Author Archives: balladeer

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About balladeer

I am passionately interested in college sports, ancient Greek comedies, bad/weird movies, mythology, the American Revolution, Puck Magazine, World War I, U.S. Presidential history, silent movies, the English Civil War, epic, lyric and comic poetry, U.S. Supreme Court history, the Revolutions of 1848, the Philippine War and old pulp heroes like The Moon Man, Pilot G8, Silver John and The Rio Kid.

FOOL KILLER 63: APRIL 1913

Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the many facets of Fool Killer lore. FOR PART ONE, INCLUDING THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT IN THE 1850s, CLICK HERE 

1913 man63. Some of the Fool Killer’s targets in the April of 1913 edition of James Larkin Pearson’s Fool-Killer:

*** Historians who sensationalized war and newspaper publishers who sensationalized crime. 

*** The late tycoon J.P. Morgan, who had recently passed away. Pearson and his Fool-Killer tried being a bit respectful of the dead but ultimately hurled snark, observing “… the times and conditions that produced him will produce others like him, and the heel of the oppressor will continue to grind the necks of the poor.” 

              fool killer miniThose were the days when not even the elected officials owned by wealthy families like the Morgans accumulated anywhere near as much money as those who owned them. Think of today’s abusive and repulsive families like the Bidens, Cheneys, Pelosis, Bushes, Clintons, Romneys and so many others from both political parties who have COMBINED obscene wealth with political influence to be sold. They plunder the public treasury while making shady money on the side and breaking laws that the rest of us are expected to abide by.

sunglasses 1913*** Forever chaotic Mexico. The Revolution of 1910 led to the final downfall of decades-long dictator Porfirio Diaz in 1911. Diaz’s reform replacement, Francisco Madero, was overthrown and arrested by Victoriano Huerta, who had just had Madero killed in 1913. The Fool-Killer bitingly observed “They sure don’t waste any time in Mexico deliberating over what to do with their ex-presidents.” Continue reading

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Filed under Mythology

FACULTY LOUNGE FASCIST ROUNDUP: JULY 27th

educa smallerOnce again it’s time for another Faculty Lounge Fascist Roundup! It’s no secret that privileged white Democrats aka “baizuos” have distorted the educational system into a partisan “church” of irrational thought and ugly intolerance.

STAGGERING NUMBER OF TEACHERS ARRESTED FOR SEX CRIMES SO FAR THIS YEAR … And it’s not even over yet.

HEROIC DISSIDENT TEACHER WHO FOUGHT DEMOCRAT HATEMONGERING AT THEIR SCHOOL. And they endured the wrath of the intolerant fascists they exposed.

A LOOK AT HOW DEMOCRAT TEACHERS IMPOSE THEIR PREJUDICES ON THEIR STUDENTS AND COLLEAGUES. They’re not Liberals, they’re illiberal. They’re not Progressives, they’re regressive.

voltaire quote on educationBIDEN REGIME ENCOURAGING TEACHERS TO DISCUSS THEIR SEX LIVES WITH CHILDREN. And this at a time when Democrat teachers have already replaced Catholic priests when it comes to being synonymous with child molestation and grooming. Democrats, can you please leave children alone?

ANOTHER ARTICLE ABOUT HOW “ACADEMIA” (LMAO) IS INTOLERANT AND STIFLING.

dr carol swainDR. CAROL SWAIN COURAGEOUSLY TAKES ON INTOLERANCE ON AMERICAN CAMPUSES.  

UCLA PROFESSOR CALLS OUT THEIR COLLEAGUES FOR THEIR WILLING OBEDIENCE TO “THE PARTY.” Continue reading

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Filed under Education or Indoctrination, opinion

PONY EXPRESS: THE MAN CALLED BOSTON

Balladeer’s Blog takes another look at a Pony Express Rider for a seasonal post now that the Frontierado Holiday is fast approaching. (It falls on August 5th this year.) Frontierado is about the myth of the old west, not the grinding reality.

another pony express pictureBOSTON – Warren Fremont Upson, better known by his one-word nickname, was one of the Pony Express Riders aka Expressmen to ride with the service for its entire existence from April 3rd, 1860 to October 26th, 1861. His real name was so seldom used in the old west that in some sources on Pony Express history he was listed only as “Boston.”

Warren was born in 1841 in Marion, AL and moved with his family to Sacramento, CA in 1851 when his father Lauren Upson became the editor of the Sacramento Union newspaper. Though the elder Upson spent his career in the publishing field, Warren was too rambunctious and preferred the great outdoors.

Already experienced at hunting and camping, W.F. Upson learned polished horsemanship skills from the local vaqueros. Legend has it that these Sacramento vaqueros nicknamed him “Boston” because it was the eastern city they were most familiar with, and they had not yet met anyone else who had Warren’s southeastern accent. So, Boston it was, despite the geographical inaccuracy.

pony changeOur hero spent most of his time riding and exploring in the Sierra Nevadas, hunting and cooking his own food and acquiring a familiarity with the mountain range’s often-treacherous curves and turns and sudden drops. That familiarity would pay dividends later in life when Boston was assigned to the most geographically dangerous route of the Pony Express. 

