dimland radio 7-18-15 show notes

They Can Hear! They Can Hear!

It's been a struggle going on for the last few years. My parents have been hard of hearing and their kids (myself included) have tried to get them to consider getting hearing aids. Mom has pretty much always been willing, but Dad wouldn't hear of it (pun!). So, Mom would suffer, because it didn't make sense for her to get them when she'd have to turn them off whenever Dad watched TV with the volume at 100. And Dad watches a lot of TV.

But, when I stopped by earlier in the week, I was in for a big surprise. They had both gotten hearing aids. I don't know what got Dad to change his mind, but Mom had finally had enough and told Dad she was getting hearing aids and he was taking her in to get them.

Now we'll have to be careful about our side comments in their presence.

Pedantic Moment: Selective Service PSA & Nissan Altima Ad

Despite repeated attempts, I was not able to find the audio of one particular radio Public Service Annoucement (PSA) for the Selective Service. If I had, it would have made this Pedantic Moment more impactful and satisfying. You'll just have to take my word for it.

This PSA spends virtually the entire time trying to appeal to young men's sense of patriotism, love of home and family, to get them to sign up, but at the very end it states it's the law, so the young fellows really have no choice.

The Nissan Altima TV ad has a father and son in the Altima racing a school bus to school. The Altima wins! No shit as the bus has to make frequent stops along a daily route. The Altima had better beat the bus.

And it barely beats the bus at that!

Amy Tan Believes In Ghosts

Chipotle restaurants try to be different in their image. Their employees wear t-shirts with interesting sayings printed on them and their bags and cups have interesting essays written by famous people. I noticed one the other day written by Amy Tan about ghosts. She says she's one of the 42% of Americans who believe in ghosts. She does not site her source for the statistic, but it's probably about right.

She does admit that even if 100% of Americans believed in the ethereal beings that still wouldn't mean they exist. She has that bit right. She says her husband didn't believe until he heard one whistle at him in the shower. Now he sort of believes.

Tan makes a few claims in the essay: Her mother comes to her as a ghost and offers gifts of coincidences. And one of her ghosts, apparently Amy is visited by more than one, named his murderer and that person was sentenced to life in prison. That's quite a claim for which she offers no evidence.

I'm sure she's committing some fallacies in logic, but I'm not very good at spotting them, so I sent this on to the folks at the Skeptic's Guide to the Universe podcast. I'll let you know if they respond. 

WIVB News & MUFON

My Facebook friend Cassidy is part of MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) and she and the group were featured in a three part series on a local news show in New York. Most of the time, local news shows are more interested in the mystery of such things than in plausible explanations, but MUFON was pretty good about keeping the stories grounded in reality.

MUFON may not be the most scientifically sound organization out there, but they do make a concerted effort to find prosaic explanations for UFO sightings. And they are not shy in calling out hoaxes.

The first part of the series dealt with two separate sighting events by locals. I give credit to MUFON as they were able to give plausible earthly explanations for the sightings. One explanation given after the report was sky lanterns. Cassidy gave me the explanation for the other sighting as being most likely a laser pointer.

The second part dealt with hoaxes. MUFON gets lots of them. The report tells us MUFON has identified over 3000 claimed sightings with evidence as hoaxes, with 2600 of them in the States. I speculated the the remaining 400 must have been from Billy Meier the notorious Swiss UFO sighter or hoaxer depending on how you look at it.

The third part dealt with the big question: Are we alone in the universe? To which the answer is a resounding - "We don't know!" And MUFON, to their credit, said as much in the report.

Overall, I thought the reports were pretty good and grounded. I would have liked more input from scientists, however. 

Movie Recommendations: None

 

I ran out of time this week, so you can watch whatever you like. 

 

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'The Beat(en) Generation' by The The & 'Beating My Head' by Red Lorry Yellow Lorry

Second ad break bumpers: 'Beating Of Hearts' By XTC & 'Beatle Boots' by Love Tractor

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

dimland radio 4-26-14 show notes

 

Scooby Doo And The Yankee Skeptic

I recently updated a blog I had written in 2010. It was about my realization that, sometime between 1969 and 1999, Hanna-Barbara had dropped the mystery solution discovered by Scooby Doo and the gang never being actually paranormal policy. I was rather disappointed.
 

My Facebook friend Kitty Mervine runs The Yankee Skeptic and she wanted to repost my blog which is why I updated it. Well, it's been getting a few hits and positive feedback. Who knew?

