August 26, 2023 · 12:01 am

MARVEL ISSUES FROM JANUARY 1969

For this weekend’s escapist and lighthearted superhero post I will take a look at Marvel’s January issues from 1969. 

xm 52X-MEN Vol 1 #52 (January 1969)

Title: Twilight of the Mutants

X-Men Roster: Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Marvel Girl, Angel, Polaris

Villains: Magneto, Mesmero, and the Demi-Men

NOTE: This is the fourth and final part of the storyline which saw the X-Men get drawn back together after they disbanded following the first of Professor X’s many false “deaths.” Polaris (Lorna Dane) joins the team.

beast iceman cyclops lorna magnetoSynopsis: The recently arrived evil mutant called Erik the Red says he has come to Magneto’s subterranean lair out west to join his forces. Erik demonstrates his powers against the Demi-Men, Magneto’s latest team of mutants intent on conquering humanity.

Polaris, who has joined Magneto’s team under the impression that she is his daughter, learns the truth about his villainous intentions from conversations among Mesmero, Magneto and Erik the Red. While Mesmero plots against Erik, and Magneto assigns Polaris to keep an eye on both figures for him, Marvel Girl, Angel and the Beast slip back into Magneto’s headquarters. Continue reading →

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August 25, 2023 · 11:08 am

BALLADEER’S BLOG’S COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS FROM AUGUST 24th

The 2023 college football season kicked off last night in some of the divisions covered here at Balladeer’s Blog.

Valley City State Vikings helmetJIMMIES AT VIKINGS – The VALLEY CITY STATE VIKINGS hosted the UNIVERSITY OF JAMESTOWN JIMMIES in NAIA action last night. The Jimmies were on top 8-0 to end the 1st Quarter and 8-7 come Halftime. In the 3rd Quarter the Vikings went up 20-8 before winning the game by a final score of 23-15.

garden-city-broncbusters-helmet-newINSTANT CLASSIC IN KANSAS – In Jayhawk Conference action in the NJCAA the (9) GARDEN CITY COLLEGE BRONCBUSTERS took the field against the visiting (12) BUTLER (KS) GRIZZLIES. A scoreless opening Quarter was followed by a 7-7 tie at the Half. The 3rd Quarter ended with the Broncbusters clinging to a 13-9 edge. From there Garden City College defeated the Grizzlies 27-22. Continue reading →

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August 24, 2023 · 6:21 pm

LIFE IN A THOUSAND WORLDS (1905) – ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION

life in a thousand worldsLIFE IN A THOUSAND WORLDS (1905) – Written by William Shuler Harris. This is yet another work of “ancient” science fiction that deals with life on other planets. Each celestial body that is visited gets its own chapter.

THE MOON – The inhabitants of the moon are roughly one-fourth the size of Earthlings. Long ago the moon was a much more hospitable place to live, but volcanoes and moonquakes devastated the satellite. The remaining atmosphere is very thin, and those who are still alive must live by eating solid air. 

       Lunar technology is behind that of Earth but the moon people are gifted at the creative arts.

MARS – Called Marsites and Marsmen in this book, the people of the Red Planet are roughly twelve feet tall and their long humanoid bodies have four arms. The ruling class on Mars treats the lower classes horribly, using them as slave labor to produce food for them. Continue reading →

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August 23, 2023 · 8:26 pm

THE FOURTH REICH (1990) – NEGLECTED FILM ABOUT THWARTING NAZI AGENTS IN SOUTH AFRICA

the fourth reichTHE FOURTH REICH (1990) – This film’s greatest obstacle to greater renown is its own title. Anyone coming across the title The Fourth Reich will quite reasonably assume it’s a B-movie about Nazi war criminals in hiding trying to resurrect their rightfully defeated cause.

If someone rents or buys it expecting an espionage thriller like The ODESSA File, The Holcroft Covenant or even The Boys from Brazil, they’ll be disappointed that it is instead a quality dramatic account of a NON-FICTIONAL, real-life attempt by Nazi agents to assassinate South African leader Jan Smuts in 1942.   

