Short Fat Ginger Guide to Dancing - part 4

Getting on the dance floor

So you’ve got the right mindset and you think you’re ready to dance. BUT how do you go from leaning on the bar to gyrating your hips in an overtly sexual and slightly distasteful manner out on the floor? When you’re not moving, your spot on the dance floor can seem a very very long way away.

Luckily, there are many great ways of getting you out there ranging from the simple through to the dramatic and we’re going to go through a few for you, step by high step, so you can choose the one that’s right for you in each situation.

Before you go out it’s important to have chosen a spot on the dance floor where you want to get to, your ‘Dance Target Zone’(DTZ). In many cases, you’ll already have friends on the floor so will be aiming for them but if not then pick a spot where the most people can see your moves.

Beginners may want to start with the simplest of all the methods, known as the ‘Standing up, walking on to the dance floor and starting to dance’ move. This technique involves firstly standing up, then walking towards the designated DZT and, soon after arrival, starting to dance.

3) Standing up, walking on to the dance floor and starting to dance




Starting from a seated position [a chair can often be useful for this] (1) shift your weight forward on to your feet and legs and raise your body (2); move first one foot forward towards the DTZ (3); then the other (4) and repeat until you reach the appropriate place; then stop (5); before finally getting down with your bad self (6).

Often, when dancing with others (say in a Standard Dance Circle) at the point you actually start dancing, more advanced practitioners will include a double nod and smile at one or more person in the group. Generally, immediately before dancing when you first arrive at the group there will be a short pause where it is recommended you shrug and show a slightly bemused facial expression[1].

Dance summary – Standing up, walking on to the dance floor and starting to dance

Pros:

Simple to learn and master – most beginners will have practiced the key components of this move in their daily life without even realising it! Now you just need to put them together and get down.

Dancus Interuptus – en route to the dance floor if the song changes, you change your mind or you realise you don’t actually know those people when you get close, this move can easily be converted to the ‘walk past them to the other side of the dance floor because that’s what you were doing all the time’ technique.

Cons:

Seat shortage – a key component of this move is the ‘standing up’ and this can prove difficult, if not impossible in the absence. Unless you are a teenage girl who is crying, drunk on Bacardi Breezers, and has just broken up with her boyfriend, sitting on the floor by the dance floor is generally frowned upon. (For possible solutions see Appendix 1: Variations to moves – ‘Walking on to the dance floor and starting to dance’)

The walk-dance gap – as mentioned, there has to be a point where you transition from walking into dancing where you are, hopefully briefly, just some bloke standing doing nothing. Just find that beat quickly.

Lack of flair – no-one wants to watch some bloke walking.

Usual practitioners: Men

Likely songs: Fits with anything but seen with Phil Collins (another con)

ALAT Rating: 1/10 – it’s walking but beware of the tricky gap.

Overall: It may be dull but you know it’ll get you there, like mastubating into a sock.

[1] See any scene featuring Martin Freeman in The Office

How to kill a joke through repetition (but carry on going like picking a scab)

Quite possibly my favourite proper joke I’ve written is also one of the cheesiest christmas crackeriest but I love it. Still, that didn’t stop me spending a day or so re-working it over and over again gradually killing it. Anyway:

My mother married a scaffolder; now I’ve got a step-ladder.

And:

My mother married an aerobics instructor; now I’ve got a step-class.

My mother married Hermann Hesse; now I’ve got a step-penwolf.

My mother married a stop on the district line; now I’ve got a step-ney green.

My mother married Marsellus Wallace; now I’ve got a step-aside, Butch.

My mother married a horror writing poultry magnate; now I’ve got a step-hen king.


I feel sickened and ashamed.

My singing may be recorded for training purposes

Trying to sort out various things I’ve spent a lot of time on the phone to my bank over the last week or so. I’ve given out my mother’s maiden name out, two characters at a time, to a surprising large proportion of the population so I’m now starting to suspect that they’ve got some kind of bingo game trying to be the first person to get the whole thing. Obviously, I also spent quite a bit of time enjoying hold music. (on a completely separate note, I once had to call a debt collection agency who’s hold music was dauntingly Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana – yes, the theme tune off The Omen)

Yesterday I became a little frustrated (and therefore acted like a bit of a dick) so asked the bloke on the other end if he would mind if I put him on hold for a minute and proceeded to sing (I can’t get no) Satisfaction, including guitar bits, at him. Actually he was impressively professional and just took it in silence (or propably had pushed the mute button and was talking about the wanker on the phone to the person next to him).

