Escapists, what are you OTHER interests?

[the December King]

I like to draw when I get a chance, along with painting.

I also like to cook a little, but I am very amateur.

I've been playing D&D in some form or another once a week for about 30 years- but it's down to twice a month for the last, I dunno, 4 or 5 years, what with family and such.

I used to like to dabble in game creation, but Flash isn't cool anymore and I have no time to learn a new language/game creation software.

EDIT: I forgot, horror! I'm a big fan of horror novels and movies, especially monster/supernatural horror. I wouldn't say I was a geek though, as I retain information poorly.

 

[necromanzer52]

I enjoy studying languages. I'm fairly proficient at Spanish now (Probably somewhere between B2 and C1 level), I've started going strong on Japanese after years of dipping in and out of it a lot (And watching far too much anime) and I've been slowly getting into Russian these last few months.

I love learning about all the different ways they have for phrasing things. It's rather eye-opening to find out just how much of the way you think is governed by the language that you think in. I also love how this lets me meet people from all around the world and learn about different cultures & ways of life.

I also like to play music. I'm currently working on an album with a friend of mine that I hope to have out within a couple of months. The recording process is going reasonably smoothly and I'm loving every moment.

 

[Ogoid]

Mostly books and comics; I'll read anything, as long as I find the subject matter interesting. At the moment, I just worked my way through 10 volumes of French comic Lastman [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lastman_(comic_book)], after having been recommended the animated series [https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lastman_(s%C3%A9rie_t%C3%A9l%C3%A9vis%C3%A9e_d%27animation)] (which was amazing, I might add), and am juggling H. P. Lovecraft's Complete Works (up to The Thing on the Doorstep) and Shusaku Endo's The Samurai.

Other than that, I'm a huge beer geek, and have been known to dabble in homebrewing myself, though it's been a while since my last batch.

 

[Xprimentyl]

I'm glad you created this thread. I've been meaning to but..well, procrastination and doubt goes a long short way nowhere..fast?

I?m not surprised you procrastinated making a similar thread; this all those interests you have, there aren?t enough hours in the day! XD Needless to say, you?ve given me plenty to Google?

I don't do everything all at once, sadly (or fortunately?). My interests goes in waves or phases.
I only have enough "passion" to entertain one interest for a certain amount of time, before on it wanes (and waxes again later).

Rockhounding is simply collecting neat looking rocks. I can identify some, but I've yet to really grapple with the intricacies of it; In what kind of sediment you can find this and that, lava flows, wind/water erosion, etc.
There is also the sheer amount of minerals and what separates Garnet from Pyrope, Almandine, Spessartine, Grossular (varieties of which are Hessonite or Cinnamon-stone and Tsavorite), Uvarovite and Andradite...for example.
..Yeah..I'm still an amateur rockhound. ^^

Numismatics focus on collecting coins mostly. I'm more of serial collector, aiming to add at least one coin of every year it has been released. In my case it's Swedish 2-krona, 1-krona, 50-?re, 25-?re, 10-?re, 5-?re, 2-?re and 1-?re. Though I've got other coins, both Swedish and foreign..more for the fun of it and from finding "hidden" "treasures", caches through thriftshops, etc.
There are also those focusing on manufacturing flaws or some other arbitrary reason.

Thanks for the clarification. I?ll be honest, ?rockhounding? sounded like something done in the Southern United States, y?know, by the ?good ?ol boys,? like ?noodling? or ?corn holing,? but seeing as you lost me a couple dozen words later with words I can?t even begin to pronounce, it?s clear rockhounding is a bit more nuanced than sticking your naked arm in a catfish hole and yanking it out by the gills. Do you pursue these hobbies alone or have you joined groups of fellow rockhounds and Numismatists(?)?

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

I'm glad you created this thread. I've been meaning to but..well, procrastination and doubt goes a long short way nowhere..fast?

I?m not surprised you procrastinated making a similar thread; this all those interests you have, there aren?t enough hours in the day! XD Needless to say, you?ve given me plenty to Google?

