dimland radio 3-26-11

Atheist Coming Out Day

Atheists come out and pla-ee-ay!

At least, according to one FaceBook friends it was Atheist Coming Out Day. So, I shocked my listeners by announcing that I'm an atheist. Well, it would have shocked them had they not already known it since my first show.

Richard Dawkins' Birthday

Richard Dawkins - way smarter than me.

That FaceBook friend I just mentioned chose March 26th as Atheist Coming Out day because it also happened to be Richard Dawkins' 70th birthday. I talked a little bit about Dawkins. He is an evolutionary biologist, author and outspoken skeptic and atheist. I mentioned his book 'The Blind Watchmaker' and its defense of the theory of evolution.

A partial bibliography of Dawkins' books include 'The Blind Watchmaker', 'The Selfish Gene', 'Unweaving The Rainbow' and 'The God Delusion'.

My Friend Scotty Roberts

Scotty Roberts

The yin to my yang, my friend Scotty Roberts will be publishing a book on the Nephilim. If I'm not mistaken the Nephilim were giant angels who, in Biblical times, came down to earth to advance the human race. Those angels were later dispatched by the great flood of Noah's Ark fame. Of course, there is no physical evidence of giant angels (or small or regular sized ones for that matter) nor of a great world-wide flood. But Scotty believes that because so many different cultures have a great flood myth that there must have been a great flood. I pointted out that these cultures all lived in areas of the world where floods were common. It's not that surprising that many of them would make up a great flood story. And humans are perfectly capable of making up stories. Ever read a novel or watch a movie?

It should be an interesting read.

Chariots Of The Gods

Wait a minute, this isn't science.

Scotty's ideas about the Nephilim put the completely discredited ideas of Erich von Daniken in my mind. Von Daniken didn't think giant angels helped to advance human beings, he thought it was extraterrestrials. His ideas are highly speculative, unfounded and not at all supported by the evidence, but why let that stop him?

I mentioned this skeptical text book by Kenneth Feder in which von Daniken and his unevidenced ideas are critically discussed.

Logical Fallacies: Appeal To Authority or Argument From Authority

Inspired by the skeptical podcasts, Skeptoid and Skeptic's Guide to the Universe, I'm doing a series defining logical fallacies. This week's logical fallacy is "appeal to authority". I'm continuing to use those two sites so that we might learn how to recognize those mistakes made by all of us.

You can learn more from Skeptoid and the Skeptic's Guide to the Universe.

The "Supermoon" Had Nothing To Do With Earthquake That Hit Japan

Holy supermoon, Batman!

With information from the Bad Astronomer, Phil Plait, I briefly discussed that the moon getting slightly closer to earth had no effect on the tectonic plates that moved and rocked Japan with a very major earthquake.

You can read Phil's blog here.

Is Religion Dying Out?

And these are just a few that need to go.

Ok, I'm not holding my breath on this one, but according to some study there are nine countries in which it looks as though religion will soon be nonexistent. I have my doubts.

UFOs And Alien Lifeforms

It sort looks like an old style ceiling light fixture.

I have frequently had this curious failure of logic hurled at me whenever discussing UFOs. I'm asked if I believe that we are being visited by extraterrestrial intelligent lifeforms. I always answer no. Almost every time, that person then asks how I can think that earth is the only planet in the whole universe with life.

Easy. I don't.

These are two separate issues. There may very well be life all over the universe, but that in no way means that we are being visited.

Two things we know for certain. 1) Earth is, to the best of our knowledge, the only planet in the universe with life. 2) Space is VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY big.

If there is alien intelligence out there, it would take them an extremely long time to get here. In fact, it's rather unlikely that those aliens even know we are here. I'm telling you space is big!

Here's a nifty site for giving you an idea on just how big space is.

Movie Recommendation: Contact (1997)

But if you want hope that there is a chance we can make contact with whatever intelligent beings may be out there, the movie 'Contact' gives a theoretically possible idea on how that might happen. I have recommended this film, based on the novel by Carl Sagan, before, but I thought it was fitting to suggest it again given the topics I had discussed on the show.

Do Something For Japan

Praying won't stop this and it didn't cause it.

