dimland radio 7-27-19 show notes

A Correction

 

Last week I made a little boo-boo. I was talking about the Apollo Moon Landing missions and I got the number of men who had walked on the lunar surface wrong. I said there were six, but it was actually twelve. There were six successful Apollo missions involving a moon landing. There probably would have seven had Apollo 13 not had its problem.

 

Apologies.

The Bomba Squad And I'm Not Psychic

The Minnesota Twins are far ahead of the rest of the league when it comes to hitting home runs. As of this writing, the Twins have 201 homers for the season. They now hold two records related to this surge in hitting prowess. One: The most games in a season with at least five home runs (nine games, previous record was eight games). Two: The quickest to 200 dingers in a season (103 games, previous record 122 games). At this point, the Twins have 25 more home runs than the next highest team in the league.

 

I also talked about how my dire prediction ahead of the recent nine game home stand did not hold. But for the first five games I was looking like I might actually be psychic.

 

Multilevel Marketing, My Mom, & Me

I took some time to talk about multilevel marketing (MLM) schemes. (Don't call these triangular-shaped business models pyramid schemes!) I warned against getting involved in an MLM. You will waste your time, alienate friends and family, and you will lose money. Don' get involved no matter how enticing that "opportunity" may sound.

 

I talked about my mother's brief involvement in Shaklee's MLM. Fortunately, she did not get deeply involved and didn't lose much money.

 

I also talked about being approached to partake in a couple such schemes. The first time I didn't know what MLMs were, but I knew I wasn't a salesperson, so I didn't bite. The other times I was approached I had learned about MLMs and the folks who attempted to get me into their trianglar-shaped (I didn't say pyramid) scheme received a polite, "Not interested."

 

Wanna learn more about MLMs? Check out Brian Dunning's InFact video, this Squaring The Strange podcast episode, this Last Week Tonight with John Oliver exposé, and the excellent podcast series The Dream.

A Dimland Radio Pedantic Moment: Penn Jillette's Memory

Don't look so stern, Penn. It's just a memory glitch.

On his podcast, Penn's Sunday School, Penn Jillette recounted the tale of his and Teller's second appearance on Late Night with David Letterman. In his talk, he also briefly mentioned their first appearance.

 

His stories were detailed, funny, compelling, dramatic, and wrong. Well, at least, certain parts of the stories were wrong. I go through his errors in memory (you'll have to listen for those details), which I'm certain were honest mistakes, that he remembers those event just as he told them. However, video exists of those appearances and some of his recollections are not supported. See Cool Things 1 and 2 below to watch the videos.

 

The second appearance involved cockroaches. Penn's memory says there were thousands of them. The video shows more like dozens. Penn said there were cockroaches all over Dave's suit jacket. The video shows there were none. Penn said Dave was very upset and yelled at them when in commercial break. In the video Dave doesn't seem angry at all and we've seen Dave angry on Late Night.

Manhunt: Unabomber And That Famous Sketch

My wife convinced me to watch the Discovery Channel miniseries Manhunt: Unabomber, which is streamable on Netflix. It's an eight part series that dramatizes how the FBI were finally able to identify and capture Ted Kaczynski, who had been sending bombs through the mail for nearly two decades. The series introduces Jim Fitzgerald a very talented profiler who was able to create an accurate profile using the many Unabomber letters that been received by the FBI.

 

It's a good series and Paul Bettany as Kaczynski is especially good.

 

The famous sketch released in 1994.

There was a moment in the series that I found very interesting, when it comes to how memory is not videotape. In the scene in which Fitzgerald is trying to convince David Kaczynski that his suspicions of his brother being the terrorist were correct, he tells the brother that the famous Unabomber sketch of 1994 is not the suspect. Rather it's more likely a sketch of the police sketch artist who had done the first drawing seven years earlier.

 

The original sketch done right after witness saw suspect.

That's right. There were two sketches produced from the descriptions of one witness. The first one was done by Robert Exter immediately after the suspect had been seen leaving a bomb in a parking lot. The second sketch was done by Jeanne Boylan seven years after the bombing. And it seems very likely the second time the witness described the suspect she was describing Robert Exter.

 

When watching the series, I was curious if the claim in the series was accurate or was it dramatic license? I looked it up. Turns out the claim is on the level. Click here to see a report from 1994 that explores the memory glitch.

