Commentary - Interests
I feel obliged to provide some information on the content of my profile and links. So over the next few days to weeks I will post extra info on all that stuff starting with this commentary on my listed interests.
Swimming
I have always enjoyed spending time in water - the sense of freedom-of-movement is awesome. But I was a shocking swimmer till my father made me work on it. He has been a swimming instructor on-and-off over the years and during my teens he took me to a weekly intensive lap swimming session incorporating a lot of corrective instruction from the staff there. At the time swimming lap after lap was so boring but now I am thankful for it because I am a half-decent swimmer. As someone who has never been sporty I value this. Nowadays I try to swim weekly and go to a local pool with some friends. Swimming with others is an incentive to go as it becomes a commitment to others (rather than to just oneself). Also it’s fun to chat between laps.
Fantasy & Science Fiction
If you enjoy exploring the imagination of others then these genres are the best things to get into. I will say more on specific films and books in another post but for now will relate what part fantasy and science fiction has played in my life.
My mother got me involved in the South Eastern Science Fiction Club (which at the time was the newly formed Dandenong Valley Science Fiction & Futurist Society) at the start of my teens. Introducing me to a group of adult strangers was a brave thing for her to do but also very worthwhile. It was important for an awkward introvert like me to get that kind of experience. I am still involved in the group till this day.
Then I went to Monash Uni. I joined a number of clubs at Orientation Week but the one I got most involved in by far was the Fellowship of Middle Earth (FOME). I met many of my friends at that time (including my current housemates) and we still keep tabs on the current FOME group.
Singing
I have always enjoyed singing and it is the only 'instrument' I ever developed any skill with (setting aside tapping a pattern on your lap). I have been involved in a few amateur choral groups from my uni days onwards but at present I only sing along to recorded music. The choral experience enhances the fun of this, however, as I frequently sing the backing vocals or improvise in close-harmony. Singing with my iPod as I walk along the street is fun but sometimes a bit embarrassing if suddenly I become aware of another person walking by!
Political History
History is made every time an event is remembered and retold. And politics is just human engagement in decision-making relations. As such political history is much more than just who was Prime Minister in 1901. I have been interested in societal structures and decision-making processes for a very long time. I remember even assigning functions and ranks to my plush toys at a very young age.
It’s hardly surprising then that I majored in history and politics at Monash Uni. It’s also hardly surprising that I am active in political life as a member of the Australian Democrats (among other things). To some extent I regard this political involvement as an extension of my scholarly interests. I love the interplay of diverse interests and perspectives that can be safely observed in a parliamentary democracy. As much as I have my own partisan convictions I also feel an allegiance to the complex organic whole that is our polity. It’s ever-changing and full of surprises.
I have got some good friends from involvement in things political like my party and also the life-enhancing experience that was the United Nations Youth Association (UNYA) Tertiary Conference for freshers (the camp went for a week and I am still friends with some of those met there).
Life Drawing
We all have self-images that differ from practice. I identify as someone who draws but I lack the regular habit. For me, life drawing extends beyond the human form to include landscapes since both use organic lines.
For commentary on other aspects of life reflected in the sidebar see here and here and here. For a tiny bit more info on family see
here.
Swimming
I have always enjoyed spending time in water - the sense of freedom-of-movement is awesome. But I was a shocking swimmer till my father made me work on it. He has been a swimming instructor on-and-off over the years and during my teens he took me to a weekly intensive lap swimming session incorporating a lot of corrective instruction from the staff there. At the time swimming lap after lap was so boring but now I am thankful for it because I am a half-decent swimmer. As someone who has never been sporty I value this. Nowadays I try to swim weekly and go to a local pool with some friends. Swimming with others is an incentive to go as it becomes a commitment to others (rather than to just oneself). Also it’s fun to chat between laps.
Fantasy & Science Fiction
If you enjoy exploring the imagination of others then these genres are the best things to get into. I will say more on specific films and books in another post but for now will relate what part fantasy and science fiction has played in my life.
My mother got me involved in the South Eastern Science Fiction Club (which at the time was the newly formed Dandenong Valley Science Fiction & Futurist Society) at the start of my teens. Introducing me to a group of adult strangers was a brave thing for her to do but also very worthwhile. It was important for an awkward introvert like me to get that kind of experience. I am still involved in the group till this day.
