The Hobby Thread

[Myrsilus]

This was requested. So here we go...

Post about your hobbies, what your hobbies involve, why you like your hobbies, how long have you been doing them. You get the picture.

I'll start with a little contribution on my part... One hobby of mine is collecting martial arts weaponry. I currently have two sets of tonfa, one katana, one bokken, one shinai, one bo staff (one light, one heavy), and a wooden chinese straight sword.

I collect them for training and for just having them... Like cards or what-have-you... I've been collecting for about 3 years now and I intend to keep the process going and keep collecting more weapons to train with.

[akitaka]

I can't mention particular hobbies, but I have been cooking since I was maybe 12 ish, starting with simple white rice. Now I go nuts with whatever is in the fridge/cabinet; favorite dish being simply Gyouza (fried/steamed dumplings), made from scratch.

[MeneerDijk]

I don't have any hobbies i spend lots of time on, but i do like to take my camera and make nice pictures. No matter what the subject, i always like the challenge of making a picture that tells a story. And the trick is to leave out everything that distracts from the subject. If you manage to do this the picture is much more lively and exciting to look at.

[DarkFire168]

Mya.

Working out. I love lifting weights and running, mind you I'm not some meat head, but I just get a rush from pushing my physical limits as well as my mental ones. Also, it's a day of congratulations for me because I just beat my record of 375 lbs. on the seated leg press, I'm at 410 now! And I think I broke my legs!

Anyway.

Cooking, I love to cook. I learned from my mom, and my grandma, and I started learning how to cook on my own at a very young age. It's really quite exhilirating eating a dish you made yourself. It's a real rush to make delicious food.

Anime, I love it, can't get enough. I'll even watch stuff I know I'll probably regret just to be sure.

Drawing, I love to draw. I draw lots of stuff, portraits, scenery, etc. Just screw that abstract crap straight into the ground.

Reading, I love to read a great deal. I used to get in trouble with my teachers because I'd finish all my work and start reading.

Writing, nothing, in my own humble opinion, is as great an outlet for creativity as writing. It takes someone passionate to create a great work of literature, or even a good piece of fanfiction, especially stuff that strives to be original in at least some small way.

[NERD]

Cooking. Just got myself started after getting sick of TV dinners/fastfood crap.
Artsy stuff like photography/drawing/playing around with photoshop/painter. I happen to be an art major.
Gaming. Lounging around the internet, like we all do.

My nerdiest hobby is probably collecting, painting and playing Warhammer 40k. Gawd.

[l337m45t3r]

Which army?

<--- Eldar freak.

[Jormungand]

i guess growin weed is my hobbie i also make tye-dye shirts and fix up my green volkswagon van i aint a hippie or nothin tho

[NERD]

Oh I guess I'm not alone... The blessing of the Emperor indeed.

I have an army of Dark Eldar, but hasn't played a game in awhile- my only opponent also started college about a year ago. They should update the army as they've been doing the other WH 40k/WH armies. Even Wood Elves got new models.

[RDClip]

Cooking - anything I can afford
Drawing - getting better at manga style
Vidding - I make anime music videos
Writing - fanfics and original epics and scripts
Being a bastard that most hate - well, you can guess

[l337m45t3r]

There are rumours that the next iteration of the Eldar Codex will have a Dark Eldar section, but t'hose are pretty vague rumors, so I cant vouch for their veracity...

[Nessa]

My hobby is collecting and reading comics. I've been doing it for a few years now and have about 250 comics so far.

[l337m45t3r]

Any particular companies/properties?

[Cryslara]

I draw a lot, that's my major hobby. I occasionally write as well though, I'm fond of creative expression. And I collect things, just random junk mostly; like feathers, books and dragon ornaments.

[PiccoloNamek]

Photography.

http://www.gamingforce.com/xchange/portfolio.php?id=972

[Nessa]

Any particular companies/properties?

Mostly Marvel and DC, but I have some Darkhorse, Top Cow, Image and Oni stuff too.

[Ev0]

Computers. Mainly gaming, but recently I've become a bit of a hardware junkie, so if I had the time, I'd probably also be getting into overclocking. I also used to 'collect' MP3s over the internet, but that's on hold now thanks to bandwidth restrictions in my residence.

