CASABLANCA (1942) – Happy Valentine’s Day! A few readers of Balladeer’s Blog have asked me for my opinion on this classic movie so I figured Valentine’s Day was the perfect opportunity.
People are often surprised when I like movies that so many other people rate highly. I like plenty of the old, old classics, it’s just that I prefer to blog about much more offbeat and obscure items. My favorite film of all time is Citizen Kane. Really. But I’ve never reviewed it here because I wasn’t in the mood to write the 100 millionth glowing review of that particular movie.
Getting back to Casablanca, it’s possibly the greatest “bittersweet ending” romantic flick ever made. I find that it appeals to almost everyone. If you’re young and naïve it can make you ache at the thought of persevering despite your broken heart. If you’re older and cynical it makes you nostalgic for a time when you actually thought a broken heart was the worst thing that could happen to you. Continue reading
Since today is Valentine’s Day AND we have Presidents Day coming up here’s a brief shoutout to the often neglected love story about President William McKinley and his wife Ida Saxton McKinley. 
KILLRAVEN: THE END 
This final Killraven installment will deal with just two issues of Sabre. One that reflects what KR and his band of Freemen would have faced had they reached their Yellowstone Park destination before their 1973-1976 series was canceled, and one that reflects another adventure that the rebellious Freemen might have faced on their long odyssey to Yellowstone. 
PSI CASSIOPEIA, or STAR: A MARVELOUS HISTORY OF WORLDS IN OUTER SPACE (1854) – Written by Dr Charlemagne Ischer Defontenay, a French M.D. and author. Long before J.R.R. Tolkien churned out obsessive amounts of fine detail about his fictional Middle Earth, Defontenay produced this volume of history, poetry and drama from his fictional planets in the star system Psi Cassiopeia. 
The system where that planet is located is a three-star system. Ruliel is the large, white star at the center, around which orbit the two lesser stars Altether (green) and Erragror (blue). The planet called Star is orbited by large planetoids/ moons named Tassul, Lessur, Rudar and Elier. Throwing all science to the winds the planet is also orbited by a small red star called Urrias. 
FIEND WITHOUT A FACE (1958)
NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) 1. TYLER COLLEGE APACHES ### 2. FLORIDA SOUTHWESTERN STATE BUCCANEERS ### 3. RANGER COLLEGE RANGERS ### 4. VINCENNES UNIVERSITY TRAILBLAZERS ### 5. SOUTH PLAINS COLLEGE TEXANS ### 
6. GULF COAST STATE COMMODORES ### 7. CALDWELL TECH COBRAS ### 8. MOBERLY AREA COLLEGE GREYHOUNDS ### 9. OTERO COLLEGE RATTLERS ### 10. EASTERN ARIZONA COLLEGE GILA MONSTERS ### 
THE ADVENTURES OF NICK CARTER (1972) – Rest in peace, Robert Conrad. For decades, rugged sex symbol Robert Conrad embodied the old expression “women want him and men want to BE him.” My sister Debbie was a huge fan of Robert’s incredibly tight pants and frequently-bared chest. 
A few years after Wild, Wild West went off the air, Conrad starred in this pilot film for a tv series based on old Dime Novel and Pulp hero Nick Carter. 
NUMBERS TWO AND THREE SURVIVE SCARES – The (2) MID-AMERICA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY EVANGELS snuck past the visiting WAYLAND BAPTIST UNIVERSITY PIONEERS (should be the Flying W’s) by a score of 83-81 ### And the (3) DALTON STATE ROADRUNNERS needed Overtime to defeat their hosts the BETHEL (TN) WILDCATS in a 107-101 shootout. 
UPSETS IN THE RANKINGS – The (18) TOUGALOO COLLEGE BULLDOGS took the court against the visiting (13) XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA GOLD RUSH. The Bulldogs had managed a 36-32 advantage by Halftime, then held tight to topple the Gold Rush 64-63 ### And the LINDSEY WILSON COLLEGE BLUE RAIDERS won 80-75 at the (22) SHAWNEE STATE BEARS. 
CENTURY CLUB – Teams scoring 100 points or more in Regulation: The BENEDICTINE COLLEGE RAVENS clobbered their guests the MOUNT MERCY UNIVERSITY MUSTANGS 101-65 ### And the (19) CENTRAL BAPTIST COLLEGE MUSTANGS utterly eviscerated the visiting CROWLEY’S RIDGE COLLEGE PIONEERS 108-58. 
KILLRAVEN GRAPHIC NOVEL (1983) 