Then I went to Monash Uni. I joined a number of clubs at Orientation Week but the one I got most involved in by far was the Fellowship of Middle Earth (FOME). I met many of my friends at that time (including my current housemates) and we still keep tabs on the current FOME group.
Singing
I have always enjoyed singing and it is the only 'instrument' I ever developed any skill with (setting aside tapping a pattern on your lap). I have been involved in a few amateur choral groups from my uni days onwards but at present I only sing along to recorded music. The choral experience enhances the fun of this, however, as I frequently sing the backing vocals or improvise in close-harmony. Singing with my iPod as I walk along the street is fun but sometimes a bit embarrassing if suddenly I become aware of another person walking by!
Political History
History is made every time an event is remembered and retold. And politics is just human engagement in decision-making relations. As such political history is much more than just who was Prime Minister in 1901. I have been interested in societal structures and decision-making processes for a very long time. I remember even assigning functions and ranks to my plush toys at a very young age.
It’s hardly surprising then that I majored in history and politics at Monash Uni. It’s also hardly surprising that I am active in political life as a member of the Australian Democrats (among other things). To some extent I regard this political involvement as an extension of my scholarly interests. I love the interplay of diverse interests and perspectives that can be safely observed in a parliamentary democracy. As much as I have my own partisan convictions I also feel an allegiance to the complex organic whole that is our polity. It’s ever-changing and full of surprises.
I have got some good friends from involvement in things political like my party and also the life-enhancing experience that was the United Nations Youth Association (UNYA) Tertiary Conference for freshers (the camp went for a week and I am still friends with some of those met there).
Life Drawing
We all have self-images that differ from practice. I identify as someone who draws but I lack the regular habit. For me, life drawing extends beyond the human form to include landscapes since both use organic lines.
For commentary on other aspects of life reflected in the sidebar see here and here and here. For a tiny bit more info on family see
here.
Labels: Images
posted by Dan at
29.11.05
3 Comments:
An update from me on these interests:
On Swimming
I now can select between two sets of friends on two nights a week to swim with. I am still averaging one session per week but somehow this small change in circumstances has made me a keener swimmer. I now happily do one kilometer per session (rather than just 'whatever I feel like' in a half-arsed fashion).
On Singing
Been feeling like I need a bit of something new in my life and decided that something old would fit the bill. So I have been attending some rehearsals of the Monash University Choral Society (MonUCS) as a community member. I am so rusty. The whole experience is difficult in that it challenges me in a lot of the things I suck at like memorising tunes or timing or words or names or faces! My natural inclination is to pack it in. I think the right thing to do is resist that instict. We shall see how long I can stick with it...
By
Dan, At
08 March, 2006
Another update on the status of my interests:
On Swimming
The cold and wet of long winter (long winter can extend six months) has come along and reduced my interest in swimming in even an indoor pool. Still I have been getting along pretty regularly but have somehow been more lazy and am only swimming half a km per visit.
On Singing
I now feel a lot more relaxed in the MonUCS setting following several rehearsals, a 'fresher' day, a rehearsal camp, a few post-rehearsal 'pub' or 'coffee' gatherings, a concert and a post-concert party. I have got back confidence in performance singing and the MonUCti seem a nice bunch - they are welcoming and excellent conversationalists.
On Life Drawing
I have done some of this recently. Some friends host a regular 'crafty' evening and I went to one recently and did some sketching there. Then at a party last weekend I got the inclination to draw some of the guests who happily consented. Drawing subjects with clothes on has its own challenges but I was happy with the results. I gotta do more of this sort of thing. There are those who carry a camera all the time. Maybe I should carry sketchpad and pencils all the time.
By
Dan, At
18 May, 2006
Just looking over my oldest blog posts and tidying some of it (amazing how mistakes can sit for ages and never get corrected). A friend posted the following comment to the wrong post and I'm only now moving it to the one I'm sure it was intended for:
Dear Daniel,
How nice to see your blog. And there's some things I didn't know about you - I wouldn't have picked you as either a swimmer or life-drawer.
We had a blog for a while but stopped updating it once we got back to Oz - it is at www.treaclesriz.blogspot.com
My fantasy recommendation for this year is Susanna Clarke's Johnathon Strange & Mr Norrell. Have you read it?
Hope to see you in person sometime in the new year,
Julie.
By
Dan, At
06 January, 2024
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