Monthly Archives: February 2015

BLAXPLOITATION IN BLACK AND WHITE

brotherhood of deathBlaxploitation is as misunderstood and unfairly dismissed a sub-genre as Spaghetti Westerns are. It’s not all pimps, pushers and prostitutes. There were also street-level heroes as colorful as any in the old Pulps. In addition some of the most watchable blaxploitation flicks featured cathartic scenes of African-Americans blowing away Democrats of the Ku Klux Klan and genocidal neo-Nazis plus – decades before Django Unchained – a few Westerns showed former slaves turned gunslingers shooting down actual slave-owners and slave-traders.

Balladeer’s Blog has examined several categories:

BLAXPLOITATION FILMS THAT DESERVE A CLOSER LOOK

darktown-strutters-movie-poster-1975-1020465143Comment: From Pulpish action epics to political satire to black biker films to tastelessly explicit looks at the hardcore ugliness of the Atlantic slave trade, these films boldly went where no mainstream movies of the time period dared to go.  

Examples: Superfly, a neglected gangster classic … The Spook Who Sat by the Door, about a successful armed black uprising … The Brotherhood of Death, featuring black Vietnam vets fighting the Klan … Mister Deathman, with a black James Bond in Apartheid-era South Africa.    

Top Film On List: Darktown Strutters, an in-your-face satire on race, politics and consumerism presented in a style that seems equal parts Richard Pryor and South Park.  

FOR FULL LIST: https://glitternight.com/2012/03/10/eight-blaxploitation-films-that-deserve-a-closer-look/

BLAXPLOITATION HORROR FILMS Continue reading

11 Comments

Filed under Bad and weird movies, Blaxploitation

MUSLIM ATROCITIES: THE ONE CONSTANT IN LIFE

Islam not one damn thingIt’s no secret that Islam is the most misogynistic, homophobic and otherwise intolerant religion in the world at this particular point in history. Here is just a tiny sampling of the recent atrocities perpetrated by the rabid beast of a religion that forever retards the rest of the world’s social progress. They just can’t stop “perpetuating the cycle of violence.”

The Islamic State performed the Muslim sacrament of beheading on a Syrian street magician because his magic act was considered (yawn) “an insult to Islam.” Cartoons, snowmen, hey, what ISN’T considered an insult to this blood-soaked and savagely superstitious faith founded by an insane child rapist? The mere EXISTENCE of diverse religions and lifestyles is taken as an insult by this backward belief system.  

In Nigeria the local franchise in the global Muslim insanity – Boko Haram – recently used a TEN YEAR OLD GIRL as a suicide bomber to kill 16 people.

The U.N. reported that the Islamic State is using MENTALLY CHALLENGED children as suicide bombers.

ToonophobiaWith this type of activity a DAILY event 10,000 British Muslims turned out to express their disgust with … the Charlie Hebdo Cartoons of Muhammad. Sporting various signs that a reasonable person might interpret as threats to the general public about drawing pictures of Muhammad they mounted the kind of large-scale rally they can NEVER be troubled to show when it comes to the terrorists who allegedly “distort” Islam. Hey, wouldn’t those “distortions” count as “an insult to Muhammad?” Nah, better to protest cartoons instead.

And how far are the gutless grovelers for Islam willing to go to accomodate the savage  superstitions of these people? Today they want it against the law to publish drawings of their alleged “prophet” who died centuries ago. Tomorrow? Well … 

Oh, wait, Islam teaches that Muhammad didn’t die – he “rose to the heavens.” So is that up next when it comes to appeasing that barbaric belief system? Will all of us who are NOT Muslims be required to indulge the pretense that Islam’s child-raping founder did not die long ago? I can’t imagine any of the DMV bureaucrats who masquerade as “educators” here in the year 2015 being willing to take a stand and unconditionally tell their Muslim students that it’s just too bad if it offends them, but non-Muslim students do NOT have to play along with their foolishness. Continue reading

37 Comments

Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES

THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE TEXAS 27 FILM VAULT!

Randy (right) and Richard way down on Level 31 hosting The Texas 27 Film Vault

Randy (right) and Richard way down on Level 31 hosting The Texas 27 Film Vault

Yes, it was Saturday February 9th, 1985 when “Film Vault Technicians First Class” Randy Clower, Richard Malmos and Ken “Tex” Miller went on the air with the very first episode of the legendary cult show called The Texas 27 Film Vault! Years before MST3K this program featured the members of the fictional Film Vault Corps – “the few, the proud, the sarcastic” – showing and wryly mocking some of the worst – or at least campiest – movies ever made, often preceded by episodes of old Republic or Columbia Serials like Radar Men from the Moon, Atom Man vs Superman and many others!  

Texas 27 Film Vault posterFor the next few years Saturday nights in Texas and Oklahoma belonged to bad movies and serials, Film Vault Corps comedy sketches and interviews with figures like Vincent Price. At least for the 2 and 1/2 hours during which The Texas 27 Film Vault aired. Some of the other beloved figures from the program included Joe Riley (later famous for the cult tv show titled The Hypnotic Eye), Laurie Savino and Doug Bransom, the former Professor Cerberus himself!  

Texas 27 Film Vault posterHere’s Balladeer’s Blog’s look at that very first episode of The Texas 27 Film Vault, from way down on Level 31 in the Film Vault beneath Dallas, Texas. There was no serial that first night because the movie plus comedy sketches filled the entire running time. Below you’ll also find the link to my exclusive interview with Randy Clower.  

MOVIE TITLE: TRUNK TO CAIRO (1966)

If the only bad movie show you know is MST3K think of Continue reading

36 Comments

Filed under Bad and weird movies, Forgotten Television, Movie Hosts

COLLEGE BASKETBALL RESULTS

* HEADLINES *

Ursinus College Bears logoNUMBER FOUR GOES DOWN – The URSINUS COLLEGE BEARS hosted the number 4 team in the nation – the DICKINSON COLLEGE RED DEVILS in a masterpiece of defensive basketball. At Halftime the Bears had managed a 29-26 edge over the Red Devils and when all was said and done Ursinus College won in a 53-50 upset. Malik Draper led the Bears with his 14 points. Remi Janicot logged 15 rebounds.     

Carnegie Mellon Tartans logoUPSETS IN THE TOP FIFTEEN – The CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY TARTANS shocked the 12th ranked WASHINGTON (MO) UNIVERSITY BEARS, upsetting them by an authoritative 72-59 score. Seth Cordts tossed in 22 points in the win.     ###     In an 11 over 10 upset the BABSON COLLEGE BEAVERS downed the WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE ENGINEERS 59-50 in their own house.   Continue reading

12 Comments

Filed under College Basketball

PULP HERO G-8 AND HIS BATTLE ACES: STORIES ONE HUNDRED-THREE TO ONE HUNDRED-FIVE

THIS IS IT! G-8's FINAL BATTLE WITH DOKTOR KRUEGER!

THIS IS IT! G-8’s FINAL BATTLE WITH DOKTOR KRUEGER!

Balladeer’s Blog resumes its look at the neglected Pulp Hero G-8. This is a story-by- story look at the adventures of this World War One American fighter pilot who – along with his two wingmen the Battle Aces – took on various super-natural and super- scientific menaces thrown at the Allied Powers by the Central Powers of Germany, Austria- Hungary and the Ottoman Muslim Turks.

G-8 was created by Robert J Hogan in 1933 when World War One was still being called simply the World War or the Great War. Over the next eleven years Hogan wrote 110 stories featuring the adventures of G-8, the street-smart pug Nippy Weston and the brawny giant Bull Martin, his two Battle Aces.

Wings of the Hawks of War103. WINGS OF THE HAWKS OF DEATH (April 1943) – G-8 and Nippy Weston get court-martialed in this tale! The two are framed for stealing and gambling away a small fortune in Allied war funds.

Found guilty, the two make a dramatic escape from the courtroom and add assaulting a General Officer to the list of charges while doing so.

With the pair on the run a puzzled Bull Martin and G-8’s British manservant Battle do what they can to help G-8 and Nippy try to unravel the masterful deception. The threads eventually lead them to their newest foe – Baron Von Heidt: the German Empire’s greatest sportsman.

Von Heidt has taken on the ultimate challenge. Namely, disgracing and ultimately killing G-8 and his Battle Aces as revenge for the countless times they’ve thwarted the super-villains of the Central Powers.      Continue reading

28 Comments

Filed under Pulp Heroes

RAP SINGER FLAVOR FLAV THINKS THAT WE SHOULD GO IN AND “WIPE OUT” ISIS

IslamofascismFlavor Flav actually said this. I’m not sure where he and all the people agreeing with him on social media were when we were actually STILL THERE – oh, wait, I know! They were insisting we were only there for the oil and that we were racists and imperialists and should withdraw. People who pointed out that if Obama withdrew prematurely it would only strengthen the worst elements of Islamic terrorism in the region were labeled “warmongers.”

Well, okay “Flavor Flav” (lmao), let’s think about this:  

* Say we go in, even with the U.N.’s backing like we did in 2003, how long before the exact same hypocrites around the world who want us to go in and “wipe out” ISIS lose interest in the conflict and start bashing us for doing so?

* The conflict alone would take YEARS, followed by a military commitment of DECADES or else groups similar to ISIS would simply take over AGAIN.

* As we saw LAST TIME AROUND, once the novelty of the war wears off with people like Flavor Flav and other entertainers they will start claiming we are just there “for the oil”. They’ll do their usual round of songs, movies, etc demanding an immediate withdrawal. We’ll be told once again that people around the world consider the U.S. “the greatest threat to peace.”

* AND once ISIS is “wiped out” and we’re working with other groups in the region to establish a stable post-ISIS government those same pious hypocrites will be excoriating us as “invaders” and “occupiers”. Iraqis who work with us to establish that stable government will be labeled a “puppet regime” and will get slaughtered when the inevitable, make-believe “anti-war” groups get their way and force ANOTHER premature withdrawal.  

