Hobbies!

[jbeany]

Okay, done and ready for it's 15 minutes of fame....The Leer Back Bra! 

I was bummed I couldn't find a black racer back style on such short notice, but deadlines will do that to you!

[texasstyle]

I type waaay too fast  lol. You're right jbeany

[texasstyle]

That is sure to be in Victoria's Secret annual bra line up lol. Excellent? I hope you can auction tha toff for a lot of money.

[sammiejo23]

Um, jbeany, I would totally buy that!!! Haha. You should start a business! (I'm not kidding...) Love it though, it turned out fabulous!

[MooseMom]

I really admire people who can create lovely things.  The woodwork is gorgeous, and the bra makes me laugh...it's wonderful.

I like gardening, too, but I don't have the energy for it anymore.  Luckily, my garden is mostly complete and all I have to do is maintain it, although my project this spring is to redo my front garden, ie, remove the ratty lawn, put down some nice paving stones and enlarge my perennial bed and my herb garden.  Just thinking about it makes me tired, though.

I like to cook but I can't eat anything  , so that's a bit of a non-starter.

I did cross-stitching when I was a girl, but I haven't done that in years.  Maybe I'll reteach myself how to do that.  I wish I knew how to sew.  I'd love to design clothes and then make them.  Or jewelry..

[kristina]

My hobby is learning to read music and learn to play the Fortepiano.
I don’t know whether you could call this a hobby, but I also love to read books,
and listen to classical music, mainly baroque and I like watching classical films.

kristina, that's very cool! I'm not gifted with instruments myself, so I definitely admire that, haha. How long have you been playing?
And of course those are hobbies! I love reading as well. What's your favorite film?

This is quite an interesting thread, because it shows different hobbies and interests of different members.
I quite enjoy studying it and I am very impressed by what members are doing and are interested in.

Sammiejo23, I began learning to play the Fortepiano seriously in 2006 after I was diagnosed with ESRF,
and I was assured I only had 6 months until "D" and even though I am still "pre-D" , I needed to divert my mind from this catastrophy,
and the stress of the situation this put me in, and I think learning to play the Fortepiano has been very helpful indeed.
 
I also love to read all types of books: naturally I have been interested in some wonderful music-books of stories
and biographies of composers which are very interesting to read and often great fun with their eccentric life-styles.

I also love reading crime-stories (don’t we all) – and historical books such as the one I am reading at the moment
about the "fairy-tale" King of Bavaria Ludwig II and his relationship to his relatives in the Austrian Empire,
and one book which is an absolute must to read once and that is Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance Journey to cross the Antarctic –
and finally I cannot leave out the many humorous books based about the strange things which have happened to people.

As for films, I have many favourites, from the silent films by Murnau (The last man, Faust etc) and Griffiths “Intolerance”
through to some of the 1940/1950 films like “Angry Silence” (1960) and I love the fun-films of Terry-Thomas,
particularly his film “Too many Crooks” which in my opinion is his most hilarious film.
Also films like “Educating Rita” which speak to us on several levels, one humorous, the other philosophical and very serious.
In fact there are many films which I really enjoy watching.
I have become very selective with modern films, meaning films from the 1970’s onward, because many of them are greatly overrated
and are of little substance – just money-making ventures. I was very disappointed with the film of “Cool Runnings”  (1993)
which I took to be a fairly true story, but which I found out was very far from the truth – a typical Disney production –
it does not seem right to distort a true story and mislead people just for box-office-cash,
whereas a film like “Double Jeopardy” (1999) was a well-made film and gave one pause for thought
as to whether such an event could have happend in real life...

[Henry P Snicklesnorter]

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[Henry P Snicklesnorter]

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[rsudock]

HENRY I would love to have some in my life who is as skilled as you are with woodwork my first thought when I saw the pictures was, "Hey I bet he could make me some bookcases for my classroom!"

I played the French Horn, Trumpet, and Melaphone. Have been since I was in Jr. High school. I love playing music but unfortunately when I graduated I never did buy my own French Horn so I would like to start it up again. Any one have a french horn they need to sell?

Anyway I also love to read and collect children's books and young adult literature books...I have a few friends who ask me to make them lists of books they should read every summer! I also started a book club at my school last year with my colleagues!

