Dimland Radio

dimland radio 5-4-19 show notes

Diagnosis: I’m Falling Apart

A pain in my thumb and wrist brought me to the doctor’s office this past week. My nurse practitioner diagnosed it as De Quervain’s tenosynovitis. She’s suggested a couple stretching exercises and she also pointed out that it appears I have arthritis in my hands. Couple those items with the arthritis in my lower back and she concluded, “You’re just falling apart.”

Sigh.

I Practice What I Preach

On Dimland Radio, I frequently talk about the importance of vaccination. Well, I don’t just talk a good game, I get my vaccinations. While I was learning of my decreptitude, I took the opportunity to get my shingles vaccination.

The shot went fine, but there was some soreness in my shoulder for a few days and I felt a bit flu-ish the next two days, but both discomforts cleared up and were relatively minor. A little discomfort is far better than getting shingles.

And in a couple months I’ll get the second dose of the vaccine. Well, a little more discomfort will still be worth it.

Anti-vaxxers And The Brady Bunch

I learned of an interesting tactic the anti-vaxxers have adopted to downplay the need for the measles vaccine. They point to an episode of the stupid, family-friendly TV sit-com The Brady Bunch.

There’s an episode from 1969 in which all six of those adorable urchins get infected with measles and it’s treated as a vacation with a minor annoyance. The anti-vaxxers say the episode realistically shows how the illness is no big deal. Yep, a series that was such an accurate depiction of real life, who can blame them…

The show was shit and depicted the real world about as well as The Flintstones.

Get your kids vaccinated. And yourselves, too!

A Few Thoughts About The Breakfast Club

One of my favorite podcasts is Stuck in the 80s. If you haven’t heard it and you’re stuck in the 80s I suggest you check it out.

Well, on a recent episode they mentioned the John Hughes’ classic The Breakfast Club. That mention got me thinking about my reactions when seeing that movie way back in 1985. I liked it then, but I was bothered by a couple few things...

One Cool Thing

You have to listen through the closing of the show to get to this cool thing. I realized the show was ending at under an hour this week, so I potted up the microphone and told the story of how a Facebook friend helped out a stranger in need.

I thought what he did was simple, but so kind and helpful. And cool.

Music heard on the show…

Dimland Radio opening theme song: ‘Ram‘ by The Yoleus
First ad break bumpers: ‘Teacher, Teacher‘ by Rockpile & ‘Nothing Turns Out Right‘ by The Mighty Mofos

Second ad break bumpers: ‘Entre Nous‘ by Rush & ‘Erica’s Word‘ 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.

Images used under Fair Use.

dimland radio 4-27-19 show notes

A Friend Of Z Talk And Dimland Radio Has Been Lost

He was known as Homey in the chat room at Z Talk Radio. He was a semi-regular visitor going way back. Homey was dropping by less frequently in recent years, but when he did pop into chat he was always a welcome sight.

His name was Jimmy Holmes and he died sometime in the last couple weeks. I’m not exactly sure when or what it was that took his life. I was stunned when I learned of his dying.

Z Talk Radio and Dimland Radio have lost a friend. Homey will be missed.

Is Exxon/Mobil Admitting To Being Part Of The Problem?

Global climate change is real. It’s happening and it is likely to have dire consequences. It’s also mainly due to human activity. All that pumping of CO2 in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution is taking its toll and humans need to get behind efforts to reverse the trends and fix the damage.

But there’s been a lot of foot dragging in part due to people not understand the importance and the urgency. Too many think it’s not that big of a problem. They think there is a debate among scientists. They think the science isn’t settled.

A big part of the reason for the foot dragging is the misinformation campaign fostered by the oil industry. They have been muddying the waters and giving the public and politicians a way the justify not taking my aggressive action.

But then I saw this ad:

CO2 is the main greenhouse gas that is causing the problem. Most of the CO2 in the atmosphere is the result of burning fossil fuels. Capture it would be helpful. Exxon/Mobil seems to be admitting fossil fuel (you know, the thing they produce) is the problem. They do so without mentioning climate change, but they seem to be admitting they are part of the problem.

