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COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS FROM AUGUST 31st

HEADLINES

Iowa Central TritonsNUMBER TWO TAKES A FALL – In the NJCAA the 14th ranked IOWA CENTRAL COLLEGE TRITONS welcomed the number 2 team in the nation – the IOWA WESTERN COLLEGE REIVERS. The Tritons put the Reivers on Upset Alert with a 12-10 1st Quarter edge which became a tighter 18-17 lead at Halftime. The 3rd Quarter ended with Iowa Central College on top 21-17 before they won it 28-26 from there. The NJCAA’s number 1 East Mississippi College lost Thursday night.

Morningside MustangsONE AND TWO ROLL – Meanwhile, up in the NAIA, the top ranked defending champions – the MORNINGSIDE COLLEGE MUSTANGS – annihilated the visiting UNIVERSITY OF SAINT FRANCIS (IL) FIGHTING SAINTS to the tune of EIGHTY to NOTHING    ###    And the number 2 BENEDICTINE COLLEGE RAVENS eviscerated their hosts the GRACELAND UNIVERSITY YELLOW JACKETS 72-7.

Kansas Wesleyan helmet NEWCELEBRATING FOOTBALL – Also in the NAIA the 4th ranked KANSAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY COYOTES welcomed the TEXAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY RAMS for their season-opening event called Celebrating Football. The Coyotes wound up doing all the celebrating, doubling up on the Rams for a 48-24 triumph. Continue reading →

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JOE MAGARAC: NEGLECTED AMERICAN FOLKTALE

Joe MagaracLabor Day weekend is the appropriate time to post this look at neglected working class folk hero Joe Magarac. This figure was the Steel Mill equivalent of Paul Bunyan and John Henry.

Though mostly associated with Polish-American steel workers in Pittsburgh, PA the general figure of a literal “man of steel” helping and protecting his coworkers can be found from the East Coast through the American Midwest. Sometimes the figure is Croation or some other ethnicity instead of Polish. 

Written versions of Joe Magarac and/or similar steel worker tall tales seem to have started around 1930 or 1931. Oral legends about such figures – but not specifically Joe Magarac – have been dated as early as the 1890s.

Vintage advertisements from tattered old newspapers indicate that such Man of Steel imagery may have been used for the steel industry prior to World War One. This “Which came first, the chicken or the egg” dilemma for Joe Magarac and other Steel Men puts one in mind of the quandary surrounding Billiken lore.        

Joe Magarac statueAs a lame play on words since this is Labor Day season I’ll present Joe Magarac’s origin and then depict his tales as “Labors” like in The Labors of Hercules.

BIRTH – Joe Magarac supposedly sprang into existence from a mound of iron ore and – depending on the version – that mound was either in Pittsburgh or the Old Country. Magarac emerged from the melting mound fully grown and spoke broken English like so many of the other Polish steel workers. He was called into being by the urgent need to catch up on production since the current shift had fallen dangerously behind.

Joe was 7 or 8 feet tall, his flesh was like solid steel, his torso was as wide as a smoke-stack and his arms were as thick as railroad ties. His surname Magarac meant “mule” in the workhorse sense, referring to his stamina. Joe’s appetite was such that he carried his lunch in a washtub instead of a standard lunch box.

Magarac’s favorite leisure time activity was polka-dancing and halushkis were his favorite food.

THE LABORS OF JOE MAGARAC:   Continue reading →

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LITTLE SHOPPE OF MONSTERAMA – SEPTEMBER 27th-29th

Little Shoppe of Monsterama

September 27th-29th in Alpharetta, Georgia it’s the 6th edition of Monsterama. Guests will include cult figures Jane Merrow, Trina Parks, Jackie Joseph, Pauline Peart, Katie Carpenter, Ian Ogilvey and Mark Maddox.

Golden Age of MonsteramaRepresentatives from film, literature, television, gaming, comic books and the arts will be there.

There will be exhibits, autograph signings and contests being judged once again by figures from the Stan Winston School of Character Arts. And among the films being screened are the 1929 version of Mysterious Island plus Revenge of the Creature.

