dimland radio 11-25-17 show notes

Revisiting A Goof

My appearance on Atheist Radio last Sunday had me thinking of turning the clock back a few years and talk about a mistake I made on the show. It was back in the days when Dimland Radio was live. I got all excited about a story about lost episodes of Doctor Who having been found in TV signals that had somehow bounced back to earth.

 

I did not vet the story well enough beforehand and while I was telling the tale I noticed that the story was a couple years old. Hold on? Can this be right was my reaction.

 

When I went of the air I looked into the story. It turned out the story was an April Fools joke played by the BBC.

 

I learned that I need to be much more careful with stories I talk about on my program.

 

A Little More Fake News

I once again went down that path of looking as though I'm defending the President of the United States. I'm not defending him as much as I am defending the truth. When the big solar eclipse made its way across the States, the President glanced at the sun. But so many headlines on the internet said he stared at the sun. A glance is not a stare.

 

Well, Seth Meyers just this past Monday in one of his A Closer Look segments made the stare at the eclipse joke. Twice. Meyers decries Trump for dismissing news he doesn't like as fake news and then lies about the glance at the sun, which is what? It's fake news.

Dimland Radio Science Zero: "Mad" Mike Hughes

Limo driver and daredevil "Mad" Mike Hughes announced that he would jump a California ghost town, Amboy, in a steam-powered rocket he made himself. He was supposed to make the jump earlier today, but Big Government stepped in and said he couldn't. Go figure.

But, I'm not naming him a Science Zero because he may have a death wish. Nope. He is getting this honor due to him being a flat earther and science denier.

It's Just Water. Very, Very Expensive Water

 

During the late night TV ad breaks, I often see products advertised that make very dubious claims. The latest is a product called Nerve Pain Away which is being marketed to people who suffer from nerve pain due to diabetes. The ad says the spray is "all natural" and homeopathic.

The "all natural" feature is just an advertising buzz word. It really doesn't mean anything. It's meant to suggest that if it's natural it's good and it's safe. Well, bird shit is all natural as well.

And it's homeopathic. If it really is homeopathic, prepared in proper homeopathic fashion, then it's just water. Homeopathic "medicines" are so dilute that the chance of even a molecule of the active ingredient is zero.

It's expensive water, too. I guessed that the bottle is maybe two ounces worth of the miracle water. They are selling a bottle for $20. If it is only two ounces and they were to sell a 20 ounce bottle of it (you know, the size of a bottled water you'd get at a convenience store), it would cost $200!

That's pretty spendy and it's just water!

Top Three Cool Things Of The Week

Here are the Top Three Cool Things from this week.

3) As I watched "A Face In The Crowd" (see this week's movie recommendation) my name was in the movie twice. First in the opening credits, James Fitzsimons (spelled with one "M" in Fitzsimons) was the assistant cameraman. And later in the movie as part of the closing credits of a TV show being shown as part of the story. The name was spelled James Fitzsimmons and as it is seen the TV announcer says the name.

2) Thanksgiving is always a good time and this year it was good. It was a bit sad because Amy's side of the family is getting smaller. But it was cool to have those remaining to get together to be together and remember those we've lost.

 

1) It was my wife's birthday this week (astrologers, put your charts away).

 

 

Movie Recommendation: A Face In The Crowd (1957)

 

Warner Brothers

 

I gotta admit I'm not sure I really like this movie. Well, I guess I liked it, but I didn't care for the main character. I found him to be way too obnoxious to buy his rocketing to superstardom. Still I found it a fascinating study of a drifter who's a simple "country boy" with a plain-speaking attitude who gets corrupted by fame, money, and power.

 

Directed by Elia Kazan, it stars Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, and Walter Matthau.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'This Charming Man' by The Smiths & 'Here In My House' by 54-40

Second ad break bumpers: 'Erica's Word' by Game Theory & 'Start!' by The Jam

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.

dimland radio 11-18-17 show notes

I Turned 53 This Week (Astrologers, Put Your Charts Away)

I call it a milestone age: 53. I explain why after talking about the TV comedy Barney Miller. The show was pretty damn good and still is.

 

The connection of the show and my age has to do with the actor Abe Vigoda.

 

Pedantic Moment: Geico Casual Friday At Buckingham Palace

Geico has about three or four dozen ads on radio and TV, some of them are pretty clever. But there's one that shows one of those Buckingham Palace guards (you know the sort: Big furry hat, stand absolutely still, shows no emotion, etc) being relieved by a rather sloppily dressed fellow. You see, it's Casual Friday.

Funny, right? Well, not to this pedant.

There Is That Funny Ad By Progressive

Much like Geico, Progressive Insurance has many, many ads. Geico and Progressive must have massive advertising budgets. They might be able to charge lower premiums if they weren't spending so much to advertise.

 

There is one ad in particular that is very funny. It's the one that plays like a soap opera featuring Susan Lucci.

I'm Done With Sargon Of Akkad

There's a whole lot of difficult people on the internets. Trolls and others who just can't play nice with others. I try to stay out of the fray between YouTube atheists and skeptics over social justice and feminism and anti-feminism that has been boiling away for quite some time now.

