POLO: U.S. OPEN, ROUND TWO, DAY THREE

Balladeer’s Blog continues its coverage of the world’s OLDEST team sport. Polo was already centuries old when Alexander the Great’s men played it! FOR MY PRIMER ON POLO CLICK HERE  

Cessna PoloROUND TWO, DAY THREE: FIRST MATCH (OF THREE) – CESSNA VS SD FARMS. Starting the day’s action was this Match pitting Cessna – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: The Citations – against SD Farms – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: The Magnates.

International Polo Club overheadThe two teams spent the First Chukker feeling each other out, as the tentative offenses were limited to just 1 Goal apiece. In the Second Chukker the Magnates swatted in a pair of Goals to the 1 notched by their opponents to grab a 3-2 edge.

The Third Chukker saw the Citations and SD Farms exchange 2 Goals each for a 5-4 Magnates lead at Halftime.   Continue reading

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PETER SCHWEIZER’S LATEST BOOK ON POLITICAL CORRUPTION MAKES THE TOP FOUR OF ALL TIME LIST

mascot new look donkey and elephant headsPeter Schweizer’s 2018 non-fiction book regarding the way that the rival gangs of white-collar criminals called Democrats and Republicans have raised graft and illegality to new levels has been named the Fourth Best Book of All Time at Exposing Political Corruption. That’s from BookAuthority.com.

Secret EmpiresThe book is titled SECRET EMPIRES: HOW THE AMERICAN POLITICAL CLASS HIDES CORRUPTION AND ENRICHES FAMILY AND FRIENDS. Schweizer pulls no punches and – as Balladeer’s Blog loves to see – details corruption by BOTH the Democrats and Republicans. Have I mentioned lately that we need Third Parties? Yeah, I thought I had.   

Joe Biden’s notoriously crooked family is examined in great detail, not just from his involvement in the corrupt and scandal-ridden Obama Administration but from his own brand of (characteristically) awkward and ham-fisted influence-peddling.

Mitch McConnell (R), China, gets blistered as well over his apparent presence in the pockets of Big Money from overseas. Jared Kushner, the Fredo Corleone of the Trump Administration, is also exposed as the would-be graft-grabber he has long seemed to be.

Democrat and Republican office-holders are just part of the story as Schweizer also looks at bloated rich pig “political donors” like George Soros, the Koch Brothers, Tom Steyer and others who own America’s bought and paid-for office-holders.

SECRET EMPIRES: HOW THE AMERICAN POLITICAL CLASS HIDES CORRUPTION AND ENRICHES FAMILY AND FRIENDS can be bought HERE

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LOVIN’ SPOONFUL: POW!

Give Them A Shoutout Before They’re Dead strikes again here at Balladeer’s Blog. It’s Pow, that silly but catchy song that served as the theme song for Woody Allen’s movie What’s Up, Tiger Lily? (Not to be confused with What’s New, Pussycat? but it often is for some reason.)

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POLO: U.S. OPEN, ROUND TWO, DAY TWO

Balladeer’s Blog continues its coverage of the world’s OLDEST team sport. Polo was already centuries old when Alexander the Great’s men played it! FOR MY PRIMER ON POLO CLICK HERE  

Pilot PoloROUND TWO, DAY TWO: FIRST MATCH – PILOT VS TONKAWA FARMS. Starting off Day Two action was this Match between Pilot – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: The Troubleshooters – and Tonkawa Farms – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: The Cavalry.

I’ve often praised Polo for the way women and men can play on the same teams and this Match features Malia Bryan riding as one of Tonkawa Farms’ foursome.

International Polo ClubPilot has already won the first two titles in the 2019 Gauntlet of Polo (formerly called the Triple Crown of Polo) and are striving to make history. The Troubleshooters got off to a fast start, putting 3 Goals between the Uprights to the 2 scored by their opponents in the First Chukker.

