CONGRATULATIONS TO ALVAREZ GALLOSO, A FANTASTIC FELLOW BLOGGER – HIS MOUSTACHIOED SELF SHOWS UP AS 1-900- DOC ROBB, 1-900-ALRIGHT AND OTHERS IN THIS MUSIC VIDEO!
Ver “Midnight Kahuna – Last Coke In The Desert” en YouTube
Filed under Uncategorized
APRIL COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS
More college football results from games rescheduled from last fall due to Covid.
NAIA
TUSSLE IN THE TOP ELEVEN – The number 10 team in the nation – the MARIAN UNIVERSITY KNIGHTS – traveled to take on the 11th ranked UNIVERSITY OF SAINT FRANCIS (IN) COUGARS. Though the Cougars led 3-0 to end the 1st Quarter, by Halftime the Knights were on top 20-3. That became a 27-11 advantage going into the 4th Quarter, in which Marian U had to survive a furious Saint Francis rally, holding on for a 41-34 victory.
WHEN RANKED TEAMS CLASH – The 6th ranked COLLEGE OF IDAHO COYOTES found themselves on the road against the number 20 EASTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY MOUNTAINEERS. By the midpoint of this game between these two familiar Frontier Conference opponents the Mountaineers were leading the Coyotes 28-21. The 3rd Quarter ended with EOU clinging to a 31-28 edge before the College of Idaho came from behind to win it 49-38 in the 4th.
DOUBLING UP ON THE COMPETITION – The (24) SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE MOUNDBUILDERS took it on the road against the OTTAWA UNIVERSITY (KS) BRAVES yesterday. A 7-7 1st Quarter tie remained unchanged by the Half. After the break, the Moundbuilders had an explosive 3rd Quarter, going on top by a score of 28-14. The defenses shut out both teams in the 4th Quarter, so 28-14 was the final tally as well. Continue reading
Filed under college football
QUALITY COMICS SUPERHERO PANTHEON
BALLADEER’S BLOG
Okay, regular readers definitely let me hear it over the way I skipped doing a light-hearted superhero post last weekend. I’m taking a look at the Quality Comics characters as they were in the Golden Age before they got absorbed by the black hole of DC Comics, into which the IPs of other publishers have been mangled to fit their latest “Crisis” nonsense. The days when they had the heroes of each newly acquired company set on an alternate Earth sound much more fun, but I’m not a comic book expert.
THE RAY
Secret Identity: Happy Terrill
First Appearance: Smash Comics #14 (September 1940) His final Golden Age appearance came in 1943.
Origin: While covering a scientist named Dr Styne as he tested his experimental lighter than air craft, New York Star reporter Happy Terrill rode along but got exposed to solar radiation and struck by lightning. (I hate when that happens!) This freak accident gave him superpowers with which he fought crime as the Ray.
Powers: The Ray could fly, shoot solar energy and electricity from his hands and turn his entire body into energy if needed. He drew power from light so extended periods shut off from all light sources would leave him powerless.
Comment: Like so many other Golden Age superheroes, the Ray was co-created by Will Eisner.
LADY LUCK
Secret Identity: Brenda Banks
First Appearance: The Spirit Section (June 1940). Her final Golden Age appearance came in 1950.
Origin: Brenda Banks was the daughter of wealthy mine owner Bickford Banks. Growing bored with her luxurious life as a socialite, she secretly studied all manner of unarmed combat and donned a costume to fight the forces of evil as Lady Luck, in honor of her Irish heritage. Continue reading
Filed under Superheroes
PROTO-MUPPETS IN COMMERCIALS: JIM HENSON’S WILKINS AND WONTKINS ADS (1957-1961)
Wilkins (rear) and Wontkins
Balladeer’s Blog’s recurring feature Forgotten Television takes a look at some vintage commercials from a future big name. Long before his Muppets would become internationally known Jim Henson presented and voiced a pair of puppets named Wilkins and Wontkins. From 1957 to 1961 the duo appeared in a series of 8-second commercials for a variety of products, just like Jim Varney’s “Hey, Vern!” character Ernest P Worrell decades later. In the 1970s they still popped up from time to time.
Wilkins and Wontkins had a sort of Itchy & Scratchy feel with occasional undertones of Bert & Ernie. Wilkins, voiced by Henson in his future Kermit the Frog style, inflicted bizarrely sadistic punishments on Wontkins for not liking the products they were advertising.
Wontkins sounded like Oscar the Grouch crossed with either Statler or Waldorf and came complete with a Bert-style nose and perpetual frown (and no wonder). Wilkins, on the other hand, looked like a phallic object with arms and a face.
