NJCAA DIVISION ONE
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – Closing out Balladeer’s Blog’s 2024 college basketball season was this game between the top seeded BARTON COLLEGE COUGARS and the 7 seeds – the TRITON COLLEGE TROJANS. Continue reading
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NJCAA DIVISION ONE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Filed under College Basketball
FANTASTIC FOUR: THEIR FIRST STORIES FROM THE 1960s
This weekend’s escapist and light-hearted superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog will look at the early stories about the Fantastic Four in the 1960s.
THE FANTASTIC FOUR – There can be no over-stating the importance of the Fantastic Four to Marvel Comics and by extension to much of pop culture the last several years regarding superhero movies and television programs. Though the Fantastic Four are now considered as dull as any b&w sitcom family of long ago, the team’s success convinced Marvel the market was right to recommit to superhero comic books.
As Timely Comics in 1939 and throughout the 1940s Marvel had participated in the massive superhero boom of the era. Many of their signature characters were introduced, like Captain America, Sub-Mariner, and many, many others.
As Atlas Comics in the 1950s Marvel abandoned superhero stories as that market had dropped out. They briefly revived some of their Golden Age characters and tried launching new ones, but sales were poor enough to get canceled, so they focused on monster and sci-fi comic books instead.
As Marvel Comics in 1961 the company decided to dabble in superhero comic books again, with Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, two veteran comic book hands since the 1940s, putting together a brand-new team of superheroes. That team was, of course, the Fantastic Four.
The first issue was scheduled to hit the stands late in the year, but June of 1961 was when the bulk of the work was done and the approach finalized. The vaunted “616 Universe” was established, based on 61 as in the calendar year, and 6 as in the month of June. Continue reading
Filed under Superheroes
NJCAA DIVISION TWO CHAMPIONSHIP GAME PLUS DIVISION ONE FINAL FOUR
NJCAA DIVISION TWO
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – Fighting it out for this division’s crown were the 5 seeds – the NATIONAL PARK COLLEGE NIGHTHAWKS – and the 2nd ranked SOUTH SUBURBAN COLLEGE BULLDOGS.
The Nighthawks were on top of South Suburban College 44-38 at Halftime. Following the break, the Bulldogs managed to chop off just one point from the National Park College advantage. The final score was Nighthawks 84 South Suburban College 79. Twenty-two points from Taylor Harrell led NPC to the championship. Continue reading
Filed under College Basketball
NEIL BREEN: HIS FIRST FIVE BAD MOVIES
Here at Balladeer’s Blog my love of enjoyably bad movies has been well established. You can count me as one of the many “Human Breens” as fans of filmmaker Neil Breen are called.
Neil Breen (PBUH) started out as an architect and realtor with minor show-biz dabblings as a dancer in Madonna’s Vogue video and as a cop in Scream. Years later Breen surfaced once again in the entertainment world, this time as an independent filmmaker.
As with the best of the bad auteurs Neil churns out productions that are uniquely his own. There is no mistaking a Neil Breen film with a film made by anyone else. Picture The Room’s Tommy Wiseau trying to make a David Lynch movie. But with a LOT more needless violence against laptop computers.
Read on for a look at the first five examples of Breen Cinema.
DOUBLE DOWN (2005) – Neil Breen starred, wrote and directed this movie – and quite obviously he or an associate even wrote the IMDb description of the plot. That description calls Double Down “an edgy action thriller,” which would certainly come as a surprise to anyone who has actually SEEN the film.
Double Down set the pattern for all things Breen, which is to say it redefines Vanity Projects AND Mary Sue-ing. He casts himself as (insert some sort of human or superhuman paragon here) who (engages in some sort of activity) while looking down on everyone else with a judgmental air of disapproval and ennui. And needless to say, he’s the BEST at looking down on everyone else with a judgmental air of disapproval and ennui. (Sure, but can he climb anything?). Continue reading
Filed under Bad and weird movies
THE VILLON LEGEND PART THREE
This is the third part of Balladeer’s Blog’s look at the swashbuckling legends that surround Francois Villon (1431-1463?), remembered as one of France’s greatest poets and a notorious outlaw.
FRANCOIS VILLON PART THREE – We left off last time with Villon forced to flee Paris after killing the priest Sermoise in a duel over a woman named Isabeau. Already well-versed in the criminal underworld of the region from his career as a thief, Francois hid out just 17 miles southwest of Paris at the Abbey of Port Royal-des-Champs.
In that June of 1455 the abbey was often called “l,abesse de Pourras (rotten)” because it was in the era when the infamous Abbess Huguette du Hamel ran the place. Typical of the chaotic tableau and moral ambiguity of the time, though the Abbess played the game of public piety, on the side she was as corrupt as many of her male counterparts.
The Abbess often disguised herself as a man to enter tawdry establishments that were barred to women. She was also noted for drinking like a man and cursing like a man. Continue reading
Filed under Mythology, Neglected History
NJCAA COLLEGE BASKETBALL: D3 CHAMPIONS CROWNED PLUS MORE
NJCAA DIVISION THREE
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The top seeded NORTH LAKE COLLEGE BLAZERS vied with the 3 seeds – the HERKIMER COLLEGE GENERALS – for the NJCAA’s D3 title.
