What are some of your major interests/hobbies?

[TsarMatt]

I'm sure there have been posts and threads on here that have vaguely detailed your interests/hobbies, but I think it'd be cool if we had a thread devoted to them. I think it's a cool way to get to know some of the posters here better, too. My main interests/hobbies are:

Film - I've always had an ardent passion for everything film. I'd love to direct someday, but it's such a tough industry to break into. I might make a short film in the future, though, providing I have the necessary equipment and budget. But yeah, I love the art of filmmaking. I love watching films. I love discovering new films. I love watching my favourite films. It combines all the mediums of art together... It's the most complete form to me.

Global politics - Over the last 5 years, I've developed a huge interest in global politics and international relations. I'm always constantly reading about how the world works, how countries relate with other countries, why certain states act the way that they do, what role media has, etc, etc.. It's a broad subject, but there is so much to explore, and that makes it very compelling. I am also majoring in politics & public policy at university, so I'm studying something I have a grand interest in.

Tennis - Pretty obvious. I don't think I have anywhere near the same amount of passion or knowledge of the sport like some here do, but I still love it anyway. I could just tune out for a whole day and watch nothing but tennis. Funnily enough, though, I never really loved the sport until I was around 16-17. Before that, it was only a casual interest. But yeah, I love tennis.

History - I'm a huge 20th century history buff. I've never been too keen on history from, say, the Middle Ages or even the Ancient times, but I always read about events and happenings from the 20th century. I guess this sort of interrelates with my interest for politics, too.


These are my main interests/hobbies, I think. How about you?

 

[Kieran]

I tick a few of those boxes, Matt.

Film: I'm not as expert or consumed as you but I've loved movies since I was a kid. I remember when I was about 8 years old (in the 70's) Gone With The Wind came on at Christmas. The family history associated with the film, all the talk about where my parents saw it - and they were babes when it came out - the actors and actresses, the drama behind the casting choices, the Stella cinema, in Rathmines: the film became epic before it even started. It had an intermission, and I sat transfixed throughout it all, imagining and loving those old silver screen days, through a nostalgic haze of youth. I grew to have different tastes than my parents, but the impulse is the same as I had aged eight, and I love the ability of movies to take us from here and transport us to somewhere that we've never been.

Music: Mozart obsessive, classical buff, huge Dylan fan, and I love old Lenny Cohen too. I travel to places like Rome and Vienna to watch operas. If I'm in a large city, I scour the entertainment sections for music. In the National Gallery in London, they have a theatre and I saw Sir John Tomlinson sing Michaelangelo's poems set to music by Hugo Wolf, Benjamin Britten and Shostakovich, accompanied by piano. It was bliss. Stuff like this attracts me. In Vienna, there are pushers on every corner, but not hookers and drugs: string quartets and piano solos. I've heard great work by Mozart, Haydn, Schubert and Beethoven, just by following a dodgy bloke down an alley.

And no, they don't send a girl over to sit on your lap while you listen. :laydownlaughing

History: Like you, I love reading about history, but my favourite period is Ancient Greece and Rome. It's so bloody modern! I love reading about the Spartans, and the way they concealed their cultured minds, so they wouldn't be thought of as weak. Rome, a filthy backwater that became the greatest empire we've ever seen - given that Rome is only a city. I'm going there in August with my sister and nephews, it's their first time. I can't wait to see it again, through their eyes.

Travel: When I can, I'll go. End of.

Theology: I read theology books the way I read anything else: I chew it up with relish. Not just minutiae of the Church, but I go into comparative stuff too, and I read other religions from their own perspective. But mainly Catholic dogma and the wisdom of the saints, and popes. Benedict XVI is a pope I have a lot of time for, and his readings are both informative, and mystical, and he brings a simplicity to the way he writes, but not at the expense of depth and meaning. There's never a trivial word or phrase.

I don't mind to sit and discuss these things with atheists, lapsed Catholics, cafe Catholics, Muslims, Protestants, whatever. I love to hear and read what others are saying, and thinking.

