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GINA CARANO: ROLES SHE WOULD BE GREAT IN

gina leaningGina Carano has proven how impressive she can be in action roles, and that got me thinking about various roles I’d like to see her in.

queen of the black coast smallerBELIT, THE QUEEN OF THE BLACK COAST – For people who aren’t fans of Robert E. Howard I’ll mention that the female pirate captain was the great love in the life of Conan the Barbarian. Queen of the Black Coast (1934) is one of the greatest Conan stories ever, but it’s a challenge casting a woman who could plausibly bring Belit (pronounced bay-LEET) to life. Enter Gina Carano, who would seem perfectly natural swinging her sword, kicking butt and barking out orders to her crew. Continue reading

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VILLA VYBES VINYL: PERPETUATING THE SOUNDS OF VINYL RECORDS IN ALL GENRES

z bear groovingZ-Bear, her husband and their children are a family in Hawaii who deejay the terrific YT channel Villa Vybes Vinyl. Z-Bear and her hubby are professionals and periodically let their kids take center stage for some of the DJ chores. It adds considerably to the charm of this eclectic channel.

z bear hubbyNo matter how good digital is, many people still thrill to the sound of a needle pressing down on an actual vinyl record and the slight whispering and popping before the music begins to play. Z-Bear and company don’t waste the time of listeners/ viewers with DJ patter, they just let their audience see them going through all the vinyl DJ activities!

z bear familyThe VVV folks lovingly select, clean and otherwise care for the musical artifacts they proceed to play. They have an incredible setup with multiple turntables and other equipment that many will envy. Multiple camera angles are provided, plus Z-Bear and her family change up those angles over time.
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BALLADEER’S BLOG’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL RESULTS FROM FEBRUARY 3rd

NJCAA

south plains college texansCLOSE CALL FOR NUMBER ONE – The number 1 team in the nation – the SOUTH PLAINS COLLEGE TEXANS – visited the 11th ranked ODESSA COLLEGE WRANGLERS.

At Halftime the Wranglers were on top 32-27, but the Texans came out of the locker room primed for a comeback. Odessa rallied but fell just short as SPC held on by their fingertips for a 67-66 win. Jabori McGhee’s 21 points led the Texans.

Walters State SenatorsCENTURY CLUB – The (25) WALTERS STATE SENATORS won by a final score of 109-81 at the DYERSBURG STATE EAGLES   ###   Meanwhile, the WAUBONSEE COLLEGE CHIEFS routed the visiting WILBUR WRIGHT COLLEGE RAMS 111-76   ###   And the CASPER COLLEGE THUNDERBIRDS downed their guests the EASTERN WYOMING COLLEGE LANCERS by a final score of 101-90.  Continue reading

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FLASH VS HIS ROGUES GALLERY

This weekend’s light-hearted and escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at the 1960s and 1970s Flash stories in which several of his recurring villains would team up against him.

fl 155FLASH Vol 1 #155 (September 1965)

Title: The Gauntlet of Supervillains

Villain Roster: Captain Cold, the Top, Mirror Master, Heat Wave, Pied Piper, Captain Boomerang and Gorilla Grodd

Synopsis: Gorilla Grodd (the mysterious villain referred to on the cover) engineers prison breakouts for the six other Flash foes mentioned above. Grodd uses the other villains to wear down the Flash and erode his powers, hoping to then kill the hero himself.

NOTE: The semi-annual team up of Flash villains soon becomes referred to as his Rogues Gallery Convention and/ or “Convention of Flash Villains.” For a time the event was almost as frequent as the annual Justice Society/ Justice League get-togethers.  Continue reading

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAMES JOYCE (2024 EDITION)

jamesjoyceHAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JAMES JOYCE! His works got me hooked in my teens when I really related to his character Stephen Dedalus as he rejected his religion and indulged what I call his “young and pretentious side” in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916). I wore out my copy of Joyce’s novel Ulysses (1922) and continue to mark Bloom’s Day to this very day.

Over the years Finnegans Wake (1939) replaced Ulysses as my favorite Joyce novel and I’m fonder than many people are of his play Exiles (1918). Continue reading

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SCARFOLK: LIKE “MY MILWAUKEE” CROSSED WITH “LOCAL 58 TV”

discovering scarfolkIf you enjoy serious analog horror like Magical World of Ania or more tongue in cheek analog horror like My Milwaukee, then Richard Littler’s Scarfolk is definitely for you. If you enjoy the eeriness of those old Public Service Messages from 1970s Canada or Great Britain that are so beloved on the internet then you’ll probably hate yourself if you still haven’t gotten into Scarfolk.   

