dimland radio 5-13-17 show notes

Technical Problem Forced Hiatus

The laptop needed a new hard drive, so I was unable to record the show. That put me on hiatus for a couple weeks. Fortunately, we still had some money from our tax refund and my wife has the know-how, so the laptop wasn't down for too long.

 

Dimland Radio ARGH!

 

You'd think the argh would be about the tech problems, but it's not.

 

This argh has to do with a couple of the podcasts that I listen to and extraneous noises. Noises that could be avoided with minimal effort. I realize that there are noises that occur on my show such as cars or motorcycles rumbling by or the occasional fireworks explosion, etc. But I do my best to prevent the noises I can prevent: shuffling paper, tapping, shifting the chair.

 

So, it really annoys me when I listen to a podcast, which is edited, mine is not, and there are noises that could be avoided. The one in particular that  gets under my skin is the sound of ice clinking in a glass. The sound made when a host is drinking an iced beverage.

 

There are two podcasts guilty of this. Both have two hosts and both, as I said, are edited. The editor must surely hear all that clinking being done by one host as the other is speaking, right?

 

Advice to podcasters: Do not drink iced beverages in glasses while recording your show. Your listeners can hear the clinking.

 

ARGH!

Dimland Radio Science Heroes: Steve Spears, Brad Williams, & Gayle From DC

 

Steve and Brad host the very popular podcast Stuck in the 80s. On a recent show, the topic of anti-vaxxers came up. The two hosts and their guest co-host, Gayle from DC, all voiced their disappointment with such anti-science sentiments. Brad's family was needlessly touched by the low herd immunity in large part caused by the anti-vax message: Vaccines cause autism. They do not!

 

Brad was willing to talk privately with listeners of the podcast who had their misgivings about vaccines. Steve was less accommodating.

 

The three of them are correct in their support of vaccination, quite probably the single greatest development in medical science.

 

Speaking Of Anti-Vax

 

Minneapolis currently finds itself the center of a measles outbreak. As of the recording of this show, there are more than confirmed 50 cases. This outbreak is mainly affecting the local Somali-American community, its children in particular, and has been reportedly linked to anti-vax sentiments.

Where anti-vaxxers go, vaccine preventable diseases follow.

Stephen Fry A Blasphemer?

 

Stephen Fry was almost a victim of some kind of new Inquisition. In 2009, the Irish government passed an anti-blasphemy law. It's intent was to protect minority religions in a predominantly Catholic country. But, I always bristle at the idea of limiting free speech.

 

In 2015, Fry was a guest on an Irish television show hosted by Gay Byrne. Byrne, an apparent believer in God and an afterlife, asked Fry, an outspoken atheist, what he would say to God, should it turn out Fry was wrong, when he arrived at the Pearly Gates.

 

"Bone cancer in children?" was part Fry's critical response. He went on to call God, if there is one, "capricious," "mean-spirited," and "stupid." This was greeted with a bit of eye-rolling on the part of the show's host.

 

It was also greeted with a formal complaint lodged by a viewer under the blasphemy law. What century is this?

 

Irish authorities began an investigation. The punishment is for those found guilty is a hefty fine. I suppose that is an improvement over burning at the stake.

The investigation was short-lived. The authorities cited the one complaint wasn't enough to warrant looking any further into the matter. So, Fry is off the hook.

 

Although the fellow who lodged the complaint loses points for doing so. He does get a few back for his reasonable response, "I did my civic duty in reporting it. The guards did their duty in investigating it. I am satisfied with the result."

The Mandela Effect And The JFK Assassination

 

In psychology it's called confabulation, people are so certain their misremembering of something that evidence to the contrary seems absolutely wrong. "They were called Berenstein Bears when I was a kid!" Actually, they were always the Berenstain Bears. Folks are just remembering it wrong.

 

Nelson Mandela did not die in prison, yet many people remember it that way. This, too, is confabulation, but it has led to the popular naming of the phenomenon as the Mandela Effect.

 

I, myself, have fallen victim to the Mandela Effect. In fact, it affected me during the show while I was trying to demonstrate that the last three words of Queen's 'We Are The Champions' are not "of the world." I had thought it was and it was so ingrained in my thinking that it came out wrong in my demonstration. I wish I could say I planned it, but I didn't. I'm glad I caught it right away, though.

