The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: 47 Jahre

Fastball, "Better Than It Was" from All the Pain Money Can Buy (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"I don't claim to know my way,
I still run in circles every day,
Running around half blind,
Life can be unkind.

"But it's better than it was,
It's better than it was,
I complain very little because
It's better than it was…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: 47 Jahre

Barenaked Ladies, "Hello City" from Gordon (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"Hello, city, you're found an enemy in me…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: 47 Jahre

The Wallflowers, "One Headlight" from Bringing Down the Horse (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: I heard "One Headlight" on the radio recently whilst piloting the Shuttlecraft Odysseus. This prompted enjoyment of the song, reflection on the superior quality of popular music in my formative years, & gratitude for both preceeding items. "One Headlight" is a good song, but only good, not great. But such was the glory of music in the Nineteen Nineties that "One Headlight" towers like a colossus above contemporary music, music so banal it is literally indistinguishable from A.I.

The Stars My Destination: Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4)

Better Late than Never | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

The Space Age
25 June-15 July 2025: Commander Peggy Whitson (Axiom Space), Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla (Indian Space Research Organization), Mission Specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (European Space Agency), & Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu (Hungarian Space Research Office) lifted off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center's LC-39A aboard the Crew Dragon Grace (C213) atop a Falcon 9 rocket. The Grace spent eighteen days docked to the International Space Station during Expedition 73, splashed down in the Pacific, & was recovered by the M.V. Shannon.

Whitson was a N.A.S.A. astronaut & a veteran of four previous spaceflights (STS-111 [launch]/STS-113 [landing] for Expedition 5; Soyuz TMA-11 for Expedition 16; Soyuz MS-03 [launch]/Soyuz MS-04 [landing] for Expeditions 50, 51, & 52; & Ax-2); Shukla, Uznański-Wiśniewski, & Kapu were rookies, & each the first Indian, Polish, & Hungarian astronaut since the Soviet Union's old Interkosmos program.

Ax-4 was the first flight of the Grace.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: Ax-4 & the Grace
A. R. Rahman, Sukhvinder Singh, Tanvi Shah, & Mahalakshmi Iyer, "Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire: Music from the Motion Picture (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Wayback Machine Tour of Launch America
2020
Demo-2 Launch
Demo-2 Splashdown
Crew-1 Launch
2021
Crew-1 Relocation
Crew-2 Launch
Crew-1 Splashdown
Inspiration4 Launch & Splashdown
Crew-2 Splashdown
Crew-3 Launch
2022
Ax-1 Launch & Splashdown
Crew-4 Launch
Crew-3 Splashdown
Crew-5 Launch
Crew-4 Splashdown
2023
Crew-6 Scrub
Crew-6 Launch
Crew-5 Splashdown
Ax-2 Launch & Splashdown
Crew-7 Launch
Crew-6 Splashdown
2024
Ax-3 Launch & Splashdown
Crew-7 Splashdown
Crew-8 Launch & Splashdown
Boe-C.F.T. Launch & Landing
Polaris Dawn Launch & Splashdown
Crew-9 Launch & Splashdown
2025
Crew-10 Launch & Splashdown
Fram2 Launch & Splashdown

Godspeed & welcome back to the good Earth, Ax-4!

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: 47 Jahre

Robbie Williams, "A Man for All Seasons" from Johnny English: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Explorers' Club, № MCLXX

Destination Moon—Astronaut Group 5 (the "Original Nineteen"), Part VI
Alfred Merrill Worden (7 February 1932-18 March 2020), Colonel, U.S. Air Force—He flew as Command Module Pilot on Apollo 15 (Endeavour & Falcon, 1971); each time his C.S.M. emerged from behind the Moon, he radioed, "Hello, Earth. Greetings from Endeavour" in a different language; he wrote poetry, memoirs, & children's books, publishing his autobiography, Falling to Earth, in 2011.

Commentary: Worden is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most isolated human being," apparently being farther away from Apollo 15 CDR Dave Scott & L.M.P. Jim Irwin than any other C.M.P. His E.V.A. to retrieve film canisters from the Service Module's S.I.M. bay (artist representation above) also took place farther from Earth than the similar E.V.A. from Apollo 16 & Apollo 17.

Bonus! Moonshot Song o' the Day: The Original Nineteen—Al Worden
The University of Michigan Marching Band, "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" from A Saturday Tradition (Space Cadet Mike Papa DSKY)

The Wayback Machine Tour of Al Worden
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCXXXVIII: The 55th Anniversary of Voskhod 2 (Death notification)
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCXXXI: The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 15, Part I
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCXXXII: The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 15, Part II
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCXXXIII: The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 15, Part III

Requiescat in pace.

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

The Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matt Glaser, Evan Stover, Jay Ungar, Art Baron, & Molly Mason, "Kingdom Coming" from The Civil War: Original Soundtrack Recording (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Bonus! Song o' the Day: 47 Jahre

The Abruptors, "Waiting Forever" from Noticeably Cheerful (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Last week, during the vacation Bible school at my parish that bills itslef as not being vacation Bible school, one of the presenting missionaries asked me, "So, which kids are yours?" I answered her very reasonable question by telling her it was a very reasonable question but that I had never been blessed with children. Nor a wife, I did not add.

