dimland radio 5-11-13 show notes

Brush With The Service Industry

 

We (my family, my wife and I) are getting a new bed for my son, Hayden.  The bed he's had isn't the best.  It's old and hard and cold and he doesn't like it.  So, a new bed is on it's way.

 

Earlier in the week the bed arrived.  Broken.  Oh, it's just a pain in the ass.  I detailed that pain and I will follow up on this story as it develops.

An Art Talk With The Kids

Speaking of my son, he invited me to come and talk to his fourth grade class.  You see, I'm an artist.  I do portraits and cartooning and Hayden wanted to show off what his dad can do.  They were really fun and receptive.  If only I could find people in the position to pay me for that work who are as enthusiastic as those nine year-olds were.

 

Never Found In The 80s: The Ramones

 

Is it possible that a band can seem to have been heard of by so many people and still never have found a large audience?  Unfortunately, yes.  One such band was the Ramones and I profiled them in my latest installment in my guest blogging at Stuck In The 80s.

Pedantic Moment: LOLOLOLOLOLOL

In text language LOL means Laugh Out Loud, so LOLOLOLOLOL means Laugh Out Loud Out Loud Out Loud Out Loud Out Loud.  See?  LOL will suffice, so knock it off!

 

Sylvia Browne's Fail

So, grief vampire Sylvia Browne has proved to be wrong again.  Some years ago, she publicly declared to Amanda Berry's mother that her missing daughter was dead.  Well, we have learned that Sylvia was wrong.  Again.

There has been a lot of backlash against Ms Browne.  And it's about time.

 

Ben Radford's Fail?

 

Objections were raised by a frequent listener and thorn in my... no, that's not fair... frequent challenger to my skepticism and positions I take on my show.
In the immediate aftermath of the Boston bombing, Ben Radford noted, rather bluntly, that no psychic had predicted the tragedy.  Ben caught some grief for his comment.  In fact, I passed along one objection I had received about his statement to Ben.

Ben wrote an article after the Amanda Berry revelation addressing his take on the consistent failure of psychics.  He pointed out that skeptics need to use these moments to show the greater public how this aspect of the supernatural just doesn't work.

My listener pointed out that even had psychics predicted those events, they wouldn't have been believed.  He pointed out the apparent bias skeptics have against psychics.  He made some good points that I will have to ponder.

Ponder, I will.  I will also consult with a couple fellow skeptics to see what they think.  I'll explore this again.

 

Pedantic Moment: Rounds In Clip

Just how many bullets does a hand gun hold and how bad a shot are you?  I did a quick review of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns parts 1 and 2 on DVD that has the problems of how many rounds does a clip hold and why can't the cops or bad guys hit their target.  It seems as though weapons have endless supplies of bullets and, when shooting at the hero, the shooters always miss.  What gives?

 

Movie Recommendation: Bringing Up Baby (1938)

 

RKO Pictures

A screwball comedy at its timeless best.  This Howard Hawks' comedy featuring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant at their comedic best.  The dialog is fast and screwy.  The pacing is fast and screwy.  And the movie is a lot of fun.  Good for the whole family.

Music heard on the show (These songs are linked above)...

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

First ad break bumpers: 'The Ledge' by The Replacements & 'Something To Believe In' by The Ramones
Second ad break bumpers: 'Drinking With An Angel' by The Suburbs & 'Waltz The Halls Always' 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

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 2-9-13 show notes

A New Way Of Doing Things

You may have noticed there were no show notes for last week's show.  That's because there was no show.  The week before I was having technical difficulties.  Although I was able to record my show, I kept getting kicked of the network.

Since then I've tried broadcasting a couple more times with the same problem still occurring.  So, I decided to take a break last week and then prerecord my show.  This way I can put the show in the feed and it should play in my regular time-slot.  (I'm writing these notes on Saturday afternoon, so the show hasn't aired yet.  We'll see if it works.)

I want to thank fellow Z Talker, Chris Davis, for helping me get set up.

A Correction

Yep, even your humble host can make a mistake.  I know.  I know.  It's difficult to believe, ain't it?

Back on my show from 1/12/13, I had remarked about how similar the Denver Broncos defeat in the playoffs was to my MN Vikings NFC Championship game loss in 1999.  The Broncos opted to run the time out in regulation and take their chances in overtime.  I thought the Vikings had done almost the same thing going into halftime, but, I was wrong, it was at the end of regulation.

Neither team thought it a good idea to try to win the game and avoid overtime.  Neither team won their game.  What a shame.

Do Not Feed The Trolls

I've been learning about internet trolls lately (see previous posting).  And I think I was hit by another one at work through our email.  We have a job listing on Craig' List and someone emailed a response that I thought reflected a poor attitude.
 

I almost responded, but I remembered the old adage, "Do Not Feed The Trolls!"

Psychic News

I happily shared two news items related to "psychics" accused of breaking the law or being sued for attempting to capitalize on their family's "good" name.  That name?  Van Praagh.  Good name?  Yeah, right.Follow the links to here and here.

