Dimland Radio

dimland radio 11-9-13 show notes

End Of An Era

Blockbuster announced it will be closing 300 of their remaining stores and shutting down the DVD through the mail service. Yes, I know, it’s cool to hate Blockbuster and I never did much business with them, but the company that forced out the “Mom & Pop” video rental stores is now on its way out.

I talked about how folks my age saw the home VHS video format/rental start, flourish, and die. I also reminisced about the early days of video technology and rentals. So long ago.

Facebook Round-up

Let’s see… I talked about political blind spots of certain A list skeptics and their hatred of Pres. George W Bush. Bush has taken up painting since he left office and he’s not very good. The A lister noted that Hitler was also a painter. So, then I talked a bit about Godwin’s Law and the need to understand that politics is complex and even skeptics can forget about nuance.

That led me to mentioning a couple of online surveys I took. One to determine how much I agree with various political parties, the results surprised even me. The other survey was to determine which philosopher I most agree with and the results seemed not very scientific. There’s no way I could agree 100% with anyone, or 0% for that matter.

Take the political survey here and the philosophy survey here.

“Y’all Need To Post Some Positive Shit”

That was the request of a Facebook friend. So, I picked up the gauntlet and posted a few positive news items in her comment thread. I first posted a link to the viral story of a middle-aged Jewish man allowing an exhausted African American man to sleep on his shoulder, then I posted a couple stories from the website PositiveNews.org.uk, and I finished up with the 2008 video by Where The Hell Is Matt? I talked about Matt Harding’s video before on the show, but I thought it was worth mentioning again.

I also talked about Matt Harding admitting the video was an elaborate hoax. One that used green screen and lots of expensive animatronics. In case it’s not obvious to you, Matt was being satirical.

Movie Recommendation: Amelie (2001)

Miramax Films

Sweet, quirky, funny, and romantic. You’ll feel good. Watch it.

Music heard on the show…

Dimland Radio opening theme song: ‘Ram’ by The Yoleus

First ad break bumpers: ‘Crystal Days‘ by Echo & the Bunnymen & ‘Never Talking To You Again‘ by Husker Du
Second ad break bumpers: ‘Kissfolk‘ by 54-40 & ‘This Is The Day‘ by 10,000 Maniacs
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 11-2-13 show notes

Paradigm Symposium Round-up (One Day, That Is)

I spent the entire day of Sunday October 20th at the Union Depot in downtown St. Paul. It’s a very impressive building. Shiny marble floors, high arched ceilings, tall windows. Very nice. And one wing of the building was set aside for four days of alternative histories, alien intervening to help early human civilizations, some ghosts, an animal psychic, crystals and lots of books for sale. There just wasn’t much science involved in the second annual Paradigm Symposium.

Man, But Can They Talk And Talk And Talk…

I only went for what was the last day of the conference. My friend, Scott Roberts, was one of the organizers and he got me in as media, so I didn’t have to pay. There was no way I was going to pay for this. You know it ain’t exactly my bag.

The speakers that I listened to that day were LA Marzulli, Laird Scranton, PZ Myers, Thomas Fusco, and Joseph Amara. Yes, you read that right PZ Myers was there. And his talk was the best and the only one based on actual science.

The other talks were fine examples of confirmation bias. The speakers had an idea of what happened in the past, say being hybridized by the Nephilim (as LA Marzulli contended) for example, and looked for those anomalies from the past that they thought were evidence for their “theorizes” (read: guesses).

And, boy could they talk. PZ was the only speaker who understood the concept of brevity and how to stay on topic.

It was an interesting day.

Never Found In The 80s: Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, Tone On Tail, Peter Murphy, & Bauhaus

It was a special week on the Stuck In The 80s blog the week of Halloween. I featured profiles of four Goth bands. Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and their song ‘Spinning Round’ started the week. The next three days featured Tones On Tail (‘Go!’), Peter Murphy (‘Final Solution’) and, on Halloween, Bauhaus (‘She’s In Parties’). Oooo, it was a scary week!

Speaking Of Stuck In The 80s

It was also Halloween week that saw me guest co-hosting again on the Stuck In The 80s podcast. Our topic was the 80s horror/comedy classic ‘An American Werewolf in London’. Check it out here.

The Greatest Moment In All Of Star Wars

The folks at the Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe talked about what they thought was the greatest moment of all the Star Wars movies. Episodes 4 – 6, of course, the prequals have no great moments. Well, they mentioned a few good moments, but they were all wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

The greatest moment is… You’ll have to listen.

