The Explorers' Club
№ CCCV - Saint Basil's Cathedral, Moscow.







Commentary: The choice of Saint Basil's as the subject of today's episode of "The Explorers' Club"—coming with great frequency as we catch up from the latest lamentable lapse—was greatly influenced by today being the birthday of Comrade Coquettish. She's not a Muscovite, but she is devoutly Russian Orthodox. (Not easy to be, as there are precious few Russian Orthodox churches in the State of Oregon.) She was greatly pleased, many moons ago, when I brought to her attention this graphic from Google, incorporating Saint Basil's Cathedral.



Vote for Kodos
Engaged as I am in politics, I am unlikely to watch tonight's presidential debate. I'm not a tremendous fan of presidential debates, I never have been. After all, there's not going to be any new information, not for anyone who's been paying the slightest bit of attention; so, what would be the purpose of the exercise? The strongest argument I can see for watching the debate is to be better able to parrot Governor Romney's arguments against President Obama in future discourse with Obama supports or undecided voters. (I have no empirical evidence to support the following, but I am highly skeptical of the notion that anyone who is "undecided" at this late date is actually going to cast a ballot. Then again, I suspect I'd be appalled & scandalized if I knew how uninformed & undecided in their core beliefs are most persons who do cast ballots.) I have much more interest in watching next week's sole vice presidential debate, in large part because I want to see if Vice President Biden again accuses Republicans of wanting to enslave black Americans.

Operation ÖSTERREICH
I set a new personal best today, thirty seconds faster than my previous best & two minutes better than the particularly slow time set last Saturday. I'll have to take my daily constitutional in the afternoon tomorrow, unfortunate since afternoon times are always slower than morning times. A good time would be nice, but of greater importance is the act of walking, period. Consistency of effort over time is how those unsightly pounds will be shed, not a single day's exertions; Rome wasn't built in a day. Still, a personal best is a personal best. Woot!

The Rebel Black Dot Songs of the Day
Less Than Jake, "Never Going Back to New Jersey" from Losing Streak (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: Your humble narrator is so naturally & comfortably a nerd that once, upon meeting a stunningly beautiful girl, possibly the most fetching creature my eyes had ever beheld, & learning that she hailed from the Garden State, I spontaneously sang the opening lines of "Never Going Back to New Jersey," which are from an old novelty song in praise of the Garden State.

"I'm from New Jersey and I'm proud about it,
I love the Garden State!
I'm from New Jersey and I brag about it,
I think it's simply great!
All of the other states throughout the nation
May mean a lot to some,
But I'll take New Jersey,
'Cause New jersey is like no other,
I'm glad that's where I'm from!"

When I explained this bizarre behavior, she won my heart by initiating a brief, knowledgeable discussion of Less Than Jake.

Dienstag, 2 Oktober
Murray Gold & the B.B.C. National Orchestra of Wales, "Doctor Who Theme" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: Tuesday's R.B.D.S.O.T.D. is a longer version of the theme song as arranged for the first couple seasons of the revived Doctor Who series, with Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor & later David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor.