dimland radio 10-29-11 show notes

Cold Open: A Reading From The Book Of Strangely Enough!


I read a selection from C. B. Colby's book, 'Strangely Enough'. A story titled 'The Whistle'. Very creepy.

Baseball! Again!

I just had to talk about this past World Series and, especially, game 6. Believe or don't, I spent the first two segments of the show focusing on that game, two predictions I had made about it, and about how awesome it was.

Correction: During my talk about great World Series sixth games, I mentioned that Sports Illustrated online had ranked the 1991 World Series (Twins/Braves) as number 1. It was not Sports Illustrated, it was ESPN online that did the ranking. Here is their number 1 pick.

Stop Making Sense: TV Division

Those robotics should go up into the hips.

I pointed out how the graphics of the opening sequence of the show The Six Million Dollar Man incorrectly show the bionics of Steve Austin's legs. The mechanical parts should go all the way up into his hips, not stop 2/3 up his thigh. I also mentioned that The Bionic Woman's opening sequence got it right.

You can watch The Six Million Dollar Man open here (it's in Spanish, that's the only version I could find) and The Bionic Woman's here.

Movie Recommendation: The Mummy (1932)

Another classic horror movie starring Boris Karloff as the title character. Don't look for the mummy walking around in its wrappings, you won't see it. But it is creepy and Karloff underplays the mummy really well. I particular enjoy the flashback sequence showing how the mummy came to be buried alive.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus
First ad break bumpers: 'Antonin Artaud' & 'In The Flat Field' by Bauhaus
Second ad break bumpers: 'Terror Couple Kill Colonel' & 'Stigmata Marytr' 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

numbers can lie

Ok. Who was it that said there are lies, damn lies, and statistics? I don't know, but let me step out on a limb and demonstrate something. As you can see in the graphic (above), the “evil” (I say that for the majority of my Facebook friends who, apparently, don't think highly of America's 40th president) Ronald Reagan was the biggest deficit spender and he was a Republican. And all the other Republican presidents represented were bigger deficit drivers than the Democrat ones.

Setting aside the fact that it is Congress that does the spending, not the president, ask yourself… From what initial debt amount is that percentage increase?

Suppose Jane’s debt is one dollar (I’m using simple numbers, because they are easier for me) and she increases that debt by $1.86*. That would represent an increase of 186%.

Now suppose Jack’s debt is $1000 and he adds $230 to it. That would be a debt increase of 23%.

So, who is the bigger spender: Jack or Jane?

Of course, I could be accused of using numbers to make the Republicans look better than the Democrats, but that’s my point. Statistics can be used to make any point someone wants in order to make one party look bad and the other good (or less bad, because the debt increased with each president). We need to put these percentages in perspective. What was the debt amount when each president took office? By how much did Congress, during each president’s term, add to that debt? Also, are these percentages adjusted for inflation?

It’s quite possible that the Republicans are terribly evil people and that Democrats are altruistic saints (how’s that for hyperbole?), but when you see graphics like this one bear in mind that numbers can lie even while telling the truth.

*Correction: Anonymous,thank you for pointing out that I had my math wrong (see the comments). I have made the correction and it makes my point even better.

dimland radio 10-22-11 show notes

Baseball!

I started by mentioning the major beat down the St. Louis Cardinals were putting on the Texas Rangers, but I didn't linger on sports for long.

Vacation Is Over

I also touched on when it feels to me that a vacation is over. And in doing so I mentioned Ricky Gervais and his podcast.

A Family Tale

My mom is the eldest of 12 kids and her youngest brother is dying. I talked at length about family and falling outs and mending bridges. I did not get emotional.

Facebook Is A Social Network, Right?

After mentioning how I beat out Bruce Allen, guitarist for Minneapolis band The Suburbs, for an art job years ago, I talked about Facebook suspending my friending privileges because too many people said they didn't know me when I sent them a friend request. I thought Facebook was a social network.

Then I talked about a fellow living in Singapore, a Facebook friend, who had requested I make my show available through iTunes. I'm considering it, but you can download my shows from the Z Talk Radio show archive.

Daft Punk Fan Video

Daft Punk: Not quite my cup of tea, but their music isn't too bad.

My wife showed me this video last night. Holy crap! That fellow is dexterous. It's pretty impressive.

The Patterson/Gimlin Film Turns 44

And it doesn't look a day over it-doesn't-exist!

Still the best piece of evidence for the existence of bigfoot, that iconic (iconic) film, turned 44 years-old on October 20th. Best, but inconclusive.

Movie Recommendation: Frankenstein (1931)

Karloff's brilliant performance.

This was Boris Karloff's star making role. Karloff is, in my opinion, the best "monster" of all the Frankenstein creatures ever. Period. I do expand on that idea.

Correction

I mentioned the They Might Be Giants kids album promoting science at some point in the show. I mistakenly stated that the album was titled "Science Is Real." That is the title of the opening track. The album's title is "Here Comes Science."

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus
First ad break bumpers: 'Myrrh' The Church & 'I Am An Animal' by Pete Townshend
Second ad break bumpers: 'Isolated Case' by The Vapors & 'Love Is The Law' by The Suburbs
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

dimland radio 10-15-11 show notes

Some Sports Talk

2011 WNBA Champion MN Lynx

I talked about the MN Lynx's recent WNBA championship victory. I don't want to pretend that I follow women's sports much at all, but it's nice to have a hometown champion. Learn more about their victory here.

Then I went into my bitter rant about the MN Vikings never winning a Superbowl. And how awful it was in 1998 after going 15-1 they didn't even manage to get to the big game, which they probably would have lost.

