LASKARINA BOUBOULINA (1771-1825) – Often hailed as history’s first female admiral, Laskarina developed a passion for sailing in her youth and was permitted to pursue that passion thanks to her stepfather’s open-mindedness regarding women’s behavior and education.
At some point after 1814 Bouboulina joined Filiki Etairea, a covert organization working toward liberating Greece from its long occupation by the Ottoman Muslim Empire. By the time the actual Greek War of Independence broke out in February of 1821, Laskarina had six children and lost two husbands, the second one a very wealthy man.
Our heroine poured her inheritance into the cause of Greek Independence and personally took command of her small fleet of four ships (some sources say eight ships) which had been constructed and outfitted in defiance of Ottoman regulations on Greek battleships. She even designed her own flag.
Laskarina became a legend in the ongoing war and participated in many naval campaigns. She also financed an army unit. Continue reading
As always, because the college football divisions covered here at Balladeer’s Blog kick off their regular season a few weeks earlier than the other divisions their playoffs begin earlier, too. 
The MONTANA TECH OREDIGGERS (Frontier Conference) will host the DICKINSON STATE BLUE HAWKS (North Star Athletic Association)
The DORDT UNIVERSITY DEFENDERS (Great Plains Athletic Conference) will host the OTTAWA UNIVERSITY BRAVES (Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference) 
MASTERS OF VENUS (1962) – A year before Doctor Who came to British television this 8-part movie serial played theaters as part of the viewing block for Saturday Morning Cinema Clubs. 
Because Balladeer’s Blog reviews items that range from mild and child-friendly to blood-soaked and transgressive, let me make it clear that Masters of Venus, directed by Ernest Morris, is just fine for family viewing. 
The base comes under attack by mysterious Men in Black (I’m serious) armed with ray guns that shoot knockout beams. Security guard after security guard falls to the Men in Black, who turn out to be Venusians who don’t want Earthlings visiting their planet. 
NUMBER THREE TAKES A FALL – In the NAIA the CONCORDIA (MI) CARDINALS hosted the number 3 team in the nation, the INDIANA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY WILDCATS. A 7-0 1st Quarter lead for the Cardinals became 14-3 by Halftime. After a scoreless 3rd Quarter, the teams exchanged a Touchdown apiece in the 4th as Concordia University toppled the Wildcats 21-10. 
“THAT WAS NUMBER FIIIVE!” – Over in NCAA Division Two, the KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY GOLDEN BEARS took the field against the visiting 5th ranked SLIPPERY ROCK UNIVERSITY ROCK. The Golden Bears kept the forever-overrated Rock off the scoreboard until the 4th Quarter in a 31-7 Upset. 
AND ANOTHER NUMBER FIVE FALLS – Back in the NAIA, the SOUTHERN OREGON UNIVERSITY RAIDERS (should be Sea Gulls) went up against their guests, the number 5 COLLEGE OF IDAHO COYOTES. SOU put the Coyotes on Upset Alert by the Half, leading them 14-7, then carried through by winning the game 31-16. 
SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS Vol 1 #1 (May 1963) 
VOYAGE TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH aka Planet at the Center of the Earth aka “Journey to the Centre of the Earth, or Various Adventures of Clairancy and His Companions, to Spitsbergen, to the North Pole, and to Unknown Countries, translated from the English of Hormidas Peath by M. Jacques Saint-Albin”. 
This particular story centers around the fictional seaman Hormidas Peath and his crew who became shipwrecked in the icy Arctic Sea in 1806. They were shocked to discover that temperatures got warmer the further north they went, so they kept following the warmer air until they reached the Iron Mountains. 
HOME aka Future Soap (1968) – This science fiction drama set hundreds of years in the future first aired on January 19th, 1968 on American Public Broadcasting’s N.E.T. Playhouse. Home is a 90-minute piece about the threat of overpopulation – and the excuses that threat gives the government to impose authoritarian conditions on the populace – set among a honeycomb of claustrophobic rooms in which citizens of the future must spend their lives due to the dictates of the government. 
Food is in pill form, rituals praising the government are required and “happy drugs” must be consumed daily in order to keep the populace in line. When a couple is able to obtain permission to have a child they must wait until someone in their communal room dies. 
One of the things I love about college football is how far back its history goes. It feels odd to think that Ulysses S Grant was in the White House when that game was played. 
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