dimland radio 10-12-19 show note

Pinstripe Fever. Yes, Again!

In last week's show notes I wrote that I smelled a sweep coming. I was certain the New York Yankees would beat my Minnesota Twins in three games and they did. I explored my reasoning for believing the good guys would be once again bounced out of the post season by the Evil Empire. Both my emotional and rational reasons.

Now, I'm no expert on baseball, but I did far better predicting the results of the ALDS than the local sports talk radio guys did. All of them had the Twins winning the series. Naively optimistic fools.

With the series over and the frustration still fresh, a clever internet person created a video that really sums up the post season woes the Twins have dealt with this century at the hands of the Hated Yankees. Click here to see it.

And I blogged about it here.

Inktober, It's Not Just About The Likes

Well, of course, it isn't since I'm barely getting any. I think I'm producing some nice drawings for the month-long event. I'm pleased with most of them anyway. A few more likes would be nice though.

The Inktober Facebook group posted a list of 31 prompts to get internet artists something to draw each day of the month of October. I decided to stick with a horror, scary theme (mostly) for my drawings and to further narrow the scope by making each drawing be a scene from a horror (mostly) movie.

I mentioned a few of them, so I'd better post them:

Day 1: Ring

 

Day 3: Bait

 

Day 5: Build

 

Day 6: Husky

 

Day 10: Pattern

 

Not bad for fairly quick drawings done in ballpoint pen.

A Dimland Radio Pedant Moment: How Many Arms?

 

Not so much a moment of pedantry, more a spotting of a continuity error. In the 1995 movie Se7en, a bleak film about the hunting of a serial killer using the Seven Deadly Sins of The Bible to inspire the murders, I spotted an error of continuity. It was while I was working on a drawing for the Inktober prompt of Frail.

I grabbed a screen capture from the scene and I lightened it so I could see what was going on in there. That's when I spotted he victim had a third arm. Whoops! The arm along his left side should have been covered by the shirt he was wearing (see image below). It slipped out of place and no one caught it.

 

I have watched the movie a dozen times and I hadn't noticed it. I fixed it in my drawing. 

 

 

A Yucky Thing

Sometimes the janitor job offers up some yucky thing that need to be dealt with. I've cleaned poop off of carpet and off of walls, I've cleaned boogers off of toilet stall partitions, and just this past Friday I' had to clean some errant-landing urine.

The men's room had a heavy smell of urine and I discovered why. There was pee on top of the urinal and a big puddle on the floor under it. Yuck. But I did my job and cleaned it up. The smell was eliminated.

Hopefully, it was just an accident.

Cool Thing: In Research Of

A new podcast is being produced by Blake Smith of the podcast MonsterTalk and Dr. Jeb Card, an archaeologist and professor in the anthropology department of Miami University. It's called In Research Of and it will be an episode by episode reexamination of the mysteries explored by the paranormal granddaddy show In Search Of.

I love/hate In Search of. I love it because it was done so well, I hate it because it mystery mongers rather than try to get to the actual answers to the mysteries they look into. I love it because of its host Leonard Nimoy, I hate because it set the template of the thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands (OK, I'm exaggerating) of mystery-monger TV shows that followed and still pollute the airways today.

The first episode of In Research Of has dropped and I think it's a promising start.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Night Time' by Killing Joke & 'Abacab' by Genesis

Second ad break bumpers: 'Gardening By Night' by REM & 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic' by The Police

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 9-24-16 show notes

Correction. Yes, Again!

I had to correct some bad info I had received and that I imparted on the previous show. Despite what I stated about Jim Jones, the wacky cult leader, he did NOT drink the Kool-Aid. He did not poison himself as the more than 900 of his followers did in November 1978. He shot himself.

 

This information was confirmed by a listener to my show. I also checked the internets and the episode of In Search Of that profiled Jimmie Jones and his Soul - Soul Clones (see the bumpers at the bottom to get this reference).

