dimland radio 7-1-17 show notes

A Correction And More Whining

For some reason, during my diatribe at the end of last week's show about talentless yet celebrated artists I kept mispronouncing Jon Serl's name. I corrected my error. He still sucked as an artist.

 

I also talked about abstract art and how the less representational it is, the greater the bullshit explanation needs to be to explain why it is art. I went on to mention the great abstract artists Picasso and Pollack. Sure, plenty of people looked at their work and said their kids could do that. Perhaps, but your kids wouldn't know what they were doing. Like Jon Serl, they would just be doing it.

 

Picasso and Pollack were good artists and could do more representational art as well as any great artist. They had the chops.

Just Stupid And Sad

I used to be amused by the Darwin Awards, but these days I'm beginning to think taking some kind of enjoyment from people killing themselves by doing something stupidly risky isn't the best thing to do.

 

The latest example comes out of Crookston, MN. A boyfriend and girlfriend have been pursuing fame on YouTube by making videos of themselves doing risky things. The boyfriend wanted to do something really dangerous. He wanted the girlfriend to fire a .50 caliber handgun at his chest at point blank range. His protection would be a book.

 

They conducted the stunt. He died. She's been arrested.

 

There was a news story reporting there were as many as 30 onlookers present for the stunt. If so, none of them appear to have tried to stop this act of stupidity. Maybe there should be some legal action brought against those witnesses.

 

The whole story is just sad. Made even more so by having been done right in front of their three year old child. Oh, and the girlfriend is pregnant.

 

Sad.

A Follow-Up On Right To Carry And Cop Stops

I looked into whether or not gun-owners who apply for a Right to Carry permit receive any kind of formal training on how to handle a traffic stop by the police when carrying a weapon. I found that there really isn't. Not in Minnesota, anyway. The trainers teach what the law requires, but if there is any advising done about that situation, it is up to the individual trainers as to how they proceed.

 

I'm thinking I might contact my local legislators and suggest there be some formal training on handle that situation when gun-owners apply for a Right to Carry permit.

Another Example Of Photoshop Fakery

The above image shows quite nicely how you can't always believe an image. I went over the rather easy to spot indications that the "rapists" image was faked. Sadly, even though it's so obvious, people still get fooled into believing this young woman would want rapists around.

 

Pedantic Moment: Jane Lynch Is Holding Up The Young Swimmers

Have you seen the TV commercial with Jane Lynch telling the young lifeguard, who is late opening the pool for a mob of anger kids because he needed to get his coffee, he should use MasterCard MasterPass? Yep, MasterPass is MasterCard's way to get people under a mountain of credit card debt real fast!

 

 

 

Anyway, she and the lifeguard are having this conversation while the kids are still waiting.

 

"Hey, Jane Lynch! Why don't you shut up an let Mr. Coffee here open the damn gate! You can tell him all about that MasterCard thing once we're inside. OK?"

 

Opening A Box Into My Past...In Front Of My Son

 

I had an old box set aside in a closet that, for the most part, contain mementos of two of my youthful obsessions. Well, one of those obsessions is still pretty active.

The box was filled with posters, magazines, books, and other paraphernalia relating to The Who and Farrah Fawcett. I'm still mighty obsessed with The Who, but my crush on Farrah has waned since my high school days. I must admit though there's still a little spark there when I look at those images of her in her hey day.

 

There was a book in there about the crazy partying life of The Who's drummer, Keith Moon. I bought the book in the mid80s, a couple years or so after it was published. I started to read it then, but I put it down only to never pick it up again. I vaguely remembered having problems with it, when I pulled it out of the box.

 

My son encouraged me to give reading it another try. So, I did. I didn't get too far in, just the first paragraph, when I remembered why I stopped reading it 30 years ago. The book is a history of sorts and it's written almost entirely in present tense! Ugh!

I came up with a plan for me to be able to read it. You'll have to listen to learn what that plan is.

This was where going through the box really got fun for me, because I could go into full Dad mode in front of my son as I went through all the items. The items I had collected relating to Farrah Fawcett in particular. My son didn't have a problem with The Who stuff but he was mortified that I had all those Farrah posters and...

Two copies of an unauthorized biography...

 

Two mugs...

 

A puzzle...

And a few other things for which I don't have photos. He couldn't believe I kept all of it. And he couldn't believe his mom was OK with it.

 

I had so much fun making him so embarrassed.

Movie Recommendation: None

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: 'Debaser' by Pixies & 'Undercover Of The Night' by The Rolling Stones

Second ad break bumpers: 'Metro' by Berlin & 'Back O' The Moon' by 10,000 Maniacs

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 6-26-10 show notes

How do I follow up the great Father's Day Special? Here's how...

George Hrab's 'Trebuchet'

He's a skeptic, an atheist, a podcaster and, most of all, he's a musician. George Hrab has a new album out. It's called 'Trebuchet' and it's pretty darned good. He's an unsigned artist who wants to get this, his sixth, album out there. He posted the entire album on his podcast, but he's also selling it. You can download it at cdbaby.com and iTunes. You can also buy an actual CD from cdbaby.com My copy is on it's way.

