• aetecca
      • hello Alison Tecca
      • Username: aetecca
      • In response to: "What's the one thing you're never gonna give up?" Rick Astley.
  • aetecca's latest answers
    • At least I'm not a trainspotter

      • Telescope

        My list of hobbies is an ever-growing, ever-changing ordeal that usually revolves around what little spare time I have when I'm not doing things for school (though I do set aside quite a lot of time for procrastination). There are some constants that will never change, like hiking here in the wonderful Pacific Northwest and reading for pleasure. But here instead are three of my latest hobbies:

        Astronomy/Stargazing
        I've always been deeply fascinated with astronomy and planetary science, and so several weeks ago I bought my first amateur telescope: a Celestron Astromaster 114mm EQ reflector. It's served me quite well so far, and I've spent several nights (weather permitting) gazing at the stars. I'll never forget my first glimpses of the detail of the craters on the moon or Jupiter and its four Galilean moons lined up perfectly in a row.

        Record Hunting
        I started collecting vinyl records about 2 years ago, and I now have a small collection of about 250 new and used records. One of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon is to head over to 6th Ave in Tacoma and hit up the various record shops in the area. I love browsing, and it's really rewarding to find a rare treasure I've been wanting for a while, or better yet, something I've been wanting on sale.

        British Comedy
        I've never particularly been too thrilled with American television. I don't care for drama, sci-fi, or any of those medical/detective shows that seem to plague American networks. I've just always watched comedy since my early childhood. The problem I have with modern American comedy is that it lacks subtlety - it's usually based off of one-liners and cheap laughs. (Though I should say, there are specific American comedies that I do enjoy - Seinfeld and the Simpsons are both classic and original). British comedy is much wittier, dryer, sarcastic, and ironic - all qualities that I greatly admire. One thing that is also prevalent in the U.K. that America generally lacks are panel/quiz shows which rival some of my favorite British sitcoms. So in my free time I track down shows to watch on Youtube or other similar websites. I could go on and on listing my favorite shows, but a handful include: Grandma's House, The Inbetweeners, Black Books, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, I'm Alan Partridge, The League of Gentlemen, The Mighty Boosh, QI, and Charlie Brooker's You Have Been Watching.

        And so there you have it - a rather long and tedious explanation of three of my current top hobbies.

      • answered by aetecca on 12/04/2011
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    • Soupy Twist!

      • Stephen Fry. Or John Cleese. Both men are not only incredibly funny, but incredibly intelligent (Fry perhaps more so as Cleese seems to be going a bit senile lately).

      • answered by aetecca on 11/08/2010
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    • Scarry is not necessarily scary.

      • Richard Scarry's Best Storybook Ever is one of the few books that I can remember reading in my early childhood. It's one huge storybook filled with colorful illustrations and accompanying vocabulary that makes learning to read fun. I actually wish I still had my copy of this!

      • answered by aetecca on 09/11/2010
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    • My take on religion/spirituality.

      • I feel privileged to have grown up in a religion-free household. It allowed me to shape my own views about religion and spirituality based on what I witnessed in my day-to-day proceedings, rather than have other people tell me what to believe by shoving their own personal viewpoints down my throat. Ultimately, I suppose you could call me an atheist/agnostic, but when it comes down to it, I just simply don't care. Religion has never been important to me and never will be. I don't feel the need for any sort of "higher power" to guide me through life seeing as how I am perfectly capable of doing so myself. I value scientific theory, logic, testable hypotheses, and factual data over any sort of faith or gut feeling I may or may not have. Also, I should mention that I oppose any type of organized religion that oppresses a certain group of people solely because they don't conform to that religion's idealist standards.

        I feel the need to clarify, however, that I am not anti-religion. I understand and respect the concept of freedom of religion. I realize that religion and spirituality have deep roots in both world history and prehistory, and continues to flourish as an important aspect of human culture today. Most importantly, I believe that if one is content within their chosen religion, then more power to them. That being said, I can only hope that others would show the same amount of decency in reference to my lack of belief.

      • answered by aetecca on 08/28/2010
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    • Swear words: They're fairly overrated.

      • I really don't care either way on this one. Personally, I don't use swear words myself because I never really started to in the first place, but ultimately, they're just words and I'm not bothered when others use them.

      • answered by aetecca on 08/10/2010
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