Tag Archives: glitternight.com

April 12, 2017 · 12:00 am

NIGHTSHADE: ANOTHER FORGOTTEN SUPERHERO

Superhero-mania shows no signs of abating! Since Balladeer’s Blog’s recent look at the defunct Centaur Comics superheroes was such a hit I decided to post an entry on another of their neglected figures.

Nightshade splash pageNIGHTSHADE

Secret Identity: Howard Hall, scientist

Origin: Wealthy young scientist Howard Hall found both science and his life of luxury to be ultimately unfulfilling. Immersing himself in the secrets of Eastern Mysticism he discovered he had a real knack for one particular Dark Art: endowing his shadow with life, solidity and super-strength.

Calling himself Nightshade, Hall costumed himself in a white tuxedo and white hat with a pair of large sunglasses serving as a mask. He used his new abilities to fight crime and other forces of evil.  

First Appearance: Amazing-Man Comics #24 (October, 1941). His final Golden Age appearance came in 1942.

Powers: Continue reading →

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April 11, 2017 · 8:48 pm

COLLEGE POLO CHAMPIONS FOR 2017: MEN AND WOMEN

Balladeer’s Blog’s coverage of the world’s OLDEST team sport continues. Here are the men’s and women’s college Polo champions for this year.

Roger Williams University HawksMEN

National Champions – ROGER WILLIAMS UNIVERSITY HAWKS 

Runners-Up –  Southern Methodist University Mustangs

Score – The Hawks defeated the Mustangs 12-11.

2016 Champions – Texas A&M University Aggies  Continue reading →

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April 10, 2017 · 11:55 pm

AIWEL LONGAR: THE AFROCENTRIC PASSOVER TALE

Balladeer’s Blog has been examining various dead and resurrected deities from around the world as well as various Apocryphal Gospels. Since this is the season for Passover as well as Easter here’s a look at the Aiwel Longar Epic, which features many parallels with the myth about Moses, Passover and the Ten Commandments. 

Aiwel LongarThe mythic tale of Aiwel Longar comes from the Dinka pantheon. Nhialic is the supreme deity to the Dinka and the first man and woman he created were Garang and Abuk. The Dinka people live in the Upper Nile in Sudan, as they have for centuries.

AIWEL LONGAR

I often cover the way in which cultures which come into contact borrow mythic material from each other to embellish their own respective belief systems. The story of Aiwel Longar clearly influenced (and vice versa) Egyptian, Jewish, Christian and Muslim myths. It also bears striking similarities to the Gnostic Hymn of the Pearl.

PART ONE – Born as simply Aiwel, this figure was a gift from the god of the Nile River to Aiwel’s widowed and childless mother. The infant already had a full set of teeth when his mother picked him up out of the Nile River, where the river god had set him adrift.

Like many mythic figures Aiwel could talk and function like an adult at a very young age. While still a toddler he often stole and drank entire gourds full of milk. After one such binge Aiwel’s mother caught him and the young demigod warned her not to tell anyone or else she would die.  Continue reading →

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April 10, 2017 · 8:38 pm

POLO: U.S. OPEN – DAY THREE RESULTS

International Polo ClubBalladeer’s Blog continues its coverage of the world’s OLDEST team sport. Polo had already been around for centuries when it was being played by Alexander the Great’s men.   

FOR MY PRIMER ON POLO CLICK HERE 

Orchard Hill Polo shirtGAME ONE: ORCHARD HILL VS AUDI – Starting off Day Three of Polo’s 114th U.S. Open was a Match between Defending Open Champions Orchard Hill – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: The Clubmen – and Audi – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: The Bavarians.  

FIRST CHUKKER – Facundo Pieres of Orchard Hill was back in form, swatting in 3 Goals for himself in this opening Chukker of play. Audi replied with just 1 Goal of their own, making the score 3-1 in favor of the Clubmen going into the 2nd.

SECOND CHUKKER – The offenses virtually exploded for SIX Goals this time around, evenly divided into 3 Goals apiece. The score now stood at 6-4 with Orchard Hill still on top.

THIRD CHUKKER – The Bavarians began to make their move, thwacking in 2 Goals to the 1 scored by the Clubmen in this Chukker. The Orchard Hill lead had been cut to 7-6 headed into Halftime. Continue reading →

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April 9, 2017 · 11:00 pm

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS FOR 2017

Balladeer’s Blog offers one last round of congratulations to the 2017 women’s college basketball champions in the divisions covered here.

oklahoma city university starsNAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) DIVISION ONE

National Champions – OKLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY STARS

Runners-Up – Lewis-Clark State Warriors

2016 Champions – Mid-America Nazarene University Pioneers Continue reading →

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April 9, 2017 · 4:04 pm

GOSPEL OF THE SAVIOR: COMPARATIVE MYTHOLOGY

Jesus ResurrectedBalladeer’s Blog continues examining various accounts of dead and resurrected deities, as is customary at this time of year.

THE GOSPEL OF THE SAVIOR – The narrative of this gospel centers around dialogues between Jesus and his apostles in the last few days before his arrest and crucifixion.

Some of the material is similar to the Gospels of John and Matthew, but  some is Gnostic, with references to discarding the useless garment of the body so the soul can return to the empyrean realm. 

