20 Years of Psych (2006-2026)

Episode o' the Day
"Mr. Yin Presents…" (season four, episode sixteen; 10 March 2010): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: "Mr. Yin Presents…" is to "An Evening with Mr. Yang" (season three, episode sixteen) & "Yang 3 in 2D" (season five, episode sixteen) as The Empire Strikes Back (Episode V) is to A New Hope (Episode IV) & Return of the Jedi (Episode VI), very much the second act of a three-act drama, not brought to any conclusion & yet very much a compelling story. Mr. Yin (played by a masked actor) emerges, murdering a waitress to catch Psych's attention, whereas the year before Mr. Yang had kidnapped a waitress & given our heroes the opportunity to save her, which they did. Yang (no longer Mr. Yang since she is played by Ally Sheedy) returns, acting as an advisor to Shawn & Gus, Hannibal Lector to their Clarice Starling. Mr. Yin runs our heroes through a funhouse of references to Alfred Hitchcock films, eventually murdering returning Yin-Yang Killer expert Mary Lightly (played by Jimmi Simpson). Mr. Yin kidnaps Shawn's girlfriend, Abigail Lytar, & Detective Juliet O'Hara, putting them both in death traps. Shawn & Henry are able to rescue Abigail & Gus & Lassie are able to rescue Juliet, but both woman aere traumatized. Abigail breaks up with Shawn, unwilling to subject herself to any more peril, & Juliet takes leave from the police (as seen in season five). Mr. Yin gets away, & we last seem him in his home, where there is a framed photograph of Yang with a young Shawn, taken circa 1990.

This is without question the darkest & most serious episode of Psych.

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

Operation AXIOM: The 16th Anniversary of My Loss on Jeopardy!
"Weird Al" Yankovic, "I Lost on Jeopardy!" from "Weird Al" Yankovic In 3-D (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Sixteen years ago today—Thursday, 21 October 2010—my episode of Jeopardy! aired on nationally syndicated television.

60 Years of Star Trek (The Original Series, 1966-2026)

Operation AXIOM: Episode o' the Week
"What Are Little Girls Made Of?" (season one, episode seven; production code: 10; 20 October 1966): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" is one of the best (worst) examples of the Theiss Theory of Titilation, costume designer William Ware Theiss's theory that the more a costume looked like it was going to fall off an actress, the more titilating it would be. He was right; that's awful, but he wasn't wrong.

"What Are Little Girls Made Of?" is also relevant to our current moment of Artificial Intelligence. A robot that looks like Dr. Roger Korby & has his "memories" insists that it is Korby, but Captain Kirk insists, correctly, that Dr. Roger Korby is dead & the robot is not Korby. The "synthetic" (android, robot) in Star Trek: Picard seasons two & three that insists it is Jean-Luc Picard is not; Jean-Luc Picard died at the end of Picard season one.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' This Auspicious Day

Jim Gaffigan, "Presents" from Beyond the Pale (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: "Presents," though there is no presence this year, due to many—too many—commitments by the denizens of Xanadu. Alas!

20 Years of Psych (2006-2026)

Episode o' the Day
"The Head, the Tail, the Whole Damn Episode" (season four, episode fifteen; 3 March 2010): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: The Jaws episode, guest-starring Jeri Ryan (who played Seven of Nine on Star Trek: Voyager) & Michael Hogan (who played Colonel Tigh on Battlestar Galactica).

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

The United States Semiquincentennial (1776-2026)
Sufjan Stevens, "Flint (For the Unemployed and Underpaid)" from Sufjan Stevens Presents… Greetings from Michigan, the Great Lake State (A.K.A. Michigan) (Mike Patriot Whiskey)

20 Years of Psych (2006-2026)

Episode o' the Day
"Think Tank" (season four, episode fourteen; 24 February 2010): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Shawn & Gus are hired into a think tank set up to prevent the assassination of a Richard Branson-type billionaire, Ashton Bonaventure, though the twist is that the think tank is run by the assassins, trying to figure out how to get through or around Bonaventure's security.

