While McWhertor and Crecente were attending the Sony press event last night, I decided to take the folks at Linden Labs, the creators of Second Life, up on their offer of free food and drink surrounded by people I didn't know. Then I changed my mind, and then fate changed it back. While searching for the venue the road it was to be on suddenly stopped. Being of strong will, I immediately gave up goig, only to stumble upon the newly ressurrected road nearly a mile further along. Dark forces were at work at the Linden Labs party, and I wasn't allowed to not go. As with many high-concept 90's horror movies, no where was this more evident than the bathroom.

This was not the sort of place you wanted to find yourself saying Candyman three times.

The VIP area of the party, while disturbingly artsy, was filled with what I will go ahead and crown the best food of any party this GDC, including delicious miniature cakes, various little things stuffed with mysterious stuffing that you only find at this sort of event, and what I am relatively sure was lamb. Note the strange, ghostly glowing rising from the meat tray. Is it simply a hand holding tongs, desperately trying to get to the food before me, or is it, perhaps, the lamb of hell?

Are these, perhaps, the tiny cakes of hell?

The point I am making here is that no matter how swank the party might be nor how nummylicious the pear cider they have at the bar may be, once you see your face reflected in a prophetic art piece describing a man with one tooth munching on corpses, whatever other theme you are trying to set for your party fails. It was really an excellent get together despite the underlying spookiness and the fact that i had convinced myself that half of the people there had either just finished having weird cybersex or were looking about for a laptop to get some started. Michael Fahey