Books: Hemingway, Steinbeck, John MacGahern, these are my current man-crushes, I'm reading a lot by these men. All-time favourite book is Don Quixote, as translated by Edith Grossman.

Great idea for a thread!

 

[Riotbeard]

Great thread Matt!

Film as well. I watch a lot of classic high-brow movies. But I have also been a fan of genre films, horror movies in particular since I was a kid growing up (90s I guess). Me and my best friend would go to the video store and rent 3 monster movies and stay up all night.

Cycling/Yoga: I spend a lot of time riding my bike. Right now, I have kind of leveled out at the 30-40 mile ride, but hoping to hit 50 miles in a day soon. I also do a lot of yoga and meditation. I have lately gotten into Bikram yoga (yoga in a 105 degree farenheit room).

Music: I go to a decent amount of indie rock and punk shows. I also like a lot of old folk and country music.

Comedy: I love watching stand up comedy. My favorites (living) are Collin Quinn, Bill Burr, Louis CK, Ricky Gervais, and Joey CoCo Diaz.
That might be it. I also love history but it's a profession for me. I am working on my doctoral dissertation in history and that takes up most of my life. Oh yeah, and I also like watching other sports including American college Football and mixed martial arts.

 

[Kieran]

What kind of history you studying, Riotbeard?

 

[shawnbm]

This is a most excellent thread indeed. A lot of what some of you mention I already follow. I love good film (but don't have the time to watch as much as I once did), music, history and current events. Being a child of the early to mid-Seventies (I am around Kieran's age), I love all the music one could hear on the old AM radio and then as it crossed over to FM. Regularly played music was much more varied than the pick what you like music of today whereby one can compartmentalize their tastes and avoid certain genres. So, I love the Big Band and Swinging Singers era of Sinatra, Dino, Bennett, Jo Stafford and Rosemary Clooney, as much as I can jam to Santana, The Band, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Doobie Brothers or Steely Dan. I listened to Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Glen Campbell, Waylon Jennings and George Jones for a few hours just yesterday afternoon on Pandora. I love Baroque music (sucker for the harpsichord), but Mozart and Handel from the Classical period just as much. Then, the Romantics like Beethoven, Chopin and Liszt are just as compelling. Al Jarreau and Billie Holiday? Absolutely! A little Bee Gees f/k/a The Brothers Gibb and the funk pioneers like Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder and George Clinton's groups? You know it!

In terms of history, I love European history, as well as that of my own nation. I am a Hispanophile, so anything about Spain and its history, but especially the epoch of Hapsburg Spain, is a fascination of mine. Over all of that is my love of ecclesiastical history, with an emphasis on Catholicism and the Orthodox. That has led me to read a lot of ecumenism and the rise of Protestantism. I read often on those topics and have read a bit of Pope Emeritus Benedict's writings like Kieran. In terms of modern history, I have a great fascination with the First World War and its impact on the world and history itself. The magnitude of that conflict's impact on global politics, sectarian violence in the Middle East, the Balkans and in Africa cannot be understated.

That leads right into current events and the various hotspots around the globe. And I think I have said enough. Let us hear from others!

 

[Riotbeard]

What kind of history you studying, Riotbeard?

First Shawn: Love Haggard and Cash! Favorite old country singer though is Hank Williams Sr.


Kieran, I work primarily on 19th but also 20th century history of race, science and medicine in the United States. It's primarily history of ideas. My dissertation is on the relationship between medical and racial theory in the early nineteenth century (so before Darwin).

My more general history interests are U.S. race relations, history of political philosophies and ideas, history of medicine and concepts of the human body, and I do love a good biography.

Here is a unsolicited book recommendation. It's my favorite book that people should who are not historians, but is on the weirder side: Drew Gilpin Faust. This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War . Really makes you rethink the civil war and war in general. I think it won the Pulitzer so not too obscure. http://www.amazon.com/This-Republic-Suffering-American-Vintage/dp/0375703837

 

[britbox]

I seem to have fairly similar tastes to some of the others posting on this thread:

History:

I'm a big history buff and particularly interested in anything from the late 16th century onward. Henry VIII through to the present day. I find 17th century British and European history compelling and have devoured dozens of books on the English Civil War and the various struggles for power around Europe. shawnbm mentioned the Hapsburg dynasty and that was another area of keen interest. Likewise, the evolution of battlefield tactics and the great generals such as Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. Prussian/German history is also particularly fascinating.

