Balladeer’s Blog’s feature “Give Them A Shoutout Before They’re Dead” strikes again!
This time it’s Joan Jett’s cover of the old AC/DC song Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.
THE KNIGHTS (424 B.C.) ANCIENT GREEK COMEDY
Here’s a rerun of Balladeer’s Blog’s examination of the Ancient Greek Comedy called The Knights by Aristophanes. For background info on ancient Greek comedies see my original post on the topic: https://glitternight.com/2011/09/22/at-long-last-my-ancient-greek-comedy-posts-begin/
This comedy deals with the still-relevant situation in which honest people stand no chance against vile, corrupt demagogues.
In The Knights Aristophanes pioneered a new sub-genre of Attic Old Comedy: the Demagogue Comedy. The villain of this masterpiece of political satire was a figure called the Paphlagonian, who was patterned on Cleon, a notorious Athenian politician of the time period. I’ll have Continue reading
Filed under Ancient Greek Comedy
THE TOP FOUR WESTERNS BASED ON REAL-LIFE FIGURES
We all know that in real life the celebrated “heroes” of the old west were a pack of corrupt and/or outrightly criminal thugs who would have had a pretty redneckish worldview. And let’s face it, by our standards their personal hygiene habits would have been pretty disgusting.
But since the Frontierado holiday is all about celebrating the myth of the West and not the grinding reality of it here’s my list of the Top Four Westerns Based On Real-Life Figures. Coming up with lists like this is one of the perks of being the international commissioner of Frontierado (along with the seven-figure income and a staff of three hundred people).
1. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969) – Redford and Newman set the standard for the “buddy western” with this magnificent movie. Newman once described this flick by saying “It’s a Continue reading
Filed under FRONTIERADO
DEMOCRATS: MORE NEW SLOGANS
Balladeer’s Blog’s initial set of sarcastic new slogans for the Democrats was such a hit here are some more. As always my criticism of the DemoKKKrats is in NO WAY an endorsement of Republican politicians, who are just like the piece of garbage Paul Ryan.
Anyway, Democrats have become such repulsive people that I like to “raise awareness” with them regarding the fact that their pompous snobbery is itself the type of bigotry they pretend to oppose.
FOR THE ORIGINAL LIST CLICK HERE
DEMOCRATS: WE ARE THE FASCISTS WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR!
DEMOCRATS: IT’S EASIER TO JUST CONSTANTLY TELL EVERYONE HOW COMPASSIONATE YOU THINK YOU ARE THAN IT IS TO ACTUALLY BE COMPASSIONATE!
DEMOCRATS: OPPRESSING PEOPLE WHILE POSING AS THE OPPRESSED!
Balladeer’s Blog
DEMOCRATS: FILING COMPLAINTS ABOUT PEOPLE WHO SAY SOMETHING WE DISAGREE WITH IS THE HIGHEST FORM OF ACTIVISM!
DEMOCRATS: PROUDLY REPRESENTING COWARDLY HYPOCRITES, POMPOUS SNOBS AND HILARIOUSLY PRETENTIOUS ASSES!
DEMOCRATS: WE’RE EVEN BETTER AT SCREWING OVER THE POOR AND THE WORKING CLASS THAN THE REPUBLICANS ARE!
DEMOCRATS: IF THE COUNTRY IS SPLIT ALMOST 50-50 THAT MEANS THAT ONLY THE PEOPLE WHO DISAGREE WITH US ARE BEING “DIVISIVE” … NEVER US!
DEMOCRATS: WE RUINED LIBERALISM! WE RUINED THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM! WE RUINED THE COURT SYSTEM AND UNDERMINED THE ELECTORAL PROCESS ITSELF! PLEASE DON’T STOP US NOW!
Filed under humor, LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, opinion
LAWRENCE TECH LAUNCHES FOOTBALL AFTER 70 YEARS!
The NAIA’s LAWRENCE TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY BLUE DEVILS – after a seven decade hiatus – will be fielding a football team!
The football Blue Devils will play their return intercollegiate season in 2018 as an Independent, then will join the Mid-States Football Association for their conference affiliation in 2019. Continue reading
Filed under college football
MANTIS 23: KANG, THE CELESTIAL MADONNA AND THE DEATH OF AN AVENGER
FOR PART 1 OF BALLADEER’S BLOG’S EXAMINATION OF MARVEL’S SUPERHEROINE MANTIS CLICK HERE
GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS Number 2 (November 1974) A Blast From The Past
Call me crazy, but since this story includes that rarest of things: a superhero death that is final I would have gone with the title Death of an Avenger instead of a cliché like A Blast From The Past.
Anyway … THINGS GET “TIMEY-WIMEY” FROM THIS POINT ON AS THE CELESTIAL MADONNA SAGA CONTINUES!
A BLAST FROM THE PAST
Synopsis: Nighttime in New York. The former Avenger Hawkeye, who has also quit the Defenders since the last time we dealt with him, opens up this installment by capturing a gang of jewel thieves.
When he turns them over to the police those cops tell Hawkeye (who probably slept the day away after a night of partying) about the day’s big news: Kang the Conqueror is back and he kidnapped the Avengers that morning. Kang boasted of his plans to wage war against the entire planet while waiting for something called “the Celestial Madonna” to reveal herself.
