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March 20th: Dancing and the Idiocy of Age

2007-03-21 · Hank · watch on YouTube · Everyday life · reflection essay

After joking about joining Team Pam on The Office, Hank, inspired by John's urban exploring, argues that people may get stupider with age by avoiding anything fun or strange, and urges viewers to take a cue from four-year-olds and put something on their heads.

What is said

00:00:00 — Watching The Office: Team Pam; Katherine's celebrity crushes

  • ★ Hank has begun watching The Office, likes it, and is on 'Team Pam', though he has not met Karen yet. (playful) — 00:00:03
  • ★ Watching with Katherine, Hank keeps telling her how much he likes Pam, justifying it by listing celebrities she has crushes on but has never met. (playful) — 00:00:58 · Katherine Green

00:00:58 — John's building excursion; do people get smarter or stupider with age? the guide and a private person

  • ★★ Hank says John's building excursion got him thinking: people claim that with age you get smarter and that young people are stupid, but they never met John's guide or a private person. — 00:00:58
  • ★★ Hank says the guide and a private person were ready for out-of-the-ordinary experiences; while not condoning illegal ones, he asks why ignore something new, interesting or different. — 00:01:42
  • ★★ Hank tells John he is proud of him for fighting his fear and chasing after that experience. — 00:01:42 · John Green
  • ★★★ Hank is seriously considering that people get stupider every year as they age: after bad experiences or misplaced values they consciously avoid anything that might be fun. (hedged) — 00:01:42

00:02:11 — Walmart kids putting things on their heads; the Peeps giveaway; put something on your head; sign-off

  • ★★★ Hank says little kids at Walmart put things on their heads until parents stop them; he thinks everyone should do it, taking a cue from four-year-olds, because fun is good for you. (playful) (hedged) — 00:02:11
  • ★★ More than a dozen people ignored Hank giving away Peeps on the street; he meant it as an offer of strangeness to enjoy, which a private person understood but most heard as 'weird people are dangerous'. — 00:02:34 · Peeps
  • ★★★ Hank urges anyone who finds themselves getting older and less silly to do something about it: put something on their head. (playful) — 00:03:03

Humor (significant)

  • Hank says he can think of four guys Katherine has crushes on, then lists them. — 00:00:58 > «Wait, was that five?»
  • At Walmart, little kids put things on their heads and act silly, and then their parents intervene. — 00:02:11 > «Billy! You can't do that in Walmart! This is just not the place for having fun!»
  • Hank argues everyone should be at Walmart putting stuff on their heads. — 00:02:34 > «There's no Walmart police force telling you not to put things on your head.»

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