The most striking departure in this gospel comes in the Garden of Gethsemane segment, when Jesus, as God the Son, traditionally prays to God the Father to spare him the ordeals that lay ahead. In The Gospel of the Savior Jesus transports himself and his apostles to the throne-room of God the Father  where he makes his appeal in person. Continue reading →

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April 8, 2017 · 10:14 pm

MORE HAWAIIAN GODS AND GODDESSES

HawaiianislandsBalladeer’s Blog’s examinations of the Hawaiian pantheon of deities have been some of the most popular items here. As a nod to that popularity here are some of the neglected Hawaiian gods and goddesses.  

INANEA – A fascinating lizard-goddess. CLICK HERE 

KUMUHEA – This caterpillar god was a son of Ku, the god of war. CLICK HERE.   Continue reading →

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April 7, 2017 · 7:36 pm

POLO: U.S. OPEN DAY TWO RESULTS

Polo 2Balladeer’s Blog continues its coverage of the world’s OLDEST team sport. There were a pair of games today in U.S. Open play. 

FOR MY PRIMER ON POLO CLICK HERE 

FlexJet polo shirtGAME ONE: FLEXJET VS AUDI – Husband and wife played on opposite sides in this Match as Melissa Ganzi and her three Flexjet teammates clashed with Marc Ganzi’s foursome from Audi.  

In Chukker Number One Marc himself swatted in the 1st Goal for Audi – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: the Bavarians. His teammate Alejandro Novillo Astrada scored as well while the Bavarians shut out Flexjet – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: the Aviators. The opening Chukker ended with Audi on top 2 Goals to none.

The Second Chukker saw Flexjet really get rolling on offense. The Aviators notched 3 Goals this time around while limiting the Bavarians to just 1 Goal of their own. Chukker Two came to a close with the score knotted up at 3-3.

In the Third Chukker Goals virtually flew between the Uprights with giddy abandon. Flexjet racked up a colossal FOUR Goals to the pair knocked in by Audi. The two teams headed into Halftime with the Aviators in the lead by a count of 7 Goals to 5.    Continue reading →

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April 6, 2017 · 11:55 pm

POLO: U.S. OPEN DAY ONE RESULTS

International Polo Club overheadBalladeer’s Blog continues its coverage of the world’s OLDEST team sport.

FOR MY PRIMER ON POLO CLICK HERE  

Polo’s U.S. Open was first played in 1904 and has become one of the most prestigious events on the Polo calendar. Moreover, it is the third of the Big Three Polo Matches held in the U.S. each year.

valiente shirtValiente – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: the Valiants – come into the U.S. Open having already won the first two titles in the American Triple Crown – the U.S. Polo Association Gold Cup and the C.V. Whitney Cup. If the Valiants can win the Open as well they will have taken that Triple Crown. 

Yesterday’s opening match at the International Polo Club in Palm Beach was full of drama. The Defending Champions of the U.S. Open, Orchard Hill – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: the Clubmen – played Valiente as the Polo World sat riveted. 

FIRST CHUKKER – Polito Pieres swatted in a Goal from the field to give Orchard Hill a 1-0 lead but the next Toss-In saw Valiente’s Adolfo Cambiaso tie things up at 1-1. Facundo Pieres scored a Goal on a Penalty Shot from 40 yards out to put the Clubmen back on top 2-1. His teammates Jota Chavanne and Polito Pieres each scored a Goal from the field but the Valiants’ Diego Cavanagh scored on two separate 40-yard Penalty Shots to make the score 4-3 in favor of Orchard Hill.  

Orchard Hill Polo shirtSECOND CHUKKER – Besides trailing on the scoreboard Valiente lost Matias Torres Zavaleta to an injury in the opening Chukker. Pablo Spinacci replaced him and accomplished the seemingly impossible task of shutting out Facundo Pieres of the Clubmen, whose only scores in the Match came from Penalty Shots. This Second Chukker was typical of that kind of stellar defense and ended with Orchard Hill on top by just 5-4.

THIRD CHUKKER – The Valiants thwacked in 2 Goals to the 1 scored by the Clubmen in Chukker number Three, leaving the count all tied up at 6-6 as the two teams headed into Halftime. Continue reading →

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April 6, 2017 · 8:08 pm

WORLD WAR ONE: DIFFERENCES WITH WORLD WAR TWO

Since we are marking the 100 year anniversary of America’s entry into World War One here is Balladeer’s Blog’s handy guide to some differences and key players between that conflict and World War Two.

American Dough Boys WW I – Lasted from 1914 to 1918  *** WW II – Lasted from 1939 to 1945 

WW I – America entered the war in April, 1917 *** WW II – America entered the war in December, 1941

WW I – Italy and Japan fought on the side of the Allied Powers *** WW II – Italy and Japan fought on the side of the Axis Powers

WW I – Germany, under Kaiser Wilhelm, led the Central Powers *** WW II- Germany, under Adolf Hitler, led the Axis Powers

WW I – Sinking of the Lusitania *** WW II – Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor

WW I – The Allied disaster at Gallipoli *** WW II – The Allied disaster Operation: Market Garden

gallipoliWW I – Douglas MacArthur is an American Commander in charge of the Rainbow Division in Europe *** WW II – Douglas MacArthur is Commander in Chief of the entire Pacific Theater of Operations

WW I – George S Patton is an American Cavalry Officer who eventually becomes a tank commander *** WW II – George S Patton is an American Army commander leading troops in North Africa, Italy and France Continue reading →

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