We Need A Skeptical Movement

Speaking of The Yankee Skeptic, Kitty posted another guest writer's blog questioning whether the skeptical movement is necessary. It was an intriguing piece, but his reasoning was flawed. What was really impressive was that host of the Skeptic's Guide to the Universe, Steven Novella, thought it important enough to respond. And he wasn't the only one.

 

It is a good thing when someone stirs the pot with a thought provoking article. You can read the original post here, Steve's response here, and AZAtheist's response here.

Is Dimland Radio Just About Bigfoot, UFOs, Ghosts, And Crop Circles?

 

Those blogs got me thinking about Dimland Radio and the topics I have covered over the four plus years that I've been doing the show. I focused on the topics of bigfoot, UFOs, ghosts, and crop circles and how often they came up on my show.

 

The following is an approximation:

 

Bigfoot - 19 times (2.61%)
UFOs - 14 times (1.92%)

Ghosts - 20 times (2.75%)

Crop Circles - 1 time (0.14%)

I may need to talk about crop circles more often.

Pigasus Awards 2014

I got to this topic a little later in the year than I would normally, but I didn't do a show the weekend after April Fool's Day when the awards are announced. Better late than never, eh? Click here for the this year's "winners."

 

It's Time For Some Tragic Irony

 

A statue erected in honor of Pope John Paul II broke, fell, and crushed a young man to death. This happened just days before the popular Pope was to be made a saint. Does this tragedy cancel out one of the miracles needed for the pope to become a saint? Apparently not. Click here for the irony.

 

Fox News Is A Fan Of Science Now?

 

Fox News host Megyn Kelly and her guest Dana Loesch agree that Jenny McCarthy's anti-vax message is ill-informed, dangerous, and not supported by science. I was pleasantly shocked. Now if only Fox News would embrace the science behind evolution, stem cell research, and global warming.

 

Movie Recommendation: The Thin Man (1934)

 

Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer

Prohibition in America ended in 1933, The Thin Man with its celebration of drunken mystery solving was released in 1934. Might Hollywood been overcompensating? Maybe.

The movie stars William Powell and Myrna Loy. It's pretty funny and quite entertaining.

 

Celebs Stop Making Selfies

 

I interrupted the outro to the show to go on a rant about celebrities doing the whole selfie thing and how I wish the Boston Red Sox would go back to being the lovable losers.

 

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus

First ad break bumpers: 'Here It Is Tomorrow' by Game Theory & 'Candyman' by Siouxsie & the Banshees
Second ad break bumpers: 'Chrome Injury' by The Church & 'Takin A Ride' by The Replacements
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.

dimland radio 11-10-12 show notes

A Freelance Project

It's filled with debauchery, lewdness, strange behavior, and inside jokes.  It's one of the few freelance projects I do each year.  A local fraternity has an annual pub crawl and each year they have t-shirts made for the occasion.  I've been doing their design since the late 90s and each year it gets more complicated.  But I do enjoy the challenge and the fellas are so appreciative.  And they pay.

 

A Fellow ZTalker Gets On The News

Every year as Halloween approaches local TV news organizations run "fluff" stories about haunted houses, ghosts, and ghost hunters or some such related nonsense.  Well, in Arizona one such story ran and it featured fellow ZTalker Kale Kelly.  It also featured an Arizona skeptic and gave that skeptic equal time AND the last word.  I was impressed.

You can see that report here.

Snow Driving

Inspired by a loyal listener in chat, I told a couple harrowing tales of driving through snow storms.  One story happened to me, so you know that's true.  The other was a story told to me by my father about a fellow with whom he worked.  That story might not be true, but I don't think my dad made it up.  Still.

Election 2012 Round-up

You may have heard that Pres. Obama won re-election.  I mentioned that, but I also talked about anti-science Rep. Paul Broun and his re-election.  There was a write-in campaign for Charles Darwin in that otherwise uncontested race.  Darwin did get almost 4000 votes.  A far cry from being able to win, but maybe a message was sent.

I also talked about Minnesota's own national embarrassment, Michele Bachmann.  She, too, was re-elected, but by the narrowest of margins.  This despite her having out spent her Democrat opponent by 12 to 1 and that her district had been recently redrawn to be even more Republican.  Maybe a message was sent there, too.

