General Monthly Fun Q: What is your favorite hobby besides Magic?

Do you have a hobby besides playing and collecting Magic?
What is it? You may mention several hobbies if you'd like. You can also just name your favorite.

And why is that hobby so great? :)

Personally I enjoy watching Twitch content from Day[9]tv and ItMeJP. I also play board games with friends. They are two different kinds of hobbies. One is social and the other I do to relax alone. I have always found it strange how we, viewers, almost feel a friendship with that semi stranger behind the screen because we know them decently well but they don't know us at all. Is that called parasocial relationships?

Do you share a hobby with a friend on this exact forum that you know in real life?

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Past Fun Q
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(10) Most expensive card
https://riptidelab.com/forum/threads/weekly-fun-q-what-is-your-most-expensive-card.3569/

(9) Most Undervalued Card
https://riptidelab.com/forum/threads/weekly-fun-q-what-is-your-most-undervalued-card.3567/

(8) Favorite Standard Meta
https://riptidelab.com/forum/threads/weekly-fun-q-which-was-your-favorite-standard-meta.3565/

(7) Creature Power Creep
https://riptidelab.com/forum/threads/weekly-fun-q-creature-power-creep.3560/

(6) Worst Nightmare
https://riptidelab.com/forum/thread...ard-most-resembles-your-worst-nightmare.3555/
 
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Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
I play Dungeons & Dragons every other week in two different groups (so I get to play every week anyway :p). I enjoy listening to music, reading (which I don't do enough), mindlessly browsing the web (which I do too much), playing board games (which I also don't do enough), and every now and then I get engrossed by a new (or old) computer game (which I do too much, according to my wife ;)).

Can't say I like reading without some recommendations, right?

The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas is a fascinating and fantastic tale about a mysterious book that almost makes you belief its story could be based in reality
Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman is a book that explores and fights our ingrained assumptions about the nature of mankind, it reinforced my faith in humanity and might just restore yours
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger is a truly beautiful story about time-tangled lovers that had me all teary-eyed by the end
 
I play boardgames and tabletop miniature games with my friends.
Twice a week I am DMing. One group is playing Legend of the Fivie Rings and the other one Call of Cthulhu.
The I play video games, not as much as when I was younger. Mostly Souls like games and Metroidvanias.
What else sparetime I got goes to reading and painting miniatures.
I have read lots of books from Guy Gavriel Kay, an author I can highly recommoned. If you wann to start with one of his books try Tigana.
 
I'm a big anime guy. I'm involved heavily in the community both personally and professionally, and whether it's hosting panels at conventions or trading recommendations with friends, you'll find me.

I also raise chickens in my backyard. They're not too much work these days, but I'm working on plans to build them a new coop that's raised so it's easier to manage/clean and allows less water in when it rains.
 
I also play board games, though that occupies the same headspace for me as Magic.

Sailing is my other hobby, which is distinct from tabletop gaming. Having to focus on the things around me - the boat, the weather, my crew mates - feels very mindful and gives a real break from day to day worries.

I appreciate the book recommendations. The Time Traveller’s Wife is excellent and I’m always more open to suggestions from people with some established common ground. Tigana by Guy Gabriel Kay is my go-to recommendation for people who think they don’t like fantasy books. Neal Stephenson is a favourite author of mine, and Snow Crash would be a good place to start.
 
I run a D&D game (actually a Pathfinder 2e game now, but I wouldn't recommend that system) every Monday night. I've actually also transitioned to writing RPGs now. I have my own fantasy heartbreaker, Twilight Kingdoms. I'm working on a scifi game right now that pulls a lot of inspiration from Halo, Destiny, Mass Effect, and XCOM, and I've learned a lot from making that game, so I'll likely go back and overhaul Twilight Kingdoms when I finish with that.
 
