NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics)
National Champions: GRAND VIEW UNIVERSITY VIKINGS (3rd in a row)
Runners-Up: UNIVERSITY OF GREAT FALLS ARGONAUTS
2013 Champions: GRAND VIEW UNIVERSITY VIKINGS
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USCAA (United States Collegiate Athletic Association)
National Champions: NEWPORT NEWS APPRENTICE SCHOOL BUILDERS (3rd in a row)
Runners-Up: ALFRED STATE PIONEERS
2013 Champions: NEWPORT NEWS APPRENTICE SCHOOL BUILDERS Continue reading
Filed under college sports
Northwest Smith
Previously Balladeer’s Blog has done a story-by- story examination of the neglected pulp heroes Silver John and the Moon Man. Now begins a look at the pulp adventures of that often neglected 1930’s science fiction hero Northwest Smith.
THE HERO: Space traveling anti-hero Smith was created by the female writer C.L. Moore in the 1930′s. Four decades before Han Solo, Northwest Smith was a ruthless swashbuckling smuggler, thief and all-around mercenary. Smith’s less than sterling character made him a refreshing change from the usually wholesome pulp heroes of the time.
THE STORIES: Northwest Smith’s adventures take place in the far future, when regular trade exists between Earth and the native inhabitants of Mars and Venus. The other planets in the solar system have been colonized by those Big Three worlds, providing a backdrop that combines elements of westerns, seagoing adventures and colonial-era war stories. Continue reading
Filed under Pulp Heroes
* NAIA *
1. OKLAHOMA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY BISON ### 2. LEWIS-CLARK STATE WARRIORS ### 3. GEORGIA GWINNETT COLLEGE GRIZZLIES ### 4. BELHAVEN COLLEGE BLAZERS ### 5. OKLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY STARS ### Continue reading
Filed under College Baseball
I’m concluding my look at Frederick C Davis’ 1930s pulp hero the Moon Man. In reality police detective Stephen Thatcher, the Moon Man stalked the night-darkened streets of fictional Great City clad in his black costume and his helmet made of one-way Argus glass.
Armed with two automatic pistols plus limitless courage and ingenuity the Moon Man captured or killed Great City’s most dangerous criminals – both white collar and blue collar – and robbed them of their ill-gotten booty. He would then distribute that money to the city’s Great Depression-ravaged poor. All this made him hunted by both the crooks AND the cops. For more on the Moon Man and other neglected pulp heroes click here: https://glitternight.com/pulp-heroes/
37. MURDER AS A PASTIME – This story opens up with the Moon Man raiding the headquarters of a stolen car ring in order to capture the gang and make off with their criminal loot. “Yelloweye” Ruane, a man with odd yellow irises, is the brains of the car ring and in a lead-heavy gunfight he succeeds in driving the Moon Man off, but not before our hero nabs the crooked money.
Following MM from a distance Ruane learns the location of his latest hideout and after the Moon Man leaves Ruane enters the house and kidnaps Sue McEwen, our hero’s lady love who has been an accomplice to his double-life ever since she learned his true identity. Ruane is convinced that our globe- helmeted protagonist doesn’t really give his stolen loot to charity but keeps it for himself. Yelloweye anonymously informs the newspapers that unless the Moon Man comes up with $100,000 ransom his female accomplice (name unknown to Ruane) will be turned over to the cops. Continue reading
Filed under Pulp Heroes
Renaissance woman and supermodel Casey James once again demonstrates her versatility! Not only is she Balladeer’s Blog’s Official Movie Hostess, but she’s also my Official Gothic Horror Presenter and now is trying on the role of Mail Woman for Balladeer’s Blog.
The tough and seductive Casey will be generously presiding over my periodic posts like this where I will answer frequently-asked questions – including very hostile ones – from the emails that are sent to me.
EMAIL: What r u – some kind of Satanist or something? Continue reading
Filed under opinion, Sex Symbols
What better way to mark April Fool’s Day than by commemorating one of the wittiest and most daring of practical jokes, one perpetrated by Aleister Crowley in those brilliant years before drugs and/or self-delusion fogged his mind. Decades before the pathetic “Peekaboo Crowley” of much renown Aleister was still churning out some very enjoyable poetry – some of it brilliant. The Sword of Song and Konx Om Pax are my favorite volumes of verse by “the Laird of Boleskine” … AFTER Clouds Without Water, that is.
Clouds Without Water was not Crowley’s only literary practical joke, of course, but the humor of it resonates to this very day, thanks mainly to the never-changing air of pious self-righteousness that afflicts most of the world’s clergy-members. And not just pious self-righteousness but a habit of condemning in the strongest language works of art which their self-limited minds clearly don’t understand.
THE JOKE: Clouds Without Water was published under one of Crowley’s pseudonyms – Reverend Charles Verey. It was circulated to various ministries and teaching colleges allegedly as a condemnation of “the type of atheism and socialism” that the young and the bohemian were embracing. Crowley – writing as Reverend Verey – wrote a foreward and a closing prayer for the volume of poetry as well as (when you know the full story) HILARIOUS footnotes expressing the kind of simplistic moral outrage that only the most narrow-minded of holy-rollers can spout.
Under another assumed identity Crowley ALSO wrote the sonnets being condemned by his Reverend Verey alter ego. On the surface the poems were written by a college professor scandalously celebrating an extramarital affair with one of his female students, a young woman named Lola. The sonnets reflect the supposed couple’s flouting of social and sexual conventions until the affair ends in tragedy for all concerned. Crowley’s fictional persona Reverend Verey was denouncing the poems and the lifestyle reflected in those poems in the strongest possible terms. Continue reading
Filed under Mythology
Spring keeps trying to arrive but this bitter winter refuses to give up just yet. Our nationwide longing to be liberated from the tyrannical grip of winter made this a good time to examine some of the ancient myths about winter and the coming of spring. The celebration of those myths at this time of year plus the fact that many of those myths centered around dead and resurrected deities necessitated Christianity’s attempt to superimpose its OWN dead and resurrected deity over top of those older stories. Hence the celebration of Easter in springtime. (And it’s not just Christianity that behaved that way – other religions also would superimpose their own celebrations over top of those held in honor of the previously dominant gods in their region. I’ll cover the behavior of those other belief systems – especially Islam and the Incan faith – another time.)
Not all seasonal myths conformed to the following pattern. I’m limiting this list to the ones that did.
PERSEPHONE
Pantheon: Greek (The Romans called her Proserpine)
The Tale: Persephone was the beautiful daughter of the goddess Demeter (Ceres to the Romans). Persephone caught the eye of Hades, the god who ruled over the realm of the dead. Overcome with lust Hades (Pluto to the Romans) emerged from his subterranean domain and stole Persephone away to his realm to become his Queen.
The Savior: Demeter went searching for her daughter throughout the world, often assuming the form of a mortal woman. Her search wore on and on with no results, causing Demeter to fall more and more deeply into despair. Because she was the goddess of nature that despair manifested itself in colder weather, in the leaves falling off the trees, other vegetation dying and some animals hibernating or migrating to flee the cold. Continue reading
Filed under Mythology
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – You can call 2014 the Year of the Mule, at least in NCAA Division Two men’s basketball. This year’s title tilt came down to a pair of Two Seeds – the UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL MISSOURI MULES and the WEST LIBERTY UNIVERSITY HILLTOPPERS. The teams seemed evenly matched at first and as the Halftime buzzer sounded the Hilltoppers were in the lead by a tight score of 39-37. Continue reading
Filed under College Basketball
I’m continuing my look at Frederick C Davis’ 1930′s pulp hero the Moon Man. In reality police detective Stephen Thatcher, the Moon Man stalked the night-darkened streets of fictional Great City clad in his black costume and his helmet made of one-way Argus glass. Armed with two automatic pistols plus limitless courage and ingenuity the Moon Man captured or killed Great City’s most dangerous criminals – both white collar and blue collar – and robbed them of their ill-gotten booty. He would then distribute that money to the city’s Great Depression-ravaged poor. All this made him hunted by both the crooks AND the cops. For more on the Moon Man and other neglected pulp heroes click here: https://glitternight.com/pulp-heroes/
34. PREVIEW TO MURDER – The title is meaningless because there are no outright “murders” in this story, just 4 deaths in shootouts and those don’t happen until the end of the story. Davis apparently just wanted to use the word “preview” because the villains in this flick are a bogus newsreel company who use their business as a cover to commit robberies at or near the “news events” they cover. The story starts out with the Moon Man vying with the newsreel crooks – “Independent Sound Films, Inc” – for the $15,000 (in 1930’s money) in the safe of corrupt tycoon and politician Harley Elbridge. The daring theft takes place while Elbridge is making a speech about his pet topic – if he gets elected Mayor of Great City he’ll replace most of the police force brass and make capturing the Moon Man his number one priority. Continue reading
Filed under Pulp Heroes
FIRST SEMIFINAL – The 2nd seeded WEST LIBERTY UNIVERSITY HILLTOPPERS did battle with one of the remaining One seeds – the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA- AIKEN PACERS for the right to move on to the NCAA Division Two Championship Game. To the surprise of many the Hilltoppers had actually carved out a 41-40 lead for themselves by Halftime.
In the 2nd Half the game remained tight and intensely competitive. The teams were running neck and neck like a pair of racehorses but when all was said and done the Hilltoppers advanced, thanks to an 86-83 victory over the Pacers. Shawn Dyer of West Liberty University led his team by tossing in 30 of the Hilltoppers’ 86 points. Continue reading
Filed under College Basketball
