| Home
|
January 15, 2008 I got some very interesting feedback on my last blog entry on hobbies and Star Trek. The pro-Star Trek contingent agreed completely with me. Some of them even went on to discuss how they felt I should have said there's no difference between a Star Trek fan who attends conventions and a baseball fan who has season tickets for his team. They make a good point. I wouldn't want to hang out with somebody who went around in a Klingon costume or somebody that paints the Mets' colors on his face for baseball games. Yet as a society we do tend to lionize the painted face people. The people who were offended were, naturally, Renaissance Fair people. They felt that I was being unfair by comparing them to Star Trek fans and that a Renaissance Fair recreates history where Star Trek is a total fantasy. They have a point, but a limited one because they've created a fantasy of how the Renaissance really was. Just by bathing, to start, they create a world much nicer than the historical record would indicate. The majority of responses I received were positive, however. They agreed that there is a point where hobbies do become obsessions. Nobody could agree on where to draw the line. So I've tried to draw the line. A hobby becomes an obsession when it dominates your life to the point that there are negative consequences. How's that sound? So what does this have to do with dating? Simple. Just watch out for the person that is over involved in anything and then make your own judgment. And go easy on Star Trek fans. Copyright 2008 Carl Birkmeyer |