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1.7 KiB
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24 lines
1.7 KiB
Markdown
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layout: post
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title: "Frenetic Scribblings #14: The odd attraction of anachronism"
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date: 2017-12-15
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---
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Yesterday I wrote a letter. An actual physical letter. My handwriting being as terrible as it is, I typewrote it.
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I acquired a 1937 Smith Premier ‘portable’ typewriter a little while ago. Best charity shop find ever! It could use a little renovation, which I intend to do…. Eventually. For the time being it works quite nicely.
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It’s interesting to see that it’s missing some symbols. Notably, the exclamation mark, though the question mark is present. It also doesn’t have a 0 key, capital O is used interchangeably.
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I can, however, write emoji with it. There’s something about that… making 21st century symbols on a 20th century machine, that is… Pleasing.
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It’s a lovely bit of kit. Don’t get me wrong, I love computers and the ability to edit and revise my writings. The restriction of being unable to delete can be a blessing as well as a curse.
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I love it for letter writing because it keeps me honest — allows me to write in a true stream of consciousness style. Straight from the heart, as it were. Immortalising my spelling mistakes is no fun though!
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In a practical sense, a word processor is better than a typewriter. But there’s something a little magical about using one. And in specific situations, like letter writing, perhaps it can even be better. It certainly feels more personal.
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And the ‘thwack’ of hammer on paper is just gloriously satisfying. No mechanical keyboard can quite replace it.
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> Thought for the day: “True alchemists don’t change lead into gold; they change the world into worlds” — Willam H. Gass |