"HERE WE ARE NOW, ENTERTAIN ALL ELEVEN OF US..." Krist Novoselic, former rock star from “Nirvana”, is now promoting proportional representation (PR) for the Oregon State lower house: nine 11-seat “super-districts” with closed party lists (although candidates would still be selected and ranked by the party's registered supporters in a primary election, so it wouldn't be quite as closed a shop as the Australian Senate). Thanks to Seattle's own Mark Shea for that link. If the cleaned-up bassist does get elected as Democrat candidate for State Lieutenant Governor, as is being discussed, they can change the State motto to "Krist Before Us".

Waaay back in 1992, when Nirvana were at their peak and Kurt Cobain was still alive, I was writing an honours thesis about electoral systems. One of my friends informed me that this marked me as a total “anorak”, as the Brits would say. Now here’s a member of Nirvana whose new life’s obsession is electoral systems. I’m as bemused as if Jewel was travelling around campuses passionately promoting amendments to the Federal Code of Civil Procedure.