Time for another segment of Balladeer’s Blog’s Give Them A Shoutout Before They’re Dead! Paul McCartney, best known as the husband of the late Linda McCartney, performs here with Linda’s band Wings (I’m kidding.) It’s the sproingy, springy version of the song Rock Show without the slow Venus & Mars prelude:
Filed under opinion
Balladeer’s Blog spent part of this past summer on a light-hearted, escapist bit of fun by examining the very first Mantis storylines at Marvel Comics. Mantis was brought into the Marvel Cinematic Universe this year in the second Guardians of the Galaxy movie but I reviewed her ORIGINAL appearance and the 1973-1975 Celestial Madonna epic she starred in.
I. MANTIS: THE CELESTIAL MADONNA SAGA – The “senses-shattering” beginning of the series which I covered in some of the same style as my reviews of Epic Myths. CLICK HERE
II. MANTIS 2: NIGHT OF THE SWORDSMAN – Mantis and her romantic partner the Swordsman show up at Avengers Mansion and wind up helping the superteam against one of their old foes. CLICK HERE
III. MANTIS 3: BELOW US THE BATTLE – Mantis, the Swordsman and the other Avengers fly to England in search of their missing member the Black Knight. While there they come into conflict with sinister forces. CLICK HERE
IV. MANTIS 4: THE AVENGERS VS THE DEFENDERS – As the search for the Black Knight continues, Loki and Dormammu trick the Avengers and the Defenders into all-out war with each other over a relic called the Evil Eye of Avalon. CLICK HERE
V. MANTIS 5: THE AVENGERS-DEFENDERS WAR CONTINUES – Mantis and one of her fellow Avengers battle the Defenders’ leader Doctor Strange for a fragment of the Evil Eye. Meanwhile, the newest Defender Hawkeye fights Iron Man in Mexico for another fragment. CLICK HERE Continue reading
Filed under Superheroes
*** *** *** *** *** Since Liberals are so simple-minded maybe posters like this would catch their eye like a bright, shiny object.
For anyone unfamiliar with the Rotherham Report just do an on-line search for it and you can pick from countless articles. The report dealt with instances of over 1,400 young non-Muslim women being raped and groomed for further rape by Muslims in part of the U.K. Similar reports have emerged from other areas in the country. The report was first issued over 3 years ago.
Previously I wrote about the horrific specifics of the atrocities perpetrated on young women by the Muslims in the report. This time I’ll comment on the way the atrocities were enabled by U.K. bureaucrats, many of whom willfully ignored the complaints of the rape victims because the assailants were Muslim. Some of the bureaucrats have tried to excuse their actions (or rather their inaction) by plaintively whining that they “didn’t want to be accused of Islamophobia.”
Incredible state the western world is in. It’s easier to turn a blind eye to multiple rapes of girls as young as ELEVEN than it is to speak out on the issue and be dubbed “Islamophobic”. Some of the testimony from the few brave souls who DID speak out detailed how punishment came swift and sure for anyone who pointed out that it was Muslim men raping non-Muslim women. Muslim Privilege in action!
Again you can search on-line for verification. I stopped providing specific links long ago because of the mindless way Liberals and Conservatives refuse to believe anything that doesn’t come from one of the sites that caters to their own particular pre-conceived notions.
But to be clear, though, this is one horror that is PURELY at the feet of Liberals. Their obsession with patting themselves on the back for siding with anyone they believe represents a force in opposition to the Western Democracies has spawned the current environment. The Political Correctness Police are always on the lookout for anyone who transgresses against their biased vision of “multiculturalism”. That bizarre vision and their devotion to their own egos always forces them to defend the least tolerant and most misogynistic and homophobic religion in the world at this particular point in history.
That being said, “I didn’t want to be accused of Islamophobia” truly has become the 21st Century equivalent of “I was only following orders”. Both lines are used to excuse one’s gutless and/or unreasoning compliance with a system in which atrocities become permissable. Even routine. And both lines basically translate as “I didn’t want to get in trouble by speaking out against the horrors I saw unfolding.” Continue reading
Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History
It is time for another musical shoutout from Balladeer’s Blog. This time around it’s the Queen song Need Your Lovin’.