Movie Recommendation: None This Week

Music heard on the show…

Dimland Radio opening theme song: ‘Ram’ by The Yoleus

First ad break bumpers: ‘Spinning Round‘ by Red Lorry Yellow Lorry & ‘Go!‘ by Tones On Tail
Second ad break bumpers: ‘Final Solution‘ by Peter Murphy & ‘She’s In Parties‘ by Bauhaus
Closing song: ‘Angler’s Treble Hook’ by $5 Fiddle

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 halloween music special 10-26-13 show notes

Music Show

This was my Halloween music show special. Some Goth, some creepy stuff, all good tunes. Just what you have come to expect from my music shows, right?

I am not allowed to archive music shows, so you have to tune in to listen. The following is what you missed if you weren’t there…

Playlist

Ashes To Ashes – David Bowie

Intruder – Peter Gabriel

Torture – Berlin

Monster Man – The Suburbs

Beating My Head – Red Lorry Yellow Lorry

A Song From Under The Floorboards – Magazine

(Ghost) Riders In The Sky – Johnny Cash

Bela Lugosi’s Dead – Bauhaus

Dear Prudence – Siouxsie & the Banshees

The Man With The Light Bulb Head – Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians

Nocturnal Me – Echo & the Bunnymen

What’s He Building In There? – Tom Waits

Love Will Tear Us Apart Again – Joy Division
Nemesis – Shriekback

No Time To Cry – Sisters of Mercy

Mama – Genesis

Real Life – Tones On Tail

We Chase The Night – Mach Fox
Date With A Vampyre – The Screaming Tribesmen
Lollipop – All the Pretty Horses
Snake Dance – The March Violets
Cuts You Up – Peter Murphy

Monster Mash – Bobby “Boris” Pickett & the Crypt Kickers

Other Music heard on the show…

Dimland Radio Music Show opening & closing theme song: ‘Twist’ by Tones On Tail

That’s it! You should know that I am not able to archive the music shows I do due to the limitations of Z Talk Radio’s music license. So, if you want to hear the music you have to tune in. Next month I will do another music show on www.ztalkradio.com otherwise be sure to tune in Saturday 11pm Central, midnight Eastern for another regular edition of Dimland Radio. You can email your questions and comments to drdim@dimland.com

dimland radio 10-19-13 show notes

I Won The Lottery!

Ok, not really. I’ve been summoned to jury duty for the second time in my life. That’s like winning a lottery nobody wants to win. And I’ve now won it twice.

My First Tour Of Jury Duty

I talked about the first time I did jury duty and that I did get on a case. I gave my recollections on that case and some other interesting aspects of it. At least, I hope they were interesting.

I mentioned the impressive statue that slowly rotates in the atrium of the Ramsey County Courthouse in St. Paul, MN. It’s called Vision of Peace. I mistakenly called it the Spirit of Justice. Where did I get that name from?

Look! An orb! G-g-g-not a ghost! I don’t know who the dude is.

Never Found In The 80s: The Screaming Tribesmen & The March Violets

After a short absence, two bands have recently been profiled in my Never Found in the 80s series for the Stuck in the 80s blog. In October, I’m doing a Goth and/or Halloween theme. I featured Australia’s The Screaming Tribesmen and their song ‘Date With A Vampyre’, and England’s The March Violets and their song ‘Snake Dance’.

Ms. Show-Us-Your-Boobs 1993 Might Be In Trouble On The View

Non-scientist Jenny McCarthy’s position on The View is rumored to be in jeopardy. These are just rumors, mind you. But we can hope they are true, can’t we?

What’s Your Excuse?

Maria Kang, a year ago, posted online a picture of herself with her three young sons under the headline – What’s Your Excuse? and she’s been getting grief for it ever since. Ms. Kang has a fitness trainer’s body. She had it before she was pregnant and she got it back after each pregnancy. Is this body shaming of post-pregnancy women? I think, yes. But, could it also be an inspiration to post-pregnancy women to workout and get their bodies back into healthy shape? I think, yes.

So, what’s the excuse? Not every woman has the same body type that Ms. Kang has or the lifestyle she has that allows her to exercise several hours a day. She would do better to encourage people to be healthy. And maybe that’s what she is trying to do.

I should note I talked about body types: Ectomorph, Endomorph, and Mesomorph. I’ve seen the validity of these body types being questioned. I’ll see what I can find out. But let’s just say that genetics plays a big part in the sort of body you can achieve through proper diet and exercise.