The Evil Empire Buys Star Wars

No, not the Hated Yankees, in this case by "evil empire" I mean Disney.  Disney has purchased the Star Wars franchise for a mere four billion dollars.  There is some trepidation and some excitement at this news.  Will Disney damage the Star Wars brand even worse than George Lucas has?  Well, I'm optimistic.  So, is the writer of this list of reasons why the new trilogy won't suck.  I guess time will tell.

Movie Recommendation: Field Of Dreams (1989)

Universal Studios

The Facebook page The Movie Hobo posted the question asking followers to name a movie or scene that makes them cry.  Well, as much as I hate to admit that I'm capable of such a thing, one movie immediately popped to mind.  'Field Of Dreams' is a love letter to baseball, a ghost story, a tale of obsession, redemption and second chances.  It has a hippie undercurrent vibe to it and a somewhat unnecessary anti-censorship element, but overall it is touching and heartwarming.

And, in the end, Costner delivers a line that brings a tear to my eye every time I watch it.  I don't want to spoil it, so all I'll say is it has to do with playing catch.  I'm tearing up now.  I better go. 

Music heard on the show (Whenever Possible, I Will Link To The Song)...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus

First ad break bumpers: 'Tom Sawyer' by Rush & 'Your Phone's Off The Hook (But You're Not)' by X
Second ad break bumpers: 'Straight Lines' by Suzanne Vega & 'Bitter Fruit' by The Alley Cats
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.

scooby doo, how could you?!

Some of my readers may be aware that I have recently started doing an internet radio show. It’s called Dimland Radio and you can find it at www.ztalkradio.com Saturday nights at 11:00 central. In fact, you can read my show notes each week right here at my blog. There, that gets the plug out of the way.

The first topic of my first show was ‘Scooby Doo, Where Are You?’, because it was the first kids’ program that encouraged a skeptical viewpoint. It debuted in September 1969, focusing on four kids and their dog roaming the countryside in their Mystery Machine van, looking for mysteries to solve. These intrepid trust-funders (there was never a hint of any of them having a job) would stumble upon a mystery of some apparent supernatural event and search for clues. Chased by ghosts, witches, werewolves and other assorted creeps, our heroes would always manage to reveal the truth and catch the bad guys.

The bad guys, as I’m sure you are aware, never turned out to be anything near being supernatural. It was never an actual ghost or witch or werewolf. It was nearly always a person in a costume (there was the one episode where the creep was a robot run amok). It’s a wonder that the kids, especially Shaggy and Scooby, would continue to be scared of “g-g-g-ghosts!” After all the times the mystery turned out not to be supernatural, you’d think they would no longer believe in ghosts or the like.

Just the other day, when I got home from work, I joined my son in watching a Scooby Doo animated movie online via Netflix. (Oh, Netflix! How truly wonderful thou art!) The show was called ‘Scooby Doo and the Witch’s Ghost’. It was produced in 1999, 30 years after the world was introduced to Scoob and the gang.

Oh, boy! Was I disappointed!

First, it was 1999 and the world was beginning to be bombarded with the whole global warming, the earth is in danger message. So, of course, a kids’ cartoon had to deliver some save the earth message whether it pertained to the plot or not. In this case, it didn’t.

We were introduced to a grrl rock band named the Hex Girls. They called themselves “eco-Goths”, which seemed to mean that they were girls that liked to look like the undead and sing about how much they love the earth. And, as if to add some authenticity to the group, one member was Wiccan. I found it interesting that they treated Wicca as though it was an ethnicity, as in being Jewish, and not a religion, as in being Catholic. I may be wrong, but I don’t think Wicca can be considered an ethnicity.

But this was a minor annoyance.

What really bothered me was the fact that, at some point in the intervening 30 years, Hanna-Barbera thought it would be a good idea to drop the no supernatural policy as applied to Scooby Doo. And that’s what I was so disturbed by when watching ‘Scooby Doo and the Witch’s Ghost.’ There was an actual ghost. My skeptic’s heart was broken.

Sure the first two thirds of the show held to the guys in costumes and other trickery angle, but act three went supernatural. A character who turned out to be a double-crossing villain found a book of spells and released the witch’s ghost from whatever limbo in which she had been imprisoned. It wasn’t smoke bombs and mirrors or any other tricks, nope, it was magic. Black magic!

It was also very anime. Lots of energy blasts, lightning bolts, explosions, yelling and screaming in that anime fashion. Trees became animated, as did pumpkins. People were lifted into the air and held in some sort of energy field. Finally, it took the pure of heart Wiccan girl to read the spell that would rid the world of the evil ghost and her helper. Mystery solved.

