Tell Me About Your Hobbies/Interests

[pktrekgirl]

Okay. In my continuing quest to get some action going on this board, here is another question for you: what interests and hobbies to you have, outside of classic film? When else do you do in your spare time?

And if you have no spare time, what did you do before you got so busy...or what hobby would you like to take up someday?

I have several interests outside of classic film and film collecting. In fact, film is further down the list than perhaps some other folks here.

Here is my list, in order of preference -

1. Travel. This is more than a hobby, in my case. This is a lifelong passion and hardcore pursuit. At this point, I've traveled all over the world - I think I'm up to about 35 - 40 countries now (including countries in Eastern and Western Europe, Central Asia and Asia) and feel like I've not even scratched the surface. I was fortunate enough to live and work outside the U.S. for a year (in Moscow) and that experience was even better than traveling because I really lived like a typical Russian. I hope to one day live outside the U.S. again. I think it gives one perspective.

2. Scifi. In particular, I am a fan of scifi TV and film SINCE the 1960's. Oddly, I haven't watched may classic scifi films...but if it's a scifi TV show made after about 1964, I've likely watched it.

3. Classic film. Nuff said.

4. The Sims - I LOVE this PC game. Although I mainly love building, designing, and decorating houses, as opposed to actually playing the game. I've won a few prizes for various houses I built in The Sims and The Sims 2.

5. Everest mountaineering. Odd hobby, I know...but I am fascinated by any book, tape, DVD or lecture on the topic of mountaineering on Everest. I'd never climb it myself...but one travel dream I have is to trek to Everest Base Camp on the Nepal side. Although I've never even seen that mountain in real life, I have read so many books and seen so many documentaries on it that I feel like I know it - or at least know alot about the big 'players' in the climbing community over the years. I picked up this interest because when I lived in Alaska I had several friends who were climbers. But I've kept it up, even though I don't know anyone in Georgia who is interested in such things.

6. Goofing around in Photoshop - avatars, desktops, etc. Mostly for either classic film or scifi themes...but I've done some stuff for other TV shows I like, rock bands I like, etc.

7. Iconography - picked this interest up while living in Russia. Can't get enough when it comes to learning about this form of religious imagry.

8. Collecting junk. Well, not really 'junk'...but put it this way: my house is filled with a very odd collection of stuff, including Pacific Northwest art, authentic art and trinkets from Alaska and from my travels all over the world (no snowglobes ), and classic film collectibles.


What hobbies and interests do some of you guys have?

[mrsl]

Hi pktrekgirl:

You pretty much know mine. Anything that has to do with crafts for one. This is not new though, I recall when I was about 10, we had company coming for Thanksgiving dinner, and I had learned how to make name plates out of the turkey picture made from your hand. I sat in my room all morning making 10 turkey settings which my mom used - I was so proud.

My travel has been restricted to the U.S. Before we were married, Mr L and I agreed to see the U.S. before we left its' boundaries. He and I made 29 states, and I added up to 43, but now I'll never finish all 50, but I have lots of angels, ashtrays, and lighthouses from lots of states.

My cross-stitching is turning into a monster. I can't stop!!! I consider myself as having quit smoking now - I'm in my eleventh week, and third week with no patches, and my neighbor and daughter both smoke around me, and it doesn't bother me at all.

One of these days I'll e-mail you a photo of my Mr & Mrs Santa Claus so you see what I mean when I say I have an order.

Anne

[bobhopefan1940]

I sing! All the time, miles away from any threat of civilization But I enjoy it.

I really love photography, it would be my major if they had it available. I once took a photography class, where my teacher told me I really had an eye for subjects. I don't enjoy the digital stuff, I'm afraid. I love playing around with manual cameras, with the speed settings and f-stops. I mainly photographed my animals within my home, and would use microscopic lenses to capture the reflections in their eyes.

