Bonus! Song o' the Day: SKAugust!

The Aquabats!, "Super Rad! (live)" from The Fury of The Aquabats! Live at The Fonda! (Captain Thumbs Up!)

Skammentary!: Don't stop skanking! Watch this space for more ska on a more sporadic basis, & it's never too early to start getting excited for next SKApril. 2-tone in '22?

"We're on our way, here we go,
We're gonna take over!
Set it off one last time,
Here we come again!

"All systems go,
Soon the world will know
The fury of attack,
Feel the wrath of the super rad!
Super rad!…"

Saints + Scripture — Please Stand By

The Popish Plot
"Catholic T-Shirt Club Unboxing: St. Dominic Savio"

'Tis the Tuesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time (Tempus per annum, "time through the year"): Wikipedia-link.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Reel Big Fish, "S.R." from Turn the Radio Off (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"What every happened to Suburban Rhythm?
Why did Ed and Scott quit?
Please don't go, Suburban Rhythm,
All the other bands are just shit!…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Save Ferris, "Under 21" from It Means Everything (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: I was under twenty-one when I first discovered ska, on that epochal night during the Summer of Ska. I was under twenty-one when I went to my first ska show, at Clutch Cargo's in Pontiac. Times flies: I have not been under twenty-one in twenty-one years.

Saints + Scripture — Please Stand By

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

'Tis the Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time (Tempus per annum, "time through the year"): Wikipedia-link.

The Explorers' Club, № DCCCXXXVII

The Space Race—The Mercury Seven, Part IV
John Herschel Glenn Junior (18 July 1921-8 December 2016), Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps—The third American in space but the first to orbit the Earth during Mercury-Atlas 6 (Friendship 7, 1962); four-term Senator from Ohio (1975-1999) & presidential candidate (1984); he served as Payload Specialist 2 aboard S.T.S.-95 (Discovery, 1998), the oldest man ever to orbit; last of the Mercury Seven to die.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: The Mercury Seven—John Glenn
Bill Conti, "Gonna Fly Now" from Rocky: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Requiescat in pace.

Saints + Scripture: XXII Sunday in O.T. — Stand By

'Tis the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Tempus per annum, "time through the year"): Wikipedia-link.

Otherwise, 29 August 'twould be the festival of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist.

The R.B.D. Song o' the Lord's Day: XXII Sunday in O.T.

Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Tom Lehrer, "The Vatican Rag" from That Was the Year That was (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Bonus! Song o' the Day: SKAugust

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "Holy Smoke" from Don't Know How to Party (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"You made your bed, that's where you lie,
No Pearly Gates when you die,
We tried to teach, you didn't learn,
You're doing down, you're gonna burn…"

Saints + Scripture — Please Stand By

The Popish Plot
"Year 4 in Review"

'Tis the Memorial of Saint Augustine, Bishop & Doctor of the Church (354-430, of Hippo).

'Tis the Saturday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time (Tempus per annum, "time through the year"): Wikipedia-link.

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Late have I loved You, O beauty ever ancient & ever new!"
—Saint Augustine of Hippo, Doctor of the Church (354-430, feast: 28 August)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Less Than Jake, "Magnetic North" from Borders & Boundraies (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"And there's been walls built,
And there's been worse days,
And times we find we spend the night away—

"Thinking everyone here hates everyone here
For doin' the same thing that they do!
Everyone here hates everyone here
For doin' the same thing that they do!
That they do!…"

Saints + Scripture — Please Stand By

The Popish Plot
"Pope's Prayer Intentions for August 2021"

'Tis the Memorial of Saint Monica (circa 332-387, of Hippo).

'Tis the Friday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time (Tempus per annum, "time through the year"): Wikipedia-link.