This movie – produced in South Africa – was partially based on the non-fiction book For Volk and Fuhrer, so even THAT title wouldn’t truly convey the subject matter to anyone outside of people who are so into South African history that they would recognize those words in the context of a thwarted Nazi assassin.

Enough preamble. I started my review this way to hopefully catch the eyes of readers who WERE assuming this is just more warmed-over, regenerate Nazi fiction. Please don’t dismiss this powerful movie due to false assumptions.

the fourth reich another posterTHE FOURTH REICH deals with South African boxer Robey Leibbrandt, who participated in the 1936 Olympics where he met and shook the hand of Adolf Hitler. Leibbrandt was strangely impressed with Hitler and his philosophy of hatred, and after becoming South Africa’s Heavyweight Boxing Champion in 1937 he returned to Germany in 1938.

Robey was studying at the Reich Academy of Gymnastics when World War Two broke out in September 1939, and volunteered to serve the Nazis militarily. After he completed his military training, his commanders felt Leibbrandt would be more effective as a Nazi agent in South Africa, promoting their cause and recruiting saboteurs.

Under the alias Walter Kempf, Robey was sent back to his native land as part of Operation Weissdorn, a plan to assassinate South African leader Jan Smuts for leading South Africa into World War Two as a British ally rather than remaining neutral like his opponents wanted.    Continue reading →

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August 22, 2023 · 9:59 pm

BIDEN REGIME VS THE REST OF US: AUGUST 22nd

we need billionsSome of the latest regarding the callous career criminal Joe Biden from here in his corporate fascist kleptocracy, presented by Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog.

the government saidUNFIT DISGRACE JOE BIDEN DOES EVERYTHING BUT POINT HIS FINGER AND LAUGH AT THE SUFFERING IN HAWAII. More HERE. And HERE. And HERE. And HERE. And HERE. Joe Biden is still utter filth and utterly corrupt. 

CRIMINAL BUFFOON JOE BIDEN ACTUALLY TELLS MAUI VICTIMS “LET ME TELL YOU WHAT REAL LOSS IS.” Crooked Joe is a disgusting clown. Grotesquely whines that he “almost lost my corvette” once HERE.

maui callousness by biden

ALLEGED HUMAN BEING JOE BIDEN GETS DESERVED HOSTILE TREATMENT, SCORN AND RIDICULE IN HAWAII, INCLUDING “WE DON”T WANT YOU HERE.” More HERE. Biden’s Katrina continues.

BIDEN REGIME MAKING “CHILLING THREATS” AGAINST ANYONE BRAVE ENOUGH TO TESTIFY AGAINST THEM. And America lacks anything resembling a true opposition party to deal with the Biden Crime Family. Elected Republicans are the most clueless, outdated and utterly useless people imaginable.

joe biden is aEVEN DEMOCRAT MEDIA OUTLET CNN IS FORCED TO ADMIT “TRUMP WAS RIGHT” AND “BIDEN WAS WRONG” ABOUT BIDEN FAMILY CORRUPTION. Actually, CNN, Joe Biden obviously LIED about it.

PLUS, THE FIRST OF THE TWO GROUNDLESS IMPEACHMENTS OF TRUMP (OVER THE PHONE CALL ASKING ABOUT BIDEN FAMILY CORRUPTION IN UKRAINE) WAS LAUNCHED TO STOP FURTHER INVESTIGATION OF THAT CORRUPTION. This is another reason why we need outsiders like Trump and not career politicians. Other American career politicians appear to be neck-deep in Burisma/ Ukraine corruption and would also want it covered up.

GOVERNOR MIKE DUNLEAVY ENDORSES DONALD TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT. Continue reading →

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August 21, 2023 · 11:37 pm

PLEASE DON’T TOUCH ME (1959, 1963) – BAD MOVIE REVIEW

please dont touch mePLEASE DON’T TOUCH ME (Filmed in 1959, released in 1963) – Buy this for the Lash La Rue fan in your life, but mostly for the Ron and June Ormond fan in your life. For people outside of us lovers of Bad Movies I’ll point out that Ron and June Ormond were the famous husband and wife team of low-low-low budget filmmakers.

