wargalukInterests
When asked what interests me, I am inclined to respond: “nothing” or, on better days: “oh, it’s difficult to say.” This renders the prospect of conversing with new acquaintances or attending a job interview rather awkward; it also frustrates any kind soul who attempts, in good faith, to address my laments about not knowing what to do with my life.
The truth of the matter is that I am, or have been, interested in a great many things, albeit extremely inconsistently. Due to an irreparable flaw in my mind, I am subject to a repeating pattern of enthusiastic interest followed by subsequent disinterest in various topics. During periods of excitement, I can spend many hours each day focused on learning something or developing new skills; yet after some weeks or months, I cannot fathom what had initially driven me to do so.
This page lists all of the interests I can recall from my adult life, categorized according to my current level of investment in them. If nothing else, it serves as a record of my capriciousness and inconstancy.
I must emphasize that my interest in something does not necessarily indicate that I like it. Often, my interest arises from irritation with my own ignorance or the hope that “getting into something” will eventually lead to some lasting change for the better (it never does). I list the things I genuinely like in a separate Favorites section.
Current
- art, Early Modern
- art, Renaissance
- dreams and visions in culture and religion
- books, emblem books
- literature, 20th-century
- literature, Romanticism
- religion, Western Esotericism
- symbols in art and literature
Dormant
- art, history of illustration
- art, history of printmaking
- art, Symbolism
- books, history of
- books, illuminated manuscripts
- games, tabletop game design
- games, tabletop roleplaying
- history, Ancient Greece
- history, Ancient Near East
- literature, ancient
- literature, Arthurian legend
- literature, Early Modern
- literature, gothic fiction
- literature, medieval
- literature, metaphysical detective fiction
- literature, science fiction
- literature, the Bible and Apocrypha
- literature, weird fiction
- religion, Ancient Mediterranean
- religion, comparative
- religion, comparative mythology
- religion, mysticism
Waning
- activity, meditation
- art, Dadaism, Surrealism, and Situationism
- cartography
- cinema, horror
- cinema, oneiric
- comedy, stand-up
- design, typography and book design
- design, web design
- games, board and card games
- history, 17th-century
- literature, classic fantastic fiction
- literature, horror fiction
- music, classical
- photography, digital
- political thought, left-wing
- religion, Daoism
- religion, Gnosticism
- weirdness, late 20th-century occulture
Abandoned
- activity, night walking
- activity, urban exploration
- cinema, East Asian
- comedy, British radio
- comedy, British TV
- design, data visualization
- design, type design
- foreign culture, Czech
- foreign culture, Scandinavian
- games, collectible card games
- games, interactive fiction
- games, miniature wargaming
- games, retro video games
- hardware, DIY audio equipment
- hardware, sound synthesis
- logic
- mathematics
- music, noise
- music, post-punk
- philosophy, American pragmatism
- philosophy, analytic
- philosophy, continental
- philosophy, existentialism
- philosophy, pessimism
- photography, analog
- photography, experimental
- podcasts, true crime
- programming, functional
- programming, generative art
- programming, recreational
- science, history of
- science, popular astronomy
- weirdness, chaos magic
- weirdness, fringe beliefs
- weirdness, supernatural beliefs
- weirdness, web atrocity tourism