The Explorers' Club, № MCXLVII

The Space Race: The 60th Anniversaries of Project Gemini
The Agena Target Vehicle (A.T.V.)—A rocket, a modification of the RM-81 Agena-D upper stage fitted with a docking adaptor, the Agena Target Vehicle was used to develop & practice orbital rendezvous & docking maneuvers; Gemini VIII, Gemini X, Gemini XI, & Gemini XII rendezvoused & docked with A.T.V.; Gemini X & Gemini XI were boosted by their respective Agenas to successive altitude records.

Commentary: The A.T.V. for Gemini VI exploded during ascent not long after separating from its Atlas booster, prompting the revision of Gemini VI as Gemini VI-A, which rendezvoused, but obviously could not dock, with Gemini VII. The A.T.V. for Gemini IX was destroyed when its Atlas booster failed during ascent, prompting the revision of Gemini IX as Gemini IX-A, which rendezvoused with the Augmented Target Docking Adapter (a device devised for precisely this contingency), but was unable to dock due to a comedy of errors by the ground crews prior to launch.

Tom Stafford flew on both Gemini VI-A (Pilot) & Gemini IX-A (Command Pilot). Due to the above described Altas-Agena failures & a pair of scrubs caused by the primary Titan II Gemini Launch Vehicle, Stafford was strapped into his Gemini capsules six times for only two launches, earning him the nickname, the "Mayor of Pad 19."

Semper exploro.

Operation ÖSTERREICH: Lent | Please Stand By

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 Abruptors, "Waiting Forever" from Noticeably Cheerless (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

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

Sontag, 22. März
The Fifth Sunday of Lent
Less Than Jake, "The Rest of My Life" from In with the Out Crowd (Penitent Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Last Saturday

Samstag, 21. März
Seatbelts, "Tank!" from Cowboy Bebop: Original Soundtrack (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Bonus! Fish Fry Song o' the Day

Reel Big Fish, "G.D. Beautiful Day" from Life Sucks… Let's Dance! (Mike Papa Whitefish)

Skammentary: What a beautiful day! The Sun shone & the breeze was gentle, quite the opposite of the previous week's wind storm.

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

Freitag, 20. März
The Vernal Equinox
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, "A Touch of Spring" from Ska=Almighty (Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Last Thursday

Donnerstag, 19. März
MxPx, "Sad Sad Song" from Secret Weapon (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: I'm publishing this post on 25 March, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. I fell behind because I did not make the time. Yes, I've been overly busy, but I could have made the time, e.g., I found plenty of time to doomscroll on Twitter. This formatting is experimental for the long road back.

"You got a sad, sad song,
So sing it without me.
You got a sad, sad song,
So sing it without me…

"You get a good thing going, then you turn it around,
I'm beginning to think you went nuts,
To tell you the truth, I don't really care,
Okay, I really hate your guts…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "(This Song's Just) Six Words Long" from Even Worse (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: The title of "(This Song's Just) Six Words Long" is just six words long thanks to the contraction "song's," for "song is." Yet, during "(This Song's Just) Six Words Long," "Weird Al" distinctly sings:

"This song is just six words long…"

Operation ÖSTERREICH: Lent | Please Stand By

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 Special: Gemini VIII

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 60th Anniversary of Gemini VIII
16-17 March 1966: Gemini VIII lifted off from Florida's Cape Kennedy Air Force Station, carrying Command Pilot Neil Armstrong & Pilot Dave Scott aboard a Gemini spacecraft atop a Titan II G.L.V. rocket; they achieved the first docking in space, with an Agena; a thruster malfunction caused the spacecraft to tumble rapidly & triggered an emergency reentry; they splashed down in the Pacific.

Commentary: Gemini VIII was originally scheduled to splash down in the Atlantic on 20 March. The emergency reentry necessitated a splash down in the Pacific. U.S. Air Force Pararescue Jumpers were the first to reach the capsule, which was later recovered by the U.S.S. Leonard F. Mason.

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

Semper exploro.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Saint Patrick's Day

The Optional Memorial of Saint Patrick, Bishop
Johnny Cash, "Danny Boy" from American IV: The Man Comes Around (Mike Papa Irish Whiskey)

Commentary:

"But if you come, and all the flowers are dying,
And I am dead, as dead I may well be,
You'll come and find the place where I am lying,
And kneel and say an Ave there for me…"

The Explorers' Club, № MCXLVI

Operation AXIOM: Between the Wars
16 March 1926: Robert H. Goddard launched the world's first liquid-fueled rocket from his aunt's farm in Auburn, Massachusetts; the rocket, Nell, rose forty-one feet vertically & traveled one hundred eighty-four feet horizontally; liquid propellants are tricker to handle than solid propellants, but yield a higher specific impulse, the amount of thrust produced per unit weight of fuel, & can be throttleable.

