FOOL KILLER: PART FIFTEEN – O HENRY

Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the many facets of Fool Killer lore. FOR PART ONE, INCLUDING THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT, CLICK HERE

Matthew as the Fool Killer would be perfectPART FIFTEEN: Last time around I examined Joel Chandler Harris’ 1902 story Flingin’ Jim And His Fool-Killer, set in Georgia in October of 1872, plus Ridgway Hill’s Facts For The Fool-Killer, set in and around Buffalo, NY in 1909.

Now we back up a year for the great O Henry’s story The Fool-Killer, published as part of The Voice of the City in 1908. In his younger years O Henry (William Sidney Porter) had personally known Charles Napoleon Bonaparte Evans, the editor of the Milton Chronicle.

Evans was the man behind the earliest written examples of Fool Killer stories and published them as if they were letters from the “real” Fool Killer himself, who claimed Jesse Holmes was his actual name. O Henry started his short story The Fool-Killer by recapping the fame of the folk-figure, claiming he was known “from Roanoke to the Rio Grande.” 

In apparent deference to his old friend Charles Evans, Porter kept Jesse Holmes as the Fool Killer’s “real” name, but introduced some of his own innovations to Fool Killer lore.      Continue reading

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EVEN TWO CNN REPORTERS ADMIT JOE BIDEN IS LYING ABOUT TRUMP’S “FINE PEOPLE” REMARK

biden two gun poseWhen even some reporters at the Democrat media outlet CNN realize that the lies Democrats tell about President Trump’s Charlottesville remarks have been exposed you’d think Joe Biden would know better than to try peddling them.

Or maybe not. The reason so many of us former Democrats decided to #WALKAWAY is because being a Democrat now means lying on a daily basis.

At any rate CNN’s Jake Tapper and Steve Cortes called out the lies Biden was throwing around about President Trump’s remarks about Charlottesville last year. Trump NEVER called hatemongers like Nazis and Klansmen “fine people.” The “very fine people on both sides” remark clearly referred to there being fine people on both sides of the public debate regarding old war monuments and on what happened at Charlottesville.

#WalkAwayDemocrats and their media outlets have been trying to sell their lies about Trump’s remarks ever since then, with Crazy Joe Biden even perpetuating that lie when he joined 9,783 other Democrats in the presidential race.

Anyway, as even veteran Trump-hater Jake Tapper had to admit:

“Now, elsewhere in those remarks, Trump did condemn neo-Nazis and white supremacists. So he’s not saying that the neo-Nazis and white supremacists are very fine people.”

That rare moment of honesty from Tapper was good to see, but the way so many Democrats continue pushing that lie wins stronger support for Trump among his supporters and people on the fence. As the now-cliché goes about Democrats’ dishonest attacks on the President, “Do you want more Trump? Because THIS is how you get more Trump.” 

Among the many sources where you can verify that President Trump clearly condemned the Neo-Nazis, Antifa Fascists and Neo-Klansmen and did NOT call them “fine people”: Continue reading

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COLLEGE BASEBALL: CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS ROLL ON

CHICAGOLAND COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

TRINITY CHRISTIAN TROLLDAY TWO, GAME ONE: The 4 seeds – the TRINITY CHRISTIAN COLLEGE TROLLS – took the diamond against the 8th seeded INDIANA UNIVERSITY AT SOUTH BEND TITANS. Neither team drove in a Run until the Titans grabbed a 2-0 lead in the 3rd Inning.

The Trolls pulled to within 2-1 in the 4th, then knotted things up at 2-2 in the 5th. The score remained deadlocked until the bottom of the 9th when Trinity Christian College won the game 3-2. Trolls Pitcher Bryan Vanderlee got the W. Continue reading

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JUSTICE SOCIETY REVIEWS: LINKS

Wonder Woman and HawkgirlThank you to readers who reminded me that I did not follow up my examination of the World War Two-era Justice Society of America stories with my usual collection of links. I always did that after similar items like The Celestial Madonna Saga, Panther’s Rage, The Kree-Skrull War and most recently Adam Warlock’s encounter with the Magus, Thanos and Gamora.

In addition to examining these WWII stories I added detailed ways that I would have script-doctored them for a more sophisticated age.

All Star 3THE FIRST MEETING OF THE JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA (December 1940)

Gathered together for the very first time, the JSA members each share an introductory story about themselves (braggarts). The government informs them it has a vital mission for them in the next issue.

