December 3, 2016 · 6:25 pm

HAVE YOURSELF A SANDMAN LITTLE CHRISTMAS

have-yourself-a-sandman-little-christmasIn Pop Culture these days it’s Marvel Comics’ world and the rest of us are just innocent bystanders whose homes and places of business get destroyed.

In that spirit here’s a Christmas Season look at what I’ve learned was a milestone story in the Marvel Universe. It was from the very first issue of Marvel Team-Up (1972) and featured Spider-Man and the Human Torch taking on their mutual foe the Sandman on Christmas Eve.

have-yourself-a-sandman-little-christmas-2Years later an unnamed black woman that the pair saved from a mugging got retconned into being Misty Knight, adding even more significance to the issue.

Synopsis: While photographer Peter Parker was covering the Polar Bear Clan’s Christmas Eve dip (yes, it goes back at least that far) the Sandman showed up on the beach after surviving his apparent death in battle with the Hulk months earlier. (For a long time it was a comic book truism that only Bucky stayed dead but apparently even that eventually fell by the wayside.)   Continue reading →

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December 3, 2016 · 3:55 pm

PATRICK STEWART’S ONE-MAN PERFORMANCE OF A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1988)

A CHRISTMAS CAROL: PATRICK STEWART’S ONE-MAN STAGE SHOW (1988) I’ll come right out and admit it – I’ve always been a sucker for any version of A Christmas Carol. Trouble is, most adaptations distort the story or are produced by people who don’t seem to “get” the story or treat it like it’s a children’s tale. Anyone who thinks that needs to read the novel.

My love of mythology is partly why I love the story so much. A Christmas Carol is the closest thing to an Epic Myth the Industrial Age has produced. The language Dickens uses is very close to prose poetry but precious few adaptations of the story preserve enough of it.

That brings us to Patrick Stewart’s one-man stage presentation of A Christmas Carol. (NOT the made-for- tv movie he did on TNT) Stewart does all the voices and pretty much all the sound effects and his presentation is magnificent. It’s NOT a book-on-tape, it’s  Patrick Stewart acting out the story by himself, like he did on Broadway in the Continue reading →

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December 3, 2016 · 12:45 am

YAHOLA AND HAYUYA: MUSCOGEE CREEK GODS

Original Creek TerritoryYAHOLA and HAYUYA – These two gods resided in the air and the clouds. They were the guardians of Muscogee people being given training in mysticism and the medical arts. Yahola and Hayuya were the two most prominent of the four Hiyouyulgee, divinities who tutored the ancient Muscogee about the use of fire and various plants, medicinal and otherwise. Yahola and his brother Hayuya endowed people with strength, creative inspiration and magical abilities.

Both deities presided over the Busk Ground Ceremonies, the most important rituals in the Muscogee holiday calendar. Yahola in particular had special sovereignty over curing illnesses and the delivery of children. He was also the patron deity of the intoxicating Black Drink consumed in mass quantities by the Muscogee Creek, who would cry out his name when feeling the effects of the drink he had given to them as a gift.  Continue reading →

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December 2, 2016 · 7:27 pm

MUSLIM FANATIC ATROCITY ROUNDUP

myth-of-islamic-toleranceHere are just a FEW of the latest blood-soaked actions committed by fanatics from the homophobic, xenophobic and misogynistic religion which continues to retard the rest of the world’s social progress.

November 26th: Mogadishu, Somalia – A Muslim fascist suicide bomber struck at a marketplace, killing TWENTY-FIVE innocent people and injuring FIFTY-THREE more. 

Also November 26th: Galmadug, Somalia – Al- Shabaab, the local franchise in the Global Muslim Fascist Murder Machine, attacked and killed 15 innocent people (8 by beheading them) and injured 14 more.

November 29th: Nagrota, India – Islamofascists attacked and killed 7 innocent people and injured 14 more. REMEMBER:  Continue reading →

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December 2, 2016 · 1:11 am

EBENEZER (1998)

EbenezerBalladeer’s Blog’s Christmas Carol-A-Thon 2016 continues with the 1998 telefilm Ebenezer, the only version of the Dickens classic to feature a whorehouse! Well, as long as you don’t count whatever underhanded business Scrooge and Marley are running in the Alastair Sim version. (I’m kidding!)

