dimland radio 9-15-18 show notes

A Dimland Radio Pedantic Moment: Close Encounters Of The Third Kind Again

Excellent forced perspective!

Yes, again. This time I explained how suspension of disbelief works for me. I can accept the main idea of this great film that there are extraterrestrials visiting earth, that they have far advanced technology, and that they can somehow implant ideas into people's minds. But the story has to stay within the rules it sets up for itself. And everything else in Close Encounters follows along with what would happen in the real world. Nothing feels out of place or wrong. Except how do the humans know how to respond when learning a "basic tonal language" without having been given any kind of key from which to learn? How did the government fellows know what to tell the musician to play back when the "conversation" started? Am I making sense?

I gave a made up example of potential rule breaking in another movie (Creature From The Black Lagoon - 1954) that would make it difficult to suspend disbelief. Impossible, even. And I noted an oddity about The Wolfman (1941), more than one actually. And I talked about my favorite deus ex machina moment that comes from Monty Python's Life Of Brian (1979).

I blogged about the whole Pedantic Moment I have regarding Close Encounters.

Beardless Jim

Jim

Beardless Jim

As a little stunt for my friends among the Minnesota Skeptics, I shaved off my mustache and beard. It has been 11 years since I had gone clean shaven.

Leading up to the big moment I had foregone trimming the facial hair. I'm gonna be shaving it off, so why bother. That means the before picture show the beard being much shaggier than I usually keep it. I don't care for a shaggy beard. On me, that is.

I also don't care for the clean shaven look. So the beard and mustache are growing back. By next month's meet-up, I will look as I should.

I also talked about the traffic and road construction woes that plague my sojourns to the meet-up location. Well, if you want nice, smooth, and reliable roads, construction delays are the price we pay. And taxes, of course. 

A Rant About Coffee Drinkers

When working as a janitor, I can get annoyed by some of the messes left behind. Not the kind of messes one would expect in a place of business due to the work being done. It's the unnecessary and avoidable messes that make me grind my teeth.

One such unnecessary mess is caused by coffee drinkers and their insistence on filling their coffee mugs as full as possible. They need that caffeine so much, they just can't leave any it of that mug unfilled, and off they go dripping coffee all along the way. And leaving coffee rings.

Coffee rings. Coffee rings. Coffee rings. 

A Dimland Radio Science Hero: Harrison Ford

I haven't been able to discover how Harrison Ford feels about GMOs or vaccination, but his stance on human-caused climate change and how the people of the world need to address it is right on. He has called for Americans, at least, to stop casting votes for anti-science political candidates, whether they're really anti-science or just pretending. 

An Anti-Vaxxer Or A Russian Troll?

The following anti-vax "facts" list was left in response to a pro-vaccination comment on Facebook:

My response? Listen to the show. ;)

Some anti-vax myths dispelled here. 

Also On The Show 

Hurricane Florence? Never fear! Pat and Kat have it under control! 

Three Cool Things

 

1) The above picture of our president gave me a chuckle, but I found something out about it, which I will talk about next week.

2) Aaron Rodgers, quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, added another story to his legend with his astounding second half (after a knee injury) performance against the Chicago Bears. Oh, if only the Vikings could have a quarterback like Rodgers. 

3) GQ has released a recent interview of Paul McCartney. There's a video of Paul talking about some of his classic Beatles and Wings tunes.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Head Over Heels' by The Go Go's & 'One Day' by The Church

Second ad break bumpers: 'Undertow' by Suzanne Vega & 'Twist' by Tones On Tail

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 9-8-18 show notes

When In A Hole... 

Well, I started off the show by jumping right in a hole and got to digging even deeper.

 

On Facebook this past week, a conversation arose on just what is the proper position of the toilet seat when the toilet is not in use. The toilet at home, that is. Public restrooms are a different story.

 

I start out talking about how I was all set to come down on the side of the men. Well, that is my team, but the conversation got me thinking a little more deeply on the topic. My conclusion had to be modified, because the women brought up some very good points that I hadn't considered.

 

But, I may not have climbed out of the hole I dug. You'll be the judge.

 

I also sidetracked a moment to talk about my thoughts on the recently invented term "mansplain."

 

I should probably stop digging. 

Anonymous?

I would like to think the NY Times wouldn't just make up an op-ed and say it was by a "top official" in the White House. And I would be right. But whenever something is anonymous I get a little skeptical.

A Dimland Radio Pedantic Moment: Close Encounters Of The Third Kind

This pedantic moment is an epic one. And there are plenty of spoilers.

 

Ever since I first saw this Spielberg classic back when it was released, I have always been mystified about the music playing, the intergalactic dueling banjos scene. How do the humans know what to do?

 

"What the hell are we saying to each other?!"

I also talked about some other things done in the meeting with the aliens at the end of the film. During the returning of the hostages, how did the government people know that those who had been kidnapped by ET would be returned at all? But they did. How?

 

"Humans are too stupid to have produced an Einstein."

And that supposed to be profound remark about Einstein was insulting!

 

Artists Working For Living, But Not Doing Their Art

 

Actor, Geoffrey Owens, of The Cosby Show fame, was spotted working at a Trader Joe's. The news hit the internet. There was a round of job shaming, as though working at a Trader Joe's is somehow beneath him.

 

To its credit the other part of the internet spoke up it support of Owens. Saying there's no shame in working to support oneself and family, even if one used to be a regular cast member of a hit TV show. People were learning that life happens and even those who had their big break may need to take a few steps down when the big gig is gone.

 

Artists struggle. Some make it well enough to earn a consistent living. A very small number make it into the realm of big time fame and wealth. Most struggle, toiling away in anonymity, while they watch the less talented ride high. (I'm telling you, every cartoonist who has tried, but couldn't crack into the world of comic books, has looked at the artwork of Todd McFarlane and Rob Liefeld and thought, "How the hell did they get work?!"

 

Hey. It happens.

 

On the Facebook comedian/writer/actor Leighann Lord wrote about the struggle and how it feels to have to work other jobs to support her passion. I understand exactly what she was talking about.

 

We press on.

Three Cool Things

1) I took my wife and our son to see The Maltese Falcon (1941) last weekend. Such a great film and it was so cool to be able to see it on a big(ish) screen with an audience that appreciates these old movies.

2) The tattoo I design for my younger brother turned out pretty and he liked it.

 

I may not look it, but I'm thrilled!

3) I got my copy of the John Byrne X-Men Artifact Edition art book. Now that was a great artist! Sooo cool!

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Rattle My Bones' by The Suburbs & 'Unfinished Business' by Au Pairs

Second ad break bumpers: 'Nobody Told Me' by John Lennon & 'Shadow Line' by The Fleshtones

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.