A Handful Of Skittles? Why, Thank You

Donald Trump Jr made a not original analogy about Syrian refugees comparing them to a bowlful of Skittles: Virtually all the Skittles are fine, but three are poisonous. He asked if, knowing that, would we still want a handful?

 

That brought out a negative reaction from folks who don't care for Trump Sr. Reducing human beings to Skittles seems a little harsh and selfish to me. Some argued that the analogy merely means the US needs to strengthen its vetting process of Syrian refugees in order to weed out those that may wish to do us harm. Others, including me, think that some people would use that analogy to justify their bigotry toward which ever group they don't like or trust.

 

 

 

I did point out that this same analogy was used by a faction of the Feminist movement in 2014 to refute the Not All Men folks, who were concerned about all men being treated as potential rapists. I don't remember the folks who were upset about the poison Skittles today, being upset about the poison M&Ms then. I mentioned an article on the left-leaning website Raw Story. This article was taking exception to Trump Jr's Skittle analogy and traced the analogy all the way back to the Nazis. I wonder if Raw Story ran a similar refutation in 2014 when the poison M&Ms analogy was being used.

 

However, in 2014 Debunking Denialism did write an article voicing the problems with the M&Ms/Skittles analogy

 

There were two very good responses to the Skittles/Syrian refugee analogy. One was by cartoonist Jeff Stahler:

 

The other was a written response by magician Eli Bosnick:
"If I gave you a bowl of skittles and three of them were poison would you still eat them?"

"Are the other skittles human lives?"

"What?"

"Like. Is there a good chance. A really good chance. I would be saving someone from a war zone and probably their life if I ate a skittle?"

"Well sure. But the point-"

"I would eat the skittles."

"Ok-well the point is-"

"I would GORGE myself on skittles. I would eat every single fucking skittle I could find. I would STUFF myself with skittles. And when I found the poison skittle and died I would make sure to leave behind a legacy of children and of friends who also ate skittle after skittle until there were no skittles to be eaten. And each person who found the poison skittle we would weep for. We would weep for their loss, for their sacrifice, and for the fact that they did not let themselves succumb to fear but made the world a better place by eating skittles.
Because your REAL question...the one you hid behind a shitty little inaccurate, insensitive, dehumanizing racist little candy metaphor is, IS MY LIFE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS OF MEN, WOMEN, AND TERRIFIED CHILDREN...
... and what kind of monster would think the answer to that question... is yes?"

Fantastic!

It's Not True: Jennifer Aniston's Profanity Laden Appearance On The Today Show

A story made the rounds on the social media, shortly after the news of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt divorcing, claiming that Jennifer Aniston, who had been involved with Pitt before Jolie came a callin', gave a swear word filled diatribe over America's priorities. She was so upset that people were more concerned about "Brangelina" than about the injustices of our country today.

Well, it's not true. She was not even a recent guest on the Today Show. How could anyone believe she would use such language live on national television?

Said News About Terry Jones

 

Terry Jones, member of the brilliant Monty Python comedy troupe, disclosed that he is suffering from primary progressive aphasia, a form of dementia. This condition slowly robs a person of their ability to communicate. It's very sad.

 

My father-in-law also suffers from the same condition. It's very frustrating for both the person who has it and the people trying to communicate with them.

 

Dad has trouble with my name, but he is able to called me "big guy". And that works for me.

 

My Old Conspiracy Theory

 

Lastly, a quick talk about my first paycheck job and how I got fired. I used to think I was fired because I was about to turn 18 and they would have to pay me minimum wage ($3.35 in those days). I was training as a cook and the bosses didn't think I was getting it. Well, why didn't they send me back down to being a dishwasher, which I started out as and did well? Because they surely didn't want to pay a dishwasher $3.35 an hour! 

 

Well, that's what I thought for a long time. Maybe I just wasn't getting it. Sure, some circumstances may have gone against me, but I could have just been taking too long to catch on and they needed me as a cook, not as a dishwasher.

