The Explorers' Club, № MXCVI

Operation AXIOM: The 60th Anniversary of Astronaut Group 4 (the "Scientists"), Part I
29 June 1965: N.A.S.A.'s Astronaut Group 4—the "Scientists"—were announced: Owen K. Garriott, Edward G. Gibson, Duane E. "Doc" Graveline, Joseph P. Kerwin, F. Curtis Michel, & Harrison H. "Jack" Schmitt; one was a Moonwalker, three flew on Skylab; they were the first class of astronauts not drawn from the ranks of military pilots; each was required to have a doctorate (Ph.D., M.D., etc.).

Commentary: Graveline was asked to resign from N.A.S.A. less than two months later, on 18 August 1965. Michel resigned from N.A.S.A. on 18 August 1969, apparently convinced he would never be assigned to a mission.

Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: The Scientists
The Phenomenauts, "Science and Honor" from For All Mankind (Space Cadet Mike Papa DSKY)

Semper exploro.

The Star My Destination: The Soyuz 11 Disaster

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 54th Anniversary of Soyuz 11
Fifty-four years ago to the day, 29 June 1971, the Soyuz 11 capsule vented its internal atmosphere into the vacuum of space, asphyxiating to death its crew of three: Commander Georgy Dobrovolsky, Flight Engineer Vladislav Volkov, & Research Engineer Viktor Patsayev. Soyuz 11 had departed the Salyut 1 space station after a three-week residency & was preparing for atmospheric re-entry.

The Soyuz 11 trio were not wearing pressure suits, leaving them defenseless against the sudden capsule depressurization. Cosmonauts had stopped wearing pressure suits, even during launch & re-entry, in order to squeeze more crew into the Voskhod & Soyuz capsules. After the disaster, the Soyuz capsule was redesigned to accommodate a crew of two, wearing pressure suits. The Soyuz 11 trio remain the only humans to have perished in outer space, above the Kármán line (one hundred kilometers/sixty-two miles above mean sea level).

The Soyuz 11 capsule depressurized just prior to atmospheric re-entry, killing its crew of three, 29 June 1971, fifty-four years ago today.

Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: The Soyuz 11 Disaster
The Phenomenauts, "Heroes" from For All Mankind (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Wayback Machine Tour of the Soyuz 11 Disaster
№ DCCCXXIII: The 50th Anniversary of Soyuz 11, Part I
№ DCCCXXVII: The 50th Anniversary of Soyuz 11, Part II

The Rebel Black Dot Songs o' Saints Peter & Paul

The Solemnity of Saints Peter & Paul, Apostles
The Blues Brothers, "Peter Gunn Theme" from The Blues Brothers: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

&

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "The Ballad of Candlepin Paul" from The Magic of Youth (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: The Solemnity of Saints Peter & Paul is always celebrated on 29 June. This year, I learned that is the case even if 29 June falls on a Sunday, overriding the Nth Sunday in Ordinary Time. We had a fairly late Easter this year; so, rather than Ss. Peter & Paul being relatively isolated in the middle of summer, it is our fifth consecutive blockbuster Sunday: Ascension, Pentecost, Trinity, Corpus Christi, & now Ss. Peter & Paul.

Bonus! Vacation Bible School Song o' the Day

Matt Maher, "Because He Lives (Amen)" from Saints and Sinner (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Christ is risen!

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party!

The Aquabats!, "No Rewind!" from Finally! (Captain Thumbs Up!)

Skammentary!: "No Rewind!" was the finale of this year's SKApril XV!

Bonus! Vacation Bible School Song o' the Day

Matt Maher, "Turn Around" from The Love In Between (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: I know the Eastertide ended only a few weeks ago, but in our whirlwind V.B.S. tour of the liturgical year, we're already back in Lent.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

The Bodysnatchers, "Ruder Than You" from the Let's Do Rock Steady single (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Operation ÖSTERREICH: Please Stand By

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

Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in
Last weigh-in: 330.2 lbs. (12 June 2024)

Bonus! Vacation Bible School Song o' the Day

Avril Lavigne, "Anything But Ordinary" from Let Go (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Ordinary Time is "growing time," especially since many of the families at our V.B.S. participate in Mass according to the 1962 Missal, which counts the Sundays throughout the year not as the "Nth Sunday in Ordinary Time" but as the "Nth Sunday after Pentecost."

