Dimland Radio

dimland radio 12-31-16 show notes

Correction

I did make this correction in last week’s show notes, still I started off the show letting my listeners know that the late New York Gov. Mario Cuomo did not mention 9/11 in Ken Burns’ Baseball. That documentary first aired on PBS in 1994, seven years before the terrorist attacks in September, 2001.

Whoops. My mistake.

Dimland Radio ARGH!

My mistake correction led to me talking about how much I dislike it when grown adults say, “My bad.” The phrase is “my mistake.” Adults use that phrase. Toddlers just learning English might say “my bad,” but you’re an adult. Quit it!

A Ridiculous Moment In Janitorial

Janitorial work is often thankless. Most customers only call us when they want to complain about something. If we are doing our job properly, we usually don’t hear anything from the customer.

Recently, we received an unusual request from one customer. When emptying their trash cans, they asked us to “…set things on our desk if [the cleaners] think [the customers] really don’t want it ‘thrown away’…”

Seriously?! They expect our cleaners to determine if trash is really trash?

The Rewards For An Artist Are So Rare

A fellow member of the Minnesota Skeptics, when learning I’m a cartoonist, asked if I could do an illustration of a Siamese cat having just killed two podcast hosts. The podcast is My Favorite Murder hosted by Karen Kilagariff and Georgia Hardstark and the murdering cat is Elvis.

Yep. I did this.

I did the illustration and had it ready for the next month’s MN Skeptics meet-up. He was very impressive and I received much-gratifying praise for my ability. He said many of the same things I hear from other people. Such as, “I can’t even draw a straight line.” “How do you draw so well?” “Please allow me to pay you handsomely.”

Well, that last statement is something that’s pretty much never uttered. But my friend and I came to an agreeable arrangement for him to pay for my beers for the next several meet-ups.

Then something interesting happened. This fellow skeptic is a rather skilled wood-worker and carpenter and he had a small world moment which he shared on Facebook. I was then able to pleasantly turn the tables, so to speak, on him.

Listen to the show for the details.

Adam Ruins Everything

Adam Conover hosts a TruTV show called Adam Ruins Everything, on which he examines popular beliefs and then explains why those beliefs are wrong. Such as drinking 19 gallons of water a day to stay properly hydrated. If you’re thirsty, drink some water. It’s pretty basic.

His show has come under some fire by electric car advocates recently, but, as far as I can tell, he seems to get his facts right. And the show cites sources.

You can also watch segments of the show on YouTube, which is where I found his bit on trophy hunting. Oh, no, he’s not ruining trophy hunting the way many of my Facebook friends would like. Nope, he’s demonstrating how trophy hunting is actually helping save those endangered species. It may seem counter-intuitive, but it’s true.

Watch this clip:

So, I’ve been posting this clip in the comment threads of FB friends who share images of rich folks happily poses with dead lions, leopards, giraffes, etc. These friends are so disgusted by these rich folks. But none have ever said as much as, “Oh, yeah!” whenever I’ve shared the information de-vilifying trophy hunting.

I may not be into hunting, but I don’t find legal trophy hunting disgusting. I’m not disgusted by photos of rich folks posing with their legal and very expensive trophy kill. No, I save my disgust for photos of the damage done by poachers. They (poachers) and loss of habitat are the true dangers to endangered animals.

This disgusts me. Ivory from poaching.


This disgusts me. A poacher-slaughtered rhino with horn removed.

Melissa Bachman, famous trophy hunter, does not disgust me. I may not understand the appeal of hunting of any kind, but she does this legally and pays plenty. And that money goes to help protect endangered species.

Movie Recommendation: None

I ran out of time, so you are on your own.

Music heard on the show…

Dimland Radio opening theme song: ‘Ram‘ by The Yoleus
First ad break bumpers: ‘Little America’ by REM & ‘Always The Sun‘ by The Stranglers

Second ad break bumpers: ‘Nobody Told Me‘ by John Lennon & ‘Driving The Dynamite Truck‘ by Breaking Circus

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.

dimland radio 12-17-16 show notes

Dimland Radio Science Zero: Anthony Scaramucci

Not only did I give this fellow Science Zero status and made a bad joke about his name, I kept getting the pronunciation of his last name goofed up. Sorry.

