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THE BRICK MOON (1872) – ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION

brick moonTHE BRICK MOON (1872) – Written by Edward Everett Hale, best known for The Man without a Country. This novella started out as a serialized story published in 1869 in the October, November and December issues of Atlantic Monthly. A follow-up installment, titled Life in the Brick Moon, was published in the February 1870 issue.

In 1872, the entire four-part piece was published by Roberts Brothers as part of His Level Best and Other Stories, which contained works by multiple authors. The Brick Moon was published again in 1899 as part of Edward Everett Hale’s The Brick Moon and Other Stories.

brick moon titleThe story begins in the 1840s when Frederic Ingham, the tale’s narrator, and his college friends Orcutt and Halliburton plan a dream project which winds up taking decades to fulfill – a manmade artificial satellite, the first recorded in science fiction stories.

The possibility of wireless communication was unknown in that time period, so the three friends don’t plan to use their Brick Moon to transmit and receive communications. They instead plan for it to serve as a heavenly object that ships at sea can use as a marker. Continue reading

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THE CHALLENGE (1970) AKA SURROGATE

challenge tvmTHE CHALLENGE aka Surrogate (1970) – This made for tv movie aired in February 1970. The storyline involves a downed satellite that contains American national defense technology. It landed near a fictional Asian nation which is closely allied with Communist China.

The fictional nation’s navy recovered the downed satellite, but the U.S. navy blockaded them and, as this telefilm opens, is preventing the other nation from taking the satellite anywhere. The smaller nation is a client state of Communist China, as stated above, and China intervenes on their behalf.

darren in challengeNeither the U.S. nor Red China want to see this incident escalate into an all-out war, so they agree to a solution. Each side will send one man to a small nearby island. Whichever surrogate manages to kill the other within five days will have “won” the downed satellite for its side.

Yes, that’s a silly premise from a real-world angle, but this first aired in a less cynical time, so the fact that the story is obviously an allegory for proxy conflicts like the Vietnam War was considered daring for the period. Original director Joseph Sargent quit the film over creative differences, and replacement director George McCowan insisted on using the Director’s Guild pseudonym Allen Smithee. Continue reading

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BOOK OF THE DUN COW: PART SIX

Here is Part Six of Balladeer’s Blog’s look at the various mythological works in Ireland’s Lebor na hUidre, The Book of the Dun Cow. For Part One click HERE.

cattle raid of cooleyTHE CATTLE RAID OF COOLEY (Tain Bo Cuailgne) – Because this is easily the most well-known tale from Irish Mythology I will be brief and I will also include another section of the Book of the Dun Cow in this same blog post. 

I. In Connacht, as we saw in earlier installments, Queen Maeve lived with King Ailill in Cruachan. A bedroom squabble between the pair involved a comparison of each of their belongings. King Ailill edged out Queen Maeve by his possession of an incredibly fertile (and in some versions immortal) bull called Finnbhennach (white-horned).

        Queen Maeve didn’t like that at all, and resolved to acquire the Donn Cuailnge (brown bull) of the Ulstermen, which creature was said to match Ailill’s bull in magnificence and fertility. 

II. Maeve sent envoys to negotiate with her people’s enemies the Ulstermen in the north, because the owner of the Donn Cuailnge lived among them. Negotiations broke down, so the queen resolved to take the brown bull by force of arms.

cattle raid of cooley againIII. As Queen Maeve and her army approached Ulster, most of the Ulstermen were incapacitated by labor pains, a curse from the goddess Macha that they would be thus afflicted for nine generations whenever Ulster faced peril. The only man of Ulster not affected by the curse was the demigod Cuchulainn, familiar to us from previous installments.

IV. Cuchulainn and his charioteer Laege waged guerilla warfare on the advancing army, slowing them down as best they could. At length, when Cuchulainn intercepted Maeve’s army as they were fording a river, he invoked the Right of Single Combat at Fords. (No, not the Right of Dual Combat at Isthmuses, the Right of Single Combat at Fords.) Continue reading

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THE BIG EASY (1986)

big easyTHE BIG EASY (1986) – An unjustly neglected film starring the one and only Dennis Quaid, who should have been made the new Indiana Jones after The Last Crusade in 1989. The Big Easy is easily one of the most underrated films of the 1980s.

Think of The Big Easy as Cajun-blackened Film Noir, which, of course, makes it colorful and upbeat Film Noir with kickass music. Set in New Orleans (known as the Big Easy for you overseas readers) this hardboiled mystery features Assistant DA Anne Osborne (Ellen Barkin) clashing, bickering, flirting with and falling for Quaid as Lt Remy McSwain. Remy is investigating Wiseguy murders that hint at an impending gangster war while Anne is probing police corruption.  Continue reading

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CHARLTON COMICS SUPERHEROES

This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog will look at the Charlton Comics heroes based on how they were BEFORE DC Comics bought them from the defunct company. I will cover more than just the heroes depicted in pastiche form in Watchmen.

charlton yellow jacketYELLOWJACKET

Secret Identity: Vince Harley

First Appearance: Yellowjacket Comics #1 (September 1944)

Origin: Best-selling mystery novelist Vince Harley suffered a home invasion at his mansion home, where he indulged in his longtime passion of raising bees. During the stress of that attempted robbery, Harley’s superpowers manifested as a self-defense mechanism. From then on, he fought crime as the costumed superhero Yellowjacket. 

yellowjacket picPowers: Yellowjacket was a probable mutant with the power of mentally controlling bees. He used his armies of those insects to sting, distract or harass opponents in battle. In addition, this hero was in peak physical condition and excelled at unarmed combat. Continue reading

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BOOK OF THE DUN COW: PART FIVE

Here is Part Five of Balladeer’s Blog’s look at the various mythological works in Ireland’s Lebor na hUidre, The Book of the Dun Cow. For Part One click HERE.

expulsion of the deissiTHE EXPULSION OF THE DEISSI (Tucait innarba na nDessi i mMumain ocus aided Chormaic) – Once believed to be a genuine historical narrative, The Expulsion of the Deissi has long been recognized as yet another case of mere quasi-historical myth-making.