My Revision: Since it’s their first meeting I would have had the JSA – including the original female Red Tornado – recount their origin stories to each other. CLICK HERE  

All Star 4FOR AMERICA AND DEMOCRACY (March 1941)

The government sics the Justice Society of America on the Greyshirts, a Nazi-sympathizing group sabotaging America’s industries in case the U.S. enters the war.

My Revision: I had the heroes acting as a team, not on individual missions and once again used the female Red Tornado instead of the awful Johnny Thunder. CLICK HERE

All-Star 5THE MYSTERIOUS MISTER X (June 1941)

A masked man calling himself Mister X organizes America’s criminals into guilds and unions to make them more efficient.

My Revision: I had the JSA acting as a team in 3 adventures against Mister X and used the Red Tornado again instead of Johnny “Jar Jar” Thunder. Plus I used Hawkgirl instead of Hawkman. CLICK HERE Continue reading

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COLLEGE BASEBALL: MORE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT RESULTS

SOUTHERN STATES ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

brewtonparkerDAY TWO, GAME ONE: The 8 seeds – the BREWTON-PARKER COLLEGE BARONS – played an elimination game against the 5th seeded BLUE MOUNTAIN COLLEGE TOPPERS. After 2 Scoreless Innings the teams were knotted up at 1-1 in the 3rd.

A 2-2 tie in the 6th Inning became a 3-2 Barons edge in the 7th before the Toppers wound up leading 6-4 in the 8th. In the 9th Brewton-Parker College forced extra Innings with a 6-6 deadlock. Neither team scored in the 10th Inning but the Barons won it 8-6 in the 11th for Pitcher Jacob Johnson. Continue reading

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MAY THE FOURTH-A-PALOOZA: STAR WARS ITEMS

Mascot sword and pistolMay the Fourth is upon us once again. First up are some links to my previous Star Wars blog posts plus my full-length review of The Jet Benny Show, a Star Wars parody.

STAR WARS MEETS THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: THE MICRONAUTS – Click  HERE

THE HUMANOID (1979): THE WORST STAR WARS RIPOFF EVER – Click HERE

MY REVIEWS OF THE LAST JEDI AND SOLO – Click HERE 

STAR WARS SPOILERS – Click HERE

STAR WARS SPOILERS PART TWO – Click HERE 

Jet Benny ShowTHE JET BENNY SHOW (1986) – Buy this for the Star Wars fan in your life … but only if you strongly dislike the Star Wars fan in your life. Buy this for the Jack Benny fan in your life … but only if they’re too old and feeble to be capable of inflicting grievous bodily harm on you.

I was glad to finally see this video curiosity after having heard tantalizingly little about it over the years. It was not remotely worth the wait but it was good to see it and check it off my list, bird-watcher style, like I did with Ganjasaurus Rex years ago.

Yes, I know this overlong, under-entertaining Star Wars/ Jack Benny Show parody won a Kasdan Award in the 1980s but I think that winning that award says less about this project than does the fact that the people involved went on to do virtually nothing else afterward.

Jet Benny Show backRoger Evans directed The Jet Benny Show from a script by Mark Felch. Steve Norman stars as Jet Benny, a take-off on the real-life comedy legend Jack Benny. Norman does not do nearly as good a Jack Benny impression as we’re led to believe by the few positive remarks this pant-load of a film receives.

Steve’s rendition of Benny’s voice is reasonable but wouldn’t stand on its own without the aid of his more than reasonable facial resemblance to the late comedian. The mediocre nature of Norman’s imitation might not have stood out so much if he wasn’t expected to carry almost every moment of the 77 minute run time. Continue reading

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TRANSGRESS WITH ME: MAY 3rd

Time for another edition of Balladeer’s Blog’s feature Transgress With Me:

mascot new look donkey and elephant headsEven the least attentive people are beginning to realize why America’s thuggish “Intelligence Agencies” like the CIA, NSA and FBI are so deservedly despised. They’re also beginning to notice the way that people who get elected to even the most junior positions in Congress wind up as multi-millionaires in just a few years. (Some of the more subtle crooks use their male or female spouses as their fronts, letting them acquire wealth via government contracts.)

De facto Third Party President Donald Trump has turned over the rock on the career criminals called the Democrat and Republican Parties. As an Independent Voter it is the experience of a lifetime to watch the way that Trump’s rocking of the crooked boat in the open-air cesspool of Washington DC has panicked both left-wing and right-wing crooks.

