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.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS FROM SEPTEMBER 19th

Cumberlands Patriots helmet NEWNUMBER FOURTEEN ROLLS – The NAIA’s 14th ranked UNIVERSITY OF THE CUMBERLANDS PATRIOTS welcomed the WEBBER INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY WARRIORS last night. The Patriots dominated their opponents on both sides of the ball, leading the Warriors 28-0 by Halftime on their way to a 45-14 triumph.

Frostburg State BobcatsUNDER THE RADAR CLASSIC – Over in NCAA Division Two the FROSTBURG STATE BOBCATS played host to the WEST LIBERTY STATE HILLTOPPERS. The Bobcats held a 17-14 edge at the Half, following which each team added another 10 points as the Bobcats won this 27-24 thriller.

Northwest Mississippi College Rangers blueTUSSLE IN THE TOP TEN – In the NJCAA the 3rd ranked NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE RANGERS battled their guests the number 8 COPIAH-LINCOLN COLLEGE WOLVES. These familiar foes went blow for blow and score for score until the Rangers emerged with a 19-15 victory.  Continue reading

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WOI: EPIC HERO OF LIBERIA

LiberiaBalladeer’s Blog presents another neglected epic myth from around the world. In this case, Liberia’s Woi Epic of the Kpelle people.

The Woi Epic is often studied for its use of music, dance, singing and audience participation to reflect the action in the story. Think of it as a combination opera, ballet, live drama and Rocky Horror Picture Show screening.

The order of the episodes in the epic is not set in stone and a performance may include only a few of the episodes, all of them or just one. The finish of each episode is marked by the performer(s) announcing “Dried millet, wese” to which the audience repeats simply “wese.”  

ONE – Woi, a culture deity and master of ritual magic, and his wife Gelengol are the only living things that exist. After Woi impregnates his wife she eventually gives birth to human beings, chickens, goats, cows, sheep and, after all other life-forms, spiders. (Plenty of African myths feature a female deity giving birth to multiple living creatures and many feature the woman also giving birth to tools and weapons and utensils.)    

TWO – Woi notes that the demonic figure Yele-Walo has stolen one of his bulls by sneaking up on it in the form of a rattan plant. Yele-Walo took the bull with him to his hideaway “behind the sky.” Woi prepares for battle and is aided by squirrel-monkeys, tsetse flies and horse-flies. Yele-Walo also steels himself for the upcoming fight. Continue reading

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FOOL KILLER PART TWENTY-NINE: FEBRUARY 1921

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

Matthew as the Fool Killer would be perfectPART TWENTY-NINE – As always part of the fun comes from the way the Fool Killer’s opinions are a mix of today’s left-wing and right-wing attitudes. Some you’ll agree with, others you won’t but it’s always interesting. 

Here is a look at some of the Fool Killer’s targets from James L Pearson’s February of 1921 issue of The Fool-Killer.

** People who were fine with spending $23 million apiece on warships but who penny-pinched on contributions to feed starving children in Europe. Ironically given our 21st Century view of him, future president Herbert Hoover was working with the Literary Digest to raise money to send food to Europeans but came up with only $10 million – less than half their stated goal.

** Criminals who were using the military training they received in World War One to efficiently rob banks and armored cars. Continue reading

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THE ROTHERHAM REPORT: FIVE YEARS LATER

Islamophobia posterFor anyone unfamiliar with the Rotherham Report just do an on-line search for it and you can pick from countless articles. The report dealt with instances of over 1,400 young non-Muslim women being raped and groomed for further rape by Muslims in part of the U.K. Similar reports have emerged from other areas in the country. The report was first issued over 5 years ago.

Previously I wrote about the horrific specifics of the atrocities perpetrated on young women by the Muslims in the report. This time I’ll comment on the way the atrocities were enabled by U.K. bureaucrats, many of whom willfully ignored the complaints of the rape victims because the assailants were Muslim. Some of the bureaucrats have tried to excuse their actions (or rather their inaction) by plaintively whining that they “didn’t want to be accused of Islamophobia.” Continue reading

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ASK BALLADEER: WHEN WILL YOU RESUME …

mascot new look donkey and elephant headsHello again, everyone! Like FAQ’s I figured I’d address these questions I’ve been asked a lot lately. And thank you for the good wishes regarding recent family hospitalizations.

Q: Will you ever get back to examining ancient Greek comedies?  

