dimland radio 1-16-16 show notes

Too Much Salt

Not table salt, I was talking about sidewalk salt or ice melt. The stuff is great for taking ice off of sidewalks and roadways, but if too much is put down it's a real pain in the ass to clean up. And this week I had a major pain in the ass clean up to do. The building I clean on Tuesday nights had about four times as much ice melt put down as was necessary to do the job. It added an hour to my night, because I had to sweep the excess off the walkways and I had lots of extra vacuuming. The damn stuff was tracked all throughout the building. I was not happy.

Vikings Disappoint Again

Sure, the Minnesota Vikings had a much better season than anyone expected. And, yes, they did win the North Division by defeating the Green Bay Packers. However, in their first game in the playoffs they played the Seattle Seahawks and just barely managed to squeak out a loss. The 27 yard field goal attempt that would have won the game if made, was missed and the Vikings disappointed their fans once again.

And, to make matters worse, the Packers won their first round game in the playoffs. Ugh.

Oh, well, with the new swanky stadium opening next season, the Vikings are sure to be disappointing fans for years to come.

David Bowie Died

The world was shocked to learn of David Bowie's death this past week. It really came as a surprise because no one, except those closest to him, had any idea the man was so sick. He'd just celebrated his 69th birthday and released a new album, so when I saw he was in the news Monday morning, I naturally thought it was about how well the new album was doing, not that Bowie had died.

I was stunned. I liked David Bowie. I wasn't a megafan, but I liked a lot of his music and I'd always admired him as an artist. He certainly had more to give to the world.

I wrote about three of my favorite David Bowie albums for Warehouse Find, the official blog of Nostalgia Zone.

It was with hesitation that I brought up some dissenting voices in the wake of Bowie's death. The very day the world learned of his death, two articles (there have been more since then) surfaced on the internet decrying him as a sex abuser. One article was very inflammatory, while the other was more measured in its calling out of sex abuse. The claims centered around a rape accusation in 1987, of which Bowie was cleared of charges, and of statutory rape when a former groupie, Lori Mattix, claimed she lost her virginity to Bowie when she was 15. Both articles assume Bowie to be guilty.

I understand that we should remember people as human beings who, no matter how wonderful their contributions to the world, can be flawed. I also understand that today's society looks at the whole rockstar/groupie dynamic differently, especially when it comes to sex with underage groupies. Society no longer shrugs its shoulders and says, "Oh, those rockstars."  And that's a good thing. It shows we've matured. However, for me, accusations and anecdotes are not enough to label David Bowie as a sex abuser. While for others, accusations and anecdotes mean guilty.

We have a legal standard that states, "Innocent until proven guilty." And that goes for celebrities, including David Bowie. Ms Mattix could be lying. I think she's probably not, but no one really knows for sure.

David Bowie was human and now he's dead. Let's celebrate the art he has left us.

I Didn't Win The Powerball

 

A lot of people didn't win the 1.6 BILLION dollar Powerball jackpot this past week, but there were three winning tickets. I usually don't buy lottery tickets. I realize my odds of winning are only slightly better when I buy a ticket than not buying one. But buying a ticket pretty much just buys you the chance to dream. So, this past week, I did buy myself a chance to dream.

I advised my listeners: If you are going to buy a lottery ticket, just buy one. More than one will not increase your odds significantly, so it's a waste of your money.

 

Squatty Potty

 

Then the show went right in the crapper. I talked about this Squatty Potty device that seems to have popped up just recently. It's a device that fits around the base of your toilet on which you place your feet in order to poop in a more squatted position.

 

You see, the natural way to poop is in a squatting position not a seated one. Right there we have the if it's natural it must be good fallacy.

 

From what I could find the device isn't complete quackery. It can help ease your bowel movements, but it doesn't prevent constipation. It may not be the worst product out there, but it may not be worth your money. It does, however, have a pretty awesome ad. Unicorns that poop soft serve ice cream? Whoever came up with that idea 10 points to you!

 

Hang on! Howard Stern likes it? Well, then that's good enough for m... No. No, it isn't.

 

Movie Recommendation: CBGB (2013)

Unclaimed Freight Productions

I recommended this movie as part of my tribute to Alan Rickman. He, too, died this past week. Also,very sad and surprising.

 

He stars as Hilly Kristal in this biopic of the owner and operator of the iconic  New York Punk Rock club: CBGB. It was a dive bar in the Bowery district of New York City that Hilly used to feature some of Punk Rock's greatest bands. Blondie, Television, Talking Heads, and the Ramones all got their starts there and they are all featured in this film.

 

It was an unusual role for Rickman. Kristal is such a laconic slob while Rickman is generally so clean and polished, but I think he pulls it off. Not everyone agrees with me as the movie wasn't reviewed especially well. Still I like the glimpse into that time period that gave birth to a genre of music I really like.

 

It also includes a brief scene of Kristol quietly singing a simple country song about a bird looking for love. The song was written by Hilly Kristal and Rickman actually sings it. Rickman's voice isn't half bad.

 

It's streaming on Netflix, not for free.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Girls On Film' by Duran Duran & 'Ashes To Ashes' by David Bowie

Second ad break bumpers: 'In The Flat Field' by Bauhaus &  'Games Without Frontiers' by Peter Gabriel

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
 
You can also go to my CafePress store and buy stuff with my artwork on it and have me do a portrait for you if you like. Find out more here and here.