"Maybe I'm better alone, maybe it helps me see,
Well one thing's for certain, I just know I have to be free,
I've waited forever, what's one more day?
I've waited forever, why can't I walk away?
I'm sitting here beside myself, oh what could I do?
But I've learned my lesson and I need something new…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' This Auspicious Day

Jimmy Eat World, "The Middle" from Bleed American (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: My digital copy of Bleed American was purchased in the post-9/11 period when the album was quite understandably retitled Jimmy Eat World—"The Middle" was released in October 2001—not to be confused with Jimmy Eat World's 1994 debut album, Jimmy Eat World, but between the album's release in July 2001 & 9/11, & again since 2008, it has been titled, Bleed American.

"Hey, don't write yourself off yet,
It's only in your head, you feel left out
Or looked down on.

"Just try your best,
Try everything you can,
And don't you worry what they tell themselves
When you're away…

"Hey, you know they're all the same
You know you're doing better on your own (on your own),
So don't buy in.

"Live right now,
Yeah, just be yourself,
It doesn't matter if it's good enough (good enough)
For someone else…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: 46 Jahre

They Might Be Giants, "It's Not My Birthday" from the Then: The Earlier Years compilation (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"It's not my birthday,
It's not today,
It's not my birthday;
So, why do you lunge out at me?…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: America 250

The United States Semiquincentennial (1776-2026)
"Weird Al" Yankovic, "The Hamilton Polka" from the The Hamilton Polka single (Mike Patriot Whiskey)

Commentary: The semiquincentennial celebrations will continue, just you wait, just you wait.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: America 250

The United States Semiquincentennial (1776-2026)
The New American Brass Band, "Hail, Columbia" from The Civil War: Original Soundtrack Recording (Mike Patriot Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: America 250

The United States Semiquincentennial (1776-2026)
The University of Michigan Marching Band, "America the Beautiful" from A Saturday Tradition (Mike Patriot Whiskey)

The Explorers' Club, № MCLXIX

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 50th Anniversary of Project Viking, Part IV
20 July 1976: The Viking 1 lander landed at the Chryse Planitia & began to transmit photographs within 25 seconds; a robotic arm scooped up soil samples, which were subjected to four biological experiments for signs of microbial life; atmospheric & seismographic data was collected; the lander operated for 2,307 days (2,245 sols), until a faulty command ended contact on 11 November 1982.

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: Viking 1
David Bowie, "Life on Mars?" from Hunky Dory (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: America 250

The United States Semiquincentennial (1776-2026)
The Pogues, "The Body of an American" from the The Best of The Pogues compilation (Mike Patriot Whiskey)

Commentary:

"When we turned and shook as we had a look,
In the room where the dead men lay,
So big Jim Dwyer made his last trip,
To the shores where his father's laid…

"Fare thee well, going away, there's nothing left to say,
Farewell to New York City, boys, to Boston and PA,
He took them out with a well-aimed clout, and we often heard him say:
'I'm a free-born man of the USA.'

"He fought the champ in Pittsburgh and he slashed him to the ground,
He took on Tiny Tartanella and it only went one round,
He never had no time for reds, for drink or dice or whores,
But he never threw a fight when the fight was right;
So, they sent him to the war.

"Fare the well, gone away, there's nothing left to say,
With a slainte, Joe and an Erin go, my love's in Amerikay,
The calling of the rosary, Spanish wine from far away,
'I'm a free-born man of the USA'…"

Bonus! Moonshot Songs o' the Day: Apollo 11

Operation AXIOM: The 57th Anniversary of Apollo 11
Public Service Broadcasting, "Go!" from The Race for Space (Space Cadet Mike Papa DSKY)

&

National Aeronautics & Space Administration, "Apollo 11 Excerpt 19" from The Apollo Missions (Space Cadet Mike Papa DSKY)

Commentary:

"That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for Mankind."

The Wayback Machine Tour of Apollo 11
№ DCXCVIII: The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11, Part I
№ DCXCIX: The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11, Part II
№ DCC: The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11, Part III
№ DCCII: The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11, Part IV
№ CMLXXIV: Neil Armstrong
№ MXXV: Michael Collins
№ MXXXII: "Buzz" Aldrin

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

The Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Rend Collective, "Build Your Kingdom Here" from Homemade Worship by Handmade People (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Bonus! Song o' the Day: America 250

The United States Semiquincentennial (1776-2026)
MxPx, "Kids in America" from On the Cover II (Mike Patriot Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: America 250

The United States Semiquincentennial (1776-2026)
Glenn Miller, "American Patrol" from the Glenn Miller's 50 Finest compilation (Mike Patriot Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: America 250

The United States Semiquincentennial (1776-2026)
Matt Maher, "Woke Up in America" from The Love In Between (Mike Patriot Whiskey)

Commentary:

"…And the voice said, "This land ain't dead,
'You still got better days up ahead.'

"I woke up in America for the love of God,
I woke up in America for something bigger than myself,
More than fireworks and fanfare,
More than a star-spangled banner,
You're still beautiful America!

"I've seen the horizon ablaze in Arizona,
Shoreline shoutin' over California,
Moonlight dancin' over the Dakotas,
It breaks your heart, it's so beautiful!
Lady Liberty, she leaves the light on,
From the west side all the way to Long Island,
Carolina Coast to the Rocky Mountains,
The sun is shining over me!

"I woke up in America for the love of God,
I woke up in America for something bigger than myself,
More than wealth or depression,
More than a red or blue nation,
Here in our hells and our heaven,
You're still beautiful America!
You're beautiful America!
You're beautiful America!"