NAIA PLAYOFF MATCHUPS FOR SATURDAY
The NAIA playoffs feature 20 teams, with the top 12 seeds having a 1st Round Bye.
The WILLIAM PENN UNIVERSITY STATESMEN will host the TEXAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY RAMS.
Kickoff is at 1:00PM Eastern Time on Nov 22nd. Continue reading
Filed under college football
MRS. COLUMBO (1979-1980) – During its brief 13-episode run of hour-long episodes, this detective series – produced by Fred Silverman – was also titled Kate the Detective, Kate Callahan and Kate Loves a Mystery. Much Ado About Nothing might have been a more fitting title given all the energy expended trying to make this Kate Mulgrew program a success, but for so little return.
For readers who weren’t fans of the Columbo series starring Peter Falk, let me point out that his police detective character frequently mentioned his wife, who was never seen in any of the episodes. By 1979, Columbo was off the air (though it would be revived in the late 1980s), so Fred Silverman launched Mrs. Columbo, starring the detective’s never-seen wife nosing her way into murder mysteries and solving them herself.
Silverman launched this series over the objections of Columbo‘s producers Richard Levinson and William Link but had to credit them as “creators” of the concept of Columbo’s wife. Peter Falk had no connection to Mrs. Columbo, either so his character never even made a guest appearance or cameo. Falk referred to the show as “Disgraceful.” Continue reading
Filed under Forgotten Television
Independent Voter Site Balladeer’s Blog serves up a current events roundup.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP CALLS FOR THE HOUSE TO RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES SO THE COUNTRY CAN FINALLY “MOVE ON FROM THIS DEMOCRAT HOAX.” But we all know that unless the information in those files is damning to Trump his deranged haters will just cry coverup, etc. Remember their unhinged push to have Trump release years’ worth of tax returns and the returns proved he did nothing wrong? Yet they haven’t called for any other elected figure to have to release their returns.
PROFESSIONAL THERAPIST SAYS SEVENTY-FIVE PERCENT OF HIS PATIENTS HAVE TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME. Not at all surprising. We see it in action every day. More HERE. And HERE. Some excerpts: “Psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert says that 75% of the patients he sees have a deep hatred for Trump and are ‘hyper fixated’ on him.” They hate him, but he is, after all, president of the United States, and they can’t bear to stop following politics closely enough to regain some perspective and serenity.
Typical anti-Trump fundamentalist
“They can’t sleep,” Alpert said, because “they feel traumatized by Mr. Trump.” … “I had one patient who said she couldn’t enjoy a vacation because anytime she saw Trump in the news or on her device, she felt triggered…. So this is a profound pathology, and I would even go so far as to call it the defining pathology of our time.”
NOTE: I’ve been saying for years that people will someday look back on the slobbering psychopaths’ reaction to President Trump the same way we look back on the “Satanic Panic” in the 1980s. I even used it for the title of a blog post long ago.
PRESIDENT TRUMP PAUSES WORK TO VISIT WITH CHILDREN IN THE OVAL OFFICE.
EPSTEIN EMAILS REVEAL CLOSE TIES WITH OBAMA’S WHITE HOUSE LEGAL COUNSEL.
THE LATEST REMINDER ABOUT ASHLEY BIDEN’S DIARY IN WHICH SHE WROTE ABOUT HER FATHER JOE TAKING “INAPPROPRIATE” SHOWERS WITH HER WHEN SHE WAS A CHILD. And how she was “probably” molested. Can you imagine the uproar from hypocritical Trump-haters if such diary entries were found from HIS children?
EPSTEIN FILES ON PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON’S TREASURY SECRETARY LARRY SUMMERS. Continue reading
CCCAA PLAYOFFS FOR 2025
The Nor-Cal and So-Cal’s top two teams each get a Bye in Round One. Here are this Saturday’s First Round matchups.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
The 4th seeded CITY COLLEGE OF SAN FRANCISCO RAMS will host the 5 seeds – the FRESNO CITY COLLEGE RAMS.
Kickoff is at 3:00PM Eastern Time.
The 3rd seeded DIABLO VALLEY COLLEGE VIKINGS will host the 6 seeds – the BUTTE COLLEGE ROADRUNNERS.
Kickoff is at 4:00PM Eastern Time.
The (1) College of San Mateo Bulldogs and the (2) Modesto College Pirates have a Bye. Continue reading
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FROM DECEMBER 23rd, 2016, amid the unhinged Democrat overreaction to Trump’s election for his first term. If anything, they’ve grown even worse and certainly more violent.
