postscripts

A few miscellaneous updates.

Last week I had a some choice words about the flag of Nunavut. Andrew Stuttaford of The Corner does one better, linking to this site which rates the flags of the world on aesthetic grounds.

I don't agree with some of the judgements—any Commonwealth country sporting the Union Jack on its banner is graded down, for instance. (I like the Australian flag!) Nonetheless, it's worth a visit for the insults alone. (Libya: “Did you even try?”)

Elsewhere Noah Millman of Gideon's Blog explains why the ironies of Mel Gibson's proposed Maccabean Braveheart go deeper than you know. (Via Winds of Change.)

Finally, a follow-up to my tributes last fall to John Rhys-Davies (1 and 2).

“It's easy to lose a civilization,” Rhys-Davies warns. “The values of Western civilization have brought so much good to the world: the notions of equality, democracy, tolerance, abolition of slavery.”

Rhys-Davies sees these same themes espoused in The Lord of the Rings, observing, “[J.R.R.] Tolkien knew that civilization is worth fighting for. There are times when a generation is challenged and must fight to defend their civilization from annihilation.”

Of course, others on the set didn't see it the same way. Viggo Mortensen, who played Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings, wore a “No Blood for Oil” T-shirt during a promotional interview for the movie on Charlie Rose's PBS show.

Ironically, Mortensen's character in the movies is a military leader. And many have drawn parallels between the conflict in The Lord of the Rings with the war on terror. With a twinkle in his eye, Rhys-Davies confides that a friend whispered to him while watching Mortensen in The Return of the King, “Does he realize he's George Bush?”

(The rest is here.)