NEWS ROUNDUP: DECEMBER 26th

Christmas is a great time to take a break from the harsh realities of the daily headlines, but today Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog dives back into current events with this latest news roundup.

biden gestapoFURTHER REVELATIONS ABOUT HOW THE FBI (Fuggedda Bout Integrity), the CIA AND OTHER GESTAPO-LIKE ORGANIZATIONS USED SOCIAL MEDIA TO CENSOR THE REST OF US. More HERE. And HERE.

SEVEN OF JOE BIDEN’S BIGGEST LIES OF 2022.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COUNSELOR SENTENCED TO TWENTY-FIVE YEARS FOR EXPLOITING UNDERAGE GIRLS. Democrats, can you please leave children alone?

SURVEY: MAJORITY OF AMERICANS FEEL THAT BIDEN’S DISASTROUS ECONOMY IS GETTING EVEN WORSE . Continue reading

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SIMON CALLOW: A CHRISTMAS CAROL (2018)

simon callow carolMERRY CHRISTMAS! Balladeer’s Blog’s Christmas Carol-a-Thon 2022 comes to a close with this look at Simon Callow’s one man show A Christmas Carol. Under Tom Cairns’ direction, Callow’s lauded performance, this time taking place in an abandoned warehouse, gets just enough goosing from smoke, sound effects, fake snow and other enhancements to justify capturing it on film.

Callow even lights a fire at one point and in another portion warms his hands over a lit candle, Bob Cratchit style. The only score consists of ambient electronic music from Ben and Max Ringham.   

Simon Callow has surpassed Patrick Stewart’s old one-man performance of the Carol in recent decades and he even portrayed Charles Dickens himself doing a public reading of A Christmas Carol in a Doctor Who special in 2005. Like Patrick Stewart, Callow uses Dickens’ old prompt copy for public readings as his launching point but acts out each character in a far more impressive manner than Stewart ever did. Continue reading

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JOHN GRIN’S CHRISTMAS (1986) – CHRISTMAS CAROL-A-THON CONTINUES

john-grins-christmas

Wealthy John Grin (left) with a Ghostly Visitor

JOHN GRIN’S CHRISTMAS (1986) – The 2022 edition of Balladeer’s Blog’s Annual Christmas Carol-A-Thon continues with this obscure item from the 1980s. My copy of John Grin’s Christmas was already barely watchable when I first tracked it down and it looks worse and worse each time I watch it. Still no DVD release, though, so I’ve decided to give up hoping for a clearer copy and will just review it as is.

Regular readers are familiar with the obsessive lengths I go to in order to track down the various out-of-the-way adaptations of A Christmas Carol. I’m afraid this time around the story is kind of dull – I bought John Grin’s Christmas from someone on E-Bay a few years back. They had taped it off television in 1986 and were selling that very faded and gargly-sounding VHS tape.

Renaissance Man Robert Guillaume directed and stars as the Ebenezer Scrooge stand-in John Grin, our title craftsman who makes a variety of collectibles. Many sources claim he only makes toys but that is not true, it’s just that as Christmas approaches most of his sales are toys. And, since the story is set around Christmas time … Continue reading

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SANTA CLAUS VILLAGE

santa claus villageA few years back, when Balladeer’s Blog reviewed I Met Father Christmas, I went on a little tangent about one of the filming locations – Rovaniemi in Lapland, Finland. Beginning in 1985 Rovaniemi’s Santa Claus Village was Finland’s new “official” designation of the site of Santa’s workshop and related items. 

scvPrior to 1985, Korvatunturi was considered Santa’s home, which is why I suspect that I Met Father Christmas may have been part of a 1984 publicity push regarding Finland’s upcoming “official” re-designation of Rovaniemi as the site of Santa’s workshop and village. Rovaniemi’s airport is just a mile away from Santa Claus Village.  

more at santa claus villageIn the years since then, Rovaniemi has become more and more entrenched as the home of Santa and his workshop. A Christmas special called Lapland Out was filmed there as part of Tots TV, as was the Bam Margera movie Where The #$&% Is Santa? Hell, even a Lordi heavy metal music video was filmed there for their song Hardrock Hallelujah. (That overhead line marks the actual Arctic Circle.) 

reindeer sleigh ridesSanta Claus Village seems like a fantastic spot for a family vacation if you don’t mind traveling, and if you don’t mind the frigid outside conditions. There are sleigh rides powered by reindeer (above right), snowmobile touring, dogsledding, a petting zoo, an Elf Academy and much more.    Continue reading

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BEST OF JULY 2022

Balladeer’s Blog’s annual end of year retrospective continues with this look at July’s best:

murdercycle posterMURDERCYCLE (1999) – A Bad Movie gem! An alien object lands on Earth and melds with a motorcycle and its rider. The resulting bio-mechanical creature attacks a secret military compound to recover extraterrestrial technology being studied and reverse-engineered there. The full review is HERE.

