dimland radio 4-23-16 show notes

Easiest Show Notes I've Ever Done...

A crowded First Avenue celebrating Prince's music. (ABC News)

It's not because of the topic that these show notes will be so easy. The topic is tragic and sad, but it was pretty much the only topic of the show: The mega-talented, singer/songwriter, musician, producer, pop superstar Prince died unexpectedly on Thursday April 21, 2016.

 

I talked about how I found out and how stunning the news was. I talked about the internet's reaction. I told a few stories: The first time I became aware of Prince. The road trip in the early '90s with a stop at a bar in Flagstaff, Arizona after a long day of driving and having a beer while listening to Prince on the jukebox. And there was the story of my DJ fail at the Halloween party my second year of art school.

 

I blogged about my memories of Prince for Warehouse Find, the official blog of Nostalgia Zone.

 

I talked a little about the speculations on the cause of his death. I didn't want to go too far, because, at this point, we don't know. The coming weeks may see an answer to how he died.

 

I also tried to figure out why I had never seen him play. It's strange, but I never did.

 

I also did a special tribute to him by loading my breaks with all the Prince bumpers I have. There will be no links to the songs, because Prince was very protective of his material. He made sure that none of it is available on YouTube. At least not for very long.

Movie Recommendation: None

I didn't get to recommending one, but, in keeping with the theme, it wouldn't hurt to watch Purple Rain.

 

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Controversy', 'U Got The Look', 'Raspberry Beret' & "Dirty Mind' by Prince

Second ad break bumpers:  'Kiss', 'Sign O The Times', 'Delirious' & 'Little Red Corvette' by Prince

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.

dimland radio 1-9-16 show notes

Heeeere's Johnny!

Yeah, not that clever of a heading, but that's why I don't get  paid the big bucks. I'm just trying to say that Johnny Carson is back on television. AntennaTV is now showing reruns of Johnny's Tonight Show every night of the week. I stumbled on a show from 1974, I think, last week and it was so cool.

 

I talked about these reruns being excellent time capsules to our lives from 1972 to 1992, the years these shows cover. We get to see twenty years worth of Johnny's thirty year run on the Tonight Show. The first ten years were, sadly, not archived. But in 1972, Johnny stepped up to save his shows for posterity.

 

I showed a bit of my morbid nature by talking about taking Mr. Peabody's Way Back Machine to head back to that one show I watched last Sunday night. The guests were Bob Hope, Don Rickles, Michael Landon, Freddie Prinze, and Carol Wayne. Including Ed and Johnny, I'd ask those celebs which one would still be alive in 2016. I'm sure the answer would surprise them.

 

Yeah, I have a morbid streak. What are you going to do?

 

I wrote about Johnny's return for Warehouse Find, the official blog of Nostalgia Zone. I made the point that Johnny was the definition of class and cool and he didn't yell to rev up the audience. Today's batch of late night hosts feel it necessary to yell, because if they are yelling then it must be exciting!

Disgusting!

I had thought the whole psychic phone line thing was over, but I was wrong. There's a thing called California Psychics that is advertising to bilk people out of their hard-earned money. I saw the ad while watching Carson (talk about the yin to the yang). At first I thought it would be an ad for one of the televangelist programs, but nope.

 

The ad shows a young woman feeling lost in life and not knowing where to turn. So, she turns to a psychic on the California Psychics' service and her life is all better now. The ad wants viewers to believe psychics can help, but the small print says, "For entertainment purposes only." That's so they can keep from getting into troubling with the FTC or FCC, whichever has jurisdiction.

 

So, if you're depressed and need help with big life decisions, call a psychic to be entertained. That makes no sense. That's also why the type for that disclaimer is so small. Most people won't notice it.

 

They also won't notice what else the small print says. The ad states that a call is only one dollar a minute. Which is $60 and hour! Not chump change. But, wait! It gets worse. That dollar a minute rate is only for the first 30 minutes. Additional reading time prices out at four to 13 dollars a minute! That's insane! 

 

A lot of gullible sorts are gonna be spending a lot of money on what are most likely cold readings.

 

Disgusting!

 

Who Should Really Win The Powerball Jackpot

 

I put this suggestion out on Facebook. I suggested that we all agree to give the jackpot ($700 million at the time, but now it's over one billion dollars!) to the person who came up with the term "Y'all Qaeda". I think it is brilliant.

