The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Alien Ant Farm, "Smooth Criminal" from ANThology (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: I don't necessarily prefer Alien Ant Farm's cover of "Smooth Criminal" to Michael Jackson's original, but today it was the cover, not the original, running through my head.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Less Than Jake, "The Space They Can't Touch" from GNV FLA (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)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Slow Gherkin, "In Love with Moviestars" from Run Screaming (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Listening to Guster's "Barrel of a Gun" yesterday, I could not help but think of "In Love with Moviestars." So, here you go.

"In love with moviestars,
I've been living out a fantasy,
Because I couldn't do it by myself,
I'll just play it out vicariously…

"In love with moviestars,
I'll write a song to say I love her,
And all her dialogue's about me,
I'll fill one absense with another.

"We went so far (We went so far),
In love with moviestars,
We went so far (We went so far),
In love with moviestars…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Guster, "Barrel of a Gun" from Lost and Gone Forever (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"I know a movie star,
I've got her plastered to my wall,
Just like we're dear old friends,
Like she already knows me.
She's as perfect as she seems,
Lifts me right out the mezzanine,
I finally fell in love,
I'd been waiting forever…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Lenka, "Trouble Is a Friend" from Lenka (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

The Explorers' Club, № MCXXIII

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 40th Anniversary of the Buran, Prelude
10 November 1985-15 April 1988: The O.K.-G.L.I. test vehicle (A.K.A. the Buran Analog B.T.S.-02) conducted twenty-five test flights, piloted by Rimantas Stankevičius & Igor Volk, Anatoly Levchenko & Alexandr Shchukin, & Ivan Buchurin & Alexei Borodai; the O.K.-G.L.I. was fitted with four jet engines for taking off & climbing to altitude before gliding back to the ground as the Buran spaceplane would.

Commentary: Most episodes about Soviet spaceflight will continue to follow the fiftieth anniversary track (Soyuz capsules & Salyut space stations), but since the Buran was the Soviet answer to the Space Shuttle, it seemed more fitting to follow the Shuttle's fortieth anniversary track.

The Buran O.K.-G.L.I.'s 1985-1988 flights were the equivalent of the Space Shuttle Enterprise's 1977 Approach & Landing Tests: "The Explorers' Club," № DCCCVIII.

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: Buran Test Flights
Robbie Williams, "Straighten Up and Fly Right" from Swings Both Ways (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

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

The Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
The O.C. Supertones, "Perseverance of the Saints" from Supertones Strike Back (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: Go Blue!

Team 146, Game 10: Michigan @ Northwestern
Big D and the Kids Table, "Chicago" from How It Goes (Mike Papa Wolverine)

Commentary: Go Blue!

The Stars My Destination: Michael J. Adams

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—In Memoriam Mike Adams
Fifty-eight years ago to the day, 15 November 1967, Major Michael James Adams, U.S.A.F., died when his X-15 broke up midflight; he was selected as part of the Air Force's Manned Orbiting Laboratory (M.O.L.) Group 1 in November 1965; a veteran of six successful X-15 flights, he was the only fatality of the X-15 program.

The Wayback Machine Tour of Michael J. Adams
"The Explorers' Club," № CMXIV

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

Requiescat in pace.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Sugar Ray featuring Super Cat, "Fly" from Floored (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Bonus! Mambo Song o' the Day

Tito Puente, "Señor Burns" from Songs in the Key of Springfield: Original Music from the Television Series (Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Lou Bega, "Mambo № 5 (A Little Bit of…)" from A Little Bit of Mambo (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: I tried to answer the question, "What is ska?," posed by a fellow catechist & she asked, "Like 'Mambo № 5'?" No, not like 'Mambo № 5.' I mean, mambo is in the title, after all; the song's not called "Ska № 5." In fairness, though, she probably doesn't know mambo is a genre of music, & I didn't have the time to explain the history of both ska (Jamaica) & mambo (Cuba).