I'd probably have lots of hobbies if I had the time for them. RC Cars, for example, I'd love to pick up again. No, these are not crappy Tyco RC cars from Toys-R-Us, these ones have gas engines and do around 60kph (off road).

[Kass]

I read a lot and I also quilt. I've made several this year and made my daughter's flower girl dress yesterday. :)

[Pierrot le Fou]

Reading (to be, or not to be, that is a book I haven't read).
Mocking YOU (you pompadoured weiner-schnitzel).
Weight-lifting (maxxed out the calf-lift machine, 400, rawr).
Hallucinogens (of all different shapes and colour-- look at the colours!).
Languages (yo puedo parler en yotsu no gengo).

[JudoPorkChop]

Fighting games. From Tekken, to SC, to anything ever made by Capcom, I can play it to death.

Writing. Some will certainly not believe me to be anywhere near capable of doing so, but occasionally I write. Some fiction, an assload of humor and anecdotes, and it ends there.

Tactics and warfare. From chess, to Warcraft, to Final Fantasy Tactics, Front Mission and whatnot, I enjoy a good tactical battle every once in a while. I'm still the only enlisted man to ever beat my former squadron commander when we had our OpFor challenge (Opposing Force). I find it amazing that what was an ancient dynasty's treatise on war, still holds true to this day. I strongly suggest people read The Art of War.

Reading: I love me a good humorist. Lewis Grizzard, and Dave Barry are among my favorites there.

[sharpie]

RPG's including but not limited to Fallout, Final Fantasy, Diablo, Arx Fatalis, Tales of Symphonia, and too many others to mention.

I'm also a computer hobbyist who likes upgrading my computer components to get the most out of my system. Things such as putting a new motherboard or upgrading the RAM keeps me busy while I'm board, plus it saves money from buying a new computer in the future.

[PopCulturePooka]

Read Comics. Mainly Marvel, DC, Image and Oni. Oh and Udon's Streetfighter and Darkstalkers stuff. Got a varied taste, from X-books to Vertigo stuff. Got a few thousand.

Fashion. I spend a great deal of my disposeable income on clothes, accesories and style stuff. I like shopping for clothes.

Action figures. I have a huge collection of transformers, zoids, streetfighter figures, marvel legends and a few others. They are 'pop cultural' things. :D

Cooking. Cooking is always good.

Food snobbing. I like food. I like good restaurants. I like eating.

Reading. Whatever floats my boat. I'm currently reading Dogs and Demons.

[Katiekoneko]

Cooking- but I dont follow recepies I make up my own
Photography- enjoyable but Im not super good
Art- Im very good at it. Ive drawn since I was 2. i like crafts, I like drawing, I like painting. Over all I can draw almost anything. And paint anything. ART is the one talent I possess in life.
Shopping- its a hobby!!
Fashion- its a hobby.. I like it. I read about it. I wear it.. ya..stuff!

I have others maybe.. cant think of em.

[harper]

My main hobbies are reading and collecting comic books and regular books (mostly science fiction and fantasy). I worked in a comic store for 19 years and have been collecting them since I was 7 years old do my collection is fairly extensive. I have large runs of most major DC and Marvel titles form the last 40-45 years, along with runs of Archie, Disney, Harvey, Dell, and many independents. I also have several thousand books (hardcover, trade paperback, and paperback) and read around 130 books per year.

[hapacheese]

Videogames - It's become more work/research than an actual hobby lately, though =\
Reading - Try to do as much as I can in the little time I have.
Guitar - Been trying to learn on my own for a couple years now.
Writing - I'm about 20 pages into my first, full-blown novel-sized story. Up until, I've only done short stories up to 15 pages.
Singing - Was in a band for a little while... some friends started up a new band and need a vocalist, but they live about an hour away :(
Cooking - Though I do precious little of this lately, much to my fiance's chagrin. Just too damn busy.

