The Explorers' Club Special: Gemini V

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 60th Anniversary of Gemini V
21 August 1965: Gemini V lifted off from Florida's Cape Kennedy Air Force Station, with Command Pilot Gordon Cooper & Pilot Pete Conrad aboard a Gemini spacecraft atop a Titan II G.L.V. rocket, the first capsule powered by fuel cells instead of batteries; the primary mission was to double Gemini IV's then-record four days spent on orbit, simulating the eight days needed to fly to & from the Moon.

29 August 1965: Problems with the new fuel cells threatened to cut short the mission on day one, but Cooper & Conrad pressed on, setting a new endurance record for manned spaceflight, simulating orbital rendezvous, & gathering a wealth of physiological data; Conrad quipped that he wished he'd brought a book; they splashed down in the Atlantic & were recovered by the U.S.S. Lake Champlain.

The Wayback Machine Tour of Gemini V
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCLXVI: The 55th Anniversary of Gemini V, Part I
Space Race Song o' the Day
Space Race Song o' the Day
Space Race Song o' the Day
Space Race Song o' the Day
Space Race Song o' the Day
Space Race Song o' the Day
Space Race Song o' the Day
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCLXVIII: The 55th Anniversary of Gemini V, Part II

Commentary: Gemini V demonstrated two important aspects of Project Apollo, that astronauts could live & work in space long enough to fly to & from the Moon (eight days) & that the new fuel-cell technology worked (though not without bugs), since batteries would not last long enough for Lunar voyages. Gemini V set a new space endurance record, one of the first times the United States had pulled ahead of the Soviet Union in the Space Race.

Gemini IV had established the tradition as astronuats wearing American flags on the space suits; Gemini V established the tradition of the mission patch, though N.A.S.A. management had the "8 Days or Bust" slogan covered up until the eight-day record had been achieved.

Semper exploro.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "Where'd You Go?" from More Noise and Other Disturbances (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: The Mighty Mighty Bosstones are unique among third-wave ska-punk bands. I'm glad the Reel Big Fish & Less Than Jake are still out there releasing new music, but I wish their Twenty-first Century stuff sounded more like their late Twentieth Century stuff. I like the Bosstones' Twentieth Century stuff, like "Where'd You Go?," but I really love their later, Twenty-first Century stuff.

"Lit a cigarette, I couldn't smoke,
Wound the clock until it broke,
Went to bed then took a shower,
Stared at T.V. for an hour,
Did the dishes, made the bed,
Read a book I've never read,
Any minute you will show,
And I'm wondering where did you go?

"Where'd you go?
Where'd you go?
I wanna know!…"

The Explorers' Club, № MCVI

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 50th Anniversary of Project Viking, Part I
20 August 1975: The Viking 1 probe lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station atop a Titan IIIE (A.K.A. Titan III-Centaur) rocket, bound for Mars; Viking 1 consisted of an orbiter, to identify Martian landing sites & photograph the moon Phobos, & a lander, intended to land on 4 July 1976; the Viking 1 orbiter was based on the successful Mariner 9 probe, the first probe to orbit another planet.

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: Viking 1
The Skatalites, "Trip to Mars" from Greetings from Skamania (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

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: SKAugust

The Toasters, "Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down" from Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Your humble narrator wouldn't come to listen to The Toasters until after 2000, but only due to ignorance. I would have loved 1997's Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down if I'd known about it.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Less Than Jake, "Danny Says" from Hello Rockview (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Your humble narrator was nineteen when Hello Rockview was released in late 1998.

"He's only nineteen,
Burnt out on the scene,
He's just getting by on the memories…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

The Hippos, "Don't Worry" from Forget the World (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: I only became aware of ska because a few bands gained nationwide attention during the Summer of Ska (1997); I will never know what it was like in the SoCal ska scene before that nationwide attention. But the awful paradox in "Don't Worry" is that The Hippos themselves started to abandon ska on their sophomore album, 1999's Heads Are Gonna Roll.

