APOD: Happy People Dancing on Planet Earth (2012 Jul 10)

[Greyhawk]

Looks like we are back to normal viewing - there you go...justification for yesterdays APOD - it proves the sky isn't falling!

[BrovoBrovo]

Were the Opportunity rover on Mars to find inhabitants of the planet, lined up and dancing in some fashion; and to send pictures of said event back to the third rock; SOME people who view APOD would object were said pictures to be posted. After all, it is a different science from astronomy and would not pertain to the subject of APOD.
My view is that the third rock is part of the universe and anything which happens in or on that rock happens in this universe. An occasional lapse onto our planet is acceptable. One APOD asked that you try to spot all the planets shown in the picture. The foreground was of the planet Earth. I missed it and thank the people who pointed it out to me. I had lost contact with the reality of the place I live being one of the planets.
A BIG “Thank You,” to the core group of posters, who discuss the APOD and give the pretty pictures meaning. I don’t recall how I came upon the APOD site and fell in love with the pictures, but I did. Months or years later I found the ‘discuss’ link. Wish I had found it sooner. I love that you can agree and disagree with one another then go on with the next day APOD.
Regarding today’s APOD: I enjoyed and appreciated it. Regarding the WMD (i.e. the bird farm), I recall the Planet EARTH having a seismic event a few years ago which triggered a tsunami. The tsunami caused a catastrophe. The WMD, which was in the area at the time with its assigned task group, was able to render immediate assistance to some of the people and countries affected by the event. I don’t think anyone was dancing at the time but both the people receiving and those rendering aid were happy for the availability of that assistance. The USN hospital ship HOPE was sent to assist shortly thereafter. The task force was available and able because it was assigned with multiple jobs besides war. Among those jobs were keeping the peace and rendering assistance. The crews of those ships even train in exercises so they can do the tasks if needed. You would disallow these sailors and marines to have some fun and have a chance to dance in the video when 24 hours a day they are on call in a hostile environment. I have news for you: Along with you, they are on the third rock, too. Sometimes they have fun, and nobody gets killed.
Retired sailor, and one of many of those Vietnam era veterans, unappreciated at the time, who does not wish to see history repeated.

[owlice]

BrovoBrovo, bravo! Bravo!

[Indigo_Sunrise]

Were the Opportunity rover on Mars to find inhabitants of the planet, lined up and dancing in some fashion; and to send pictures of said event back to the third rock; SOME people who view APOD would object were said pictures to be posted. After all, it is a different science from astronomy and would not pertain to the subject of APOD.
My view is that the third rock is part of the universe and anything which happens in or on that rock happens in this universe. An occasional lapse onto our planet is acceptable. One APOD asked that you try to spot all the planets shown in the picture. The foreground was of the planet Earth. I missed it and thank the people who pointed it out to me. I had lost contact with the reality of the place I live being one of the planets.
A BIG “Thank You,” to the core group of posters, who discuss the APOD and give the pretty pictures meaning. I don’t recall how I came upon the APOD site and fell in love with the pictures, but I did. Months or years later I found the ‘discuss’ link. Wish I had found it sooner. I love that you can agree and disagree with one another then go on with the next day APOD.
Regarding today’s APOD: I enjoyed and appreciated it. Regarding the WMD (i.e. the bird farm), I recall the Planet EARTH having a seismic event a few years ago which triggered a tsunami. The tsunami caused a catastrophe. The WMD, which was in the area at the time with its assigned task group, was able to render immediate assistance to some of the people and countries affected by the event. I don’t think anyone was dancing at the time but both the people receiving and those rendering aid were happy for the availability of that assistance. The USN hospital ship HOPE was sent to assist shortly thereafter. The task force was available and able because it was assigned with multiple jobs besides war. Among those jobs were keeping the peace and rendering assistance. The crews of those ships even train in exercises so they can do the tasks if needed. You would disallow these sailors and marines to have some fun and have a chance to dance in the video when 24 hours a day they are on call in a hostile environment. I have news for you: Along with you, they are on the third rock, too. Sometimes they have fun, and nobody gets killed.
Retired sailor, and one of many of those Vietnam era veterans, unappreciated at the time, who does not wish to see history repeated.

Reposting, because it's just so fabulous!!!!

[thewon]

I am amazed at the grasping at excuses for posting a dancing video on an astronomy website. "It's on Earth, so it's relevant." "It's happy people." "It''s free so they can post what they want." What?? I agree with the others who think it has nothing to do with astronomy. I have a cute cat who lives on this planet and I would like to post his antics on this site. They are cute as well as this video... and as relevant. This cat also lives in the Milky Way Galaxy and goes out in the Sun, making it more relevant. I am a very happy person who enjoys cute videos... in their place. The internet is full of attention seeking folks posting videos of themselves. Yes, this is my first posting and should have posted earlier commenting on the years of beautiful images you have provided me. Thank you for them.

[Bob]

This was so beautiful! Thank you, thank you, thank you. I can't believe I was actually crying by the end.