Filed under opinion
NUMBER FOUR GETS SHOT DOWN – The storied CITY COLLEGE OF SAN FRANCISCO RAMS traveled to face the number 4 team in the rankings – the AMERICAN RIVER COLLEGE BEAVERS. A 20-6 1st Quarter lead for the Rams became 30-12 at Halftime and 30-26 in the 3rd Quarter. From there CCSF added 10 more points while shutting out the Beavers for a 40-26 wrapup.
WHEN RANKED TEAMS CLASH – The 3rd ranked RIVERSIDE COLLEGE TIGERS found themselves on the road against the number 10 BAKERSFIELD COLLEGE RENEGADES. The Tigers put up 7 points in each of the 4 Quarters and led the Renegades 7-0 in the 1st Quarter, 14-6 at the Half and 21-13 in the 3rd. Bakersfield College nearly came back for a win but fell short as Riverside College won it 28-26.
RUSTLING UP A BLOWOUT – The GOLDEN WEST COLLEGE RUSTLERS welcomed the CHAFFEY COLLEGE PANTHERS. The Rustlers kept the Panthers off the scoreboard until the 4th Quarter while producing 7, 13 and 7 more points in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Quarters respectively. The final tally in this lopsided game was Golden West College 27 Chaffey College 6. Continue reading
Filed under college football
Years ago Balladeer’s Blog ran a post examining which Nobel “Peace” Prize winner killed more people: Republican Henry Kissinger or Democrat Barack Obama. It used to be too close to call but Obama’s recent fathering of the Iranian Nuclear Weapons Program has since given him the theoretical edge.
President Donald Trump hasn’t killed enough people yet to be in the running for a “Peace” Prize but bloodthirsty figures in America’s Military Business Machine keep trying to pressure him into a higher body count.
Anyway, with blood-soaked figures like Barack, Henry and even Yasser Arafat polluting the list of Nobel Peace Prize winners you can see how that prize has become a meaningless, dark-humored joke.
Add the fact that Obama got his Peace Prize in 2009, when he was so new to the presidency that he had done nothing to deserve it. He didn’t deserve the presidency, either, for that matter. But the media liked the way his shallowness mirrored their own, so there you go.
In virtually UNPRECEDENTED fashion a former rep of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee – Geir Lundestad – admitted in his book that the Committee gave the new president the Peace Prize just to try to boost him politically. No true criteria were used. Who knew they awarded Nobel Prizes “on spec” as it were?
As reported: Continue reading
FOR BALLADEER’S BLOG’S SEVENTH PLACE LUDLUM NOVEL CLICK HERE
6. THE ROAD TO GANDOLFO (1975)
TIME PERIOD: 1970s, Post-Watergate
I have a feeling many Ludlum fans will be ticked off that I ranked this novel – for which Robert used the pseudonym Michael Shepherd – above the seventh novel on my countdown.
HERO: Sam Devereaux, a handsome and brilliant lawyer who works for the United States Army and has risen to the rank of Major. Sam has grown to hate Army life and can’t wait to get out.
In his final days before leaving the service he becomes drawn into the schemes of General “Mac” Hawkins, who establishes grounds for continuing to extort cooperation from Sam even after his return to civilian life.
VILLAIN: General MacKenzie Hawkins, living legend and a cross between George Patton and Peter Falk’s manipulative CIA agent in the original version of The In-Laws.
During World War Two, the 19 year old Hawkins was a decorated hero of the Battle of the Bulge and an instant folk hero. After the war Mac went to West Point, where he became an all-star Running Back for the football team.
During the Korean War, Hawkins moved up in the ranks and – shrewdly reading the emerging geo-political landscape – pursued his further career in the Far East. A General by the height of American involvement in the Vietnam War, MacKenzie eventually gravitated to covert operations, specifically Black Ops.
