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.

FACULTY LOUNGE FASCIST ROUNDUP: MAY 21st

Education indoctrination conveyor beltIt’s the time of year for graduation ceremonies and commencement addresses, two more formerly pleasant and reasonably nonpartisan milestones in life that have now been transformed by Democrat intolerance into ugly partisan exercises.

ONLY speakers who are “acceptable” to the most rabid, frothing at the mouth Democrat faculty members may speak to the graduates, otherwise those perpetual children rally their students to “protest” the speaker then hide behind their students to pretend it’s for THEIR sake that the speakers are not welcome.

Even worse, thanks to the Democrats at colleges and universities SEGREGATION is back and oh so very “woke.” More and more institutions are holding separate, “black only” graduation ceremonies thanks to “critical race theory” aka “bigotry with a self-constructed halo” and similar fascist notions considered fashionable by the Democrat faculty and administrators. CLICK HERE

democrats hate free speechAND DON’T WASTE MY TIME TELLING ME IT’S UNDER ONE HUNDRED DOING IT NOW. As we have seen there is NO independent thought among the Democrats who run these churches of intolerance and irrational thought. This will spread like all the other political bigotry pushed by Democrats. ALL of the fascism now imposed upon “educational” institutions by Democrats started out being dismissed as “limited to a hundred or so far-left colleges and universities.” And look where it has led.  

MORE:  Continue reading

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Filed under Education or Indoctrination, LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion

FOOL KILLER: PART TWENTY – A NEW FOOL KILLER LETTER

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 garbPART TWENTY: I need to interrupt my look at the 1910-1917 and 1919-1922 Fool Killer items for this time around. In a surprising development Balladeer’s Blog was contacted by THE actual Fool Killer. Using Jimmy Neutron-level science I determined that this correspondent was indeed the actual supernatural figure who had been at large in America since the 1830s.

After some introductory email exchanges the Fool Killer confirmed for me that Jesse Holmes was not his real name but he often used it as his alias going back to Charles Napoleon Bonaparte Evans’ original publication of The Fool Killer Letters from roughly 1850 to around 1880.

The roaming vigilante stated that since there was absolutely nothing that I or any other mortals could do to stop him from slaying whenever and wherever he pleased he was happy to answer assorted questions for me. He did so in the following email:

Fool Killer condensedComing to you as I wander in search of fools to kill, as usual a murder of crows following in my wake to feast upon the ample corpses I leave behind me in my travels.

Eddie, or Mr Wozniak or Balladeer or however you prefer to be addressed, I noticed from your queries that you have that modern-day obsession with wanting definitive answers. I’m not able to provide them regarding my exact nature nor would I if I WAS able.

Your tracing of my origins to the Tennessee Hills of the 1830s was part of the reason I contacted you. I figured your perseverance and your perceptive comments about the Hill Portughee or Melungeons importing tales of Longstaff from Portugal showed you deserved to be my new correspondent. You’re no Charles Evans or James L Pearson but I’ve been a mighty long time without a confidant so you’ll do.

My birth around 1830 was roughly as recounted in Mountain Legends. I can correct the record on one particular item, though. My Daddy, whatever he really was, was not the Devil. Not even I could have overcome Satan himself like I did and driven him from the Tennessee Hills. He may have been “A” devil or demon or maybe something from another world. Maybe he was just a relic from Earth’s distant past or some unknown thing that walked up from the very bottom of the ocean.

Whatever he was he wasn’t human, that’s for certain, but he sure had a taste for the ladies of the mountains. Whenever any of the Hill Portughee or folks like them needed some of my Daddy’s otherworldly metalworking or medicinal cures or any other products of his arcane arts and sciences the men and the uncomely women always had better come across with some Melungeon gold to pay for it. Continue reading

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Filed under Mythology, Neglected History, opinion

STRANGE ORIGINS OF YOUR FAVORITE BOARD GAMES

MonopolyThey are responsible for bringing families together, rescuing Thanksgiving and Christmas get-togethers and making their creators millions or in some cases nothing at all. No, we’re not talking about Resident Evil movies (although they have rescued many a boring family event). We’re talking about those board games that you and your siblings squabbled over for hours on end. But did you know that not all of them were born in a gaming company meeting room? Here are some of the strange but true origins of some of the world’s most popular board games. You’ll never look at Snakes and Ladders the same again! Continue reading

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Filed under Neglected History

NJCAA COLLEGE BASEBALL DISTRICT CHAMPIONS

More tickets punched for the NJCAA World Series

NJCAA DIVISION ONE

Walters State SenatorsEAST CENTRAL DISTRICT: CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The storied WALTERS STATE SENATORS faced the GORDON STATE HIGHLANDERS in this District’s title tilt. A 2-1 Highlanders edge in the 1st Inning became a 2-2 tie in the 2nd.

