dimland radio 4-21-18 show notes

WRONG!

I misspoke during the show last week when I was talking about the band Tool. Twice I called their song Forty Six & 2, Forty Six & 10. Whoops. Friend of the show, Craig, a big Tool fan himself, caught the error. I did get the song title correct in last week's show notes. Just sayin'.

 

And there's a certain irony to my getting it wrong twice...

Talk About The Weather

Like last week's show, this show is an exclusive download-only edition. And it's for the same reason: A big floor scrubbing job that will go late into the night on Saturday.

 

We were supposed to do this job last week and, though we tried, a massive snowstorm that hit Central Minnesota made that impossible. So, we cancelled the job and it's been rescheduled for this Saturday.

 

So, another download-only exclusive.

A Dimland Radio ARGH!

EVERY TIME!

It's been two years since the musician Prince died. And over those two year EVERY time the local Fox News affiliate does a story about him viewers get to see that same video footage of him playing on Saturday Night Live. It's from his last appearance on that Saturday night television staple.

 

It's probably a licensing thing and not just laziness. However, a couple times recently they've also used footage from a couple of his music video, so I'm beginning to think it is out of laziness.

Art Bell Died

 

I can't say that I ever listened to much of his show Coast To Coast. It always seemed to be in commercial break whenever I tuned in. I did hear some and I can't say I thought his show was very scientifically sound. In fact, Mr. Bell did a lot of damage to the cause of scientific literacy by promote every quack pseudoscientific idea that came to his attention.

 

Alex Jones Is An Actor And An Asshole

 

The king of false flag-waving conspiracy theorists, Alex "Asshole" Jones, is possibly the biggest piece of shit with a microphone today. Well, the shithead is getting sued by the families of two of the Sandy Hook shooting victims. They are suing him for his five-year campaign of claiming the shooting never happened, nobody was killed, and the families are crisis actors. It's all part of a deep conspiracy by the gubment to take our guns, I guess.

 

Actually, it's more likely all part of asshole Jones' attempt to bilk as much money as he can for his gullible followers. His shows are pretty geared to just getting his viewers to buy his over-priced snake oil.

 

The families are only suing for one million dollars, but he should be slapped for so much more. Do not forget he testified in court that his on-air personality is an act. And don't forget that he just did an about face on Sandy Hook and now says he believes it happened. Lawsuits can change minds, I guess.

So, who's the actor now, Mr. Jones?

The Internets Can Be Awesome

 

In the way science corrects itself when science gets something wrong, the internets can do the same thing. Recently, a story appeared online of a large, wolf-like creature killing dogs and terrorizing people in Argentina. A picture, all grainy from being taken in low light, of this creature has been included with the story.

 

Ooooooo, creepy!

Look familiar?

It's a creepy image. It's pretty blurry and grainy due to the low light. It's a strange-looking creature. It's also a fake.

 

Eagle eyes on the interwebs spotted that the creature was lifted from artwork produced for the film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It an artist's concept illustration of the character Prof. Lupin in his werewolf form. A Facebook friend of mine used the Photoshop and nailed it!

 

Kudos to my FB friend!

So, the internet continues to be a double-edged sword. It floats bullshit images like this one that fool people into believing a claim, but the internet also has people who expose these frauds. Sadly, more people will see and believe the fake than will get the truth.

 

Internet skeptics' work never ends.

 

The FDA Disclaimer

When some miracle supplement is being advertised on TV look for the disclaimer posted above. If you see it, you can safely assume the product is some bullshit snake oil and save your money. I made the point that, though actual prescription drugs advertised on TV will have a long list of side effects, the ad don't have that FDA disclaimer.

 

Three Cool Things

 

3) As much of a pain in the ass as that snowstorm was, it did make things look awfully pretty.

 

Ahhh, April in the Upper Midwest!

2) The MN Timberwolves (basketball) and the MN Wild (hockey) have both made the playoffs in their respective sports. It's been 14 years since the Timberwolves had made it. Both teams will likely be knocked out in the first round, but it's still cool.

 

1) Vulture.com has a lengthy article on the 100 most influential comic book pages of all time. There's some very good pages in there and overall the article is a good history of the progress of comics from their humble beginnings to today.

 

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Sign O The Times' & 'Raspberry Beret' by Prince

Second ad break bumpers: 'Little Red Corvette' & 'U Got The Look' 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

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 8-5-17 show notes

A Pedantic Moment: Winking Face Emoji

On Facebook when you type a semicolon and the right half of a parenthesis - ;) - the site automatically posts a little winking face. My pedantry is that the wrong eye is winking. When typed it should be the face's right eye that winks, not the left.

Wrong eye.

