Hello Chief!

Tower Chieftain III (Sears Skyriter)

I finally got to photograph this typer. It was the last addition of 2012. It was a remnant of my California restoration days with the racing Skyriters. I had wanted to refurb a Tower Chieftain to add to the squadron. Took me a while to find one on eBay. Now the problem is I don't have the space, i.e. a garage to do all the work. NYC living is tight and tiny. It's also winter so I don't want the fumes in the apt. This project will have to be put on hold until time suitable...

Say Hello, Chief! For some reason I hear the voice of Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I don't even know if he even says that line in the movie, but I'm imagining.

I did take an inventory of my last years guilty pleasure purchases of typewriters. I totaled 12. Which I guess isn't that bad, considering the addiction. But it also averages one a month, which is totally outrageous for someone who originally just wanted to get one typewriter to write on. There is no denying that I've become a collector now. I'll have to do a full roll call of my collection in another post one day. I just wish I didn't feel as guilty as I do. I know many in the typosphere who find it odd, and maybe one day it will be a guilt-free process for me too, but as it stands, still feeling guilty. :))

This photo may hint to how I will pimp this into a racer if I keep to my original plans by the time I get to it.

Imperial Spotting

IMG_1758, a photo by soho/prince on Flickr.

I don't see these typers too often except for in fancy furniture stores. I'm beginning to like this one very much. Maybe one day I'll find one and be able to get my hands on it. : )

Top 5 Guilty Pleasures of 2012

Year end is nigh, time where annual lists come out everywhere, in all forms, and covering all topics. I thought perhaps I'd try my hand at it. I thought about the top ten books I read this year but everyone seems to have a similar list. Then I thought about the top ten short story collections I've read, but realized I didn't have ten for the year I could recommend since I was still compiling my all time favorite short story collection list, and ten still haven't made it. Then of course, there's the movies. I have too many friends who do year end reviews so I'll leave that to them. TV? nah. Music? I just don't follow enough. Besides, this is the time when I discover all the new music that came out this year. I'm lucky if I'm one year behind.

So I came up with this list. Strictly personal and I had to make it only 5 since my typecasting paper is short. I wanted to rush it out as my final blog of the year, unless I feel inspired in the next couple of days. If not, then Happy New Year to all my fellow Typospherians and thanks for welcoming me into the community!

Best,

Typebarhead

Typewriter spotting in Hong Kong (more)

I decided to go on a mini adventure this weekend by seeing if I could find a typewriter I saw in a googled photograph in Hong Kong. My first effort was hopeless. The only info I had was he was an accountant in Yau Ma Tei on the Kowloon side. Here's the link to the photo: http://trace.hayleyho.com/?cat=3
I eventually emailed the owner who told me I would find him at the jade market and so he was, in fact a line of accountants with typewriters working from stalls. It was pretty cool. They were very aged and weathered machines. Most just sat openly but covered. A couple of Olympias, an unusable Underwood, and the big one the elder was using was a Facit. I asked if he minded if I took a photo of his typer which he didn't. I was then going to ask if he was willing to type a letter for me for the typosphere so i could typecast it but as you may see in the photo he was preoccupied looking for something that he seemed to have misplaced. He was working on a tax form that was sheeted on the platen so I decided not to bother him anymore.

Typewriter spotting Hong Kong (again)

I decided to revisit Apliu St. in Sham Shui Po in Kowloon to see if any new typers came up since my last visit here. And Olympias seem to reign this visit. There was a Monica sitting with a pile of used stuff with the street vendors and I saw a Kofa which I never heard of but looked like a cheap 80s machine (couldn't get a photo of that). Inside store number 253 ( someone requested the address last time so I bothered to find out this trip) I found two shrink wrapped again. An sm9 and sg1 I believe.

I saw a typewriter sitting in a basket on the sidewalk in Sheung Wan while I was in a taxi but haven't been able to revisit it since to see if they had more.

Hopefully I'll spot a few more before I leave. Any typewriter collectors in Hong Kong?? Email me, I'm here for another week.

Typewriter spotting - NYC

Saw this typewriter at ABC furnishers near Union Square in New York City. Asking price 495 bucks. :)

Last British Typewriter

I saw this and found it interesting and thought I'd share. I thought I had read about the last typewriter manufactured a few years ago. 

Brother CM-1000