Balladeer’s Blog takes another look at a sports team name that is far outside the overused Eagles, Tigers, Bulldogs and Wildcats.
UNIVERSITY OF THE BAHAMAS Continue reading
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BALLADEER’S BLOG COLLEGE BASKETBALL: JANUARY TWENTY-SIXTH EDITION
NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association)
“THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE” – The HOUGHTON UNIVERSITY HIGHLANDERS welcomed the KEUKA COLLEGE WOLVES. A frenzied opening Half ended with the Highlanders on top 48-41. During the 2nd Half the Wolves bit into that lead but fell short as Houghton University held on for an 84-81 victory. Jajuan Preaster and Christian Sage led the Highlanders with 17 points each.
DOUSING D.C. – The ROBERTS WESLEYAN COLLEGE REDHAWKS doused some cold water on their hosts the UNIVERSITY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FIREBIRDS. The Firebirds held a 37-34 edge at Halftime but the Redhawks mounted a comeback after the break. Roberts Wesleyan won 77-70. Malik Brooks led the Redhawks with 29 points. Continue reading
Filed under College Basketball
SUPERHEROES FROM INDIA
This weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog looks at some of India’s characters.
FAULADI (Ironclad)
Secret Identity: None
Debuted: 1979
Origin: Fauladi was an android created by an Indian scientist named Dr. John (no relation to the rock singer, of course). The doctor crafted Fauladi with the capacity for human emotions and he first unleashed him publicly to fight an alien invasion.
Powers: This hero possesses greater than human strength, can fly on Earth and in space, and can shoot energy beams from his hands. Fauladi’s android body can withstand space travel. His series ran for over 75 issues and was India’s most popular during the 1980s.
KANGA
Secret Identity: Aadhi
Debuted: 1980s
Origin: Kanga came from an enchanted realm in the clouds where bird-beings could descend to the Earth and take human form. Becoming stranded on Earth, Kanga of the crow-people took to using her powers to battle the forces of evil. Her human friends who took her in gave her the alias Aadhi.
Powers: This superheroine was stronger than human men and could fly via the wings on her back. She was incredibly agile and was fierce in battle. Her fingernails and toenails could be used like talons in a fight. Continue reading
Filed under Superheroes
THE MAGICAL WORLD OF ANIA: LIKE DAVID LYNCH’S TWIN PEAKS SET IN POLAND
David Lynch’s recent passing has had me thinking about an online production in the spirit of his series Twin Peaks.
Balladeer’s Blog’s love of quality horror ARGs (Alternate Reality Games) has been well established. In the past I’ve examined productions like Local 58, Claridryl and Jack Torrance (NOT the character from The Shining.)
This time around I’m taking a look at what I call Poland’s answer to Twin Peaks – MAGICZNY SWIAT ANI or MAGICAL WORLD OF ANIA. Like Local 58, this ARG is still going, so if you’re interested in pitting your wits against the producer’s, the various mysteries remain unresolved as of this writing.
NOTE: BE SURE TO USE THE CLOSED CAPTIONING FOR TRANSLATION FROM THE POLISH LANGUAGE.
The eerie storyline revolves around the disappearance of a beautiful young Polish woman named Ania Slowinska and the dark, seemingly supernatural forces behind it. As the tale unfolds it becomes apparent other women have fallen victim to the same forces, with one having had all her teeth removed after being murdered.
Among the many suspects and supporting characters in the drama are Ania’s mother Kristina, who seems to be morbidly enjoying the attention her daughter’s disappearance has brought her. Others include Ania’s birth-father – whom she never knew – plus her step-father, an infatuated stalker, a jealous female friend and a faith healer with a very strange band of disciples.
WARNING: If you don’t like off-kilter horror don’t click “continue reading.” Continue reading
Filed under Halloween Season, opinion
MILLENIA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY: COOL NAMED SPORTS TEAM
From Balladeer’s Blog it’s another look at a sports team name that is far outside the overused Eagles, Tigers, Bulldogs and Wildcats.
MILLENIA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY Continue reading
Filed under Cool names and cool logos
20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA (1916) SILENT FILM
20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA (1916) – The famous first cinematic adaptation of the Jules Verne classic. Having loved the version of this pioneering 1916 film that was available during the 1990s and earlier I had put off watching the restored and upgraded version released in 2010.
That delay was a mistake on my part. The restored version can leave you floored even when compared to the already impressive print that was previously available. Universal released 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea after two years in production.
The title is misleading, because this movie combines Verne’s original tale of Captain Nemo with the sequel novel The Mysterious Island in which Nemo’s origin was revealed along with his real name – Prince Dakkar.
As you would imagine, combining both novels was necessary to provide a longer viewing experience due to how much of the 20,000 Leagues story had to be omitted. Submarine technology was still fairly primitive and God knows the technology for filming underwater was more primitive still. Viewers get short shrift in terms of the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea storyline with the Mysterious Island portion taking up a lot of the runtime.
Personally, I would have preferred that Universal had just produced a shorter 20,000 Leagues film that was all Leagues and nothing but Leagues, then release The Mysterious Island later as a sequel. In 1916 audience expectations were not yet such that movies had to run the 86 to 105 minutes boasted by surviving copies of 20,000 Leagues.
