Monthly Archives: October 2018

COLLEGE FOOTBALL RANKINGS FROM BALLADEER’S BLOG

Based on the Glitternight Index:

garden-city-broncbusters-helmet-newNJCAA – 1. GARDEN CITY COLLEGE BRONCBUSTERS   ###    2. EAST MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE LIONS (Defending National Champions)   ###    3. LACKAWANNA COLLEGE FALCONS    ###     4. IOWA WESTERN COLLEGE REIVERS    ###     5. NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI RANGERS    ###    

Hutchinson Blue Dragons6. HUTCHINSON COLLEGE BLUE DRAGONS    ###     7. SNOW COLLEGE BADGERS    ###     8. EASTERN ARIZONA COLLEGE GILA MONSTERS    ###     9. BLINN COLLEGE BUCCANEERS    ###     10. ARIZONA WESTERN COLLEGE MATADORS    ###     Continue reading

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HORROR STORY: THE TOP BEST MAN (1832)

Mascot FOUR original pics

Balladeer’s Blog

THE TOP BEST MAN (1832) – Halloween Month continues! Published anonymously in 1832 this long-ish short story centers around a man found on a long-lost ship called the Top Best. This vessel was a ship out of Maine that is found trapped in ice in far northern waters.

The ship that has found it, the Dartmouth Lady, has likewise become trapped in ice and its crew has spotted another ice-bound craft off in the distance when it finally stops snowing. An away team travels to the other craft hoping to find survivors or at least equipment which can help cut a way out of the ice for both ships.

Despite the size of the vessel only one man is found on board and he seems to be frozen to death. The away team manage to get a fire started from some of the Top Best‘s own wood and resolve to warm up just a bit before heading back to the Dartmouth Lady with the equipment taken from the derelict.

The fire has warmed the surroundings sufficiently for the sole survivor’s cold body to be taken along as well, including the ship’s log he apparently died clutching to his chest. The crew of the Dartmouth Lady succeed in cutting their way through the ice and return to Maine. By the time they reach their home port it turns out the body has thawed and the Top Best man is miraculously still alive. Continue reading

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MOTHER JONES: MORE FAVORITE TRUMP LINKS

mother-jonesMary Harris Jones aka “Mother” Jones has once again reached out posthumously to Balladeer’s Blog. She’s as big a fan of President Donald Trump as ever and despite my efforts to rein in her enthusiasm she once again praised him for saving the economy and for helping the working class and the poor of all colors just like she did.

She also let loose with another selection of her favorite Donald Trump links:

MAGA 2020 & beyondSUPERVERSIVE PRESS: MAGA 2020 & BEYOND – Mother Jones: “This is a terrific anthology from more than a dozen contributing authors! It features fiction and some non-fiction essays about President Donald Trump, who is the new FDR, JFK and Harry Truman in one.”

Others say “MAGA 2020 & Beyond is the best alternative to all of the over-the-top anti-Trump press and social media out there.” CLICK HERE 

Jesse Lee PetersonJESSE LEE PETERSON: ANOTHER PERSON OF COLOR WHO SUPPORTS TRUMP – Mother Jones: “Mr Peterson is very eloquent and capably deconstructs the Democrats’ false claims that they and they alone are fit to define “Social Justice.”

Peterson is another of the COUNTLESS people of color supporting de facto Third Party President Donald Trump.  CLICK HERE

Mark Zuckerberg dead inside

“I’M DEAD INSIDE.”

SIGN THE PETITION CALLING FOR A STOP TO SELECTIVE ONLINE CENSORSHIP – Mother Jones: “If you’re tired of techno-fascists at Facebook, G**gle, Twitter and elsewhere abusing their influence in blatantly partisan ways sign the online petition to hold them accountable. It may be time to treat them as public utilities.”

To sign it CLICK HERE Continue reading

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MOCK HEADLINES: OCTOBER 8th

mascot new look donkey and elephant headsDEMOCRATS RENEW THEIR VOW TO “MAKE CALIGULA LOOK SANE!”

NANCY PELOSI DEMANDS THAT WOMEN “JUST SHUT UP AND VOTE FOR US DEMOCRATS!”

SENATE DEMOCRATS TELL DI-FI “THIS IS ANOTHER FEINSTEIN MESS YOU’VE GOTTEN US INTO!” 

PRIVILEGED WHITE WOMAN ALYSSA MILANO HATES IT WHEN BLACK PEOPLE DISOBEY HER WHEN SHE ORDERS THEM TO STOP SUPPORTING TRUMP

ocasio cortezALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ SAYS HER SURNAME IS FROM THE SPANISH FOR “CRAZED CHIPMUNK”

DEMOCRATS INSIST THE U.S. CONSTITUTION IS MEANINGLESS BUT A FRAGMENT OF POETRY ON THE BASE OF THE STATUE OF LIBERTY IS LEGALLY BINDING

MAXINE WATERS SAYS “LAWS SHOULD ONLY BE ENFORCED AGAINST POLITICAL ENEMIES OF US DEMOCRATS!”

