And For Those Who Don't Like Sports, We Have Sports
I decided to kick off the show with an update on the Minnesota Twins. They still lead the American League Central Division and are as of this writing in a three game series with the second place Cleveland Indians. A sweep would put he Twins ahead by 9.5 games, however the Indians won the first game and the Twins won the second so the lead remains 6.5. A win for the Twins today will put them up by 7.5 games and make the magic number 12.
We'll see.
I also voiced my concern over the Twins losing out on having the record for the most team home runs in a single season. They broke the previous record, set by the Hated Yankees last season, by hitting 268. They accomplished that by the end of August and have another month to rack up more. But the Evil Empire went crazy in August, hitting more than 60 dingers that month, and they reduced the gap by a considerable amount. The Bronx Bastards now sit just nine homers behind.
Come on, Twins! Hit 12 today! Is that too much to ask?
Angry George Carlin Was Angry
In his 1992 HBO Special Jammin' In New York, comedy legend George Carlin laid down an eight minute rant about saving the planet. "The planet is fine! The people are f---ed!" (Incidentally, the remark "the planet is fine" was met by a heckle of "bullshit", but Carlin ranted right along.)
I was curious what the members of the Minnesota Skeptics might think of Carlin's statements. I posted the video to their Facebook page and got some very thoughtful responses. And one jerk couldn't help but be a jerk when stating his position that we were taking a comedy routine too seriously. Fine. That's what you think, but do you have to be a jerk about it?
Here's some excerpts:
"...there is something he is missing with regards to causing the misery and deaths of billions of plants and animals." ~ Reed
"He says, 'the air and water will recover; the earth will be renewed.' I'm not sure it
will ever be the same since it wasn't like this before. He says, 'I
think were part of a greater wisdom than we will never understand, a
higher order. Call it what you want. You know what I call it? the big
electron.' Personally I think he is just making up shit to fit his view
of reality. He thinks this blue and green planet is in some happy state
that it's inherently supposed to be in. It won't be like this after
we're done with it and it won't go back to this anytime soon if ever
again." ~ Beth
"One of the things about comedy is that it needs to be funny. In his later years, Carlin was getting less funny. This clip is an example. And his comedy was always about revealing deeper truths, so when he tries to get laughs about people trying to save the planet, he is making his opinion clear. He's just not funny about it. He doesn't get that, yes, there is an extinction trend in nature, however it's accelerated by our actions. And saving our environment is important because we are breaking it, and we need to start unbreaking it. By demanding action on global warming, demanding clean energy and all that, we aren't going against nature. And that's what he is implying. Yes, it's comedy. No, it's not funny. I'm old enough to remember when Carlin was funny." ~ Mike
"One of the things about comedy is that it needs to be funny. In his later years, Carlin was getting less funny. This clip is an example. And his comedy was always about revealing deeper truths, so when he tries to get laughs about people trying to save the planet, he is making his opinion clear. He's just not funny about it. He doesn't get that, yes, there is an extinction trend in nature, however it's accelerated by our actions. And saving our environment is important because we are breaking it, and we need to start unbreaking it. By demanding action on global warming, demanding clean energy and all that, we aren't going against nature. And that's what he is implying. Yes, it's comedy. No, it's not funny. I'm old enough to remember when Carlin was funny." ~ Mike
"I agree with what's been said. Yes, the planet will exist for billions more years until it's swallowed
up by the sun, but that's not the point. The point is about not ruining
the environments and ecosystems of huge amounts of living things, which
we are absolutely doing, 100%. From mass extinctions to climate change,
we are either the originator or the extreme exacerbaters of these
problems." ~ Rachel
"Earth will survive
whatever we do to it, but it might take millions of years for evolution
to recover from a mass extinction. From a human standpoint that's
essentially forever, even if we survive. Carlin seems to think that
humans aren't effecting the rate of
extinction and that's ridiculous. He's also being hypocritical - he
accuses other people of being arrogant while being arrogant himself. We
won't destroy the planet, but we're sure making a mess of it." ~ Joel
MN Skeptic Rachel even practiced the Principle of Charity by pointing out that less was known about climate change and mass extinction as far as the general public was concerned in the early '90s. Carlin's attitude might be a reflection of that general ignorance.
