Tag Archives: glitternight.com

FOOL KILLER PART SEVENTY-THREE: JULY 1914

Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the many facets of Fool Killer lore. FOR PART ONE, INCLUDING THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT IN THE 1850s, CLICK HERE.

PART 73 – Some of the Fool Killer’s targets on both sides of the aisle in the July of 1914 edition of James Larkin Pearson’s version of the folk figure.

*** Former Republican President Theodore Roosevelt for the media blitz accompanying his hunting trip to South America. Pearson and his Fool Killer liked Theodore as president but he was tired of the media circus surrounding every move of Roosevelt’s post-presidency life.

*** The federal government, for allowing starvation inside the U.S. while sending out millions to feed people overseas.

*** Tycoon John D. Rockefeller, Jr. for trying to distract from his slaughter of miners and their women and children in Ludlow back in April by teaching Sunday School and doing charitable work to help prostitutes find another way of life. The jokes that were made about the kind of “work” that Rockefeller was doing with the Red Light Ladies should be obvious.

*** Treasury Secretary William McAdoo, who had pushed for the reintroduction of the Income Tax the previous year. Pearson, though a self-confessed socialist, did not meet the 2026 definition of socialism because he opposed income taxes as a blow against the working class and not the wealthy.

*** Democrat President Woodrow Wilson, whom he blamed for destroying the U.S. economy. Continue reading

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ANCIENT GREEK COMEDY: MARIKAS (C 421 B.C.)

EupolisBalladeer’s Blog presents another look at an ancient Greek Comedy. This time around it’s one written by Eupolis who – along with Aristophanes and Cratinus – was one of the Big Three of Attic Old Comedy.

MARIKAS (c 421 B.C.) – This was the second comedy to emerge in the new subgenre of Attic Old Comedy called “the Demagogue Comedy”. Aristophanes led the way a few years earlier with The Knights, his comedy attacking the politician Cleon. The play Marikas finds Eupolis attacking the demagogue Hyperbolus, whose reputation for character assassination by way of overstatement lives on in our language by way of the word “hyperbole”.  

As with most ancient Greek comedies Marikas has survived only in fragmentary form. Those fragments, along with contemporary references in surviving works, provide what is known about the play. Marikas, the title character, was used by Eupolis to represent the politician Hyperbolus the same way Aristophanes had used the Paphlagonian to represent Cleon in The Knights.

The ancient Greek comedies made a point of breaking the fourth wall on a regular basis (despite the way so many people have convinced themselves that that is a “postmodern” development) and Marikas opened up with a character assuring the audience that the play they were about to see was NOT just a rehashing of The Knights. Continue reading

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PEACEMAKER BEFORE D.C. COMICS OWNED THE CHARACTER

This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog will look at the Charlton Comics hero Peacemaker BEFORE DC Comics bought him and changed him. 

PEACEMAKER

Secret Identity: Christopher Smith

First Appearance: Fightin’ 5 #40 (November 1966)

Origin: American diplomat and scientist Christopher Smith was a noted pacifist in his public persona but was secretly affiliated with the Pax Institute’s covert operations arm in Geneva, Switzerland.

When peaceful solutions to an international situation hit a dead end, Smith donned the costume of his alter ego Peacemaker, who used violence against global dictators and other aggressors to nip potentially larger conflicts in the bud. 

This hero’s adventures were every bit as focused on Cold War situations as early Marvel Comics stories were in Iron Man and the The Hulk

Powers: Peacemaker was in peak physical condition and was a master of armed and unarmed combat. He designed and tested his own weapons in his secret “Peace Palace” lair in the Swiss Alps. Peacemaker’s action outfit included body armor, a jetpack for flight, plus a helmet for protection AND for radio communication. This hero’s weapons included his powered laser gun and the sonic beams shot from his helmet.

Comment: Peacemaker was the model for the Comedian in Watchmen, but the original Charlton version was neither the violent maniac of Watchmen nor the buffoonish character from recent movies and television shows.

