dimland radio 7-7-18 show notes

Driving A Deathtrap

 

This is the passenger side.

 

 

 

This is the driver's side.

 

The pictures show just how rusted out a couple pretty important parts of our van's suspension system are. I took in it for an oil change and brought it home to junk it.

Yikes!

Iffy Sponsors Of Podcasts

If you listen to podcasts as often (or more) than I do, you are undoubtedly familiar with the products and services that are advertised. They are pretty common across most podcasts. I first talked about a couple older ones: Work From Home, which was actually Herbalife, a multi-level marketing scam, and Lumosity, a brain training game scam.

Now there are two more iffy sponsors: Care Of, a subscription vitamin service that tailors its vitamin packs just for you. All you have to do is fill out an online survey about your diet, health, and lifestyle. Um, wouldn't a visit to an actual doctor be the most important part of determining if you require a vitamin supplement? (Hint: The answer is YES!!!)

The other is Lunyas Restore Sleepwear. This sponsor claims that their Restore Sleepwear has some mineral mixture that re-energizes your body as you sleep. (Sleep also re-energizes your body when you sleep.) They even claim the this sleepwear increases your oxygen level. Huh? How?

Sniff. Sniff. Sniff.

Do you smell that? It smells like bullshit.

Dimland Radio will never accept a paid sponsor that peddles nonsense. (Of course, with my download numbers, my show having a paid sponsor is highly unlikely.)

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Is...

...my favorite of all the Star Wars movies! I liked it from the first time I saw it and I didn't understand why so many "fans" hated it so much. Recently I've gained an even deeper appreciation for just how layered and significant this film is for the franchise. The outrage fans be damned!

I gained this deeper understanding by watching Maj0r Lee's thoughtful, if a little overlong, video reviewing the film and disputing the outraged reactions. It's 48 minutes long (Maj0r Lee could have trimmed some of the outraged "fan" clips), but it just might get you to appreciate the way it got me to.

Watch it here. Warning! There are spoilers (duh!) and plenty of F-bombs.

And since Star Wars: The Last Jedi is streaming on Netflix (not for free), I'll make it my movie recommendation.

Three Cool Things

 

Chomp!

3) The classic 1975 horror/action/adventure/thriller Jaws has become a tradition of mine to watch it on the 4th of July. The images (above) show how the Alex Kinter attack scene was originally intended to show the shark, but the mechanical shark didn't work very well and the scene would have been a reveal too early in the film. I also mentioned a YouTube video that shows the storyboards for the title sequence and attack on Christie scene (it also has the storyboards for the Alex Kinter attack). So cool!

A Dimland Radio Pedantic Moment: This Little Needle Through The Shark's Skin Scene

Since, I was already talking about Jaws, I figured I might as well discuss a moment of pedantry I have with the scene that has Quint doubting the little needle of a syringe loaded with poison would penetrate the shark's thick skin. Hooper said it wouldn't, so he would have to get it in its mouth or eye. Here's the scene, you should be able to spot my pedantry.

 

"Cor! Blimey! Blink and you'll miss me!"

2) I returned to the Three Cool Things segment with something I had just learned about my beloved HBO series Band Of Brothers. I have watched this series at least once a year for many years and I never knew Tom Hanks, who was an executive producer and directed one episode, made two cameos in the series. One was as a British soldier (see above) in episode five Crossroads, which Hanks directed. And, in episode nine Why We Fight as a French officer who summarily executes three German soldiers (see below).

 

Yep. That's Hanks.

1) Brian Dunning, of the Skeptoid podcast, also has a YouTube video series called InFact. His most recent is about how the collapse of Building 7 on 9/11 really doesn't look and sound like a controlled demolition.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'He Stopped Loving Her Today' by George Jones & 'A Pagan Place' by The Waterboys

Second ad break bumpers: 'Telegram Sam' by Bauhaus & 'Blue Bell Knoll' by Cocteau Twins

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 8-17-13 show notes

Just Trying To Put Someone To Work

My day job has me working as an office manager of a small (and getting smaller, in fact it seems to be disappearing) janitorial company.  The latest challenge has been placing a cleaner in a property that has heavy security.  There are so many hurdles to jump over and I've been doing that with an employee who has been working for us for over two years.  I finally got him through the obstacle course and he started in the building last Thursday and on Friday he tells me he doesn't want it.

WHAT?!

Well, I cajoled him into giving it more than one night and he's going to do that.  He better keep it.

A Few Corrections

1) The name of that Suzanne Vega song is 'Small Blue Thing', not 'Small Blue Dot'.

2) Angela Lansbury was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The Manchurian Candidate, she did not win.

3) The Discovery Channel did not air the fake documentary about mermaids.  That was Animal Planet that was responsible for that misleading program.

Never Found In The 80s: The Suburbs 

Having been absent on the Stuck in the 80s blog for a couple weeks, my blog series about musical artists that never made it with the general America listening public in the 1980s returned.  The latest finds me profiling another Minneapolis band.  The band is The Suburbs.  Kinda funk, kinda punk and always very danceable and fun, The Suburbs was big in the Twin Cities.

Click here to find out more.

Hollywood Is Considering Ruining Another Classic

I've seen it reported that the call has gone out for a crew to build sets for the reboot of the 1975 summer blockbuster classic: Jaws.  Why?!  Didn't parts 2, 3, and 4 do enough damage?

Lullaby Movies

It's a category of movie that I've come up with: good, interesting, entertaining movies that are paced in such a way or the music has a certain tone or for some other reason I can't point my finger on, can't help but put you to sleep.  Blade Runner (1982) is just such a movie.  As is Dark City (1998).  Both have interesting stories and are visually intriguing, but they tend to make me sleepy.

Actors Ain't So Stupid

Cracked.com is a fun site that has lots of funny and thought-provoking observations of popular culture.  One such list was on actors improving their characters or lines by not going by what the writers called for.  One example was from Blade Runner in which Rutger Hauer greatly improved his final speech.
 

Go here to see the entire list.

More On The Unpleasantness

I talked a bit more about the unpleasantness taking place in the skeptic/atheist community and how PZ Myers has opened himself up to a lawsuit.  He is, in fact, being instructed by the lawyer of the prominent skeptic/atheist to remove the accusatory blog piece and issue an apology.  I guess we'll see what happens.

I also mentioned Brian Keith Dalton's take on this rumor-mongering.  Dalton plays the character Mr. Deity (God) on the popular YouTube video series.  The latest video in which Joseph Smith, inventor of the Mormon faith, is lampooned is followed by a couple minute address by Mr. Dalton to his audience about rumors and accusations from anonymous sources.  It's very clever, without directly speaking about the current events.

Check it out here.

Movie Recommendation: Blade Runner (1982)

Warner Bros.

 

There are several versions of this classic (I admit having a soft spot for the original with the Harrison Ford voice-over and the happy ending), but The Final Cut is probably most readily available.  It's a really good example of thoughtful sci-fi.  Be sure to drink a lot of coffee, drop some speed, or snort some meth, so that you stay awake for this excellent lullaby movie.

(Dimland Radio does not endorse illegal drug use.  That was just a joke.).

Music heard on the show...

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

First ad break bumpers: 'Love Like Blood' by Killing Joke & 'Love Is The Law' by The Suburbs
Second ad break bumpers: 'Love Vigilantes' by New Order & 'Love On A Farmboy's Wages' 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.