 

The proper reaction to learning you have fallen victim to the Mandela Effect is, "Oh, that's what it is? I always though it was something else. I guess I was wrong." And then incorporate the correct information into your memory banks.

 

The incorrect reaction is, "Oh, wow! We must be connecting with a parallel universe in which the way we remember that thing happened that way." Or, "They are trying to change history!"

 

Paranormal believers and conspiracy theorists appear to react in those two ways, respectively.

 

For instance, memories of the JFK assassination seem to have some confabulating going on. People are discovering the car the President was shot in had three rows of seats and six people in it, not the two rows and four people as they remember it.

 

Three rows, six people. If you thought there were less rows and people, you were wrong.

This wrong memory seems to be due to reenactments, made over the years since the event, of the assassination using the wrong style of convertible. I can only guess as to why the wrong style was used. It may have been out of convenience or the exact car wasn't available. I don't think it's an effort to change our history.

 

It was always three rows and six people. We are just remembering it wrong.

 

This led me to finding out there is someone else on whom to place the blame for President Kennedy's murder. Of course, we should all know it was Lee Harvey Oswald acting alone who was responsible for the horrendous act; but, conspiracy theorists don't want to accept that explanation.

Nope. Oswald was a patsy, at most. The real person responsible, according to at least one conspiracy theorist, was Jackie Kennedy. That's right. She took the kill shot. It's so obvious when you slow the Zapruder film down and enlarge it. Jackie was mad at her husband for sleeping around and she decided to kill him in the most public way she could. But she didn't want to get caught, so she hid the handgun. Which you can see in the film...

 

Oh, I have got to be kidding!

 

Well, I'm not. That idea is out there. Way out there.

 

I won't to link to the conspiracy-mongering videos, but you can go to YouTube and search "Mandela Effect JFK assassination" and you should be able to find a couple videos discussing the ludicrous ideas. Be warned! The video about Jackie being the assassin spends four minutes repeatedly showing the President's head exploding.

 

Movie Recommendation: None

 

Too much other stuff to talk about, I didn't have 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: 'No Language In Our Lungs' by XTC & 'I Want You Back' by Hoodoo Gurus

Second ad break bumpers: 'Analog Kid' by Rush & 'Mammoth Gardens' by Game Theory

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 11-23-13 show notes

Tour Of Jury Duty

So, I had jury duty this past week.  That's part of the reason I did the show live instead of prerecording it on Friday night.  I was just too tuckered out.

I didn't get picked for a jury but I sure spent a lot of time waiting around.  I also talked about being subjected to the "so help you god" phrase when I was sworn in as a potential juror.  Oh, well.  In my mind I swore to Batman.

She Didn't Predict That

Sylvia Browne died this past week.  You know her, she's the heavy smoker who claimed to be psychic and she's made millions preying on the public's gullibility.  She predicted to Larry King she would live to 88, she was wrong (again) and died 11 years short.

 

I take no joy in her death, but at least she won't continue to, in my opinion, bilk grieving and desperate people of their money.

 

He Just Needs A Few More Decades And A Lot More Money

Doctor (I use that term cautiously) Stanislaw Burzynski has been conducting research for his antineoplaston cancer treatment for decades.  It doesn't work.  But that hasn't stopped the good doctor.  It also hasn't stopped him from charging his patients thousands of dollars to take part in his research.

This has been a widely criticized practice by other doctors and scientists doing real research for treatments and cures for cancer.  Well, USA Today and reporter Liz Szabo have done a good job of bringing this money-taker to the attention of the American public.  So, for this excellent reporting, even with some positive testimonials from some of Burzynski's surviving patients, I have made USA Today and Liz Szabo Dimland Radio Science Heroes.

 

Something Big Happened 50 Years Ago...

I'm sure you have heard that this weekend was the 50th anniversary of the debut of the British sci-fi series Doctor Who.  It was also the anniversary of Lee Harvey Oswald's (on his own) assassination of Pres. John F Kennedy.

All the science brought to bear on this event points to one person killing the president.  It was Lee Harvey Oswald.  I mentioned one conspiracy theorist friend of my who just can't accept that.  He believes that the event was too big to be done by a lone nut.  Well, as unsatisfying as that is, it is the truth.

 

I'm not the only one who thinks this way.  There are others who have done extensive research and study and they have concluded LHO did it.  Vince Bugliosi, the California DA who prosecuted Charles Manson, wrote 'Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F Kennedy', in which he lays out the case against LHO.  George Mason University has an interview of Mr. Bugliosi on the assassination.

