dimland radio 1-23-16 show notes

Glenn Fry Died, So Far No Accusations Of Sex Abuse

Last week I touched on the calling out as a sex abuser of the recently deceased David Bowie. That calling out was based on an accusation of rape, for which Bowie was cleared of the charges, and a claim by a former groupie that he had taken her virginity when she was 15 or so. I made the point that for some people accusations and anecdotes mean guilt.

 

With Glenn Fry dying, I searched for similar inflammatory articles about him. I haven't found any. Fry was a rock star in the 70s, the days of booze and drugs and groupies. Fry has admitted to living the hard life of a rock star. I'm sure he meant the whole sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll thing. It's probable he partook in the offers of a groupie or two. Possibly one was underage. But no one has made any claims and Fry isn't as big a star as Bowie, so no such articles were written the day the world learned of his death.

 

Also, I wondered why the David Bowie/sex abuser articles weren't written before he died. The author of the main article I talked about had mentioned in that article that her editor thought she should wait a while before posting. Let the fans mourn. But she felt it would be triggering...

"...for the millions of rape and sexual victims to watch Bowie be venerated as an icon when we know he was an abuser, too. It’s best if we sit quietly until the world is ready to hear our voices, even though the rape allegations against him first surfaced in 1987. We are used to rape culture, and we are expected to know our place."

 

Well, Bowie was in the news just prior to his death. He had released a new album and turned 69 years old. Why not write the article then? Wouldn't millions of rape and sexual victims want their voices to be heard when Bowie was being praised and celebrated for his birthday and his art? Yes, his death would garner greater attention, so it was probably an attempt to get more bang for the buck.

 

Still, very few people knew Bowie was so ill and close to death. Certainly the author didn't know. I presume, then, she would have known her place and kept quiet for years waiting for Bowie to die before giving voice to those "millions of rape and sexual victims", had he continued to live and produce music.

 

Oh, and I should plug the two part podcasts I was a guest on in which David Bowie was discussed. We don't hurl any sex abuse claims, but we do heap praise on Bowie. Both parts can be found here.

Celebrity Deaths Don't Come In 3s

This has been a topic lately with all the celebrities dying. My brother and I have been joking back and forth with each other for the last couple of weeks about how to group the celebrity deaths into 3s.

 

I was inspired to write a blog about it. You can read it here.

When Will The Hollywood Establishment Change?

The Oscars have been in the news, but not for the reasons the Hollywood establishment had hoped. Instead of focusing on the nominations as a way to celebrate and generate excitement for the most prestigious of entertainment award shows, the focus is on the lack of black actors and films in the nominations.

 

Now, I don't want to get in the middle of this pickle, but something occurred to me. I was listening to a movie review podcast and the hosts mentioned the "Hollywood establishment". They talked about how the establishment tends to like the more traditional films. They like the films that remind them of the old studio system, such as King's Speech and Bridge of Spies.

 

Really? I mean, I've been hearing that for twenty years. Surely the old guard ought to be retiring or dying off by now. When will the establishment be populated by the generation of filmmakers that gave us Easy Rider, Apocalypse Now, M*A*S*H, Mean Streets, Chinatown, etc?

 

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. I guess.

New Grief Vampire Is On The Rise

 

Tyler Henry has been given the stamp of approval by Dr. Phil and the E! network. E! has given him his own show. Henry claims to be able to talk to the dead AND get answers from them. From what little I know of his technique, it seems as though he's just doing good ol' cold reading. He may be the real deal, but I'm skeptical.

 

In researching the Hollywood Medium (that's what he's being called) I found something awesome: Cold Reader Bingo! The one I found was based on grief vampires James van Praagh and John Edward, but it works for any cold reader. It's very clever. I wish I would have thought of it.

 

I used this news and my talk of cold reading to get into talking about my late mother-in-law's experience with a psychic. She remembered the psychic's first words being, "Who's Dora?" Dora was my mother-in-law's mother-in-law. The psychic claimed Dora was going to be visiting bringing her suitcases. Dora wasn't dead at the time, by the way. And some time later, Dora came to visit and she had her suitcases!

 

What?! A family member coming to visit? That never happens!

 

I wasn't there to witness the reading and I'm sure that's how Mom remembered it, but the fact that the psychic asked, "Who's Dora?" was a clue for me. Cold readers ask questions. Lots of them. They make vague statements and let the person being read provide the information. And that sure is what it looks to me that psychics are doing.

 

Say My Name!

 

I finally watched all three of the Back To The Future movies. I had only seen the first one before. They are all very entertaining. If you haven't seen them or it's been a while I recommend you watch them.

 

I also recommend you count how many times Marty says "Doc". Through the three films it's gotta be in the hundreds. This name over usage is common in movies and TV. I even blogged about it.

 

Movie Recommendation: Back To The Future Trilogy

As I mentioned above, all three films are very entertaining and worth watching.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Break My Body' by Pixies & 'Crashing By Design' by Pete Townshend

Second ad break bumpers: 'I Wanna Destroy You' by The Soft Boys &  'Burning From The Inside' 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
 
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