Tag Archives: blogging

TWELVE MORE COOL HELMETS FROM NEGLECTED FOOTBALL TEAMS

Balladeer’s Blog’s readers just love these! Here are some more before pro football season is over.

Downington Wests WhippetsDOWNINGTON WEST WHIPPETS

Comments: WHIPPET! Whippet GOOD! Long-time readers of Balladeer’s Blog will surely remember George the Whippet and his owners in the U.K.

Whippets are terrific dogs and more teams should be named after them.  

Bangor SlatersBANGOR SLATERS

Comment: I’m assuming the rivals of the Slaters are the Zachs. (rimshot)

So their helmets may not have any cool logo or design on them but c’mon, some helmets are so cool that just their stark simplicity and kickass shell color makes them iconic.  Continue reading

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55 HILARIOUS FAILED PREDICTIONS FROM PSYCHICS

earth-explodingWith 2018 underway Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at some past predictions by “psychics”  (LMAO) that turned out to be wildly off the mark.

FREDERICK DAVIES – In 1978 he predicted:

— Jimmy Carter would get reelected.

— In the early 1980s sea research would result in a cure for various types of cancer.

— A manned landing on Mars would be made by 1985.

— By 1988 a third of all homes would be using solar energy for cooking and heating.

firebird-2015-ad— Private automobiles would be banned … by 1990.

— Also by 1990 life would be discovered on Jupiter and communication with another planet – possibly from beyond our solar system – would be achieved.

— Between 1999-2001 the origin of the UFO sightings around the world would be determined. Continue reading

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PRIMER (2004) – CREPE SYUZHET

primerPRIMER (2004) – HAPPY NEW YEAR and yes, I’m just childish enough to pat myself on the back for that play on words in the title of this blog post. With that out of the way I know I’m late to the game when it comes to Primer but my own skepticism about it made me keep it on the back burner in terms of priority movies to watch.

Since New Year’s Eve into the New Year is the closest any of us ever get to time travel I figured today was the perfect time to review this controversial film. Primer was made for just $7,000 (really) by Shane Carruth, who starred, wrote, directed, edited, arranged the music and pretty much did everything but wash the cars of his collaborators.

The film’s 2:1 film ratio has become legendary and decisively proved the benefits of having your cast repeatedly rehearse scenes before letting the cameras roll. Film stock ain’t cheap and anything an independent producer can do to save on it is pure gold.

primer-2Shane Carruth stars as Aaron and David Sullivan portrays Abe. The pair are engineers who – on the side – run a tech business out of Aaron’s garage. As a side effect of a project they are working on the two discover a means of time travel.

Don’t roll your eyes and assume that Primer is just another use of this well-worn concept. I made that mistake and put off watching this excellent and thought-provoking movie for far too long.

You can ignore reviews which claim the opening half of this 77 minute film is boring. Literally even the most casual exchanges of dialogue have bearing on the overall story. It’s not really a spoiler at this late date to point out that the very beginning of the film is NOT the “first run” of the events in the storyline, as a viewer discovers later. Continue reading

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NOVEMBER 2017’s BEST

Balladeer’s Blog’s Best of 2017 continues …

bellona-and-rennellNUMBER ONE – Two gods of Bellona and Rennell Islands – NGUATUPU’A AND TEPOUTU’UINGANGI – As part of my look at gods and goddesses from various Polynesian island groups.

CLICK HERE 

NUMBER TWO – THE NEW HUMANS (1909): ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION – CLICK HERE 

Che Guevara 2NUMBER THREE – A look at how CHE GUEVARA AND GUY FAWKES came to symbolize the opposite of what they were in real life. CLICK HERE 

NUMBER FOUR – A political tell-all about a small part of the sleaze in American politics – DONNA BRAZILE’S BOOK ON HILLARY AND DNC CORRUPTION. CLICK HERE 

NUMBER FIVE – A look at yet another American Liberal like me driven away from the Left by their cowardly hypocrisy, pompous snobbery and hilarious pretentiousness. KERI SMITH – Just CLICK HERE

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BEST BLOG POSTS OF OCTOBER 2017

