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BALLADEER’S BLOG: COLLEGE BASKETBALL’S NCCAA REGIONAL TOURNEYS

Teams looking to punch their tickets for the national tournament in the NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association).

MIDEAST REGION

welch college flamesFIRST SEMIFINAL – The WELCH COLLEGE FLAMES did battle with the BOYCE COLLEGE BULLDOGS.

This was a tale of two Halves, as the Flames were on top 55-36 at Halftime but from there the Bulldogs launched a furious rally. In the end, Welch College hung on by their fingertips for a 96-94 victory. Zaimes Hall put up 24 points to lead the Flames.

cu harrodsburg pioneers

SECOND SEMIFINAL – In this game the CAMPBELLSVILLE UNIVERSITY AT HARRODSBURG PIONEERS faced the SIMMONS COLLEGE OF KENTUCKY FALCONS.

The Pioneers played smothering defense, keeping their opponents under 30 points in each Half. A 34-28 Halftime lead for CU-Harrodsburg ultimately became a 67-57 win over the Falcons. Lewis Richards led the Pioneers in scoring with his 22 points. Continue reading

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A JOURNEY TO THE WORLD UNDERGROUND BY NICHOLAS KLIMIUS (1741) ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION

ludvig holberg bookA JOURNEY TO THE WORLD UNDERGROUND BY NICHOLAS KLIMIUS (1741) – This novel was written by Danish author Ludvig Holberg and became a European sensation. Like Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, Holberg’s work in this book had satirical political meaning and though the issues and social criticism no longer apply to the modern-day world, the fundamental story structure still holds up on its own.   

The tale begins in 1665 as Nicholas Klimius, freshly graduated from the University of Copenhagen, is doing natural science research in the mountains of Norway. At one point, his colleagues on the expedition lower him by rope into a cavernous hole in the ground so he can explore it.

klimius fallingThe rope breaks, and Nicholas falls so far that his colleagues assume he was killed. Actually, Klimius fell down into the often-theorized Hollow Earth. In this case with an interior sun and small worlds in orbit around it.

The atmosphere in this subterranean realm provides nourishment and moisture, eliminating the need to eat and drink. After days of being trapped in an orbit of his own around the interior sun, Nicholas gets attacked by a griffin. The resulting battle pushes our main character out of orbit and he lands softly on a small planetoid he learns is called Nazar.    Continue reading

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BALLADEER’S BLOG: MORE NAIA CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS MOVE ON TO NATIONAL TOURNAMENT

NAIA

lsu alexandria generals logoRED RIVER ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The LSU-ALEXANDRIA GENERALS clashed with the UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTHWEST MUSTANGS for the RRAC crown. The Generals compiled a comfortable 47-32 advantage by Halftime. After the break they managed even more separation from the Mustangs, ultimately defeating them handily 90-72. Kashie Natt led LSU-Alexandria in scoring with his 24 points. Continue reading

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SPACE MONSTER WANGMAGWI (1967) – SOUTH KOREAN MOVIE

wangmagwiSPACE MONSTER WANGMAGWI (1967) – This attempt by South Korea to compete with Japan in kaiju films came out the same year as the much more famous Yongary, Monster from the Deep. Space Monster Wangmagwi was produced by an all-South Korean team, while Yongary was made with Japanese assistance.

Obviously, neither of those South Korean movies redefined the genre, but in my opinion Space Monster Wangmagwi, despite being in black & white, is nearly as much fun as Yongary, Monster from the Deep. That former flick begins with aliens from the planet Gamma arriving near Earth in an interesting-looking spaceship. Not revolutionary, but eye-catching.

gamma aliensThe Gammans have oddly-colored faces but that’s all we can see of them in their suits of armor, which are like the Tin Man meets the Cybermen. The conversation among these aliens as they orbit our planet is the usual grim but hilariously contradictory alien gibberish in kaijus about how Earth stands no chance, or maybe we do, and their monster Wangmagwi will eat everyone on Earth and THEN the space fleet will move in. Or he’ll attack in unison with the fleet. Hey, just keep it cazh, dude! Continue reading

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USTINOV AD LIB (1966) – FORGOTTEN TELEVISION

ustinov ad libUSTINOV AD LIB (1966) – This comedy special was first aired by BBC1’s anthology series Sunday Night at 8:10PM on April 10th, 1966. In addition to the venerable Peter Ustinov himself the special featured Dudley Moore and Antony Hopkins (NOT Anthony Hopkins).   

