Bonus! Song o' the Lenten Fish Fry

Potshot, "Seasons End" from Dance to the Potshot Record (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiting)

Skammentary: My thanks to all for a great Lenten fish fry season!

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' One Day 'til SKApril!

The Aquabats!, "Pajamazon!" from the Pajamazon! single (Captain Thumbs Up!)

Skammentary: 28 April 2020, the twenty-eighth day of the tenth SKApril. "Pajamazon!" was written prior to the pandemic-inspired lockdowns, bot as a reaction to them, but the music video—shot at home (their individual homes) by the 'Bats, their allies, & Aqua-Cadet families—for the song captures perfectly the weird, desperately euphoric "staycation" vibe of the those first weeks.

"Pajamazon!" is a fun, peppy song, but also a biting commentary on our lonely, consumerist, & increasingly dysfunctional society.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Two Days 'til SKApril

Bombskare, "Do All Dogs Go to Heaven?" from The Day the Earth Stood Stupid (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: 10 April 2019, the tenth day of the ninth SKApril.

The Explorers' Club, № CMXLI

Operation AXIOM: Destination Moon—The 60th Anniversary of Saturn-Apollo 4
28 March 1963: Saturn-Apollo 4 (Saturn I S.A.-4) lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on a suborbital flight; the № 5 H-1 engine was deliberately shut down 100 seconds into the flight & fuel was re-routed automatically to the other seven engines, which then burned longer to compensate for the loss of thrust; S.A.-4 was the final single-stage test flight of a Saturn rocket.

Commentary: Testing the scenario of an engine shutting down & the other engines burning longer to compensate proved fruitful, as this occurred unplanned during the launches of Apollo 6 in 1968 (an uncrewed test flight) & of Apollo 13 in 1970.

Semper exploro.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Three Days 'til SKApril

Mittwoch, 29. März
Mustard Plug, "On and On" from In Black and White (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: 5 April 2018, the fifth day of the eighth SKApril.

Operation ÖSTERREICH: Exodus 90 Edition

Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in
Last weigh-in: 342.4 lbs
This weigh-in: 337.0 lbs.
Difference: -5.4 lbs.

Bonus! Lied von ÖSTERREICH
"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Spam" from U.H.F.: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Mike Papa Weight Watcher)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Four Days 'til SKApril

Dienstag, 28. März
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra featuring Asian Kung-Fu Generation, "Wake Up!" from Ska Me Forever (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey-san)

Skammentary: 4 April 2017, the fourth day of the seventh SKApril.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Five Days 'til SKApril

Be Like Max, "Sin City Rude Kids" from Against All Odds (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: 10 April 2016, the tenth day of the sixth SKApril. Thematically similar to Save Ferris's "Under 21."

Bonus! Song o' Six Days 'til SKApril

Less Than Jake, "Johnny Quest (Thinks We're Sellouts)" from Losing Streak (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: 2 April 2015, the second day of the fifth SKApril.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the V Sunday o' Lent

The Fifth Sunday of Lent
Matt Maher, "Alive Again" from Alive Again (Penitent Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Explorers' Club, № CMXL

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 50th Anniversary of Salyut 2
3 April-28 May 1973: Salyut 2 lifted off from the Kazakh S.S.R.'s Baikonur Cosmodrome atop a Proton-K rocket; "Salyut 2" was a cover name for a military Almaz ("Diamond") spy station, O.P.S.-1; thirteen days after launch, debris from the exploded Proton booster depressurized the hull & tore off the solar panels; O.P.S.-1 lost power & attitude control, & its orbit decayed, burning up on re-entry.

Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: Salyut 2
A New Found Glory, "Failure's Not Flattering" from Catalyst (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Seven Days 'til SKApril

Reel Big Fish, "Don't Stop Skankin'" from Candy Coated Fury (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: 1 April 2014, the first day of the fourth SKApril.

Bonus! Song o' the Lenten Fish Fry

Barenaked Ladies, "For You" from Everything to Everyone (Mike Papa Wahoo)

Commentary:

"I have set aside everything I love,
I have saved everything else for you…

"It's your fate, but it's not your fault…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Eight Days 'til SKApril

The Bruce Lee Band, "Running Out of Time" from the Beautiful World E.P. (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: 5 April 2013, the fifth day of the third SKApril.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Nine Days 'til SKApril

Nothing for Something, "Ska Kids" courtesy Sergeant Ska (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: 2 April 2012, the second day of the second SKApril. I try not to predict the future, but I can all but guarantee that this sequence—first song of the first SKApril, second song of the second SKApril—will not persist.