Balladeer’s Blog’s Best of 2017 continues …

Rappaccini's Daughter 2NUMBER ONE – BEATRICE THE POISON WOMAN – A Halloween Season look at the beautiful but deadly hybrid woman from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s horror story Rappaccini’s Daughter. CLICK HERE  

NUMBER TWO – LATEST DEMOCRAT ATROCITY ROUNDUP – They love to lecture the rest of us for hellish situations of their own making. CLICK HERE 

Frankenstein's Army 2NUMBER THREE – FRANKENSTEIN’S ARMY (2013) – A review of this look at a horror movie about a descendant of the original Dr Frankenstein. This Doctor F is reanimating custom-weaponized corpses for the Nazis during World War Two. CLICK HERE 

NUMBER FOUR – My review of ROBERT LUDLUM’S NUMBER ONE NOVEL – THE MATARESE CIRCLE. In this age of debates over globalism and the ugly influence of multi-national corporations on the political process The Matarese Circle is THE Ludlum novel to discover if you haven’t already. CLICK HERE 

Soul of Kol NikonNUMBER FIVE – THE SOUL OF KOL NIKON (1913) – My Halloween Season review of this neglected novel by female author Eleanor Farjeon. The story deals with a Changeling using his supernatural command of music to try to steal a soul for himself from a human victim. CLICK HERE 

NUMBER SIX – THE CENTENARIAN (1822) – My review of a Gothic Horror novel by Balzac himself. A Frenchman has lived for centuries through the supernatural abilities he has learned from the Rosicrucians. He serves as a veritable Puss In Boots for his descendants, using his powers to prey on anyone who gets in their way. CLICK HERE

Bourne IdentityNUMBER SEVEN – THE BOURNE IDENTITY – My review of ROBERT LUDLUM’S NUMBER TWO NOVEL, about amnesiac intelligence agent Jason Bourne. CLICK HERE  

NUMBER EIGHT – THE BLACK REAPER (1899) – My Halloween Season review of this Gothic Horror story about a black-garbed figure who springs from the corn fields, wielding a scythe to very deadly effect. CLICK HERE

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BAD MOVIES WITH A NEW YEAR’S THEME

Here’s Balladeer’s Blog’s look at bad movies with a New Year’s Eve theme. As usual, full-length reviews of these films can be found on my Bad Movie page.

AKA Time Warp

AKA Time Warp

BLOODY NEW YEAR (1987) – Also released under the title Time Warp but it’s grisly enough for the more explicit title. A handful of British boaters who are fleeing a family of soccer hooligans (no, really) wind up on an island with a deserted hotel that’s been decorated for a New Year’s Eve party since the 1950s.

This Norman J Warren film stars nobody and borrows heavily from Sam Raimi’s original Evil Dead in terms of its imitation “Deadites” and its POV tracking shots. It also features a killer who emerges from a movie being watched, a monster who climbs out of a tablecloth, homicidal kitchen utensils, indoor snowfall, laughing shrubbery and living walls.

All the chaos is being caused by hapless souls who have been trapped in limbo for decades and will do anything to get out or to drag others into their hellish undead existence with them.

Bloody New Year is a neglected bad movie classic that has all the Continue reading

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SEPTEMBER 2017’s BEST BLOG POSTS

More from Balladeer’s Blog’s Best of 2017 …

MantisNUMBER ONE – With superheroes practically taking over pop culture it should come as no surprise that my look at Marvel Comics’ character Mantis was a huge hit.

For the links to every chapter of my examination of the Celestial Madonna Saga during Mantis’ time with the Avengers – 1973-1975 – click HERE 

corporate fascist Mark Zuckerberg

CORPORATE FASCIST MARK “SKIPPY” ZUCKERBERG

 

 

NUMBER TWO – In second place for September was this look at the way Democrats are trying to use their corporate fascist allies to police everyone.

At all times. Everywhere. With draconian punishments for expressing opinions that Left-Wing Archie Bunkers disagree with.

