Amusing Ourselves to Death
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My parents pretty much used to say this to me when I was 10 and wanted to watch Scooby Doo and Hong Kong Phooey.
Obviously, I ignored them with their pleas to "make my own entertainment". That pastime kicked in a couple of years later.
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My parents pretty much used to say this to me when I was 10 and wanted to watch Scooby Doo and Hong Kong Phooey.
Obviously, I ignored them with their pleas to "make my own entertainment". That pastime kicked in a couple of years later.
@Doctor-Phibes said in Amusing Ourselves to Death:
Obviously, I ignored them with their pleas to "make my own entertainment". That pastime kicked in a couple of years later.
I would argue that dancing around shittily to make TikTok remixes is somehow less substantive than playing the saxophone. For every 1 person making something for themselves, you have about 50 consumers who actually think logging in more IPAs than their friends constitutes some kind of achievement.
Boomers love to hate on hipsters but at least they're making stuff.
Part of the problem is what "entertainment" means today. It used to include spirituality, cultural history, morals, local pride, and entertainment, all together. Now, we think we've stripped that other stuff away, but we haven't really. It's just that those other things are now cheap crap.
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Guess the album cover.
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@Doctor-Phibes said in Amusing Ourselves to Death:
Obviously, I ignored them with their pleas to "make my own entertainment". That pastime kicked in a couple of years later.
I would argue that dancing around shittily to make TikTok remixes is somehow less substantive than playing the saxophone. For every 1 person making something for themselves, you have about 50 consumers who actually think logging in more IPAs than their friends constitutes some kind of achievement.
Boomers love to hate on hipsters but at least they're making stuff.
Part of the problem is what "entertainment" means today. It used to include spirituality, cultural history, morals, local pride, and entertainment, all together. Now, we think we've stripped that other stuff away, but we haven't really. It's just that those other things are now cheap crap.
@Aqua-Letifer said in Amusing Ourselves to Death:
I would argue that dancing around shittily to make TikTok remixes is somehow less substantive than playing the saxophone.
You haven't heard me play.
I do find it a little disappointing how many of my work friends don't really seem to have any hobbies. It's almost as though you have to be a weird eccentric to do stuff outside the regular. I mean, bringing up a family is a lot of work and all, but it feels like doing something for ourselves that isn't just watching a screen would be a good idea.
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@Aqua-Letifer said in Amusing Ourselves to Death:
I would argue that dancing around shittily to make TikTok remixes is somehow less substantive than playing the saxophone.
You haven't heard me play.
I do find it a little disappointing how many of my work friends don't really seem to have any hobbies. It's almost as though you have to be a weird eccentric to do stuff outside the regular. I mean, bringing up a family is a lot of work and all, but it feels like doing something for ourselves that isn't just watching a screen would be a good idea.
@Doctor-Phibes said in Amusing Ourselves to Death:
@Aqua-Letifer said in Amusing Ourselves to Death:
I would argue that dancing around shittily to make TikTok remixes is somehow less substantive than playing the saxophone.
You haven't heard me play.
I do find it a little disappointing how many of my work friends don't really seem to have any hobbies. It's almost as though you have to be a weird eccentric to do stuff outside the regular.
No "almost as though" about it.
In America, to take making things seriously outside of a commercial context means you've got to face the discomfort of being labeled a weirdo.
I mean, bringing up a family is a lot of work and all, but it feels like doing something for ourselves that isn't just watching a screen would be a good idea.
Egyptian slaves, Greek slaves, Viking farmers, medieval peasants and African tribesmen all figured out a way to shoehorn in making up stories, writing songs, making beaded and woven art, etc. We live in the "freest" society ever and all anyone says is "I can't find the time."
I know I'd be dead inside if all I did was consume. I'd certainly be a far shittier family member.
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It's important to have something to put onto the introductory slide when you take a new job and you introduce yourself in the first all-hands meeting. Apparently everybody's a beekeeper or woodworker or something.
@Horace said in Amusing Ourselves to Death:
It's important to have something to put onto the introductory slide when you take a new job and you introduce yourself in the first all-hands meeting. Apparently everybody's a beekeeper or woodworker or something.
That's for the lackeys. For the execs it's the cheesy-on-purpose-because-thats-how-real-I-am-man family shot.
It segues nicely into, "and I'd just like to say, that when I'm here, I like to think of the rest of you as my extended family."
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It's important to have something to put onto the introductory slide when you take a new job and you introduce yourself in the first all-hands meeting. Apparently everybody's a beekeeper or woodworker or something.
@Horace said in Amusing Ourselves to Death:
It's important to have something to put onto the introductory slide when you take a new job and you introduce yourself in the first all-hands meeting. Apparently everybody's a beekeeper or woodworker or something.
Yes, and it's important to present something that is regarded as charming and non-threatening. Beekeeping yes, fun things to make with skeletons, no.
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@Horace said in Amusing Ourselves to Death:
It's important to have something to put onto the introductory slide when you take a new job and you introduce yourself in the first all-hands meeting. Apparently everybody's a beekeeper or woodworker or something.
Yes, and it's important to present something that is regarded as charming and non-threatening. Beekeeping yes, fun things to make with skeletons, no.
@Catseye3 said in Amusing Ourselves to Death:
@Horace said in Amusing Ourselves to Death:
It's important to have something to put onto the introductory slide when you take a new job and you introduce yourself in the first all-hands meeting. Apparently everybody's a beekeeper or woodworker or something.
Yes, and it's important to present something that is regarded as charming and non-threatening. Beekeeping yes, fun things to make with skeletons, no.
Amateur detective sounds so much better than stalker, however I still didn't get the job waiting tables at Gambino's Restaurant.
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@Aqua-Letifer said in Amusing Ourselves to Death:
I would argue that dancing around shittily to make TikTok remixes is somehow less substantive than playing the saxophone.
You haven't heard me play.
I do find it a little disappointing how many of my work friends don't really seem to have any hobbies. It's almost as though you have to be a weird eccentric to do stuff outside the regular. I mean, bringing up a family is a lot of work and all, but it feels like doing something for ourselves that isn't just watching a screen would be a good idea.
I do find it a little disappointing how many of my work friends don't really seem to have any hobbies.
Wait until you retire. That’s when you really notice the folks with hobbies and those without hobbies. It seems the latter are the ones who complain most that retirement has left them no time to get anything done.
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I do find it a little disappointing how many of my work friends don't really seem to have any hobbies.
Wait until you retire. That’s when you really notice the folks with hobbies and those without hobbies. It seems the latter are the ones who complain most that retirement has left them no time to get anything done.
@Renauda said in Amusing Ourselves to Death:
I do find it a little disappointing how many of my work friends don't really seem to have any hobbies.
Wait until you retire. That’s when you really notice the folks with hobbies and those without hobbies. It seems the latter are the ones who complain most that retirement has left them no time to get anything done.
I resemble that last remark.
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I do find it a little disappointing how many of my work friends don't really seem to have any hobbies.
Wait until you retire. That’s when you really notice the folks with hobbies and those without hobbies. It seems the latter are the ones who complain most that retirement has left them no time to get anything done.
@Renauda said in Amusing Ourselves to Death:
I do find it a little disappointing how many of my work friends don't really seem to have any hobbies.
Wait until you retire. That’s when you really notice the folks with hobbies and those without hobbies. It seems the latter are the ones who complain most that retirement has left them no time to get anything done.
Yeah, I've been thinking a lot about this. I don't want to do what my dad did. He was intellectually very curious, but had no real plan so he ended up spending a lot of time jumping from one thing to the next, and nothing ever really stuck.
He'd never have admitted it, but he really didn't want to retire - they closed the research place where he worked, so he didn't get to choose.
My father in law still works, and he's in his mid-70's. He could pass for somebody in their late 50's.
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I do find it a little disappointing how many of my work friends don't really seem to have any hobbies.
Wait until you retire. That’s when you really notice the folks with hobbies and those without hobbies. It seems the latter are the ones who complain most that retirement has left them no time to get anything done.
@Renauda said in Amusing Ourselves to Death:
I do find it a little disappointing how many of my work friends don't really seem to have any hobbies.
Wait until you retire. That’s when you really notice the folks with hobbies and those without hobbies. It seems the latter are the ones who complain most that retirement has left them no time to get anything done.
Heck, I don't even like the word "hobby." It implies you don't take it too seriously, and it's just something fun to do while you're in between washer loads.
Sometimes it's like that, but not always. It's not always just about fun, either. It's good to have something you believe in doing.
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Pwning libtards on TNCR is more than a hobby. I do it for the future generations, so they can know that truth and decency are timeless, and never out of style.
@Horace said in Amusing Ourselves to Death:
Pwning libtards on TNCR is more than a hobby. I do it for the future generations, so they can know that truth and decency are timeless, and never out of style.
Let me know when the pwning starts - are you saving it for your retirement?
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@Horace said in Amusing Ourselves to Death:
Pwning libtards on TNCR is more than a hobby. I do it for the future generations, so they can know that truth and decency are timeless, and never out of style.
Let me know when the pwning starts - are you saving it for your retirement?
@Doctor-Phibes said in Amusing Ourselves to Death:
@Horace said in Amusing Ourselves to Death:
Pwning libtards on TNCR is more than a hobby. I do it for the future generations, so they can know that truth and decency are timeless, and never out of style.
Let me know when the pwning starts - are you saving it for your retirement?
The journey to libtard pwnage is the destination.
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@Renauda said in Amusing Ourselves to Death:
I do find it a little disappointing how many of my work friends don't really seem to have any hobbies.
Wait until you retire. That’s when you really notice the folks with hobbies and those without hobbies. It seems the latter are the ones who complain most that retirement has left them no time to get anything done.
Yeah, I've been thinking a lot about this. I don't want to do what my dad did. He was intellectually very curious, but had no real plan so he ended up spending a lot of time jumping from one thing to the next, and nothing ever really stuck.
He'd never have admitted it, but he really didn't want to retire - they closed the research place where he worked, so he didn't get to choose.
My father in law still works, and he's in his mid-70's. He could pass for somebody in their late 50's.
Juggling a few things is not bad when you are retired. I have things I only work on during winter months and things only in spring and fall. Likewise, summer. Reading and music are what I do year round.