Regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog will remember my review of three neglected swashbuckler novels by Alexandre Dumas. (For those three – Georges, Captain Pamphile and La Dame de Monsoreau click HERE )
Regular readers will also recall my look at the way Dumas’ The Corsican Brothers is NOT really a swashbuckler story in the spirit of The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo or The Man in the Iron Mask, but because it’s a Dumas tale it often gets adapted AS IF it’s an action-oriented sword and pistol saga.
And that brings us to Dumas’ novel The Black Tulip set in the Netherlands’ city of Haarlem in the 1670s.
When I was a little boy thrilled with the Musketeers, Monte Cristo and Iron Mask I excitedly grabbed The Black Tulip to read, assuming it, too would feature derring-do and swordplay. Much to my disappointment the novel instead dealt with attempts to cultivate a black tulip, the mob-slaying of Netherlands politicians Johann and Cornelius de Witt, romance and the redemption of personal honor.
Using the approach of the adaptors of The Corsican Brothers, let’s MAKE The Black Tulip a rousing swashbuckler just because it’s by Dumas.
THE BLACK TULIP (1850) – I would make it so that “the Black Tulip” was a masked and costumed identity adopted by the novel’s hero Dr Cornelius Van Baerle in order to pursue his crusade to redeem his family honor, tainted from the scandal following the grisly slaying of the de Witts (Insert your own Joyce de Witt joke here). Continue reading
PATRIOTS ON THE ROAD – The UNIVERSITY OF THE CUMBERLANDS PATRIOTS traveled to face the KEISER UNIVERSITY SEAHAWKS for their 1st Round game. A 7-0 1st Quarter lead for the Patriots became a 14-7 Seahawks advantage by Halftime. The 3rd Quarter ended in a 21-21 tie before UC went on to win the game 28-24. 
COUGARS WITH THE UPSET – The SAINT XAVIER UNIVERSITY COUGARS visited the NORTHWESTERN (IA) COLLEGE RED RAIDERS. The Red Raiders led 3-0 in the opening Quarter but the Cougars went on top 10-6 at the Half. Northwestern College pulled to within 16-13 in the 3rd Quarter before SXU went on to win it 25-20 in the 4th. 
ONE-POINT WONDER – In this 1st Round clash the GRAND VIEW UNIVERSITY VIKINGS welcomed the CONCORDIA (MI) CARDINALS. A 3-3 tie in the 1st Quarter was followed by the Vikings going out in front 17-10 by the break. That turned into a 31-24 advantage in the 3rd Quarter before Grand View held on tight for a 31-30 victory. 
MASERATI: A HUNDRED YEARS AGAINST ALL ODDS (2019) – This fascinating documentary directed by Philip Selkirk is so riveting it flies along like one of the automobiles in the Maserati line. 
We need Third Parties! Democrat Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard once again spoke for so many of us former Democrats during the recent presidential debate when she pointed out why the Democrats have driven so many of us to #WALKAWAY from that increasingly repulsive political party. 
Fresh off her trouncing of the execrable Hillary “Bugsy” Clinton, Gabbard pointed out the failings of the entire Democrat Party. Gabbard said during Wednesday night’s primary debate: “Our Democratic Party, unfortunately, is not the party that is of, by and for the people.”
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The number 1 team in the nation – the 
MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST BULLDOGS – will take on the number 2 LACKAWANNA COLLEGE FALCONS. 
SALT CITY BOWL – The country’s number 3 team – the 
HUTCHINSON COLLEGE BLUE DRAGONS – will do battle with the 18th ranked MONROE COLLEGE MUSTANGS. 
RED GRANGE BOWL – This Bowl Game will pit the storied 
COLLEGE OF DUPAGE CHAPARRALS against the ITASCA COLLEGE VIKINGS. 
“Welcome to the party, pal” as Bruce Willis said in Die Hard. The dangers posed by the modern-day Robber Barons called Techno-Fascists and Techno-Tyrants have been clear to the rest of us for years now. Amnesty International, better late than never, hopped on board recently – click 
THE TECHNO-TYRANTS OF SILICON VALLEY – The modern-day versions of the disgusting old Robber Barons might well be the corporate fascists aka techno-fascists in assorted tech industries, not just regarding Silicon Valley but also privacy-violating rich pigs at Facebook and elsewhere. 
In recent years outfits like Twitter, Facebook and others even made public noises about banning customers based on their conduct UNRELATED TO THOSE UTILITIES! Can you imagine the old, old Ma Bell monopoly cutting off people’s phone service because their operators caught those users discussing voting for political candidates disapproved of by Ma Bell’s upper echelons or expressing opinions frowned upon by Ma Bell? 
Richard C Meyer, the indie comic book legend best known for his mercenary superhero team JAWBREAKERS (3 volumes so far) has launched the second volume of his IRON SIGHTS series on Indiegogo. 
The postseason has begun in the divisions of college football 
covered here at Balladeer’s Blog. The two teams participating in the NCCAA’s Victory Bowl are the defending champions – the OLIVET NAZARENE UNIVERSITY TIGERS – and the GREENVILLE UNIVERSITY PANTHERS. 
AMAZING ADVENTURES Vol 2 #34 (January 1976)
Killraven, M’Shulla and Carmilla Frost are using an old, abandoned horse-racing track to race each other on their separate mounts. KR is riding his usual pinkish-red serpent-stallion, while the other two ride similarly chimeric creatures spawned by residue of the bio-warfare agents unleashed 18 years earlier in Earth’s unsuccessful war against the alien invaders. 
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