MYTHOLOGY: TWO MORE CHOCTAW DEITIES

choctaw great sealAs a followup to my earlier list of The Top 12 Deities in Choctaw Mythology here’s a look at two additional figures from that same pantheon.

IMMA – The Choctaw goddess of war. Unlike most war deities Imma did not participate in actual combat herself, but was the idealized woman to whom Choctaw warriors dedicated all their battlefield heroics. She was the most beautiful goddess in the Choctaw pantheon and, like her husband, the hunting god Hatakachafa, Imma was originally a mortal raised to godhood in the afterlife by the supreme deity Nanishta. He did this after Imma died from grief after Hatakachafa was given up for dead during his year-long struggle to return home to her. When Imma’s true love at last returned home astride his giant white wolf and learned she was dead he too died of grief. The two were reunited in the afterlife as husband and wife. 

OKLATABAHSHIH – The patron god of Continue reading →

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BALLADEER’S BLOG’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL RANKINGS: JANUARY 9TH, 2013

Hutchinson Blue Dragons LogoNJCAA Division 1 – 1. HUTCHINSON BLUE DRAGONS (logo at left)    ###    2. CHIPOLA COLLEGE INDIANS     ###    3. PALM BEACH STATE PANTHERS    ###    4. VINCENNES UNIVERSITY TRAILBLAZERS    ###    5. IOWA WESTERN REIVERS    ###    6. COFFEYVILLE RED RAVENS

NJCAA Division 2 – 1. MONROE TRIBUNES    ###    2. LOUISBURG COLLEGE HURRICANES    ###    3. REND LAKE COLLEGE Continue reading →

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BALLADEER’S BLOG’S EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH LESLIE RICE FROM TERROR OBSCURA

Leslie Rice laying down the cinematic law on his web show Terror Obscura

Leslie Rice laying down the cinematic law on his web show Terror Obscura

Anne Rice, Jerry Rice, Condoleeza Rice … and now Leslie Rice joins those cultural titans as the most celebrated Rice since Uncle Ben’s.

Leslie Rice aka Fear Fan, is the creator, writer, director and star of the web series Terror Obscura in which he offers his wry and incisive look at various horror films from the obscure (duh) to the mainstream and from enjoyably bad Golden Turkeys to genuine classics. In my opinion out of the countless web shows that offer film criticism Terror Obscura is the most consistently watchable and Rice’s commentary provides genuine analysis, not just a synopsis of the movie being reviewed.

Balladeer’s Blog’s recommendations would include Leslie’s detailed analysis of the Nightmare on Elm Street series plus his hilarious takes on stinkers like Funhouse and Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla. There are plenty of others to choose from including his new feature, Fright Bytes, in which Leslie offers much briefer takes on all things horror.    

Growing up in St Louis, MO Mr Rice began flirting with horror films by viewing the movies his parents would let him rent from the video store at the end of the street. His youthful favorites included Godzilla, Rodan, the Universal horror films plus Old School science fiction like Forbidden Planet.

When he turned 16 Leslie took his earlier dabbling in horror films to the next level. Enjoying the new freedom offered by a driver’s license and the income from his first job, Fear Fan dove into the harder stuff like Nightmare on Elm Street, Predator, Candyman and Aliens.

The college years came along and Rice, still based in St Louis, put his enthusiasm to practical use by reviewing movies for the college newspaper and then for his internship. His move into online video reviews will be covered in the body of the interview.      

Leslie’s early career as a riverboat pilot along the Mississippi has been extensively documented and I think we’re all very familiar with his heroics after the sinking of PT 109 (damn show-off) so I began the interview on a more personal note: 

Balladeer’s Blog: How long have you been dating Lindsay Lohan?

Leslie Rice: Only since she’s hit rock bottom. We met when she drove her car through my living room, and we’ve been a thing ever since.

BB: What was “the senses-shattering origin” of your Terror Obscura webcasts?

LR: I’d just discovered a Continue reading →

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SIX TELEVISION SHOWS THAT DESERVE HUGE CULT FOLLOWINGS

With the flood of unimaginative new television programs, especially on various cable channels, I’m often surprised that some of the most entertaining shows in history don’t have their very own following of people who know waaaaay too much about them. As always here at Balladeer’s Blog I like to shine the spotlight on everything that is unjustly overlooked. Feel free to start holding conventions devoted to, and launching flame wars about, these six criminally neglected television programs.

