Casa Jonsson

Nils & Araceli’s home on the web, est. 2003

“A writer writes—always”†

What she said in her interview last year was apparently true: Jhumpa Lahiri has been writing short stories again. “Hell-Heaven” was printed in The New Yorker in May. I recommend it.
† From a bad movie that I’m ashamed to admit I paid to see more than once. There wasn’t much for a teenager to do at […]

Play god (or Karl Rove, anyway)

While we’re on the subject of the Electoral College, check out 270 to Win. A slick little Flash app lets you play what-if with the presidential election to your heart’s discontent. Not only can you swing each state Elephant or Donkey and see how it all turns out, but you can learn at a glance […]

The old College try

Political scientist Judith Best gave a cogent defense of the Electoral College system today on NPR’s “Morning Edition.”

My real job, or, The sparkle in my eye, or, “Teresa, do you know how to get ketchup stains out of your laundry?” or, Why I love Laura Bush

I was incensed, it’s true. The quote that got me blogging today is from Her Majesty Teresa Heinz Kerry.
USA Today: You’d be different from Laura Bush?
Teresa Heinz Kerry: Well, you know, I don’t know Laura Bush. But she seems to be calm, and she has a sparkle in her eye, which is good. But I […]

The battle of the bulge

Everybody’s speculating about what it was that President Bush had under his suit jacket during the debates with John Kerry. Since it’s also visible under his T-shirt at the ranch, I’d wager it’s an insulin pump.
Dubya shouldn’t be trying to hide it, though. Diabetes is chic. I think wearing a MiniMed as a Texas-sized belt […]

Adventures in good music

I won’t regale you with my Karl Haas impersonation. But give a listen to what’s at the top of my iTunes playlist.†
Jazz-wise, I can’t get enough of Jazz at Oberlin. This is Dave Brubeck’s original quartet at their very best. But don’t just take my word for it; Brubeck himself once said that the early […]

Kerry on being born again

There was an NPR piece this morning on John Kerry’s religious faith. Frankly, I found it a little bizarre because I’d never before heard Kerry give an indication that he has any.
It was February 4th, 1993. Bill Clinton had been President 15 days. Some 3,000 people filled the banquet room in the Washington Hilton hotel […]

Debating the debate

Wes has a good and balanced summary of the strengths and weaknesses of Bush’s and Kerry’s performances in last Thursday’s presidential debate. He has a lot to say about the linguistic devices used by each candidate and the political strategies that probably informed their use.
I never really thought highly of presidential debates, which, I felt, […]