The behavior of our bought and paid-for elected officials has laid bare all of the corruption and malfeasance that we adults always suspected were there. The masks have been removed. Getting the outsider – Trump – and his supporters has become all that matters to the Swamp Creatures.

Trump in the wayWe’re living history but some people are so narrow-minded and so short-sighted that they’re letting their irrational hatred of one man prevent them from acknowledging the fact. It’s like the old saying “Some people feel the rain while others just get wet.”

Even if you’re someone who hates Donald Trump with a passion, you are just plain delusional if you can watch the dramas and gang warfare of the past few years and pretend that he is the worst of the bunch. Hell, I myself started out as a Hillary backer years ago (2008-2015) but her repulsive conduct and increasingly undeniable criminal behavior brought an end to that. It’s okay to admit you were mistaken.

A few years back I posted some political poses that even the most irrational anti-Trumpers can use if they absolutely cannot bear to say anything positive about President Trump. Here are some more:

Try saying “I hope they ALL go down in flames from both parties, not just Trump.”

Try saying “The others are every bit as disgusting as Trump. We need Third Parties.”

Try saying “Who would have thought Donald Trump would turn out to be the most honest crook in Washington?”

Blind DemsTry saying “At least Trump is not a career politician. The other crooks have been plundering the treasury their whole careers.”

If you’re from overseas we know you relish making snobbish comments about the U.S. so try saying “The Americans should never again sanctimoniously lecture any other country about Free Elections after the way the Obama Administration used the FBI, CIA and NSA to interfere in the 2016 campaign and afterward.” 

… Or you folks from overseas could try saying “What does it say about the corruption of the American government when even Donald Trump looks honest compared to their career politicians?”

As always I offer those poses to you because I know many of you sheepishly rely on reflexively anti-Trump comments just because you think it’s the path of least conversational resistance. And who can blame you given the fascistic nature of the hardcore Trump-haters? Pro-Trump people tend to be polite and reasonable so it seems like the easier route to pretend you disagree with them whether you really do or not.  Continue reading

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MORE COLLEGE BASEBALL POSTSEASON ACTION

AMERICAN MIDWEST CONFERENCE

Belleville LynxDAY TWO, GAME ONE: The 6 seeds – the LINDENWOOD UNIVERSITY AT BELLEVILLE LYNX – played an elimination game against the 7th seeded HARRIS-STOWE STATE HORNETS. The Hornets grabbed a 1-0 edge in the 1st Inning, which stood until the Lynx tied the game at 1-1 in the 3rd.

From there LU-Belleville shut out Harris-Stowe State while adding 2 runs each in the 5th and 6th Innings. The Lynx won the game 5-1 for Pitcher Dylan Chisholm, who was on the Mound for 9 Iron Man Innings. Continue reading

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FOOL KILLER: PART FOURTEEN – 1909

Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the many facets of Fool Killer lore. FOR PART ONE, INCLUDING THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT, CLICK HERE

Fool Killer cop USEPART FOURTEEN: FACTS FOR THE FOOL-KILLER (1909) by Ridgway Hill.

This rendition of the Fool Killer (I prefer no hyphen) is virtually a reinvention. It not only revises his garb and approach to his mission but it marks the first time the figure is depicted in action outside of the South.

Before I address Facts For The Fool-Killer I want to clarify something. I know that the Joel Chandler Harris tale Flingin’ Jim and His Fool-Killer was published in 1902 as part of The Making of a Statesman and Other Stories. However, that story – set in 1872 Georgia – does not feature the folk figure called the Fool Killer. The title refers to a piece of old grapeshot that Flingin’ Jim throws at people to kill them.

The victims of that “Fool-Killer” are a) William Dukes, an evil former plantation owner spitefully keeping a pair of young lovers separated and b) An unnamed black man who was trying to criminally assault Ann Briscoe, the heroine of the story. William Dukes’ brother receives a non-fatal beating from a hickory walking stick.  

Cop tall helmetFacts For The Fool-Killer finds the fictional character operating from Buffalo, NY and vicinity. The Fool Killer now wears the blue uniform and tall helmet of a turn-of-the-century policeman and wields a police officer’s billy-club in lieu of his usual club/ walking stick/ cudgel. Continue reading

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$3,000.00 PRIZE IN FLASH FICTION CONTEST

Yes, it’s that time again! The deadline this time around is May 31st. 

Flash fiction contest

There are other contests being run as well, and the outfits running them encourage one and all to collect and dust off your work, and send it off to one of these great contests!

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