Cramming

Back in college, cramming was one thing I prided myself on NOT doing. I would spend hours reviewing organic chemistry chapters, weeks ahead of the test (and still get a C, organic chem's way of being funny with the symbol for carbon). Last night started to feel a bit like cramming, though in a fun way, because I started packing!

By the way, have you heard about The Documentary Channel? It fills me with joy. Granted, I'd be more full of joy if I were a DISH Network customer (they have Pizza: The Movie!), but I recently started conversing with @TheDocChannel on Twitter, and she mentioned that some of the stuff can be seen online at Sling.

The first thing I watched there was an indie documentary about a moonshiner. While not my typical geek fare, this was a crisply-filmed documentary with beautiful imagery and interesting characters. I paid close attention to things like interview framing and out-take shots, as I sit here trying to get back in the filming mindset after a month away from the dv. My plane leaves in less than 24 hours for what is without question one of the most important filming sessions this doc will have (the other being Essen). Jason Scott had some great timely advice as always to allay my stage fright nerves.

Oh, and if you haven't checked out the April edition of Wired Magazine, there's a GREAT article about the rise of designer board games in the United States entitled, "Monopoly Killer."

Thanks to Anthony Q. Artis of Down and Dirty DV for the link to the online version! While I don't think it's entirely fair (I actually kind of liked it as a kid), and even though it really isn't an "us" vs. "them" situation, Monopoly seems to be the poster child for everything wrong that designer board games do right. Somebody has to take that bullet, I guess, because we need an easy way to boil down the complex simplicity that is the designer games genre into something quick that will click with people when you try to explain in a single sentence.