I am also interested in doing community theater but haven't had time to do that since I was a teenager. I would like to start that again as well.

One thing about me is I wish I was more creative like in designing my own clothes, painting pictures, making scrapbooks, or planting a garden...maybe someday I will begin to branch out! I did buy a cricket machine to start scrap booking but it is still in the box!

xo,
R

[kristina]

Sorry Henry, I am not knowledgeable about guitars.

Could you please tell me whether your collection is all electric guitars or some traditional?
With electric guitars do they have their own character of sound/tone, or are they just different technically?
Do different countries specialize in different sound-quality?

Thanks from Kristina.

[paul.karen]

Texasstyle the John S. you mentioned is it John Howard sanden by any chance?  Did you go to art school in Philly?

My hobbies are remote control trucks and planes..
Rebuilding old VW bugs into off-road baja's
skydiving  and recently after a hiatus got back into riding Harley's.

[Henry P Snicklesnorter]

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[paul.karen]

Hey John that is some grreat woodwork.  Like the dovetail work very time consuming.

yes harley had some problems with leaks and the likes.  I have an 87 sportster that likes to leak gas even when the petcock is off.  Easy fix i just need the time to do it.  Just got them both started yesterday was kinda nice out low 50's.  So they will be good to go in a few weeks.
I got the yellow bike last year.  it is a 2004 Screaming eagle deuce2.  Only 750 made.  When i bought it it had under 2000 miles not even broke in yet.  So i had to have it.

I have also had the yamahas and just traded a 2010 Kawasaki enduro for the new harley.

I like that you have a backrest on the Vulcan.   Im sure that comes in handy.
I remember when they cae out fuel injected.  Fast and fun... 

[Henry P Snicklesnorter]

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[Poppylicious]

Gosh, you lot make me feel ridiculously inferior with your amazing hobbies! 

I've tried my hand at cross-stitch, knitting, journaling, digital scrapbooking, ordinary scrapbooking, writing fiction, baking, re-writing the Bible (I got to Eve eating from the Tree of Knowledge,) card making and gardening.  Unfortunately I've been unable to get really passionate about any of them (I think I have a very low boredom threshold.)

I do like to read and watch films, and I like live music and shaking hands with comedians.  Sometimes I buy perfume bottles. 

But I do wish I was creative like some of you!

 

[Henry P Snicklesnorter]

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[knittingdan]

As my handle would indicate, I collect rare specimens of dead bugs. (not really!)

[sammiejo23]

As my handle would indicate, I collect rare specimens of dead bugs. (not really!)

Haha, yikes!!!

[Henry P Snicklesnorter]

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[kristina]

Sorry Henry, I am not knowledgeable about guitars.

Could you please tell me whether your collection is all electric guitars or some traditional?
With electric guitars do they have their own character of sound/tone, or are they just different technically?
Do different countries specialize in different sound-quality?

Thanks from Kristina.

Hi Kristina, I have had a large number of guitars over the years, all steel strings, some acoustic, the majority electric.
Some of them, in the early days, were of terrible quality and I gradually replaced them with better instruments.
As a result of owning these early dreadful quality guitars, I learned to do my own luthiery, with some success. However, you cannot make a silk purse out of a sows ear. Those early learned skills have stood me in good stead, however, because I can now adjust and modify my own guitars to suit me. e.g. I have replaced the treble pickup on my Stratocaster with a double wound humbucker pickup, which gives it a much stronger sound. I also, without exception, have lowered the action on all my instruments, (The distance of the strings above the fretboard) which makes them far easier to play and gives a faster action. It's a painstaking process and involves filing down both the saddle (on the guitar body and mainly on acoustics, electrics mostly have adjustable saddles) and the nut (at the top of the fretboard, - on all types.) Not something for novices to attempt.

All guitars have their own character, whether acoustic or electric. Acoustics are constructed in a wide range of materials,with the size and shape of the body, type of internal bracing, neck construction and even the type of laquer used in finishing playing a part in the type of sound produced. Martin guitars are probably the gold standard in acoustics, with Ibanez,Yamaha and Seagull (Canadian) producing some really good quaity mid-range acoustics. Strings also play a large part, with string guage, type of winding, (flatwound or rough wound). along with string materials, (steel, bronze, nickle plated and even nylon.