The Senators added additional Runs in the 4th, 5th and 6th Innings on their way to a 5-2 triumph. Walters State Pitcher Blake Petty threw for the win. * THE SENATORS ARE CHAMPIONS OF THE EAST CENTRAL DISTRICT

Central Arizona College Vaqueros NEWWESTERN DISTRICT: CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – In this matchup the CENTRAL ARIZONA COLLEGE VAQUEROS did battle with the COLLEGE OF SOUTHERN NEVADA COYOTES. In the 1st Inning the Vaqueros shot out to a 7-0 lead.

By the 4th Inning Central Arizona College extended that to an unbelievable 16-2 advantage. The Coyotes’ attempted rally fell far short as the Vaqueros won it 16-7 for Pitcher Avery Jones. * THE VAQUEROS ARE CHAMPIONS OF THE WESTERN DISTRICT *

NJCAA DIVISION TWO

Monroe Rochester College TribunesEAST DISTRICT: CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The MONROE (Rochester) COLLEGE TRIBUNES took the diamond against the ULSTER COUNTY COLLEGE SENATORS. Neither team scored in the first 3 Innings of this Pitcher’s Duel.

In the 4th Inning the Tribunes went up 1-0 then made it a 2-0 game in the 7th. Four more Runs in the top of the 9th Inning let Monroe at Rochester advance to the World Series with a 6-0 shutout. Matt Petrossi got the Win. * THE TRIBUNES ARE CHAMPIONS OF THE EAST DISTRICT * Continue reading

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ANAMIKA SINGH THANKS PRESIDENT TRUMP

Anamika Singh thanking TrumpAt the 38th Annual National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service on Capitol Hill, President Trump was thanked and praised by law enforcement personnel and their loved ones for his support of their profession. Among those giving de facto Third Party President Trump thanks was Anamika Singh, widow of Ronil Singh who was shot and killed by an illegal immigrant (and his “Sanctuary City” Democrat accomplices before the fact.)

President Trump called the Singh family to the stage, including his parents, his brother, and his widow Anamika with their baby daughter.

“I actually want to thank you personally,” Anamika said, “you’re the only one that actually reached out and gave your condolences to the family (NOTE FROM BALLADEER: And that says all you need to know about American career politicians), and it actually means a lot to all of our law enforcement families that are here for the sacrifice my husband and his brothers and sisters have given. Every family sitting out here wants justice for what happened to their loved ones.”

Ronil Singh family

EVERYTHING DEMOCRATS HATE

Ronil’s brother Reggie Singh also took the opportunity to thank Trump.

“His team at the White House has reached out to us multiple times … this man is amazing and my family supports him,” he said.

Meanwhile, Democrats have adopted the habit of publicly calling police “The Blue Klux Klan” and pretending that it’s racist to say “Blue Lives Matter.” Continue reading

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Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion

YELLOWHAIR AND THE FORTRESS OF GOLD (1984)

Yellowhair and the Fortress of GoldYELLOWHAIR AND THE FORTRESS OF GOLD (1984) – Reviewers need to lighten up about this movie. Especially over at IMDb. If those reviewers actually think this film deserves a low rating of 4.2 they’re being silly. I eat, sleep and breathe bad movies and I settled in to finally watch this supposed bomb fully expecting something hilariously awful. Nope. It’s no masterpiece but it’s a fairly good movie with a butt-kicking female lead. 

Actually, Yellowhair and the Fortress of Gold is better than 1980s schlock like the Allan Quatermain flicks or many Chuck Norris films. The production values are above many other Eurowesterns, which is what this really is, despite its Raiders of the Lost Ark pretensions. They’re also above many, many Grade Z action movies of the decade.