Ustinov displayed his distinctive ad-libbing talents alongside Moore and Hopkins in this one-hour stage production. Like Victor Borge, Peter Ustinov often went in for dry, obscure humor – in this case regarding opera and classical music. Continue reading

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BALLADEER’S BLOG: MORE COLLEGE BASKETBALL CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS CROWNED

NAIA

MontanaTech_150pxFRONTIER CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The MONTANA TECH OREDIGGERS and the CARROLL COLLEGE FIGHTING SAINTS battled for this tournament’s title.

The Orediggers were well and truly in charge by Halftime with their 47-30 lead. From there, Montana Tech coasted to a 93-77 victory. Asa Williams led the Orediggers to the championship with THIRTY-ONE points.    Continue reading

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IBERIA INC. – SPAIN’S SUPERHEROES

iberia incThis weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero post here at Balladeer’s Blog will look at the world of Iberia Inc. Since the 1990s those Spanish-made superheroes and the detailed world surrounding them have made them – in my opinion – Spain’s premier home-grown comic book I.P. since 1996. Sadly, there’s been no new material since 2009.  

truenoTRUENO (Thunder)

Secret Identity: Miguel Angel Roldan

Debut Year: 1996

Origin: Miguel Roldan was a two-time winner of the Nobel Prize in physics. After a laboratory accident destroyed both his hands and part of his arms, he designed cybernetic replacements that he customized with potent superweaponry. From then on he went into action as the superhero Trueno. 

trueno 2Powers: Trueno’s cyborg parts possess superhuman strength and can shoot energy blasts of varying levels. They can also generate a force field around him. If he is separated from his artificial arms he is able to control them remotely. 

Comment: This hero was the leader of the superhero team called Iberia Inc. (Named, of course, for the Iberian Peninsula.) The group was headquartered on Isla de la Cartuja in Seville. Continue reading

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ROAR (1981) – MARCH COMES IN LIKE A LION

roar 1981ROAR (1981) – This was one of the first bad/ weird movies I planned to review when I started writing Balladeer’s Blog back in 2010, but like Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky it kept falling by the wayside. This film is no longer as unknown as it was in 2010 and has even been the subject of a documentary about its making, called The Most Dangerous Movie Ever Made.

Even making jokes about this flick feels played out for everyone except people who haven’t seen or heard of it yet. Let me give it a try, though. “Roar: It’s not just the title – it’s the script!” or “You’ll believe people are stupid enough to make a drama using dozens of UNTRAINED jungle animals.”

roar posterYes, untrained. The original movie advertisements for Roar boasted that “No animals were harmed in the making of this film. 70 cast and crew members were.” The end result is not something any human or animal should have been put at risk over, believe me.

Roar is such a bizarre product. Part “animals strike back” film, part Mondo Cane flirtation, part Golden Turkey, part vanity project, part home movie, part masochistic family production, part stunt-casting orgy, I could go on and on.

roar bloodFirst up, the general story: A naturalist lives in Africa in a large, sprawling home with dozens of lions, tigers, leopards, panthers, jaguars, etc. His marriage is in trouble (of course) and he’s in danger of losing his grant money.

His estranged wife plus his two sons and a daughter come to visit but a mix-up causes them to arrive at the naturalist’s home while he is trying to pick them up at the airport. This strands the family with a houseful of wild and very dangerous jungle cats. Continue reading

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LEAP DAY MILESTONES: 2024

Charles “The Bearded Badass” Darwin

Some things happen only once every four years – things like Democrat Joe Biden having a coherent thought and Republican Mitt Romney prying his head out of his ass. Another one of those things would be February 29th: Leap Day. Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at some of the milestone events that got cheated out of a yearly anniversary by happening on this date.

1704 – French provocateurs and Native Americans attack Deerfield, MA and kill roughly 50 inhabitants while abducting 100. Elizabeth Warren’s ancestor recommends killing all the Native Americans and then claiming to BE part Native American when it’s monetarily or politically convenient. Continue reading

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BALLADEER’S BLOG: COLLEGE BASKETBALL CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS CONTINUE

NAIA

southeastern university fireSUN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY FIRE and the SAINT THOMAS UNIVERSITY (FL) BOBCATS (should be Tomcats) were the last two teams standing in this conference tournament. At Halftime the Fire were clinging to a 32-30 edge. From there Southeastern U. managed more separation from the Bobcats to win the game by a final score of 70-62. Reggie Mesidor’s 24 points led the Fire while his teammate Riley Minix logged a Double Double of 18 points and 13 rebounds. Continue reading

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