I also mentioned Ms Kang is a fitness trainer. She says she is not a personal trainer. However, bodybuilding.com’s profile of her states in part, “her exptensive fitness background expands (sic) a period of over 14 years as a personal trainer, group exercise director and instructor…” Something’s not meshing there.

Here is a viewpoint suggesting that Maria Kang isn’t really body shaming people.

A Dimland Radio Look At Sports

I made a prediction! This is purely emotional. Sometimes my skepticism gets clouded when I think about sports. Especially, when it comes to the MN Vikings. So, Monday (10/21) night the Vikes will be heading to the Meadowlands to take on the 0 – 6 NY Giants. Prediction: MY VIKES AT 1 – 4 WILL GIVE THE GIANTS THEIR FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON!

But, it’s purely emotional, so I guess we’ll see Monday night.

Movie Recommendation: The Shining (1980)

Warner Bros

This Stanley Kubrick horror classic was initially panned when released by many film critics and audiences weren’t too thrilled with it. I saw it when it was released, I was 15 or 16, and I liked it and thought it was so creepy. Time has changed opinions on this movie and it is now looked on as a great an unique film. Here is what Roger Ebert said about it.

Music heard on the show…

Dimland Radio opening theme song: ‘Ram’ by The Yoleus

First ad break bumpers: ‘Date With A Vampyre‘ by The Screaming Tribesmen & ‘Snake Dance‘ by The March Violets
Second ad break bumpers: ‘Villiers Terrace‘ by Echo & the Bunnymen & ‘My Mother The War‘ by 10,000 Maniacs
Closing song: ‘Angler’s Treble Hook’ by $5 Fiddle

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 10-12-13 show notes

Scam Alert

I passed on a message to one of our employees the other day. A Sheriff Ricky Clark (at one point I slipped and called him Ricki Lake) of Lamb County, Texas needed to get a hold of that employee. Minutes after I gave the message, the employee called me back and told me it was a scam. Apparently, this guy claimed our employee owed money and if she didn’t pay she’d be arrested. It’s just a scam to get money.

A Google search quickly found that this caller should just be ignored.

It’s Been 30 Years?!

On Saturday (10-5) Johnson High School Class of ’83 got together to celebrate it’s been 30 years already. I gave a few observations and related a bit about a driving error I made as Amy and I headed home. No one was hurt and no one got into any trouble. Phew.

Missed Opportunity

I’d been meaning to talk about this for weeks, but just couldn’t get to it. But, finally I was able to tell of a moment that was presented to me to help someone think differently (maybe even skeptically) about gas prices lowering as elections approach.

I could have told her the gas prices might go down leading up to elections here in the states as a way for the party in power to take that issue off the table. OR, maybe gas prices go down around elections, because elections take place in the fall after the summer driving season has ended. So, the summer driving season ends, which leads to less long traveling by gas-powered vehicles, which then leads to less demand for gas. Less demand, lower prices. It’s simply supply and demand economics.

I could have used that moment to tell someone that. But all I said was, “It seems that way.”

It’s Not True: Mister Rogers Rumors

I hadn’t done an It’s Not True in a while. So, I pulled this from Snopes.com to dispel the internet of the many rumors surrounding the awesome and very missed Fred Rogers. He was never a criminal, never in the military, he didn’t have arms sleeved in tattoos, and he didn’t give the finger to his audience on his last show.

It’s all right here.

Positive Results? In The Doctor’s Office? I Don’t Think so!

There’s an ad on the radio with some doctor touting that his nonsurgical system of med combinations will help male patients with their erectile dysfunction. I’m dubious of the claim, but maybe it works.

The fellow claims patients will have “positive results” in just 45 minutes on their first visit or there is no charge. A “positive result”? At the doctor’s office? Um, I think I’ll pass.

Movie Recommendation: The Black Cat (1934)

Universal Pictures

It’s October. It’s time to recommend some good horror movies, so I recommend Universal’s The Black Cat released in 1934. It is the first pairing of the classic horror icons Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. It’s a good-looking film with some good moments, but it really has nothing to do with the Edgar Allan Poe story on which the film is based. There is a black cat in it. The similarity ends there.

Music heard on the show…

Dimland Radio opening theme song: ‘Ram’ by The Yoleus

First ad break bumpers: ‘Down In The Siene‘ by The Style Council & ‘Antonin Artaud‘ by Bauhaus
Second ad break bumpers: ‘Ronnie’s Song‘ by Urban Guerrillas & ‘Grass‘ by XTC
Closing song: ‘Angler’s Treble Hook’ by $5 Fiddle

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.