Monthly Archives: December 2016

December 18, 2016 · 5:00 am

COLLEGE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES WRAP UP

*** NAIA ***

St Francis (IN)NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The last two teams standing in the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) were the UNIVERSITY OF SAINT FRANCIS COUGARS and the BAKER UNIVERSITY WILDCATS. Daytona Beach was the site of this very lopsided game.

The 1st Quarter ended with the Cougars on top 10-3 and things only got worse for the Wildcats from there. By Halftime Saint Francis had expanded their lead to 17-3 before both teams notched a Touchdown in the 3rd Quarter. The Cougars outscored Baker 14-7 in the 4th to take the 2016 title by a final score of 38-17. 

*** NCAA DIVISION TWO ***

Northwest Missouri BearcatsNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The two winningest programs in D2 football history – the NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE BEARCATS and the UNIVERSITY OF NORTH ALABAMA LIONS – faced each other in yesterday’s title tilt. Amid ample snowfall neither team scored in the 1st Quarter but the Bearcats – the defending champs – managed a 7-3 lead by Halftime. Continue reading →

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December 17, 2016 · 11:28 pm

2016’s BEST BLOG POSTS UPSETTING LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES

Liberals conservativesHere at Balladeer’s Blog I hear from Conservatives who accuse me of being a Liberal and Liberals who accuse me of being a Conservative. I always point out that I think those labels are outdated and increasingly meaningless.

Anyway here are the top blog posts from this year that upset self-described Liberals and Conservatives. 

*** UPSET BOTH SIDES ***  

LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES AND ART: HERE

THE MOST REPULSIVE LIBERALS & CONSERVATIVES: HERE

GALLUP: AMERICANS REJECTING BOTH PARTIES: HERE

LEAP DAY MILESTONES: HERE

TO THE 4th POWER: HERE Continue reading →

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December 17, 2016 · 3:04 pm

15 MORE COOL FOOTBALL HELMETS

EASTWOOD TROOPERS el-paso-eastwood-troopersComment: Why aren’t there more teams called Troopers?

WEATHERFORD KANGAROOSweatherford-kangaroos

Comment: Awesome name and awesome lids.

LEWISVILLE FARMERSlewisville-farmersComment: There’s something about the stark simplicity of these helmets paired up with the unique name the Farmers.

EISENHOWER EAGLESeisenhower-eaglesComment: Yes, that’s Eisenhower as in General and President Dwight Eisenhower aka “Ike.” Continue reading →

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December 16, 2016 · 11:11 pm

EBBIE (1995): CHRISTMAS CAROL-A-THON CONTINUES

ebbieEBBIE (1995) Balladeer’s Blog’s Seventh Annual Christmas Carol-A-Thon rolls along with this 1995 telefilm starring soap opera queen Susan Lucci. The eternally-sexy Lucci plays Elizabeth “Ebbie” Scrooge, our regulation “grasping and covetous” business magnate who runs the Dobson’s department store empire. This version of A Christmas Carol is kind of cute and it tries hard.

At its core Ebbie combines the Dickens tale with elements of the Diane Keaton movie Baby Boom. The dialogue self-consciously uses Big Business/ Executive Culture cliches in various exchanges. For example, where Scrooge normally says “Can’t I take them (the Ghosts) all at once and have it over with” Ebbie instead says “Can’t I just Conference Call them all in and have it over with?” Plus Marley’s Ghost refers to Scrooge “taking meetings” with the three Spirits. Sometimes these substitutions are amusing, other times just eye-rolling.   Continue reading →

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December 16, 2016 · 11:06 pm

PAUL KRUGMAN COLOGNE: BALLADEER’S GIFT BAG

paul-krugman

*** *** *** *** *** Paul Krugman Cologne: THESE will be the only pussies you grab while wearing it.

Previously Balladeer’s Gift Bag presented Tommy Wiseau’s series of Audiobooks. This time around I’m taking a look at Paul Krugman’s litter-box scented cologne.

In fact, Litterbox was originally going to be the name of the product but Krugman’s corporate overlord backer Carlos Slim ordered him to change it to Fanfic, since Paul Krugman is best known for writing fan fiction for Democrats (aka DemCorp).

The cologne also comes in cat-urine scent as well, just to capture the feel of reading one of Krugman’s pieces. Continue reading →

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December 16, 2016 · 7:40 pm

MISTER NOBODY: HOLYOKE SUPERHERO

Readers wanted more superheroes, so here we go:

mister-nobodyMISTER NOBODY

Secret Identity: None was ever revealed.

