A Birthday Toast to Professor Tolkien

January 3rd is the birthday of J. R. R. Tolkien, author of the Lord of the Rings. The Tolkien Society has issued its annual announcement encouraging fans around the world to join them in a toast to Professor Tolkien:

On the 3rd January 1892 JRR Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa. To celebrate this event, on this day each year Tolkien fans around the world are invited to raise a glass and toast the birthday of this much loved author.

The toast is "The Professor".

For those unfamiliar with British toast-drinking ceremonies:

To make the Birthday Toast, you stand, raise a glass of your choice of drink (not necessarily alcoholic), and say the words 'The Professor' before taking a sip (or swig, if that's more appropriate for your drink). Sit and enjoy the rest of your drink.

So, offer a toast to the Professor, if you are so inclined.

Palin: Can-do, No-excuses Moose-hunting Feminist

Camille Paglia had an interesting article in Salon.com yesterday.  If you can get past the McCain bashing in the first three paragraphs and the cognitive dissonance of her positions on abortion and capital punishment (it's probably not what you think), Paglia makes some interesting observations about Sarah Palin and Feminism. I disagree with Paglia on many things, but often she does make some interesting observations and her writing is usually entertaining. Here's a taste from the above referenced article:

Conservative though she may be, I felt that Palin represented an explosion of a brand new style of muscular American feminism. At her startling debut on that day, she was combining male and female qualities in ways that I have never seen before. And she was somehow able to seem simultaneously reassuringly traditional and gung-ho futurist. In terms of redefining the persona for female authority and leadership, Palin has made the biggest step forward in feminism since Madonna channeled the dominatrix persona of high-glam Marlene Dietrich and rammed pro-sex, pro-beauty feminism down the throats of the prissy, victim-mongering, philistine feminist establishment.

I think I could hear Gloria Steinem scream, "Ouch!" from here. Now, go read the entire article. 

Swedish Whine?

Anti-definition:  Sportsmanship

Spanish Athretes Orympic Brunder

Oh, those crazy Spaniards.  Apparently no one told them that they are supposed to be nervously looking over their shoulders out of fear that they might offend someone.  Instead, they foolishly spent a little of their free time between Olympic events goofing off and having fun. What were they thinking?

Civilization & Its Ignorance

What do Winston Churchill, Richard the Lionheart and Spiderman have in common? Read Jonah Goldberg's article Western Civilization and Other Fairy Tales to find out.