You can read more about the problems with this legislation and sign a petition against it at AmericanCensorship.org

Good news! I got a new, professional quality microphone for Christmas. My podcasts should be super clear and clean from now on. Can’t wait to try it on the next podcast.

One more thing, Kab_49 at the Krystal Lovers Association has managed to get Estelle Ellis to do an interview (something I’ve been meaning to do for a long time). They are taking questions, so be sure to get over there and post them!

As you probably know, I’ve been applying for all sorts of game programming positions in the past few months, but I’ve not been having much success. So the good news is that I now have a job offer from a really awesome company. Maybe you’ve heard of them, they are called Retro Studios. That’s right, they made Metroid Prime 1, 2, 3, AND Donkey Kong Country Returns. They’re pretty much my favorite game studio ever! Just the other day I noticed that they FINALLY opened up new positions after several years of me watching their career page. So I applied, got a call, had a few interview questions, and just like that, they want me on the team! (I’m sure knowing a few people who used to work there and being relatively close by helped.)

That was the good news. The bad news is that they emailed me their employment agreement form tonight. I spent hours pouring over the details and one thing is sadly very clear. They don’t want their employees to take part in any fan communities of Nintendo products or games, or publicly talk about them, AT ALL. Not even on personal time. There are exceptions for media relations people in approved conditions, but I’m a software programmer, so that doesn’t help me at all. Basically, there’s no way I can both be an employee at Retro Studios AND run the Krystal Archive. I might not even be able to comment on here anymore (“NO participation in online ‘fan’ communities of Nintendo, it’s products, any associated companies through agreements or cooperation, and any of its third party development studios.”).

I really REALLY love running the Krystal Archive, talking to you guys, and seeing all the new art and fanworks, but this offer is just too good to pass up. However, I can’t just let the Krystal Archive go away. That’s why I’m putting out the call: I need someone to take over the Krystal Archive. I need someone to become the next Mr. Krystal. Can you do it? If you think you can, email me your experience with website design/development, any programming experience, your personal story of how you found out about Krystal and why you are a fan, and anything else you think will serve to show me that you are the right candidate for the job. You don’t have to send me your real name or anything like that yet, not unless I decide you’re the right person for the job.

Thanks guys! I may not be able to write or comment here for much longer, but no matter what, I will always keep an eye on it.

Update
As a special April Fool’s Day special, the imaginary representative from Retro Studios that I just made up in my head just now told me that I don’t have to agree to their conditions to work there, largely because they never called me in the first place. (BUT I did apply and am anxiously awaiting some kind of response from them. The best jokes have a large element of truth in them.)

I hope to get the time to update the site soon, I have a lot of material backed up waiting to be posted. Thank you all for understanding and being patient.

While I don’t have anything Krystal-specific for this holiday, I hope you’ll enjoy this semi-related video.
Direct Link

First of all, I just got a job on Tuesday. It’s still pretty unknown how permanent the job will be, but I should know soon. Nevertheless, things are looking up on that front.

Next, I REALLY am behind on the art updates. I’m working on them right now, sorting through the 800+ potential new fanarts. There are some things that can definitely make it go faster, which is why I’m asking for volunteers RIGHT NOW. It’s a task that can benefit from as many people as I can get, so if you are interested in doing some really easy work that will speed things up, email me right now and I’ll explain what to do.
Update: Thanks for your help all involved. The process is complete. New fanarts incoming momentarily.

With that out of the way, I promise I’ll have some updates for the site very soon (including a new podcast)! I’ve been so focused on the job hunt and all the related stuff, that I haven’t had time for much of anything else.

In the time I’m preparing new updates, I wanted to ask you all to post your opinion on what you want to see from the Krystal Archive in the future. Is there a section you want changed or revamped? Is there a feature on the site you want to see that I don’t have? Want me to make updates in a different way? I’m all ears for ideas. Post a comment if you have an idea.

I would also like to get some ideas on what you think I should do with the donations. You generous users have donated over $200. I can use that to pay the bills on the site, but there aren’t that many (at least not for a while). I’ve been trying to think of something to use the money for, something you all would enjoy. My original idea, to pay for capture hardware to get HD Krystal video doesn’t look like it will be necessary anymore due to the recent emulator videos. Even if I had done that, I’d still have to wait until I can afford a top-of-the-line computer to actually do the video editing on such large videos. The only other idea I’ve been able to come up with is to register the domain “kryst.al” for the site (which would cost about $23 a year). Any other ideas? Post a comment!