Yellowhair and the Fortress of Gold 2In my opinion the admittedly dopey opening seems to prejudice too many reviewers, who harden into hatred before the movie properly gets underway. The success of the first Indiana Jones movie a few years earlier prompted many studios to try touting all their new action releases as being “like Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

To capture that same old-fashioned cinema/ Republic Serial feel, director Matt Cimber presents the opening moments of Yellowhair and the Fortress of Gold as a “meta” trip to a movie theater, complete with excited, squeeing children. To pile on the corn even more, there’s a melodramatic voice-over setting the scene by depicting this movie as if it’s the latest chapter of the serialized adventures of Yellowhair (Laurene Landon), our half-breed Indian heroine, and her platonic friend the Pecos Kid (Ken Roberson). 

Pecos KidNOTE: Yes, that makes for a cringingly lame opening sequence but let’s face it, it’s only slightly more awkward than if Cimber had relied on setting the scene with an opening scroll like Star Wars and its sequels had revived years earlier and which other movies had been copying ever since. Anyway, you can tell some reviewers don’t bother watching beyond that opening sequence since their reviews bash the whole movie as if it’s like that. Actually, the voiceover disappears and the story proceeds like in any other film after that ill-advised opening dose of nostalgia.  Continue reading

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Filed under Bad and weird movies, FRONTIERADO, Spaghetti Westerns

COLLEGE BASEBALL: NCAA D3 REGIONALS

NCAA DIVISION THREE

Denison University Big RedADRIAN, MI REGION, DAY ONE: The top seeds – the DENISON UNIVERSITY BIG RED – took on the 4th seeded LA ROCHE COLLEGE REDHAWKS and shut them out 4-0.    ###     And the 2nd seeded HEIDELBERG UNIVERSITY STUDENT PRINCES won a 4-3 game for the ages over the 3 seeds – the ADRIAN COLLEGE BULLDOGS.

Cortland State Red Dragons logoCORTLAND, NY REGION, DAY ONE: The top seeded CORTLAND STATE RED DRAGONS did battle with the 4 seeds – the ALVERNIA UNIVERSITY GOLDEN WOLVES – and defeated them 7-3.    ###     And the 3 seeds – the TUFTS UNIVERSITY JUMBOS – folded, spindled and mutilated the 2nd seeded PENN STATE AT HARRISBURG LIONS by a final count of THIRTEEN to FIVE.   

Susquehanna University River Hawks logoBALTIMORE, MD REGION, DAY ONE: The 4 seeds – the SUSQUEHANNA UNIVERSITY RIVER HAWKS – toppled the top seeded COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY LIONS in a 5-4 Instant Classic of an Upset.    ###     And the 2nd seeded JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY BLUE JAYS downed the 3 seeds – the FARMINGDALE STATE RAMS – in a 6-2 affair. Continue reading

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FOOL KILLER: PART NINETEEN – OCTOBER OF 1919

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 on cowcatcherPART NINETEEN: James Larkin Pearson, creator of this new Fool Killer, featured a complaint that I can relate to, since I go through the same thing here at Balladeer’s Blog – “Democrats write and ask me to lambaste the Republicans and Republicans write and suggest that I cuss out the Democrats. All right, boys, I am going to comply with both requests, and then you will both be mad.” 

That also captures the position of Charles Napoleon Bonaparte Evans of the Milton Chronicle when he began the Fool Killer Letters around 1850. Evans and his Fool Killer (Jesse Holmes) were Whigs who bashed both the Democrats and the Republicans. After the Civil War, Evans and his Fool Killer bashed both the Democrats of the Ku Klux Klan and the Republican Carpetbaggers. 

Coincidentally, James L Pearson and his Fool Killer observed that (just like today) the upheavals wracking the world of 1919 were proceeding from the bottom UP, so the “Silk Hat Brigade” at the top of the power and money structure (think of today’s Corporate Globalists) were the people least capable of understanding the emerging changes.

The Fool Killer’s targets in this October, 1919 edition: 

*** Sleazy, money-hungry Preachers were taken to the woodshed yet again this time around. The Fool Killer loved preying on them because of their hypocrisy and corruption. And remember, this was long before Sinclair Lewis’ novel Elmer Gantry presented the definitive portrait of the type of Preachers bashed by Pearson. 

