The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Pentecost

Pentecost Sunday
Audrey Assad, "Spirit of the Living God" from Fortunate Fall (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"O Spirit of the living God, thou Light and Fire Divine,
Descend upon Thy Church once more and make it truly Thine,
Fill it with love and joy and power, with righteousness and peace,
Till Christ shall dwell in human hearts, and sin and sorrow cease.…

"So shall we know the power of Christ, Who came this world to save,
So shall we rise with Him to life which soars beyond the grave,
And earth shall win true holiness which makes Thy children whole,
Till, perfected by Thee, we reach creation's glorious goal!"

Bonus! Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

Spring Heeled Jack, "Jolene" from Songs from Suburbia (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Rewatching Star Trek (The Original Series, 1966-1969)

Episode o' the Day
"All Our Yesterdays" (season three, episode twenty-three; production code: 078; 14 March 1969): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: "All Our Yesterdays" presents a unique take on time travel, one not repeated through the rest of the Star Trek franchise. The sun around which the M-class planet Sarpeidon orbits is about to go nova, which will destroy Sarpeidon. Sarpeidon lacks space travel; so, the humanoids there have escaped into their own planet's past using a time machine called the atavachron. "All Our Yesterdays" makes the claim that time travelers have to be biologically "prepared" to exist in another time period, a preparation not necessary in any other Star Trek story, plenty of which feature accidental time travel for which there was no preparation (e.g., "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" [season one, episode nineteen]). As a result of this modification, no Sarpeidonian can return to her original time frame; she would perish during the transition.

Additionally, time travelers are mysteriously conformed to the period to which they have traveled: Mr. Spock, five thouand years in the past in Sarpeidon's ice age, begins to revert to the violent emotionalism of pre-logical Vulcans, such as existed five thousand years ago, before Surak, before logic. This phenomenon is not observed in any other Star Trek time-travel story. It's an interesting reversal, Spock acting emotionally while McCoy embodies dispassionate reason, the mechanism by which that reversal is effected just doesn't make sense.

No mention is made of the potential for the insertion of millions of Sarpeidonians into Sarpeidon's history via the atavachron to alter that history in such a way, or in thousands or millions of ways, that the atavachron might never be invented, a common concern in other Star Trek time-travel stories (the aforementioned "Tomorrow Is Yesterday," or "The City on the Edge of Forever" [season one, episode twenty-eight]). In each of those episodes, the actions of a single individual out of his own time & the resulting presence or absence of a single individual from the subjective past has the potential to alter the whole of Earth's history. With millions of persons seeded throughout Sarpeidon's history, it is almost impossible to image that they wouldn't alter their own planet's history, very well significantly enough to prevent the atavachron's existance & thus create a temporal paradox. Not discussed at all.

Lastly, Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, & Dr. McCoy beam into Sarpeidon's library & encounter the planet's last lingering denizen, the librarian, Mr. Atoz. Mr. Atoz presumes the trio—even the Vulcan Spock—are Sarpeidonians who have tarried & not yet selected to where in the past they wish the atavachron to transport them. Kirk, Spock, & McCoy never introduce themselves, never explain who they are to Atoz. It's very much out of character for our heroes.

Narwhal Day XXVI

After another year of sympathizing & preparing, 'tis Narwhal Day once again! Yes, Narwhal Day, that great & glorious day when all & sundry reflect on & sympathize with the narwhal, the very oddest of whales, far-famed for its curious "horn" (in actuality a tusk) that in times past was oft displayed as a unicorn's horn in cabinets of curiosity (Wunderkammer). The existence & persistence of the narwhal remains transcendent proof that truth is indeed stranger than fiction.

The Ancient & Proper Observance of Narwhal Day
First, the wearing of gray attire;
Second, the hearing of "Sympathy for the Narwhal" by D.J. Seaghost, an ally of The Aquabats!;
Third, the swearing of "The Oath of Narwhal Day."

The ancient & proper observance need not be observed in any particular order, though it is probably advisable to don gray attire so as not to observe the ancient & proper observance naked. The wearing of gray is an invitation to others to experience their own sympathy for the narwhal.