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Nothing is far from God."
—Saint Monica of Hippo (332-387, feast: 27 August)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Goldfinger, "This Lonely Place" from Hang-Ups (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Saints + Scripture — Please Stand By

'Tis the Thursday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time (Tempus per annum, "time through the year"): Wikipedia-link.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Don Drummond & the Skatalites, "Man in the Street" from the 100 Reggae & Ska Hits compilation (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: The bread & butter of SKAugust is the third-wave ska-punk that I was actually listening to back at the turn of the millennium, but "Man in the Street" has been rattling persistently in the back of my head. That's a great way to be selected as an R.B.D.S.O.T.D.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Less Than Jake, "Scott Farcas Takes It on the Chin" from Hello Rockview (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Skut Farkus, not "Scott Farcas," but who's counting?

"And somehow every new face, in every single case,
In a year or two will be erased.

"You know this place will chew you up
And spit you out before you go,
And when they drag you kicking and screaming from the scene,
You know that it's time to leave…"

"I know this place will chew you up
And spit you out before you go,
I know, I know!
And when they drag you kicking and screaming from the scene,
You know that it's time to go!
That it's time to go!"

Saints + Scripture — Please Stand By

'Tis the Optional Memorial of Saint Louis.

'Tis the Optional Memorial of Saint Joseph Calasanz, Priest.

'Tis the Wednesday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time (Tempus per annum, "time through the year"): Wikipedia-link.

The Explorers' Club, № DCCCXXXVI

Operation AXIOM: Destination Moon—The 60th Anniversary of Ranger 1
23-30 August 1961: Ranger 1, the prototype of a series of robotic probes intended to study the Moon, lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station atop an Atlas-Agena rocket; a misfire of the Agena left Ranger 1 in a much lower Earth orbit than intended & the solar panels out of alignment with the Sun & the satellite underpowered; a week later, Ranger 1 burned upon atmospheric re-entry.

Commentary: Men would start riding Atlas rockets into orbit the next year, in 1962. Ranger I's Agena failure was in 1961, four years before Agena Target Vehicles kept exploding ahead of astronaut Tom Stafford's Gemini flights (Gemini VI-A & Gemini IX-A). Space flight is a hard & unforgiving enterprise, which is why the label for each & every space-related post is "Ad astra per aspera", Latin for "To the stars through difficulties/hardships." (I prefer Ad astra per aspera to the more popular Per aspera ad astra for purely aesthetic reasons, not because I am by any means a Latin scholar.)

Bonus! Destination Moon Song o' the Day: Ranger 1
Guster, "Satellite" from Ganging Up On the Sun (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

Saints + Scripture: Feast of Saint Bartholomew

Simplex Edition | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

'Tis the Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Feast of Saint Bartholomew
The Book of Revelation, chapter twenty-one, verses nine(b) thru fourteen;
Psalm One Hundred Forty-five (R/. twelve), verses ten & eleven, twelve & thirteen, & seventeen & eighteen;
The Gospel according to John, chapter one, verses forty-five thru fifty-one.

Commentary: Gospel reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Nathaniel declares to Jesus, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” Nathaniel is also called Bartholomew, whose feast day we are celebrating.

Anglican Scripture scholar N.T. Wright has told us that when a first-century Jew spoke of the arrival of God’s kingdom, he was taken to mean something very specific. He was announcing that the temple was going to be restored; that the proper worship of Yahweh would obtain; that the enemies of Israel would be dealt with; and that, above all, the tribes of the Lord—and through them, the tribes of the world—would be gathered.

This is why Jesus chose twelve disciples, evocative of the twelve tribes. They would be the prototype and the catalyst for the gathering of Israel and hence the gathering of everyone. They would be the fundamental community and sign of unity.

Video reflection by Deacon Arthur L. Miller (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.

Video reflection by Rob Corzine (Saint Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Daily Reflection.

Video reflection by Doctor Tim Gray (Augustine Institute/Formed.org): Daily Reflection.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Mustard Plug, "Mend Your Ways" from Pray for Mojo (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Saints + Scripture

Simplex Edition | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

The Popish Plot
"Searching Catholicism: Do Catholics…?, Part 2"

'Tis the Optional Memorial of Saint Rose of Lima, Virgin, T.O.S.D.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Monday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
The First Letter to the Thessalonians, chapter one, verses one thru five, eight(b), nine, & ten;
Psalm One Hundred Forty-nine (R/. cf. four[a]), verses one(b) & two; three & four; & five, six(a), & nine(b);
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter twenty-three, verses thirteen thru twenty-two.

