The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XV

Maria Blues, "Rude Monkey" from the Birth of the Fourth Wave of Ska compilation (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"You woke up angry today,
You feel like skipping work,
But you guys bills to pay;
So, you'll just go through the day
Feeling like you don't have a say (You do),
Feeling like it shouldn't be this way,
Feeling like you don't have a say (You do),
Why can't you catch a break?…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XV

Madness, "Madness" from One Step Beyond… (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: "Madness" is a cover of the song by Prince Buster, & the namesake of the band Madness.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Wednesday, 6 April 2016
Ich Bin Ein Berliner, "Amish Rake Fight" from In Ska We Trust (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the V Sunday o' Lent

The Fifth Sunday of Lent (Quadragesima)
Brothers Walker, "Lift Your Head Weary Sinner" from the Worship, Vol. 1 E.P. (Penitent Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: The Gospel pericope for the Cycle C readings was the Woman Caught in Adultery from Saint John's Gospel. The Gospel pericope for the Cycle A "Scrutiny Readings" was our Blessed Savior's raising of Lazarus, also from Saint John's Gospel.

The Explorers' Club, № MLXXXII

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 50th Anniversary of the "April 5th Anamoly"
5 April 1975: CDR Vasily Lazarev & Flight Engineer Oleg Makarov lifted off from the Kazakh S.S.R.'s Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard a Soyuz 7K-T capsule atop a Soyuz rocket; callsign Ural ("Ural"); the launch aborted when the third-stage engine ignited before separating from the second stage; the duo suffered twenty-one g's during the abort & landed in deep snow in Siberia near the Chinese border.

Commentary: Colonel Lazarev never fully recovered from his injuries & never flew in space again. The Soviets were unusually forthcoming with information—to N.A.S.A., not to the Soviet citizenry—due to the ongoing preparations for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.

The twenty-one-minute suborbital flight is also known as Soyuz 18a or Soyuz 18-1, to differentiate it from the successful orbital flight Soyuz 18 later in 1975. The search for images is complicated by Lazarev & Makarov previously flying Soyuz 12 together in 1973.

Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: The "April 5th Anamoly"
Dennis McCarthy, "Out of Control/The Crash" from Star Trek Generations: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Friday, 5 April 2013
The Bruce Lee Band, "Running Out of Time" from the Beautiful World E.P. (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine.

"Slave to my lifestyle and I don't even know why,
(I hate my job, friend, the passion's over),
Ocean views on holidays,
(I hate my job, friend, I'm slowly dying,
I hate my job, friend, I'm running out of time)…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XV

Brad Pittance and the Pirates, "One Night Stand" from the Love, Lust and Skadust E.P. (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"This is ska!

"It's true I need a drink or two
To get the courage up and talk to you,
My clothes aren't special, but they are brand new,
Everybody's dancing and they're watching you.

"I don't mind the music, I don't mind the band,
I'm only here for a one night stand,
I don't mind the singer and I dont mind the band,
I'm only here for a one night stand!

Hey, you! This is ska!

"They kept that groove 'til she looked so fine,
I really want to make her mine,
I take her hand, she looked so good,
I take her home and I think I should.

"I quite like the music, I quite like the band,
I'm only here for a one night stand,
I quite like the singer and I quite like the band,
But I'm only here for a one night stand!

"Everybody's bustin' out their moves,
Everybody's gettin' into the groove!

"But something went wrong as I said hi,
She's gone off dancing with another guy,
He's looking smart in his boots and braces,
Looks like I was never really at the races.

"I like the music, I like the band,
I'm only here for a one night stand,
I like the singer and I like the band,
I was only here for a one night stand!

This is the sound of ska!

"So I start staring at my phone,
Looks like I'll be going home alone,
I get to talking to a guy at the bar,
'You just can't beat some reggae and ska!'…

"I love the music, I like the band,
I was here for a one night stand,
I like the singer and I love the band,
I was only here for a one night stand!"

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Saturday, 4 April 2020
MU330, "Rocket Fuel" from MU330 (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine.

"That kid is rocket fuel (please please),
That kid is rocket fuel (go to sleep),
That kid is rocket fuel (please please),
That kid, he's rocket fuel!…"

Bonus! Fish Fry Song o' the Day

The Raymond Scott Quintette, "Powerhouse" from the Microphone Music compilation (Mike Papa Wreckfish)

Commentary: The normal weekly routine for running the Fish Fry is: Make coleslaw & prep potatos on Thursday afternoon, put out signage on Thursday evening to catch the Friday morning commuters, hold the fry on Friday, fetch the fish for the next Friday's fry on Saturday. Last Sunday (30 March), the entire Holy Redeemer campus lost electrical power due to a severe windstorm; power was not restored until Wednesday (3 April); power went out again for a while on Thursday. Due to the need to clean the building after the power outage, coleslaw & baked potato prep was moved from Thursday afternoon to Friday morning. No one was able to access the parish hall to check on the temperature of the thawing fish in the locked cooler (the building is accessed through electronic keycards, which obviously do not work absent electricity); so, I had to procure a whole new stock of fish, which began thawing at the fishmonger's market, because there was no point in acquiring new stock if I had no place to store it. With power finally restored & the hall cleaned, I picked up & put in the cooler the already thawing replacement fish (my Saturday job); then, I helped make the coleslaw & prep the potatoes (my Thursday job); then, the usual Friday Fish Fry. What a cartoonishly frenetic day!

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XV

RX Bandits, "Lost" from Halfway Between Here & There (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"…I'm not afraid anymore.

"There is a way for us all,
There is a way for my future,
Nothing left for me at all,
Nothing left, I can't find it,
I don't see any more,
How can I be so stupid?
Well, I don't know anymore,
Drop me now 'cause I'm so damn lost!"

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Sunday, 3 April 2011
Less Than Jake, "Danny Says" from Hello Rockview (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine. Your humble narrator was nineteen when Hello Rockview was released.

"He's only nineteen,
Burnt out on the scene,
Yeah, he's only nineteen…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XV

Less Than Jake, "Done and Dusted" from the Greetings & Salutations from Less Than Jake compilation (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"My vital signs are thick and grayed,
Must be why I'm still awake…"

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Saturday, 2 April 2022
M.C. Lars featuring The M.C. Bat Commander & Suburban Legends, "This Gigantic Robot Kills" from the This Gigantic Robot Kills single (Captain Thumbs Up!)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine. Ska bands namechecked in "This Gigantic Robot Kills:" Gwen Stefani (of No Doubt), Goldfinger, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake, The Aquabats!, Save Ferris, Sublime, & The O.C. Supertones.

Operation ÖSTERREICH: Countdown to Resurrection

Please Stand By | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in
Last weigh-in: 330.2 lbs. (12 June 2024)
Next weigh-in: ? lbs. (23 April 2025)
Difference: +/-? lbs.

Bonus! Lied von ÖSTERREICH
Operation Ivy, "Healthy Body" from the Operation Ivy compilation (Mike Papa Whale)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XV

The Ska Flames, "Hot Sake" from Ska Fever (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: It might be too early for hot sake here in sacred Michigan, but Japan is thirteen hours ahead of us; so, it is already 8:37 P.M. there (2037 hours). A fine time for an adult beverage.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives

Tuesday, 1 April 2014
Reel Big Fish, "Don't Stop Skankin'" from Candy Coated Fury (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Wayback Machine.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XV

Tobeadded, "Ska Sucks" from the Ska Sucks single (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Tobeadded, stylized as tobeadded or tba, are a small Austrian ska band, apparently active from 2010-2018. At least, nothing's been added to their YouTube page in seven years. There is a charming D.I.Y. quality to "Ska Sucks."

"You say, ska sucks in every way,
And I say, I think it is quite O.K.…"

Welcome to SKApril!

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Barenaked Ladies, "Who Needs Sleep?" from Stunt (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: I don't experience insomnia, thank the Lord. The times I don't get enough sleep are because I stay up too late trying to get "one more thing" done. "One more thing" is of course rarely only one thing.

The Explorers' Club, № MLXXXI

The Space Race—Astronaut Group 3 (the "Fourteen"), Part XV
Clifton Curtis "C.C." Williams Junior (26 September 1932-5 October 1967), Major, U.S. Marine Corps—He was scheduled to fly as L.M.P. of Apollo 12 (1969, Yankee Clipper & Intrepid) & would have been the fourth Moonwalker, but he died in a T-38 Talon crash; he was the first bachelor astronaut, who married the summer after being selected; his second child was born eight months after his death.

Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: The Fourteen—C.C. Williams
Sufjan Stevens, "The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders" from Sufjan Stevens Invites You To: Come On, Feel the Illinoise (A.K.A. Illinois) (Space Cadet Mike Papa DSKY)

The Wayback Machine Tour of C.C. Williams
"The Explorers' Club," No. CMVI: In Memoriam C.C. Williams

The Wayback Machine Tour of the Fourteen
"The Explorers' Club," No. CMLXXXVI: Astronaut Group 3 (Part I)
"The Explorers' Club," No. MXIV: Dave Scott (Part II)
"The Explorers' Club," No. MXXIII: Gene Cernan (Part III)
"The Explorers' Club," No. MXXV: Michael Collins (Part IV)
"The Explorers' Club," No. MXXVII: Dick Gordon (Part V)
"The Explorers' Club," No. MXXXII: Buzz Aldrin (Part VI)
"The Explorers' Club," No. MXXXVIII: Donn Eisele (Part VII)
"The Explorers' Club," No. MXLI: Walt Cunningham (Part VIII)
"The Explorers' Club," No. MXLVII: Bill Anders (Part IX)
"The Explorers' Club," No. MLIII: Rusty Schweickart (Part X)
"The Explorers' Club," No. MLVIII: Al Bean (Part XI)
"The Explorers' Club," No. MLXIV: Ted Freeman (Part XII)
"The Explorers' Club," No. MLXVI: Charlie Bassett (Part XIII)
"The Explorers' Club," No. MLXXV: Roger Chaffee (Part XIV)

Requiescat in pace.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the IV Sunday o' Lent

The Fourth Sunday of Lent (Quadragesima; Laetare Sunday)
Cake, "Pretty Pink Ribbon" from Comfort Eagle (Penitent Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: At my territorial parish, I served as reader; we read the Cycle C readings. The Gospel pericope was the Parable of the Prodigal Son from Saint Luke's Gospel. At my parish of choice, there is a catechuman preparing to enter the Church at the Easter Vigil; so, we read the Cycle A "Scrutiny Readings." The Gospel pericope was our Blessed Savior's healing of the man born blind from Saint John's Gospel.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "I'll Be Mellow When I'm Dead" from "Weird Al" Yankovic (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: I had a very productive morning: I worshiped the Lord at daily Mass, went to the library, went to the green grocer, went to the bank, picked up a item I had carelessly left behind yesterday, & picked up from the fishmonger & put away the fish for next Friday's Fish Fry. (We receive the Atlantic cod [Gadus morhua] frozen & slowly thaw it over the course of six days.) I had a less productive afternoon: I took a nap after lunch.

This is my first Saturday "at home" in a month & a half: Four consecutive Saturdays hosting the Knights of Columbus Bowling Tournament, then the Anchor Conference (middle-school kids), then the Ignite Conference (men). All this on top of my normal schedule & the Fish Fry. I'll be mellow when I'm dead, yes, but I needed today very badly; I've been running on fumes.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: Go Blue!

Project OSPREY: Team 108
N.C.A.A. Tournament, Sweet Sixteen
(№ 5) Michigan v. Auburn (№ 1)
28-9, B1G 14-6

The University of Michigan Marching Band, "El Victors Caliente" from Forever Valiant (Mike Papa Wolverine)

Commentary: Cards on the table, I did not think the valiant Wolverines of Team 108 would make it to the second weekend of "March Madness," to the "Sweet Sixteen." Well done, gentlemen. Tonight's tilt is a tough nut to crack: the epithetless Tigers of Auburn University are the № 1 overall seed, not just the № 1 seed in the regional quadrant. But these valiant Wolverines, if they play their game, have a puncher's chance against anyone.

Go Blue!

Bonus! Fish Fry Song o' the Day

Potshot, "Every Rain Lets Up" from 'Til I Die (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whalesucker)

Commentary: I hope the weather forecast is wrong, as it so often is.

The Explorers' Club, № MLXXX

The Grumman X-29: An experimental aircraft with forward-swept wings that flew test flights from 1984-1991; a joint program of N.A.S.A., the U.S. Air Force, & D.A.R.P.A., the X-29 was composed of parts from the F-5 Freedom Fighter & the F-16 Fighting Falcon, with carbon-fiber wings; the design was inherently dynamically unstable, but the expected exceptional agility was not observed in testing.

Commentary: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (D.A.R.P.A.) is the U.S. Department of Defense's research & development agency; yes, the D.O.D. has a "mad science" division.

Today, the two X-29s are on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Ohio & N.A.S.A.'s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. I had a toy of the X-29 when I was a boy, but I don't know if it's still somewhere in my parents house or if at some point it was thrown away.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day!

The Aquabats!, "Dangerous Leon!" from Kooky Spooky… In Stereo! (Captain Thumbs Up!)

Commentary:

"I don't know why he leads a perilous life,
But to him it's alright,
And I don't know why the villains always come at the worst time,
Day and night.
Part of his day, tryin' not to get annihilated,
And I must say, there must be a reason why
He's such a great guy!

"I don't know how he can prioritize
To get the bad guys,
And I don't know how he always makes it on time
To thwart every crime.
Part of his day, tryin' not to get annihilated,
And I've got to say, I've got to say, there must be a reason
Why they call him—

"Dangerous! Dangerous Leon!
Dangerous! Dangerous Leon!

"Fighting for justice,
Staying on a budget,
Nice to your mom,
But don't get me wrong,
They call him, they call him,
They call him dangerous!…"

Bonus! Song o' the Day

Billy Preston, "Nothing from Nothing" from Elf: Music from the Major Motion Picture (Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

New Found Glory, "The Promise" from From the Screen to Your Stereo, Part II (Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Annunciation

The Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
Matt Maher, "Gabriel's Message" from The Advent of Christmas (Penitent Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Explorers' Club, № MLXXIX

Operation AXIOM: Destination Moon—The 60th Anniversary of Ranger 9
21-24 March 1965: Ranger 9 lifted off from Florida's Cape Kennedy Air Force Station atop an Atlas-Agena rocket, tasked to photograph & then impact the Lunar surface; the midcourse correction burn was successful; all six television cameras functioned perfectly, broadcasting live, & returned 5,814 photographs of the Moon for nineteen minutes until Ranger 9 crashed into the Alphonsus Crater.

Commentary: After six consecutive Ranger failures, due to problems with both launch vehicles & spacecraft, the last three Ranger missions were unqualified successes, providing close-up views with unprecedented resolution of the lunar surface. Ranger (1961-1965) set the stage for the Surveyor lander (1966-1968) & Lunar Orbiter (1966-1967) programs, all in preparation for the Apollo Moon landings (1969-1972).

During Ranger 9's kamikaze mission to the Moon (21-24 March 1965), Gemini 3 conducted the manned test flight of the Gemini capsule (23 March). Busy days at Cape Kennedy, with less than five years left to meet the namesake president's goal of landing men on the Moon & returning them safely to the Earth.

The Wayback Machine Tour of the Ranger Program
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCXXXVI: The 60th Anniversary of Ranger 1
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCLII: The 60th Anniversary of Ranger 2
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCLXIV: The 60th Anniversary of Ranger 3
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCLXXXI: The 60th Anniversary of Ranger 4
"The Explorers' Club," № CMIX: The 60th Anniversary of Ranger 5
"The Explorers' Club," № MIV: The 60th Anniversary of Ranger 6
"The Explorers' Club," № MXXXIX: The 60th Anniversary of Ranger 7
"The Explorers' Club," № MLXXIII: The 60th Anniversary of Ranger 8

Ex Luna, scientia.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Callin' In Sick" from Bad Hair Day (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: I did not call in sick, but I am carrying a box of facial tissues with me at all times.

The Explorers' Club Special

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 60th Anniversary of Gemini 3
23 March 1965: Gemini 3 lifted off from Florida's Cape Kennedy Air Force Station, carrying Command Pilot Virgil "Gus" Grissom & Pilot John Young aboard the Gemini spacecraft Molly Brown atop a Titan II G.L.V. rocket; during three orbits, they were the first crew to maneuver their spacecraft in orbit & ate a contraband corned beef sandwich smuggled by Young; they were recovered by the U.S.S. Intrepid.

Wayback Machine: № DCCCXXXIX, "The Space Race—The 55th Anniversary of Gemini 3"

Commentary: The two-man Gemini capsule was affectionately known as the "Gusmobile" because Grissom—the shortest member of the "Mercury Seven," Astronaut Group 1—had played a role in its development & its dimensions well suited his small stature. Project Gemini began development long after the Apollo Program, when it was realized that the limits of the Mercury capsule had been met & that new flight techniques & mission control methods needed to be developed in order for Apollo to achieve its lofty goals. Gemini is very much the forgogtten middle child between the pioneering Mercury & the historic Apollo, but Gemini on its own merits is also when the United States took over the lead of the Space Race from the Soviet Union, achieving new endurance records & perfecting orbital rendezvous & docking.

At the time, March 2020, "The Explorers' Club" was in the midst of the fiftieth anniversaries of the Apollo Moon landings, plus catching up on the fifty-somethingth anniversaries of the pre-Moon landing Apollo missions. We'd missed the fiftieth anniversaries of Project Gemini (2015-2016, when the Great War all but wholly consumed "The Explorers' Club") & I was unwilling to wait for the sixtieth anniversaries tocome around (right now-2026); so, we settled in the fifty-fifth anniverary compromise. I'm looking forward to revisiting the ten Gemini missions over this year & next, & I hope you'll join me.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the III Sunday o' Lent

The Third Sunday of Lent (Quadragesima)
Sam Cooke, "Jesus Gave Me Water" from the Portrait of a Legend: 1951-1964 compilation (Penitent Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: At my parish, there is a catechuman preparing to enter the Church at the Easter Vigil; so, we read the "Scrutiny Readings," the Cycle A readings instead of the standard Cycle C readings. The Gospel pericope was our Blessed Savior's conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: Go Blue!

Project OSPREY: Team 108
N.C.A.A. Tournament, Second Round
(№ 5) Michigan v. Texas A&M (№ 4)
27-9, B1G 14-6

Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band, "Get Out of Denver" from the Bonus E.P. (Mike Papa Wolverine)

Commentary: The epithetless Aggies are another nightmare matchup for the valiant Wolverines, a club whose strengths corresponds to our weaknesses. Texas A&M are the best defensive team in the country & excellent offensive rebounders. Survive & advance is the name of the game at this point.

Go Blue!

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

The Littlest Man Band, "Better Man" from Better Book Ends (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Today is the Ignite Catholic Men's Conference; this was formerly the diocesan men's conference, but it is now a joint venture between the Diocese of Lansing & the Archdiocese of Detroit (& the Knights of Columbus). I'm running on fumes after four consecutive weekends of the Knights of Columbus Bowling Tournament, the Lenten Fish Fry, & last weekend's Anchor Catholic Middle School Conference in Grand Rapids, in addition to the rest of an already busy life. I hope this event will be spiritually uplifting & revitalizing, because I really need it to be.

"I'm just trying to be a better man…"

Bonus! Fish Fry Song o' the Day

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "King of Suede" from "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D (Mike Papa Whitefish)

Commentary: Every Lent, I become temporarily a small business owner—a very small business, one that is only open seven days a year, & only six this year. Never in my life have I wanted to be a small business owner; I was perfectly content when I was just the French fry guy. I never wanted authority, I had authority thrust upon me.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Reel Big Fish, "She's Not the End of the World" from Candy Coated Fury (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"But how can I eat?
How can I breathe?
How can I sleep if she's not with me?
Oh, she feels like the end of the world!…"

Bonus! Song o' the Day: Go Blue!

Project OSPREY: Team 108
N.C.A.A. Tournament, First Round
(№ 5) Michigan v. U.C. San Diego (№ 12)
26-9, B1G 14-6

Suburban Legends, "Under the Sea" from Day Job (Mike Papa Wolverine)

Commentary: The epithetless Tritons of the University of California, San Diego are a nightmare matchup for the valiant Wolverines: U.C. San Diego turn their opponents over on twenty per cent (20%) of possessions & Michigan is a veritable turnover factory, averaging a B1G worst fourteen per game. However, not all is lost: in two of their three B1G Tournament games, the valiant Wolverines turned the ball over significantly below their average.

The seeding in this N.C.A.A. Tournament is a scandal. The valiant Wolverines finished the regular season tied for second in the B1G, ahead of Wisconsin & Purdue; yet, Michigan is a five seed (№ 5), Purdue is a four seed (№ 4), & Wisconsin is a preposterous three seed (№ 3). Michigan beat Wisconsin on the road in the regular season & split with Purdue, each club winning at home. Michigan then defeated both Purdue & Wisconsin in the B1G Tournament. Why on both Wisconsin & Purdue seeded ahead of Michigan? I call shenanigans!

Go Blue!

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the First Day o' Spring

"The cruel, hot summer
led into the long, hard fall,
becoming the dark, killing winter
until spring replenished us all."
—Bill Willingham, Fables

The Vernal Equinox
Suburban Legends, "Bright Spring Morning" from Rump Shaker (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)