Part haunted town, part 70s dystopia, Scarfolk refers to Littler’s fictional British town which is by turns nightmarish and hilarious. There are even undertones of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy type of humor in the town’s faux “reference material” and “artifacts”.

dr j swift eatingAround 2012 Richard Littler began mocking up some fake 1970s public health posters and government pamphlets for schools and general consumption. He presented them with an enjoyably twisted slant that perfectly captured the vaguely menacing, often insulting approach of such material. 

Littler took to posting them on his Facebook account, where positive feedback encouraged him to start a blog devoted to his dark-humored artifacts of the nonexistent town of Scarfolk, “a town in North West England which is just west of northern England” as the author describes it.
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TRAVELS AND ADVENTURES OF JAMES MASSEY (1714) ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION

voyages and adventuresTRAVELS AND ADVENTURES OF JAMES MASSEY (1714) – By Simon Tyssot de Patot. Supposedly written in 1710 but not published until 1714, this novel dealt with the travels of the title character to exotic lands.

James Massey is a physician who becomes inspired by the tales told by the Wandering Jew (presented as a real person in this tale) when he comes to town. The encounter fills Massey’s head with a desire to travel in hopes of seeing some of the wonders that the Wandering Jew has seen multiple times during his endless travels.

From that meeting with a mythic figure, Dr. Massey’s adventures constitute a science fiction odyssey. He signs on as a Ship’s Surgeon under Captain Le Sage, and their vessel with a 52-man crew set sail on May 21st, 1643.  Off Finisterre their ship began taking on water, prompting an evacuation in longboats before it sank. Continue reading

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SHIRLEY TEMPLE’S STORYBOOK (1958-1961)

st storybookSHIRLEY TEMPLE’S STORYBOOK (1958-1961) – This time around, Balladeer’s Blog’s recurring feature Forgotten Television takes a look at this overlooked children’s series hosted by an adult Shirley Temple. Like Shelley Duvall’s 1980s series Faerytale Theatre this earlier program managed to attract some big names and soon-to-be-big names for its cast.

With Shirley hosting, this series ran 41 episodes, some fitting a half-hour slot with commercials and some fitting an hour-long slot with commercials. Similarly, some were black & white, others in color. Temple owned the series and released a few episodes here and there on video over the decades.

shirleyShirley Temple’s Storybook was one of Shirley’s A.J.A. (After John Agar) ventures, in fact it debuted 8 years after their divorce. The program aired from January 12th, 1958 to July 16th, 1961.

SEASON ONE HIGHLIGHTS  

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST – We all know this story, so I’ll jump to the cast – Charlton Heston as the Beast, Claire Bloom as Beauty, June Lockhart and Barbara Baxley as her sisters, and E.G. Marshall as a merchant.  Continue reading

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BALLADEER’S BLOG’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL RESULTS: JANUARY 27th

NCAA DIVISON TWO

Alaska-Anchorage SeawolvesKNOCKING OFF NUMBER TWO – The UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA AT ANCHORAGE SEAWOLVES welcomed the number 2 team in the nation – the ST. MARTIN’S UNIVERSITY SAINTS. The Seawolves put the Saints on Upset Alert by Halftime with their 33-25 lead. After the break SMU rallied, but Alaska-Anchorage held on for a 71-68 victory. Tyson Gilbert logged 28 points to lead the Seawolves.

fsc mocsMARATHON GAME OF THE DAY – The FLORIDA SOUTHERN COLLEGE MOCS (Moccasins) visited the PALM BEACH ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY SAILFISH yesterday. At the Half the Mocs were up 42-34 but the Sailfish forced OT with a 74-74 tie to end Regulation. The 1st Overtime ended at 80-80, the 2nd at 89-89, the 3rd at 102-102 and the FOURTH OVERTIME saw FSC win out 117-110. Luke Anderson’s Double Double of 31 points and 12 rebounds led the Mocs. Continue reading

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MARVEL’S JANUARY 1967 ISSUES

This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero post here at Balladeer’s Blog looks at Marvel’s January 1967 publications, excluding reprints.

ff 58FANTASTIC FOUR Vol 1 #58 (January 1967)

Title: The Dismal Dregs of Defeat

Villain: Dr. Doom

Synopsis: Picking up from the previous issue’s cliffhanger ending, the Fantastic Four’s archenemy Dr. Doom, monarch of Latveria, has succeeded in stealing the Power Cosmic from the Silver Surfer. With the drained and helpless former Herald of Galactus lying on the floor, Dr. Doom summons his “surfboard” and flies off on it. 

Doom reaches New York, where he publicly defeats the Fantastic Four with ease. He taunts them about having stolen the Silver Surfer’s incredible power and – in Supervillain Cliche Number 18 – refrains from killing them right now because he wants them to witness his conquest of the Earth and know he’s now too powerful to stop. Continue reading

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