Then there is the Dobro, invented by the Dopera bros, it is essentially an acoustic guitar with a metal cone-shaped resonator which amplifies the sounds and produces very unique sound.

With electrics, the same fundamentals apply, plus the electronics. Some electrics have 1 pickup, others 2 or 3.
The most well known of the three pickup varieties is the Fender Stratocaster. Then come variations in the type of pickups, with different windings producing different sounds. On top of that, the type and placement of capacitors
can greatly alter the sound produced.

Fender still makes Stratocasters in the US, however, in an attempt to compete with the Japanese, Fender used a string manufacturing company it owned, (Squier) to begin overseas manufacture of stratocasters. First starting in Japan, and then also opening manufacturing facilities in Mexico, Korea, China and Taiwan, India and Indonesia. Results were varied,with the Japanes models considered the best by some. (I have one)
They are also the most widely copied guitar.

Gretsh guitars have their own unique sound, with their hollow bodied models as played by Chet Atkins being the most well known. Generally beautifully made, they were for a time, one of the leading US manufacturers, but fell on hard times. Although still owned by the Gretsch family, Fender now control the manufacture and distribution of these once famous guitars. A few custom models are made in the US, with the majority made in Japan and China.

Gibson Les Paul.  Still made in the US, although many copies exist. A smaller semi hollow bodied guitar, they have a more aggressive sound than fender, due in the main to the type of pickups used. Gibson also make Epiphone, (US and China.) Old Gibsons are highly sought after by collectors, with one early Les Paul reptedly changing hands for a figure in excess of US$200,000

Rickenbacker. Almost a niche guitar maker, they have a very unique sound, described by afficionados as the "Rickenbacker Jangle."John Lennon and George Harrison played them in the early beatles era. (I have one from that period.) Rickenbacker make the proud boast that they are the only American manufacturer that uses no imported parts whatsover. If for instance, a US supplier has closed down, they have taken over manufacture of those parts as well. Their electric bass guitars are generally regarded as the best of all US manufactured types.
They are also arguably the most aggressive of guitar makers when it comes to litigation. As a consequence, copies are very rarely seen. Ironically this has made copies quite valuable to collectors because of their rarity!
They have a very loyal following. Being a relatively low volume producer, with no plans to expand, they have always got a full order book, with waiting times of up to 2 years on some popular models.

My personal favorite is a Cort Yorktown, Korean made. It is a semi-acoustic arch-top with spruce top and maple back and sides. (A great Jazz/blues guitar, it also sounds good playing country music.) It is equipped with two powerful "humbucker" pickups  and has near perfect intonation, (perfect intonation cannot be achieved with fretted string instruments,) beautiful sustain and tone and the quality of construction is first class. There are probably better instruments available, but I have yet to come aross any. Currently retails in Oz for about $1,400, I bought mine about 20 years ago and paid about $400.

Country of origin makes little difference to sound quality, rather the quality of manufacture is the over-riding factor. My Japanese strat is every bit as good as the American strat.

Well Henry, that is quite a fantastic write-up on guitars!
I now know a great deal more about guitars than I did before!
I am very impressed. I don’t have any further questions
as you have given such a comprehensive essay and I thank you very much.

Maybe it might be interesting if I were to explain a little about the Fortepiano I play.

Of course there is the electric piano, but I have never yet explored the possibilities of this type of instrument.

But pianos before the electric can be basically divided into two:
First came the all-wooden piano, which is the type that I learn and play upon.
These pianos began their life in the 18th century and the metal-strings were stretched
across a wooden-frame and surrounded by the wooden “case”.
 
This type was produced through the 1820’s at a time when iron reinforcing-bars were being introduced
by Broadwood as a result of a desire to increase the sound-volume by increasing the size of the piano-wires
and their tension, which of course had the effect of buckling and breaking the all-wooden piano.

Very quickly as the 1830’s progressed designs for a cast-iron-frame were being produced,
so the strings could be stretched across a much more solid frame.

The all-wooden pianos had their own character, they were individually made
and often different types of woods were used in their construction.
As you can appreciate, the resonance due to the types of wood created character distinctions.

