Monthnotes 30 Nov 2024
There was a bit going on this month. I attended BBG.con in Dallas, FPFest 2024, which was online, and our house construction started.
Board Game Geek Con 2024
Once again, BBGCon was a blast. The time flies by. My board gaming buddies play online throughout the year, but since I moved away from Texas, we've been good at finding time to gather in-person for some extended, physical, board gaming.
Here's a list of games played. I think The White Castle nudged out the others as my favorite game in the list.
- Brass: Birmingham
- Dorfromantik: The Board Game (played this a number of times in a campaign)
- Res Arcana (a favorite we play online a lot)
- Arcs
- No Quarter (in development, playtested in Unpub room)
- Forest Shuffle (another game we play online a bit)
- Fit to Print
- Flamecraft
FPFest 2024
I've posted about this online fest in past years and I know my love of the movie, The FP, is in the minority, but this is a time when me and a core group of folks basically get online for a weekend and have a blast enjoying the films again with live commentary by the creator and stars.
As a secret screening, we were thrilled to see Jason Trost's new film, The Waves of Madness, where I'm listed as an Executive Producer.
I get a lot of questions about how I became a producer of films. In this case, it's easy. I just contributed to the film's Indiegogo campaign. Can't wait to support the planned sequel.
House Construction Update
We finally broke ground after waiting since August for construction permits. First part is excavation as they dig out the hill we're on to make the flat surfaces they need to actually start the foundation.
Our builder was anticipating pouring concrete some time in January. More pics on the way. In the meantime, here's my wife enjoying the view we'll have.
Movies
- MaXXXine is the third in Ti West's X series, and as much of a departure as Pearl was from X. This one, a great throwback to Italian giallo films of the 70s/80s. Enjoyed this one. And Mia Goth is incredible. I'm at a point where I'd watch anything she's in.
- The Shadow Strays is on Netflix and a pretty decent action flick. Lots of great fight scenes in this one.
- Heretic was a decent film that left me thinking about it a few days after seeing it.
- Venom: The Last Dance was more Venom.
- The FP (2011) is the film that started the franchise. Amazing that over ten years later it's still got a dedicated, albeit small, following. With this an the rest, your brain has to buy into things, but if it does, you're in for a ride.
- FP2: Beats of Rage (2018) is still my favorite out of the series. It feels more like the fantasy world the film is set in and goes for broke.
- FP3: Escape from BAKO (2021) is really part one, with FP 4EVZ being part two of an overall story. This film goes further than FP2 with diving into its unique dialog, enough that another FPFest attendee said he didn't really get it until he saw it with subtitles.
- FP 4EVZ (2023) Honestly, this is the second half of FP3.
- The Waves of Madness stands out as it's shot like a side-scroller shooter video game. The entire film moves from side-to-side, up/down. A black and white Cthulhu-esque story set on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean. My only complaint was that I wish it was longer than the seventy-minute run-time.
- Hundreds of Beavers was really fun. Had me laughing throughout. Imagine a silent, black and white, film that looks more like a Looney Tunes cartoon.
- Spellbound showed up on Netflix and the trailer was a bit more interesting than the film itself. I felt like I was thrown into a story that started about twenty minutes before it actually did, and the songs seemed to go on longer than in most films. Not sure if they were longer, or if I just couldn't wait for them to end.