March 26, 2022 · 12:03 am

LUKE CAGE, POWER MAN: EARLY 1970s STORIES

power man pictureSuperheroes continue to dominate pop culture right now, and as I’ve often said, I think hero tales work best when set in their original time period.

Here is Balladeer’s Blog’s look at the earliest stories about Luke Cage, who started out as Hero for Hire before Marvel Comics changed his name to Power Man.

hero for hire 1HERO FOR HIRE Vol 1 #1 (June 1972)

Title: Out of Hell – A Hero

Villains: Diamondback, Shades and Comanche

Synopsis: Carl Lucas, a black man from New York, was framed for drug possession by his former friend Willis Stryker. While serving his sentence at horrific Seagate Prison in Georgia, Carl volunteered to be the subject of medical experimentation intended to create super-powered warriors for the government.

Albert Rackham, a racist prison guard with a grudge against Lucas had tampered with the experimental device hoping to kill him. Instead, Carl gained super-strength and bullet-proof skin.

cage picUsing those powers, Lucas escaped Seagate Prison but misled the authorities into thinking he died in the ocean while trying to get away. With Carl Lucas pronounced dead, our main character settled in New York City under the name Luke Cage and became a literal Hero for Hire, using his superpowers to earn a living.

After making a positive name for himself in a few fairly routine cases, Luke attracts the attention of the crime boss called Diamondback … who is really Willis Stryker, the friend who framed Carl Lucas years earlier. Continue reading →

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March 25, 2022 · 7:22 am

NCCAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP AND NAIA FINAL FOUR ACTION

NCCAA DIVISION ONE

baptist bible college patriotsNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The 4 seeds – the BAPTIST BIBLE COLLEGE PATRIOTS – took on the 2nd seeded LANCASTER BIBLE COLLEGE CHARGERS in this title game.

By Halftime the Patriots had put Lancaster Bible College on Upset Alert with their 38-33 advantage. After the break Baptist Bible College eked out a tad more distance from the Chargers for a 77-70 triumph. Trent McBride led the victors with 25 points while his fellow Patriot Tre Minton logged a Double-Double of 22 points and 13 rebounds. * THE PATRIOTS ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF NCCAA BASKETBALL * 

NAIA FINAL FOUR

Talladega College Tornadoes NEWFIRST SEMIFINAL – This game pitted the TALLADEGA COLLEGE TORNADOES against the THOMAS MORE UNIVERSITY SAINTS.

The Tornadoes shocked their opponents by going out in front of them 39-27 at the Half. In turn, the Saints shocked Talladega College by forcing Overtime with a 68-68 tie to end Regulation. In the extra session the Tornadoes emerged with a 78-77 victory. Sixteen points from Cam Potts led Talladega College. Continue reading →

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March 24, 2022 · 4:21 pm

POLITICAL CARTOON ROUNDUP: MARCH 24th

Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog presents another look at some recent political cartoons that genuinely speak truth to power, especially to Joe “D’OH!” Biden, the hopelessly corrupt and blood-soaked career criminal. 

biden brackets Continue reading →

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March 24, 2022 · 2:53 am

KIRSTEN DUNST GOES BANANAS

Mascot FOUR original pics

Balladeer’s Blog

“What an eccentric performance” as they said in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Forget William Shatner singing Rocket Man, hell, you can even forget Tim Robbins singing Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. 

No, this is more like if Morgan Freeman sang Like A Virgin or Linda Hunt performed One Night in Bangkok. It’s the thoroughly bizarre – yet oddly arousing – music video of Kirsten Dunst singing the Vapors’ hit song Turning Japanese … while wearing a blue wig. The song starts at the 19 second mark.

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March 23, 2022 · 12:47 am

SEVEN ANCIENT GREEK COMEDIES WITH THEMES THAT ARE STILL RELEVANT

Map

Map

The satirical comedies written and performed during the glory years of the ancient Athenian Democracy still pack a punch after more than 2,400 years. Athens faced many of the same issues and dilemmas we Americans face. Part of the reason for that is the fact that our founding fathers were great students of ancient Greek democracy and modeled some of our own institutions on the Athenian model.

The comedies are also much more sophisticated than modern audiences expect, featuring political views, sexual material and metatheatrical humor that seem several centuries ahead of their time. Breaking the fourth wall is not a postmodern concept like some people have convinced themselves – it was a convention established in these ancient works of comedy.