Commentary: Gospel reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus launches a blistering attack on the scribes and Pharisees.

The Son teaches, heals, preaches to, and forgives those who feel far from the mercy of God. He is the hand that the Father stretches out to sinners and to those who are lost. And by the same token, he is the judge of a sinful world. When the light of God’s forgiving love appears, the shadows of sin become all the deeper and more obvious. In light of him, there is nowhere to hide. And Jesus, the Word of the Father, gives voice to this judgment: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites…."

The Son names all those powers that are opposed to the creative and loving intentions of his Father. He speaks a word of judgment on a world grown cozy with sin. He "channels" all of the feelings of the Father toward the world: intense, forgiving love to those who are lost, and equally intense hatred for the structures of darkness.

Video reflection by Monsignor James Vlaun (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.

Video reflection by Doctor Scott Hahn (Saint Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Daily Reflection.

Video reflection by Doctor Tim Gray (Augustine Institute/Formed.org): Daily Reflection.

Mass Readings—Optional Memorial of Saint Rose of Lima
The Second Letter to the Corinthians, chapter ten, verse seventeen(b) thru chapter eleven, verse two;
Psalm One Hundred Forty-eight (R/. twelve[a] & thirteen[a]; or, "Alleluia."), verses one(b/c) & two; eleven, twelve, & thirteen(a); & thirteen(c) & fourteen;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter thirteen, verses forty-four, forty-five, & forty-six.

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Apart from the cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to Heaven."
—Saint Rose of Lima (1586-1617, feast: 23 August)

24 Heures du Mans | +24:00:00

Le Mans! Le Mans! Le Mans!

I was so happy to throw myself once again headlong into the glorious madness of the 24 Hours of Le Mans! The entirety of the race was broadcast on the Motor Trend channel, carrying the Eurosport feed, replete with American commercials. I do not find the Eursport commentators particularly engaging nor informative, especially not compared to the Speed channel crews from when I started watching Le Mans in 2009. (Speed's old F1 crew of Bob Varsha, David Hobbs, & Steve Matchett are the undisputed gold standard of motor racing commentators, & they ruined me for everyone else.) In years past, I would watch the Eurosport television broadcast with the sound muted & watch the Radio Le Mans "Studio Vision" show on YouTube for their commentary; this year, I watched the Eurosport television broadcast with the sound muted & listened to Radio Le Mans via the TuneIn app on my mobile. "Studio Vision" was just a camera placed in their commentary booth showing the Radio Le Mans team (they don't have the rights to televise the race); so, there was precious little difference to listening via TuneIn. I thought that arrangement worked out quite well.

I'm always chagrined by my lack of commentary in the hours immediately after the grand prix of endurance & efficiency, but by that point I've been awake for more than twenty-four hours & my brain is sluggish. This year, I had to prepare for church in the closing minutes of the race & head out as soon as it was over. I set up for Mass & read, then attended my weekly Exodus 90 fraternity meeting. It was nearly three o'clock by the time I returned home. I was shortly thereafter in bed & slept until this morning, only waking up for an hour or so around midnight. I ought to be back on my normal sleep schedule by tonight/tomorrow morning.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Reel Big Fish, "Don't Start a Band" from We're Not Happy 'til You're Not Happy (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"Don't start a band!
Nobody really cares, nobody understands,
Don't start a band!
You will sign your life away and then you will be working for the man,
Don't start a band!

"The message will get lost,
You will bedouble crossed…"

Saints + Scripture: XXI Sunday in Ordinary Time

'Tis the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time (Tempus per annum, "time through the year"): Wikipedia-link.

Otherwise, 22 August would be the Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The R.B.D. Song o' the Lord's Day: XXI Sunday in O.T.