I really love my car, and learning more about working on it. I don't do much mechanically, except custom fitting air intakes and light stuff like that. I have become quite the expert on car stereos and speaker systems! Back at my old residence, fellas would come to me with questions about car radios!

I love atvs and motorcycles. This has really become a passion for me, and these I do have more experience with mechanically. There's nothing quite like getting up early in the morning and going for a brisk ride on my 4-wheeler. When I end my college round, a motorcycle will be the first thing I get my hands on.

Some here know, but I used to self-taught in the art of taxodermy. This was a passion for me from the time I was very little. Animals, actually, have been a hobby for me since birth! I vaccinate many of my own pets now, I love working with animals and training them.

My family used to travel alot. They drug me from state to state... I have never been out of our great USA, though. Maybe Canada, I think they took me there. My favorite state is Utah, but if I had my choice of places to go outside the Americas, I would choose Australia.

I just love film, I love the way it flows in accordance with music. I hope someday I will find out what it is like to at least create something worth while with this medium!

I'm only 20, you understand, so I have not had much time to figure out what I love and what I want to do. I did write song lyrics for a time. Many, many songs! I did have one performed once, which was cool. But -- this I am not good at!

When I was younger I adored frogs and toads... I practically knew everything about them, I even wrote a book on the subject when I was 8 or 9. What a sad book it is!

I love to write. I write anything and everything, I've carried some kind of journal as early as I can remember.

I have dabbled in music, unsuccessfully, I'm afraid. My favorite instrument would be the violin, it is so emotionally moving. And there you go... Some of my interests.

[movieman1957]

My hobbies aren't nearly as interesting. After all, I'm married with children. (Thank you Al Bundy.)

I love music. I love to make it. I love to write it. I may not be very good at it (though people are always kind enough to suggest I get it published) but I think one day I'll write THE great Chris Taylor song. I like to listen to and study classical music though I have no illusions of ever being able to play it. I have a collection of close to 500 works. Not big but ok.

I play piano and keyboard in my church band. It's so much fun. It such a great feeling to know that I help to move people in worship. I've been able to do several songs I've written. I've written for others to sing as well. I sing some but I don't think I'm that good but they let me do it. No one has asked for their money back.

I'm a casual golfer. I don't travel much but hope to get to England. My wife is hoping for Italy. I'll settle for the Grand Canyon.

I'm very interested in history. Both world wars are particularly interesting for me.

[Moraldo Rubini]

I love music. I love to make it. I love to write it. I may not be very good at it (though people are always kind enough to suggest I get it published) but I think one day I'll write THE great Chris Taylor song. I like to listen to and study classical music though I have no illusions of ever being able to play it. I have a collection of close to 500 works. Not big but ok.

Chris! If you have an ear for music, maybe you can help here?
http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis/view ... =8786#8786

[pktrekgirl]

Wow! Some very interesting comments so far!

Anne, I've always admired people who can do crafts. Myself, I don't have the patience for stuff like cross-stitch, knitting, quilting, etc. However I have had friends who were into those things and I can see how lovely some of their projects have come out. I would LOVE to learn how to quilt in particular, because the artsy person in me loves the geometrical shapes and stuff...but working for months on a project just seems beyond my ability to stay interested. My grandmother crocheted a table cloth when I was a kid, and it took a couple of YEARS for her to get it done. But me? Sadly, I don't have that long of an attention span.

BHF - I think it's cool that you do so many things that one might normally associate with guys. I'm one of those girls who believes that women shouldn't feel limited (which is one of the reasons I've traveled alot on my own - who says you need a MAN hangin' around to see the world? ), and so I like to see women who have not limited themselves! Good for you!

And Chris, I don' think your interests are uninteresting. We all have different tastes...but that was sorta the point of this thread. To give people some context on each other.

