Tired of college sports teams called Eagles, Tigers, Bulldogs and Wildcats? Balladeer’s Blog showcases another institution with a more creative team name.
JOHN MELVIN UNIVERSITY Continue reading
Tag Archives: blogging
BESS THE DETECTRESS: SILENT FILM HEROINE
BESS THE DETECTRESS – Bess Meredyth was a silent film starlet, writer and director. This particular blog post will focus on her Bess the Detectress character at Universal Studios but in the future Balladeer’s Blog will cover other aspects of her life and career.
Bess was married to Casablanca director Michael Curtiz and was the mother of writer-director John Meredyth Lucas, famous for his work on Star Trek and other programs.
BESS THE DETECTRESS IN THE OLD MILL AT MIDNIGHT (Jun 1914) – The first short in the Bess the Detectress series. When the stage show she was performing in closes as a flop, Bess is left scrambling for her next meal. She spots a Wanted poster offering a reward of $200.00 (equal to $6,300 in 2025) for the capture of the male outlaw Honey Hall.
Bess determines to get that reward money and turns sleuth, wielding a toy gun which she uses to bluff criminals. She follows a few wrong leads but ultimately gets the bandit and the reward money. Continue reading
Filed under opinion
BALLADEER’S BLOG RANKS THE PRESIDENTS: 2025
FIRST, I AM DOING WHAT ANY SUCH LIST COMPILER SHOULD DO IF THEY ARE TRYING TO BE AS OBJECTIVE AS POSSIBLE: I am omitting the most recent presidents because of the way emotion (and hysteria in some cases) can color perceptions of them. Presidential rankings lists which go all the way up to the present year are used simply as partisan political propaganda, not as true assessments.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT
GEORGE WASHINGTON
THEODORE ROOSEVELT Continue reading
Filed under Neglected History, opinion
THREE FORMER PRESIDENTS WHO RETURNED TO FEDERAL SERVICE
As Presidents Day Weekend continues here’s another seasonal post from Balladeer’s Blog. This item looks at the three former presidents who occupied other United States federal government positions after their years in the White House.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT
Gang Affiliation: Republican
Post-Presidency Office: Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
Comment: In July of 1921, President Warren G. Harding took time out from letting his criminal cronies run the country to appoint former President Taft as the new Chief Justice.
Among the Associate Justices serving on the Supreme Court when Taft took the position were three of the legends of the Court – Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr, Louis Brandeis and Willis Van Devanter. (I like to think that when the other Justices dissented from a Willis Van Devanter opinion those dissents would start with the words “Whatchoo talkin’ ’bout, Willis?” But I’m kind of weird.) Continue reading
Filed under humor, Neglected History, opinion
BALLADEER’S BLOG COLLEGE BASKETBALL: FEB SIXTEENTH
NJCAA DIVISION THREE
CENTURY CLUB – Teams scoring 100 or more points in Regulation: The BRISTOL COLLEGE BAYHAWKS shredded the visiting QUINSIGAMOND COLLEGE WYVERNS 115-62 ### The OWENS COLLEGE EXPRESS won 100-74 at the LORAIN COUNTY COLLEGE COMMODORES ### And the NORTHERN ESSEX COLLEGE KNIGHTS defeated the UCONN AT AVERY POINT POINTERS 109-90.
ONE-POINT WONDER – The JEFFERSON COLLEGE CANNONEERS welcomed the FINGER LAKES COLLEGE LAKERS. A hard-fought opening Half ended with the Cannoneers up 35-31. From there the contest grew even tighter but Jefferson College held on for an 82-81 win. Owen Coall’s 20 points led the way, while fellow Cannoneer Brian Rivera logged a Double Double of 17 points and 11 rebounds. Continue reading
Filed under College Basketball
VICE PRESIDENTS: A PRESIDENTS DAY WEEKEND LOOK AT HISTORY’S SECOND BANANAS
John Adams
Since it’s Presidents Day Weekend here’s a seasonal post.
John Adams called the Vice Presidency “the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived.” A very old joke went “Once there were two brothers. One ran away to sea and the other became Vice President. Neither was ever heard from again.”
In George S Kaufman’s and Morrie Ryskind’s classic stage work Of Thee I Sing one of the characters turns down an offer to be Vice President because he’s ashamed to have his mother know. He’s persuaded to accept the office when it’s pointed out that if he doesn’t tell her about it she’ll never find out.
The office has featured eminently forgettable figures as well as comic relief buffoons like Dan “The Global Village Idiot” Quayle and Al “Koo Koo for Cocoa Puffs” Gore. In the light-hearted style of Balladeer’s Blog’s look at U.S. Presidents here’s a look at the folks who got to hang around and see if the country’s Chief Executive wound up six feet under. I’m omitting VP’s who went on to actually become President, so no John Adams or Thomas Jefferson, etc.
AARON BURR
Served Under: Jefferson
Noted for: Shooting dead more Treasury Secretaries and hatching more plots to start his own country than any other Vice President. (So far, anyway.)
