Dungeons and Dragons is a pretty shameful thing to do, right? I mean, it's hilarious, these people all rolling dice and taking hit points off an imaginary character. Ha ha! Lo$erz. The ad in the link is funny because the D&D admen aren't even trying to portray the game as be anything other than 'pretending to be an elf". I can see how D&D Corp must be wondering how they can muscle in on the World or Warcraft and Everquest action, seeing as they were the original RPG.
I don't play online role playing games, and I don't think I would, because I am a weak, weak man, and I would lose everything within a month of signing up. But, I did used to play dungeons and dragons as a kid, d12s, d6s, maps on graph paper, some bastard playing at God and just making things up as he fufils his role of "dungeon master". It doesn't seem so shameful when I think of it in child context, but to think adults still do it.
But then, you've got nutter like Vtini, Dr. When and Stefanos who actually do go out and play roles for real. Is this shameful? You'd be a dick to suggests that these people should be ashamed of doing what they like, right?
Anyway, the crux is - do you have any hobbies or past times that have a bad press? Apart from spending time talking to people on an internet chat board. Is there anything that you'd like to do, but are probably held back by your own stereotyping?
Also - bonus topic! The increasing acceptance of adults engaging in imaginative play - should this be seen as moving forwards or backwards in terms of the way we communicate/interact?
BYE!
[ 10.10.2005, 08:59: Message edited by: Dr. Benway ]
posted
Writing poetry is probably as shameful as it got for me: we're talking really bad, lousy stuff in the summer of 1990 - reeling under the influence of Kerouac, Plath, Hughes - all those 5th-form classics. It's hard to overstate the feelings of embarrassment and self-loathing that take hold on the rare occasions I stumble across such material (the last time: while mining a stratum of "papers" in the coalface of accumulated childhood junk in the 'far room' at my dad's place). It's no surprise that poetic souls tend so often to be suicidal; anyone with an iota of self-knowledge feels their trigger finger itch upon re-reading teenage versifying.
Eventually, I guess, I developed a sense of shame and grew out of it; think it was around the time a peer of mine (not Omikin) shared his Jim Morrisson-influenced opus with me - sensing, no doubt, a kindred soul - and it dawned on me that writing poetry could, in certain cases, be worse than interfering with, you know, little girls.
ps. To Benway - thanks for the mag, I read it on the train back to Yo'sha and thoroughly enjoyed it - especially the NOES2 piece. Cannot agree with your correspondent on Eli Roth, but there it is. Look forward to seeing the second issue.
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I have joined an amateur operatic society. And it is just as you would imagine. There's even a lady vicar, a gay musical director called Malcolm, and a four-strong committee in charge of making the tea during the break. There's even a guy who comes every week, sets up a little table, and seems very important, but he just runs one of the raffles.
I joined because I love singing in a group, and this lot do a musical every summer, in the illustrious surroundings of the Kenneth More theatre, Ilford, and I've always wanted to be in a musical. But before I can flounce around the stage in a big dress next year, I first have to endure this year's Christmas show, which is a revue of 40s music, together with cringe-inducing over-literal dance moves. I've laughed out loud at some points at what we've had to do, to be met with quizzical looks. Everybody takes it so seriously.
What's more, somehow practically everybody I know has got hold of the performance date, unbeknown to me, and is going to come to watch me do ridiculous motions - 'I'm thinking Fosse here' [Malcolm] to 40s staples. It will be the most shaming couple of hours of my life.
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No, hang on. People have this preconception that game fishing is terribly expensive, and elitist and not for dirty little proles.
But it’s not true! I’ve met simply dozens of people on the river who’ve never even seen a butler!
Really though. It does irk me. Fishing is the biggest participation sport in the country, more people fish than go to watch football yadda yadda yadda. The kit’s not expensive – less than coarse fishing, certainly, and you can get a day on a decent lake for £30-40, with a half-day for about £20. This compares pretty favourably with a ticket for a Premiership match, which is 90 minutes of overpaid fuckwits falling over.
Of course, there are the £400 a day stretches of the Test, but that’s a bit like saying that hotels are expensive if you’ve only ever been to the Ritz.
Lovely day in the fresh air, always moving = good exercise, lovely and quiet and contemplative, you get to kill stuff and then eat it.
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Where to begin? I've done the teenage poetry thing; a shame compounded by the fact that a lot of what I wrote remains in VP's custody, where I can't really control its deployment. That's pretty bad.
Then there's the obvious shame stuff like reading comics, playing computer games etc etc. Oh and roller-skating. People seem to find the roller-skating really odd, although its actually quite pleasant. Having said that, I am aware that being a nearly-30 year old marketing exec skating round Hyde Park listening to Green Day on a Sony MP3 player does kind of scream 'wanker!' louder than almost anything else mentioned on this thread.
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After a "take up something new" thread, I promised Modge I would join a fencing club. That was about three years ago and the closet I've been to an épée since then is losing my temper (Haha, 1980s Deben High School reference: epee (Abr epileptic fit) - to lose one's temper in a berserka style. eg: "I'm going to throw an epee".
I expect to see Modge in Stratford, carving a 'Z' into the rear of some Bulgarian hopeful in the 2012 Olympics.
quote:Originally posted by jonesy999: I expect to see Modge in Stratford, carving a 'Z' into the rear of some Bulgarian hopeful in the 2012 Olympics.
I expect Modge to fuck Rick J up with one of those weird swords that are like radio antennae over on the 'Pettibone' thread.
She'll nick him on one of the major arteries in his neck with a 'Have at you, varlet' - but in French. And he'll be like: Argh Modge help me I'm dying, and she'll be sat there like: No fucking way, you totally dissed my husband you odd little bitch.
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quote:Originally posted by jonesy999: I expect to see Modge in Stratford, carving a 'Z' into the rear of some Bulgarian hopeful in the 2012 Olympics.
Well, y'know, I did join a fencing club last year. I did a "beginners course" of 10 weeks and really, it wasn't that good. I mean the fencing was good, wielding a sword and poking it at people, lunging around and all that. I liked that. But, the tutor was no good. He was an excellent fencer, but a dreadful teacher and the classes were dulldulldull. We had about 7 weeks of classes before he let us practice with an opponent, and he used to spend so long correcting each individual in the line that we'd spend 20 minutes "practising" the same little movement. It was quite disappointing because I'd wanted to try fencing since I was a childe and not being allowed to leap around the room/swing from chandeliers whilst slicing at someone was a bit of a let down. I'd try it again though with a different teacher and with my own mask, as wearing one that is shared amongst umpteen people in the club is a stinky experience.
I don't think I've had an embarrassing hobby since I was 8 and played bowls (as in carpet/grass bowls). I even won two (2) trophies which my mother still proudly displays in her hall. I was also quite good at darts and pool as a teenager and played in a couple of inter-youth club competitions. I think those skills come from being shipped around from pub to pub by my father when I was too young to be left home alone. See also: caddying skills.
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Oh, that's a shame to hear, Modge. I am thinking of doing a fencing course in my winter break (in the same way as I said I'd do ice skating lessons this year).
I flew to the other side of the world for geeksome LOTR stuff, but you all knew that already.
Fan fiction writing is the one hobby that I find completely unfathomable. Why on earth would you want to read somebody else's limp attempt at copying a great writer, or their limp attempt at copying a mediocre/bad writer? I've met fan fic writers, and they're seemingly well-educated and otherwise normal, indeed some of them are good friends now. But they write stories about what happened at Sam Gamgee and Rosie's wedding in faux-Tolkien style. How can this be right?
-------------------- What I object to is the colour of some of these wheelie bins and where they are left, in some areas outside all week in the front garden. Posts: 4941
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veep, I think it could be good - fencing, not fanfic, I too find that a bit baffling. The club I was at had two tutors, one who was pretty good and then my one. I think it is just sometimes the case with things like this (I've had a similar experience with yoga) that you get people who are pretty good at the sport and very enthusiastic about it, but they're just not able to teach well at all. Do try it though, it was more fun than I am making out.
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quote:Originally posted by Modge: I don't think I've had an embarrassing hobby since I was 8 and played bowls (as in carpet/grass bowls).
lol. Reading that reminded me of joining recorders after school thinking it was something to do with video recording and I'd get to borrow loads of cool videos to watch. The tragic thing was nobody told me otherwise until I got there and they thrust a wet plastic flute into my mouth. Also we didn't even have a fucking video machine so God knows what I was thinking.
Unfortunately these type of things still happen to me.
quote:Originally posted by Vogon Poetess: Fan fiction writing is the one hobby that I find completely unfathomable.?
I'm no expert on fanfic, but if you look at the work of - say - established horror writers in working up a 'Cthulhu mythos' around a handful of extant works by HP Lovecraft you can see much of the same impulse at work. Similarly, in the days when publishing was much more of a matter of knock-offs of the Latest Big Thing, whether that happened to be Robinson Crusoe or Pamela Andrews, there'd be be - I'm sure - as many lame stabs by besotted imitators as there were rip-offs by mercenary hack writers.