I play a lot of boardgames and some D&D like apparently everyone here! Funny how most of us (myself included) aren't as fond of the D&D sets/mechanics despite of this. Anyhow, other hobbies of mine:

- I really like improv theater and spend a lot of time doing that (probably more time than on Magic these days).
- I've started tapdancing since this year
- I'm trying to learn to play accordion
- I enjoy singing in a choir, which I've reduced to a once-a-year project due to time constraints
- I'm a big movie-going-person

Furthermore, I pick up a lot of projects that I never finish, but those vary from comic-writing to running and never last more than a few weeks. I'm sure a lot of people can relate :)
 
I play a lot of boardgames and some D&D like apparently everyone here! Funny how most of us (myself included) aren't as fond of the D&D sets/mechanics despite of this. Anyhow, other hobbies of mine:

- I really like improv theater and spend a lot of time doing that (probably more time than on Magic these days).
- I've started tapdancing since this year
- I'm trying to learn to play accordion
- I enjoy singing in a choir, which I've reduced to a once-a-year project due to time constraints
- I'm a big movie-going-person

Furthermore, I pick up a lot of projects that I never finish, but those vary from comic-writing to running and never last more than a few weeks. I'm sure a lot of people can relate :)
That sounds awesome!

Do you play other instruments already?

Which movies do you like?
 
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Playing (occasionally), Modding (at this very second)

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Gardening, in my back yard and now also in a coworkers.

Besides that, occasionally woodworking, playing with LEGO, and other video games besides MC.
 

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
Gardening, in my back yard and now also in a coworkers.
In many countries, gardening in your coworker is forbidden ;) Sounds cool! I've always fantasized about having a cool garden, but found that I'm not really a gardener. My wife does most of the gardening together with the kids. We do have a nice little garden though. I particularly enjoy the lush wisteria because it draws a lot of happy sparrows :)
 
This is one of the reasons we have these monthly fun qs. We can express ourselves, learn a little about each other, learn a little from each other and form a bit stronger bonds with your internet gals and pals.
 
That sounds awesome!

Do you play other instruments already?

Which movies do you like?
I played violin and piano when I was younger but never really did anything with that unfortunately.

My personal favourite movie is “V for Vendetta”, but I highly recommend “Her” and “Arrival” (if you don’t mind movies that are a bit slower)
 

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
How great is that! Not to diminish the Wisteria and it's trellis (and swingset?) setup, but I love how many solar panels are in view just from this quick pic.
Yeah, they've started to become really common around here. There's so many, in fact, that the Dutch electricity infrastucture has problems channeling all the solar energy generated at peak hours. We're actually in the process of getting some of our own though, because green energy rules.
 
Yeah, they've started to become really common around here. There's so many, in fact, that the Dutch electricity infrastucture has problems channeling all the solar energy generated at peak hours. We're actually in the process of getting some of our own though, because green energy rules.
Nice. I have a set on my roof too, and they are great.
 
I kind of rotate my hobbies and get really into different ones for stretches of time, but can also jump in an out of them. I like maintaining a variety of different things to do. Aside from Magic I'd say my big hobbies are basketball (both watching and playing), woodworking, listening to music and podcasts, collecting/reading manga, and keeping up with movies/television.

Basketball is bigger to me than Magic, has been a mainstay in my life for the last 20+ years, and I've been playing and watching since I was about 10 years old. I don't get to play as much as I did in my younger days, but in my late teens and early 20s there were some Friday nights where my friends and I would just run pick-up basketball from 6PM-1AM at the local courts. Nowadays my physical activity is more just going to the gym for weight lifting and shooting around, but I still love the game whenever I get to play. I'm a diehard fan of the Los Angeles Lakers but really just NBA basketball in general. Aside from that I read a ton of basketball literature (currently reading Blood in the Garden, a recap of the 90s New York Knicks squad), keep up with a bi-weekly podcast covering league news, follow along with daily updates on the NBA subreddit, and I watch most every marquee matchup I can. During the season it's mostly following my team and any big matches between teams with great records that season, come the postseason I'll tune into most every game when I have a chance to watch. I make sure to watch all Finals games regardless of which teams are playing most years.

Woodworking is something I picked up around 4 years ago on a whim and it's been a fun way to decompress and get away from screens. My normal job is as a PM/Sr. Systems Analyst for an anatomic and clinical pathology lab that does a lot of patient care and research with cancers and other diagnosable diseases. A lot of my work is technical and maintaining our lab infrastructure, developing new workflows and improvements as necessary to optimize, and deploying + testing out new systems within the digital pathology realm. It's involved work but there's enough variety that I keep occupied and avoid boredom. That said, it is mostly working off a screen for 40+ hours a week so I like to get away from it with something more tactile and hands-on which is where most of my hobbies come in.

