The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Close but No Cigar" from Straight Outta Lynnwood (Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Explorers' Club, № MC

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 50th Anniversary of Apollo-Soyuz, Part II
17-19 July 1975: The Apollo & Soyuz capsules docked, & Stafford, Leonov, Brand, Kubasov, & Slayton shook hands, took turns boarding each other's spacecraft, exchanged flags & gifts, conducted scientific experiments, & read a statement from General Secretary Brezhnev & spoke with President Ford; after undocking, the Apollo eclipsed the Sun so the Soyuz crew could photograph the corona.

Commentary: The Apollo & Soyuz capsules re-docked after the Solar eclipse experiment, but no more crew transfers took place. The two craft were docked for a total of just under forty-eight hours.

N.A.S.A.'s "worm" logo made its debut during the A.S.T.P., as seen above on Deke Slayton's flight suit.

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
Smash Mouth, "Why Can't We Be Friends?" from Fush Yu Mang (Space Cadet Mike Papa DSKY)

Semper exploro.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: In Memoriam

Guster, "Parachute" from Parachute (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: In memoriam Felix Baumgartner (20 April 1969-17 July 2025). Requiescat in pace.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "King of Suede" from "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: Apollo-Soyuz

Operation AXIOM: The 50th Anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
The Interrupters, "A Friend Like Me" from The Interrupters (Space Cadet Mike Papa DSKY)

Skammentary: The Docking Module provided an airlock between the Apollo & Soyuz capsules, which normally operated at different atmospheric pressures & with different gas mixtures. The Androgynous Peripheral Attach System was jointly developed by the Americans & the Soviets, to allow either side to function as either the "active" or the "passive" partner. It was the basis of the docking system used twenty years later during the Shuttle-Mir program & continuing today on the International Space Station. The Docking Module was stored where the Lunar Module would have gone atop the S-IVB second stage, & extracted using a smilar manuever.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "My Bologna" from "Weird Al" Yankovic (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: We've concluded our non-exhaustive series of songs "Weird Al" played @ Pine Knob on 2 July; now we're just playing "Weird Al" songs. As was said of a different musician in Office Space:

"I celebrate the guy's entire catalogue."

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: Apollo-Soyuz

Operation AXIOM: The 50th Anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
Kemuri, "My Best Friend" from Freedomosh (Space Cadet Mike Papa DSKY)

Skammentary: Apollo-Soyuz was the fourth flight for Commander Tom Stafford (Gemini VI-A, 1965; Gemini IX-A, 1966; Apollo 10, 1969). 'Twas the first flight for Command Module Pilot Vance Brand, who would have commanded Skylab Rescue, if it had been necessary, & who later commanded three Space Shuttle missions (S.T.S.-5, 1982; S.T.S.-41-B, 1984; & S.T.S.-35, 1990). This was the only flight for Docking Module Pilot "Deke" Slaton, one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts, who had been grounded in 1962 on dubious medical grounds.

As of this writing, Major Brand is still alive, aged ninety-four.

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 Rebel Black Dot Songs o' the Day

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "The Saga Begins" from Running with Scissors (Mike Papa Whiskey)

&

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Yoda" from Dare to Be Stupid (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: The encore consisted of "The Saga Begins" & "Yoda," the latter interrupted by a wild, several minutes-long a capella performance by Al & the band, after which they finished playing "Yoda."

The Explorers' Club, № MXCIX

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 50th Anniversary of Apollo-Soyuz, Part I
15-16 July 1975: Soyuz 19 lifted off from the Kazakh S.S.R.'s Baikonur, with CDR Alexei Leonov & F.E. Valery Kubasov aboard a Soyuz 7K-TM capsule atop a Soyuz rocket; call sign Soyuz ("Union"); CDR Tom Stafford, C.M.P. Vance Brand, & Docking Module Pilot Donald "Deke" Slayton lifted off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center aboard an unnamed Apollo C.S.M. atop a Saturn IB rocket.

Commentary: Apollo-Soyuz was the final flight of an Apollo Command & Service Module & the last American manned space flight until the Space Shuttle began flying in 1981. So, we here at "The Explorers' Club" are pulling out all the stops & giving the A.S.T.P. the full Apollo mission treatment. The three manned Skylab missions were arguably more interesting & important that the A.S.T.P., but they were just too long for this kind of effort.

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
Less Than Jake, "All My Best Friends Are Metalheads" from Hello Rockview (Space Cadet Mike Papa DSKY)

Commentary: The above image is the American version of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission patch. The Soviet version was identical, just rotated one hundred eighty degrees (180º) so that the red was on the left & the blue on the right. (The different patch orientations can be seen in the crew portrait above.) The Soviet name for the mission was Experimental Flight Soyuz-Apollo.

Semper exploro.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Tacky" from Mandatory Fun (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: "Weird Al" mounted the stage after a walk through Pine Knob modelled after the music video for "Tacky." There were gasps from the crowd as he came into sight from our seats, not just on the video screens.

