CAPTAIN MORS THE AIR PIRATE (1908-1911)

KAPITAN MORS DER LUFTPIRAT – From 1908 to 1911 the masked Captain Mors, a combination of Robin Hood, Captain Nemo and Robur, appeared in weekly adventures running 32-33 pages. The character’s creator is not known but over his 3-year run various writers were linked to this German series, which was basically a late Dime Novel but early Pulp Magazine. 

The enigmatic Captain Mors has been called “the Patron Saint of Steam Punk” even though he was far from the first figure to be featured in that subgenre. His series ran for 165 issues of TEXT STORIES – this was not a comic book. Mors is up there with France’s hero the Nyctalope.

After the initial run of 3 years and a few months, the Captain Mors stories were reprinted around Europe in various languages until 1916. The good captain at first adventured in the skies above, then later took his crew to other planets aboard his “world ship” (which we today would call a spaceship) the Meteor.

Captain Mors’ origin is very derivative of Captain Nemo’s. Mors’ wife and children were killed by a German-Russian criminal organization which also forged documents to frame him for heinous crimes. He adopted the nom de guerre Captain Mors, donned a mask and set about using his Luftschiff (airship) and other futuristic inventions for revenge and then for crusading against other evildoers.

With his mixed crew of Europeans and people from India the captain flies around the world – and later the solar system – robbing from the rich to give to the poor and dispensing his own brand of justice to malefactors. Like the much later Doc Savage, Captain Mors possesses impressive physical strength as well as uncanny scientific genius. His archenemy is rival genius Ned Gully. Continue reading

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NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOONS ROUNDUP: MARCH ELEVENTH

Independent Voter Site Balladeer’s Blog offers up another current events roundup from an America where Democrats support sending money to Ukraine only because they’re STILL getting millions kicked back to them by their criminal cohort Zelensky.

STATELY MCDANIEL MANOR BLOG DOES ANOTHER SERIES THAT KNOCKS IT OUT OF THE PARK.

ARTICLE: TRUMP’S FIFTY DAYS AND FIFTY ACCOMPLISHMENTS.

PRESIDENT TRUMP GETS CMA CGM TO INVEST TWENTY BILLION DOLLARS IN THE U.S. When the crooked Joe Biden was in the White House it seemed like every major deal benefited him, his family or China, not the U.S.

DEMOCRAT MAYOR OF BOSTON ENDS POLICY OF ARRESTING DRUG DEALERS. Remember the chaos when the Democrats in California ended the prosecution of shoplifters based on a dollar amount? Boston has now outdone them. And I wonder if Boston’s mayor is so forgiving of people who “misgender” someone?

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CUTS DEMOCRAT STUDY OF MENSTRUAL CYCLES IN TRANS MEN. More HERE. And HERE. Democrats are enemies of science and rational thought.   

Democrat Party

DEMOCRAT DONOR WHO BASHES ELON MUSK PLEADS GUILTY IN INVESTMENT FRAUD SCHEME. Is anyone surprised?

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION REVOLUTIONIZES DISASTER AID FOR THE BETTER.

CHINA SAYS IT’S READY FOR WAR WITH THE U.S. I would imagine that Democrats’ only reply is “if we go to war with China it better not affect sending money to Ukraine or we’ll blame Trump!” Continue reading

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CUBA’S SILENT MOVIES (1897-1907)

Balladeer’s Blog’s latest look at silent films covers Cuba’s early cinematic efforts.

FIRE DRILL aka Simulacro de Incendio (1897) – On January 24th of this year, Gabriel Veyre (at left) held the very first exhibition of silent film shorts in Cuban history at a theater in Havana.

Veyre was the Lumiere Film Company representative to Central America, and he parlayed the popular reaction to the Havana exhibition into financial support for Fire Drill, the first movie made in Cuba. That 1-minute film short from February 1897 was a documentary look at firefighting in Havana. Actual firefighters of the Central Fire Station of the City of Havana played themselves.