DEMOCRAT PARTY
Here is ANOTHER former Democrat like me expressing their disgust with what clueless, uninformed Democrats have fundamentally transformed Liberalism into. The link to the whole item is below, but here are some excerpts from her piece:
” … I want to share with you, from the liberal bastion of Northern California, that I am officially tired of the type of people who have surrounded me my entire life. In the wake of Trump’s election, I am experiencing ‘tribe fatigue.’ I’m not tired of The Other, Detestable Tribe. I’m tired of my own.
“I was raised a secular liberal. My college professors were secular liberals. During my journalism phase, my newspaper colleagues were secular liberals. My law school professors and peers were – in the vast majority – secular liberals. Almost everyone at my corporate law firm was a secular liberal. My California neighbors and friends are secular liberals, as are my colleagues. My mother, siblings, and their spouses are all secular liberals.
“By all rights, I should be a member in good standing of their tribe, ‘liking’ their Facebook posts and joining their candlelight vigils against the evil Trump Administration. But November 8 and its aftermath revealed to me that I am just so tired of these people. I can’t be like them, and I don’t want my kids turning into them.
“I am tired of their undisguised contempt for tens of millions of Americans, with no effort to temper their response to the election with humility or empathy.
“I am tired of their unexamined snobbery and condescension.
“I am tired of their name-calling and virtue-signaling as signs of supposedly high intelligence.
“I am tired of their trendiness, jumping on every left-liberal bandwagon that comes along (transgender activism, anyone?) and then acting like anyone not on board is an idiot/hater.
“I am tired of being bored and exasperated by everybody. I feel like I have read this book a thousand times, and there are no surprises in it. Down with Trump! Trans Lives Matter! Climate deniers are destroying the planet! No cake, we’re gluten-free! Continue reading
Filed under opinion
HEADLINES
DOWN GOES NUMBER THREE – In NCAA Division Three, the 25th ranked FRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE DIPLOMATS welcomed the number 3 team in the nation – the JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY BLUEJAYS. A 7-0 Bluejays lead in the 1st Quarter became a 21-14 advantage by Halftime. The Diplomats forced Overtime with a 21-21 tie, and in the extra session won out 29-28.
NUMBER FOUR TOPPLED – In NCAA Division Two, the VALDOSTA STATE BLAZERS traveled to face the country’s number 4 UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA ARGONAUTS. By the midpoint, the Argonauts were out in front 30-23. From there the Blazers tied the score 44-44 to end Regulation, then went on to win in Overtime 47-44.
NUMBER SIX TAKES A FALL – Over in the NAIA, the number 9 MORNINGSIDE UNIVERSITY MUSTANGS visited the 6th ranked DORDT UNIVERSITY DEFENDERS. The Mustangs were on top 13-7 in the opening Quarter and 20-14 at the Half. After the break the Defenders knotted things up at 28. In Overtime Morningside U. triumphed 34-28. Continue reading
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SORRY I’M LATE. Real life intervened. Just in, so here’s a 2015 look at Australia’s superheroes mostly from the 1970s to the 1980s. The success of this post inspired me to go on to cover the superheroes of several other countries and time periods.
DARK NEBULA
Debut Year: 1982
Secret Identity: Mark Medula, an astronaut in Australia’s fictional space program.
Origin: Returning from a flight to Mars, Colonel Mark Medula docked at the Threshold Space Station, which had just been seized by the alien warlord Cerellus.
Medula tried to stop Cerellus and the resulting chaos killed Medula’s body, but, amid all the cosmic energies being unleashed, that body became inhabited by both Cerellus’ soul and Medula’s soul.
Mark Medula’s body gained incredible superpowers and went on to battle Earthly and interplanetary menaces as the superhero called Dark Nebula. Cerellus often challenged Mark for control of their shared body, further complicating Dark Nebula’s adventures.
Powers: Dark Nebula has super strength and can fly, both in space and in a planet’s atmosphere. He is invulnerable and wields a combination of potent cosmic energy and dark mystical energy. Those combined scientific/ supernatural forces can be used to fire Darkfire energy beams from his hands and employ force fields. He also has psionic abilities like telepathy and ESP.
Comment: Dark Nebula’s adventures combine the cosmic head-trips of Jim Starlin’s Adam Warlock/ Magus storyline with some of the surreal mysticism of Dr Strange at his best.
Arguably the greatest Dark Nebula story arc was the one where he was off in deep space having a “deep” adventure while back on Earth his archenemy the Grandstander (Think of the Joker but with powers on Sinestro’s level at least) was impersonating him to ruin his reputation.
It endangered his marriage, too, since his wife had no idea why the man she thought was her husband never came home anymore after his public escapades. When Dark Nebula at last returned to Earth he had to tangle with the Aussie superteam the Southern Squadron who were out to bring him down for the crimes the Grandstander had framed him for.
