THE OZIDI EPIC OF NIGERIA PART FIVE

FOR PART ONE CLICK HERE. FOR PART TWO CLICK HERE. FOR PART THREE CLICK HERE. FOR PART FOUR CLICK HERE.   

PART FIVE: At the conclusion of Part Four, the hero Ozidi, who possessed the strength of ten men, a lightning sword and the ability to pull other weapons out of his mouth/ innards, had killed yet another of his father’s murderers. That latest fallen foe was Akpobrisi, Wielder of Net Weapons as well as his troops.

Ofe, the main villain behind the slaying of our hero’s father, had hoped Akpobrisi and his soldiers would be capable of eliminating Ozidi. Ofe was expected to be the next man to face the avenging Ozidi but he was far too craven to do so. He blamed the citizens of Orua for the murder of Ozidi the Elder, lying that they pressured him to betray the dead victim even though the ambition of him and his co-conspirators was truly to blame.

Still, cowardly Ofe sought to throw another against Ozidi the Younger. He forced his right-hand man Badoba to face Ozidi in battle. Badoba tried to convince the despicable Ofe that they should both attack the hero together. Ofe refused, still hoping to avoid facing Ozidi in combat. Continue reading

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BALLADEER’S BLOG’S COLLEGE FOOTBALL PRESEASON RANKINGS

The divisions of college football covered here at Balladeer’s Blog kick off their 2026 season on Thursday, August 27th. Here are my Preseason Top Ten Rankings for each division. 

NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics)

### 1. MORNINGSIDE UNIVERSITY MUSTANGS   ###   2. GRAND VIEW UNIVERSITY VIKINGS (Defending Champs)   ###   3. KEISER UNIVERSITY SEAHAWKS   ###   4. MONTANA TECH OREDIGGERS   ###   5. BENEDICTINE COLLEGE RAVENS   ###    Continue reading

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AUGUST EIGHTH NEWS ROUNDUP

 Independent Voter Site Balladeer’s Blog is here with a very rare Saturday current events roundup.

FLASHBACK FROM 2021: REMEMBERING WHEN TRUMP-HATERS CHEERED ON NEW YORK GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO FOR MINDLESSLY FOLLOWING “DR. DEATH” FAUCI’S DICTUMS JUST BECAUSE CUOMO AND FAUCI ARGUED WITH TRUMP. They even gave Cuomo Emmy Awards for his Covid press conferences, then repealed them when Cuomo’s nursing home deaths and S.H. scandals came out. Just as Andrew Cuomo fell from grace years ago over the scandal regarding thousands of elderly people dying because of the Fauci-Cuomo nursing home “lockdowns”, Fauci’s own diary has now helped expose his own lies and misdeeds.

ANOTHER FLASHBACK FROM 2021: DEMOCRATS IN CONGRESS BLOCK INVESTIGATION INTO THE ORIGINS OF THE CORONAVIRUS. And here in 2026 we all know why the callous and corrupt Democrats blocked it. They wanted to protect Fauci and China. More HERE.

2021 FLASHBACK: COLORADO’S DEMOCRAT GOVERNOR NOW UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR COVID DEATHS IN NURSING HOMES, JUST LIKE ANDREW CUOMO.

PRESIDENT TRUMP’S POLICIES KEEP JOBLESS CLAIMS DOWN AT LOWS NOT REACHED IN FIFTY-SEVEN YEARS. The greatest president for the working class and the poor during my lifetime.

EVEN DEMOCRAT LUTHER CAMPBELL STATES TRUMP IS RIGHT AND DEMOCRATS IN HIS DISTRICT ARE INDEED CHEATING. He even added that he “hates to agree with Trump on anything”, but apparently the truth is the truth.

ANTHONY “CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY?” FAUCI HELD IN CONTEMPT. Continue reading

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NEGLECTED CANADIAN-MADE SUPERHEROES

This weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog looks at several neglected Canadian-made characters. FOR THEIR GOLDEN AGE HEROES (1941-1950) CLICK HERE.

WHITE THUNDER

Debut Year: 1982

Secret Identity: Scott Garvey

Origin: Bartender Scott Garvey was beaten nearly to death by street thugs. When his survival seemed hopeless, the hospital used experimental drugs on him. An unrelated electric shock interacted with the chemicals and healed Scott. It also granted him superpowers which he kept to himself so he could adopt the costumed identity White Thunder to get revenge on his attackers, then go on fighting crime.

Powers: This hero could fly, generate electricity and shoot electrical blasts from his hands.

CANADIANA

Debut Year: 2004

Secret Identity: Jennifer Neuwirth

Origin: Jennifer’s parents were flakey people who drifted to every cult that came along, taking their young daughter with them. The latest cult they became involved with was run by a charismatic but sinister man named Robertson. No first name was ever given.

      Robertson indulged in the grooming of the teenage daughters of his followers and Jennifer’s parents blithely let her become his latest victim. The cult leader tutored the young women, bringing out superpowers in them and using them as pawns in his villainous activities.

