To Type, Shoot Straight, and Speak the Truth...

I really enjoy writing the *beginning* of a story, but I rarely make it past the first page or two. After that, my mind plays out the story with a dozen different plotlines and I can never choose which one to go with. I’ve heard a lot of people say that the beginnings are the […]

When the current “keychopper” drama on the PTF broke onto the Typosphere via Adowa’s post on Retro Tech Geneva, I made a snarky comment about Typerati Secret Police ninjas that later prompted this little vignette: …and then there’s this little snippet which I’d typed up on Einstein a day or two before – completely unrelated, […]

I’m not really into Steampunk myself, but I enjoy watching steampunks parade around in their Victorian garb and brass fittings, and I appreciate the beauty of the aesthetic. Like the folks that make typewriter-key jewelry, steampunks have been known to keychop for their projects – but unlike most keychoppers, steampunks invariably build something amazing with […]

There are so many reasons to keep a typewriter on your desk, but I think one of the best ones is that sometimes your loved ones will use it to leave you notes. MMMMMmmm… Warm fuzzies!

*ADDENDUM* I attempted to make a typewriter pad out of 4 mouse pads, as I happen to have lots of these Secret Society Wars mousepads hanging around. Result: utter failure. Witness the hard shift to the left after just 3 lines of typing. The mouse pads didn’t move, but it appears the top surface isn’t […]

Here’s a really good animated photo of the Starlite Motel Diving Lady. Be sure to hit the “animate” button. Part of the diving lady sign survives and is now mounted in the local mall to help raise money to renovate the historic sign. Several businesses have gotten together to help supply the labor necessary to […]

I’m feeling very random today, so today’s flurry of posts are everything I disjointedly typed on whatever was handy.

Um, yeah. That title is an obscure reference to a cassette-only release by the Minutemen in the early 80’s, so it’s probably more mysterious than meaningful to anyone other than me. :D That was a typecast I did yesterday on the Ollie 21 early in the day, then I got Ryan’s email saying the trade […]

Dashed off in a fit of pique on “Moneypenny”, 1947 Royal Quiet De Luxe.

So hey – quick note: Sara got a call from a reporter for us to go meet him down at Mesa Typewriter Exchange at 4pm for an interview, possibly about Bill’s shop, but maybe something about the resurgence of interest in typewriting (elsewise, why talk to us rather than just Bill?) Hopefully I can catch […]

Good evening, ladies and gents. Today’s sermon is for those who are newly inducted into the exciting world of collecting and admiring the writing machines of the past century. A bold journey awaits you, hidden on dusty shelves in thrift and antique stores, baking in the hot sun on rickety card tables at garage sales, […]

What a whirlwind of a Saturday! I woke up Saturday morning with a burning desire to discover the true identity of the Clark Nova from “Naked Lunch”, for some utterly pointless reason – it had just been bothering me for weeks and I had to know. Well, OK. So I load up the film in […]

Time is a mover, she never slows down…

Typecast from the newly rediscovered Remmie Model 1, Whose name is now Kipling, and who sports a new ribbon.

Wherein I show off some of my old handcrafted stationery and make vague promises to write real letters to more people. What looks like a sickly bluish color in this scan is actually metallic silver. It looks sort of trippy in real life.

I was thinking up names for this blog and I think I have one I like. It’s the title of this post! It’s inspired, of course by the title of Jeff Cooper‘s “To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth“, which was one of his best books and required reading around the ranchito. I don’t […]