Don’t they?

It’s Not True: Urine Is Sterile

I believed this one. Lots of people do, even doctors.

But there is bacteria in urine. It seems to be a recent realization, but it has been learned that you don’t have to have a bladder infection to have non-sterile urine. The human body is filled with bacteria, good and bad. And there is bacteria in urine.

Learn more here and here.

Measles Is Making A Comeback In America!

UCLA and Cal Sate LA have both put a number of staff and students in quarantine due to their possible exposure to measles via students with the should-be-gone-by-now disease.

Dimland Radio wishes to extend a hardy (and sarcastic) Well Done! to all the anti-vaxxers out there. You have done your job well.

“This Is Jordan, We Do What We Like…”

Those are the opening words of ’80s post-punk band Big Black’s song Jordan, Minnesota. It’s a disturbing song about the rash of child sexual abuse accusations that beset that small rural Minnesota town beginning in 1983.

Similar accusations were being made all over America in those days. Daycare providers, parents, teachers, even members of law enforcement were being accused of taking part in child sex rings, meting out all kinds of sexual abuse to children as young as 2 months old.

Children were taken from their parents, parents and others were charged, put on trial, and some were imprisoned.

Authorities believed even the most outrageous tales of physical and sexual abuse, and even ritualistic murder. Fear was fomented, towns were put on edge, lives were ruined. And songs like Big Black’s were recorded. However, it turned out there were no child sex rings.

Jordan became national news. People Magazine published an early account of the horrifying claims. It gives an excellent insight into the fear that gripped the nation. The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune both wrote about the allegations: here and here.

MPR interviewed the author Richard Beck whose book ‘We Believe The Children: A Moral Panic in the 1980s’ explains the events of Jordan and other similar incidents all over America in the ’80s. He found that there was no there there.

One Cool Thing

We had a medical doctor in the family. He was my great grandfather Dr. Walter Fitzsimmons. He used to teach at the University of Minnesota. Below is photograph of him (on the far right) and a few of his students. And a cadaver.

It’s pretty cool!

Music heard on the show…

Dimland Radio opening theme song: ‘Ram‘ by The Yoleus
First ad break bumpers: ‘Independence Day‘ by Urban Guerrillas & ‘Dirty Mind‘ by Prince

Second ad break bumpers: ‘Once In A Lifetime‘ by Talking Heads & ‘New World Man‘ by Rush

Closing song: ‘Angler’s Treble Hook‘ by $5 Fiddle

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 4-20-19 show notes

A Big, Old Church Caught Fire

It was a sad day for France and the world when we all saw Notre Dame Cathedral on fire. Yes, even for atheists. We may not believe in the reason for the church existing, but we understand its historical significance and appreciate its beauty. It is a monument to human achievement and, fortunately the fire did not completely destroy it. Its main structure is sound and it will be repaired.

The Yellow Vest protestors are a bit disappointed that French billionaires have been quick to pony up dough to fix the roof, but less anxious to help solve society’s inequality. Plus those rich dudes shouldn’t get a big tax deduction for their donations.

And then there was this reaction…

Um. God, assuming there is one, did let the cathedral catch on fire.

A Dimland Radio Pedantic Moment: Y’all

Here I go again with my problem with people misspelling words. This time it’s y’all.

The slang word means you all. As in: Y’all come to see us.

But some of you are spelling it ya’ll. That mean you (or ya) will. As in: Ya’ll march yourself to your room right now, young man.

See the difference?

It’s Not True: Edward Mordrake

On the way to work the other morning while listening to one of those wacky morning radio shows, my wife and I heard what I thought to be an urban legend. The leader of the morning crew told of a man from China who had a conjoined twin that was just a face on the back of his head. The second face did not talk, but it would laugh and cry. It would also torment the poor fellow each night, until he couldn’t stand it no longer. He killed himself.