[Uh_oh]

Rcok climbing, mountaineering, trekking, kayaking... really any type of outdoor sport. Although I don't know if these count as hobbies - more sort of full blown obsesstions. (My room is full of climbing gear, I have maganzine pictures of people mountaineering on my walls, I'm outside almost every free second I have and it's what I want to do for a job). I've been doing some sort of outdoor recreation since I was less than a year old when my parents used to take me camping and I hope to be mountaineering untill I die (preferably die while mountaineering - I'd like to die doing somethng I love. Not to say that I'm not going to try my hardest to stay alive in the mountains)

Reading - I will read anything when bored. Hence, I have accumulated a lot of random knowledge.

Darkroom work - I don't like taking pictures, but I love working in the darkroom. It's just so quiet and dark and really relaxing.

[Pete]

OK I wasn't going to post here as I'll come across as a total guitar geek but here goes lol.

I got into playing guitar when I was depressed and thought it'd give me something worthwhile to do. I wasn't prepared for how addictive it'd be :) I've been playing for around 6 years now and started an online guitar playing group, where every two weeks someone picks a new song and everyone tries to learn it, then uploads their MP3 cover of it.

I've not been able to play as much recently because I've had an old injury flare up in my left arm but I'm slowly getting back up to speed. I dabbled in music journalism and when I saw Matt Bellamy of Muse live I knew I had to learn to play :)

Other than guitar, I love playing football (soccer for the US contingent), squash and golf. I also love reading/writing and love going to the cinema.

[Jiant Flying Panda]

Video Games - Hmmmmm. I don't play much anymore for some reason. Could be due to the fact I have no money for new games, haha. So now my Xbox has like an inch of dust on it.

But. I do play CS (1.6) at least twice a day for about 40 minutes to 1 hour sittings. I used to go hardcore and play for like 3-4 hours at a time :o.

Also. I revert back to Fallout and Fallout 2 (My fav RPG ever) often. The game is like 6-8 years old but I still find new things to do in it.

Instraments - I said it in another thread but yeah im trying to learn the guitar right now. And so far, it seems like im on the path of failure once again.

Sports/Physical Act. - I dont play much sports but I do go out jogging pretty much evey night. As well as walk my dogs.

Theres more but im too lazy right now.

[Pete]

JFP - Don't give up with the guitar, the first 2 months or so are horrible for everyone. You'll see improvement if you keep at it ;)

[moo]

Running
Working out(love doing pull-ups as I excell in them)
I Like reading when I find a nice book.
Now Im gonna try computer programming, as I have a class in JAVA.

[Shamu]

I read alot of manga
I can sing like nothing else (I went to college on an opera scholarship)
My favorite hobby is riding horses (mostly dressage and show jumping, but I can ride with the best cowboy).
I like to cross-stitch when it gets too cold to do anything outside.
I consider shopping to be a hobby, so I'll put that too.
I like to bake cookies, especially the little one's with the rasberry filling.
That's about it...I think, unless you consider posting on these boards to be a hobby :p

[setrict]

Programming/Tinkering
Scifi in nearly any medium (anime, books, etc)
Woodworking (desks, cabinets, funky speaker enclosures)
Professional websurfing
mmorpgs in the past, nothing current though.

[Myrsilus]

I guess I should also mention that I love to sample foods of various cultures. I am especially partial to seafood.

I enjoy sparring... Whenever I can I love to test my abilities and hone them.

I love competing in fighting games... I know I'm good and I love to be able to destroy my opponents. But I need competition or this gets old.

Shamu, I am a fan of Habanera from Carmen... If I asked you to sing this opera, would you be able to? Not calling you out, I just want to know if this is much of your style.

[Shamu]

I guess I should also mention that I love to sample foods of various cultures. I am especially partial to seafood.

I enjoy sparring... Whenever I can I love to test my abilities and hone them.

I love competing in fighting games... I know I'm good and I love to be able to destroy my opponents. But I need competition or this gets old.

