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.

MORE COLLEGE BASEBALL POSTSEASON ACTION

AMERICAN MIDWEST CONFERENCE

Belleville LynxDAY TWO, GAME ONE: The 6 seeds – the LINDENWOOD UNIVERSITY AT BELLEVILLE LYNX – played an elimination game against the 7th seeded HARRIS-STOWE STATE HORNETS. The Hornets grabbed a 1-0 edge in the 1st Inning, which stood until the Lynx tied the game at 1-1 in the 3rd.

From there LU-Belleville shut out Harris-Stowe State while adding 2 runs each in the 5th and 6th Innings. The Lynx won the game 5-1 for Pitcher Dylan Chisholm, who was on the Mound for 9 Iron Man Innings. Continue reading

6 Comments

Filed under College Baseball

FOOL KILLER: PART FOURTEEN – 1909

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 cop USEPART FOURTEEN: FACTS FOR THE FOOL-KILLER (1909) by Ridgway Hill.

This rendition of the Fool Killer (I prefer no hyphen) is virtually a reinvention. It not only revises his garb and approach to his mission but it marks the first time the figure is depicted in action outside of the South.

Before I address Facts For The Fool-Killer I want to clarify something. I know that the Joel Chandler Harris tale Flingin’ Jim and His Fool-Killer was published in 1902 as part of The Making of a Statesman and Other Stories. However, that story – set in 1872 Georgia – does not feature the folk figure called the Fool Killer. The title refers to a piece of old grapeshot that Flingin’ Jim throws at people to kill them.

The victims of that “Fool-Killer” are a) William Dukes, an evil former plantation owner spitefully keeping a pair of young lovers separated and b) An unnamed black man who was trying to criminally assault Ann Briscoe, the heroine of the story. William Dukes’ brother receives a non-fatal beating from a hickory walking stick.  

Cop tall helmetFacts For The Fool-Killer finds the fictional character operating from Buffalo, NY and vicinity. The Fool Killer now wears the blue uniform and tall helmet of a turn-of-the-century policeman and wields a police officer’s billy-club in lieu of his usual club/ walking stick/ cudgel. Continue reading

16 Comments

Filed under Mythology, Neglected History

$3,000.00 PRIZE IN FLASH FICTION CONTEST

Yes, it’s that time again! The deadline this time around is May 31st. 

Flash fiction contest

There are other contests being run as well, and the outfits running them encourage one and all to collect and dust off your work, and send it off to one of these great contests!

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Filed under Uncategorized

COLLEGE BASEBALL CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS CONTINUE

APPALACHIAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

point universityDAY ONE, GAME ONE – The 5 seeds – the POINT UNIVERSITY SKYHAWKS – took the diamond against the 4th seeded REINHARDT UNIVERSITY EAGLES (Should be the Rottweilers). After a scoreless 1st Inning the Skyhawks went on top 4-0 in the 2nd. Continue reading

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Filed under College Baseball

BILLY IDOL: CRADLE OF LOVE

It’s another installment of Give Them A Shoutout Before They’re Dead here at  Balladeer’s Blog. This time around it’s Cradle of Love from Billy Idol.

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Filed under opinion

ZACA: VOODOO GOD WHOSE DAY IS MAY FIRST

HaitiVoodoo mythology is a fascinating hybrid of Yoruban, Dahomey, Fon and Christian mythology intermixed with touches from Caribbean belief systems.

Haiti is the central location of the Voodoo belief system but naturally it has spread throughout the world as have other faiths.

Here is a VooDoo god whose Holy Day is today, May 1st.

ZACA – The god of agriculture and the harvest, making him the patron deity of farmers and fieldworkers. Zaca is the friendliest and most approachable of the gods and may be addressed as “Cousin Zaca” if spotted in the fields. He dresses in denims and a straw hat just like the rural Haitians do. In addition,  Continue reading

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Filed under Mythology

COLLEGE BASEBALL POSTSEASON UNDERWAY FOR 2019

The Conference Tournaments have begun in the divisions of College Baseball covered here at Balladeer’s Blog.

GOLDEN STATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Hope International University RoyalsDAY ONE, GAME ONE: The 3 seeds – the HOPE INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY ROYALS – started things off against the 2nd seeded ARIZONA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY FIRESTORM. The Firestorm seized a quick 4-0 lead in the 1st Inning but the Royals made it a 4-2 game in the 2nd.

