Happy People Dancing On Planet Earth (APOD 22 Jul 2008)

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Expand view Topic review: Happy People Dancing On Planet Earth (APOD 22 Jul 2008)

by emc » Thu Jul 31, 2008 2:32 pm

by pat-on-mars » Thu Jul 31, 2008 5:27 am

I was going to make a comment on all of these comments, actually on the original, refreshingly different choice of the Dancing People video by APOD, but I don't think a single thing has been left unsaid.

Well, except maybe this: "Dance as if no one is watching ..."

Maybe some aliens are watching though, if I read some of these comments correctly. A good thing if so.

Matt originally just made videos of himself dancing in the countries he visited as a lark. The happy circumstance of also being paid to do this in new places reminds me of a similar happy circumstance - - actually being paid to do astronomy. I mean, come on, some one is going to pay me (or you) to do the greatest job in the world? Gaze at the universe and try to figure out how we come to be made up of star dust?

No one would ever believe that either!

PS-- My favorite moment is when Matt syncs his jig with the sari-ladies in India. Brilliant!

by emc » Wed Jul 30, 2008 1:57 pm

Sorry, bystander, You'd needed to have read my previous musing posts in this thread postulating Robert and Jerry as aliens... (based on an off-planet view of Earth with the dancing humans qualifying this APOD as an astronomy subject from an alien (outer space alien) perspective). I also postulated that Matt is in cahoots being an alien himself.

And I was afraid I was beating a dead horse. :wink: (I know how words can be misconstrued, so "beating a dead horse" is just a figure of speech, I do not condone the beating of horses, especially dead ones.)

Thanks bystander, for the opportunity to muse about aliens once again.

Re: Aliens don't need money

by bystander » Wed Jul 30, 2008 1:43 pm

emc wrote:Aliens don't need money.
:?: HUH :?: :?

Re: Dance 'Til Ya Just Can't Dance Anymore. Kudos to Matt &

by emc » Wed Jul 30, 2008 1:23 pm

bystander wrote:
Lilee wrote:[snipped 'cause I can]... IMHO, the money could have been spent much better.

Give it to Robert and Jerry, support APOD.
Aliens don't need money.

Re: Dance 'Til Ya Just Can't Dance Anymore. Kudos to Matt &

by bystander » Wed Jul 30, 2008 1:01 pm

Lilee wrote:... regarding Matt Harding: This guy should be running for US President. ...
Yeah, the guy definitely has political qualifications. Look how he spends money on trivial events and ignores the larger issues.

I still don't understand how any one person can spend so much money traveling to so many diverse parts of our planet and only have these inane videos to show for it. IMHO, the money could have been spent much better.

Give it to Robert and Jerry, support APOD.

Dance 'Til Ya Just Can't Dance Anymore. Kudos to Matt &

by Lilee » Wed Jul 30, 2008 6:34 am

[color=indigo][size=9]
8) Matt's adventure is one of the greatest postings I'd ever expect to find, nevermind discuss at this Board. Why? Why do we look to the heavens and the stars, planets, systems? To get an idea, a hope of the good and potentially hope of and in life and our life times. With the help of friends, family, Matt took off on an adventure and "danced" his way around the Earth, "our world," and into the heads and hearts of so many individuals, crossed cultural boundaries with his dance stylings, likely met as if an alien from the outer worlds around ours.

The video was sent to me with the caption regarding Matt Harding: This guy should be running for US President. In a forum of political discussion I'd not just agree, but pontificate on the measure, particularly given our probable Primary partisan (with flaws each) candidates for our Nation's (US) Executive Branch and Highest office: President.

Matt, by choosing to travel and dance, met with the cultures, the people, the hearts and souls for whom one partisan side believes we should be sending, without question, financial and physical supply aid; while the other partisan side believes we need to drop in with not only our dollars and supplies, but with teams of educators, in some cases the "military" to fight for a right of freedom as we, US Americans perceive it to and as should be.

No red tape, no strings, no trade. Much like a simple act of random kindness can go a long way to brighten on person's day (some even longer), Matt's learned appreciation for the "universal spirit" of many cultures being expressed in dance, took the tool (and talents) along on a marvelous, enviable venture to the people the US is claiming to fight for the rights of and democracies in their homelands, to having a presence easily moved in on by military troops to defend the near democracies that are growning.

Matt did this with a smile, a melody, a joy in his dance steps that led to a contagion of uninhibited laughter, joy, possibly even unconditioned love of another's human spirit.

We'd be lucky to have such a non-partisan political candidate and this forum suits Matt's posting, the discussion, for the research and development of our Universe, recognition of ourselves in the "parallel" of any one or more universal clusters out there.