Wilkins had so many Kermit the Frog mannerisms that it adds to the humor of these vintage advertisements. It’s especially dark-humored to see the puppet go through Kermit’s “silent laughter” motions after so many of the casual acts of violence that he inflicts on Wontkins.
What started as a team of spokes-puppets for Wilkins Coffee morphed into greater things as surely as Barry Manilow’s old commercial jingles paved the way for his singing career!
These Wilkins & Wontkins ads even contain topical references to the Cold War, the Space Race and the Quiz Show scandals! Just watch: Continue reading
Filed under Forgotten Television
DEMOCRAT ATROCITY ROUNDUP: APRIL 9th
Here at Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog I always follow plenty of Democrat and Republican media outlets, so that’s why I’m able to point out the damage done by both parties. This is in stark contrast to close-minded people who only follow media outlets which pander to their political prejudices. Supporters of the corrupt, addle-minded Joe Biden like to pretend that everything is wonderful now and that the country is “tranquil” and “united” (LMAO). Uh, NO, Biden fascists, just because your biased news outlets don’t cover Joe’s disasters and his divisive, hate-filled policies does not mean that everything is okay.
DEMOCRATS AT UVA CONTINUE THEIR VIOLATIONS OF STUDENTS’ CIVIL RIGHTS.
LAW ENFORCEMENT BLASTS BIDEN’S HORRIFIC BORDER CATASTROPHE.
BLACK CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY LEO TERRELL SHOWS HOW EASY IT IS TO GET A VOTER I.D. It’s like Democrats only oppose voter i.d. because they don’t want their Vote Fraud scams to stop.
DEMOCRATS STILL TRYING TO OBSTRUCT ONGOING INVESTIGATIONS INTO 2020 MAIL-IN VOTE FRAUD AND OTHER IRREGULARITIES. It’s no secret that the 2020 election was as crooked as the 1876 and 2000 elections.
TEXAS AND LOUISIANA SUE BIDEN OVER HIS INHUMANE BORDER CATASTROPHE.
EVEN MORE ABOUT ELECTION FRAUD INVESTIGATIONS.
VICTIMS OF THE BIDEN-MEXICAN CARTEL ALLIANCE.
Tiny handed Joe Biden
AND ANOTHER DEMOCRAT MAYOR LEAVES THEIR POLITICAL PARTY OVER THEIR FASCISM.
RASMUSSEN POLL: VOTERS REALIZE MOST REPORTERS SLANT NEWS TO HELP BIDEN.
AUSTRALIA CLOBBERS DEMOCRAT MEDIA OUTLETS FOR HAVING BURIED BIDEN SCANDALS UNTIL NOW. Remember, when Democrat media outlets claim a news story has been “debunked” or “discredited” it NEVER is. Continue reading
Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion
FOOL KILLER FIFTY-FOUR: MARCH 1912
Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the many facets of Fool Killer lore. FOR PART ONE, INCLUDING THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT IN THE 1850s, CLICK HERE
PART FIFTY-FOUR – There was no February issue of James Larkin Pearson’s version of The Fool-Killer in 1912, so we resume with the March issue, put together with Pearson’s new printing machinery. The Fool Killer’s targets this time around included:
*** Lawyers and politicians who felt constrained by legal precedents. Pearson and his Fool Killer called for dismantling the current system and starting fresh. Yet, once again, we will see below that he also had astonishingly regressive attitudes. The contradictions are part of the fascination.
*** North Carolina politicians and law enforcement personnel who, despite the state having Prohibition, secretly indulged in drinking alcohol and/or turned a blind eye to speakeasies and bootlegging. NOTE: Prohibition was not a nationwide policy yet. “Dry” states forbade the sell of booze while “Wet” states still had legal drinking.
*** People who chewed tobacco. Pearson had a big thing against chewers and smokers.
*** Lawyers and the legal system, which he wanted overhauled.
*** Meat packers and meat retailers, who were blaming each other for the inflated prices of meat products. Continue reading
Filed under Neglected History, opinion
RIVALS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES: LINKS
Thank you to those Balladeer’s Blog readers who reminded me that I hadn’t provided a post with the links to ALL my reviews of the episodes of The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes. That was a 1971-1973 British television series which adapted Victorian Age and Edwardian Age stories about detectives other than Sherlock Holmes.
1971 SEASON
A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP SEA – R Austin Freeman’s police surgeon detective Doctor John Evelyn Thorndyke (created in 1907) uses his unique talents to investigate the murder of a London prostitute. Click HERE.
THE WOMAN IN THE BIG HAT – Molly Robertson-Kirk aka Lady Molly of Scotland Yard, was created by THE Baroness Orczy in 1910. In this mystery she solves the murder of a man left poisoned in a public eatery by the title suspect. Click HERE.
