Section 31: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2024)

Episode o' the Day
"Rocks and Shoals" (season six, episode two; 6 October 1997): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: The Vorta Keevan, who sends his Jem'Hadar into an ambush to save his own skin, is arguably the most evil character on the whole series, up there with Gul Dukat & the Female Changleling. He'll get his comeuppance later this season, during "The Magnificent Ferengi."

Remata'Klan, the Jem'Hadar unit commander, though still called Third because Keevan won't acknowledge him as First, joins the ranks of Goran'Agar ("Hipocratic Oath," season four, episode three) & Omet'iklan ("To the Death," season four, episode twenty-two) in showing the multi-faceted nature of the Jem'Hadar. Yes, the Jem'Hadar are brutal, genetically-engineered killers, but they are sapient beings with consciences, not mere biological automata.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Reel Big Fish, "Famous Last Words" from Candy Coated Fury (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"I'm not gonna make it,
I don't think I can take it;
So, I'm gonna quit while I'm ahead…"

Operation ÖSTERREICH

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

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

Section 31: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2024)

Episode o' the Day
"A Time to Stand" (season six, episode one; 29 September 1997): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: "A Time to Stand" stands in a unique place, as Star Trek entered a new phase of serialized storytelling. Serialization is all the rage now, to what I perceive as an excessive & damaging extent, but in the 1990s, in first-run syndication, serialization was bold & controversial. The Dominion War spans the whole of seasons six & seven, but within that wider framework the last episode of season five & the first six episodes of season six form a multi-episode arc. "Call to Arms" did not end with a "To be continued…" card, but "A Time to Stand" begins with the typical second-part-of-a-duology narration, "Last time on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine…," which then ends with, "And now, the continuation," instead of, "And now, the conclusion." The only other time, "And now, the continuation," was used was "The Circle," the second part of the unprecedented trilogy that began season two ("The Homecoming," "The Circle," & "The Siege"), which ended with the "To be continued…" card. Not so "A Time to Stand." "Call to Arms" & "A Time to Stand" are not a The Next Generation- & Voyager-style season-bridging duology (e.g., "The Best of Both Worlds, Parts I & II" or "Basics, Parts I & II"), but the first two chapters of a seven-part arc.

Plot-wise, Captain Sisko & crew (minus Major Kira, Odo, Quark, & Jake Sisko, who remain on the Dominion-occupied space station) go behind enemy lines to destroy a ketracel-white storage facility using the salvage Jem'Hadar ship from "The Ship" (season five, episode two).

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

The Mr. T Experience, "New Girlfriend" from Pounded: The Official Comic Book Soundtrack (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Section 31: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2024)

Episode o' the Day
"Call to Arms" (season five, episode twenty-six; 16 June 1997): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: And so it begins.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

MxPx, "Chick Magnet" from Life in General (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"He ain't got a girlfriend,
No one to sing this song to,
He's gonna settle down
If he meets that special girl soon…"

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

The Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
No Doubt, "Marry Me" from Return of Saturn (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Explorers' Club, № ML

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 40th Anniversary of S.T.S.-41-G (№ 13), Part I
5 October 1984: The Space Shuttle Challenger OV-099 lifted off from Florida's K.S.C. with CDR Bob Crippen, Pilot "Big Jon" McBride, M.S.1 Kathy Sullivan, M.S.2 Sally Ride, M.S.3 Dave Leestma, P.S.1 Paul Scully-Power, & P.S.2 Marc Garneau (Canadian Space Agency), the largest crew yet; the septet deployed the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite; the Challenger also carried eight Getaway Specials.

Commentary: S.T.S.-41-G was the sixth flight of the Challenger OV-099.

The seven-member crew pioneered on S.T.S.-41-G would become the default standard for the remainder of the Shuttle program, the next quarter century.

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: S.T.S.-41-G
Fountains of Wayne, "Radiation Vibe" from Fountains of Wayne (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

Bonus! Song o' Trivia Night

Project Mercator: Trivia Night @ Saint Matthew
Reel Big Fish, "You Don't Know" from Why Do They Rock So Hard? (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: Yesterday, my Trivia Night colleague, Alpha Whiskey; her husband, Delta Whiskey; a pair of regular Trivia Night contestants, Tango Lima & Juliett Mike; & your humble narrator journeyed to Alpha Whiskey's mom's non-denominational ecclesial community to compete in their monthly trivia night. We prevailed, winning both the fun & the trivia. Huzzah! I greatly enjoy hosting Trivia Night @ Saint Matthew, but at the price of not being able to compete. It was highly satisfying to get back into the cut & thrust of competition, & to enjoy the thrill of victory again.