 

"Vanilla ISIS" isn't bad either when describing the folks who have taken a remote Federal building hostage for the last several days. But Y'all Qaeda is just so damn good.

 

I also talked about how unlikely it is that one particular person will win the Powerball lottery. But a billion dollars? I might just but one ticket. Just one.

 

Movie Recommendation: 30 For 30: Four Falls Of Buffalo

ESPN

A wonderful documentary about the Buffalo Bills' incredible early 90s' run at getting to and losing four Superbowls in a row. The Minnesota Vikings have lost four, but not in a row. It's amazing that team could get there four years running. That's an accomplishment all on its own. It just would have been nice if they could have won one of them.

 

Also, it's pretty evident that the Buffalo Bills have the best footballs fans.

 

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: 'Never Talking To You Again' by Husker Du & 'Voices Carry' by Til Tuesday

Second ad break bumpers: 'Shout To The Top' by The Style Council &  'Talking Doll' by The Screaming Blue Messiahs

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.

dimland radio 12-26-15 show notes

Merry Boxing Day And I'm Sorry

I started the show remarking about the Christmas thing and Boxing Day, then went into explaining how boneheaded I was about getting the gender wrong when thanking Maddy Love, a transwoman, for the kind words about my show. I made sure Maddy knew I'd goofed up and she was very understanding and gracious about it.

 

I thank Maddy for being so good about my blunder. I will endeavor to get these things right in the future.

 

Something Weird Happened To Me As I Cataloged Comic Books

As one of my many jobs, I work part time for Nostalgia Zone, which is a store that sells old comic books and collectibles. I add inventory to our online catalog and then file that inventory in its proper place in the store. I enjoy the work because I can do most at home and when I go to the store I get to visit a friend of mine. And I get payed! And I get an employee discount! Win all around!

 

Well, the weird thing that happen, without getting into all the boring details, was as I entered one comic book I found that instead of a code listing the grade of the previously cataloged item, there was a person's name. The name was the same as a good friend of mine from high school!

So weird!

 

His name isn't especially common and I don't recall if he collected comic books. It was suggested that perhaps the name was of a writer or artist, but I don't know of any comic book producer with that name.

 

Blasted By A Memory

 

I worked at Wendy's decades ago and I happened to walk into a Taco John's restaurant and I was slammed by a very strong memory of my days at Wendy's. The reason it hit me was because that Taco John's used to be a Wendy's restaurant.

 

The layout was virtually the same and it came to my mind as I walked in. It felt like it was thirty years ago and I was heading into work.

 

Star Wars! Nothing But More Star Wars!

 

We saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens! And we (my wife, our son, and I) loved it! Yes, I am aware that there have been some grumbles about the familiarity of the story line, but that didn't bother us a bit. And that is something a whole lot of other people who saw the film have in common with us.

 

It was fun and a satisfying return to form. I want to see it again!

 

I mentioned Siskel & Ebert taking on a snob critic who would rather kids watch Tender Mercies than any of the three Star Wars films. (This was at the time of the release of Return of the Jedi.) Siskel & Ebert understood the joy of movies and how movies can be fun. That one critic (John Simon) was just a wet blanket. Just look at him being all snobby, while Siskel & Ebert demonstrate how they became the two most powerful and relevant film critics in America.

 

Boy! How I miss them!

 

Watch them in this Nightline clip.

 

And on last week's show I had mentioned a YouTuber did a series of videos imagining the prequels being good. I neglected to link to them. I will correct that below.

Episode 1.

 

Episode 2.

 

Episode 3.

 

I'm Not Going To Get Political, Uh, Yes, I Am

 

I noted that there was a heavily biased article lauding the bipartisan take down of the No Child Left Behind legislation. It was just one more failed policy of the Bush administration that had to be repaired by the sainted Pres. Obama. (I'm trying to reflect the biased nature of the article. I'm not claiming NCLB was good law or that Obama is perfect or whatever.)

 

When you read the article please note how there is an emphasis on this being a bipartisan action to undo Bush's disastrous law. That seems to imply that Bush and the Republicans passed the law unilaterally, doesn't it?

 

Let's take a closer look.

