MAHAKA AND KOTOFETSY: TRICKSTER GODS OF MADAGASCAR

FOR MY MAIN LIST OF GODS FROM MADAGASCAR CLICK HERE

MadagascarMAHAKA & KOTOFETSY – Trickster deities to the Merina people of Madagascar.  Mahaka and Kotofetsy are depicted like Coyote is depicted in Native American myths. In some tales their deceptive nature is applauded and in others condemned.

On occasion Merina people who prided themselves on their own wit and trickery would try to outdo Mahaka and Kotofetsy. In one myth the pair transform themselves into old men to put their adversary at ease, only to trick him out of everything he owns, right down to his clothing. The defeated man runs home naked, pursued by a jeering mob. 

Other myths involving the pair:

Mahaka and Kotofetsy frame a would-be antagonist for sorcery, causing him to be beaten with sticks by his neighbors, who think he has desecrated their loved one’s tomb. Continue reading →

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FINAL TWO COLLEGE BASEBALL CHAMPIONS OF 2017

*** NCAA DIVISION TWO ***

West Chester University Golden Rams LogoCHAMPIONSHIP GAME: The WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY GOLDEN RAMS and the UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT SAN DIEGO TRITONS were the last two teams standing in the D2 World Series. After the Golden Rams grabbed a quick 1-0 edge in the 1st Inning the Tritons responded by tying the score at 1-1 in the 2nd.

The 3rd Inning saw West Chester University go back on top by a count of 2-1 and this time it took the pursuing UC-San Diego all the way til the 6th Inning to knot up the score at 2-2. The Golden Rams drove in 1 more run in the 7th Inning and 2 more in the 8th for a 5-2 victory for Pitcher Josh McClain. * THE GOLDEN RAMS ARE CHAMPIONS OF NCAA DIVISION TWO * Continue reading →

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HEROIC IRAQI FAISAL SAEED AL-MUTAR SATIRIZES LEFT-WING RELUCTANCE TO TAKE ON MUSLIM TERRORISM

Faisal defeating ISISMy fellow atheists Richard Dawkins and Iraqi-born Faisal Saeed Al Mutar are often quoted here at Balladeer’s Blog because of their outspoken treatment of Islam as another irrational religion that needs criticized.

The following is Faisal’s hilarious and TIMELESS take on the way Left-Wing Archie Bunkers and Faculty Lounge Fascists hypocritically avoid linking terrorist attacks to Islam even when the attackers themselves openly make the connection:  

Perfectly put! Faisal is also noteworthy for: Continue reading →

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FUNGUS ISLE (1923): THE INSPIRATION FOR “ATTACK OF THE MUSHROOM PEOPLE?”

Fungus IsleFUNGUS ISLE (1923) – Written by Philip M Fisher. Fungus Isle has the same proto-Creature Feature feel to it that The True Inheritors (qv) had. In the case of the previously reviewed story it was a forerunner of various giant spider flicks. In the case of Fungus Isle it seems like the inspiration for Attack of the Mushroom People, aka Matango, the Fungus of Terror.  

A handful of friends find themselves shipwrecked on an uncharted island near New Guinea. The island is crawling with various types of fungus and our protagonists eventually encounter some fungi that are nearly humanoid and can walk.

The spores shot out by the fungi cling to human flesh, eventually accumulating to the point where they completely cover the body. Salt water serves as an effective remedy to clean off the spores but there is no food on the island except mushrooms. Continue reading →

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MUSLIM RAMADAN MURDER-PALOOZA 2017: NINE DAYS IN

Islam jihadRegular readers of Balladeer’s Blog know that I’m an atheist but there is no denying that Islam – the religion founded by the blood-soaked child rapist named Muhammad – is the most homophobic, misogynistic and otherwise intolerant religion in the world right now.

It’s time for the 2017 Edition of the Ramadan death totals. Here’s where we stand 9 days in. –

TERRORIST ATTACKS IN THE NAME OF ALL OTHER RELIGIONS: 0 … ZERO … NONE.

TERRORIST ATTACKS IN THE NAME OF ISLAM: Read on –

June 3rd: London, England – Three Muslim fascists shouting “This is for Allah” used vehicular attacks and knives to kill SEVEN innocent people while injuring roughly FIFTY more.  

June 2nd: Kolofata, Cameroon – Islamofascists strapped explosives to 2 young girls and detonated those explosives in a refugee camp, killing ELEVEN innocent people and injuring over THIRTY more.

May 27th: Marawi, Philippines – Muslim fascists murdered NINETEEN innocent people. Regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog will remember when the Philippines would have zero or at most a couple of deaths from Muslim attacks. As always with Islam, if they’re killing a few in your country today, you can bet they’ll be killing MORE AND MORE as the weeks and months go by. 

