Balladeer’s Blog’s year-end retrospective comes to a close with this look at November’s best. Hunker down with some Iron Smoke Bourbon to help you ring in the new year.
As usual with whiskey I prefer cask strength, and the people at Iron Smoke amusingly call their cask strength bourbon “Casket Strength.”
It’s ONE-HUNDRED TWENTY PROOF and goes with any celebration.
THE THIN MAN (1934) – My review of Dashiell Hammett’s final novel, a murder mystery set between Christmas and New Year’s. Click HERE.
GULLIVAR JONES ON MARS (1905) – A work of “ancient” science fiction and a look at the controversy surrounding it. Click HERE.
LEO FONG’S BEST B-MOVIES – Several of Fong’s very flawed but enjoyable films, like Bionic Ninja. Click HERE.
DEMOCRAT GLENN GREENWALD RESIGNS OVER CENSORSHIP OF THE BIDEN CORRUPTION SCANDALS – One of the few journalists left with integrity, Greenwald revealed his censored story about Joe and Hunter Biden AND the emails from his editors wanting the story covered up in order to save Biden’s campaign. Click HERE.
EIGIL HOLST: RIVALS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (1973) – The renowned Danish detective in a mystery set in Copenhagen. Click HERE.
SIX-HUNDRED & SIXTY SIX (1972) – A combination science fiction/ post-apocalypse/ horror/ religious flick starring cult actor Joe Turkel, best known for his role as Lloyd the Bartender in The Shining. Click HERE.
CHIEF PURSER HORROCKS: RIVALS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (1973) – Chief Purser Eli Horrocks solves the theft of gold bullion on a trans-Atlantic vessel. This 1900 tale is sort of an Agatha Christie mystery BEFORE Agatha Christie. Click HERE. Continue reading
For the second year in a row America’s de facto Third Party President Donald Trump is 2020’s most admired man per the Gallup Polling organization. (link below) I will point out again that Trump has done more to help the working class and the poor OF ALL COLORS than any other president of my lifetime. 
THE NEXT MORNING, the 31 warriors who wanted to joust for the possession of Princess Angelica of Cathay donned their armor and rode together to the Fountain of the Pine. Angelica’s brother Argalia was awaiting them there. 
FIVE SCARY BUT NOT GORY HORROR FILMS – For those who like scary Halloween flicks that lack intense gore. Click 
GHOST RIDER: THE MOST HALLOWEENISH COVERS – A look at the original 1972-1983 run of the Marvel Comics horror character Ghost Rider. Click 
BLADE THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: THE EARLY YEARS – A look at the original 1973-1983 run of the Marvel Comics horror character Blade. Click 
Christmas time through Twelfth Night is the time of year that Balladeer’s Blog covers tales of Charlemagne and his Paladins. These tales are the legends, not the historical accounts of the real Emperor Charlemagne and his court. FOR MY FIRST CHAPTER ON CHARLEMAGNE’S PALADINS CLICK 
THE PRINCESS OF CATHAY – The previous installment’s reference to a tournament prompted a lot of readers to ask for a full-blown tournament story from the tales of Charlemagne. As always, I listen to you readers, so here we go. 
The woman’s black hair was adorned with jewels and her clothing was of the finest kind. She and her Paladin were permitted to approach Charlemagne’s throne and present themselves. The woman identified herself as Princess Angelica of Cathay. The man in armor was her brother, Prince Umberto. 
AMERICA: PART OF THE DUNE FRANCHISE – America’s equivalents of the Harkonnens and other Houses. Click 
SUPERHERO PANTHEON OF NOVELTY PRESS – Forgotten 1940s superheroes like the White Streak, Twister, Sub-Zero Man and the Green Sorceress. Click 
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (2018) – MERRY CHRISTMAS! Balladeer’s Blog’s eleventh annual Christmas Carol-A-Thon takes a look at this Scottish adaptation of the Dickens classic. David Izatt directed and Stuart Brennan wrote and stars as Ebenezer Scrooge. 
A DIVA’S CHRISTMAS CAROL (2000) – Balladeer’s Blog’s Eleventh Annual Christmas Carol-A-Thon continues with a look at this Vanessa Williams venture. Due to the nature of this adaptation of the Dickens classic it is often categorized as one of the “African-American versions.” Among other such Carols I have reviewed are Christmas is Comin’ Uptown with Gregory Hines and John Grin’s Christmas starring Robert Guillaume. 
LATITUDE ZERO (1969) – Long unavailable, this Japanese and American sci-fi monster tale features an underwater civilization and stars Joseph Cotten and Cesar Romero as good and evil scientists, respectively. Click 
THE FIRST TWENTY IRON MAN STORIES FROM THE 1960s – Cold War and Vietnam War-era stories featuring the armored superhero. Click 
Balladeer's Blog 