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.

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 toaccount for hos we used ordidn'tuse 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.

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

Operation AXIOM: Episode o' the Week
"The Enemy Within" (season one, episode five; production code: 05; 6 October 1966): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: The duality of Man.

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

The United States Semiquincentennial (1776-2026)
The Hippos, "Los Angeles" from The Hippos (Mike Patriot Whiskey)

Commentary: By the time their third & self-titledalbum was released, The Hippos had completely abandoned the ska sound. Good riddance.

The Explorers' Club, № MCLXXXIV

Operation AXIOM: The 800th Anniversary of the Death of Saint Francis of Assisi
Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone (circa 1181-3 October 1226), known by the nickname Francesco ("Frenchie") almost from birth, he had a profound religious awakening in 1205, quickly attracting followers who were approved as the Order of Friars Minor in 1210; Francis was ordained a deacon; he received the stigmata from 17 September 1224; he was canonized quite swiftly, on 16 July 1228.

Commentary: The Franciscans are an incredibly diverse family of organizations, ranging from the original first order, the all-male Order of Friars Minor (O.F.M.); second order, the all-female Order of Poor Clares; & third order, the lay Secular Franciscan Order; to reform movements like the Capuchins (O.F.M. Cap., 1525) & the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (C.F.R., 1987); to heretical sects like the Spiritual Franciscans (Fraticelli, 1296); to modern Protestant Franciscans, both Lutheran (Nineteenth Century) & Anglican (1905).

The life & legacy of Saint Francis of Assisi could easily support a series of episodes; our purpose here is simply to mark the eight hundredth anniversary of his birth into eternal life (Dies natalis), a day later than intended. We regret doing nothing similar to mark the eight hundredth anniversary of the dies natalis of Saint Francis's friend & fellow mendicant, Saint Dominic, founder & namesake of the Order of Preachers (the Dominicans), in 2021.

Ora pro nobis!

20 Years of Psych (2006-2026)

Episode o' the Day
"High Noon-ish" (season four, episode three; 21 August 2009): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: "High Noon-ish" is a clever way of doing a Western-themed episode, by setting it in an Old West-themed tourist attraction.

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

The United States Semiquincentennial (1776-2026)
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, "San Francisco" from Blow in the Wind (Mike Patriot Whiskey)

Commentary: A sped-up cover of the hippie ballad "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)," unlike the two earlier songs also titled "San Francisco," by MU330 & The Mowgli's.

20 Years of Psych (2006-2026)

Episode o' the Day
"He Dead" (season four, episode two; 14 August 2009): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: The outstanding part of "He Dead" is Christine Baranski's performance as the widow of the titular character, who not once but twice releases the hounds to chase Shawn & Gus out of her house & off of her property.

Though set in Santa Barbara, California, U.S.A., Psych was filmed principally in & around White Rock, British Columbia, the Canadas. The previous episode, "Extradition: British Columbia," played into this by being set in British Columbia. "He Dead" is set back in Santa Barbara, but looks exceedingly Canadian, with many of the scenes taking place on a rainy & very chilly-looking golf course, with fog-shrouded mountains in the background. It looks as much like British Columbia as most extrasolar planets in the Stargate SG-1 universe.

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

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

Commentary: Don't be like the original tenants.

20 Years of Psych (2006-2026)

Episode o' the Day
"Extradition: British Columbia" (season four, episode one; 7 August 2009): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Despereaux!

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

Team 147, Game 5: Michigan @ Minnesota
The University of Michgian Marching Band, "Little Brown Jug" from Hurrah for the Yellow and Blue (Mike Papa Wolverine)

Commentary: Today the valiant Wolverines venture outside the friendly confines of "the Big House," for the first road game of the season, against the scrappy Golden Gophers of Minnesota. Michigan & Minnesota play for the Little Brown Jug, the oldest trophy in college football; there was a time in the mid-Twentieth Century when it was the University of Minnesota (the other U. of M.), not an Ohio State University or the University of Notre Dame, that was the University of Michigan's greatest rival in football.

Go Blue!

The Stars My Destination: Crew-13 Launch

The Space Age
1 October 2026: Commander Jessica Watkins (N.A.S.A.), Pilot Luke Delaney (N.A.S.A.), Mission Specialist Joshua Kurtyk (C.S.A.), & Mission Specialist Sergey Teteryatnikov (Roscosmos) lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's SLC-40 aboard the Crew Dragon Grace (C213) atop a Falcon 9 rocket. The quartet docked the Grace with the International Space Station only eight hours after liftoff, for an intended six-month mission to the orbital laboratory.

Watkins is a veteran of a previous spaceflight (Crew-4 for Expeditions 67 & 68); Delaney, Kurtyk, & Teteryatnikov are rookies. Crew-13 are serving as members of I.S.S. Expedition 75 & will serve as members of Expedition 76.

Commentary: Watkins is the first N.A.S.A. astronaut to fly twice on a Crew Dragon, following currently on orbit cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev (Crew-6 & Crew-12) & private astronauts Jared Isaacman (Inspiration4 & Polaris Dawn, & the current N.A.S.A. Administrator), Michael López-Alegría (Ax-1 & Ax-3), & Peggy Whitson (Ax-2 & Ax-4). Kurtyk is the first Canadian astronaut to fly on a Crew Dragon.

Crew-13 is the second flight of the Grace C213.

Commentary: I'm very glad there is a Crew-13. Back in the Space Shuttle days, the main reason why S.T.S.-9 (Columbia, 1983) was followed by S.T.S.-41-B (Challenger, 1984) was to avoid the prospect of an S.T.S.-13. Childish superstition has no place in spaceflight, an inherently hazardous venture.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: Crew-13 & the Grace
Bob & Doug McKenzie featuring Geddy Lee, "Take Off" from Great White North (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

Godspeed, Crew-13!