Monthly Archives: February 2012

February 18, 2012 · 3:07 pm

FORGOTTEN TELEVISION: SHADOW THEATER (1990-1991)

 Shadow Theater was a terrific series hosted by Robert “Freddy Krueger” Englund. Everyone over the age of 30 remembers a time when you couldn’t just go to the internet to get your fix of info and footage from fringe and/ or obscure horror films. This program was a nice once-a- week documentary look at movies for the Psychotronic- minded.

An additional plus about the show was the way it treated viewers to behind-the- scenes facts and rare interviews with some of horror’s most daring filmmakers without having to attend a fan convention. (It’s a joke! Lighten up!)

Robert Englund displayed the same macabre charm he would employ when hosting the Horror Movie Hall of Fame ceremonies later in the decade. He didn’t copy his patented Freddy routine, but rather Continue reading →

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February 17, 2012 · 11:47 pm

OZARK CHRISTIAN COLLEGE AMBASSADORS ARE ON A 4-GAME WINNING STREAK

 The Ozark Christian College Ambassadors (logo at left) are not only one of the coolest- named college sports teams around, but their basketball team is on a four-game winning streak headed into tonight’s game against the Manhattan (KS) Crusaders.

 The Ambassadors (How can you not love a name that cool?) are 19-8 overall and after finishing off

Continue reading →

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February 16, 2012 · 12:21 am

SPECIAL GUEST COMMENTATORS LEILAH AND NEVAEH BREAK DOWN TODAY’S OCAC TOURNAMENT TIPOFF

 Remember the group Destiny’s Child? Well these two young ladies are the future group to be called “Rae’s Children”. Or maybe “Janice’s Grandchildren” if she can sell Rae on that idea.

Balladeer’s Blog welcomes Leilah and Nevaeh, the daughters of Rae Dillard and the granddaughters of Janice and Lonnie Dillard. Nevaeh is no stranger here and has twice before given us her outspoken assessment of college sports in the divisions I cover. Her little sister Leilah is a new arrival to our world and is a true Diaper Dandy in every sense of the term.

The Dillard Sisters, whose names you’ll be seeing on a marquis someday, are here to launch this year’s February Frenzy at Balladeer’s Blog. The conference basketball tournaments in the college divisions I cover start today with Continue reading →

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February 15, 2012 · 10:09 pm

END OF THE WORLD MYTH: THE BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF RED DEATH

 If you actually believe that we never landed on the moon and that the 9-11 attacks were staged by the U.S. government then you probably also believe that the world will end this coming December 21st. Balladeer’s Blog has been examining some of the previous end of the world scares in history.

November 13th, 1900 – This date was the predicted end of the world according to the Brothers and Sisters of Red Death. This group was a very odd religious cult that Continue reading →

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February 14, 2012 · 10:32 pm

COLLEGE BASKETBALL RANKINGS: WEEK OF FEBRUARY 13TH

 Thanks to popular demand, Balladeer’s Blog has resumed examining the rankings in the NCCAA and USCAA on top of the other divisions of college  basketball  covered here. The Cal Baptist University Lancers (logo at left) retain the top spot in the NCCAA-1 poll. The Ohio Christian University Trailblazers, whose conference tournament tips off on Thursday, are ranked 4th in the NCCAA-2 poll. Now a look at the top teams in all the divisions:

NAIA-1- 1. Shorter Hawks … 2. Oklahoma Baptist University Bison … 3. Robert Morris (IL) Eagles … 4. Southern Polytechnic Running Hornets 

NAIA-2- 1. Oregon Tech Hustlin’ Owls … 2. Northwood (FL) Seahawks … 3. Davenport Panthers … 4. Dordt College Defenders 

NCAA D3- 1. Hope Flying Dutchmen … 2. Amherst Lord Jeffs (up from 6) … 3. MIT Engineers Continue reading →

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February 14, 2012 · 1:29 am

BAD MOVIE PAGE: THE BODY SHOP (1973)

 THE BODY SHOP (1973) – Category: A neglected bad movie classic that deserves a Plan 9-sized cult following

The Body Shop is one of my all-time favorite bad movie gems. It includes all the little extras that separate mere bombs from the truly legendary turkeys and, like another neglected classic, The Wizard of Mars (see my Bad Movie page for the review), just keeps getting worse and Continue reading →

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February 13, 2012 · 10:53 pm

ISLAM’S LOVE AFFAIR WITH HOMOPHOBIA CONTINUES

Regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog are familiar with how cowardly and hypocritical I consider left- wing zealots to be because of the way they pound on Christianity’s outdated attitude toward homosexuality but are far too meek and timid to criticize Islam for having the same, if not worse, homophobic mindset.