I mean actually do something for Japan. I'm sure there are many folks praying from the victims, but how about doing something that will actually do some tangible good? iTunes has sent up a portal through which you can donate some money. Click here for more info.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ahead' by Wire
First ad break bumpers: 'Girls On Film' by Duran Duran & 'Boy About Town' by The Jam
Second ad break bumpers: 'Daily Records' by The Who & 'Kerosene' by Big Black
Closing song: 'Angler's Treble Hook' by $5 Fiddle

That's it! see you next Saturday night for Dimland Radio 11 Central, midnight Eastern on www.ztalkradio.com you can also download my show from the z talk show archives page. You can email your questions and comments to drdim@dimland.com

urban legend as humorous anecdote

My man Craig!

My man crush for Craig Ferguson aside, I want to point out that occasionally something happens on his show that bothers this humble skeptic. It’s when guests or even the host want to have an interesting story to tell, so they’ll pull out an urban legend and pass it off as though it was a true story. To be fair to Craig, I know his isn’t the only late night talk show on which urban legends can pop up from time to time. I’ve seen it happen on Letterman’s show.

Monday night’s edition of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson was a repeat (yes, I watched it anyway) and it featured Craig, himself, relating a humorous anecdote from his teenage years. He told his guest Denis Leary about a friend (usually it’s a friend of a friend) who while a teenager was “caught” masturbating by his mom.

The story went like this… Craig’s friend was in his bedroom, listening to music through his headphones. They were those big clunky 70s style headphones. Craig’s friend felt the urge and decided to relieve himself without removing those headphones. And, apparently, without opening his eyes. He finishes. In the afterglow, he looks over to his nightstand and there placed lovingly by his mother was a sandwich and a glass of milk. No, they weren’t there before he started his self massage session.

Uncomfortable laughter ensued. Denis looked stunned as he cracked up. Later, Craig even played out the scene in the role of the mother quietly placing the meal next to her self-abusing son. Funny story, but not true.

You know me, I’m a skeptic and naturally I thought the story sounded just too good. It had all the elements of an urban legend. So, I did what good skeptics should always do. Research.

Actually, I didn’t have to do a whole lot of digging. A quick visit to snopes.com found the answer. Despite what some of my listeners might say, Snopes is a very good reference. Especially when hunting down urban legends.

The story has its variants, but Craig told an urban legend that Snopes calls “A Tea-Bird In The Hand”. One version on the story has the “friend” putting a pair of panties, stolen from some crush, over his head so he doesn’t see Mom bring his tea.

As I indicated, this wasn’t the first time this kind of thing has happened…

A while back on Craig’s show, guest, Elizabeth Banks told of her girlfriend who left a bag on poop on her one-night stand’s countertop and then locked herself out of the apartment. She passed it off as being something that happened to a “friend” of hers. Funny story, but not true.

Years ago, on David Letterman’s show, a guest told the story of a stranger, completely uninvited, sharing his biscuits (he was British and that is what the Brits call cookies) while waiting to board a plane. Being British, the actor (I forget who It was) refrained from saying anything to the biscuit stealing stranger. Later, he finds that it was he who was stealing the stranger’s cookies. Funny story, but not true.

These and other urban legends can be found on snopes.com.

Knowing that urban legends are being offered as true humorous anecdotes by guests and hosts on the late night talk circuit makes me question the veracity of any of their stories. Oh, well, it’s late night TV show fare, I shouldn’t get too worked up.

dimland radio 3-19-11 show notes

This Is Our Car

Yay!

Well, we got it. I started the show with the tale of our success in getting the 2001 VW Jetta wagon. My wife Amy hung around for the first part of the show and added a couple comments and a giggle or two.

I also related that we had gotten rid of our other two cars. Yep, we're down to one. The Volvo we sold to a fellow for $250. He buys old junkers and turns them in for scrap. I wonder how much he gets if he's giving us that much for our old beater. We also took the Ford Escort to a local donation center that takes in unwanted cars. We will get some kind of tax deduction for the donation.

And Now - A Joke

BJ Novak

Not all that long ago I heard a pretty good joke told by a guest, BJ Novak, on Late Show with David Letterman. It's clean and I think it's funny.

A guy walks into a bakery... You'll have to listen to the show to get the rest. You can download it from the Z Talk Radio archive.

EVPs and The Changeling

I played a clip from the 1980 MGM film 'The Changeling'. A very good haunted house story starring George C Scott. The clip I played was the film's EVP moment. The kind of EVP that doesn't seem to actually happen in real life, despite the claims of various ghost hunters. But in a movie anything is possible. Reality is much different.

I wrote a blog about this some time ago. You can read it here. You can view the clip of 'The Changeling' part of which I used on my show here.

It's Not True: The 10% Brain Myth

So where is that unused 90% now?