Also, his being named a Science Zero got more complicated than when I first decided to give him the dishonor. Trump transition team advisor, Anthony Scaramucci was on CNN being interviewed by Chris Cuomo, son of former New York governor Mario Cuomo…

Tangent!

Before I got any further on Scaramucci, I went on a bit of a rant about Mario Cuomo and his appearance in Ken Burns’ Baseball. I love that documentary series, both it’s original nine parts (innings) and the follow-up: The Tenth Inning. My rant had to do with how doleful and dower Cuomo sounds when he talks. I’m sure he was a decent man and that he loved baseball, but his demeanor can’t help but suck the air out of the room whenever he shows up in Burns history of the greatest game ever created.

And Cuomo loves the bunt. Nobody loves the bunt.

I couldn’t find a clip from the baseball documentary, but here is one of him talking about his imagining of his mother’s experience with immigration when coming to America:

Maybe it’s just me, but it just doesn’t seem the man is capable of experiencing joy. How did the people of New York elect him?

And a correction: I mentioned his statement about America not doing community well. I was rather miffed at that. Perhaps that’s why I mistakenly included 9/11 as one of his examples of a crisis in which America does community better.

9/11 hadn’t happened yet when the documentary was released. My mistake.

Back To The Show Before The Rant Started

Bad Astronomer Phil Plait blogged about Scaramucci’s interview. Dr Plait laid out a good case for Trump’s advisor to be a Dimland Radio Science Zero. Well, not specifically that. Dr Plait has no idea Dimland Radio exists, which may change now that it is available on iTunes. (Please subscribe!)

Scaramucci is not a scientist. He does acknowledge that, while he casts doubt on the vast majority of climate scientists when they say global climate change is real and human caused. He states that scientists have been wrong before. He brings up the mistaken beliefs that the earth was flat and the center of the universe. Cuomo, to his credit, responded, “It’s called ignorance. You learn over time.”

But Scaramucci stuck to his guns. And, in the video link on the Bad Astronomy blog, he states that, “people have gotten things wrong throughout the 5,500-year history of our planet.” Well, right there, that nails his listing as a Dimland Radio Science Zero. The other statements on their own would get him there, but being a young-earther was a fine button on that bow.

Hold the phone! The video Dr. Plait shared was cut short by someone who may have wanted Scaramucci to look even more ridiculous. It cut immediately after the 5,500-year history of earth comment. But, the full length video of the interview went just a little bit longer and it captured his correcting himself. He quickly added, “…human history, I should say.”

So, that makes him not necessarily a young-earther. After all, they believe the earth to be 6,000 or, maybe, 10,000 years old. Phil, to his credit, updated his blog once he became aware that the clip he shared was edited and misleading.

Anthony Scaramucci still is a Dimland Radio Science Zero. Just not as ignorant as I first thought.

Compelling Video Of A Russian Blobsquatch

I talked about the most famous film footage of an alleged bigfoot: the Patterson/Gimlin film. You may not know it by name, but you will very likely recognize its iconic images of “bigfoot” crossing a clearing in the woods of California and nonchalantly looking back over its shoulder at the cameraman. Since that 1967 footage made its way into the public consciousness, people have been attempting to get even better images.

It’s been nearly 50 years and just about everyone has a camera, but still no video or film of the elusive, hairy giant has come close.

Well, maybe finally…

Recently, I was listening to a local talk radio show host mention some new bigfoot video that was spreading across the internet. This footage came from Russia. A dashcam captured the image of something crossing a snow covered country road at night. The two Russians in the vehicle were rather excited sounding when witnessing the creature’s crossing. The show host said the video wasn’t fuzzy.

Well, I had better check it out!

Was I convinced?

I’ll put it this way: Congratulations Patterson/Gimlin film! You’re still the best footage of an alleged bigfoot. Even if, as evidence, your images are inconclusive at best.

The radio station’s link and an enhanced look with some skeptical commentary.

Movie Recommendation: None

I ran out of time, so you are on your own. Boy, this may be three weeks in a row. I will definitely try to get a recommendation in the next show. I’ll try. No promises.