Explosion At Minnehaha Academy

 

Wednesday morning there was an explosion at Minnehaha Academy, a private school in South Minneapolis, caused by a natural gas leak during some construction on the school. Two people were killed. I talked about how you just don't when your time might come and about how fast emergency vehicles are allowed to go to get to an emergency. I also talked a little bit about the Go Fund Me pages that have been posted in relation to helping out in the aftermath of this tragedy.

 

I also talked about there being a suggestion this accident might have been part of Islamic terrorism. I was asked how long it would take before someone suggested it. From what I can tell, about an hour and twenty minutes. A local psychic tweeted about her suspicions.

 

 

 

She's psychic. Can't she divine the answer?

 

There was a vigil at the school later that day at which people involved gather to give each other support. Of course there was some mention of how God would help people through this. And, of course, the atheist that I am has me wondering why God didn't help by preventing the explosion. I know, I know. Mysterious ways.

 

The news of this vigil led to...

Another Pedantic Moment

 

On the 10 o'clock news that night, a young reporter noted that the people at the vigil (held earlier that night) are taking it "one day at a time." He said that twice in the report.

 

Um. It's only been one day. There was no other way to take it at the time.

"Do Your Own Research"

 

The above image is being shared on social media was created by Stop The World The Teabaggers Want Off. That is a bullshit site that generates fake quotes by conservatives. I said as much when a Facebook friend shared the image. I also stated the Melania Trump speaks five languages, so she's not exactly stupid.

 

That language comment was disputed with evidence, while I provided two sources. The person disputing me did not provide sources. They eventually resulted to ad hominem.

 

Oh, well.

 

Dimland Radio Science Hero: John Oliver

 

John Oliver has been declared a Dimland Radio Science Hero once before. He and Senator McCaskill were named Heroes for their exposure of Dr Oz's peddling of snake oil.

 

John Oliver, on his HBO program Last Week Tonight, has also exposed the bullshit of the media's false equivalency on climate change, the bullshit of the anti-vax movement, and the batshit, crazy, bullshit of conspiracy theorist king Alex Jones.

 

For all of that, I once again declared John Oliver a Dimland Radio Science Hero.

Top Three Cool Things Of The Week

Here are the Top Three Cool Things from this week.

 

3) I got a pair of eclipse glasses to observe the celestial event later this month. I joked a bit about how to tell your glasses are safe, but here is a better way to do that. I looked at the sun and it was way cool!

 

2) It's Not True: This video, although very cool, does not show lightning making water explode. It's part of a mining operation clearing a channel and the lightning seen in the video is a wired charge setting off the explosion.

 

1) My son turned 14 years old this past week. Happy Birthday, Hayden! Astrologers, put your charts away!

Movie Recommendation: N

I ran out of time, so you are on your own this week.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Epic' by Faith No More & 'Refugee' by U2

Second ad break bumpers: 'Certain Things Are Likely' by KTP & 'Here Is The News' by ELO

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 4-22-17 show notes

My Wife Should Take Your Next Selfie

My wife is an artist and she has a particular talent for taking selfies. She's done many of them, but she doesn't show them off. She's barely shown me any, but what I have seen are brilliant. The images are well composed, hard to tell they are selfies, and she looks great in them.

 

The other day, she was in the bedroom taking a few selfies, when I came in to give her a little cuddle. I suggested she do a selfie of us. She snapped a few shots and below is the best of them.

 

Yep. It's a selfie.

I compared this picture of the two of us to the work of two photographers who worked with The Beatles very early on. Astrid Kerchherr, a photographer, was the girlfriend of Stuart Sutcliffe, an artist and very early member of The Beatles. He left the band to pursue his art. However, he died young of a brain aneurysm, the cause of which is unknown, but it is believed by some to have come from a head injury suffered in a fight after a gig with the band. Kerchherr was one of the first photographers to document the Fab Four (five in those days with Sutcliffe) in their period before Brian Epstein and Ringo Starr.

 

Kerchherr in a self portrait with Sutcliffe.

Robert Freeman is the photographer responsible for the photograph used on the cover of The Beatles' second album: With The Beatles (or Meet The Beatles for the American version). The black and white image of the four mop tops is iconic. I think the image my wife made of us is a kind of combination of both those two photographers' work.

 

The iconic cover by Freeman.

If you're considering doing a selfie, you should have my wife do it for you. Of course, she'll have to be in the picture with you.

Memorial Service For Ed

Two weeks ago I talked about the loss of a distant family member. Ed was just 44 years old, when cancer took his life. On this show, I talked about the Celebration of Life service, which was very well done and so very moving. Ed's friendship and loyalty and good nature really touched many people deeply.

 

I also made sure to mention the friends and family who have helped Ed and his wife Dawne through the final stages of his life. They really stepped up and went all out for Ed and Dawne. I was so impressed by their efforts.

