Sixty Minutes Australia with a piece on the infamous “wet markets” of China, where bat soup and other items are common offerings.
Monthly Archives: April 2020
SIXTY MINUTES INVESTIGATES THE CHINESE “WET MARKETS” WHERE THE CORONAVIRUS STARTED
Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion
TUPARI MYTHS: GODS AND GODDESSES OF THE AFTERLIFE
The Tupari of Brazil had a very rich pantheon of deities. For the full list click HERE This blog post looks at the Soul’s Journey after death.
THE SOUL’S JOURNEY TO THE LAND OF THE DEATH-GOD PATOBKIA – Like many other groups of people the Tupari distinguished between an animating force and an actual spirit.
After death, while the spirit, or Pabid, proceeds to the land ruled by the god Patobkia, the Kiapoga , the animating force or “ghost” remains in the heart of the dead human. Eventually it bursts from the heart like a bird from an egg. The village shamans clean the Kiapoga, shape its clay-like form to resemble the deceased, and then release the ghost, which forever floats invisibly in the air near the place of death.
The Pabid, meanwhile, journeys far away from the land of the living, completely blind as it makes its way. First it proceeds over the backs of two gigantic male and female crocodiles. The male crocodile attacks the moon god Puepa at times, causing eclipses of the moon, and the female crocodile attacks the sun goddess Karam at other times, causing eclipses of the sun. Though Puepa and Karam are both elderly they are still powerful – Karam more than Puepa in fact – and always drive the crocodiles away eventually. Continue reading
Filed under Mythology
COLLEGE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS FOR 2020
Balladeer’s Blog offers one last round of congratulations to the 2020 college basketball champions in the divisions covered here. Topping the list are the divisions where the national tournaments were played in full.
USCAA (United States Collegiate Athletic Association) DIVISION TWO
National Champions – NEW HAMPSHIRE TECHNICAL INSTITUTE LYNX
Runners-Up – Penn State at Greater Allegheny Lions
2019 Champions – Penn State at Wilkes-Barre Lions
ACCA (Association of Christian College Athletics)
National Champions – UNIVERSITY OF LOS ANGELES COLLEGE OF DIVINITY BEARS
Runners-Up – Ozark Christian College Ambassadors
2019 Champions – Arlington Baptist University Patriots Continue reading
Filed under College Basketball
BRAND: WAY OF THE GUN IS NOW AVAILABLE
ANTONIO BRICE, THE RENOWNED COMIC BOOK CREATOR OF COLOR, IS BACK WITH THE SEQUEL TO HIS SUPERNATURAL ACTION EPIC BRAND. Brice is once again teamed with artist Caanan White of Shi fame.
BRAND: WAY OF THE GUN is the 60-page sequel to Brice’s sensational story which blended supernatural horror with gritty action in the tradition of From Dusk Til Dawn (but WITHOUT vampires). Any and all fans of PREACHER owe it to themselves to check out this incredible saga.
The tale resumes mere hours after the first story came to its cataclysmic conclusion. Supernatural hunters David and Dawn Craven are in for more “adults only” adventures as they once again oppose unspeakable horrors who wear the “Brand” – or mark – of Cain.
To quote from Antonio: “David is visited by the sinister Dark Santana and his former mask Horus. David’s life and his relationships are in constant turmoil as we learn more about Dawn and how she fits into the plans of the hustler Fame. We delve more into her past, her present, and her future as we meet the mysterious Jehovah.”
ADULTS ONLY ART SAMPLE: Continue reading
Filed under Halloween Season, Superheroes
CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL: CORONAVIRUS DEATHS WILL BE MUCH, MUCH, MUCH LOWER THAN PROJECTED
Balladeer’s Blog wants to remind readers about this statement from CDC Director Doctor Robert Redfield. Monday on KVOI Radio he stated that deaths from the Chinese Coronavirus will be much, much, much lower than projected.
Just try not to succumb to despair in the midst of all this.
Filed under Uncategorized
LAUGHING AT JOE BIDEN’S IDIOCY IS THE BEST MEDICINE
Something which has united many people under the current circumstances is our shared laughter at the hapless, clueless Joe Biden. Thank you to the BERNIE BROS who notified me about Biden’s latest farcical attempt to pretend he’s not senile and that he’d be capable of handling national affairs.
JOE BIDEN’S LATEST ABSURD PRONOUNCEMENT ON THE CORONAVIRUS WAS THIS:
“WE CANNOT LET THIS, WE’VE NEVER ALLOWED ANY CRISIS FROM THE CIVIL WAR STRAIGHT THROUGH TO THE PANDEMIC OF 17, ALL THE WAY AROUND, 16, WE HAVE NEVER, NEVER LET OUR DEMOCRACY SAKES SECOND FIDDLE, WAY THEY, WE CAN BOTH HAVE A DEMOCRACY AND … CORRECT THE PUBLIC HEALTH.” (video below)
Uh, yeah, Joe. Stirring words, indeed. BERNIE BROS, you are justified in your outrage over the Democrats rigging the 2020 nomination in favor of the senile blithering idiot Joe Biden instead of your candidate Bernie Sanders. #WALKAWAY, Bernie Bros, #WALKAWAY like the rest of us.
I guess Biden’s slogan will be “You can’t spell dementia without d-e-m!”
FOR THE VIDEO: Continue reading
DAYBREAK (1896): JESUS ON MARS? – ANCIENT SCI FI
DAYBREAK: A ROMANCE OF AN OLD WORLD (1896) – Written by James Cowan. Since we’re now in Easter Week what better time for a look at this work of “ancient” science fiction which features – among other things – an interplanetary visit by Jesus Christ.
This 1896 novel is set in the “future” of 1899 and introduces us to Walter and Margaret, a dreary young couple who are beginning to question their plans for marriage after having spent more time together than usual. They visited parts of Europe and are on board a steam ship bound for America as the story opens.
After reading their stilted conversations the reader may wonder how anybody can stand being around this pair but larger events interrupt their reassessment of their relationship. The moon has been drawing closer to the Earth by the day and is expected to ultimately collide with our planet.
Walter makes a reasonably witty joke about the moon wanting to be annexed by the United States while around the world the human race becomes gripped with fear over the approaching collision. At length our former satellite makes impact, scraping down mountain ranges from the Himalayas to the Andes, before coming to a rest in the Pacific Ocean.
Obviously this would not be possible but hey, it’s an 1896 book. The moon sits in the Pacific, having displaced enough water to submerge multiple islands and alter the shorelines of every continent.
Countless lives have been lost and untold damage inflicted but in the aftermath some of Earth’s survivors decide to take advantage of the moon’s new location and explore it. Continue reading
Filed under Ancient Science Fiction
FOOL KILLER THIRTY-SEVEN: JULY 1910
Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the many facets of Fool Killer lore. FOR PART ONE, INCLUDING THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT, CLICK HERE
LORE ADDITION: For the first time the Fool Killer added a hand-cranked chainsaw to his arsenal of weapons. The Fool Killer’s targets in James Larkin Pearson’s July of 1910 issue:
*** Preachers who smoked. Pearson and his version of the Fool Killer held smoking in such low regard that they felt people who indulged in it should not be trusted with ministering to people’s souls. Shooting the cigarettes, cigars and pipes out of the mouths of smoking preachers was going too far in my opinion, but what can you do?
*** Sid Beckwith of New York, who insisted that the best cure for insomnia was to buy a passenger balloon and take a trip through the skies. He said this would make an insomniac sleep like a baby after that. The clueless Beckwith also warned against spending more than FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS for such an airship. Well, okay, then.
*** Nebraskans who – incensed at the Fool Killer’s criticism of William Jennings Bryan – had taken to bashing and agitating against Pearson’s publication. The Fool Killer dubbed them the Independent Order of Self-Made Fools and proclaimed that their “double-barreled Devil-guns” would kick backward upon firing with more force than would propel their pellets forward.
*** Writer and philosopher Elbert Hubbard.
*** Ferdinand von Zeppelin, who was considering flying one of his eponymous airships to the North Pole. After the Cook debacle Larson and his Fool Killer were fed up with what they called North Pole Yarns. Continue reading
Filed under Mythology, Neglected History
MARS MEN (1976): MOVIE REVIEW
MARS MEN aka HUO XING REN (1976) – What do you get when Taiwanese filmmakers take a co-produced Thai/ Japanese kaiju movie, alter the monsters and the character names then edit in their own actors Mighty Morphin Power Rangers-style?
You get this deliriously weird sci-fi/ monster flick which combines the appeal of Godzilla, Gamera, Jet Jaguar and Ultraman with The Golden Bat and Infra-Man plus a wig or two from Fugitive Alien! Not to mention pirated Pink Floyd music! Who could resist?
Taiwan’s elusive monsterpiece Mars Men has long been the Holy Grail for all fans of kaiju and of overdubbed & re-edited movie mashups from around the world. Huo Xing Ren, as it was called during its Taiwanese run, started out in 1974 as Giant and Jumbo A, a co-production of studios from Thailand and Japan.
The “heroic” monster and giant were Yak Wat Jaeng (right) & Jumborg Ace, respectively. Yak Wat Jaeng was a fanged, green-colored stone statue from the Thai movie Tah Tien (1971).
Jumborg Ace was a Jet Jaguar/ Ultraman-ish kaiju superhero from a Japanese tv show (all 50 episodes are available for purchase). Continue reading
Filed under Bad and weird movies
TWENTY WRY QUOTES
Another of Balladeer’s Blog’s Top Twenty Lists for 2020.
“Whoever is not a misanthrope at forty can never have loved mankind.” – Nicolas Chamfort
“There is no fate that cannot be surmounted by scorn.” – Albert Camus
“Education is a state-controlled manufactory of echoes.” – Norman Douglas
“To knock a thing down, especially if it is cocked at an arrogant angle, is a deep delight of the blood.” – George Santayana
“Bureaucracy is a giant mechanism operated by pygmies.” – Honore de Balzac Continue reading
Filed under humor
Balladeer's Blog 