The hearing of "Sympathy for the Narwhal" is a communal act, for Narwhal Day is as much a day of celebration as it is as day of sympathizing; the narwhal will frolic & so should we. Via the YouTubes, "Sympathy for the Narwhal" is now available to everyone reading this.

The swearing of the oath is a highly personal act, though it can be done in community; one swears the oath as a jest or a lark only at one's own peril, for one is only as good as one's word. It is in sympathizing with the narwhal that Narwhal Day finds its highest purpose.

The Oath of Narwhal Day
The narwhal is a noble, pitiable creature,
A magnificent, monstrous visage.
An asymmetrical tooth for a horn,
Or sometimes two, or sometimes none,
Half again as long as the beast.

I swear my sympathy for the narwhal.
I will not lie and convince it all is well,
But I will be a friend to the narwhal.
The mocking dolphins and the snobby manatees
Will get their well-earned comeuppance,
And the narwhal will frolic all day.

I dream this dream of the narwhal
And celebrate it in all its oddball, improbable glory,
On this the twenty-sixth Narwhal Day.


the Narwhal (Monodon monoceros)—also narwal or narwhale

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Narwhal Day!
D.J. Seaghost, "Sympathy for the Narwhal" from The Aquabats! and Horchata Records Present Rice Capades Music Sampler, Vol. 1 (Captain Thumbs Up!)

Commentary: "Sympathy for the Narwhal" via the YouTubes: Seaghost-link.

Also, a pair of videos from the children's television series The Octonauts & Friends: "Episode 20: The Narwhal" & "Creature Report".

The Wayback Machine Tour of Narwhal Day
Narwhal Day '25 | Narwhal Day '24
Narwhal Day '23 | Narwhal Day '22
Narwhal Day '21 | Narwhal Day '20
Narwhal Day '19 | Narwhal Day '18
Narwhal Day '17 | Narwhal Day '16
Narwhal Day '15 | Narwhal Day '14
Narwhal Day '13 | Narwhal Day '12
Narwhal Day '11 | Narwhal Day '10
Narwhal Day '09 | Narwhal Day '08
Narwhal Day '07a & Narwhal Day '07b
Narwhal Day '06 | Narwhal Day '05
Narwhal Day '04 | Narwhal Day '03

Rewatching Star Trek (The Original Series, 1966-1969)

Episode o' the Day
"The Savage Curtain" (season three, episode twenty-two; production code: 077; 7 March 1969): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: The Excalbians, who threaten the entire crew of the Enterprise with imminant death in an matter-antimatter explosion, are not just evil, they are also stupid. They pit Kirk & Spock, along with Excalbians disguised as Abraham Lincoln & Surak of Vulcan, in gladitorial combat against Excalbians disguised as four historical villains, to determine which philosophy, "goor or evil," is stronger. Yet when the good side prevails through principled self-sacrifice & the evil side reveals itself to be selfish & cowardly, the Excalbians conclude that there is no difference because both sides engaged in the gladitorial conbat that the Excalbians themselves had arranged. Yes, this trainwreck of an episode is really that dumb.

Many people have created in their minds an idealized version of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. Star Trek was almost cancelled after its second season, & was only saved by a fan-led letter-writing campaign. The show returned with a reduced budget, & Roddenberry resigned. Fred Freiberger was brought in as producer & many Trekkies blame him for the third-season's uneven episodes & overall decline in quality. But Roddenberry is hardly blameless: Roddenberry wrote the story & co-wrote the teleplay for "The Savage Curtain," one of the worst episodes of the entire series.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

Less Than Jake, "All My Best Friends Are Metalheads" from Hello Rockview (Echo Charlie)

Skammentary: Nominated, inadvertantly, by Echo Charlie, co-founder of The Pillar, who in a Twitter (X) exchange this morning, about seeing Less Than Jake live in concert, replied to me:

Oddly, almost none of my friends are metalheads.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

Less Than Jake, "Five State Drive" from Hello Rockview (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"I know its hard, to leave your past behind,
As I think the corner creeps and dirty streets,
Nothing will change your mind,
There's no turning back this time…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