Movie Recommendation: The City Of Lost Children (1995)

Sony Picture Classics

This French film is very surreal and a bit disturbing.  It's also very cool.  Visually striking with terrific special effects, you will believe in clones.  It stars Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Drive) as a strong man who befriends a little girl street urchin.  They set out to save the children of the town who have been kidnapped by a mad scientist in order to steal their dreams.  Check it out!

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: 'Pictures Of You' by The Cure & 'Sex Beat' by The Urban Guerrillas
Second ad break bumpers: 'Lie Detector' by The Screaming Blue Messiahs & 'Absolute Beginners' by The Suburbs
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 11-17-12 show notes

Cops And The Dumpster Area

I told about the brush with the law I had the night before my show.  I clean a building on Friday nights.  It's just something I do.  I'm just that kind of guy.  Well, I do get paid for it.

Anyway!  I had just thrown a bag of trash in the dumpster and was walking back to the building when two sheriff's vehicles pulled into the parking lot.  One of the officers hopped out of his vehicle and went over to the dumpster area which I had just left to search it.  My guess is they were looking for some scofflaw.

I watched curiously and then went to ask the other officer what was up.  As I approached, he told me to get back in the building.  I got the message, turned and hurried back into the building.  I never found out what they were doing exactly.

 

Bigfeets Don't Fail Me Now

I related a couple of stories about the probably nonexistent creature.  One was about yet another not very good video of a blobsquatch.  Actually, it's an excellent video of a blobsquatch, it just isn't very good evidence for bigfoot.

The other story was of bigfoot hunter Jeff Meldrum and his proposed search using a radio-controlled blimp equipped with a thermal imaging camera.  Meldrum has good science bona fides, but I don't think his new method will be any more successful in establishing the elusive beast's existence than any have been thus far.

You can learn more here, here, and here.

It's Not A Bug!  It's Not A Bug!  I'm Telling You It's Not A Bug

The latest UFO video that's been making the rounds is very likely video of bugs flying closely by a video camera.  But don't tell news reporter Heidi Hemmat that, she doesn't want to hear it.  She emphatically tells us that it's not a bug, but all signs point to it being a bug.

Here is Heidi Hemmat's report and here is Ben Radford's analysis of the bug video.  I mean UFO video.  No, I mean bug video.  It's a bug, Heidi!

Mad Props For Probst

With all the other daytime talk shows following the easy path of mystery-mongering when it comes to psychics, it was so refreshing to see Jeff Probst take a skeptical approach to the topic.  With the assistance of skeptic Mark Edward, Jeff demonstrated the deception of the psychic reading industry.  Will it wise people up to the nonsense of psychics?  Maybe not everyone, but it might plant that sorely needed seed of doubt.

Good work, Jeff.  I hope your show lasts and that you do more shows of a skeptical nature.

Read Mark Edward's account here.

Movie Recommendation: Them! (1954)

Warner Brothers

I turned to my son for this week's movie recommendation.  He suggested this above average 1950s sci-fi classic.  Because of nuclear weapons testing, some ants have become giant-sized and threaten to destroy humankind.  Not to worry, the humans prevail.  Or do they? 

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: 'Time The Avenger' by The Pretenders & 'Rat Patrol' by Naked Raygun
Second ad break bumpers: 'Shout To The Top' by The Style Council & 'Angels Of Deception' by The The
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 4-23-11 show notes

Some Pet Peeves

I just thought I'd touch on a few of those things that get under my skin. I covered three pet peeves: the way credit cards are shown being used in commercials (they're run through the readers the wrong way), air bags as a comedy device in film and on TV, and the common mistake of red "licorice" (licorice is black, not red!).

A Couple Tales Of Psychics

"I see water nearby."

Skeptic Benjamin Radford wrote about a psychic "nailing it," at least according to the media, when it came to helping police find the body of one of the Long Island serial killer's victims. Well, not exactly nailed it.

Then I told of a Swedish psychic arrested for fraud. Duh!

Ben Radford's article is here and the Swedish fraud is here.

Measles? Really?

This should never happen!

Believe it or don't, but there's a measles outbreak in Minnesota (my home state). Measles, like mumps and polio, should be gone. It's close, but it's not gone yet and it seems to be making a bit of a come back. As of 4/21/11, there are 21 cases of measles in the North Star State. This lead me to talk about the importance of getting vaccinated; you and your kids.

The piece on the outbreak is here and information about vaccination safety is here and here. And here's a bit of encouraging news.

Movie Recommendation: Jaws (1975)


The first of the summer blockbuster movies. Sure, the shark doesn't look as real as it would if the movie was made today, but it's likely that the movie wouldn't have been as good if the mechanical shark had work better (or been done using today technology). If it had, Spielberg would have used it more and that would have diminished the suspense and terror.

It's still excellent!

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ahead' by Wire
First ad break bumpers: 'Little Red Corvette' by Prince & 'Powerline' by Husker Du
Second ad break bumpers: 'When I'm Not' by The Magnolias & 'Above It Now' by Figures
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