I retain a keen interest in World War II, my late grandfather was a WWII vet who was at the famous battle of Monte Cassino among other campaigns. He would only ever mention the war if somebody specifically asked about it and I was forever picking his brains. A tough man from a tough period. I have the honour of being the custodian of his war medals.

Movies:

Enjoy a good flick but not a "buff" as such. Certainly not on the level of TsarMatt. I enjoy war films (i.e. Platoon, Saving Private Ryan) and older stuff like Zulu and The Bridge on the River Kwai.

Also like fantasy such as Lord of the Rings.

Have a particular aversion to RomComs and not a fan of musicals (other than Grease)

Other than that, enjoy films across the genre spectrum

Music:

Not a music buff either. Don't follow specific bands as such - just enjoy specific tracks, and it can be by anyone. I like a wide range of stuff from stadium rock to love songs.

Can't stand rap stuff. It's a load of crap IMO.

Sport... SPORT SPORT:

Always been mad on sports... and can watch pretty much anything. Love competition. Watch less than I used to but that's because of time commitments rather than waning interest. If I've got time, I'll watch sport.

Football (Soccer) was my first love, Boxing, love international Rugby Union. Used to watch a lot of NFL back in the day (big Raiders fan) - less so now. Tennis of course + athletics, cycling... virtually any sport really.

Played a lot of football but got a double compound fracture of my right leg (tib & fib) in 98, so reduced it to 5 a sides after that. Got back into tennis, which I played quite a bit as a kid. Recovering from a torn calf muscle right now, but will be playing again as soon as that heals.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Soccer: My favorite sport. Juventus and Italy fan. Needless to say, I'm sour over the latter after a disastrous World Cup. I'm not too thrilled with the former either due to the inactivity on the transfer window. I'm quite a decent socccer player myself.

Tennis: A bit of a "down time" for me with Rafa's injury, and now that the majors are over (I honestly don't care much for tonight's US Open final), it will probably stay this way until next year, unless we get an interesting WTF. I'd call myself an adequate player with an occasionally good forehand and some boneheaded decisions to rush the net (give me a great serve and I've just described Andy Roddick!)

Basketball: Long time NBA fan. Michael Jordan is probably my favorite athlete of all time. OKC fan right now, with the Knicks being a close second. Used to be a good point guard as a kid but I ditched playing basketball in favor of Soccer.

MMA (Mixed Martial Arts): Again, another "down time" for me as I'm not thrilled with the state of the UFC and some of their embarrassing decisions as off late. I used to cover the sport for some websites as a part time living, but I've grown a bit weary and burned out lately. I still do podcasts and drop in the occasional article. I'll likely go back to writing weekly columns at some point once my passion reignites. I have a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Movies: The Lord of the Rings trilogy is my favorite movie of all time (yeah I know it's cheating to lump them all together). The Godfather, Inception, the Dark Knight trilogy (I'll be appearing on a podcast on Thursday to review it. If anybody's interested in listening let me know), Seven and Once Upon a Time in the West are favorites as well. There are plenty of others but those stick out.

TV Series: This is actually a relatively recent hobby of mine that I've grown quite passionate about. I never was a fan of TV series for some reason (I never could explain why and I never gave them a real chance), until I watched Dexter a little under two years ago. Then I moved to Game of Thrones and well, that was a great decision. I've since more or less caught up with all the classics and continue to be in the process of doing so, while keeping up with current shows.

Music: Big hard rock/heavy metal fan but I have an open mind about most music. Also a blues, flamenco and Jazz fan. I've been playing electric guitar for over 10 years and it's one of my great pleasures in life. Favorite Bands: Iron Maiden (all time favorites), The Scorpions, early Metallica, Dio, Death. Favorite guitarists: Paul Gilbert, George Lynch, Gary Moore...