Bombskare, "Raise the Black Flag" from the Monsters E.P. (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"Sooner of later we'll have to
Raise the black flag,
Turn the tables and we
Take the world back…"

Rewatching Star Trek (The Original Series, 1966-1969)

Episode o' the Day
"Requiem for Methuselah" (season three, episode nineteen; production code: 076; 14 February 1969): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: The big problem with so many of these third-season episodes is that they have an interesting ideas—a seemingly immortal human who has been some of Mankind's greatest geniuses! The perfect (android) woman!—surrounded by not nearly enough plot. They're dull & boring, instead of compelling & confronting as are the best first- & second-season episodes.

Operation ÖSTERREICH: Easter Feaster Edition

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

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

The Explorers' Club, № MCLV

Operation AXIOM: Between the Wars
12-14 May 1926: The May Coup—Army units in Warsaw, loyal to Marshal of Poland Józef Piłsudski, demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Wincenty Witos; fighting ensued, & to avoid a broader civil war Witos & President Stanisław Wojciechowski resigned; a new Sanation government was installed under President Ignacy Mościcki & Prime Minister Kazimierz Bartel; 279 souls were lost.

Commentary: Piłsudski held the reins of power until his death in 1935, though he was never formally president. The Sanation government reigned until Poland was conquered at the beginning of the Second World War in 1939, continuing as the Polish government-in-exile against both the Nazis & the Communists, formally passing its responsibilities to the Third Polish Republic in 1990.

Lest we forget.

Rewatching Star Trek (The Original Series, 1966-1969)

Episode o' the Day
"The Way to Eden" (season three, episode twenty; production code: 075; 21 February 1969): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Dirty space hippies! The plot of "The Way to Eden" was reused twenty years later for the feature film Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (9 June 1989). Why this weak episode was chosen is anyone's guess. The differences are that "The Way to Eden's" Dr. Sevrin is genuinely malevolent whereas The Final Frontier's Sybok ultimately redeems himself, & Dr. Sevrin & his space hippies are searching for the mythical planet Eden (a non-technological utopia) wheras Sybok & his followers are searching for the mythical planet Ska Ka Ree (home of "God").

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "Graffiti Worth Reading" from Pin Points and Gin Joints (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"Graffiti worth reading
Rarely is written
On walls that are worth writing on,
So if that is true,
Then believe me now you
Worth reading graffiti is gone…"

The Stars My Destination: Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2)

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

The Space Age
21-31 May 2023: Spacecraft Commander Peggy Whitson (Axiom), Pilot John Shoffner (private), Mission Specialist Ali Alqarni (Saudi Space Agency), & Mission Specialist Rayyanah Barnawi (Saudi Space Agency) lifted off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center's LC-39A aboard the Crew Dragon Freedom (Dragon C212) atop a Falcon 9 rocket, spent nine days docked to the International Space Station (I.S.S.) during Expedition 69, splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean, & were recovered by the M/V Megan.

Whitson was a N.A.S.A. astronaut & a veteran of three previous spaceflights (STS-111 [launch]/STS-113 [landing] & Expedition 5; Soyuz TMA-11 & Expedition 16; & Soyuz MS-03 [launch]/Soyuz MS-04 [landing] & Expeditions 50, 51, & 52); Shoffner, Alqarni, & Barnawi were rookies. Barnawi is considered the six hundredth (600th) human in space.

Ax-2 was the second flight of the Freedom.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: Ax-2 & the Freedom
Bombskare, "Freedom 35" from The Day the Earth Stood Stupid (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
Crew-7 Launch
Crew-6 Splashdown

Godspeed & welcome back to the good Earth, Ax-2!

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah" from Pin Points and Gin Joints (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: All fatherhood models God the Father. This is why the devil & his many willing human collaborators have worked so hard to undermine fatherhood in our society & culture.