Captain-Z--R0_500

Captain Z-Ro and Jet

6. CAPTAIN Z-RO – (1951-1960) Over a full decade before Great Britain’s ultimate cult show, Doctor Who, hit the airwaves this American show featured the  titular Captain traveling in time and space with various sidekicks, including Jet, the young man pictured with Captain Z-Ro in the photo to the left.

In addition to adventures that saw the Captain dealing with a robot run amok in San Francisco and with a potentially fatal meteor collision, his “experiments in time and space” (the show’s oft-repeated tag line) found him helping out some of the exact same historical figures that Great Britain’s Time Lord from Gallifrey would go on to encounter, like Marco Polo, William the Conqueror and the Aztecs. As an added bonus Captain Z-Ro solved the mystery of the Great Pyramid itself!

This series is good, campy fun and a fringe benefit would be the laughs viewers can get from outdated social attitudes and special effects. The show’s pricelessly campy opening alone is worth the effort to track episodes down. 

MASTERMIND5. MASTERMIND (also known as Q.E.D.) (1981) – A young, bearded Sam Waterston starred in this incredibly charming series set in 1912 England. Waterston portrayed the title genius, American Ivy League scholar Dr Quentin E Deveril, whose  initials were, of course, a cutesy play on the Latin expression “quod erat demonstrandum”  (“what was to be demonstrated”), the famous Q.E.D. from academic  exercises.

Deveril’s adventures could be best described as a cross between Indiana Jones and Continue reading →

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NOTEWORTHY COLLEGE HOCKEY AND BASKETBALL RESULTS FROM JANUARY 5TH, 2012

neumann_APNUMBER ONE TAKES A FALL – In college hockey the unranked NEUMANN KNIGHTS came from behind on the road to topple the top-ranked and previously undefeated NORWICH CADETS in a 5-3 stunner. The Knights improve to 7-4-2 on the season while the Cadets now have a record of 11-1.   ###   It was a very tough day for the Top 8 teams yesterday. The number 3 OSWEGO STATE LAKERS fell to the 10th ranked UTICA PIONEERS in an unbelievable 6-0 laugher. At number 4 the EAU CLAIRE BLUGOLDS fell 2-1 in Overtime to the visiting CONCORDIA (MOORHEAD) COBBERS, the 7th ranked PLATTSBURGH STATE CARDINALS lost a road clash with the CASTLETON STATE SPARTANS by a score of 5-2 and the (8) MIDDLEBURY PANTHERS were bested in a 2-1 grudge match with the TRINITY (CT) BANTAMS.   ###   Outside the Top 10 the number 11 UW-SUPERIOR LAKERS were defeated 5-3 by the visiting CURRY COLONELS.

bowdoin polar bearsNEWSFLASH: SOME RANKED TEAMS ACTUALLY WON YESTERDAY – Along with all those upsets by the unranked over the ranked there were, of course, ranked hockey teams who took care of business yesterday. The 5th ranked defending champs, the ST NORBERT COLLEGE GREEN KNIGHTS, doubled up on the ST OLAF OLES by a score of 6-3.   ###   At number 9 the BOWDOIN POLAR BEARS took it on the road and crushed the HAMILTON CONTINENTALS  6-2.   ###   The unlucky 13 AMHERST LORD JEFFS held serve against the COLBY WHITE MULES in an authoritative 3-0 victory.   ###   The (14) UMASS-BOSTON BEACONS smacked around the WENTWORTH LEOPARDS by a score of 5-2.   ###   … And the 15th ranked UNIVERSITY OF ST THOMAS TOMMIES outlasted the Continue reading →

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BALLADEER’S BLOG’S PRESIDENTIAL ACTION AND HORROR FILMS

Okay, we’ve already had a couple of movies that pit Abraham Lincoln against vampires in one flick and zombies in the other PLUS we’ve had a film involving Franklin Roosevelt in a conflict with werewolves. I’m jumping into this bizarre trend with the following seven synopses for even more movies milking this soon-to-be overdone premise:

George WashingtonGEORGE WASHINGTON BATTLES THE BERSERKERS – During the brutal winter at Valley Forge General George Washington must contend with more than just the elements and the distant British army. The Hessian troops the Redcoats have imported from the German- speaking world have unleashed a master plan to overrun the Continental Army once and for all.