Scuba Diving: Been doing it for 5 years or so now. Absolute joy.

Wild life: Been fascinated by wild animals ever since I was a child. Big Animal Planet/Nat Geo nerd... Sharks are my favorite animals and that was a huge part of the reason why I started Scuba diving. Luckily, I've encountered sharks on a few dives and they were some of the most thrilling experiences I've ever encountered.

Video Games: Yes, I'm a video gaming nerd. Will probably be buying a PS4 soon as all the major games are finally getting released and are looking quite awesome. Some of my all time favorite video games are the Mortal Kombat series, God of War, the Batman Arkham series, the Uncharted series, the Last of Us, the Assassin's Creed series, Red Dead Redemption, and the GTA series.

History: Always been a history buff. Been watching quite a lot of war documentaries recently. I sadly don't have as much time to read books (not just history books, but books in general). Recently watched a great documentary about the Lebanese civil war of 1975-1990 (Lebanon is my country of origin). Too bad it's in Arabic. If I find a subtitled version and anyone is interested, let me know.

True Crime: I have a weird (but not creepy, I promise!) fascination with serial killers. I don't want to use the word "favorite" for obvious reasons but I'll say "most interesting" serial killers are the BTK killer, Edmund Kemper, Robert Berdella, and The Zodiac.

 

[Kieran]

Sharks, buddy. My own faves too. Sleek and cool, and straight to the point. Never swam with them, but I did business with a few, in my time. :snigger

Sharks are unbelievably beautiful, too...

 

[tented]

Sharks, buddy. My own faves too. Sleek and cool, and straight to the point. Never swam with them, but I did business with a few, in my time. :snigger

Sharks are unbelievably beautiful, too...

"Jaws" had such a devastating effect on sharks, but credit to Peter Benchley for everything he did trying to undo the damage he inadvertently caused.

 

[Kieran]

Did he? I wasn't aware.

Recently, I've seen mention a few times of gigantic deep sea sharks. One rose to the surface and swallowed a huge shark with one bite. Another, the Goblin shark, looks like a violent creature from a sci fi fillum...

 

[tented]

From Wikipedia's entry on Peter Benchley:

In the last decade of his career, Benchley wrote non-fiction works about the sea and about sharks advocating their conservation. Among these was his book entitled Shark Trouble, which illustrated how hype and news sensationalism can help undermine the public's need to understand marine ecosystems and the potential negative consequences as humans interact with it. This work, which had editions in 2001 and 2003, was written to help a post-Jaws public to more fully understand "the sea in all its beauty, mystery, and power." It details the ways in which man seems to have become more of an aggressor in his relationship with sharks, acting out of ignorance and greed as several of the species become increasingly threatened by overfishing.

Benchley was a member of the National Council of Environmental Defense and a spokesman for its Oceans Program: "[T]he shark in an updated Jaws could not be the villain; it would have to be written as the victim; for, worldwide, sharks are much more the oppressed than the oppressors."

 

[DarthFed]

Cool idea for a thread TsarMatt!

Sports:

American Football has always been my favorite. Looking back at childhood memories a lot of it is of watching the Packers every Sunday in the Fall. I still love it now and it's the only sport I will actually sit and watch all day even if my team/player isn't playing. Fantasy football only makes it that much more intriguing. If you guys think I'm nuts watching tennis you'd hate me around a Packers game a lot more. My parents often kicked me out of the room by halftime if the Packers were stinking it up.

After that it's bball and tennis as far as favorite sports. I really loved Bball back in the day when Jordan reigned supreme. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that I've never seen an athlete close to that, not in the sports I've watched. Combination of amazing skill and hard work meeting the greatest competitor imaginable. The NBA took a big hit for a long time after he retired but it is very good again these days. Many big time stars and all around great play IMO.