You can listen to George's podcast here or download it from iTunes. Be warned, he swears a bunch and he's very skeptical. However, he's also very entertaining. I'm gonna see if I can get him on my show.

I didn't play his entire album as other podcasts have, obviously. I did play three songs throughout the show. I played 'Fifty Stories', 'When I Was Your Age' and 'Where Have You Been?' All really good tunes. I had his express permission to play whichever songs I wanted. Thanks, Geo!

One year since...


It was a year ago that "my first girl" died. I was quite the Farrah fan, freak even. I talked about what Farrah meant to me and how I still hold it against Michael Jackson for dying the same day.

I also took this opportunity to slip in a little skepticism into the show. The "actress" Tori Spelling alerted the media that she communicated with Farrah from beyond the grave. She had the assistance of dance hall instructor, John Edward. I don't know much about Edward's dance instruction, but I don't think much of his alleged psychic ability.

A rant

I ranted a bit about how much I don't like summer. I hate heat, humidity and Harleys. I hate sweating when I'm just sitting and reading. Working? I'm all right with sweating then.

Now, I don't hate Harley Davidson motorcycles that much, but they can be awfully damned noisy. Why do they get away with being so loud? If loud pipes save lives then I should be able to remove the muffler from my car. "Gee officer? Loud pipes save lives."

"Yeah, sure. Here's your ticket."

Movie recommendation

Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Mary Astor & Sidney Greenstreet: A perfect cast

This week I recommended the film noir classic, 'The Maltese Falcon'. It stars Humphrey Bogart in the role that took him from playing gangster tough guys to playing the tough, fast talking, self-assured leading man. Written and directed by John Huston, this 1941 detective classic features a cast of unforgettable characters. Peter Lorre is excellent as Joel Cairo.

It's a great film. Put it in your Netflix queue now!

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ahead' by Wire
First ad break bumpers: 'Cows' by The Suburbs & 'Keep It Dark' by Genesis
Second ad break bumpers: 'Atom Tan' by The Clash & 'Mexican Radio' by Wall of Voodoo
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 On Demand page. You can email your questions and comments to drdim@dimland.com

my first girl is gone

Farrah Fawcett lost her long battle with cancer today. She was just 62. She left the world far too soon.

When Farrah burst on the scene in 1976 on 'Charlie's Angels', I was about 12 years-old. I had had a crush or two on girls my age, but...WHAM! There was Farrah. I was captivated. I was smitten. That hair, that smile, those two protrusions in the red bathing suit (see above)...

Farrah was the first woman that I fell in love with. She became my girl. I was obsessed. I collected her posters and magazines featuring articles about her. I cut photos of her out of newspapers. Collecting images of Farrah became my passion. My corner of the bedroom I shared with my younger brother, in those days, became a virtual shrine to a woman I would never meet. I still have most of that collection packed away.

I remember an uncle of mine telling my mother that, at the very least, my Farrah obsession confirmed I wasn't gay. Why that mattered to my uncle, I was never quite sure. How questionable was my behavior toward the opposite sex that my uncle would be relieved by my love for Farrah? I was only 12. Come on!

My obsession with Farrah lasted well into high school. I had drawn several portraits of her, read one of her unofficial biographies, I even wrote a biographical paper on her for a high school writing class during my senior year. For a time, I took to adding a little "FF" to my signature on my drawings. The "FF" stood for "Farrah Freak", which is what fellow classmates took to calling me.

(Incidentally, the paper I wrote about Farrah was to be given three grades: one for research, one for composition, and one for grammar. I received three As on the paper. My teacher spotted me in the cafeteria on the day the graded papers were to be returned, and told me she could tell I really liked my subject. I wish I had held onto that paper. It would be nice to read it now.)

The years and my obsession passed. I became more interested in women I actually knew. (Although I wasn't any luckier with them then I would have been with Farrah. Oh, woe is me.) I didn't go to her movies, but I did watch her triumphant performance in 'The Burning Bed' and her not so triumphant performance in 'Cannonball Run'. I had long since dropped the "FF" from my signature. I moved on.

Occasionally, I would note some of her doings with mild interest. Such as her very short-lived sit-com with Ryan O'Neal, 'Good Sports'; her appearance on Arsenio Hall's show and thinking her legs looked damn good; her less than flattering appearance on David Letterman's show; her two nude photo layouts in Playboy (Ok, the Playboy stuff was a bit more than mildly interesting.), but the feeling wasn't the same. The crush was gone.

Then came the cancer. She seemed to handle it well. She was going to fight it with everything she had. And she fought hard. In the end, as will happen to us all, death claimed her.

Now, I feel just a little bit older, a little bit emptier, a little bit lonlier. A big part of my youth is gone. I will miss Farrah Fawcett, she was my first girl.

FF