I don't do everything all at once, sadly (or fortunately?). My interests goes in waves or phases.
I only have enough "passion" to entertain one interest for a certain amount of time, before on it wanes (and waxes again later).

Rockhounding is simply collecting neat looking rocks. I can identify some, but I've yet to really grapple with the intricacies of it; In what kind of sediment you can find this and that, lava flows, wind/water erosion, etc.
There is also the sheer amount of minerals and what separates Garnet from Pyrope, Almandine, Spessartine, Grossular (varieties of which are Hessonite or Cinnamon-stone and Tsavorite), Uvarovite and Andradite...for example.
..Yeah..I'm still an amateur rockhound. ^^

Numismatics focus on collecting coins mostly. I'm more of serial collector, aiming to add at least one coin of every year it has been released. In my case it's Swedish 2-krona, 1-krona, 50-?re, 25-?re, 10-?re, 5-?re, 2-?re and 1-?re. Though I've got other coins, both Swedish and foreign..more for the fun of it and from finding "hidden" "treasures", caches through thriftshops, etc.
There are also those focusing on manufacturing flaws or some other arbitrary reason.

Thanks for the clarification. I?ll be honest, ?rockhounding? sounded like something done in the Southern United States, y?know, by the ?good ?ol boys,? like ?noodling? or ?corn holing,? but seeing as you lost me a couple dozen words later with words I can?t even begin to pronounce, it?s clear rockhounding is a bit more nuanced than sticking your naked arm in a catfish hole and yanking it out by the gills. Do you pursue these hobbies alone or have you joined groups of fellow rockhounds and Numismatists(?)?

I'm not entirely sure, but the term rockhounding may very well originate from The South. ,)

I'm a loner, not really by choice but by happenstances and some of my innate "quirks".
If there was some sort of group at my location, I would consider joining.
It's not all that common here though, and I live out in the sticks, or "boonies" as some say.
I do seek out such groups online, but mostly to learn from the shadows. Rarely do I interact.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

Wow, sounds like you live a privileged life, lucky bastard! At least you?re spending it bettering yourself. I?d kill for the opportunity to eschew financial worries and immerse myself in my passions. Seriously, I?d KILL; find me on the Dark Web? (that is, of course, a joke!) But I just found a comic book store like the one you?ve described wanting to start near my home. I hadn?t been in a comic book store in decades, but I was looking for something for my girlfriend?s son for Christmas, so I poked my head in and wow, it?s HUGE; things have changed. They have everything you?ve described (except booze I must have walked around for the better part of two hours.

Luck more than anything. I knew all the right people at the right times. Any differently and I would have lost most of my wealth in 9 months with the end of the mining boom. I also knew a whole lot of budding, new age investors that didn't follow the same sage advice I did and ended in a deep hole quickly filling with toxic assets, treading water and being able to do nothing else. Some people I knew went into properties around boom towns in WA. Now they're paupers.

Capitalism is a lottery.

As for my passions... I guess? I'm only 33, yet I have a list of things I'll still probably never get around to in any sufficient measure.

Though I have found night courses to proceed with my design and patternmaking! So I'll be doing that ontop of my research and further study at uni. So that'll be fun! I like working with fabric. Fashion is like materials science, ergonomics, psychology and visual arts in one.

 

[tippy2k2]

SNIP

I?m big into [north American] football too! 49ers fan here (yeah, I know?) Here?s hoping the Superbowl in Minnesota doesn?t turn out to be another ?67 Ice Bowl; I like a cold-weather or whited out game during the regular season just as much as the next guy, but for the post season and certainly the BIG game, I want to see the best teams AT there best, not fighting the elements more than each other. And if you live in Minnesota, your town?s going to be a mad house; stay warm up there!

Well it would take one hell of a screw up for another Ice Bowl to happen in Minnesota considering US Bank Stadium is an indoor stadium

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Reading! Lots of it. These are all the books I read in 2017, from my Goodreads challenge:

 

[Zykon TheLich_v1legacy]

I'm an old raver at heart, the majority of my life my interests have been drugs, techno and women who like drugs and techno. I have made a few tunes in my time and although I'm a bit rusty I can still DJ. I have rekindled my childhood interest in Warhammer & 40K because I'm getting old and these days the comedowns far outweigh the highs.

