Monthly Archives: September 2018

VIETNAMESE MYTHS: A WAR BETWEEN GODS

A WAR BETWEEN GODS 

Vietnam mapCANTO ONE – The jungle and mountain god Tan Vien was accompanying the semi-divine Emperor Hung Vuong XVIII on a Royal Hunt. A turn of fate puts them in a position to save the imperiled son of Long Vuong, the chief sea god. CLICK HERE

CANTO TWO – Tan Vien and Thuy Tinh, the god of the monsoon rains, both fall in love with Mi Nuong, the daughter of Emperor Hung Vuong XVIII. Against the backdrop of their growing rivalry, Thuy Tinh’s father Long Vuong honors Tan Vien for saving his son. CLICK HERE 

CANTO THREE – Tan Vien, Thuy Tinh and the patriarch of the Thuc family are among the suitors competing in various contests for the hand of Mi Nuong. CLICK HERE 

CANTO FOUR – As the final two remaining suitors, Tan Vien and Thuy Tinh are pitted against each other in a contest of power and in a quest for obscure relics. CLICK HERE  Continue reading

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FACULTY LOUNGE FASCIST ROUNDUP: SEPTEMBER 24th

Orwell on historyAnother look at the make-believe “educators” (LMAO) who have – with their political intolerance – reduced colleges and universities to faith-based institutions that are as irrational as any religious “schools.”

These institutions are no longer interested in intellectual rigor but are instead dedicated to ramming simple-minded notions of “right” and “wrong” down the throats of students.

HERE’S AN INTERESTING ARTICLE ABOUT FREEING THE HUMANITIES FROM THE GRIP OF LEFT-WING ARCHIE BUNKERS – CLICK HERE

THE PERMEATION OF PROPAGANDA IN THE MINDS OF THOSE EMOTIONAL CRIPPLES WHO PRETEND TO BE COLLEGE STUDENTS IN AMERICA – CLICK HERE

Fund Freedom*** FUND FREEDOM IS STILL FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT TO PRESERVE FREE SPEECH FOR EVERYONE, DESPITE THE EFFORTS OF FACULTY LOUNGE FASCISTS … 

CLICK HERE

ATHEIST EDITOR OF PHILOSOPHY JOURNAL LOSES HIS POSITION FOR RETWEETING AN ARTICLE TITLED “IS IT A CRIME TO SAY WOMEN DON’T HAVE PENISES?” CLICK HERE
Continue reading

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Filed under Education or Indoctrination, LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion

COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS FROM SEPTEMBER 22nd

HEADLINES

Truman State helmetDIVISION TWO OVER DIVISION ONE – NCAA Division Two’s TRUMAN STATE BULLDOGS traveled to take on Division ONE’s VALPARAISO UNIVERSITY CRUSADERS. Though the Bulldogs trailed the Crusaders 7-6 at Halftime by the end of the 3rd Quarter they were on top 17-10. From there Truman State consummated the Upset with a 34-20 triumph.

Central OklahomaKNOCKING OFF NUMBER TWO – Also in D2, the UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA BRONCHOS (sic) hosted the number 2 team in the nation – the NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE BEARCATS. A 7-0 1st Quarter lead for the Bronchos became 14-3 at the Half. The 4th Quarter opened with UCO holding a 28-3 advantage before winning the game 31-21.

CSU-PuebloNUMBER THREE FALLS ON THE SAME DAY – Staying in D2 for the moment, yesterday also saw the 23rd ranked COLORADO STATE AT PUEBLO THUNDER WOLVES visiting the number 3 TEXAS A&M AT COMMERCE LIONS. The defending National Champion Lions led 10-6 by the midpoint of the game but the Thunder Wolves went up 16-10 in the 3rd Quarter. In the 4th CSU-Pueblo outscored the champs 7-3 for a 23-13 victory.

Robert Morris (IL)DOWN GOES NUMBER EIGHT – Over in the NAIA the ROBERT MORRIS UNIVERSITY (IL) EAGLES welcomed the number 8 team in the country – the CONCORDIA (MI) CARDINALS. This game was a defensive epic which went scoreless until the 3rd Quarter when the Eagles notched 7 points. That wound up being all the scoring for the entire game as RMU-Illinois toppled the Cardinals by a baseball score of 7-0. Continue reading

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THE PRISONER: A CHANGE OF MIND

Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the 1967 science fiction/ existential drama The Prisoner. For Part One, in which I examined the themes and concepts at play in the series click  HERE

A Change of MindA CHANGE OF MIND

As I mentioned last time around there are three episodes of this show that I feel could be eliminated completely because they either don’t serve the overall premise or don’t serve it well. Here is the second of those three.

On the surface this episode has so much potential and could have been a genuine classic. A Change of Mind deals with political witch hunts, social ostracism and the way that totalitarian governments like the former Soviet Union diagnosed dissidents as insane for questioning the prevailing political dogma of the moment. To me it all falls apart with the clownish, cartoonish finale.

Like I did with the previous installment I will detail my reasons for dismissing this episode plus offer my take on how I think it could have been changed. 

THE STORY: 

McGoohan in blueThe Prisoner is exercising on some makeshift gymnasium equipment that he has constructed for himself in the woods just outside the prison city called the Village. Some Villagers who may or may not be thugs of the Villagekeepers gather around and taunt our protagonist for his antisocial, non-conformist ways. They also threaten to report him to “the Committee” for his dissident behavior. Continue reading

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Filed under Forgotten Television, Prisoner (tv series)

JACKIE CHAN: HIGH UPON HIGH

Balladeer’s Blog’s feature Give Them A Shoutout Before They’re Dead sends some love in the direction of that old songbird and martial arts legend Jackie Chan. It’s High Upon High from Armour of God aka Operation Condor II: Armour of God.