Mike Hilliker, Melanie Rea, & Daniel Schmit, "Lord Have Mercy" from Mercy: Songs for Holy Week (Sinner Mike Papa Whiskey)

Bonus! Song o' the Last 24 Hours

Marco Beltrami & Buck Sanders, "Le Mans 66" from Ford v Ferrari: Original Score (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Here's hoping Hypercar's future is as bright as the optimists hope. Le Mans! Le Mans! Le Mans!

Bonus! Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Reel Big Fish, "We Care" from Why Do They Rock So Hard? (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"Thanks for the money, thanks for dancing,
And singing along and everything you do,
We just want you to know we care.
We care!

"Thanks for calling us sell outs, and not taking a joke,
Talking shit and covering us with spit,
We're so glad to know you care.
We care!

"And we're sorry that so many people got to enjoy our music
By hearing us on the radio!

"We love you, we love you,
Because you really understand!
We love you, we love you a lot,
How could we not?
We'll say it again.
We love you, we love you,
Because you really understand!
We love you, we love you a lot,
We always thought you liked our band!

"We care! We care! We care! We care!

"I'm not talking about everybody,
I'm sorry to waste your song and your time like this,
We're so lucky to have you there!
We care!

"And I know that some of you get it,
And you're not ashamed to admit it,
That you're still with us after all!

"We love you, we love you,
Because you really understand!
We love you, we love you a lot,
How could we not?
We'll say it again.
We love you, we love you,
Because you really understand!
We love you, we love you a lot,
We always thought you liked our band!

"We love you!…"

24 Heures du Mans | 05:10:00

Perilous peril for the № 8 Toyota RG010 Hybrid! An unspecified malfunction caused the № 8 to stop for fuel with ever increasing frequency, from every thirteen laps to nine laps to seven laps to four laps to three laps. The car ground to a halt along the Mulsanne Straight, allowing the driver, Sébastien Buemi, to adjust an unspecified number of settings to unspecified systems in an unspecified manner. These actions apparently resolved the unspecified malfunction & the № 8 GR010 is once again completing thirteen laps between fuel stops. The sister № 7 was brought in for an early pit stop, seemingly so the driver, José María López, could be briefed on how to resolve the unspecified malfunction, should it strike that car, too.

In G.T.E. Pro., the № 63 Corvette is running in second place to the № 51 Ferrari, holding station, neither losing ground not making up ground. There are still hours & hours of racing to go; so, everything may yet change.

24 Heures du Mans | 08:39:00

This is such a strange time in the race: 'Tis the middle of the night here, but the sun has come up in France. This time has been described by those who attend the race as "happy hour"—after the long night, the sunrise brightens moods & raises spirits. Alas, 'tis a false happiness, as the brutal reality of the accumulated sleep deficit sets in & tired minds realize that despite the coming of the dawn there is still a hard day's racing left to run. Despite all the hours the teams have already raced, they have yet before them more than eight hours of racing.

Below is the Peugeot 9X8, their entry into the Hypercar class to debut in 2022. This is quite simply the ugliest race car I have ever seen, bar none. The 9X8 would be hideous even if it wasn't wrapped in the worst livery I've ever seen. Why, in the name of all that's holy, would anyone paint a race car gray? Gray! The proverbial color of dullness & conformity! If this is the future of endurance racing, weep.

24 Heures du Mans | 10:32:00

The most frustrating part of the Toyota GR010s' dominance is the paucity of television coverage. The much closer fights in P.2 & G.T.E Pro. are quite understandably given more screen time. There was some drama that attracted the television director's attention, though: the № 7 failed to make a corner & had to slam on the brakes to avoid slamming into the crash barriers. As a result, the № 8 was able to close the gap to the № 7 & ever assume the lead when the № 7 made a pit stop. However, the № 7 was then able to pass the № 8 on track. I'm sorry for the drama, but at least the Toyotas were briefly seen. Huzzah!