"Well, I see you at our shows and I think that you see me,
I get all my hopes up oh so desperately,
But after we play and I look for you some more
You are long gone and I want to scream, 'Whore!'

"But when I think about it,
Well, I think I understand,
Who'd want to kiss a guy like me?
Who'd want to hold my hand?

"Many guys will leave the show tonight
With a little girl in tow (alright),
For us it's always just dance, dance, dance,
And we never will get a chance!

"'Cause ska kids (Hey!) we never get laid,
And ska bands (Hey!) they never get paid,
Oh no, oh no, oh no…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Ten Days 'til SKApril

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "The Impression That I Get" from Let's Face It (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: "The Impression That I Get" was the R.B.D.S.O.T.D. for 1 April 2011, the first day of the first SKApril.

"Have you ever been close to tragedy
Or been close to folks who have?
Have you ever felt a pain so powerful
So heavy you collapse?
No? Well…

"Have you ever had the odds stacked up so high
You need a strength most don't possess?
Or has it ever come down to do or die,
You've got to rise above the rest?
No? Well…

"I'm not a coward, I've just never been tested,
I'd like to think that if I was I would pass,
Look at the tested and think, 'There but for the grace go I,'
Might be a coward, I'm afraid of what I might find out…"

Operation ÖSTERREICH: Exodus 90 Edition

Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in
Last weigh-in: 337.6 lbs
This weigh-in: 342.4 lbs.
Difference: +4.8 lbs.

Saint Patrick's Day, Saint Joseph's Day, & a Knights meeting featuring pizza. I am responsible for my own choices; no one force-fed me. But maybe we don't have to serve food at every gathering?

Bonus! Lied von ÖSTERREICH
"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Lasagna" from Even Worse (Mike Papa Whale)

The Explorers' Club, № CMXXXIX

Operation AXIOM: Between the Wars
21 March 1921: The New Economic Policy (N.E.P.)—Shaken by the Kronstadt Rebellion against "War Communism," Lenin re-introduced a degree of private property & enterprise, supported by Stalin but opposed by Trotsky; the N.E.P.'s "state capitalism" was deemed necessary to fit agricultural Russia into Marxist theories of industrial revolution; successful "Nepmen" arose as a class of nouveau riche.

Commentary: Please accept my apology for missing the centenary of the N.E.P. two years ago.

Lest we forget.

Bonus! Song o' the Day

The Puppini Sisters, "Panic" from Betcha Bottom Dollar (Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

They Might Be Giants, "Sketchy Galore" from Cast Your Pod to the Wind (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: I'm not saying anything against the volunteers who give so generously of their time nor against myself, but this money as we counted the weekly collection, "Sketchy Galore" is the song that came to mind.

"Waitin' on Sketchy,
Standin' for Sketchy,
Payin' for Sketchy, Mr. Sketchy Galore.
Take it from Sketchy,
Two cheers for Sketchy,
Stolen by Sketchy, Mr. Sketchy Galore…"

Bonus! Song o' Saint Joseph's Day

The Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Daniel Schmit, "Joseph's Song" from Christmas Hope (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: The Solemnity of Saint Joseph is usually observed on 19 March, but was transferred due to the Fourth Sunday of Lent.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

MercyMe, "Greater" from Welcome to the New (Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the IV Sunday o' Lent

The Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday)
The Articles, "Mr. Pink" from Flip F'real (Penitent Mike Papa Whiskey)

Bonus! Song o' the Day after Saint Patrick's Day

Denis Leary, "Traditional Irish Folk Song" from No Cure for Cancer (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: For the first time since 2019, a local family's Saint Patrick's Day party is back! A feast featuring corned beef is the centerpiece o' the festivities, which is why the party is being held today, rather than on Saint Patrick's Day, which this year fell on a Lenten Friday.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Less Than Jake, "Spirit of '20" from the Lost at Home Sessions E.P. (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"They can put us all on lockdown,
Behind these walls confined,
But they will never break our spirit!
They can put us all on lockdown,
Behind these walls inside our minds,
But they will never break our spirit!…"

Operation AXIOM: The 3rd Anniversary of the Interdict against the Lay Faithful
Effective three years ago to the day, 18 March 2020, the lay faithful of the Diocese of Lansing were interdicted from active participation in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. As I wrote two years ago, March 2021, a year after the interdict:

This was phrased as "suspension of public Mass," but in the law of the Church such a phrase has no meaning; this was an interdict. An interdict is supposed to be a remedial measure, meant to bring sinner to repentance, but this interdict was leveled against all the lay faithful without any remedial conditions; there was no penance we could do that would allow us to return to the Lamb's Supper. Even if the suspension of public Mass was wise, & I will cross swords with anyone about that spurious claim, this interdict was by its very nature unjust.

