30 Years of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2023)

Episode of the Day
"Wrongs Darker than Death or Night" (season six, episode seventeen; 30 March 1998): Wikipedia-link.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: King for a Day

The Atomic Fireballs, "Calypso King" from Torch This Place (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: "Calypso King" is very much a swing revival song, not a calypso song.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: King for a Day

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Waffle King" from Alapalooza (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: "Waffle King" is not the cute novelty song you might presume it to be, but the harrowing account of a well-intentioned man's corruption by hubris & descent into megalomania. Beware!

30 Years of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2023)

Operation ÖSTERREICH: Post-Thanksgiving Edition

Please Stand By | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in
Last weigh-in: 348.6 lbs. (Wednesday, 1 November)

Bonus! Lied von ÖSTERREICH
Susan Egan, "The Turkey and the Stuffing" from Winter Tracks (Mike Papa Whale)

The Explorers' Club, № CMXCV

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 40th Anniversary of S.T.S.-9, Part I
28 November 1983: Spacelab 1—The Space Shuttle Columbia OV-102 lifted off from Florida's K.S.C. with CDR John Young, Pilot Brewster Shaw, M.S.1 Owen Garriott, M.S.2 Robert Parker, Payload Specialist 1* Ulf Merbold (European Space Agency), & P.S.2 Byron Lichtenberg, the largest crew yet; this was the first Shuttle flight of a non-U.S. citizen & of the E.S.A.'s Spacelab laboratory module.

Commentary: S.T.S.-9 was the sixth flight of the Columbia OV-102.

*Merbold (West German) & Lichtenberg (American) were the first Payload Specialists to fly. The difference between Mission Specialists & Payload Specialists is that M.S. were professional astronauts, trained as members of the Astronaut Corps & then assigned to missions, whereas P.S. were non-N.A.S.A. astronauts or other experts (commerical or academic researchers, later Congressmen & teachers) chosen for specific missions & then given astronaut training.

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: S.T.S.-9
Goldfinger, "99 Red Balloons" from Stomping Ground (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

30 Years of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2023)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: King for a Day

Fountains of Wayne, "Karpet King" from Out-of-State Plates (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"Out every night with the girl of his dreams,
He knows it will never be quite what he seems
To be,
Don't you want him to be?…"

30 Years of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2023)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: King for a Day

Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers, "King Tut" (live) from Rare Bird Alert (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: I did this once before, "King for a Day," in the Annus horribilis MMXX, probably also inspired by the feast of Christ the King.

30 Years of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2023)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Christ the King

Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
Audrey Assad, "Death in His Grave" from the Death, Be Not Proud E.P. (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"On Friday a thief,
On Sunday a king,
Laid down in grief,
But awoke with the keys
To Hell on that day,
First-born of the slain,
The man Jesus Christ laid death in His grave…"

Bonus! Song o' the Day: Go Blue!

(№ 3) Michigan 30-24 Ohio State (№ 2)
The Killers, "Mr. Brightside" from Hot Fuss (Mike Papa Wolverine)

Commentary: It is a more recent tradition for the crowd at Michigan Stadium to sing "Mr. Brightside" before or during the fourth quarter. I have also heard it sung during hockey games at Yost Ice Arena (formerly, Yost Fieldhouse). How this began or why, I do not know.

30 Years of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2023)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Today: Go Blue!

Team 144, Game 12: Michigan v. Ohio State
The University of Michigan Marching Band, "The Victors" from Forever Valiant (Mike Papa Wolverine)

Commentary: The victors of this afternoon's tilt against the hated Buckeyes win the B1G East Divisional Championship & earn the right to play the tenacious Hawkeyes of Iowa, the B1G West Divisional Champions, next Saturday (2 December) for the B1G Championship. For the valiant Wolverines, this would be a rematch of the 2021 B1G Championship Game.

Go Blue!

Bonus! Song o' the Day

Rilo Kiley, "A Better Son/Daughter" from The Execution of All Things (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"…But you'll fight and you'll make it through,
You'll fake it if you have to,
And you'll show up for work with a smile.
You'll be better and you'll be smarter
And more grown up and a better daughter,
Or son, and a real good friend.

"You'll be awake, you'll be alert,
You'll be positive though it hurts,
And you'll laugh and embrace all your friends.
You'll be a real good listener,
You'll be honest, you'll be brave,
You'll be handsome and you'll be beautiful,
You'll be happy!

"Your ship may be coming in,
You're weak, but not giving in,
To the cries and the wails of the valley below,
And your ship may be coming in,
You're weak, but not giving in,
And you'll fight it, you'll go out fighting all of 'em!"

30 Years of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2023)

Episode of the Day
"Change of Heart" (season six, episode sixteen; 2 March 1998): Wikipedia-link.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Reel Big Fish, "A Little Doubt Goes a Long Way" from Cheer Up! (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"Well, I know flirting is nothing
And that should be where it ends,
But I know, yes, I know that
I want you for more than a friend…"

30 Years of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2023)

Episode of the Day
"Honor among Thieves" (season six, episode fifteen; 23 February 1998): Wikipedia-link.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Thanksgiving Day

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "A Reason to Toast" from Medium Rare (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: I'm thankful to the Lord God Almighty for my kith & kin, for the great adventure of this life, & for all of you, dear readers.