This is a very tough race for the № 49 from High Class Racing (P.2, Oreca). They've had repeated problems with an antennae that transmits data to the race organizers & recently were rammed from behind by the villainous Russians of the № 26 G-Drive, the same car that crashed out Sophis Floersch's № 1 shortly after nightfall. The № 49 is of interest because it is driven by a father & son duo, longtime Corvete Racing driver Jan Magnussen & former F1 driver Kevin Magnussen. Kevin, the younger Magnussen, has been hired to drive the forthcoming Peugeot 9X8 Hypercar; so, this is probably the only time the Magnussens will be able to race at Le Mans together. I wish for them that things were going better.

24 Heures du Mans | 12:34:00

Tempus fugit! I am always astonished at how the time flies by as we approach half race distance.

Hypercar
The Toyotas continue to lead, the № 7 consistently ahead of the № 8, but the № 36 Alpine & the № 708 Glickenhaus continue to hang on, just a few laps down. The Toyotas remind me of a racing quotation to whom I forget should be attributed, possibly Sir Jackie Stewart: "The objective is to win the race going as slowly as possible." The GR010s are the quickest cars on the circuit, but my sense is that if they were being pressured from behind, they could be quicker yet. There's still more than twelve hours of racing ahead, & nothing has yet been won, but this experience should stand Toyota in good stead when Peugeot's & Ferrari's Hypercar competitors arive in 2022 & 2023.

Prototype 2
The two Team W.R.T. Orecas, № 31 & № 41, are currently leading the hyper-competitive P.2 class. Of the twenty-four P.2 entrants, twenty-three are Orecas (the other is a Ligier); so, the W.R.T.'s are bettering competitors driving equal machinery. I know W.R.T. from successfully running fleets of Audi R8s in G.T.3 racing. I'm glad for them that they are having such success on stepping up into the prototype ranks, with of course the caveat that nothing has yet been decided & no points are awarded for running half the race distance.

Grand Touring Endurance Professional
The № 63 Corvette C8.R is dueling alternately with the two A.F. Corsa Ferrari 488 G.T.E. Evos, № 51 & № 52, with the № 91 Porsche 911 R.S.R.-19 not too far behind. G.T.E. Pro. is always close, & this year is no exception. Apparently, the F.I.A. & A.C.O. are doing away with the G.T.E. class effective 2023. This is a terrible, terrible mistake.

Grand Touring Endurance Amateur
I'm glad to see several Aston Martin Vantage A.M.R.s still running. Ferrari versus Porsche is the beating heart of G.T. racing, & Ferrari 488s & Porsche 911s make up eighty per cent (80%) of the G.T.E. Am. field, but no other car on the grid is as beautiful as the Aston Martins. The Aston Martin Vantage A.M.R. is exactly how a race car is supposed to look, especially when not in the sickly yellow-green the Aston Martin factory team ran when they were in G.T.E. Pro.

Aston Martin are now running a team in Formula One (the rebranded Racing Point/Force India team). I wouldn't care about this at all, except that move by the new owners of Aston Martin also resulted in the closure of the G.T. factory team & the cancellation of the Aston Martin Hypercar. The more time goes by, the more I am coming to despise F1. Locusts!

24 Heures du Mans | 16:15:00

The good news is that Sophia Floersch is uninjured after her double collision, neither of which were her fault.

The bad news is that there have been more collisions, more retirements, more debris spread across the circuit. There has not been another downpour, but from time to time there are sudden bursts, which prove "treacherous" to cars on slick tires. There was a brief full course yellow moments ago, not in response to any particular shunt, but to clear debris from the racing line.

The № 36 Alpine had an off, losing third place to the the № 708 Glickenhaus, which has done of good job of clawing its way back up the order after falling behind the L.M.P.2 leaders early on. Meanwhile, the Toyotas run imperilously at the front, the № 7 consistently leading the № 8. Neither the Alpine nor the two Glickenhauses can beat the Toyotas on pace; the need unreliability to hobble the GR010 Hybrids. There are more than sixteen hours of racing left to go, & before le Tricolore waved this afternoon, the longest race the Toyota GR010 has completed is the 8 Hours of Portimão.

Le Mans! Le Mans! Le Mans!

24 Heures du Mans | 18:25:00

"It always rains at Le Mans."
—Jason Statham, Truth in 24

A sudden downpour just after the darkness fell led to a rash of collisions, all involving L.M.P.2 cars. The № 26 G-Drive (Oreca) spun into the № 1 Richard Mille (Oreca), which was left perpendicular across the circuit. The № 1 was then T-boned by the № 74 Eurasia (Ligier), which had no chance to stop, being on slick tires on a wet track. Sophia Floersch, the driver of the № 1 tried to carry on, but the medical light on her car indicated G-forces requiring a medical examination; so, she was not permitted to race on. The № 32 United Autosports (Oreca) missed a carner & skipped across the gravel, comingback onto the track directly into the № 23 United Autosports (Oreca). Your eyes do not deceive you, team cars collided.

The 24 Heures du Mans is typically run within a week or ten days of the summer solstice. Last year's face, which I did not watch, was run close to the autumnal equinox; this year's race is being run about two-thirds of the way from the solstice to the equinox, meaning there are going to be several more hours or darkness than usual.

Saints + Scripture — Please Stand By

'Tis the Memorial of Saint Pius X, Pope.

'Tis the Saturday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time (Tempus per annum, "time through the year"): Wikipedia-link.

24 Heures du Mans | 19:02:00

Clouds are gathering over the Circuit de la Sarthe, prematurely darkening the track even as the Sun sets. For those of us watching on television, the first indication of dusk is that the headlights grow more distinct.

There's been one safety car period so far, for the № 98 Aston Martin (G.T.E. Am.); the driver walked away, thanks be to God.

Both cats are hanging around me quite a bit, hardly surprising since I'm the only one home. Autumn, the little one, has spent a good deal of time dozing on my lap or between my legs. It's terribly cute, but she's already put one long scratch into my calf; caution is the watchword around her razor-sharp claws, which are terribly sharper than the claws of her larger brother, Scrapper.

24 Heures du Mans | 23:04:00

Le Mans! Le Mans! Le Mans!

The great race began in the rain, with the first two racing laps run behind the safety car. Despite this caution, once the cars were released in anger, the № 708 clumsily plowed into the back of the № 8 Toyota, spinning the Toyota. The № 36 Alpine was nipping at the heels of the race-leading № 7 Toyota until the Alpine spun & fell down the order.

In G.T.E. Pro., the Corvettes qualified poorly, but used the rain to jump into the class lead, though they fell back as the Circuit de la Sarthe dried.

By this point, the track is all but dry & almost every car has stopped early to change off of the deeply grooved wet-weather tires onto racing "slicks."

Bonus! Song o' the Next 24 Hours

Michel Legrand, "Le Mans: The Race, First Laps" from Le Mans/The Hunter (Bandes original de films) (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Toyota has won the last three Le Mans ('18, '19, & '20) with their Le Mans Prototype 1 (L.M.P.1) TS050 Hybrid. This year's running has seen the introduction of the new Le Mans Hypercar (L.M.H.) class to replace L.M.P.1. Toyota's GR010 Hybrid is heavily favored over the Glickenhaus 007, with the Alpine A480, a grandfathered-in L.M.P.1, serving as the wild card. Thus far in the season, the Toyotas have proven faster than the Alpine, but have raised reliability concerns. Will the venerable old L.M.P.1 be able to outlast the still-buggy new L.M.H.s over the course of a brutal twenty-four hours? Will the Glickenhaus or even an L.M.P.2 runner triumph as a dark horse? Let's find out!

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Reel Big Fish, "Down in Flames" from Why Do They Rock So Hard? (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"You don't know me, but here I am in your living room.
You don't own me, but you paid and that means a lot to you.
Well, you never listen, but I know that's what you think that you do.

"And everybody wants a change,
But this time it will be the same:
Watch us go down in flames!

"It's alright, it's O.K.,
It was gonna happen anyway,
We had our chance, we made our point,
And you're not gonna take that—

"Radio commercials, T.V. shows, and front-page ads,
Photos and interviews, they'll make sure it's the latest fad,
Well, pay attention, 'cause you know you'll have to pay either way!

"They tell you that it's the new thing,
But we know that it hasn't changed.
Watch us go down in flames!

"It's alright, it's O.K.,
It was gonna happen anyway,
We had our chance, we made our point,
And you're not gonna take that away!
Away!
Away!
Away!

"When this blows over and the mainstream coughs up another shell,
Will you let us back in your underground? Well, I guess that's a 'no,' and it's just as well.
'Cause you never supported us, all you wanted was to see us fail!

"They tell me that it's the new thing,
So I better get out of the way.
Watch us go down in flames!

"It's alright, it's O.K.,
It was gonna happen anyway,
We had our chance, we made our point,
And you're not gonna take that—
'Cause it's alright, it's O.K.,
It was gonna happen anyway,
We had our chance, we made our point,
And you're not gonna take that away!
You're not gonna take that away!
You're not gonna take that away!
You're not gonna take that away!"

Saints + Scripture — Please Stand By

'Tis the Memorial of Saint Bernard, Abbot & Doctor of the Church, O.Cist.

'Tis the Friday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time (Tempus per annum, "time through the year"): Wikipedia-link.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Reel Big Fish, "The Kids Don't Like It" from Why Do They Rock So Hard? (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"Don't you know we tried to do something new?
It may sound real good, but I don't think we're getting through!

"Because the kids don't like it, no, no!
The kids don't like it, no, no, no!
The kids don't like it, no, they don't like it at all!
I said, the kids don't like it, no, no!
The kids don't like it, no, no, no!
The kids don't like it, no, they don't like it at all!

"Though they'd come a day
I ran out of things to say,
But now I know it's true:
No one listens anyway…"

Saints + Scripture — Please Stand By

'Tis the Optional Memorial of Saint John Eudes, Priest, C.J.M.

'Tis the Thursday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time (Tempus per annum, "time through the year"): Wikipedia-link.

Saint Quote o' the Day

"(Jesus) desires that whatever is in Him may live & rule in you: His breath in your breath, His Heart in your heart, all the faculties of His soul in the faculties of your soul."
—Saint John Eudes, C.J.M. (1601-1680, feast: 19 August)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Reel Big Fish, "Big Star" from Why Do They Rock So Hard? (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: I've combed through the SKAfter Party & SKAugust lists & found, to my surprise, that I've not done this before. "This" what, you ask? For the next four days, starting today, we will be presenting four thematically interrelated songs from the Reel Big Fish album Why Do They Rock So Hard?, a meditation on the fleeting nature of fame & the fickle nature of popularity. There will be a good deal of the trademark R.B.F. snark, but also a surprising amount of earnestness, even vulnerability. Enjoy!

"I don't even have to try,
I don't even want to try,
And why should I waste my precious time
If I can't make you love me?
I can't make you love me!
But I know you do!

But I'm so cool no one wants to look at me,
And I'm so cool no one wants to talk to me,
And I'm so fucking cool nobody cares at all!…"

Saints + Scripture — Please Stand By

The Popish Plot
"Searching Catholicism: Do Catholics…?, Part 1"

'Tis the Wednesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time (Tempus per annum, "time through the year"): Wikipedia-link.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Goldfinger, "Liftoff" from The Knife (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"It's time for liftoff, I've been holding on to the floor,
Everybody's come to watch the show, everybody's come to watch me fall,
It's time for liftoff, I've been holding on to the floor,
Everybody stands up to watch me fall, watch me fall.

"There's no such thing as gravity,
Yeah, there's no such thing as gravity.

"We got five seconds 'til the end of the world,
Yeah, forever I'mma find that girl,
Three, two, one, yeah, we got liftoff…"