Earth Dancing

by valcouns » Tue Jul 29, 2008 4:46 am

Gotta tell you, blending the sky and the earth makes sense to me. I forwarded this to a bunch of people who never look at APOD, and I saw this video as a unique sweep of world experiences and the stars. I am very curious to see the results. Thank you, APOD, for posting this.

by Peacekeeper » Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:12 pm

Well I would like to say that I LOVED The video. I've seen it before, and have actually be following Matt since he began his travels years ago. I come here to see beauty, and this was no exception. Brought a tear to my eye... gave me hope for us all!

We might just make it man... we might just make it.

APOD, I thank you Very Much for sharing all the beauty you've shared with us over the years. Truly, your just Awesome.

Peace


P.S. Also, I've seen picture on here that had nothing to do with Astronomy before... so its not like this is breaking any rules.

by bystander » Fri Jul 25, 2008 1:18 pm

neufer wrote:So the Plasma Bullets are shot at the feet of Aurora to make her dance?
Yup, that seems to be what scientists are saying. Wouldn't make me too happy.

I didn't know Aurora's sibs were Sol and Luna. Learn something new every day.

I guess the Romans didn't know Aurora was twins, Australis and Borealis.

by neufer » Fri Jul 25, 2008 1:04 pm

So the Plasma Bullets are shot at the feet of Aurora to make her dance?

(from Wikipedia)
<<In ancient Roman mythology Aurora, goddess of the dawn, renews herself every morning and flies across the sky, announcing the arrival of the sun. She has two siblings, a brother (Sol, the sun) and a sister (Luna, the moon). A myth taken from the Greek Eos[a.k.a., Aurora] by Roman poets tells that one of her lovers was the prince of Troy, Tithonus. Tithonus was a mortal, and would age and die. Wanting to be with her lover for all eternity, Aurora asked Zeus to grant immortality to Tithonus. Zeus granted her wish, however Aurora had failed to ask him for eternal youth. As a result, Tithonus ended up aging eternally. Aurora ended up turning her beloved Tithonus into a cicada.

In the poem "Tithonus" by Lord Alfred Tennyson, Aurora is described thus:

Once more the old mysterious glimmer steals
From thy pure brows, and from thy shoulders pure,
And bosom beating with a heart renewed.
Thy cheek begins to redden through the gloom,
Thy sweet eyes brighten slowly close to mine,
Ere yet they blind the stars, and the wild team
Which love thee, yearning for thy yoke, arise,
And shake the darkness from their loosened manes,
And beat the twilight into flakes of a fire >>

by bystander » Fri Jul 25, 2008 1:02 pm

emc wrote:How did you link to RJN's post?
  • Go to Asterisk Search.
    Type in the desired username in Search for Author:.
    Limit the search by Category, Forum, Keywords, etc.
    Click Display results as: Posts.
    Start your search,
    Select the appropriate post and
    Copy the shortcut.

by bystander » Fri Jul 25, 2008 12:54 pm

by emc » Fri Jul 25, 2008 12:07 pm

bystander wrote:
emc wrote:How do you know it's Professor Nemiroff?
RJN wrote:I posted that video to APOD...
http://asterisk.apod.com/vie ... ght=#95720
THanks bystander... I totally missed that!

How did you link to RJN's post?

by emc » Fri Jul 25, 2008 12:05 pm

Andy Wade wrote:
emc wrote:[snipped]... maybe there should be a "paid" version of APOD for the people that are seriously unhappy with the two volunteers' efforts. [snipped]
Hmmmm... I'm not sure you thought that one through. People paying for something they didn't like. :?...
Hi Andy, Thanks for your comments!

You are absolutely right about my not thinking this through... Some would argue that APOD is paid for indirectly with tax dollars so my comment is just simply off-base. I was grasping for some rational means of controlling the content of APOD from a disgruntled viewer's vantage point.
Andy Wade wrote:... Even with a free resource there's always the risk that people will simply *stop coming, [snipped]
You are right about that... the internet is pick and choose and everyone will and should certainly do that...

Meanwhile, IMHO, this particular APOD has been blown way out of proportion. Much grumbling about little. And you know, I expect someone will want to grumble about that... which is OK (within the guidlines of the forum)! We all have our opinions and preferences (O'P's) or is that (P'O's :wink: ) It is fun to express one's self when nobody gets hurt.

I may not keep visiting here for the duration of my life... I can't say... but for right now I plan to keep viewing, learning and sometimes posting.

Long live APOD and Asterisk! And Robert and Jerry! (even if you are aliens)

I can see how the dancing in different locations across our planet ties in with Astronomy, which I have explained in previous posts... stars are great but so is our Earth... and so can people be.

