bonwich Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 FYI. Doesn't say whether it's being led by the renowned expert Professor SignGuy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 -I think this is great, wish I could attend, good work library! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SluSignGuy Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 DAMNIT I have another commitment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonwich Posted October 26, 2017 Author Share Posted October 26, 2017 Reminder that this is today, complete with an interesting advance from St. Louis Public Radio: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/how-did-billiken-become-saint-louis-universitys-mascot#stream/0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonwich Posted October 26, 2017 Author Share Posted October 26, 2017 Cross-posted from a Facebook discussion about the NPR article. h/t Karen Aquadro for the postcard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Majerus Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 I can't attend due to the short notice, but maybe someone can ask why the band can't play the "Billiken Rag" at the games. Written right here in SL by the son of Scott Joplin's primary publisher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Metzinger Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 1 hour ago, Major Majerus said: I can't attend due to the short notice, but maybe someone can ask why the band can't play the "Billiken Rag" at the games. Written right here in SL by the son of Scott Joplin's primary publisher. ASCAP royalties? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianstl Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 I am sure it is just a coincidence that this is happening the same day the JFK files are being released. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Majerus Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 45 minutes ago, Bobby Metzinger said: ASCAP royalties? No 😃 However, Scott Joplin was the first composer to negotiate a royalty for each sheet music copy published - 1 cent per copy of the Maple Leaf Rag Bobby Metzinger likes this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetorch Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 I attended this today and then took in a practice. Not too big of a turnout, but it is lunchtime on a thursday. Next month is the history of the first forward pass. I'll be back for that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonwich Posted October 27, 2017 Author Share Posted October 27, 2017 3 hours ago, thetorch said: I attended this today and then took in a practice. Not too big of a turnout, but it is lunchtime on a thursday. Next month is the history of the first forward pass. I'll be back for that one. Report on the "What's a Billiken" lecture? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetorch Posted October 27, 2017 Share Posted October 27, 2017 2 hours ago, bonwich said: Report on the "What's a Billiken" lecture? Nothing ground breaking for me but there is probably only a few people who have read as much about the Billikens as I have. It was a good presentation and I had a conversation with lecturer afterwards and he has some good ideas for future talks. I'll Definetly be attending in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billikenfan05 Posted October 27, 2017 Share Posted October 27, 2017 Who put this on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetorch Posted October 27, 2017 Share Posted October 27, 2017 John Aside Library Archivist Emeritus is leading the program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prebilliken Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 On 10/27/2017 at 9:33 AM, thetorch said: John Aside Library Archivist Emeritus is leading the program. By any chance was it recorded? I would have loved to have attended this. We have THE BEST mascot in college sports. It has such a strange history as well. Interesting side note: I got to visit Japan earlier this year. One of the towns I visited was Osaka, which famously has a Billiken in one of its oldest tourist Tsūtenkaku Tower, which used to be part of a larger theme park area. The original tower is long gone, but a new tower that is very similar still remains. The Billiken is still widely visited by tourists, which was cool to see, also, there are images of the Billiken EVERYWHERE around Osaka, and many Billikens all around Japan, we actually saw many Billikens in Tokyo as well, and an ice cream store called "Billiken's ice cream." I wore some Bills gear in Osaka on this day and while people didn't immediately recognize the Billiken in his updated form, they FREAKED OUT when I explained to them what it was. The statue of the Billiken in Osaka looks just like our original Billiken statue with only some slight differences, mainly in the hair and shape of the head. Also, they rub the Billikens feat for good luck, instead of the tummy. I refused to do this and of course rubbed the tummy as you are supposed to. One huge oddity, they have a Billiken collection from around the globe, including a pretty good amount of our merchandise actually (photos below), yet, in the explanation of the origin of the Billiken, they make almost no mention of its American history, just its history in Japan. It was an amazing experience. We are missing out on a gold mine by not marketing our program in Japan (half joking), or at least taking our international trips there to play some Japanese teams and give the kids an amazing cultural experience. If you ever find yourself in Osaka (which is a crazy fun town outside of the Billiken), I highly recommend that you make the visit. rgbilliken, NextYearBill and RiseAndGrind like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bills71 Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 I have often wondered over the many years that I have been A Fan, and a alumni, why our Bookstore never seems to offer a Old style Billiken Statue or figurine. I'd love to purchase one for my home office. Somewhere between 6 - 12" in resin or any solid material. If someone knows of one please let me know. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLU_Lax Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 Maybe a statue like these...they'd really tie a room together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almaman Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 Is that a Dayton U butt plug? goes well with sweater vest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLU_Lax Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 Ha! I missed that. I was focused more on how the jovial his smile was. I'm not a doctor, but I am pretty sure something like that should prompt a visit to a medical professional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiseAndGrind Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 12 hours ago, prebilliken said: By any chance was it recorded? I would have loved to have attended this. We have THE BEST mascot in college sports. It has such a strange history as well. Interesting side note: I got to visit Japan earlier this year. One of the towns I visited was Osaka, which famously has a Billiken in one of its oldest tourist Tsūtenkaku Tower, which used to be part of a larger theme park area. The original tower is long gone, but a new tower that is very similar still remains. The Billiken is still widely visited by tourists, which was cool to see, also, there are images of the Billiken EVERYWHERE around Osaka, and many Billikens all around Japan, we actually saw many Billikens in Tokyo as well, and an ice cream store called "Billiken's ice cream." I wore some Bills gear in Osaka on this day and while people didn't immediately recognize the Billiken in his updated form, they FREAKED OUT when I explained to them what it was. The statue of the Billiken in Osaka looks just like our original Billiken statue with only some slight differences, mainly in the hair and shape of the head. Also, they rub the Billikens feat for good luck, instead of the tummy. I refused to do this and of course rubbed the tummy as you are supposed to. One huge oddity, they have a Billiken collection from around the globe, including a pretty good amount of our merchandise actually (photos below), yet, in the explanation of the origin of the Billiken, they make almost no mention of its American history, just its history in Japan. It was an amazing experience. We are missing out on a gold mine by not marketing our program in Japan (half joking), or at least taking our international trips there to play some Japanese teams and give the kids an amazing cultural experience. If you ever find yourself in Osaka (which is a crazy fun town outside of the Billiken), I highly recommend that you make the visit. Ha. It would be awesome if the Billikens became a phenom in Japan. We could have a 30 for 30. "What if I told you a mid-size Jesuit University in St. Louis, Missouri captured the hearts of an entire country half way around the World?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 -thanks prebilliken, that's cool and we do have The Best mascot in all of sports Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prebilliken Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 29 minutes ago, RiseAndGrind said: Ha. It would be awesome if the Billikens became a phenom in Japan. We could have a 30 for 30. "What if I told you a mid-size Jesuit University in St. Louis, Missouri captured the hearts of an entire country half way around the World?" Exactly! Play some pro clubs, do games in Osaka, Tokyo, and Yokohama. It could be huge. We could have bookstore-annexes in Japanese departments stores. 17 minutes ago, Cowboy said: -thanks prebilliken, that's cool and we do have The Best mascot in all of sports Thank you! It was an amazing life experience. I think I actually meant to something to this effect when I got back from Japan. It truly is a trip, you arrive in this city that has a metro area with 10x the population of St. Louis and you just see Billikens everywhere. Very fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Metzinger Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 1 hour ago, RiseAndGrind said: Ha. It would be awesome if the Billikens became a phenom in Japan. We could have a 30 for 30. "What if I told you a mid-size Jesuit University in St. Louis, Missouri captured the hearts of an entire country half way around the World?" Like Fernando-Mania 2.0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CenHudDude Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 It doesn't have the same caliber of teams that it once had, but I always thought that the Great Alaska Shootout would be an interesting tournament to play in because of Alaska's association with the Billiken. In 1909 the Billiken was named the official "patron saint" of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. The Alaska State Museum in Juneau has an impressive collection of carved walrus ivory billikens, and many souvenir stores in the state sell billikens made from glacier stones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 5 minutes ago, CenHudDude said: It doesn't have the same caliber of teams that it once had, but I always thought that the Great Alaska Shootout would be an interesting tournament to play in because of Alaska's association with the Billiken. In 1909 the Billiken was named the official "patron saint" of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. The Alaska State Museum in Juneau has an impressive collection of carved walrus ivory billikens, and many souvenir stores in the state sell billikens made from glacier stones Alaskan Brewing makes an ESB called Bitter Billiken - I believe @Westy03 uses a photo of this tap handle as his avatar - that you can find on draft where they distribute kegs. It has never been bottled, unfortunately, so unless you have a pal at an out-of-state distributor that can swipe a tap handle, it's hard to get any Bitter Billiken stuff for your collection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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