When the show ended I felt that I had been insulted by Hanna-Barbera. I explained to my son how it was wrong for Scooby to have been promoting supernatural, after having shown that such mysteries always have a real world explanation. Scooby had taught kids that the supernatural, the paranormal and the unexplained are merely mysteries that can be solved.

I don’t have a problem with other shows and movies, for kids or adults, indulging in the supernatural fantasy. I am a fan of The X-Files, Jonny Quest, Harry Potter, Dracula, Frankenstein, haunted house movies, etc. Those shows never held that the supernatural was just unexplained natural phenomena (well, Scully tried). But when Scooby went supernatural, I felt so damned insulted.

Scooby Doo, how could you?!

the thing about EVP

In 1980 the film ‘The Changeling’ was released by MGM. It is a pretty effective ghost/haunted house/mystery movie starring the great George C. Scott. As the film openings we see Scott’s character, John Russell, suffer an incredible tragedy. The story then continues four months later as Russell gets back to living his life.

He moves to Seattle where he takes a job as a college music professor. Russell leases an old historical mansion which is waaay more house than one man needs, but makes for a more haunting setting than a little bungalow. Soon after taking residence, he begins to experience ghostly activity.

Of course, he’s skeptical at first, but before long he enlists the assistance of a psychic. The medium and her husband arrive and set out to see if they can identify who is haunting the house and what it is the ghost wants.

A séance is held.

The psychic goes into a trance and does what I think is called dissociative writing. She asks questions of the ghost as she runs a pencil over a pile of paper. Whenever she receives an answer, which only she can hear, she writes it down and her husband reads it to the others present at the séance.

Thrills and chills ensue.

The séance ended, everyone has gone, leaving John Russell alone in the big, old house. (Unless you count the ghost.) The séance was tape recorded, so he decides to listen to what happened. To his astonishment, he hears the voice of a child answering the medium’s questions! The answers all correspond with what the psychic wrote while in her trance, only no one else had heard the answers.

The voice is as clear as can be. The film leaves no doubt that somehow a reel-to-reel tape recorder can pick up voices from beyond the grave. It is a movie, so anything is possible. However, the real world is something altogether different.

Why this mini movie review? It gives me the opportunity to make a skeptical observation on Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). As I said the real world is different than the movies. The recorded ghost voice in ‘The Changeling’ is what real world paranormal enthusiasts would consider an example of Class A EVP.

From the admittedly small amount of research I’ve done, the vast majority of EVP examples I found are nowhere near as clear as in the movies. More often than not they are in the ear of the beholder. The examples I’ve found all tend to be described as though they were right out of ‘The Changeling’, but they don’t play that way.

(I must say that in my research I did find one EVP example that sounded clear. It sounded as though someone, in this world, spoke in a low voice into the recorder. I guess this is a bit of a catch 22 for the paranormal folks. Skeptics require clear evidence, but, the clearer the photograph or voice, the more likely it will be considered a hoax. I know that’s not fair, but we only have the presenter’s word that no one else was present to make that ghostly voice. And there is the fact that that particular EVP hasn’t made headlines and it remains tucked away on one of the thousands of paranormal websites.)

Last September, I appeared on Scotty Robert’s internet radio program, “Dead Reckoning”. Scotty is a dear friend of mine who can hardly be considered a skeptic. He reads tarot, hunts ghosts, speaks at paranormal events and hosts that internet radio show on politics and the paranormal and whatever else comes to his mind. He has me on periodically to add a skeptical perspective. We do our usual round and round on science, skepticism, and the paranormal.

During my September visit, my friend mentioned EVP he and his team of investigators had recorded. He talked about one in particular of the several he claimed to have captured of a singularly foul-mouthed “spirit”. The “spirit” told Scotty and his fellow investigator, “F--- you both!” when asked to turn on a flashlight. Of course, they didn’t hear the voice until they played back the tape.

During that show, Scotty described the vulgar EVP just the way I described that scene from ‘The Changeling’. Then, 10 minutes later, he played the clip. It was laughable. All one can hear for sure was some low gurgling sound. It was nothing like the profane statement Scotty claimed. My reaction was, “That was so convincing!” I was being sarcastic.

As a skeptic, I require much better evidence then some scratchy static or some low gurgling sounds to convince me of ghosts or angels or demons, etc. These real world EVPs are not like those from Hollywood. They are far too subjective and prone to suggestion to be considered convincing evidence of anything but wishful thinking.

Remember: Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.