The story deals with the expulsion and wandering of the former vassals called the Deissi, who were actually a loose confederation of people, but this legend elevated them to the status of a dynastic family. Like so many myths in world history, this highly embellished tale served the political purpose of a unifying origin myth, raising the Deissi Muman from defeated wanderers to a temporarily fallen noble dynasty.

The Expulsion of the Deissi survives in various forms, with The Book of the Dun Cow‘s account categorized as Version B.

I. Around the 100s to 300s A.D. when Cormac mac Airt was a High King of Ireland and ruled from the political and religious capital Tara, his “wanton son” Cellach abducted and raped Forach. She was the daughter of Forad, a brother of Oengus Gaibuaibthech (Oengus of the Dread Spear), the fiery military champion of the family, here supposed to be ancestors of the Deissi Muman.

        Oengus’ spear was said to be the Luin of Celtchar, the spear of the god Lugh which he passed down to ancient Irish heroes like Celtchar mac Uthechar, Dubthach, Fedlimid and Mac Cecht.  Right after Oengus finished a revenge quest for another family member who was recently killed, he led his troops to Tara to deal with Cellach. Continue reading

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ARK II (1976) – FORGOTTEN TELEVISION

ark IIARK II (1976) – In the postapocalyptic 25th Century, the year 2476 to be precise, Earth has been left devastated and transformed by warfare and pollution. Surviving scientists send out a team of explorers in a discount Damnation Alley vehicle and wearing Logan’s Run clothing. The crew of Ark II are to learn what pockets of humanity have survived and help them begin rebuilding civilization.

This half-hour, 15-episode science fiction series was targeted at young audiences, but it’s tolerable for adults, too, if the whole family wants to watch it. Very often the Ark II staff must liberate settlements from tyranny or stop them from repeating humanity’s mistakes of the past.

ark ii vehicleThe crew of the “futuristic” vehicle were Jonah (Terry Lester), Samuel (Jose Flores), Ruth (Jean Marie Hon) and the intelligent chimp Moochie (Adam), voiced by Lou Scheimer. Ark II was outfitted with elaborate equipment that was perfect for experiments, medical emergencies and for everyday survival, like the ability to produce whatever kind of food was desired.

The larger Ark II vehicle also came with a smaller vehicle – the Ark Roamer – for shorter jaunts. Think of the Moon Buggies used by a few of the Apollo missions. Another piece of equipment was the Jet Jumper, a personal flying device depicted by the same stock footage over and over again. Continue reading

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BOOK OF THE DUN COW: PART FOUR

Here is Part Four of Balladeer’s Blog’s look at the various mythological works in Ireland’s Lebor na hUidre, The Book of the Dun Cow. For Part One click HERE.

adomnanTHE VISION OF ADOMNAN (Fis Adomnain) – This was a tale of the vision that Saint Adomnan supposedly had during his lifetime (c 679-704 A.D.). Several centuries before Dante’s Divine Comedy (Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso), The Vision of Adomnan depicted the future saint being conducted through Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell so that he could share this “vision” with others.

Dante was guided in a different order by the dead poet Virgil, but Adomnan is shown being guided by his Guardian Angel.

I. On the Feast of Saint John, Adomnan feels as if he has died and his Guardian Angel leads him through the Afterlife. The first stop in Heaven is the Land of the Saints, a realm of eternal fair weather, where dwell the saints, all of them clad in white cassocks with white hoods. Continue reading

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JESUS: A PASSION PLAY FOR AMERICANS (1969)

teuber as JesusJESUS: A PASSION PLAY FOR AMERICANS (1969) – Happy Easter! Here’s a look at an experimental take on the story of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, all accompanied by music.

Before the concept album Jesus Christ Superstar became a stage production and before Godspell came this rock, improv jazz and blues version of the Passion of the Christ. Peter Ivers composed the curtain-to-curtain music, while director Timothy S. Mayer wrote the dialogue and lyrics, adapted from the King James Bible version of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Continue reading

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JUSTICE LEAGUE AND JUSTICE SOCIETY CROSSOVERS: 1970-1974

For this weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero post here at Balladeer’s Blog, I will review the 1970-1974 crossover stories involving DC’s Justice League and Justice Society. For my review of their 1963-1969 crossovers click HERE.

jla 82JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA Vol 1 #82 (August 1970)

Title: Peril of the Paired Planets

Justice Society Roster: Dr. Fate, Sandman, Dr. Mid-Nite, Wildcat, Starman, Mr. Terrific, Superman (original), Batman (original), Wonder Woman (original), Flash (original), Green Lantern (original), Hawkman (original), and the 2nd Red Tornado (android)

Justice League Roster: Green Arrow, 2nd Superman, 2nd Batman, 2nd Flash, 2nd Hawkman, 2nd Green Lantern, 2nd Atom, and the 2nd Black Canary (daughter of the original)

Villain: Creator2

Synopsis: A powerful alien called Creator2 plans to force Earth-One and Earth-Two to merge, thus freeing up a lot of material for the being to indulge their whim to create other planets. However, the merger will destroy both Earths. Continue reading

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