In February of 1860, Upson responded to one of the Express’ famous job advertisements asking for unattached men who would not leave behind a wife and children if they were killed while carrying out their duties. (“Orphans Preferred” was just one of the variations on that theme.)

Not only was Boston hired, but the young man’s already celebrated mountain man skills and marksmanship got him the perilous route from Sportsman’s Hall in what is now Pollock Pines, CA to Genoa, UT and/ or Friday’s Station near Lake Tahoe. Continue reading

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Filed under FRONTIERADO, Neglected History

DEMOCRATS VS THE REST OF US: JULY 25th

biden we cant afford

Whether you’re an Independent Voter like me, or affiliated with a Third Party or if you’re a Republican or even apolitical, the Democrats see you as the enemy. 

DEMOCRATS NOW TRYING TO STAB THEIR POLITICAL OPPONENTS AT PUBLIC SPEAKING EVENTS AND THEIR MEDIA OUTLETS TURN A BLIND EYE. More HERE. The fact that I used to be a Democrat is the biggest regret of my life.

BIDEN REGIME CALLED OUT BY A REPORTER AS “THE LEAST TRANSPARENT IN FIFTY YEARS.”

don't care tweetbiden ordered through the mailCAREER CRIMINAL JOE BIDEN’S UNDERBOSS HUNTER BIDEN ONCE AGAIN CALLED OUT AS THE CENTRAL POINT OF THE BIDEN CRIME FAMILY. It’s life in Biden’s corporate fascist kleptocracy.

“GAYS AGAINST GROOMERS” GROUP FORMED TO HELP FIGHT DEMOCRAT TEACHERS WHO GROOM CHILDREN AND OTHER STUDENTS. Their next step should be to #WALKAWAY from the Democrat Party. 

JOE BIDEN’S WIFE JILL RIDICULED BY COURAGEOUS DISSIDENTS SHOUTING THAT SHE OWES THEM GAS MONEY AND THAT HER HUSBAND IS THE WORST PERSON EVER TO SIT IN THE OVAL OFFICE. More HERE. It’s great to see people defy the Biden Regime. Continue reading

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Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion

FRONTIERADO POKER

With the Frontierado Holiday coming up on August 5th, how about a reminder of the rules of Frontierado Poker? 

“You’re not goin’ nowhere, ya bottom-dealin’ Hombre,” the gambler-gunfighter exclaimed, “We’ve got us a few apparent paradoxes and their effect upon contemporary religious thought to discuss!”

Here’s a refresher on the rules for Frontierado Poker, the game that is strictly my own invention, to be played on Frontierado (the first Friday of every August).

1. Remove all face cards from the deck. The game is played with a 40-card deck.

2. Every player antes up. (I’m not advocating gambling. You can decide for yourselves what you play for.)

3. Each player is dealt 4 cards (the deal rotates like in many conventional poker games). Continue reading

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CONAN THE BARBARIAN: QUEEN OF THE BLACK COAST AND AMRA

queen of the black coast smallerWell, after last week’s Curse of the Conjurer some of you wanted more of the 1970s Marvel Comics adaptations of Conan stories and some of you REALLY didn’t. As a compromise I’ll do just one more before moving on to another topic next Saturday.

conan 58CONAN THE BARBARIAN Vol 1 #58 (January 1976)

Title: Queen of the Black Coast

Villains: The Black Corsairs

NOTE: Yes, with this issue Marvel finally got around to adapting one of Robert E. Howard’s greatest Conan stories. At last, Belit (bay-LEET), the pirate queen and the great love of Conan’s life, was introduced in this tale.

           Marvel fairly faithfully adapted the opening of the story in this issue, then, rather than just refer to the years that Conan and Belit sailed the seas together, their writers did dozens of stories depicting their adventures together. All of that culminated with Conan the Barbarian issue #100 when Marvel adapted the tragic conclusion of Queen of the Black Coast, a small part of which was ripped off in the 1982 Conan movie.

        queen of the black coastThis blog post will review the first meeting of Conan and Belit, then Marvel’s depiction of their first shared adventure (featuring an imaginative “fan theory” regarding why Conan was also called Amra) and finally, the sorrowful finale of the longest romance of our Cimmerian’s life.

Synopsis: Just like the original story Queen of the Black Coast from 1934, Marvel’s adaptation opens up with Conan being pursued by the authorities through the streets of the port city of Messantia, the capital of Argos. Conan’s latest clash with the law saw him kill a powerful man, leading to his current plight. Continue reading

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Filed under Pulp Heroes, Superheroes

MURDERCYCLE (1999)

murdercycle posMURDERCYCLE (1999) – Okay, I want a Ghost Rider vs Murdercycle film! ESPECIALLY with Nicolas Cage as Ghost Rider. Anyway, despite the title, this movie is a nice throwback to the days before so many low-budget filmmakers were trying to be intentionally over-the-top and campy with their productions and titles in hopes of garnering sales from a reputation for being so-bad-it’s-good.