 

I've watched videos, read opinion pieces, and listened to both sides SJW/Alt-Right/Nazi/Feminist arguments. I find reason and unreason on both sides. I try to side with the facts and treating people with respect and kindness.

 

Sargon of Akkad has been one of the more visible and controversial voices tending to call the SJWs (Social Justice Warriors) on what he thinks is their bullshit. I haven't done a deep dive on his stuff, but I've watched a few of his videos.

 

I might agree with him on this, disagree on that, but I haven't heard anything that I've thought crossed the line. He gets close, but nothing I'd heard him say made say, "That's it, pal. We're done."

 

Then came Mythcon a convention held earlier this year. I'm not exactly certain what Mythcon is, but it's a convention and it raised a few eyebrows by inviting Sargon and others in his camp to appear. Speakers decided not to attend due to how controversial these fellows (they are mostly middle-class, white males) are.

 

Sargon was interviewed before an audience that contained more than a few of his fans. The interviewer was Thomas Smith and he asked Sargon to confirm his statement made to a politician who is a woman who had been sexually assaulted. The statement to her was, "I wouldn't even rape you."

 

That's when I said, "That's it, pal! We're done!"

 

I go into a little more about my reaction to Sargon's assholery.

Top Three Cool Things Of The Week

Here are the Top Three Cool Things from this week.

3) Sure, I turned 53. Yep. Same age as Abe Vigoda at the premiere of Barney Miller. That's right. I'm old. But it's a birthday. A trip around the sun completed, another begun. That's cool.

2) At the Stuck in the 80s blog it was XTC week. I got to promote one of my favorite bands for a whole week. Somehow the first and last installments didn't get posted, I wrote six in all, but still. Four is pretty cool.

 

I wrote about the following songs:

Love On A Farmboy's Wages

Grass

Towers Of London

Senses Working Overtime

 

1) I will be the guest on Minnesota Atheist Talk Radio. My friend Maddy will being interviewing me. It should be pretty cool. And fun.

 

 

Movie Recommendation: The Iceman (2012)

 

Millennium Entertainment

Based on a true story, The Iceman introduces us to Richard Kuklinski (played by Michael Shannon), a quiet but menacing man who has no qualms about killing. He becomes a hitman for a local mob boss (Ray Liotta), a job he keeps from his wife (Winona Ryder) and their daughters.

 

It's a fascinating looks at a man's violent life. The film gets a bit violent, of course, and there is a scene showing part of the process of dealing with dead bodies that fairly disturbing. It may be on the brutal side, but if you enjoy true crime movies, I recommend this one.

 

It is streaming on Netflix.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Earn Enough For Us' & 'Dear God' by XTC

Second ad break bumpers: 'I Bought Myself A Liar Bird' & 'No Language In Our Lungs' 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.

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.

dimland radio 11-4-17 show notes

World Series Recap

For those of you who don't like sports, I start the show with sports. I couldn't help but talk about this year's Fall Classic. It was pretty damn entertaining. 

She Knew The Jerk

 

While talking about the Series, I mentioned the jerk who grabbed a home run ball out of the hand of the woman who caught it and threw it back on the field. It is a tradition to throw the opposing team's home run ball back and not keep it. The tradition started in Chicago with the Cubs fans. But the tradition is also to let the person catching the ball make the decision to throw it back.

Well, that fellow didn't let her make the decision. Neither Joe Buck nor John Smoltz mentioned the break with tradition, but people on social media noticed it and took to commenting on what a jerk he was. I made a similar comment about the fellow on Facebook. 

It turns out the jerk was the brother of the woman's husband. 

Pedantic Moment: Why Would You Take The Blue Pill 

Another internet meme surfaced asking which option you would choose, see above.

Interesting choices, but why would anyone take the blue pill? You want to lose 20% of your brainpower?

It's Not True: The People Only Use 10% Of Their Brains Myth

That blue pill option may have derived from the myth that people only use 10% of their brain power. Well, it's not true. We use our entire brain. 

 

Grief Vampires

I learned about Teresa St. Frances recently. She qualifies as what skeptics refer to as a grief vampire. I believe her to be sincere in her belief in her claimed abilities of being a psychic medium and animal communicator. She believes she can talk to the dead. And she offers her services to surviving loved ones of teens who have committed suicide.

That's infuriating to this skeptic.

You can look at her site, but I won't link to it. Just Google her name.

I will link to Steve Novella's piece on grief vampires. 

Top Three Cool Things Of The Week

Here are the Top Three Cool Things from this week.

3) A new 100 megapixel image of the moon.

2) Halloween! Although this year we didn't have as many trick or treaters come to the house. 56 in all. Last year we had 99.

1) The World Series, of course.

Movie Recommendation: Deadline USA (1952)

 

It's been way too long since I've made a recommendation. Sorry about that.

I just watched this one a few nights ago. It's a newspaper movie starring Humphrey Bogart as a serious newsman running a paper that might be sold to a competitor and shut down. Bogart's character is determined to take down a notorious mobster who seemed untouchable.

Gritty and entertaining with Bogart being Bogart.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Rapture' by Blondie & 'You'll Have To Go Sideways' by The Soft Boys

Second ad break bumpers: 'I Want The One I Can't Have' by The Smiths & 'No More Lonely Nights' by Paul McCartney

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.