"If this is the case,
Let us cut to the chase,
I'm so sorry I never let go.
I went to the doctor,
The kind that you talk to,
And he said the process is slow…

"Now that I've said it,
Let's try to forget it,
I don't want to trash your good name.
Trash mine if you'd like to,
I'm sure you'd be psyched to.
Remember, our name is the same…"

Rewatching Star Trek (The Original Series, 1966-1969)

Episode o' the Day
"The Cloud Minders" (season three, episode twenty-one; production code: 074; 28 February 1969): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: "The Cloud Minders" is a solid if unspectacular episode. The class warfare story is interesting enough, as is Mr. Spock's infatuation with the beautiful Droxine, but what's really intersting about "The Cloud Minders" is what is says about the Federation. When all is said & done, we really know quite little about the functioning of the United Federation of Planets, the interstellar government Starfleet serves.

At the beginning of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Bajor has petitioned for membership in the Federation, but has been deemed not yet ready, which is unsurprising & understandable given the long, brutal occupation by the Cardassian Union. Prior to the discovery of the Bajoran Wormhole, Commander Benjamin Sisko's primary mission at Starbase Deep Space 9 is to get Bajor ready to join the Federation. Ardana, the planet visited in "The Cloud Minders," is clearly stated to be a member of the Federation, yet their society is highly stratified & unjust, with a leisure class living in the floating city of Stratos served by an underclass called "Troglytes" (from troglodytes, cave-dwellers) who perform all the manual labor, mining Ardana's precious zenite ore. Stratos city officials practice torture against members of a Troglyte resistance called the "Disruptors." How was Ardana ever judged ready to join the Federation?

In Star Trek: Lower Decks, which is my opinion is canonically dubious (I would accept is as canon, as long as all the live-action Kurtzman Trek is denounced as non-canonical), planets are offered membership in the Federation upon first contact. The crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos specialize in "second contact," taking care of the paperwork & setting up communications for newly inducted Federation members. That seems like the only way Ardana could have slipped through the cracks, unless the rules were bent by Federation bureaucrats &/or Starfleet admirals who decided to look the other way in order to obtain Ardana's rich zenite deposits. But it is hard to square that willy-nilly approach with Bajor's long, laborious road to Federation membership (which is finally offered in the fifth season, though declined on Sisko's advice as the Emissary, to protect Bajor during the looming Dominion War).

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Ascension o' the Lord

The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (transferred)
Taizé, "Jesus, Remember Me" from Laudate Omnes Gentes (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Bonus! Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

The Loose Ties, "Awesomer Than You" from Champ of the Week (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: It's true.

Rewatching Star Trek (The Original Series, 1966-1969)

Episode o' the Day
"The Lights of Zetar" (season three, episode eighteen; production code: 073; 31 January 1969): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Scotty falls in love with a library scientist, but she's never mentioned again.

Fun fact: "The Lights of Zetar" was co-written by Shari Lewis (1933-1998), the ventriloquist & puppeteer who created Lamb Chop.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

Mustard Plug, "Beer" from Evildoers Beware! (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Rewatching Star Trek (The Original Series, 1966-1969)

Episode o' the Day
"The Mark of Gideon" (season three, episode sixteen; production code: 072; 17 January 1969): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: "The Mark of Gideon" is a dumb overpopulation story, dumb because the Gideons' plan (Gideonites'?) is needlessly complex. Supposedly, the planet is so overpopulated that no one is every alone, yet they were able to construct an exact, multi-story replica of the Enterprise & keep everyone else out of it so that a kidnapped Captain Kirk & the seductress Odona can be alone together? They rendered Kirk unconscious & stole some of his blood, which contains a disease that will be used to reintroduce death into Gideon's population; the Enterprise replica is completely unnecessary, as is Odona feigning ignorance. (She repeatedly claims she's not from Gideon, but doesn't know what her supposed planet is called. I call shenanigans!)

The best part of the episode is the surprising anti-contraception, anti-abortion message. Kirk suggests sterilization & contraception to limit the grow of Gideon's population. Hodin, the Gideon ambasador, says that their regenerative biology will reject any attempt at sterilization (but somehow won't be able to overcome the space menigitis?) & that their culture will not accept any form of contraception: Life is too precious to them to contracept. It'san anti-sterilization & anti-contraception message, but not a pro-life message, since the whole plan is to use Odona to inspire other Gideonites to volunteer to die of the space meingitis. There are other planet, you know? You guys could colonize other planets. Or buy disintegration chambers from Eminiar VII ("A Taste of Armageddon," season one episode twenty-three), they aren't using them anymore.