FOR MORE DETAILS Continue reading →

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS FROM AUGUST 29th

HEADLINES

Hinds College eagles good helmetNUMBER ONE GOES DOWN – In the NJCAA the HINDS COLLEGE EAGLES welcomed the top ranked, two-time defending champions – the EAST MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE LIONS. A 13-10 lead for the Eagles in the opening Quarter remained unchanged at Halftime. The 3rd Quarter ended with the Lions on top 16-10 but Hinds College dominated the 4th, including a pick-six as they toppled Number One 24-16.

Coahoma College TigersAND NUMBER FOUR COMES TUMBLING AFTER – Meanwhile the COAHOMA COLLEGE TIGERS took on the visiting 4th ranked JONES COUNTY COLLEGE BOBCATS. The Tigers led 6-0 in the 1st before the Bobcats went up 7-6 at the Half. Coahoma College seized an 18-7 lead in the 3rd Quarter and won it by a final score of 18-10.  

Rocky Mountain CollegeKNOCKING OFF NUMBER NINE – Up in the NAIA the 23rd ranked ROCKY MOUNTAIN COLLEGE BATTLIN’ BEARS traveled to face the number 9 team in the nation – the DICKINSON STATE BLUE HAWKS. The Battlin’ Bears defense kept the Blue Hawks off the scoreboard the entire 1st Half as a 3-0 Rocky Mountain College lead in the 1st Quarter became 10-0 at the break. That became a 20-7 advantage in the 3rd Quarter before the Battlin’ Bears had to hold on by their fingertips in the 4th for a 23-21 upset win. Continue reading →

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ANCIENT GREEK COMEDY: COTHURNUS (circa 405 B.C.)

The Ruins of the Theater of Dionysus in Athens.

The Ruins of the Theater of Dionysus in Athens.

Balladeer’s Blog takes another look at an ancient Greek comedy. This time around I’m examining Cothurnus by Philonides, a comic poet who may also have acted and produced for the Athenian stage as well. It cannot be definitively determined if the “Philonides” referred to in those capacities are all one and the same or separate figures.

THE PLAY  

Like most ancient Greek comedies Cothurnus has survived only in fragmentary form and with very few fragments at that. The title refers to a type of footwear of the time period. A cothurnus could be worn on either the left foot or the right foot because of its softness and looseness. Because of this the word “cothurnus” also became a sarcastic term for a politician who tried to position themselves on both sides of an issue, claiming victory no matter which way the political winds blew.

This is certainly another element of Old Comedy that we can still relate to 2,400 years later. Philonides was specifically using this term and this comedy to target Theramenes. Continue reading →

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ALTERNATE HISTORY: BIETIGHEIM (1886)

BietigheimBIETIGHEIM (1886) – Published anonymously in 1886 this work of alternate history accurately predicted some of the actual results and fallout of the coming First World War (1914-1918). Bietigheim is presented as a series of John Minor lectures about world history as seen from “futuristic” 1932.

First off, a summary of the book’s accurate predictions:

a) Tensions between Germany and assorted other nations cause a war that sweeps up many of the Great Powers as well as several other countries. 

b) American entry into the war proves decisive.

c) The German side loses the war.

d) The old European monarchies fall.

e) In the wake of Germany’s defeat a popular figure arises and rallies millions to him with his plans for the future of Europe and Russia.

Just before the 1890 outbreak of the war Germany and France are pushing their claims to Alsace-Lorraine, Italy is demanding Austria turn over portions of northern Italy, Great Britain and Russia are clashing over preeminence in India and Afghanistan, plus the Slavic nations are feuding with the Ottoman Muslim Turks over their own future and control of the Dardanelles. Continue reading →

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ETHAN VAN SCIVER: THE FUTURE KING OF ALL MEDIA?

Ethan Van Sciver 2

ETHAN VAN SCIVER: HUMAN SUNBEAM

Okay, I’m being tongue in cheek with that title, but Van Sciver seems to have the same oddball sense of humor that I do so I figured why not? Ethan Van Sciver’s livestreams about pop culture are as addictive as they are entertaining.

Like so many others I found myself binge-listening to as many as I could do per day for several weeks and now I’m among the many waiting with anticipation for the next day’s installment.