The Stars My Destination: Skylab 4

Skylab 4 (16 November 1973-8 February 1974)
Gerald Carr, Commander
Edward Gibson, Science Pilot
William Pogue, Pilot

Command Module: CSM-118

The Wayback Machine Tour of Skylab 4
"The Explorers' Club," № CMXCII: The 50th Anniversary of Skylab 4, Part I
"The Explorers' Club," № CMXCIV: The 50th Anniversary of Skylab 4, Part II
"The Explorers' Club," № CMXCVIII: The 50th Anniversary of Skylab 4, Part III
"The Explorers' Club," № MI: The 50th Anniversary of Skylab 4, Part IV
"The Explorers' Club," № MX: The 50th Anniversary of Skylab 4, Part V

Bonus! Song o' Bastille Day

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Genius in France" from Poodle Hat (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: "Jackson Park Express" (9:05), "Trappedin the Drive-Thru" (10:52), & "Albuquerque" (11:23) are all longer than "Genius in France" (8:56).

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Mission Statement" from Mandatory Fun (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Welcome to the working week.

The Stars My Destination: Skylab 3

Skylab 3 (28 July-25 September 1973)
Alan Bean, Commander
Owen Garriott, Science Pilot
Jack Lousma, Pilot

Command Module: CSM-117

The Wayback Machine Tour of Skylab 3
"The Explorers' Club," № CMLXVII: The 50th Anniversary of Skylab 3, Part I
"The Explorers' Club," № CMLXX: The 50th Anniversary of Skylab 3, Part II
"The Explorers' Club," № CMLXXIII: The 50th Anniversary of Skylab 3, Part III
"The Explorers' Club," № CMLXXXI: The 50th Anniversary of Skylab 3, Part IV

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

The Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Red Stripes, "Mercy (Show a Little)" from Made in Hong Kong (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Today's homily was all about the theme of "Who is my neighbor?," based on this week's Gospel, the Parabe fo teh Good Samaritan. Father took the opportunity to reflect on the current controversy about illegal immigration & the enforcement of immigration laws. It was nuanced & non-polemical.

Bonus! Song o' the Day

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Like a Surgeon" from Dare to Be Stupid (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: "Like a Surgeon" really spoke to Where's Teddy?, who is considering surgeon as a career option, ever since he had surgery to heal one of his fingers after it was crushed in a household accident.

The Stars My Destination: Skylab 1 & Skylab 2

Skylab 2 (25 May-22 June 1973)
Charles "Pete" Conrad, Commander
Joseph Kerwin, Science Pilot
Paul Weitz, Pilot

Command Module: CSM-116

The Wayback Machine Tour of Skylab 1 & Skylab 2
"The Explorers' Club," № CML: The 50th Anniversary of Skylab 1, Part I
"The Explorers' Club," № CMLII: The 50th Anniversary of Skylab 2, Part I
"The Explorers' Club," № CMLV: The 50th Anniversary of Skylab 2, Part II
"The Explorers' Club," № CMLX: The 50th Anniversary of Skylab 2, Part III

Commentary: I ought to have done this back in February 2024, after the fiftieth anniversary of Skylab 4, just as I did for the Apollo missions in December 2022, after the fiftieth anniversary of Apollo 17. I regret the error. Stay tuned tomorrow & overmorrow for Skylab 3 & Skylab 4.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "White & Nerdy" from Straight Outta Lynnwood (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: "Weird Al's" first album was released in 1983, when I was a small child. His music speaks to me so profoundly in part because it has been there my whole life, & because until the 2010s he always parodied music I knew from popular culture. But I don't know that he has a song that speaks to my life more directly than "White & Nerdy." Not all of the details match, but I am most certainly white (pasty pale) & nerdy.

The Explorers' Club Special: July 1915

Operation AXIOM: The World War
July 1915 saw the first victory in aerial combat, a dozen years after the Wright Brothers invented the aeroplane. In East Africa, a German ship's guns were removed & repurposed as field artillery.

Commentary: In July 2015, "The Explorers' Club" was still recovering from a rough spring. We'd be backon track by August.

The Wayback Machine Tour of the World War: July 1915
"The Explorers' Club," № CDXLV: The first victory in air-to-air combat (1 July 1915)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDXLVI: The Battle of the Rufiji Delta (October 1914-11 July 1915)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDLIX: The Endless Battles of the Isonzo, Part I: The First & Second Battles of the Isonzo (23 June-3 August 1915)

Lest we forget.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Operation AXIOM: The 221st Anniversary of the Burr-Hamilton Duel
"Weird Al" Yankovic, "The Hamilton Polka" from the The Hamilton Polka single (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: "The Hamilton Polka" is all I know about the music of Hamilton: An American Musical.