Why is the planet called Gideon? What are the odds of an alien world having the same name as an Old Testment personage?

Fun fact: "The Mark of Gideon" was co-written by Stanley Adams (1917-1977), who played Cyrano Jones in "The Trouble with Tribbles" (season two, episode fifteen).

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

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

Skammentary:

"But ska is just expression of feelings,
And although you want (unintelligible) to sing,
We continue and live in our meanings,
And fuck off whatever you think!…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

Reel Big Fish, "Scott's a Dork" from Why Do They Rock So Hard? (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"We like pizza but she doesn't eat the crust,
I love her and she loves everyone,
Said she likes my band, but I don't even like my band,
I love her and she loves everyone (uh uh).

"I saw her (I saw her)
Kiss him last night,
I'm sick now (I'm sick now),
But its just a little cold…

"When I say I give up it just means I'm going to try again,
She loves me and I love everyone,
I was kissin' her but she was wishing it was him,
She loves me and I love everyone (uh uh uh uh).

"They told her (they told her)
About you and me,
She's mad now (she's mad now)
But she'll get over it…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

Less Than Jake, "The Science of Selling Yourself Short" from Anthem (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"I'll sing along,
Yeah, with every emergency,
Just sing along,
And I'm the king of catastrophes
I'm so far gone,
That deep down inside I think it's fine by me,
I'm my own worst enemy…"

Operation ÖSTERREICH: Easter Feaster Edition

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

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

Saints + Scripture: Eastertide

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

'Tis the Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter (Latin: Pascha): Pascha-link & Wikipedia-link Paschaltide.

Saints of the Day
'Tis the Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Fátima (apparitions 13 May-13 October 1917).

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter
The Acts of the Apostles, chapter seventeen, verses fitten & twenty thru chapter eighteen, verse one;
Psalm One Hundred Forty-eight (R/. "Heaven and Earth are full of Your glory;" or, "Alleluia"), verses one & two, eleven & twelve, thirteen, & fourteen;
The Gospel according to John, chapter sixteen, verses twelve thru fifteen.

Commentary: Daily Readings.

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

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit to guide the Church through time. “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.”

Since Jesus is the Son of God, it is impossible for us adequately to interpret him through our own powers of perception. We require a divine pedagogue through which the speech of the Father is to be understood. This is the advocate we call the Holy Spirit.

The words of today’s Gospel are almost unbearably profound, for they speak not only of the inner life of God but of the central dynamic of the Church’s life. The Father indeed spoke the fullness of his life, being, and truth in the Son, but the Church, in its earliest days, was incapable of taking that fullness in.

What was (and still is) required is the ongoing influence of the Spirit, the divine interpreter of the Word, who does his work gradually and powerfully as the Church journeys across space and time.

Video reflection by Jem Sullivan, Ph.D. (U.S.C.C.B.): Easter Reflection.

Mass Readings—Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Fátima
The Book of Isaiah, chapter sixty-one, verses nine, ten, & eleven;
Psalm Forty-five (R/. eleven; or, "Alleluia"), verses eleven & twelve, fourteen & fifteen, & sixteen & seventeen;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter eleven, verses twenty-seven & twenty-eight.

Commentary: Memorial Readings.

The Explorers' Club, № MCLIV

Operation AXIOM: Between the Wars
11-14 May 1926: Conqueror of the South Pole Roald Amundsen, airship designer & pilot Umberto Nobile, explorer & benefactor Lincoln Ellsworth, & a crew of twelve flew the semi-rigid dirigible Norge over the North Pole from Spitsbergen, Svalbard to Teller, Alaska; the Norge originally aimed for Nome, but diverted to Teller due to weather; she was damaged during the landing & never flew again.

