What is your favorite hobby?

Mine: listening to music for sure. And I love to catalog all my CDs and write other assorted lists for them. I am presenting my 2005 and 2006 (so-far) album ratings sheets as examples of my hobby. Because they are big, I'm putting the lists in my posts below so you don't have to scroll down to post.

The albums of 2005 (albums ratings are out of 4 stars)
------------------

Pop and Rock

New Pornographers - Twin Cinema ****
Stacie Rose - Shadow And Splender ****
The Like - Are You Feeling What I'm Thinking ****
Hope 7 - self-titled ****
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois ****
Teenage Fanclub - Man-Made ****
Veronicas - Secret Life Of The Veronicas ****
Saving Jane - Girl Next Door ****
Anna Nalick - Wreck Of The Day ****
Cindy Alexander - Angels & Demons ****
Martha Wainwright - self-titled ****
Liz Phair - Somebody's Miracle ****
White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan ****
Brandi Carlile - self-titled ****
Garbage - Bleed Like Me ****
The Pierces - Light Of The Moon ****
Faders - Plug In And Play ****
Stars - Set Yourself On Fire ****
Amy Rigby - Little Fugitive ****
Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better ****
Rogue Wave - Descended Like Vultures ****
Sleater-Kinney - The Woods ****
Decemberists - Picaresque ****
Courtney Jaye - Traveling Light ****
Eisley - Room Noises ****
David Gray - Life In Slow Motion ****
Katherine Schell - Emptier Streets ****
Tara Angell - Come Down ***1/2
Bruce Springsteen - Devils And Dust ***1/2
Julie Gribble - So Typical ***1/2
Jerra - Play Like A Girl ***1/2
Imogen Heap - Speak For Yourself ***1/2
Madonna - Confessions On A Dance Floor ***1/2
Wallflowers - Rebel, Sweetheart ***1/2
Fisher - The Lovely Years ***1/2
Sheryl Crow - Wildflower ***1/2
Mary Gauthier - Mercy Now ***1/2
Tracy Bonham - Blink The Brightest ***1/2
Emma - Free Me ***1/2
Metric - Live It Out ***1/2
Sigur Ros - Takk ***1/2
My Morning Jacket - Z ***1/2
Brie Larson - Finally Out Of P.E. ***1/2
Laura Veirs - Year Of Meteors ***1/2
Miss Mary - Ready 2 Pop ***1/2
Kat Parsons - No Will Power ***1/2
Tori Amos - The Beekeeper ***1/2
Doves - Some Cities ***1/2
Annie - Anniemal ***1/2
Marion Raven - Here I Am ***1/2
Go-Betweens - Oceans Apart ***1/2
Aslyn - Lemon Love ***1/2
All American Rejects - Move Along ***1/2
Kathleen Edwards - Back To Me ***1/2
Mae - The Everglow ***
Alexz Johnson - Songs From Instant Star ***
Click Five - Greetings From Imrie House ***
Lily Holbrook - Everything Was Beautiful And Nothing Hurt ***
Kelly Osbourne - Sleeping In The Nothing ***
Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten ***
Tristan Prettyman - Twentythree ***
Kelly Buchanan - Bastard Daughter ***
Hope Partlow - Who We Are ***
Shakira - Oral Fixation Vol. 2 ***
Coldplay - X&Y ***
Juliette And The Licks - You're Speaking My Language **1/2
Rolling Stones - A Bigger Bang **1/2
Aly & AJ - Into The Rush **1/2
Death Cab For Cutie - Plans **1/2
Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine **1/2
Paul McCartney - Chaos And Creation In The Backyard **
Mariah Carey - Emancipation Of Mimi **
Marjorie Fair - Self Help Serenade **
Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning **
OK Go - Oh No **
Lindsay Lohan - Confessions Of A Broken Heart (RAW) **
Backstreet Boys - Never Gone *1/2
Billy Corgan - The Future Embrace *1/2
Scott Stapp - The Great Divide *1/2
Nickelback - All The Right Reasons *1/2
Weezer - Make Believe *1/2
Jason Mraz - Mr. A-Z *1/2
Emma Roberts - Unfabulous & More *1/2
Juliana Hatfield - Made In China *1/2
Hilary Duff - Most Wanted *
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Howl *
J. Lo - Rebirth *
Staind - Chapter V *
Pussycat Dolls - PCD *
Gorillaz - Demon Days 1/2
Ashlee Simpson - I Am Me 1/2
Bloodhound Gang - Hefty Fine 0 stars