FILM COMMERCIAL FOR LA TROPICAL BEER aka the Missing Sorcerer (1898) – This was the very first film directed by a native Cuban – Jose Esteban Casasús, a noted pioneer of Cuban Cinema. Lasting just under a minute, this short advertised the brewery & product of La Tropical beer and was produced by Cinemataca de Cuba.

CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY (1901) – A film capturing the 1901 assembly, the equivalent of our Constitutional Convention. Following the defeat of Spain in the Spanish-American War, Cuba produced its first constitution a few years later. That document was openly based on the United States Constitution but had 115 articles instead of America’s 7.

        The three branches were Executive, Legislative (bicameral) and judicial. Cuban presidents were to be elected for terms of 4 years, while Senators were elected for an initial term of 8 years, following which they could run for additional terms of 4 years each. The lower house members were elected for an initial term of 4 years, following which they could run for additional terms of 2 years each.  Continue reading

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HAS TO BE SAID: MARCH TENTH

Here at Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog it’s time for another installment of “Has to be Said.”

*** LET’S CUT THROUGH THE POLITICAL THEATER – The European politicians talking tough about standing with Ukraine are just voguing for attention. We’ve all seen the wording in their agreements that none of them will take any action unless the U.S. is on board with it and pays for it.

        The ONLY reason they’re making such a public display of their hollow theatrics is for petty ankle-biting at the United States, a country that HAS ALREADY PROVIDED FAR MORE SUPPORT TO UKRAINE THAN ANY OF THEM HAVE OR APPARENTLY WILL BE ABLE TO.

        Yes, the United States has provided far more support to Ukraine in its war against Russia’s Biden-caused invasion (remember Joe’s statement that ” a small incursion” would be acceptable) yet countries and people who have done virtually nothing much beyond rah-rah-ing Ukraine act outraged if America expresses any say in how badly Little Man Zelensky handles situations. (Remember, even BIDEN lost patience with the grotesque little toad Zelensky and his ingratitude.)

*** ZELENSKY STILL CAN’T ACCOUNT FOR ABOUT HALF OF THE FUNDS SENT TO HIS CORRUPT REGIME. And he knows that any kind of cease fire while negotiations continue could provide time to investigate where all the lost money went. Into Zelensky’s pockets? Into the pockets of his lackeys as Ukrainians continue to die under his mismanagement of the war?

*** DEMOCRATS PRETEND TO BE ALL-IN FOR UKRAINE SIMPLY AS A MEANS OF ATTACKING PRESIDENT TRUMP. Democrats pretend the only way to support Ukraine is to mindlessly support the crooked failure Zelensky. Ukraine is NOT equivalent to one person. The pathetic, cosplaying little man Zelensky is a corrupt authoritarian.

        Little Man Z has proven he cannot be trusted. If a new Ukrainian leader comes in, even if they support the same war policy as Zelensky they would at least be TRUSTWORTHY. Crooked Z is not.

*** ZELENSKY CHICKENHAWKS AND DEMOCRATS WHO SUPPORT ZELENSKY ALSO SUPPORT HAMAS. Obviously, peace and innocent lives are not at all a priority for such people. They encourage “fighting to the last dead Ukrainian.” Hey, whatever happened to that “if it saves even one life” talking point Democrats love to use? How about “If a cease fire between Russia and Ukraine saves even one life isn’t it worth trying?”

        But we all know that Democrats never really mean it when they use that “if it saves even one life” remark. Although, given how the UK and US have been negotiating with Ukraine about rare earth minerals, the MINUTE that Democrats want to sell out Ukraine they will insist America withdraw support and use “No more blood for rare earth minerals” as one of their chants, I’m sure. Continue reading

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BALLADEER’S BLOG: COLLEGE BASKETBALL MARCH NINTH

NORTHEAST TEN CONFERENCE

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The last teams standing in this tournament were the 2nd seeded UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE PENMEN and the 5 seeds – the PACE UNIVERSITY SETTERS (Irish Setters). The Setters were up 35-33 at the Half, but after the break the Penmen forced Overtime with a 64-64 tie. USNH edged Pace 72-71. Royce Williams led the Penmen with 21 points and teammate Paul Greene got a Double Double of 18 points & 13 rebounds.  

