I’d like to run through a number of recommendations fast, so hold on to your seats.

The Beloit International Film Festival (BIFF) was a blast. I only got out for one night, but Ann and I crammed three films into those hours. Two of them were excellent.

Novem is a documentary about nine college students from the ’70s who recorded an album over the course of a week and then died in a car wreck on the way home. The film features footage shot in the ’70s spliced together with interviews with the college kids who found the old recordings and film at a garage sale. The most amazing part of it is that it’s a work of fiction, but it’s utterly convincing as the documentary it purports to be. Stop by the film’s website to pick up a free MP3 of “Born and Raised,” one of the best tracks in the fictional album.

We also saw The Aristocrats. It’s the filthiest, funniest film I’ve ever seen. Leave the kids at home, and try not to look them in the eye the next day.

We managed to see The Real Dirt on Farmer John later, and we loved it too. This is a real documentary about a farmer that lives less than 10 miles from our house. It’s a great examination of what’s happened to farming in our region over the years and the solutions that farmer John Peterson found for these troubled times for small farmers. He now runs a successful CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm called Angelic Organics.

Over this past weekend, Ann, my mother, and I took our whole crew out to see the new Curious George film. It was gorgeous and brilliant, and we all loved it. It’s a real kids’ film, without the extra layer for adults so common to animated features these days (see Shrek for the clearest example). This made it refreshing and light and a real joy to experience with a bunch of kids at your side. Jack Johnson’s soundtrack fit it perfectly too.

ICv2.com reports that Gen Con (the long-running summer games convention) will remain in its current home in Indianapolis through 2010. While I might long for a return to Milwaukee, the convention’s home for 17 years (and my own birthplace), Indy’s been a great venue for the show, so this is all good news. Fewer moves for the show means more stability and a better chance to keep growing and growing, the way it has under Peter Adkison’s excellent stewardship.

This summer will mark my 25th Gen Con in a row. When I was a kid, my father would drive me and my pals out to the show in the morning, drop us off, and come back and pick us up in the evening. We had an absolute blast, and I got hooked for life.

I’m going to have to come up with something fun to celebrate that milestone. For my 20th year (which coincided with my birthday on the Saturday of the show), I held a party that became the basis for the Diana Jones Award ceremony every year since. Should that be enough, or should there be something more? Hmm.

My fellow Alliterate and pal Jeff Grubb is once again giving away copies of his short roleplaying game Dyvil, just for the asking. Send an e-mail to Steve Miller, include “Dyvil” in the header, and list your email address, and Steve will send you a PDF of the game.

My fellow Alliterate and pal Stan! is on a quest to trade up from a set of D&D paraphernalia to a Sony Aibo. This is a modern quest of the most quixotic order, and he could use your help if you’re so inclined.

Good luck, Stan!

The great guys at my old company, Pinnacle Entertainment, just released a sew-on patch that features the likeness of its mascot, the undead joker known as Smiling Jack.

We have a special item to announce. These are patches from the 84th Air Squadron (A10s–Shane’s favorite plane!). The captain of the flight is a Savage Worlds fan and he asked if he could use Smiling Jack on their new patch designs.

Of course we were happy to agree, and the result is fantastic! The patches are on sale for $20.00, and every penny earned from the sale of these patches will be donated to the Fisher House Foundation, who build and donate Fisher Houses at military/VA medical centers, support existing houses, help military families in need and award Scholarships for Military Children.

Smiling Jack got his start at one of the joker cards in the Doomtown collectible card game. Shane Hensley (co-founder and CEO of the company) loved it so much, he adopted the little guy. Now you can too, and for a good cause.

My fellow Alliterate Scott Hungerford tells me that WizKids is producing his first full game design this summer: HorrorClix. Congratulations to Scott! I haven’t seen much of it yet, but the concept is cool, and I’m confident that he and WizKids will pull off a bloody great game.