At any rate, we all know the story – a supposed “sea monster” preying on international shipping turns out to actually be the futuristic submarine called the Nautilus. After the sub attacks the vessel the Abraham Lincoln, Captain Nemo (Allen Holubar) and his crew take aboard survivors. Continue reading
Filed under opinion
THE BEST OF BROADWAY (1954-1955) FORGOTTEN TELEVISION
THE BEST OF BROADWAY (1954-1955) – Balladeer’s Blog’s latest look at a Forgotten Television item deals with The Best of Broadway. The color program aired on CBS once per month and its failure to last more than one season may be explained by the fact that the other three weeks the program that aired in its time slot was … Pabst Blue Ribbon Bouts.
I’m certainly not denying that there very well might have been some crossover audience between boxing and Broadway but I imagine some viewers who caught and loved a Best of Broadway episode eagerly tuned in the following week, saw beer-sponsored boxing and just assumed the Broadway program had been canceled or was just a one-off special.
At any rate, this series presented one-hour adaptations of assorted Broadway productions and was filmed with a studio audience.
THE EPISODES:
THE ROYAL FAMILY (September 15th, 1954) – From the Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman comedy The Royal Family of Broadway. Paul Nickell directed this depiction of a Barrymore-esque thespian dynasty and the chaos that results when the family matriarch is outraged to learn that her daughter and granddaughter are considering leaving their stage careers behind for marriage.
CAST: Helen Hayes, Fredric March, Claudette Colbert, Charles Coburn and Nancy Olson Continue reading
Filed under Forgotten Television
ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION: MESSAGES FROM MARS (1892)
MESSAGES FROM MARS BY THE AID OF THE TELESCOPE PLANT (1892) – Written by Robert D Braine. I shortened the title for the blog post headline. The main character of this novel is a sailor named Nordhausen. After leaving Madagascar our hero winds up shipwrecked on an uncharted island.
While roaming this island Nordhausen finds plants with thick transparent leaves which refract light like lenses do. The sailor breaks off one of the leaves to study it more closely, only to be seized by the island’s native inhabitants, who have been watching him from hiding.
The natives take him through a cave entrance to their hidden village which is a blend of the primitive and the futuristic. For the “sacrilege” of damaging one of the telescope plants Nordhausen is to be executed. The means? A device formed from several of the lens-like leaves which magnify the sunlight into a makeshift heat-ray, like holding a magnifying glass over a piece of paper to catch it on fire.
Our hero is saved at the last minute by a beautiful woman named Raimonda, who wants him spared. When her own words are not sufficient to stay the execution she enlists the King of Mars to persuade the natives to spare Nordhausen.
Raimonda explains to the freed sailor that the island is called Roxana and its inhabitants Roxanans. Long ago two shipwrecked scientists from Europe showed the Roxanans how to use the incredible leaves of the sacred plant to construct telescopes.
The telescopes led to the discovery of intelligent and advanced life on Mars (Oron to the people of the Red Planet) and eventually two-way communication between the islanders and the “Martials” as the book calls the inhabitants of Mars – interchangeably with “Oronites, as the aliens call themselves. Continue reading
Filed under Ancient Science Fiction
BALLADEER’S BLOG COLLEGE BASKETBALL: JANUARY 19th
NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics)
NBA LEVEL SCORE – Both teams made the Century Club in this game between the NEW COLLEGE OF FLORIDA MIGHTY BANYANS and the visiting WARNER UNIVERSITY ROYALS. By Halftime the Mighty Banyans were on top 66-41. The Royals rallied after the break but fell short as NCF won 124-117. Charlie Yoder led the victors with a Double Double of FORTY-FOUR points and 10 rebounds.
CENTURY CLUB – Teams scoring 100 or more points in Regulation: The HUNTINGTON UNIVERSITY FORESTERS won 109-60 at the GOSHEN COLLEGE MAPLE LEAFS ## The BUSHNELL UNIVERSITY BEACONS beat the EVERGREEN COLLEGE GEODUCKS 100-92 ## The LSU-ALEXANDRIA GENERALS won 104-72 at the TEXAS COLLEGE STEERS ## And the DALTON STATE ROADRUNNERS downed the BREWTON-PARKER COLLEGE BARONS 115-87.
DEFENSIVE EPIC – This game pitted the traveling CAL MARITIME ACADEMY KEELHAULERS against the SIMPSON UNIVERSITY REDHAWKS. The Keelhaulers held a 36-27 advantage at the Half then maintained enough distance from the Redhawks for a 64-59 triumph. Thirteen points from Jamal Frenchwood led this team effort. Continue reading
Filed under College Basketball
AVENGERS 114-135 (1973-1975)
This weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog looks at Marvel’s Avengers series – issues 114-135.
AVENGERS Vol 1 #114 (August 1973)
Title: The Night of the Swordsman
Avengers Roster: Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Black Panther, the Vision, Mantis, the Swordsman
Villain: Lion-God
**
Synopsis: The villainous Swordsman rejoins the Avengers with a pardon and alongside his mysterious romantic partner Mantis, making her very first full appearance. Mantis is part Vietnamese and part unknown at this point.
The mysteries surrounding this superheroine will be resolved in this story arc that would probably be as famous as The Dark Phoenix Saga over at The X-Men if Marvel hadn’t pointlessly retconned so much of it decades later. Thanos, Kang, Loki, Ultron and Dormammu are among the villains. Continue reading
Filed under Superheroes
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