MOTHER JONES: DEMOCRATS VS THE REST OF US – You can read it HERE.

LUKE RYAN: PRIVATEER OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR – A look at his swashbuckling career HERE.

duel at diablo coverEIGHT JAMES GARNER WESTERNS – Balladeer’s Blog’s review of some of the Westerns starring the iconic James Garner, like A Man Called Sledge, Duel at Diablo, Hour of the Gun, One Little Indian and more. Click HERE

BIDEN CAMPAIGN FIGURE SENTENCED TO TWELVE YEARS FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY – Democrats, can you please leave children alone? HERE.

KIKUYU CREATION MYTH FROM KENYA – A look at the Kikuyu stories of creation and the establishment of their culture. Read it HERE.

conan and belitCONAN THE BARBARIAN: MARVEL’S ADAPTATION OF QUEEN OF THE BLACK COAST – After the Pulp Era, the Marvel Comics adaptations of Robert E. Howard’s Conan tales kept the figure alive in the public’s mind. A look at their lengthy version of Conan’s adventures with the love of his life Belit, the pirate queen. Also, Amra, Lord of the Lions. HERE.

JOE BIDEN’S DISASTROUS POLICIES CONTINUE TO HARM THE WORKING CLASS AND THE POOR – Plus more HERE.

FOOL-KILLER (April 1913) – James Larkin Pearson’s version of the Fool Killer attacks child labor and dives into conflict-of-interest scandals in politics plus the latest unrest in Mexico. Click HERE.

FACULTY LOUNGE FASCIST ROUNDUP: JULY 27th – HERE.

c cody sky marshalCOMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE (1953) – From my Forgotten Television category came this look at the Commando Cody television series from the 1950s. Plus a summary of the movie serials the character had appeared in from 1949 onward. Click HERE.

NEWS ROUNDUP: JULY 20th – You can find it HERE. Continue reading

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SCROOGE AND THE STARS (1963)

Scrooge and the StarsBalladeer’s Blog’s Christmas Carol-A-Thon 2022 continues! Back in the 2012 edition I reviewed Rich Little’s Christmas Carol, his 1978 television special. In that review I mentioned impressionist Little’s earlier, shorter, stand-up version of the special in which he used the voices of entirely different celebrities for the characters in A Christmas Carol.

This time around I will look at that 1963 AUDIO version. Rich Little had compiled the piece over the course of years, stretching back to his days as a DJ when he would ad-lib much of the material.

A historical footnote is the fact that – since Rich Little prepared the material far in advance of Christmas – he used the voice of John F Kennedy for the Ghost of Christmas Present. The record album version was released mere days after JFK’s assassination.

The voice lineup for the other characters went as follows:

Scrooge – Jack Benny Continue reading

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WASHINGTON DC’s CESSPOOL OF CORRUPTION ROLLS ALONG …

ftx scandal continues

With the end of 2022 fast approaching, Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog notes just a few of the latest acts of destruction inflicted on the rest of us by the career white-collar criminals who hold office via the Democrat and Republican Parties.

*** NEW – AND YET ANOTHER STATE SUPREME COURT – DELAWARE THIS TIME – STRIKES DOWN VOTE BY MAIL (Cheat by Mail). Also strikes down election day registration. (And remember, Vote by Mail is NOT the same thing as absentee voting.) At any rate, even more of those unconstitutional mail in ballots should never have been counted.

intelligence community thugsBIDENGATE CONTINUES AS THE LATEST TWITTER EXPOSURE REVEALS THE FBI ACTED AS A VIRTUAL INTELLIGENCE ASSET FOR THE BIDENS. More on the latest Twitter files HERE. And HERE.

REPUBLICAN SENATOR “COCAINE MITCH” MCCONNELL, OWNED BY CHINA, BLUNTLY TELLS AMERICANS THAT HE AND HIS COLLEAGUES CARE NOTHING ABOUT THEIR CONSTITUENTS

biden fbi electionsTWITTER FILES REVEAL THAT THE PREVIOUS REGIME AT TWITTER COOPERATED WITH THE U.S. MILITARY ON PSYOPS AND OTHER EFFORTS. Joe Biden’s corporate fascist kleptocracy and its functionaries are the worst of the worst. The election interference was just the tip of the iceberg.

FRESHLY EXPOSED EMAILS FURTHER DEMONSTRATE PRIVILEGED WHITE ONE PERCENTER NANCY PELOSI’S INCOMPETENCE. More HERE. And HERE. Typical of Nancy, she failed, then blamed everyone else. 

EVEN MORE INFORMATION COMES OUT ABOUT BIG TECH AND ITS PARTISAN ALLIES INTERFERING IN THE 2020 ELECTION. As I’ve long said, the 2020 presidential election was at least as corrupt and tainted as the 1876 and year 2000 presidential elections.