But, I remembered the call may be recorded for training purposes and thought I’d better mention that it was under copyright to Mick and Keith. I suggested to him that if they kept it or certainly if anyone listened to it they (or I) might be liable for royalities. I know it’s not true but I kind of liked the idea of someone calling their legal department to check.

I’m thinking of requesting a copy of the call under the Data Protection Act just to see how well I did.

We need more horror films about biscuits (bad puns)

Watching Ginger Snaps last night I realised that there just aren't nearly enough horror films featuring biscuits in the title, and that I spend far too much time on my own. Anyway so here are some puns covering a variety of levels of weakness:

From Rusk til Dawn

Rich Teavil Dead (although I actually prefer Rich Teavil Dead 2)

Psychocolate chip

Paranormal Mcvitities

Cannibal Holocaustard Cream

The Creature from the Blacaroon


I was going to add Poltergiced Finger but realised I’d strayed into patisserie like a twat.

Short Fat Ginger Guide to Dancing - part 3

The At-Floor Drink


In many respects, as before, the actual drink itself doesn’t matter, after all the purpose is just to keep you topped up. However, the skill is in assessing your environment and making a choice with the appropriate container. For example, some dance floors have tables at the edge, or a handy ledge, with sufficient floor space nearby for your needs. In that case you may be happy to take a pint glass and only have the occasional gulp (which will also present an opportunity for a brief rest during particularly frenetic exertions. A handy alternative in the absence of tables is the ‘behind pillar tuck’, which will allow you to leave a pint on the floor but positioned so as to make the ‘beer kick’ unlikely.

Things get more complicated where no such opportunities arise, in which case you may want to consider resorting to a can (where available) or bottle of lager (yes, we know it’s only half a pint but we’re here to dance like a tosser first and foremost).


For experienced practitioners, a final option remains – the Gyrostatic Beer Hand (GBH). This
complex manoeuvre involves keeping your right hand (or left for eccentrics) in exactly the same place whilst your body dances around it. Generally this will begin with the GBH positioned at chest height, about six inches from the body, with the shoulders slightly hunched and the hips and legs pushed back (for stability and to minimize jeans dampening in the event of spillage).

Masters of the art can achieve a wide variety of moves but it is best suited to early to mid 90s indie music where it will often be teamed with a NBH (Non Beer Hand) wave or point at shoulder height and a head bob.


The Gyrostatic Beer Hand


Movement generally kept to a minimum but with foot shuffling, head bobbing and NBH pointing, practitioner generally miserable with high degree of concentration on pint glass, stooped position and widespread leg stance lowers centre of gravity of pint to add stability.

Dance summary – Gyroscopic Beer Hand


Pros:

• Beer immediate availability – unlike most dance techniques your pint glass never leaves your hand completely eliminating the ‘table reach delay’ inherent in most forms.
  

Cons:

• Spillage factor – the inherent danger is, of course, the chance of spillage and jeans dampness, masters will say this is just a matter of technique but for beginners it represents a real risk.
  
• Introspection – the hunched form and focus on the pint glass leads to a lack of interactivity with other dancers. However it should be noted that some argue that this is an advantage giving the user an opportunity to look within themselves and truly get into the music. Indeed research shows that historically this has been the form favoured by a great number of philosophers.
  

Usual practitioners: 32 year olds in indie clubs; all students in 1996.

Likely songs: Late 80s to mid 90s (pre-Britpop) Indie music, notably Inspiral Carpets


ALAT Rating: 3/10 – not much movement, not too embarassing, but you do look like a dick.

Overall: Tricky for beginners and you may be better off just sitting down and slowly sinking into a pit of alcohol fueled depression.

Demographic assessment of Ethiopia broken down by religion

As you can see the single largest group is followers of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. This groups continue to use the Julian calendar which means, for example, that christmas is celebrated in January.

Western Christianity makes up less than 20% of the population.

Around 40% are non-christian, the largest part being Muslim.

Importantly, this breakdown only includes religious adherents and does include any atheists or agnostics.

This statistics are important to confirm that, no, Geldoff and Ure, they definitely do not know it's christmas you silly twats.

Bad pun names for trainers for dogs (then pigs)

For reasons that aren't worth discussing on Monday I decide to try to come up with bad pun names for trainers for dogs:

Reebark
K-nine Swiss
Nike Airedales
Pedigreen Flash

Annoyingly, as soon as I announced this I was top trumped by a couple of mates who threw in:

Adidaschund (from Ben)

and the greatest of all:

Labradiadora (Rich, genius)

So I've had to move on to pigs, even if it is limited by my knowledge of only around four or five types of trainers):

K Swine
Piggidas
Baconverse All Stars
Nike Air-cured Parma Ham

Sweet Jehosevah, I need to find something to do.