UPDATED Midnight EST, November 20, 2018. As of this writing, Democrats have netted 38 seats in the United States House of Representatives, with three races still to be called. Democrat Ben McAdams narrowly leads incumbent Republican Mia Love in Utah's 4th Congressional District (CD), while Democrats trail narrowly in California's 21st and Georgia's 7th CD. … Continue reading An update on projected 2018 Democratic U. S. House seat gains
Category: Statistical reasonsing
Projected 2018 Democratic U.S. House seat gains
This piece (only available to subscribers) appeared earlier today on Taegan Goddard’s absolutely essential Political Wire. A new Brennan Center report says “extreme gerrymandering” could cost Democrats control of the House unless they ride a massive blue wave. Because of maps designed to favor Republicans, Democrats would need to win by a nearly unprecedented nationwide margin in … Continue reading Projected 2018 Democratic U.S. House seat gains
A Musical Mosaic
When I enrolled at Yale in the fall of 1984, I was undecided between majoring in political science or mathematics. A less-than-stellar experience in Math 230—required for freshman mathematics major—quickly decided me: political science, it would be. Luckily, two courses I took sophomore year taught by Professor Edward Tufte—Data Analysis for Politics and Policy and … Continue reading A Musical Mosaic
The Smithereens: Film Noir where you least expect it
I have previously described how I manipulate mix tape/CD/iTunes playlist data to generate lists of favorite tracks (a term I prefer to “songs”), albums and artists, organized by year, musical “genre,” etc. Being a meticulous (obsessive, even) organizer of data, no sooner had I started using my current version of iTunes in January 2013 (when … Continue reading The Smithereens: Film Noir where you least expect it
NOIR CITY 16: The Noir Strikes Back!
As I noted with great fanfare here, I attended the NOIR CITY 16 film festival, held January 26-February 4 at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, CA. I will have more to say about my raucous trip to the festival over the next two weeks or so, based upon my recollections (talk about interrogating memory!), … Continue reading NOIR CITY 16: The Noir Strikes Back!
Doctor, validate thyself!
I recently wrote about my long-term fascination with American electoral geography, the way voting patterns are distributed across states, Congressional districts, counties and other areal units. Pursuing this interest as an undergraduate political science major, I began to explore state-level presidential voting data. During my junior year, I created a large chart that ranked how … Continue reading Doctor, validate thyself!
As I head to the APHA meeting in Atlanta in November…
There have been times, especially lately, that I start to write one post and end up writing an entirely different post. I originally conceived this post to be a simple repository for a set of documents related to my previous career. The impetus for this was two oral presentations I will be delivering in Atlanta … Continue reading As I head to the APHA meeting in Atlanta in November…
Positively pondering pesky probabilities, perchance
One inspiration to start this “data-driven storytelling” blog was the pioneering work of Nate Silver and his fellow data journalists at FiveThirtyEight.com; their analyses are an essential “critical thinking” reality check to my own conclusions and perceptions. Indeed, when I finally get around to designing and teaching my course on critical thinking (along with my … Continue reading Positively pondering pesky probabilities, perchance
Wait, when were you born??
I notice with some chagrin that I have only posted once (a paean to the late, great Walter Becker of Steely Dan) since August 26, 2017, which I regret, despite my assertion when I launched this blog that I would only post when I had something to say. There are two reasons (but not, as … Continue reading Wait, when were you born??
How do I love Steely Dan? Let me count…a whole lot of stuff and such.
Sometime in the spring of 1977 (probably), my mother found herself in a suburban Philadelphia record store. Maybe it was the (now long-since-gone) Sam Goody store on Lancaster Avenue in Ardmore. We were living only a short drive away in Havertown at the time, so why not? My then-39-year-old mother rarely payed attention to music … Continue reading How do I love Steely Dan? Let me count…a whole lot of stuff and such.
Just Bear With Me... 