      Jennifer proved strong enough to rebel against Robertson and use her powers against him and against his other female acolytes. She adopted the costumed identity Canadiana.

Powers: Canadiana was strong enough to easily lift a standard 4-door car and carry it with her. She could also fly at 600 kph, generate an energy force field around herself. teleport and release energy through her hands to burn or disintegrate objects with her touch. Jennifer could transform from her street clothes into her Canadiana costume and back again at will. She calls herself “the spirit of Canada.”  Continue reading

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PRAIRIE DOG MORROW: NEGLECTED GUNSLINGER FOR FRONTIERADO

HAPPY FRONTIERADO! The first Friday of every August marks Frontierado, the holiday devoted to the myth of the old west rather than the grinding reality.

Enjoy your buffalo steaks, rattlesnake fried rice, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, tumbleweed pizza, cactus salad and more today and tonight, and enjoy the leftovers on Saturday and Sunday.

PRAIRIE DOG MORROW – This overlooked gunslinger was also called Prairie Dog Dave Morrow. He was born on April 14th, 1837 in Jackson, Ohio. His was a farming family but that life didn’t appeal to David Morrow so in his teens he left home and made his way to California in hopes of making his fortune.

Morrow was still out there when the U.S. Civil War broke out and he enlisted in the Union Army at Camp Latham near Los Angeles. David served in the First California Cavalry as part of the storied California Column under Colonel James H. Carleton.

The unit was stationed in New Mexico and Arizona during the war, fighting Confederate forces and driving them out of short-lived Confederate Arizona and out of New Mexico and part of Texas. During the war years the First California also dealt with hostile Navajo and Apache flair-ups. Morrow was injured in the left leg and was later awarded a Veteran’s Pension of $4.00 per month. Continue reading

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COWGIRL LUCILLE MULHALL, LAUDED BY PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT

It’s Frontierado Eve! Tonight is when many of us start our cookouts, poker games and Western Movie Marathons for the 3-day weekend. It goes on tonight and especially tomorrow, with the leftovers feeding us all through Saturday and Sunday.  Here’s another seasonal post.

LUCILLE MULHALL – This incredible woman, the first to defeat male competitors in roping and riding contests, was born October 21st, 1885 in St. Louis. Missouri. In 1889 her family moved to Alfred, Oklahoma which was soon renamed Mulhall, Oklahoma in honor of her father Zach Mulhall as they established their ranch there.

Lucille virtually grew up in the saddle and with lassos and guns in her hands. The year 1899 saw her father launch the Mulhall Wild West Show & Congress of Riders & Ropers in the spirit of Buffalo Bill Cody’s more famous traveling troupe. Fourteen-year-old Lucille was one of the show’s original performers at trick riding and roping as well as hazing the bulldoggers.

In 1900, Zach Mulhall bet $10,000 that his daughter could out-rope any of the cowboys in El Paso, Texas. Lucille did just that, following which she and her brother Charlie had to fight their way out of a mob of angry losers determined to strip the young lady to verify that she wasn’t a boy disguised as a woman.

Our “Queen of the Saddle” and the rest of the Mulhall Wild West Show performed at President William McKinley’s second Inauguration celebrations in March, 1901. Then-Vice President Theodore Roosevelt pushed for their appearance because of his previous experiences with Lucille and her family at the Mulhall Ranch.

While visiting there, Theodore mentioned his interest in prairie wolves, so our heroine saddled up and caught one for Roosevelt with her bare hands. The following year they held a special competitive wolf hunt in Theodore’s honor.

As President, Roosevelt designated Mulhall “the Golden Girl of the West” and “the Original Cowgirl.” (No offense, I’m assuming, to the many decades of cowgirls who came before her.) Continue reading

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B-MOVIE HOSTESS: DRACULINDA THE GHOUL-GIRL (1959-1960)

DRACULINDA THE GHOUL-GIRL – Liz Herring, the Assistant Program Director at WRAL-TV in Raleigh, NC put her theater experience to good use as North and South Carolina’s Movie Hostess Draculinda the Ghoul-Girl. Draculinda hosted films on Nightmare, which aired Saturday nights at 11:00pm.

Nightmare ran from September 12th, 1959 to at least August 20th, 1960. Liz Herring stated that she patterned the character on the ghoulish woman in Charles Addams cartoons; the one who would be given the name Morticia when The Addams Family debuted in 1964.   

This Movie Host show would open with thunder and lightning as well as screams and the sound of a werewolf howling. Fake blood would drip down the screen. That would be followed by the appearance of Draculinda, seated on a stool with a spotlight on her.

