What are your OTHER interests?

MadArchitect · Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 8:16 pm Post subject: What are your OTHER interests?

Given the frequency with which we discuss it, and the extent to which we debate it, I'd say it's safe to say that pretty much every one who logs into the BookTalk forums on a regular basis is interested, or at least concerned about, the impact of religion on the modern world. But what are your other interests?

Me, I like ancient Greece and Medieval Europe. I think they're both fascinating cultures, and I'm almost always reading a book on one subject or another. Part of what interests me is the ways in which some guiding ideal shines through in the construction of their respective societies -- loyalty in the Middle Ages, liberty and virtue in ancient Greece. The dark side of that is the ways in which those ideals go awry, and the social structure meant to embody as often end up perverting them. It encourages both my idealism and my humility, and is a never-ending source of ideas.

I used to play tennis a lot as well, but I haven't played in a while for lack of time, energy and an enthusiastic partner. It's one of those games that engages the player fully. At most, you have a partner to rely on, but most of the time it's you vs. your limitations, with no team to take up the slack. Playing partners adds the dynamic of interacting to work towards a goal, but does so more gradually than you would if you had four other teammates (as with basketball, which I also played back in the day), or nine (baseball, ditto).

I like chess, but again, I play it catch as catch can. It's hard to find regular chess partners, and I hate that I don't get as much practive as I'd like.

I always complain that I don't get to write as much as I'd like to, but lately I've been making a lot of headway, and I'm pleased about that. Giving more vent to my penchant for humor has been part of that. (Yes, I do have a sense of humor, believe it or not.) With any luck I'll be soliciting some material to lit. mags in the near future.

I'm a big fan of movies, with an academic background in film studies, but I'm also very much a social movie-goer, so if I don't have a co-conspirator, I'm prone to miss out on new releases for months at a time. I just caught up on a lot of movie-watching while I was recovering from wisdom tooth surgery, and I'm planning on catching the third Bourne movie tomorrow, if my conspirator escapes from work early enough.

There's a bird's eye view of my other interests. What about you guys?

George Ricker

I have a strong interest in history, especially American history. I also have great interest in science in general and evolutionary biology in particular. I'm strictly a laymen in these areas, however. I make no claim of expertise in any of them.

Before I developed COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), I enjoyed hiking nature trails, boating (especially sailing), surf fishing and bicycling. Unfortunately, my breathing problems, and the need to tote oxygen along with me, have forced me into more sedentary pursuits. I enjoy reading all sorts of things, but have a strong interest in well-crafted fiction, lately science fiction. I have a sizeable personal library and add to it regularly.

I've been playing chess since I was twelve, but lately I have no steady chess partners so that activity has been fairly sporadic. For a number of years, I also played Dungeons and Dragons with a group of adult fantasy role-players. I had great fun with that until, one day, it simply lost its allure.

I love movies and have developed a nice collection of films on DVD. I rarely go to theaters though. I'll go for films that seem to require the big screen (like the first viewing of the LOTR films) but mostly prefer to watch from the comfort of my living room.

I have a strong rooting interest in the fortunes of the Miami Dolphins and the University of Miami Hurricanes (my alma mater) football teams and enjoy both professional and college football.

There are many other pursuits that occupy my time and interest. The biggest one is writing itself. I usually write something, an essay, a poem, a bit of one or another of the novels I'm working on, every day.

George

http://www.godlessinamerica.com

"Godlessness is not about denying the existence of nonsensical beings. It is the starting point for living life without them."

Godless in America by George A. Ricker

Niall001

I have many other interests.

These include larger, stout, whiskey, vodka, tequila, aftershock, gin and cider.

I used to play a handful of instruments not particularly well, but not so much these days. I love going to the movies, comics books, books about politics and science. Since I'm studying psychology, most of my reading is related to that subject. Love comedy, but mostly Irish comedians. My mp3 player has become a part of my body. I'm pretty broad minded when it comes to music, enjoying everything from punk/hardcore, to traditional, classical and trance.

I'm useless when it comes to sports. I only ever played when younger, and even then my lack of co-ordination made me a natural hatchetman. I play a fair amount of videogames, mostly on the 360. I'm currently polishing off Oblivion. The plan then is to move on to GRAW2.