For DEMOCRATS LOVE CORPORATE FASCISM just click right HERE 

Laura Palmer wrapped in plasticNUMBER THREE – David Lynch’s excellent Twin Peaks returned for 18 more episodes that continued the story from the original 1990-1991 series, the 1992 film Fire Walk With Me and 2014’s The Missing Pieces.

 

As a courtesy for potential fans of Twin Peaks who are put off by the way a lot of people claim it “makes no sense” I gave the most basic look at the horror/ sci fi concepts at play in the show. For TWIN PEAKS IN B-MOVIE TERMS click HERE  

Freedom of expression amnesty internationalNUMBER FOUR – The American Left has come to love censorship as much as the religious right always did.

Past works of art are examined to see if they “offend” the hypersensitive fascists of “the academic world” (LMAO).  

The blog post titled DEMOCRATS HATE ART AND LITERATURE covered that HERE

chancellor manuscript 2NUMBER FIVE – Balladeer’s Blog was examining various espionage novels by Robert Ludlum, the man behind the Jason Bourne books.

I reviewed his very relevant novel The Chancellor Manuscript, which dealt with J Edgar Hoover, the FBI and abuse of intelligence-gathering by BOTH the political right AND political left.   

To read ROBERT LUDLUM’S TOP SEVEN NOVELS: NUMBER FOUR click HERE  

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AUGUST 2017’s BEST BLOG POSTS

Balladeer’s Blog continues its look at the Best of 2017 with the most popular blog posts from August.

mascot-a-faceNUMBER ONE – It’s no secret that I’m a non-believer in any of the world’s religions. It’s also no secret that what passes for American Liberalism has become a faith-based belief system as irrational as any other religion.

In this post I looked at the Democrat version of an Afterlife, since they pompously and absurdly pretend they are on THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY? Click HERE 

Islamophobia posterNUMBER TWO – As Muslim Violence Awareness Year continued so did their annual pile-up of atrocities and ever-climbing body counts.

For the MUSLIM FASCIST ATROCITY ROUNDUP: AUGUST 10th click HERE

Mascot with demo and repub headsNUMBER THREE – Transgress with me once again as Balladeer’s Blog examined the faulty premises of so many of the Left-Wing Archie Bunkers of the world.

It’s a blog post that really struck a nerve:

To read WHITE PRIVILEGE, LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES click HERE 

Democrat sloganNUMBER FOUR – The blog post DEMOCRATS, THE SMIRKING JACKASSES OF LIFE took a good look at why so many of us who still lean leftward have grown to despise America’s Democrats and to regret having ever been associated with them.  

For that item click HERE

Democrats don't control meNUMBER FIVE – Democrats – the Party of slavery, Jim Crow, the Ku Klux Klan, the Trail of Tears, the Japanese Internment, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Spoils System, Tammany Hall, the Gulf of Tonkin Lie and so much more – are boiling mad at their ongoing loss of credibility.

See DEMOCRATS DO NOT “OWN” BLACK VOTERS, FEMALE VOTERS, GAY VOTERS, THE POOR OR THE WORKING CLASS by clicking HERE  

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JULY 2017’s BEST

Balladeer’s Blog’s Best of 2017 continues!

democrats and poor peopleNUMBER ONE – My two-part look at NEW DEMOCRAT SLOGANS was a comedy hit. This “Party of CEO’s” has come to deserve its reputation for having driven away all of us except pompous snobs and hilariously pretentious asses.

For this look at humorous slogans for this political party which Franklin Roosevelt and John F Kennedy would not even recognize CLICK HERE  

AND FOR PART TWO CLICK HERE 

Incubated GirlNUMBER TWO – One of Balladeer’s Blog’s most popular Ancient Science Fiction posts EVER was this look at a very obscure 1896 work and its fascinating female lead.

Very fascinating.

For my review of THE INCUBATED GIRL click HERE 

Camille PagliaNUMBER THREE – Legendary Camille Paglia was in rare form this year, speaking on behalf of all of us who left the Democrats in disgust in recent years.