Lastly, this is the same George Carlin who twenty years earlier sang this:
'O, Beautiful,
For smoggy skies
Insecticided grain
For strip-mined mountains, majesty
Above the asphalt plains.
America, America,
Man sheds his waste on thee
And hides the pines
With billboard signs
From sea to oily sea!'
'O, Beautiful,
For smoggy skies
Insecticided grain
For strip-mined mountains, majesty
Above the asphalt plains.
America, America,
Man sheds his waste on thee
And hides the pines
With billboard signs
From sea to oily sea!'
"...self-righteous environmentalists,... white, bourgeois liberals."
Indeed.
Tooled Out
The prog/metal band Tool released a new album on Friday August 30. It was their first new album in 13 years. Tool fans have waited a long time. I have friends who are fans and they were plenty excited. My wife is also a Tool fan and she took me on a bit of a Toll kick.
I'm not the biggest fan of prog or metal. I don't know much about either. There's some I like, a lot I don't. I think Tool is interesting, but they aren't my thing. And after hearing lots of their stuff old and new this past week - I'm Tooled out.
What Is Shirley Temple Smoking?
The internet birthed this gif of a happy and getting happier Shirley Temple smoking from a ceremonial or peace pipe. I think the idea is to get people to think she's smoking marijuana. I thought that she was. But then I wondered if Native Americans actually did smoke pot from those pipes. I couldn't find anything definitive. It seems more likely that is a myth.
I did find that it was mostly tobacco that was smoked. Tobacco was a highly desired item to many of the Native American peoples. I also learned some would smoke something known as kinnikinnick.
As for the gif, it comes from the 1939 film Susannah Of The Mounties starring Shirley Temple and Randolph Scott. The clip below shows a little bit more of one of the Depression Era's biggest box office draw's full reaction. The clip also shows the stereotyping of Native Americans so prevalent in Hollywood and America in those days.
This gif reminded me of the very first time I took a drag from a cigarette. I was just about the same age as Temple in the gif, when I pretended to smoke what I though was an unlit cigarette butt. I was wrong. It felt as though my lung were filled with death.
Skeptic Magazine Was Duped
In the latest email I receive each month from Skeptic Magazine was a link to a story of how a fellow who had written four articles (two published in the magazine, two published online) had misrepresented himself as a PhD psychologist. He is not. Some red flags went up and Skeptic researchers dug in and discovered he was a fraud.
This caused deep embarrassment to the magazine and they promised readers they would tighten the vetting process of contributors. This shows that even the major, well-trained, and experienced skeptics can be duped.
Eternal vigilance!
A Dimland Radio Pedantic Moment: Geico Sports Rival Ad Royals/Cardinals Edition
Short and to the point, the Kansas City Royals and the St. Louis Cardinals are not rivals. They are not in the same division. They're not even in the same league. Royals are an American League team, Cardinals are National League.
To be rivals teams have to be competing against each other to win a division. Having a long history of that competition helps. The longer the history, the deeper the rivalry. For instance, the Hated Yankees and Boston Red Sox have a long and storied rivalry. In football, the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers have a longstanding rivalry.
The Royals and the Cardinals do not. The Cardinals' main rival is the Chicago Cubs. The Royals' main rival is the Minnesota Twins, but this rivalry isn't very intense.
Music heard on the show...
Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus
First ad break bumpers: 'I Will Dare' by The Replacements & 'The Boy With The Thorn In His Side' by The Smiths
First ad break bumpers: 'I Will Dare' by The Replacements & 'The Boy With The Thorn In His Side' by The Smiths
Second ad break bumpers: 'Wild Blue Yonder' by The Screaming Blue Messiahs & '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
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