The New Age can be as deadly as Catholic ignorance » « Time to make a promise

It’s too early in the morning for this

I creakily got out of bed this morning, threw some water on my bleary-eyed face, and started in on my usual pile o’ email, and what’s at the top? This.

Bah, humbug. My back hurts and my knees and ankles ache, and what stretches in front of me is a long day sitting in an office and meetings and lectures. No dancing. No dancing ever.

The New Age can be as deadly as Catholic ignorance » « Time to make a promise

Comments

  1. pHred says

    I’m sorry but that is way more fun then classes and meetings I have in front of me. Yes dancing – lots of dancing.

    But then I am the professor who demonstrates the “dinosaur walk” in my historical geology classes and has done the Charleston in class as well. So – what to I know ?

  2. AussieMike says

    Stop being a cranky shit! That video is a metaphor for how many of us think about life without the shackles of religious dogma or whatever other non-reasoned load may once have weighed us down.
    And in my case you are responsible for much of that. So thank you PZ. I appreciate that you find time to communicate to us in the way you do. I hope your ankles feel better soon, you have more religious butt to kick after all. Of course, if you were joking disregard everything I just said……except the thankyou part. :-)

  4. says

    … My back hurts and my knees and ankles ache, and what stretches in front of me is a long day sitting in an office and meetings and lectures. No dancing. No dancing ever.

    Oh, man, it’s all good. Just gotta warm up right. Bust out some some mellow little routine like this on your coffee break, get things moving.

  5. kantalope says

    a) the ballerina at the start just looked kinda freaky
    b) about the only move I could pull off is the Moe Larry Curley at about 4:20
    3) the thing on the stairs was just frightening

    pHred – if it is not revealing too much, which school has geology classes with the Charleston? My school doesn’t have any geology dancing or no.

  7. sezit says

    oh, pHred, I had to google “dinosaur walk” as soon as I read your post…. you don’t mean this do you?

  9. says

    So, of course, I had to look up the actual Emma Goldman quote:

    I did not believe that a Cause which stood for a beautiful ideal, for anarchism, for release and freedom from convention and prejudice, should demand the denial of life and joy. I insisted that our Cause could not expect me to become a nun and that the movement would not be turned into a cloister. If it meant that, I did not want it.

  12. Lyle says

    > That video is a metaphor for how many of us think about life without the shackles of religious dogma or whatever other non-reasoned load may once have weighed us down.

    Set to the tune of a song written by a Mormon, in which he sings about lamenting his own sinful ways.

  13. nora says

    This made me smile! I’m older and creakier than you P.Z., but I still love to dance around once in awhile, usually, in the privacy of my office.

    After growing up wanting to be Shirley Temple, I took tap tancing lessons in my forties. I spent about four years in the beginner class. My teacher said I had balance issues.

  14. epicure says

    Two things in life I have never ‘got’ – mathematics and DANCING… and as a musician I saw so much of it…

    I just don’t see why anyone would spend so much time and trouble to edit all those clips together to such a corny record.

  16. Rip Steakface says

    Actually, my week was recently made when I bumbled into this. It’s amazing how much you can improve pop music.

  19. kantalope says

    Rip – I think I could listen to her read the phone book.

    Daz – amazin – the fitness required for even that short bit would make marathoners cry

  22. Tigger_the_Wing, Back home =^_^= says

    Oops! Sorry! I didn’t realise it would do that… :(

    Unfortunately, the video in which I am wheelchair dancing (as Davros) has been set to private, or I would have linked to that (it being slightly more relevant).

    Once I got to the point where I can barely walk a few yards I thought my dancing days were over, too. And the arthritis in my neck, shoulders, hands and arms forced me to give up all my musical instruments.

    But where there’s a will music, there’s a way.

    Wheelchair dancing is fun!

    With the encouragement of my eldest son and my daughter-in-law, I’ve been invited to become a member of their marching band, in the percussion section. I’ve just bought a tiny mobility scooter which can be operated with one hand. Now to choose an appropriate instrument! =^_^=

  23. everbleed says

    Dear PZ,

    Thank you. Inspired by your wonderful post, I plugged in the iPod and went and danced to Seether Gasoline on my Grill Grate equipped Weber BBQ deck overlooking the forest (please forgive shameless commercial plugs) and started the day much better than my similarly creaky bones expected.

    Dancing is good. We need dancing at atheist conventions. Might even cool our afterburners a bit.

    Constantine was brilliant. Co-op ‘their’ stuff and make it our own. We need to dance.

    Does AJ Milne dance? Does PZ?

    Do any of you?

    Maybe we are missing something.

  25. I've got the WTF blues says

    Is it odd that I am irritated by The Safety Dance being attributed to Men at Work when it was Men Without Hats who did that to us wrote and performed it?

    Dancing is highly underrated as a mood elevator.

  26. pHred says

    Sorry – I have been in class – unfortunately not dancing. And I am about to run straight to another one. I will try to answer when I get back.

  27. says

    Does AJ Milne dance? Does PZ?

    (Looks furtively around…)

    Who wants to know?

    I is amused by the safety dance reference, too (Sean/#20 you can dance if you want to) but as pedant and Canadian and child o’ the 80s and The Box fan, I really gotta link to the actual video by, in fact, Montréal band The Men Without Hats.

  29. everbleed says

    Dance. Does Dawkins? Does Harris?

    The problem perceived by the ‘rest of humanity’ is that none-mystical people can’t dance. They have no ‘soul’.

    According to my wife of 33 years, neither can I. Dance that is. 6’2″ and 215 and white male, I am fucked.

    Hence I am a ‘Private Dancer’. I suspect many atheists are private dancers as well.

    Apparently. We lack ‘soul’.

    But seriously, you should see me rock my ass off down the road for the fir trees and squirrels.

  30. everbleed says

    P.s. If you promise to send me money, I will do it on video for you. Dance that is.

    It costs money to water the fir trees and feed the squirrels.

    Save the trees and the squirrels.

  32. =8)-DX says

    Disgusting.
    How could anyone make a compilation like that – that’s not dance music! That’s “vaguely jump about while flailing to the slow rhythm” music. You can’t dance to stuff like that – just look at the way most of the dancer’s feet are moving 2-3 times faster. I’m not at all surprised PZ didn’t feel inspired.
    Disgusting.

  35. I've got the WTF blues says

    well that’s a fine kettle of fish

    and here I thought I was getting better at this interwebs stuff

  36. Beatrice, an amateur cynic looking for a happy thought says

    Have you watched Whiteys Lindy Hoppers that Daz linked in #17? You seriously need to watch that dance.

  40. drummer25 says

    Still Lindy Hopping after more decades than I’d care to mention – the miracle continues!
    (Great memories of Frankie Manning’s classes).

  43. weatherwax says

    In the spirit of broadening the movement and not being old and stodgy, here’s some PDQ Bach

  44. unclefrogy says

    I had to watch that whole video so I could watch that bit with Cagney going down the stairs
    just wow I’d die if I tried that

    uncle frogy

  48. Lithified Detritus says

    Wow.

    I’m not a dancer, but this has to be the best Pharyngula thread ever.

    Oh, and I’ve also done the dinosaur walk – for 7th graders.

  49. says

    I confess that I’ve never recovered from the time PZ posted the video of the cheesy rock group accompanied by dancing Indian maidens.