Commentary: There are legitimate disputes about the claims of expeditions led by Frederick Cook (1908) & Robert Peary (1909) to have reached the North Pole by foot & sledge, & less credible disputes about Richard Byrd's & Floyd Bennett's North Pole flight just days earlier (9 May 1926), but there is no dispute about the Amundsen-Ellsworth Transpolar Flight having overflown the North Pole.

The Wayback Machine Tour of Amundsen & the Arctic
"The Explorer's Club," № CXXXIX: The Amundsen-Ellsworth 1926 Transpolar Flight (2009)
"The Explorer's Club," № MLXXXIX: "Farthest North" by Flying Boats (2025)

Semper exploro.

Rewatching Star Trek (The Original Series, 1966-1969)

Episode o' the Day
"Whom Gods Destroy" (season three, episode fourteen; production code: 071; 3 January 1969): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: "Whom Gods Destroy" is a solid, though unspectacular episode, which makes it a treat amidst the slog of the third season. The madness of former Fleet Captain Garth, who now styles himself, "Lord Garth, Master of the Universe," mkes him erratic, but not irrational: Garth does not murder Captain Kirk because he needs Kirk alive to tell him the countersign necessary to order Scotty to active the transporter. The only element I found unconvincing was the powerful explosive Garth has devised, which he uses to murder his paramour, Marta, an Orion female (played by Yvonne Craig, Batgirl on Batman); Garth's escape from his cell using his shapeshifting powers makes sense, but where inside a maximum security asylum for the criminally insane would be get the materials to make a high explosive?

The setting inside an asylum for the criminally insane draws comparisons to the other Original Series episode set inside an asylum for the criminally insane, "Dagger of the Mind" (season one, episode nine). It's unfortunate "Whom Gods Destroy" is set on the planet Elba II, instead of "Dagger of the Mind's" planet Tantalus V; it would have been a neat bit of continuity to return to Tantalus V two years after the Enterprise crew exposed the corruption of the director, Dr. Tristan Adams.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "Simmer Down" from the Ska-core, the Devil, and More E.P. (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: "Simmer Down" was the first hit record for the Wailers, in 1964.

Rewatching Star Trek (The Original Series, 1966-1969)

Episode o' the Day
"Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" (season three, episode fifteen; production code: 070; 10 January 1969): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" is a very ham-fisted, heavy-handed story about bigotry & hatred, not even redeemed by a brilliant performance from the great Frank Gorshin as Commissioner Bele. But the worst offense of the episode is Captain Kirk letting Bele & his enemy, Lokai, have the run of the ship even after they have manifested extraordinary powers & used those powers against the Enterprise. They aren't even confined to quarters, much less thrown into the brig. Absolutely unconscionable!

Still, "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" is far superior to its Star Trek: Enterprise remake from almost precisely thirty-five years later, "Chosen Realm" (season three, episode twelve; 14 January 2004), which is a very ham-fisted, heavy-handed story about religious fanaticism instead of racial fanaticism.

The Explorers' Club Special: May 1916

Operation AXIOM: The World War
May 1916 saw the aerial war over the Western Front take on a more modern shape, as specialist fighter squadrons were formed & new types of aeroplanes were introduced; the French & the British secretly sign the Sykes-Piot Agreement to partitian the Middle East after the defeat of the Ottomans, seemingly contrary to the British inducements that elicited the Arab Revolt; & the British & the Germans fight the largest discrete naval action of the war.

The Wayback Machine Tour of the World War: May 1916
"The Explorers' Club," № CDXCVI: The "Fokker Scourge" Ended (March-December 1916)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDXCVII: The Sykes-Picot Agreement (16 May 1916)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDXCVIII: The Battle of Jutland, Part I (17-31 May 1916)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDXCIX: The Battle of Jutland, Part II (31 May-1 June 1916)

Lest we forget.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

Reel Big Fish, "Somebody Hates Me" from Why Do They Rock So Hard? (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: "Somebody Hates Me" was released in 1998, yet the Reel Big Fish managed to anticipate perfectly social media.

