Tag Archives: Balladeer’s Blog

BALLADEER’S BLOG’S PRESEASON COLLEGE FOOTBALL RANKINGS

Recently I provided my preseason rankings for the NAIA and the NJCAA HERE. Today I’m posting Balladeer’s Blog’s Top Twelve in some of the other divisions I cover.

NCAA DIVISION TWO

1. HARDING UNIVERSITY BISON (Defending Champions)    ###    2. PITTSBURG (KS) STATE GORILLAS    ###    3. UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL MISSOURI MULES    ###   4. FERRIS STATE BULLDOGS    ###   

5. COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES OREDIGGERS    ###    6. VALDOSTA STATE BLAZERS    ###    7. GRAND VALLEY STATE LAKERS    ###    8. KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY GOLDEN BEARS    ###     Continue reading

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BAD MOVIE: THE BIONIC BOY (1977)

bionic boyTHE BIONIC BOY (1977) – This joint production of the Philippines and Hong Kong starred child martial arts champion Johnson Yap from Singapore. It was also released under alternate titles like Superboy, Trionic Warrior and others.

We viewers first meet 10-year-old Sonny Lee (Johnson Yap) on a televised game show hosted by a man who looks like Liberace. I didn’t say he DRESSES like Liberace, just that his face very closely resembles the Candelabra Man.

superboySonny wins the Jackpot on the game show because he’s as intelligent as he is skilled at martial arts. When Not Liberace brings on Sonny’s parents, some gangsters watching the show see that his father is really a former Interpol agent who brought down several of their colleagues and has been living in a Witness Protection Program ever since. (Pretty stupid to let your face get televised to millions then.)

The gangsters add killing the ex-Interpol man to their To-Do List since they are in the middle of muscling in on all export businesses in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and ultimately Australia. Sonny Lee and his parents get even more publicity when Ramirez, a Manila auto magnate, announces he will give the family a new car fresh off his assembly line.  Continue reading

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ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION: THE CONQUEST OF THE MOON (1887)

conquest of the moonTHE CONQUEST OF THE MOON (1887) – Written by French author Paschal Grousset under the alias Andre Laurie. This work ranges from absurd to fascinating, with – for people looking for science fiction – WAY too much time devoted to the fighting in the Sudan during 1884 and 1885.

In Australia, two German conmen – Ignaz Vogel and Costerus Wagner – team up with an American conman named Peter Gryphis. The trio launch a scheme to bilk scientifically ignorant tycoons by getting them to invest in their company which will supposedly conduct mining operations on the moon.

Hundreds of thousands of pounds are raised from the trio’s victims, who are thoroughly bamboozled until a stockholders’ meeting in Melbourne, Australia. Gryphis, Vogel and Wagner are successfully maintaining their ruse until, from the audience, French astronomer Norbert Mauny speaks up, demanding a detailed explanation of how the conmen plan to reach the moon. Continue reading

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TONY ORLANDO AND DAWN (1974-1976) FORGOTTEN TELEVISION

tony orlando and dawnTONY ORLANDO AND DAWN – This musical variety series filled a real need for CBS after Sonny and Cher’s show went off the air in May of 1974 due to their divorce. The network couldn’t believe their luck when Tony Orlando and Dawn, riding near the top of the charts and possessing a non-threatening charm, were then available.

Songs, comedy and celebrity guests filled the hour-long program just like on Sonny & Cher. Again like Sonny & Cher, Tony Orlando and his backup singers Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent – collectively called Dawn – could exchange comical insults to liven things up. 

tony orlando and dawn tv guideObviously, the trio’s singing act is still fairly well known, but I’m often surprised that many people have forgotten about their 56-episode television show. If you’ve never heard of this act, the name “Dawn” was originally the entire group name as a means for Tony Orlando to do a single outside of his current recording contract.

Orlando used an assumed name at first, with varying numbers of all-male performers credited as the other members of Dawn. In fact, so many names were used that there is probably an early incarnation of Dawn that lists ME as a member.

At any rate, the truth needed told when eventually a tour for Dawn was put together with Tony Orlando finessing the use of his own name and with Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent singing with him. The deceptive phone book sized credits for Dawn became a thing of the past. Continue reading

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BALLADEER’S BLOG’S PRESEASON RANKINGS FOR NAIA AND NJCAA COLLEGE FOOTBALL

This Thursday August 22nd and Saturday the 24th the NAIA and NJCAA kick off their college football season. Here’s a look at my Preseason Top Twelve in each of those divisions.

NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics)

1. NORTHWESTERN (IA) COLLEGE RED RAIDERS    ###    2. KEISER UNIVERSITY SEAHAWKS (Defending Champions)    ###    3. MORNINGSIDE COLLEGE MUSTANGS    ###    4. GRAND VIEW UNIVERSITY VIKINGS (should be Zebras)    ###   

5. MARIAN UNIVERSITY KNIGHTS    ###    6. DORDT UNIVERSITY DEFENDERS    ###    7. DICKINSON STATE UNIVERSITY BLUE HAWKS    ###    8. SAINT XAVIER UNIVERSITY COUGARS    ###    Continue reading

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WNBA RESULTS – BALLADEER’S BLOG

HOME STAND – The INDIANA FEVER (12-15) hosted the PHOENIX MERCURY (14-13) in this game.