 

The NCLB legislation was written by Representatives John Boenher (R) and George Miller (D) and Senators Judd Gregg (R) and Edward Kennedy (D). No surprise there, because that's how legislation is written: By members of both parties.

But, surely, it was all the Republicans that wanted the law passed and the Democrats who objected in those days of fierce partisanship during the Bush administration, right?

Let's look at the numbers.

The vote in the House was as follows:

Republicans voted to pass NCLB by 186 - 34. Democrats voted to pass it by 197 - 10. That's funny. That's more Democrats voting in favor than Republicans and more Republicans voting against than Democrats. Interesting. Oh, and there was one Independent who voted for NCLB. His name was Bernie Sanders. Could it be the same Bernie Sanders? It could!

But how did the legislation fare in the Senate?

Republicans voted in favor 43 - 6, while Democrats voted in favor 47 - 2. Again, that's more Democrats voting in favor than Republicans and more Republicans voting against than Democrats.

Seems pretty bipartisan to me, though.

Oh, and notable Democrat Senators who voted in favor of No Child Left Behind? Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, Harry Reid, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton!

But, yes, let's blame George W Bush.

 

Movie Recommendation: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

 

Disney/LucasFilm Ltd.

It's terrific! It's fun! It's practically mandatory to see it. So, see it!

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Everyone A Puzzle Lover' by 10,000 Maniacs & 'The Every Day Story of Smalltown' by XTC

Second ad break bumpers: 'Every Little Thing She Does is Magic' by The Police &  'Every Word Means No' by Let's Active

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.

dimland radio 5-30-15 show notes

Why The Backward Show?

Last week I did an usual show. I did it backward. Why? It was my tribute to David Letterman. A backward show was the kind of thing Letterman would do in the Late Night days. I then talked about Dave retiring from late night TV after 33 years and how, in the early days, I was a big fan.

 

I don't want to sound all hipster here, because I still enjoyed Dave after the Late Night days when he went to CBS, I just didn't watch him as much. Before leaving NBC, Dave had begun to lose that edge, but he was still funny.

 

Anyway, I did the backward show. It worked somewhat OK.

Comic Convention With My Son

 

There are perks to be had at certain jobs. If you work at a comic book store you can get in free at the big comic convention at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. All I had to do was tell them I worked for Nostalgia Zone and in my son and I went. No waiting with the rabble.

Skeptical Cleeses

I've been slapping together some graphics with messages for posting on Facebook lately. I found an excellent image of John Cleese in a sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus. He looks pretty skeptical, so I grabbed it and started adding text to the image.

It's part of my "That face I make when..." series. They all have something we need to be skeptical of and I've done eight so far. I could make these all days. But I will limit production. I hope they go viral.

A Harsh Graphic

 

 

I also created the above graphic. It is rather harsh, but my mean atheist self just had to do it. I hope this makes some people think.

A Tale Of Two Who Who Dillies

Flipping through the channels the other night, I stumbled upon the gangster film 'Capone' (1975). What I saw was jaw-dropping.

 

In 1992, Sharon Stone and her who who dilly made a big splash in the film 'Basic Instinct'. She became a household name and the film became a hit. Flashing one's naughty bit can boost one's career and make a hit film, right?

 

The star-making shot.

Ever hear of that film 'Capone', maybe you have, but I hadn't. Susan Blakely gave audiences a full "how do you do!" look at her goods. Did that translate into a big hit film and mega-stardom? Nope.

 

The not star-making shot. Yes, it's small, but you get the idea.

Oh, and I watched 'Capone'. Not very good.

 

Movie Recommendations: Interstellar (2014)

 

Paramount Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I watched it once by myself, then a second time with Amy and Hayden. It's a touching film about a father trying to save his family and humanity. In the not too distant future, the earth is dying and NASA has a plan. A wormhole had been discovered by the planet Saturn that leads to another galaxy with three planets with the potential of being populated by the human species.

 

But they need to find out which, if any, will be the new earth? 

 

It stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, John Lithgow, Jessica Chastain, and Casey Affleck and was directed by Christopher Nolan. It's terrific and, from what I understand, it gets the science right. Yay, science!