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

The Skamotts, "Tapiokamura" from Pleasure Isle (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)

The Explorers' Club Special: November 1915

Operation AXIOM: The World War
In November 1915, the Italian versus Austro-Hungarian meat grinder on the Isonzo River (known as the Soča River in Slovene) intensified; the British Indian advance was blunted at Ctesiphon, the ancient Parthian & Sasanid capital, setting the stage for a worse disaster in Mesopotamia; & the annihilation of Serbia continued apace.

The Wayback Machine Tour of the World War: November 1915
"The Explorers' Club," № CDLXX: The Endless Battles of the Isonzo, Part II: The Third & Fourth Battles of the Isonzo (18 October-2 December 1915)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDLXXII: The Serbian Campaign, Part II: The Battle of Krivolak (17 October-21 November 1915)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDLXXI: The Battle of Ctesiphon (22-25 November 1915)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDLXXIII: The Serbian Campaign, Part III: The Serbians retreat into Albania (25 November 1915-10 February 1916)

Lest we forget.

Armistice Day

"Armistice Day has become Veterans' Day. Armistice Day was sacred. Veterans' Day is not."
—Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Breakfast of Champions

Operation AXIOM: The 107th Anniversary of the Armistice of Compiègne
One hundred seven years ago to the day, 11 November 1918, "at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month," the guns fell silent on the Western Front. The "War to End All Wars" was over. Tens of millions were dead. Empires lay in ruins. Revolution was in the air. The world that had existed before the summer of 1914 was shattered utterly, torn asunder by unfathomable bloodshed.

The world had never seen madness as red as the World War; pray to the Almighty that we shall not see madness so red in our own lifetime. A century later, only the ignorant &/or the foolish would say we do not live in a world yet scarred by 1914-1918, haunted by the ghost of a war most of us prefer to pretend never happened. Western civilization barely survived the suicide attempt of 1914-1918, & might yet succumb to the wound. It all ended—in triumph, in defeat, in exhaustion, in jubilation—on 11 November 1918, one hundred seven years ago today.

"For All We Have and Are"
by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)

For all we have and are,
For all our children's fate,
Stand up and meet the war.
The Hun is at the gate!
Our world has passed away
In wantonness o'erthrown.
There is nothing left to-day
But steel and fire and stone.

Though all we knew depart,
The old commandments stand:
"In courage keep your heart,
In strength lift up your hand."

Once more we hear the word
That sickened earth of old:
"No law except the sword
Unsheathed and uncontrolled,"
Once more it knits mankind,
Once more the nations go
To meet and break and bind
A crazed and driven foe.

Comfort, content, delight—
The ages' slow-bought gain—
They shrivelled in a night,
Only ourselves remain
To face the naked days
In silent fortitude,
Through perils and dismays
Renewed and re-renewed.

Though all we made depart,
The old commandments stand:
"In patience keep your heart,
In strength lift up your hand."

No easy hopes or lies
Shall bring us to our goal,
But iron sacrifice
Of body, will, and soul.
There is but one task for all—
For each one life to give.
Who stands if Freedom fall?
Who dies if England live?

"The Deserter"
by Winifred Mary Letts (1882-1972)

There was a man, — don't mind his name,
Whom fear has dogged by night and day.
He could not face the German guns
And so he turned and ran away.
Just that-he turned and ran away,
But who can judge him, you or I?
God makes a man of flesh and blood
Who yearns to live and not to die.
And this man when he feared to die.
Was scared as any frightened child,
His knees were shaking under him,
His breath came fast, his eyes were wild.
I've seen a hare with eyes as wild,
With throbbing heart and sobbing breath.
But oh! it shames one's soul to see
A man in abject fear of death.
But fear had gripped him, so had death;
His number had gone up that day,
They might not heed his frightened eyes,
They shot him when the dawn was grey
Blindfolded, when the dawn was grey,
He stood there in a place apart,
The shots rang out and down he fell,
An English bullet in his heart.
An English bullet in his heart!
But here's the irony of life,-
His mother thinks he fought and fell
A hero, foremost in the strife.
So she goes proudly; to the strife
Her best, her hero son she gave.
O well for her she does not know
He lies in a deserter's grave.