Irreverence toward any and all subjects – including the gods they worshipped – was permitted by the Athenians in the “anything goes” arena of the Theatre of Dionysus, where the comedies competed with each other at festivals, chiefly the Dionysia and the Lenaea.

For more details click here: https://glitternight.com/2011/09/22/at-long-last-my-ancient-greek-comedy-posts-begin/   

plutoiWEALTH GODS (PLUTOI) – By Cratinus. In this satirical comedy the Titans are depicted overthrowing Zeus in a metaphor for the fall of the political leader Pericles. This was a reference either to his actual death or to the loss of his position as Strategos  (Commander in Chief) depending on which year you go with for the comedy.

With Zeus/Pericles out of the way, Cratinus depicted the Titans returning Earth to the Golden Age when they ruled and all wealth was shared equally. The comedy presented various Athenian tycoons being put on trial by the Titans, who would confiscate  wealth acquired in an “unjust” way and give it to others. But just WHO gets to decide what qualifies as an “unjust” way of acquiring wealth? Continue reading →

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March 22, 2022 · 3:25 pm

NAIA ELITE EIGHT AND NCCAA FINAL FOUR ACTION

NCCAA FINAL FOUR

lancaster bible college chargersFIRST SEMIFINAL – The 2nd ranked LANCASTER BIBLE COLLEGE CHARGERS took the court against the 3 seeds – the CAROLINA UNIVERSITY BRUINS.

The Bruins were threatening an Upset and led the game 35-26 by Halftime. After the break the Chargers outscored Carolina University 42-31 for a thrilling 68-66 comeback win. Jordan Shewbridge put up 21 points to lead LBC in scoring. Continue reading →

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March 21, 2022 · 10:25 pm

CALL OF CTHULHU: THE SILENT MOVIE

call of cthulhuTHE CALL OF CTHULHU (2005) – The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society produced this terrific – but decidedly niche – horror film based on Lovecraft’s tale The Call of Cthulhu from 1928.

The clever approach employed by the producers was to present this black and white film as if it was a Silent Movie made in the 1920s.

call of cthulhu picRegular readers of Balladeer’s Blog may remember that I’m a silent film geek so I fell in love with this movie immediately. The Lovecraft Historical Society players threw themselves into this labor of love, terrifically adapting the broad over-acting, dialogue boards and cinematic grammar of the Silent Age.

The running time of The Call of Cthulhu is just 47 minutes, so we get the actual story with no pointless filler or additions. You can count me among those who consider this unlikely project to be the purest film adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft story. Continue reading →

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March 20, 2022 · 9:56 pm

NEVER FORGET DEMOCRAT MEDIA OUTLET LIES ABOUT HUNTER BIDEN’S LAPTOP AND SCANDALS

biden hunter laptop so called experts

democrat republican or awakeIndependent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at yet ANOTHER collapse of anti-Trump and pro-Biden lies told by the Democrats and their media outlets. They lied about “Russian Collusion” (LMAO), they lied about and/or simply fabricated remarks supposedly said by Trump, and on and on. Their lies about the January 6th protests being “an insurrection” have been falling apart, too. For links to reminders about these stories see below. 

The main topic of this blog post is to remind readers of the pattern followed by these anti-Trump lies – the Democrats and their media outlets would insist the stories were true (as if those insistences were somehow proof) and would try to laugh off the skeptics as being victims of misinformation or even more insulting terms.

media biasInevitably, as the lies about Trump have fallen apart over time, the Democrats and their media outlets give a few token retractions of their earlier lies, then cover the stories as if they were not monumentally wrong about them at first. Anyone out there who still dismisses anything Trump says as lies has completely missed who keeps getting exposed as the real liars over the past seven years.

Hunter Biden’s laptop, which the Democrats and their media outlets lied about in 2020 and claimed to be “Russian disinformation” has turned out to be the source of a great deal of Biden Family scandals. Because those scandals would have harmed Joe Biden’s presidential campaign in 2020 the obedient media scoffed and openly laughed at the notion that the revelations were real.

The Democrats of social media outlets even banned posts – and sometimes closed entire accounts – over references to the “discredited” Hunter Biden laptop evidence that we have since learned over and over again was accurate information. Same as so many other Democrat and media lies over the years. This election interference clearly covered up for candidate Biden and his family’s many scandals.

