Sunday, February 06, 2011

danceronice, redux

A few weeks ago, I commented on this person, danceronice, from elsewhere on the web. I observed that she seems to have a volatile personality, and that one should tread carefully when speaking to her. Personally, I'd prefer to steer away from folks like that.

Boy, was that an understatement! Let's just say that I've revised my opinion, and not in a positive way. This gal seems like a truly unpleasant person, at least based on what I've read. I don't normally comment on folks this way, but in her case, it's kinda hard not to notice.

Yeah, definitely not a pleasant personality.

To be fair, some people tend to behave like entirely different people when they're on the 'net. In person, they can be much more civil. On the whole though, when people behave poorly on the 'net, I take that as a sign of their underlying personality.

Saturday, February 05, 2011

More on dance

I attended a group dance lesson tonight. Most of the times, the beginners tend to fumble along, but they somehow manage to do some simple steps, however inelegantly.

Tonight though, we had one couple that simply could not move at all. It was as though they had lead weights tie to their feet. Instead of taking a step, the wife would slide her foot around, and instead of taking a step backwards, she'd move her foot in some strange direction.

The husband was no better. He constantly needed to be coached on even the simplest steps. Stepping to the side was like an absolute chore. It was bizarre.

Friday, February 04, 2011

More on the dance bozo

More about that guy from my previous blog entry...

This fella said "If you declare that moving to the beat does not, by itself, constitute interpretation, then you are making a value judgment!"

So what's his problem? People make value judgments all the time. People routinely decide that one movie is better than another, or that one painting is more artistic than another. There's nothing wrong with that. People's judgments may differ in specific circumstances, but that doesn't mean that it's wrong to make such judgments.

He also said, "You are declaring that somebody else's dancing is inadequate!" Good grief. Where does this fella get such ideas? I think it's pretty obvious that declaring that somebody's dance doesn't constitute interpretation is NOT the same as saying that this dance is inadequate.

He even said, "These people aren't uneducated plebes just because they're only moving to the beat!" Again, good grief. He's obviously trying to strive for some sort of level playing field, but he's ditching his common sense in the process. No rational person would draw the conclusions that he jumped to. Heck, I can't play any musical instruments, but I wouldn't call myself an uneducated plebe for doing so. This guy apparently doesn't grasp that many skills that take time to develop. Recognizing that it takes time to develop these skills is NOT the same as saying that people who haven't developed them yet are uneducated plebes.

Like I said, this person has no common sense.

Thursday, February 03, 2011

Dance

I was reading the overly PC writings of some guy on the Internet. He's an experienced dancer, but he's also WAY too hung up on being egalitarian.

Some people were talking about how a lot of dancers don't really interpret the music when they dance. This tends to be true of people with no real dance training or skills. It's especially true of the folks who just kinda squirm and wiggle in place when they "dance." I mean, really -- no reasonable person would say that that's "interpreting."

Yet this one bozo got all huffy and politically correct about the whole issue. He said, "Who are you to make that judgment? As long as people are moving to the beat, they are interpreting the music!"

Now that is just horribly, horribly naive. Music involves far more than just a beat. It also involves rhythm, moods, and much more. I don't think that I can completely define what it means to interpret a musical number, but it certainly involves far more than just moving to the beat.

This guy was trying to be all egalitarian. He didn't like the idea of people saying that folks who just wiggle around on the dance floor aren't interpreting the music. I can appreciate the fact that he was striving for some sort of equality, but in the process, he was taking an absurd and completely unreasonable stance.

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Trout

I love steelhead trout fillets! Love em, love em, love em. So terribly succulent. Even better than rainbow trout.

If not for the cost and concerns about mercury, I'd be pleased to have it everyday.

Tuesday, February 01, 2011

A political low blow

I think that it’s unfair to blame politicians for decisions that their parents made when the politicians in question were only six years old. That sounds kinda distasteful, regardless of whether these politicos stand on the political spectrum.