TV shows I like: Lost, Buffy, 24, The Sopranos, SG1, Little Britain, Father Ted, Family Guy, Fawltey Towers, Monty Python, South Park (except for the many crappy episodes), The Simpsons and so on.

Oh and I missed the last episode of the Sopranos, and keep trying to download it, but I can't seem to find a valid torrent. Anyone who knows where I can get one, it'd be appreciated if you linked!

My Blog - with hidden tunes

riverc0il

My interests pretty evenly divide between outdoor pursuits, indoor pursuits, and music.

I am a dedicated (some might say fanatic) skier and pursue both Alpine and Backcountry. Once we have a dog next year, I am debating taking up Nordic as well to pursue skijoring as a way to exercise both myself and the four legged friend. I ski upwards of 40-50 days a year both via lift serviced and earning my own turns in the backcountry. I maintain a website dedicated to my skiing pursuits (www.thesnowway.com) that I am currently in the process of converting to Word Press. As much as I love hand coding, the ability to "tag" entries instead of updating a half dozen pages on each update is much preferred and the integration with Gallery2 is essential.

I also do a lot of hiking. Though I haven't done much this Summer due to obtaining a promotion and doing a housing search (we are first time home buyers and closing next week). We also both enjoy kayaking but have not been able to purchase our own boats yet (saving up for a nice pair). I used to run when I lived in an area better suited to after work running activities but haven't done that in a while unfortunately.

In doors, of course I am a avid reader. Spend way too much time on my computer and as mentioned before I am a web master and hand code my web pages currently.

Very big into music both performing and listening. Years of performance history with a number of instruments but I mainly only play guitar now and am not performing. Have been a DJ for a number of years and have played at various clubs and bars in Boston and the surrounding area and on the local College radio station up here. My club DJ'ing was mostly breakbeat, electro, electro funk, new school breaks, etc. though I also play some house, progressive, etc. The longer I do the DJ thing the less I enjoy sticking to one format. I'll listen to anything electronic generally from ambient through jungle. Also into rock but can not stand over produced pop crap. Modern rock really bums me out. I am a Gen X'er so no surprise I love the "alt" of the 90s but haven't heard many bands since that inspire. Love Tool though 10,000 was a major disappointment. I hate all generic pop music with a passion.

I enjoy film as well. I am particularly fond of non-linear films and most especially tragic endings. Some of my favorites would include Lost in Translation, American Beauty, Fight Club, 10 Conversations About One Thing, 21 Grams, Good Will Hunting, Contact, and Mulholland Drive. Alejandro González Iñárritu and Christopher Nolan are currently my two favorite new directors that started major releases in the 2000s. Love David Fincher. Was hoping for a lot more from Darren Aronofsky but as beautiful an experience as The Fountain was, it was a terribly disappointing follow up to Requiem for a Dream.

Edited by: riverc0il at: 8/11/07 11:14 am

irishrosem

Despite my participation here, I don’t read much at all about religion. Currently, I’m reading contemporary fiction and have read a lot of the western literary canon (especially the female writers) in the past. I also read legal non-fiction and U.S. case law. Last, I read various history, costume history, American history and political science, but nothing with much focus or organization; that’s just for personal interest.

I regularly attend live performance, largely theater. I worked on the technical side of the stage and stage-managed academically and quasi-professionally (meaning that I earned a salary, sometimes, but nothing that I could live off). I stage-manage now only about once every two years. I love theater and will always patronize the live arts.

I jog, bike and play soccer. I had put soccer aside five years ago when I started Krav Maga (an Israeli-based fighting system). But, after suffering a relatively devastating knee injury, when I finally returned to my school I found that it had closed. I’ve tried a few other mixed-martial art gyms but haven’t found one that fits me; I’m considering a boxing gym but will certainly miss kicks, knees, elbows, and groundwork if I take up boxing. I miss the heavy contact of Krav Maga, which was also a great workout. At the time I injured myself, I was in the best shape of my life. In the meantime, I have returned to soccer.

I live in an area with solid independent film houses and used to go to see about everything (3-4 films a week). For that brief time when American independent films became more mainstream, it seemed indie films became relatively ordinary and my enthusiasm for them diminished somewhat. I continued to watch imports in those same houses for a while; but these days, I rarely get to the theaters. I have a nice collection of DVDs and like to watch some of my favorites over and over.

I like to camp (with some amenities) and day hike. I’m hoping to eventually meet someone who will take me (show me the ropes of) backpacking. I also ski, somewhat.