Van Sciver has spent nearly three decades in the comic book industry as an artist and writer. Most of his time was spent at DC with legendary runs on Green Lantern and Flash, but in recent years “Uncle Ethan” as he’s called has become one of the leaders of the indy comic book “Outlaws” going their own way to create works free of the toxic influence of the Big Two publishers. Continue reading →

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS FROM AUGUST 24th

Reinhardt U Eagles helmetNUMBER TEN TRIUMPHANT – In the sole NAIA game yesterday the 10th ranked REINHARDT UNIVERSITY EAGLES (should be the Rottweilers) hosted the WEBBER INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY WARRIORS. The Warriors, coming off last year’s 7-win season, gave the Eagles almost more than they could handle in the 1st Half, holding Reinhardt to a mere 3-0 lead by the break. The 3rd Quarter ended with the Eagles up 9-0 before RU went on to win the game 16-6. 

Snow College Badgers helmetDOWN GOES NUMBER THREE – In the NJCAA the 6th ranked SNOW COLLEGE BADGERS visited the number 3 team in the nation – the GARDEN CITY COLLEGE BRONCBUSTERS. The Broncbusters led 3-0 in the 1st Quarter and 13-3 at Halftime, but the Badgers had a 24 point 3rd Quarter enroute to a 30-27 comeback victory.

Fort Scott Greyhounds helmetNUMBER SIXTEEN FALLS – The FORT SCOTT COLLEGE GREYHOUNDS welcomed the 16th ranked HIGHLAND COLLEGE SCOTTIES yesterday. These two Jayhawk Conference rivals served up one of the best games of the day in a tightly fought smash-mouth affair. In the end the Greyhounds knocked off the Scotties by a final tally of 20-16. Continue reading →

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FOOL KILLER PART TWENTY-SEVEN: APRIL OF 1920

Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the many facets of Fool Killer lore. FOR PART ONE, INCLUDING THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT, CLICK HERE

Fool Killer 1920sPART TWENTY-SEVEN: Here is a look at some of the Fool Killer’s targets from James L Pearson’s April of 1920 issue. As always we find an intriguing mix of attitudes, some of which would please us today or anger us today.

** Democrat Woodrow Wilson’s Attorney General A Mitchell Palmer (as in the Palmer Raids) and his fellow self-appointed censors of supposedly “dangerous” political ideas. Ironically, in 1920 the ideas under assault were Socialist ideas, today it is people espousing Socialism who want OTHER philosophies censored.

           The Fool Killer complained “a little handful of self-appointed bosses around Washington think they must be the sole judges of what a hundred and ten million Americans may read or hear.”

** The New York State Assembly – as usual called “the ASS-embly” – for refusing to seat the five elected members of the Socialist Party. Pearson and his Fool Killer saw this as invalidating the votes of the 60,000-odd New Yorkers who had voted for the candidates. The Assembly refused to seat the elected representatives solely because of the political party they belonged to.

           The Fool Killer pointed out that there were still parts of the South in 1920 where it was considered as disgusting to be a Republican as it was to be a Socialist. The point being “how would the country feel if the state legislatures in the South took it upon themselves to unseat elected Republicans like New York had unseated the Socialists?” Continue reading →

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS FROM AUGUST 22nd

Georgia Military College BulldogsWHEN RANKED TEAMS CLASH – The 19th ranked GEORGIA MILITARY COLLEGE BULLDOGS welcomed the number 18 NAVARRO COLLEGE BULLDOGS in a dogfight that has become an opening weekend tradition in recent years. Navarro College led 7-3 in the 1st Quarter and 16-11 come Halftime. Georgia Military College made their move in the 3rd Quarter, grabbing a 26-23 edge before winning it 33-30.

Iowa Western CollegeNUMBER TWO PREVAILS – The number 2 team in the nation – the IOWA WESTERN COLLEGE REIVERS – played host to the COFFEYVILLE COLLEGE RED RAVENS last night. The Reivers were chasing the Red Ravens 7-0 in the 1st Quarter before tying things up at 7-7 by the break. Iowa Western ruled the 2nd Half, outscoring Coffeyville 29-7 for a comfortable 36-14 triumph. Continue reading →

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