A: Yes, I will. As regular readers know I have already done dozens and I needed to step back a little for awhile. Now I’m revved up again and will resume soon.

Q: Will you ever resume your fictional look at a Second American Civil War?

A: No. Real-world events started to exceed my fictional takes in some ways.   

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FACULTY LOUNGE FASCIST ROUNDUP: SEPTEMBER 17th

Education or indoctrination gifTime for another look at how fascist Democrats have distorted the “educational system” (LMAO) and transformed schools, colleges and universities into churches of irrational thought and political intolerance.

NORTH CAROLINA – A Union County teacher at Cuthbertson High School is being investigated for allegedly telling her students that the Vice President should be “shot in the head.” Sounds like more of that “tolerance” that Democrats are forever lecturing everyone about. For that story click HERE 

For several more of these types of stories:  Continue reading

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DOCTOR MENSANA: AUSTRALIAN SUPERHERO

One of Balladeer’s Blog’s biggest hits was my examination of Australian-made comic book heroes like Dark Nebula, Vixen, Crimson Comet, Niteside and the super-team called the Southern Squadron. Here’s another, and for my full look at Aussie super-types click HERE

Doctor Mensana

Dr Mensana in one of his two super-powered forms.

DOCTOR MENSANA 

Debut Year: 1941 

Secret Identity: None. He openly used his real name, but the public often tagged him with nicknames like “the Samson of science” or “the man of Mind Plus.”

Origin: Sporting both an MD and a PhD the good Doctor Mensana used his unrivaled genius to create pills which could make him super-strong AND endow him with telepathic powers in addition to even greater intelligence than he already possessed. 

Powers: When our hero swallowed one of his M-Plus (M+) or Mind-Plus pills his already formidable brilliance was multiplied many times over. His cranium would grow and he would also boast telepathic and psionic powers. When Dr Mensana swallowed one of his S-Plus (S+) or Strength-Plus pills he would instantly bulk up with muscles and possess incredible super-strength. Continue reading

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POLL: NINETY-FIVE PERCENT DISTRUST THE MEDIA

masc chair and bottleHere at Balladeer’s Blog my skepticism of polling during such an odd time period is well known. In fact, bizarrely enough, I’d like to see a poll regarding how many people distrust polls!

Anyway, a recent poll (link below) found 95% of the respondents were distrustful of the corporate media (and with very good reason). Some of the reasons cited were “spreading fake news”, “propaganda instead of news”, “reporting gossip” and “celebrity opinions.”

On the plus side it’s nice to see that mass media dishonesty has united the rest of us. Getting 95% of the public in any poll to agree on something is the kind of thing that only monumental dishonesty could engender. Continue reading

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL RANKINGS FROM BALLADEER’S BLOG

Per the Glitternight Index:

Hutchinson Blue DragonsNJCAA   1. HUTCHINSON COLLEGE BLUE DRAGONS    ###    2. BUTLER (KS) GRIZZLIES    ###    3. TRINITY VALLEY COLLEGE CARDINALS    ###    4. EAST MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE LIONS    ###    5. NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE RANGERS    ###   

Monroe College Mustangs helmet6. MONROE COLLEGE MUSTANGS    ###    7. LACKAWANNA COLLEGE FALCONS    ###    8. COPIAH-LINCOLN WOLFPACK    ###    9. IOWA WESTERN COLLEGE REIVERS    ###    10. CISCO COLLEGE WRANGLERS    ###    Continue reading

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THE QUEEN OF APPALACHIA (1901): ANCIENT SCI FI

Queen of AppalachiaTHE QUEEN OF APPALACHIA (1901) – Written by Joe H. Borders. This novel features Paul Thornton, a merchant in Kentucky, and his Lost World adventures. While hiking in the wilderness Paul saves a beautiful woman from drowning. The woman is, coincidentally enough, utterly identical to Paul’s girlfriend May Arnold.

The rescued woman says she is Olivet, the Queen of a subterranean land called Appalachia. Several generations earlier, Kentucky pioneers were driven into hiding in a cave to escape hostile Native Americans. The cave was part of an entire network of subterranean tunnels which extend around the world.

A large mass of electricity provides light and heat and “revolves” in time to the Earth’s revolution to approximate day and night in the underground realm called Appalachia by the pioneers. Gold and diamonds are plentiful in Appalachia. Continue reading

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