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Subject: 
Re: Lego Hobby Blues
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.general
Date: 
Thu, 8 Dec 2005 07:40:10 GMT
Viewed: 
1991 times
  
The thrill is gone.

Then take a break.  I know I have, many times.  I haven't updated my website
in almost a year.  I've got about five completed projects that I would love
to photograph and display, but I'm too busy trying to find a new career.
Lego as a hobby is still my primary one and still my primary relaxation
technique, but my interest and passion for it waxes and wanes as my free
time and higher priorities dicate.

There's so much about our hobby that has changed over the
last few years and a lot of it has changed for the worse.

Hmmm, don't know that I agree with that.  Change being good or bad is, IMHO,
almost always a matter of perspective.  The color change is definitely bad
as far as I'm concerned, but many don't care and many think it's fine or
even great (lunatics!).    :-D

LUGNET

This used to be THE place that the online community got together and
talked
about the hobby.  Now, it has a fraction of the news it used to have.

This was inevitable.  Lugnet was (and probably still is) the primary hub and
jumping off point for all the themed websites which were bound to be born.
I believe that as those sites grow, so will Lugnet.  I think that will
happen as more and more people come online and look around at all the
websites and decide that their interest is in getting a snakey-lick of the
whole online hobby arena, which is how I see Lugnet's appeal now.  Lugnet's
kinda like a whole bunch of appetizers, then you can decide if you want
steak or fish, or maybe just more appetizers!  :-)

Where are people getting news these days?  LEGOFan?  The few times I have
visited that site, it seems to be directed at a different audience (those
new to
Lego?).  And why is the closer integration with a TLG a good idea?  I
mean,
really...wasn't there something kinda cool about FANS building with Lego
without
any involvement from the company?  What's the benefit?  Lego Ambassadors?
Certified Builders?  Have any of these developments actually increased
anyone's
enjoyment of just clicking together bricks?  Is having a handful of
regular
people "in-the-know" a benefit to you personally or to a sense of
community?

I'd love to more involved with TLG, especially if it meant that I could rise
to a position where I could reverse the color change!

THINGS THAT ARE WRONG

Our interest in the Swanberg case -- it's a court case, it's a person's
life, it
only has to do with Lego incidentally.

I thought and still think that the whole thing was just hilarious.  Many of
my friends asked me if I'd heard about it and what exactly what the big deal
was.  I think the main reason it got so much attention is because it's just
so ridiculous.  A grown man committing fraud with a children's toy!  It
almost sounds like a sitcom plot.

Our addiction -- how much Lego is too much?  I probably had about 100 sets
when
I was a kid, built up over 4-5 years -- now I have 60,000 pieces.  I feel
bad
about this.  I want to buy more Lego, but why?  What's reasonable?  $200 a
year?
Is more irresponsible?  There are people living in poverty all over the
world --
it's kinda sickening to think I spend more on a toy in a month than some
people
spend on food. :(  I'd really like to know what a sane amount of money
is - not
based on what we have done as a community in the past - but what is really
a
moral amount.  Anyone want to really examine this?  Do we dare?

Addiction's a strong word.  If you feel it applies to you, then maybe you
really should put it down for awhile.  I love my hobby, I mean, I LOVE IT.
But if my apartment burned to the ground I'd be ok as long as my wife and
two cats were on the street with me to watch the flames.  If you think you
have too much then perhaps you should give some of it away.  I'm sure you'll
find some takers in the kids in your neighborhood!  :-D

I know this soinds like a complaint - it is - and it's not as structured
or
thought out as I had hoped it to be.  But what it comes down to is that I
am
looking for answers.  I used to feel good about this hobby.  Some days I
still
do.  But I want to know what happened to the community - is it still
there?  Is
it thriving or dying?  And I want to know how sane and moral this hobby
is.  To
me, these are important questions.  I am hitting a wall coming up with
answers
-- I am looking for discussion and insight....

Sounds like you're feeling disconnected.  I feel like that sometimes.  LOTS
of things are usually going on in my own club, but my involvement in most of
those activities is pretty minimal.  That's mainly because I'm comfortable
with where I am.  If I want to get more involved, I'll set aside the time
and do it.  However, my hobby is secondary to many things of far greater
importance i.e. family, new job search, petting the kitties, laundry, meals,
etc.

--
Thomas Main
thomasmain@charter.net



Message is in Reply To:
  Lego Hobby Blues
 
The thrill is gone. There's so much about our hobby that has changed over the last few years and a lot of it has changed for the worse. LUGNET This used to be THE place that the online community got together and talked about the hobby. Now, it has a (...) (19 years ago, 7-Dec-05, to lugnet.general)

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