NCAA DIVISION TWO CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – Two 1 seeds, the DRURY UNIVERSITY PANTHERS and the METRO STATE UNIVERSITY ROADRUNNERS clashed yesterday for the D2 national title. The Roadrunners had the Panthers off their game in the 1st half and were slowly but surely pulling further and further away. By the break Metro State led by a score of Continue reading
COLLEGE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES IN D2 AND D3
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THE TOP FIFTEEN DEITIES FROM PEGANA MYTHOLOGY
Gods of Pegana
Lord Dunsany’s 1905 book The Gods of Pegana and its 1906 followup, Time and the Gods, are forgotten masterpieces of comparative mythology which introduced the author’s pantheon of fictional deities. Though neglected today Dunsany’s work inspired authors from H.P. Lovecraft to J.R.R. Tolkein to C.S. Lewis. (But oddly, NOT e.e. cummings, A.A. Milne or H.R. Puff’n’Stuff.)
Like many of my fellow mythology geeks I spent a lot of time during childhood inventing my own pantheons of gods and breaking down their powers, cultural relevance and relations to their fellow divinities. We can all appreciate the fun Lord Dunsany had with the concept and the ingenious way in which he fused elements of Hindu, Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Chinese mythology with his own ideas.
Dunsany didn’t just dwell on surface details of the gods he created, he used their tales to reflect the philosophy, customs and taboos of the fictional land of Pegana, just like real-world belief sytems represent those aspects of the cultures that spawn them.
An additional benefit of Dunsany’s work is that it provides us with a consistent vision since it was all composed in the same time period. Real-world ancient myths often evolved or were “retconned” over the ages due to political or social reasons we have no Continue reading
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COOL-NAMED TEAM: COLBY COLLEGE
COLBY COLLEGE WHITE MULES
Location: Waterville, ME
Conference Affiliation: NESCAC (New England Small College Athletic Conference)
Comment: Now that’s a cool nickname that really packs a kick! Colby College is known as one of the Continue reading
Filed under Cool names and cool logos
STILL MORE BLACK CONDOR CAPTIONING FUN
Awhile back I named the silly Golden Age superhero the Black Condor as the Official Superhero of Balladeer’s Blog because of his joyous weirdness. Here’s another cover from the Continue reading
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THE FIRST BAD MOVIE SHOWN ON THE TEXAS 27 FILM VAULT
Randy (right) and Richard way down on Level 31 as they host their 1985-1987 show The Texas 27 Film Vault.
Before MST3K there was THE TEXAS 27 FILM VAULT! Before Joel and Mike lovers of bad movies had Randy and Richard! Before Devil Dogs, Observers and Deep 13 there came Cellumites, giant rats and Level 31! Thanks to my endless research through VERY old newspapers here’s another milestone! Balladeer’s Blog’s latest examination of the sadly neglected cult classic The Texas 27 Film Vault takes a look at the very first bad movie offered up and mocked by Randy Clower and Richard Malmos, on the night of February 9th, 1985! Yes, 1985.
Title: TRUNK TO CAIRO (1966)
If the only bad movie show you know is MST3K think of Continue reading
Filed under Bad and weird movies, Movie Hosts
COOL-NAMED SPORTS TEAM: WASHINGTON COLLEGE
WASHINGTON COLLEGE SHOREMEN
Location: Chestertown, MD
Conference Affiliation: Centennial Conference
Comment: “So long, Shoremen” would be a great punchline for an incredibly lame joke, wouldn’t it? George Washington College in historic Chestertown, MD may very well have the coolest sports team nickname out of the many schools that use the name of our first president. No matter what the Continue reading
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THE TOP TEN DEITIES IN TUPARI MYTHOLOGY
Balladeer’s Blog presents its latest look at a neglected pantheon of gods and goddesses. The Tupari people live near the Rio Branco in Brazil and though they are far from numerous I find their mythology to be as riveting and full of rich details as the belief systems of any other group.
The deities of the Tupari deserve to stand alongside the gods of the Greeks, Egyptians, Aztecs and others. A striking element of the Tupari belief system is the way in which the word “pod” is used the way “kami” is used in Shinto myths. Pod, like kami, can be used when referring to actual deities but also to lesser supernatural beings, so there is often debate over the exact status of an individual entity in the Tupari’s metaphysical heirarchy.
10. MULHER – The primordial Earth goddess from whom all the other deities descended. In the beginning when there was no life on Earth and no gods in the heavens Mulher existed alone. Her original form was that of an enormous black rock with a very smooth surface, much like Zoroastrian mythology describes the Earth before the evil god Ahriman ruined its pristine perfection. Mulher split open one day like an egg and her first child, the god Valedjad was born amid a stream of blood flowing from Mulher. Again she split open and her second son Vab emerged from within her in a similar blood stream. When earthquakes occur today it is Mulher splitting open again, but no more children are born – rather her blood – lava – flows like the blood from menstruating women.
9. PATSIARE – The god who separated the Earth and the sky. He then created the poles that support the sky above the Earth the way similar poles support the domed roofs of the Tupari’s houses. In Tupari cosmology the world is shaped like a Continue reading
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COOL NAMED SPORTS TEAM: CINCINNATI STATE
CINCINNATI STATE SURGE
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Conference Affiliation: Ohio Collegiate Athletic Conference
Comment: “Be great at Cincinnati State” is this college’s motto and it’s well-known for the way it churns out quality grads on a regular basis. Enhancing all of that is the Continue reading
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MOVIE HOSTS – MORE INFO ON THE TEXAS 27 FILM VAULT, THE PRE-MST3K SHOW
Before MST3K there was THE TEXAS 27 FILM VAULT! Before Joel and Mike lovers of bad movies had Randy and Richard! Before Devil Dogs, Observers and Deep 13 there came Cellumites, giant rats and Level 31!
In the mid 1980′s a two and a half hour-long program called The Texas 27 Film Vault was the show to watch on Saturday nights for wry mockery of Golden Turkeys preceded by episodes of vintage Republic Serials like Radar Men From The Moon and Canadian Mounties vs Atomic Invaders.
Courtesy of a photo from T27FV‘s Randy Clower and through more research of my own in old Dallas newspapers from the 1980’s here are some more bits of trivia to add to Balladeer’s Blog’s ever-expanding cache of info on this unjustly neglected Movie Host program.
Above is a shot of Randy with fellow Film Vault Corps member Laurie Savino (both mostly Continue reading
Filed under Bad and weird movies, Movie Hosts
NCAA DIVISION 2 FINAL FOUR RESULTS
THE DEFENDING CHAMPIONS TAKE A FALL – All the members of the 2013 Final Four in D2 were 1 seeds as it turned out. The DRURY UNIVERSITY PANTHERS rose up and toppled the WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY VIKINGS, the defending champions. Alex Hall – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: The Assassin – was the star once again with his season-high 35 points as he led the Panthers to their first ever appearance in the championship game on April 7th. Drury as a team shot 57.6% and won their 22nd game in a row, a program record. The defending champion Vikings found themselves trailing 50-32 by halftime. Ultimately Drury advanced by notching a Century Club-level 107 points to the 97 put up by Western Washington.
THE TOP SEED TAKES A FALL – The other battle of 1 seeds also resulted in an upset. The METRO STATE ROADRUNNERS surprised the overall top seeded WEST LIBERTY UNIVERSITY HILLTOPPERS. The Roadrunners lived up to their name with a very fast start, opening up the game with a 15-2 run. The Hilltoppers were playing catchup the rest of the way as Metro State made basket after basket while simultaneously shutting down West Liberty, which had boasted the nation’s best offense coming into Continue reading
Filed under College Basketball