Best Burr Quote: “I’m still searching for the real killers of Alexander Hamilton.”
GEORGE CLINTON
Served Under: Jefferson and Madison
Noted for: P-Funk and Funkadelic Leading American Rebel forces against the British troops of his loyalist cousin Sir Henry Clinton during the Revolutionary War.
Best Clinton Quote: “Do fries go with that shake?” Continue reading
Filed under humor, Independent Voters, LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion
GHOST OF FLANDERS: FORGOTTEN SUPERHERO
How ya diddly-doin’? Okay, not THAT Flanders, but Flanders as in a World War One reference. This weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog looks at a forgotten character from Quality Comics.
GHOST OF FLANDERS
Secret Identity: Rip Graves
First Appearance: Hit Comics #18 (December 1941)
Origin: I doubt that even the original writers could reconcile all the contradictory elements of this hero’s origin story while they were writing it! Okay, it’s nowhere near as ridiculous as Quality’s origin tale for Black Condor but nothing ever could be.
Here goes. Readers are told that Rip Graves was 15 years old in 1918 but lied about his age to enlist in the U.S. Army during World War One. He was mistakenly believed to be killed in the Second Battle of the Marne, which is roughly 200 miles away from Flanders in Belgium.
In reality the young man was in a Prisoner of War camp until being released after the war ended on November 11th, 1918.
By the time that Graves – who has been doing God knows what for 14 years – shows up back in America in 1932, Arlington Cemetery’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has been freshly dedicated. Continue reading
Filed under Superheroes
CASABLANCA (1942) – VALENTINE’S DAY MOVIE REVIEW
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
Filed under opinion
TEXAS TWENTY-SEVEN FILM VAULT: FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY YEAR
Randy (right) and Richard way down on Level 31 hosting The Texas 27 Film Vault
Balladeer’s Blog’s fondness for the old Movie Host Shows of long ago has been well established. Sunday was the Fortieth Anniversary of the very first episode of The Texas 27 Film Vault from Saturday, February 9th of 1985. Before Joel and Mike there was Randy and Richard, as I often mention.
My psychotically obsessive research on the show has yielded a lot of info over the years but I have worn out every source I could find.
Even the show’s co-host and co-creator Randy Clower has been bled dry of information on the show by me. Over the years other fans of the show – and a special shout-out goes to “the Cap’n” – have provided info here and there that often led me to concrete source material.
Anyway, here are some movies that we all have general, varied reasons to believe were shown on The Texas 27 Film Vault but I need original broadcast dates, info on comedy sketches or movie ticket give-aways, etc. Episodes aired for 2 and a half hours Saturday nights from 10:30pm to 1:00am in Texas and Oklahoma.
FIEND WITH-OUT A FACE (1958)
The Film: “Thought Monsters” leech into atomic energy, then extract human brains and spinal columns to use as their corporeal forms. This is a Bad Movie Classic remembered largely because of the scenes where the flying brains, sporting antennae, attack their prey, with their spinal cord “tails” streaming along behind them.
Serial Episode: No idea, for now.
Reason for believing it was shown: Some of the Flying Brain Creatures are on the 1987 Texas 27 Film Vault poster. Continue reading
Filed under Bad and weird movies, Movie Hosts
FORGOTTEN TELEVISION: PROFILES IN COURAGE (1964-1965)
PROFILES IN COURAGE (1964-1965) – This television series took its name from the late President John F. Kennedy’s non-fiction book of that title. Some of the episodes dramatized specific sections of JFK’s book while others depicted what the producers felt were similar instances of political figures facing tough choices.
Those choices were between following their conscience or following what was best for their political career at the time.
John F. Kennedy’s book – like many (probably all) such works by sitting politicians – was supposedly ghost-written and dealt purely with senators, the office Kennedy held when putting the book together.
The television version of Profiles in Courage ran for 26 episodes, each of which filled a 1-hour time slot with commercials.
NOTEWORTHY EPISODES:
OSCAR W. UNDERWOOD (Nov 8th, 1964) – Senator Underwood was a top contender for the Democrat presidential nomination in 1924. However, he obeyed his conscience by speaking out against the Ku Klux Klan, one of the Democrat Party’s most powerful forces.
His courageous stand cost him the presidential nomination and then his senate seat. Sidney Blackmer played Oscar Underwood and Victor Jory played Charles Carlin.
MARY S. MCDOWELL (Nov 15th, 1964) – Mary McDowell was a New York teacher during World War One. She refused to support the war effort via War Bonds rallies or sign a loyalty oath due to her religious principles as a Quaker.
McDowell lost her job and was publicly vilified, with the New York Times going so far as to write that her case “proved that Quakers and other pacifists ought not to be allowed to teach children”. Rosemary Harris starred as Mary McDowell and Albert Salmi played Mr. Schneider. Continue reading
Filed under Forgotten Television, Neglected History
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