"I'd like to open up by making a suggestion,
One that I suggest you're open to,
And then I'll open up the floor and take a question,
After that it's time to tilt a few,
To you and you and you.

"A reason to toast!
A reason to cheer!
A reason to celebrate
It's nice being here!

"You might be wondering just why I called this meeting,
Can't let another moment pass,
Before we move on, please, let's rearrange the seating,
After that its time to raise a glass.

"I'll raise my glass up high to all the friendly faces,
Here and wherever they may be,
I don't know why I never thought till now to say this,
But you mean the world to me…"

The Explorers' Club, № CMXCIV

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 50th Anniversary of Skylab 4, Part II
22 November 1973: Gibson & Pogue conducted an E.V.A. to load the Apollo Telescope Mount with film, deploy experiments, & repair a malfunctioning antenna; one of Skylab's three attitude-control gyroscopes failed; tensions mounted as Mission Control expected the rookie crew, still adjusting to life aboard Skylab, to be just as productive as the Skylab 3 crew had been at the tail end of that mission.

Commentary: Skylab required two gyroscopes for attitude control; thus, the failure of one gyroscope did not imperil the mission, but for the remainder of the flight there was no margin for error in case another gyroscope failed.

Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: Skylab 4
Barenaked Ladies, "Falling for the First Time" from Maroon (Space Cadet Mike Papa DSKY)

Semper exploro.

30 Years of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2023)

Episode of the Day
"One Little Ship" (season six, episode fourteen; 16 February 1998): Wikipedia-link.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

The Interrupters, "Outrage" from Fight the Good Fight (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"Your eyes are glued, glued to the news,
They say there's two sides, you better choose,
A civil war they want you fighting for,
The ones in power who always want more,
They put a mask on to speak their minds,
They need a veil to hide behind,
The mob is howling like wolves trapped in a cage,
This will go down in history as the age of outrage,
Of outrage…"

30 Years of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2023)

Episode of the Day
"Far Beyond the Stars" (season six, episode thirteen; 9 February 1998): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: We return from our unexpected break with a very special episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Pain (as The Neptunes), "Jabberjaw (Running Underwater)" from Cartoon Network Groovies (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day!

The Aquabats!, "Lovers of Loving Love!" from The Aquabats! vs. The Floating Eye of Death! and Other Amazing Adventures, Vol. 1 (Captain Thumbs Up!)

Commentary:

"I'm so happy! I'm so happy,
That I'm a boy and you're a girl, all right!
I'm so happy! I'm so happy,
I'm overjoyed we're gonna hang out tonight!
I can't walk, can't move, 'cause I'm paralyzed by your love
And that's O.K. by me!
I'm so happy! I'm so happy,
It's real great we're lovers of loving love!…"

30 Years of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2023)

The Explorers' Club, № CMXCIII

Operation AXIOM: Between the Wars—Hyperinflation, Part V
15-20 November 1923: Hyperinflation peaked (15 November) with a ratio of 4,210,500,000,000:1 German Mark (ℳ) to United States dollar ($); the Rentenmark (RM) was introduced (20 November), backed by mortgages of agricultural & industrial land, with an exchange rate of 4.2:1, RM to $; the Rentenmark restored confidence, was accepted as legal tender & hyperinflation ceased overnight.

Lest we forget.

30 Years of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2023)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the XXXIII Sunday in O.T.

The Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Temptations, "Get Ready" from the My Girl: The Very Best of the Temptations compilation (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

30 Years of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2023)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Today: Go Blue!

Samstag, 18. November
Team 144, Game 11: Michigan @ Maryland
The University of Michigan Marching Band, "Sing, Sing, Sing" from Hurrah for the Yellow and Blue (Mike Papa Wolverine)

Commentary: Should the valiant Wolverines prevail in this afternoon's tilt against the terrible Terrapins, it will be Michigan Football victory number one thousand (№ 1,000), the first collegiate football team to achieve that milestone. Truly, the leaders & best.

Go Blue!

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Yesterday

Freitag, 17. November
The Interrupters, "Room with a View" from Fight the Good Fight (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Pray for the repose of the souls of your dead kith & kin, & avoid the presumption that everyone is in Heaven, regardless of how they lived their life.

"I know you got a room with a view up there
And you're looking down on me,
I know you got a room with a view up there,
Please save a spot for me…"

30 Years of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2023)

The Explorers' Club, № CMXCII

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 50th Anniversary of Skylab 4, Part I
16-17 November 1973: Skylab 4 lifted off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center, with CDR Jerry Carr, Science Pilot Ed Gibson, & Pilot Bill Pogue aboard an unnamed Apollo C.S.M. atop a Saturn IB rocket; the trio were N.A.S.A.'s first all-rookie crew since Gemini VIII (March 1966); the rookies tried to conceal Pogue's space sickness from the flight surgeons, but truth will out & they were reprimanded.

Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: Skylab 4
MxPx, "First Day of the Rest of Our Lives" from Before Everything and After (Mike Papa DSKY)

Commentary: Your eyes do not deceive you, dear reader, the Skylab 4 mission patch is emblazoned with the crew's names & "Skylab 3." Miscommunication within N.A.S.A. meant that the three manned missions were officially designated Skylab 2, Skylab 3, & Skylab 4, while the crew patches read "Skylab I," "Skylab II," & "Skylab 3."

Semper exploro.