Reddit thanks for all your past support! I was on CONAN last night and wanted to share.

jtramsey · 2012-05-25T03:26:54.954792+00:00

That. Was. Funny.

I want more!

doobiemonster · 2012-05-24T19:51:17.079651+00:00

It's really too bad that forcing kids to square dance in 4th grade can leave them with a bad taste in their mouths for something that is quite fun and geeky, especially if you are a puzzle-solver.

Modern Western Square dance is broken down into levels (Mainstream, Plus, Advanced and Challenge). Once you get into Advanced and Challenge, you have to be able to think on your feet about how you are going to create the next formation after each call, often dancing with phantom dancers or executing calls in concentric circles.

My husband and I have just graduated C1 (Challenge 1, there is also C2, C3a, C3b, and C4), and it took us 5 years to make it that far. It will take another year or two for us to be ready for C2, and I'm a pretty quick study.

Challenge square dancing attracts a lot of math/engineering/science types (one person I dance with is the Chief Scientist at NASA Ames).

Finally, gay square dance clubs are interesting in that they are more energetic, less formal—no dress code—and allow you to choose the gender you want to dance. Gay clubs attract a lot of straight dancers who want to be free of the constraints of the straight clubs. I now can dance as either gender, and can switch genders mid-dance.

Clayburn · 2012-05-24T09:45:07.555319-07:00

Wrong. I'm a 6. The lower the number, the queasier I get thinking about it.

drunkasaurusrex · 2012-05-24T15:25:44.593168+00:00

I'd like to add one more activity to your list:

gay square dancing

Now that the snickering has subsided, and everyone has thought, "well I used to square dance in 4th grade," let me continue.

Modern western square dancing is an intellectual and physical activity that especially appeals to people who like to figure out puzzles. There are many levels, each with its own set of calls, usually about 80 to 100 different calls per level:

Mainstream
Plus
Advanced
Challenge 1
Challenge 2
Challenge 3a
Challenge 3b
Challenge 4

Plus level dancing takes about a year or more to learn. It's taken my husband and I five years to make it to Challenge 1.

Square dancing has traditionally been a conservative activity, very heterosexual and full of rules and dress codes. Gay square dancing (segregated because we weren't welcome in the straight clubs) has evolved to be generally more fun because we welcome singles, don't have a dress code, don't require that you dance a certain gender, and dance with much more enthusiasm.

Not only are straight clubs adopting many of our ways of dancing, they are coming to our clubs because we are more fun. They are also starting to welcome us to their clubs. I think we have made great inroads in making friends with the conservative square dance community.

Every year, around the first week of July, there is a gay square dance convention that attracts around 1,000 dancers from around the world. This year it's in Vancouver, BC, next year it's in San Francisco.

I know this may not appeal to everyone, but you should look into it if you think you might enjoy it. It can be addictive. It has the added benefits of providing low-impact exercise — in fact, it's the perfect Alzheimer-prevention activity, providing mental exercise, aerobic activity and social interaction.

Currently the square dance demographic is older, but that is starting to change with more and more younger men and women joining.

Just thought I'd throw it out there...

International Association of Gay Square Dance Clubs

By the way, if you would like to dance, but don't want the learning curve, Google gay contra dancing. With contra dancing, you are taught the dance each time, so no training is required.

choppysmash · 1 day

One of my favorites. I've watched it 4 or 5 times. So sweet.

Malthusian1 · 1 day

tortillas=superfluous

LaSteff · 1 day

Catholic hierarchy: once again standing up for sexual abuse.

Yeah, I know the story's old, but I can't help myself.

jstalin · 3 days

To be honest, there has to be more than one church in California preaching the same hateful crap. Although, odds are NC has us beat for sheer numbers.

TommyCollins · 3 days

The two-party system will never change until the US has a constitutional amendment that requires any elected office-holder to garner 50% + 1 vote to win. As long as there are elections that can be won by pluralities, people will fear that voting for any third party will be equal to throwing away their vote to a spoiler.

It's not so important whether this is done via a series of primary elections or through ranked-choice or instant-runoff voting, although there are different issues in their implementation.

Just requiring a majority vote to serve would make a huge difference in opening up elections to other points of view.

flippyscoop323 · 6 days

Around age 13. Went to a basketball game and couldn't take my eyes off of those muscled arms and hairy armpits.

StoicGunner · 7 days

I'm not sure how helpful it is to call everyone who has a negative opinion of homosexuality an asshole. It's much more complicated than that, it's a continuum of fear, ignorance, and hate, and most bigoted people lie somewhere between the three.

some people are afraid that they are gay and will lose societal and familial approval and benefits
others were influenced in their upbringing to hate gays, lesbians and everyone else who was labeled as different
some were raised to fear or hate anything sexual
then there are the assholes

I'm just sayin' that calling everyone who has a negative opinion an asshole isn't going to win them over to understanding.

StoicGunner · 7 days

I'd buy what you are saying, except that churches are tax exempt and use that money to influence elections to deprive me of equal treatment under the law. Churches aren't private individuals who hold personal opinions, they are PACs that throw resources behind enforcing their bigoted views.

CorduroyTimePiece · 8 days

Jeez, I'm gay and that seems like a whole lot of work.

radbrad7 · 8 days

Cracker Barrel. If work there and they find out you're gay, you're fired.

radbrad7 · 8 days

Bakers Square. Filthy. Awful food. GI distress.

radbrad7 · 8 days

form factor, ease of use, and stability

Those three things alone are worth a little more money, which makes Apple products not overpriced.

PCs' lack decent form factor, are difficult to use and are unstable. Makes them a pain in the ass to use.

SThor · 9 days

I'm from Illinois (named by the French), and I have to say: I love France. Je parle français. All of my friends love France. I wish I was there right now, parce qu'elle me manque.

WaldoDude · 9 days

Obviously, not scenario that came up when they were doing user testing, assuming they did. Changing the way things work to take more control away from a user is always bad, and I'm not liking these decisions either. I'm very concerned that the OS is going more and more like iOS, which is fine for mobile devices, but not the way I want to work.

WaldoDude · 9 days

Jesus, yes. If they are going to make a change this big in the way you work, like they have done with TextEdit and iWork, they need a preference to make it behave the old way. I was perfectly happy with managing my own files, thank you, and using 'Save as...' worked just fine for me.

mingtehmerciless · 12 days

Get this on Antiques Roadshow.

Alyeska2112 · 14 days

People can change, but that doesn't mean that you should assume they have changed.

This incident goes to show that he lacked empathy and consideration for others.

It's not an isolated incident: the dog on the car roof, and the fact that he is completely against equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian families show that it's an integral part of his character.

talljewishkid · 14 days

Some people are afraid of it, are afraid of finding it within themselves.

Others are just assholes.

khangwei · 14 days

I'm from Illinois, originally, and have never heard the term "glovebox."" We always called it a "glove compartement."

khangwei · 14 days

No need to feel old. There was no need to use an old photo, OP.

My 2006 car still has a radio, and only one button works at a time.

Oscilet · 17 days

String Theory.

btinc

TROPHY CASE

btinc

TROPHY CASE

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