The inter-net just facilitates this sort of thing among non-professionals and - most importantly - makes it more transparent to the rest of us (anyone can visit a website whereas it isn't as if you're able to eavesdrop on the actual meeting of a 'society').
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Thank you Vogon Poetess for voicing what I've always thought about Fanfic, but was too fluffy and liberal to say....
I admire you all for the commitment and focus involved in sustaining a proper hobby. Thank you also Modge for making Fencing not sound glamorous and sexy as I thought it would be. If someone could do the same for ice-skating so I can stop vaguely considering it, I'd be grateful.
They're not exactly hobbies but I guess running/jogging is fairly unfashionable, if not as lethal as rollerskating. Hiking is definitely unfashionable (and cliched to boot) and involves the wearing of unattractive trousers, waterproofs and stupid hats. Also being overtaken by rock-hard fell runners who are the ubermensch of the mountains.
What about embroidery? I did that for a few weeks one long-ago skint winter but, in typical style started out with a very large canvas which I never finished. I also thought that it may have been an indicator of an incipient nervous breakdown and had difficulty wielding a needle with one hand and smoking materials with the other, so it didn't last long....
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i have a friend off the internet who writes britney spears fanfic. what ive read is pretty funny- britney sitting around in her dressing gown, scraping her toenails clean with the edge of her amex gold card, eating cheez- wizz, having the odd boredom wank, watching csi, just musing. i once stayed up until 3 am reading harry potter slash. girl- on- girl harry potter slash. featuring, like, two of the girl pupils being enslaved by one of the lady teachers. the reason i am not being very specific about which pupils and which teacher is because i have never actually read a harry potter book and so the only female character i know is hermione. and none of the girls were past the age of consent at that stage so i guess it was actually gay paedo harry potter slash. thats not very cool is it.
quote:Originally posted by OJ: Thank you also Modge for making Fencing not sound glamorous and sexy as I thought it would be.
I think the trouble with it is that until you are really good, it's a bit boring - much like learning to play the piano. Playing scales for hours and hours is way less fun that knocking out a bit of Chopin, but sadly necessary. Watching good fencers is exciting, and there is something a bit sexy in watching them being sweaty and skillful and sort of violent in a refined way. Unfortunately, doing beginners lessons mainly involves wearing a plastic breast plate, a sweaty glove and mask, and wiggling your thumb around to try to control the foil.
However, I did like the (very balletic)traditions with the formal greetings and bows, and all the lunging and stabbing. If you could persevere for long enough to have a proper fight(and buy your own equipment so you're only inhaling your own stale sweat) I reckon it would be good.
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quote:Originally posted by dance margarita: the only female character i know is hermione. and none of the girls were past the age of consent at that stage so i guess it was actually gay paedo harry potter slash. thats not very cool is it.
my husband would be grateful if you could pass on the url.
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posted
That's like any martial art though, isn't it? You start out with drills, forms, kata and practice the same movements over and over again until you've burnt yourself a new reflex arc. It must be the same with ballet...
And then after you can hold horse stance/plie/a lunge for over half an hour do they get you onto reverse spinning roundhouse/pas de plutot/chandeliers.
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quote:Originally posted by dance margarita: the only female character i know is hermione. and none of the girls were past the age of consent at that stage so i guess it was actually gay paedo harry potter slash. thats not very cool is it.
my husband would be grateful if you could pass on the url.
LOL and [choke]
But then you'd have to whip out your epee and spend the next 12 months defending his honour. So is it really worth it?
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Jesus. Is Carter the only person who didn't twig that dance margerita and discodamage were the same person, like, straight away?
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quote:Originally posted by Thorn Davis: Jesus. Is Carter the only person who didn't twig that dance margerita and discodamage were the same person, like, straight away?
No. But then again, I don't really care either. For what it's worth, I'd have no problem if TMO was just one person posting under a variety of ID's. As long as I'm amused.
Why the fuck is everyone changing usernames? I mean. What.
Jesus. I blame Barbelith. One existential hissy-fit and they're off to subtly modify their over-long ficsuits like a tribe of cobbler-helping elves.
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Carter, you're absolutely right (about the training at least ) which is why I think it was largely the tutor I had that put me off. If you have beginners in these types of sports/arts you have to be sure to make it interesting as well as teaching the technique. There's no harm in letting your beginners have a bit of a fight/try double pirouettes even though you know it is going to result in a big mess, because it is often fun and keeps their interest.
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