Exiled to a diplomatic post over his tendency to make waves the General’s hard-drinking Bad Boy behavior caused an international incident between the U.S. and China.
When Major Sam Devereaux’s combination of legal brilliance and street-savvy saves Hawkins from hard time at Leavenworth or in China the General coldly and calculatingly makes the clearly talented Sam an unwilling accomplice in his plot TO KIDNAP THE POPE FOR FOUR HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS IN RANSOM. Continue reading
Filed under opinion, Pulp Heroes
DOWN GOES NUMBER THREE – The 14th ranked BLINN COLLEGE BUCCANEERS welcomed the number 3 team in the nation – the TRINITY VALLEY COLLEGE CARDINALS – on Saturday. The Buccaneers and Cardinals were tied 14-14 in the 1st Quarter but Blinn College grabbed a 24-17 lead by Halftime. A 24-24 tie to end the 3rd Quarter ultimately became a 31-27 triumph for the Buccaneers, who are still unbeaten for 2017.
AND NUMBER FOUR COMES TUMBLING AFTER – The BUTLER (KS) GRIZZLIES battled the 4th ranked IOWA WESTERN COLLEGE REIVERS. A 14-0 1st Quarter lead for the Grizzlies was cut to a mere 14-13 edge by the break. Butler College made it a 21-13 game in the 3rd Quarter, with the Reivers scoring a Touchdown in the 4th but missing the 2-point conversion attempt. The Grizzlies won it 21-19.
HUTCH EDGES THE DEFENDING CHAMPS – The storied HUTCHINSON COLLEGE BLUE DRAGONS took it on the road against the Defending National Champions – the number 11 GARDEN CITY COLLEGE BRONCBUSTERS. The opening Quarter ended in a 7-7 tie with the Blue Dragons on top 14-7 at Halftime. Hutchinson College led the Broncbusters 28-21 to start the 4th Quarter and from there held on for a 31-28 road upset. Continue reading
Filed under college football
It’s been just over two weeks since the finale of the 18 episode run of new Twin Peaks chapters on cable. Like many other fans I’m still digesting some of those new episodes in light of the gloriously dark and nightmarish conclusion, so this particular blog post applies ONLY to the original Twin Peaks television series, the 1992 film Fire Walk With Me and its deleted scenes from The Missing Pieces.
Here at Balladeer’s Blog I’m often surprised at the way so many detractors still try to insist that the show and the movie made no sense. And bear in mind I am NOT referring to the various theories over particular symbolism or the lengthy debates to be had over the ethical and philosophical implications of the storyline.
No, I’m referring to the way some people dismiss the entire project as if it’s a bunch of weirdness with no discernible plot or storyline. There IS SO a (very) easily discernible plot and storyline. And I’ll say again I’m NOT talking about deeper meanings which no two people may ever agree upon, but the basic tale. Continue reading
Filed under Bad and weird movies, Forgotten Television, Halloween Season, opinion
On Meet The Press on Sunday, Senator Bernie Sanders – the candidate from whom Hillary “No Billionaire Left Behind” Clinton stole the Democrat presidential nomination last year – once again stated the obvious: The current model of the Democratic Party obviously is not working.”
No kidding, Bernie! That’s why you and President Trump were the only possibilities for change last year. You were technically an Independent, not a Democrat and President Trump wasn’t really a Republican. (Just ask Republican trash like Kevin Williamson and other Stuffy White Males at National Review.)
Bernie further stated: “Republicans control the House, the Senate; they control the White House, they control two-thirds of the governors’ offices throughout this country.”
(NOTE FROM BALLADEER: That’s because Democrats have become such irrational and hate-filled fascists. They literally try to destroy people simply for expressing disagreement with them. Nobody likes the Republicans, those political seats are unearned and are about people despising Democrats, not liking Republican garbage like Paul Ryan . The Democrats need to get rid of the clueless Left-Wing Archie Bunkers who have driven so many of us away from the party.)
Bernie expressed even more sentiments frequently voiced here at Balladeer’s Blog, like: Continue reading
Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion
