You couldn't have typewritten it any better: Polt brings the typewriter to Los Angeles

Los Angeles. The Monday after Christmas. Los Angeles. At rush hour no less.

Despite this, the question remains:
How do you end the year with the proverbial bang, start the fireworks show early and have it run through and usher in the New Year?

Grab the one and only Richard Polt, his revolutionary book in hand, with the setting of The Last Bookstore, nestled in the middle of Downtown LA, against the backdrop of a cold, windy, sprinkly - a rare sweater-weather evening, sprinkle in some of our lovely machines of dream & yore, with the perfect complimentary Melrose Poetry Bureau and guest morsels celebrity typewriter collector and LAPD badass Steve Soboroff, inspired artist L.A. Marler, and typewriter documentary director & musician Christopher Lockett. Soufflé - and it rises with the music of click and clack. Of course, i was there too along with fellow typospherian Annalese Stradivarius. 

Mr Polt has already blogged about this event here.

I roamed the streets of LA starting at 11am

The Last Bookstore storefront

Neon signage. and across the street: the Hotel Alexandria, featured in the movie Se7en

typosphere unite. There was even a brief appearance from Frank of Streamlines Deluxe. He did some of the art for Richard's book. No pic of him though.

Polt holds center court and reads from his book. At the event start, there were easily 25+ people in the audience.

Polt in his element.

Melrose Poetry Bureau, seated and typing up some on-the-fly poetry. If you are interested in them, they have an event this friday in Los Angeles: Quick Draw Poetry Cabaret.

another view. Yes, this is a bookstore. Because it is also a landmark and tourist attraction, there was lots of foot traffic and by one of my counts, the crowd swelled to 40 people and probably more.

Soboroff came to the stage to tell about some stories about why he collects typewriters. He recounted a story with Tom Hanks and explained to Tom why he and Tom aren't the same type of collector. Tom collects typewriters because of the machine. Steve collects them because of the person behind the machine. He told Hanks, i collect typewriters that belonged to people who are on the cover of Time Magazine. Steve said this made Tom pay attention to him solely and completely. Tom said, "I've been on the cover twice." Soon thereafter, Tom sent Steve copies of the 2 Time magazines along with one of his typewriters. I thought this was a splendid story. I found an article about it here. And this interview is interesting as well.

Corona sweatshirt worn by a Corona specialist. I forget his name but he told me he buys-repairs-sells only Coronas, especially the Corona 3, which he has 40 machines, and the Corona 4, which he has 30.

The Corona Man's Corona Special. It got a lot of attention.

Another typewriter enthusiast who brought this Underwood Universal. For some reason, he chose his own machine to type on primarily.

Soboroff showing how to use Bradbury's Royal KMM to a young girl.

More people typing on machines and discussing memories/experiences with the typewriter and showing how to use one. The guy in the salmon shirt is new to typewriters - i searched for what i thought was the name of his blog but i guess i remember it wrong. He was inquisitive and friendly with everyone.

The Melrose Poetry Bureau had dozens and dozens of walk-up requests to write up one of their instant poems. Good thing there were 4 of them. These guys are cool f'n dudes with the literary chops to boot. They were slammed from the get-go and it didn't let up.

Some solitary, some groups, all typewriter.

A kid writing on my Olivetti ICO. Even though i cringed at the thought of bringing her, i decided that since these events are rare, i should bring one of my favorites. She got a lot of attention but i didn't stand over her like Soboroff did with his machines. My ICO was in perfect condition, both function and appearance; however, by night's end, i discovered only the top half of the typeslug is making an imprint. So that bummed me out.

More typewriters, all around the stage.

L.A. Marler and Christopher Lockett

Just another view

Soboroff actually let people type on his machines, while he looked over their shoulder, of course hahaha.

Christmas Tree view

Very decent crowd. Check out the Yelp pics of the Last Bookstore because they have some very interesting book art.

The Typewriter (In the 21st Century) film screening @ AFI

The Typewriter (In the 21st Century) recently screened at the American Film Institute (AFI) in Los Angeles, CA on Monday 8/6/2012. We all know this film as the Typewriter Movie and have been eagerly awaiting its release. Let me tell you, it is everything and more it has promised itself to be and delivers well beyond our highest expectations.

Nestled near the base of the hills of Griffith Park and Hollywood, right off the 101 freeway lies the famous American Film Institute. It is the scene for this screening which had several distinguished guests including the filmmakers as well as several people featured in the film and some lucky guests of which my younger brother Chris and I were happy to be part.

For this intimate screening, the spotlights and red carpet were left for a later event. There were no limosines or paparazzi - (it was that secret and exclusive!) and I didnt hear about any after party at the Playboy Mansion. Nevertheless, there was a undeniable excitement in the crisp LA night air.

Once inside the Louis B Mayer Library, it was suddenly quiet as if we were in the wrong place - Alfred Hitchcock was rolling film somewhere. There were not any signs for the event. But out of the corner of our eyes, in a seemingly empty room , we spotted a green Olympia SM3 and it was like fingerprints at a murder scene: THIS WAS IT!

Director Christopher Lockett held attention at the door, his opera quality voice carried like a rising crescendo wave that maintained a height of those seen at Waimea Bay. He greeted us warmly and heartily - he was clearly in a fabulous mood and understandably so: he was right about to share his passion project with some friends. In a swift motion he gestured for us to sign in on the Olympia.

Clickety Clack.

Music.

This should be the way everyone signs in for any future Typewriter movie screenings, premieres, and showings be it at any film festivals or Regal Cinema. This was an initiation - and all it took was to type out your name. And a transformation occured and you were now truly ready to see the world of typewriters.

We took our seats and looked around the screening room. The audience itself was a mishmash/hodgepodge assortment of people but i immediately spotted Ruben Flores of US Office Machine and Ermanno Marzorati of Star Office Machines so we certainly were in very good company.

Once 8:30pm came around, Christopher gave an inspiring introduction to the film, sharing some details of the making of the film. A unbelievably paltry $9,254.00 was raised through Kickstarter and served nearly the entire budget of this documentary. Christopher likened this sum to "less than the craft services budget for an indie film" - that gives you a real idea of how stretched the filmmakers were for this documentary. Still, passion overcame the difficulties and challenges. Christopher shared some creative solutions such as hiring someone off Craigslist to do some supplemental shooting for $50.

The film began.

The preface showed what you would expect a typical documentary to start with: some history and facts which is fine since typewriters are over 100 years old... but that is all this film shared with those PBS-type documentaries. It presented its content in a hip and organized way. Slowly the cast of characters were revealed, their roles introduced and then each of their individual stories woven into a narrative whole.

The documentary explored how the relationship of people and typewriters was and how this relationship has changed and evolved through the typewriter's lifetime - some people had literally lived their whole lives with typewriters such as the repairmen; some had abandoned it only to find it again such as some collectors; some discovered the typewriter despite it being considered archaic and obsolete such as the younger generation who like to type; and some vigilantly kept with their typewriters against the blanket of technology such as authors like David McCullough.

The people interviewed had various opinions of the typewriter and its place as well as future prospects. One repairman said basically that typewriters will eventually die out. This was sad but certainly possible. A real poignant part of the documentary showed that a lot of the repairmen wanted to pass on their knowledge to their children, specifically sons, but their sons wanted to go a different route for a career. Bill Wahl shared that his son would have been the 4th generation to repair typewriters. Still, others felt that typewriters have a promising future because they are being discovered by the youth. And basically everyone expressed in some way that typewriters will always have a place because they capture people's imagination.

Although there are so many highlights of the film, my favorite parts of the documentary were those interviews with the repairmen especially the scenes with mid-90s year old Manson Whitlock who singlehandedly infused the film with such genuine humor I can still recall him and laugh. I feel these repairmen were, if not the heart of the film, then certainly its spirit. They personify the typewriter and its journey. They have gone through what the typewriter has - ups and downs, top of the world and near death and now, resurrection, a hopefully sustained one.

Also notable must be the interviews with authors specifically, David McCullough and Robert Caro. These 2 are men who have made their careers writing and doing so with their trusty typewriters. In fact, they are both so linked with their typewriters it might as well be a body part. It really hit home that this machine could play such an important part in someone's life as to be called a "partner".

And of course, I also enjoyed the parts that showed the collectors and those in the forefront of the typewriter's resurgence: the typosphere. I am glad Richard Polt is our ambassador as he represents the best of us and our intentions. Others shown were Michael Clemens and the Reverend Ted Munk who both had some great contributions to the typewriter story.

The film is such a treat to watch and like many of us will feel, you really need to watch it more than once because nearly every frame has at least one typewriter in it and at times (such as when interviewing Richard Polt who has the lovliest background of dozens of desireable typers), many!!! So there can be a lot of distraction for those of us whose eyes dart to any shape akin to a typewriter. Lots of eye candy in the film, alright.

The film ended to as much applause as 30 people could muster so much so that it was the applause of a crowd double and im sure the sound overfilled and poured down the hills and woke up Bruce Willis. Christopher Lockett had about a 20min Q&A and a lot of the audience sentiment was that we were particularly happy with the people assembled to interview for the film. I also overheard some platen recovery/Ames/West Coast platen discussion between Ruben and Ermanno - i guess this subject wont go away until we find a real solution.

Christopher mentioned that he read the Wired Magazine article Meet the Last Generation of Typewriter Repairmen and was inspired to do the film. He said that typewriters deserved an elegy but i believe what he ended up making is not at all a lamenting swan song but a chronicle of the seasons like that shown on National Geographic nature documentaries that present out of winter comes the spring.

Those of us who already live and love typewriters will only care for our machines more. I have a strong sense that this film will inspire and transform many curious into full blown collectors and members of the typosphere. It should elicit a conscious response from any viewer: either instill a reverence for the typewriter's past and/or evoke an active participation to join the growing movement.

