People are just too afraid to have fun!

[jamespowers]

That's why the sage advice says:
"Dance like no one is watching!"

Just remember the title Girls Gone Wild. Don't do anything in public that might come back to bite you later.

Regards,

J

 

[MinnieRose]

I needed this thread! Thanks for the reminder!

:cheers1:

 

[Avalon]

Heck, enjoy yourself however you see fit!

Just don't worry about what other people think. I was once asked what I was on because I was having a great old time. My reply?

"I'm high on life, baby!"

Every time I go to a function I get the same thing! I love to get up and dance, even though I have yet to figure out what I'm doing. I can fake the Lindy because I've been dragged around the dance floor by my mother enough times over the years. lol

Life is too short not to sing every chance you get.

 

[BegintheBeguine]

Yay, Avalon. My LIFE comes back to bite me later; I may as well have fun and I hope someone photographed it and wish someone made a cd of it.

 

[Avalon]

Yay, Avalon. My LIFE comes back to bite me later; I may as well have fun and I hope someone photographed it and wish someone made a cd of it.

Yay Beguine! :cheers1:

I hear you, honey. It's either laugh or hang yourself, and I don't have the money for rope. lol

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Too much goes into those thoughts of "how would it look" if I got on the floor. Rather than try to make my Charleston look perfect I'd rather have fun. It's a dance... not a mathmatical breakdown of how many different things I can do on the dance floor.

Being a wallflower has its merits, especially when one is a clod (me).

 

[olive bleu]

for those who feel awkward letting themselves have fun..i say, there is nothing that will break that like... HAVING fun.I take dancing as an example..I have no real idea of what i am doing out there,and will never be the first one on the floor, but once i start, and the night wears on, the adrenaline kicks in and next thing you know, they are turning off the lightslol .

Life is too short to worry about if you look ok or are doing it right.Fire the fun Police!

 

[Samsa]

Being a wallflower has its merits, especially when one is a clod (me).

Hear, hear!

 

[jamespowers]

Being a wallflower has its merits, especially when one is a clod (me).

I think that would be called common sense not being afraid to have fun.
You can still have fun in many other ways. Dancing is just one of those. I am in the same boat as you when it comes to dancing. Its against my religion.

Regards,

J

 

[carebear]

...take dancing as an example..I have no real idea of what i am doing out there,and will never be the first one on the floor, but once i start, and the night wears on, the adrenaline kicks in and next thing you know, they are turning off the lights.

Lucky!

When I get out there, in two minutes they're turning off the music.

 

[Snookie]

***********WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP

RASH GENERALIZATION TO FOLLOW
GENERALIZATION WARNING

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP WHOOOOOOOOOOOP
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP****************************

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that since the invention and growth of the means of mass communications and recording, that the have fun, participate mentality has been on a general decline.

In our day in time, people either want to make it "big" or at least be on the stage, or they sit back and shut up. It's now "lame" or uncomfortable for people to participate.

I completely agree with this -- and it drives me NUTS! I'm sure it's not going to far to say that the No.1 American hobby is watching TV and movies. People sit at home in front of their big screens, completely shut off from the world, and they've lost the ability to entertain themselves and interact with other people. I've long wanted to meet in friends' homes for charades, or singing round the piano, or for play-reading, but there's no interest in activities that require interaction. The closest we get today is 2-player video games.

Heck, I love dancing, but it's not for everyone. And that's fine. But don't be afraid to *do* something for fun -- explore a new area with friends, go bowling! Have an experience! (BTW, the reason I like this forum is because everyone here has a personal passion that makes them *do* something -- whether it's research an era, meet with new folks for dinner, or try a new hairstyle. So I guess I'm preaching to the choir! )

 

[pigeon toe]

I absolutely love to dance and sing, even though I can't do either at all. I especially love it if I have a few drinks in me, but that's not even necessary to get me dancing in the most embarrassing way ever.

Luckily, almost all of my friends are like that too, so we throw some awesome dance parties. And I always try to get the wallflowers dancing with me too. It's kind of strange, since normally I'm quiet as a mouse, but once you turn on some danceable music, I go crazy!