Arizona Christian University extended their lead to 5-2 in the 3rd Inning following which neither team scored in the 4th. Hope International U put up 5 more runs in the 5th Inning for a 7-5 advantage. The Royals notched 1 more run in the 9th to end the scoring, winning the game 8-5. Pitcher Henry Martinez got the W. Continue reading

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Filed under College Baseball

MOTHER JONES: ONLY UNINFORMED FOOLS WANT TRUMP IMPEACHED

mother-jonesMary Harris Jones aka Mother Jones has decided to once again have a posthumous conversation with Balladeer’s Blog. The topic was Mother Jones’ favorite president since FDR – de facto Third Party President Donald Trump.

I tried to rein in Mother Jones’ enthusiasm for the Donald, whom she praises as the new FDR, the new JFK, the new TR and the new Harry Truman all rolled into one. I did not succeed. As always, she wore her Trump support on her sleeve.

Eventually I steered the conversation away from the many, many ways that President Trump has helped the working class and the poor of all colors and encouraged Mother Jones to recommend her favorite Trump links of late.

trump smilingMOTHER JONES: WASHINGTON POST/ ABC NEWS POLL SHOWS SUPPORT FOR IMPEACHMENT HAS ALL BUT VANISHED. “Listen, young fella, the slobbering psychopaths called Democrats have been rebuked again in those polls they eat, sleep and breathe by! Nobody wants Trump impeached except fringe losers.” CLICK HERE

Hillary Clinton Russian Probe backfireMOTHER JONES: NEW YORK TIMES ADMITS THAT DEMOCRAT VOTERS DON’T CARE ABOUT IMPEACHMENT. “That shows the voters have much more sense than the Democrat office-holders, who are all bought and paid for. But the Democrat politicians don’t care what their voters want.” CLICK HERE

 

 

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Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion

BRIE LARSON’S BUCKET LIST

Brie Larson

FIRST FEMALE ACTION STAR, LIKE, EVER, DUDE!

Even for a shallow and uninformed “entertainer” (LMAO), Brie Larson is hilariously pompous. She seems narcissistically oblivious to film history – even RECENT film history – and keeps making ridiculous statements that she is some sort of pioneer for having starred in the Captain Marvel movie.

Brie conveniently forgets that Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman beat Captain Marvel to theaters … and so did the Lara Croft, Tomb Raider films, Milla Jovovich’s Alice in the Resident Evil series of movies, the female action stars in Ultra Violet, Elektra, Underworld, Atomic Blonde, Aeon Flux, Kill Bill and so many others.

Quick and the DeadTo say nothing of Sigourney Weaver in the Alien movies and Pam Grier in Foxy Brown, Coffy, Sheba Baby and Friday Foster. And had Larson ever heard of La Femme Nikita?

Even more comical is the fact that she is still at it! What a buffoon! Anyway, here’s a mock Bucket List for the solipsistic Brie Larson:

*** BECOME THE FIRST WOMAN TO WIN AN OSCAR.

*** BECOME THE FIRST WOMAN ELECTED TO THE UNITED STATES SENATE.

xena*** BECOME THE FIRST FEMALE SECRETARY OF STATE IN AMERICAN HISTORY.

*** COURAGEOUSLY BECOME THE FIRST WOMAN TO DISCUSS HER POLITICAL OPINIONS IN AN INTERVIEW.

*** WISH SHE HAD HAD THE COURAGE TO LET A WOMAN OF COLOR STAR AS CAPTAIN MARVEL SINCE THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN MONICA RAMBEAU WAS THE FIRST FEMALE CAPTAIN MARVEL IN THE COMIC BOOKS … of the 1980s. Continue reading

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Filed under humor, opinion

FOOL KILLER: PART THIRTEEN – FABLES IN SLANG (1899)

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 THIRTEEN: FABLES IN SLANG (1899)

George Ade, who can be glibly described as a minor league Mark Twain or Ambrose Bierce, was a newspaperman and humorist. All of his work is worth checking out, and I may very well do a series about his writing in the future, but for now I’m dealing only with his use of the Fool Killer in his 1899 work Fables in Slang.

Fables in the Vernacular would be a more accurate title, but that nit-pick aside, Ade’s collection of short fables were wryly humorous. They were written in a sort of “prose haiku” and anticipated Flash Fiction by nearly a century.

Fables in Slang“The written word equivalent of political cartoons” might be another way of describing the fables. In any event Ade did accompany the fables with assorted illustrations.

The Fable Of How The Fool Killer Backed Out Of A Contract is the Ade fable we’re concerned with in this blog post. This tale of the Fool Killer finds him in Alabama, thus adding another state to the territory covered in the travels of the homicidal vigilante. Previously I examined Fool Killer stories set in North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia (back when it included what is now West Virginia).   Continue reading

24 Comments

Filed under Mythology, Neglected History