The Ormonds dabbled in virtually all genres from mainstream movies to exploitation and roadshow flicks. More than a decade ago, Balladeer’s Blog reviewed the infamous Ron Ormond/ Estus Pirkle film If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do? (HERE), a full-color Cold War potboiler about a Communist invasion of the U.S. depicted with graphic violence, inane dialogue and hilariously bad acting. 

This earlier effort from their mind-bending body of work found them collaborating with former cowboy star Lash La Rue, with whom they had made several cheap, short and boring westerns. Lash portrays Dr. Williams, a psychiatrist who is treating a newlywed bride for frigidity.

Mom and VickyThough Please Don’t Touch Me sounds like it would be a sexploitation flick, lurid assault film or Nudie Cutie, rest assured there’s nothing in this 67-minute oddity that your grandmother couldn’t handle. Well, maybe your mother, instead of grandma.

The film plays almost like a parody of Public Service Message shorts, educational videos, army training films about v.d., and tabloid psychiatry movies like Tomorrow’s Children, Glen or Glenda & Maniac. Paying customers who went in hoping for something sexy, explicit and tawdry would have learned that the joke was on them.  Continue reading →

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August 21, 2023 · 5:53 am

BALLADEER’S BLOG’S PRESEASON RANKINGS FOR D2 AND D3 COLLEGE FOOTBALL

This Thursday, August 24th, the 2023 college football season kicks off in the divisions covered here at Balladeer’s Blog. Here are my rankings for NCAA D2 and D3.

Pittsburg State Gorillas*** NCAA DIVISION TWO – 1. PITTSBURG (KS) STATE GORILLAS   ###   2. FERRIS STATE BULLDOGS (defending national champions)   ###   3. GRAND VALLEY STATE LAKERS   ###   4. UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA ARGONAUTS   ###   5. COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES OREDIGGERS   ###   

delta state6. DELTA STATE STATESMEN   ###   7. MINNESOTA STATE MAVERICKS   ###   8. NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE BEARCATS   ###   9. INDIANA UNIVERSITY IN PENNSYLVANIA CRIMSON HAWKS   ###   10. ARKANSAS TECH WONDERBOYS   ###    Continue reading →

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August 20, 2023 · 12:24 pm

OCTOBER 2018: A LOOK BACK

FOR PART ONE (2016) OF THIS RETROSPECTIVE FROM INDEPENDENT VOTER SITE BALLADEER’S BLOG CLICK HERE.

mascot sword and gun pic

BALLADEER’S BLOG

TECHNO TYRANTS OF SILICON VALLEY. And this was from October of 2018. Big Tech has gotten even worse since this was written HERE.

TRANSGRESS WITH ME: THE OCTOBER 16th, 2018 EDITION – The recurring feature that’s only for people with a backbone. Click HERE.

MOTHER JONES: MORE OF HER FAVORITE LINKS ABOUT PRESIDENT TRUMP. Read it HERE.

FOUR WOMEN INDICTED IN DEMOCRAT VOTER FRAUD RING IN TEXAS. And no matter how many stories like this turn up year after year, Democrat fascists still pretend that “there’s no such thing as vote fraud.” It’s HERE.

Trump never called racist til running against DemocratsA LOOK AT THE WAY DE FACTO THIRD-PARTY PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP HAS BEEN ATTRACTING BLACK, GAY AND HISPANIC VOTERS. “One of the more remarkable parts of watching Trump has been the traditionally (Democrat) groups (gay, Hispanic, African-American) slowly start to peel away from the left.” Click HERE.

MORE MOCK HEADLINES – This October 2018 item featured joke headlines like “PRIVILEGED WHITE ONE PERCENTER NANCY PELOSI DEMANDS THAT WOMEN ‘JUST SHUT UP AND VOTE FOR US DEMOCRATS!” and “DEMOCRATS BOAST “WE’LL NEVER LACK FOR BALLSEY FRAUDS TO SLITHER OUT FROM UNDER ROCKS AND LIE FOR US WHEN NEEDED!” Find them HERE.

