Before I start talking about hobby-ADD, as I’ve come to call it, let me talk about something else.
(ohh, that’s some pretty meta-irony right there.)
Above, there’s some more art from Brian Wood. From a graphic novel I just finished called Channel Zero, a made-for-me story about an authoritarian police state controlled by mass media. It features hackers, phreaks and lots of other tech-inspired fantasy work that Brian is so good at creating. An immersive world that’s totally worth your time – go get a copy.
So, back to what we were originally talking about.
Hobby-ADD, a term coined by a good pal of mine, is what best describes the ways I choose to spend my spare time. Half-engaged in a handful of things, you might say, with the supplemental obsessive focus on one or two activities at a time. I argue that Hobby-ADD (read: jumping between hobbies) isn’t a lack of commitment until it actually is. If you say you’re going to do something, do it. Wait for me to fall back on that statement a little bit later.
If, however, you just want to try new things, don’t be held back by the idea that you need to finish something if only for the sake of finishing that particular thing. I’ve got a number of creative works stewing on the array of back-burners in my mind. Sometimes, you have to be okay with that. Moreover, I find that searching out new activity usually breathes a new life into some of the older ones you may have moved on from. Plus, when you’re always putting your hands into something new, you’ll lead a varied and dynamic lifestyle – a lot of times that can be threatening for some people, so you might feel some abrasion there. That’s fine too, just know that you’re choosing to live with purpose and vigor, something that can’t be said for quite a lot of people wandering around out there.
So far, this year, I’ve picked up, dropped and have continued a number of new engagements. I’ve moved into and through WWII-inspired stuff, writings, podcasting and more. I’m coming back to this blog, because like I said before, there’s a sense of ‘new’ that comes with rediscovering an old flame. Additionally, a good pal of mine inspired me recently to put more focus on this specific project. His name is Robby, and he runs a vlog that he records, cuts and uploads every goddamn day. What an achievement!
I wanted to fill his digital footsteps with some movement of my own and originally thought I should write a blog post for every day of August. While it’s cool to imagine that project, I think I’d be better served to commit to 2(ish) planned posts, instead. I could churn out material, but that’s not really what I’m aiming to do. There’s more creative license with video in the sense that the message deosn’t really have to be so in-your-face. There’s options there to film ambient stuff just as artistically as an interview or a monolouge. With writing, I feel like there’s more of a purpose-driven backbone to it, so I’d rather make sure I want to say something. Does that make sense?
A few ideas I’ve had for this blog since I created it were: documenting my days, taking a look at some of those hobbies through reviewing stuff (which I’d also done, through another old project) and incorporating another idea I’ve had for a little brand / content platform called Tango November, or, Tactical Nerds. Gaming, shooting, gear – that kinda stuff – to branch off of the concept of getting back into reviewing products in those sectors.
So, what am I getting at?
Uhh, I don’t know – I like doing stuff, so I’m going to do more stuff.
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