FIGHTIN’ FIVE Vol 1 #40 (Nov 1966)

Title: Introducing the Peacemaker

Villain: Emil Bork, Arms Dealer

Synopsis: Diplomat Christopher Smith is in his car in Geneva, Switzerland being briefed about international arms dealer Emil Bork by his secretary Miss Blair. The weapons merchant has agents in two fictional South American countries egging on their war so that Bork can make more and more money. Two agents of Bork try to kill Smith and Blair but fail.   

The following day Christopher attends an embassy dinner in Geneva, at which Bork and Smith needle each other. Smith dons his Peacemaker outfit and assembles his weapons, then flies out to Bork’s mansion in the Alps. Bork’s private army tries to kill Peacemaker but he outfights them all.

He then interrogates a defeated mercenary and learns that Emil has just flown off for South America to exacerbate the war between the two nations he is profiting from. Our hero flies off after Bork’s overhead jet but the villain fires a missile at him. Peacemaker damages it with his laser but the missile still goes off with him in the blast range.    Continue reading

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SUPREME COURT JUSTICE THOMAS JOHNSON

Previously, Balladeer’s Blog examined the first six Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court when six was the full roster on that court. Here is a look at the 7th Justice, appointed by George Washington to fill the vacancy of Associate Justice John Rutledge, who resigned.

ASSOCIATE JUSTICE THOMAS JOHNSON

Served: September 19th, 1791 – January 16th, 1793. (Resigned over poor health.)

Brethren on the Court: Chief Justice John Jay. Associate Justices William Cushing, James Wilson, John Blair and James Iredell.

Some Highlights: Johnson served the least amount of time out of all Supreme Court Justices ever. He wrote the Court’s decision in Georgia v Brailsford (1792) which established that the Supreme Court had jurisdiction over suits and cases involving states. Riding his Circuit, Johnson heard the initial trial in Ware v Hylton, which dragged on for years and wasn’t settled until long after Thomas had left the Court. Continue reading

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ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION: SIX THOUSAND YEARS HENCE (1891)

SIX THOUSAND YEARS HENCE (1891) – Written by Milton W. Ramsey. Regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog may remember that I’m usually enthusiastic about these works of “ancient” science fiction and look for any bright spots. In this novel’s case that is very, very difficult. For a book written in 1891 it seems more like an 1820s piece.

The central character is General Morton, a former military man who has become incredibly wealthy through a land deal. One night he starts tracking an odd dot in space with his telescope. The object turns out to be a wandering planet that is headed for the Earth.

In the event, the planet throws Earth’s moon out of orbit and into the sun. It does not collide with our planet but it comes close enough to capture General Morton’s city in its gravity and drags the metropolis out into space with it. And you ain’t seen nothin’ yet in terms of this book’s WTF attempts at “science.”

As the rogue planet drags the city behind it, the individual buildings in it form a long “tail”. The people inside those buildings stay alive by keeping the doors and windows shut so that they have air to breathe inside. Continue reading

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THREE NEW COLLEGES LAUNCH SPORTS TEAMS IN THE NJCAA

The NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) accepted three new sports teams which will begin competing this fall. Here are the three:

Institution: VALLEY FORGE MILITARY COLLEGE

Team Name: TROJANS

Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania

*** Continue reading

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B-MOVIE HOSTS OF “SCREAM-IN” (1969-1971)

SCREAM-IN (June 20th, 1969 to August ?, 1971) – Love-Ins begat Laugh-In which begat Scream-In, a Bad Movie Show that went off the air when the station broadcasting it went bankrupt. Scream-In was previously titled Shock it to Me, a clever combination of the old Shock syndicated horror film package and the Laugh-In catch-phrase “Sock it to me!”

This Movie Host Show aired on Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s WPGH Saturday nights at 7:00pm and sometimes 6:30pm to avoid having to go head-to-head with Pittsburgh’s iconic Movie Host Chilly Billy Cardilly (Bill Cardille) on Chiller Theater. Here are Scream-In‘s three hosts – Coagulus, Count Von Thirstenburg and Tarantula, who had a ghoulish sidekick called Hugo. 

