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.

ACE OF SPADES: HALLOWEEN SONG

Mascot FOUR original pics

Balladeer’s Blog

Halloween Month continues here at Balladeer’s Blog. Today I decided to take time out from my magnum opus titled Was Paul McCartney Really John Lennon? to send a musical shoutout to Motorhead’s Ace of Spades.

This is my favorite song about a gravedigger. Not even those songs in Repo! The Genetic Opera come close. But let’s face it, I think we’d all LOVE to hear Paul Sorvino and  Paris Hilton performing a duet of Ace of Spades for Lemmy’s birthday.

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THE WOLF IN THE GARDEN: WEREWOLF STORY FOR HALLOWEEN

Balladeer’s Blog’s month-long celebration of Halloween continues:

Wolf in the GardenTHE WOLF IN THE GARDEN (1931) – Written by Alfred Hoyt Bill. This neglected novel is ideal for people who go in for horror tales set long ago. In this case the 1790s.

New Dordrecht, a town in New York’s Hudson Valley, becomes the home of the fallen Count de Saint Loup, a French aristocrat fleeing the guillotine during the French Revolution. Anyone who remembers that “loup” is French for wolf will immediately know that this figure will be our title werewolf. (Though his deadly hound DeRetz is a red herring at first.)  

The Count transferred much of his wealth before fleeing his homeland so he is initially welcomed as a prominent new citizen in New Dordrecht. Unfortunately Count de Saint Loup soon displays the overbearing, snobbish airs that drove the French underclasses to overthrow the aristocrats in the first place.

People who get on the wrong side of the former “aristo” start to turn up dead after getting attacked by a monstrous wolf-like creature. Continue reading

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DEMOCRATS SAY TRUMP SHOULD BE IMPEACHED FOR INVESTIGATING BIDEN FAMILY CORRUPTION

Trump is SerpicoDemocrats do not understand the meaning of the word “debunked.” The Biden scandals are not “debunked” just because Joe and Hunter Biden have given their side of the story. An excuse from accused criminals does not “debunk” the accusations. On top of which Joe and Hunter keep getting caught in lies, with Hunter even contradicting his father’s claim that they never talked about Hunter’s influence-peddling scam in the Ukraine.

The Hill’s John Solomon has uploaded documents regarding the Ukraine/ Biden Crime Family investigations and has found plenty of discrepancies that would tend to disprove Quid Pro Joe and his Underboss Hunter’s version of events.

For the link, Continue reading

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL RANKINGS FROM BALLADEER’S BLOG

Per the Glitternight Index:

Valdosta_StNCAA Division Two:    1. VALDOSTA STATE BLAZERS    ###    2. MINNESOTA STATE MAVERICKS    ###    3. TARLETON STATE TEXANS    ###    4. NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE BEARCATS    ###    5. OUACHITA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY TIGERS    ###    

Grand Valley State6. GRAND VALLEY STATE LAKERS    ###    7. FERRIS STATE BULLDOGS    ###    8. UNIVERSITY OF INDIANAPOLIS GREYHOUNDS    ###    9. COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES OREDIGGERS    ###    10. UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL MISSOURI MULES    ###    Continue reading

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BRIGHTBURN(2019): HALLOWEEN MONTH BEGINS!

Balladeer’s Blog’s month-long celebration of Halloween will as usual feature reviews of horror stories and movies sprinkled in with my usual topics. This year I’m starting off with Brightburn.

BrightburnBRIGHTBURN (2019) – This mid-level budget movie has been criminally underrated in my opinion. Its horror twist on the usual superhero story (especially Superman) is well-handled and should have been just the thing audiences flocked to for a change of pace from the flood of superhero movies in recent years.

The film skillfully combines horror with science fiction and Jackson A Dunn as the alien child Brandon makes for the creepiest kid this side of Damien in The Omen. The kills in Brightburn are fairly gory but only in one instance is it dwelt upon, and the scene definitely earns that emphasis. 

Right up front I’ll mention that you do have to make with a BIG suspension of disbelief. The movie asks viewers to accept the premise that in this age of unending documentation and requirements for child vaccinations that a childless couple could successfully do a fake adoption of a baby from outer space whose spaceship crashed near their farmhouse.  

At any rate the couple, the Breyers, live in a remote small-town in Kansas, so if you really have to, you can assume that has helped them carry out their deception. That town is named Brightburn, which provides the film with its title. Continue reading

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FOOL KILLER PART THIRTY: MARCH OF 1921

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

Fool Killer 1920sAs always part of the fun comes from the way the Fool Killer – in this case James Larkin Pearson’s version in his monthly publication – took aim at politicians from both parties and at other “fools” of the day. March of 1921’s targets:

** Newly-elected Republican President Warren G Harding, who was inaugurated this month. (The change to January inaugurations did not happen until Franklin Roosevelt) Pearson and his Fool Killer referred to Harding as “a steer that the (political) bosses have broke to faithfully pull Big Business’ yoke.”

