February was a busy month. Not only did I spend time concentrating on getting over some of the issues with various writing projects, but I knocked several movies off my list. I also got into podcasts at work, listening to them while I process some of the more mundane responsibilities.

Writing

My main focus was Book 3, wargaming out the end campaign to better understand how fast the units would be moving and reacting to events. I wrote through about 30,000 words, replacing previous scenes and building a much stronger campaign than the first run through. This leads me into the last acts of the book and gets me closer to a draft.

When I haven’t been working on Book 3, I’ve been spending some time on the sci-fi novel. I had to correct a few errors, re-writing scenes to account for mistakes I had made. I’ve also had to face the fact that the rough-draft’s final acts were not very exciting, so I’ve been planning out a new sequence of events. I’m working through those scene and closing in on a rough draft of that book as well.

Movies and TV

Knocked many things off my watch list last month.

I finished Star Trek: Discovery Season 4. I thought it was fantastic. A lot of people find problems with Discovery, and I understand why, but I really like their stories and their story-telling. Season 4 was the first season that I thought did not fall apart in the last two episodes.

Then I watched The Other Boleyn Girl, a film version of one of the books I’ve read. I was not too impressed. I know everything that got cut out, so the movie just feels like a rushed collection of events. I’m writing a more detailed blog post which should be up soon.

I also knocked out Top Gun: Maverick. It was an exciting movie, which I expected. What I did not expect was how strong the story was. I don’t know that I would say it is Best Picture material, but it was really good.

Books

Slowly making my way through the Education in Violence: The Life of George H Thomas by Francis F. McKinney. It’s a long, involved history book, with a lot of details about the general’s life and command during the civil war. It’s good, but it is involved. Takes a long time to get through one page.

Games

I finished both Last of Us and Fort Triumph. Fort Triumph was a fun game, with a decent and fun story. Last of Us though, holy crap was that an intense game. I had to give myself a few days between sessions. Still, I think it was one of the best games I’ve ever played. Up there with Horizon Zero Dawn. I started Last of Us Part II, which continues to be just as intense as the first game.

For my next computer game, I was going to start Mechanicus, a Warhamemr 40K game I’ve heard good things about, but it turns out there’s a problem with the game: the text is so small I can’t read it and I have no idea what’s going on. So instead I’m working through Napolean: Total War, to satiate my need for a strategic game of conquest.

Not much new to report in terms of RPG’s. My characters are all still alive and continuing with their stories. I’m doing a bit of work on some campaign ideas, but just broad strokes. I don’t think I’ll be running anything for a while.

What’s Next

I’ve got Minicon coming up Easter Weekend. By the end of the month I’m hoping to have another convention and a Books and Beer even lined up for summer. But those are yet to come.