That is the lasting message of the film. We can help the typewriter by spreading the word and keeping it alive. The same goes for this wonderful documentary, a real treasure for the typewriter: we should talk about it and spread the word about The Typewriter (In the 21st Century).

The Professor and the Olympian: Hanging out with Richard Polt

Note: This blog entry is long overdue as it happened Thursday July 26 but here it is finally

I was supposed to be there about between 5 and 5:15pm. It was my 2nd week at my new job and since we were in training, my days were ending at 4:15pm. So i went ahead and said i could get to Claremont in probably 45min but allowed myself that buffer to 5:15pm.

It being Los Angeles, of course that was not going to happen. First, on the way to the freeway, i chanced upon a train, a long one with 7 engines in the front. While that train was passing, another long one came and they were running parallel in opposite directions - this did not look safe at all and all of us waiting, stalled, held our breaths to observe what likely was to be an oncoming catastrophe. Being at the front of the pack, i had the best view and it was triple digit decibel loud. The original train slowed and then stopped, allowing the 2nd train to pass. And once the other train had cleared, the first train started up again and left. It took about 15min.

Then the LA freeways. I don't drive the 10 freeway east much but boy it is not fun. The 10W to Santa Monica is certainly worse, by far, but at least there is the beach to look forward to. I texted Richard a couple times to let him know of my progress. Luckily, he seemed to be enjoying walking around downtown Claremont.

Downtown Claremont is quite a treat. It is not a heavily marketed, fabricated, trendy chain store commercial fakery; itstead, happily, it is a picturesque and pure holdover from the past. I found a cozy parking spot and began walking to the store. Another pedestrian had touched down from asphalt to sidewalk virtually simulataneously. I began: "You wouldn't happen to be Richard Polt? Because you look like him." The man said "Michael?" As i approached it became clear that he was extremely tall. I had to ask, i do not remember if it was immediately but it came within the first few sentences to be sure: "How tall are you? 6'4?" - i knew he was taller than that but i did not want to guess too tall. "I am 6'7" - i guess i never really pictured really tall people used typewriters - my imagination was limited: of course, anyone can use a typewriter.




Then the pleasantries and small talk, but once the typewriter talk began it was instant friendship. We then set our sights on the prize.





Richard had emailed about checking out this rare machine. I had actually seen this posting for months earlier but did not pursue it because gold is a bit too tacky for me.

The door did not open. The sign said closed.

Was our adventure to end prematurely, and that, in a staggeringly, painfully, and unfairly silly way as 1 inch of brittle wood? The door whose threshold we were to pass in order to enter the typewriter dimension.

We questioned and answered and validated ourselves: we had both earlier confirmed that the shop closed at 6pm. We had more than 20min before the deadline.

With disaster upon us, we, being quickthinking typewriterheads, walked next door hoping that this shop had the same owner... no dice. On the sidewalk was our moment of truth. We found the number and called them. Sweat began to ooze out of pores and collect, a bead dropped quickly to the floor - exactly down to where our disappating hope was headed towards.

The call was answered and the other end needed some incentive to come back and re-open the shop. She sounded like she almost wanted a promissory note. I may have overcommitted a bit to my interest in the typewriter but it got us in.

Once inside, Richard's nose found the typewriter right away and he began testing the bejesus out of it. I walked around and made some small talk with the proprietor, who we later found out was the proprietor's niece.

There were some other typewriters among the vintage junk (yes, i am being unkind - but my only interest is typewriters anyway) - but they were all nauseatingly overpriced. Back to the the reason of all this...

Richard said it was in excellent shape. I took my turn at testing it, more so customarily as obviously Richard's determination is official and decidedly more reliable than my opinion. But seriously, this SM3 had some snappy ass action and butter smooth carriage, perhaps better than the eBay-advertised "Fully reconditioned" SM4 i had brought in the trunk of my car.

The next part is a bit unclear to me. It's the transition of how this typewriter became Richard's to mine to purchase. I completely deferred to him because it was certainly his idea to visit this typewriter. Thinking back now, i believe i recollect that perhaps he saw the joy i had in trying out this typewriter. It is an unbelievable typewriter, you know. Regal.
He said he had one already and wanted to give me the chance to have one of my own.
Either way, i believe that one of us was going to walk out with this machine - no way we were going to leave it there for someone else.

I tried to bargain with the lady and charm her and appeal to her business side but she stone cold stonewalled me. Even calling her aunt who owned the store fell on deaf ears. They said they knew that it was a rare typewriter so they would not lower the price. They would however let us purchase tax-free if we paid in cash.

Suddenly we are walking to the ATM. With Richard generously insisting on contributing $20 to the purchase of this machine.

The rest of the afternoon turning evening continued the fun. Dinner at a real diner and then some typewriting with a new dear friend. And a magnificent new typewriter.

BTW - thanks to Richard for lending me the above 2 pics.