What is Your Longest Running Intrest and Why?

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1) So whats your longest running special intrest?

2) Why has it stuck with you for so long?

1) For me it is stop-motion animation. In 1977 when I was 7 I watched a documentary about Disney animation when they showed who they do their cell animation. Right after the documentary my father and I watched the 7th Voyage of Sinbad, I remember seeing the cyclops for the first time and was amazed beyond belief at it as it did battle with the evil wizard's dragon. I asked my dad how did they do it and he told me with puppets. So I figured they did the animation like the Disney animation but with puppets moved one frame at a time. I watched any film or tv show that featured some form of stop-motion trying to figure out more of this great artform. Then one day I saw on pbs a documentary on how they made Frog and Toad are friends and knew this was for me. Then a few weeks later I saw another documentary on the behind scenes methods of making Star Wars and I saw Phil Tippet animation a Tauntaun and the Rancor which further cemented my love of the art.

2) Everytime I start to loose intrest someone puts out another great film using stop-motion that re-kindles my intrest and love of stop-motion.

I think mine has to be roads. I'm not alone tho:

www.sabre-roads.org.uk

1) So whats your longest running special intrest?

Science. It's reality. It's how the universe operates and few people even realize how it works.

2) Why has it stuck with you for so long?

Because it's reality.

Maps and weather. I've been into both since before I could read. Not sure why, really, just is. I want to wallpaper a few walls in my office with old maps. Any maps--maps of the world, oceanic floor, mars, whatever. Maps are just cool...

Blood donating. This i was my world. And I build other service and autrusism around it, (added on my repetirore), Another is posting to Exmormon.org. I help those who are questioning their faith, at their request.

Ironically, Mormonism, My four years as a Mormon was the longest I've ever done anything (besides Scouts), (although my slide to aspotacy was two years in the making), I went to the temple, many times (that was my Identification... my schitick).

Physical Fitness: Weightlifting, Running, Cycling, Walking, Eating Healthy, When I was twelve, the best solution I could come up with to adapt to verbal attacks. At the time I just wanted to get strong as I could to survive. Additional benefits I did not expect or understand at the time were improvement in coordination, confidence, focus, reduction of hyperactivity, greater resistance to stress, maintenance of mood, reduction of stuttering, and best of all hope for positive change that I could directly influence. My core coping mechanism in life. Without it, I doubt I would of had much success in life. It increased my enjoyment of every other special interest I had in my life. At 50, it is much harder, but I haven't given up on it yet.

I've wanted to be rich since I was in primary school. Money's pretty much a long term obsession for me. The reasons why are too long to explain, really.

Helicopters are my one long-term interest (though I haven't indulged much lately). It started when I was in high school and read a book called "Chickenhawk," which was written by a guy who flew "hueys" in Vietnam. It was an odd book, half war memoir and half technical descriptions of how helicopters work and how to fly them (but I loved it). After that I read everything in the library I could find (small library, though, so it wasn't that much). The city's main library had more and an engineering book on helicopter design that I poured over many times.

My latest move is to save up for an RC heli, as in the last 2 years or so companies have started making really small ones with 'real' rotor heads (many small models used fixed pitch rotors which no real helo has), and inexpensive 3-axis stabilization. The size reduction (& the new 'crystal' gyro technology) reduces the cost of ownership from thousands to hundreds, so I might be able to pull it off by next Spring.

As to why so long.... uhhh, I dunno.

I guess there are things that re-ignite it from time to time. When "Blackhawk Down" happened (and then again with the movie) it got me wondering how the Somalis knew such a smart way to shoot down helos. They really seemed to know what they were doing, and it didn't seem likely there would be a lot of pilots, mechanics, or engineers in Mogadishu to advise them about it. Well, it turned out of course that the CIA taught them how, in order to fight the Russians in Afghanistan (there were some Somali mercenaries there).