COAGULUS – The name of the actor playing this vampire character has not come down to us. Some sources state that Coagulus hosted WPGH’s original version of Scream-In titled just Supernatural Movie (later Shock It to Me) beginning in February 1969 – the same month the station started broadcasting.

This figure has been described by those who remember him as very much in the sarcastic style of Ghoulardi (Cleveland) and Sinister Seymour (Los Angeles). Coagulus leaned heavily into the So Bad They’re Good spirit that so many of us love about these old shows.

In late July, 1969 this host was fired, supposedly for wanting a raise. He was immediately replaced by another Movie Host character. See below. Continue reading

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SWASHBUCKLER MOVIES OF CORNEL WILDE

Cornel Wilde was born in 1912 and during his lengthy career he appeared in several swashbuckler films.

TREASURE OF THE GOLDEN CONDOR (1953) – Cornel Wilde stars as the swordsman Jean-Paul, a Frenchman whose evil uncle the Marquis de St. Malo (George Macready) robs of his royal title and his inherited lands. He flees France and sails for Guatemala.

Once there he falls in with fellow adventurers MacDougal (Finlay Currie) and his daughter Clara (Constance Smith), who are on a quest to find the lost Mayan Treasure of the Golden Condor somewhere in the jungle. After surviving jungle beasts, hostile Guatemalans and rival treasure hunters, our heroes obtain the fabulous treasure.

Using this fortune to finance his revenge quest, Jean-Paul returns to France with Clara . Once there, he engages in much derring-do and legal warfare masterminded by lawyer Raoul Dondel (Leo G. Caroll) to defeat his evil uncle and regain his title and estates. Nice blend of traditional swashbuckling with a quasi-Indiana Jones quest and a little Count of Monte Cristo at the end.

The guest cast included Anne Bancroft, Fay Wray and a young Robert Blake as a stable boy. 93 minutes. Continue reading

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FOOL KILLER PART SEVENTY-TWO: JUNE 1914

Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the many facets of Fool Killer lore. FOR PART ONE, INCLUDING THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT IN THE 1850s, CLICK HERE.

PART 72 – Some of the Fool Killer’s targets on both sides of the aisle in the June of 1914 edition of James Larkin Pearson’s version of the folk figure.

*** Tycoon John D. Rockefeller, Jr. for his role in the Ludlow Miner Massacre back in April. A few lines from that condemnation – “Who trains the guns on helpless ones, til precious blood in rivers runs? John D. Jr.” (also as Johndee Junior).

*** The Dick Act, which was named after Charles Dick when it passed back in 1903. It granted presidents certain powers when it came to activating militias. Some feared that President Woodrow Wilson would use the Dick Act to start drafting American men to serve in the military.

*** Tycoons (he often called them Plutocrats) who spent more money on paintings of the Madonna and Child than they ever spent feeding and clothing real, live mothers and their children. Continue reading

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FORGOTTEN TELEVISION: THE ANDY CAPP LIVE-ACTION SITCOM FROM 1988

ANDY CAPP (1988) – Okay. I’ve put this off long enough. Time to just review Andy Capp and be done with it.

Am I referring to the original Andy Capp comic strip, which premiered in the 1950s? No.

Am I referring to the line of Andy Capp snacks, like Hot Fries, Cheddar Fries, etc.? No.

Am I referring to the 1982 stage comedy starring Tom Courtenay as Andy Capp? No. 

I’m referring to the 6-episode British Television live-action sitcom Andy Capp. Each episode filled a half-hour timeslot and featured all the layabout, boozing, betting, philandering fun (?) that the comic strip did. For newbies, the comic strip character Andy Capp wallowed in never looking for a job, in sleeping all day, boozing and babe-chasing all night and losing any money he had to his bookie.

Meanwhile, his wife Flo put the bread on the table and clashed with Andy on a regular basis. 

I was actually kind of chuffed (as our British cousins say) about watching this obscure television series. The Brits are usually geniuses when it comes to making what sound like thoroughly disgusting characters into oddly charming figures who endear themselves to audiences despite themselves. Think of the brilliant Absolutely Fabulous for just one example.  Continue reading

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