"So you know that everybody's going to
The ska shows when it used to be just you,
You feel betrayed, alone, left out,
All your favorite bands have all sold out.

"Don't worry, I, I still love you.
Don't worry, I, I still love you.

"And now you see them on M.T.V.,
No way they're gonna remember little old me!
What's become of your ska scene?
All the bands want money, all the bands are mean.

"Don't worry, I, I still love you.
Don't worry, I, I still love you.

"So please come out to the show tonight,
I promise everything is gonna be all right,
The boys are gonna go and start a pit,
But all you wanna do is dance, you're sick of this punk bit.

"Don't worry, I, I still love you.
Don't worry, I, I still love you."

Saints + Scripture: XX Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

'Tis the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Tempus per annum, "time through the year"): Wikipedia-link.

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

The Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Duvall, "Jesus Never Leaves Me" from Volume & Density (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: The Lord is inevitably a source of division, because not everyone who hears the Good News will accept it; some will always prefer the Creation over the Creator. This is a source of grief to us, but even more so to Him. We ought never relent in praying & fasting for our kith & kin.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: SKAugust

The Chinkees, "Big World" from Peace through Music (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"My love is not enough in this big world…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Dance Hall Crashers, "Go" from Lockjaw (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: My first Dance Hall Crashers album was either Purr (1999) or The Live Album: Witless Banter and 25 Mildly Antagonistic Songs of Love (2000), a great introduction to their catalogue. Only later would I go back & get Lockjaw (1995) & Honey, I'm Homely! (1997), & the The Old Record (1989-1992) compilation (1996). D.H.C. were instrumental in expending my conception of ska beyond the brassy ska-punk from Orange County (plus The Mighty Mighty Bosstones & Less Than Jake), because most of their post-1992 output has been without a horn section.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust!

The Aquabats!, "Ska Robot Army!" from The Return of the Aquabats! (Captain Thumbs Up!)

Skammentary: The Aquabats! achnowledge no sacred cows. They were perfectly willing to lampoon the conformity that often prevailed within the ska scene, somewhat harshly in "Ska Robot Army!" As someone who was a ska kid in the late 1990s, I perceived my fellow kids "skanking in their best suits" less as feeling pressure to conform & more as being excited to experience a sense of belonging to a community. The human heart is tortuous.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Slow Gherkin, "Shed Some Skin" from Shed Some Skin (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: We were just children way back when.

"Today's your twentieth birthday,
Alone you walk the banks of Maine,
As time runs out to write the second verse of
'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.'
While you're gone we'll be here still,
Just beyond those distant hills,
Could be that you got the upper hand
When you left this rustic never-never land?

"And my breathing constricts,
I feel the walls closing in,
Could it be that finally we're all
Shedding some skin?"

Saints + Scripture

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

The Popish Plot
"Heretical Nonsense… FINALLY!, Part 2"

Saints of the Day
'Tis the Memorial of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest & Martyr, O.F.M. Conv. (1894-1941, the "Patron Saint of Our Difficult Century" [the Twentieth] & "Apostle of Consecration to Mary;" A.K.A. Rajmund Kolbe), founder of the Militia Immaculatae (the "Knights of the Immaculata") & the Niepokalanów monastery (the "City of the Immaculate Mother of God"), martyred in the reign of the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Tis the Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Tempus per annum, "time through the year"): Wikipedia-link.

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did."
—Saint Maximilian Kolbe, O.F.M. Conv. (1894-1941, feast: 14 August)

The Explorers' Club, № MCV

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 40th Anniversary of S.T.S.-51-L, Prelude
19 July 1985: Christa McAuliffe, a high school social studies teacher from New Hampshire, was announced as the first Payload Specialist of the Teacher in Space Project, with Barbara Morgan, an elementary school teacher from Idaho, as her backup; McAuliffe & Morgan were chosen from 11,000 applicants; McAuliffe was to teach two short lessons from orbit & afterwards return to the classroom.

