Greetings and salutations,

Somehow, by some stroke of luck, you managed to find yourself reading this strange newsletter. Welcome! Aloha! Have a seat!

Who’s speaking?

First, who is this voice speaking to you from the digital abyss? Answer: Justin Nicholas Bonanno. Who am I? A university professor and writer. Do I write articles? Yes, but they’re rather academic, and my guess is you’re not interested. Do I write books? Yes, look at this one on Walker Percy. It, too, is “academic” (alas). That’s part of the reason I’m here. To write for a wider audience in a fitting manner.

Want to know something else? One time I met Mel Gibson in an airport, and we talked about Mark Twain’s book on St. Joan of Arc. Impressive, I know. I stopped telling this story about meeting “Mel,” though, after someone told me Gibson invited them to hang out with him at his mansion in Malibu for several weeks.

What you’ll find

If you’ve had a chance to click around a bit (as people on the Internet are wont to do), you know there’s some pretty bizarre and relatively unexplained things going on here: existential quizzes and fictional reports about some lady named Peg.

What can I say? We started this in January 2024 as a bit of an experiment.

But there’s also some pretty straightforward stuff, including book and film reviews, if that’s your cup of tea.

And then there’s some pontificating about what we need in education (in the age of AI).

Is there anyone else I can talk to?

Well, yes, of course.

My wife Anna also contributes to this newsletter, every now and then. She’s a talented young lass. She wrote this album. And this fantastic little article.

Here’s the deal. We’re a husband and wife duo who like to talk about things, especially technology and AI, from a particular perspective. We’re both trained in the importance of rhetoric and the philosophy of communication.

If you think “rhetoric” is a bad word (style but not substance, demagoguery, verbal trickery, etc.), start here.

The bottom (line)

At basic, we’re a reader-supported newsletter that advocates for the importance of eloquence and wisdom in a technological age.

Thanks for reading. Perhaps you’ll stay awhile. Perhaps you’ll reach out with a question or a comment. Perhaps you’ll read and subscribe, even if it costs you nothing (save your attention, which is everything!).

Whatever the case may be, fellow traveler, we’re grateful for your stopping by.

May God bless and keep you,

Justin and Anna