Interestingly, the pianos produced by Clementi & Co were considered to be the type of “Rolls-Royce-Piano”.
 
These would be early 19th century. There were many variations on the all-wooden piano,
but they were restricted in the loudness with which they could be played,
so they were very much an intimate type of instrument played to relatively “small private gatherings”.

On the other hand the pianos with cast-iron-frames had the possibility
of creating an increased volume in sound because the strings were made ever thicker
with more tension, as the strength of the cast-iron-frame increased with better designs.

The wooden “case” in which the cast-iron-frame is held has no bearing on the tonal quality.

Whereas the “old” all-wooden pianos relied on the quality of the wood to produce the individual tone.
The materials from which the strings are made have always played an important part in the sound quality.
And also the type of “damper” and “hammers”.

Clementi especially imported iron-strings from Germany because the fine quality
of the drawn string was reliable and produced the best singing tone in his opinion.

The other materials used were different grades of brass and red-brass,
with the very bass strings of brass and red-brass being over-wound and these produce
on the all-wooden-piano a lovely deep growling tone of great character.

The hammers were more thinly covered in the early days
and this produced a more clearer well-defined tone.

In comparison the grand-pianos with their cast-iron frames do have thickly covered hammers
which produce a loud tone but loose the sharp definition of tone which the early all-wooden pianos enjoyed.
The all-wooden-Fortepiano I play is perfect for a small room
and it produces wonderful clear singing tones and growling bass-tones of great character.

It is very sad that modern pianos lost this character though some in the late 19th century still retained
a little character due to the type of string, but it is generally acknowledged the cast-iron-frame
was the death-knell for the singing individual pianos.

The all-wooden-piano has to be tuned very regularly according to weather & use,
so it is advisable to learn straight away how to tune it oneself.

[sparklelady]

Wow, you all are so talented!! As for me, I make crystal shirts. It started out as a hobby, but quickly turned into a small business. I work with cheer schools designing their camp gear, "mom" shirts, sweatsuits etc. Cheerleaders really like their bling!!! I also do a few craft shows as I have all different kinds of holiday designs,sport logos, etc.

[sammiejo23]

That sounds awesome! Haha. I had a feeling by the username it'd have something to do with sparkles.

[kristina]

Thanks Henry for pointing out Chet Atkins in your essay about guitars.

I have listened to him at youtube and I like his playing very much.
He plays with a very soft touch, very harmonious and produces a lovely individual sound.

I also like very much Andrés Segovia and John Williams.
My favourite guitar-pieces are by Isaac Albéniz (Asturias)
and the “Chaconne” by Bach and Händel played by Andrés Segovia.

Thanks again for making me aware of Chet Atkins, I shall look-out for his music.

[rsudock]

HENRY I would love to have some in my life who is as skilled as you are with woodwork my first thought when I saw the pictures was, "Hey I bet he could make me some bookcases for my classroom!"

Hey RSUDOCK, If I lived close by, I would be only too happy to make you some bookshelves. I think the freight from Oz would be a killer if I made them here,

What you can do, is make them yourself. It's quite simple. All you would need, is a hammer, a suitable chisel, ( router would be better) a saw, carpenters square and an electric drill and a few screws and some paint. The ideal low-cost material to use would be Hardboard (High density fibreboard) NEVER use particle board. Wood is quite expensive and much harder to maintain unless painted,- if you're going to paint it, you might as well use hardboard.

I'm willing to bet you have a manual arts centre attached to your school, - there's your source to borrow a few basic tools. They may even have stocks of hardboard that you can misappropriate.    Or even better, have one of the woodwork classes do it as a project.
 
I'd be only too happy to produce a design or two with easy to follow instructions, and there are also any number of free plans on the net.

When I get back to my classroom I may take you up on that offer!! Thank you for being so gracious and offering your help!!!

xo,
R

[jbeany]

Wheee - my bra made it to its 15 minutes of fame!  I can tell Kristiane, the organizer was a bit befuddled being on camera, though - she's got me, the paralegal student who sculpts with clay, mixed up with the lawyer who sculpted the one with the metal flowers.  Still, very entertaining to see my artwork on screen!

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/health/healthy_you/155916/166/Bra-auction-gala-to-benefit-Gildas-Club