Context is important when considering current political events. Never forget that on 11 July 1804 the third & incumbent Vice President of the United States, Aaron Burr, murdered the inaugural & former United States Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Word Crimes" from Mandatory Fun (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: There is an even more desperate need for educational tools like "Word Crimes" now than there was eleven years ago when Mandatory Fun was released.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Skipper Dan" from Alpocalypse (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Yesterday, I remarked to Brother Envy, who also attended last Wednesday's "Weird Al"concert at Pine Knob, that "Skipper Dan" was the most surprising performance of the show. He replied, "I love 'Skipper Dan'!" I wasn't expressing any dislike for "Skipper Dan," but I was then & remain now surprisedto have heard it alongside "Smells Like Nirvana," "Fat," & "Amish Paradise," etc.

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, № MXCVIII

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 60th Anniversary of Mariner-Mars 1964, Part III
14-15 July 1965: The Mariner 4 probe flew by Mars, approaching to within 6,118 miles; it was the first Earth probe to return images of another planet from deep space, returning 22 photographs, covering about 1% of the Martian surface; Mariner 4 shattered the science-fiction speculation of Mars as host to abundant life, revealing a thin atmosphere, no liquid water on the surface, & no magnetic field.

Commentary: Mariner 4 continued to transmit data until October 1965, when an imprecise antenna orientation caused a loss of communication for almost two years. Communication was resumed by September 1967, recording multiple micrometeoroid hits; the probe's attitude-control gas supply was exhausted by 7 December & communication terminated on 21 December 1967.

We had to move up by a week the observance of the sixtieth anniversary of Mariner 4's Martian flyby to avoid a conflict with the fiftieth anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.

The Wayback Machine Tour of Mariner-Mars 1964
"The Explorers' Club," № MLV: The 60th Anniversary of Mariner-Mars 1964, Part I (Mariner 3)
"The Explorers' Club," № MLIX: The 60th Anniversary of Mariner-Mars 1964, Part II (Mariner 4)

Semper exploro.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Everything You Know Is Wrong" from Bad Hair Day (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"Everything you know is wrong!
Just forget the words and sing along,
All you need to understand
Is everything you know is wrong!…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Fat" from Even Worse (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: The costume change into a fat suit to perform "Fat" was the most impressive of the whole night. Wow!

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

The Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Meredith Andrews, "The Gospel Changes Everything" from the Behold the Savior E.P. (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: We're been in Ordinary Time since the day after Pentecost, but it's been hard to see because of the extra-long string of blockbuster Sundays. Today, on the holiday weekend, we truly return "growing season."

This is also the first Sunday of the new Mass schedule @ Saint Matthew; so, the R.B.D.S.O.T.D. post on Sundays will now be at ten o'clock A.M. instead of eleven o'clock.

Bonus! Song o' the Day

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me" from Alpocalypse (Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Amish Paradise" from Bad Hair Day (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"There's no time for sin and vice, living in an Amish paradise…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Independence Day

Victoria Justice, "Make It in America" from Victorious 2.0: More Music from the Hit TV Show (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Bonus! Song o' Independence Day

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Party in the C.I.A." from Alpocalypse (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"Staging a coup, like, yeah,
Brainwashing moles, like, yeah,
We only torture the folks we don't like,
You're probably gonna be O.K.

"Yeah! It's a party in the C.I.A!
Yeah! It's a party in the C.I.A!"

The Explorers' Club, № MXCVII

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 40th Anniversary of S.T.S.-51-L, Prelude
July 1985: Morton Thiokol engineer Roger Boisjoly, after investigating the "blow-by" damage to the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters' O-rings from S.T.S.-51-C, sent a memorandum to his superiors warning of the potential for O-ring failure to result in "a catastrophe of the highest order" due to the flawed S.R.B. design, especially if exacerbated by cold temperatures at launch; he was unheeded.

Commentary: S.T.S.-51-C launched on 24 January 1985; the S.R.B. O-ring temperature at launch had been fifty-three degrees Fahrenheit (53º F), the coldest yet. Overnight S.R.B. O-ring temperatures on 28 January 1986, prior to the launch of S.T.S.-51-L, dropped to eight degrees Fahrenheit (8º F).

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day
Operation Ivy, "Take Warning" from the Operation Ivy compilation (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Dare to Be Stupid" from Dare to Be Stupid (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: "Dare to Be Stupid" was one of last night's highlights & an unexpected delight, played in its entirely, not partially in a medley.

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 Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Project MERCATOR
"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Smells Like Nirvana" from Off the Deep End (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Tonight's the night! Five of us are going to see "Weird Al" live in concert @ Pine Knob, blessedly named Pine Knob Music Theatre again, instead of Corporate Sponsor Music Theatre.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Canada Day, Eh

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Canadian Idiot" from Straight Outta Lynnwood (Mike Papa Canadian Whisky)

Commentary, Eh: Happy Dominion Day, you hosers!