Regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog are familiar with my odd sense of humor. While searching for some more obscure films to watch and review, I came across this synopsis of the storyline for a 1974 Italian comedy. The movie in question is La Cugina (The Cousin), and the English translation of whatever the contributor actually wrote in Italian is … a bit garbled. Hilariously entertaining, but garbled nevertheless.
Here it is, word for word: Continue reading
Filed under Bad and weird movies, humor
Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at some of the latest. By the way, the above reference to the Church Committee (not “Commission”) is about the 1970s investigations into the corruption and political bias in the FBI, CIA, NSA, IRS, etc. Apparently, people forgot why those agencies should never be trusted and need to re-learn all of it.
BIDEN’S FBI CONTINUES TO COVER UP THE BIDEN BRIBERY SCANDALS AND OTHER MISDEEDS. More HERE. And HERE.
JOE BIDEN AGAIN LEANS ON BIG TECH TO VIOLATE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION. “Only The Party dispenses truth” is apparently career criminal Joe’s motto.
IRS HEAD STATES THEY OBEY THE BIDEN REGIME’S DOJ. Impeachments have been launched over far less.
THE BIDEN REGIME’S IRS BEGAN HARASSING COURAGEOUS REPORTER MATT TAIBBI WHEN HE REPORTED NEWS THAT BIDEN WANTED COVERED UP. More HERE. And HERE. Continue reading
Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion
HAVE A RESPECTFUL MEMORIAL DAY, EVERYONE! Two years ago I marked the holiday with a look at the U.S. forces who fought in Russia from 1918-1920. Last year I examined American forces during the Boxer conflict. For this Memorial Day let’s look at some Congressional Medal of Honor recipients from the Spanish-American War.
GEORGE CHARRETTE
Branch of Service: Navy
Rank: Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class
Citation: “In connection with the sinking of the U.S.S. Merrimac at the entrance to the harbor of Santiago de Cuba, 2 June 1898. Despite heavy fire from the Spanish batteries, Charrette displayed extraordinary heroism throughout this operation.”
The Merrimac was being intentionally sunk to try blocking the Spanish ships from being able to come out to fight the U.S. fleet. Charrette was taken prisoner and later exchanged on July 6th, 1898. NOTE: Charrette subsequently served in World War One.
EDWARD LEE BAKER JR.
Branch of Service: Army
Rank: Sergeant-Major
Citation: “For extraordinary heroism on 1 July 1898, while serving with the 10th U.S. Cavalry, in action at Santiago, Cuba. Sergeant-Major Baker left cover and, under fire, rescued a wounded comrade from drowning.”
NOTE: This African-American had served in the storied Buffalo Soldiers during campaigns against the Native Americans in the west prior to the Spanish-American War. After that conflict, Baker served in the Philippine War (1899-1902) and the subsequent campaigns against the Moros and others. Continue reading
Filed under Neglected History
Balladeer’s Blog’s main Memorial Day post will be tomorrow but here’s a seasonal item for the holiday weekend.
The Memorial Day Holiday is marked here at Balladeer’s Blog with posts about neglected conflicts and neglected military units from American history. The latest unit to be examined is the Navy of the Republic of Texas. I’ll examine the period from the Texas Revolution against the tyrannical Mexican government up through the Texas Republic joining the U.S. as the State of Texas.
During the Fall Season of 1835 Texas rebelled against Mexico’s despotism and in March of 1836 officially declared their independence. On September 1st, 1835 two Texas ships – the San Felipe and Laura – clashed with the Mexican vessel Correo de Mejico. Maritime fallout from the incident severely limited Mexico’s efforts to prevent the rebellious Texans from importing arms and supplies for the conflict.
By November of 1835 the Texas government established an official navy to serve at sea and along the Rio Grande. Commodore Charles E Hawkins was in command. During the Texas Revolution their navy prevented the Mexican Navy from establishing a blockade of the new Republic’s coast and its port cities. Those naval forces simultaneously raided Mexican merchant ships, plundering supplies for the Texan land forces. Continue reading
Filed under Neglected History
This weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero blog post centers around Marvel’s Power Man. Last year I covered his first twenty issues HERE. Here are more of his 1970s tales.
POWER MAN Vol 1 #21 (October 1974)
Title: The Killer with My Name
Villain: The original, villainous Power Man (Erik Josten)
Synopsis: The flood of glowing headlines that Power Man has been getting after crushing Cottonmouth’s drug ring in the previous issue get soured a bit one day when Luke goes to Noah Burstein’s clinic. He has gone there to visit his girlfriend, Dr. Claire Temple, but she has left behind a note for him saying she has left New York and can never see him again.
The hurt and angry Power Man returns to his Hero for Hire office above the Gem Theater. Luke gets attacked there by the original Power Man, a former operative of Baron Zemo who was given his super-strength by the Avengers foe the Enchantress.
That villain, real name Erik Josten, is demanding that Luke stop using the Power Man name since he has been using it for years. The resulting destructive battle causes the building to start collapsing, trapping a little girl inside. Naturally, Luke Cage wins the fight and saves the child. Continue reading
Filed under Superheroes
FOR PART ONE OF THIS RETROSPECTIVE (2016) FROM INDEPENDENT VOTER SITE BALLADEER’S BLOG CLICK HERE.
