I just learned at Jacqui Murray’s great blog that this is National Science Fiction Day, so here’s a post to mark the event.
A MEXICAN MYSTERY (1888) – Written by W. Grove. (No other name available) This is the first of two novels by Grove. This one features a sentient and evil train referred to only as The Engine.
In 1864 Mexico the Emperor Maximilian holds a contest for the best design of a new locomotive. The winner or winners will be awarded a lucrative contract to build trains to run all across Mexico on rail lines already laid – a project overseen by a Scottish engineer named John Brown.
Brown meets Pedro da Luz, the wealthy descendant of Montezuma AND Spanish Conquistadors. The brilliant but mysterious da Luz works out of the Mexican town of Xiqipu and his train engine is a marvel of technology, capable of automatically handling many duties that other trains require human workers for.
One of those duties is piloting the train and another is the feeding of wood into the Engine’s furnace to keep it running. At the contest before Emperor Maximilian da Luz’s creation outshines all the other entrants, but then things begin to go wrong. The Engine has depleted its on-board supply of wood and, in its hunger, uses its mechanical arms to uproot telegraph poles, chop them up and feed them into its furnace.
The furious Emperor disqualifies Pedro’s Engine and awards the prize to another designer. Da Luz rants and raves to such a bloodthirsty degree that his fiancee Inez dumps him, adding to his anger. Meanwhile, the Mexican people begin regarding the Engine with superstitious awe and claim it is possessed by the Devil.
Pedro da Luz pretends to be repairing the technical glitch in the Engine in order to remove it from the vicinity but in reality he makes further “refinements” to its programming. The next day da Luz feigns surprise when daybreak reveals that the Engine has apparently left on its own and is nowhere to be found.
The story unfolds as diary entries by the Scottish engineer John Brown, mentioned earlier. Da Luz turns up dead days later, a victim of a stabbing in Mestra. Mysterious events start happening at train stations throughout Mexico, like fatal accidents and the disappearance of wood for train engines. Water towers are drained in the dead of night as well. The missing Engine, apparently acting on its own, is sighted around the country. Continue reading
Greene, Thomas Massie and Lauren Boebert are among the few demanding names of the offenders be made public since taxpayer funds were used. This is just one of the reasons why Greene and Boebert in particular get subjected to so much trashing and ridicule by their colleagues, especially through dubious leaks against them. 
These are the legends about Charlemagne and his Paladins, not the actual history, so there will be dragons, monsters and magic. 
SANTA CLAUS (1925) – This 28 minute and 44 second movie was directed by Frank Kleinschmidt, the famous explorer and documentary filmmaker. Santa Claus has an irresistible charm and with its short running time might be the ideal way of introducing silent films to modern day viewers who are unfamiliar with them. 
Santa Claus opens with Saint Nick himself welcoming us with arms spread wide. The story proper gets underway as we join two children – a brother and sister – who sneak out of their beds overnight to wait for Santa in their living room. 
These are the legends about Charlemagne and his Paladins, not the actual history, so there will be dragons, monsters and magic. 
RUGGIERO MEETS PRINCESS ANGELICA – When we last saw Bradamante, the Paladin in White Armor, she was continuing her quest to find her beloved Ruggiero. He was a Muslim warrior who was allied with the Saracens who had invaded the realm of Emperor Charlemagne from colonized Spain. 
BATMAN: THE REAL YEAR ONE 
NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics)
NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association)
Balladeer’s Blog’s annual end-of-year retrospective concludes with this look at September’s best. 
RED SUN (1971) – My review of this action western which starred Charles Bronson, Toshiro Mifune, Alain Delon, Ursula Andress and Capucine. Outlaw Charles Bronson joins forces with samurai Mifune to recover a ceremonial sword (and a fortune in gold) stolen during a train robbery by Delon. Capucine and Ursula are a pair of dangerous ladies. Click 
ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION: A VOYAGE INTO TARTARY (1689) – I reviewed this long-ago sci-fi novel about the discovery of a futuristic city whose inhabitants had flying machines, ray-guns, and telescopes which had let them see forests and unknown life-forms on the moon. The city’s science had also spawned genetically engineered hybrid creatures. Click 
HEADMASTER (1970) – This example of Forgotten Television starred Andy Griffith in his first post-Mayberry sitcom role. He played the new headmaster at a private academy in California. Jerry Van Dyke co-starred. Click 
MICRONAUTS: THE SWORD IN THE STAR – The Micronauts scour the Microverse/ Quantum Realm on a quest for a relic called the Sword in the Star. The fate of two universes rests on finding it. Click 
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