The Fever were on top of Phoenix 33-16 in the 1st Quarter and 54-37 at Halftime. To end the 3rd Quarter the Mercury pulled to within 73-65, but Indiana held on in the 4th to win the game 98-89. CAITLIN CLARK led the Fever with her Double Double of 29 points and 10 assists.  

SPANKING THE SPARKS – The league-leading NEW YORK LIBERTY (22-4) took it on the road against the LOS ANGELES SPARKS (6-19).

The Liberty parlayed their 29-10 opening Quarter lead over Los Angeles into a 57-28 advantage by the Half. After the break, New York coasted to a Century Club level 103-68 triumph over the Sparks. Breanna Stewart’s 27 points led the Liberty.  Continue reading

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OMAC: ONE MAN ARMY CORPS (1974-1975)

This weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero post here at Balladeer’s Blog looks at Jack Kirby’s creation OMAC during its 1974-1975 run at DC Comics. 

OMAC 1OMAC Vol 1 #1 (October 1974)

Title: Brother Eye and Buddy Blank

Villains: Pseudo-People, Inc.

Synopsis: The setting is Earth of the future – many years from the present but before the Great Disaster that caused the post-apocalypse world of Jack Kirby’s Kamandi series. The Global Peace Agency, secretly run by aliens called the Visionaries, covertly intervene on Earth to try preventing said Great Disaster.

The GPA’s attention has been drawn to a shady corporation called Pseudo-People, Inc. which manufactures and sells lifelike programmable androids to provide human customers with companionship. To launch an investigation of the company, the agency recruits Pseudo People, Inc. employee Buddy Blank to infiltrate the organization.

omac section dBecause of the danger of this assignment, Buddy is first used as a test subject for Operation OMAC (One Man Army Corps). The test is a success and when needed, the everyday Buddy Blank can be infused with superpowers by the GPA’s orbiting satellite called Brother Eye.

As OMAC, Buddy’s body is so altered that he can battle the villainy of PPI without giving away his secret identity. In this original incarnation of OMAC, the Brother Eye satellite was eventually revealed to be the long disused Justice League satellite. (Remember, this is the far future.) Later versions of the OMAC series gave Brother Eye different origins. Continue reading

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THE AIR BATTLE: A VISION OF THE FUTURE (1859) ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION

the air battleTHE AIR BATTLE: A VISION OF THE FUTURE (1859) – Written by an unknown author using the name Herrmann Lang. (Ignore the misspelling on the cover to the left.) Speculation has it that the author was British despite the German pseudonym and despite the narrator’s claim that he is a black man.

Before you jump to conclusions about how the narrator will be depicted to readers, let me make it clear that this novel has been confounding expectations for well over a century and a half now. The story is set in the year 6900 A.D. White civilization has fallen while three black and mixed-race nations are the dominant powers of the world. 

Much of the storyline deals with a war among those dominant powers to end slavery because black Christians strongly oppose that grotesque institution. In 6900 we are told that only white people are used as slaves and the war is being waged to free them. And yes, The Air Battle: A Vision of the Future really was published in 1859! Continue reading

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RUDOLPH VALENTINO: HIS SILENT FILMS

Balladeer’s Blog’s periodic look at silent movies and silent film stars continues with a sampling of Rudolph Valentino’s movies, from both before and after he became the Latin Lover sensation of his era.

the sheikTHE SHEIK (1921) – Edith Maude Hull’s 1919 novel came to the big screen to cement Rudolph Valentino’s rising star. He shone as Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan with Agnes Ayers as Lady Diane Mayo.

Diane is an adventuress who has spurned all marriage proposals thus far and her latest escapade is a tour of the desert led by Arab guides. In a ritzy casino the night before her expedition departs, she dresses as a dancing girl to sneak into an exclusive event being held by Ahmed.

The Sheik is charmed and aroused by this wild and haughty Western woman who listens to no man, not even male relatives like her brother. Ahmed and his troops surreptitiously follow Diane’s caravan and when the time is right, the Sheik abducts her and carries her off to his elaborate tent-mansion deep in the desert.

valentino and ayresA lot of Gothic Romance Novel antics follow in this film that has not aged well. Valentino’s wide eyes and flaring nostrils were masterfully parodied by Peter Sellers in a comedy bit decades later.

It’s impossible to take his performance seriously through modern eyes, which is just as well since he is basically guilty of kidnapping and taking advantage of the young woman.

sheikAs their battle of wills goes on, Diane is seized by caravan robbers and taken to their leader’s lair. Sheik Ahmed leads his men to the rescue, and, with Stockholm Syndrome well and truly in charge, Lady Diane “realizes” how much she has fallen in love with her abductor.

The most laughable aspects of silent film histrionics make immersion in this 86-minute movie impossible. Luckily, it’s so ridiculous that you can never forget you’re watching a movie, and that Diane is never really in any danger from Valentino or anyone else. 
Continue reading

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ANYBODY REMEMBER THE A.A.F. FROM 2019?

The Alliance of American Football (2019) lasted less than one of its full seasons of 10 games. Here’s a brief look at the league’s eight teams.

san diego fleetSAN DIEGO FLEET

Record: 3-5 (2 games unplayed) 

Western Conference

orlando apollosORLANDO APOLLOS

Record: 7-1 (2 games unplayed)

Eastern Conference Continue reading

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