March 16, 2013 · 2:08 pm

IROQUOIS DEITY: SOSONDOWAH

Iroquiois ConfederacySOSONDOWAH – The Iroquois hunting god. From a very young age Sosondowah was able to stalk and kill any game that he set his mind on. The myths depicting him as a little boy godling include the “catechism of game animals” like the tales of various other Native American tribes included about their hunting god’s younger years. These catechetical stories would feature the mother of a tribe’s hunting deity subjecting the child to a series of descriptions of game animals and taboo animals with the young god having to correctly identify each animal.

Such myths recounted aloud to younger members of a tribe seem to have served the educational purpose of Continue reading →

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March 15, 2013 · 7:27 pm

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENTS FOR THE NAIA, NCCAA AND NJCAA FROM MARCH 14TH

* NAIA *

Culver Stockton College WildcatsNUMBER FIVE GOES DOWN – That was number FIIIIIVE! Yesterday the CULVER STOCKTON COLLEGE WILDCATS upset the (5) LEWIS- CLARK STATE COLLEGE WARRIORS thanks to a hot’n’ heavy 2nd half effort! The final score in this memorable game was Wildcats  91 Warriors  72.

*

MNUPioneersIF NUMBER FIVE FALLS CAN NUMBER SEVEN BE FAR BEHIND? – The MIDAMERICA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY PIONEERS scored a Century Club- level number of points on the way to their own upset yesterday. The Pioneers took down the (7) CAL STATE- SAN MARCOS COUGARS in a 109-98 donnybrook the MNU faithful will be reliving for years.  

OklahomaBaptist-_Bison_150pTHE BISON ADVANCE – The (10) OKLAHOMA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY BISON had their hands full with the ARIZONA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY FIRESTORM but got it together enough to emerge with a win. The Bison move on to the Sweet Sixteen with an Continue reading →

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March 15, 2013 · 6:59 pm

BLACK CONDOR CAPTIONING FUN

Recently I made the 1940’s superhero the Black Condor the Official Superhero of Balladeer’s Blog because of his sheer goofiness. As a followup I’ll be providing mock captions for various Black Condor covers.

BLACK CONDOR: Make a wish before one of your arms gets torn off, you bastard! There will be NO climbing across laundry lines on MY watch!

BLACK CONDOR: Make a wish before one of your arms gets torn off, you bastard! There will be NO climbing across laundry lines on MY watch!

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March 14, 2013 · 8:47 pm

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: NAIA AND NCCAA TOURNAMENT ACTION FROM MARCH 13TH

LSU-Shreve bigCLOSE UPSETS – The LSU- SHREVEPORT PILOTS (riverboat pilots) rose up and took out the (8) PIKEVILLE UNIVERSITY BEARS! After leading at halfime 44-35 the Pilots withstood a spirited rally by Pikeville in the 2nd half and advance to the Sweet 16 with a 91-87 victory.   ###   And the MARTIN METHODIST REDHAWKS upset the (11) WESTMONT WARRIORS. The Redhawks were up by 7 at the break then had to go blow for blow with Westmont in a fast’n’ furious 2nd half to come out on top  71-65.

TAKIN’ CARE OF BUSINESS – The number one seeds, the COLUMBIA (MO) COUGARS, sent a message to the rest of the tournament field yesterday, eviscerating the OKLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY STARS by a score of 68-37.   ###   And in more bad news for the Sooner Athletic Conference the UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND ARTS OF OKLAHOMA DROVERS got eliminated by the Continue reading →

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March 13, 2013 · 8:30 pm

MYTHOLOGY: INTERCULTURAL INFLUENCE

puck1A reader asked me a question about Egyptian mythology being influenced by other cultures. Since I get occassional e-mails asking me similar questions I figured I would post my answer in the spirit of an FAQ. 

My Answer:  This sort of inter-cultural influence is pretty standard in mythology. No belief system springs from a vacuum. It springs from previous belief systems in the region and also from appropriating elements of belief systems of other cultures they come into contact with. The process is Continue reading →

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March 13, 2013 · 3:38 am

NAIA2 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: CSU TAKES THE TITLE!

Cardinal Stritch Wolves logoLast night’s NAIA Division Two National Championship Game saw the top 2 seeds in the tournament battling each other for the title. The top seeded WILLIAM PENN UNIVERSITY STATESMEN and the 2nd seeds, the CARDINAL STRITCH UNIVERSITY WOLVES, were the two teams left standing after all the hardcourt drama that had unfolded since the tournament started last Wednesday.

