Interests
I have a lot of varied interests in my life and what I consider fun could be thought of as "weird", "time-wasting" or "illegal" depending on your point of veiw but it's what has kept me sane over the years.
As I was writing this, I realized that some of my interests were too long for a single page. Hypertext links to the more detailed pages can be found listed at the bottom of this page.
Comics
Been collecting them since I was a little kid. Could've killed my mom when she threw out what could easily have been thousands of dollars worth of comics in today's collector's market.
I don't get into it for the money, I do it for the story lines, art, or just how it makes me feel. (usually, I say, "Man, this is so-o kewl!!") Click here for some of my favorite titles. Be warned, this page has a lot of graphics and may take a bit to load.
Rennaisance Festivals
I've been going to the Maryland Rennaisance Festival in Crownsville, MD (near Annapolis) since 1987. I went the first time on a lark, but have been hooked ever since. This takes up a large chunk of my time (and money) during the end of Summer and beginning of Fall. Have even gotten my folks and in-laws to go. Talk about a weird experience, brrr...
Click here for a dedicted page with photos and commentary of some folks I know from there. Also, I've added links to many of the rennie pages I check out from time to time.
Sci-Fi Conventions
Sit down. Stay a spell. I'll tell how things were in the good, old days...
Hello. My name is Jim ("Hi, Jim..." ), and I am a science fiction convention junkie in self-imposed exile and/or recovery. For a period of about 10-12 years I averaged about one convention a month. I have met some really great and truly unique people over the years, quite a few of these folks I am proud to know and call my friends. I also met some serious psycho-twinkies (I seem to have dated more than my fair share of these) who could greatly benefit from professional psychiatric care, and many people who are seriously in need of a clue in how to live, and FUNCTION, in the real world. Or at least they should move out of their parents basement and/or get a real job or, heavens' forbid, go out on a date. (can we say SAR-CA-SM? I knew you could!) Some of these folks I mentioned either scare me (6' 2", large, hairy person that I am) or have me in fear of losing my security clearance if I were ever to associate with them again. There are just a few of the many, many, many reasons for my self-imposed exile. To quote an author I like (Sharon McCrumb), "Fandom doesn't take visitors, it takes prisoners."
Every now and again, I do fall off the wagon (usually Darkover and the occassional Star Trek convention or Dragon*Con if I have the time off and disposable income). The last big convention I went to was the 1998 Worldcon in Baltimore dubbed BucCONneer. It was pretty much a flop. Disorganized, overpriced, and very little in the way of fun. Which was sad, Worldcons are generally a ton of fun to attend.
These days, whenever I do go to conventions, it's generally to schmooze with some old friends that I rarely see these days (being an anti-social, cynical, reclusive S.O.B. means that I don't get out of the house much these days, but I'm not bitter about it :->), or to be vastly entertained by going on a new adventure (i.e. Dragon*Con). Unfortunately, that's the exception, not the rule.
