Typecast brought to you courtesy of Ray, my new Olympia SM-9.
Showing posts with label typewriter paper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label typewriter paper. Show all posts
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Saturday, October 31, 2009
The SG-1 Returns!
A sampling of the Blue Moon wares
A few of the antique typewriters on display at the store
Olivers!
Note: I tried to get some decent pictures of the newly shiny SG-1, but need to wait for better lighting. Trust me, though, it's stunning!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Sunday, February 24, 2008
The flock is down by one...
I sold one of the Hermes 3000s today. It worked out pretty well for all involved, I think. I had two near-identical ones, as I've mentioned, primarily because when I happened on the second, it was local and a decent price and I couldn't resist.
I had planned -- when I posted the Craigslist ad -- to sell both 3000s, but I'm rethinking that. The beat-to-death one that I used for NaNoWriMo is begging to stay, and I think I'm going to let it. It's the nicest typer I have, even if it is teenski print.
The girl who bought the other didn't look more than eighteen or nineteen. She wants to do more writing, and hoped that a typewriter might be a good inspiration, and a good way to write without the distraction of the internet and games and all. Sound familiar? For me, typewriting allows exactly that (plus the inability to easily edit or obsess about wording too much), and I raved a bit about what a wonderful tool they are for writing your initial draft.
So, we looked at the two 3000s side by side. I am a lousy salesperson. I told her the prettier of the 3000s had one small problem: in one ribbon position, the vibrator was sluggish when going back to its resting position after each character. It works fine in other positions.
So she was standing by, I'm trying to explain the problem, and it wouldn't do it. So do I just smile and say, "OH, I guess I fixed it!" No...I say, "No, really, it has a problem! Honest! I'm sure I can get it to do it!" I think it's mostly a disuse sort of issue, and maybe having been used a bit, the problem is mostly gone. In any case, it wouldn't act up, even in the trouble position. Go figure. It made me feel a bit better about the sale.
She dithered very briefly between the two typewriters, until I confessed to having second thoughts about the ugly one. She was happy to "settle" for the pretty one. I sent her out the door with ribbon information -- and a small stack of Duffy Moon's typewriter paper, which she thought was really cool. A convert? I hope so! I so love these things...spread the typewriter love!
I had planned -- when I posted the Craigslist ad -- to sell both 3000s, but I'm rethinking that. The beat-to-death one that I used for NaNoWriMo is begging to stay, and I think I'm going to let it. It's the nicest typer I have, even if it is teenski print.
The girl who bought the other didn't look more than eighteen or nineteen. She wants to do more writing, and hoped that a typewriter might be a good inspiration, and a good way to write without the distraction of the internet and games and all. Sound familiar? For me, typewriting allows exactly that (plus the inability to easily edit or obsess about wording too much), and I raved a bit about what a wonderful tool they are for writing your initial draft.
So, we looked at the two 3000s side by side. I am a lousy salesperson. I told her the prettier of the 3000s had one small problem: in one ribbon position, the vibrator was sluggish when going back to its resting position after each character. It works fine in other positions.
So she was standing by, I'm trying to explain the problem, and it wouldn't do it. So do I just smile and say, "OH, I guess I fixed it!" No...I say, "No, really, it has a problem! Honest! I'm sure I can get it to do it!" I think it's mostly a disuse sort of issue, and maybe having been used a bit, the problem is mostly gone. In any case, it wouldn't act up, even in the trouble position. Go figure. It made me feel a bit better about the sale.
She dithered very briefly between the two typewriters, until I confessed to having second thoughts about the ugly one. She was happy to "settle" for the pretty one. I sent her out the door with ribbon information -- and a small stack of Duffy Moon's typewriter paper, which she thought was really cool. A convert? I hope so! I so love these things...spread the typewriter love!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
And in other news...
This weekend I got brave and posted one of the Hermes 3000s on Craigslist: the really beat-up one I used for most of NaNoWriMo. I almost took it down immediately, because while I had it out to take photos, I used it for a bit, and I have to say, from an ergonomics and touch standpoint, for me, the Hermes models are tops. They're intuitive, they feel nice, and the rounded models are particularly attractive. Granted, the reason I'm selling them is partly so I'll have an excuse (and some fundage) for a Pica 3000, but that's in the future, not the here and now!