Bonus! Song o' the Day
MU330, "Rocket Fuel" from MU330 (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: "Rocket Fuel" isn't about rocketry, but parenting, yet the title was too on the nose to resist.

Semper exploro.

The Rebel Black Dot Songs o' the Day

Michael Jackson, "Smooth Criminal" from Bad (Mike Papa Whiskey)

&

Alien Ant Farm, "Smooth Criminal" from ANThology (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Nu metal is one of my least favorite phases of popular music, especially since it was such a step down from the ska resurgence of just a few years earlier, but I have always enjoyed Alien Ant Farm's cover of "Smooth Criminal."

Bonus! Song o' the Ides o' March

Operation AXIOM: The 2,070th Anniversary of the Assassination of Julius Caesar
Robbie Williams, "Mack the Knife" from Swing When You're Winning (Mike Papa Whiskey)

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

The Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday)
Dance Hall Crashers, "Blind Leading the Blind" from the The Old Record (1989-1992) compilation (Penitent Mike Papa Whiskey)

Bonus! Song o' Trivia Night

Project Mercator: Trivia Night @ Saint Matthew
They Might be Giants, "No One Knows My Plan" from John Henry (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"No one understands,
No one knows my plan…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

The Pogues, "The Body of an American" from the The Best of The Pogues compilation (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"I'm a freeborn man of the U.S.A.!…"

Bonus! Fish Fry Song o' the Day

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, "Blowin' in the Wind" from Blow in the Wind (Mike Papa Walleye)

Commentary: If I may paraphrase George Costanza: The sky was angry that day, my friends!

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

MxPx, "Cold and All Alone" from Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo (Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

The O.C. Supertones, "Caught Inside" from Supertones Strike Back (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Ska & surf rock!

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

New Found Glory, "All about Her" from New Found Glory (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: I am a solidly middle-aged man living in the second quarter of the Twenty-first Century, but my preferences were formed around the turn of the millennium; so, I will always appreciate the aesthetic portrayed in the above image, including the faux brass knuckle belt buckle.

"Another chance to fight,
Another way to make it right.

"So, forget all of your chances,
It's up to you to follow through,
Forget the way she was,
'Cause it's the things she does—

"That make me sing about her,
She knows I care about her…"

Operation ÖSTERREICH: Lent | Please Stand By

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 Special: March 1916

Operation AXIOM: The World War
In March 1916, the Anglo-Indian effort to relieve their fellows besieged in Kut stumbled; the German assault toward Verdun stalled; the French goaded the Italians into attacking before they were ready in order to relieve the pressure on Verdun; & the British & Imperial forces advanced into German East Africa (Deutsch-Ostafrika), driving the Germans from Mount Kilimanjaro & seizing control of Lake Tanganyika.

The Wayback Machine Tour of the World War: March 1916
"The Explorers' Club," № CDLXXXVI: The Siege of Kut, Part III: The Battle of Dujaila (8 March 1916)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDLXXXVII: The Battle of Verdun, Part II: The German Offensive (21 February-9 April 1916)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDLXXXVIII: The Endless Battles of the Isonzo, Part III: The Fifth Battle of the Isonzo (9-15 March 1916)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDLXXXIX: The Battles of Latema Nek & Kahe (11-18 March 1916)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDXC: The Battle of Lake Tanganyika (December 1915-July 1916)

Lest we forget.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Nouvelle Vague, "Dancing with Myself" from Bande à Part (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: "Dancing with Myself" anticipated much of the sadness that marrs modern life. The song is based on an experience Billy Idol had while touring with the band Generation X before embarking on his solo career: he saw youth at discotheques in Tokyo dancing with their reflections in mirrors, instead of dancing with other people. That isolation & self-preoccupation is the fount of endless misery & could well bring about the end of civilization through demographic collapse.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

New Found Glory, "Hit or Miss" from New Found Glory (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"Have I waited too long?
Have I found that someone?
Have I waited too long
To see you?…"

The Explorers' Club, № MCXLV

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 40th Anniversary of S.T.S.-51-L, Aftermath
7 March 1986: The Challenger crew compartment was located; remains of six of the seven crew were recovered, with the remains of the seventh recovered a month later; the cause of death could not be determined, but analysis indicated the compartment had remained intact until impact with the ocean; ships involved in the recovery included the U.S.S. Preserver & the Deep Sumergence Vessel NR-1.

Commentary: Major debris from the Challenger has been discovered as recently as November 2022.