The Second Chukker was more of a defensive epic, with Pilot notching the only Goal to go on top of the Cavalry 4-2. The ball once more flew between the Uprights with giddy abandon in the 3rd Chukker. Tonkawa Farms outscored the Troubleshooters 3-2 to pull within 6-5 at Halftime. Continue reading

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CURSE OF LA LLORONA: MOVIE REVIEW

masc graveyard newBalladeer’s Blog’s coverage of earlier film versions of The Curse of La Llorona (“The Crying Woman“) has always been popular with readers. Here’s my 2011 review of The Curse of the Crying Woman. And for more of my reviews of neglected Mexican horror films which may themselves be getting big-budget remakes if La Llorona is a hit, click HERE 

Curse of the Crying WomanCURSE OF THE CRYING WOMAN ( 1961 ) – The crying or weeping woman, called La Llorona in her native Mexico, is the undeniable queen of Mexi- Monsters. This ghoulish menace has appeared in many, many films before and after this one, but this 1961 version was the one that added witchcraft to her powers and spawned the “Llorona- mania” that shows no signs of abating.

The most recent Mexican horror film about her in 2007 used the tag line “The legend of La Llorona never dies”.

Since I’m a mythology geek I’ll point out that variations of the story of La Llorona can be traced all the way back to Aztec times, but the Christianized version of her story goes like this: Continue reading

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FOOL KILLER: PART NINE – THE OXFORD TORCH-LIGHT LETTER (1878)

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 on cowcatcherPART NINE: This installment draws to a close the opening era of Fool Killer lore but we have much, much more to go after this. (At left is the figure riding a train’s cowcatcher like he often did to get around.)

This part exhausts the era of the Fool Killer Letters, seven of which survived from the Milton Chronicle newspaper, with a fragment of an 8th being quoted in the Southern Literary Messenger, and now we have this ninth (imitation) Fool Killer Letter from the Oxford Torch-Light.

Torch-Light Editor A.W. Davis is the assumed author of this letter which seems to have been written as an homage to Charles Napoleon Bonaparte Evans’ original Fool Killer Letters. The letter is much shorter than the usual correspondence from the fictional Jesse Holmes, as the Fool Killer claimed was his real name.  Continue reading

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POLO: U.S. OPEN ROUND TWO, DAY ONE

Balladeer’s Blog continues its coverage of the world’s OLDEST team sport. Polo was already centuries old when Alexander the Great’s men played it! FOR MY PRIMER ON POLO CLICK HERE  

Iconica PoloROUND TWO, DAY ONE: ICONICA VS COCA COLA. This Match pitted Iconica – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: The Creators – against Coca Cola – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: The Red Colossus.

I’ve often praised Polo for the way that women and men can play on the same teams and this Match features Maureen Brennan as one of Iconica’s foursome and Gillian Johnston as one of Coca Cola’s foursome.

Polo Silhouette LogoIn the First Chukker the Red Colossus doubled-up on the Creators, scoring a pair of Goals to the 1 managed by their opponents for a 2-1 edge. The Second Chukker was a back and forth affair in which each team notched 2 Goals, making the score 4-3 with Coca Cola still on top.

Chukker Number Three saw the Red Colossus put another pair of Goals between the Uprights, while Iconica was limited to just 1. Coca Cola held a 6-4 advantage going into Halftime.   Continue reading

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ANTI-TRUMP REPORTER MICHAEL TRACEY TRASHES HIS COLLEAGUES’ SHODDY AND PATHETIC “RUSSIAN COLLUSION” FANTASY

masc chair and bottleMichael Tracey, originally one of the Young Turks and still a very outspoken anti-Trump reporter, has shown some of the integrity his colleagues lack by calling out their irrational and childish refusal to let go of the discredited and debunked Russian Collusion fantasy.

Tracey skillfully points out that no matter how many times it is proven false, the Russian Collusion conspiracy theory is bitterly clung to by Democrats and their media outlets. Ironically, Tracey points out how this shrill cult does nothing but help President Trump by making media critics look like hopelessly biased partisans. (Which they are, of course.)

