dimland radio 5-11-19 show notes

I'm Through Being Cool

I gave up my flip phone. I know. I know. Flip phones are cool.

My wife convinced me to jump on the bandwagon with one of those intelligent portable telephones.

I feel I may have let many of you down, but she's my wife.

Cool Thing #1: A Vague Memory Made Clear 

For decades I had a vague memory of watching a kids' TV show featuring various monsters before going to school. I don't remember seeing many episodes, but there was something rolling around in my brain. I had often thought that maybe I didn't actually seen the show and it was a false memory.

 

 

The other day, on Facebook someone shared this image (above) and asked if anyone watched the show. It looked promising. Was this that show I was remembering? There are episodes on YouTube, so I checked them out.

 

It is the show I remembered!

 

It's called The Hilarious House of Frightenstein. 130 episodes were produced for Canadian television. It was a daily show starring Billy Van as eight different characters. It also featured Vincent Price who did the intro and the close as well as several poetic interstitial pieces through the programs.

 

Here is an episode for your enjoyment. Most of the episodes available do not include the pop song dance bit, which was my specific memory of the show. However, here is an example of the Wolfman's DJ bit.

 

A Dimland Radio Pedantic Moment: 6 Seconds Of Criminal Minds

The cable station known as WE-TV shows reruns of the crime procedural Criminal Minds. In an ad they run to promote the show, they edit an episode down to six seconds. The ad asks if the actors can do all that in six seconds, imagine what they can do in an hour.

Well...

 

Cool Thing #2: Basking Sharks Of The California Coast

 

Photo credit: Kristin Campbell/Newport Coastal Adventure

Of the coast of southern California, basking sharks have been spotted. They haven't been seen around there for 30 years. They are way big and way cool.

Dimland Radio Science Heroes: Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Joseph P Kennedy II & Maeve Kennedy McKean

 

You will note that each of the three Dimland Radio Science Heroes has Kennedy in their name. It's that Kennedy family. You know. The famous Kennedys of Camelot fame.

 

The three Kennedys wrote an article decrying the danger presented by their brother/uncle Robert F Kennedy Jr. with his anti-vaccine activism. He fights the good fight when it comes to the environment and climate change, but he's just straight up wrong about vaccines. And his family members call him on it.

 

And that makes them science heroes.

 

Dimland Radio Science Zeroes: Robert F Kennedy Jr. & Rep. Jonathan Stickland

 

RFK Jr. Is a complicated science zero. He's right on climate change, but wrong on vaccines. His anti-vax activism is dangerous. Texas Rep. Jonathan Stickland, on the other hand, isn't nearly as complicated. He's just a dumbass.

 

And here's an article about the dangers of the anti-science and lack of critical thinking and how they are bringing back measles.

Cool Thing #3: Scene 38 Reimagined

 

 

A computer effects house FXitinPost created a very dramatic and entertaining reimagining of the final lightsaber duel between Ben Kenobi and Darth Vader from Star Wars: A New Hope. Just watch it! You'll agree it's pretty goddamn cool!

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Death Of The European' by The Three Johns & 'Takin' A Ride' by The Replacements

Second ad break bumpers: 'Outside The Trains Don't Run On Time' by Gang Of Four & 'Face Dance Part Two' by Pete Townshend

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 4-13-19 show notes

Our Winter Weather Has Returned

For the second April in a row, we in the Upper Midwest got hit with a snowstorm. Not s much snow as last year, but the wintry mix of rain/sleet/snow lasted three days. The storm blew in on Wednesday after having a Monday with lots of sun and a temperature hitting almost 70º.

Ah, spring in Minnesota.

Where Have All The Trees Gone?

Since the early 2000s, a little invasive pest has been making its presence know. The emerald ash borer came to North America from China and found out there are an awful lot of ash trees on this continent (7 to 9 billion in the US alone). They've been feasting ever since and the ash trees began dying.

 

It's the larvae that cause the most damage.

 

I talked about how parts of our neighborhood having been changing drastically in the last week or two.

 

Cool Thing Number One: It's Julian Assange

Julian Assange, the Wikileaks guy, was arrested in Ecuador last week. He looked as though he had let himself go a bit. George Hrab, of the Geologic Podcast, nailed it. He created the image below.

 

It's... brilliant!

Cool Thing Number Two: What Else? The Picture of A Black Hole!

Photo credit: USA Today & NASA

Yeah, it's blurry. Yeah, it looks like a donut. But it's a god damn black hole!

 

Sure, it's blurry. It's 55 million light years away!

 

Learn more about this excellent achievement in science here.

A Dimland Radio Science Hero: Katie Bouman

Katie Bouman is the young computer scientist whose work on developing an algorithm made the capturing an image of a black hole possible. She was part of a team of 200 or so scientist and she's become the face of this scientific breakthrough.

 

The photograph of her reaction to seeing that first image clearly demonstrates the kind of joy that is made possible by science. It's a fantastic image.

 

Click here to watch her TEDx Talk from 2016. In it she explains what she and her team are doing to photograph a black hole.

 

Cool Thing Number Three: Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise Of Skywalker Teaser Trailer

Simply put, the trailer is awesome. It looks like the final part of the third Star Wars trilogy could be pretty damn good. I am pretty exited for this one.

 

And, Of Course, The Ubiquitous Nerd Anger

Within minutes of the new Star Wars trailer being dropped, at least one angry nerd had to be first in line to hate the movie before it has even been released.

