In 3 days, I will be heading to Portland, Oregon for the first time. It’s kind of funny that it’s my first time there, but yet I will be making the trek there again with Ricky in just over a month. This time I’m heading there alone. Well, I will be making the trip alone, but I won’t be alone much after I get there. I’m going there for something called World Domination Summit. You might be asking “what the heck is that?”. I’ve talked about it a bit on my blog and social media, but mostly just to mention that I’m going this year. So I thought before I headed out and started talking even MORE about it, I’d give some explanation about what it is and why I’m going.

What is World Domination Summit?

Hashtagged on Twitter (yep, I used hashtag as a verb – you’re welcome) as #WDS2014, World Domination Summit is defined on its website as a gathering of “a small army of remarkable people”. Still confused? Understandable. If you want the official story, it’s on their website here. But you might still be kind of lost. Here’s the story of how I came to learn about it.

A few years ago, I somehow stumbled across the blog of a guy named Chris Guillebeau. I may very well may have found it by looking for stuff having to do with travel, since you know, I’m into that. Turns out, so is this Chris guy. He’s into it a LOT. Like “hey, let’s visit every country in the world” a LOT. Now, to you that probably either sounds really cool or a little bit crazy. If you think it sounds cool, then you’re going to want to read on. If not, then well… you might just stop here, because WDS is probably not for you.

Chris’ approach to life and his stories of traveling have attracted quite a following, myself included. I own a couple of his books (including one advanced reader copy) and even went to a book signing to meet him the first week I lived in Arizona. This following of his has become so large that in 2011, Chris started an event to bring these people together. His first book is called The Art of Non-Conformity, and that was also the original title of his blog/website. It has kind of evolved from there (yes, I’ve been following for a while), but I’d say that title still sums up some of the things Chris and WDS are about pretty well. WDS really is just as it’s described – “a small army of remarkable people”. And while it is an event with activities and seminars included, I’d say it’s about the people more than anything else. People that aren’t content with just a status quo or mediocre life. People that want to make the most of what they have and live life to the fullest. And they are all excited to meet other people that do as well.

Now, I’ve been following Chris’ website since before he started WDS, but I have wanted to go ever since I first heard about it. But… well, it’s not cheap. Plus, it’s in Portland, so I’d have to pay travel expenses too. But knowing how much I have wanted for a while just to see what it’s like, this year, I bit the bullet and bought a ticket. So far, even though I’m not there yet, I have no regrets. I’ve been following #WDS2014 on Twitter and have already talked to some really interesting people and made plans to attend some fun events while I’m there. I mean, sure I’ll be around for the seminars and “official” WDS stuff, but there are so many cool social events planned outside of that as well. Like, I’m signed up for a wine crawl and photography walk. You can’t tell me that both of those don’t sound like fun in a city with the reputation of Portland!

Why am I going?

(Besides the fact that I kind of already answered that above…)

So, that’s what WDS is. And I guess somewhere in there I answered my question about why I’m going as well. But on top of just the desire to go, I think it will be good for me too. I think I’m starting to get in a funk again and get away from some of the things I like in life and the ways I want to be, the ways I know I am when I get out of my comfort zone a little. And this will definitely force me, Little Ms. Introvert, to get out of my comfort zone. I mean, I’m going alone! I don’t know anyone there. (Although a side visit to see the newly-married Ms. Gwyneth Colleen is being included in the trip also.) So the end goal… while hopefully achieving a bit of new direction in my life, is to take care of my little introvert self while also not being alone for too long, but instead among a ton of new friends. Looking forward to seeing you all there, #WDS2014ers!

Today is officially the last day of the Phoenix Film Festival. For those of you out there that have absolutely no interest in it, you can breathe a sigh of relief, as this will likely be my last post about it for a while. Unless I decide to revisit any of the movies that I chose not to review. If that happens, well, just deal. Trust me, there are plenty of other posts on the way as well.

I wrote a post recapping most of the weekend. You can read it here. A few things have happened since then, so I figured I’d do a full recap of everything now that it’s all over. Oh, and I essentially have skipped the last two days of the festival. There were movies I would have liked to see, but honestly, this introvert is a bit wiped out from the first five days of the festival and decided that having some downtime to recharge was a better idea.