Country

Lee Ann Womack - There's More Where That Came From ****
Miranda Lambert - Kerosene ****
Brad Paisley - Time Well Wasted ***1/2
Trisha Yearwood - Jasper County ***1/2
Nickel Creek - Why Should The Fire Die? ***1/2
Deana Carter - Story Of My Life ***1/2
Sugarland - Twice The Speed Of Life ***1/2
Faith Hill - Fireflies ***
Chely Wright - Metropolitan Hotel ***
Brooks And Dunn - Hillbilly Deluxe ***
Laura Cantrell - Humming by the Flowered Vine ***
Carrie Underwood - Some Hearts ***
LeAnn Rimes - This Woman **1/2
Gretchen Wilson - All Jacked Up **1/2
Trick Pony - R.I.D.E. **
Neil McCoy - That's Life **
Jo Dee Messina - Delicious Surprise **
Erika Jo - self-titled **
Toby Keith - Honkytonk University **
Dierks Bentley - Modern Day Drifter **
Big & Rich - Comin' to Your City *1/2
Keith Anderson - Three Chord Country And American Rock & Roll 0 stars

More likely low ratings: CDs from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, CocoRosie, Dandy Warhols,
Black Eyed Peas, Billy Idol, Lightning Bolt, James Blunt...

More likely high ratings: Kate Bush, Mountain Goats, Wolf Parade, Gary Allan, Magic
Numbers...

Bo Bice - The Real Thing **

The albums of 2006
------------------

Pop and rock

Dixie Chicks - Taking The Long Way ****
Belle And Sabastian - The Life Pursuit ****
Pearl Jam - self-titled ****
Margot & Nuclear So & So's - Dust of Retreat ****
Josh Ritter - Animal Years ****
Cat Power - The Greatest ****
Damone - Out Here All Night ****
Gomez - How We Operate ****
Rosanne Cash - Black Cadillac ****
The Corrs - Home ****
Susan Cagle - The Subway Recordings ****
Holly Brook - Like Blood Like Honey ****
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood ****
Pink - I'm Not Dead ****
Dirtie Blonde - self-titled ***1/2
Rainer Maria - Catastrophe Keeps Us Together ***1/2
Sonya Kitchell - Words Came Back To Me ***1/2
Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat ***1/2
Paul Simon - Surprise ***1/2
Magneta Lane - Dancing With Daggars ***1/2
Built To Spill - You In Reverse ***1/2
Goldfrapp - Supernature ***1/2
The Sounds - Dying To Say This To You ***1/2
The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers ***1/2
KT Tunstall - Eye To The Telescope ***1/2
Rhett Miller - The Believer ***1/2
Blue October - Foiled ***1/2
Jewel - Goodbye Alice In Wonderland ***1/2
Morningwood - self-titled ***
Jolie Holland - Springtime Can Kill You ***
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones ***
Teddy Geiger - Underage Thinking ***
Zero 7 - The Garden ***
Goo Goo Dolls - Let Love In **1/2
Yellowcard - Lights And Sounds **1/2
Dresden Dolls - Yes, Virginia **1/2
McFly - Just My Luck **1/2
Train - For Me It's You **1/2
Beth Orton - Comfort Of Strangers **1/2
Flaming Lips - At War With The Mystics **1/2
Sia - Colour The Small One **1/2
Taking Back Sunday - Louder Now **
Elefant - The Black Magic Show **
The Vines - Vision Valley **
David Gilmour - On An Island **
Morissey - Ringleader Of The Tormentors **
Jessie Daniels - self-titled **
Hoobastank - Every Man For Himself **
Bananarama - Drama **
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not **
Smoosh - Free To Stay **
Angels And Airwaves - We Don't Need To Whisper **
Christina Milian - So Amazing *1/2
Daniel Powter - self-titled *1/2
Hawthorne Heights - If Only You Were Lonely *1/2
The Subways - Young For Eternity *1/2
Nick Lachey - What's Left Of Me *1/2
Kidz Bop Kids - Kidz Bop 9 *1/2
Placebo - Meds *

Country
-------

The Wreckers - Stand Still, Look Pretty ****
SHeDAISY - Fortuneteller's Melody ***
Toby Keith - White Trash with Money **1/2
Danielle Peck - self-titled **1/2
Josh Turner - Your Man **
Shannon Brown - Cornfed **
Scooter Jennings - Electric Rodeo *1/2

This new album IS a slight improvement. They have talent, and I expect they'll be good - they just seem to be a little too green right now to make most songs enjoyable.

but I would say my favorite would be.... hmmm... watching films.

:hi:

I can do both at the same time too.

Some of it is job-searching, but a lot of it is just exploring.

.... it goes with just about anything, except driving :)

Has to be.

If I spend too much time in constructive activity, like cleaning house or working, there's a drive to correct that situation.

I'd like to measure how much time I waste on the internets but I'm afraid it would scare me.