And there's often helos in movies. I.e. Terminator 2, Mission Impossible (forget which one), Jurassic Park, The Perfect Storm, a lot of James Cameron's movies (saw True Lies on TV last night; great helo rescue scene), and on and on.

My longest interest has been road maps/buildings. I have been reading maps since I was about 3 years old, although I was unable to give directions back then! (It took me until I was 12 to learn my left and rights!) I have always had a special interest in buildings, especially... and I know this is REALLY odd... 1960s/70s ones. I think it might be because of the symmetry of them rather than actually finding them attractive... After all who would think the Heygate estate in London is attractive... Amazing more like.

I have been drawing buildings since I was 10 years old. No one really knows how or why I suddenly learnt to draw buildings in perfect perspective... I just did! It was about the only thing I COULD do at the time. I used to escape into the little worlds I was drawing when I was depressed.

I'll give a few links of my photos/drawings on Deviant art. Please feel free to browse them all if you wish

Heygate estate:

http://housekid.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2qpr22
http://housekid.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2qpqwp
http://housekid.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2om8wn

Random derelict buildings

http://housekid.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2penj8
http://housekid.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2orrmf
http://housekid.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2orril
http://housekid.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2nspup

Okay I'll stop there!

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I have HFA, ADHD, OCD & Tourette syndrome. I love animals, especially my bunnies and hamster. I skate in a roller derby team (but I'll try not to bite )

Henry II of England. Because his reign included Eleanor of Aquitaine (wife), Good King Richard, Evil King John (sons), Robin Hood & Merry Men, the time when God & His Angels Slept, the creation of all of England as one kingdom, etc. It's just very interesting.

Medieval times and fantasy. When I was a baby, my mother used to read me the King Arthur stories to sleep every night. I always dreamed I was a brave knight who made friends with all the dragons and goblins and slayed the Horned Owl. The evil Horned Owl was something I made up after continued nightmares about owls with spikes (I was an odd child). During the day I ran around the house as a wizard, using a stick as a wand and a broom as a staff. My cat Indy was my wizard friend who accidently got cursed and forever was stuck in the body of a white tiger. Then I discovered Lord of the Rings, which further inspired my insane fantasies.
When I first watched "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", I started actualyl getting into the reality of the middle ages. I researched the Blach Death, the Crusades, knights, torture methods and various other things. I was officially stuck with it. I went to see two Medieval Times shows, I got The One Ring to Rule them All (I'm wearing it now), I did dozens of essays on torture and knight ettiqute (I got put in therapy for the first one), and I ended up creating two seperate worlds; the real Medieval times, and MY Medieval times (complete with dragon). I also started playing Dungeons and Dragons, but I stopped becauseI have no friends and I am not gonna play alone.

Why has it stuck so long? Probably because I find the real Middle Ages fascinating still, and my other world gets plenty of ammo from Lord of the Rings, actual facts, and WoW. And I don't think my middle name, Guinevere, helps end it either.

Surfing.

I grew up in Southern California where I surfed my brains out, moved to Buffalo, NY and NEVER have been able to get it out of my mind for the 30 years that I have been here.

Why?

How the heck should I know? It just refuses to die. I just don't get to do it very often.

I have a thing for emergency vehicle lights, specifically the science behind color choices, flash rates, patterns, and human reactions to them. Weird, huh? Been into this since 1972. I actually owned a business selling and installing them. The newest LED lighting is like a never-ending dream to folks like me.

It's one of those areas where the technology changes every few years. Actually, it's ever-evolving, so it never gets old or boring.

Science - astronomy in particular, maps.

Music has been my longest standing interest.

It's the only thing that seems to help keep my mind off my troubles and I've had a lot of them, this year. There's also so many different types of music. No matter what mood I'm in, there's always a song or type of music to match. The thing about music is that it can be as old or new as I want it to be.

Singing..because it's how I learned to talk..and it is what stimulated me the most at an early age...singing..and puppets...have been obsessed with puppets ever since I saw Pinnochio as a small child..