Tag Archives: Balladeer’s Blog

November 19, 2013 · 1:49 am

VIETNAMESE MYTHOLOGY: THE TRUNG SISTERS

The Trung Sisters, national goddesses of ancient Vietnam, atop their war elephants

The Trung Sisters, national goddesses of ancient Vietnam, atop their war elephants

THE TRUNG SISTERS – Trung Trac and her sister Trung Nhi occupy a special place in Vietnamese mythology. If you want a glib or simplistic comparison to approach their story with think of them as an ancient Vietnamese version of Lakshmibai of Jhansi in the history of India or Joan of Arc in Western lore. In the early 40’s C.E. Trung Trac led an uprising against the latest Chinese occupiers withher sister acting in a much smaller capacity according to all accounts but the Trung Sisters  are always mentioned as a team and iconography usually depicts them together astride their battle elephant.

 Trung Trac’s uprising, consisting largely of former noble families and by all accounts (even on the Chinese side) large numbers of female combatants, succeeded in driving the occupying forces far to the north. She then abolished all the Chinese taxes and restored Continue reading →

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November 18, 2013 · 11:34 pm

NAIA COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF TEAMS FOR 2013

Where does the time go? It seems like yesterday it was August and the season was just beginning. Now here we are getting ready for the postseason. Here are the 16 teams that made the NAIA college football playoffs for 2013 and their First Round matchups for this Saturday, November 23rd. The defending champions, the Marian University Knights, did not even make the field after a disappointing season so there will definitely be a new champion crowned on December 21st in Rome, GA.

*** *** FOR PLAYOFF SCORES CLICK HERE: https://glitternight.com/2013/11/24/college-football-playoff-and-bowl-results-from-november-23rd/

Cumberlands_KY1 SEED – The UNIVERSITY OF THE CUMBERLANDS PATRIOTS will be hosting the SAINT AMBROSE UNIVERSITY FIGHTING BEES

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Continue reading →

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November 15, 2013 · 11:18 pm

DOCTOR COOK’S GARDEN (1971): BING CROSBY AS A MASS-MURDERING PHYSICIAN

Bing Crosby as the sinister Dr Cook

Bing Crosby as the sinister Dr Cook

DOCTOR COOK’S GARDEN – (1971) – Category: Enjoyably campy bad movie elevated by kitsch value in the casting.    

Bing Crosby IS Colonel Sanders in Finger Lickin’ Good: A One- Man Show! No, actually Bing plays the title doctor in this made-for- tv movie based on a play by Ira “Rosemary’s Baby” Levin. Trouble is, with the snow-white hair and beard he wears in this telepic Bing looks like he’s supposed to be Colonel Harlan Sanders, inducing laughter in the audience in what is supposed to be a horror/thriller.

Doctor Cook is the seemingly amiable physician in a small Vermont town but in reality he’s a killer with a God Complex, giving fatal treatment to everyone he considers an Continue reading →

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November 13, 2013 · 10:22 pm

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: BALLADEER’S BLOG’S LATEST RANKINGS

Cumberlands_KYNAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) – 1. UNIVERSITY OF THE CUMBERLANDS PATRIOTS   ###   2. GRAND VIEW UNIVERSITY VIKINGS   ###   3. MORNINGSIDE COLLEGE MUSTANGS (2012 runners-up)   ###   4. CARROLL COLLEGE FIGHTING SAINTS   ###   5. UNIVERSITY OF SAINT FRANCIS (IN) COUGARS   ###   6. MISSOURI VALLEY COLLEGE VIKINGS   ###   7. BAKER UNIVERSITY WILDCATS   ###   8. BENEDICTINE COLLEGE RAVENS   ###  

Ottawa (KS) Braves9. OTTAWA UNIVERSITY BRAVES   ###   10. FAULKNER UNIVERSITY EAGLES   ###   11. TABOR COLLEGE BLUE JAYS   ###   12. ROCKY MOUNTAIN COLLEGE BATTLIN’ BEARS   ###   13. LINDSEY WILSON COLLEGE BLUE RAIDERS   ###   14. STERLING COLLEGE WARRIORS   ###   15. NORTHWESTERN (IA) COLLEGE RED RAIDERS   ###   16. Continue reading →

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November 5, 2013 · 10:17 pm

WORLD WAR ONE: WAYS IT WAS DIFFERENT FROM WORLD WAR TWO

American Dough Boys

American Dough Boys

Many people tend to confuse World Wars One and Two. With Veteran’s Day coming up Balladeer’s Blog presents a look at some of the ways in which World War One stands out from the later conflict.

