Skammentary:
"They will need music to uplift,
It'll be a Godsend, it'll be a gift,
And hope and glory to coincide,
They'll need the strength and warmth and comfort that the music will provide!…"
Saturday, May 2, 2026
The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party
Skammentary:
Friday, May 1, 2026
Rewatching Star Trek (The Original Series, 1966-1969)
"The Empath" (season three, episode twelve; production code: 063; 6 December 1968): Wikipedia-link.
Commentary: The Vians are vile & despicably self-righteous.
The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party
Skammentary: The opening drums of "Your Horoscope for Today" started running through my head yesterday. Dan Regan & Tavis Werts of Reel Big Fish played horns on the track,adding realauthenticity to the styleparody of third-wave ska-punk.
Don't stop skankin'!
Thursday, April 30, 2026
Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives
The Interrupters, "She's Kerosine" from Fight the Good Fight (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)
Skammentary: Wayback Machine. Reminder: SKApril was displaced almost three weeks in 2019; there was a different R.B.D.S.O.T.D. for 30 April 2019, but that wasn't the last day of that ninth SKApril.
Rewatching Star Trek (The Original Series, 1966-1969)
"Is There in Truth No Beauty?" (season three, episode five; production code: 062; 18 October 1968): Wikipedia-link.
Commentary: That was a pleasant surprise. "Is There in Truth No Beauty?" is a much better episode than I remember it being. Not great, but decent, & certainly not offensively awful like the last couple of clunkers. Huzzah!
The Queue: Easter Edition
"Any book which inspires us to lead a better life is a good book."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
While Israel Slept is a journalistic account of how & why the State of Israel fell into complacency, allowing Hamas to carry out the October 7th massacres (2023), the worst pogrom since the Shoah.
"Recently"
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
Bishop Robert Barron, An Introduction to Prayer
Currently
Yaakov Katz & Amir Bohbot, While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East
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
Brendan O'Neill, After the Pogrom: 7 October, Israel, and the Crisis of Civilization
Bernard-Henri Lévy, Israel Alone
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.
The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XVI
Skammentary: You know, in the almost twenty-nine years I've had Turn the Radio Off in my music library, I've never thought to look into the music of Suburban Rhythm. Maybe they should be part of next year's SKApril?
"Whatever happened the Suburban Rhythm?&
Why did Ed and Scott quit?
Please don't go, Suburban Rhythm,
All the other bands are just shit!
"Well, they're Reel Big Fish and they got it made,
Because they signed up with a company that don't get paid,
I said they messed up all the lyrics and they got no style,
So, they gonna get it right, but it might take a while,
So, uh, don't touch that dial…"
Reel Big Fish, "S.R. (the Many Versions Of)" (live) from Our Live Album Is Better Than Your Live Album, Disc 1: More Shtick Than You Can Shake a Stick At (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)
Skammentary: Wherein the Fish try to improve "S.R." by playing punk rock, blues, disco, country, garage rock, old-school rap, death metal, & emo versions of the song.
Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives
Reel Big Fish, "Thank You For Not Moshing" from Why Do They Rock So Hard? (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)
Skammentary: Wayback Machine.
Rewatching Star Trek (The Original Series, 1966-1969)
"Spock's Brain" (season three, episode one; production code: 061; 20 September 1968): Wikipedia-link.
Commentary: "Spock's Brain" could have worked as a farce, as intentional comedy, but played straight it's just bad. I'm not sure it's worse than "And the Children Shall Lead," though. This is a really rough stretch.
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)
Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in
Last weigh-in: 330.2 lbs. (12 June 2024)
The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XVI
Skammentary: "Scratched CD" treats a scratched compact disc as an updated version of a broken record: an endless repetition. In this case, romantic love gone bad.
"You're like the same song stuck on repeat!…"Wait, a scratched C.D.? To the extent that my Gen Z nieces & nephews prefer physical media, having been inundated with digital media their whole lives, I am encouraged.
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "Wonderful Day for the Race" from While We're at It (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)
Skammentary: Wayback Machine.
"What a wonderful for the race,
Every smile on every face!
Every day until it's done
I'm talking bout the human one…"
Rewatching Star Trek (The Original Series, 1966-1969)
"And the Children Shall Lead" (season three, episode four; production code: 060; 11 October 1968): Wikipedia-link.
Commentary: Possibly the worst episode of the series.
The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XVI
Skammentary: A reality with which I wrestle every SKApril: There aren't enough hours in the day or days in the month for all the great ska music out there, no matter how many years I've been doing this (sixteen) nor how many more years I do this (known only to the the Lord). So, I shine the SKApril limelight on those bands & songs I can, & I don't worry if I included the "right" bands & songs.
Monday, April 27, 2026
The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XVI
Skammentary: At 3:06, "Other Side" is lengthy for a Potshot song, not their longest, but longer than most. I have more Potshot albums than any other Japanese band, but because they sing primarily in Japanese & secondarily in heavily accented English, I have precious little idea what they're usually singing about.
"Gone to the other side,
Gone to the other side…"
Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives
The Loose Ties, "Let's Go Out Drinking" from Champ of the Week (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)
Skammentary: Wayback Machine. Let's hearit for Flint's own ska band, The Loose Ties!
Sunday, April 26, 2026
The Explorers' Club, № MCLII
Operation AXIOM: The 40th Anniversary of the Chernobyl Disaster
26 April 1986: Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant of V. I. Lenin suffered a catastrophic failure; operator incompetence, lax safety culture, & poor reactor design lead to explosions, meltdown, fires, & the massive release of radiation; thirty-one deaths are directly attibuted to the disaster, mostly from radiation poisoning; the Soviets did not publicly admit to any accident until two days later, 28 April.
Commentary: Chernobyl could—& should—be an entire series of episodes: the inept & corrupt Soviet construction of the plant, the known design flaws in the reactor that weren't addressed, the exposure of first responders & later "liquidators" to unsafe levels of radiation, the delayed evacuations of Pripyat & Chernobyl, the Exclusion Zone, the "sarcophagus," the New Safe Confinement, the February 2025 Russian drone strike, & the tragic poetry that the disaster was triggered by a safety test. Someday.
Semper exploro.
26 April 1986: Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant of V. I. Lenin suffered a catastrophic failure; operator incompetence, lax safety culture, & poor reactor design lead to explosions, meltdown, fires, & the massive release of radiation; thirty-one deaths are directly attibuted to the disaster, mostly from radiation poisoning; the Soviets did not publicly admit to any accident until two days later, 28 April.
Semper exploro.
Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives
Catch 22, "San Francisco Payphone" from Alone in a Crowd (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)
Skammentary: Wayback Machine.
The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the IV Sunday o' Easter
Marty Haugen, "Shepherd Me, O God (Psalm 23)" from Shepherd Me, O God (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)
Bonus! Song o' the Day: SKApril XVI!
Skammentary: If all goes to plan, I should see The Aquabats! in concert in a couple months, maybe twice in three days!
Saturday, April 25, 2026
Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives
Roka Hueka, "Skank It!" from ¡Volar! (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)
Skammentary: Wayback Machine.
Rewatching Star Trek (The Original Series, 1966-1969)
"The Enterprise Incident" (season three, episode two; production code: 059; 27 September 1968): Wikipedia-link.
Commentary: Romulans! "The Enterprise Incident" is the first really good episode of season three & marks the second & final appearance of the Romulans in The Original Series, after their introduction in "Balance of Terror" (season one, episode fourteen). The Romulan Bird-of-Prey warship was seen again in "The Deadly Years" (season two, episode twelve), but no Romulans themselves; sadly, in "The Enterprise Incident," the Bird-of-Prey is nowhere to be seen & the Romulans are using the new Klingon battlecruiser introduced in "Elaan of Troyius."
"The Enterprise Incident" is an espionage story, full of deceptions & betrayals, setting the pattern for many T.N.G.-era Romulan stories.
The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XVI
Skammentary: Italian ska band Club99 returns for the first time since 2023 thanks to SKAffirmative Action. In the meanwhile, I've learned they are from South Tyrol, a German-speaking region annexed by Italy after the Great War; so, I'm classifying them in the same Austrian ska basket as Tobeadded & The Rocksteady Conspiracy. SKAustria?
Friday, April 24, 2026
The Stars My Destination: The Soyuz 1 Disaster
Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 59th Anniversary of Soyuz 1
Fifty-nine years ago to the day, 24 April 1967, Pilot Vladimir Komarov perished when his Soyuz 1 capsule crashed into the Earth's surface after its parachutes failed to deploy during atmospheric re-entry, the first man to die during a spaceflight.
Three cosmonauts were meant to launch aboard Soyuz 2, equipped with the same flawed parachute-deployment system, & rendezvous in orbit with Komarov aboard Soyuz 1. The Soyuz 2 launch was called off due to thunderstorms near the launch site; otherwise, they would have perished, too. After the tragedy, the Soyuz program was delayed for eighteen months while the parachute system was redesigned, amidst other refinements.
The Wayback Machine Tour of Soyuz 1
The Explorers' Club, № DCCCLXXVII
Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: In Memoriam
The Phenomenauts, "Heroes" from For All Mankind (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)
Requiescat in pace.
Fifty-nine years ago to the day, 24 April 1967, Pilot Vladimir Komarov perished when his Soyuz 1 capsule crashed into the Earth's surface after its parachutes failed to deploy during atmospheric re-entry, the first man to die during a spaceflight.
The Wayback Machine Tour of Soyuz 1
The Explorers' Club, № DCCCLXXVII
Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: In Memoriam
The Phenomenauts, "Heroes" from For All Mankind (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)
Requiescat in pace.
Rewatching Star Trek (The Original Series, 1966-1969)
"The Paradise Syndrome" (season three, episode three; production code: 058; 4 October 1968): Wikipedia-link.
Commentary: The plot of "The Paradise Syndrome" is weak, but an amnesic Captain Kirk's brief, doomed marriage to Miramanee reminds me of James Bond's brief, doomed marriage to Teresa "Tracy" Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969, based on the 1963 book of the same name).
Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives
Magic!, "Rude" from Don't Kill the Magic (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)
Skammentary: Wayback Machine. We have always taken a very liberal attitude toward ska during SKApril, encompassing the successor genres (subgenres?) rocksteady & reggae, as well as ska- or reggae-influenced rock & pop songs. We intend always to maintain that very liberal attitude.
The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XVI
Skammentary: We welcome back Five Iron Frenzy, who were part of that first SKApril way back in 2011, but have not enjoyed the SKApril limelight since the annus horribilis 2020, when we were all encouraged—in many cases, required—to give up on life & just lay about the house all day.
"Fell asleep with my clothes on,As was so well stated in The Shawshank Redemption, "Get busy living or get busy dying."
Dropped my keys on the front lawn,
Waking up, I watch the drool a-gleaming
From my mouth to the carpet, it is streaming.
"Giving up
Never felt so good,
Welcome to plan B! (Welcome to plan B!)
"I'll eat some moldy bread,
Then I'm going back to bed,
I know how this day will crescendo:
I'll fall asleep while I play Nintendo.
"Giving up
Never felt so good,
Welcome to plan B! (Welcome to plan B!)
Giving up,
What is the likelihood
Life could be so free? (Life could be so free?)…"
Thursday, April 23, 2026
Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives
Kemuri, "Go! Go! Go! Go! Glow!" from Freedomosh (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)
Skammentary: Wayback Machine. In a world full of doomsayers & "blackpilling," be a rebel. Have a Positive Mental Attitude.
Rewatching Star Trek (The Original Series, 1966-1969)
"Elaan of Troyius" (season three, episode thirteen; production code: 057; 20 December 1968): Wikipedia-link.
Commentary: The title is a reference the mythological Helen of Troy, but the plot is based on the Bard's The Taming of the Shrew. (As modern adaptations of The Taming of the Shrew go, I prefer the 1999 feature film 10 Things I Hate about You.) This episode would have been more successful if it had been more comedic, a farce instead of a melodrama.
The Next Generation episode "The Perfect Mate" (season five, episode twenty-one; 21 April 1992) has many parallels to "Elaan of Troyius."
The most enduring legacy of "Elaan of Troyius" is the design of the Klingon battlecruiser, which debuted onscreen in "The Enterprise Incident" (season three, episode two), which was produced after "Elaan of Troyius" but broadcast before.
The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XVI
Skammentary: "Never Knowingly Serious" is an instrumental work, as are most of The Dendrites' songs. The Dendrites are a SKAffirmative Action pick, having not enjoyed the SKApril limelight since SKApril XI in 2021.
Wednesday, April 22, 2026
The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XVI
Skammentary:
"Well, I'm half-awake
And half a world away,
All my past mistakes
And every misspent day,
Proves that I'll never change,
I'll always stay the same,
I wouldn't have it any other way…"
Rewatching Star Trek (The Original Series, 1966-1969)
"Spectre of the Gun" (season three, episode six; production code: 056; 25 October 1968): Wikipedia-link.
Commentary: "Spectre of the Gun" is one of the many episodes of the third season with which I have only a passing familiarity. It's not like "Balance of Terror" (season one, episode fourteen), "The Trouble with Tribbles" (season two, episode fifteen), or "The Doomsday Machine" (season two, episode six), episodes I've seen over & over again.
Upon re-watching the episode, it's interesting to see the strong pacifist streak throughout, a streak at odds with many other episode of The Original Series. Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scott, & Chekov (no disposable "redshirts" this time) are trapped in a surreal representation of the American frontier town of Tombstone on the day of the far-famed Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Time and again, our intrepid heroes decline to engage in violence against the Earp brothers & Doc Holliday & are eventually released from the cage when they realize that nothing in it can harm them unless they believe it can. Jim Kirk as a pacifist is an interesting idea to explore, but it is utterly consistent with many other episodes (including, but not limited to, the aforementioned "Balance of Terror" & "The Doomsday Machine"), which is to say it feels too conveniently tailored to this particular episode.
The other odd aspect of the episode is the Enterprise's mission to establish friendly relations against the express wishes of the Melkotians to be left alone. A Melkotian probe intercepts the Enterprise as she approaches the Melkotian plnet & warns them away; Kirk presses on regardless, obedient to his orders. When Kirk & company beam down to the planet, a Melkotian appears & sentences them to death for trespassing. Once they prove themselves non-violent in the weird Tombstone scenario, the Melkotians agree to talk, but should Kirk have even pressed the issue? I'm aware of the Perry Expedition (1852-1855) & the forced opening to trade of Japan by the United States & other Western powers, but is that consistent with Federation ethics?
Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives
Five Iron Frenzy, "Far Far Away" from Five Iron Frenzy 2: Electric Boogaloo (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)
Skammentary: Wayback Machine.
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)
Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in
Last weigh-in: 330.2 lbs. (12 June 2024)
Tuesday, April 21, 2026
The Explorers' Club, № MCLI
Cheong Wa Dae (literally, the "Cyan-tile Pavilion," A.K.A. the Blue House), the residence & office of the president of the Republic of Korea (South Korea); a royal villa was constructed on the site as early as 1104; the current Main Building was built in 1991; former President Yoon turned the Blue House into a public park (2022-2025), but since late 2025 it has been restored as the presidential residence.
Semper exploro.
Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives!
The Aquabats!, "Aquabat March!" from The Return of The Aquabats! (Captain Thumbs Up!)
Skammentary: Wayback Machine. Scroll down to find the R.B.D.S.O.T.D. Back then, I tried to jam as many topics as possible into every single post, the logic of which escapes me now.
The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XVI
Skammentary:
"You're always on my mind and I thought I'd just let you know,
That I'm not crazy, but I'm crazy for you…"
Monday, April 20, 2026
Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives
Less Than Jake, "9th at Pine" from Losing Streak (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)
Skammentary: Wayback Machine.
The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XVI
Skammentary: Dan P. is Dan Potthast, front man of SKAll-Stars MU330. Apart from MU330, he has several solo albums, but Dan P. & the Bricks is the only other ska band of his of which I am aware. Hooray!
Sunday, April 19, 2026
Bonus! Song o' the Day: From the SKArchives
Edna's Goldfish, "If You Want It" from Before You Knew Better… (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)
Skammentary: Wayback Machine.
The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the III Sunday o' Easter
Duvall, "Jesus Never Leaves Me" from Volume & Density (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)