Tag Archives: Balladeer’s Blog

March 11, 2014 · 2:50 pm

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: FINAL TICKETS PUNCHED TO 2014 NAIA NATIONAL TOURNAMENT

Rocky Mountain College LogoFRONTIER CONFERENCE – The top seeded ROCKY MOUNTAIN COLLEGE BATTLIN’ BEARS flexed their roundball muscles in the conference title game against the 2nd seeded WESTMINSTER COLLEGE GRIFFINS. The Battlin’ Bears won going away by a final score of 93-64.   ###   * The Battlin’ Bears advance to the NAIA Basketball National Tournament.

talladegacollegetornadoesGULF COAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE – The 2nd seeded TALLADEGA COLLEGE TORNADOES and the 4 seeds – the PHILANDER SMITH COLLEGE PANTHERS – went into Overtime before a victor was decided in this GCAC championship game. The Tornadoes took the crown by a final score of 104-95.   ###   The Tornadoes advance to the Continue reading →

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March 10, 2014 · 6:01 pm

THE EIGHT MOST NEGLECTED BAD MOVIES HERE AT BALLADEER’S BLOG

Alabama's GhostSome of the bad and weird movies I review here at Balladeer’s Blog get a huge amount of love. Films like Death Bed, Deafula, Assignment: Terror, Ghost Busting, Lewd Lizard and plenty of others don’t go a day without plenty of hits. Others for whatever reason struggle for attention. Here is a look at some of those flicks that deserve just as much of a cult following as the big names have.

ALABAMA’S GHOST (1973) – Who does this movie have to sleep with to get into my top ten articles per day on a regular basis? This flick boasts Nazi vampires from outer space, a female mad scientist named Dr Caligula, campy voice-over narration and an incoherent, cobbled-together ending prompted by the film’s production budget running out. And did I mention the Continue reading →

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March 9, 2014 · 6:37 pm

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: THREE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS CROWNED WHILE TOURNAMENTS CONTINUE IN OTHER DIVISIONS

*** ACCA ***

Arlington Baptist PatriotsNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The ARLINGTON BAPTIST COLLEGE PATRIOTS won their school’s first ever National Championship in the ACCA (Association of Christian College Athletics). The Patriots led their familiar foes the RHEMA BIBLE COLLEGE EAGLES at Halftime by a score of 40-26 then continued to dominate all through the Second Half, cutting down the nets following their 85-67 victory. Jeremiah Ford led the Patriots with 26 points and 13 rebounds. Ford was also the ACCA National Tournament MVP. * CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PATRIOTS * 

*** USCAA DIV ONE ***

Washington Adventist University ShockNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – Yesterday the 4th seeded WASHINGTON ADVENTIST UNIVERSITY SHOCK squared off against the 6th seeded TENNESSEE TEMPLE UNIVERSITY CRUSADERS for the 2014 title in Division One of the USCAA (United States Collegiate Athletic Association). Sadly, after all the excellent basketball that led up to this championship bout the title clash was very, very disappointing. The Shock led the Crusaders by an odd score of 28-17 at Halftime and went on to win 61-38. * CONGRATULATIONS TO THE SHOCK. *

*** USCAA DIV TWO ***

Andrews U CardinalsNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The USCAA’s Division Two Championship was decided by something that more closely resembled a competitive game. For the second year in a row Division Two’s battle for the crown featured a pair of Cinderellas. The 6th seeded ANDREWS UNIVERSITY CARDINALS held a 37-26 lead at the break over the 8 seeds, the PSU-BEAVER NITTANY LIONS and when all was said and done won the game by a final score of Continue reading →

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March 9, 2014 · 3:30 pm

SHUGENDO MYTHOLOGY: A LOOK AT EN NO OZUNU

En No OzunuRegular readers of Balladeer’s Blog know that I consider all religions to be mythology, which people are usually fine with unless it’s their own personal religion I’m examining. At any rate En No Ozunu is revered as the founder and most active mythical figure in the belief system called Shugendo, and in some offshoot cults of Shugendo as a virtual patron deity of ninja practices and ancient weather forecasting.

Practitioners of the Shugendo faith are called Yamabushi and their belief system fuses elements of Shinto, Ainu, Buddhism and Taoism along with features of shamanism and the ancient Japanese reverence for mountains, all of which are considered sacred ground in Shugendo. The ninja connection is very big in popular culture but actually the Ainu are more technically the originators of many ninjutsu practices. For an even bigger pop culture tie-in there are versions of the En No Ozunu myth in which he is the father of Sadako (Neil Sadako?), the female figure in the Ringu novel plus its Japanese and American film adaptations. 