And you’ll have to wait until my New Year’s Eve show. I won’t be doing a show for Saturday, 12/24.

Music heard on the show…

Dimland Radio opening theme song: ‘Ram’ by The Yoleus
First ad break bumpers: ‘Tantalized‘ by The Church & ‘Death Of The European‘ by The Three Johns

Second ad break bumpers: ‘I Want The One I Can’t Have‘ by The Smiths & ‘Me And Sarah Jane‘ by Genesis

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.

dimland radio 12-10-16 show notes

301st Show!

Which is significant because this is the first full length installment of Dimland Radio available on iTunes. The first thing you will find when you subscribe to the show on iTunes, and you will subscribe, is a 14 minutes primer. It’s a quick background on the show and on me. It’s something for new show listeners to check out to get an idea of what Dimland Radio is all about.

This show will be the first full length Dimland Radio posted to iTunes.

Damn Server!

For those of you who tuned in on Saturday night, I must apologize for the server. For some unknown reason, Z Talk’s server decided to cut the show short. It stopped playback with about 15 minutes left and then started playing an older episode of Dimland Radio. I don’t know what happened, but I can assure you I didn’t touch anything.

You can get the entire show from the Z Talk Radio show archives page or you can subscribe on iTunes.

A Tale Of The Origin Of The Nickname Dr Dim

I have told this story before on the show, but for the benefit of new subscribers on iTunes I figured they’d be curious about the nickname: Dr Dim. It was a name I acquired in art school that just stuck around all these years.

I also told the story about an unusual sculpture I did in art school and how hanging it where I intended didn’t quite work out as planned. Luckily, no one was hurt.

Time’s Person Of The Year

A few people took it rather badly when Time magazine named President-Elect Donald Trump as its Person of the Year for 2016. I and many others attempted to explain to those taking to Facebook to call for a boycott of Time (I wonder how many of them were subscribers in the first place) that Person of the Year is not necessarily an honorific. And that the magazine names men or women or groups or ideas or items Person of the Year due to their impact on the world in a given year – for better or for worse.

I was disappointed by a few of the people complaining. I think they are generally intelligent, thoughtful, and well-reasoned. I may not always agree with their opinions, but I believed they come to their opinions rationally. But this knee-jerk everything about Trump is bad and Time is stupid reaction seems more emotional than reasoned. And I wonder if they even read the article.

I guess they are as human as anyone else.

Can you name someone who had more of an impact in 2016?

Pedantic Moment: Marlee Matlin Doesn’t Know How To Mop

I’ve worked as a janitor for far too many years, and over that time I’ve learned how to do a few things cleaning wise.

The other night I was flipping through the channels when I spotted Children of a Lesser God was playing. I had enjoyed that movie when it was released in 1986 and I hadn’t seen it since then. So, I stopped my clicking and watched for a bit.

William Hurt plays a new teacher at a school for the deaf and he meets a feisty young woman played by Marlee Matlin. She plays a former student of the school who now works there as a janitor. She’s a fiery and stubborn woman and, of course, she and Hurt begin a torrid love affair.

But their first meeting was a little rocky.

Hurt is in his office, grading papers or whatever teachers do after school, when he hears water splashing in the hall. It’s Matlin and she’s cleaning the floor.

Here’s where I get pedantic. That is not how you mop a floor! The way she’s doing it expends far too much energy. She’ll wear herself out. And she using way too much water.

Couldn’t the producers have hired a janitor to consult?

Movie Recommendation: None

I ran out of time, so you are on your own.

Music heard on the show…

Dimland Radio opening theme song: ‘Ram’ by The Yoleus
First ad break bumpers: ‘That’s Entertainment‘ by The Jam & ‘OK Wait‘ by Naked Raygun

Second ad break bumpers: ‘Good Thing‘ by The Woodentops & ‘Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic‘ by The Police

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

Please subscribe on iTunes! 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 11-26-16 show notes

300th Show!

Nothing particularly special was done for this my 300th show. I only made note of it and moved on.