PEACH BELT CONFERENCE

FIRST SEMIFINAL – The 4 seeds – the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AT BEAUFORT SAND SHARKS – took the court against the top seeded COLUMBUS STATE COUGARS. The score was knotted up at 41-41 come Halftime, but from there the Sand Sharks managed enough separation for a 91-87 Upset win. Hudson Norton tossed in 18 points to lead USC-Beaufort. Continue reading

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THE GIANT CLAW (1957) ON THE TEXAS 27 FILM VAULT

The Secret of the Bermuda Triangle Revealed

Before MST3K we had … The Texas 27 Film Vault! Before Joel and Mike there was Randy and Richard! Balladeer’s Blog continues celebrating the FORTIETH anniversary year of this neglected cult show which debuted Saturday night February 9th, 1985.

MOVIE: The Giant Claw (1957)

ORIGINAL BROADCAST DATE: Saturday April 6th, 1985 from 10:30pm to 1:00am. Broadcast throughout Texas and Oklahoma.

SERIAL: The Lost City (1935) about a mad scientist who rules a high-tech city in the middle of the African jungle.

Randy (right) and Richard way down on Level 31 hosting The Texas 27 Film Vault

Film Vault Lore: Thank you to my fellow T27FV fan Dolores for this episode’s date, the serial and for this quote about Ken Miller, who played “Tex” on the show: “I loved the random bits of madness added by the gung-ho Tex each episode! He always reminded me of Robert Duvall’s character Kilgore from Apocalypse Now.

The Movie: The Giant Claw is another of those staples of bad movie shows. It’s been presented by just about every Movie Host program at one time or another. Because of the film’s familiarity I will keep this review short.

Global UFO sightings turn out to be sightings of a gigantic (and ridiculous-looking) flying buzzard from outer space. As if that isn’t silly enough the destructive creature is also an ANTI-MATTER gigantic flying buzzard from outer space. Continue reading

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MARVEL ISSUES: MAY 1966

This weekend’s escapist and light-hearted superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog will look at all of the Marvel Comics published in May 1966 except for reprints.

SPIDER-MAN Vol 1 #36 (May 1966)

Title: When Falls the Meteor

Villain: Meteor Man

Synopsis: A meteor comes crashing down in upstate New York and is retrieved by unscrupulous scientist Norton Fester. He discovers microscopic organisms inside the meteorite and those organisms grant him incredible strength.

Fester dons a costume and begins robbing banks on a daily basis as Meteor Man. Meanwhile, Peter Parker is continuing his classes at Empire State University where his interest in science over dating intrigues fellow student Gwen Stacy.

She makes a point of showing up at an astro-science exhibit that Peter is visiting and is exasperated once again as the fragments of meteorites and other displays capture Peter’s attention instead of her blonde hotness. (Save your own life and just walk away, Gwen!)

The villainous Meteor Man, however, has noted that his personal meteorite no longer shows signs of microorganisms or unearthly gases. Worried that this means his powers may wear off some day he goes to the Empire State exhibit to steal some of the meteor fragments hoping they contain more. Continue reading

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ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION: A TRIP TO THE NORTH POLE (1903)

A TRIP TO THE NORTH POLE or DISCOVERY OF THE TEN TRIBES AS FOUND IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN (1903) – Written by Otte Julius Swenson Lindelof.

This is a work of Mormon science fiction. A detailed message in a bottle is found regarding the fate of the LDS whaling ship Mt. Walston and its crew, led by Captain Nye, Linder, Jost and Lothair. The manuscript is dated to the late 1870s and recounts the ship’s journey through the Bering Strait and on so far north that the crew discovered a region of warm temperatures.