I mostly work with smaller pieces as I rent out a room in a house and only have access to a patio as my workspace here in San Diego, but I've gotten pretty good at making cutting boards, charcuterie and household items over the years. My biggest project was an outdoor patio set when I first got started that has been sitting pretty for 4 years now, build a few bookshelves two years ago, but most recently I'm researching and figuring out how to make watch boxes. I make things on request for people and also do restoration jobs like I did recently for an antique chair for a coworker and a wooden dog bowl set that needed refinishing. Usually I'll plan out a weekend for a bigger project where I'll just be out working with wood and my various tools for 8-9 hours each day. It's very rewarding and I like to make things for others so it's been a fun little side hustle whenever I come up with a new product that friends/coworkers might be interested in. I maintain a small IG page that I mostly dedicate to keeping up with my projects.

Finally I've always loved a good story and that's where movies, books, manga and podcasts all fall into that same niche and scratch that itch for me. Movie-wise I have the Regal pass so I see somewhere between 3-4 monthly by virtue of living really close to a Regal Cinema nearby so I'll watch most every big release that comes out. TV wise I'll jump in an out often binging shows trying to catch up, but there are a handful of shows that I keep up with as they release. Right now I've just completed Atlanta S3, binged the whole of Succession about a month ago, and I'm keeping up with Barry on HBO and I Love That For You on Showtime. My next catch-up show is going to be Better Call Saul as I haven't had a chance to watch any of Season 6 yet.

Finally manga is something that I've read since my teenage years and it's a shared hobby between myself and my younger sister where we've amassed a pretty large collection of our favorite series. I purchase new releases to keep up with ongoing series every 2 months or so and it looks like we're over 1200 now with most of them having been purchased in the last 5 years once we each had more disposable income. It was a goal of mine as a teen to one day own my favorite series and I'd say that I've definitely made that a reality at this point. My absolute favorite series of all time are Berserk, Vagabond, Monster, Slam Dunk and One Piece. I've been an avid reader of online scanlations for years and while I'll binge a series now and again, nowadays I'm only really just keeping up with One Piece and Kingdom on a weekly basis. Feel free to take a look at what I've got logged online, I love discussing any and all of my hobbies with anyone interested.
 

Jason Waddell

Administrator
Staff member
binged the whole of Succession about a month ago

Best show on TVVVVVVV. Cannot recommend Succession enough.

The wife and I started Severance this week and it is also very incredible (but in a super different way). This show and Escape ant Dannemora have completely changed my impression of Ben Stiller.
 
Best show on TVVVVVVV. Cannot recommend Succession enough.

It's funny that HBO had been trying to look under every rock to find the next GoT when this was just sitting right there. The drama is just as good as anything we got on GoT, they just replaced the medieval fantasy by heaping on an extra helping of family turmoil and voila. It's definitely my favorite show on TV right now, really looking forward to the next season.

I think it might edge out The Leftovers for me in my top 5 TV show pantheon (the others are The Sopranos, The Wire, Mad Men and Breaking Bad) depending on how they wrap it up.
 
Similar to Shams, basketball is a bit of a passion for me. I played a lot when I was in school, and reconnected with it in my 30s by getting into the NBA, and playing pickup in Philly. Pickup basketball in a big city was a pretty refreshing experience as someone that grew up primarily in the rural South. It was great (and often humbling) to show up to a court and play with people you'd never met. Unfortunately, that only lasted a couple of summers, because I kept getting hurt. I still watch a lot of games (specifically the Grizzlies), listen to podcasts, play fantasy basketball, and frequent a few different chat groups.

Painting is my biggest passion, and exists in the space between hobby and career for me. My day job is the manager of a metalworking studio, but I've been painting for about 15 years now. I got my BFA in Memphis and my MFA in Philly. I haven't exhibited since before the pandemic, but I've been steadily developing a new body of work. I have enough new work and Rona has chilled out enough that I'm actively seeking opportunities now that we are back in Memphis. I've been enjoying reconnecting with some of my old artist friends here. My studio is in storage as we start the process of finding a house, and I'm relegated to drawing and working on postcard sized paintings in our apartment in the meantime. It's been a struggle feeling the inspiration that comes with a change of scenery without having access to all of my equipment and the space to make large paintings and large messes. I may have to find a temporary studio space, because it could be 6 months before we get into a new house.
 
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