CINCINNATI STATE SURGE
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Conference Affiliation: Ohio Collegiate Athletic Conference
Comment: “Be great at Cincinnati State” is this college’s motto and it’s well-known for the way it churns out quality grads on a regular basis. Enhancing all of that is the Continue reading
Filed under Cool names and cool logos
Before MST3K there was THE TEXAS 27 FILM VAULT! Before Joel and Mike lovers of bad movies had Randy and Richard! Before Devil Dogs, Observers and Deep 13 there came Cellumites, giant rats and Level 31!
In the mid 1980′s a two and a half hour-long program called The Texas 27 Film Vault was the show to watch on Saturday nights for wry mockery of Golden Turkeys preceded by episodes of vintage Republic Serials like Radar Men From The Moon and Canadian Mounties vs Atomic Invaders.
Courtesy of a photo from T27FV‘s Randy Clower and through more research of my own in old Dallas newspapers from the 1980’s here are some more bits of trivia to add to Balladeer’s Blog’s ever-expanding cache of info on this unjustly neglected Movie Host program.
Above is a shot of Randy with fellow Film Vault Corps member Laurie Savino (both mostly Continue reading
Filed under Bad and weird movies, Movie Hosts
THE DEFENDING CHAMPIONS TAKE A FALL – All the members of the 2013 Final Four in D2 were 1 seeds as it turned out. The DRURY UNIVERSITY PANTHERS rose up and toppled the WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY VIKINGS, the defending champions. Alex Hall – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: The Assassin – was the star once again with his season-high 35 points as he led the Panthers to their first ever appearance in the championship game on April 7th. Drury as a team shot 57.6% and won their 22nd game in a row, a program record. The defending champion Vikings found themselves trailing 50-32 by halftime. Ultimately Drury advanced by notching a Century Club-level 107 points to the 97 put up by Western Washington.
THE TOP SEED TAKES A FALL – The other battle of 1 seeds also resulted in an upset. The METRO STATE ROADRUNNERS surprised the overall top seeded WEST LIBERTY UNIVERSITY HILLTOPPERS. The Roadrunners lived up to their name with a very fast start, opening up the game with a 15-2 run. The Hilltoppers were playing catchup the rest of the way as Metro State made basket after basket while simultaneously shutting down West Liberty, which had boasted the nation’s best offense coming into Continue reading
Filed under College Basketball
Kim Jong Un has North Korea in the news again for all the wrong reasons. He’s continuing his insane and despotic family’s policies like starving his own people, constantly threatening nuclear activity against other nations, having his secret police abduct countless people in the middle of the night and running a barbaric prison system.
So here’s a helping of my review of the lone venture into the area of filmmaking that Kim Jong Un’s equally crazed father Kim Jong Il engaged in. Of course I’m talking about Pulgasari, the only kaiju movie produced by a man who combined the insanity of Idi Amin with the paranoia of Josef Stalin and the cinematic mastery of Ed Wood.
PULGASARI (1985) – Category: Bad enough and with a classically weird premise but not fun-bad enough for my highest rating North Korea’s thoroughly deranged dictator Kim Jong Il was responsible for this film and even gives himself a producer’s credit. It’s the least he could do for himself after having his underlings literally KIDNAP SOME FILMMAKERS from South Korea and forcing them to take part in this bizarre film venture. If you doubt me just use a search engine to find out about the making of this movie. He even made those unfortunate people rot in one of his prisons for four years before he finally got around to setting them to the task he had kidnapped them for in the first place.
It was all part of Krazy Kim’s desire to initiate North Korea’s entry into the 
kaiju monster film market. (Their previous attempt decades earlier resulted in the equally laughable film Yongary, Monster From The Deep ) The story of the kidnapping and the filmmakers’ subsequent escape would have made a much better movie than this monster flick.
Pulgasari (No, Dennis Rodman, not Pao Gasol, Pulgasari. NBA fans will get it) is the title monster in Kim Jong Il’s attempt to imitate Godzilla and Gamera and other Japanese monsters. Since the story is Continue reading
Filed under Bad and weird movies
* NCAA D2 ELITE EIGHT *
METRO STATE TO THE FINAL FOUR – NCAA Division Two’s tournament uses eight separate regions instead of four, so that means eight number 1 seeds. SEVEN of those 1 seeds made it to the Elite Eight in this year’s very odd “All chalk, all the time” tourney. The only non-1 seed was a 2 seed, so no Cinderellas for 2013. The (1) METRO STATE ROADRUNNERS advanced to the Final Four with a 78-65 victory over fellow 1 seeds the FRANKLIN PIERCE RAVENS. The Roadrunners “beep-beeped” their way past the Ravens with an astonising 16 to 2 run during the final four minutes of the game.