#walkaway#WALKAWAY FOUNDER BRANDON STRAKA ON THE OCTOBER RALLY AND MORE. It’s all HERE. Includes quotes like “We are walking away from the lies, the hate, the violence, and vandalism. We are walking away from the vitriol, the name-calling, the censorship, the Fake News. We are walking away from the phony and crooked investigations, the divisiveness, the race-baiting.”

And: “There are many people leaving the Democrat Party because they are sickened by the non-stop bullying, violence, censorship, and crudity displayed by so many on the Left. They are hip to the fact that the left-wing so-called anti-fascists, are in truth the very fascists that they claim to detest.” Continue reading →

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August 19, 2023 · 12:03 am

JUSTICE SOCIETY: 1949 STORIES

For this weekend’s light-hearted, escapist blog post about superheroes, Balladeer’s Blog looks at the 1949 issues of America’s very first superteam in comic books – the Justice Society. 

asc 45ALL STAR COMICS Vol 1 #45 (February 1949)

Title: The Case of the Cosmic Criminals

Justice Society Roster: Dr. Mid-Nite, the 1st Wonder Woman, 1st Flash, 1st Atom, 1st Black Canary, 1st Hawkman and 1st Green Lantern

Villains: The Cosmic Criminals

Synopsis: Professor Felix Egri uses star alignments, stellar energy and a distant nova to provide a charge of cosmic energy to 6 ordinary objects. The Rocky Castle Gang of criminals raid his lab and steal the half-dozen items and begin a crime wave with the powers granted to them by the cosmic energy of those objects. Continue reading →

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August 18, 2023 · 1:38 pm

AUGUST 18th ROUNDUP OF NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOONS

Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog presents another roundup of life here in Joe Biden’s corporate fascist kleptocracy.

malachi maxeyMARTIN LUTHER KING MAN OF COURAGE MALACHI MAXEY CALLS OUT THE “TWO-TIERED JUSTICE SYSTEM” THAT IS PERSECUTING DISSIDENT LEADER DONALD TRUMP.

JOE BIDEN EXPOSED FOR USING THREE ALIASES IN DEALINGS WITH UKRAINE. The Biden Crime Family is atrocious.  

joe for saleBIDEN REGIME BREAKS THE LAW THAT A SPECIAL COUNSEL MUST COME FROM OUTSIDE THE GOVERNMENT. More HERE. Democrats would have the backbone to take action if a Republican president did that. The worthless Republican Party simply harrumphs. One side wants it more.

NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED: REMEMBER THAT NEWLY ELECTED TRUMP DECIDED NOT TO PROSECUTE HILLARY CLINTON FOR HER MANY CRIMES. Trump’s enemies are the lowest of the low. 

CALLOUS AND UNCARING JOE BIDEN TAKES ANOTHER VACATION WHILE HAWAII SUFFERS. More HERE. Joe Biden is a large clump of bacteria sculpted into human form.

MICHIGAN WAS INDEED INVESTIGATING VOTE FRAUD FROM 2020. At this point, only people who think that some males menstruate and can get pregnant believe that the 2020 presidential election was not corrupt. It was as tainted as 1876 and 2000.

who still wantsHUMOROUS BIT ABOUT PERSECUTOR JACK SMITH TRYING TO INDICT ALL 221,683,092 AMERICANS WHO BELIEVE THE 2020 ELECTION WAS STOLEN.

BIDEN CLAIMS THAT HE WATCHED A BRIDGE COLLAPSE IN PITTSBURGH LAST YEAR – AN EVENT THAT NEVER HAPPENED. Unfit and illegit. 

ONE HUNDRED FIFTY TIMES THAT DEMOCRATS DENIED ELECTION RESULTS. But it’s only illegal if an outsider does it. Continue reading →

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