 

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus

First ad break bumpers: 'I Bought Myself A Liarbird' by XTC & 'I Wanna Be A Flintstone' by The Screaming Blue Messiahs
Second ad break bumpers: 'I Ran (So Far Away)' By A Flock Of Seagulls & 'I Against I' by Bad Brains

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

dimland radio 3-14-15 show notes

5 Years!

I have been doing this show for five year! It's hard to believe I've managed to think of something most every week. I say most, because there were a couple few week's a didn't do a show, but let's not get bogged down in details. 

I've done 224 shows in those five years. That doesn't include the 30 plus music only shows I did back when Z Talk Radio had the license to play music by signed artists. Boy, those music shows were fun, but without license. I don't need to go into the details, do I?

In five years I have interviewed a handful of people. Not many, but I did get to talk to George Hrab and Ben Radford.

Will the show last another five years? Will I ever have another guest? Will I ever have more than two listeners? Will I ever get it on iTunes?

Stayed tuned.  

Scooby Doo & In Search Of...

I reminded my two listeners that the first skeptical topic I address on that first show was the cartoon 'Scooby Doo, Where Are You?' It was the introduction to skepticism for a lot of kids in the late 60s and 70s. The g-g-ghost never turned out to be an actual ghost. It was always some person pulling a scheme of one sort or another.

I also mentioned In Search Of.. That was the credulous show which "investigated" the unknown and unexplained. It was the forerunner and template setter of all those mystery-mongering shows that are so plentiful on cable.

In the day, I lapped up the nonsense that host Leonard Nimoy delivered with such a straight face and no hint of irony. What a great actor he was.

When I watch In Search Of... now I'm far less impressed by the bullshit, but I still like the show so much. Oh, well. Chalk it up to the duality of man.

Vaccination In The Courts

Two stories in the news about vaccines in the courts. In Germany, a biologist, Stefan Lanka, had issued a challenge with an award of 100,000 euro to anyone who could demonstrate that measles is caused by a virus and is not psychosomatic as he believes it to be. A Germany doctor provided the evidence and claimed the prize. Lanka refused to pay. The case went to court and the court found that Lanka needed to pay up.

In America, the US Court of Federal Claims, after studying three test cases of claims that vaccination was causing autism, has found that the evidence does not support a causal connection. This is good news as science has long maintained that autism is not caused by vaccines or the mercury that has not been in most vaccines for years.

Kinda Busy

I related that I've been a bit busy lately. I'm writing blogs for Stuck In The 80s, I'm going to start blogging for the Nostalgia Zone, I have a forward to write for a friend's graphic novel, and there's a special podcast that has just been released (after I did this show) that I'll talk more about next week. Plus I have a couple art projects that I need to get done.

But you can listen to that episode of Assault of the 2-Headed Space Mules right now! And you can read my latest Never Found piece by going here.

Playlists On YouTube

I have been trying out the playlist option on my channel at YouTube. So far I've put to playlists together. One is of Pete Townshend songs that might not be as well know and the other is a list of songs that were played at First Avenue on their Club Degenerate nights.

I talked a bit about my days hanging out at First Avenue of those Club Degenerate nights. There were unusual people who would hang on there as well as the occasional appearances of the Fuckin' Shit Biscuits that could be quite fun. Noisy and messy, but fun.

A Tale Of Art School

I used to do some fairly violent or weird doodles on the tabletops of the art school I attended years ago. One day I ran afoul of the art history teacher who took issue of one of my doodles depicting a woman bending over backward. The teacher looked past the violent imagery I had drawn, because those involved men. And she didn't object to the phallic images that might have shown up doodled by other students. I wasn't the only doodler.

But that bent over woman, apparently bent her out of shape. She gave me a talking to after class in the common room as students passed by. I don't remember my initial reaction, but I did do a write up voicing my concern of the double standard.

By that I mean, my design class had just gone to see a German Expressionist exhibit at one of the local museums. Fellow students and the instructor directed my attention to one particular artist whose work my doodles resembled. The artist was Otto Dix. So, I made the point in my written protest that Dix hangs in a museum while I get shit.

Movie Recommendation: None

You are on your own this week. Sorry.

 

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus

First ad break bumpers: 'One Day in Your Life' by 54-40 & 'One Step Ahead' by Split Enz
Second ad break bumpers: 'One Day' By The Church & 'One At A Time' by The Who

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.