 

I even consulted memory expert Elzabeth Loftus on this and she confirmed that "All other things equal, the earlier sketch should be the more accurate."

 

Ah, memory. Such a tricky, tricky thing. 

Three Cool Things

 

1) Penn & Teller's hand-stabbingly great first appearance on Late Night with David Letterman. Note there is no fake blood on Dave's face or anywhere else on him. Still, it's cool.

 

2) Penn & Teller's creepy, crawly second appearance on on Late Night. Note the total lack of cockroaches on Dave's suit. This video's first half has Penn telling the story of the first two appearances and his memories don't quite match up to the video. But, still, pretty cool.

 

3) And to round out great early Penn & Teller TV appearances, here's the link to their legendary upside down gag on Saturday Night Live. Super cool!

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: '(The) Village' by New Order & 'Eliminator Jr.' by Sonic Youth

Second ad break bumpers: 'Never Talking To You Again' by Husker Du & 'Der Kommissar' by After The Fire

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

Please subscribe on iTunes! Just search for Dimland Radio in the podcast section. And if you could leave a good rating and a positive review it would be awesome.

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.

Images used under Fair Use.

dimland radio 7-28-18 show notes

Why No New Show?

A brief explanation as to why there wasn't a new show last week. I was sick. I did put a bonus episode into the iTunes feed that was an interview with skeptic Ben Radford, originally played on 6-11-11. 

A Couple Follow-Ups

In the show notes for the 7-14-18 show, I made the clarifications for the information I didn't have in my show prep. On this show, I make them again: Pittsburgh Pirates and Keith Jackson. Listen and it will make sense.

And that fellow I saw do a dance on the freeway during a traffic stand still may have been inspired by this Shiggy/Drake Challenge thing.

Attitudes Changes Over The Decades

Pres. Trump has a way about him. It's not a good way. The reaction to his summit with Putin was predictable on the part of his detractors, but a little surprising (and encouraging) on the part of his fellow members of the Republican party.

I also noted the change in attitude toward the Russians and intelligence gatherers over the decades.

Pres. George W Bush was vilified by some, in part, because he believed his intelligence people. Trump is vilified by some of those same types of people for not believing his. Pres. Reagan had everyone worried because he wasn't friendly enough with the Soviets and Gorbachev, while Trump has everyone disgusted for being too friendly with the Russians and Putin. 

The Mandela Effect And We Are The Champions

An example of the Mandela Effect (lots of people remembering a historical event or something similar incorrectly) is Queen's song We Are The Champions. The studio version does not end with the words "of the world." But, plenty of people think that's how the song ends.

However, are they really remembering it incorrectly? I found something that suggests there is a good reason people think the song ends with the words.

The trailer to the upcoming biopic on Queen and Freddie Mercury gives a clue. 

Dimland Radio Science Hero: Penn & Teller

 

I know I've talked about Penn & Teller's brilliant intro for their Penn & Teller: Bullshit show on the anti-vax movement. I can't remember if I official declared them science heroes for that bit, so I rectified that on this show. Their skeptical series may have gotta a thing or two wrong, for the most part they did a fine job. And the anti-vax opener is fantastic. Worthy of science hero status on its own. 

Dimland Radio Science Zero: Penn Jillette

And then I taketh away.

Ever since Penn went public about how he lost over a hundred pounds, I've been uncomfortable with his blind spot on the skepticism surrounding the claims of vegan diets and water fasts. Well, as Penn & Teller once said, "Everybody got a gris gris." A belief unsupported by or contradicted by scientific evidence that they just can't let go.

This blind spot seems to be Penn's gris gris.

Yes, he's lost a lot of weight and he's been keeping it off, but he's been promoting people who have been discredited by medical science. Orac of Respectful Insolence (an actual doctor) reviewed Penn's interview of water fast diet guru Dr. Michael Klaper. Orac disputes, with science, the claims made by Klaper and he voiced his disappointment at Penn, a skeptic, giving an unfettered platform to such an astounding claim maker.

Well, everybody got a gris gris.

Some Talk About The Maltese Falcon 

It's a given that I recommendation everyone who loves movies to watch the 1941 version of The Maltese Falcon. It's a fantastic film.

I talked about the subtle and not-so-subtle hints that a character or two in the film were gay. I wrote about that in my weekly blog at Warehouse Find.

