dimland radio 7-28-18 show notes

Why No New Show?

A brief explanation as to why there wasn't a new show last week. I was sick. I did put a bonus episode into the iTunes feed that was an interview with skeptic Ben Radford, originally played on 6-11-11. 

A Couple Follow-Ups

In the show notes for the 7-14-18 show, I made the clarifications for the information I didn't have in my show prep. On this show, I make them again: Pittsburgh Pirates and Keith Jackson. Listen and it will make sense.

And that fellow I saw do a dance on the freeway during a traffic stand still may have been inspired by this Shiggy/Drake Challenge thing.

Attitudes Changes Over The Decades

Pres. Trump has a way about him. It's not a good way. The reaction to his summit with Putin was predictable on the part of his detractors, but a little surprising (and encouraging) on the part of his fellow members of the Republican party.

I also noted the change in attitude toward the Russians and intelligence gatherers over the decades.

Pres. George W Bush was vilified by some, in part, because he believed his intelligence people. Trump is vilified by some of those same types of people for not believing his. Pres. Reagan had everyone worried because he wasn't friendly enough with the Soviets and Gorbachev, while Trump has everyone disgusted for being too friendly with the Russians and Putin. 

The Mandela Effect And We Are The Champions

An example of the Mandela Effect (lots of people remembering a historical event or something similar incorrectly) is Queen's song We Are The Champions. The studio version does not end with the words "of the world." But, plenty of people think that's how the song ends.

However, are they really remembering it incorrectly? I found something that suggests there is a good reason people think the song ends with the words.

The trailer to the upcoming biopic on Queen and Freddie Mercury gives a clue. 

Dimland Radio Science Hero: Penn & Teller

 

I know I've talked about Penn & Teller's brilliant intro for their Penn & Teller: Bullshit show on the anti-vax movement. I can't remember if I official declared them science heroes for that bit, so I rectified that on this show. Their skeptical series may have gotta a thing or two wrong, for the most part they did a fine job. And the anti-vax opener is fantastic. Worthy of science hero status on its own. 

Dimland Radio Science Zero: Penn Jillette

And then I taketh away.

Ever since Penn went public about how he lost over a hundred pounds, I've been uncomfortable with his blind spot on the skepticism surrounding the claims of vegan diets and water fasts. Well, as Penn & Teller once said, "Everybody got a gris gris." A belief unsupported by or contradicted by scientific evidence that they just can't let go.

This blind spot seems to be Penn's gris gris.

Yes, he's lost a lot of weight and he's been keeping it off, but he's been promoting people who have been discredited by medical science. Orac of Respectful Insolence (an actual doctor) reviewed Penn's interview of water fast diet guru Dr. Michael Klaper. Orac disputes, with science, the claims made by Klaper and he voiced his disappointment at Penn, a skeptic, giving an unfettered platform to such an astounding claim maker.

Well, everybody got a gris gris.

Some Talk About The Maltese Falcon 

It's a given that I recommendation everyone who loves movies to watch the 1941 version of The Maltese Falcon. It's a fantastic film.

I talked about the subtle and not-so-subtle hints that a character or two in the film were gay. I wrote about that in my weekly blog at Warehouse Find.

I also compared the 1941 film to the very inferior 1931 version. That one has some eyebrow raising moments related to the nature of Pre-Code Hollywood, but that's about all that is interesting about that film.

Well, there was one other interesting thing... 

Dimland Radio Pedantic Moment: Sam Spade's Calendar

In the 1931 version of The Maltese Falcon in the opening scene we see a wall calendar in the background showing the date to be the fifth, but as the scene continues we are told that the first of the month is only two weeks away.

What's the date on that calendar?

So, either someone wasn't paying attention to that calendar or Spade has a really poor grasp of time. 

Three Cool Things

1) It was a good week on social media for me. My post about The Maltese Falcon and the hints at homosexuality sparked a lively conversation.

2) My latest piece of art for the comic store Nostalgia Zone turned out really well. It's not as good as the Basil Gogos illustration I was paying homage to, but I'm very pleased with it.

3) My wonderful wife found a bin filled with art, including a page of original comic book art. It's the only one I own. I feared it lost, but she found it.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'A Man Of Such Great Promise' by The Style Council & 'Lay All Your Love On Me' by ABBA

Second ad break bumpers: 'Little America' by REM & 'Scarecrow People' 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

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 2-6-16 show notes

A Tale Of Snow

I began the show with a lengthy (and maybe boring) recap of all the shoveling I did in the aftermath of Minnesota's latest snowstorm. We didn't get dumped on by the amounts that the East Coast suffered a couple weeks ago, so it was an admittedly easier task. Still, it was a fair bit of snow clearing that needed to be done.

B.o.B. Thinks The Earth Is Flat. NdGT To The Rescue...

I hadn't heard of rapper B.o.B. before I spotted he had outed himself as a Flat Earther. Which is something he has in common with internet personality Tila Tequila. So, B.o.B. took to Twitter to show his ignorance and Neil deGrasse Tyson took to Twitter to attempt to help the rapper come into the light.

 

It became kind of a deal on the internet and wound up as an amusing segment on Comedy Central's The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore.

I took the opportunity to mention that our ancient ancestors figured out that our planet is a sphere. They didn't need to go into space to figure it out, they just made simple observations. Aristotle could see that some stars were not visible in the night sky as observers went farther to the North. He surmised that the Earth must be round. Eratosthenes made measurements of shadows cast by the sun at high noon on the Summer Solstice and discovered the farther North one went the longer the shadows grew. He, too, surmised the Earth must be round and he even did some math to figure out its circumference. He was pretty damn close. And he did it all without the help of Google.

 

HIV Positive Charlie Sheen Consults A Quack, Dimland Radio Science Zero Bill Maher Promotes That Quack

By now, most everyone who knows who Charlie Sheen is knows that he went public with being HIV positive. It wasn't the most shocking of news given what we've heard about Sheen's lifestyle. He went on the standard science-based medications and his viral load dropped to undetectable levels. Undetectable, but not gone.

Enter the quack. Samir Chachoua has some pretty quacky ideas about how to treat HIV/AIDS. Don't use what science has given us, use milk from arthritic goats. Yeah, that's the ticket. So, Sheen eschews actual medicine for this unproven snake oil and surprise! his viral load goes back up.

 

Enter Dr. Oz. Of all people, Dr. Oz comes on the scene to get Charlie back on the rails. Sheen was a guest on Oz's show on which he admitted being a "human guinea pig" for Chachoua's treatment. To Dr. Oz's credit, he along with Sheen's actual doctor had a kind of intervention to convince the Hollywood bad boy to get back on his meds. Sheen agreed and later began tweeting negatively about Chachoua.

 

Enter Dimland Radio Science Zero Bill Maher. Maher had Chachoua as a guest on his HBO show Real Time. Maher has a problem accepting science when it comes to medicine and pharmaceuticals. He believes "Western medicine" hasn't done shit in 50 years about cancer, for instance. Which just isn't true. Detection methods have improved. Treatments have gotten more effective. Survival rates have increased.

 

What great advancements have there been in homeopathy, naturopathy, iridology, reflexology, chiropractic, magnet therapy, acupuncture, aromatherapy in the last 50 years, eh, Bill?

 

Science blogger Orac wrote a lengthy, comprehensive piece on this whole affair. You came read it here.

 

Movie Recommendation: None

 

I ran out of time. 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: 'Pride' by Echo & The Bunnymen & 'Spinning Round' by Red Lorry Yellow Lorry

Second ad break bumpers: 'YYZ' by Rush &  'The Wait' 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.