This was a tale of two Halves, as the Blazers were clinging to a mere 30-29 edge over Herkimer College by the midpoint of the game. After the break, North Lake College dominated the Generals to win by a final score of 74-61. Bryson Smith tossed in 24 points to lead the Blazers to their 5th national championship. Continue reading
Filed under College Basketball
LOOK WHAT’S HAPPENED TO ROSEMARY’S BABY (1976) FORGOTTEN TELEVISION
LOOK WHAT’S HAPPENED TO ROSEMARY’S BABY (1976) – With The First Omen currently in theaters, its creative team’s obvious desire to make their Omen prequel seem more like Rosemary’s Baby made me decide to review the often forgotten made-for-television sequel to that horror classic.
Let’s be clear that this telefilm has nothing to do with Ira Levin or his later sequel novel Son of Rosemary. Levin’s genius was sorely missed in Look What’s Happened to Rosemary’s Baby, an aggressively “meh” little nothing. After all, in addition to his novel Rosemary’s Baby, Ira Levin wrote the books The Stepford Wives, A Kiss Before Dying, The Boys from Brazil and Sliver.
Look What’s Happened to Rosemary’s Baby (henceforth LWHTRB) featured Ruth Gordon as the only returning cast member from the 1968 movie, reprising her role of Minnie Castevet. Ray Milland played her husband Roman Castevet and George Maharis portrayed Rosemary’s actor husband Guy Woodhouse.
Continue reading
Filed under Bad and weird movies, Forgotten Television
NCAA D3 COLLEGE BASKETBALL CHAMPS PLUS NJCAA ACTION
NCAA DIVISION THREE
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The TRINE UNIVERSITY THUNDER clashed with the HAMPDEN-SYDNEY COLLEGE TIGERS for the D3 title.
Both teams played suffocating defense in the 1st Half, with the Tigers clinging to a tight 25-23 edge at the midpoint. After the break the Thunder offense kicked into action, outscoring Hampden-Sydney College 46-36 for a 69-61 victory. Cortez Garland scored 22 points to lead Trine University. Continue reading
Filed under College Basketball
THE HULK: EARLY 1970s
This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero blog post from Balladeer’s Blog will look at several consecutive issues of The Incredible Hulk. Previously I examined his first twenty stories in the 1960s.
HULK Vol 1 #150 (April 1972)
Title: Cry Hulk, Cry Havok
Villains: Havok and Polaris
Synopsis: Hulk once again escapes from Hulkbuster Base despite the efforts of General “Thunderbolt” Ross and his troops to prevent it. Ross gets summoned to Washington D.C. to face a Senate committee regarding continued funding of his base.
In Ross’s absence, Major Glenn Talbot is left in charge. Betty Ross, Bruce Banner’s previous romantic interest, convinces Glenn to continue the base’s search for the Hulk in the American desert southwest. Hulk encounters X-Men member Polaris (Lorna Dane). Her green hair confuses Hulk into mistaking her for his love interest Jarella, who recently returned to the Microverse/ Quantum Realm.
NOTE: Thanks to sorcerers on Jarella’s home planet in the Microverse, Hulk was able to retain Bruce Banner’s mind there even when he was the Hulk, so she technically loved both his personae.
Polaris has come westward to convince her teammate Havok (Alex Summers) to return to the X-Men. He had stormed out after injuring Iceman in a fight over Lorna’s affections. Hulk wants her to come with him because he still thinks she is Jarella.
Havok dons his costume and follows after them. Polaris uses her magnetic powers to free herself from the Hulk’s clutches and Havok manages to blast the Hulk with such intense power blasts that the monster is knocked out. Continue reading
Filed under Superheroes
BY AEROPLANE TO THE SUN (1910) ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION
BY AEROPLANE TO THE SUN (1910) – Written by Donald W. Horner. This British novel features ideas that wouldn’t have been out of place decades earlier but in 1910 it’s astounding to encounter concepts like an alleged scientist believing that the sun is inhabited.
The story is set in the far-off year 2000 A.D. Automobiles run on electricity, wireless video telephones are available and fluorescent lighting is commonplace. The British Parliament is now majority female and women have passed legislation stating that in a Leap Year women may propose to men and the men must accept or be subjected to ruinous fines.
Wealthy astronomer (?) Dick Stevenson fears that his neighbor Cynthia Meadows will propose to him, and in the semi-comical setting of this novel goes so far as to design and construct a spaceship – which he calls an aeroplane. He plans to be off exploring space long enough for Leap Year to be over.
Stevenson decides to mount an expedition to the sun because in the year 2000 we are told that the moon and Mars have been thoroughly explored. The brick-shaped spaceship/ aeroplane is built from the newly discovered metal called zioomium, which is as light as silk but stronger than steel. Continue reading
Filed under Ancient Science Fiction