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: The Teacher in Space Project
MxPx, "Educated Guess" from The Ever Passing Moment (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

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: SKAugust

Johnny Socko, "She's Righteous" from Full Trucker Effect: Music from the Major Motion Picture (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

The Scofflaws, "Rudy's Back" from the United Colors of Ska, Vol. 1 compilation (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: The Scofflaws are another band to which your humble narrator wasn't listening in the Year 2000, but I could have, had I been aware: The United Colors of Ska comp was released in 1993, four years before I discovered ska in the Summer of Ska.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

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

Skammentary: The August humidity & heat inspire more cynicism than I would otherwise feel.

"Every time I try so hard I get nothin', nothin'!
They say, 'Try and you won't fail;' I get nothin', nothin'!
I did all that I could; I got nothin', nothin'!
Tried so hard for nothin', nothin'!…"

The Explorers' Club Special: August 1915

Operation AXIOM: The World War
August 1915 saw the "Fokker Scourge," a period of German advantage in aerial combat that began in July, escalate; continued & very bloody futility in the Gallipoli Campaign; & Russia's Great Retreat, a well-executed strategic withdrawal that was the beginning of the end of the Russian Empire.

Commentary: August 2015 was bonkers: We published ten episodes of "The Explorers' Club," nine of them highlighting the Great War. The rules of "The Explorers' Club" require three days between episodes & we kept up that frenetic pace for pretty much the whole month. One of those ten episodes filled in important events we'd missed earlier in 2015. Please revisit the "Explorers' Club Specials" for April 1915, May-June 1915, & July 1915, which have been updated.

The Wayback Machine Tour of the World War: August 1915
"The Explorers' Club," № CDXLVIII: The Fokker Scourge, Part I: The synchronization gear
"The Explorers' Club," № CDXLIX: The Gallipoli Campaign, Part IV: The August Offensive (6-21 August 1915)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDL: The Gallipoli Campaign, Part V: Henry Moseley (10 August 1915)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDLI: The Fokker Scourge, Part II: The introduction of fighter aeroplanes
"The Explorers' Club," № CDLIII: The Sinking of the S.S. Arabic by the S.M. U-24 (19 August 1915)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDLIV: The Gallipoli Campaign, Part VI: The Battles of Scimitar Hill & Hill 60 (21-29 August 1915)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDLVI: The Great Retreat, Part III: The Siege of Novogeorgievsk (10-20 August 1915)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDLV: The Great Retreat, Part II: Tsar Nicholas II assumes direct command (21 August 1915)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDLXII: The Fokker Scourge, Part III: Adolphe Pégoud (31 August 1915)

Lest we forget.

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

The Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra featuring Asian Kung-Fu Generation, "Wake Up!" from Ska Me Forever (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Stay alert! The Master might return at any moment!

Bonus! Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Unsteady, "Rockstar (Nevagonnabearockstar)" from Double or Nothing (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Of the bands I listened to in 2000, Unsteady were closer to swing & jazz than to punk, which gave them a distinct sound. A quarter century later, I am more well versed with the length & bredth of ska.

Bonus! Songs o' the Day: In Memoriam

Rob Carriker, "Give a Little Credit to the Navy" from Over There!: Songs from America's Wars (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

&

N.A.S.A., "Apollo 13 Excerpt 9" from The Apollo Missions (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: In memoriam Jim Lovell (25 March 1928-7 August 2025). Requiescat in pace.

