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BALLADEER’S BLOG’S OCTOBER 14th COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS

HEADLINES

Grand Valley StateKNOCKING OFF NUMBER ONE – In NCAA Division Two, the 4th ranked GRAND VALLEY STATE LAKERS welcomed the number 1 team in the nation – the FERRIS STATE BULLDOGS. The Lakers were on top 35-21 by Halftime, then the Bulldogs made it a 35-28 game to end the 3rd Quarter. In the 4th, Grand Valley State pulled away for a 49-28 trumph.

Whitewater Warhawks helmet newDOWN GOES NUMBER FOUR – Down in NCAA Division Three, the number 7 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN AT WHITEWATER WARHAWKS visited the country’s 4th ranked UW-RIVER FALLS FALCONS. A 6-0 1st Quarter lead for the Warhawks became 15-7 at the Half. After the break Whitewater held off the Falcons to win the game 21-14. 

Friends Falcons helmetAND NUMBER SIX COMES TUMBLING AFTER – Back up in the NAIA, the FRIENDS UNIVERSITY FALCONS took the field against the visiting number 6 SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE MOUNDBUILDERS. The Falcons had the Moundbuilders faithful worried with a 12-0 Halftime advantage. Friends University pulled further and further away in the 2nd Half for a 35-20 Upset. Continue reading

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THE SPECTRE: SOME HALLOWEENISH COVERS

As Halloween Month continues, this week’s light-hearted and escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog looks at DC’s character the Spectre.

adv c 431ADVENTURE COMICS Vol 1 #431 (February 1974)

Title: The Wrath of the Spectre

Villains: Armored Car Robbers

NOTE: For people unfamiliar with the Spectre, here’s the basics. His secret identity is Police Detective Jim Corrigan who was killed in the line of duty. Through a special dispensation from Heaven, Corrigan’s soul was permitted to reanimate his corpse and resume his detective duties, but he was really an undead avenger carrying out God’s justice.

spec over plane        When situations demanding greater than human intervention arose, Jim could become the Spectre, his ghostly form in which he wielded vast powers that he used against earthly villains as well as supernatural menaces.

Synopsis: An armed gang robs an armored car loaded with money. The criminals kill four guards while carrying out the robbery, so Homicide Detective Jim Corrigan is assigned the case. Continue reading

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AUTOLYCUS (420s B.C.) – ANCIENT GREEK COMEDY

eupolisAUTOLYCUS (420s B.C.) – Balladeer’s Blog examines the ancient Greek comedy Autolycus. This play was written by Eupolis who, along with Aristophanes and Cratinus, constituted the Big Three of Attic Old Comedy. As with so many comedies of the time period Autolycus has survived only in fragmentary form, unfortunately.

THE PLAY

The title character of Eupolis’ comedy Autolycus was an Athenian athlete who earned a high degree of fame for his performance at the Great Panathenaia in 422 B.C. To simplify the concept the Great Panathenaia was sort of a “local” version of the Olympic games and did not have participants from all over the known Western World. Continue reading

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CONRAD VEIDT: NEGLECTED SILENT HORROR FILM STAR

Halloween Month continues here at Balladeer’s Blog with this look at the silent horror films which starred Conrad Veidt – Major Strasser from Casablanca.

man who laughsTHE MAN WHO LAUGHS (1928) – I have no idea why Conrad Veidt doesn’t get the silent horror film love that Lon Chaney and Paul Wegener receive. In this final silent horror movie for Veidt, he shines once again in another landmark film. This one is based on the neglected Victor Hugo story about a figure who, like Hugo’s Quasimodo, has a monstrous disfigurement that causes him to be shunned and feared.

The title character, Gwynplaine (Veidt), was tortured and mutilated by lunatics as a child and, in addition to other bodily scars, his face is distorted into a permanent, hideous smile. Mary Philbin portrayed Dea, the blind girl who cannot see Gwynplaine’s terrifying face and is therefore the only person who does not treat him like a monster.

veidt as gwynplaineDea falls in love with Gwynplaine’s poetic nature in fact, but when the grotesque smiler is discovered to be of noble descent the pair are separated by villainous figures involved in aristocratic court intrigues. Olga Baclanova co-starred as Duchess Josiana, the lead heavy in this forgotten Gothic horror classic. Continue reading

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RAFFERTY (1977) – FORGOTTEN TELEVISION

raffertyRAFFERTY (1977) – Before House there was Rafferty! The great Patrick McGoohan, still praised for his multiple creative contributions to the 1967 series The Prisoner, seemed to have found another show ideally suited to his unique talents.

McGoohan starred as Dr. Sid Rafferty, who had just retired as a colonel from the Army Medical Corps after 20 years of service. Rafferty was now an MD in the civilian world, and though he was impressing many with his masterful diagnostic skills, his gruff, cranky demeanor and impatience with lesser minds led to clashes with hospital administrators. Continue reading

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LUCIO FULCI TRIPLE FEATURE FOR HALLOWEEN

masc older picHalloween Month continues here at Balladeer’s Blog with this look at three notorious – but not necessarily all that good – horror films from iconic Italian director Lucio Fulci.