In July came CAMILLE PAGLIA BLAMES THE DEMOCRATS FOR DESTROYING JOURNALISM WITH THEIR ANTI-TRUMP HYSTERIA. Click HERE

Berenger Avenging Angel 2NUMBER FOUR – For Frontierado Season this year one of my blog posts dealt with the story-telling possibilities inherent in a neglected aspect of Mormon history.

To read DANITES: GUNSLINGING “KNIGHTS” OF THE OLD WEST just click HERE 

Delia Haskett RawsonNUMBER FIVE – Another western figure got a lot of attention in July, a gunslinging lady who braved Old California on a stage coach route.

For my article on DUSTY DELIA: FEMALE STAGE COACH DRIVER click HERE

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ATLAS (SEABOARD) SUPERHERO PANTHEON

Atlas figuresBalladeer’s Blog marks the shortest day of the year with the shortest-lived comic book company since Pelican Publishing!

It’s Atlas-Seaboard, to distinguish this publisher from Marvel Comics, which went by Atlas Comics in the 1950s. There IS a Marvel connection, however, in that Martin Goodman, Stan Lee’s old colleague, launched Atlas Comics through Seaboard Periodicals for one brief shining moment several months in 1975. 

Calling themselves “The NEW House of Ideas” clearly threw down the gauntlet at Marvel Comics’ feet. As it turned out, however, even Alan Thicke was a bigger danger to Johnny Carson than Atlas was to Marvel.

PhoenixPHOENIX

Secret Identity: Ed Tyler, Astronaut

Origin: Astronaut Ed Tyler was part of a three-man crew on the orbiting space station Threshold I. A leak in the main portion of the station forces the trio of astronauts to abandon their mission early and they evacuate in a shuttlecraft.

Complications cause the vessel to crash-land in the Arctic ice with Ed Tyler as the sole survivor. Tyler found himself in the hands of an alien race called the Deiei, who have been observing humanity from their underground Arctic base for untold millennia. The Deiei guided humanity’s evolution to make us more in their image.

The haughty aliens had recently decided Earth people are a failed experiment. They planned to preserve Ed Tyler for study to see what might have gone wrong but intended to wipe out all other human life on the planet and start from scratch. Tyler escaped custody, donned one of the high-tech battle suits of the Deiei and flew off, determined to thwart the Deiei’s genocidal plans 

Phoenix 2First Appearance: Phoenix #1 (January, 1975). His final appearance came in October of that same year.  

Powers: The Deiei space suit worn by Phoenix enabled him to fly at thousands of miles per hour, to shoot atomic energy blasts from his gloves and to withstand high levels of energy and large projectiles virtually unharmed. The suit also granted him a modicum of greater than human strength.  

The media named this hero Phoenix when they saw him emerge from the smoldering ruins of part of Reykjavik, where he drove off the first assault by Deiei spaceships.  

Comment: After fighting the Deiei for awhile Phoenix encountered another alien race called the Protectors of the Universe. Magus, the leader of the race, disagreed with the Deiei’s desire to wipe out humanity and granted Phoenix an opportunity to prove the people of Earth deserving of a second chance.

Phoenix’s adventures combined elements of the Silver and Bronze Age Green Lantern with Adam Warlock’s “philosophy for pre-teens” approach during his Counter-Earth period. Personally I found Ed Tyler’s gloomy “Humanity is so awful maybe we don’t deserve to be saved” musings to be ridiculous. Compared to the genocidal and callous Deiei, the human race seems like the definite lesser of two evils.  

All that aside, Phoenix had a certain charm. In fact he was one of the few Atlas characters popular enough to be given a second chance with 2010’s attempted re-launch of the title.  

Destructor 1DESTRUCTOR

Secret Identity: Jay Hunter, teenager

Origin: When aspiring criminal Jay Hunter ticked off Max Raven, the crimelord he answered to, that gangster put out a hit on him. The attempt on Jay’s life took place at the lab of his scientist father Simon, who was working on a super-soldier formula.

Both men were mortally wounded, but Jay’s father – knowing there was enough formula to save one, but not both of them – gave it to his son to save his life. Jay pulled through, discovered he now had amazing super-powers and took to wearing a costume to fight crime. He called himself Destructor and was determined to atone for his criminal past.   Continue reading

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