Unafraid to name names and to post screen-captures of some of the loonier anti-Trump lies spread by his colleagues in the Democrats’ media, Tracey’s long threads documenting the dishonesty and delusion of alleged “reporters” are great. A link is below, but first some excerpts:

First off, quoting Matt Wolking about the lies of bug-eyed Democrat Adam Schiff:

Adam Schiff eyesAdam Schiff
-Lied about having evidence of collusion
-Leaked false info from confidential hearings
-Pushed partisan memo with false claims
-Met secretly with Michael Cohen to shape his testimony
-Met secretly with FusionGPS Glenn Simpson
-Sought dirt on Trump from foreign actors

A Michael Tracey tweet calling out EmptyWheel, an alleged “reporter” who claimed to have proof of collusion:

Hey @emptywheel, whatever happened to this bombshell evidence of collusion that you claimed to personally possess? Just wanted to check in on that. 

Another Tracey tweet:

Throughout this ordeal, it’s been truly disturbing to watch otherwise intelligent people lapse into conspiratorial lunacy. After Mueller said no collusion, you’d think they would at least begin to self-reflect and change their behavior. Nope. They’re just getting worse Continue reading

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HITTITE MYTHOLOGY: THE TOP DEITIES

It’s been awhile since Balladeer’s Blog visited Hittite myths so here we go.

Hittite empireThe Hittite Empire spread throughout Anatolia, covering a large part of what is now Turkey and Syria as well as some parts far eastward and southward of there (accounts vary). The scarce remains of the texts regarding the deities worshipped by the Hittites are tantalizingly fragmentary but reflect and/or influenced myths from Mesopotamia across the west to ancient Greece and south to Canaanite territory.

ARANZAH – The god of the body of water that bore his name – the Aranzah River. The Aranzah is better known as the Tigris, which begins its journey southward from the Taurus Mountains in what is now eastern Turkey. This deity was a brother of the storm god Tarhun (Teshub to the Hurrians) and like him was born in the belly of the god Kumarbi.

ISTUSTAYA and PAPAYA – The Hittite goddesses of destiny. The two deities sat by the shores of the Black Sea where they would spin the threads that are each mortal’s destiny, taking special care with the fates of kings. The two left their seaside location only for special occassions like conferences of all the gods. Collectively the two were called the Gulses by the Hittites and the Hutena by the Hurrians. The ancient Greeks added a third to their number and called them the Morae (Fates).    Continue reading

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ADAM WARLOCK: THE MAGUS, PART SIX

magus on throneBalladeer’s Blog’s examination of another old, old, OLD Marvel Comics hit continues. 

FOR PART ONE PLUS A RECAP OF ADAM WARLOCK’S FICTIONAL HISTORY CLICK HERE

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Magus 6PART SIX

Warlock #10 (December 1975)

Title: THE REDEMPTION PRINCIPLE

NOTE: This installment of The Magus features what the late Stan Lee might have called “the senses-shattering ORIGIN of GAMORA!!!”

Synopsis: We are rapidly approaching the final installment of Marvel Comics’ hybrid of Young Adult Science Fiction and superhero story. Recapping last issue’s mind-boggling developments regarding Adam Warlock and his vile future self the Magus would require several hundred words, thus blocking the dramatic flow, so I will simply pepper in relevant details as needed.

Adam WarlockWe pick up right where we left off last time: Room #7, Sub-Level 2 of the Sacred Palace, headquarters of the Magus’ galaxy-spanning Universal Church of Truth. The Magus, that Church’s self-proclaimed god, not only defeated Warlock and Pip the Troll but also thwarted Gamora’s attempt to kill him with her God-Slayer Knife.

Gamora’s mysterious (to 1975 readers) master turned out to be Thanos, not as dead as the Avengers thought he was at the end of the Thanos War in July of 1974. Thanos teleported himself to Gamora’s side to continue trying to prevent the Magus (a potential rival) from ever existing (see the previous installment).

GamoraThe Magus had left Room #7, Sub-Level 2 after defeating Adam, Gamora and Pip, and thus is not aware that Thanos is involved. With Gamora’s interference having already altered the Magus’ past as he remembered experiencing it as Adam Warlock, the mad “deity” sent a legion of his Black Knights of the Church to attack the survivors in Room #7, Sub-Level 2 to prevent any further significant changes. Continue reading

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