** Outgoing Democrat President Woodrow Wilson, whom they referred to as a “mule who never did nothing but act like a fool.”

** Big Businesses from around the world. The Fool Killer blamed them for large-scale unemployment and starvation.

** The way boxers could earn $100,000.00 for a prize fight but Nobel Prize winners only got (back then) $40,000.00

** The series of Russian generals that the Allies supported as the leaders of the “official” Russian government against Lenin and the Bolsheviks. (The White – as in Tsarist – Russians against the Red – as in Communist – Russians) Four generals had been so designated and all four in a row soon went down to defeat as the Russian Civil War (1919-1922) still raged. (Sadly, Pearson’s anti-plutocrat sympathies made him support the Bolsheviks for a time.)  Continue reading

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Filed under Mythology, Neglected History

MARCH FOR TRUMP SCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER 17th

March for TrumpLike John F Kennedy long ago, de facto Third Party President Donald Trump is clashing with the cesspool of corruption that masquerades as the United States government. Now we’re in the middle of another anti-Trump circus presented by America’s loathsome intelligence agencies and career criminals who occupy elected office.

Trump in the wayA March For Trump is scheduled for October 17th and yours truly will be there just like I was at the #WALKAWAY March on Washington last year. Trump is not really a Republican and not really a Democrat, and is not a career politician, which is why his boat-rocking has made him a target of our Banana Republic swamp in Washington D.C.

FOR DETAILS ON THE #MARCHFORTRUMP click HERE 

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS FROM SEPTEMBER 28th

HEADLINES

Kentucky_St_OLD1DIVISION TWO OVER DIVISION ONE – The KENTUCKY STATE THOROBREDS from NCAA Division 2 traveled to face Division 1’s JACKSON STATE TIGERS. The Thorobreds trailed the Tigers 10-6 in the 1st Quarter before doubling up on them 20-10 come Halftime. The 3rd Quarter ended with Kentucky State up 33-10 but the Thorobreds had to hold on tight in the 4th for a 33-25 Upset triumph. 

Charleston Golden Eagles helmet NEWDIVISION TWO OVER DIVISION ONE, THE STUNNING SEQUEL THEY SAID COULDN’T BE MADE – In another D2 over D1 Upset D2’s UNIVERSITY OF CHARLESTON (WV) GOLDEN EAGLES visited D1’s VALPARAISO UNIVERSITY CRUSADERS. A 7-7 1st Quarter tie turned into a 13-10 Crusaders lead at the Half. The Golden Eagles shut out Valparaiso from there and won the game 19-13.

ASA Avengers white helmetNINETY-EIGHT – Meanwhile, in the NJCAA, the ASA COLLEGE (NY) AVENGERS took it on the road against the NEW JERSEY WARRIORS. The Avengers proceeded to fold, spindle and mutilate the Warriors, outclassing them on both sides of the ball. In the end ASA College won it NINETY-EIGHT to NINE! Continue reading

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JOE BIDEN BRAGGING ABOUT BLACKMAILING THE UKRAINE TO PROTECT HIS SON’S INFLUENCE PEDDLING SCAM

Joe Biden bragging about his criminal shakedown using the explicit threat of withholding U.S. funds if the prosecutor investigating his corrupt son Hunter Biden wasn’t fired. At least Joe’s dentures didn’t fall out like they did during that recent debate. 

Joe Biden brags about blackmailing the Ukraine

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QUICK TAKES ON MOVIES: SOLO, THE LAST JEDI AND OTHERS

masc graveyard newI have been getting a lot of readers asking me to review some of the more recent releases from major studios. Balladeer’s Blog regulars know that I tend to focus on incredibly obscure items or hilariously bad movies from decades ago.

Since a lot has already been written about the following several films I won’t bother with one of my in-depth looks. These will be more general takes on the movies.

SoloSOLO: A STAR WARS STORY – Thankfully someone FINALLY addressed the elephant in the room of the Star Wars universe: the origin of Han Solo’s last name.

That’s right, in a cinematic setting which features multiple characters sporting the unusual surname Skywalker, Disney decided that the world needed a back-story for the last name “Solo.” 

I sure as hell didn’t PAY to see this movie so you can insert your own joke about “not even getting my money’s worth” here. For the most part this was a waste of time because it made Han Solo a bit too goody-goody. Continue reading

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