The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Magic!, "How Do You Want to Be Remembered?" from Don't Kill the Magic (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"How do you want to be remembered,
As a sinner or a saint?
As a hero or a villain?
Think about the steps you take.
How do you want to be remembered,
When they're standing at your grave?
On your tombstone, what is written?
Think about the steps you take…

"How do you want to be remembered,
As a sinner or a saint?
As a hero or a villain?
Think about the steps you take.
How do you want to be remembered,
When your children come to aid?
When they need some inspiration?
Think about the steps you take.

"Do I reach for love (Do I reach for love),
Only when she says she's leaving? (Only when she says goodbye?)
Do I pray above (Do I pray above),
Only when I feel I'm needing?…"

Operation ÖSTERREICH

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

Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in
Last weigh-in: 330.2 lbs. (12 June)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: Bye Week

Team 145, Bye Week 2
The Ataris, "San Dimas High School Football Rules" from Blue Skies, Broken Hearts… Next 12 Exits (Mike Papa Wolverine)

Commentary: Due to the way the Saturdays in September, October, & November line up, most clubs have two bye weeks this college football season. Hey, at least the valiant Wolverines are guaranteed not to lose a winable game today.

Go Blue!

Operation ÖSTERREICH

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

Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in
Last weigh-in: 330.2 lbs. (12 June)

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

Team 145, Game 10: Michigan @ Indiana
Ronnie Howard, Shirley Jones, & Pert Kelton, "Gary, Indiana (Reprise)" from The Music Man: Original Soundtrack (Mike Papa Wolverine)

Commentary: Curt Cignetti is a genuinely terrible person & I cannot wait until someone, probably not the valiant Wolverines, puts that sack of excrement in his place.

Go Blue!

Operation ÖSTERREICH

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

Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in
Last weigh-in: 330.2 lbs. (12 June)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Election Day

The Defiant, "Where Did Lady Liberty Go?" from If We're Really Being Honest (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: At my polling place in the township, the polls are scheduled to be open from 7:00 A.M.-8:00 P.M. Pray for our bitterly divided nation to be healed, for us to recover a sense of our common patriotism. We are supposed to be political opponents, not enemies.

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

Team 145, Game 9: Michigan v. Oregon
"Weird Al" Yankovic, "I Want a New Duck" from Dare to Be Stupid (Mike Papa Wolverine)

Commentary: This is the second contest this season the valiant Wolverines have against a team ranked № 1 at the kickoff, after September's defeat by the epithetless Longhorns of Texas (№ 6 as of this writing). It must also be noted that the epithetless Ducks of Oregon are the worst-dressed team in college football, bar none.

Go Blue!

Bonus! Song o' All Souls' Day

The Commemeration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls' Day)
Audrey Assad, "Death, Be Not Proud" from the Death, Be Not Proud E.P. (Penitent Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' All Saints' Day

The Solemnity of All Saints
The Dixieland All Stars, "When the Saints Go Marching In" from The Dixieland All Stars: The Greatest Band in the World (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Hallowe'en

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Nature Trail to Hell" from In 3-D (Mike Papa Wyvern)

Commentary: Happy Hallowe'en, to one & all!

The Rebel Black Dot Hallowe'en Song o' the Day

John Williams, et al., "Double Trouble" from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Mike Papa Warlock)

Commentary:

"…Something wicked this way comes!"

Operation ÖSTERREICH

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

Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in
Last weigh-in: 330.2 lbs. (12 June)

The Explorers' Club, № MLIV

Operation AXIOM: Between the Wars
25 October 1924: The Zinoviev Letter—The Daily Mail newspaper reported a directive allegedly from Comintern chairman Grigory Zinoviev to the Communist Party of Great Britain, claiming the Labour government of Ramsey MacDonald had made the U.K. ripe for revolution; judged authentic at the time, despite denials by Zinoviev himself, today the letter is considered a forgery, forged by émigrés.

Lest we forget.

The Rebel Black Dot Hallowe'en Song o' the Day

They Might Be Giants, "Homunculus" from the Cast Your Pod to the Wind compilation (Mike Papa Witch Doctor)

Commentary: "Homunculus" started running through my head as soon as I woke up this morning.

The Rebel Black Dot Hallowe'en Song o' the Day

They Might Be Giants, "I Am Invisible" from Why? (Mike Papa Wizard)

Commentary: I am steward of an identical pair of goggles.