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

Team 145, Game 6: Michigan @ Washington
Nirvana, "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle" from In Utero (Mike Papa Wolverine)

Commentary: I cannot publish today's R.B.D.S.O.T.D. at kickoff time, as is Secret Base tradition, because of tonight's episode of "The Explorers' Club." This is of course because today's National Championship rematch is a hated night game. Have I mentioned that I hate night games? I really hate night games.

Go Blue!

The Stars My Destination: Clifton Williams

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—In Memoriam C.C. Williams
Fifty-seven years ago to the day, 5 October 1967, Major Clifton Curtis "C.C." Williams Junior, U.S.M.C., died after ejecting from his T-38 Talon, which crashed due to a mechanical failure; he was selected in Astronaut Group 3 in October 1963 & was the seventh member of the Astronaut Corps to perish in Man's conquest of space.

The Wayback Machine Tour of Clifton Williams
The Explorers' Club, № CMVI

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

Reel Big Fish, "Your Girlfriend Sucks" from Candy Coated Fury (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

New Found Glory, "All about Her" from New Found Glory (Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Explorers' Club, № MXLIX

Operation AXIOM: Between the Wars
6 April-28 September 1924: Two Douglas World Cruiser aeroplanes of the U.S. Army Air Service, the Chicago & the New Orleans, completed the first aerial circumnavigation of Earth, without radios or avionics; the planes switched between wheels & floats depending on the route; the Seattle crashed on the Alaska Peninsula & the Boston sank under tow in the North Atlantic Ocean; all crew survived.

Commentary: Expedition commander Lieutenant Lowell Smith & Lt. Leslie Arnold (the Chicago) & Lt. Erik Nelson & Lt. John Harding Jr. (the New Orleans) completed the circumnavigation; Lt. Leigh Wade & Staff Sergeant Henry Ogden (the Boston) rejoined the expedition in Nova Scotia in a replacement aeroplane (the Boston II); original expedition commander Major Frederick Martin & S.Sgt. Alva Harvey (the Seattle) were ten days in the Alaskan wilderness before reaching civilization.

Semper exploro.

Operation ÖSTERREICH

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

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

Section 31: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2024)

Episode o' the Day
"In the Cards" (season five, episode twenty-five; 9 June 1997): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: "In the Cards" is the last regular episode of D.S.9 before the epic Dominion War.

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

Team 145, Game 5: Michigan v. Minnesota
The University of Michigan Marching Band, "Little Brown Jug" from Hurrah for the Yellow and Blue (Mike Papa Wolverine)

Commentary: Go Blue!

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, "Friday on My Mind" from Go Down Under (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Section 31: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2024)

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

Episode o' the Day
"Empok Nor" (season five, episode twenty-four; 19 May 1997): Wikipedia-link.

Section 31: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2024)

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

Episode o' the Day
"Blaze of Glory" (season five, episode twenty-three; 12 May 1997): Wikipedia-link.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

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

Commentary: "Foil" is a brilliant exemplar of "Weird Al's" œuvre, combining a food song ("Eat It," "The White Stuff") with a lifestyle song ("Like a Surgeon," "Amish Paradise"). The music video is a classic, especially Patton Oswalt's reactions: YouTube-link.

Section 31: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2024)

Episode o' the Day
"Children of Time" (season five, episode twenty-two; 5 May 1997): Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Odo is a monster. He is just as imperious as any other Changeling, as the Founders of the Dominion.

Operation ÖSTERREICH: Saint Michael's Lent

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

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

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Sex Bob-Omb, "Garbage Truck" from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Today

Dienstag, 24. September
MxPx, "Sad Sad Song" from Secret Weapon (Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Yesterday

Montag, 23. September
Real Can of Yams featuring J. Coliadis, "We Had a Chance" from the Nothing Can Kill the Grimace E.P. (The Last Angry Man)

Section 31: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2024)

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

Episode o' the Day
"Soldiers of the Empire" (season five, episode twenty-one; 28 April 1997): Wikipedia-link.

Section 31: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2024)

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

Episode o' the Day
"Ferengi Love Songs" (season five, episode twenty; 21 April 1997): Wikipedia-link.

The Explorers' Club, № MXLVIII

Operation AXIOM: Destination Moon—The 60th Anniversary of AS-102
18 September 1964: AS-102 (Saturn I S.A.-7) lifted off from Florida's Cape Kennedy A.F.S., the second flight of a boilerplate Apollo C.S.M.; the Launch Escape System was jettisoned for the first time & AS-102 was the first flight to carry a reprogrammable guidance computer; the search for the eight in-flight camera pods was thwarted by Hurricane Gladys, but two of those later washed ashore.

Commentary: The flight test lasted for five orbits; after fifty-nine orbits, the boilerplate C.S.M. re-entered the atmosphere & crashed into the Indian Ocean (22 September).

Ex Luna, scientia.

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

The Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Audrey Assad, "Lamb of God" from the Death, Be Not Proud E.P. (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Bonus! Song o' the First Day o' Autumn

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

Suburban Legends, "Autumn in the Park" from Rump Shaker (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

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

Team 145, Game 4: Michigan v. U.S.C.
Half Past Two, "So Cal Summer" from the Camp Slushtone E.P. (Mike Papa Wolverine)

Commentary: B1G conference play opens against the University of Southern… California? What I have never understood about the epithetless Trojans & their whole schtick—the Spirit of Troy marching band, the Trojan Shrine statue (Tommy Trojan)—is that Troy not only lost the legendary Trojan War, but the city was destroyed so comprehensively that it was lost to history until the 1870s. The "topless towers of Ilium" were toppled! Trojan Horse, anyone? Weird to emulate defeat.

The loss of regionalism in college football is a terrible, terrible mistake. This process began a decade ago—2014—when the B1G abandoned its Midwestern identity by admitting Maryland & Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. But even Maryland & New Jersey, as non-Midwestern as they are, are at least continguous with B1G territory. Admitting the Left Coast—Washington, Oregon, & California—is something else entirely. Not only has the B1G disdained its own identity, but we fans are being asked to embrace the Ancient Enemy, core members of the former Pac-12, as members of our own conference. I don't know for certain that conference realignment & the end of regionalism will destroy college sports, but I do know that these malign forces are already dimming my love for college sports. It could turn out that 2023 was the last year of college football, & the valiant Wolverines are the ultimate champions.

Go Blue!

Bonus! Song o' the Last Day o' Summer!

The Aquabats!, "Pool Party!" (live) from The Fury of The Aquabats! Live at The Fonda! (Captain Thumbs Up!)

Section 31: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2024)

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

Episode o' the Day
"Ties of Blood and Water" (season five, episode nineteen; 14 April 1997): Wikipedia-link.

The Rebel Black Dot End o' Summer Song o' the Day

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "Wasted Summers" from Pin Points and Gin Joints (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"Here comes another wasted summer,
Here comes another wasted summer,
Here comes another wasted summer,
On and on it goes, that's the way it goes…"

Section 31: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2024)

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

Episode o' the Day
"Business as Usual" (season five, episode eighteen; 7 April 1997): Wikipedia-link.

The Rebel Black Dot End o' Summer Song o' the Day

Ramones, "Rockaway Beach" from the Ramones Mania compilation (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"Chewin' out a rhythm on my bubble gum,
The sun is out and I want some,
It's not hard, not far to reach,
We can hitch a ride to Rockaway Beach!

"Up on the roof, out on the street,
Down in the playground, the hot concrete,
Bus ride is too slow,
They blast out the disco on the radio.

"Rock, rock, Rockaway Beach,
Rock, rock, Rockaway Beach,
Rock, rock, Rockaway Beach,
We can hitch a ride to Rockaway Beach!…"

Section 31: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-2024)

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

Episode o' the Day
"A Simple Investigation" (season five, episode seventeen; 31 March 1997): Wikipedia-link.

Operation ÖSTERREICH: Saint Michael's Lent

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

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

Bonus! Lied von ÖSTERREICH!
MU330, "Hot Dogs" from Chumps on Parade (Mike Papa Walrus)

The Rebel Black Dot End o' Summer Song o' the Day

MxPx, "Vacation" from On the Cover II (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"A week without you,
Thought I'd forget,
Two weeks without you and I
Still haven't gotten over you yet!

"Vacation, all I ever wanted,
Vacation, had to get away,
Vacation, meant to be spent alone…"