The two months of the interdict were spiritually devastating. Ten months later, I am only now beginning to recover from the desolation, from the betrayal & abandonment trauma.

I do not know if the Most Reverend Earl Boyea regrets the interdict, but a deacon friend of mine has told me the bishop is privately committed not to interdict his entire flock ever again. That's farcical, & frankly hurtful, because the bishop has made no such public proclamation. We continue to live under the sword of Damocles, all too aware of the hypocrisy of the bishop's & the diocesan chancery's pleas for the many, many faithful who have not returned to regularly participation in the Mass to do so, because at any moment we might all be indefinitely interdicted yet again.

Bishop Boyea's legacy will always be that when his people were afraid, when it seemed as if the whole world was falling apart, the Church was not there for us—our shepherd deserted us, just as the apostles deserted Our Lord at Gethsemane. He has expressed no public contrition for his very public failings. He can say whatever he wants now, but his words are empty because when the decisive moment came, he wasn't there for us. That is the baleful legacy of every single bishop in these United States. The government did not close our Catholic parishes, our bishops did, & not one of them has expressed contrition for the spiritual damage their collective & individual failures wreaked.

The lay faithful of the Diocese of Lansing were interdicted from active participation in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, effective 18 March 2020, three years ago today.

Bonus! Song o' the Lenten Fish Fry

The Pogues, "The Irish Rover" from The Best of the Pogues (Mike Papa Winkle)

Commentary: Please note that in the Diocese of Lansing the faithful have not been dispensed from the Lenten discipline of abstinance from eating meet this Friday, even though 'tis Saint Patrick's Day.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Saint Patrick's Day

Optional Memorial of Saint Patrick, Bishop
Flogging Molly, "Sentimental Johnny" from Swagger (Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day!

Operation AXIOM | Hello, Kitty
The Aquabats!, "Cat with 2 Heads!" from The Fury of The Aquabats! (Captain Thumbs Up!)

Skammentary!: The oldest photograph on my mobile of Autumn & Scrapper together dates from three years ago today, 16 March 2020. That's not the day we got them, as I have a photo of Autumn alone from 7 March. This morning, little Autumn was circling around & underneath my chair, her own way of demanding I pick her up. While I was holding her, big Scrapper jumped up on the bed & started meowing for my attention. Whenever they are thus acting in concert, "Cat with 2 Heads!" comes to mind.

Bonus! Song o' the Ides of March

Operation AXIOM: The 2,067th Anniversary of the Assassination of Julius Caesar
"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Your Horoscope for Today" from Running with Scissors (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Bonus! Song o' the Day: In Memoriam

Topol, Paul Whitsun-Jones, Maurice Lane, & Villagers, "To Life" from Fiddler on the Roof (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: In Memoriam Chaim Topol (9 September 1935-9 March 2023). Requiescat in pace.

All the photographs in this retrospective have been from Topol's films Fiddler on the Roof (1971, "Tevye"), Flash Gordon (1980, "Hans Zarkov"), & For Your Eyes Only (1981, "Milos Columbo"). Those are the only three of Topol's feature films I have seen.

Operation ÖSTERREICH: Exodus 90 Edition

Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in
Last weigh-in: 339.8 lbs
This weigh-in: 337.6 lbs.
Difference: -2.2 lbs.

Bonus! Lied von ÖSTERREICH
"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Grapefruit Diet" from Running with Scissors (Mike Papa Watercress)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Ides o' March

Operation AXIOM: The 2,067th Anniversary of the Assassination of Julius Caesar
Mono Puff, "Back-Stabbing Liar" from It's Fun to Steal (Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Fountains of Wayne, "Valley Winter Song" from Welcome Insterstate Managers (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Regarding the church sign above: No, I won't stop, not ever.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: In Memoriam

Topol & Company, "Tradition" from Fiddler on the Roof (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: In Memoriam Chaim Topol (9 September 1935-9 March 2023). Requiescat in pace.