Tennis is still right there. I think the game is looking pretty healthy though there are several potential improvements and one thing that could possibly turn me away once Federer retires is the lack of controls or should we say lack of care regarding drug use. The Cilic case start to finish says it all for me and following what we heard about Andre it isn't surprising yet is highly alarming. I have little doubt that PED's are prevalent in today's game and I also now have little doubt that the ATP will not disclose if any good player fails a test.


History: I really like ancient history the most, Greek and Roman history in particular. Medieval history never intrigued me but I do enjoy the U.S. colonial period as well as the Civil War. I've been to several of the battlefields and read books on some of the generals in the War. The Napoleonic wars are also great to read about. I read a couple books on the Little Corporal! I do want to read more about World War I and II in the future.

Hobbies:

Can't say I play enough tennis anymore and haven't played on a consistent basis since high school. I was pretty good when I started out at age 12, I was just a lot bigger and stronger than most of the kids, 5'8 and 140 pounds at age 12. I quit after a couple years, too much practice, not good enough results and that temper I keep talking about. Started up again as a junior in high school and played on the team, wasn't ever exemplary and wasn't in the best of shape in high school. I actually think I'm quite a bit better now than high school just due to being in better shape but I'm not match tough to say the least.

I used to play a lot of chess starting in high school up until a few years ago. The game came natural and it is truly a game where the attitude that your life rides on the game is perfect to have. Makes you focus that much clearer, makes it that much easier to convince yourself everyone you play is the biggest asshole in the world, etc. Following a couple good years playing on the high school team I briefly considered skipping college and playing chess full time. But I love money and chess doesn't have enough of it. Still played one big money tournament most years up until 2011. Had decent success but there was a lot of money left on the table that I haven't forgot about.

Now the new "hobby" that drove me out of chess is a side business. I help my brother with his internet publishing business and get some good side money. A lot of free time is spent doing that now. Started that up in late 2011 and haven't brought myself to play a chess tournament since. Barely play a game these days, just a few vs. the Iphone and I've come to realize I'm slipping. One of these days I will be so offended that I get back into the game

Movies: Definitely love the original Star Wars trilogy but surprisingly not too much other sci fi though Lord of the Rings was excellent. Like good action movies such as Gladiator, 300, Collateral, etc. but also comedies, I practically grew up watching Animal House dozens of times. Other ones like Old School, Wedding Crashers, Hangover 1 are all great to me as well.

Music: I think I'm fairly similar to BritBox in that I don't go out of my way to listen to any particular band or genre. I like the oldies; the Beatles especially. I will listen to some of the crappy Pop these days too. The only difference with BB is I actually used to like rap. It is garbage now but the old 90's stuff is OK, kind of brings back those childhood memories

Travel: Haven't done too much traveling aside from a 10 month span in 2009-2010 where I went to Beijing, a resort in Mexico for a destination wedding, and Greece. My bud from China keeps bothering me to come back and one of these days I will cave. He now lives in a "small" Chinese city (still the population of New York) near Hong Kong so it'd be fun to go back. If I go back to Greece I will be mostly touring the islands I think. Aside from that I'd like to go to Italy and London (my brother and I are talking about hitting up Wimbledon next year).

 

[Riotbeard]

Have to say I am a dolphin/ Porpoise fan myself. Boo to sharks . Going to college in coastal south carolina, you could regularly catch schools of dolphins. Really beautiful. Very similar humans capable of great kindness and extreme cruelty. Very interesting animals.

 

[Horsa]

My main interests are history & animals & my hobbies are reading classics, history & poetry books & books on animals though I have been known to read the odd Catherine Cookson & Lyn Andrews + I'll try to read anything except Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Indian, Japanese & Russian because I know I'm not smart enough to even attempt to learn those languages, typing mainly poems, short stories, songs & other pieces I come up with & singing country, folk, some pop & soft rock songs & trad. Scots/Irish songs as well as songs I write myself at times. (My Brother-in-law left a book on Swedish on my book-shelf when I was in Middle School. I read it though I only remember tack bra means thank you very much. You just don't leave books in front of me unless you want me to look at them. I don't always finish what I'm reading. I give most books a good go but if they're too disturbing I just leave them.)