THE FASCISTS WHO RUN AMERICA’S “INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES” WAGE WAR ON POLITICAL OPPONENTS. One of the reasons I used to be a Democrat before becoming an Independent Voter was because the Democrats USED TO be openly critical of the abuses of America’s thuggish CIA, FBI, NSA, etc. Not anymore. Now Democrats are fine with using those agencies against all dissenting opinions. More HERE.

BRITISH NEWS OUTLET COVERS THE CIA AND FBI INFESTATION AT SOCIAL MEDIA AND OTHER BIG TECH GIANTS. The worst such abuses since the 1970s. Continue reading

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THE INSPECTOR (1965) FOR THE SHORTEST DAY OF THE YEAR

the inspectorBecause December 21st is the shortest day of the year, Balladeer’s Blog always runs articles about short films, short presidential administrations, etc. This year I’m observing the 57th anniversary of the theatrical release of the very first animated short in The Inspector series on December 21st, 1965.

The Inspector was the DePattie-Freleng cartoon character introduced in the animated opening credits of the Blake Edwards/ Peter Sellers Pink Panther movies. This inept yet overconfident detective was based on Sellers’ memorable Inspector Clouseau character in those comedies.

inspector and the pink pantherThe Pink Panther had already graduated from being the opening credits mascot of Edwards’ series to its own series of cartoon shorts. When the tradition of screening original cartoons before the latest movie releases ended (for the most part) in the late 60s/ early 70s, many of those animated shorts were packaged as cartoon shows for Saturday morning television. The Inspector found a new home as part of the Pink Panther cartoon show.

All of those programs played in reruns for decades, often recycling the same few dozen (or less) cartoons over and over again. The Inspector series of 34 animated shorts had run in movie theaters from December 21st, 1965 to May 14th, 1969.

great de gaulle stoneTHE GREAT DE GAULLE STONE OPERATION – Yes, it was 57 years ago on this date when this Inspector cartoon debuted. As of 1965 the Blake Edwards/ Peter Sellers film series consisted of just The Pink Panther (1963) and A Shot in the Dark (1964). (The original Pink Panther movie premiered in Europe in December 1963 and America in 1964, which is why it is sometimes listed as a 1964 release instead of 1963.) Continue reading

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BEST OF JUNE 2022

Balladeer’s Blog’s annual end of year retrospective continues with a look at June’s best:

raiders of atlantis coverRAIDERS OF ATLANTIS (1983) – One of my guiltiest of guilty pleasures, this film is loaded with a mind-blow of multiple elements. Raiders of Atlantis combines sci-fi, horror, Road Warrior, Schwarzenegger, zombie flicks and Raiders of the Lost Ark ripoffs in that explosively enthusiastic manner characteristic of so many Italian B-movies.

Click HERE.

POLITICAL CARTOON AND MEME ROUNDUP: JUNE 27th – You can check it out HERE.

pony express ridersPONY EXPRESS RIDERS – The Cliff Brothers HERE, and the last stand of Billy Tate during the Paiute War in 1860 HERE

THE CRIMES OF REPUBLICAN LIZ CHENEY AND HER FATHER – Read it HERE.

deadly spawn picSEVEN ODD MOVIES FOR NATIONAL VCR DAY – Balladeer’s Blog’s brief reviews of The Deadly Spawn, Triumph of the Champions of Justice, Scream Blacula Scream, Cockfighter, Killer Force, Judge Dee & the Monastery Murders plus Shock Treatment. It’s all HERE.

A CHRONOLOGY OF HOW DEMOCRATS ABANDONED THE WORKING CLASS – You can read it HERE.

TWO MORE ANCIENT GREEK COMEDIES SEEN THROUGH MODERN EYES – My examinations of Baptae and Anteia are HERE.

ad 2000A.D. 2000 (1890) – This work of “ancient” science fiction was one of the first to follow in the wake of Bellamy’s Looking Backward.

An 1880s man named Junius Cobb is put in suspended animation and awakens in the year 2000 A.D. Incredible scientific and social changes await him. The full review is HERE.

JOE BIDEN TAKES A LITERAL FALL AMID HIS MANY SCANDALS AND FAILURES – Click HERE. Continue reading

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PONSETT’S CHRISTMAS CAROL (1953)

Cowboy SantaBalladeer’s Blog’s Christmas Carol-A-Thon 2022 rolls along with Ponsett’s Christmas Carol. Back during 2013’s Carol-A-Thon I reviewed The Trail to Christmas (1957), Jimmy Stewart’s television adaptation of this particular radio play.

Stewart was basically cannibalizing a script from his own radio show, The Six-Shooter, on which that Old West version of A Christmas Carol, titled Ponsett’s Christmas Carol, first aired in 1953.

So here it is in its original radio format:

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