CAIRMay 28th: Marawi, Philippines – Islamofascists killed EIGHT innocent people for supposedly “betraying Islam.”

May 31st: Mangai, Kenya – Al Qaeda, the Muslim group Barack Obama claimed was finished in 2012, bombed EIGHT innocent people to death. 2012 was Obama’s Tet Offensive moment.  

June 1st: Abala, Niger – Jihadists shot SIX innocent people to death.

June 1st: Al Hazm, Yemen – Even in Muslim nations the Muslim fascists kill and kill and kill other Muslims for not worshipping the exact same way they do. Jihadists bombed SIX innocent people to death at a market while injuring FIFTEEN more.

May 29th: Nguro, Nigeria – Boko Haram, the local franchise of the Global Muslim Fascist Murder Machine, beheaded FIVE innocent people. Coexistence! Continue reading →

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COLLEGE BASEBALL: ANOTHER CHAMPION CROWNED WHILE OTHER SERIES CONTINUE

*** NJCAA DIVISION ONE ***

Chipola College logo BIGCHAMPIONSHIP GAME: The CHIPOLA COLLEGE INDIANS and the SAN JACINTO-NORTH COLLEGE GATORS fought it out for the NJCAA title. The favored Gators started out with a 1-0 1st Inning edge that became 2-1 in the 2nd.

The Indians continued chasing San Jacinto-North College, trailing them 4-3 in the 4th Inning and 5-4 in the 5th before overtaking them for a 7-5 lead in the 6th. From there Chipola College slammed in 4 more runs each in the 7th and 9th Innings to the lone run scored by the Gators. The Indians took the crown by a final tally of FIFTEEN to SIX behind Pitcher Ryan Shauger. * THE INDIANS ARE CHAMPIONS OF NJCAA DIVISION ONE *  Continue reading →

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DEMOCRAT REZA ASLAN ANGRIER AT TRUMP THAN AT THE MUSLIM FASCISTS WHO COMMITTED THE LATEST LONDON ATTACKS

And it's MuslimsAnother Muslim terror attack means that Democrats like fake newsman Reza Aslan at fake news network CNN unleash the vitriol against President Trump and his perfectly valid travel ban that those cowardly hypocrites would NEVER unleash on Muslim terrorists.

Aslan has ridiculed the Hindu belief system on the air, even though we have never had terrorist attacks from Hindu immigrants.

AS ALWAYS, THE VICTIMS OF THE LATEST LONDON ATTACKS WERE A DIVERSE LOT. BUT THEIR MURDERERS WERE ALL MUSLIM FASCISTS.  

FOR ASLAN’S NONSENSE AND SOME APPROPRIATE RESPONSES CLICK HERE

Continue reading →

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TWO MORE COLLEGE BASEBALL CHAMPS CROWNED PLUS MORE WORLD SERIES ACTION

*** NAIA ***

LCSC Logo - Primary FullCHAMPIONSHIP GAME: The Defending National Champions – the 5th seeded LEWIS- CLARK STATE WARRIORS – battled the 2 seeds – the FAULKNER UNIVERSITY EAGLES for the title. Runs were flying in the 1st Inning, which ended with the Warriors on top of the Eagles 3-2.

In the 2nd Inning Faulkner University knotted up the score at 3-3 and then proceeded to grab a 4-3 edge in the 4th. The 6th Inning saw Lewis-Clark State tie the game 4-4 before going back on top 6-4 in the 7th. The Warriors rode that 2-run advantage all the way to their THIRD National Championship in a row! Daulton Blackwell pitched for the 6-4 win. * THE WARRIORS ARE CHAMPIONS OF NAIA BASEBALL * 

*** NJCAA DIVISION TWO ***

Cavaliers_logo.jpg

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: The 7 seeds – the KANKAKEE COLLEGE CAVALIERS – faced the 4th seeded MERCER COUNTY COLLEGE VIKINGS for the NJCAA-2 crown. The Vikings started off well, leading the Cavaliers 2-0 in the 1st Inning and 2-1 in the 2nd.

