The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Independence Day

The Unites States Semiquincentennial (1776-2026)
The University of Michigan Marching Band, "The Star-Spangled Banner" from Hurrah for the Yellow and Blue (Mike Patriot Whiskey)

Commentary: The above is an instrumental rendition of our national anthem, but I, for one, cannot hear "The Star-Spangled Banner" without recalling the lyrics, the first stanza from Francis Scott Key's poem, "The Defence of Fort M'Henry."

"O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
⁠What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
⁠O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
⁠O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?…"

Happy two hundred fiftieth birthday, America!

The Stars My Destination: Gemini VII

Gemini VII (4-18 December 1965)
Frank Borman, Command Pilot
James Lovell, Pilot

Capsule: SC7

The Wayback Machine Tour of Gemini VII
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCLXXXVII: The 55th Anniversary of Gemini VII, Part I
Space Race Song o' the Day
Space Race Song o' the Day
Space Race Song o' the Day
Space Race Song o' the Day
Space Race Song o' the Day
Space Race Song o' the Day
Space Race Song o' the Day
Space Race Song o' the Day
Space Race Song o' the Day
Space Race Song o' the Day
Space Race Song o' the Day
Space Race Song o' the Day
Space Race Song o' the Day
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCXC: The 55th Anniversary of Gemini VII, Part II

Saints + Scripture: Feast of Saint Thomas

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

Saints of the Day
'Tis the Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle (died circa 72, A.K.A. Didymus ["twin"]).

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Feast of Saint Thomas
The Letter to the Ephesians, chapter two, verses nineteen thru twenty-two;
Psalm One Hundred Seventeen (R/. the Gospel according to Mark, chapter sixteen, verse fifteen), verses one(b/c), two;
The Gospel according to John, chapter twenty, verses twenty-four thru twenty-nine.

Commentary: Festal Readings.

Gospel reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):

Friends, today’s Gospel tells of Thomas’s doubting the Resurrection. Indeed, Catholicism has a rich tradition of questioning, seeking understanding. Aquinas, another great St. Thomas, spent much of his life asking and answering hard questions about the faith.

Do you remember Hamlet’s great line, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy”? If we stubbornly said—even in the area of science—that we will accept only what we can clearly see and touch and control, we wouldn’t know much about reality.

There is, in most areas of life, a play between knowing and believing. It is not unique to the religious sphere of life. Blaise Pascal summed it up: “The heart has its reasons that reason knows not.”

It is not that we who have not seen and have believed are settling for a poor substitute for vision. No, we are being described as blessed, more blessed than Thomas. God is doing all sorts of things that we cannot see, measure, control, fully understand. But it is an informed faith that allows one to fall in love with such a God.

Video reflection by Deacon Arthur L. Miller (U.S.C.C.B.): Festal Reflection.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: America 250

The Unites States Semiquincentennial (1776-2026)
The University of Michigan Marching Band, "Fanfare/Independence Day" from Hurrah for the Yellow and Blue (Mike Patriot Whiskey)

Commentary: The feature film Independence Day was released theatrically thirty years ago today, 3 July 1996.

The Stars My Destination: Gemini V

Gemini V (21-29 August 1965)
Gordon Cooper, Command Pilot
Charles "Pete" Conrad, Pilot

Capsule: SC5

The Wayback Machine Tour of Gemini V
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCLXVI: The 55th Anniversary of Gemini V, Part I
Space Race Song o' the Day
Space Race Song o' the Day
Space Race Song o' the Day
Space Race Song o' the Day
Space Race Song o' the Day
Space Race Song o' the Day
Space Race Song o' the Day
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCLXVIII: The 55th Anniversary of Gemini V, Part II

Commentary: Gemini V had the first official mission patch. For the flight, the words "8 Days or Bust" were covered up & only unveiled once Cooper & Conrad were safely on the recovery ship.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: America 250

The Unites States Semiquincentennial (1776-2026)
John Linnell, "The Songs of the 50 States" from State Songs (Mike Patriot Whiskey)

Commentary: E pluribus unum, "out of many, one." Let us celebrate the two hundred fiftieth anniversary of the United States of America, originally a loose confederation of thirteen former colonies sandwiched between the Atlantic seaboard & the Appalachian Mountains, now a federal republic of fifty states spanning the North American continent & a Pacific archipeligo—from north of the Arctic Circle to south the Tropic of Cancer. We are abundantly blessed, & "In God we trust."