The Wayback Machine Tour of Armistice Day: Lest We Forget
Armistice Day '24 + Armistice Day '23

Armistice Day '22 + Armistice Day '21 + Armistice Day '20 + Armistice Day '18

Armistice Day '17 + Armistice Day '16 + Armistice Day '15 + Armistice Day '14

Armistice Day '13 + Armistice Day '12 + Armistice Day '11 + Armistice Day '10

Armistice Day '09 + Armistice Day '08 + Armistice Day '07 + Armistice Day '06

Armistice Day '05 + Armistice Day '04 + Armistice Day '03 + Armistice Day '02

The Explorers' Club № DCLVI: 11 November 1918—The Armistice
The Explorers' Club № DCCXVI: 11 November 1919—The First Armistice Day
The Explorers' Club № DCCLXXXIII: 11 November 1920—The Second Armistice Day
The Explorers' Club № DCCCLVII: 11 November 1921—The Third Armistice Day

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Armistice Day
Rob Carriker, "Over There!" from Over There!: Songs from America's Wars (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Lest we forget.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Edmund Fitzgerald

Gordon Lightfoot, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" from Summertime Dream (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Operation AXIOM
Fifty years ago to the day, 10 November 1975, twenty-nine souls were lost when the lake freighter S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald sank amidst a severe storm—"the Witch of November"—on Lake Superior, a freshwater sea of monstrous proportions. The captain's last radio message, transmitted while the Edmund Fitzgerald battled against thirty-five-foot waves, was, "We are holding our own." The Edmund Fitzgerald was a legend in her own time, setting six seasonal haul records in a seventeen-year career, yet her doomed crew & tragic wreck would be all but forgotten today if not for this date's annual R.B.D.S.O.T.D., the popular 1976 ballad, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, to whom our collective memory owes a great debt.

Twenty-nine men perished when the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald sank on 10 November 1975, fifty years ago today.

The Wayback Machine Tour of the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Edmund Fitzgerald '24 + Edmund Fitzgerald '23 + Edmund Fitzgerald '22 + Edmund Fitzgerald '21

Edmund Fitzgerald '20 + Edmund Fitzgerald '18 + Edmund Fitzgerald '17 + Edmund Fitzgerald '16

Edmund Fitzgerald '15 + Edmund Fitzgerald '14 + Edmund Fitzgerald '11 + Edmund Fitzgerald '10

The Explorers' Club, № MCXXII

Operation AXIOM: Between the Wars
9 November 1925: The Schutzstaffel ("Protection Squadron;" S.S.) was officially founded as the personal bodyguard of Adolf Hitler, on the second anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch; originally part of the Sturmabteilung (S.A.), the S.S. eventually superseded the S.A., becoming the key organ of Nazi tyranny & the Shoah (the Holocaust); the S.S. was outlawed by the victorious Allies in 1945.

Commentary: It really shouldn't have to be said at this point, but NAZIS ARE BAD.

Lest we forget.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Lateran Basilica

The Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
Sufjan Stevens, "In This Temple, As In the Hearts of Man for Whom He Saved the Earth" from Sufjan Stevens Invites You To: Come On, Feel the Illinoise (A.K.A. Illinois) (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Bonus! Song o' the First Snow

Meaghan Smith, "It Snowed" from the iTunes Holiday Sampler compilation (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: In the words of Professor Farnsworth, "Good news, everyone!"

Bonus! Song o' Trivia Night

Project Mercator: Trivia Night @ Saint Matthew
The Chinkees, "You Don't Know" from The Chinkees… Are Coming! (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: "You Don't Know" by The Chinkees should not be confused with "You Don't Know" by Monkey (from their album, Cruel Tutelage), nor with "You Don't Know" by Reel Big Fish (from their album, Why Do They Rock So Hard?). Now you can't say you don't know.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: Bye Week

Team 146, Bye Week 2
The Aquabats!, "The Story of Nothing!" (live) from The Fury of The Aquabats! Live at The Fonda (Mike Papa Wolverine)

Commentary: Go Blue!