The Explorers' Club, № MXCV

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 40th Anniversary of S.T.S.-51-G, Part II
20-24 June 1985: Brandenstein, Creighton, Fabian, Nagel, Lucid, Baudry, & Al Saud deployed the S.P.A.R.T.AN.-1 short-duration satellite, which carried over three hundred pounds of astronomy experiments, & recovered it, as planned; they also deployed the High Precision Tracking Experiment for the Strategic Defense Initiative; after 112 orbits, the Discovery landed at California's Edwards.

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: S.T.S.-51-G
John Williams, "Star Wars" from Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope: Special Edition: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

Bonus! Vacation Bible School Song o' the Day

Matt Maher, "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" from The Advent of Christmas (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Welcome to Christmas in June.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "Green Bay, Wisconsin" from While We're at It (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"She had to let the living part of life begin…"

Bonus! Vacation Bible School Song o' the Day

Matt Maher, "Gabriel's Message" from The Advent of Christmas (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: This year's V.B.S. is "The Great Journey with Jesus through the Church Year." We're exploring the liturgical calender & how it helps us learn & grow as disciples. We start, of course, with Advent.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Corpus Christi

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)
The Daughters of Mary, "Sweet Sacrament Divine" from De Profundis (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Corpus Christi is the fourth of four consecutive blockbuster Sundays that conclude the Eastertide & add a little pizzazz to the resumption of Ordinary Time: the Ascension, Pentecost, the Most Holy Trinity, & Corpus Christi (both the Ascenion & Corpus Christi are transferred from the more theologically appropriate preceding Thursdays). This year, there is a secret fifth blockbuster Sunday! Tune in next week to find out what it's all about.

Bonus! Song o' the First Day o' Summer

"The cruel, hot summer
led into the long, hard fall,
becoming the dark, killing winter
until spring replenished us all."
—Bill Willingham, Fables

The Summer Solstice
Fountains of Wayne, "Mexican Wine" from Utopia Parkway (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"And the sun still shines in the summertime,
I'll be yours if you'll be mine,
I tried to change, but I changed my mind,
Think I'll have another glass of Mexican wine,
Think I'll have another glass of Mexican wine…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

Reel Big Fish, "The Set Up (You Need This)" (live) from Our Live Album Is Better than Your Live Album, Disc 1: More Shtick Than You Can Shake a Stick At (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Banter at the beginning of "The Set Up (You Need This)"::

Aaron: "This song's called 'The Set Up.' It's about, uh, what the fuck is this song about anyway?"

Scott: "I've never understood, actually, what the hell this song is fucking about."

Aaron: "I really don't know. I really—Let's think about it and we'll talk afterwards. Try to figure this thing out."

…

Aaron: "So, I think that song, is like, it's about, like, a player, who's like trying to pick up a girl, and he's like, 'Hey'…

Scott: "Well, with your bad back you shouldn't be picking up any girls."

Aaron: "I don't know what I'm saying. No, I was just saying, the character in the song."

Scott: "Well, with the character's bad back he shouldn't be picking up any girls."

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

Reel Big Fish, "Sell Out" from Turn the Radio Off (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: "Sell Out" was the subject of this morning's "Throwback Thursday" rerun episode of the Christ DeMakes a Podcast podcast, featuring both Aaron Barrett & Scott Klopfenstein! This is possibly my favorite episode of the whole podcast, which has been going for five years now.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

Reel Big Fish, "Why Do All Girls Think They're Fat?" from Monkeys for Nothin' and the Chimps for Free (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"Hey, hey, hey! She's so pretty!
Hey, hey, hey! My friend!
Hey, hey, hey! I feel stupid, again…"

Operation ÖSTERREICH: Please Stand By

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

Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in
Last weigh-in: 330.2 lbs. (12 June 2024)

The Explorers' Club, № MXCIV

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 40th Anniversary of S.T.S.-51-G (№ 18), Part I
17-19 June 1985: The Space Shuttle Discovery OV-103 lifted off from Florida's K.S.C. with CDR Dan Brandenstein, Pilot John Creighton, M.S.1 John Fabian, M.S.2/F.E. Steve Nagel, M.S.3 Shannon Lucid, P.S.1 Patrick Baudry (C.N.E.S., France), & P.S.2 Prince Sultan bin Salman Al Saud (R.S.A.F., Saudi Arabia); the septet deployed three telecom satellites: Arabsat-1B, Morelos I, & Telstar 303.

