THE BOATS OF THE GLEN CARRIG (1907) – Written by horror legend William Hope Hodgson, whose works The House on the Borderland, The Ghost Pirates and the Thomas Carnacki short stories were all reviewed previously here at Balladeer’s Blog.
Though Hodgson’s usually associated with horror, The Boats of the Glen Carrig gets classed as science fiction because its nightmarish creatures seem rooted in science, making them more akin to the Xenomorphs in Alien than to the undead buccaneers in The Ghost Pirates or the cosmic supernatural entities of The House on the Borderland.
In 1757 the story’s main character, John Winterstraw, is telling his son James Winterstraw about the horrific adventure that brought John together with the boy’s mother. (How I Met Your Mother: The Prequel Series) John and other sailors were on board the Glen Carrig when it struck a rock near the surface of the waters and sank.
All hands evacuated in the lifeboats but were soon mired in a mass of seaweed in the Sargasso Sea. Their troubles were just beginning, as mutated life-forms began to assault them. Continue reading
So, they’re already preparing their new version of “Russian Collusion” nonsense to interfere with a Trump administration, this time by frantically claiming it’s legal and constitutional to refuse any cooperation to a winning candidate they don’t like. And remember the Time article bragging about anti-Trump fascists tampering with the 2020 election as if it was something good? CLICK 
THE KNIGHTS OF THE SKY aka The Knights of Heaven aka The Aeronauts. This 1967-1970 French series is the Forgotten Television subject this time around. The series ran for 39 episodes – 3 seasons of 13 episodes each. Episodes filled a half-hour timeslot with commercials. 
The dynamic of their relationship is that Tanguy is the serious man of action and a Casanova with women, while Laverdure, though capable in a fight and as a pilot, is the comical partner whose antics are often undignified. I like to think of Christian Marin as the French Peter Davison, so think of his character Ernest Laverdure as Davison’s hapless Tristan on All Creatures Great and Small. 
CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY LEO TERRELL ON WHY HE “STOPPED DRINKING THE DEMOCRAT KOOL-AID.” – Terrell “joined the chorus of voices coming from African Americans disgusted with the Democrats and their hypocrisy on racial issues.” … “Terrell, like so many others, has pointed out how de facto Third Party President Donald Trump has been better for African-Americans than any Democrat in decades, especially Joe Biden, noted for his draconian legal positions against African-Americans. 
“Joe Biden gave us the crime bill in 1994,” Terrell continued, “President Trump gave us the First Step.” CLICK 
THE BLACK LIVES MERCILESSLY DESTROYED BY THE DEMOCRATS’ ANTIFA RIOTS IN 2020 – Remember the nauseating slogan of the rioters was “Every city, every town, burn the precinct to the ground.” and “Defund the police.” … “Privileged white Democrats have proven that their sympathies will ALWAYS lie with rioters and never with their victims. It’s the callous worldview of uncomprehending fools who romanticize looting and violence because they are always safely removed from the consequences.” CLICK 
NUMBER ONE ROLLS – The nation’s top-ranked NEWPORT NEWS APPRENTICE SCHOOL BUILDERS (Shipbuilders) took on the CENTRAL INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE CARDINALS. By Halftime the Builders were on top 55-30 and lost no momentum after the break. 
DOWN GOES NUMBER TWO – The BERKELEY (NY) COLLEGE KNIGHTS played host to the number 2 team in the nation – the BRYANT & STRATTON COLLEGE AT BUFFALO BOBCATS. The storied Knights held a 33-26 advantage at the Half. 
TALES OF SUSPENSE Vol 1 #97 (January 1968) 
Jasper Sitwell, S.H.I.E.L.D. liaison to Stark Industries, tries to revive the fallen hero while a crowd gathers. Iron Man (believed back then to simply be “Tony Stark’s high-tech bodyguard”) has a sleazy cousin named Morgan Stark. Morgan ran up a huge gambling debt with the Maggia (Marvel Comics’ version of the Mafia) and, to save himself from harm at the hands of their thugs, betrays Iron Man into their clutches by transporting the nearly motionless hero to where he told Sitwell that Tony Stark was waiting to repair the armor. 
Here is the latest current events roundup from 
THE ELUSIVE AVENGERS (1967) – This movie is often classified as part of the subgenre called “Easterns/ Osterns” – counterparts of Westerns. As an example of global cinema, The Elusive Avengers is worth a watch maybe once in a lifetime, but the cringe factor is heavy as it romanticizes four young guerilla fighters during the Russian Civil War. 
Judged purely on its production values and competent direction, The Elusive Avengers fascinates as much as it repels. In a world where a piece of garbage like deranged war criminal Vlad Putin runs Russia it can make a film like this a challenge to sit through without the real world intruding on one’s thoughts, but again, for anyone interested in world cinema history the movie is a revelation. 
For several years now I’ve meant to make a blog post recommending the YT Channel of Decker Shado, the often-hilarious figure who calls himself “The internet personality with the best hair.” He focuses mostly on genre films – new and old – and offers a lot of fresh insights on anything from schlock to blockbusters. 
THE FLASHING BLADE (1967) – This 13-episode French adventure series was later dubbed – a bit clumsily – into English. Each English-dubbed episode was in color and filled a half-hour time slot with commercials. The French title was actually The Tempestuous Knight or The Stormy Knight but was changed to The Flashing Blade for the English dubs. The original French airings were in four 75-minute episodes.
FRANCOIS, THE CHEVALIER DE RECCI (Robert Etcheverry) – The hero of the story. He and his sidekick Guillot (Jacques Balutin) reach the Fort of Casale, which is under siege by the Spanish forces in the alps near Savoy and Monferrato. (Some reviews of the show say the castle is on the border between France and Spain, but I believe that mistake comes from the reviewers casually noting that the war is between French and Spanish forces and just assuming that meant the war was being fought along their national borders.) 
The castle garrison’s French commander, Thoiras (Gilles Pelletier), is a mopey, less than inspirational leader and our fiery hero Francois clashes with him over his lethargy and lack of initiative. Soon, de Recci disobeys a direct order from Thoiras by raiding the Spanish forces for supplies. 
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