Southern California Type-In, Sept 23

There's a type-in planned September 23 in Venice, California, if anyone finds themselves yearning to lay hands on some famous keys (for a donation.) As Gary from the typewriter movie sent this my way, perhaps his is one of the films being shown?

SoCal Typospherians, gotta represent!

Typewriters in the News

There's a nice little "discovery" article over at a Philly Burbs blog. Writers are often nostalgic and I think we are all connected to the writing tools of the past, no matter how hard some may try to deny it. I've never had the pleasure to type on an Underwood, save my cross-branded Lettera 32, but it doesn't take much imagination for me to remember the magic of playing with a new typewriter.

In other news, the Canberra Times posted an article, written by our very own Robert Messenger, on the first and only Australian typewriter inventor. As most of us are accustomed to from his blog, ozTypewriter, Messenger packs a lot of information in a well-written and researched topic.  It is an excellent read!

I Never Tire of Reading a Typewriter Repairman Article

I came across this article about a Staten Island repairman.

Here's one image, courtesy of DNAInfo.com New York, but there are some others and a little video worth checking out.

I'd really love to see these pockets of repairman start sending more platens out for recovering. I'd think they could increase the cost of their wares to offset the cost of the platen and then all of us could benefit from the lower price...or maybe that's just a dream similar to Mr. Ardio's.

The Typewriter Survives

I came across this article from the Indian Express. Something I am sure some of us, especially the like of Ryan Adney, can appreciate.

Be (cooperatively) shocking!

If you're a member of the Typosphere, don't tell me you haven't had fantasies of doing something like this. Maybe you've even done it. (The great illustration by Andrew Joyner is for a not-so-great article in Businessweek about offices that are behind the times. Someone in the story refuses to use a typewriter to make labels and uses a Sharpie instead.)

Now, there is strength and courage in numbers, so it would be easier and more fun to type on the subway or at a Starbucks if you had partners in the caper. This is why I find videos such as these from Improv Everywhere inspiring:

The No Pants Subway Ride
Mobile Desktop (people lug desktop computers into a Starbucks)

Where I live, I'm not sure I can find enough like-minded typists to pull off something like this. But maybe some typospherians in larger cities would be interested in organizing some cooperative insurgent activities. If you do, be sure to share the video with us!

Power cut forces courts to pull out typewriters and reschedule hearings

Can this be a post-apocalyptic sign of things to come? The article is not as thrilling as my imagination, but here it is, in case you want to read it.

iTypewriter Gives Your iPad a Retro Feel

Image courtesy of The Inquisitr

Click here for more on the iTypewriter.

The Chromatic Typewriter

Image courtesy of Core77

The Chromatic Typewriter is a conceptual art piece consisting of a modified late-1930s Underwood typewriter that types a spectrum of colors, rather than the letters of an alphabet. Click here for more information on this amazing typewriter art.

10 of History’s Most Beautiful Typewriters?

http://gizmodo.com/5933011/10-of-historys-most-beautiful-typewriters


Take a look at this list and suggest corrections.
For myself, I love the Hermes 3000, but as striking as the looks are, I wouldn't call them "Beautiful" and I can think of three machines - SM3 and two Remingtons - I would put in this list instead.

What are your thoughts?

Here's the FARK thread on this story:

http://www.fark.com/comments/7259160/-10-of-h-sto-ys-most-beaut-ful-typew-ters-DING

The International Correspondence Initiative

Reposted with permission from A Machine for the End of the World:

The International Correspondence Initiative

What it is: A project to make the world a smaller, more engaged and more interesting place the old-fashioned way: via snail-mail

Who it is: Anyone who is interested can participate!

Where it is: Global

Materials used: Typewriters, pens, pencils, paper, business card stock, cameras, braillers, steno machines, adding machines, craft supplies, greeting cards, scanners, computers

Purpose: To send out and receive unique correspondence (dubbed 'Typograms') and to post it to the Typosphere once it arrives at its intended destination

Content: The sky's the limit, as long as it's tasteful and safe for work/younger viewers

Comments: This is quickly becoming a pet project for me. I'm excited to get started with making and sending things! And I have some creative ideas for what I will receive, too. If privacy is a concern for any would-be participants, rest assured that your address would absolutely not be made public. Of course, all participants are to be held to the same privacy standards.  Participants will receive addresses in round robin fashion; once a Typogram is sent to and received by one addressee, the sender will get another, random addressee. It will be up to the individuals involved as to wether they would like to continue correspondence with one another after the initial Typogram.

Contact: Please email any questions, comments or requests to Anna here.

Qwerty is a rainbow.

Art by Louise Ann Marler. Read a story about her and the typewriter renaissance (including the Typosphere) here.

Learn to Type the U.S. Navy Way

Spelunking around today and I uncovered these videos on archive.org: proper typing position, some classic machines... good stuff!

• Basic Typing, Part 1 (1944)
• Basic Typing, Part 2 (1944)