The Wayback Machine Tour of Jim Lovell
"The Explorers' Club," № CMXLIX: Astronaut Group 2, Part VII: James Arthur Lovell Junior

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

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

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

The Ska Flames, "Samurai" from Ska Fever (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Your humble narrator didn't listen to The Ska Flames in 2000—I didn't discover them until the 2020s—but I theoretically could have: Ska Fever is from 1989.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Save Ferris, "The World Is New" from It Means Everything (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Explorers' Club, № MCIV

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 40th Anniversary of S.T.S.-51-F, Part II
30 July-6 August 1985: Spacelab 2—The crew split to conduct science twenty-four hours/day (Red Team: Bridges, Henize, & Acton; Blue Team: Musgrave, England, & Bartoe; Fullerton floated 'twixt); the Infrared Telescope imaged 60% of the galactic plane & the Canadarm deployed & recovered the Plasma Diagnostics Package satellite; after 127 orbits, the Challenger landed at California's Edwards.

Commentary: The lower altitude due to the Abort to Orbit during ascent meant the mission timeline had to be entirely rewritten on the fly, but S.T.S.-51-F turned out to be a highly successful flight & was extended for an additional day (seventeen orbits, twenty-five & a half hours).

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: S.T.S.-51-F
Robbie Williams featuring Michael Bublé, "Soda Pop" from Swings Both Ways (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

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: SKAugust

Mustard Plug, "Everything Girl" from Pray for Mojo (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: It was great seeing Mustard Plug live in Detroit last Christmas.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

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

Skammentary: Romantic love leads only to heartbreak in third-wave ska-punk. This suggests a variation on the High Fidelity question: Am I cynical about romantic love because I listen to ska-punk music, or do I listen to ska-punk music because I am cynical about romantic love?

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

MU330, "Pool Party" from MU330 (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: None of us had ever heard of MU330 until we went to Clutch Cargo's in February 1999 to see the Reel Big Fish. I'd been learning about & listening to ska for a year & a half, & that was my first ska show. MU330 were one of the opening band; ever since, we have accounted them the best opening-act find of all time.

The Explorers' Club, № MCIII

Operation AXIOM: Destination Moon—The 60th Anniversary of AS-105
30 July 1965: AS-105 (Saturn I S.A.-10) lifted off from Florida's Cape Kennedy A.F.S., the fifth flight of a boilerplate Apollo C.S.M. & the tenth & final test flight of a Saturn I rocket; the primary objective was to test the launch vehicle's internal guidance systems; AS-105 also deployed the final micrometeoroid detection satellite, Pegasus III, which remained in operation until 1968 & in orbit only until 1969.

The Wayback Machine Tour of Saturn I Test Flights
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCXLVI: The 60th Anniversary of Saturn-Apollo 1
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCLXXXII: The 60th Anniversary of Saturn-Apollo 2
"The Explorers' Club," № CMXVIII: The 60th Anniversary of Saturn-Apollo 3
"The Explorers' Club," № CMXLI: The 60th Anniversary of Saturn-Apollo 4
"The Explorers' Club," № MVII: The 60th Anniversary of Saturn-Apollo 5
"The Explorers' Club," № MXXIX: The 60th Anniversary of AS-101
"The Explorers' Club," № MXLVIII: The 60th Anniversary of AS-102
"The Explorers' Club," № MLXXIV: The 60th Anniversary of AS-103
"The Explorers' Club," № MXCI: The 60th Anniversary of AS-104

Ex Luna, scientia.

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

The Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Osymyso, "Prepare" from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: Original Score Composed by Nigel Goodrich (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: This very night, you might be called to account for your life; be prepared.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: SKAugust

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "All Things Considered" from Pay Attention (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: None of my dearest kith & kin in Blue Tree Whacking, my brothers alongside whom I've made movies & music & danced at innumerable shows, ever liked The Mighty Mighty Bosstones as much as I do. There's no accounting for taste, yet I've always found this perplexing.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

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

Skammentary: All day every day.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAugust

Less Than Jake, "Bad Scene and a Basement Show" from Borders & Boundaries (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: This SKAugust, we are highlighting music to which your humble narrator could have listened in the year 2000, the last year of the Twentieth Century (though popularly reckoned the first year of the Twenty-first Century). Borders & Boundaries was released on 24 October 2000.

If you don't comprehend why the photo above accompanies today's R.B.D.S.O.T.D., ask a member of Generation X.