THE AFFAIR OF THE AVALANCHE BICYCLE & TYRE CO. LTD – Arthur Morrison’s 1897 creation Horace Dorrington, a roguish and frequently dishonest private investigator, gets to the bottom of the public stock offering from a mysterious new corporation which may be running a scam. Click HERE.
THE RIPENING RUBIES – Bernard Sutton, a jeweler who solves mysteries, was created by Max Pemberton in 1894. In this case he solves a series of spectacular jewel thefts in London high society. Click HERE.
MADAME SARA – In 1902 L.T. Meade (Elizabeth Thomasina Meade Smith) and Robert Eustace published this first of six mysteries pitting their detective Dixon Druce against Madame Sara, a female combination of Professor Moriarty and Dr Fu Manchu. Click HERE. Continue reading
Filed under Forgotten Television
THE STEAM MAN OF THE PRAIRIES (1868): ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION
THE STEAM MAN OF THE PRAIRIES (1868) – Written by Edward Sylvester Ellis. Before the Frank Reade stories came this work that is often hailed as the first Dime Novel with a science fiction theme.
Ellis seems to have been inspired by the REAL and well-known Newark Steam Man built by Zadoc P Dederick in January of 1868. That Steam Man was built strictly to pull carts and wagonloads up and down the street. Its human appearance was just a novelty.
Back to Ellis’ novel: In Saint Louis lives Johnny Brainerd, a 15 year old dwarf with a hunchback, who has a brilliant mind in his misshapen body. After a long line of somewhat modest inventions Johnny constructs a human-shaped Steam Man that stands 9 feet tall. It has long legs with spiked feet, has the boilers in its chest, the firepot in its stomach and lets excess steam vent from its hat. (Dederick’s Newark Steam Man also wore a top hat.) The creation’s nose serves as its whistle, like on a tea kettle. Continue reading
Filed under Ancient Science Fiction
AMERICA’S MEDIA: EVEN LOWER THAN CAREER POLITICIANS?
Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog notes once again that the people who work in America’s media outlets may be the only life-forms who are even lower than our career politicians. We just saw the Democrats at NPR finally admit they misled the public into thinking the scandals against Hunter Biden had been “discredited by U.S. Intelligence.” It was necessary for Democrat media outlets to make such claims because the Biden Family scandals were threatening the Biden campaign, but now that it is safe, they will admit to their claims being false.
This has been the pattern for years now, so bear that in mind the next time Democrat media outlets tell you that something has been “discredited” or “debunked.”
For overseas readers I’ll explain that before the 2020 election the news about Hunter’s laptop and other scandals would have worked AGAINST Democrat political strategy. With Biden installed in the White House it no longer poses a threat to Democrat strategy because if Joe Biden resigns over his many, many scandals or because of his senility, then Kamala Harris will simply take his place, since she’s the Vice President.
Also in the news recently was last week’s attack on the Capitol which killed a policeman and injured others. The Democrats in the media recklessly insisted it had to be a “white supremacist” following up on the supposed “insurrection” that conspiracy kooks pretend happened on January 6th. Though it was eventually established that the attacker was really Noah Green, a black man who supported Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam, no doubt many people still think the initial media takes were accurate. That also accommodates Democrat political strategy. Continue reading
Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion
THE LAST DAYS OF PATTON (1986): MOVIE REVIEW
THE LAST DAYS OF PATTON (1986) – George C Scott SINGS! Yes, an ENTIRE SONG while camping it up like he’s in a vaudeville revue! Blood and Guts Song and dance man George S Patton belches belts out Lilly From Picadilly in a WTF moment from this otherwise reasonable made-for-tv movie which SHOULD have been titled AfterP*A*T*T*O*N.
Nearly two decades after George C Scott played Patton on the big screen he returned to the role to depict the final days of the controversial military icon. The above-referenced strange interlude in which the General sang on-stage was a mere aberration but you just knew that as weird as I am I would start out my review with it.
The Scottsploitation angle is the best thing The Last Days of Patton has going for it, because without the novelty appeal of the charismatic actor in the lead role this telefilm would be hopelessly soap-operatic. We’re told the General had an affair with a younger woman but his stoic wife (Eva Marie Saint) tolerated it even though she did not approve. We also get lots of medical drama after Patton is paralyzed following a car accident in Germany the day before he was to leave for America.
Roughly half of the movie is spent with the great George C Scott in a hospital bed, like we’re watching Whose Life Is It Anyway, Ya Pusillanimous Sons of Bitches? Scott is always watchable, and really shines here, but the other actors have no room. With such a gigantic figure – real-life Elmer Fudd voice aside – it may have been like that in reality, too. Sharing any stage with the likes of George S Patton must have been suffocating for one’s own ego. Continue reading
Filed under Neglected History, opinion
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