My fellow blogger Harry at Dribbling Pensioner has posted a Continue reading →

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February 12, 2012 · 4:00 pm

NOTEWORTHY COLLEGE BASKETBALL RESULTS FROM FEBRUARY 11TH

 SOMETIMES THE GAME EXCEEDS THE HYPE – Yesterday’s nearly sole clash between ranked teams in the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics ) exceeded all the hype surrounding the game going in. The number 5 GRACE COLLEGE LANCERS (logo at left) traveled to face the 20th- ranked SAINT FRANCIS (IN) COUGARS and emerged with an 89-87 victory in an undeniable Instant Classic. The Lancers trailed 49-44 at halftime but regrouped in the 2nd half to come out on top in this game for the ages.  

NUMBER TWO TAKES A FALL – In NCAA D3 action, the 2nd- ranked MIDDLEBURY PANTHERS were upset on the road by the number 6 AMHERST LORD JEFFS. The final score in this overtime Battle Royal was 77-75.

TOP 25 UPSETS – NAIA-1 – The 5th- ranked OUR LADY OF THE LAKE SAINTS fell to the SOUTHWEST ASSEMBLIES OF GOD LIONS in a 106-80 shocker … The number 8 GEORGETOWN (KY) TIGERS were toppled on the road by the SHAWNEE STATE BEARS in a 63-59 game that thrilled the Shawnee State Homecoming crowd … The 9th- ranked WESTMONT WARRIORS fell to the unranked HOPE INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY ROYALS by a score of 77-70 … The MONTANA TECH OREDIGGERS (love that name) upset the Continue reading →

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February 11, 2012 · 4:09 pm

COLLEGE BASKETBALL SCOREBOARDS FOR FEBRUARY11TH

 The biggest news in college basketball since last Saturday came on Thursday night, when the Calumet College Crimson Wave (logo at left) upset the top-ranked Robert Morris (IL) Eagles! The final score after overtime was 92-85 and marked the first time the Crimson Wave have ever defeated RMU, one of their conference rivals. A 16-2 run in the 2nd half helped Calumet pull off this landmark upset in their own arena on the shores of Lake Michigan. Robert Morris falls to 22-2, the Crimson Wave evened their record at 12-12.

And now, links to updating scoreboards in the divisions of college basketball covered by Balladeer’s Blog:

NAIA Division 1 –http://www.victorysportsnetwork.com/sport/0/4.php

NAIA Division 2 – http://www.victorysportsnetwork.com/sport/0/15.php

NCAA Continue reading →

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February 10, 2012 · 1:47 am

ANCIENT GREEK COMEDY: PYTINE (423 BCE)

Cratinus as we all like to remember him

 Welcome to Balladeer’s Blog’s seventh post on ancient Greek comedies. If Pytine was an episode of Friends it would be titled The One Where Cratinus Fires Back At Aristophanes. This play is also known under English language titles like Wine Flask, Flagon, The Bottle, and others along those lines.

Cratinus, seen at left posing for the Attic Old Disco soundtrack album for Saturday Night Fever (Travolta stole all his moves from Cratinus, by the way) and galvanized by the tongue-in- cheek caricature that Aristophanes presented of a drunken, washed- up Cratinus in his previous year’s comedy The Knights, turned that caricature into the premise of his final comedy.

THE PLAY

From the fragments of Pytine that remain it seems Cratinus had an actor portraying himself (Cratinus) as the booze-soaked Grand Old Man of Attic comedy at the time. I always picture the character as a cross between Dudley Moore in Arthur and Tom Conti in Reuben, Reuben. Anyway, in the play Cratinus is Continue reading →

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