Saints + Scripture

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

'Tis the Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Tempus per annum, "time through the year"): Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
The Book of Amos, chapter seven, verses ten thru seventeen;
Psalm Nineteen (R/. ten[c/d]), verses eight, nine, ten, & eleven;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter nine, verses one thru eight.

Commentary: Daily Readings.

Gospel reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):

Friends, in today’s Gospel, the Lord heals a paralytic after first forgiving his sins. Jesus’s initial words to this paralyzed man are, “Your sins are forgiven.” Why does God forgive our sins? Because he wants us alive, he wants us moving, he wants us in action, realizing what we can be.

Jesus comes to liberate us for deeper life, to open a new future to us. Sin is a refusal to live according to God’s purposes and desires. Our obsession with past sins paralyzes us. God is opposed to this obsession with the past because it renders us unable to move.

I can brood over my past sins to such a degree that I become finally paralyzed, unable to move. “Your sins are forgiven” is another way of saying, “Don’t be paralyzed by sins that you undoubtedly worry about far more than God does.”

After saying his sins are forgiven, Jesus says, “Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.” That’s the way it works. First comes the forgiveness of sins, and that is a liberating power in us. Now I can live for the future.

Video reflection by Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers (U.S.C.C.B.): Daily Reflection.

The Explorers' Club, № MCLXV

Operation AXIOM: Destination Moon—The 60th Anniversary of AS-203
5 July 1966: AS-203 (Saturn IB S.A.-203), A.K.A. Apollo 3, lifted off from Florida's Cape Kennedy Air Force Station, without an Apollo C.S.M., the first orbital flight of a Saturn IB rocket; the mission tested the S-IVB second stage's* ability to refire once on orbit, necessary for Trans-Lunar Injection on Moon missions; the S-IVB was destroyed on the fourth orbit during a fuel tank pressurization experiment.

Commentary: *The S-IVB was the second stage of a Saturn IB but the third stage of a Saturn V.

Ex Luna, scientia.

Saints + Scripture

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

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Always go forward & never turn back."
—Saint Junípero Serra, O.F.M. (1713-1784, feast: 1 July)

Operation ÖSTERREICH

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

Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in
Last weigh-in: 330.2 lbs. (12 June 2024)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Canada Day, Eh

The Planet Smashers, "The 80 Bus" from Attack of The Planet Smashers (Mike Papa Canadian Whisky)

Skammentary, eh: Happy Dominion Day, you hosers!

The Stars My Destination: Gemini IV

Gemini IV (3-7 June 1965)
James McDivitt, Command Pilot
Edward White, Pilot

Capsule: SC4

The Wayback Machine Tour of Gemini IV
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCLIII: The 55th Anniversary of Gemini IV

Commentary: The Gemini IV mission patch is unofficial; it was devised after the flight & was not worn on McDivitt's & White's spacesuits. McDivitt & White were the first astronauts to wear American flags on their spacesuits.

Saints + Scripture

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

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day!

The Aquabats!, "Hello, Good Night!" from The Aquabats! vs. The Floating Eye of Death! and Other Amazing Adventures, Vol. 1 (Captain Thumbs Up!)

Commentary:

"And with each passing day,
So goes another life,
Everybody wants to live,
Some people want to die,
So close your eyes, 'cause it's alright
To say, hello, good night.

"Good night,
Good night,
Good night.

"So if this is to be our time,
Just think of what we left behind,
Will they say good of you to last,
Or lose the memory of you fast?

"Forever and ever, a wonderful thing,
Will someone be grateful for what we tried to bring?

"It's late, but just remember then:
This day will never come again.
Everybody wants to live,
Some people wait to die,
So close your eyes, 'cause it's alright
To say, hello, Good night.