 

[Haversack]

RedPop4 wrote: "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that since the invention and growth of the means of mass communications and recording, that the have fun, participate mentality has been on a general decline.
In our day in time, people either want to make it "big" or at least be on the stage, or they sit back and shut up. It's now "lame" or uncomfortable for people to participate.

For mainstream U.S. society I have to agree. And it has been noted for some time. Back in the late 1940s, RCA's resident folk musicologist, Oscar Brand, noticed that Americans were singing less because of radio and records. So he started travelling around to venues in which people used to do a lot of singing for their own enjoyment in order to learn and record for posterity the songs that were sung but usually not written down or recorded. (Sort of like what Gerald Durrell did for small, unpopular endangered species.) Oftentimes, these songs were bawdy, cynical, or concerned with drinking to excess. The venues he collected from included military barracks, colleges, and bars.

Fast forward to today: How much informal singing for fun do you find now in the military, at colleges, or in bars here? Colleges used to be full of glee clubs. Many of these went on to form bands in the 1920s. How many bars have a piano anymore? As for the military, back in the 1980s, I was told by a friend and West Pointer that "singing was effeminate." "O tempore, O Mores".

Haversack.

 

[carebear]

In the "Great Voices" thread I think it was Scotrace who mentioned the lack of regular public singing as part of the reason for the decline in distinctive men's voices.

That makes some sense as working the cords early and often "wears" them a little and adds timbre. Is the lack of public singing keeping us all choir boys, voice wise?

A coworker and I were listening to some music on a drive and he was talking about a trip to Ireland where every night out in a bar turned into a sing-along.

That would be cool.

 

[Paisley]

I sing in my car. Alone. When I sing at home, my dog leaves the room.

What I usually don't like is when someone from the audience gets up on the stage and sings with the band. :icon_smil I call this self-delusion theater.

 

[carebear]

I sing in my car. Alone. When I sing at home, my dog leaves the room.

Everybody's a critic...

What I usually don't like is when someone from the audience gets up on the stage and sings with the band. :icon_smil I call this self-delusion theater.

It's kinda funny when they don't actually know the words. "Brown Eyed Girl" is a typical song, sure, everybody knows the chorus...

 

[Baggers]

...As for the military, back in the 1980s, I was told by a friend and West Pointer that "singing was effeminate." "O tempore, O Mores".

Haversack.

Your friend should have studied the Russian and German armies more. If he'd ever heard their soldiers sing, "effeminate" would the last thing to come to mind.

Cheers!

 

[Hammelby]

That's why the sage advice says:
"Dance like no one is watching!"

Well Put!

I try to live by this too when i dance Lindy hop socially (especially if the girl is is on a higher level than me!). And boy i just love when it goes *POW!*, and everything flows in a stream of energetic happines.

One thing that im tired of, is todays neo-bu**it machoism, their domination aura, the wrinkled-up-eyebrows look and the staring-down-other-guys game. And the only time they smile is when they have complete control over the crowd. *gah!* :rage:

Since i started to dress in old style, it kind of worked both ways, as a sheild but also a harrass magnet. On good days im thinking "Clark gable is out having a blast" and it seems like no one dare to "hurt an golden era icon". But on bad days it´s more like "hey, lets harras the lone dork in the sherlock holmes hat" (young guys definition of a fedora).

Sorry for blowing off steam guys.. i just think i needed to..

 

[carebear]

One thing that im tired of, is todays neo-bu**it machoism, their domination aura, the wrinkled-up-eyebrows look and the staring-down-other-guys game. And the only time they smile is when they have complete control over the crowd. *gah!* :rage:

Sorry for blowing off steam guys.. i just think i needed to..

Guys like that wouldn't recognize real "tough" until it commenced stomping a mudhole in them. Dominant people do it without effort and confident people show it by just being. Only punks have to front.

 

[griffer]

oh the irony, or is it mockery???

"You can accomplish a lot if you don't care how you look."

.... Lance Armstrong

Wow. How did this quote slip by with only commentary on its author's equipment?

Doesn't anyone realize what a catch-22 has been inflicted on us?

Isn't this forum comprised EXPLICITLY of people that care a hell of a lot how they look?

Count me out of this logic trap!

I plan on having the most fun in the room and looking best while having it.

(Matt, how could you let this slip through on cross? I am sure your LD coach is shaking his fist at the stars as we speak.)