The Dinga Dinga Dinga Sound Of Guilt

Each holiday season, just before Thanksgiving, out they come: The bell ringers from the Salvation Army. And I seem to forget about them each year until I step out of my car to head into the supermarket. That’s when I hear the “dinga dinga dinga” of the bellringer insisting people throw some money in the kettle. Well, the bellringers don’t force anyone to do so, but that ringing bell just makes me feel guilty.

I’m an atheist. I just can’t give to a charity whose mission is to get more people to believe in a god that I’m pretty certain doesn’t exist. Sure, the Salvation Army might be helping people who are struggling to make ends meets, but they still insist in the god pushing. So, I don’t give to them.

It’s a yearly complaint I have and I’m sure the bellringers don’t think less of me for passing the kettle, but the guilt is still there.

If only there was a way I could help someone directly…

A Tap At The Car Window

After dodging the bellringer, I was sitting in my car, filling out a birthday card for my wife, when there came a tapping, a gently rapping, at my driver’s side window. There was a young man, not dressed for the weather. He was wearing a hoodie to protect him from the 30 something degree night. He looked cold and had his best nonthreatening, humble look on his face. In his hand was a clear plastic sleeve holding a standard sized sheet of copy paper. On it was a copy of a photograph of a youth basketball team. Under that photo was some text explaining how the team had its uniforms stolen and that he was asking people if they might give a buck or two to help purchase new uniforms.

A sad story indeed. But it’s bullshit. That night had been the third time in the past year plus that I had been approached by a panhandler using that same gimmick. And I’m certain I’ve seen someone else having that begging pitch used on them on, at least, one other occasion.

Well, I told the kid that I had seen this before. I had that skeptical tone I get. But I softened and asked, “Do you need a couple bucks?” He said that he did, so I gave him two dollars. He went off to get money from other people in the lot.

I told the kid to get somewhere warm as he wandered off. Then I remembered I had a quilted shirt I didn’t need in the car. I tracked him down and gave it to him. I’m not sure he wore it, but he did thank me for it.

Funny, how during all this, I didn’t notice the dinga dinga dinga.

Please! Make It End!

Aretha Franklin is a great singer. She has a fantastic voice. She’s the Queen of Soul for crying out loud!

Yes, that’s all true. But! If you’re not a fan of her style of singing, which I am not, listening to her stretch out the National Anthem to more than 4 and a half minutes is going to be difficult. Thank science for the mute button!

When I sat down to watch the MN Vikings lose to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving, I was troubled when Aretha was announced as the person who would be singer our Anthem. I immediately started searching for the remote.

When her “Oh-oh say…” came out, “OoohooOOOHHooohhhooohh” I hit the mute button and turned to my son and said, “This is going to take a while.” I went into the kitchen to make a sandwich or do the dishes or bake a cake from scratch, something to occupy the time, and when I came out SHE WAS STILL SINGING!

Oh, my lack of god!

Sure, there were some who were dazzled. Maybe even moved. But, it was ridiculously long.

A Strange New Cheer In Sports?

Over the last several months, I’ve become aware of a new shouted cheer coming from a few fans at sporting events. I’ve notice it in baseball and in football.

I can’t describe it here, but my younger brother was listening and he told me it’s a Ric Flair thing. He was a pro wrestler, I guess. So I looked it up and I found this clip of some Indianapolis Colts doing the Ric Flair. And there’s the cheer!

It’s interesting how stuff like this takes hold.

That Library Marquee

The image above has been popping up on the Facebook lately. It’s amusing, but I have news for whoever it was who created this image: Not everything in a library is true either.

Does your library carry any books by Sylvia Browne or James van Praagh or Deepak Chopra? Do they have a copy of The Amityville Horror or books promoting the Bermuda Triangle, psychic abilities, or ghosts? Do they have a self-help motivational section? The Bible or the Quaran?

Do you see what I mean?

A Few More Complaints

When talking about that new cheer, I touched on a Geico ad featuring a football game in which the center distracts his quarterback with info about the insurance company. A distraction which leads to the quarterback getting sacked.

If I were the coach of that center, I’d have benched him.

My talking about that library marquee reminded me of a pet peeve I have about prices posted on marquees. Specifically, if you don’t have period/decimal point/dot tile to use when separating dollars and cents, just leave a little space where you would have placed the period/decimal point/dot.