Shamu, I am a fan of Habanera from Carmen... If I asked you to sing this opera, would you be able to? Not calling you out, I just want to know if this is much of your style.
Yes I can. For my senior recital I did "Oh Mio Babino Caro", I've also sung almost all of Handel's "Messiah", and I did the "Lakme" duet (you know, the British Airways theme) with my friend for our final master class. That was fun! I'm a coloratura soprano technically (the really high stuff) but I have a really good range and do most of the alto stuff too. I can sing just about anything you throw at me. Classical, Jazz, Pop, whatever.
Some day I'll sing Habanera for ya ;)

[Myrsilus]

Yes I can. For my senior recital I did "Oh Mio Babino Caro", I've also sung almost all of Handel's "Messiah", and I did the "Lakme" duet (you know, the British Airways theme) with my friend for our final master class. That was fun! I'm a coloratura soprano technically (the really high stuff) but I have a really good range and do most of the alto stuff too. I can sing just about anything you throw at me. Classical, Jazz, Pop, whatever.
Some day I'll sing Habanera for ya ;)
I would love to hear you sing. I love opera as long as the person is skilled with their voice. That may seem like an idiotic statement, but I've heard many opera singers that... meh.

Oh that's another hobby... I love listening to music of all cultures. I especially enjoy going to see orchestras... But I've yet to go to an opera.

[Dresh]

Comics: right now I'm mainly keeping up with Teen Titans and Batman, I also saw a book called Xin based on the legend of the Monkey King which I picked up. I also tend to get Green Lantern from time to time. I have tons of Sonic comics which I'm considering Ebaying as a gigantic lot.

Fighting games: I love playing these, Soul Calibur is far and away my favorite series but I like Guilty Gear a lot as well.

General videogames: I also like Sonic the Hedgehog, Megaman, Castlevania, Mario and various other series.

Foreign food: I love trying all kinds of weird foods. I've determined that India churns out some of the finest cuisine in the world.

Cartoons: American, Japanese or from anywhere else I love cartoons. I want to work with them for my career.

Toys: I love getting a spiffy action figure every now and then. It's fun to pose them all about my room.

Weapons: Melee weapons have a great appeal to me. So far my collection consists of a bokken, two shinai, two kama, two tonfa, a pair of nunchakku, a Chinese wooden broad sword, a light bokken with a foam exterior, a bo staff and a plastic scythe. XD

Thinking: As mentioned earlier I want to work with cartoons in the future, but not draw them since I'm a crap artist. As a result five minutes can't go by without my mind jumping to one of the many television show ideas floating in my head. I'm constantly working on one series in particular trying to perfect it to be regarded as one of the finest peices of programming of all time.

[baslisks]

engineering. I could build a small army of robots if you gave me enough time. They would fly. Its just a personal preference. flying death from above is in the family.

[DarkFire168]

I guess I forgot to mention this but, strategy games, like go and shougi. My dad taught me how to play chess when I was young and then go and I'm learning shougi for fun.

[Daishikaze]

Fighting Games:

I love the more obscure Capcom entries like Rival Schools, Cyberbots, and Slam Masters. I'm a huge SNK fan, everything before Playmore is a treasure to me. Guilty Gear is an awesome series too, but it frustrates me abit too much.

RPGs:

I have tons of these for my Playstation (yes I'm pretty far behind in the gaming world).

Collecting Anime:

I'm a fan of the better material from before 10 years ago. I wish I had more money to spare to boost up my collection, I'm terrified that alot of the classic shows and films on DVD right now will be out of print before I get a chance to see them (Thanx to the fandom's "Older than me?, then it can't be good" Policy).

Collecting Manga:

I'm so far behind in this, it so hard to get English translated Manga over here.

Collecting Magic: The Gathering:

My Wife and I both do this, We had a few large boxes full of cards. I have most of the Precon decks going back to the Tempest block too.

Collecting D&D books:

My dad started this collection, but since he never used them, and I have a Wife who plays, I shipped every book over here for her.

[Soonerfan09]

Sports.
Baseball - Been playing since I was 5. (11 years)
Basketball - Been playing since I was 10. (6 years)
Football - Been playing since I was 10. (6 years)
Video Games - Been playing since I was 6. (10 years)

[p1c4z0]

My "hobby" is writing my thoughts and occurences in a comedic way.