Origin: Even this enigmatic figure’s origin remained unknown, just like MLJ’s hero the Marvel (qv).

First Appearance: Terrific Comics #1 (January 1944). His final Golden Age appearance came in 1946.

Powers: Continue reading →

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December 15, 2016 · 9:16 pm

SCROOGE (1970)

Scrooge 1970 2Christmas Carol-A-Thon 2016 continues here at Balladeer’s Blog with a look at the 1970 musical version that starred Albert Finney.

The only – and dubious – advantage to having such a young man portraying Ebenezer Scrooge is that he could realistically play Scrooge’s younger self in the Christmas Past scenes.

Big deal. In reality it meant that the portions with Belle get dragged out even longer and more excruciatingly than they usually do, just to take advantage of the fact that for once it’s not a different actor playing the younger Ebenezer. Again – big deal.  

Yet I like this version much more than I should. A rerun of it late one Christmas night was my first exposure to it years ago when I was first getting into the multiple versions of A Christmas Carol. That has probably colored my feelings about it all these years because I have to admit when I read negative reviews of this production I laugh like hell and nod my head in agreement at all the bashing it gets … yet I still like it for some reason. Continue reading →

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December 15, 2016 · 12:36 pm

TRUE OR FALSE NEWS QUIZ

Each one of the following stories is either True or False. 

bill-gatesONE: BILL GATES COMPARED DONALD TRUMP TO JOHN F KENNEDY. True. Click HERE   

TWO: CAREER CRIMINAL HILLARY CLINTON ROBBED A CONVENIENCE STORE AND – AFTER A SIX-HOUR STANDOFF WITH THE POLICE – SHE STILL WASN’T PRESIDENT. True, plus her hostages all took their own lives to get away from that shrill crook. 

THREE: DONALD TRUMP REVEALED HE IS ACTUALLY A VERY BASHFUL MAN WHO CAN’T STAND ATTENTION. False, he is actually an elderly Norwegian woman who LOVES attention.   

jim-brownFOUR: FOOTBALL LEGEND AND MAN’S MAN JIM BROWN SAYS HE “FELL IN LOVE” WITH TRUMP AFTER MEETING HIM. True,  click HERE  

FIVE: THE DEMOCRATS’ CONGRESSIONAL CAUCUS OFFICIALLY CHANGED THEIR NAME TO “THE KU KLUX KAUKUS.” False, but they HAVE changed their Party name’s spelling to “DemoKKKrats.”  Continue reading →

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December 15, 2016 · 12:01 am

GREEN HORNET (2006): NOT THE SETH ROGAN MOVIE

The Green Hornet (2006)

The Green Hornet (2006)

Attention, my fellow Green Hornet fans: All of us disappointed by the awkward 2011 Seth Rogan Green Hornet movie can savor this experimental 2006 French short.

This 10 minute story is much better than the 2011 flick despite its short running time. It makes you hope that some overseas filmmaker may yet pick up the GH brand and present his story the way it deserves to be presented.

I’m linking to the English-dubbed version of the short. It’s very energetic and features impressive stunt work, plus the music that plays with the closing credits is a variation of the jazzy Al Hirt theme from the 1960s Green Hornet television series.

NOTE FOR PURISTS: No gas gun for the Hornet in this version, he wields nun-chucks, throws knockout darts and uses kung fu like Kato. Here is the link: Continue reading →

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December 14, 2016 · 11:09 pm

COLLEGE BASKETBALL RANKINGS FROM BALLADEER’S BLOG

Washington Adventist University ShockUSCAA (United States Collegiate Athletic Association) DIVISION ONE 1. WASHINGTON ADVENTIST UNIVERSITY SHOCK    ###    2. CONCORDIA (AL) COLLEGE HORNETS    ###    3. ROCHESTER COLLEGE WARRIORS    ###    4. UNIVERSITY OF MAINE AT FORT KENT BENGALS    ###    5. WEST VIRGINIA TECH GOLDEN BEARS    ###    

Oakwood Ambassadors6. OAKWOOD UNIVERSITY AMBASSADORS    ###    7. NEWPORT NEWS APPRENTICE SCHOOL BUILDERS    ###    8. SUNY-CANTON KANGAROOS    ###    9. FLORIDA NATIONAL UNIVERSITY CONQUISTADORS    ###    10. ILLINOIS TECH SCARLET HAWKS    ###

   ###  Continue reading →

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