On Volkswagen’s Not-Beach House Ad Campaign

The new Beach House album, Bloom, came out last week. The album’s received good reviews, I think it’s pretty fantastic. If you loved Teen Dream, you’ll love Bloom. 🙂 However, that’s not the only reason Beach House is in the news this week. Volkswagen launched a new ad campaign in the UK. Here’s the commercial:Continue reading “On Volkswagen’s Not-Beach House Ad Campaign”

On the New Admiral Fallow Album

Admiral Fallow, a Scottish band, sees the release of their second album, Tree Bursts in Snow, next week. I’ve been a Fallow fan since they called themselves “The Brother Louis Collective,” and I love their first album, Boots Met My Face. (The side-project album by The Moth & The Mirror, Honestly, This World, is excellent,Continue reading “On the New Admiral Fallow Album”

On Kirill Yeskov’s The Last Ringbearer

A few months ago on a bulletin board I was drawn into a somewhat tedious argument over what, exactly, pipeweed is in The Lord of the Rings. My sparring partner argued that pipeweed was clearly tobacco, Tolkien said so, and that, clearly, was that. The problem with the identification of pipeweed with tobacco, I said,Continue reading “On Kirill Yeskov’s The Last Ringbearer”

On Final Thoughts on North Carolina’s Amendment One

Some final thoughts on North Carolina and Amendment One. (Previous comments here and here.) I know that many of the people who voted in favor of Amendment One did so on religious grounds. They feel that homosexuality is incompatible with their religious beliefs because it is condemned in the text of the Bible. But IContinue reading “On Final Thoughts on North Carolina’s Amendment One”

On My Instant Reaction to Amendment One

This morning I wrote about Amendment One, a Constitutional amendment in North Carolina that was up for a vote on election day that would outlaw same-sex marriage and any heterosexual arrangement that wasn’t marriage. I implored people to vote against its passage, and I won’t recap what I said there; just read it for yourselfContinue reading “On My Instant Reaction to Amendment One”

On North Carolina’s Amendment One

Many states are going to the polls today. Dick Lugar’s career is likely to end today in Indiana as the crazy wing of the Republican Party turns him out in a primary. And North Carolina votes on Amendment One. Yesterday, I was invited to an after-election party in Raleigh by one of the anti-Amendment OneContinue reading “On North Carolina’s Amendment One”