Support the Typosphere

Good news! 

We have blown past the 5 year renewal and have secured enough money to fund the Typosphere.net domain for the next 10 or 15 years! (I have to see if we can renew for 15 years.) Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible. Typosphere.net will live on.

These kind people have donated. Mike is working on a special place to recognize what you have done.

William L.	Bill M.
Gordon T.	Peter W.
Richard P.	Stephanie L. W.
Sheila C.	Laura B.
Daniel J.	Martha L.
Rodja R. P.	Mike C.
Rob B.	Gabriel B.
Loom Web Design	Greek Drama Media
N.J. H.	Sylvia D.
Steven K.	Natalie T.

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Hello Typospherians. I am reaching out to you for help.

Typosphere.net net is the front page of the typewriter internet. It's been the place to post type-in notices, share stories about typewriters in the news, review new typewriter books, and present the typewriter-loving world. Now, Typosphere.net needs your help.

The Typosphere.net domain name needs to be renewed and I would love to get it registered for the next five years. The cost to do that would be $100. If everyone who has loved and supported this great site could chip in a few clams we could get this domain locked down for the next half-decade.

Your support means everyone can keep posting type-in updates, typewriters in the news, book reviews, and launches for the next five years. If you are interested in helping you can follow this link to my Paypal.me link. I will keep a detailed record of who donates and make sure that you get special recognition.

Please consider helping raise the money for this small goal.

Thanks,
Ryan
(http://www.magicmargin.net)

What Does the Rhino Say?

Another NaNoWriMo is in the box/bag/container of your choice and the Typewriter Brigade came out in force this year with typebars swinging. For the stats wonks in the room, here's NaNoWriMo 2013, by the numbers. Remember that the Brigade has an open-door policy to membership, mainly because the Rhino ate the door. If you so much as look at the topic, you're considered a Brigadier for the year.

All figures are as of December 6, 2013, as of my highly-scientific copy-and-paste of the forum text...

• Total novelists posting in the topic: 77
• Total "fans" posting (did not set up a novel): 8
• Total posts in the Brigade topic: 1,202
• Occurrences of the word "rhino" in the post bodies: 148
  
• Post count that used to break the forums: 250
• Total words written by Brigade novelists in 2013: 2,973,180
• Approximate number of double-spaced pages @ 250 words/page: 11,900
• Average number of words per Brigade novelist: 38,613
• Median number of words per Brigade novelist: 50,062
• Most words written in 2013 by a single Brigadier: 112,140
• Number of Brigadiers that exceeded 100,000 words in 2013: 3
• Total number of winners (met or exceeded 50,000 words): 46
• Narrowest win margin, in words: 0
• Percentage of Brigade winners: 59.74%

Personally, I think that last stat is a little wrong, since you're all winners in my book. Trying to squeeze the time and motivation to draft a novel in a month is challenge enough. Rocking it old school automatically wins you non-redeemable Bonus Points. In short:

Well done, Brigadiers! 

For more than a few of us in the 'sphere, the Brigade was the gateway drug to getting into typewriters and retrotech in general, and despite the cries of "hipster!" and the usual level of mockery and disbelief that Brigadiers had to face this year, I'd say we kicked some serious rhino hindquarters. Same time next year?

Typewriter Movie Screenings

Gary Nicholson gave me the heads-up that the documentary The Typewriter (In the 21st Century) is getting U.S. screening dates settled. There's a new page on their web site listing dates and places and the promise of more news to come. Don't miss it!

More than a few Typospherical Celebrities were interviewed for the film -- as well as me. How does the insurgency address cinematic outings? Sit in the back row and type? Leave handmade leaflets on vacant seats? I imagine a gathering something like an "Occupy" protest, except the participants are more nattily dressed and have inky fingers and "boo" every time someone says the word "keychopper." (Boo!)

Heaven on the Squid

Rob Bowker's Type-o-Matic snail-mail service just got a writeup on the highly geek-tastic site Laughing Squid. Congrats, Rob!

Typewriter Movie Trailer, Fundraising

Chris and Gary have posted the trailer for their typewriter documentary and have a Kickstarter round going to finish it off, with some typewriters generously offered up by the Typosphere. To plagiarize Neil Gaiman, WARNING: BRIEFLY CONTAINS ME. Mercifully, it also contains a number of other far-more-photogenic folks.

The Typewriter (In the 21st Century)

You might have heard something about a documentary crew doing some filming at the type-ins in L.A. and in Phoenix. They've expanded their travel plans, and have updated their presence on teh Intertubes.*

You can follow them on The Twitter at @LATypewriter, stalk them via the almighty and all-seeing Facebook, or go Old Skool CERN-Style and just visit their web site. You might even recognize a few 'spherians in the mix.

* Die-hard retronauts are still waiting for information on the nearest Western Union office or carrier pigeon roost.