 

I dunno.

 

Movie Recommendation: None

I ran out of time. You're on your own this week.

 

Music heard on the show...
 

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Jimmie Jones' by The Vapors & 'Only In America' by Naked Raygun

Second ad break bumpers: 'Next Position Please' by Cheap Trick & 'Eighties' by Killing Joke

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 3-14-15 show notes

5 Years!

I have been doing this show for five year! It's hard to believe I've managed to think of something most every week. I say most, because there were a couple few week's a didn't do a show, but let's not get bogged down in details. 

I've done 224 shows in those five years. That doesn't include the 30 plus music only shows I did back when Z Talk Radio had the license to play music by signed artists. Boy, those music shows were fun, but without license. I don't need to go into the details, do I?

In five years I have interviewed a handful of people. Not many, but I did get to talk to George Hrab and Ben Radford.

Will the show last another five years? Will I ever have another guest? Will I ever have more than two listeners? Will I ever get it on iTunes?

Stayed tuned.  

Scooby Doo & In Search Of...

I reminded my two listeners that the first skeptical topic I address on that first show was the cartoon 'Scooby Doo, Where Are You?' It was the introduction to skepticism for a lot of kids in the late 60s and 70s. The g-g-ghost never turned out to be an actual ghost. It was always some person pulling a scheme of one sort or another.

I also mentioned In Search Of.. That was the credulous show which "investigated" the unknown and unexplained. It was the forerunner and template setter of all those mystery-mongering shows that are so plentiful on cable.

In the day, I lapped up the nonsense that host Leonard Nimoy delivered with such a straight face and no hint of irony. What a great actor he was.

When I watch In Search Of... now I'm far less impressed by the bullshit, but I still like the show so much. Oh, well. Chalk it up to the duality of man.

Vaccination In The Courts

Two stories in the news about vaccines in the courts. In Germany, a biologist, Stefan Lanka, had issued a challenge with an award of 100,000 euro to anyone who could demonstrate that measles is caused by a virus and is not psychosomatic as he believes it to be. A Germany doctor provided the evidence and claimed the prize. Lanka refused to pay. The case went to court and the court found that Lanka needed to pay up.

In America, the US Court of Federal Claims, after studying three test cases of claims that vaccination was causing autism, has found that the evidence does not support a causal connection. This is good news as science has long maintained that autism is not caused by vaccines or the mercury that has not been in most vaccines for years.

Kinda Busy

I related that I've been a bit busy lately. I'm writing blogs for Stuck In The 80s, I'm going to start blogging for the Nostalgia Zone, I have a forward to write for a friend's graphic novel, and there's a special podcast that has just been released (after I did this show) that I'll talk more about next week. Plus I have a couple art projects that I need to get done.

But you can listen to that episode of Assault of the 2-Headed Space Mules right now! And you can read my latest Never Found piece by going here.

Playlists On YouTube

I have been trying out the playlist option on my channel at YouTube. So far I've put to playlists together. One is of Pete Townshend songs that might not be as well know and the other is a list of songs that were played at First Avenue on their Club Degenerate nights.

I talked a bit about my days hanging out at First Avenue of those Club Degenerate nights. There were unusual people who would hang on there as well as the occasional appearances of the Fuckin' Shit Biscuits that could be quite fun. Noisy and messy, but fun.

A Tale Of Art School

I used to do some fairly violent or weird doodles on the tabletops of the art school I attended years ago. One day I ran afoul of the art history teacher who took issue of one of my doodles depicting a woman bending over backward. The teacher looked past the violent imagery I had drawn, because those involved men. And she didn't object to the phallic images that might have shown up doodled by other students. I wasn't the only doodler.

But that bent over woman, apparently bent her out of shape. She gave me a talking to after class in the common room as students passed by. I don't remember my initial reaction, but I did do a write up voicing my concern of the double standard.