Today I got my first bite -- someone who says they want to do more writing, have never used a typewriter, but think they might find it inspirational. A part of me wants to go all typewriter fangirl on them and gush about how they're the *perfect* rough draft tool, and they sound so *cool* and they smell nice; and ramble about ink and paper and websites with more info and...and.... And maybe give one away if I can't convince them without their trying one free.
And another part of me wants to hug the beat up little thing and say, "Mine! Go 'way!"
I'm not sure which mode really shows the most maturity.
Today I got my first bite -- someone who says they want to do more writing, have never used a typewriter, but think they might find it inspirational. A part of me wants to go all typewriter fangirl on them and gush about how they're the *perfect* rough draft tool, and they sound so *cool* and they smell nice; and ramble about ink and paper and websites with more info and...and.... And maybe give one away if I can't convince them without their trying one free.
And another part of me wants to hug the beat up little thing and say, "Mine! Go 'way!"
I'm not sure which mode really shows the most maturity.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Paper, pica, and the perils of pickiness
A hodgepodge of topics for today...
1. Paper!
Back in December, shortly after the madness of NaNoWriMo, the Typewriter Brigade's Fearless Leader, Duffy Moon, purchased a stash of old Eagle-A Typewriter Paper - 9 lb., 25% cotton bond. It's legal sized, with red stripes down the margins. I recently got to play with a sample of it (trimmed to letter sized), and I like it! I'm finding myself fascinated by the texture, more than anything. It's so wonderfully flimsy feeling, yet strong; it doesn't tear or puncture as easily as the much thicker multipurpose paper I'd been using. It almost feels like really thin paper money. I've been frightening the cats by rattling sheets of it, too....
The margin stripes are...very red. But I rather like them.. I'm terrible
about being consistent with margins when typing, and those bright red lines (while they *do* make the pages look rather like the old loose-leaf notebook paper we used to use in our Trapper Keepers back in the day...) make setting margins idiot-proof. Duffy is selling some of the boxes, so I'm purchasing one. The jury is out on whether or not I'll cut it to letter sized or leave it long.
2. Pica
A few short months ago, there was a discussion in Yahoo's Portable Typewriters group about elite (12 characters per inch) vs. Pica (10 characters per inch). I came down solidly in the elite camp, because a) you can fit more on a page and b) the typewriter I was using most and liking most at the time was my '58 (?) Hermes 3000, which happens to be elite. Now, a few months older and wiser, I'm beginning to think I was wrong, as I so often am. For one thing, I've been trying to get caught up on transcribing (still have some thirty or forty pages to enter into the computer), and since I don't have the ability to do OCR (and I'm not sure I'd trust it if I did), it's all manual, reading it off and typing it in. And I confess, the Pica pages (I switched around a little) are much easier to read. So...the last few typewriters I've picked up have been Pica, and I'm seriously thinking about selling off a few (or most of) the elites. Which, really, means the Hermes 3000s. I do like the way they type, but it's also true that I'm not using them as much. It's also true that they're about the hottest selling typewriter on eBay, for some reason. I'm guessing I could more than recoup my fifteen or twenty dollar investment. Leaving me with more cash for ribbons and paper and other fun things...
3. Pickiness.
When I'm doing a lot of writing, I am far more critical of any text I read. What this means is that I'm *more* appreciative of good writing, but bad writing grates to the point where I find it painful. Cases in point: I intensely admire C.S. Lewis, even aside from his subject matter. From a strictly technical standpoint, he is a wonderful, wonderful writer; and where his fiction is concerned, he is a master of description. I always like his books and reread many of them every few years, but when I'm writing, I'm all the more appreciative of just how *good* he is. Opposite case: I'm currently reading Robin Cook's Terminal. When it comes to casual reading, I tend to gravitate toward mysteries and what are sometimes called "medical thrillers"; i.e. stories about viruses that are going to destroy the planet, or scary medical conspiracies. Richard Preston's The Cobra Event is an example of a very good book in that genre. I was discussing books with co-workers the other day, and someone recommended I check out Robin Cook. Now...I realize that sometimes authors' books are uneven in quality, so maybe I'm being overly harsh, but I have to say, this book reads like a completely unedited, very rough draft -- and not a very good one at that. There are some errors that may just be typos on the publishers part (a last name that is spelled differently from one page to another, for example), but a lot of it is just poor writing and editing. As I read it, I have to resist taking red pen to the extra words and the descriptions that are reused for three or four different people within a short span of time. I could go on. I have far less patience for poor writing these days. I'm such a snob...
