Operation AXIOM
Ninety-four years ago to the day, 21 April 1918, Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen, far-famed as the "Red Baron," was killed in action in the skies above France. Richthofen was the leading ace—in any air force, Central Powers or Allied Powers—of the Great War, being officially credited with eighty victories, including two on the day before he died. The Red Baron was all of twenty-five years old when he died, & this knowledge depressed me when I turned twenty-six, for my birthday meant that though I'd outlived Richthofen I'd done so at the price of obscurity, of oblivion. He died young, yes, but all men die in their time, whereas he has achieved a sort of immortality as long as his name, or rather his nickname, endures. I still labor in obscurity at thirty-two, & envy Richthofen his fame more than befits a Christian, but every day I fight to check the show of pride, the root of that envy. If I live long enough, & work diligently, I might yet cease to envy the Red Baron entirely, & thus take a step closer to true immortality, to the life eternal in the Kingdom of Heaven. The Red Baron went to meet his Maker on this day ninety-four year hence.

Autobahn
I spied a droptop Porsche yesterday, with its soft top up due to the threat of rain. I glimpsed it in Lumi the Snow Queen's rear-view mirror & from a distance, & was thus unable to discern whether 'twas a 911 cabriolet or a Boxster.

I saw a Fiat 500 Abarth today, the first time I've seen an Abarth with my own two eyes outside of the North American International Auto Show. Alas, I lost all interest in the wee 500—plain Fiat or tuned Abarth—as soon as Fiat ran an Abarth advertisement featuring the reprehensible Carlos Estevez, more commonly known by his stage name, "Charlie Sheen." Advertising works, ladies & germs, just not always the way the ad men intended.

The Queue
Recently
Victor Davis Hanson, A War Like No Other: How the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War
Steve Martin, An Object of Beauty
Steve Martin, The Ten, Make That Nine, Habits of Very Organized People. Make That Ten.: The Tweets of Steve Martin

Currently
Rudyard Kipling, The Man who would be King and Other Stories

Presently
Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Gods of Mars
Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Warlord of Mars
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Thuvia, Maid of Mars

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day: SKApril
The Aquabats!, "Aquabat March!" from The Return of The Aquabats! (Captain Thumbs-up)

Commentary: I still love The Aquabats!, even though they're no longer a ska band. But they sure were back when they released their debut album, The Return of The Aquabats! I thought "Aquabat March!" an apropos choice for a day that saw the premiere of yet another smashing new episode of The Aquabats! Super Show! on The Hub.