The Wolves shot 50% from the field enroute to a 73-59 victory over the Statesmen, giving Cardinal Stritch University its first ever NAIA national championship in basketball. The game was a very tight 39-36 at the break in favor of the Wolves but the 2nd half saw Stritch getting some separation and winding up wearing the 2013 crown. WPU outrebounded CSU 35-33 but were outdone by the Wolves in every other statistical category. Stritch also got to the line 25 times, making 20 from the charity stripe compared to William Penn, whose Continue reading →

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March 13, 2013 · 12:21 am

BAD MOVIE: THE WEREWOLF OF WOODSTOCK (1972)

No, not The Werewolf Of Washington, which is a whole other movie, but The Werewolf of Woodstock, site of the famous multi-day music festival in 1969 New York. Enjoy this review of an atrocious attempt at a rock’n’roll horror film.     

THE WEREWOLF OF WOODSTOCK (1972) – Category: Bad enough and with a classically weird premise but not fun-bad enough for my highest rating     

This made for tv movie presents the weirdest variation on the werewolf legend this side of Curse of the Queerwolf. The story begins the night after the conclusion of 1969′s Woodstock music festival when a Continue reading →

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March 12, 2013 · 5:44 pm

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: NAIA FINAL FOUR RESULTS

williampennStatesmenLast night the Final Four teams in the NAIA Division 2 tipped off for the right to advance to the championship game. In the first game the top seeded WILLIAM PENN UNIVERSITY STATESMEN fell behind by 6 early on but roared back to tie the GRACE COLLEGE LANCERS at 21 all. A 10-0 run put the Lancers up 31-21 but the Statesmen responded with a run of their own to take a 34-31 advantage. By half-time the game was tied up at 36-36. William Penn came back from the break on a 6-0 tear and never looked back. The Statesmen advanced to their first- ever appearance in the national title game with a 79-58 victory.

Cardinal Stritch Wolves logoThe 2nd seeded CARDINAL STRITCH UNIVERSITY WOLVES played the (11) INDIANA UNIVERSITY SOUTHEAST GRENADIERS next. Game Two started the same way with the ultimate victors trailing early on. Stritch rose up against that early adversity and went on an intimidating 20-4 run. The Grenadiers would rally to Continue reading →

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March 11, 2013 · 11:52 pm

THE BLACK CONDOR: THE OFFICIAL SUPERHERO OF BALLADEER’S BLOG

Black CondorRegular readers of Balladeer’s Blog know that words like eccentric, oddball, offbeat, weird and damn crazy come to mind when describing me. So, that being the case the most appropriate superhero mascot for this site is the Black Condor.

That’s the Golden Age Black Condor, who debuted in 1940 and is now in the public domain, not the newer comic book characters going by that name. The original Black Condor appeals to me in the same way that bad movies do. Here are the six reasons why this figure has long been my favorite weirdass Golden Age superhero: Continue reading →

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March 10, 2013 · 2:19 pm

COLLEGE BASKETBALL AND HOCKEY TOURNAMENT RESULTS FROM MARCH 9TH

* NCCAA CHAMPIONSHIP *

ohiochristiantrailblazersANOTHER CHAMPION CROWNED – The National Christian College Athletic Association Division Two title game was played last night. The top seeded OHIO CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY TRAILBLAZERS squared off against the Cinderella 7 seeds, the ARLINGTON BAPTIST COLLEGE PATRIOTS. The Patriots accomplished the seemingly impossible by actually leading the Trailblazers at halftime, 38-37. OCU was the season’s dominant team, however, and reasserted themselves in the 2nd half. The final score in this National Championship Game was Trailblazers  73 Patriots  62. Congratulations to Ohio Christian University!

* NAIA2 FINAL FOUR *

Cardinal Stritch Wolves logoGAME OF THE DAY – The (2) CARDINAL STRITCH UNIVERSITY WOLVES battled the upstart (10) DORDT COLLEGE DEFENDERS through TWO OVERTIMES before obtaining a final result. The 1st half was a defensive struggle, with the score at the break a startlingly low 29-24 in favor of the Wolves. 61-61 was the tally at the end of regulation and it wasn’t until the 2nd Overtime period that CSU put some distance between themselves and the Defenders. In the end the 82-76 result propelled the Wolves into the NAIA Division Two’s Final Four.   

williampennStatesmenA MAN CALLED DEVLIN – The top seeded WILLIAM PENN UNIVERSITY STATESMEN trailed the MIDLAND UNIVERSITY WARRIORS by one point with time expiring, but a James Devlin fallaway jumper gave the Statesmen a 67-66 victory. With the win WPU advances to their FIRST EVER Final Four. Even more amazing is the fact that the Statesmen still have only ONE LOSS for the entire 2012-2013 campaign. William Penn won the battle of the backboards, out- rebounding the Continue reading →

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