POLITICAL CARTOON ROUNDUP FROM OCTOBER 14th 2017. But especially relevant here in 2023.
TRANSGRESS WITH ME. Another round of the recurring feature that’s only for people with a backbone.
THREE FOR SUNDAY. Starting with journalist Sharyl Attkisson, the Ida Tarbell of the 21st Century.
A VOTER OF COLOR RECOUNTS HIS JOURNEY FROM ANTIFA TO BEING A TRUMP SUPPORTER.
MOCK HEADLINES. A bit of comedy. More of them HERE. Continue reading
Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion
Here is a fantastic and very appropriate saying from a courageous man who still fights for freedom. It means “Diversity without diversity of opinions is dictatorship.”
La diversidad sin diversidad de opiniones es dictadura RCAG
Filed under Uncategorized
PETER PAN IN KENSINGTON GARDENS – Here at Balladeer’s Blog I like to cover neglected items, even when it comes to popular subjects like Peter Pan. Before the figure became established in the public consciousness as the leader of the Lost Boys in Neverland, J.M. Barrie presented Peter in a very different form.
Six chapters of Barrie’s 1902 work The Little White Bird were devoted to his original concept for Peter Pan and presented his lair as London’s Kensington Gardens rather than Neverland. Instead of the dog Nana there was the dog Porthos, and instead of Wendy Darling there was Maimie Mannering, but still with the kiss/ thimble bit of business.
This was followed by the 1904 stage play about Peter Pan, which established the more well-known lore regarding the character. In 1906, the six chapters from The Little White Bird were published in a separate book as Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. That was followed by the 1911 novelized version of the 1904 play, with the novel adding some finishing touches to Peter Pan lore.
J.M. Barrie invented a detailed mythology for this first rendition of his renowned figure. Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens tells us that babies are hatched from eggs laid by birds on the island in Serpentine Lake inside Kensington Gardens. Within a very short time Solomon Caw, a crow who is the leader of all the birds in the Gardens, delivers those baby birds destined to become children to the mothers who wrote to him requesting them. Continue reading
A VERY MISSING PERSON (1972) – This made for tv movie was the pilot for an unsold series that was meant as another rotating slot in the ______Night Mystery Movie offerings from the networks back then.
Eve Arden starred as Hildegarde Withers, the now-retired schoolteacher turned amateur sleuth in a series of novels and short stories by American author Stuart Palmer. Hildegarde first appeared in Palmer’s 1931 novel The Penguin Pool Murder and was obviously inspired by Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple.
The last Withers mystery completed by Stuart Palmer during his lifetime was published in 1954, but he left behind an unfinished novel titled Hildegarde Withers Makes the Scene. Fletcher Flora used Palmer’s notes to finish the novel, which finally saw print in 1969.
Six movies had been made in the 1930s featuring the supposedly aged Miss Withers. (To show how standards change, in the 1931 novel a third party describes Hildegarde as a “spinster … age thirty-nine years old.”) The many, many other Hildegarde novels and short stories were ignored for this telefilm, which jumped straight to the 1969 work. Continue reading
Filed under Forgotten Television
Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at some of the latest here in Joe Biden’s corporate fascist kleptocracy.
BIDEN REGIME’S FBI (FUGGEDA BOUT INTEGRITY) STILL REFUSING TO PROVIDE CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATORS THE SUBPOENAED FILE REGARDING THE BIDEN CRIME FAMILY INVESTIGATIONS. Banana Republic America is not just an expression.
ANOTHER WHISTLEBLOWER AT THE IRS COMES FORWARD REGARDING THE BIDEN REGIME’S DOJ INTERFERING IN INVESTIGATIONS REGARDING UNDERBOSS HUNTER BIDEN. More HERE. The whistleblower says Biden and his thugs have been interfering in the Hunter Biden investigation for years now.
OVERSIGHT CHAIR CALLS IT “UNACCEPTABLE” THAT BIDEN AND HIS ILK ARE STONEWALLING THE BRIBERY INVESTIGATION. I guess a strongly-worded letter will follow. Remember over the years how I’ve pointed out that when Congressional Republicans are investigating you it means you and your attorneys can exchange high-fives and sleep the sleep of the saved, knowing that you’ll never pay any consequences?
CLEARLY UNFIT JOE BIDEN AGAIN LIES BY REPEATING HIS ABSURD CLAIM THAT HIS SON BEAU DIED IN IRAQ WAR. This pathetic little man is a large clump of bacteria sculpted into human form. And remember his daughter’s diary’s accounts of Joe “inappropriately” showering with her when she was a child? If you did forget about that, more HERE.
“FORCE THE DEBATES” HASHTAG TRENDS, TO TRY STOPPING THE DNC FROM PROTECTING THE UNFIT JOE BIDEN FROM DEBATING HIS PRIMARY OPPONENTS. Let’s face it, it would be HILARIOUS to see the doddering, incoherent career criminal trying to debate RFK Jr. and the others.
BIDEN CAUGHT LYING YET AGAIN, THIS TIME CLAIMING CREDIT FOR THE QUAD ALLIANCE, WHICH WAS ACTUALLY RESTORED BY TRUMP IN 2017. Continue reading
Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion
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