As you know, even if you're not Bob, I promised to "dance like a monkey" if my DonorsChoose challenge passed $6,000 in donations, which it did. Thus, I am obliged to dance like a monkey.
You might think this would be a simple matter of capering about in a loose-limbed, vaguely simian manner, but it's important to do these things properly, so some thought was required as to what, exactly, would best meet this obligation. As documented in this video:
I hope this meets my obligation, and provides three and a half minutes of entertainment to stop you hitting "refresh" on your favorite poll-watching site during election day.
Many thanks to those of you who donated, even if it did force me to make an ass of myself on video. If you haven't donated, and enjoyed the video, please consider making a contribution.
And if you're an American, go vote, already.
Education & Careers
Humanities & Social Science
Comments
Oh, Chad. I... can't even call it blackmail material, since it is not exactly secret.
Repeat performances are going to be in high demand, you realize.
Posted by: veejane | November 4, 2008 9:27 AM
That was absolutely wonderful.
Posted by: Maggie | November 4, 2008 9:41 AM
"...keyboard tarantella of hate."
Brilliant. Just brilliant.
Posted by: Mike | November 4, 2008 9:49 AM
Quick, somebody edit that to put in organ grinder music!
Chad...you da' man. Monkey. Monkey-man. Whatever, it's all you.
Posted by: Skwid | November 4, 2008 9:51 AM
Your closing words of wisdom shall stay with me for years to come.
Posted by: Bill | November 4, 2008 10:03 AM
Awesome! (The sprogs concur in this assessment.)
Posted by: Dr. Free-Ride | November 4, 2008 10:34 AM
That made my day.
Hopefully I won't have to watch it again late tonight to re-make my day, but it certainly made my morning.
Posted by: Brian | November 4, 2008 11:05 AM
That was worth $20. :)
Posted by: Max | November 4, 2008 11:05 AM
Emmy must have loved that.
Posted by: Dr. Kate | November 4, 2008 11:15 AM
Fabulous. For some reason, not what I imagined you sounding like, not that I could have really described me expectations though.
Posted by: Clark | November 4, 2008 11:21 AM
DANCE MONKEY, DANCE!
Posted by: Jamie Bowden | November 4, 2008 11:31 AM
That was awesome. And now you can say you danced like a monkey on the Internet FOR SCIENCE.
Posted by: Pam | November 4, 2008 11:43 AM
I love DonorsChoose, so I was totally happy to donate, and the opportunity to watch a physics professor discourse about the proper monkey-dancing etiquette and provide a multiple choice version of "dancing like a monkey" made those $200 even more enjoyable...
Posted by: Natalie | November 4, 2008 11:51 AM
Thanks a bunch for that, Chad. No one has ever humbled themselves with such class and dignity.
And like Mike, my favourite line by far was "keyboard tarantella of hate." Delightful.
Posted by: Wilson | November 4, 2008 1:18 PM
Oh my - that was so worth money. You do realize you missed another opportunity to raise money. People would have paid to see that in person! I think I need to go watch it again...
Posted by: Natalie | November 4, 2008 1:43 PM
Oh, my. That is made of Teh Awesome.
Posted by: OmegaMom | November 4, 2008 2:06 PM
What happened to the poo-flinging option? Monkeys don't let their mates push them around.
Posted by: BukaHobbit | November 4, 2008 2:34 PM
For some reason, when I "acquired" my current monitor from my former work, it had the phrase "DANCE LIKE A MONKEY" stuck on it - so you are not alone.
I did donate just to see this, though.
Posted by: Dave H | November 4, 2008 2:36 PM
Chad, I definitely owe you a beer for that tour de force.
Thank you for distracting me on this, the most stressful of days.
(Off to obsessively refresh various election sites YET AGAIN).
Posted by: John Dilick | November 4, 2008 2:40 PM
DonorsChoose.org's staff just watched all 3 minutes of this *amazing* goodness and were floored. We wholeheartedly admire your moves and what you and your readers have done to support so many classrooms across the country.
Cheers,
- The DonorsChoose.org Team
Posted by: DonorsChoose.org | November 4, 2008 2:42 PM
For some reason, when I "acquired" my current monitor from my former work, it had the phrase "DANCE LIKE A MONKEY" stuck on it - so you are not alone.
I did donate just to see this, though.
Posted by: Dave H | November 4, 2008 2:47 PM
Hahaha -- comedy gold. Thanks for the LOLs, Chad! :)
Posted by: Lee Billings | November 4, 2008 3:09 PM
I've never been happier to be a bastard than today. OOK!
Posted by: Adam Rakunas | November 4, 2008 3:18 PM
Thank god for tenure :).
Posted by: Lee | November 4, 2008 4:13 PM
Oh my. Either option 2 or option 3 would have been totally satisfactory. What a bounty of riches. (And you already have tenure so that's ok.)
MKK
Posted by: Mary Kay | November 4, 2008 5:26 PM
You missed an option. It's a dance that you may find yourself hating in about 4 years when SteelyKid grows up and starts insisting on watching her own TV shows - the Wiggles "Do the Monkey.
Posted by: Cheryl | November 4, 2008 5:57 PM
1. Shave your head, grow a goatee, and you can do an impressive Lore Sjoberg impersonation.
2. God, I envy your bookshelves.
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski | November 4, 2008 6:53 PM
You forgot about one additional option: dancing like a Monkee...
Posted by: Lis Riba | November 4, 2008 7:04 PM
...
While I donated some coin through ...ahem, another sb page ... I seriously did enjoy the poo-flinging-free monkee dance.
Very nicely done.
...tom...
.
Posted by: ...tom... | November 4, 2008 9:16 PM
Chad, I am a school child. Do I get some money? Also, are you able to go see Manute Bol this thursday? This is the time for noon hoops to get on the map. I know I'd be the optimal person to speak with him since I have more in common than him (we are both Asian or African), but someone has to step up and invite him to noon hoops.
Posted by: Bilal M | November 5, 2008 3:56 PM
Hmmmmmm. Back in ancient times I took a class at the University of Texas from Chad Oliver, chair of the anthropology department. Dr. Oliver was also a science fiction writer. One day, for reasons I forget, Dr. Oliver used lecture time to perform what he said was a chimpanzee food bark. The food bark was very loud and quite distinctive, and especially impressive because Dr. Oliver was such an elegant dresser. I shall never forget seeing a distinguished anthropologist in a handsome suit doing a chimpanzee food bark, and Chad, I shall never forget seeing you in this video.
There's just a beautiful symmetry in seeing two distinguished scientist-writers named Chad imitate simians. I don't know what it means; but somehow I sense that this is important.
Posted by: Anna K. | November 6, 2008 11:22 AM