            The Fool Killer denied that it was just fear of him which was causing the shortage of young men willing to go into preaching, a shortage bemoaned by churches in 1919. The supernatural vigilante claimed it was also caused by talented men being driven away by the overall corruption in religion at the time.

Arthur Conan Doyle*** Equally sleazy, money-hungry “spiritualists” – nicknamed “Boogers” in the slang of the time. Arthur Conan Doyle was still alive in 1919 and, as usual, that otherwise rational man willingly served as a public cheerleader for those con artists who claimed to be able to contact one’s dead loved ones.

            The Fool Killer came down hard on them and denounced Doyle as a fool, but a fool who had the Atlantic Ocean keeping him safe from our vigilante’s wrath.

*** Politicians who made a big production out of helping royal and wealthy families in Europe but snubbed the poor and the working class from that continent.

*** The biased and unreliable Associated Press, which the Fool Killer always referred to as “the Ass-ociated Press.” (He should see how pathetic they’ve become TODAY!) Continue reading

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Filed under Mythology, Neglected History

ROBERT LUDLUM’S NOVEL ANTICIPATING OBAMA’S PLOT AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP

Chancellor ManuscriptTHE CHANCELLOR MANUSCRIPT (1977) – With the latest blatant abuses by the FBI and elsewhere coming to light here’s Robert Ludlum’s novel about abuse of intelligence-gathering by BOTH the left and the right. There are Deep State operatives, too, like in today’s headlines.

TIME PERIOD: From shortly before J Edgar Hoover’s death in 1972 up to early 1973. The novel’s “what if” premise depicts the 77 year old FBI Director’s death as a planned assassination to prevent the Nixon White House from getting ahold of Hoover’s legendary files. (That’s NOT a spoiler – all that is made clear in the novel’s opening pages.)

Those files contain so much “raw meat” on powerful U.S. figures that we readers are told that whoever takes hold of said files will be able to rule the U.S. from behind the scenes by blackmailing the rich and the powerful.

The novel’s naïvete shows in that premise. I despise Hoover but I’ve always considered his abuses to be the EPITOME of the behavior of “the intelligence community” (LMAO), not an aberration from it. The accumulation of private information about people carries with it the implicit intent to USE that information against them.

The Obama Administration abused the FBI and other organizations far beyond even Nixon’s corrupt activities. And, of course, these days Zuckerberg and his fellow Corporate Fascists cheerfully help “the intelligence community” (LMFAO) spy on all of us. 

At any rate this is an escapist novel so the tale gets told in a simplistic “good guys vs bad guys” way, despite Ludlum’s attempts at a more nuanced approach.   

HERO: Peter Chancellor, an up and coming novelist who is part muckraker and part conspiracy hound. His successful espionage novels have not only made him rich but have caused minor public uproars over the kind of governmental abuses we take for granted these days but which were considered shocking in this novel’s time period.   Continue reading

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2019 USCAA COLLEGE WORLD SERIES CHAMPS CROWNED, PLUS NCAA REGIONALS

USCAA

Penn State Dubois logoCHAMPIONSHIP GAME: The 3 seeds – the PENN STATE AT DUBOIS LIONS – the defending National Champions of USCAA baseball, played the 7th seeded BRYANT & STRATTON COLLEGE AT ALBANY BOBCATS. The Bobcats did the difficult work for the Lions, having eliminated the top seeded Newport News Apprentice School earlier in the day.

A 2-0 1st Inning lead for PSU-Dubois became a 3-2 Bryant & Stratton-Albany edge in the 2nd. The Lions went back on top 4-3 in the 3rd Inning and extended that to an 8-4 advantage in the 5th. The final Runs came in the 7th and 8th Innings, in which Dubois outscored the Bobcats 4-3 to win the game 12-7. Brandon Orsich threw for the win. * THE LIONS ARE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS OF USCAA BASEBALL *

NCAA DIVISION TWO

Arkansas at Monticello Boll Weevils GOODCENTRAL REGION: DAY ONE – The (5) UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT MONTICELLO BOLL WEEVILS utterly annihilated the (4) MINNESOTA STATE MAVERICKS to the tune of THIRTEEN to TWO!   ###   The (1) AUGUSTANA (SD) VIKINGS defeated the (8) OKLAHOMA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY BISON by a Polo Score of 12-10.   ###       Continue reading

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Filed under College Baseball