I've talked about this before, but with the release of the film 'Limitless' I thought I'd bring it up again. We use all of our brain. The science tells us that there isn't 80 - 90% of our brain sitting idle. I made the same argument that I've seen in a couple places. That is when someone suffers a brain injury they suffer issues from that brain damage. Why would that be if 90% of the brain is unused? I would think the odds would be good that most people suffering brain injuries wouldn't have much of a problem.

I was challenged to site my sources and provide peer review studies. Well, here are a few sources here, here and here. I have a request out to a knowledgeable skeptic to see if he can put me on to a specific study, if I hear from him with something I'll pass it on to you.

This is another often sited source: B.L. Beyerstein, Whence Cometh the Myth that We Only Use 10% of Our Brains? in Mind Myths. Exploring Popular Assumptions about the Mind and Brain edited by S. Della Sala, Chichester: John Wiley and Sons, pages 3-24, 1999. This chapter is required reading for anyone who wants more information on the 10% myth.

Movie Surprises, Not!

Sir Derek Jacobi: No surprise here

I wandered into the role of being a movie spoiler for a little bit. I talked about the film 'Dead Again' and how casting Sir Derek Jacobi ruined the surprise reveal of his character, because Jacobi had played stutterers in the past and his character in the past (shown in flashbacks portrayed by a younger actor) was a stutterer. So, when I saw that flashback it ruined the reveal.

Max von Sydow: No surprise here

'Minority Report' had a similar problem. The story had star Tom Cruise learning that someone on the inside was dirty and behind his framing of some future crime. (Sorry, you'll have to watch the movie I can't explain the plot here. Of course, I can spoil it for you.) Once I learned there was a bad guy on the inside I knew who it was because the actor playing that character, (spoiler!) Max von Sydow, often plays that sort. So, the reveal was ruined.

However, this next film succeeded in catching me completely by surprise...

Movie Recommendation: LA Confidential (1997)

In my opinion, this was the best picture of 1997. Far better than the soap opera that was 'Titanic' (that year's best picture winner). An ensemble cast with some very good actors including Guy Pearce, Russell Crowe, James Cromwell, Kevin Spacey, Kim Basinger (who won the Oscar for best supporting actress). The story is fantastically written and gives you at least one surprise that will absolutely stun you. And I won't spoil it for you.

Get it in your Netflix queue now!

Do Something For Japan

I didn't talk about the disaster in Japan this week, but I want to keep this info available... iTunes has sent up a portal through which you can donate some money. Click here for more info.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ahead' by Wire
First ad break bumpers: 'Repetition' by Urban Guerrillas & 'Talk Talk' by Talk Talk
Second ad break bumpers: 'Cloudbusting' by Kate Bush & 'The Sweetest Taboo' by Sade
Closing song: 'Angler's Treble Hook' by $5 Fiddle

That's it! see you next Saturday night for Dimland Radio 11 Central, midnight Eastern on www.ztalkradio.com you can also download my show from the z talk show archives page. You can email your questions and comments to drdim@dimland.com

dimland radio 3-12-11 show notes

A Bumpy Start

Some changes were made to the server and word was gotten to me at the last moment. I made several attempts to get on air, but wasn't having any luck. With the assistance of one of Z Talk's managers and my wonderful wife, I finally got the show going. 20 minutes late, but going nonetheless.

One Year Of Dimland Radio

Yep, I've been doing this show for a year now. 49 episodes in all. I almost have the hang of this.

Buying A Car

That's the one. And a little ad for the dealership.

Earlier the day of this show, my wife and I went out to buy a car. One of our cars died a couple months ago and the other is on its last legs. (Can a car be on its last legs?) This whole process makes me nervous. We picked the car, put down the deposit, but now we need to secure the financing. So, I'm going to remain nervous.

Tune in next week, I'll let you know if we have our new, used car.

David Letterman

Dave back in the day.

I spent some time reminiscing about the excellent wackiness of 'Late Night with David Letterman'. Back then, Dave was a huge favorite of mine. He had quite the influence on my humor.

I also talked about his recent turn toward being more political on his show. He's a bit of a leftie and tends to fawn over others on the left while bulldogging those of his guests who might be more to the right. I admit this bugs me a little.

I gave some observations on Dave's recent interview with Senator Rand Paul. I thought when I first watched the exchange that Dave had claimed to be middle class. However, upon reading a transcript of the interview (available here on an admittedly Conservative website) I'm not so sure that's what Dave was doing.

Whatever. How about you check out these classic clips from Dave's glory days, here, here and here? And there are plenty more clips to find on YouTube.