"I just made an enemy of someone
I don't know, and they are upset about somethin'
That I must have done, it really doesn't make much sense
But I've got no statement in my defense…

"Did you misunderstand something that I did?
Or was there one of my jokes that you didn't get?
Or do you think you've got the way I think all figured out?
What did I say to make you feel not cool now?…

"I know it's wrong,
I do it, too (I do it, too),
And I guess I should say,
Don't let it get to you…"

Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

Reel Big Fish, "Everything Is Cool" from Why Do They Rock So Hard? (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Rewatching Star Trek (The Original Series, 1966-1969)

Episode o' the Day
"That Which Survives" (season three, episode seventeen; production code: 069; 24 January 1969): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: "That Which Survives" is an O.K. episode, though Captain Kirk & company complain repeatedly about the impossibility of the small planet they are visiting—it's too young to have the atmosphere & vegatation that it does—but it takes them far too long even to speculate that it might be a constructed planet, which it turns out to be. Both Kirk & Spock are incongruously short-tempered & sharo-tongued throughout, & Spock once again demonstrates his unsuitability for command, despite his towering intellect.

Doctor M'Benga returns, another physician aboard the Enterprise, having debuted in "A Private Little War" (season two, episode nineteen). M'Benga also mentions a Doctor Sanchez, who is conducting an autopsy on a slain crewman. It is unclear is Sanchez is specifically the ship's pathologist.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the VI Sunday o' Easter

The Sixth Sunday of Easter
Francesca Battistelli, "Holy Spirit" from If We're Honest (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: We're not to Pentecost, yet, but today's readings are about the Holy Ghost, the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity: In Acts, the Apostles bring the Holy Ghost to imcompletely catechized Christians who had only been baptized in the Name of Jesus; in 1 Peter, the first pope reminds us how the Holy Ghost will bring us New Life; & in John's Gospel, the Lord Jesus instructs His Apostles about the Holy Ghost, another Advocate Who will stand with us against the accuser.

Saints + Scripture: VI Sunday of Easter

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

The Popish Plot
"Mother's Day: Marian Title"

'Tis the Sixth Sunday of Easter (Latin: Pascha): Pascha-link & Wikipedia-link Paschaltide.

Scripture of the Week
Mass Readings—Sixth Sunday of Easter
The Acts of the Apostles, chapter eight, verses five thru eight & fourteen thru seventeen;
Psalm Sixty-six (R/. one; or, "Alleluia"), verses one, two, & three; four & five; six & seven; & sixteen & twenty;
The First Letter of Peter, chapter three, verses fifteen thru eighteen;
The Gospel according to John, chapter fourteen, verses fifteen thru twenty-one.

Commentary: Sunday Readings.

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

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit to accompany his disciples: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth.”

Just a moment before, Jesus had identified himself as the Truth and as, essentially, one with the Father. Thus we find in this first reference to the “Advocate,” the parakletos, a fairly clear proto-Trinitarian formula. As Jesus reflects the Father’s being, so this third seems to reflect the mutuality of Jesus and the Father, since both are involved in his sending.

The role of the parakletos is that of animating the Church, which Jesus, at least in the ordinary sense, is about to leave. More precisely, he will lead the followers of Jesus into the fullness of truth, maintaining a vibrant continuity with the Lord and hence with the Father:

“The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” Notice the densely-packed coinherence that obtains among the three, a one-in-the-otherness into which the Church itself is being invited.

Video reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire): Sunday Sermon.

Video reflection by Fr. Greg Friedman, O.F.M. (U.S.C.C.B.): Easter Reflection.

The Explorers' Club, № MCLIII

Operation AXIOM: Between the Wars
9 May 1926: Lieutenant Richard E. Byrd & Chief Aviation Pilot Floyd Bennett of the U.S. Navy were the first to overfly the North Pole in the Fokker F.VII Trimotor Josephine Ford, a flight of 15:57:00 from & back to Spitsbergen, Svalbard; Byrd & Bennett were awarded the Tiffany Cross Medal of Honor & both were promoted in naval rank; the Josephine Ford was flown in a cross-country celebration tour.

Commentary: The Josephine Ford remains on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan down to the present day.

The Wayback Machine Tour of Byrd & the Arctic
"The Explorer's Club," № CXXXVIII: The Byrd Arctic Expedition (2009)

Semper exploro.