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.

PELE AND HI’IAKA – EPIC OF HAWAII

The Hawaiian epic myth about the fire & volcano goddess Pele and her sister Hi’iaka is a masterpiece of storytelling.

PELE

PELE

PART ONE

On the Big Island of Hawaii the fire and volcano goddess Pele was relaxing with her younger sister Hi’iaka, the goddess of pathways and wayfarers. Hi’iaka was watching two Hawaiian women performing a Hula dance dedicated to Laka, the goddess of love, beauty and fertility and the deity who had invented Hula dancing. 

Despite Hi’iaka’s excited praising of the dancing girls’ talents Pele found herself bored by the proceedings and fell asleep. Laka, enjoying the dance and the traditional post-dance offerings to her, felt disrespected by Pele’s inattention. Using her powers as the goddess of love she sent a dream to the sleeping Pela – a dream that would have far-reaching consequences and forever change the relationship between the fire goddess and her sister Hi’iaka. Continue reading

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ANOTHER SHOUTOUT TO SOS-CUBA

cuban prisoners defendersBalladeer’s Blog once again gives a shoutout to Alvarez Galloso’s SOSCuba, one of the best Cuba Libre-themed tags. Among his latest:

Cuba reaches the figure of 272 more political prisoners in just 20 days

Message from the churches of Cuba.

Brutal treatment of two protesting sisters.

And on the U.S. end let me add: Continue reading

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Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion

AUGUST 10th, 2003: FIRST MAN MARRIED IN SPACE

wedding in spaceHow has a movie NOT been made about this event yet? On August 10th of 2003 Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, stationed on board the International Space Station, was married in a long-distance ceremony via satellite hookup to Ekaterina Dmitrieva, who was physically at the Johnson Space Center in Texas.

Ekaterina was in a traditional wedding gown as she walked down the aisle to a life-sized cardboard cutout of Yuri adorned with a bow tie. In orbit, Malenchenko was wearing an identical bow tie on his space suit. A fellow ISS member served as Best Man and played the Wedding March on a keyboard. Continue reading

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BALLADEER’S BLOG’S PRE-SEASON COLLEGE FOOTBALL RANKINGS: NAIA

Obviously this is all subject to change, but as of right now the NAIA college football season is scheduled to kick off on August 28th. Here’s a look at Balladeer’s Blog’s preseason Top 20.

Lindsey_Wilson_KY*** 1. LINDSEY WILSON COLLEGE BLUE RAIDERS (Defending Champions)    ###    2. MORNINGSIDE COLLEGE MUSTANGS    ###     3. NORTHWESTERN (IA) COLLEGE RED RAIDERS    ###    4. REINHARDT UNIVERSITY EAGLES (should be the Rottweilers)    ###   

Benedictine Ravens5. BENEDICTINE COLLEGE RAVENS    ###    6. MARIAN UNIVERSITY KNIGHTS     ###     7. KANSAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY COYOTES     ###     8. KEISER UNIVERSITY SEAHAWKS     ### Continue reading

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DEMOCRATS VERSUS THE REST OF US: AUGUST 8th

repub dem otherWE NEED THIRD PARTIES! Here is the latest edition of items from the Democrats’ ongoing war against the rest of us.

*** 205,000 INELIGIBLE VOTERS FOUND ON THE 2020 WISCONSIN VOTING ROLLS. The 2020 election was as corrupt and tainted as the 1876 and year 2000 elections.

*** THE DEMOCRATS AT NIKE ADMIT TO NOT CALLING OUT CHINA’S CONCENTRATION CAMPS AND GENOCIDAL POLICIES AND SLAVE LABOR BECAUSE OF CRASS BUSINESS REASONS. The old Democrat Party is gone and it’s never coming back. Join the rest of us and #WALKAWAY from it. 

*** AND YET ANOTHER DEMOCRAT POLITICIAN ARRESTED FOR ALLEGED SEXUAL CONDUCT WITH A MINOR

*** SEPT 11th FAMILIES MAKING IT CLEAR THEY DON’T WANT BIDEN AT THE 9-11 20th ANNIVERSARY CEREMONY. AND HERE. But we all know he’ll be there anyway since Democrats thrive on being divisive and politicizing tragedies.

*** EVEN THIS DEMOCRAT JUDGE FOUND THE COURAGE TO CALL OUT BIDEN FOR HIS GROTESQUE DISASTER AT THE BORDER WITH MEXICO. Joe Biden is a disaster in every conceivable way.