“There have been no consequences. Twitter and Facebook still censor information based on political bias, and Congress takes no action. Many of the letter signers continue to be used as “experts” by the media. Clapper, for instance, spent years on CNN calling Donald Trump a “Russian asset,” a lie invented and fed by political operatives of Hillary Clinton. He’s still there. Guess accuracy is not a condition of employment.”

corporate mediaBelow are just SOME links to stories about Hunter Biden’s laptop and the evidence that the drug using, corrupt thug seems to have forgotten was on it. Also, JOE BIDEN STILL HAS MORE KIDS IN CAGES THAN TRUMP OR OBAMA HAD. But we know that Democrats never cared about those kids, they just used them as a political stick.

DEMOCRATS AND THEIR MEDIA OUTLETS CLAIMED THAT THE HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP WAS “ANTI-BIDEN PROPAGANDA” OR “RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION” ETC. Also HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE. 

*** AND REMEMBER THIS ONE, WITH A CBS REPORTER CHUCKLING OVER PRESIDENT TRUMP’S COMMENTS ON THE HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP EVIDENCE AND LYING ABOUT HOW IT COULDN’T BE VERIFIED. People who pretend to be “reporters” are often lower than our corrupt politicians.

VERY DETAILED ITEM ABOUT THE DEMOCRAT LIES REGARDING THE LAPTOP AND THE BIDEN SCANDALS IT EXPOSED. Even more HERE.

THE LYING MEDIA NEEDS TO BE HUMILIATED BY ALL THIS. More HERE. And HERE.

SO DOES AMERICA’S FOREVER INEPT AND/OR MALICIOUS “INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.” More HERE, HERE and HERE.

AND HOW ABOUT JOE BIDEN’S RAMBLINGS ABOUT HOW WE ALL SUPPOSEDLY KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE BLACKMAILED BY COMPROMISING MATERIALS? What was he hinting at regarding himself and Hunter Biden with such a remark?

THE DEMOCRATS WHO CLAIM TO BE “FACT-CHECKERS” ARE ANYTHING BUT. More HERE. And HERE. And a new one HERE.

VDH WITH A MASTERFUL STEP BY STEP ACCOUNT OF DEMOCRATS AND THEIR MEDIA OUTLETS FALSIFYING STORIES ABOUT TRUMP. Continue reading →

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March 19, 2022 · 10:12 pm

NAIA AND NCCAA COLLEGE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT RESULTS

NAIA ROUND TWO

ariz christian university firestormBATTLE OF COOL-NAMED TEAMS – The ARIZONA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY FIRESTORM clashed with the BETHEL (KS) COLLEGE THRESHERS in this game.

The Threshers had the Firestorm faithful worried at Halftime with their 40-37 edge. After the break the Firestorm dominated on both sides of the ball, outscoring Bethel College 45-26 to win by a final tally of 82-66. Dennis Flowers III led ACU with 16 points, while his teammate Robby Wilson logged a Double-Double of 11 points and 13 rebounds. Continue reading →

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March 18, 2022 · 4:19 pm

CAPTAIN AMERICA & THE FALCON: 1970s CLASSICS 12 – THE FINALE; CAP RETURNS AND THE RED SKULL STRIKES

For Part One of this series click HERE.

ca f 183CAPTAIN AMERICA & THE FALCON Vol 1 #183 (March 1975)

Title: Nomad No More (A play on Captain America No More, the title of the story when Steve Rogers gave up being Cap.)

Villains: The Red Skull, Viper’s hoped-for disciples and Gamecock (First Appearance)

Note: The previous issue’s cliffhanger presented the Falcon and the “newest” would-be Captain America – Roscoe Simons – caught by surprise and at the mercy of the returned Red Skull, back after a several year absence. 

Synopsis: This issue picks up three days later as Nomad (Steve Rogers) has returned from Seattle and is currently battling the brand new costumed supervillain called Gamecock and his two sidekicks. The fight is taking place on a rooftop in Harlem during the day.

nomad fighting gamecockDialogue from the four combatants lets us know that Nomad came to Harlem looking for the Falcon and hasn’t been able to find him. Gamecock and his two underlings make it clear they were looking for Falcon, too, to kill him. Continue reading →

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