Bittersweet

I remember some pleasant times during my high school years. Some pleasant people, too. So why do I often think back on those years and remember the unpleasantness?

Danny Boy!

O Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen and down the mountainside
The summer's gone and all the roses falling
'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide.

But come ye back when summer's in the meadow
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow
'Tis I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow
O Danny boy, O Danny boy, I love you so.

But if ye come and all the flowers are dying
If I am dead, as dead I well may be,
You'll come and find the place where I am lying
And kneel and say an Ave there for me.

And I shall hear, though soft, your tread above me
And all my grave shall warmer, sweeter be
For you will bend and tell me that you love me
And I will sleep in peace until you come to me.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Aphrodite -- yeah

Saw author and crime reporter Aphrodite Jones on TV. I like her.

I hate snow

I hate snow. I really, really hate it.

As a child, I enjoyed playing in snow. Nowadays though, I hate it, since it means having to trudge through the white stuff, shovel my driveway, and generally drive under hazardous conditions. Yech.

Lucky gal

My friend Hope looks like a movie star. Now, I would not be interested in her, since I don't think we'd be compatible (and because she's married anyway), but I have to say that she's very lucky. Those kinds of good looks must surely open up a lot of doors for her.

Manuals. We need manuals.

I am astonished at the number of companies that don't seem to understand the need for accurate, comprehensive user manuals or other technical documentation. Absolutely mind-boggling.

These folks do get the concept, though. They do understand. Hallelujah!

Levi is scum

Levi Johnston is scum. Utter scum.

Facebook status updates

I've found that most of the people I know on Facebook tend to post unimaginative status updates. Some of them (this fella, Eddie, for example) are especially unimaginative.

I think this is akin to the manner in which most people create boring photos. They just smile at the camera in different ways and expect to create memories that way. Well, they may create a few memories, but not in the same way that a creative or well-composed photograph would.

Need a nap

Dang, I'm sleep.

danceronice

Stumbled across some postings by a lady named 'danceronice'. She seems kinda edgy. Volatile, as though you have to watch your words very carefully around her lest she blow up in your face. She strikes me as the sort that you have to be very careful about speaking to. The kind who'd probably be quick to respond more to her gut sense of what you're saying.

I could we wrong about this, so I want to emphasize that in my own mind.

She's kinda like this woman I know, FBR. FBR is much worse though, and has gotten into numerous fights over silly little things. One really needs to tread carefully around FBR, that's for sure.

Gummi Bears

Watching the Gummi Bears on DVD. What a great show.

Padme and open-mindedness

This gal that I knew from grad school, Padme, said that people should strive to be rich because it stinks to be poor. I pointed out that one doesn't have to be rich in order to escape poverty. That is, she was guilty of committing the fallacy of the excluded middle.

Her response, "You're just being close-minded."

What a strange duck. Apparently, being open-minded means that one should agree with her. By her response, she showed that she was incapable of discussing the issue in a principled manner.

Biotech

Biotechnology: It's the wave of the future. I think it behooves everyone to learn a bit more about anatomy and cell biology. I benefited greatly from some of the "Great Courses" DVD sets from the public library.

Gretch, what are you doing?

Gretchen, what in the world are you doing? Have you no discernment? Have you no common sense?

Gretchen keeps making terrible decisions and spouting incredible foolishness instead of wisdom.