Speaking of fringes of society stuff:
I'm quite the Macross fan and all. I have the DRYL Perfect Edition CAV laserdisc. I was mail ordering Macross model kits from photocopied catalogs that said, "Check your local TV listings soon for "Robotech", the English version of Macross!!!" hand written in the margins. I had Kawamori draw me an SD VT-1D, which sits framed on my dresser. Etc etc...
I remember a long time ago there was this skinny dude with a beard that would always be able to get you out of print Japanese model kits, Macross and stuff. This was before email. Like, 1987 or something. Between mailing him a letter ("Can you get a Max Type movie version VF1J 1/110th scale?), getting a reply letter ("Yeah, sure, when I go to Japan next spring."), sending him a payment (checks sometimes took months to clear in the 80s), and then him sending the kit it would sometimes take nine months or more. It sounds crazy now (Hobby Link Japan can have this kit on my door in 5 days flat now) but I can't emphasize enough that this guy was a f*cking hero back in the day because it was him or nothing. Its fully possible that that Urashiman kit sat on his living room table for a month before he mailed it to me without me knowing, but I will never forgot the fun I had as a kid finally getting my package from guys like him and other shops and stuff. This shit taught me patience.
While the guys Zeta's criticizing were outdoors hiking through the wilderness, he was indoors at home meticulously working on the latest addition to his Japanese model kit collection.
If Zeta didn't know anyone still doing scouting type stuff, it's probably because he already filled his social circle's role of resident "weirdo". I don't doubt that he may very well have gotten to hang around people with far fewer hang ups than him, but I can't imagine joining in with his buddies, after a long day of shooting beer bottles in the woods, head banging to Maiden while getting high. Going by his posting history here, I can only envision him waving his figure at them for having Eddie tattoos and making such poor life choices, while counting down the days until the proliferation of the internet. So he could finally take breaks from modeling to criticize the life choices of people he's never even met.
I don't think that Zeta was molested during his clandestine meetings with that skinny bearded gentleman. I'm sure he was a great guy and all that, but Zeta simply *must* have heard by now that it isn't cool to be old enough to drive yourself to the meet up with your out-of-print Japanese model kit importer.
But I actually think that Zeta's hobbies
are cool, or at least I find them interesting, even if they're not for me. I have other nerdy/geeky/weirdo stuff that I spend my limited free time on. But just like many older scout enthusiasts, my free time is limited because I have a relatively normal and fulfilled life outside of my non-mainstream hobbies.
Everyone active on this forum is a "weirdo". If you're socially well-adjusted, you know exactly how it sounds to a regular adult, if you explain exactly what the PC Engine is and the kinds of discussions which take place here. You don't have to shove it in people's faces, but you shouldn't feel insecure about your passions in life.