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

The Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Johnny Cash, "Personal Jesus" from American IV: The Man Comes Around (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Every one of us, from Tiberius Caesar in the First Century to you, dear reader, in the Twenty-first Century, is made in the image of God. Each of us belongs to Him.

20 Years of Psych (2006-2026)

Episode o' the Day
"Death Is in the Air" (season four, episode thirteen; 17 February 2010): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: The Outbreak episode, guest-starring Judd Nelson.

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

Team 147, Game 6: Michigan v. Penn State
Bombskare, "Bad to Worse" from A Million Ways to Die (Mike Papa Wolverine)

Skammentary: Earlier this week, Coach Whittingham announced that Bryce Underwood would start because he "gives us the best chance to win." That is tantamount to giving up on this season as lost. I bear Underwood minimal personal ill will (he made a profoundly bad first impression in 2025 with his boast, "You've never seen a freshman like me"), but it is manifestly evident to anyone who has been paying attention that inconsistency is the only consistency in Underwood's game & that he doesn't have the ability to play quarterback at this level. Who knows, he might thrive in the Football Championship Subdivision (F.C.S.) of Division I or Division II.

The only saving grace might be that the ferocious Nittany Lions are also enduring a disappointing season under a first-year head coach from the Big XII Conference. The valiant Wolverines are 3-2, B1G 0-2 under Coach Kyle Whittingham, late of Utah; the ferocious Nittany Lions are 3-3, B1G 0-3 under Coach Matt Campbell, late of Iowa State.

20 Years of Psych (2006-2026)

Episode o' the Day
"A Very Juliet Episode" (season four, episode twelve; 10 February 2010): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: It always struck me as odd that "A Very Juliet Episode" dealt with a corrupt U.S. Marshal & the Witness Protectice Program, but didn't cross over with fellow U.S.A. Network show, In Plain Sight. Maggie Lawson (Juliet O'Hara), did a great job as the emotional core of the episode.

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

The United States Semiquincentennial (1776-2026)
Sufjan Stevens, "Chicago" from Sufjan Stevens Invites You To: Come On Feel the Illinoise (A.K.A. Illinois) (Mike Patriot Whiskey)

20 Years of Psych (2006-2026)

Episode o' the Day
"Thrill Seekers and Hell-Raisers" (season four, episode eleven; 3 February 2010): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: I really like Gus's girlfriend, Ruby (played by Sarah Shahi). For a second consecutive episode, a W.W.E. wrestler guest stars, though Stacy Keibler had a much smaller role than John Cina & was much easier on the eyes. By the end of the episode, Gus rejects Ruby because of her thrill-seeking lifestyle, which doesn't really add up, given that Gus hunts murderers & robbers, including serial killers like Mr. Yang & Mr. Yin. Gus & Shawn's reckless thrill-seeking is acceptable, but Ruby's more careful thrill-seeking (wearing a helmet & buoyancy aid whilst white water rafting) is off-putting?

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

The United States Semiquincentennial (1776-2026)
Simon & Garfunkel, "The Only Living Boy in New York" from Bridge Over Troubled Water (Mike Patriot Whiskey)

The Explorers' Club, № MCLXXXVII

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 50th Anniversary of Soyuz 23
14-16 October 1976: Soyuz 23 lifted off from Baikonur, carrying CDR Vyacheslav Zudov & F.E. Valery Rozhdestvensky aboard a Soyuz 7K-T capsule atop a Soyuz rocket; call sign Radon; the duo tried but failed to dock with the Salyut 5 space station; after 32 orbits, Soyuz 23 splashed down on a frozen Lake Tengiz, broke through the ice, & sank; after nine hours underwater, the duo were recovered.

Bonus! Space Age Song o'the Day: Soyuz 23
Bombskare, "Sink or Swim" from A Million Ways to Die (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

60 Years of Star Trek (The Original Series, 1966-2026)

Operation AXIOM: Episode o' the Week
"Mudd's Women" (season one, episode six; production code: 04; 13 October 1966): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: "Mudd's Women" introduces the roguish Harry Mudd, the only recurring antagonist on The Original Series, but the bulk of the story is a meditation on the fleeting nature of beauty & the pricelessness of a good woman. "Mudd's Women" was one of the three story treatments offered for the second pilot; it's a good episode, but too small & quiet a story for the crucial second pilot.