FIRST LADY MELANIA TRUMP STILL SPEAKS MORE LANGUAGES THAN BOTH OBAMAS COMBINED Continue reading

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TALES OF THE ZOMBIE 4

masc graveyard newHalloween Month continues here at Balladeer’s Blog! It’s hard to believe there are still 1970s Marvel Comics characters who have NOT been adapted for the big or small screen yet. Simon Garth, former plantation owner cursed to return from the grave as a zombie is one. Here is the cover to one of his battles with the vile Mister Six.

FOR MY FULL-LENGTH REVIEW OF THIS SERIES CLICK HERE

Tales of the Zombie 4 Continue reading

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS FROM OCTOBER 6th

HEADLINES

West Florida Argonauts helmetDIVISION TWO OVER DIVISION ONE – The UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA ARGONAUTS, from NCAA Division Two, traveled to take on Division ONE’s UNIVERSITY OF NORTH ALABAMA LIONS yesterday. A 10-10 Halftime tie became a 17-13 edge for the Argonauts in the 3rd Quarter and ultimately a 24-19 upset! This is like when a 1aa team topples a 1a team for you newbies.

Rocky Mountain CollegeKNOCKING OFF NUMBER TWO – Over in the NAIA the 21st ranked ROCKY MOUNTAIN COLLEGE BATTLIN’ BEARS welcomed the number 2 team in the nation – the SOUTHERN OREGON UNIVERSITY RAIDERS (should be the Sea Gulls). After a scoreless 1st Quarter the Battlin’ Bears put SOU on Upset Alert with a 17-14 lead at the break. In the 2nd Half Rocky Mountain College outscored the Raiders 17-7 for a 34-21 triumph.

University of New England Nor'eastersFIRST-EVER WIN FOR U.N.E. – Moving to NCAA Division Three, the UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND NOR’EASTERS are in their very first year of intercollegiate football. On Saturday they took on the visiting CURRY COLLEGE COLONELS and came back from a 14-7 1st Quarter deficit to go on top 28-21 by the midpoint. From there the Nor’easters had to hold on for a 44-42 victory, the FIRST in program history. Continue reading

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THE PRISONER: IT’S YOUR FUNERAL

Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the 1967 science fiction/ existential drama The Prisoner. For Part One, in which I examined the themes and concepts at play in the series click  HERE

It's Your FuneralEpisode Title: IT’S YOUR FUNERAL … In the ongoing debate over the exact ordering of the 17 episodes of The Prisoner I place this one 3rd from the last. 

*** So after this review all we have left is the two-part series finale. ***  For those readers who have requested SPOILERS on who wins in a given episode our hero the Prisoner wins this round.

pennyfarthing bicycle no wordsIt’s Your Funeral centers around an assassination attempt in the Village and features how our main character’s rebellious nature has begun inspiring assorted other Villagers to commit their own subtle acts of defiance to the Villagekeepers.

I’ll also take a brief look at The Stranger/ Stranded in Space, a failed pilot movie for a Prisoneresque sci-fi series in 1973. Cameron Mitchell even delivers a speech straight out of The Prisoner at one point.

THE STORY: Continue reading

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JOHN SILENCE: OCCULT DOCTOR (1908) – HALLOWEEN READING

Halloween Month continues here at Balladeer’s Blog. This time around I take a look at Algernon Blackwood’s occult physician Doctor John Silence.

John SilenceJOHN SILENCE, PHYSICIAN EXTRAORDINARY (1908) – A selection of short stories about Blackwood’s fictional neurologist Doctor Silence and his encounters with the supernatural. 

THE PSYCHICAL INVASION – A professional writer who specializes in humorous stories becomes a patient of Doctor Silence when he suddenly finds himself unable to write anything except grotesque horror tales. Silence discovers that on an occasion when the author’s psychic defenses were neutralized during a hashish jag the spirit of a 19th Century sorceress possessed him. The vile entity ended its life being hanged at Newgate. Doctor Silence must do psychic battle with the spirit to save his patient. Continue reading

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RANDOM FRIDAY WEIRDNESS III

THE ULTIMATE BAT-FLECK MOMENT Continue reading

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HALLOWEEN BOOK: ISABELLA OF EGYPT (1812)

Isabella of Egypt Alraune and the GolemHalloween Month continues here at Balladeer’s Blog! In addition to covering all of my usual topics I spend each October sprinkling in neglected horror movies, stories and novels.

Isabella of Egypt is a very obscure 1812 Gothic Horror novella by Ludwig Achim Von Arnim. Under the more evocative title Alraune and the Golem it was to be filmed as a silent movie in 1919 but unfortunately it was never completed or is one of the countless silent films that have not survived to the present day (sources vary). 

The story is set in the 16th Century and features the real-life Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, but in his teen years, right before he assumed the throne first of Spain and later of the H.R. Empire. The novella is not a horror classic per se, but is very eerie and features an odd variety of horrific supernatural figures in Monster Rally fashion.  The story takes a variety of twists and turns too detailed for a quick synopsis but here is a look at the main characters:

ISABELLA – The main character, a teenage Gypsy girl whose father was Gypsy royalty and after he is hanged she becomes Queen of all the Gypsies. (This novel adheres to the version of Gypsy mythology which states that they were descendants of the ancient Egyptians, hence the title Isabella of Egypt even though the story takes place in various German locations.)

Isabella’s beauty spellbinds various men including the youthful Charles. The monstrous Mandragore lusts after her as well and plans to force her into an unholy union.  Continue reading

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