[traceyk]

Hi all-
What are my interests? Well, old movies, of course. Books. I read voraciously, especially biographies and books about classic Hollywood and also love children's fantasy (blame Harry Potter) and adult urban fantasy. My daughter got me hooked on a series of book by Louise Rennison called the Confessions of Georgia Nicholson. Funny, funny, funny! I hate when critics try and make comparisons like this, but the closest thing I can think of is a teen age Bridget Jones.
I do crafts, too and make and sell polymer clay faeries. I write fantasy stories for fun and do some gardening.
I don't watch much TV, but do like the Sci Fi channel series, both the originals and the ones they've picked up from other channels like, "Dead Like Me." (I was so disappointed to find out that ahow had actually been cancelled 2 years ago.)
Oh and I collect old Nancy Drew Books and movie star cigarette cards from the 30's.

Tracey

[Sue Sue Applegate]

This was such a great thread idea.

When I was in my teens and early 20's, I knitted, crocheted, and did needlepoint. I also used to create new Christmas ornaments every year.

I like to draw but I'm not that good at it. (And have filled a couple of sketch books. )A couple of my paintings/drawings I have framed.

I've always written and have sporadically kept a diary, but I suppose that is a natural offshoot of being a voracious reader. I don't have much time for that now because I'm going back to school, and most of my reading lately has been textbooks. I had my first published article in 1980 and have written mainly feature articles and book reviews for local papers since then.

I've played the piano ever since the age of 8, and was once a pianist with a big band that played tunes from the 30's to the present. When I was in high school, my part-time job was teaching piano lessons. My family and I loved to play "Name That Tune" and I would play a song, and everyone would try to guess what it was. That's why I enjoy Johnm's thread on the Games and Trivia forum so much.

I also love to garden (my favorite plants right now are ixora, purple verbena, Dutchman's pipe, and Mexican petunias.). And I grow tomatoes and peppers every spring. I haven't planted okra in three years and really have missed it. (Left town a great deal and okra always needs attention.)

I love animals and have 3 cats and a dog who like to play all the time.

I also do volunteer work at the school where I teach by helping to raise money for the junior class.

One of my favorite ways to relax is by walking barefoot on the beach and shelling.

And of course, classic film viewing and classic film discussions.

[movieman1957]

SueSue:

Any chance something will get posted over in the "Pencil Art" thread? (Hint, Hint.)

And a GOOD piano player too. Nice to know another music lover.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

I have been one lucky gal.

I'll see if I can figure out how to post a photo there with a drawing or two. I am a technot.

I still love to play piano, but I am a terrible sight reader. Can't coordinate the rhythm with the notes. I am mainly a fake book gal, and taught myself to arpeggiate by watching Liberace. When I went to Vegas last December, I was allowed to play Lee's mirrored piano as I was considered a "professional."

What are your instruments? I am mainly piano now, but played the flute in junior high, viola in college, and guitar in elementary. Plus I always threaten to sing opera if my students are out of compliance in some minor way.

[Mr. Arkadin]

I have always loved books and reading. I was one of three kids and was always dragged to my brother and sisters functions as a child. I realized very quickly that a book is great portable entertainment and what you read can always be applied in daily life.

I am also very much into music. I started with piano and moved to guitar and embraced trumpet as well. For many years I used to practice around four hours a day. When I got bored with running scales I would often watch a film and copy actors speech inflections to work on my phrasing much like an actor would work on delivery of lines:

Are you going with me?

Are you going with me?

Are you going with me?

Anton Walbrook in The Red Shoes (1948) and Life and Death of Col. Blimp (1943) has wonderful rhythm and inflections and I would often try to copy him word for word, only with notes.

I finally built a studio some years ago using 2 inch analog tape (no digital!). The downside to analog is you have to have noise reduction for every channel you use--which is expensive. When Miramax studios folded I was able to buy their noise reduction (24 channels of Dolby SR the best!!) at a very cheap price. It's the only piece of movie memorabila I own and it's functional too.

I have always been writing all my life. In recent years I have become more serious about trying to write about film and working on my shortcomings.