SO MAKE UP YOUR MINDS, SHALLOW PEOPLE OF THE WORLD. IF YOU WANT US TO GO IN DO YOU HAVE THE MATURITY AND COMMITMENT TO STICK WITH IT WHEN:

* Your favorite singer or actor or whatever is out in public denouncing the war as “blood for oil” or “a war of aggression” or “an imperial, racist war” or “cowboy diplomacy”

* We go through a change of administration while the war drags on and on and it’s possibly a Republican crook in the Oval Office instead of a Democratic crook

* Inevitably some anti-ISIS troops do something untoward and even though the perpetrators are being punished the whiny Left in the Western World wants to cripple the entire war effort because of it and is saying “WE’RE the real terrorists”   

Every war is the Vietnam War!

Every war is the Vietnam War!

* The ever-repulsive 1960’s generation of American Liberals relentlessly try to exploit various aspects of ALL OF THE ABOVE ITEMS in their usual effort to relive their Vietnam War-protesting youth    

* Some piece of garbage like Michael Moore makes a seriously dishonest film propagandizing for ISIS? 

IF SO … Continue reading

16 Comments

Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES

ISLAMIC STATE SELLING, CRUCIFYING AND BURYING CHILDREN ALIVE

Islam clingingWhat kind of savages sell, crucify and bury children alive? Oh, yeah … Muslim savages. The New York Times and the U.N. have released new reports about the  daily atrocities being perpetrated by the Obama-spawned Islamic State. Yes, Islam’s never-ending war with the civilized world still rages, this many centuries later. Muslims just won’t stop “perpetuating the cycle of violence.”

Despite the simpering of pandering politicians who want to woo “the Muslim vote” the Islamic State pretty much seems to represent Islam in its purest form, with no elements of humanity, rational thought or civilization restraining it. The Islamic State IS what all nations would be reduced to when Islam gains enough influence. If you doubt me re-read the Rotherham Report.

I’ll never be a Conservative but I stopped considering myself a Liberal long ago because of the way American Liberals just adore Muslim fanatics in spite of that religion’s misogyny, homophobia and general intolerance of diversity. In Islam “tolerance” is a one-way street – Muslims reject all aspects of other cultures but they want to carry their hate-filled Shariah Law with them wherever they go.     Continue reading

8 Comments

Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES

COLLEGE BASKETBALL RANKINGS FROM BALLADEER’S BLOG

Southern Maine College SeawolvesUSCAA2 (United States Collegiate Athletic Association) – 1. SOUTHERN MAINE COLLEGE SEA WOLVES     ###     2. CENTRAL PENN COLLEGE SILVER KNIGHTS     ###      3. NEW HAMPSHIRE TECHNICAL INSTITUTE LYNX     ###      4. PENN STATE AT FAYETTE ROARING LIONS     ###      5. BERKELEY COLLEGE (NY) KNIGHTS     ###      

College of St Josephs Vermont Fighting Saints6. COLLEGE OF SAINT JOSEPH’S (VT) FIGHTING SAINTS     ###      7. CENTRAL MAINE COLLEGE MUSTANGS     ###      8. WARREN WILSON COLLEGE OWLS     ###      9. JOHNSON & WALES UNIVERSITY WILDCATS     ###      10. COLLEGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND FORESTRY MIGHTY OAKS     ###       Continue reading

34 Comments

Filed under College Basketball

FANTOMAH: PART TWO

Fantomah 2Balladeer’s Blog’s examination of the neglected Golden Age superheroine Fantomah concludes with a look at the final eight stories penned by the one and only Fletcher Hanks under his pseudonym Barclay Flagg.

VII. JUNGLE ACTION #8 (August 1940)

Locale: The Temple of the Boiling Mud, hidden deep within Fantomah’s jungle territory.

Villain: Mister X, another Great White Hunter type, who plans to steal the sacred relic in the Temple of the Boiling Mud then ransom it back to the natives for a fortune.  

The Tale: Fantomah discreetly follows Mister X as he makes his Indiana Jones-ish way to the Temple. After he succeeds in crossing over the boiling mud pit that surrounds the tiny patch of land that the Temple stands on, he penetrates into the Temple itself. Fantomah appears to Mister X and warns him against stealing the relic. The natives believe that if the relic is removed the boiling mud will rise up and flood the entire jungle, wiping out all life. Continue reading

49 Comments

Filed under Superheroes

NEGLECTED SUPERHEROINE: FANTOMAH

latest (353×379) Balladeer’s Blog presents the first in my new series about neglected comic book superheroes and heroines of the distant past. With superhero movies and television shows being so popular right now it put me in the mood for some of the obscure and forgotten figures from the Golden Age. Here are my pithy story-by-story takes on our debut figure.

FANTOMAH – This superheroine was created in February of 1940 by Fletcher Hanks under one of his pseudonyms – Barclay Flagg. Hanks is a piece of work all by himself and is described as anything from “a primitive who created Outsider Art” on the good side to “the Ed Wood of comic books” on the bad side.

All of Fletcher Hanks’ comic book creations read like the chronicled psychotic episodes of a not particularly skilled ten year old artist, but his Fantomah stories are my all-time favorites. In the works of Hanks perspective, relative sizes and coloring can all change from frame to frame and the text often doesn’t even match what is being drawn. Continue reading

78 Comments

Filed under Superheroes