See how easy that is?

Finally, I complained about how the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is only barely on television anymore, despite having two networks “covering” it. I go into more detail at my blog over at Warehouse Find, the official blog of Nostalgia Zone.

Movie Recommendation: None

I ran out of time, so you are on your own.

Music heard on the show…

Dimland Radio opening theme song: ‘Ram’ by The Yoleus
First ad break bumpers: ‘Teacher Teacher‘ by Rockpile & ‘In-Between Days‘ by The Cure

Second ad break bumpers: ‘Mea Culpa‘ by Brian Eno – David Byrne & ‘Empty Glass‘ 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

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 11-19-16 show notes

Be Prepared? Meh

It’s that time of year again. Time to make sure the snowblower is in working order for the coming winter. I told of how the snowblower started after one pull of the cord, but that one pull also led to some frustration.

Fake News On Social Media

Mainly pertaining to Facebook, because that’s the only social media platform I’m on, but I am aware the other platforms are rife with fake news. There are satire sites and propaganda sites that post any kind of bullshit they like and people are far too willing to assume the stories are true.

As a skeptic, I try to remain aware of my own biases when consuming news items. I try to make sure a story has been verified. Is it being reported on by a legitimate news source? CNN, FOX, ABC, CBS, NBC, USAToday, WSJ, Yahoo News, etc. are what I consider legit. Sure, they may have a bias, but they are charged with gathering and reporting the news as factual as possible. Fox may choose to not cover or emphasize the same stories CNN does, but they still need to find the facts.

Snopes.com is an excellent source for checking on the validity of a story. As is FactCheck.org. Yes, I know people accuse those sites as being biased, but they do the research and cite their sources.

Some folks are spreading the Facebook post that alleges an ambulance had to change its route to a hospital due to an anti-Trump protest. The route change was claimed by the Facebook post to have added 45 minutes to the emergency commute. That delay led to the death of a man with a four year old daughter.

No legit news sites were reporting this story. The source was just a Facebook post making a claim. It gave no identifiable details, such as where this happened, which hospital, name of the dead man, etc. But the claim was enough for blogs and pro-Trump/anti-Obama sites to jump all over it. Snopes lists the story as unproven.

People need to learn to verify such stories before posting on social media. If a legit news source is reporting it, it is pretty safe to share the story, although you should still read the whole article and check out any links provided. If it’s a blog or some satire or propaganda site, you need to search for the original article. An read it!

If a headline sounds a little too good to be true, checking Snopes or FactCheck is a good idea.

This graphic will help you keep in mind how to vet a story before posting it.

Also, the burden of proof on any claim is on the part of the person implying the claim is true by sharing it on social media. It is not on the person calling the claim fake.

Below is the video demonstrating the need to vet claims made on social media I mentioned on the show. It shows how as one person is attempting to verify a claim, while another has posted the story to social media and the claim is spreading across the internet like wildfire.

As Mark Twain is said to have said, “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”

I Like To Say I Told You So, Because I Told You So

Turning to the world of sports, I took a little time to gloat about how I was right to caution people against getting too excited about the MN Vikings 5 – 0 start to this football season. I mentioned it on the show a few weeks ago and I blogged about it. I reminded people that the Vikes always find a way to disappoint and that folks ought to be more reluctant about jumping on their bandwagon.

Well, I was right. After that talk and blog the team from the North Star state went on a four game losing streak. And through most of it, they looked pathetic, even the defense which had been the best part of the team.

My timing for gloating about being right was also good, because the Vikes managed to break that losing streak and defeat the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

I still caution against any bandwagon boarding.

Movie Recommendation: John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982)

I just watched it again this past week. I think it still holds up and is a lot of intense and gruesome fun. I blogged about it on Warehouse Find, the official blog of Nostalgia Zone.

Music heard on the show…

Dimland Radio opening theme song: ‘Ram’ by The Yoleus
First ad break bumpers: ‘Constant In Opal‘ by The Church & ‘Uniforms (Corps D’Esprit)‘ by Pete Townshend

Second ad break bumpers: ‘Lilydale‘ by 10,000 Maniacs & ‘Armagedeon Days Are Here (Again)‘ by The The

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