dimland radio 5-12-18 show notes

It's Not True: Blucher Does Not Mean Glue

 

At the end of last week's show I blurted out that in the classic comedy Young Frankenstein Cloris Leachman's character name means glue in German. I had heard that not-a-factoid recently on the Dana Gould Hour podcast. I didn't verify and friend of the show, Michael, clued me in on it being a myth. There is no German word meaning glue, either a noun or a verb, that is in any way close to Blucher.

 
US Code, Title 36, Subtitle 1, Part A, Chapter 3, Subsection 301

I am not easily offended, but I am easily annoyed. And I find it very annoying to see people at sporting events standing with their hands over their hearts during the singing of God Bless America. According to the US Code, American citizens are to do that during the playing of our National Anthem - The Star-Spangled Banner. God Bless America is not our National Anthem, people!

I expressed that annoyance on the Facebook and someone attempted to tell me I was wrong. As if! When have I ever been wrong? Oh. Right. The Frau Blucher thing.

 

In the course of that social media discussion, I was a bit sloppy and I was called on it. I eventually set things straight by not attempting to paraphrase and just quoted directly from the Code. That went better. I need to be more clear.

 

However, there is one argument that, if made, I would concede the whole thing. Did someone make me concede?

 

The Thin Edge Of The Wedge

Can someone explain to me what it is with some Republicans and their obsession with getting their god back into the public schools? It's really quite disturbing how some feel it's fine to exclude certain students in the name of tolerance (and promotion) of the majority's religion.

 

Well, they say, "God" can be any god, not just ours (wink, wink).

 

Oh, really? Does that include those religions that worship multiple gods?

 

This all stems from Minnesota State Sentator Dan Hall's legislation that would allow public schools to install privately funded displays of the National Motto (it really shouldn't be our motto) In God We Trust. It's so good to know that all the other problems have been solved, because our state senate can spend its time figuring out how to combine Church and Sate. At least, the legislation doesn't mandate the display. Oh, Minnesota is so progressive!

 

This legislation is the thin end of the wedge to get kids saying the Lord's Prayer in school so things can be great again the way it was in the Senator's day. He even says it's a "good start."

 

I'm an atheist. My wife is an atheist. Our son is an atheist and he's in the public school system. Why, Senator Hall, do you want to exclude us?

 

A Dimland Radio Pedantic Moment: Taking Your Guns And Tombstone Meme

I know, for a Pedantic Moment I really ought to have everything straight, but I didn't have the image of the meme available, so I didn't get the wording exactly right, but I had the gist of it correct. Good enough. (You try to do an hour long show!)

 

As you can see, the meme above is an anti-gun control message. The person who made it used a gun protestor's admission of wanting to take guns away from law-abiding Americans to give their response. Their response was shown by using an image of Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer) from the film Tombstone. Sort of, "Oh, yeah? Well, just try and take 'em."

 

Except. In the movie, just prior to the big gunfight at the OK corral, what was it Doc and the Earp brothers came to take from Ike Clanton and his gang? Hmmmmm?

 

The Clairvoyant's Clients Are Being Conned By Someone Other Than The Clairvoyant?

It appears a con is on. A second one. Well, you see, there's a clairvoyant woman in Scotland who has spent the last 30 years connin... er... building a clientele and some other con artist is attempting get in on the con... er.. I mean... umm.

 

Actually, the irony of this story is awfully fun.

In my opinion, her clients aren't only being conned by the outside party. She's also conning them and, because I'm sure she believes in her abilities, she's conning herself.

 

Three Cool Things

 

3) The monthly meet-up with the MN Skeptics is also cool, and this time a member who hasn't been to one in quite a while finally made it back. And that was really cool.

2) My wife clued me onto this comedy troupe called WomenComedy. It's all dudes, so I'm not sure how they came up with that name, but their videos are very funny and that's cool.

 

1) Facebook helped me solve a case of identifying a famous person at a ballgame. I took a few screen captures, so the quality wasn't the best. Despite the bigfoot level photo quality, the person was identified. Cool!

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'North Country Girl' by Pete Townshend & 'After The Lights Go Out' by Urban Guerrillas

Second ad break bumpers: 'Chance' by Red Lorry Yellow Lorry & '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.

dimland radio 3-5-16 show notes

An Original Pic Of Re-Enactors

Are these the actual Earp brothers and Doc Holliday?

A Facebook friend shared a photo (above) that was said to be an original pic of Doc Holliday, Wyatt, Morgan and Virgil Earp. Weeeeellll. Not so fast there, Spanky.

 

To my somewhat trained eye, the photo looked too modern. It didn't look like the kind of photographs taken in the late 19th century. In fact, it looked more like a color photo that had been grey scaled. I was skeptical.

 

The real Wyatt, Morgan, and Virgil Earp.

 

 

 

The real Doc Holliday.

I looked for what I could be reasonably certain were actual photos (above) of the four men in question. Those men didn't quite match up with the four fellows that my friend shared. And the photographs look much more as though they were taken in the late 19th or early 20th centuries. In fact, Wyatt's and Morgan's photos appear to have been taken earlier than Virgil's.

 

I continued my search and found a color photograph of four re-enactors from present day Tombstone, AZ. Surprise! Surprise! Two of the men in the color photo are also present in that "original pic of Doc, Wyatt, and his brothers".

 

Compare the two on the left in this modern image to the two of the left in the picture of the alleged real lawmen.

