BookLust

The Love of the Iron Whim

Right now I'm reading and enjoying The Iron Whim: A Fragmented History of Typewriting by Darren Wershler-Henry. It's not a typical history of the typewriter – more of a social and psychological study of this still very fascinating and beautiful machine. Here's a link to a little article about the author, in This Magazine, and a link to the author's web site.

And why call it The Iron Whim? Well, the author discovered that Marshall McLuhan in his In Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, called his chapter on the typewriter "Into the Age of the Iron Whim." Apparently whim doesn't just mean "a fanciful or fantastic creation; a whimsical object; a capricious notion of fancy"; it also means "a machine...consisting of a vertical shaft containing a large drum with one or more radiating arms or beams." I think that the word whim is very fitting for an old typewriter, don't you? An old typewriter is strong, sturdy and mechanical, as well as being rather silly-looking clunker, don't ya think? All the more reason to start a new category about the subject of typewriters (which is beginning to become a bit of an obsession with me) called The Iron Whim.

And speaking of said Iron Whim, did you know that there's a fabulous little display going on right now at the Royal Ontario Museum of early typewriters? We're not talking about the run-of-the-mill clunky Underwoods (which I think are divine, by the way) we're talking about heavy, clunky, very whim-sical machines that look nothing like what we would imagine a typewriter to be. The display is on until June 29th, so do pop in if you're even remotely intrigued. And even if you don't go, do check out this video podcast of Martin Howard, the collector of said bizarre typewriters.

And guess what? I even took a few piccies of those Iron Whim beasties while I was there...enjoy!

Tag I'm It!

I haven't been tagged for a book meme for a long time, and then out of the blue last week, I get tagged by two different book bloggers, for the same meme! So here ya go, Sara and Lizann– my response to the page 123 book tag!

It goes like this:

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.

I'm not one for tagging others, though, so anyone who wants to take part, be my guest!

The book I've got is Ghosting by Jennie Erdal (a wonderful book!) And here's my sentences:

This was a high point for Tiger. The procedure was greatly ritualised, carried out with sacramental solemnity. First the three dogs would be shut in their kennels by the gardien, a preliminary to the feeding exercise.

Adventures in Accounting

I know that most of you have probably already finished your taxes for this year (or else you're running around with wads of invoices and T-4s and T-5s, bumping into walls and screaming and crying), but I wanted to share my wonderful (yes, wonderful) experience with my new accountant. If you are late in filing, and you need help, and you're in the Toronto area, my I suggest Base Nine Financial? It's a very cool company run by Dimitris Stubos and Adam Dunn, specializing in servicing the artistic community (who as some of you may know, are often totally flummoxed when it comes to doing their taxes, present company included).

I found out about these guys last year from reading this National Post article, just after I had finished getting my taxes done (a horrible, horrible experience that I will not soon forget...grrrrrr....). I saved that precious article, and this year gave Dimitris a call. He's the guy you will be dealing with when getting your taxes done (the other fellow, Adam Dunn, is more the 'behind the scenes' guy, and knows a hell of a lot about running a business, since he runs the very successful toy company Monster Factory).

What can I say? Dimitris was open and friendly, and very eager to help me learn anything I wanted to know, and his goal was to save me as much money as possible. (At one point I had made a mistake in the information I had provided, and when Dimitris figured this out, and that it meant he could save me more money, he was simply giddy with joy. An accountant giddy with joy over saving their client money? Sign me up, baby!) Or how about an accountant who is interested in literature? When was the last time you talked books with your accountant? I'm not saying that's essential, but for me, it sure helps with the whole process. As an artist, I would much prefer to work with an accountant who has an interest in the arts, and who is connected within the artistic community.

Base Nine Financial is located in the Centre for Social Innovation, downtown on Spadina Avenue. It's an amazing place that is focused on housing and supporting small, creative and innovative businesses, but it's much, much more than that, and you really should explore the site in detail. So the fact that my accountant is associated with an organization that is all about community, and sharing ideas – well, it's a no-brainer for me!

So...if you need an accountant, or if you want to try someone fresh and new for next year, why not check out Base Nine Financial? I'll be mentioning this company again next year, far ahead of tax time. I'm just so thrilled to finally find an accountant that I like, I wanna tell the world!

Silly Poetry Friday 29

Perhaps I should start calling this category Silly Late Poetry? 'Cuz I'm always late in posting this darn thing, aren't I? Ah well...

In the past few weeks this one poem has been playing in my mind like a really nasty ear worm, and I can't get the damn fool thing out of my head. I'm hoping if I post it here, it will go away! I loved this poem as a kid – it was goofy and silly and had just the right amount of creepiness to hold my attention but not scare me too much. Ever heard of The Goops? It's a poem from a collection called Goops and How to Be Them, written and illustrated by Gelett Burgess, who apparently is the true author of the Purple Cow poem! (I had always thought it was Odgen Nash. Aren't I the silly one?)