I also ranted about some of the annoying habits of the fellows who talk about sports for a living. For instance, the fellows when talking about football continue to say football over and over. "They have to play like a football team and move the football up the football in the football stadium." And so on.

Stop Making Sense

Continuing my bit on pointing out things that don't quite make sense in movies, I mentioned there was something odd about Westworld (1973). Westworld features an amusement park for adults filled with ultra-realistic robots to give the visitor the most authentic and realistic historical fantasy experience possible. However the gunslinger robot played by Yul Brenner gets shot and killed twice before coming back a third time for the robots-run-amok climax of the film. How realistic is it to kill the same guy three times? What is he? Triplets?

It's still an very entertaining movie, don't let my rant stop you from watching it.

Paranormal Activity The Movie

If only the kind of evidence found in this film could be found in real life.

My wife and I just watched Paranormal Activity. It was pretty good, very effective. It had a few good creep-out moments. Just remember while you watch it, it's a movie and this kind of evidence of paranormal activity doesn't exist in the real world.

Movie Recommendation: Dracula (1931)

"Mina! Mina! Mina, Mina! Don't let that creepy guy kiss your neck!"

The movie that made Bela Lugosi a star. It's a creepy, atmospheric tale about the undead Count Dracula. A classic. It's quite likely you've seen it or are familiar with it. If so check it out anyway and catch a great classic horror film.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus
First ad break bumpers: 'The Hand That Rocks The Cradle' The Smiths & 'The Bitterest Pill' by The Jam
Second ad break bumpers: 'Hips Swingin' by Naked Raygun & 'Dear God' 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

dimland radio 10-8-11 show notes

Got A Little Sidetracked

Good Neighbors in the States, The Good Life in the UK.

There's a new show on Z Talk Radio called Live with Belle Salsbury and this past Tuesday night the hosts of the show were on the air with the station owner going through a test of their broadcast software. My name came up and one of the hosts said that she knew who I was. She said in such a way that sounded a bit wary of me.

That inspired me to talk about my favorite Britcom, Good Neighbors (or The Good Life in the UK) and an episode that had a character talking of a similar reaction of knowing someone. So, I talked a bit about Good Neighbors, Dr. Who, Britcoms in general, Happy Days and "jumping the shark".

A Couple What's The Harm Moments With Apologies To Tim Farley

I pulled a page out of Tim Farley's notebook, as it were, and delivered a couple "what's the harm?" examples.

First was the apparent fact the Steve Jobs opted for alternative methods for dealing with his cancer at first instead of using science-based methods. This likely shortened his life. Here is Brian Dunning's blog about Jobs' death.

Second was another child's life taken by parents following the discipline techniques outlined in "To Train Up A Child". This likely ended a child's life. Here's more on that incident

Please check out What's The Harm? here.


28 Atheists In US Congress

Actually, there is only one Congressman on record as being an atheist. It's Pete Stark of California. This story talks about how, even though most aren't on record, the number of non-believers in Congress is increasing.

Also increasing is the total number of non-believers in the US. It appears that atheists and agnostics are one of the fastest growing population segments of the American population. Yay!

Read more here and here.

Stop Making Sense (Spoilers!!)

I talked about two movies with an aspect of their plots that didn't make sense.

"Check it out, Nova! We've got one of those back on Earth!"

Planet Of The Apes: How many clues does "Bright Eyes" need to be given before he realizes he's on Earth?

"Dang it! I killed them before any of them could kill me and keep me from dying of cancer."

The Shootist (1976): Didn't John Wayne's character want at least one of the three gunmen in the climactic shoot up to kill him? So, why was it he ended up being killed by the bartender, who had shot Wayne in the back after Wayne had killed all three of those gunmen?

Movie Recommendation: High Plains Drifter (1973)

The Clint Eastwood man with no name antihero takes his revenge on a small western town. Without spoiling it, this movie does fit the October monster, haunting, ghost, paranormal themes of my movie picks.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus
First ad break bumpers: 'English Roundabout' XTC & 'Celebrated Summer' by Husker Du
Second ad break bumpers: 'Red Rain' by Peter Gabriel & 'I Want The One I Can't Have' by The Smiths
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

dimland radio 10-1-11 show notes

Cold Open: It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Such a cool segment especially for a kid's show.

I started out by talking about how great The Peanuts' second holiday special was and is and about how it influenced me. If you've never seen it... What?! You've never seen it? Have you been living in a cave?

Here's a clip of the show that contains elements of what I talked about.

MN Skeptics Meet-up

Next I talked about my attending the MN Skeptics' Newbie Night. It was very good to meet other skeptics and discuss some of what we are skeptical about. I hope to be able to attend more meetings in the future. We'll see what I can do.

The blog for MN Skeptics can be found here.

No Redheaded Sperm Wanted

"What's that? People aren't down with redheads?"

Apparently, the demand for redheaded babies is pretty low. Sperm banks are turning away donors with red hair. Well, I pointed out the neither my wife and I nor my mother and father have red hair, but Amy and I have produced one redhead and my parents have two. Curious.

You can read more about the unwanted sperm here.

REM

REM: Back when I had seen them.

The recent official break-up of the very influential band REM prompted me to talk a bit about the two times I saw them in concert. Talking about their second show reminded me of the angry reaction I had when a fellow art school student asked if I caught the Bruce Springsteen concert that past summer. What does that have to do with REM? You'll have to listen, the show is available for download in the archive.

Here's a clip from REM back in the day.

Movie Recommendation: Shaun Of The Dead (2004)


British humor and kicking zombie ass. What else do I need to say?

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus
First ad break bumpers: 'Wolves, Lower' & 'Radio Free Europe' by REM
Second ad break bumpers: 'Can't Get There From Here' & 'The One I Love' by REM
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