We've already remarked on the amazing success of the NY FanFest this past Friday, but here are a few of my personal observations:

Firstly, a huge Action Sack o'kudos is owed to Miguel (Freewill) for organizing the whole thing, from getting the pizzas to arranging for the location (Neutral Ground on W. 122nd Street).

The festivities started with a viewing of the complete E3 trailer from a DVD, and segued through pizza eating and some network games of Marathon to some fantastic giveaways of games, t-shirts and other invaluable Bungie paraphernalia. In addition to the Don't make us kick your ass Bungie t-shirt, there was a special edition Ling-Ling's Head t-shirt that on the back featured a photostat of the sale agreement of Bungie to Microsoft and a checklist of steps towards world domination-- the second to last of which was stage a bloody coup of new parent company. This item got a huge cheer from the FanFest crowd.

Hamish Sinclair of the Story Page, who won second place in the unofficial traveled furthest to come to the FanFest contest, was on hand in his first US appearance to hawk his incredible, limited edition Marathon Story t-shirts (of which only 49 exist in this universe or any other). Yours truly is the proud owner of one.

Just before adjourning, a special delivery FedEx package arrived with a special surprise for the fans who stayed until the very end. More details on that later.

Lastly, a big hello to everyone I met at the Fest, as well as everyone I didn't get to meet. Hope to see you around the forums or on the Hotline server.