As always, because I review everything from mild horror films to extreme, I will give notice to Fulci newcomers that his movies are known for very, very graphic violence and stomach-turning special effects. If that’s not your type of horror, avoid reading anything below the “continue reading” line.

the beyondTHE BEYOND (1981) – A woman inherits The Seven Doors Hotel, a run-down inn outside New Orleans in the Louisiana countryside. It was once the site of an infamous murder in the 1920s and supernatural activities break out as our heroine Liza Merrill (Katherine MacColl) tries to refurbish the place.   

The 1927 slaying involved an outraged mob forcing their way into the hotel, dragging the artist and occultist Schweik down to the basement. Once there they killed him in three graphic stages for practicing Black Magic.

Meanwhile, a soon to be blind woman reads The Book of Eibon and foresees a time when the hotel may be used to unleash nightmarish forces from the beyond. Continue reading

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THE GROOVIE GOOLIES (1970)

gr gooTHE GROOVIE GOOLIES (1970) – This 16-episode cartoon series seemed like an appropriate subject for Halloween Month. In previous years, Balladeer’s Blog reviewed the animated Mini-Munsters as well as the five Monster Cereals.

This monster cartoon series was like Laugh-In starring pastiches of traditional monsters. Characters included Drac the vampire, Frankie the Frankenstein Monster, Wolfie the werewolf, Bella la Ghostly, a vampire/ ghost femme fatale, and Hagatha the witch.

horrible hallOther supporting characters at the castle called Horrible Hall were Mummy the mummy, plus Bone-Apart, the living skeleton in a Napoleon hat and epaulettes. Additional monsters and living pieces of furniture added to the cast and appeared intermittently. Continue reading

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BALLADEER’S BLOG’S COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS FROM OCTOBER 7th

HEADLINES

uw lacrosse eaglesTOPPLING NUMBER THREE – In NCAA Division Three, the 14th ranked UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN AT LACROSSE EAGLES visited the number 3 team in the nation – the UW-WHITEWATER WARHAWKS. A 7-7 1st Quarter tie became a 17-14 Eagles advantage by Halftime. Lacrosse extended their lead to 27-17 in the 3rd Quarter, then held on in the 4th for a 37-34 victory.

Georgetown (KY) TigersNUMBER SIX TAKES A FALL – Up in the NAIA, the number 19 GEORGETOWN (KY) COLLEGE TIGERS took on the home standing 6th ranked BETHEL (NC) WILDCATS. The Tigers parlayed a 21-10 lead at the Half into a 31-16 advantage in the 3rd Quarter, then ended the 4th on top 52-24.

Arkansas TechWE WENT TO A FOOTBALL GAME BUT A BASEBALL GAME BROKE OUT – NCAA Division Two’s ARKANSAS TECH WONDERBOYS traveled to face the SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE BULLDOGS. Unyielding defense was the name of the game as the Bulldogs went up 7-0 in the opening Quarter, a score that held up at Halftime and at the end of the 3rd Quarter. In the 4th, the Wonderboys came from behind for a 9-7 triumph. Continue reading

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MORBIUS: HIS MOST HALLOWEENISH COVERS

morbius hitting smBalladeer’s Blog’s month-long look at Halloween continues! In the past, I examined the most Halloweenish covers for Marvel horror figures like Werewolf by Night, Ghost Rider, the Simon Garth Zombie, Blade the Vampire Slayer, Satana, Lilith the Daughter of Dracula, Gabriel the Exorcist, Daimon Hellstrom and others. Last October I even looked at DC’s Creature Commandos.

“It’s Morbin’ time,” to quote the most ridiculed line from the ill-fated Morbius movie that starred Jared Leto.

vt 1VAMPIRE TALES Vol 1 #1 (June 1973)

Title: Morbius

Villains: Madame Laera and Nilrac

NOTE: This science-spawned vampire was mutated by the blood of vampire bats and other chemicals he used in an attempt to cure his own rare blood disease. After his debut in Spider-Man #s 101 and 102 plus clashes with Spider-Man, the Human Torch and the X-Men in Marvel Team-Up, Michael Morbius got his first solo story in Marvel’s black & white horror publication Vampire Tales.

jared leto in morbius movieSynopsis: One night in Los Angeles, Morbius tries to find his lady love Martine Bancroft (Adria Arjona in the movie), whom he was separated from shortly after his transformation into vampire form. He encounters Carolyn, a female member of the Children of Satan cult. Continue reading

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FROM OUT OF THE SILENCE (1920) – HALLOWEEN READING

Halloween Month continues here at Balladeer’s Blog with this look at some ghost stories from over a hundred years ago.

from out of the silenceFROM OUT OF THE SILENCE: SEVEN STRANGE STORIES (full title) (1920) – Written by Lady Bessie Kyffin-Taylor. The stories are:

OUTSIDE THE HOUSE – A veteran of World War One (called the World War or the Great War at the time), who lost the use of a leg during the conflict, at last meets his fiancé’s relatives, the Falconer family. They are gracious hosts but aggressively warn the man to never leave the house after dark. Only at sunrise is it safe to venture out.

        Hearing odd, menacing sounds outside during the night, and intrigued by the way even the windows are blocked off after dark, the man disregards the warning and goes outside one night to investigate. While walking the eerie, moonlit grounds of the estate he learns why no one leaves the house at night. Continue reading

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