I have a large and very close family and we all spend a lot of time together. I have a few close friends I spend time with. But I definitely cherish solitude and it’s important to me to have quality time to myself each week.

Otherwise, I do a lot of professional sports watching. Football religiously, baseball frequently, and hockey more than occasionally—NEVER basketball. I’m an avid fan of Philadelphia’s teams, who do just well enough to break your heart in the end.

Dissident Heart

I love to go to market, prepare, cook and eat meals with my wife. It's usually a bi-weekly occurence that requires the two of us focused on a shared, mutual enjoyment that's pretty darned healthy on many levels. The west Seattle farmer's market is a treasure and really one of the tastiest pleasures in my life is going from stand to stand discussing options with my wife and learning the secrets of good farming and cooking from the vendors.

I am an inveterate artist forever doodling, sketching and drawing on any surface with space for my imaginative intrusions. Bills, letters, newspapers, notepads, notebooks, yellow stickies, coupons...all carry a trace of whatever image demanded my attention. I am in love with faces and never tire of creating them: I have a few common themes that I return to again and again, always refining and sharpening and occasionally pushing to new grimaces or expression. But, on occasion I surprise myself with something that shows up that I hadn't intended or considered before hand. I can also get mesmerized by geometric forms start simply and unfold into fantastic combinations of organic and inanimate mutations: once you tap into the logic of the form, it carries you along and I find a great amount of pleasure in following it as far as the piece allows...or until I run out of drawing space.

I grew up a jocks' jock and captain of every team I was on (without too much exaggeration) and thrived on the competition and attention. Football got me to college on a scholarship, and until my reconstructive knee surgery, filled my head with ridiculous notions of courage, fortitude, comradery and being willing to take one for the team. This time of year fills me with a yearning and excitement that, really, never lives up to my expectations: new teams, schedules, practice, training, injuries, scrimmages, games, fans, stadiums, newspaper articles, evening news sports...and the smell of grass. I especially enjoy college football, try to get to an occasional high school game, and root for the Seahawks and Broncos.

I love to walk. My office is located in downtown Seattle and I love walking around the city on lunch and to and from the parking lot which is about 8 blocks from the office. Seattle has a bundle of parks and areas close to water where walking is safe, energizing and blissfully ideal. I try to get out and enjoy the opportunity as much as possible by myself, with my wife, or with friends...really, some of my most meaningful conversations and decision making takes place while walking.

I loved the HBO miniseries The Sopranos and Deadwood...both of which are finished, as is my subscription to HBO. My wife and I enjoy Netflix and we have a couple of good friends who we share our picks with and have found a great way to discover films we probably wouldn't find otherwise.

And, we are expecting a baby in September...right around the corner. This is both of our first and it has demanded the lion's share of our attention and planning and, as such, will undoubtedly become THE other interest of my life for the forseeable future.

Lady Valar

DH:

Quote:
"And, we are expecting a baby in September...right around the corner:

Congratulations to you and Mrs.DH!

irishrosem

Congrats on the baby DH! Do you know if mini-dissidence is to be a girl or boy?

Dissident Heart

We've been told by the Doc that it is a girl. We saw the ultrasound, but it hyroglyphics as far as I was concerned. My wife is immense these days: and getting bigger every day. As soon as we think it couldnt get any larger...she gets bigger.

It could be any day. We'll be glad the pregnancy is over, but I'm sure we'll miss it all the same.

Chris OConnor

George

I'm not sure if we discussed it or not, but I too used to play Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. What an immersive and wonderful escape from reality. I absolutely loved getting together with close friends and adventuring. If my life ever lightened up a little I might give it another shot, but everyone I know that plays as an adult seems to have more free time available. I simply cannot commit to playing once per week or even once every two weeks. But I would if I could! Come to think of it I am going to go check my Saturday night Lottery tickets. ::171

If I could just win a few million...

Chris OConnor

Niall

What about rum? You failed to mention an interest in rum. This is my personal favorite and I could go for a rum and diet right now, to be honest. One of my friends turned me on to Sailor Jerry rum and I'm hooked.

The last episode of Sopranos wasn't very exciting, IMO. I'd place an ad on Craig's List in your area of the world. Someone has to have a copy of the last episode. What an addictive show that one was. I'm sad to see it over.


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