And what if we are not alone in the Universe? What if aliens are tapped in to our internet and Asterisk? What kind of impression do we make in our writing behavior? :?: Hope I'm not being too preachy here. :| More importantly, I hope I am not making a bad impression. :(

by neufer » Fri Jul 25, 2008 11:22 am

by Andy Wade » Fri Jul 25, 2008 7:22 am

emc wrote:Earthbelow's comment, thus far, wins the "best comment" consensus and deservedly so...
MrDon wrote:For everyone, I dont know about you, but I don't buy everything I see on the grocery store shelf. If you had no appetite for the selection today, then simply move on.
I like your comments MrDon!... especially the above quote. Only difference I can see is groceries usually cost money. So far, I haven't paid a cent for APOD or Asterisk... maybe there should be a "paid" version of APOD for the people that are seriously unhappy with the two volunteers' efforts.

BTW You can call me MrEd - like my friends do... I feel a kinship with the TV star... (now where's that pony?)
Hmmmm... I'm not sure you thought that one through. People paying for something they didn't like. :?
Even with a free resource there's always the risk that people will simply *stop coming, which I'm sure is not the intention of the people who run this site. As someone who runs a very well visited website I could never consider changing it in any way as it is very specific, which is why people visit it in the first place. They come looking for something very specific and personal to themselves.
Which is why I come here.




*Not me of course. Hopefully it was just a blip. :)

by bystander » Thu Jul 24, 2008 8:32 pm

emc wrote:How do you know it's Professor Nemiroff?
RJN wrote:I posted that video to APOD...
http://asterisk.apod.com/vie ... ght=#95720

by emc » Thu Jul 24, 2008 7:47 pm

owlice wrote:Merci beaucoup plus encore, Robert! [snipped]
If you don't mind please, I am curious... How do you know it's Professor Nemiroff?

Curious Ed (another name friends call me)

by owlice » Thu Jul 24, 2008 6:49 pm

Merci beaucoup plus encore, Robert! Loved the video; a great view of some of the inhabitants and locales of this little blue-green orb we call home.

by emc » Thu Jul 24, 2008 11:34 am

Earthbelow's comment, thus far, wins the "best comment" consensus and deservedly so...
MrDon wrote:For everyone, I dont know about you, but I don't buy everything I see on the grocery store shelf. If you had no appetite for the selection today, then simply move on.
I like your comments MrDon!... especially the above quote. Only difference I can see is groceries usually cost money. So far, I haven't paid a cent for APOD or Asterisk... maybe there should be a "paid" version of APOD for the people that are seriously unhappy with the two volunteers' efforts.

BTW You can call me MrEd - like my friends do... I feel a kinship with the TV star... (now where's that pony?)

by LiberConservative » Thu Jul 24, 2008 2:11 am

I thought this was very cool. Sometimes we all need to be reminded that all of who we are here on Earth is "home" to our astronomy. Well done, APOD. Well done. And thank you. :D

by MrDon » Wed Jul 23, 2008 9:37 pm

bystander wrote:While I fully support Robert's and Jerry's rights to post anything they wish to APOD, I thought the video inane. The only part I found entertaining was when Matt got wiped out by the wave. I find it incredulous that given the time and money required to visit all those places, the best thing he could find to do is make these silly videos.

Robert, Jerry and all the folks at APOD, keep up the good work. While I may not always agree with your selections, I'm not offering to take your place, either. Keep in mind, my fellow asterisk posters, these people have day jobs, too. You may criticize the content, but not the folks at APOD (or Asterisk).
Earthbelow wrote:Somewhere in an alternate universe the Dancing Picture of the Day site is being besieged by complaints about the inclusion of a picture of the Horsehead Nebula. :lol:
Andy Wade wrote:Best comment of the thread!
:D :lol: :D :lol: :D
Agreed :!:
I'm just a regular guy who stumbled on this site some years back. Besides the knowledge and trivia I learn by viewing the APOD, I especially like the links in the text which can lead off into so many directions - from the hard core scientific papers to Wikipedia to simple reference sites. RJN gave an explanation that this now gives a link to "humans" which will get used in future APODS. That makes sense.

Bystander, I too thought this was weird, but with one link, we are taken around this world to different cultures and lands. There's different backgrounds and different dress. It's our world. Yes, not a meaty scientific subject for the day, but - as you say - we're not the one doing the work. So I appreciate this site, and thank them for their daily effort.

For everyone, I dont know about you, but I don't buy everything I see on the grocery store shelf. If you had no appetite for the selection today, then simply move on.

(I very infrequently view the discussions, but figured this would be a hot topic. I also agree Earthbelow's comment was best of day!)

Dancing Happy People

by tmbruner » Wed Jul 23, 2008 8:24 pm

What's this? Anthropology Picture of the Day? I visit APOD, in part, to put things in perspective. Usually it works. Not this time.

by emc » Wed Jul 23, 2008 7:17 pm

apodman wrote:And I'll have my "steaks" with peanut butter and bacon.
Peanut butter and bacon??? You're giving your alien self away apodman... Now where's my Ionizing Alien Matter Vaporizor? (Hope it didn't fall in that pesky hole. You know, I just bet that's where the pony is... )

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