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: Challenger Recovery
Gordon Lightfoot, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" from Summertime Dream (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Requiescat in pace.

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

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

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

New Found Glory, "The Glory of Love" from From the Screen to Your Stereo (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Bonus! Fish Fry Song o' the Day

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

Skammentary: The forecast is for rain throughout the fish fry. My hope is that the rain will hold off until after we close for the night.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Polka Power!" from Running with Scissors (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Yes, I am well aware that the songs that make up the medley of "Polka Power" were probably not even released on vinyl, but vinyl records are more visually appealing that compact discs.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi" from Running with Scissors (Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Reel Big Fish, "Down in Flames" from Why Do They Rock So Hard? (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"When this blows over,
And the mainstream couches up another shell,
Will you let us back in your underground?
I guess that's a 'no' and it's just as well,
'Cause you never supported us,
All you wanted was to see us fail! (See us fail!)

"And they tell me that it's the new thing,
So I better get out of the way,
Watch us go down in flames.

"It's alright, it's O.K.,
It was gonna happen anyway,
We had our chance, we made our point,
But you're not gonna take that,
'Cause it's alright, it's O.K.,
It was gonna happen anyway,
We had our chance, we made our point,
But you're not gonna take that
Away!
You're not gonna take that
Away!
You're not gonna take that
Away!
You're not gonna take that
Away!"

The Queue: Lenten Edition

"Any book which inspires us to lead a better life is a good book."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)

The closing paragraph of Dilexi Te (№ 121):

Through your work, your efforts to change unjust social structures or your simple, heartfelt gesture of closeness and support, the poor will come to realize that Jesus' words are addressed personally to each of them: "I have loved you" (Revelation, 3:9)

"Recently"
Earl Swift, Across the Airless Wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings
Josh Young, Expedition Deep Ocean: The First Descent to the Bottom of All Five of the World's Oceans
Pope Leo XIV, Dilexi Te: On Love for the Poor

Currently
Bishop Robert Barron, An Introduction to Prayer

Devotionally
Kevin Belmonte, editor, A Year with G.K. Chesterton: 365 Days of Wisdom, Wit, and Wonder
anonymous, Cultivating Virtue: Self-Mastery with the Saints

Presently
Kiel Phegley & Jacques Khouri, Strikers: A Graphic Novel
Andy Saunders, Apollo Remastered: The Ultimate Photographic Record *
Andy Saunders, Gemini and Mercury Remastered *
Joe Heschmeyer, The Eucharist Is Really Jesus: How Christ's Body and Blood Are the Key to Everything We Believe
Mike Aquilina, Understanding the Mass: 100 Questions, 100 Answers
Pope Leo XIII, The Leonine Encyclicals: 1878-1902

*Coffee table books.

Operation ÖSTERREICH: Lent | Please Stand By

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, № MCXLIV

The Space Race—Astronaut Group 4 (the "Scientists"), Part V
Edward George Gibson (born 8 November 1936)—He flew Skylab 4 (1973-1974); he left N.A.S.A. in 1974 to study the solar physics data gathered by the three Skylab crews, but returned in 1977 to help select & train scientist-astronauts for the Space Shuttle era; he worked in West Germany on Spacelab & was a project manager for the proposed Space Station Freedom, eventually realized as the I.S.S.

Commentary: As of this publication, Doctor Gibson is still alive, aged eighty-nine.

Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: The Scientists—Ed Gibson
Thomas Dolby, "She Blinded Me with Science" from The Golden Age of Wireless (Space Cadet Mike Papa DSKY)

The Wayback Machine Tour of Ed Gibson
"The Explorers' Club," № CMXCII: The 50th Anniversary of Skylab 4, Part I
"The Explorers' Club," № CMXCIV: The 50th Anniversary of Skylab 4, Part II
"The Explorers' Club," № CMXCVIII: The 50th Anniversary of Skylab 4, Part III
"The Explorers' Club," № MI: The 50th Anniversary of Skylab 4, Part IV
"The Explorers' Club," № MX: The 50th Anniversary of Skylab 4, Part V

The Wayback Machine Tour of the Scientists
"The Explorers' Club," № MXCVI: Astronaut Group 4 (Part I)
"The Explorers' Club," № MCXXX: Jack Schmitt (Part II)
"The Explorers' Club," № MCXXXII: Joe Kerwin (Part III)
"The Explorers' Club," № MCXL: Owen Garriott (Part IV)

Semper exploro.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day, Eh

Barenaked Ladies, "One Week" from Stunt (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"Like Kurosawa, I make mad films,
O.K., I don't make films,
But if I did, they'd have a samurai…"