That sealed it. However, my FB friend didn't care, because the image was romantic. Well, she should care. The internet is full enough of misinformation. She and the rest of us should all do our best to not add to the bullshit.

Abe Vigoda's Oscar Snub

His daughter called it an injustice. I don't think it's quite that, but I was disappointed to find out the producers of this year's Oscar ceremony didn't think to include Abe Vigoda in its In Memoriam segment. I guess they must have thought Vigoda was more TV than movie. More Fish, less Tessio.

 

Perhaps. That was the same reasoning when Farrah Fawcett wasn't remembered after she had died. But both Farrah and Abe had made movies. And Abe was in The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, for crying out loud! I mentioned it would have been very poignant to show the scene in which Tessio realizes he won't be returning from the ride he's about to take. "Tell Mike it was just business." How great would that have been?

 

Vigoda wasn't enough of a movie guy, eh? How much of a movie guy was David Bowie? Do you think of Bowie as a movie guy? He does have more than 20 films to his credit, but so does Vigoda.

 

I looked back at past In Memoriam segments. I was looking to see of Johnny Carson had been included after he died. I looked for Carson because someone on Facebook suggested Vigoda might be like Carson - too TV. But Carson had hosted several Oscar ceremonies, so I thought it might be possible he was included. He wasn't. But! I saw that Jerry Orbach was.

 

Jerry Orbach had made some movies. He was the voice of the candelabra in Beauty and the Beast and he did put Baby in the corner in Dirty Dancing. But, come on! Most everyone who remembers who he was identifies him as Lenny Brisco, the police detective on TV's Law & Order.

 

Well, someone always gets missed. Abe Vigoda should have been included. The Emmys will likely remember him, but I don't ever watch the Emmys.

 

Maddy Love Talks About Being A Skeptic

 

I have been trying to listen to more of the local skeptical podcasts lately. One of which is the MN Trans-Atheist Podcast hosted by Maddy Love. I haven't gotten to listen to much but on a recent show Maddy gives a six minute talk addressing what it means to be a skeptic. She uses some ideas gotten from the awesome Carl Sagan, but she weaves in plenty of her well-focused ideas. She says in six minutes what I've been trying to impart in six years of doing Dimland Radio.

She graciously gave me permission to use her talk on my show. She even linked me to a nicely set-up mp3 version that I could easily play for my listeners.

 

Thanks, Maddy!

The Return Of Never Found Live Bonus Week

My Never Found in the 80s segments on the Stuck in the 80s blog had been dormant since last September. So, with Steve Spears and Brad Williams (hosts of the Stuck in the 80s podcast) heading out on the 80s Cruise, I thought I'd help Steve out with the blog by providing five more live clips of 80s alternative bands.

 

The acts I covered were: The Replacements, Let's Active, Cocteau Twins, Killing Joke, and Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians.

 

I talked about how the song by Let's Active (Blue Line) had an opening that was very similar to an REM song. I told how I had difficulty figuring out which REM song it was. Finally, I figured it out. It was Kohoutek from their album Fables of the Reconstruction. Phew! You can compare the songs using the links. Let me know if you think I'm right... or wrong.

 

I also noted the fan made video for REM's song Green Grow The Rushes was nothing but anti-capitalism images. I found it ironic as REM has made millions and millions of dollars through the capitalist system. I guess it's OK for your favorite band profits from capitalism, but not Coca-Cola.

And speaking of Robyn Hitchcock, I told the story of when Amy (my wife) and I were dating. We both had tickets to see shows on the same night. She had tickets for Joe Strummer, I had tickets for Robyn Hitchcock. We saw Hitchcock. Amy had never seen Strummer, I had. Amy would never see him. Joe Strummer died not long after that show.

I have regretted not going with Amy's tickets, instead of mine.

Someone Send Megan Fox The Demon-Haunted World!

 

 

Megan Fox has once again been photographed in public carrying a book written by my friend Scott Roberts. Scott is pretty much at the opposite end of the skeptical scale from me. Oh, he has his moments, but overall he tends toward the paranormal. I don't.

 

There's his name: Scott Alan Roberts!

In May 2015, Ms Fox was seen with Scott's book about giant angels. This past February, she had Scott and his co-writer's book on the Exodus (which didn't happen). Jeepers! It's good for Scott. I'm happy for him. It's just not so good for rational thought.

 

I wonder if I can figure out how to send her Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World.

 

Movie Recommendation: Breaking Away (1979)

 

20th Century Fox

A little sleeper hit from 1979 about four young men coming of age. They are called "Cutters" by the college students after what used to be the main industry of the town: Stone-cutting. "Cutters" is meant to be an insult when used by the students. Our four friends don't much care for those college kids.

 

There's Dave. He is the focus of the film. He is adrift like his friends, but he has cycling. And he's very good at it. He fancies himself Italian because he so admires the Italians' cycling skills. But reality hits him hard.

 

The conflict with the college students leads to the college allowing a team from the town to compete in the big cycling race to be held on campus. Dave and his friends enter that race to prove "cutters" are just as good as any college kid.

 

If you haven't seen this, put it in your queue!

 

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Blue Bell Knoll' By Cocteau Twins & 'Every Word Means No' byLet's Active

Second ad break bumpers: 'The Wait' by Killing Joke & 'The Man With The Lightbulb Head' by Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians

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
 
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.