Monthly Archives: April 2016

PELE AND HI’IAKA: EPIC OF HAWAII PART TWENTY-TWO

KauaiBalladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the grand and exciting Hawaiian epic about the goddesses Pele and Hi’iaka.

PART TWENTY-TWO

Hi’iaka and her two mortal companions – the woman Wahine and Prince Lohiau, the intended groom of Pele – departed from Haena in a double-boat. They headed west around the island of Kauai and in some versions of this tale Hi’iaka left the vessel at one point, planning to rendezvous with Lohiau and Wahine at Mana.

On her inland detour Hi’iaka said a formal goodbye to another relative of her and Pele – the mountain god Pohaku. From there she traveled on foot through the sandy domain of the Menehune, the Hawaiian equivalents of elves and dwarves. The Menehune were delighted to see the goddess and accompanied her to the beach at Mana.  Continue reading

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LOSING TWO RELIGIONS

Mascot FOUR original pics

Balladeer’s Blog

Balladeer’s Blog’s readers are familiar with my belief that all religions are nothing but mythology. I personally left two religions behind me during my life.

Of the two religions I broke away from – Catholicism and American Liberalism – it was by far American Liberalism that required the most denial of reality and the most leaps of faith. American Liberals are among the worst fanatics as well, since they have NO identity outside of their political beliefs. 

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Q AND A WITH THE DIRECTORS OF ALOHA FROM LAVALAND

The documentary premiers tomorrow, April 7th!

Aloha From Lavaland 1FIRST – SUZENNE (sic) SERADWYN

Why did you want to make this flm?
SS: When our producer approached me about signing on to the project, it was an immediate
yes.

I arrived to the island not long before the
lava began fowing, and quickly learned that
Puna is unlike any place I’ve ever been.
People here have diferent values because of the
natural elements at play, and the rich cultural
history surrounding those elements. Continue reading

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL: MID-SOUTH CONFERENCE AND THE SUN CONFERENCE MERGE

MidSouth Conference expansionThe NAIA’s Mid-South Conference and the Sun Conference are merging to form the nation’s largest football conference at any level. There will be 20 teams competing for three automatic bids to the NAIA playoffs. 2017 will be the debut year of the combo.

Read on for details. Best of all, those teams called Eagles in the MSC and the Sun Conference will be forced to change their names to something less overused. (I’m kidding. If only it were true.) Back to the facts … Continue reading

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MUSLIM VIOLENCE AWARENESS YEAR: RECENT ACTION

Islam means peace

Poster by Bosch Fawstin, winner of the Draw Muhammad Contest. He refuses to talk to media outlets too gutless to show his Muhammad drawings.

I consider all religions to be nothing but irrational mythology. That said there is only ONE religion in the world that elected officials and the increasingly shrill media constantly try to browbeat the rest of us into regarding with a reverence it does not deserve: Islam. (But only those elements of Islam that are violent and want to live in the past. Muslims working to reform their faith get ignored by the Left, who accuse them of “internalizing Western oppression.”)

April 1st – Palmyra, Syria – An investigation uncovered 40 dead victims of the Islamic State formed by Barack Obama’s premature withdrawal from Iraq. “Obamastan” is the alternate name the world has given to the Islamic State. 

March 31st – Galkayo, Somalia – A Muslim fascist suicide bomber killed 9 innocent people and injured 10 more.

March 27th – Lahore, Pakistan – Christians celebrating Easter were victims of a Muslim fascist bombing which killed 74 people and injured 362 more.  Continue reading

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ALOHA FROM LAVALAND PREMIERS APRIL SEVENTH

HawaiianislandsJust a few more days til the 55 minute documentary Aloha From Lavaland premiers at the Hawaii International Film Festival Spring Showcase. The movie, co-produced by Zoe Eisenberg, covers the way Hawaiians pulled together to deal with the Mt Kilauea eruption in 2014. 

The trailer of the film can be seen Continue reading

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CCCAA COLLEGE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

*** CCCAA ***

City College of San Francisco Rams logoCHAMPIONSHIP GAME – Both the CITY COLLEGE OF SAN FRANCISCO RAMS and their opponents, the SADDLEBACK COLLEGE GAUCHOS, came into the title game having suffered just ONE loss all through the regular season and the postseason! Naturally one of the teams would suffer their second loss in this game.

The Rams built up a 33-22 lead over the Gauchos by the time Halftime rolled around, a lead that was needed since both teams scored exactly 35 points after the break. City College of San Francisco won the game by a final score of 68-57 and now hold both the football AND basketball championships for the 2015-2016 season.  Continue reading

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FREE SPEECH, LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES

Muslim oppression 3Free Speech has been under assault by both Liberals and Conservatives in recent decades. There was a time when Liberals actively supported freedom of expression because they understood it was THE primary freedom from which all other freedoms flowed. The early figures from my own country’s history protected speech with the FIRST Amendment to the Constitution because they knew all too well that ideas that are considered taboo and offensive today might be considered essential truths by future generations.

The forever-hypocritical 1960s generation of American Liberals were all about Free Speech when THEIR ideas were the ones offending people. Once they considered themselves to be comfortably in the cultural, educational and political driver’s seat by the early 1990s they decided they wanted their own already outdated worldview enshrined in stone and presented as THE one true set of values.

Free speech is a civil rightThey became the Political Correctness Police and anyone who offended their 1960s attitudes had to be silenced because – as they knew so well from their own experience – when controversial ideas are given the room to breathe they can often thrive. The totalitarian asses of the 1960s can’t bear the fact that younger people might have opinions that offend THEM as much as their opinions offended their parents’ generation. 

And it’s not just in America. All around the world similar assaults on Freedom of Expression are being made. If Muslims are offended they want the offensive material banned, if authoritarian regimes like the one in China are offended they want the offensive material banned, and on and on it goes. Considering that the more easily offended someone is the less intelligent they tend to be I find it amazing that Politically Correct censorship has thrived the way it has.

Free Speech 2Keep in mind Spinoza’s wonderful line “Every man should think what he likes and say what he thinks.” That still rings true because no matter what the hypersensitive fools who want to censor the rest of us find offensive NONE of them has the right to try to extinguish one single product of the human mind. Continue reading

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PELE AND HI’IAKA: EPIC OF HAWAII PART TWENTY-ONE

Kauai 2Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the grand and exciting Hawaiian epic about the goddesses Pele and Hi’iaka.

PART TWENTY-ONE 

Hi’iaka, her mortal friend Wahine and the freshly-resurrected Prince Lohiau soaked in the praise of the throng surrounding them on the beach beneath the cliffs overlooking Haena. That crowd of Lohiau’s family and subjects felt a certain bittersweet elation. They knew that, though their prince had been restored to life they were about to figuratively lose him again when he moved away to the Big Island to become the mate of the volcano and fire goddess Pele. 

Eventually Hi’iaka led Prince Lohiau and the mortal woman Wahine through the rejoicing mob so that they could refresh themselves with the feel of the ocean waves. The trio froliced in the water for a time, then Lohiau could restrain himself no longer. He grabbed the first available surfboard and paddled out to enjoy some surfing. (Many figures in Hawaiian myths surf – even the deities.) 
Continue reading

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ALOHA FROM LAVALAND (2016): A RIVETING DOCUMENTARY

Aloha From Lavaland 1

OPENS APRIL 7th AT THE HAWAII INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL SPRING SHOWCASE

Aloha from lavaland 3 aloha from lavaland 4aloha from lavaland 5
Continue reading

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