Their ranks boast a dabbler in Nordic magic and he’s concocted a mushroom-heavy formula to transform all the Hessians into furious berserkers like those of the Viking age! George is having none of it of course, and plans to turn the Pennsylvania snow red with the blood of these latter-day berserkers of the ancient Germanic god Woden. All this plus a gay love affair between Washington and Alexander Hamilton just to guarantee lots of free publicity! 

John AdamsJOHN ADAMS: WITCHSLAYER – Remember the tale of young John Adams defending a 1700s Wiccan priestess when he was a lawyer? This movie would proceed from the notion that the young witch went on to involve Adams in a battle royal with an evil coven of dark witches who were giving paganism a bad name!

Using an aresenal of mystic weapons provided by the priestess he defended, John goes on to lay the thirteen witches and warlocks of the dark coven in their graves! Throw in an Continue reading →

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COOL FOOTBALL HELMET: MONTANA STATE-NORTHERN

MSU- Northern LightsMONTANA STATE-NORTHERN LIGHTS

Location: Havre, MT

Division: NAIA

Conference Affiliation: Frontier Conference

Comment: MSU-Northern cleverly decided to call their sports teams the Lights because of the “Northern” at the end of their university’s name. An unfortunate side effect is that people often mistakenly think their teams are called the “Northern Lights” and that they Continue reading →

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SHINTO GODDESS: FUNADAMA

https://i0.wp.com/worthopedia.s3.amazonaws.com/images/thumbnails2/1/0407/07/1_3d71197c9bcf483443cc3c8804f217b3.jpgFUNADAMA – Shinto goddess of ships and boats. Like Toyota she was a daughter of the sea god Watatsumi. (Remember, I mostly go by the Kojiki and the Nihongi, the earliest written accounts of Shinto myths. Those two books refer to the humanoid Watatsumi as the god of the sea. Ryujin the dragon god of the sea came from later traditions. )

Sailors, fishermen and all travelers by sea, river or lake would pray to her Funadama for protection and there is still a Continue reading →

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BALLADEER’S BLOG’S COLLEGE HOCKEY RANKINGS: JANUARY 2ND, 2013

Norwich LogoWith 2013 just getting underway Balladeer’s Blog unveils its first college hockey rankings of the season for D3 hockey and NJCAA hockey. In my usual oddball way I do a Top 11 list for D3 and a Top 6 list for the NJCAA because of their lower number of hockey teams.

NCAA Division 3 –   1. NORWICH CADETS   ###   2. HOBART STATESMEN   ###   3. EAU CLAIRE BLUGOLDS   ###   4. ST NORBERT COLLEGE GREEN KNIGHTS (defending champions)   ###   5. BOWDOIN POLAR BEARS   ###   6. ADRIAN BULLDOGS   ###   7. OSWEGO STATE LAKERS   ###   8. Continue reading →

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BAD MOVIES FOR NEW YEAR’S EVE

Here at Balladeer’s Blog I’m very fond of cinematic turkeys that have seasonal tie-ins. Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas bombs have gotten ample attention from me, so permit me to follow those items up with this look at bad movies with a New Year’s Eve theme. As usual, full-length reviews of these films can be found on my Bad Movie page.

Terror TrainTERROR TRAIN (1980) – A New Year’s Eve slasher film set on a train carrying a load of partying passengers who plan to ring in the New Year in each time zone of the United States. As required by law at the time, Jamie Lee Curtis starred since it was a slasher flick with a seasonal theme. (Look under the Federal Halloween, Halloween II and Prom Night Act of 1980 if you don’t believe me) A few years earlier Curtis and her college buddies played an initiation trick on a freshman by tricking him into bed with a female corpse. The guy had a nervous breakdown from the ugly near-necrophiliac experience (like sleeping with Barbra Streisand must feel) and is supposedly still in a mental hospital because of it.

Curtis and company are among the partiers on the Auld Lang Syne Express mentioned above and a ridiculously costumed slasher (guess who) begins knocking off her college friends as the train rolls across the countryside. Veteran actor Ben Johnson plays the heroic Train Conductor standing in for Dr Loomis in this flick and David Copperfield himself plays a Continue reading →

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