dimland radio 8-25-18 show notes

That's Not How You Promote A Game

 

The 2018/19 version of the constant futility that is the MN Vikings is now in its pre-season and the local news was making sure all their viewers would be tuning in. I'm reasonably sure the game was on that station.

Well, a Packer fan must have chosen the game footage of the Vikings at play. The video showed tight end Kyle Rudolph dropping a pass from three different angles. That wouldn't have been my choice. I would have gone with the Minneapolis (or Minnesota) Miracle play.

If the person wasn't a Packer fan, maybe they were just lowering expectations. 

Oh, Those Young People And Their Phones

A group of sorority sisters took in a ballgame in Arizona and they ended up getting a bit of the needle from the fellows in the booth. You see, the young women didn't seem as interested in the game as they were in their phone and taking selfies.

 

The needling was funny, however I found out later that it was unfair because the fans were asked to take selfies and to text them to the ballgame control room (or whatever you'd call it) and their pics might be shown in the park. I didn't know that bit when I recorded the show, so I'll do a follow up next week.

 

There was a call of juvenoia, that's what kids today call it when the old folks go on about kids today. Well, kids today need to understand that breaking out the needle is what we older folks are supposed to do every now and then.

 

I tell ya. Kids today.

Notice Anything About These Two Logos?

There's a couple family-owned car dealerships in the Twin Cities under the name Barnett. They produce television ads that feature the Barnett sons and their dad. The ads are silly and they poke fun at themselves. I think the ads are cute. Here's one.

 

Recently, the poster for the 1971 film Shaft popped up on my Facebook page. I noticed something about the title logo and the logo for Barnett. They are very similar. It was an odd choice, but I like it.

 

 

And if you saw the Barnett family, you'd see they make an odd pairing with the black private dick that's a sex machine with all the chicks.

 

A Dimland Radio Pedantic Moment: Recognize This Man Who Was Elected President Four Times?

 

 

Does something look not right about the above meme? Without getting into the political claims made about this handsome young man from the days of yore, there's something wrong about this Franklin Delano Roosevelt piece. That's not FDR.

 

It's Franklin Delano Roosevelt Junior.

 

This is what the young FDR looking like.

It's Not True: Go Fund Me Account For Christhian Rivera

I have a couple pretty staunch Trump supporters as Facebook friends. One in particular, with whom I went to high school even, really likes to post items showing her support and her distrust of the "mainstream" media.

 

This past week she shared this...

 

Sigh.

 

Snopes, will you take this one for me? 

 

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/cristhian-rivera-gofundme/.

A Dimland Radio Science Zero: Jimmy Kimmel

Two time Dimland Radio Science Hero Jimmy Kimmel is now being declared a Science Zero for his show's "see how dumb Americans are" videos. There are two of these videos that I've spotted: One challenges people on the street to give the name of a book, any book. The other challenges other people on the street to identify a country, any country, on a map of the world.

 

Of course, they only show the few people they found who couldn't meet the challenges, except the map video does feature a young boy who identifies several countries. What bothers me about these videos is they are misleading. After all, if the audience was as ignorant as the people in the videos, the bit wouldn't be funny.

 

It also bugs me that others out in internet land will make these videos go viral by sharing them and declaring America is going to hell in a hand basket and many people hop right on the "we're doomed" bandwagon.

 

For those reasons, I declared Jimmy Kimmel a Dimland Radio Science Zero.

 

Who Said What About Who?

I read an interesting quote of praise about a surprising person by a surprising person. I was attempting to show how people aren't an easily categorized as we tend to make them.

 
Three Cool Things

1) There are a series of art books that feature the work of great comic book artists. There's a new one out with the work of John Byrne and I'd love to own it.

2) An art school friend of mine shared a picture of a brilliantly done illustration of dolphins. I was going to post it here, but it appears she took it down. You'll just talk to take my word about how cool it is.

3) My friend Douglas Arthur has finally posted his Assault of the 2-Headed Space Mules podcast featuring the colossal cover song quiz. It's a blast!