Some of the morning crew were convinced. I wasn’t. I’m also not altogether certain the hosts of the show believed it either. Anyway, it’s not true.

Snopes will explain.

Music heard on the show…

Dimland Radio opening theme song: ‘Ram‘ by The Yoleus
First ad break bumpers: ‘Vanishing Girl‘ by The Dukes Of Stratosphear & ‘I Apologize‘ by Husker Du

Second ad break bumpers: ‘No Reply At All‘ by Genesis & ‘Games People Play‘ by Alan Parsons Project

Closing song: ‘Angler’s Treble Hook‘ by $5 Fiddle

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

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 4-6-19 show notes

Our Spring Visitors Have Returned

Our roof is one of their favorite spots.

A sure sign of spring in our part of the neighborhood is the yearly visit of a pair of mallard ducks. The male and female have been making their appearance for at least the last four years, probably more. Nice to see the again.

Is It Art?

It is funny that these people appear to think a pair of eyeglasses is a piece of art. And it’s clear the intent of this meme is to make these art patrons look silly. It may also be a commentary on the state of art.

But, step back. Take in the whole thing – the glasses and the reaction to them – and I think the moment itself becomes art. It’s performance art with performers who don’t realize they are part of the art.

Well, art is subjective and sometimes hard to define. I choose to chuckle at this and still think of it as art.

Of course, the whole thing could be a put on.

Angry Nerds Already Hate Joker

I just don’t understand the knee-jerk hatred of the upcoming film Joker. It’s DC Comic’s greatest villain and this movie looks like we’ll get the origin story of the Clown Prince of Crime. I think it looks intriguing.

Some “fans” couldn’t wait to go on record with their hate for a movie that won’t be released to theaters until October. It’s no longer good enough to wait to see the movie and then think about it for a while and then jump on the “I hate it” bandwagon. As was done with Star Wars The Force Awakens. Nor is it long enough wait until immediately after seeing the movie to announce to the world that your childhood had been destroyed.

Nope, now we have to jump on the “I hate it” bandwagon mere moments after watching the teaser trailer! “Joaquin Phoenix?! That’s not who I’d cast!! This movie is going to suck!”

I just don’t get it.

To be fair, along with the “I hate it” response were responses by those who just weren’t impressed by the trailer. They thought it looked bland. I think they might be willing to give it a chance.

Here’s an idea: How about we wait until the movie has been released before we start hating it?

Movie Recommendation: Mandy (2018)

Yes, I know Nicolas Cage can be a bit over-the-top in many of his films and that can be off-putting, but I think he’s really good in this revenge thriller from last year. His character’s wife meets a tragic end and those who brought that end meet a tragic end of their own.

Visually this movie is stunning. It has the feel of a ’70s exploitation film. My wife loved it.

It’s very violent. It’s very trippy. And it’s worth your time.

Three Cool Things

1) I wish I could say I thought of the image (above) as a reaction to President Trump’s windmill opposition and conspiracy-mongering. I didn’t. But I love it. It’s cool.

2) Related to the Townshend image, what else is cool is the skeptical reaction on Facebook to the claim that windmill noise causes cancer.

3) Baseball is back and in full swing (pun!), so in keeping with the last couple of weeks of cool things, here’s another baseball related one. When the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome ceased being the home of the Minnesota Twins a TV special was made commemorating the Top 100 Metrodome Memories. I found all 100 of them on YouTube. Check ’em out here.

Music heard on the show…

Dimland Radio opening theme song: ‘Ram‘ by The Yoleus
First ad break bumpers: ‘In The Flat Field‘ by Bauhaus & ‘Night Time‘ by Killing Joke

Second ad break bumpers: ‘Talk Talk‘ by Talk Talk & ‘(The) One Thing‘ by INXS

Closing song: ‘Angler’s Treble Hook‘ by $5 Fiddle

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.