[sym666]

It's a pity that I couldn't see an astronomy picture today, on Astronomy Picture Of The Day. Besides I failed in smiling watching this video
Now I' ll go to NASA site and see if I get some info on Van Gogh
Nice day everyone

[owlice]

It's a pity that I couldn't see an astronomy picture today, on Astronomy Picture Of The Day. Besides I failed in smiling watching this video
Now I' ll go to NASA site and see if I get some info on Van Gogh
Nice day everyone

Oh, that's too bad, indeed, that you couldn't find the APOD archive (it's the "Archive" link on the APOD page) or the index (the "Index" link on the APOD page) or your favorite APOD by searching for it (by using the "Search" link on the APOD page)! No wonder you failed to smile at this video!

But if you're looking for Van Gogh, try this APOD: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap091011.html
Or this one: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100921.html
And when you're feeling better and up for a challenge -- better able to navigate so you can find an astronomy picture in the richness of the APOD site -- you might want to try this APOD: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100615.html

Hope you feel better soon.

[hackerspiff]

Wow, I am a bit dismayed over how much bile that some sour-hearted people are spewing onto the board over this video.

After watching this video, how can you not be smiling inside? Geez.

Step back. Take a breath. And lighten up.

Certainly the topics of relevance and resources are worthy of discussion, in a civilized way; But I am quite surprised at how much negativity this positive, joyful, and profound video has provoked from some people.

It is impeccable irony that this poignant expression about how we share deeply rooted grounds for peace between us in fact provokes so much negative-spirited confrontation.

-s

[hackerspiff]

I fail to see what dancing has to do with APOD, unless it's just another socialist angle

The video is a cogent expression that humans, as intellectual beings, share a common and profound thread between us across even radically different cultures and lifestyles ... That is, we all have joy and can express that joy in common ways. And that can serve as a bond or a starting seed of communication between us. The contrast between Matt and some of the people he dances with is crazy, yet, in each frame, they are all communicating a shared feeling in a harmonic way.

The message I see could be two-fold -- One, of course, that there is hope for peace for humanity. But because astronomy is about a much larger "world", in the context of APOD the video takes on a broader message... Perhaps in the future, if we find that we are in fact citizens of a greater constellation of sentient cultures, there could well be common ground for communication and shared experiences between us in ways that transcend language, culture, and even level of development. Perhaps joy and something like music and dancing are fundamental qualities of sentience, no matter what stars you hail from?

Maybe Matt, the video's creator, only had in mind the Earth and our near term future. But astronomy, by its nature, has a uniquely huge perspective. By placing the video on APOD, I think Robert and Jerry extrapolate that message into a much larger and longer perspective.

If we're ever to survive beyond the boundaries of our tiny planet and live in a larger universe, we need to figure out how to get along with ourselves. And there's hope that we can do that.

-s

[hackerspiff]

I fail to see what dancing has to do with APOD, unless it's just another socialist angle

The video is a cogent expression that humans, as intellectual beings, share a common and profound thread between us across even radically different cultures and lifestyles ... That is, we all have joy and can express that joy in common ways.
...

Gah, ok, that's too complex and esoteric. I know at this late date that nobody is probably ever going to read this but let me try that again drawing a more direct connection.

Astronomy has always had a tight relationship with the really BIG questions ... like, Who are we? Where did we come from? What is our relevance in all of creation? Where are we going? Indeed, it can be said that much of astronomy throughout history has even been motivated by these kinds of questions. Certainly many practicing astronomers are astronomers at least in part because they are fascinated with these issues.

Sure, stars and galaxies and gas and dust and so on are the nuts and bolts of astronomy. But the bigger picture is that astronomy is about everything. The universe.

I think it's fair to say that just about everyone who has an interest in astronomy would love to actually go out there some day and see this stuff close up. I mean, on some level I think we all pretty much expect astronomy is partly a survey study of where we want to go and start living in the future. It's our very nature to explore and expand, become something greater, and explore some more.

And so that begs these two questions: One, that's a long way off yet... given that our world is wracked by political turmoil and stretched to its limit, are we even going to survive long enough for all this astronomy to pay off? Are we actually going to make it? And two... when we do make it to the stars, if we encounter someone else, what then?

THAT's why this video makes sense on APOD. I think what Matt's creation expresses quite eloquently is that ... One, there is hope that we can survive ourselves because we share common grounds that transcend language, culture, and level of development. And two, when we do leave our home, if we do encounter other sentients, we may very well share some common modes of expression that transcend language, culture, and levels of development.

Matt's video is a hopeful and profound message that fits right in there with those other big questions that astronomy is often entangled with.

This remarkable work spans a huge spectrum of cultures across our globe that are just about as radically diverse as you can possibly get and yet in a beautiful and vivid way this video shows that we are all very much the same. We are the same people. We are siblings. We will make it.

-s

[rstevenson]

That's WAYYYYYY too much justification, especially considering the complainers have likely never come back to read any of it.