En No Ozunu supposedly began his existence on Earth when he was born to a mortal woman who was Continue reading →

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March 8, 2014 · 6:19 pm

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: MORE POSTSEASON ACTION IN THE NAIA, NCCAA, ACCA, USCAA, NCAA, NJCAA AND CCCAA (BUT NOT THE NAACP OR THE CIA)

*** NAIA ***

Life UniversityASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT INSTITUTIONS – In the opening round of this conference’s tournament the 3rd seeded LIFE UNIVERSITY RUNNING EAGLES folded, spindled and mutilated the 6th seeded MORRIS COLLEGE HORNETS. The Running Eagles (no, not the Flying Squirrels, the Running Eagles) won in a Century Club- level 101-72 performance.   ###   And the 4 seeds – the WEST VIRGINIA TECH GOLDEN BEARS won a much tighter 80-75 affair against the 5th seeded ALLEN UNIVERSITY YELLOW JACKETS. 

Westminster GriffinsFRONTIER CONFERENCE – SEMIFINALS – The 2nd seeded WESTMINSTER (UT) GRIFFINS battled the 5th seeded LEWIS-CLARK STATE WARRIORS and bounced them by a score of 90-84.   ###   And in the other Semifinal from the Frontier Conference the top seeded ROCKY MOUNTAIN COLLEGE BATTLIN’ BEARS prevented the 6th seeded UNIVERSITY OF GREAT FALLS ARGONAUTS from following up on their upset of 3rd seeded MSUN. The Battlin’ Bears edged the Argonauts in a Continue reading →

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March 2, 2014 · 4:01 pm

IROQUOIS EPIC MYTH: PART TWO OF HODADEION, THE GOD OF MAGIC

Iroquois longhouse lodge village

PART 2 – THE WASP-MEN – (Hodadeion was the son of the creator god Tharonhiawakon and a mortal woman, the same mortal woman who bore him Hodadeion’s siblings. Those siblings were Otgoe, the wampum god and Yeyenthwus, the future goddess of chestnut trees.)

Hodadeion ventured to the north despite his sister Yeyenthwus’ warnings. He came across a few more villages that were now deserted like his own and he realized how far-reaching was the reign of terror of the cannibalistic wizards who had decimated the population of Continue reading →

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March 1, 2014 · 2:42 pm

IROQUOIS EPIC MYTH: HODADEION, THE GOD OF MAGIC

Iroquois longhouse lodge villageIn the tradition of Balladeer’s Blog’s previous looks at neglected epic myths from the Navajo, Vietnamese, Dinka, Greek and Chinese pantheons I will examine the saga of the Iroquois god of magic Hodadeion. This will be done in the same style as my examinations of the Navajo war god’s battle with the Anaye, the war between the Vietnamese jungle and monsoon gods and the Chinese Divine Archer Yi’s adventures.

1. Hodadeion was the son of the creator god Tharonhiawakon and a mortal woman, the same mortal woman who bore him Hodadeion’s siblings. Those siblings were Otgoe, the wampum god who loved chestnuts and Yeyenthwus, the future goddess of chestnut trees.

Tharonhiawakon was gone for years at a time attending to other matters in the world and while Otgoe was a toddler and Hodadeion and Yeyenthwus in their teens an entire village full of cannibalistic humans led by a Continue reading →

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February 28, 2014 · 9:24 am

SEDNA REBORN AS THE SEA GODDESS

Sedna rebornAnguta, the god of Pugtulik Island in the Inuit pantheon of deities had had it with his daughter Sedna. Originally he had shown patience with her since she had not yet reached her apotheosis, had not yet manifested her true level of godly power or given evidence of what aspects of the world she was destined to control.  

Enough was enough, however. First she had refused all suitors, dismissing gods and heroes alike when they had tried to court her and thus embarrassing him and his wife Isarrataitsoq. Magnifying that insult she had taken to Continue reading →

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February 27, 2014 · 3:05 am

MYTHOLOGY: THE BUNYORO WEATHER GOD MUNUME

Munume – The weather god of the Banyoro people of Bunyoro. He was invoked in time of drought or conversely when there was too much rain. The Continue reading →

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February 26, 2014 · 12:02 am

MOVIE REVIEW: THE WORLD’S A STAGE (2014)

Would ALEC BALDWIN find the plot of this movie a little too close to reality?

Would ALEC BALDWIN find the plot of this movie a little too close to reality?

The World’s A Stage (2014 – Glitternight productions) – This independent film, though set here in the 21st Century, is reminiscent of ancient Greek political satires like the ones penned by Aristophanes, Eupolis and Cratinus as well as the parathespian comedies of Strattis. A traveling troupe of actors visit an unnamed town and are a huge hit in a play dramatizing the heroics of a group of honest politicians. The citizens are bowled over by their performances and elect the men and women of the theatre troupe to actually govern their town.

Naturally the shallow and vain thespians are in way over their heads when it comes to dealing with real-world responsibilities and problems. Their egotistical need for applause and approval also makes them unfit for office, especially when it comes to Continue reading →

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