[The Laughing Man]

My hobbies inlcude:

- Collecting Japanese Ttoys: I have a modest collection of Japanese anime related toys and merchandise. The links below are pics of some of my collections. Some of these are rather dated. Haven't uploaded any updated pics yet.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/omniexistence/My%20Collection/ChogokinCollection05.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/omniexistence/My%20Collection/ChogokinCollection04.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/omniexistence/My%20Collection/Gattai06.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/omniexistence/My%20Collection/HikaruStrike05.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/omniexistence/My%20Collection/HikaruStrike01.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/omniexistence/My%20Collection/HikaruStrike02.jpg
Some Gundams (http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y9/animetribe316part4/Toy%20Reviews/Dendrobium06.jpg)
1/174 Scale GP-03 Dendrobium (http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y9/animetribe316part4/Toy%20Reviews/Dendrobium25.jpg)
1/174 GP-03 Dendrobium (http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y9/animetribe316part4/Toy%20Reviews/Dendrobium31.jpg)
1/60 Queadluun Rau: Milia Fallyna type (http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y9/animetribe316part4/Toy%20Reviews/OmniX016.jpg)
1/60 Queadluun Rau w/ 1/144 QR kit and 1/60 Super VF-1J (http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y9/animetribe316part4/Toy%20Reviews/OmniX021.jpg)
1/48 Super VF-1J Milia Fallyna in Fighter (http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y9/animetribe316part4/Toy%20Reviews/OmniX040.jpg)
1/48 Super VF-1J Milia Fallyna in Fighter w/ armaments (http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y9/animetribe316part4/Toy%20Reviews/OmniX041.jpg)
1/48 Super VF-1J GERWALK Mode (http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y9/animetribe316part4/Toy%20Reviews/OmniX050.jpg)
Milia's Super VF-1J Evolution (http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y9/animetribe316part4/Toy%20Reviews/OmniX034.jpg)

I also have a somewhat extensive collection of anime DVD's, VCD's, VHS, and even Beta tapes. These were collected over an 18 year period, and I have over 300 titles (not episodes) in my collection.

I also have about 55 artbooks (mostly Shirow, Macross, Ureshihara), 25 manga titles, and other stuff.

- Drawing (manga/anime style): I love to draw. As recent as 3 years ago, I switched from western style art (DC, marvel, Image), to manga/anime. My biggest influence is Masamune Shirow, and Haruhiko Mikimoto. I'm also working on an indie-manga titled 'Rush.' I'm co writing the story, and I'll be doing the artwork for the whole manga.

Check out my gallery below.

My Fanart Central Gallery (http://fanart-central.net/pictures.php?op=thumbnails&artist=OMNI-X)

- Reading/Studying The Occult: I like reading and learning anything about the paranormal.

- Cooking: I like to cook. Japanese and Chinese dishes. I'm also experimenting on Greek and Italian cooking.

So far that's it for my hobbies. I do some gaming on the side, but I'm not as involved with gaming as I am with toy collecting. :D


xXx The Laughing Man xXx

[Dae_Dae]

My hobbies are reading, writing, drawing, singing, play guitar, anime and manga, being perverted, and studying the Japanese culture

[psychicstooge]

I collect CDs and vinyl records. I currently have somewhere in the vicinity of 730 CDs, and approximately 350 vinyl records. Many of these albums are somewhat esoteric, and I've obviously spent quite a bit of money over the years. Some of them, of course, are things that I grew out of over time. Many of my vinyl records were a gift from my high school's drama teacher, and there's a lot in there that I really don't care for, but there were a few gems to be found.

I greatly enjoy photography, but don't devote as much time to it as I'd like. My subjects tend toward nature close-ups, ruined/abandoned buildings, and various man-made creations left to the hands of time. I prefer working in black and white, but color is fine as well.

I write and play music regularly. Mostly guitar and bass, but also delving into, for lack of a better term, "experimental" pieces using electronics, found sounds, field recordings and the like.

I like video games (mostly first-person shooters; stuff like the "Medal of Honor" series is a big favorite), but I'm not up to speed on releases from the past few years. My computer is old and outdated, and I don't own any newer console systems. I also, like many gamers my age probably do, have an affinity for the Mario Bros. franchise. I have probably spent well over a year of my life playing Super Mario Bros. 3, beating it and then starting over again. (Hell, I bought a GBA just so I could play SMB3 without having to pull the NES out of storage!)

Probably more stuff to mention, but I can't think of anything else right now.