 

[secretkeeper12]

I volunteer in my community. Right now that?s mostly at church, but starting summer I will begin to attend Rotary meetings and find more opportunitys with them.

I also write poetry! Here are a few of my works.

Spoiler: Element Ode

Element Ode

More abundant than hydrogen



Spirits higher than helium



Intake better things than lithium



And scantly as rare as beryllium



Bond more closely than boron



Prove more ubiquitous than carbon



Speed along faster than nitrogen



And be more vital than oxygen

Spoiler: Mental Value

Mental Value

Your mind is too valuable to waste



Don't let nonsense occupy its space



Treat your thoughts as a sanctified place



Let knowledge receive your sweet embrace


Spoiler: True Love

True Love

How do you define true love?



Is it free, like flights of doves



Or constrained tighter than gloves?



I think love is shared passion 



One cause unites, no traction



A mutual call to action

Spoiler: El Bien de Humanidad

El Bien de Humanidad

Trabajamos para el bien de la humanidad



Necesito progresos en el sociedad



Comida y agua son nuestra fuerza



Para ellas el mundo espereza

And I?m an avid learner. I chart what I learn from online courses to one day use it and teach it to someone else. See if you can?t learn from my universal notebook! https://1drv.ms/u/s!Ahw0pOj8IEIzgbdH8q_cvRk5vlWnSw

 

[Fijiman]

If I'm not playing video games or watching YouTube videos, it's usually because I'm doing something less enjoyable like work or chores. I don't have any friends that I've ever been able to hang out with for one reason or another, and while I would love to get back into drawing or read more often I just don't have the free time to do a whole lot of things.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

That?s a broad range of sounds, good deal. I?ve always been envious of musicians with wide spectrums like yours; when I tell someone I play the piano (and invariably, they catch me off guard and pull a piano [oft poorly tuned] out of their ass,) they always want to make requests like Pop Song #437 or R&B Love Ballad #291, and I have to tell them ?Nah, I don?t know any of those, but I CAN play you a dozen relatively obscure lyric-less solo piano pieces which I?m 100% sure you?ve never heard before in your life.?

I've always made a point of it to learn songs from as many genres and styles as I can, including ones I don't actually enjoy listening to myself, and ones that aren't traditionally played with my chosen instrument. I learned a lot from it. Not just new techniques and ways of playing or how to achieve certain sounds, but also learning to appreciate music that I previously scoffed at (used to be a real 'brutal and tru only' type metalhead). Which in turn led me to more music to play (and sometimes start listening to), and more things to learn from that in some horrible and eclectic vicious cycle of discovery. Does it make me a better musician? Maybe, I don't know. I'd say I'm certainly not as good at a particular style of music as someone who specialists in it, but I'm at least somewhat competent at many. I feel that has merits of its own.

Oh, and I usually can't just play Pop Song #437 or R&B Love Ballad #291 requests at the drop of a hat either. "Songs I think would be fun to learn and play as a musician" doesn't always overlap with "Songs that are popular requests". Maybe a decent approximation if its a well-known enough song. Not that, as the bassist, I get a lot of requests, 'cept that time Seven Nation Army was all the rage and that was all people ever asked.

 

[Dr. Crawver]

Depends on the day, my mood, and weather. If it's warm and sunny, I'll probably be kayaking (used to row, but good lord the training burned my enjoyment out of me).

If it's raining I'll probably be working through my "to do list" of films and shows, often doing some basic critical breakdown of it so I can have some real discussions with whoever recommended it to me.

Finally if it's a tuesday, friday or saturday evening and I have nothing on the next day, I'm going to be at my local club, most likely topless (I'm not even sure how that became a thing, just did).

 

[gigastar]

I read.

A lot.