*** POLL SHOWS 90% OF AMERICAN VOTERS WANT TO PREVENT A RECURRENCE OF VOTE FRAUD AND SIMILAR CHEATING IN FUTURE ELECTIONS. 74% SUPPORT VOTER I.D. (LIKE EUROPE USES). MORE. The fallout from the tainted election of 2020 continues as more and more evidence shows how fraudulent the results were.

*** AN EVEN DEEPER INVESTIGATION CONTINUES INTO WISCONSIN’S VOTE FRAUD IN THE 2020 ELECTION. Joe Biden is like George W Bush and Rutherford B Hayes in illegitimacy. 

democrat republican or awake*** ANOTHER ALLEGED DEMOCRAT “FACT CHECKER” (LMAO) EXPOSED FOR THE PARTISAN HACK THEY ARE. Media “fact checkers” are anything BUT. This particular figure works for the Democrats at the Washington Post.

*** BIDEN REGIME’S WAR ON THE WORKING CLASS CONTINUES TO DESTROY THEIR MONTHLY BUDGETS. What Biden’s cruel policies don’t accomplish outright, his staggering inflation accomplishes on the side.

DEMOCRATS AT FACEBOOK AND THE NEW YORK TIMES USE CORPORATE FASCIST TACTICS AGAINST FREEDOM ORIENTED GAB. Democrats want to eliminate Gab as a platform for dissident voices, Facebook wants to eliminate Gab since it’s an effective competitor. Continue reading

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THE WINGED MAN (1913) AND BATSOWL (1918): BRITISH HEROES

winged manTHE WINGED MAN – From Great Britain’s renowned story papers came the Winged Man. British story papers, like Dime Novels and Pulp Magazines, were text stories peppered with a few illustrations. The Wonder, an Amalgamated Press publication, debuted in 1913 and among its offerings was the tragic tale of the Winged Man, whose first story was titled Twixt Midnight and Dawn (the hero’s favorite time to dispense vigilante justice).

This figure was an interesting blend of Platinum Age heroes like the Man in the Black Cloak and the later Phantom of the Opera, the villain who had made his first appearance in Gaston Leroux’s novel a few years earlier.

masc graveyard smallerThe mysterious Winged Man was “a strange genius” whose real name was never revealed. He possessed such inventive brilliance that he created a suit complete with working wings which allowed him to fly.

The Winged Man took to the skies to deal out justice to the modern world’s villains. He operated out of a mysterious underground lair on “the bleak Yorkshire coast.” There he was served by his dwarf butler Ghat. Continue reading

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THE SIRINGO SAGA: HAPPY FRONTIERADO 2021!

western scenery“All through the year we waited” as the song lyric goes, but in this case regarding Frontierado instead of Christmas. The first Friday of every August marks this holiday devoted to the myth of the old west rather than the grinding reality. For some of us the celebration kicked off Thursday night, for others they wait until the actual day of Frontierado to hold their festivities. Enjoy yourselves today and tonight, and enjoy the leftovers on Saturday and Sunday.

SiringoCHARLIE SIRINGO – Like a real-life Harry Flashman of the American West, Charles Angelo Siringo, cowboy, bounty hunter and lawman, fought alongside or against some of the biggest names of his era. Siringo crossed paths with the likes of Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, the Wild Bunch, Tom Horn, Clarence Darrow, Kid Russell, Will Rogers, William Borah and many others.

Charlie was born February 7th, 1855 on the Matagordo Peninsula in Texas. In 1867 he began doing ranch work in whatever positions his youthful frame could handle. By April of 1871 he was working for Abel “Shanghai” Pierce as a full-fledged cowboy. Siringo went on to work on cattle drives throughout Texas, New Mexico, Kansas and Oklahoma (then called Indian Territory).

L Q Jones as Siringo

L.Q. JONES AS SIRINGO

In 1876 our hero rose to the position of trail driver and led his subordinate cowboys in herding roughly 2,500 head of Longhorn Cattle from Austin, TX along the Chisholm Trail to Dodge City, KS. Spring of 1877 found Charlie once again serving as trail driver from Austin to Dodge City.