I'm actually writing at a tiny website right now, but most of these people are not as knowlegeble as the folks at TCM or SSO so I can't go into a lot of depth or analyze a film which is the most enjoyable part of the whole venture for me. They also want the articles short (how do you write a few paragraphs about Out of the Past?!) with lots of pics (had to learn how to do that).

I am learning quite a bit though and trying to find ways to make a film sound exciting with a few words instead of a couple thousand. Recently, the website lady deleted 100 articles I wrote without any warning! I had some of them saved, but still lost stuff. Arrgh! I think it's time for me to get my own site.

I also love theatre and was acting in little plays all through grade and high school. My grandparents would take me to plays and musicals as a child and I thought it was much more exciting than movies because it was happening in real time before your eyes. I did some work in local theatre, but my wife is the real actress in the family. She was involved for over 15 years and did many great productions.

Finally, I am a big hockey fan and I love the game. I also captain a hockey team and find it has very close parallels to acting and music in the fact that most of the play is completely spontaneous and improvisational. You rely on you positioning, skills, and mind--not running set plays like football. It's also a good team game where you have to work together, put personal differences aside, and depend upon each other. Sometimes I think the world might be a better place if others learned this game. Other times, I feel sure that there would be a lot more fighting and dental positions would probably become the number one source of employment.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Mr. Arkadin,

Very interesting background. Music and film has enriched my life immensely, too.

I also forgot to mention I was in community theater for a few years. I always had at least two small parts because I'm a mimic and do impressions of famous and not so famous folks.

[Mr. Arkadin]

I found your background interesting as well. I would like to see some of your writing sometime.

I'm a bit intimidated posting my stuff for you as you are a teacher and know all the grammar ins and outs and I'm some bum who never went to college , but I would welcome any critcism or insights you might have--it can only make me better.

What Jazz tunes did you play? I grew up with Big Band as that was all my dad would listen to in the car when I was a kid. I'm a bit more partial to the 50's and 60's in what I play, but I like all eras. Do you like stride piano like Fats Waller or James P. Johnson? Pianowise I love Bud Powell, Monk, Herbie Handcock, Keith Jarrett, and tons of others.


I love theatre too and that's why it's hard for me to sometimes watch a movie musical. Usually filmed musicals I enjoy have elements that work better in a film context and don't really translate that well to the stage although there are always exceptions.

Probably the biggest role I ever had was Starbuck in The Rainmaker. My wife is a great character actress who did roles like "Meg" in Brigadoon and "Adielaide" in Guys and Dolls. She also did serious drama like Homefront and many others I can't remember. She also has almost perfect pitch, but her dancing skills are a bit limited so she's not a true triple threat.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

I'm an Erroll Garner fan, as well as Fats Waller, Thelonius Monk (Straight, No Chaser-Yea) , but the biggest influence on my jazz portfolio is Ella Fitzgerald. The first time I heard the Ella in Berlin album, my musical life changed forever. I attribute my ability to arpeggiate to watching Liberace play, and my emotional reaction to the keyboard to Ella.

I saw Herbie Hancock last year with his band, and he didn't play any of his previous tunes associated with his career. It was all brand new. They started playing and didn't stop till the end of the segment. It was a "pure" musical experience and I just wish it had been a little more organized sequentially with some of his previous work included.

Other favorites? Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, John Coltrane, Brubeck, and many others.

The band I played with for a brief time played all the big band tunes as well as some current hits. It was such a blast!

I'm also a Tito Puente fan.

[Mr. Arkadin]

Sue Sue, I like Garner as well. I last saw Herbie on the 2005 tour with Mike Brecker who sadly died just a year later. It was a great show and everyone in his band was so good that I had difficulty choosing which player to watch. I met him and was surprised at how large his hands were--they never looked that big on film.

Here's Herbie with some familar faces:



Notice how in each verse Handcock displaces time and and adds accents giving Hubbard and Henderson a springboard to jump off of.