"Good night,
Good night,
Hello, Good night…"

The Stars My Destination: Crew-9

Better Late than Never | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

The Space Age
28 September 2024-18 March 2025: Commander Nick Hague (N.A.S.A.) & Mission Specialist Aleksandr Gorbunov (Roscosmos) lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's SLC-40 aboard the Crew Dragon Freedom (C212) atop a Falcon 9 rocket. The duo docked with the International Space Station for a six-month mission to the orbital laboratory.

Former Boe-C.F.T. astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore (N.A.S.A.) & Suni Williams (N.A.S.A.), already aboard the I.S.S., joined Crew-9 & transferred their seats to the Freedom from Crew-8's Crew Dragon Endeavour. After one hundred seventy-one days on orbit, the Freedom splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean & was recovered by the M.V. Megan.

Hague was a veteran of two previous spaceflights (the Soyuz MS-10 suborbital launch abort & Soyuz MS-12 for Expeditions 59 & 60); Gorbunov was a rookie. Wilmore & Williams served as part of International Space Station Expeditions 71 & 72; Hague & Gorbunov served as part of Expedition 72.

Crew-9 was the fourth flight of the Freedom C212.

The original Crew-9 consisted of Commander Zena Cardman (N.A.S.A.), Pilot Nick Hague (N.A.S.A.), Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson (N.A.S.A.), & M.S. Aleksandr Gorbunov (Roscosmos). Cardman was reassigned to Crew-11; Wilson has not yet been assigned to a replacement spaceflight.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: Crew-9 & the Freedom
Less Than Jake, "Nine-One-One to Anyone" from B is for B-Sides (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Wayback Machine Tour of Launch America
2020
Demo-2 Launch
Demo-2 Splashdown
Crew-1 Launch
2021
Crew-1 Relocation
Crew-2 Launch
Crew-1 Splashdown
Inspiration4 Launch & Splashdown
Crew-2 Splashdown
Crew-3 Launch
2022
Ax-1 Launch & Splashdown
Crew-4 Launch
Crew-3 Splashdown
Crew-5 Launch
Crew-4 Splashdown
2023
Crew-6 Scrub
Crew-6 Launch
Crew-5 Splashdown
Ax-2 Launch & Splashdown
Crew-7 Launch
Crew-6 Splashdown
2024
Ax-3 Launch & Splashdown
Crew-7 Splashdown
Crew-8 Launch & Splashdown
Boe-C.F.T. Launch & Landing
Polaris Dawn Launch & Splashdown

Godspeed & welcome back to the good Earth, Crew-9!

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day!

The Aquabats!, "Red Sweater!" (live) from The Fury of The Aquabats! Live at The Fonda! (Captain Thumbs Up!)

The Star My Destination: The Soyuz 11 Disaster

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 55th Anniversary of Soyuz 11
Fifty-five years ago to the day, 29 June 1971, the Soyuz 11 capsule vented its internal atmosphere into the vacuum of space, asphyxiating to death its crew of three: Commander Georgy Dobrovolsky, Flight Engineer Vladislav Volkov, & Research Engineer Viktor Patsayev. Soyuz 11 had departed the Salyut 1 space station after a three-week residency & was preparing for atmospheric re-entry.

The Soyuz 11 trio were not wearing pressure suits, leaving them defenseless against the sudden capsule depressurization. Cosmonauts had stopped wearing pressure suits, even during launch & re-entry, in order to squeeze more crew into the Voskhod & Soyuz capsules. After the disaster, the Soyuz capsule was redesigned to accommodate a crew of two, wearing pressure suits. The Soyuz 11 trio remain the only humans to have perished in outer space, above the Kármán line (one hundred kilometers/sixty-two miles above mean sea level).

The Soyuz 11 capsule depressurized just prior to atmospheric re-entry, killing its crew of three, 29 June 1971, fifty-five years ago today.

Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: The Soyuz 11 Disaster
The Phenomenauts, "Heroes" from For All Mankind (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Wayback Machine Tour of the Soyuz 11 Disaster
№ DCCCXXIII: The 50th Anniversary of Soyuz 11, Part I
№ DCCCXXVII: The 50th Anniversary of Soyuz 11, Part II

Saints + Scripture: Saints Peter & Paul, Apostles

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

The Explorers' Club, № MCLXIV

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 50th Anniversary of Salyut 5
22 June 1976: Salyut 5 lifted off from the Kazakh S.S.R.'s Baikonur Cosmodrome atop a Proton-K rocket; "Salyut 5" was a cover name for a military Almaz ("Diamond") spy station, O.P.S.-3, the third & last Almaz station; Salyut 5 was equipped with a KSI descent capsule, to return research materials to Earth; two crews spent sixty-five days aboard; Salyut 5 burned up upon re-entry, 8 August 1977.

Commentary: Photographs of the Soviet space program are hard enough to come by under the best of circumstances, but are even more rare when dealing with an uncrewed flight & a secret military mission. The launch of Salyut 5 checks both of those boxes.

Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: Saylut 5
The Aquabats!, "Hi-Five City!" from Charge!! Special One Year Anniversary Edition (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

Saints + Scripture: XIII Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

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

The Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Owl City, "In Christ Alone" from Blog Tracks (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Bonus! Song o' the Day!

The Aquabats!, "Bunny Teeth!" from Finally! (Captain Thumbs Up!)

Commentary: I genuinely do not understand why the song is titled, "Bunny Teeth!" Yes, the girl in the song is twice described as having "bunny teeth," but she is called a "Butterfly, a kamikaze butterfly" far more often, throughout the choruses, in fact. "Bunny Teeth!" should be titled, "Kamikaze Butterfly!"

The Stars My Destination: Gemini 3

Gemini 3 (23 March 1965)
Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Command Pilot
John Young, Pilot

Capsule: SC3, Molly Brown

The Wayback Machine Tour of Gemini 3
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCXXXIX: The 55th Anniversary of Gemini 3

Commentary: The Molly Brown was the only named Gemini capsule. The Gemini 3 mission patch is unofficial; it was devised after the flight & was not worn on Grissom's & Young's spacesuits.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day!

The Aquabats!, "Lobster Bucket!" from The Fury of The Aquabats! (Captain Thumbs Up!)

Commentary:

"There are times when you find
Lobsters in a bucket can't climb out,
Why won't they climb away?
Because others lobsters pull them down…

"Friends help each other any way they can,
When you're up at bat, they'll be your biggest fan,
If you're in a pit, they'll pull you out of it,
It ain't wrong to write a song for all your friends to sing along!…

"Please don't be a lobster, friends are best…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day!

The Aquabats!, "Aquabat March!" from The Return of The Aquabats! (Captain Thumbs Up!)

Skammentary: The Return…! featured "Aquabat March!" & The Fury…! featured "Theme Song!" years before the Super Show!'s theme song, "Super Show Theme Song!" came into being.

The Stars My Destination: Mercury-Atlas 9

Mercury-Atlas 9 (15-16 May 1963)
Gordon Cooper, Pilot

Capsule: № 20, Faith 7

The Wayback Machine Tour of Mercury-Atlas 9
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCLXXXIII: The 58th Anniversary of Mercury-Atlas 9

The Explorers' Club, № MCLXIII

Destination Moon—Astronaut Group 5 (the "Original Nineteen"), Part IV
Stuart Allen Roosa (16 August 1933-12 December 1994), Colonel, U.S. Air Force—He flew as Command Module Pilot on Apollo 14 (Kitty Hawk & Antares, 1971), carrying 500 seeds that were later germinated as "Moon trees;" he was a smokejumper (wilderness fireman parachutist) for the U.S. Forest Service (1953); he was the CAPCOM to the Apollo 1 trio on the night of the tragic fire (1967).

Commentary: Roosa was the backup C.M.P. for both Apollo 16 & Apollo 17, meaning he had some slight chance (the backup C.M.P. flew on Apollo 13) to fly to the Moon thrice without ever becoming a Moonwalker.

Bonus! Moonshot Song o' the Day: The Original Nineteen—Stu Roosa
The Platters, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" from the The Very Best of The Platters compilation (Space Cadet Mike Papa DSKY)

The Wayback Machine Tour of Stu Roosa
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCXCVII: The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 14, Part I
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCXCVIII: The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 14, Part II
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCXCIX: The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 14, Part III
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCI: The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 14, Part IV

Requiescat in pace.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day!