 

United Airlines Had A Little PR Problem

 

Of course, you've all heard of the fellow forcibly removed from a NOT overbooked United flight. It was a full flight in which some customers had to eventually randomly "volunteer" to give up their seats to four United Airlines employees. One of the four passengers, David Dao, refused and we all know how that went. Dao has a pretty strong case against the airline.

 

United Airlines is changing their current policy that customer is always expendable. We'll see how that works out.

 

But, I started to go on a rant about the amateur video of the incident. I think two videos surfaced and were featured on the news and both were in the foul, disgusting, awful, sickening, disorienting, frustrating portrait (vertical) format! Yes, I started to rant, but I stopped myself. Listeners have heard this rant before and I realized that my beef isn't with the amateur videographers. (Well, some of it is. I mean, it's not that difficult to turn the smart device 90 degrees, so that the video is in landscape.)

 

My beef is with the designers of those smart devices. I know there are apps that people can use that formats video in landscape no matter what angle the camera is held. But, we shouldn't need an app. These devices ought to be set with video being in landscape by default. If a person wants to make in vertically formatted video (why would anyone want to?), they would need to change the default setting.

 

So, Apple, Samsung, Sony, and all the rest of you smart device designers...I'm talking to you. Get on it!

Alex Jones Is A Performance Artist?

 

Alex Jones, internet sensation whose syndicated radio show is on Z Talk Radio (check the show schedule page), is a apparently performance artist. This is according to his lawyer, who is trying to win a child custody battle for the false flag-claiming, conspiracy theorist, bag of hot air. So, does this mean Jones is full of shit? Well, we already know that.

 

But is he admitting it now? Well, not on his show, he isn't. Apparently, only in court.

 

Steer Clear Of Demonic Knick-Knacks

 

According to former New Age/Hindu dude turned Christian evangelizing YouTuber, Steven Bancarz, people should remove all demonic symbols from their houses. This includes crystals, tarot cards, and other fairly obvious items. But, your house should also be rid of any yoga related material: books, mats, videos, exercise equipment, and, I suppose, yoga pants. (Mmmmm yoga pants.) And all items that are related to Hinduism have to go, as well.

Why? Well, these items are all portals through which demons can move into your place of dwelling and mess with your life and, presumably, property values.

I have a demonic item in my house (probably a lot more than just one). My demon statuette stands on a shelf in the living room. So far, he's been an ideal guest. We don't even have to feed him.

 

Your show host and his demon.

 

 

 

Talk About The Ten Commandments

 

I talked about both the 1956 classic film and the rules that Moses...er...God wrote. Well, neither of them wrote them, as the whole Exodus story never happened. There were no Hebrew slaves toiling away in Egypt, so there was no great purge of a massive labor force, no walking through the Red Sea, and no wandering around the wilderness for 40 years.

 

Be that as it may, there is a movie (more than one) of this nonexistent historical event. Cecil B DeMille's epic classic The Ten Commandments stars Charlton Heston, Yul Brenner, Yvonne DeCarlo, Ann Baxter, Edward G Robinson, and Vincent Price. The production, set design, and cinematography are beautiful. The music by Elmer Bernstein is powerful. And the special effects are pretty good for 1956.

 

The dialogue is...ridiculous! The way the characters talk in the film is so pretentious in its poetic nature. Every character is a poet, from Pharaoh on down to the slave walking straw into the mud pits to make bricks. It's so over the top and so not the way human beings talk.

 

I love it!

 

I mention a few of the more ridiculous moments in the film. Especially good, I think, is the reaction of a group of sisters when they see Moses sleeping in the bushes. "A MAN!"

 

I also talked about the Ten Commandments themselves. I noted the first four all pertain to God. That seems a bit needy to me. I suggested swapping three of those four out for the following:

Thou shalt not own slaves.

Thou shalt not rape.

Thou shalt not abuse children.

 

Those seem fairly obvious to me, but they didn't occur to God.

 

Movie Recommendation: The Ten Commandments (1956) & Secretary (2002)

 

 

 

What other movie could I recommend after having so much fun with it on the show? 

 

Weeeeellll, I did mention a little BDSMish film starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Spader. This 2002 film is pretty saucy. I fondly recall a certain spanking scene. Now I'm not necessarily into that kind of thing, but the scene was rather...enjoyable. From what I hear, having not seen it myself, Secretary is far superior to that 50 Grey Shades movie.

 

 

 

So, depending on your mood, these could make for an interesting (and long) double feature.

 

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Buck Hill' by The Replacements & 'Raspberry Beret' by Prince

Second ad break bumpers: 'One Step Ahead' by Split Enz & 'War Dance' by Killing Joke

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.