Tag Archives: Balladeer’s Blog

PELE AND HI’IAKA: EPIC OF HAWAII PART FIVE

Pele and Hi'iaka valleyBalladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the grand and exciting Hawaiian epic about the goddesses Pele and Hi’iaka.

PART FIVE

The morning after their battle with Pana-Ea and its legion of monsters Hi’iaka, Pa’u’o’pala’e and Wahine resumed their journey. Around mid-day the path they were following suddenly ended at a precipice. Wahine suggested they all descend the cliffside to reach the base, where the waves pounded the jagged stones and from there swim across to the other side. Continue reading →

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PELE AND HI’IAKA: EPIC OF HAWAII PART FOUR

big-island-hawaii-map-for-tourists.gif (350×350)Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the grand and exciting Hawaiian epic about the goddesses Pele and Hi’iaka.

PART FOUR

The goddess Hi’iaka and her companions continued making their way on the Big Island in their quest to meet and escort Prince Lohiau of Kauai to the fire goddess Pele’s home on Mount Kilauea. Accompanying Hi’iaka were the fern goddess Pa’u’o’pala’e, a Pele worshiper named Wahine and Pa-Pulehu, a girl in her early teens whose wealthy family had hosted the travelers. 

The four ladies had two paths to choose from: one would lead safely around the Pana-Ewa Rainforest (named for the demonic creature who ruled it) and the other would lead directly through that rainforest. That second path would be fraught with danger every step of the way, not just from Pana-Ewa itself but also from the legions of monsters in Pana-Ewa’s service. Hi’iaka chose to go straight through the rainforest, intent on destroying many of the vile creatures who preyed on the ancient Hawaiian people.   Continue reading →

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BLACK ROSES (1988)

Black Roses 1BLACK ROSES (1988) – This legendarily laughable attempt at a horror film belongs to quite a few niche sub-genres. It’s a Canadian horror movie, it’s one of the wonderfully campy Heavy Metal Horror productions of the 1980s and most importantly for trivia lovers Black Roses is one of the Big Three Canadian turkeys to feature Frank Dietz in a supporting role. (The other two are Rock’N’Roll Nightmare and Zombie Nightmare. ) 

Dietz looked too young to be a police detective in Zombie Nightmare and he looks too OLD to be a high school student in Black Roses. But that’s part of his – and the movie’s – charm. He also plays one of the Black Roses in monster form during the film.

You want more kitsch-casting? How about Julie Adams of Creature From The Black Lagoon playing an elderly frump outraged over Heavy Metal’s supposed “Satanic” element?

How about noted musician Carmine Appice as Vinny Apache, one of the demonic members of the band Black Roses?

How about Vincent Pastore from The Sopranos as a Heavy Metal-hating parent who pays for that by getting mauled by a $1.49 spider-puppet AND getting sucked into a speaker playing Black Roses songs?  Continue reading →

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Filed under Bad and weird movies, Halloween Season

PELE AND HI’IAKA: EPIC OF HAWAII PART THREE

HawaiianislandsBalladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the grand and exciting Hawaiian epic about the goddesses Pele and Hi’iaka.

PART THREE

The goddess Hi’ika set off for Kaua’i to retrieve and escort Pele’s chosen mate Prince Lohiau back to Pele’s home on Mount Kilauea. In some versions she is first granted some additional divine power by Pele to help her fight her way past the countless menaces that lay in her path.  Continue reading →

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THE REVENANT (2015): MICRO-REVIEW

Man in the Wilderness

Save your time and money and see this film based on the same events.

THE REVENANT (2015) – Man vs nature movie that, ironically, is far less true-to-life than Man in the Wilderness, a 1971 film based on the same real-life events from the 1820s. ESPECIALLY THE ENDING. Yet the ’71 version didn’t go to the same bizarre levels of hype about its “authenticity” that The Revenant’s marketing does.

Richard Harris played the man left behind to die and John Huston had the role Tom Hardy plays in the newer version. Catch Man in the Wilderness from the comfort of your own home. The only entertainment in the DiCaprio film comes from wondering if he’ll ever say “Yer durn tootin'” in that ridiculous voice he uses in the movie.      Continue reading →

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FOUR BASIC TIPS FOR MAKING A SHORT FILM

The one and only John Montana has graciously provided Balladeer’s Blog with this article regarding independent film-making.

Four Basic Tips for Making a Short Film

Making a short film, or any film for that matter can be a lot of amazing fun. But most of the time, making a movie is very stressful and filled with problems. I recently made my most recent short film called HUNGRY. I had this idea for a short that came to me a couple of years before. A wicked, humorous, little piece on the greed that is rampant at Christmas. Here are the major issues that came up and what I learned from it for my next shoot. Continue reading →

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COOL-NAMED TEAM: RAINY RIVER COLLEGE

Rainy River College VoyageursRAINY RIVER COLLEGE VOYAGEURS

Location: International Falls, MN

Conference Affiliation: Minnesota College Athletic Conference

Comment: The motto of this excellent institution is “Don’t just plan your future … begin your future!” Their secondary motto should be “Don’t call your sports teams something boring like Eagles, Tigers, Bulldogs or Wildcats … call them something cool like Voyageurs!” Regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog are familiar with the Continue reading →

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RAGNAR THE TERRIER’S IDITAROD COUNTDOWN

RagnarRAGNAR: Hello peeps! Ragnar here! I’m not a Huskie but I play one on tv. The 2016 Iditarod is just 37 days away and as always my Uncle Balladeer’s Blog will be the forum for my Mom’s inimitable coverage complete with on-the-spot nicknames made up for all the competitors.

My Mommy (Rosemary to the rest of you) is a big fan of the Iditarod and she often writes profiles of the competitors. Continue reading →

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ALEI AND PATA: SAMOAN DEITIES

SamoaThere’s been a great surge in interest recently in Balladeer’s Blog’s long-ago examination of the gods of Samoa. In honor of that here’s a look at a male and female pair of deities from that same pantheon.

ALEI & PATA – Two ancient culture deities of Samoa. Alei and Pata taught the Samoans about home construction, laying out a village and various funerary practices, including embalming. The figures were worshiped jointly as the patron deities of these undertakings, just as the goddesses Taema and Tilafaiga were jointly considered the patron deities of tattooing.

Alei and Pata did not come down to Earth in their godly bodies like their fellow divinities usually did. Continue reading →

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PELE AND HI’IAKA: EPIC OF HAWAII PART TWO

Pele and Hi'iakaBalladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the grand and exciting Hawaiian epic about the goddesses Pele and Hi’iaka.

PART TWO

As Pele’s sister Hi’iaka and the other gods worried that the volcano and fire goddess’ spirit form (kino wailua) had departed forever, that spirit form was still enjoying its lengthy visit with Prince Lohiau on Kaua’i. Continue reading →

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