 

[Xprimentyl]

SNIP

I?m big into [north American] football too! 49ers fan here (yeah, I know?) Here?s hoping the Superbowl in Minnesota doesn?t turn out to be another ?67 Ice Bowl; I like a cold-weather or whited out game during the regular season just as much as the next guy, but for the post season and certainly the BIG game, I want to see the best teams AT there best, not fighting the elements more than each other. And if you live in Minnesota, your town?s going to be a mad house; stay warm up there!

Well it would take one hell of a screw up for another Ice Bowl to happen in Minnesota considering US Bank Stadium is an indoor stadium

Y?know, I knew that; I don?t know why I posted that! I think the combination of talking about the Ice Bowl recently, the couple of games with snow we had this regular season and the word ?Minnesota? took my mind to a cold place. I also I had Super Bowl XLV on my mind. It was played in Arlington, TX at AT&T Stadium; it?s domed too, mostly because the Dallas CowGIRLS are a bunch of pansies and Jerry Jones is nothing if not a gracious pimp. Anyway, the influx of people for the Super Bowl congested the entire DFW metroplex; I live in Plano which is about 40 miles northeast of the stadium and remember every restaurant being packed to the gills for a few days before and after the game. But most significantly, poor preparation, an overselling of seats coupled with unseasonably cold temperatures led to several hundred ticket holders having to watch the game in standing rooms and OUTSIDE, in the COLD, on TV. We got a lot of shit for botching the biggest event in sports, especially since the pimple on the face of Texas they call ?Jerry?s World? is supposed to be such a lavish and luxurious venue. Just sayin?, Minnesota: don?t fuck this up!!

 

[Xprimentyl]

Capitalism is a lottery.

I know a lot of people who?d argue against that point ?til their gums bled; ?hard work? and ?effort? being the only tools necessary to succeed because the playing field is and always has been level, unbiased, colorblind, class blind, race blind, asexual and ageless should you ask them. I am NOT one of those people?

OT, as someone with zero fashion sense who?s can?t wait for the days of Star Trek when we all just walk around in identical, monochromatic onesies, I?ve never thought about fashion in such a way as you?ve described it; as an artist myself (well, ?artistically minded;? I?ve not created anything in forever,) I can certainly see where you?re coming from and appreciate your fervor! Best of luck to you and your endeavors!

 

[Xprimentyl]

That?s a broad range of sounds, good deal. I?ve always been envious of musicians with wide spectrums like yours; when I tell someone I play the piano (and invariably, they catch me off guard and pull a piano [oft poorly tuned] out of their ass,) they always want to make requests like Pop Song #437 or R&B Love Ballad #291, and I have to tell them ?Nah, I don?t know any of those, but I CAN play you a dozen relatively obscure lyric-less solo piano pieces which I?m 100% sure you?ve never heard before in your life.?

I've always made a point of it to learn songs from as many genres and styles as I can, including ones I don't actually enjoy listening to myself, and ones that aren't traditionally played with my chosen instrument. I learned a lot from it. Not just new techniques and ways of playing or how to achieve certain sounds, but also learning to appreciate music that I previously scoffed at (used to be a real 'brutal and tru only' type metalhead). Which in turn led me to more music to play (and sometimes start listening to), and more things to learn from that in some horrible and eclectic vicious cycle of discovery. Does it make me a better musician? Maybe, I don't know. I'd say I'm certainly not as good at a particular style of music as someone who specialists in it, but I'm at least somewhat competent at many. I feel that has merits of its own.

Oh, and I usually can't just play Pop Song #437 or R&B Love Ballad #291 requests at the drop of a hat either. "Songs I think would be fun to learn and play as a musician" doesn't always overlap with "Songs that are popular requests". Maybe a decent approximation if its a well-known enough song. Not that, as the bassist, I get a lot of requests, 'cept that time Seven Nation Army was all the rage and that was all people ever asked.