So first off, here’s a list of all the movies I’ve seen in the last few days as a part of the festival (in the order I saw them, even!):

1. SOS: Save Our Skins
2. Teddy Bears
3. God’s Pocket
4. The Shower
5. Little Hope Was Arson
6. The Joe Show
7. The Sacrament
8. Jake Squared
9. Billy Club
10. Dom Hemingway
11. The Trouble With The Truth
12. Oculus

Then here are links to all of the ones that I’ve reviewed:

• God’s Pocket
• The Shower
• Billy Club
• The Trouble With The Truth
• Oculus

If I had to pick a favorite of all the ones I saw, I’d probably pick The Trouble With The Truth, followed by The Shower. Pretty much all of the movies I saw had or were something different… something not quite like the mainstream films you’d head to your local multiscreen theater to see on a given weekend. That’s one of the things I like about the fest, one of the reasons I made the effort to be there for a second year. Another reason is the people. I met some great people last year, but working as a volunteer made it a bit harder to truly connect. I was either busy volunteering or watching movies the whole time, really. This year was different. (I even got a chance to talk to Paul Osborne finally, who I followed on Twitter after his movie Favor became one of my favorites from last year’s fest.) I’m so glad I got the opportunity to attend with a press pass this year. I would’ve paid for my ticket if I had to, but I also liked the obligation of providing coverage of the festival. Without that, I may not have posted as many reviews or blogged or tweeted as much about it. And honestly, doing all of that really did contribute to some of the most rewarding parts of the event for me.

My previous recap ended with the Copper Wing awards ceremony on Sunday night. So let’s pick back up with Monday. Monday night I headed to the theater in anticipation of seeing The Trouble With The Truth. I also had a heads up that Lea Thompson would be there, as she was on the interview list sent out to press. (Bummer that I didn’t get an interview with her, but being a lowly local blogger, I didn’t really expect to. But one can hope!) When I went into the movie, I headed for what had become my normal seat over the weekend – middle of the first row in the back section. Sitting there puts you right in the middle, close enough to the screen so that you get the big screen movie theater effect well, and it allows you to put your feet up on the metal bars in front of that row. There were some people that had sat at the closest end of that row, then the other end was blocked off. I started excusing myself and stepping over people when I was stopped by a lady standing up that said that the entire row was saved. So I headed to the row behind it. No sooner had I sat down when I realized who the first person I had stepped over was – Lea Thompson! I had been a fan of her since I was a kid, having watched Caroline in the City when it was on. And of course, I’ve seen all the Back to the Future movies (Marty McFly’s mom!). I’d also seen The Beverly Hillbillies movie she was in as well. I took advantage of the few minutes before the movie started to meet and get a photo with her.

After meeting Lea (and watching the movie with the lead actress sitting right there watching it in front of me) and really enjoying The Trouble With The Truth quite a bit, I knew that there was no way my night was going to get any better, so I skipped my second movie and headed home.

Tuesday evening I headed back again to see Oculus. I was expecting a lot from this movie. I watched the trailer, and it looked good and scary. I’d also read nothing but good reviews for it, so I was expecting something scary and unique. Well, while it had some good chills, it was anything but unique in my opinion. I left pretty disappointed, as did some of the festival staff that I talked to about it. You can read my review of it here.

Tuesday ended up being my last day at the fest. I had tickets for Kidnapped for Christand Proxy on Wednesday night, but honestly I just really needed some time to rest and relax. I’m also missing the closing movie Boyhood to do the same tonight. But truthfully, the rest of the festival was so much fun that I don’t really feel like my experience is any less for missing these last two nights.

While meeting Lea Thompson (she was so nice!) was definitely one of the highlights of the festival for me, I do have to say that I think hanging out with the guys from The Shower might have been close to the top of my list of experiences there. I have Twitter to thank somewhat for that, as tweets, retweets and replies back and forth with Alex Drummond and the others in between movies are part of what inspired me to find them to talk more after their Q&A session on Saturday. Honestly, these guys are just a lot of fun. And so, so nice. I was happy to run into them again in time to grab a beer with Alex and Paul Natonek before the awards ceremony. (I was sad that Andy Hoff had left before I got a chance to ask him about his experience on How I Met Your Mother!)