GIVE US WEST LIBERTY OR GIVE US DEATH – In what has become a Tournament of 1 Seeds the WINONA STATE WARRIORS stood out as a 2 seed in the Elite Eight. The WEST LIBERTY HILLTOPPERS battled the Warriors for the right to move on to the Final Four. Offense was no problem for either team and an 11-0 run to close out the 1st half put the Hilltoppers up 50-41 at the break. In the 2nd half West Liberty left Winona State coughing in their dust and led by as many as 31 points for a time. The game ended with the Hilltoppers having scored a Century Club- level 110 points to the 84 scored by Continue reading
Filed under College Basketball
Awhile back I designated the 1940’s superhero the Black Condor as the Official Superhero of Balladeer’s Blog. I did that because of the character’s sheer awesome level of weirdness. Here’s another bit where I caption one of the covers from the Black Condor’s adventures in the appropriately named Crack Comics. For my original look at this hero’s goofiness click Continue reading
Filed under humor
There are still two more divisions of college basketball that have yet to play their championship game, but all five divisions of college hockey covered here at Balladeer’s Blog are done for the season. Here’s one last round of congratulations for these 2013 college hockey champs!
NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) DIVISION THREE
Champions – WISCONSIN-EAU CLAIRE BLUGOLDS
Runners Up – Oswego State Lakers (again)
2012 Champions – Saint Norbert College Green Knights
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NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association)
Champions – WILLISTON STATE COLLEGE TETONS (as in the Native American tribe)
Runners Up – Continue reading
Filed under college hockey
Balladeer’s Blog’s mythology posts are among the most popular parts of this site. As a change of pace from my examinations of multiple deities from a single mythological pantheon this time I’ll do a light-hearted look at solar deities – both male and female – from around the world. Given the familiarity of the Greco- Roman sun god I’ll omit him and deal with less well-known deities.
11. SEQINEK
Pantheon: Inuit
Lore: Also called Malina, Seqinek’s home was in Udlormiut, the land that was on the other side of the sky. In Inuit cosmology the sky was the roof of the enormous ice- house (igloo) that enclosed the world and Udlormiut lay on the other side. By day Seqinek would leave her home and run across the sky, with the sun itself being the flame from the torch she carried as she ran. The goddess was forever fleeing her brother, the moon god Tatqim, whose partially burnt- out torch was the moon.
For more Inuit deities – https://glitternight.com/inuit-myth/
10. SURYA
Pantheon: Hindu
Lore: The sun was Surya’s chariot racing across Continue reading
Filed under Mythology
* NJCAA1 CHAMPIONSHIP *
RED WHITE AND BLUE CHAMPIONS – In an “All Florida, All the time” battle for the National Championship in NJCAA Division One the 3rd seeded COLLEGE OF CENTRAL FLORIDA PATRIOTS faced the upstart 9 seeds, the NORTHWEST FLORIDA STATE RAIDERS, for the 2013 title. As they have so often this season the Patriots got the better of the Raiders (and nobody can blame the Tuck Rule – I’m kidding) once again. CCF completely shut down the Raiders standout player Chris Jones in the 1st half – and I mean shut down as in HE GOT ZERO POINTS. Meanwhile, Patriots star and tournament MVP Eugene McRory led his team with 23 points. CCF led 43-33 at the break and in the 2nd half withstood a spirited charge from the Raiders to win by a score of 74-69. Congratulations Patriots!
* NJCAA2 CHAMPIONSHIP *
WARRIORS TAKE THE TITLE – In the NJCAA Division Two Championship Game the 4th seeded REND LAKE COLLEGE WARRIORS got off to a 19-3 lead over their opponents, the 7th seeded MORAINE VALLEY COLLEGE CYCLONES, and never looked back. The Cyclones, who had excelled in spotting postseason opponents leads only to come storming back (see what I did there), finally dug themselves too big a hole to get out of. By halftime the game was a yawner, with Rend Lake College sporting a 48-26 advantage. The Cyclones performed Continue reading
Filed under College Basketball
The 1940’s Black Condor (secret identity Senator Thomas Wright) has been serving as the Official Superhero of Balladeer’s Blog. I gave him that designation because of the sheer weirdness of his origin and the hilariously stupid secret behind his alter ego Senator Wright. Here’s another bit where I caption one of the covers from the Black Condor’s adventures in the appropriately named Crack Comics. For my original look at this hero’s goofiness click here: https://glitternight.com/2013/03/11/the-black-condor-the-official-superhero-of-balladeers-blog/
BLACK CONDOR: I’ve saved you, you poor little thing! Now to catch your brother over there and deliver the two of you to a nice safe hospital!
Filed under humor
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