Hawkeye rushes off to Avengers Mansion where – even from several blocks away – he can see the incredibly bright artificial satellite called the Madonna Star still blazing away. Anxious crowds still surround the area, drawn by fears that the star means the end of the world and by rumors of some kind of “Madonna.”
Inside the mansion Hawkeye finds the Swordsman, the butler Jarvis and Pharaoh Rama Tut – Kang’s other self. (Explanation below.) The three bring Hawkeye up to date on everything from our last installment, including the increasingly tense international situation after the slaughter of Egyptian troops at the hands of Kang’s creation. Continue reading
Filed under Superheroes
CAMILLE PAGLIA BLAMES THE DEMOCRATS FOR DESTROYING JOURNALISM WITH THEIR ANTI-TRUMP HYSTERIA
Professor Camille Paglia – another of us former Democrats (like President Trump himself) who have grown disgusted with how low that party has sunk – weighed in on the circus that the Democrats’ corporate media has reduced itself to.
Fake News was one of the topics Paglia discussed. The link is below. First some excerpts:
Paglia called what she said the Democratic Party has done to journalism “absolutely grotesque” and warned it would take decades to recover.
“It’s obscene,” she said. “It’s outrageous, OK? It shows that the Democrats are nothing now but words and fantasy and hallucination and Hollywood. There’s no journalism left. What’s happened to The New York Times? What’s happened to the major networks? It’s an outrage.”
“And I think it’s absolutely grotesque the way my party has destroyed journalism. Right now, it is going to take decades to recover from this atrocity that’s going on where the news media have turned themselves over to the most childish fraternity, kind of buffoonish behavior.” Continue reading
Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion
DANITES: GUNSLINGING “KNIGHTS” OF THE OLD WEST
FRONTIERADO IS COMING UP ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 4th!
The Frontierado Holiday is about the myth of the Old West, not the grinding reality. The Danites – the gunslinging Knights of the Mormon faith – are an underutilized and underappreciated element of Old West fiction.
The opportunities for action presented to a Danite could start as early as the 1838 Mormon War in Missouri. After that there’s the Illinois Mormon War in the 1840s which ended in the Siege of Nauvoo.
Following that conflict the Mormon Exodus to the West began, with “Deseret” (later called Utah) as the ultimate destination. Danites – like Christian Knights of long ago protecting Pilgrims headed for their “Holy Land” – safeguarded Mormon travelers from attacks by hooded anti-Mormon gangs, from armed outlaws and from various Native American tribes along the way.
In Deseret itself there were conflicts with Mexican raiders after the end of America’s war with Mexico (1846-1848). Danites would also be called upon to battle various Native American tribes in Deseret, in the role of oppressors rather than oppressed much of the time.
They would also fight Navajo armies to stop them from seizing Paiute Indians as slaves. (The anti-slavery faction in Mormonism is often overlooked.) Plus the Danites faced the task of driving off armed bands of prospectors wanting the gold and other precious metals of the area.
There was also the Utah War with the Mormons fighting the United States Army from 1857-1858. On top of that add rumored armed conflicts among competing factions of Mormon leaders with the Danites caught in the middle like Mafia gunmen serving their respective “Dons” as it were.
NOTE: This blog post is interested only in the neglected potential of Danites as mythic heroes and/or villains in western sagas. I know that in real life the Mormon Church downplays or distances themselves from the Danites because of the violence often associated with them. Continue reading
Filed under FRONTIERADO
RAGNAR THE DOG’S NAIA FOOTBALL PRESEASON TOP TWENTY
Ragnar the Dog is a nut for college football!
He usually waits til August to start with his preseason rankings, but this year he is so impatient for the season to start that he insisted on publishing them now.
Have a look at what this handsome little pooch predicts for the 2017 NAIA football season.
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NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) 1. MONTANA TECH OREDIGGERS ### 2. BAKER UNIVERSITY WILDCATS 3. UNIVERSITY OF SAINT FRANCIS (IN) COUGARS (Defending National Champions) ### 4. REINHARDT UNIVERSITY EAGLES (Should be the Rottweilers) ### 5. EASTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY MOUNTAINEERS ###
6. ARIZONA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY FIRESTORM ### 7. LINDSEY WILSON COLLEGE BLUE RAIDERS ### 8. MARIAN UNIVERSITY KNIGHTS ### 9. MORNINGSIDE COLLEGE MUSTANGS ### 10. DOANE COLLEGE TIGERS ### Continue reading
Filed under college football, dogs
PRESIDENT TRUMP IS SERPICO
Remember the real-life Serpico? If not, he was the cop who blew the lid off the way taking bribes was a way of life for virtually the entire New York City Police Department for decades.
Even the cops who weren’t on the take practiced omerta and refused to talk about the way all the others WERE on the take.
Our de facto Third Party President Donald Trump is a political Serpico – hated by the crooked because he’s not part of their bought and paid for club.
America’s political officials have been rotten to the core for a very, very long time. They are going to hate ANYONE who exposes their corruption. Compared to them even a black-hearted, swashbuckling rogue like Donald Trump can emerge on the side of the figurative angels.
Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion