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

Team 145, Game 8: Michigan v. Michigan Agricultural
Chumbawamba, "Tubthumping" from Tubthumper (Mike Papa Wolverine)

Commentary: Team 145 is a savage disappointment, a return to the bad old days of Brady Hoke with the superlative efforts of the defense wasted by the pathetic ineptness of the offense & special teams play that is indistinguishable from deliberate sabotage. Sherrone Moore is drowning in his first season as a head coach, & the 4-3 record we are seeing is the fruit of the terrible mistakes he made in his first offseason. But we must bear in mind that was his very first offseason & it was abbreviated both by the national championship run & by the time Coach Harbaugh took before departing for the No Fun League. Hiring Moore was a mistake by Athletic Director Warde Manuel—a mistake I supported, it must be said—but it would be a further mistake to fire Moore now. Team 145's fate is sealed & failure is inevitable, with an eventual record between 7-5 & 5-7 seeming likely. The key will be the decisions Coach Moore makes in the offseason, which could begin as early as Sunday, 1 December if Michigan does not reach bowl eligibility. Moore badly failed his first test, but he must be given time to see if he can learn from his mistakes.

"He sings the songs that remind him of the good times,
He sings the songs that remind him of the better times…

"I get knocked down, but I get up again,
You're never gonna keep my down!
I get knocked down, but I get up again,
You're never gonna keep my down!
I get knocked down, but I get up again,
You're never gonna keep my down!
I get knocked down, but I get up again,
You're never gonna keep my down!…"

Have I mentioned that I hate night games? Because I really hate night games.

Go Blue!

Bonus! Hallowe'en Song o' the Day

Thurl Ravenscroft, "The Headless Horseman" from Walt Disney Records Archive Collection, Vol. 1 (Mike Papa Wraith)

The Rebel Black Dot Hallowe'en Song o' the Day

Bobby "Boris" Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers, "Monster Mash" from The Original Monster Mash (Mike Papa Wendigo)

The Rebel Black Dot Hallowe'en Song o' the Day

Tracy Morgan, "Werewolf Bar Mitzvah" from 30 Rock: Original Television Soundtrack (Mike Papa Werewolf)

The Rebel Black Dot Hallowe'en Song o' the Day!

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

Commentary!: My only objection to "Skeleton Inside!" is the scientific inaccuracy, repeatedly referencing the human skeleton as "dead."

Operation ÖSTERREICH

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

Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in
Last weigh-in: 330.2 lbs. (12 June)

The Explorers' Club, № MLIII

The Space Race—Astronaut Group 3 (the "Fourteen"), Part X
Russell Louis Schweickart (born 25 October 1935), Captain, U.S. Air Force—He flew Apollo 9 (Gumdrop & Spider, 1969); he experienced space adaptation sickness, yet completed an E.V.A. test of the Primary Life Support System backpack used by the Moonwalkers; he chaired the California Energy Commission & co-founded the Association of Space Explorers & the B612 Foundation.

Commentary: During Apollo 9, Schweickart & CDR Jim McDivitt conducted the first crewed test flight of an Apollo Lunar Module (LM-3, Spider), making them the first men to fly in a spacecraft not capable of atmospheric re-entry.

Schweickart's bout of space adaptation sickness led to him being a "guinea pig" for several months once back on the ground; he lost his spot in line for a Moon landing mission & was reassigned to Skylab. During the Space Shuttle era, & continuing unto the present day, N.A.S.A. learned that approximately half of all astronauts experience space adaptation sickness.

Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: The "Fourteen"—Rusty Schweickart
Norman Greenbaum, "Spirit in the Sky" from Spirit in the Sky (Space Cadet Mike Papa DSKY)

The Wayback Machine Tour of Rusty Schweickart
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCXXXV: The 51st Anniversary of Apollo 9, Part I
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCXXXVI: The 51st Anniversary of Apollo 9, Part II
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCXXXVII: The 51st Anniversary of Apollo 9, Part III

Semper exploro.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

The Optional Memorial of Saint John Paul II, Pope
Dan Potthast, "Pope" from Sweets and Meats (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"…It was like a parade at forty miles an hour,
And the pope zipped past in his see-through car,
And we laughed and we waved and I think he smiled,
It all happened so fast, all the people were chanting:
'John Paul Two, we love you!'…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Operation AXIOM: The 14th Anniversary of My Loss on Jeopardy!
"Weird Al" Yankovic, "I Lost on Jeopardy!" from "Weird Al" Yankovic In 3-D (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Fourteen years ago today—Thursday, 21 October 2010—my episode of Jeopardy! aired on nationally syndicated television. I still wear that same watch.

Bonus! Song o' This Auspicious Day

Kemuri, "My Best Friend" from Freedomosh (Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the XXIX Sunday in O.T.

The Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Audrey Assad, "Humble" from Fortunate Fall (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

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

Team 145, Game 7: Michigan @ Illinois
Sufjan Stevens, "Come On! Feel the Illinoise!" from Sufjan Stevens Invites You to: Come On Feel the Illinoise (A.K.A. Illinois) (Mike Papa Wolverine)

Commentary: Go Blue!

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Toto, "Africa" from Toto IV (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Heard twice during the four-hour drive to Xanadu.

Section 31: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2024)

Simplex Edition | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

Episode o' the Day
"The Magnificent Ferengi" (season six, episode ten; 29 December 1997): Wikipedia-link.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Potshot, "She Is Cute" from Potshot A Go Go (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Section 31: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2024)

Simplex Edition | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

Episode o' the Day
"Statistical Probabilities" (season six, episode nine; 24 November 1997): Wikipedia-link.

Operation ÖSTERREICH

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

Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in
Last weigh-in: 330.2 lbs. (12 June)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day!

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

Commentary:

"Stand back, man,
I don't wanna hurt you, too much…"

Section 31: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2024)

Episode o' the Day
"Resurrection" (season six, episode eight; 17 November 1997): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: "Resurrection" is a rarity, an episode I like better now than I did in the '90s. It is also an oddity, the most straight-laced of the Mirror Universe episodes. There was real pathos in "Through the Looking Glass" & "Shattered Mirror," as Benjamin & Jake Sisko deal with first encountering & then mourning Mirror Jennifer Sisko, but those episodes were still madcap Mirror Universe fun. "Resurrection" is a melodrama, as Kira encounter Mirror Bariel, the doppelganger of her deceased paramour, Vedek Bariel. Partially because of that earnestness, partially because it is set in the regular universe, "Resurrection" is the least successful of the Mirror Universe episodes.

One thing I appreciate now is the performance of Philip Anglim, who played Bariel. Vedek Bariel was a placid character, so placid as almost to be vacant. I'm sure that's what the directors & producers told Anglim to do, but it didn't do Bariel any favors as a character. The only time Vedek Bariel showed any life was in "Fascination" (season three, episode ten; inspired by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream), under the influence of Lwaxana Troi's projected emotions. In "Resurrection," Mirror Bariel evinces a greater range of emotions & a good bit of humor.

The tragedy of "Resurrection" is that it followed after the six-part epic of the Dominion occupation of Deep Space 9 & the Federation reconquest, & then the splendor of Jadzia & Worf's big fat Klingon wedding, a small, personal story like "Resurrection" felt out of place, even jarring. Look back lo these many years later, "Resurrection" isn't a great episode, but it never deserved the scorn I used to heap upon it.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day!

The Aquabats!, "The Best Day of My Life!" from the Radio Down! E.P. (Captain Thumbs Up!)

Commentary!:

"Today's gonna be the best day of my life, so far!
Today's gonna be the best day of my life, so far!
I've no particular reason why I think today's gonna be so nice,
But today's gonna be the best day of my life, so far!…"

Section 31: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2024)

Simplex Edition | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

Episode o' the Day
"You Are Cordially Invited" (season six, episode seven; 10 November 1997): Wikipedia-link.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Columbus Day (observed)

Folgging Molly, "Salty Dog" from Swagger (Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Explorers' Club, № MLII

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 40th Anniversary of S.T.S.-41-G, Part II
6-13 October 1984: Sullivan & Leestma conducted an E.V.A. to test the Orbital Refueling System, for satellites; this was highlighted in the IMAX film The Dream Is Alive (1985); Earth observations were taken with the O.S.T.A.-3 experiments package, including the Shuttle Imaging Radar-B & the Large Format Camera; after 133 orbits, the Challenger landed back at K.S.C.'s Shuttle Landing Facility.

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: S.T.S.-41-G
Less Than Jake, "The State of Florida" from GNV FLA (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

Section 31: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2024)

Simplex Edition | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

Episode o' the Day
"Sacrifice of Angels" (Part II; season six, episode six; 3 November 1997): Wikipedia-link.