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: America 250

The United States Semiquincentennial (1776-2026)
They Might Be Giants, "Say Nice Things about Detroit" from Phone Power (Mike Patriot Whiskey)

20 Years of Psych (2006-2026)

Episode o' the Day
"You Can't Handle This Episode" (season four, episode ten; 27 January 2010): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: "You Can't Handle This Episode" is in the running for the worst episode of the series, both because of the muddled plot & because of the stunt casting of W.W.E. wrestler John Cena as Ewan O'Hara, Detective Juliet O'Hara's older brother & an awkward combination of the fictional heroes John Rambo & James Bond. Later appearances of Ewan O'Hara are handled much better, as gonzo cameos.

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

The United States Semiquincentennial (1776-2026)
Paul Butterfield Blues Band, "Born in Chicago" from Blues Brothers 2000: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Mike Patriot Whiskey)

Commentary: Please pray for Pope Leo, who is having surgery today.

20 Years of Psych (2006-2026)

Episode o' the Day
"Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark" (season four, episode nine; 16 October 2009): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: "Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark" is a very unusual episode. Shawn is isolated from Gus, Juliet, Lassiter, & Henry. He spends most of the episode suffering from the famously quick healing Hollywood gunshot wound to the shoulder & help hostage by a pair of thieves planning a heist. Our intrepid fake psychic is able to elicit sympathy from the more kindhearted of the two thieves & leave clues for Lassie & Henry, who are following his trail in the field, & Juliet & Gus are investigating the heist.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Columbus Day

Dan Potthast, "I've Set Sail" from Eyeballs (Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Explorers' Club, № MCLXXXVI

Operation AXIOM: Between the Wars
14 October 1926: Winnie-the-Pooh was published, a collection of short stories for children, written by A. A. Milne (1882-1956) & illustrated by E. H. Shepard (1879-1976); the characters were based on Milne's son, Christopher Robin Milne (1920-1996) & his stuffed animals; the setting was inspired by the Ashdown Forest; Pooh Bear's name came from a black bear seen in the London Zoo, Winnipeg.

Semper exploro.

20 Years of Psych (2006-2026)

Episode o' the Day
"Let's Get Hairy" (season four, episode eight; 9 October 2009): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: The werewolf episode, which necessitates a non-supernatural explanation for the apparent werewolf attacks. Guest-starring David Naughton, who played the eponymous character in the feature film An American Werewolf in London (1981).

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

The Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matt Glaser, Evan Stover, Jay Ungar, Art Baron, & Molly Mason, "Kingdom Coming" from The Civil War: Original Soundtrack Recording (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: The Lord is kind & merciful, but His patience will not last forever; eventually, we will each be called to account for how we used or didn't use the myriad gifts He gave us, especially the gift of our very lives.

The Explorers' Club Special: October 1916

Operation AXIOM: The World War
October 1916: The Romanian invaders of Austro-Hungarian Transylvania were knocked back to their jumping off points, & their joining the war on the side of the Entente was about the backfire disastrously; the French seized the initiative at Verdun, recapturing forts the Germans had taken on the third day of the battle, back in February; the war continued at the Somme & the Isonzo, with half of October 2016's episodes devoted to battles that raged from September-November, & re-published last month.

The Wayback Machine Tour of the World War: October 1916
"The Explorers' Club," № DXXI: The Second Battle of Cobadin (19-25 October 1916)
"The Explorers' Club," № DXX: The Battle of Verdun, Part V: The French "First Offensive" (20 October-5 November 1916)
Lest we forget.