Cher

p.s. thanks for publishing your lists. I'm going to check out some of your titles. Have you tried the new Windows media player that retrieves CD covers?

about Windows Media Player. I'll have to check that out. :hi:

Not necessarily in that order. :D

I like to cook too, especially when someone else is doing the clean-up.

I'm similar, but with films. Back in the old DOS (& pre-IMDB) days, I wrote my own program to catalogue and rate films I'd seen. For a variety of reasons (time & bad health mainly) I stopped, but I've started up again recently with and DVD Profiler and Flixster.com.

I ask about the stars

I used to do grades, but I've been trying out a 4-star system. So far, I like it.

I don't think I'll go higher than 4, because I separate the best 4s on my end-of-year list. But all 4s are very close to being tied.

At the end of 2006, I'll add another "most likely" section for those CDs I didn't hear a whole lot of. For example, I'd likely not give a great rating to Wolfmother. I like Led Zeppelin a lot, but am picky about bands doing a similar sound.

Here's a ratings key, for those who want it:

4 stars - excellent
3 1/2 stars - very good
3 stars - good
2 1/2 stars - uneven or just a bit above average
2 stars - fair
1 1/2 stars - bad
1 star and 1/2 star - terrible
0 stars - if you buy it, the RIAA or whomever released it will be laughing

I'm a train geek



RL

but this is mine...



RL

Send me updates. I love models.

RL

Have you seen the film Track 29 by Nicolas Roeg?

If not rent it.

:rofl:

RL

Most impressive.

.... shellacing the galacnoid for variety :)

x(

then deer hunting

I can do it for hours and it seems like minutes.

;)

:hi:

That's why I laughed to myself when you posted the picture of your - sigh - lovely musician and thought he might be my husband. I play and actually had a job to teach this coming year. Had to opt out though, because of the divorce and need for benefits and all that.

Do you play an instrument?

(The thread's in my journal, if you ever get down and out and need a pick-me-up. :D ;))

Indeed I play--clarinet since September 2001, and piano and baritone sax since October/November 2005.

I like piano best--I've wanted to play since.....forever. I can't remember the first time I thought, "Hell, those things are cool!" It was a long time ago. :D It seems like I've always loved the piano, and I was always banging around on this keyboard I had, until something bit me hard and that keyboard wasn't good enough. I had bad desires, literally out of the blue, to play "for serious, Mom! For serious!" She eventually relented, and I got a teeny spinet piano for my birthday in September, and lessons starting at the end of November.

I have a lot of energy at it (not that I'm always in control of it ;)), and I'm natural with it. Now I just need TIME.

;)

And before you know it, twenty years will have passed and you'll be a virtuoso. Anything you keep trying, you'll eventually succeed at. That's a promise.

:D :D

I'm ready to try 'til the grave for these 88 keys...

I have little doubt you'll be very good to excellent at whatever you try.

:hug:

Only 85 keys? What a bad break. 88 is a much more pleasing number. :D

:P

Strange, no? I don't miss the three keys.

:D

Oh, and reading. ;)

On Edit: DU, of course! Can't forget that! :D :evilgrin:

Cooking is a close second
skiing is up there as well

Judging from my dem friends, music seems to be a popular past time for liberals.

:hi:

:hi:

:D

Nice to see you, taterguy! :hi:

These were taken at the New River State Park in Virginia. Not sure how much talent is involved. I see things I like, point and shoot. Ain't technology grand?

:D
Hey, I see you're coming up on the big 1,000 post milestone. Good job! :thumbsup:

I'm playing an online tournament right now. I'm thinking about hitting the casino for a tourney this weekend. I actually make a few bucks doing it, which is nice as far as hobbies go.

reading while drinking, playing online while drinking.....
Man, I'm a loser! :P

It's not my only hobby, but I'd have to say it's my favorite. There's just something about being outside, at night, alone, that is comforting and reassuring. :shrug:

I also collect comics, flipbooks, and action figures.

Yes, I am twisted and sick.

:popcorn:

Both playing and game mastering. Right now, I'm taking an adventure based on the Achille Lauro incident from an old 1980s system from Task Force Games called Delta Force: America Strikes Back! and converting it to d20 Modern, a modern-day system based on the same rules that power Dungeons and Dragons.

Bulding small models of old aeroplanes from scratch.

Here is a fairly recent example:

I played waaaaaay too much Red Baron back in the day. I'm dissapointed that there hasn't been a WWI flight sim of that quality that has come out ever since.

This machine was assigned to No.40 Squadron, with C flight, operating on the Somme when photographed in early September. Serialed 6410, it was one of the earliest batches built by Darracq Motors.

that, and gardening.