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Reel Big Fish, "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful" from We're Not Happy 'til You're Not Happy (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Beware the green-eyed monster of envy, & the related evil of resentment.

"You see, it should have been me!
Oh, it could have been me!
Everybody knows,
Everybody says so…"

The Explorers' Club, № MCXXI

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 40th Anniversary of S.T.S.-61-A, Part II
31 October-6 November 1985: Spacelab D1—The crew split to conduct science twenty-four hours/day (Blue Team: Hartsfield, Nagel, Dunbar, Furrer, & Ockels; Red Team: Buckli, Bluford, & Messerschmid); the mission was paid for by & Spacelab's experiments operated from West Germany (D1 = Deutschland-1 ["Germany-1"]); after 112 orbits, the Challenger landed at California's Edwards.

Commentary: Flight operations were controlled from the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, United States, payload operations from the German Space Operations Center in Oberpfaffenhofen, Bavaria, West Germany. This international, multi-site coordination helped pave the way for the International Space Station & the Artemis Program.

Bonus! Space Age Song o'the Day: S.T.S.-61-A
Johnny Socko, "Hasselhoff" from Full Trucker Effect (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: I would have thought that with an eight-person crew, the Blue & Red Teams would each have four members. I have no idea why the Blue Team had five members & the Red Team only three.

Semper exploro.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Mustard Plug, "Aye Aye Aye" from Can't Contain It (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"Keeping it up, but you want to go,
Tearing it up though you're moving slow,
Say what you want, but I know you believe! (I believe!)
Keep up the pace though you're burning up,
I don't know how that I keep it up,
Everyone drops but I know you can see! (See the light!)

"Aye, aye, aye I never let go!
Aye, aye, aye though you tell me so!
Aye, aye, aye 'cause I know we believe! (I believe!)

"Looking around I see another one,
Time moves along not having any fun,
I don't know how but I manage to keep, (Feel the heat!)
Keep up the pace, yeah, we're burning up,
I don't know how but I keep it up,
Say what you want but I know we can see…"

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

The Abruptors, "Don't Worry" from the Buffalo Ska E.P. (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"Don't worry, it'll be all right,
Don't worry, I'll keep you safe at night,
Don't worry, I'll listen what you say,
Don't worry, yeah, there will come a day…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Shaggy & Rayvon, "Angel" from Hot Shot (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"Life is one big party when you're still young,
But who's gonna have your back when it's all done? (Yeah)
It's all good when you're little, you have pure fun,
Can't be a fool, son, what about the long run?…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

The Skamotts featuring Kuro, "Put Your Records On" from Pleasure Isle (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Explorers' Club, № MCXX

Operation AXIOM
9-10 November 1975: Valery Sablin, political commissar of the Soviet frigate Storozhevoy, led a mutiny in protest against the corruption & complacency of the Brezhnev era; the Storozhevoy fled Riga, bound for Leningrad; the ship was pursued by half the Soviet Baltic Fleet & boarded by naval infantry after the crew turned against Sablin; he was tried for high treason & executed in August 1976.

Commentary: The mutiny was unknown in the West until it was a subject of a master's thesis in 1982. That master's thesis helped inspire Tom Clancy's 1984 novel, The Hunt for Red October.

Semper exploro.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' All Souls Day

The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day)
Audrey Assad, "Death, Be Not Proud" from the Death, Be Not Proud E.P. (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: Go Blue!

Team 146, Game 9: Michigan v. Purdue
Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer, "Riding Trains in November" from Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer (Mike Papa Wolverine)

Commentary: Have I mentioned how much I hate night games? Because I really hate night games. This is the valiant Wolverines' nineth game of the season & fifth night game out of those nine, an absolute majority.

Go Blue!

Bonus! Song o' All Saints Day

The Solemnity of All Saints
The Dixieland All Stars, "When the Saints Go Marching In" from The Dixieland All Stars: The Greatest Band in the World (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)