Kankakee College made their move in the 4th Inning by seizing an EIGHT to 2 advantage. Mercer County College pulled to within 8-5 in the 6th but no closer. The Cavaliers added a few insurance runs for an ELEVEN to FIVE final tally. Colton Carr was the winning Pitcher. * THE CAVALIERS ARE CHAMPIONS OF NJCAA DIVISION TWO * Continue reading →

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MANTIS 8: TO THE DEATH

These days when it comes to pop culture it’s Marvel Comics’ world and the rest of us are just potential LMDs. You readers wanted more Marvel and I’m delivering. FOR PART 1 OF BALLADEER’S BLOG’S EXAMINATION OF MARVEL’S SUPERHEROINE MANTIS CLICK HERE   

Mantis 8 cover To the DeathTHE AVENGERS Volume 1, Number 118 (December 1973)  To The Death

AVENGERS ROSTER: Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, The Scarlet Witch, The Black Panther, The Vision, The Swordsman and MANTIS

DEFENDERS ROSTER: Doctor Strange, Sub-Mariner, The Hulk, The Silver Surfer, Valkyrie and Hawkeye

Last time around the globe-spanning war between the Avengers and the Defenders came to an end in Los Angeles when both teams at last compared notes and realized they were being manipulated into fighting each other.

The 14 assembled heroes had recovered all six fragments of the Evil Eye of Avalon, which relic was hastily stolen by Dormammu. That flame-headed man-god who ruled over the Dark Dimension was a foe of Dr Strange and the Defenders.

Mantis torsoFor years Dormammu had been bound by his Galactus-like vow not to invade Earth’s dimension ever again but the reassembled Evil Eye of Avalon gives him the power to bypass that vow by simply MERGING our dimension with his.  

As Dormammu taunted the Avengers and Defenders, our entire universe was becoming one with Dormammu’s vile domain. The landscape and buildings were all turning surreal and distorted, the sun’s light was fading and some people were transforming into the kind of monstrous beings who inhabit the Dark Dimension.  

TO THE DEATH

Synopsis: This story resumes right where we left off, with the Avengers and Defenders defiantly telling Dormammu that they’ll do whatever they have to do to save the universe from him. In typical pulp fiction fashion there’s an arbitrary but dramatic deadline to race against: Dormammu tells the heroes that in one Earth-hour the merging of dimensions will be complete and irreversible.

Dormammu merging dimensionsWhile the other superheroes fight off the demonic creatures beginning to surround them, Dr Strange casts a spell to prevent the Avengers and Defenders from turning into Dark Dimension creatures for the necessary hour. He tells his comrades that he can’t protect everyone on Earth the same way or he’ll be too weak to help them fight Dormammu.

The Doctor wants the Avengers to join him and the Defenders in a direct attack on Dormammu but – rather foolishly, given what’s at stake – the Avengers argue that they can’t abandon the innocent people of Los Angeles to their fate. Strange counters that the entire damn UNIVERSE will suffer if they don’t act quickly.

Avengers 118 to the deathAs the argument continues amid battles with Dark Dimension demonoids, Nick Fury, Contessa Valentina Allegro de Fontaine and Dum Dum Dugan arrive with dozens of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury’s outfit was as much a paramilitary organization as an intelligence unit and, with guns blazing they tackle the monstrous beings now reproducing geometrically out of the local population.

Satisfied that S.H.I.E.L.D. will be fighting to help the locals the Avengers agree to accompany the Defenders. Dr Strange casts a spell that takes the 14 superheroes out of Los Angeles and into the heart of Dormammu’s realm. Meanwhile the Contessa and some of Nick Fury’s other agents turn into demonoids themselves.

loki helmetedMORE bickering breaks out among the heroes as Thor calls out to all of those Avengers and Defenders who can fly to join him in racing to the far-off spot where they can see Dormammu and his ally/ pawn Loki standing.   Continue reading →

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MORE COLLEGE WORLD SERIES RESULTS

*** NAIA ***

Faulkner University Eagles logo - betterPENULTIMATE GAME: The 2nd seeded FAULKNER UNIVERSITY EAGLES needed to defeat the 5 seeds – the LEWIS-CLARK STATE WARRIORS – in order to force a deciding game the next day. A 1-0 1st Inning lead for the Eagles stood unchanged until the 4th, when it became a 2-1 advantage. The Warriors responded with a huge 5th Inning which saw them take the lead by a score of 5-2. Faulkner University shut out Lewis-Clark State from there while cutting their lead down to 5-3 in the 6th Inning and 5-4 in the 8th. The Eagles drove in 2 runs in the 9th for a 6-5 victory behind the pitching of Austin Moreland.  

*** NCAA DIVISION TWO ***

uc-sandiegotritonsDAY SIX, FIRST SEMIFINAL: The UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT SAN DIEGO TRITONS took the diamond against the SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS COLLEGE SPARTANS. After a scoreless 1st Inning the Tritons grabbed a 2-0 edge in the 2nd and a 4-0 advantage in the 3rd. That set the pattern for the game as UC-San Diego scored in every remaining Inning except the 8th while simultaneously shutting out the Spartans. The Tritons eviscerated their opponents to the tune of TEN to NOTHING courtesy of a complete Iron Man Game by Pitcher Kyle Goodbrand.   Continue reading →

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