1. Paper!
Back in December, shortly after the madness of NaNoWriMo, the Typewriter Brigade's Fearless Leader, Duffy Moon, purchased a stash of old Eagle-A Typewriter Paper - 9 lb., 25% cotton bond. It's legal sized, with red stripes down the margins. I recently got to play with a sample of it (trimmed to letter sized), and I like it! I'm finding myself fascinated by the texture, more than anything. It's so wonderfully flimsy feeling, yet strong; it doesn't tear or puncture as easily as the much thicker multipurpose paper I'd been using. It almost feels like really thin paper money. I've been frightening the cats by rattling sheets of it, too....
The margin stripes are...very red. But I rather like them.. I'm terrible
about being consistent with margins when typing, and those bright red lines (while they *do* make the pages look rather like the old loose-leaf notebook paper we used to use in our Trapper Keepers back in the day...) make setting margins idiot-proof. Duffy is selling some of the boxes, so I'm purchasing one. The jury is out on whether or not I'll cut it to letter sized or leave it long.
2. Pica
A few short months ago, there was a discussion in Yahoo's Portable Typewriters group about elite (12 characters per inch) vs. Pica (10 characters per inch). I came down solidly in the elite camp, because a) you can fit more on a page and b) the typewriter I was using most and liking most at the time was my '58 (?) Hermes 3000, which happens to be elite. Now, a few months older and wiser, I'm beginning to think I was wrong, as I so often am. For one thing, I've been trying to get caught up on transcribing (still have some thirty or forty pages to enter into the computer), and since I don't have the ability to do OCR (and I'm not sure I'd trust it if I did), it's all manual, reading it off and typing it in. And I confess, the Pica pages (I switched around a little) are much easier to read. So...the last few typewriters I've picked up have been Pica, and I'm seriously thinking about selling off a few (or most of) the elites. Which, really, means the Hermes 3000s. I do like the way they type, but it's also true that I'm not using them as much. It's also true that they're about the hottest selling typewriter on eBay, for some reason. I'm guessing I could more than recoup my fifteen or twenty dollar investment. Leaving me with more cash for ribbons and paper and other fun things...
3. Pickiness.
When I'm doing a lot of writing, I am far more critical of any text I read. What this means is that I'm *more* appreciative of good writing, but bad writing grates to the point where I find it painful. Cases in point: I intensely admire C.S. Lewis, even aside from his subject matter. From a strictly technical standpoint, he is a wonderful, wonderful writer; and where his fiction is concerned, he is a master of description. I always like his books and reread many of them every few years, but when I'm writing, I'm all the more appreciative of just how *good* he is. Opposite case: I'm currently reading Robin Cook's Terminal. When it comes to casual reading, I tend to gravitate toward mysteries and what are sometimes called "medical thrillers"; i.e. stories about viruses that are going to destroy the planet, or scary medical conspiracies. Richard Preston's The Cobra Event is an example of a very good book in that genre. I was discussing books with co-workers the other day, and someone recommended I check out Robin Cook. Now...I realize that sometimes authors' books are uneven in quality, so maybe I'm being overly harsh, but I have to say, this book reads like a completely unedited, very rough draft -- and not a very good one at that. There are some errors that may just be typos on the publishers part (a last name that is spelled differently from one page to another, for example), but a lot of it is just poor writing and editing. As I read it, I have to resist taking red pen to the extra words and the descriptions that are reused for three or four different people within a short span of time. I could go on. I have far less patience for poor writing these days. I'm such a snob...
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