Well, apparently The Goops are back in a really big way – I found this web site devoted to reissuing the original books, with the goal of bringing "proper manners and polite behavior back into the lives of contemporary families." Ummm...I hate to break it to these folks, but I don't think reading silly poems about weird-looking bald kids is gonna change any contemporary kid's behavior. My brother and sister and I loved reading this poem for no other reason than to have a good laugh, and sometimes, if memory serves me correctly, we pretended to be a goop at the dinner table (I'll tell ya what will change a kid's rotten table manners – a strict mother who will threaten to shorten your life span if you don't smarten up PDQ).

Ok, enough goop talk. Here's the poem (scanned from The Illustrated Treasury of Children's Literature, edited and with an introduction by Margaret E. Martignoni).

Fightin' Words

Some of you who know me probably know that I'm a sucker for small quirky gift books, especially if they cover the subjects of writing, reading, or something book-related. So it's no surprise is it, that I would snatch up a copy of the insightful, witty and sometimes downright nasty Fighting Words: Writers Lambast Other Writers – from Aristotle to Anne Rice. James Charlton is the editor of this marvelous little collection, and the clever illustrations are by the artist Tullio Pericoli.

So why would I enjoy this book? Because it's writers saying nasty things about other writers, silly! Not only do you experience the joy of reading a good insult, you get the added delight of a good insult that is very well written. Hell, I will honestly admit that when I read about the lives of writers, I don't just want to learn about how they develop their craft – I wanna know all about the delicious nasty petty little details of their lives. I want to know if they kicked their dog, drank themselves into next week and beat their children mercilessly. I probably won't like their writing any less if I find out they're a drunken, selfish bastard (read this blog post for more on that interesting subject), as long as they write well. So yes, I certainly enjoy a bit of petty writer name-calling. Don't you?

All this rambling on my part is my way of saying a new category has been created, called Fightin' Words. May the nastiness begin!

The effect upon women is such that they want to go right out and get him and bring him home stuffed.

– Dorothy Parker on Ernest Hemingway

Silly Poetry Friday 28

Yes, yes, I know, I know...it ain't Friday. And it's been way too long since I posted a Silly Poetry Friday poem. Well that's what makes it all the more sillier, no? No? Oh well.

I'm going to go out on a limb here, and say that I believe Spring is officially here to stay! Woo-hoo! So to celebrate this long-awaited season, how 'bout a somewhat silly Spring-like poem? It's written by some dead poet/playwright dude named Bill.

Where The Bee Sucks

Where the bee sucks, there suck I.
In a cowslip's bell I lie;
There I couch when owls do cry.
On the bat's back I do fly
After summer merrily.
Merrily, merrily, shall I live now
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.

– William Shakespeare

Why Mommy Looks So Freaky

I just had to mention this gem. Apparently Michael Salzhauer, a plastic surgeon in Bal Harbour, Florida has written a self-published book for kids all about plastic surgery, so that when mommy comes home all bruised and covered in bandages, the kiddies will understand that it's simply because mommy needed to fork over a wad of cash in order to look hot. The title of the book? My Beautiful Mommy, of course. You can see more pages from the book on the Newsweek gallery site. If you've got the time, it's fascinating reading some of the reader's comments – some people actually think a book like this is a good idea. Worth reading the comments from BoingBoing as well, where I first found the story. Also another interesting perspective from a blogger who feels that Newsweek (where the story originated) was basically just "yanking our chains", making a mountain out of a small self-published molehill.

Whaddya think?

BiblioQuotes 6

"A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people."

– Thomas Mann

What Do the Simple Folk Do?

What do the simple folk do
To help them escape when they're blue?

You know what I do? I pull out my DVD collection of James Herriot's All Creatures Great And Small. When I'm glum there's nothing quite like British comfort television to cheer me up. The first season is the best, of course, when Herriot is a new vet assistant, working for the brash and opinionated Siegfried Farnon, and witnessing the misadventures of  Siegfried's layabout brother, Tristan. I love all the crusty characters, and the scenery of the Yorkshire Dales is heavenly. And of course, I never tire of the charming romance between James and Helen. I could watch it over and over again. And I have. If you've never seen the show, and you think you might like rugged Yorkshire countryside, dirty farm animals and all things warm and cosy, then I highly recommend it. Oh, and do read all the books by James Herriot, too. Sure to uplift any grumpy or glum mood, I promise.

So what do you do when you're blue?

Murphy's Law #57

The day you have to go out with your biggest portfolio case will be the day that it is very, very windy.

CANSCAIP presentation went well. I survived! Thanks for all the kind words of encouragement, by the way. I always seem to freak out for days (sometimes weeks) before an event when I have to talk in front of people, and it always turns out ok. In my defense, I will say, hell, if Barbra Streisand can get stage fright, then so can I, dahling.