I don't care one way or the other about the issue. The guys who do APOD no doubt have a sense of humour. I'm certain they know the ruckus a dancing man can cause here. And a little controversy never hurts when you're trying to be noticed on the web. Those are reasons enough for posting terpsichoria.

I only have a strong appreciation for about half of the APODs in any year, but no strong dislike of the rest, so Matt and friends isn't a huge dent in my view of reality. Another galaxy will come along shortly to cheer me up. Or better yet, a globular cluster!

Rob

[jfst@ruraltel.net]

Dancing. . .good. Thanks.

[sym666]

It's a pity that I couldn't see an astronomy picture today, on Astronomy Picture Of The Day. Besides I failed in smiling watching this video
Now I' ll go to NASA site and see if I get some info on Van Gogh
Nice day everyone

Oh, that's too bad, indeed, that you couldn't find the APOD archive (it's the "Archive" link on the APOD page) or the index (the "Index" link on the APOD page) or your favorite APOD by searching for it (by using the "Search" link on the APOD page)! No wonder you failed to smile at this video!

But if you're looking for Van Gogh, try this APOD: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap091011.html
Or this one: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100921.html
And when you're feeling better and up for a challenge -- better able to navigate so you can find an astronomy picture in the richness of the APOD site -- you might want to try this APOD: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100615.html

Hope you feel better soon.

Thanks Owlice, now I really feel better, and all because of you! Now that you gave me these outstanding advices, my life is a joyful experience everyday. What about this incredible feature called "Archive"? Never noticed in all these years!! Also, you made me realize Van Gogh was a painter, I previously thought he was a modern dancer! That's that reason I wanted to check NASA (National Association for Social Activities) site. But what happened when I followed your link? Other awesome discoverings! Thanks, thanks, thanks. If you'll ever want to give an advice to me on whatsoever topic again, I'm all ears!!

[neufer]

Thanks Owlice, now I really feel better, and all because of you! Now that you gave me these outstanding advices, my life is a joyful experience everyday. What about this incredible feature called "Archive"? Never noticed in all these years!! Also, you made me realize Van Gogh was a painter, I previously thought he was a modern dancer! That's that reason I wanted to check NASA (National Association for Social Activities) site. But what happened when I followed your link? Other awesome discoverings! Thanks, thanks, thanks.

If you'll ever want to give an advice to me on whatsoever topic again, I'm all ears!!

Watch it, buster, or she'll turn you into a rabbit!

[owlice]

Thanks Owlice, now I really feel better

I'm glad you feel better.

[owlice]

Watch it, buster, or she'll turn you into a rabbit!

lol!!

[qwerty123]

I loved it. Too much would not be good but this was perfect.

[Steven Georges]

By far my favorite APOD so far!
And I've been following APOD for years.
This is also one of the most relevant post to APOD. The earth is one of the most interesting planets in the solar system (everything from deserts to rain forest to snowy mountains to the depths of the ocean) and the people on it (not the politicians or famous people, put just people) are one of the most interesting parts of this planet.

Astronomy is about taking a journey, and this video took us on a fascinating journey around the world.

NEVER be afraid to think out of the box, thanks for posting this!!!

Steven Georges

[sym666]

Thanks Owlice, now I really feel better

I'm glad you feel better.

I'm glad we settled this, have a nice day

[sym666]

Thanks Owlice, now I really feel better, and all because of you! Now that you gave me these outstanding advices, my life is a joyful experience everyday. What about this incredible feature called "Archive"? Never noticed in all these years!! Also, you made me realize Van Gogh was a painter, I previously thought he was a modern dancer! That's that reason I wanted to check NASA (National Association for Social Activities) site. But what happened when I followed your link? Other awesome discoverings! Thanks, thanks, thanks.

If you'll ever want to give an advice to me on whatsoever topic again, I'm all ears!!

Watch it, buster, or she'll turn you into a rabbit!

What about turning you into a polite person?

[neufer]

.

I'm all ears, Doc!!

Thanks Owlice, now I really feel better, and all because of you! Now that you gave me these outstanding advices, my life is a joyful experience everyday. What about this incredible feature called "Archive"? Never noticed in all these years!! Also, you made me realize Van Gogh was a painter, I previously thought he was a modern dancer! That's that reason I wanted to check NASA (National Association for Social Activities) site. But what happened when I followed your link? Other awesome discoverings! Thanks, thanks, thanks.

If you'll ever want to give an advice to me on whatsoever topic again, I'm all ears!!

Watch it, buster, or she'll turn you into a rabbit!

What about turning you into a polite person?

[owlice]

What about turning you into a polite person?

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=29051#p179197

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=29051&start=25#p179242

[sym666]

.

I'm all ears, Doc!!

Watch it, buster, or she'll turn you into a rabbit!

What about turning you into a polite person?

Ok, that made me smile, it was very nice!

[sym666]

What about turning you into a polite person?

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=29051#p179197

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=29051&start=25#p179242

Hi owlice, I followed your links, but I'm unsure about your point. Please elaborate it a bit, if you feel like it. bye