It’s been awhile since Balladeer’s Blog visited Hittite myths so here we go.
The Hittite Empire spread throughout Anatolia, covering a large part of what is now Turkey and Syria as well as some parts far eastward and southward of there (accounts vary). Some of the remains of the texts regarding the deities worshipped by the Hittites are tantalizingly fragmentary but reflect and/or influenced myths from Mesopotamia across the west to ancient Greece and south to Canaanite territory.
ARANZAH – The god of the body of water that bore his name – the Aranzah River. The Aranzah is better known as the Tigris, which begins its journey southward from the Taurus Mountains in what is now eastern Turkey. This deity was a brother of the storm god Tarhun (Teshub to the Hurrians) and like him was born in the belly of the god Kumarbi.
ISTUSTAYA and PAPAYA – The Hittite goddesses of destiny. The two deities sat by the shores of the Black Sea where they would spin the threads that are each mortal’s destiny, taking special care with the fates of kings. The two left their seaside location only for special occasions like conferences of all the gods. Collectively the two were called the Gulses by the Hittites and the Hutena by the Hurrians. The ancient Greeks added a third to their number and called them the Morae (Fates). Continue reading
ROUND ONE: GAME ONE – The 4 seeds – the NEWPORT NEWS APPRENTICE SCHOOL BUILDERS (Shipbuilders) played the 5th seeded SOUTHEASTERN ILLINOIS COLLEGE FALCONS. By Halftime the Builders had acquired a 38-30 advantage over SIC. After the break, the Apprentice School pressed down on the accelerator, routing the Falcons by a score of 85-61. Adrion Wall led the Builders with 19 points.
ROUND ONE: GAME TWO – This game pitted the 2nd seeded LYON COLLEGE SCOTS against the 7 seeds – the BRYANT & STRATTON COLLEGE AT BUFFALO BOBCATS. The Scots were on fire and led BSC-Buffalo 48-31 at the midpoint. From there Lyon College squeezed out a bit more separation for an 84-63 triumph. Kylon McCullough’s 23 points led the Scots, while teammate Frank Toney had a Double Double of 14 points & 10 rebounds.
KAPITAN MORS DER LUFTPIRAT – From 1908 to 1911 the masked Captain Mors, a combination of Robin Hood, Captain Nemo and Robur, appeared in weekly adventures running 32-33 pages. The character’s creator is not known but over his 3-year run various writers were linked to this German series, which was basically a late Dime Novel but early Pulp Magazine.
After the initial run of 3 years and a few months, the Captain Mors stories were reprinted around Europe in various languages until 1916. The good captain at first adventured in the skies above, then later took his crew to other planets aboard his “world ship” (which we today would call a spaceship) the Meteor.
FIRE DRILL aka Simulacro de Incendio (1897) – On January 24th of this year, Gabriel Veyre (at left) held the very first exhibition of silent film shorts in Cuban history at a theater in Havana.
FILM COMMERCIAL FOR LA TROPICAL BEER aka the Missing Sorcerer (1898) – This was the very first film directed by a native Cuban – Jose Esteban Casasús, a noted pioneer of Cuban Cinema. Lasting just under a minute, this short advertised the brewery & product of La Tropical beer and was produced by Cinemataca de Cuba.
CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY (1901) – A film capturing the 1901 assembly, the equivalent of our Constitutional Convention. Following the defeat of Spain in the Spanish-American War, Cuba produced its first constitution a few years later. That document was openly based on the United States Constitution but had 115 articles instead of America’s 7.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The last teams standing in this tournament were the 2nd seeded UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE PENMEN and the 5 seeds – the PACE UNIVERSITY SETTERS (Irish Setters). The Setters were up 35-33 at the Half, but after the break the Penmen forced Overtime with a 64-64 tie. USNH edged Pace 72-71. Royce Williams led the Penmen with 21 points and teammate Paul Greene got a Double Double of 18 points & 13 rebounds.
FIRST SEMIFINAL – The 4 seeds – the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AT BEAUFORT SAND SHARKS – took the court against the top seeded COLUMBUS STATE COUGARS. The score was knotted up at 41-41 come Halftime, but from there the Sand Sharks managed enough separation for a 91-87 Upset win. Hudson Norton tossed in 18 points to lead USC-Beaufort. 

SPIDER-MAN Vol 1 #36 (May 1966)
She makes a point of showing up at an astro-science exhibit that Peter is visiting and is exasperated once again as the fragments of meteorites and other displays capture Peter’s attention instead of her blonde hotness. (Save your own life and just walk away, Gwen!)
A TRIP TO THE NORTH POLE or DISCOVERY OF THE TEN TRIBES AS FOUND IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN (1903) – Written by Otte Julius Swenson Lindelof.
STANISLAV SZUKALSKI (1893-1987) – Just as L. Ron Hubbard went from being a pulp story writer to founder of a nutzoid religion, Stanislav Szukalski went from being a celebrated, even brilliant, artist to founder of an equally irrational belief system.
The topic of this blog post, however, is Zermatism, the insane philosophy that Szukalski founded in 1940. He named it after the city of Zermatt, where he was convinced that survivors of a pre-deluge civilization settled.
FIRST SEMIFINAL – The HERKIMER COLLEGE GENERALS took the court against the GENESEE COLLEGE COUGARS. The Generals were on top 36-30 by Halftime, and from there they floored it. Herkimer College left the Cougars further and further behind as they won the game 86-65. Kenny Freeman and Jayson McGhee led the Generals with 20 points each, while teammate Oladele Oladitan logged a Double Double of 19 points & 10 rebounds.