I also compared the 1941 film to the very inferior 1931 version. That one has some eyebrow raising moments related to the nature of Pre-Code Hollywood, but that's about all that is interesting about that film.

Well, there was one other interesting thing... 

Dimland Radio Pedantic Moment: Sam Spade's Calendar

In the 1931 version of The Maltese Falcon in the opening scene we see a wall calendar in the background showing the date to be the fifth, but as the scene continues we are told that the first of the month is only two weeks away.

What's the date on that calendar?

So, either someone wasn't paying attention to that calendar or Spade has a really poor grasp of time. 

Three Cool Things

1) It was a good week on social media for me. My post about The Maltese Falcon and the hints at homosexuality sparked a lively conversation.

2) My latest piece of art for the comic store Nostalgia Zone turned out really well. It's not as good as the Basil Gogos illustration I was paying homage to, but I'm very pleased with it.

3) My wonderful wife found a bin filled with art, including a page of original comic book art. It's the only one I own. I feared it lost, but she found it.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'A Man Of Such Great Promise' by The Style Council & 'Lay All Your Love On Me' by ABBA

Second ad break bumpers: 'Little America' by REM & 'Scarecrow People' by XTC

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

Please subscribe on iTunes! Just search for Dimland Radio in the podcast section. And if you could leave a good rating and a positive review it would be awesome.

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.

Images used under Fair Use.

dimland radio 11-11-17 show notes

I Was Wrong About Something

During my talk about the World Series last week I made a couple mistakes. Hard to believe, I know.

I was wrong about how home field advantage is determined in the World Series. I was correct last year, but Major League Baseball changed to the team with the best regular season record gets it. It is no longer determined by the winner of the All-Star Game.

 

And I was wrong about which team won the 2017 All-Star Game. 

I Now Know People Who Actually Eat Bone Marrow

The Minnesota Skeptics' monthly meet-up was just held. It was its usual good time. However, some of the devoured one of the most unappetizing appetizer I've ever seen. Bone marrow. I'd heard that there are people who eat it. Now I know a few personally.

I'm not one of them.

Pedantic Moment: The Back Of A Cylinder

A young MN Skeptic mentioned some writing on the back of an over-sized can of water. I remarked on the interesting idea of there being a back of a cylinder.

Yes, I know what he meant.

He's Bad Enough, You Don't Have To Lie About Him

So those still pictures of Pres. Trump feeding koi in Japan? You know, the ones that are making Trump out to be an idiot, because he dumped "too much" at once? Well, guess what the video shows...

Click here.

The UK Has A Problem With Big Cats Roaming The Countryside

The problem is they don't have any big cats roaming the countryside, but they have plenty of people who think they've seen and photographed pumas/cougars/mountain lions/panthers in the British wild. A woman believes she's photographed a puma eating a domestic cat in her neighbor's back garden. It looks more like a tabby cat eating a grey bird.

 

In this segment, I go on a rant about people letting their cats roam outside. It's a familiar rant to regular listeners, but I did add a new reason for my dislike of my neighbors letting their cats out.

Top Three Cool Things Of The Week

Here are the Top Three Cool Things from this week.

3) Admittedly, I was a bit coy on this one. There may be something pretty cool happening in a few months for Dimland Radio. I didn't want to give details. I'll do that when the something is a certainty.

2) This past Thursday was the second Thursday of the month, so that means I attended the MN Skeptics Meet-Up. Always a real cool time.

1) My wife, son, and I saw Penn & Teller perform this past week and we got autographs and pictures. It was a great show.

 

 

Movie Recommendation: Downfall (2004)

 

 

Not a feel-good movie experience in anyway, Downfall is a fascinating telling of the last days of the Third Reich. Bruno Ganz gives a brilliant performance of the crumbling dictator as he faces (and doesn't face) the defeat of his empire. Much of the story is based of the information given by Traudl Junge, who was Hitler's secretary in those last days.

 

The film was criticized for making Hitler seem to human, but he was human. I think showing him as such takes away the mythic aspect of der fuhrer who came very close to realizing his ambition to rule the world.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Vanishing Girl' by The Dukes of Stratosphear & 'Only In America' by Naked Raygun

Second ad break bumpers: 'Lonely Is (As Lonely Does)' by The dB's & 'Voices Carry' by Til Tuesday

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

Please subscribe on iTunes! Just search for Dimland Radio in the podcast section. And if you could leave a good rating and a positive review it would be awesome.

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.