After welcoming viewers to Nightmare, Draculinda would do a comedic monologue written by WRAL-TV’s Diane Beddell and Bill Ray. The monologues would often target political figures in the Carolinas. Other bits of business included ghoulish jokes like Draculinda hawking her book 1,000 Ways to Bitter Serve Your Fellow Man. Continue reading

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MARTIN KOVE AS BLUEBERRY – THE UNMADE WESTERN

BLUEBERRY – This movie (and then television series) that never came to be was based on the 1963 – 21st Century French comic book series Blueberry by iconic creator Moebius (Jean Guirard). The character’s real name was Michael S. Donovan and he was born in 1843 in the American South. Days before the U.S. Civil War broke out, he was mistakenly believed to have killed his fiancee Harriet Tucker’s father, a wealthy plantation owner.

Mike went on the run and headed north, aided by a fugitive slave called Long Sam. Still wanted for murder, our hero enlisted in the Union Army under the false name Michael S. Blueberry.

For decades, the character appeared in countless adventures as he spent his Civil War service crusading against slavery, then when the war ended and he was sent out west to serve in Indian Wars he came to sympathize with Native Americans to the point where he was drummed out of the army and went on to further gunslinging heroics. He also championed Chinese railroad workers.  

This attempted 1983-1985 movie project was officially titled Lt. Blueberry to reflect his time as a Cavalry Officer and subsequent dishonorable discharge. Moebius also produced several tales collected as Young Blueberry covering his hero’s Civil War adventures, Marshal Blueberry covering his law enforcement years, and so on.

The Blueberry stories were basically Spaghetti Westerns told in the sequential art (graphic novel) format. Martin Kove, an intense fan of Sergio Leone’s westerns, auditioned for the title role. When the initial project fell through, Kove and other parties tried producing a Lt. Blueberry film of their own, then a television series, but neither were completed.

The good news is that some footage of Martin Kove in Lt. Blueberry has survived!      Continue reading

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NEWS ROUNDUP: AUGUST FIFTH

Here’s the latest current events roundup from Independent Voter Site Balladeer’s Blog.

EXCELLENT COMPILATION OF THE LIES TOLD BY FILTHY FAUCI AND OTHER FAUX “EXPERTS” DURING COVID. More HERE. Also included is Fauci’s statement “Now is the time to do as you’re told.”

ELIZABETH NICKSON ON ANTHONY FAUCI: “THE DELICIOUS HUMILIATION OF THE MAN WHO POISONED THE WORLD.”

DEMOCRAT CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE IN HAWAII ARRESTED OVER VIOLENT CONFRONTATION AT PUBLIC BEACH.

HIRING INCREASES UNDER PRESIDENT TRUMP’S POLICIES. Stocks soar a thousand points HERE. Young voters very optimistic about President Trump’s economic policies HERE.

TRUMP-ENDORSED CANDIDATE TY MASTERSON WINS KANSAS GUBERNATORIAL PRIMARY.

IN PENNSYLVANIA, CLEANING OUT THE VOTER ROLLS OF NON-CITIZENS AND DEAD PEOPLE CAUSES THE DEMOCRATS TO LOSE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF INELIGIBLE “VOTERS” IN JUST ONE WEEK. No wonder Democrats always fight so hard against honest elections.

CONGRESSMAN TOM TIFFANY INTRODUCES LEGISLATION TO STOP CORRUPT POLITICIANS LIKE DEMOCRAT ILHAN OMAR FROM FUNNELING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO THEIR SPOUSES.

ICE AGENTS ARREST ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CONVICTED OF MURDER, CHILD RAPE, KIDNAPPING AND MORE. And as always, they would not have still been at large if not for Democrat “sanctuary” policies.

BIDEN-RELEASED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHARGED WITH RAPING TWO WOMEN IN UTAH.

FORTY-THREE FIRMS IN CHINA STRUCK FOR THEIR USE OF SLAVE LABOR. Continue reading

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FORGOTTEN TELEVISION: THE OREGON TRAIL (1976-1977)

THE OREGON TRAIL (1976-1977) – Another seasonal post for Frontierado, which celebrates the myth of the Old West and not the grinding reality. The Oregon Trail was basically a 1970s attempt to imitate the classic western series Wagon Train. In the 1840s a recent widower played by Rod Taylor and his children join a wagon train headed to the Pacific Northwest.

The California Gold Rush had not yet started, hence Oregon as the destination instead. A 2-hour pilot movie in 1976 was followed by a tryout set of episodes but a full series never came to be.

THE OREGON TRAIL (Jan 10th, 1976) – Pilot Movie. The story opens in 1842 on the wedding day of widowed Illinois farmer Evan Thorpe and his second wife Jessica (Blair Brown). The next day, they and Evan’s children join a wagon train headed for America’s Pacific Northwest.

The three children were Andrew (Andrew Stevens), Rachel (Gina Hummer) and William (Tony Becker). Evan’s widowed father Eli (Douglas Fowley) joined the family for their westward trek. Other guest stars in this pilot film were David Huddleston, G.D. Spradlin, Eddie Little Sky, J.D. Cannon, Jerry Hardin, Linda Purl and Hoke “Crapout” Howell. Continue reading

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