20 Years of Psych (2006-2026)

Episode o' the Day
"High Top Fade-Out" (season four, episode seven; 25 September 2009): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Gus reconnects with the two surviving members of his college a capella quartet, Blackapella, to investigate the death of the fourth member, which turns out to have been a murder. When all is said & done, Shawn asks to join them as a fourth member of a new singing quartet, Quarterblack.

For the second consecutive episode, "I Know, You Know" is redone, this time an a capella version by Boyz II Men.

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

Team 147, Bye Week
"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Sports Song" from Mandatory Fun (Mike Papa Wolverine)

Commentary: Today is the only Saturday of the fall on which the valiant Wolverines are guaranteed not to lose a winnable game, to "snatch defeat from the jaws of victory," as Coach Whit said after the loss to the tenacious Hawkeyes. The calendar lined up this year so there is only one bye week, instead of the lamentable modern trend fo two.

The Stars My Destination: Crew-12 Splashdown

The Space Age
8 October 2026: After two hundred thirty-seven days on orbit, the Crew Dragon Freedom splashed down in the Pacific Ocean & was recovered by the M/V Shannon, safely returning to Earth the Crew-12 quartet of Jessica Meir (N.A.S.A.), Jack Hathaway (N.A.S.A.), Sophie Adenot (E.S.A.), & Andrey Fedyaev (Roscosmos).

Crew-12 served as part of International Space Station Expedition 74 & Expedition 75.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: Crew-12 & the Freedom
Great Big Sea, "Come and I Will Sing You (The Twelve Apostles)" courtest of The Watergirl (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
Crew-9 Launch & Splashdown
2025
Crew-10 Launch & Splashdown
Fram2 Launch & Splashdown
Ax-4 Launch & Splashdown
Crew-11 Launch & Splashdown
2026
Crew-12 Launch
Crew-13 Launch

Welcome back to the good Earth, Crew-12!

20 Years of Psych (2006-2026)

Episode o' the Day
"Bollywood Homicide" (season four, episode six; 18 September 2009): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: I've never seen the feature film Hollywood Homicide from which "Bollywood Homicide" derives its title. There are no homicides in this episode.

The theme song, "I Know, You Know," was sung in Hindi with Bollywood-style instrumentation.

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

The United States Semiquincentennial (1776-2026)
The Pogues, "Fairytale of New York" from the The Best of the Pogues compilation (Mike Patriot Whiskey)

The Explorers' Club, № MCLXXXV

Destination Moon—Astronaut Group 5 (the "Original Nineteen"), Part IX
Charles Moss Duke Junior (born 3 October 1935), Brigadier General, U.S. Air Force—He flew as Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 16 (Casper & Orion, 1972), the tenth of the twelve Moonwalkers, & the youngest; he served as CAPCOM during Apollo 10's lunar orbit & Apollo 11's powered descent; Duke caught the German measles prior to Apollo 13, prompting the swap of Swigert for Mattingly as C.M.P.

Commentary: Duke served as backup L.M.P. for Apollo 17, giving him some slight chance (the backup C.M.P. flew on Apollo 13) of walking on the Moon twice.

As of this publication, Brigadier General Duke is still alive, aged ninety-one.

Bonus! Moonshot Song o' the Day: The Original Nineteen—Charlie Duke
Styker Brothers, "Charlie Duke Took Country Music to the Moon" from Burn Band (Space Cadet Mike Papa DSKY)

Commentary: In my music library, the only other astronauts with songs specifically about themselves are the Apollo 11 trio of Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, & Buzz Aldrin.

The Wayback Machine Tour of Charlie Duke
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCLXXVIII: The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 16, Part I
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCLXXIX: The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 16, Part II
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCLXXX: The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 16, Part III

Commentary: Charlie Duke took country music to the Moon & left behind a copy of this photograph of his family, a privilege thus far afforded to only twelve men.

The Wayback Machine Tour of the Moonwalkers
"The Explorers' Club," № CMLXXIV: Neil Armstrong (Apollo 11)
"The Explorers' Club," № MXXXII: Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11)
"The Explorers' Club," № CMXLVI: Pete Conrad (Apollo 12)
"The Explorers' Club," № MLVIII: Al Bean (Apollo 12)
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCXXIV: Al Shepard (Apollo 14)
"The Explorers' Club," № MCLXVIII: Ed Mitchell (Apollo 14)
"The Explorers' Club," № MXIV: Dave Scott (Apollo 15)
"The Explorers' Club," № MCLXXVII: Jim Irwin (Apollo 15)
"The Explorers' Club," № CMXXV: John Young (Apollo 16)
"The Explorers' Club," № MXXIII: Gene Cernan (Apollo 17)
"The Explorers' Club," № MCXXX: Jack Schmitt (Apollo 17)

Ex Luna, scientia.

20 Years of Psych (2006-2026)

Episode o' the Day
"Shawn Gets the Yips" (season four, episode five; 11 September 2009): Wikipedia-link.

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

The United States Semiquincentennial (1776-2026)
The Lawrence Arms, "Chicago Is Burning" from the Plea for Peace compilation (Mike Patriot Whiskey)

20 Years of Psych (2006-2026)

Episode o' the Day
"The Devil's in the Details… and the Upstairs Bedroom" (season four, episode four; 28 August 2009): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Well, both Shawn & Gus are Catholic Christians, though neither takes the faith at all seriously. Whomever wrotethe episode only knows the Church from popular culture from decades past. Sad, really.

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: America 250

The United States Semiquincentennial (1776-2026)
The Ataris, "Alone in Santa Cruz" from …Anywhere But Here (Mike Patriot Whiskey)

The Stars My Destination: Artemis II Splashdown

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

Destination Moon
10 April 2026: Wiseman, Glover, Koch, & Hansen conducted a third & final trajectory correction burn shortly before jettisoning the E.S.M., which subsequently burned up in the Earth's atmosphere. The Integrity entered the atmosphere travelling at 24,664 miles per hour, just shy of Apollo 10's record of 26,791 M.P.H. set in 1969. After the heat shield erosion seen on Artemis I, Artemis II bypassed the skip entry blamed for the unusual heating of Artemis I's heat shield & re-entered the atmosphere at a steeper direct trajectory.

The Integrity splashed down in the Pacific Ocean southwest of San Diego, California at 5:07 P.M. Pacific Dayight Time. There were frustrating communications problems between the intrepid foursome & the Navy recovery team, but eventually divers reached the Integrity & attached the floatation collars & rafts necessary to extract Wiseman, Glover, Koch, & Hansen. The astonauts were individually winched up to hovering helicopters & flown to the recovery ship U.S.S. John P. Murtha (LPD-26). The Integrity was winched into the John P. Murtha's well deck & secured for transport to the Naval Base San Diego & then back to the Kennedy Space Center fora thorough post-flight examination & data retrival.

After the Artemis II mission, the astronauts met with the President of the United States in the Oval Office & made numerous other event & media appearances, the traditional post-Moon press tour last seen during the Apollo era. All four were awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor on 28 August. In September, Jeremy Hansen (age fifty) retired from being a Canadian Space Agency astronaut & both Reid Wiseman (age fifty) & Victor Glover (age fifty) retired from being National Aeronautics & Space Administration astronauts. Only Christina Koch (age forty-seven) remains an active-duty astronaut & potential Moonwalker.

From December 1972 until April 2026, only twenty-four persons had made the voyage from the Earth to the Moon (three of them twice). With Artemis II, four new names are added to that list, which now stands at twenty-eight persons. In the years to come, more names will be added to the twelve to have walked on the Moon. What a time to be alive!

Bonus! Destination Moon Song o' the Day: Artemis II
Phillip Phillips, "Home" from The World from the Side of the Moon (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Wayback Machine Tour of the Artemis Program
2014
"The Explorers' Club," № MLXI: The 10th Anniversary of Exploration Flight Test-1
2022
Artemis I Launch
Artemis I Orbit
Artemis I Splashdown
The 1st Anniversary of Artemis I
2026
Artemis II Launch
Artemis II Flyby

Welcome back to the good Earth, Artemis II!

Ex Luna, scientia.