Gerald Posner wrote the book 'Cased Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK' which was released in 1993.  The book has recently been converted to an e-book to commemorate the 50th anniversary with a new forward, but NOTHING in the book needed to be revised or updated.  The science was that solid.  Posner also lays out the case against LHO.  LA Times writer Hector Tobar was a long time JFK conspiracy theorist until he read Posner's book (see his article here).

Also, I mentioned Dale Myers (I think I may have called him Gary) who had created a virtual 3D animation of the assassination.  Dealy Plaza was recreated digitally as were Pres. Kennedy and Gov. Connally.  Using the Zapruder film as a guide, it is clear that one bullet (called the Magic Bullet by conspiracy theorists) struck both men and that that bullet came from the sniper's nest in the Texas School Book Depository building.  Here is a clip displaying that evidence.

Oswald did it.  Alone.  Let's move on.

 

Movie Recommendation: Twelve Angry Men (1957)

United Artists

 

As preparation for my jury duty, I watched this excellent film.  I also managed to throw in a couple Pedantic Moments, but don't let that keep you from watching this Sidney Lumet film starring Henry Fonda.

Music heard on the show...

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

First ad break bumpers: 'Mammoth Gardens' by Game Theory & 'I'll Be You' by HThe Replacements
Second ad break bumpers: 'Party At Ground Zero' by Fishbone & 'Take It Away' by Paul McCartney
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 12-8-12 show notes

The Storm Of The Day!

I started the show talking about the weather.  I knew we were going to get some snow, but I was told earlier in the day that the amount of snow would be more than originally predicted.  Batten down the hatches, everyone!
 

Dimland Radio's War On Christmas

Why should Fox News have all the fun?  I jumped into the "War on Christmas" by ranting about the guilt imposed on me by the bell ringers of the Salvation Army at the entrances of the stores I frequent.  And I went on about a car ad campaign featuring a very Santa-like salesman.  The jokes of the ads center around the salesman possibly being the gift-giver himself.  One ad in particular is very funny.  Or it was last year, but this year it was changed a little and the humor was diminished by that change.

 

I also mentioned Penn Jillette's take on the fictitious war.  You can listening to Penn's take here.  And, although I didn't mention it on the show, Jon Stewart has a very spot on take on this whole mountain-out-of-a-molehill business. 

 

JFK, GHWB, and BE

Or maybe it's just some other guy?

There's a conspiracy theory out there that says that President George Herbert Walker Bush had something to do with President John Fitzgerald Kennedy's death.  There's a picture from the day, shortly after the assassination, showing, among others, a man in a grey suit standing by the Texas School Book Depository building.  He does look kind of, sort of, possibly similar to a man that might maybe be GHWB.  But there's another person it might be... Beatle's manager, Brian Epstein!

The image just isn't clear enough to be certain who it is, but I think it's BE!  What was he doing November 22, 1963?  DOES ANYONE REALLY KNOW?

Wanna Feel Old?

'War Games' will turn 30 years-old in 2013.  The classic film is about a couple of teenage kids unwittingly hacking into NORAD's missile launch control computer.  This sets of a series of events that brings the world perilously close to nuclear war.  In those days there was a palpable fear that President Ronald Reagan was going to get us into a nuclear war with the Soviet Union.  It didn't happen.  (Spoiler!)

A couple things about the movie stood out.  One was the amount of advancement our technology has made in those 30 years.  The other was how upset my wife got when the two teenagers remarked about how old some fellow was when he allegedly died.  He was 41 years-old.

A couple weeks ago my wife had turned 41 herself.  Poor Honey Bunny,  you're not old.

Movie Recommendation: Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

 

 

  Twentieth Century Fox

A sweet, quirky, wry, and vulgar family movie by director Wes Anderson.  Anderson's movies are all a bit odd and that's what I like about them.  'Fantastic Mr. Fox' is also odd and I like that.  It's not really vulgar,  The characters, voiced by George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Michael Gambon, and others, use a lot of profanities, but instead of saying the actual word or bleeping it, the characters say, "Cuss".  As in, "What the cuss?" or "You cussed that up."  (I'm not sure those are actual quotes, but that's the general idea.)

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: 'Nobody Told Me' & 'Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)' by John Lennon
Second ad break bumpers: 'Woman' & '(Just Like) Starting Over' by John Lennon
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.