When the misunderstanding was finally straightened out the Southern Squadron joined forces with Dark Nebula to tackle the Grandstander. This crossover was as much a milestone in Australia as the Avengers/ Defenders War in the 1970s was in the U.S. Continue reading
Filed under Superheroes
Time for another current events roundup from Independent Voter Site Balladeer’s Blog.
CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS BLOCK RELEASE OF EPSTEIN FILES. Congressman Burchett called the Democrats’ bluff with a motion to do what they claim they want – transparency on the Epstein files – but they voted to block it. This Epstein frenzy is just another “Russia, Russia, Russia” style lie against President Trump. The Democrats obviously prefer to just leak isolated bits from the files cherry-picked to mislead people into thinking Trump was involved somehow.
A REMINDER THAT THE NEW YORK TIMES AND MICHAEL WOLFF (LEFT) “BEGGED” EPSTEIN FOR DIRT ON DONALD TRUMP BUT CAME UP EMPTY. How many times will Democrats push this farce? And how stupid are the people who still fall for it every single time?
A LOOK AT THE MANY, MANY EMAILS THAT CLEAR PRESIDENT TRUMP AND INDICATE EPSTEIN’S PARANOIA THAT TRUMP WAS OUT TO GET HIM DECADES AGO. More HERE.
DEMOCRATS, AFTER LYING THAT TRUMP SPENT THANKSGIVING OF 2017 WITH EPSTEIN, FINALLY DELETE THEIR CLAIM. Do 2025 Democrats EVER tell the truth?
DEMOCRATS AND THEIR MEDIA OUTLETS IGNORE WHAT THE JUST-RELEASED EPSTEIN EMAILS REVEAL ABOUT BILL CLINTON AND ABOUT OBAMA OFFICIALS. More HERE.
AND REMEMBER THAT REDACTED VICTIM THAT DEMOCRATS IMPLIED TRUMP HAD MISCONDUCT WITH? IT WAS REALLY VIRGINIA GIUFFRE, WHO HAS ALREADY TESTIFIED THAT TRUMP WAS NOT INVOLVED IN EPSTEIN’S CRIMES. More HERE. Continue reading
BEARCATS! (1971) – This unique action-adventure series was set in the American West of 1914 and starred Rod Taylor (who also produced) and Dennis Cole as renowned trouble-shooters who commanded huge fees for their services. “If you can put a price on it, you don’t need them badly enough” was the program’s tagline.
This short-lived series cleverly used the mix of past and present in America’s southwestern states in that time period as cars and biplanes began sharing the scenery with horses and carriages. Part Wild, Wild West and part Diesel-Punk, the stories featured the two leads clashing with villains who often used primitive tanks and other “futuristic” devices.
The Bearcats named themselves after the Stutz Bearcat automobile they rode around in.
PILOT MOVIE: POWDERKEG (April 16th) – Mercenary trouble-shooters Hank Brackett (Rod Taylor) and Johnny Reach (Dennis Cole) are hired by a railroad tycoon to rescue 73 hostages being held aboard a moving train. Their captors are led by a Mexican bandit chief who demands his brother’s release from prison in exchange for the hostages. Guest stars were Michael Ansara, Fernando Lamas, Luciana Paluzzi and Tisha Sterling.
EPISODE ONE: THE DEVIL WEARS ARMOR (September 16th) – The Bearcats are hired to stop a gang of bank robbers who travel from town to town using a stolen 1914 prototype tank to carry out their thefts. John Vernon, Kathleen Lloyd (as a nun), Sherry Bain and Paul Koslo guest starred. Continue reading
Filed under Forgotten Television
Charles Buchinsky, better known as Charles Bronson, was a World War Two veteran who went on to superstardom as one of the most iconic “tough guys” in film history.
Balladeer’s Blog has reviewed several of his westerns so far, but this time I’ll examine Bronson’s offbeat, uncharacteristic starring roles.
SOMEONE BEHIND THE DOOR (1971) – This Eurothriller directed by Nicolas Gessner was also released as Two Minds for Murder. Charles Bronson stars as an amnesiac patient of sinister brain-surgeon and psychiatrist Laurence Jeffries (Anthony Perkins himself).
Jeffries knows his wife is cheating on him and subjects Bronson – billed as the Stranger – to unethical psychological programming to make him think the brain surgeon-psychiatrist’s wife is really his wife, then manipulate him into murdering her.
In the role of unfaithful wife Frances Jeffries is Bronson’s wife Jill Ireland, since we’re in the period when Charles dragged her into everything with him like she was Linda McCartney to his Paul. The story isn’t plausible, of course, but artsy Eurothrillers always accentuated atmosphere and “what if” situations over realistic plots.
Anthony Perkins tones down his twitchiness a bit and Bronson is credible as the manipulated amnesiac thinking he’s met the wife his memory loss wiped from his mind.
To say anything more would give away too many spoilers. Continue reading
Filed under opinion
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