March 28, 2012 · 9:22 pm

LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES AND THE SUPREME COURT HEARINGS ON OBAMACARE

 Welcome back to Balladeer’s Blog, the only Independent Voter site on the internet that is truly non-partisan in its criticism of the shrill children called Liberals and Conservatives.

Both sides of the American political spectrum have hilariously overreacted to the inept presentation made before the Supreme Court by Obama’s Solicitor General Donald Verrilli. Verrilli’s role in such a hearing is to provide some justification regarding the constitutionality of Obamacare but he sounded like a poorly-prepared 12 year old reading his book report to the class. 

Liberal pundits have been uproariously downbeat about Verrilli’s universally panned performance and Conservative pundits have been just as uproariously upbeat about it. They all Continue reading →

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March 28, 2012 · 7:54 pm

COLLEGE BASEBALL TOP 25: WEEK OF MARCH 26TH – APRIL 1ST

 Basketball season is over in the divisions covered by Balladeer’s Blog, so it’s on to baseball! Seamheads have been emailing me about how anxious they are to start my coverage since the season’s over a month old for collegiate play.

As always I’ll cover baseball for colleges in the NAIA, D3, D2, USCAA, NCCAA, ACCA and NJCAA all the way up through the World Series in each division.

For starters here’s a look at the Top 25 in the NAIA:  1. Lee Flames (up from 3) *** 2. LSU-Shreveport Pilots (as in riverboat pilots) *** 3. Oklahoma City University Stars *** 4. Embry- Riddle Aeronaut Continue reading →

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March 27, 2012 · 9:10 pm

INUIT MYTHS: KIVIOQ

 For more of my entries on Inuit myths click here: https://glitternight.com/inuit-myth/

KIVIOQ – The greatest hero and monster- slayer of Inuit mythology. The exact structure of Kivioq’s saga varies wildly from region to region, some of them with a fully Continue reading →

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March 26, 2012 · 8:48 pm

2012 COLLEGE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS

 All the championship games in the divisions of college basketball covered by Balladeer’s Blog are over now. Here’s a final round of congratulations to this year’s champs and the teams they faced in those title games.

NAIA Division 1 – CONCORDIA (CA) EAGLES (def the Oklahoma Baptist University Bison)

NAIA Division 2 – OREGON TECH HUSTLIN’ OWLS (def the Continue reading →

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March 25, 2012 · 4:01 am

PAM GRIER’S FOUR BEST BLAXPLOITATION FILMS

Previously Balladeer’s Blog has examined blaxploitation horror films as well as some blaxploitation films that transcended their genre. This time around I’ll take a look at Pam Grier’s 4 best films from the body of work that prompted Ebony magazine to call her “the Mocha Mogul of Hollywood” in the 1970’s.

   4. SHEBA, BABY (1975) – Pam plays private detective Sheba Shayne in this thoroughly enjoyable actioner. When white gangsters are leaning on the savings and loan run by her old flame, Sheba heads home and uses her gun and her fists to put the bad guys in their place.

Some of the most highly stylized stunt work in Pam’s films is on display in Sheba, Baby. Any Clint Eastwood or Charles Bronson movie from the decade would have been proud of the action-packed finale, which  features plenty of Continue reading →

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March 24, 2012 · 5:16 pm

NCAA DIVISION 2 AND NJCAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES TODAY

 Today ends the 2011-2012 college basketball season for the divisions covered by Balladeer’s Blog. The final two championship games take place this afternoon and evening.

First up, the Western Washington University Vikings (logo above left) play the Montevallo Falcons at 1pm ET for the D2 title. Tonight at 9pm ET the NJCAA championship game features the South Plains College Texans taking on the NW Florida Raiders. The Continue reading →

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March 24, 2012 · 4:34 pm

BALLADEER’S BLOG INTERVIEWS PHILIP LEE MCCALL II, AUTHOR OF ING THE VIKING

 Balladeer’s Blog recently got to interview Philip Lee McCall II, best-selling author, reviewer, publisher and imaginist about his latest book, Ing The Viking. McCall’s previous works include The Imaginist and Poisonous Prose: A Limited Collection of Dark Rhymes (2  volumes). 

All of those books are available at Amazon.com, plus McCall has The Imaginist II coming out in just over two months. The time seemed right to try to ride Mr McCall’s coattails to some more blog hits for myself (I’m kidding!) so I sent my private jet to pick him up and fly him to my spacious villa overlooking Japan’s Inland Sea. 

We passed the time trying to spot one of the thousand dragons of the Shinto god Kotohira swimming in the waters below while “PLMII” as he’s called, graciously answered my interview questions. 

Balladeer’s Blog: For the uninitiated could you provide an overview of Ing the Viking’s setting and raison d’etre? 

PLMII: Ing the Viking is an anthology which collects the stories of a fabled Viking’s adventures. I worked with a group of fantasy artists to render art for each tale. I was honored to have the great Larry Elmore not only excited about the project but also provide two images for the book.  This book was definitely a labor of love and homage to both Norse mythology and the Pulp fiction era. There are Continue reading →

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March 23, 2012 · 9:23 pm

NJCAA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT FINAL FOUR: MARCH 23RD

 Tonight the South Plains College Texans (logo at right), the Eastern Oklahoma Mountaineers, the Seward Saints and the NW Florida Raiders battle for the right to advance to tomorrow’s NJCAA Championship Game. Consolation games continue today and tomorrow featuring teams like the Monroe College Tribunes and the Otero Rattlers. The NCAA Division 2 Championship Game will Continue reading →

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March 22, 2012 · 12:03 am

NJCAA COLLEGE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT AND THE D2 FINAL FOUR: MARCH 22ND

 All you varmints can get ready for more college hoops action today as the NJCAA tournament continues and the NCAA Division 2 Final Four will play tonight to see who advances to the championship game this Saturday! Will Bellarmine get back to the title game? Find out!  

The Three Rivers Raiders (logo at left, believe it or not, with Rocky the Raider) take on the defending champs of NJCAA basketball, the College of Southern Idaho Golden Eagles at Continue reading →

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March 21, 2012 · 10:36 pm

SHINTO DEITY: AMATERASU

 This sun goddess was the chief deity of the Shinto pantheon. In the Nihongi she is the daughter of both Izanagi and Izanami but in the Kojiki she springs from Izanagi’s left eye. During one of the conflicts with her brother Susanowo the storm god she withdrew to a cave in protest of the storm god’s incessant belligerence. Susanowo had been overstepping his bounds by Continue reading →

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