James Tate's Final Poem

I just found out from The Paris Review that James Tate's final prose poem was left in his typewriter. It's witty and surreal. Fantastic! This is good, but I'm fond of "Very Late, But Not Too Late."

Fuji, Save FP-100C!

If you are a lover of the analog, this story will darken your heart. Fuji has decided to end production of their last pull-apart film, FP-100C.

If you have a pack film Polaroid, you know how wonderful this film is. I've even used it for a few typewriter-themed posts.

I think Fuji is crazy, but they cite economic reasons. It's a compelling argument, Fuji, but you are the last manufacturer of this technology. Maybe you could raise the price a little. I'd pay. The Impossible Project seems able to keep milking the hipster gravy train*. Do that, but with better film.

I signed the petition. You should too.

https://www.change.org/p/fujifilm-save-fujifilm-fp100c-instant-films recruiter=499196918&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink

* I am the Pablo Picasso of mixed metaphors.

Take Dictation, Please

For much of the 20th century dictation was a fairly low-tech affair. Someone would write down what someone said and then type it up on a really nice Royal HH. Well, if we were living in some sort of weird future we might have a machine like this: There have been many typewriter/solenoid mashups that do their best to bring the typewriter and computer together. To my thinking there hasn't been one that makes me smile as much as this one posted to Zip Zaps YouTube channel. The build includes a Pololu Maestro servo controller, some servos, an Arduino, and Windows' voice recognition software. I think it's very nicely done and seeing it in action definitely makes you smile.

The Desert Types: KJZZ Story

Annika Cline of our local NPR station, KJZZ, recorded a very nice piece about typewriting in Arizona. It's a great read that features one of my students getting her very own first typewriter. You can find it at:

http://kjzz.org/content/222013/new-generation-revives-old-typewriters-helps-keep-mesa-repair-shop-open

This story comes on the heels of the publishing of Richard's new book of which there is a hearty mention of First Draft, Phoenix's local typewriter-friendly venue. If you find yourself in need of a digital detox, grab your typewriter and head on over. Order a drink. Have a chat. Write a draft. Enjoy the nice weather and know that typewriting is alive and well in Phoenix.

Jittery Apostrophe

My Smith-Corona Electric has a problem:

My, what a jittery apostrophe. I think it has something to do with the power-roller. What do you think? Have you had this problem?

Heavy or Light: the KMM Mid-Production

The Rt. Rev. Munk's squiggly photo of
Bill Wahl. http://bit.ly/1LcCUgI

A few weeks ago I was in Tempe picking up some supplies from Tempe Camera. Since I was in the general area, I visited Bill at the Mesa Typewriter Exchange for a few hours.

It was nice to talk about the weather, our respective families, Arizona history, and the Royal KMM.

Among the many Royal standards I have in my collection, this is one that has eluded me. I have been waiting for a long time for a nice example but, there just hasn't been one that I wanted. Actually, I take that back. Early in my collecting experience there was a gentleman in Flagstaff that had a KMM that I wanted, but the price was too high and we could never agree, so I let it go. The superstitious part of me thought that maybe I cursed myself.

What's so special about the KMM? Nothing really except that it's crowning feature is honored in the name of my blog!

Richard Polt's Royal KMM

In reality, it's a fairly common Royal standard. There are people who love them (Richard Polt) and others have generally positive comments about them. I think they are very handsome in the same way that a late-40s QDL is a handsome typewriter. The dark gray finish is classy without the fussiness of a gloss. I have heard that the touch and feel is similar to many of the other Royal standards; very good. It is the quintessential typewriter.

Bill and I were talking about the KMM and in the course of the conversation he asked if I knew about the heavy and light versions. Two versions? I didn't know that there were two versions.

He told me the story. One day long ago when Bill was young man he had two Royal KMMs on the bench. He had to move both of them and noticed that one was very heavy while the other was noticeably lighter. In all honesty light is a relative term. A Royal desktop typewriter has never been known for its portability.

Bill took note of the serial numbers and NOMDA indicated that they were on either side of the 1946/1947 dividing line.

"Heavy" 1946	"Light" 1947
⇦|	|⇨
3096000	3273000

Magic Margin's aluminum? bodied Royal HH.

At some point between 1946 and 1947 Royal changed the KMM in some way to make it lighter. I know from experience that my HH has body of a non-ferrous metal as do my KMGs. These are probably aluminum and I would hazard a guess that Royal decided to use an aluminum frame to save money. Perhaps this is what Royal did to the KMM to make it lighter?

Do you have a KMM? What's the serial number? How much does it weigh? I am calling on the Typosphere to help me solve this mystery. I created a Google form (see below) that would let us gather the information in an easy way. It would be really cool to narrow it down and find out how much weight was saved by switching materials. With time and enough data points we could find an answer. We might even find out that this was the beginning of the cost-saving culture at Royal that would lead to the terrible Litton merger. Would it be fair to draw a line form that point all the way back to the 1946/47 KMM? We'll see, but let's find out how much these beast weigh.

The World Changes and a Typewriter Helps

Jamey Boyum of KLTV Chanel 7 in Texas (Just outside of Dallas/Ft. Worth) reports that a typewriter was used to issue the first same-sex marriage licenses in Gregg County.

The story states that Carla Chappell and Angela Lunsford has been waiting three years to get married,  but with the Supreme Court's ruling they were eager to peruse their dream. However, they weren't sure if Gregg county was ready to issue a license. They called and were told that their county, indeed, was ready to issue the necessary document.

But there was a glitch. The software that the county uses wasn't updated for the new license so County Clerk Connie Wade had to make a new one with scissors and tape and a typewriter.

Of course we can all tell that it's an IBM Wheelwriter and from my personal experience a Wheelwriter is the perfect typewriter for filling out forms. In fact, the office has two typewriters.

So here we are in the 21st century and a typewriter was an important part of making a love story come true. It makes me happy to be a typewriter collector.