Commentary: S.T.S.-51-G was the fifth flight of the Discovery OV-103. S.T.S.-51-G evinced both "blow-by" damage to the Solid Rocket Boosters, the doom of the Challenger (1986), & falling foam damage to the Thermal Protection System, the doom of the Columbia (2003).

Al Saud was simultaneously the first Muslim, the first Arab, & the first royal to fly in space.

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: S.T.S.-51-G
Maurice Jarre & the Philharmonia Orchestra, "Main Titles" from Lawrence of Arabia (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

Magic!, "Rude" from Don't Kill the Magic (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: We here at the R.B.D.S.O.T.D. take a very liberal view of what constitutes "ska," including the spinoff genres of rocksteady, reggae, dub, dancehall, et al. Is "Rude" a ska song? No. Does "Rude" belong in the SKAfter Party, etc.? Yes. Feel free to disagree, just don't be rude about it.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

Death of Guitar Pop featuring Neville Staple, "Suburban Ska Club" from the Suburban Ska Club single (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: From left to right: Silky, Neville Staple (of The Specials), & Top Kat.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Most Holy Trinity

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
Sufjan Stevens, "Holy, Holy, Holy" from the Sufjan Stevens Presents Songs for Christmas compilation (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Trinity Sunday of the third of four consecutive blockbuster Sundays that conclude the Eastertide & add a little pizzazz to the resumption of Ordinary Time: the Ascension, Pentecost, the Most Holy Trinity, & Corpus Christi (both the Ascenion & Corpus Christi are transferred from the more theologically appropriate preceding Thursdays).

Bonus! Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

Sublime, "Santeria" from Sublime (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Don't do heroin or any other narcotics, I beg you. Your life is more precious than you realize.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

The Interrupters, "This Is the New Sound" from The Interrupters (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: The Interrupters are a family, three brothers (two of them twins) & the wife of the non-twin brother.

Bonus! Song o' Flag Day

Jacqueline Schwab, "Flag of Columbia" from The Civil War: Original Soundtrack Recording (Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Explorers' Club, № MXCIII

Operation AXIOM: Between the Wars
10-21 July 1925: The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes (A.K.A. the Scopes Monkey Trial): Scopes, a high school teacher in Dayton, was put on trial for violating the new Butler Act; the trial was a staged publicity stunt for the town, exploiting the modernist—fundamentalist controversy within the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.; Scopes was convicted & fined, later overturned on a technicality.

Commentary: "The Explorers' Club" is covering the Scopes Monkey Trial centenary a month early because the rest of June's & all of July's & August's episodes are tentatively dedicated to space flight, including three Space Shuttle missions, the launch of the two Viking Mars probes, & the final Apollo mission, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.

Lest we forget.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

Edna's Goldfish, "I'm Your Density" from Before You Knew Better… (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"I tried to write the perfect letter,
I tried towrite the perfect song,
But every time I opened up my mouth,
It seems that those perfect words came out wrong!…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

Goldfinger, "Superman" from Hang-Ups (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: "Superman" was the subject of this morning's "Throwback Thursday" rerun episode of the Christ DeMakes a Podcast podcast. It was a great episode about a great song both times around.

Operation ÖSTERREICH: Please Stand By

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

Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in
Last weigh-in: 330.2 lbs. (12 June 2024)
Next weigh-in: ? lbs. (now aiming for 18 June 2025)
Difference: +/-? lbs.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

Dan P & the Bricks, "Kung Fu" from When We Were Fearless (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: "Kung Fu" names more kung fu moves—genuine or merely cinematic, I cannot say—than The Aquabats!' "Karate Body!"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

The Chinkees, "Hana" from The Chinkees… Are Coming! (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

Spring Heeled Jack, "Beggin'" from Songs from Suburbia (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"I just want, I want you to say
You think that there could be some way…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Pentecost Sunday

Pentecost
Audrey Assad, "Spirit of the Living God" from Fortunate Fall (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)