The Aquabats!, "Aliens and Monsters!" from Kooky Spooky… in Stereo! (Captain Thumbs Up!)

Skammentary: The protagonist of "Aliens and Monsters!" is tormented as he tries to fall asleep by aliens, monsters, skeletons, & vampires, & finally blessed by angels.

The Stars My Destination: Mercury-Atlas 8

Mercury-Atlas 8 (3 October 1962)
Walter Schirra, Pilot

Capsule: № 16, Sigma 7

The Wayback Machine Tour of Mercury-Atlas 8
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCXLIII: The 59th Anniversary of Mercury-Atlas 8

Operation ÖSTERREICH

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

Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in
Last weigh-in: 330.2 lbs. (12 June 2024)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day!

The Aquabats!, "Chemical Bomb!" from The Aquabats! vs. The Floating Eye of Death! and Other Amazing Adventures, Vol. 1 (Captain Thumbs Up!)

Commentary: "Chemical Bomb!" was one of the surprise songs from last Friday's show, but I guess singing about death, despair, & the end of civilization is appropriate when one is in Columbus, Ohio.

The Stars My Destination: Mercury-Atlas 7

Mercury-Atlas 7 (24 May 1962)
Scott Carpenter, Pilot

Capsule: № 18, Aurora 7

The Wayback Machine Tour of Mercury-Atlas 7
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCXVIII: The 59th Anniversary of Mercury-Atlas 7

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day!

The Aquabats!, "Tiger Rider vs. the Time Sprinkler!" from Charge!! Special One Year Anniversary Edition (Captain Thumbs Up!)

Commentary: After the show on Friday last, I told Alphaman!, Ninjablade Dragontooth!, & Cupcake Bat! that I wanted to hear a song about the Tiger Rider encountering the Shark Fighter.

The Stars My Destination: Polaris Dawn

Better Late than Never | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

The Space Age
10-15 September 2024: Commander Jared Isaacman, Pilot Scott Poteet, Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis (SpaceX), & Mission Specialist Anna Menon (SpaceX) lifted off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center's LC-39A aboard the Crew Dragon Resilience (C207) atop a Falcon 9 rocket. The Resilience surpassed Gemini XI's (1966) record for the highest orbit of Earth (surpassed only by the Apollo & now Artemis lunar missions). Isaacman & Gillis conducted stand-up E.V.A., the first spacewalks for a private mission. After seventy-five orbits, the Resilience splashed down in the Atlantic & was recovered by the M.V. Shannon.

Isaacman was a veteran of a previous private spaceflight (Inspiration4); Poteet, Gillis, & Menon were rookies. As of this writing, Isaacman is the Administrator of N.A.S.A., Gillis is a Senior Advisor to the N.A.S.A. Administator, & Menon is an astronaut candidate (Astronaut Group 24, "The Platypi").

Polaris Dawn was the third flight of the Resilience.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: Polaris Dawn & the Resilience
The Specials, "(Dawning of a) New Era" from The Specials (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: The mission patch is an exaggeration. Neither Isaacman nor Gillis fully exited the Resilience & floated in space like Ed White during Gemini IV (1965). Below is an artist's rendering of how the stand-up spacewalks would have looked.

The Wayback Machine Tour of Launch America
2020
Demo-2 Launch
Demo-2 Splashdown
Crew-1 Launch
2021
Crew-1 Relocation
Crew-2 Launch
Crew-1 Splashdown
Inspiration4 Launch & Splashdown
Crew-2 Splashdown
Crew-3 Launch
2022
Ax-1 Launch & Splashdown
Crew-4 Launch
Crew-3 Splashdown
Crew-5 Launch
Crew-4 Splashdown
2023
Crew-6 Scrub
Crew-6 Launch
Crew-5 Splashdown
Ax-2 Launch & Splashdown
Crew-7 Launch
Crew-6 Splashdown
2024
Ax-3 Launch & Splashdown
Crew-7 Splashdown
Crew-8 Launch & Splashdown
Boe-C.F.T. Launch & Landing

Godspeed & welcome back to the good Earth, Polaris Dawn!