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SOME RANDOM FRIDAY WEIRDNESS

You can insert your own Phantasm joke here.Superman GraveIF YOU’RE WONDERING HOW LOIS DIED … Continue reading

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Filed under humor, Superheroes

ANTEIA- ANCIENT GREEK COMEDY

Hetaera 3Anteia was written by the comic poet Philyllius. This comic poet’s career seems to have spanned approximately from the 410s BCE to 390 BCE. One of his comedies won 1st prize at a Lenaea festival in the 390s and he won 1st prize at an unknown Dionysia. His fellow comedian Strattis credited him with being the first Attic Old Comic to use real torches on stage.

My favorite random line from Philyllius’ fragments: “The most important element of health is to breathe clean and unsullied air.”

THE PLAY  

ANTEIA – This comedy was an example of the sub-genre of Attic Old Comedy called Hetaera Plays. The term hetaera is often lazily translated as “prostitute” but the reality was a bit more complex. I’ve always felt that “kept woman” would be a better way to capture the concept. Hetaerae (plural) did NOT walk the streets and were not just for quickies like the lower-level prostitutes. They had their own luxurious digs with the expenses being footed by whichever wealthy man was enjoying bedroom privileges at the moment. Continue reading

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FAQ’s ON ISLAM’S HOMOPHOBIA AND MISOGYNY

Islamophobia posterMuslim Violence Awareness Year continues. Regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog know I’m a non-believer in all of the world’s religions. Most religious practitioners are able to deal with that though some show varying degrees of anger. There is only ONE religion here in the 21st Century that retains the large-scale superstitious savagery of centuries past and that is Islam. I could literally fill this blog every single day with nothing but article after article about Muslim atrocities but the horror of it all would be overwhelming.

At any rate this is the time of year to focus on the fact that there is no god named Allah and Muhammad was a false prophet. It’s also a good time of year to focus on FAQ’s about the most homophobic and misogynistic religion in the world at this particular point in history.

Q: Are you one of those cowardly non-believers who will only criticize Christianity while giving Islam a free pass?

A: No, I criticize all religions and regard them all as fascinating mythology that should never be taken literally. Muslims are the only ones who violently insist their religion should be above that sort of criticism.

Islam is slavery

THIS HAUNTING IMAGE STRIKES RIGHT TO THE CORE OF THE HATRED THAT IS ISLAM.

Q: Isn’t it, like, mean ‘n’ stuff to criticize somebody’s religion?

A: No, it’s only rational to subject all of the world’s religions to criticism and satirical irreverence. Other religions, especially Christianity, have to put up with it on a daily basis and their practitioners may complain but they remain civilized and don’t kill anybody or burn down buildings or launch riots over it. Islam and Islam alone reacts in this barbaric and unacceptable way which does nothing but make people despise and distrust Islam even more than they already do.

Q: Did you start to feel this way after the September 11th attacks?

A: No, I felt this way about all religions including Islam years before September 11th, 2001. Back then I was still considered a Liberal and even Liberals would criticize Islam along with other faiths. After the 9-11 attacks American Liberals proved what cowardly hypocrites they were by dropping to their bellies and crawling for Islam while bashing the hell out of Christianity. I’ll never be a Conservative, but I don’t ever want anyone to think that I’m a Liberal given what they’ve turned into. 

Islam for quoteQ: Is there anything that would make Democrats condemn Islam’s homophobia and misogyny the same way they condemn it in other religions?

A: No. Democrats are incapable of that kind of courage and integrity. They’re only good at taking stands on issues that are now safe, like condemning blatant racism and sexism, and pretending that those are still brave stands to take. Besides, you could argue that if they were really opposed to racism and sexism they would speak out on the bigotry of Islam, too.

Q: But is it really the rest of the world’s business to criticize Islam’s treatment of women and gay people?

A: Yes. For the same reason it was the rest of the world’s business to pressure South Africa to end Apartheid. The American Left was vocal about that issue, but hey, that’s because the pro-Apartheid forces in South Africa didn’t roam the globe blowing up people, derailing trains or piloting planes into the sides of buildings. If they had you can bet the American Left’s reaction would have been to drop to their bellies and crawl like they do for Islam, all the while pretending they are taking a “principled stand” about not forcing external values on another culture. Continue reading

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Filed under humor, opinion

COLLEGE FOOTBALL RANKINGS FROM BALLADEER’S BLOG

Via the Glitternight Index:

Iowa Western CollegeNJCAA  1. IOWA WESTERN COLLEGE REIVERS    ###    2. EAST MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE LIONS (Defending National Champions)    ###    3. BLINN COLLEGE BUCCANEERS    ###    4. NORTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA A&M GOLDEN NORSEMEN    ###    5. NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE RANGERS    ###   

Garden City Broncbusters6. GARDEN CITY COLLEGE BRONCBUSTERS    ###    7. SNOW COLLEGE BADGERS    ###    8. SCOTTSDALE COLLEGE FIGHTING ARTICHOKES (yes, really)    ###    9. HUTCHINSON COLLEGE BLUE DRAGONS    ###    10. ARIZONA WESTERN COLLEGE MATADORS    ###    Continue reading

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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN MOVIES: AN INFOGRAPHIC

Brian Thomas, a contributing author over at Enlightened-Digital kindly provided this entertaining look at A Century of AI in films. Thank you, Brian! Have a look:

ai full graphic

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