For me, music has never been analytical; it?s always been something I just loved. It?s never felt like something I needed to... work at? I either like it or I don?t; either I learn to play it or I don?t. Point-in-case, when I started taking piano lessons, my teacher tried hammering home the techniques and had me playing all the basic stuff, and it really bored me, so my progress was slow. Then I found Yanni?s album ?In My Time,? a largely solo piano album backed with lush synths, and fell in love. I picked up the sheet music despite the it being well beyond my skill set, but because I loved it so much, I learned it; hearing MY piano, ME, belting out the sounds I loved was life changing. Nevermind I still struggled with the music my piano teacher was giving me despite it all being leagues and technically easier. I eventually told my parents I didn?t want to take lessons anymore; I started teaching myself. A part of me wishes I would have stuck with it, but then again, I?m afraid I would have begun to resent the piano and might not have stuck with it for +25 years now. My love of what I can play offsets my regret at what I can?t.

Another evolution for me was Electronic music. Around the age of 16-ish or so, I was introduced to the likes of Orbital, Autechre, Aphex Twin, Plaid, etc. and the world of sound REALLY opened up to me, and even my piano took a back seat. I worked a summer job and got my first keyboard where I made some rudimentary electronic tracks eventually evolving to my first PC where I bought some music production software where I was literally consumed by music. If I wasn?t at school or work, I was in my basement with my headphones on; most kids my age were watching porn, but I was creating sounds. Fast forward a few years to a harddrive crash and I lost it all. I was so crushed, devastated and angry, I yanked the PC from the desk and threw it into the parking lot of the apartment I shared with a alive-in girlfriend, smashing into pieces. A neighbor called the cops. After an explanation from me and my gf, the cops were convinced I wasn?t high, drunk or violent, and upon the promise to clean up my ?litter,? they thankfully didn?t arrest me.

 

[balladbird]

Huh... I learned a lot of new words reading this thread! For me...

Well, my biggest hobby, outside of video games, is go/baduk/weiqi (the name of it differs depending on which country you're in), it's an asian board game that is often compared to chess, although I'd argue it's quite a bit more complicated, if only for the insane numbers of possible variations.

It actually made the news somewhat recently, since even computers hadn't reached the level where they could reliably beat professional players until 2016, and it's still impossible to do without a mind-boggling level of processing power.

anyway, I digress. It's a lot of fun. I got into it back in high school, and then when my Navy enlistment saw me stationed in Korea for a year I got into it pretty hard as a way to kill time, and ended up getting reasonably strong at it.

My avatar, and somewhat weeb-ish hobby of playing an asian board game may lead you to think that I'm an anime fan, and I do like anime a lot, but I don't really partake of it enough to really feel like I deserve to be called a fan. I'm a huge fan of a franchise of anime called 'Fate', but outside that I haven't followed new seasons of anime in over half a decade now. I do collect anime on blu-ray that I feel is appropriate to watch with my 10 year old nephew, though, since watching those is one of our bonding things, besides video games.

Just for a combo breaker, and to throw in a few that might not be so easily predicted based on my video game tastes:

- I love birds. a LOT. I'm a year of school away from getting to introduce myself as a professional ornithologist. that's how much I love them. We had a lot of them growing up, and I have a hobby of breeding Hyacinth Macaws.

- I also love boxing. I got into amateur boxing in the navy. It was a fun excuse to stay in shape, and it's a sport that requires a lot more thought and strategy than people realize. I developed cancer of the appendix in 2014, which resulted in the loss of a few feet of my intestinal tract, so I had to stop actively participating in the sport for a long while, but I still do road work and help with newer fighters.

 

[DeliveryGodNoah_v1legacy]

Music, mostly. Listening, not creating. I've always wanted to learn how to make music, not like a specific instrument or anything, but at the very least learn how to use a program well enough to make something tolerable. I even got a cheapy midi keyboard for my PC and a copy of FL Studio, but just never got around to it.

I used to write, but that faded out sometime around late high school when my teachers told me all my writing during school wouldn't matter if I didn't have higher grades, and in fact took notebooks away from me so I couldn't write anymore.

 

[elmerhoffman]

Programming(I hope it will become my profession), reading, gym.