Sunday, July 1, 2007

The Explorers Club
No. XXXII - The Twelve Labors of Heracles, Part I: the ire of Hera and the murders of Megara and the children; the Nemean Lion, the Hydra, the Ceryneian Hind, the Erymanthian Boar, and the Augean stables.





The Disney animated film Hercules, from whence I have taken the above image of Megara, departs significantly from the traditional Heracles/Hercules narrative, but a) it's highly enjoyable on its own merits and b) there aren't all that terribly many images of Megara around. Hera-inflicted madness or no, too much emphasis is placed on the labors themselves and too little on why Heracles, certainly no hero in any Judeo-Christian moral framework, was obligated to perform ten (eventually twelve) labors for King Eurystheus. Thus, lest we be tempted to forget Heracles's great crime, Megara.

Dominion Day
Happy Dominion Day to our friends in the Great White North! Yes, yes, nowadays they prefer to call it "Canada Day," but from the Great War to Armistice Day to Dominion Day, my preference for certain anachronisms is well-documented. And the formal name of the fabled Canadas is still the Dominion of Canada. I have always described Michigan as the most Canadian state in the Union; so, amid the interminable rain and thunderstorms of benighted Fort Worthless my thoughts all day dwelt on the sacred soil of beloved Michigan. Happy Dominion Day, you hosers!

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
William Shatner, "Real" from Has Been (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: William Shatner is not James T. Kirk, but I admire him greatly all the same.

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