Not only is The Shower worth checking out if you like comedy with a splash of blood involved, but I think I enjoyed hearing the stories behind the film just as much. You can read some of Alex’s experiences making it at his site, waiterdirector.com (aka “How To Make A Movie In 18 Years”). I definitely plan on keeping up with these guys as they visit more film fests and seeing what happens to The Shower.

All in all, the Phoenix Film Festival this year was everything I was hoping it would be. Great movies (and a couple not-so-great) and the opportunity to meet the filmmakers, actors, other press (shout out to Caleb who I was glad to find on Twitter after I talked to him briefly before my first movie of the festival – he also found a filmmaker to adopt for the weekend), and just generally some really cool and interesting people. Thanks to Twitter for keeping us all connected before, during, and after the festival. So goodbye #PFF2014 – have to say I can’t wait to see what’s in store for next year!

Well, the biggest part of the Phoenix Film Festival is officially over. The entire festival isn’t over yet, as there are still movies to be shown throughout this week. But the weekend is by far the biggest event, and most of the filmmakers tend to go home after the awards on Sunday night. The rest of the week features a few new films, but most are award winners or festival choice that are repeat showings from the weekend.

As expected, it was a big weekend. Friday night I managed to catch three films: SOS: Save Our Skins, Teddy Bears, and God’s Pocket. Even though it had some problems, I think Teddy Bears was my favorite of the evening. It had some talented (and well-known) actors and featured interesting interaction among the characters. I also enjoyed God’s Pocket, one of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman’s last films. You can check out my review of it here.

Saturday was a full day of movies. I made it to the theater in time to catch The Shower, Little Hope Was Arson, The Joe Show, and The Sacrament. I was glad to have a gap of free time after The Shower and stayed for the Q&A session. (I missed all of these on Friday because my showtimes were so close together!) Not only was The Shower a fun movie, but I got the opportunity to talk to the director and cast for quite a while this weekend. They were such a fun crew, and it was interesting to hear all of their stories of filmmaking (including how they used a $1200 DSLR to shoot the film and how the director’s wife went into labor while in the makeup chair!). I enjoyed spending some time with them over the weekend. Check out my review of The Shower and go see this movie if you get the opportunity. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens with it in the future. Here’s a photo of me with the guys from the film:

Somehow I managed to make it out of bed on Sunday morning to head back to the theater for Jake Squared. Honestly, this was the only movie so far out of the festival that I didn’t really like. I think the lead actor did a great job, seeing as he had some challenging roles in the film. But ultimately, what seemed meant to be existential just played out as kind of a narcissistic mess, in my opinion. The title character wasn’t all that likable, and the movie seemed almost pointless and hard to understand at first. It got better, but still didn’t quite make me care enough by the end.

Sunday afternoon I headed over to the party pavilion to check out Geek Day. I enjoyed networking there, talking to people from Gangplank, Phoenix Comicon, and The Transporter Room. The latter is a really cool idea that I’d actually heard about previously on reddit. The plan is to have a geek-themed bar, in short. And since I’m a geek that loves craft beer, of course I love this concept. These guys have great ideas, and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens with them.

I finished out my movie watching on Sunday with Billy Club and then Dom Hemingway. Billy Club was a great horror flick with a baseball setting. You can read my full review of it here. By the time I got to Dom Hemingway (with an expectedly great performance by Jude Law), I was starting to crash from such a busy weekend of movies and networking, but I made it through and even stuck around for the Copper Wing awards ceremony. Once again, I ran into the guys from The Shower and grabbed a beer with them. We watched the awards ceremony and by the time it was over, I was ready to crash.

Thank you, Phoenix Film Festival, for a wonderful weekend of networking and great films! I’m looking forward to checking out a few more this week, and then I can’t wait to see what is in store for next year.