WW I – Lasted from 1914 to 1918  *** WW II – Lasted from 1939 to 1945 

WW I – America entered the war in April, 1917 *** WW II – America entered the war in December, 1941

WW I – Italy and Japan fought on the side of the Allied Powers *** WW II – Italy and Japan fought on the side of the Axis Powers

WW I – Germany, under Kaiser Wilhelm, led the Central Powers *** WW II- Germany, under Adolf Hitler, led the Axis Powers

WW I – Sinking of the Lusitania *** WW II – Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor

WW I – The Allied disaster at Gallipoli *** WW II – The Allied disaster Operation: Continue reading →

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October 25, 2013 · 1:30 pm

FOUR CCCAA BASEBALL PLAYERS IN THE MLB WORLD SERIES

Saddleback College Gauchos logoFour baseball professionals who played their college ball at institutions covered by Balladeer’s Blog are in the World Series.

The Cardinals have one of them – Rob Johnson, formerly of the SADDLEBACK COLLEGE GAUCHOS. The Red Sox have the other three – Jonny Gomes from the SANTA ROSA COLLEGE BEAR CUBS, Quinton Berry from the GROSSMONT COLLEGE GRIFFINS and Daniel Nava from the Continue reading →

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October 16, 2013 · 12:10 pm

THE GREAT GOD PAN (1890) : HALLOWEEN READING

The Great God Pan

The Great God Pan

Balladeer’s Blog’s month-long celebration of Halloween continues! Nearly a century before Rosemary’s Baby and The Omen trilogy and decades before H.P. Lovecraft’s Dunwich Horror and From Beyond there was Arthur Machen’s story The Great God Pan. Originally published in 1890 and then expanded in 1894 this gothic horror tale was so far ahead of its time that it scandalized readers and reviewers of the era. Even though it came along earlier than Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula Machen’s great work dealt with such a brand of horror and with such adult themes that movies – silent and then early talkies – wouldn’t dare adapting it for the screen. 

Thus denied the cinematic exposure that made names like Dracula, Frankenstein, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde household words The Great God Pan fell into undeserved obscurity, much like The King in Yellow by Robert W Chambers, a work reviewed previously here at Balladeer’s Blog.

Like so many of the best horror stories Machen’s tale begins with a mad scientist, in this case Dr Raymond, who invites his friend Mr Clarke to witness him perform an Continue reading →

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October 14, 2013 · 5:52 pm

SUMMER CUMMINGS, WORLD-FAMOUS BEAUTY, LOVES BALLADEER’S BLOG

Summer CummingsThe heart-breakingly beautiful Summer Cummings is famed throughout the world for her sex appeal, her expertise when it comes to obscure horror films and for her impeccable taste in blogs. Thank you to the sultry Summer for this kind shoutout to Balladeer’s Blog! For more of Continue reading →

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October 10, 2013 · 8:18 pm

MEXICAN MOVIE MONSTERS FOR HALLOWEEN

brainiacWelcome back to Balladeer’s Blog’s month-long celebration of Halloween! 
Mexican horror films of the 1950’s and 1960’s deserve to be as well known as the Hollywood horror films from the 30’s and 40’s. Just as Universal Studios churned out a series of memorable movies featuring the likes of Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolfman and the Mummy, studios from south of the border went on to give the world equally outstanding creatures.

These horror films boasted Universal- style production values and beautiful black & white cinematography combined with uniquely Mexican twists on horror themes as well as more sensuality and lurid violence than Hollywood had dared to present. This list aims to introduce Mexi- Monsters to younger viewers who may not be familiar with them. I’m omitting generic monsters like the various vampires from Mexican horror films (including Fabian Forte, Cristina Ferrare and a descendant of Nostradamus) and the werewolf wrapped in mummy bandages from Face of the Screaming Werewolf.  

7. THE BRAINIAC (1962) – Mexican title El Baron Del Terror. Many may be outraged at Continue reading →

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October 8, 2013 · 11:18 pm

NAKED FEAR: FIVE ODDBALL HORROR FILMS FOR THE HALLOWEEN SEASON

The Nude Vampire

The Nude Vampire

Balladeer’s Blog’s month-long celebration of Halloween continues with this look at five unusual movies with that certain seasonal feel.

5. THE NUDE VAMPIRE (1970) – France’s Jean Rollin is one of those love-them-or-hate-them directors. The snooty French often bashed his films for their devotion to style over all else. Don’t believe reviews which claim that his movies have no comprehensible storylines. Personally I find him more straightforward than Lynch or Jodorowsky. At any rate the central figure of this arthouse Euro-horror is indeed a beautiful female vampire in skimpy outfits and less.

Members of a Suicide Cult have taken to offering themselves up to a vampress who turns out to be science-spawned rather than supernatural. Throw in various allusions to evolution, morality and mortality for good measure. There’s plenty of eerie and macabre imagery to go with the subtext which not only addresses the previous concepts but also examines the way in which the older generation of any time period always considers the younger generation to be figurative “monsters” who will quite literally inherit the Earth.

I’m not sure if Anne Rice was influenced by Rollin’s films but Continue reading →

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