Trimming The Male Eyebrows?

What's wrong with this picture?

I'm not for it. Oh, it's ok for a man to trim them when those brows get too bushy, but the shaping and the teasing that some are doing? I say thee nay! Click here for more.

Portrait Of Randi

I made this!

Then I talked a little bit about my just completed portrait of the amazing James Randi. Looks like him, doesn't it?

Logical Fallacies: Ad hominem

Inspired by the skeptical podcasts, Skeptoid and Skeptic's Guide to the Universe, I'm doing a series defining logical fallacies. This week's logical fallacy is "ad hominem". I'm continuing to use those two sites so that we might learn how to recognise those mistakes made by all of us.

You can learn more from Skeptoid and the Skeptic's Guide to the Universe.

Do Something For Japan

Praying won't stop this.

I mean actually do something for Japan. I'm sure there are many folks praying from the victims, but how about doing something that will actually do some tangible good? iTunes has sent up a portal through which you can donate some money. Click here for more info.

Movie Recommendation: Not This Week

Sorry, I didn't recommend a movie this week. You'll just have to find one on your own.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ahead' by Wire
First ad break bumpers: 'Close (To The Edit)' by Art Of Noise & 'I Wanna Be A Flintstone' by The Screaming Blue Messiahs
Second ad break bumpers: 'Straight To Hell' by The Clash & 'Telegram Sam' by Bauhaus
Closing song: 'Angler's Treble Hook' by $5 Fiddle

That's it! see you next Saturday night for Dimland Radio 11 Central, midnight Eastern on www.ztalkradio.com you can also download my show from the z talk show archives page. You can email your questions and comments to drdim@dimland.com

dimland radio 3-5-11 show notes

Dying Car & A Broken Tooth

It's always something, ain't it? My wife and I received a sizable tax refund and we had plans for it, but our surviving car (remember our Volvo has already given up the ghost) is having some issues and will likely need replacing. AND one of my teeth broke, however that was taken care of by our insurance.

Still, it is always something.

Ten Minute Topic With Chris Brown

Fellow skeptic, Chris Brown.

Another Ten Minute Topic with my friend, Chris Brown. This time it was well under ten minutes. Chris and I talked a bit about the unexplained just being unexplained, not something paranormal. Chris's ending comment is pretty good.

Tales from Hayden's World

My son, Hayden, is about seven and a half years-old and he had been invited to two birthday parties in one day. One in the afternoon and one in the evening that was to be a sleep over. The earlier party was at an indoor, giant, inflatable, amusement playland. Hayden had been to this place before, but this time they had a new "ride". It was a bouncy boxing ring. Yep, the amusement folks thought it was a good idea for kids to put on a boxing helmet and a big boxing glove and pummel the hell out of each other.

Hayden went in (his mom and I didn't know it was a boxing thing, if we had we wouldn't have let him do it) and gave it his best shot. But, he began to get angry at being hit in the head and knocked down. He got very angry and frustrated and it almost ruined the day. I gotta believe Hayden wasn't the first kid to react that way. Maybe I'm over-protective here, but I think that particular amusement is pretty damn stupid.

The second party was the sleepover and that went much better. Amy and I were concerned about it being his first sleepover, but he did fine and he had a blast.

Logical Fallacies: Straw Man Argument

Inspired by the skeptical podcasts, Skeptoid and Skeptic's Guide to the Universe, I'm starting a series defining logical fallacies. I started with the "straw man argument". Using those two sources, I plan on talking a little bit about these fallacies so that my audience (and I) might learn how to recognise them and avoid them.

You can learn more from Skeptoid and the Skeptic's Guide to the Universe.

Movie Recommendation: From Hell (2001)

Adapted from the graphic novel, this film starring Johnny Depp explores the mystery of Jack The Ripper. It's dark and grim, but I find it very entertaining. Johnny Depp is terrific as usual and Heather Graham (and other gals) show a good amount of cleavage, along with Jack The Ripper, what more could you want? Check it out.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ahead' by Wire
First ad break bumpers: 'Tabazan' by Killing Joke & 'Chrome Injury' by The Church
Second ad break bumpers: 'Books About UFOs' by Husker Du & 'Watusi Rodeo' by Guadalcanal Diary
Closing song: 'Angler's Treble Hook' by $5 Fiddle

That's it! see you next Saturday night for Dimland Radio 11 Central, midnight Eastern on www.ztalkradio.com you can also download my show from the z talk show archives page. You can email your questions and comments to drdim@dimland.com