one Friday night, and I'm only worried about getting to LAX once I'm done, so while it might be inconvenient it still beats hanging out at an airport for 12 hours waiting to leave, climbing the walls. As long as I have some kind of access to public transportation it'll all work out fine. Everything else is just paying attention to the clock.

So, offer definitely appreciated, thanks. Now about that payment...

James

I ate at P.F. Chang's tonight for the first time and it was pretty decent. There's one in the Beverly Center at Beverly and La Cienega, east of Beverly Hills and south of West Hollywood. Does anyone else want chain restaurant Chinese for the get-together? And are there bars to go to after that in the same area? The location is about twenty minutes away from E3, so I don't think it will be too congested with conventioneers.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by James

No Bethesda invite for me. They hate me for riding the bull. :(

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Check yer TNL email, just forwarded you the thing. I think their system is pretty open. It was last year anyway.

I wish we could drag the whole crew down there. IF we're doing the TNL thing that night I doubt we can go anyway, but open bars and karaoke make for an embarrassing and memorable night most time.

Plus I want to do some drinking in the evenings during the week. I've been really exhausted lately and I'm looking to have fun (and work of course, but this work isn't work).

The Bethesda party's going until 2, so I plan to make an appearance there sometime after 10 or 11. And I'll meet up for breakfast or dinner at other times with TNLers, as the schedule permits, like last year.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nick

I ate at P.F. Chang's tonight for the first time and it was pretty decent. There's one in the Beverly Center at Beverly and La Cienega, east of Beverly Hills and south of West Hollywood. Does anyone else want chain restaurant Chinese for the get-together? And are there bars to go to after that in the same area? The location is about twenty minutes away from E3, so I don't think it will be too congested with conventioneers.

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LOL, we could go to Taylor's steakhouse. EXPENSIVE, but worth it.

EDIT: Also, nothing is ever 20 minutes away. Everyone here always says, "Oh yeah, it's only like 20 minutes away." They have no concept of time. That 20 minutes could be 5 but it might also be 1 hour.

No PF Chang's! There are a bunch of good restaurants in the area. I'll work on more suggestions but here are a couple that should be able to handle a group.

Lala's - Argentinian, big patio, sangria, but no hard alcohol :(. Can walk to a couple other bars (including The Village Idiot listed below)
Lola's - Huge martini menu, good food including awesome mac and cheese, but no other place to move to in walking distance.
El Carmen - A tequila bar with a luchadore theme, great atmosphere and drinks, surprisingly good food. It's small and they have one booth in the back for large parties, so we'd have to reserve it before hand. I think it only fits 10. There's another good dive bar very close too for afterwards. I love this place but it will be crowded here so it might not work out.
The Village Idiot - An English style pub on melrose. My friend is telling me they have a back room you can reserve. There are some other bars in walking distance too.
Boho - cool atmosphere, plenty of parking, tuesday is 1/2 off all food day. I tried this place today. It looked like they can handle a big party. Really good burger. 25 beers on tap. This is near the arclight in the main Hollywood area.
The Well - I haven't been here yet but I heard it's a great bar. The food is supposed to be decent bar food. Good prices and a large space. This could be a good option to head to after we eat elsewhere.

Where is everyone staying, where is E3, and what is our estimated party size?

every time I think of P.F. Chang's I think of that South Park episode.

Yeah... No P.F. Chang's. Anywhere the group can eat and have a couple of drinks is fine with me :). Lala's sounds good and The Village Idiot is so-so. I'll throw in a couple of bar/restaurant suggestions in the morning!

The Village Idiot is filled with douchebags, but if we get our own room it'd be a lot better.

I really want to suggest Father's Office in Culver City, but they don't take reservations and the place is a free for all fight for tables. Best burgers ever and an amazing beer selection, but I'm too afraid it'd turn into a disaster with a large group.

I'd also love to take TNL to Tiki Ti, but that bar fits 15 people total, so that would never work. If anyone is looking for a good place to go wed-sat night they should check it out (it's only open those days).

If we eat on Melrose we can take a TNL group picture under the awning that says "Nomi"

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stormy

Boho - cool atmosphere, plenty of parking, tuesday is 1/2 off all food day. I tried this place today. It looked like they can handle a big party. Really good burger. 25 beers on tap. This is near the arclight in the main Hollywood area.

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Yeah, this sounds appealing to me. 1/2 off food, plenty of beer choices, and you say it's good.

I really don't want to end up somewhere where there's no beer selection, and quality, cheap food is always a plus. I'd definitely prefer a bar to a restaurant, just because being able to move around and talk to different people works better than sitting around a table. Every New York get together we've done has been at (or at least ended at) a bar, and it seems to work. Then again, TNL NY are a bunch of alcoholics.

All the places I listed are pretty much a bar and restaurant, except Lala's. At Lala's we'd eat and then walk to a bar. Here is the Boho link and pictures http://www.bohorestaurant.com/. One of the good things about Boho is their complex has a giant parking garage that isn't overpriced. They have the menu and pics on the site. I'll call and ask about groups later today. Then we can walk to The Well, which I will check out and report on this week since I haven't actually been there personally yet.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/boho-los-angeles
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-well-los-angeles

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stormy

I really want to suggest Father's Office in Culver City, but they don't take reservations and the place is a free for all fight for tables.

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I'm going to have to second Father's Office. Also good in Culver - Joxer Daly's, but even worse than FO for "tables."

I haven't had the chance to go out and enjoy some drinking in a very long time, so I'm really looking forward to whatever we do, but man is the drive home going to suck if I partake in too much. I was thinking before that it might have been easier on me just to get a room down near E3 instead of doing the drive every day, and maybe that's what I should have done.

So which press conferences will you guys be at? I just got the confirmation that ill be at Sony's, and im still working on getting into the convention center.

FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUU! Sony totally punked me by not only not giving me an invite, but also giving me a phony email address and phone number in order to try to fix that situation. Only briefings I'll be at right now are the ones for Nintendo and EA, and then whatever this crazy thing Sony is doing on Thursday to show something they won't talk about yet. (But no, it isn't Trico.)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Calliander

I'm going to have to second Father's Office. Also good in Culver - Joxer Daly's, but even worse than FO for "tables."

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might be a little far for us carless E3 folks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by B-Ri

So which press conferences will you guys be at? I just got the confirmation that ill be at Sony's, and im still working on getting into the convention center.

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EA, Ubi, Nintendo. Didn't get MS and Sony for some reason and we usually do. Don't care that much thoug, because they'll be online.

FFFFFFFUUUUUU you're going to Ubi. Joel! :portalhug:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by James

No Bethesda invite for me. They hate me for riding the bull. :(

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Didn't get an invite either. I can only assume they mistook me for Chris, and weren't drunk enough to endure his drunken karaoke.