 

I talked about nerd anger last week as it pertained to the Joker trailer. And, as if I were psychic, I compared the angry reaction toward Joker to that which the Star Wars movies have been receiving since The Force Awakens. I watched the trailer for the new Star Wars movie and I thought it was awesome. The angry nerd in the exchange below seems to have forgotten some of George Lucas' shortcomings in the movies he was responsible for. I sarcastically helped to remind him.

 

 

 Halloween In April. Talk About Dracula (1931)

 

 

For no reason, other than I wanted to I talked about the Universal Studios horror classic Dracula starring Bela Lugosi. It's not a prefect film. In fact, it gets pretty stagy after the first act. But, right up until the moment the Count arrives in England it's pretty damn good.

 

I also did a little comparison to the Spanish language version, which was made at the same time as the Lugosi version. In some ways the Spanish version betters the more famous version. It looks better, using more camera movements, better edits, and some nice close-ups of the vampire's eyes.

But, although the Spanish version may be better from a technical aspect, it lacks Lugosi.

 

"Come here!"

"¡Vete aquí!"

 Bela is just more creepy and threatening.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: '(The) Mayor Of Simpleton' by XTC & 'You Better You Bet' by The Who

Second ad break bumpers: '(The) Ledge' by The Replacements & 'Is It A Crime?' by Sade

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 3-10-18 show notes

No School. Do Your Homework.

Just a quick story about a winter storm that sneaked up on us. It allowed my son to have a day off of school. But I did my duty as a father and made sure he finished his homework Sunday night, so he'd have no worries on his snow day.

Just How Does A Director Effect A Film?

 

I'm not quite sure about every way a director influences the final film. I know the main job is to get the best performance out of the actors as possible. Remind them of the story, their motivations. I've heard of stories in which a director tells the actor one simple character trait or something that isn't part of the film but is part of the history of the character. When that's been done the character can click into place.

 

Some directors have a loose narrative and allow the actors to improvise until a story as made. Robert Altman worked that way. Alfred Hitchcock, on the other hand, had the final film in mind and plotted out from the start, filming the actors was a formality.

A Dimland Radio Pedantic Moment: Coke Zero?

My pedantic nature was challenged when I unpedantically called Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Coke Zero. I was told "sugar" was added to the name when the flavor had been improved.

 

Well, I was drinking a can of the soda in question. The main part of the label does in fact read Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, but when I turned the can around, right there, above the nutrition information was Coke Zero™.

 

 

Yep. It even has the trademark symbol. Who's the pedant here, eh?

 

How Editors Saved Star Wars

 

After my brief timeout for a Pedantic Moment, I returned to some movie talk. This time I talked about a YouTube video that told how Star Wars, the original movie, would have been a disaster had George Lucas been surrounded by the same kinds of people who went along with his Special Edition changes to the original trilogy and the prequals, which I've been trying to forget.

 

However, in 1977, Lucas wasn't the powerful billionaire he would become. He was a filmmaker, early in his career, and he had filmmaker friends willing to say his rough cut of Star Wars needed help. A lot of help!

 

It's a fascinating video that gives us some insight on how editing is so very important in film. It's called How Star Wars Was Saved In The Edit. Go there and watch it!

 

Dimland Radio Science Zero: PUR

 

There's an ad for a PUR water filtering system there is straight up fear-mongering. It takes place in a "water bar" with tap water from all over the USA. Real people are made to think the tap water is filled with lead and lead is dangerous. Oh, the spokesperson tells the fear-filled folks the water has legally acceptable amounts of lead, but he never says it's safe to drink. Which it is.

 

The people are misled and react exactly the way PUR wants them to, with unnecessary fear. Shame on them.

Dimland Radio Science Hero: Dr. Jason Westin

Cancer doctor Jason Westin decided to run for the Democratic nomination to serve in the Texas Congress. He ran on the proposal to bring sound science to his stat's government. He voiced his concerns with America's turn away from and subsequent falling behind the rest of the world in science. His campaign produced a stirring ad to promote him as a reasoned candidate to advance science.

 

It's terrific. Watch it here.

 

I'm sad to say he didn't win. However, more science promoting folks are entering the world of politics, some are having success, and that's a very good thing for America and the world.

 

Movie Recommendation: The Way Back (2010)

 

 

 

A harrowing tale, based on what is claimed to be a true story, of the escape from a Siberian gulag and a 4000 mile trek to India - on foot. There is some doubt about the truthfulness of the claim, but the film is pretty good. It's lower budget and it's a little abrupt and jumbled in the gulag and escape sequences, but it settles in well as we witness the hardships encountered and the bonds made on this impossible journey.

It's streaming on Netflix.

 

Top Three Cool Things Of The Week

Here's Three Cool Things from this week.

 

 

3) More evidence that we should not say, "I know what I saw." This image (above) fooled me as I thought it was a picture of a concert. It's not.

 

2) My son took part in a school-approved walk-out and march to the MN State Capitol to protest the lack of meaningful action to curb gun violence in schools. I'm very proud of him. (Even if he did take video in portrait format).

 

1) I was commissioned to draw the above image for a friend. He was very pleased.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Megacity 1' by The Screaming Blue Messiahs & 'One Thing' by INXS

Second ad break bumpers: 'Stigmata Martyr' by Bauhaus & 'Teacher, Teacher' by Rockpile

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.