On his trips to iconic Dodge City, Siringo had supposedly friendly encounters with the likes of Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson and witnessed an altercation between a pair of Dodge City merchants and Clay Allison, the notorious gunfighter and bullying rancher. Continue reading

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JEFFERSON SMITH: 1800s GANGSTER

The Frontierado holiday is this Friday, August 6th. As always the festive occasion is all about the myth of the old west, not the grinding reality. Here’s another seasonal post.

soapy smithJEFFERSON “SOAPY” SMITH – This figure was one of the closest things to a 20th or 21st Century gangland chief in the 19th Century. Jefferson Randolph Smith II was born on November 2nd of 1860 in Coweto County, GA. In 1876 his family moved to Round Rock, TX, where his mother died of natural causes in 1877.

Jeff was one of the Round Rock citizens who witnessed the Sam Bass Gang’s shootout with Texas Rangers when the gang arrived in town intent on robbing the Williamson County Bank. The date was July 19th, 1878 and Smith would forever after state that he had yelled “I think you got him!” as Rangers Richard Ware and George Herold shot Bass, mortally wounding him.

soapy smith hatlessShortly after that event Jeff moved to Fort Worth, TX. The story goes that Smith had begun working at confidence games to make money when he was 16 and in Fort Worth his savvy and leadership qualities let him gather around him a gang of talented and experienced crooks and con artists. The group traveled from town to town running rigged poker games plus 3-card Monte, the shell game and similar rapid-fire, uncomplicated cons and ripoffs.

Jeff was soon on his way to earning a name as a crime boss, with his gang being called the Soap Gang and Smith himself being tagged with the nickname Soapy. The soap references came from one of the gang’s favorite grifts. Continue reading

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BARACK OBAMA VOTED THE WORST PRESIDENT OF THE POST-WORLD WAR II ERA PLUS MORE …

obama killing children

ON AUGUST 4th LET’S ALWAYS REMEMBER THE MANY DEAD CHILDREN KILLED BY OBAMA’S DRONE STRIKES. AND HIS OTHER VICTIMS.

Yes, given everything that has come out about this weak, inept and crooked little man over the years this seemed like a good time for this post about when Obama was voted the worst president of the post-World War II era in a CBS/ Quinnipiac Poll. (link below) The equally repulsive George W Bush came in 2nd place right behind Obama, so that’s enjoyably accurate, too.

And, of course, many go further, labeling Obama – and titling their bestselling book – The Worst President In History. (link below) That reading goes along with an African-American writer who called Barack the Commander in Failure. (link below) And let’s not forget the well-researched book The Scandalous Presidency of Barack Obama and nearly 20 more such books. And counting. (links below) 

hit the road barackEven a reporter from the Democrat outlet The Atlantic recognized and wrote a book about the way Obama and his cronies basically used, plundered and looted the Democrat Party, paving the way for Donald Trump’s election in 2016. (link below)

We could go on, of course. There’s the Boston journalist who pointed out how Obama Was the Most Unfit President Ever. (link below) There’s also the Newsweek columnist who expertly nailed Barack’s many, many failures and more. (link below) Continue reading

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MOONBASE 3 (1973) – FORGOTTEN TELEVISION

moonbase 3MOONBASE 3 (1973) – This BBC attempt at realistic, “no aliens or monsters” science fiction is a mixed bag, but I think it deserves a much bigger audience. Among the elements in the show’s favor is the fact that only 6 fifty-minute episodes were made, so it makes viewers a little more willing to forgive the program’s faults.

Moonbase 3 is a sci-fi drama about the multinational European crew of the title lunar outpost. Other Moonbases are run by the United States, the Soviet Union, China and, oddly for the time, Brazil. The scientists, astronauts and administrative staff of the European Moonbase are fly-budgeted Davids up against superpower Goliaths.  

moonbase 3 starsCreated by Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks of Doctor Who fame, Moonbase 3 is sort of like Doomwatch crossed with The Sandbaggers. However, Moonbase 3 keeps its science even closer to reality than Doomwatch did, so it can be a bit dry. Well, okay, VERY dry, but that’s a nice antidote to non-stop explosions, ray-guns blasting and other Space Opera cliches.

moonbase 3 furtherAs for the show’s similarities to The Sandbaggers, there is bureaucratic in-fighting aplenty, unexpected deaths and an emphasis on dialogue over action. And, like both of those other programs, Moonbase 3‘s characters have to deal with perpetually tight budgets limiting the success of their missions. Continue reading

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