Christmas Carol-A-Thon 2018 rolls along. Heath – one of Balladeer’s Blog’s long-time readers – has done a Supercut version of A Christmas Carol. The video runs 53 minutes and is sheer genius! Plus the rest of the videos on Heath’s channel are worth checking out as well!
Filed under A CHRISTMAS CAROL, humor
Year-end is the time for retrospectives of the months just past. Here is a look at Balladeer’s Blog’s Best of January for 2018.
THE TOP FIVE FLASHMAN NOVELS – Little did I know how wild the reaction would be to my reviews of what I consider to be the top five novels featuring George MacDonald Fraser’s infamous antihero Harry Paget Flashman.
Roguish and amoral Harry’s bed and battle historical adventures were new to a lot of readers. Reaction was so enthusiastic I wound up throwing in a bonus Sixth novel PLUS my speculations regarding assorted Lost Flashman Papers. To start click HERE
CRATES: ANCIENT GREEK COMEDIES – Balladeer’s Blog took another look at the fragmentary remains of the works of yet another ancient Greek comedian.
Crates had nowhere near the impact of the big names like Aristophanes, Eupolis and Cratinus but his comic plays are still interesting in their own way. To read this item click HERE
ORION: THE ELVIS PRESLEY HOAX/ PUT-ON – Many readers felt this weird topic featured me at my myth-dissecting best.
For Elvis Presley’s birthday I examined obscure and bizarre folklore, demented conspiracy theories and the way the whole Orion/ Dead Elvis tableau presented fiction imitating real-life imitating fiction in a mad loop. Click HERE
REHASHING PRESIDENT TRUMP’S INCREDIBLE 2017 – De facto Third Party President Donald Trump showed the working class and the poor that at long last an American office-holder actually cared about them for the first time in decades.
Trump-o-crats, Re-Trump-licans and the entire Trumpen-proletariat had their economic suffering eased by the Donald, who has proven to be equal parts Franklin Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, Harry Truman and John F Kennedy! I was expecting to hate Trump but he proved me wrong every step of the way, from the campaign onward. Click HERE
*** TWELVE MORE COOL FOOTBALL HELMETS FROM NEGLECTED TEAMS – This one is a visual treat, so click HERE
TRANSGRESS WITH ME, JANUARY 13th – One of the earliest installments of what has become one of Balladeer’s Blog’s most controversial and hotly-debated recurring items.
Let your mind explore the forbidden in this fun but challenging bit by clicking HERE
ROBERT LUDLUM’S THE CHANCELLOR MANUSCRIPT – Balladeer’s Blog reviews Robert Bourne Identity Ludlum’s 1977 espionage novel that seems even more timely and possible here in 2018.
See an FBI run amok, Deep State oligarchs (See how old the term Deep State is?) and the consequences of lack of oversight of America’s sleazy, forever-corrupt intelligence agencies. For my review click HERE
*** MOCK HEADLINES JANUARY 17th – One of the most popular and funniest items of the month. CLICK HERE
*** FACEBOOK IS FAKEBOOK: NOTHING IS WHAT IT SEEMS – What more need be said? Click HERE
*** MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY MULTIPLE CHOICE QUIZ – CLICK HERE
Filed under opinion
Journalist and strong female role model Kelli Ballard courageously continues to compile as comprehensive as possible a breakdown of the additional crimes committed by people in the country illegally.
The victims of illegal immigrant crimes and the loved ones of those victims deserve at least as much care and compassion as the corporate media and the Democrats heap upon every criminal alien who commits murders and rapes.
(Maybe victims of illegal immigrants need their own #MeToo hashtag)
For Kelli’s November 22nd to November 28th catalog of illegal immigrant atrocities click HERE
Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion
EBBIE (1995) Balladeer’s Blog’s Ninth Annual Christmas Carol-A-Thon rolls along with this 1995 telefilm starring soap opera queen Susan Lucci. The eternally-sexy Lucci plays Elizabeth “Ebbie” Scrooge, our regulation “grasping and covetous” business magnate who runs the Dobson’s department store empire. This version of A Christmas Carol is kind of cute and it tries hard.
At its core Ebbie combines the Dickens tale with elements of the Diane Keaton movie Baby Boom. The dialogue self-consciously uses Big Business/ Executive Culture cliches in various exchanges. For example, where Scrooge normally says “Can’t I take them (the Ghosts) all at once and have it over with” Ebbie instead says “Can’t I just Conference Call them all in and have it over with?” Plus Marley’s Ghost refers to Scrooge “taking meetings” with the three Spirits. Sometimes these substitutions are amusing, other times just eye-rolling.
Ebbie is one of those Carols which make the Ghosts look like people that the Scrooge figure knows in real life. Personally I don’t care for that approach but others do, so it’s all just a question of taste. An interesting note is that outside of Susan Lucci and the guy who plays her late partner Jake Marley (Jeffrey DeMunn) virtually NOBODY in the cast is recognizable. It’s like The Susan Lucci Community Theater Players Present A Christmas Carol.
Taking the crucial elements of the tale in order: Continue reading
Filed under A CHRISTMAS CAROL
NAIA
FIRST SEMIFINAL – The MORNINGSIDE COLLEGE MUSTANGS were hosting the defending National Champions – the UNIVERSITY OF SAINT FRANCIS COUGARS. Just as much as the Mustangs were fighting USF they were also fighting their history of playoff chokes in recent years.
After nabbing a quick 21-7 1st Quarter lead Morningside College saw the Cougars pull to 28-14 at Halftime and 28-21 in the 3rd before forcing Overtime with a 28-28 tie to end the 4th. This time the Mustangs didn’t choke and after shutting out USF in the extra session they scored a TD for a 34-28 OT triumph.
SECOND SEMIFINAL – In this game the BENEDICTINE COLLEGE RAVENS traveled to take on the KANSAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY COYOTES. Not only did this clash end in an Upset but it was an odd tale of two halves. By the break the Coyotes had come back from being down 13-0 in the opening Quarter to trailing the Ravens by a much tighter score of 20-14. Continue reading
Filed under college football
FOR CHAPTER LINKS CLICK HERE
HODADEION PART 9 – BATTLE WITH A WHIRLWIND – At what is now called Niagara Falls, the demigod Hodadeion stood facing an enormous Dagwanoenyent. Those beings were the ancient whirlwinds so often fought by Iroquois deities.
Dagwanoenyents were enormous, flying humanoid heads with long hair which sliced the air like chainsaw blades as the whirlwinds spun around at great speed. The destruction wrought by Dagwanoenyents was legendary and Hodadeion, the young god of magic regarded the figure floating above him with dread as he stood there on the rocky outcrops at the base of Niagara Falls. Continue reading
Filed under Mythology
VICTORY BOWL – Last night’s 2018 edition of the post-season Bowl Game in the NCCAA pitted the OLIVET NAZARENE UNIVERSITY TIGERS against the OTTAWA (AZ) UNIVERSITY SPIRIT. The Spirit made it to the Victory Bowl in just their first-ever year of intercollegiate football!
Ottawa University seized a 14-0 advantage in the 1st Quarter but by Halftime the Tigers went on top by a count of 17-14. Continue reading
Filed under college football
Privileged white one percenter Alyssa Milano told a non-existent reporter for Balladeer’s Blog that for Christmas she recommends the new book BARACK OBAMA IS AFRAID OF SHARYL ATTKISSON: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO THE SHENANIGANS OF AMERICA’S 44th PRESIDENT.
It’s written by Daniel Alman and explores the countless scandals, misdeeds and outright crimes of the weak, inept and crooked little man named Barack “He used tear-gas on children at the Mexican border, too” Obama. Alman’s book is drenched in well-researched details and is separated into chapters like:
Chapter 1: Trying to silence the media
Chapter 2: Less transparent than Nixon
Chapter 3: Sharyl Attkisson (Note from Balladeer: Sharyl is the 21st Century Ida Tarbell)
5: IRS Scandal
6: Fast and Furious
7: Bill Ayers
11: Democrats criticize Obamacare
12: Unions criticize Obamacare
13: No, you can’t keep your insurance
15: Benghazi
16: Dinesh D’Souza
17: If Obama had a son
21: Solyndra
22: Voter ID
23: Education
24: Sharia law and Islamic terrorism
25: Civil liberties
26: Hillary Clinton
30: Miscellaneous
***
You can buy the paperback version at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1730800769.
You can buy the amazon kindle version at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07K53ZN9F.
Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – Last night the Defending National Champions – the EAST MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE LIONS – took on the 2016 Champions – the GARDEN CITY COLLEGE BRONCBUSTERS – for the 2018 title. Defense was the name of the game, with the Lions on top just 3-0 in the 1st Quarter and 10-0 at Halftime. Continue reading
Filed under college football
Balladeer’s Blog’s Give Them A Shoutout Before They’re Dead returns with a shoutout to the very old Paul Simon with his song Mother and Child Reunion. This goes out to two very special ladies.
Filed under opinion
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