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Outside The Trains Don't Run On Time' by Gang Of Four & 'Under Pressure' by Queen

Second ad break bumpers: 'Take It Away' by Paul McCartney & 'Age Of Consent' by New Order

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 3-10-18 show notes

No School. Do Your Homework.

Just a quick story about a winter storm that sneaked up on us. It allowed my son to have a day off of school. But I did my duty as a father and made sure he finished his homework Sunday night, so he'd have no worries on his snow day.

Just How Does A Director Effect A Film?

 

I'm not quite sure about every way a director influences the final film. I know the main job is to get the best performance out of the actors as possible. Remind them of the story, their motivations. I've heard of stories in which a director tells the actor one simple character trait or something that isn't part of the film but is part of the history of the character. When that's been done the character can click into place.

 

Some directors have a loose narrative and allow the actors to improvise until a story as made. Robert Altman worked that way. Alfred Hitchcock, on the other hand, had the final film in mind and plotted out from the start, filming the actors was a formality.

A Dimland Radio Pedantic Moment: Coke Zero?

My pedantic nature was challenged when I unpedantically called Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Coke Zero. I was told "sugar" was added to the name when the flavor had been improved.

 

Well, I was drinking a can of the soda in question. The main part of the label does in fact read Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, but when I turned the can around, right there, above the nutrition information was Coke Zero™.

 

 

Yep. It even has the trademark symbol. Who's the pedant here, eh?

 

How Editors Saved Star Wars

 

After my brief timeout for a Pedantic Moment, I returned to some movie talk. This time I talked about a YouTube video that told how Star Wars, the original movie, would have been a disaster had George Lucas been surrounded by the same kinds of people who went along with his Special Edition changes to the original trilogy and the prequals, which I've been trying to forget.

 

However, in 1977, Lucas wasn't the powerful billionaire he would become. He was a filmmaker, early in his career, and he had filmmaker friends willing to say his rough cut of Star Wars needed help. A lot of help!

 

It's a fascinating video that gives us some insight on how editing is so very important in film. It's called How Star Wars Was Saved In The Edit. Go there and watch it!

 

Dimland Radio Science Zero: PUR

 

There's an ad for a PUR water filtering system there is straight up fear-mongering. It takes place in a "water bar" with tap water from all over the USA. Real people are made to think the tap water is filled with lead and lead is dangerous. Oh, the spokesperson tells the fear-filled folks the water has legally acceptable amounts of lead, but he never says it's safe to drink. Which it is.

 

The people are misled and react exactly the way PUR wants them to, with unnecessary fear. Shame on them.

Dimland Radio Science Hero: Dr. Jason Westin

Cancer doctor Jason Westin decided to run for the Democratic nomination to serve in the Texas Congress. He ran on the proposal to bring sound science to his stat's government. He voiced his concerns with America's turn away from and subsequent falling behind the rest of the world in science. His campaign produced a stirring ad to promote him as a reasoned candidate to advance science.

 

It's terrific. Watch it here.

 

I'm sad to say he didn't win. However, more science promoting folks are entering the world of politics, some are having success, and that's a very good thing for America and the world.

 

Movie Recommendation: The Way Back (2010)

 

 

 

A harrowing tale, based on what is claimed to be a true story, of the escape from a Siberian gulag and a 4000 mile trek to India - on foot. There is some doubt about the truthfulness of the claim, but the film is pretty good. It's lower budget and it's a little abrupt and jumbled in the gulag and escape sequences, but it settles in well as we witness the hardships encountered and the bonds made on this impossible journey.

It's streaming on Netflix.

 

Top Three Cool Things Of The Week

Here's Three Cool Things from this week.

 

 

3) More evidence that we should not say, "I know what I saw." This image (above) fooled me as I thought it was a picture of a concert. It's not.

 

2) My son took part in a school-approved walk-out and march to the MN State Capitol to protest the lack of meaningful action to curb gun violence in schools. I'm very proud of him. (Even if he did take video in portrait format).

 

1) I was commissioned to draw the above image for a friend. He was very pleased.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Megacity 1' by The Screaming Blue Messiahs & 'One Thing' by INXS

Second ad break bumpers: 'Stigmata Martyr' by Bauhaus & 'Teacher, Teacher' by Rockpile

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.