By that I mean, my design class had just gone to see a German Expressionist exhibit at one of the local museums. Fellow students and the instructor directed my attention to one particular artist whose work my doodles resembled. The artist was Otto Dix. So, I made the point in my written protest that Dix hangs in a museum while I get shit.

Movie Recommendation: None

You are on your own this week. Sorry.

 

Music heard on the show...

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

First ad break bumpers: 'One Day in Your Life' by 54-40 & 'One Step Ahead' by Split Enz
Second ad break bumpers: 'One Day' By The Church & 'One At A Time' by The Who

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 12-20-14 show notes

My Skeptical Core Rocked?

I reminded my listeners of the story I told of Michael Shermer's skeptical core rocking back on my November 22nd show. Recently, I had one as well. It involved the 70s mother of all paranormal TV shows: 'In Search Of...'

 

But first...

Women's Underwear Part One

While watching an episode of 'In Search Of...' on haunted castles that featured a re-enactment of a ghost encounter in 1880 or 1890. There were two sisters driven crazy by the experience. One was preparing for bed dressed in a nightgown that was modest as one might expect in Victorian England. However, if your eye is as used to checking out certain areas of women's bodies as mine is (I know - patriarchy), you would notice she was wearing rather modern (modern for the 1970s) panties. 

 

Anyway, My Skeptical Core Rocking 

 

So, Amy and I were watching our DVD collection of 'In Search Of...' and the episode on the Oak Island Money Pit Mystery. I remembered the episode, but my wife hadn't seen it before, so the Money Pit was new to her. After that episode, I played for her the Skeptoid Brain Dunning had done examining the mystery. There is a far more likely explanation - a natural explanation.

 

The Braveheart Battle Speech Cliche 

 

It seems that since Mel Gibson made 'Braveheart' that the pre-battle speech used in his film has become cliche. At least, that's how it seems to me. I suggested that Hollywood just cut some production costs and drop in that scene from 'Braveheart' into any movie with that cliche.

 

But, I also mentioned two pre-battle speeches in two great films that, for me, surpass that stirring 'Braveheart' original speech. They are: 1) Patton's address to his troops at the beginning of 1970's brilliant biopic 'Patton'. A speech performed perfectly by George C Scott in his best known role, and 2) from 'Saving Private Ryan' it's the talk Tom Hanks as Capt. Miller gives his men as they approach Omaha Beach in the invasion of Normandy. He and his Sargent simply remind the men of their training with Hanks ended his understated talk with, "I'll see you on the beach."

Women's Underwear Part Two

As part of a rant about how pointless I think the Grammys are. I mean XTC has never been nominated. And they are awesome. The Grammys just award those artists who are popular and have sold a lot of records, but the best of them, right?

 

That's what I thought. Or I tried to think. But I just learned Charli XCX has been nominated for two Grammys. Perhaps she's great. I'd never heard of her until she appeared as a musical guest on David Letterman's show.

 

Well, I don't know about her singing talents.

 

I did, however, notice how she was dressed. She was wearing underwear and looked pretty good. I also noticed that her panties were loose fitting and revealed, not everything, but quite a lot. Ahem.

 

Last Minute Thoughts  

 

After the show, I had ended I realized I still had a minute or two left, so I postulated that this whole Sony email hack, not releasing 'The Interview', 'Team America' being pulling from being a suitable replacement, etc. are all part of an elaborate conspiracy to keep what looks like an awful movie from being released.

 

Hang on. Conspiracy? What show is this?

Movie Recommendation: None This Week

I didn't think of a movie for this week, but watching 'Patton', which I've recommended before, would be a good choice.

 

Music heard on the show...

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

First ad break bumpers: 'Limelight' by Rush & 'Earn Enough For Us' by XTC
Second ad break bumpers: 'Senses Working Overtime' & 'Ballet For A Rainy Day' 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

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.