Flicks like Suburban Sasquatch, Rubber, Lycan Colony and the Birdemic sequels take some of the joy out of bad movies in my opinion with their calculated awfulness. I prefer to soak in films that were trying to be straightforward but whose creative teams lacked the budget or the talent to fulfill the production’s potential.

Murdercycle was at least played straight without those constant winks and nods from the cast like we get in so many would-be Psychotronic movies today. The only cutesy in-joke comes from the names of several characters and it’s never acknowledged by the dialogue (see below).

the murdercycleLet’s take this from the top – an object from space lands near a Top Secret government facility concealed within a seeming shack in the middle of nowhere. It’s not a meteor but an alien weapon and when a man on a dirt bike draws near the fallen object he falls victim to its jack-in-the-box/ face-hugger tech.

In a bit of business that put me in mind of the 1980s Bruce Campbell movie Moon Trap, the alien device fuses with the nameless biker AND his motorcycle. The result is a deadly biomechanical entity that is part humanoid, part motorcycle and part alien Terminator. We have our Murdercycle!         Continue reading

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Filed under Bad and weird movies

DUTCH HENRY: NEGLECTED GUNSLINGER

This year the Frontierado Holiday falls on August 5th. Here is another seasonal post and, as always, Frontierado is about the myth of the old west, not the grinding reality.

dutch henryDUTCH HENRY – Henry Borne, spelled Bourne in some sources and Born in others, was born on July 2nd, 1849 in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. His parents were fresh from Germany and the old “Deutsch-Dutch” confusion on the part of non-German speakers led to Borne’s eventual nickname Dutch Henry.

The family moved to Montague, Michigan where Henry worked as a lumberjack in his teens. Around 1866 the young man enlisted in the 7th Cavalry but had left the army by 1868. Later that year Dutch Henry was arrested for stealing 20 government mules at Fort Smith, Arkansas.

After serving just 3 months of his prison term the resourceful Henry escaped and in 1869 was in Kansas, keeping “off the grid” as it were as a buffalo hunter for years. During lean times Borne would work as a freighter in Kansas and Colorado.

quanah parkerCome 1874 and Dutch Henry was living on the Texas Panhandle. He was on hand at the storied Adobe Walls store called Myers & Leonard’s when the Second Battle of Adobe Walls began on the morning of June 27th. A combined force of several hundred Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche and Kiowa warriors attacked, led by Comanche Chief Quanah Parker (at right). Continue reading

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NEWS ROUNDUP: JULY 20th

biden titanic

Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at some recent news stories.

IN JULY OF 2021 JOE BIDEN CLAIMED “NO SERIOUS ECONOMIST IS PREDICTING HIGH INFLATION.” The working class and the poor are paying the price for Biden’s inflation thanks to his and his “experts'” monumentally bad judgment.

DEMOCRAT MEDIA OUTLETS HELP DEMOCRATS ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ AND ILHAN OMAR FAKE THEIR PROPAGANDA PRETENDING THEY WERE HANDCUFFED AT DEMONSTRATION IN WHICH SEVENTEEN MEMBERS OF CONGRESS WERE ARRESTED. More HERE. And the media wonder why people are so aware of their pro-Democrat or pro-Republican biases.

biden off bike“BRANDON FALLS.” COURAGEOUS POLITICAL DISSIDENTS MOCK THE FASCIST BIDEN REGIME BY MAKING A TOURIST DESTINATION OF THE PLACE WHERE THE UNFIT MAN FELL WHILE ON HIS BIKE. Hilarious! Ugly political trash like Joe Biden can’t stand being ridiculed.

MORE COURTS RULING THAT CERTAIN STATES VIOLATED THEIR OWN ELECTION LAWS IN THE FOREVER TAINTED 2020 ELECTION. Scrutiny of that most corrupt election since 1876 and 2000 must continue, to try preventing repeated abuses.

biden frowningCAREER CRIMINAL JOE BIDEN GREETED IN MA WITH CHANTS OF “LET’S GO BRANDON.” Heroic American dissidents strike again. 

THE DEMOCRATS OF SOCIAL MEDIA CONTINUE THEIR PLANS TO SILENCE CRITICISM OF THEIR POLITICAL PARTY CLOSE TO ELECTION DAY. It will be like the way they buried the proven TRUE reports about the Hunter Biden/ Joe Biden scandals in 2020.  Continue reading

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Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion

THE SICKLE OF FIRE (1896): ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION

masc graveyard smallerTHE SICKLE OF FIRE (1896) – Written by Charles Kelsey Gaines, an American author who set this particular short story in British Columbia. The main characters are our narrator and a scientist named O.D. McKazy.

Hydropyrogen, a newly discovered element, is theorized to be a lost element that was used by the ancient Greeks for their never-recreated Liquid Fire. The element is the lightest element known (in this fictional context). Hydropyrogen is derived by burning a certain seaweed under an electric current.

When put under pressure and extreme cold, the element solidifies into sharp, slender crystals colored red. Those crystals can be stored in glass containers but if they come into contact with water they burst into flame. Continue reading

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