Previously Balladeer’s Blog has reviewed The Trail to Christmas, a version of A Christmas Carol adapted to the American West of the 1800s. Ebenezer adapted the Dickens novel to the wild west of Canada in the 1800s, which adds an extra layer of novelty to this production. Casting Jack Palance as Ebenezer Scrooge was the real strength of this adaptation!  

Palance’s Scrooge is a miserly and crooked saloon owner while Bob Cratchit (Albert Schultz) is his much-abused bartender. Rick Schroder (yes, Rick Schroder) portrays gun-slinging Sam Benson, a character unique to this version and Tiny Tim is played by Joshua Silberg. Continue reading →

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December 1, 2016 · 9:45 pm

TOMMY WISEAU AUDIOBOOKS: BALLADEER’S GIFT BAG

tommy-wiseauSince it’s Christmas Season I figured I would start posting gift suggestions for like-minded eccentrics.

TOMMY WISEAU AUDIOBOOKS – Yes, we all loved Tommy in The Room … well, actually, we loved Greg Sestero more. In fact we had no more feelings at all for Tommy Wiseau, we loved Greg. Yeah, we were all much more into Greg Sestero, to the point where we didn’t love Tommy at all anymore. Greg was the one we loved.

Putting that aside, though, Tommy Wiseau uses his inimitable delivery to bring to life some of the world’s greatest literary works. Whether it’s Finnegans Wake (“River run past Eve and Adam’s, HHHUUUHH?”) or Hamlet (“To be or NAAAAAAAHHHHT to be …”) they take on new meaning as interpreted by the enigmatic Mr Wiseau (Still thirty after all these years!).   Continue reading →

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December 1, 2016 · 9:52 am

GREEN PARTY DISOWNS JILL STEIN’S RECOUNT SCAM FOR HILLARY

hillary-clinton-needs-illegal-immigrantsIt’s hard to know what’s more laughable: a) Hillary “Bugsy” Clinton’s claim that getting millions of illegal immigrants’ votes in California means she should become the next president, or

b) The way Jill Stein thinks nobody can figure out why money keeps flooding in to keep her “recount” scam going.

(Hint for Jill: These things are publicly reported. Everyone can figure out why more money is being sent in for this recount scam than you raised for your presidential campaign! You’re being USED!)  

Anyway, Dr Margaret Flowers of the Green Party has struck a blow to restore that Third Party’s integrity by posting the following statement cosigned by hundreds of Green Party figures:

“We do not support the current recount being undertaken by Jill Stein.

“The decision to pursue a recount was not made in a democratic or a strategic way, nor did it respect the established decision making processes and structures of the Green Party of the United States (GPUS).  

jill-stein-hillary“The recount has created confusion about the relationship between the Green and Democratic parties because the states chosen for the recount are only states in which Hillary Clinton lost.

“There were close races in other states such as New Hampshire and Minnesota where Clinton won, but which were not part of the recount.” 

“… We are well aware of the undemocratic actions taken during the primaries by the DNC and the Clinton campaign. Greens cannot be perceived to be allied with such a party.” 

VERY WELL PUT. JILL STEIN HAS MADE HERSELF A JOKE BY APPEARING TO BE HILLARY’S PUPPET.  

WITH HILLARY THE CORRUPTION DOESN’T END JUST BECAUSE THE ELECTION’S OVER! MORE  Continue reading →

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December 1, 2016 · 2:07 am

OLD SCROOGE: 1913 SILENT FILM

Old Scrooge 1Christmas Carol-A-Thon 2016 continues here at Balladeer’s Blog! Previously I’ve reviewed the 1910 and 1923 silent film versions of the Dickens classic. This time I’ll take a look at the 1913 adaptation Old Scrooge, which clocks in at just over forty minutes.

Old Scrooge stars Seymour Hicks, the only English-language actor to portray Ebenezer Scrooge in both a silent AND a sound era adaptation of A Christmas Carol. Hicks went on to star in the 1935 version titled Scrooge, a version so cheapjack and rushed it was riff-fodder for Randy and Richard on The Texas 27 Film Vault in the 1980’s.

If you’ve seen it you may recall the “pioneering” way that the visit from Marley’s Ghost was presented by having Scrooge talk to an empty chair while Marley’s lines were provided through a voice-over.  

The ghost shows Scrooge images from his past.

The ghost shows Scrooge images from his past.

Getting back to Old Scrooge, though it came out just three years after the Edison Studios version it is light-years ahead of that adaptation in terms of its effectiveness. Long stretches of dialogue and narration lifted straight from the novel fill most of the dialogue boards plus Tiny Tim is NOT edited out like he is in the joyless and soulless 1910 version.

Due to the limited time Marley’s Ghost not only gives his usual warnings but takes Scrooge on his visits to Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. No additional locations were used for those visits – the visiting spectre merely projects the images on the rear wall of the office at Scrooge and Marley’s, where Ebenezer spends his nights in this adaptation.     Continue reading →

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November 30, 2016 · 8:19 pm

DEMOCRATS DEMAND THE U.S. WITHDRAW FROM OHIO FOLLOWING MUSLIM ATTACK

abdul-at-ohio-stateAbdul Razak Ali Artan has been identified as the Muslim Somali man shot to death after using a car to ram several innocent people then stabbing more after exiting the vehicle. Abdul had pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State online before committing this horrific act which injured at least 10 innocent people. 

Pledging such allegiance before committing an act of Muslim terrorism is in keeping with the Islamic State’s online instructions to jihadist fanatics around the world. It “guarantees” them their 72 virgins in the afterlife, as mentioned in misogynistic Muslim myths. (I’m an atheist. Don’t bother accusing me of being a Christian or a Jew, etc)

Career criminal Hillary Clinton led the Democrats in demanding that the United States end its imperialist occupation of the Buckeye State at once. “NO MORE BLOOD FOR CHESTNUTS!” Hillary and her shrill supporters screeched. They also insisted Muslim fanatics would not commit these violent acts if America would just withdraw from Ohio.

hippy

Left-Wing Archie Bunkers: They’re so HIP!

Left-wing Archie Bunkers, who love to pathetically attempt reliving their youthful years, were joined in protesting the American occupation of sovereign Muslim territory by the usual throng of emotional cripples who pretend to be college students in America.

This sad, sad spectacle saw the childish students and their horribly, horribly old teachers and administrators carrying signs that said “U.S. OUT OF COLUMB**!” and other slogans. As usual those slogans were on the same intellectual level as nursery rhymes to ensure they were simple-minded enough to be written and chanted by both the young snowflakes and the senile 1960s burnouts.   Continue reading →

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November 30, 2016 · 2:23 pm

SCROOGE’S ROCK AND ROLL CHRISTMAS (1983)

scrooges rock and rollChristmas Carol-A-Thon 2016 continues with another post in Balladeer’s Blog’s annual orgy of entries on various versions of THE Christmas tale. 

Scrooge’s Rock & Roll Christmas grows on me more and more each time I watch it. It’s value as a version of A Christmas Carol is virtually nil, but it features some wonderful renditions of a variety of Yuletide songs along with some striking wintry scenery.

Most sources list this made-for- tv special as a 1984 production, but the actual copyright date on the VHS copy I tracked down says 1983, so that’s what I’m going by. If it first aired in late December 1983 it’s almost a 1984 product anyway so I can see where the confusion might come in.

A better title for this 45 minute novelty item would be Have Yourself A Has- Been Little Christmas since it features appearances by several rock singers who were already two decades past their days as chart- toppers. The premise of this telefilm is that a young lady looking for a record store (and how old does THAT sound these days) instead finds the establishment to be occupied by Ebenezer Scrooge, played by Jack Elam … yes, Jack Elam. Continue reading →

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