Bonus! Song o' Pi Day

Less Than Jake, "Do the Math" from See the Light (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Explorers' Club, № CMXXXVIII

The Space Race—Astronaut Group 2 (the "New Nine"), Part IV
Edward Higgins White II (14 November 1930-27 January 1967), Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Air Force—He flew Gemini IV (1965), becoming the first American & second human to conduct an extravehicular activity (E.V.A., or "spacewalk"); he was assigned to Apollo 1 (1967) & died in the launch rehersal disaster; a Michigan Wolverine, he almost qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team as a hurdler in 1952.

Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: The New Nine—Ed White
The University of Michigan Marching Band, "The Victors" from Forever Valiant (Space Cadet Mike Papa Wolverine)

The Wayback Machine Tour of Ed White
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCLIII: The 55th Anniversary of Gemini IV
"The Stars My Destination": The 56th Anniversary of Apollo 1

Requiescat in pace.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

The Hippos, "Summertime" from The Hippos (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"She's got her hands across my thighs,
She's got the Middle Eastern eyes…"

Bonus! Song o' Today: In Memoriam

Montag, 13. März
Topol & Miriam Karlin, "Do You Love Me?" from Fiddler on the Roof (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: In Memoriam Chaim Topol (9 September 1935-9 March 2023). Requiescat in pace.

Saints + Scripture: Quadragesima

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

The Popish Plot
"10 Years of Pope Francis"

'Tis the Monday of the Third Week of Lent (meaning "Spring;" the Latin name is Quadragesima, meaning "fortieth"): Quadragesima-link & Wikipedia-link Quadragesima.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Monday of the Third Week of Lent
The Second Book of Kings, chapter five, verses one thru fifteen(a/b);
Psalm Forty-two (R/. cf. three), verses two, three & Psalm Forty-three, verses three, four;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter four, verses twenty-four thru thirty.

Commentary: Lenten Readings.

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

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus’ hometown rejects him as a prophet. And I want to say a word about your role as a prophet.

When most lay people hear about prophecy, they sit back and their eyes glaze over. “That’s something for the priests and the bishops to worry about; they’re the modern-day prophets. I don’t have that call or that responsibility.”

Well, think again! Vatican II emphasized the universal call to holiness, rooted in the dynamics of Baptism. Every baptized person is conformed unto Christ—priest, prophet, and king. Whenever you assist at Mass, you are exercising your priestly office, participating in the worship of God. Whenever you direct your kids to discover their mission in the Church, or provide guidance to someone in the spiritual life, you are exercising your kingly office.

As a baptized individual, you are also commissioned as a prophet—which is to say, a speaker of God’s truth. And the prophetic word is not your own. It is not the result of your own meditations on the spiritual life, as valuable and correct as those may be. The prophetic word is the word of God given to you by God.

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

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

Bonus! Song o' Yesterday: In Memoriam

Sonntag, 12. März
Topol, Miriam Karlin, Cynthia Grenville, Paul Whitsun-Jones, Brian Hewitt-Jones, & George Little, "Anatevka" from Fiddler on the Roof (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: In Memoriam Chaim Topol (9 September 1935-9 March 2023). Requiescat in pace.

The Stars My Destination: Crew-5 Splashdown

The Space Age
Yesterday, 11 March 2023, after one hundred fifty-seven days on orbit, the Crew Dragon Endurance splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico & was recovered by M/V Shannon, safely returning to Earth the Crew-5 quartet of Nicole Mann (N.A.S.A.), Josh Cassada (N.A.S.A.), Koichi Wakata (J.A.X.A.), & Anna Kikina (Roscosmos).

Crew-5 served as part of International Space Station Expedition 68.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: Crew-5 & the Endurance!
The Aquabats!, "Hi-Five City!" from Charge!! Special One-Year Anniversary Edition (Space Cadet Captain Thumbs Up!)

The Wayback Machine Tour of Launch America
2020
Demo-2 Launch & Demo-2 Splashdown
Crew-1 Launch, Crew-1 Relocation, & Crew-1 Splashdown
2021
Crew-2 Launch & Crew-2 Splashdown
Inspiration4 Launch & Splashdown
Crew-3 Launch & Crew-3 Splashdown
2022
Ax-1 Launch & Splashdown
Crew-4 Launch & Crew-4 Splashdown
Crew-5 Launch
2023
Crew-6 Scrub & Crew-6 Launch

Welcome back to the good Earth, Crew-5!