The Americans come across an archipelago of more than ten islands which turn out to be populated by descendants of the ten Lost Tribes of Israel. The islands are ruled by a beautiful young queen and, in fact, all of the Arctic Israelites are excellent physical specimens thanks to the abnormally high nutritional value of the region’s foodstuffs. Continue reading

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MARCH SEVENTH ROUNDUP OF NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOONS

Another current events roundup from Independent Voter Site Balladeer’s Blog here in an America where the Democrats who get giddy about the Ukraine-Russia War would NEVER support their own country if it comes to war between the U.S. and China. (Or anyone else.)

DEMOCRAT AL GREEN WAS ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS WHO PAID SEXUAL ASSAULT HUSH MONEY TO HIS ACCUSER FROM THE INFAMOUS CONGRESSIONAL SLUSH FUND OF TAXPAYER MONEY. That was all years ago and BOTH PARTIES had guilty members, but people often forget about this scandal just like they forget about the Congressional Bank scandal of years ago.

PRESIDENT TRUMP PROVIDES EVEN MORE HELP FOR CALIFORNIA FIRE VICTIMS BY EXTENDING THE MORATORIUM AGAINST FORECLOSING ON THEIR PROPERTIES. Yet Hollywood creatures didn’t even offer their $200,000 Academy Awards gift bags to the people who lost their homes. But they still pretend to be the “compassionate” ones.

THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD BRAIN CANCER SURVIVOR D.J. DANIEL CALLS OUT UNHINGED DEMOCRATS FOR ATTACKING TRUMP. He has more class than the entire Democrat roll call in Congress.

D.J. DANIEL’s FATHER TELLS RACIST DEMOCRAT HATEMONGER RACHEL MADDOW TO “SHUT HER MOUTH” IF SHE HAS NOTHING NICE TO SAY ABOUT HIS SON AND PRESIDENT TRUMP.

ALVAREZ GALLOSO: REALITY IN AMERICA. Brilliant piece!

COURAGEOUS FEMALE ROLE MODEL TULSI GABBARD ANNOUNCES THAT THE BIDEN REGIME RELEASED ROUGHLY ONE HUNDRED TERROR-LINKED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS INTO THE U.S. LAST YEAR.

CNN HAS TO ISSUE CORRECTION ACKNOWLEDGING THAT TRUMP WAS RIGHT ABOUT DEMOCRATS FUNDING TRANSGENDER MICE EXPERIMENTS. More HERE. The main problem is that Democrat policies are so idiotic that they sound like they can’t possibly be real.

POLL: TRUMP’S GOLD CARD IDEA IS RIGHTFULLY DISAPPROVED OF. Is he forgetting what a “Caesar’s Wife” situation he and Elon are in? Continue reading

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“I CLAIM THE WORLD” – BEHOLD!!! THE PROTONG (c1940)

STANISLAV SZUKALSKI (1893-1987) – Just as L. Ron Hubbard went from being a pulp story writer to founder of a nutzoid religion, Stanislav Szukalski went from being a celebrated, even brilliant, artist to founder of an equally irrational belief system.

Stanislav Szukalski the artist was a complicated figure who held a lot of ugly attitudes and he fled Poland after the Nazi invasion despite his own intense antisemitism. The war destroyed most of Szukalski’s artwork and he arrived in the U.S. without a penny. 

By all means check out Struggle, a 2018 Stanislav Szukalski documentary co-produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, whose father was friends with the artist. There’s even a photo of a very young Leo sitting next to Szukalski. 

The topic of this blog post, however, is Zermatism, the insane philosophy that Szukalski founded in 1940. He named it after the city of Zermatt, where he was convinced that survivors of a pre-deluge civilization settled.

Yes, it’s about to get weird, as in Scientology weird or even Yakub/ Tribe of Shabazz weird. And at 39 volumes,  Zermatism would be way too off-putting if not for some of the memorable artwork that Szukalski made to accompany his mad ravings. 

IN THE BEGINNING(ish) – Szukalski argued that all of humanity once dwelt on one huge continent and spoke one language (Protong) which still lives in fragmentary fashion in all modern languages. The Great Flood wiped out most life on Earth with the only survivors being on what is now Easter Island, which was the peak of the highest mountain of the now submerged mother continent. Continue reading

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