One of the least credible reasons people use for teaching literary analyses is that it teaches students important analytical skills. That'd be a fine argument (although still a terrible reason to ask students to write the least relevant and inspiring of all writing genres--and the one most likely to kill... Continue reading

Box arrived in good condition, especially considering it went from Germany, to Washington DC, to China. Case seems to be in fine condition. Machine well packed inside the case. The green version is my favorite. And the great ephemera. Thank you for reading. Continue reading

Certain typewriters belong in certain families, and I can think of no better typewriter for the son of a US diplomat (not me, my wife) than the Underwood Golden Touch Diplomat. I had been looking for a machine as a birthday gift for my son and saw this on eBay... Continue reading

Last night, Mog died. She lived for just over eleven weeks, and my daughters saw her take her first breath and her last. For the final few minutes of her life, those breaths were terrible, desperate, and quick. They caused mini convulsions. I told my daughters that they didn't have... Continue reading

This is my first typecast. I didn't want to make it too long in case it didn't work out, but I had fun doing it. As I state in the typecast, I would not have bought a typewriter if it didn't somehow fit into my current worldview/set of values. I... Continue reading

Two things I desired showed up in the mail today, my daughter's 1946 Royal QDL and my new printer/scanner. I need the printer scanner so that I can begin typecasting, but before setting that up, I wanted to write a bit about my daughter's first typewriter (and the second typewriter... Continue reading

Today, it arrived, my birthday present, my Olympia SM9. It's either a 1966 or 1967 model. The serial number, in case someone can let me know the exact year, is 3054506. It came in a box that had been damaged: the box had been slightly bent and a hole had... Continue reading

Today should be my last day without the ability to typecast or write on a typewriter. My first typewriter, an Olympia SM9 (the first edition with the turquoise keys and DeLuxe badge), is scheduled for delivery tomorrow afternoon. This first typewriter is a birthday gift to me from my wife.... Continue reading

A quick note: I'm still working on the design of this blog, but I'm not all that savvy with computers. So things will take shape slowly, and I appreciate your patience with me. Enjoy this sudden burst of expression. In 2014, Pew reported on the state of reading in America.... Continue reading

Soon I'll be using this space to write about my many thoughts on education. After taking eight years off from teaching, I'm back in the classroom, and I have many problems with the current way education is imposed on children. As you can see from the blog's title, I champion... Continue reading