Jonathan Pehr Longstaff
Vital Statistics
Birth date: March 28, 1981
Birth place:
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Height: 5'10"
Education: Bachelor of Arts (History)
Work: full-time dad

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Who am I?
I am the youngest of four, with an element of "only child" mixed in (my closest sibling is ten years my senior). My mother grew up in South Africa, and my father grew up in the American Midwest. My mother's family is American, but includes Swedish, British, Irish, French, and Greek origins. My father's family is Canadian with a primarily Scottish/English background. I have traveled through much of the USA, parts of Canada, South Africa, and Spain (including the Canary Islands). Moving to NZ was a big step, but I really haven't had that much trouble adjusting to the Kiwi lifestyle. The most difficult thing for me, aside from finding permanent work, is having to suffer from withdrawal from the more convenient, materialistic lifestyle afforded by living in the northeast USA. We Americans just don't know how spoiled we are.

Anyway, so who am I? I am an insatiably curious and passionate individual. My wife, Lesley, is the epitome of "everything in moderation," but I tend to either love something or hate it. I'm a procrastinator and a perfectionist all rolled into one. I'm one of those creative people always coming up with new ideas that I rarely follow through on. I love to argue, and I can go on
ad nauseum. Without dispute, my favorite word is "why". I spent three years at Bryn Athyn College and one year, my third, at the University of Arizona. I earned a BA in History, cum laude, with unofficial minors in religion and creative writing. I've had one of my poems published online. You can read it here.

A few of my favorite things: My friends and family, history, music (especially good Kiwi music), reading, watching movies, playing guitar, traveling, photography, writing, the English language, and New Zealand's beaches.
A few of my least favorite things: political correctness, cell phones, loud parties, mysogynism, smoking, cookie-cutter music, hypocrisy, lack of concern for proper spelling and grammar, censorship, drunkenness, trying new foods, and New Jersey (just kidding).

My impression of New Zealand so far: It's a beautiful country; the edge bits are especially nice. I don't want to make any silly generalizations about the differences between Kiwis and Americans, but I will say this: living in New York or London would give you a similarly skewed perception of the United States or Great Britain, respectively, as living in Auckland gives you of New Zealand. The people of Auckland, their attitudes and their priorities, are very different from those of other New Zealanders. I'd like to try living somewhere else in New Zealand -- it may yet happen, and I may find I don't like it nearly as much as I think I will now, but at the moment, I'm stuck in the "big" city. One last thing: the rose-colored glasses have definitely come off ...

What I miss about the USA (and Philly): The variety mostly, but more specifically, I miss Rita's Water Ice, Goldenberg's Peanut Chews, Sioux City Sarsaparilla, Cheddar Goldfish, all-night diners, more convenient shopping hours, my friends and family, lower prices, working at Glencairn, and a definite lack of speed cameras.

What's New
Newest CD(s): The Cars - Complete Greatest Hits
Newest DVD: Sweet Home Alabama, Bedknobs & Broomsticks, and Robin Hood (the animated one)
Last book I read: Maurice Gee - Blindsight

Favorite Quotes
"People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like." - Abraham Lincoln
"History is not what you thought. It is what you can remember." - WC Sellar & RJ Yeatman
"Not in speech or thought do I regard him as a great man, but in his deeds and life." - Siddhartha
"French is what happened when Vandals and Burgundians and Franks tried to speak Latin." - SI Frazier
"'Don't be your face' ... I like that. It's good, wholesome advice." - JP Cole
"My idea of an agreeable person is a person who agrees with me." - Benjamin Disraeli


Recommended Links

Auckland New Church <www.newchurch.co.nz>
Auckland Museum <www.aucklandmuseum.com>
Dungeons & Dragons <www.wizards.com>
Glencairn Museum <www.glencairnmuseum.org>
Hell Pizza <www.hellpizza.co.nz>
Homestar Runner <www.homestarrunner.com>
Michael Longstaff <www.michaellongstaff.com>
Neil Finn <www.nilfun.com>
Pure NZ <www.purenz.com>
Visible Earth <http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/>

                         

   

I got on TV at the first-ever international 20-20 cricket match at Eden Park in Auckland (NZ v Aussie) on February 17, 2005.

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