the next BIG THING
the Apsco Beaver – how Canadian eh?
rear view
Note: this thing put a very fine point on a no. 2 pencil in short order. Price: 50 cents. Original price $13.50 ( sticker on bottom).
No pencil lover should be without this essential tool.
Filed under Poetry, Thrift shop finds, Uncategorized
What if you are Elvis?
Happy birthday to Elvis. And to me.
Filed under Photography, Poetry
Best wishes from the management and staff here at Nathanguitars. I have given them the day off since I won’t be here to supervise. Cratchit was most grateful.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good duck
CONSIDER THE DUCK
WHO KNOWS NOT WHENCE
NOR WHYFOR
THE LAKE DOTH HARDEN
BENEATH HIS WEBBED FEET
BUT TRODS ABOUT
THE ICY MIRROR
NIBBLING AT HIS OWN REFLECTION
Filed under Animal psychology, Photography, Poetry, Uncategorized
Harris Beach, Oregon coast
Summer behind us here, with two weeks vacation to spend we set off on Highway 101, down the Pacific Coast, bound for California. Like all trips, this one was a perfect opportunity to do some sketching and scour the thrift and antique shops for cool stuff (typewriters and old cameras). 101 is a marvelous road, full of stupefying vistas, interesting towns and endless campgrounds.
After 2 weeks of browsing, it was on the last day of the trip that I discovered two typewriters that I could afford. The poem was typed on the one in the picture. The typewriter came with the previous owner’s name on it. A Google search revealed that she died over 10 years ago, but her husband only died last year. So I surmise that the typewriter was disposed of by estate sale, hence ending up in an antique mall.
My first trip down 101 was about 25 years ago, and I thought it wasn’t very interesting. At the time I was fresh from the east coast and had been hoping to see a lot of quaint east coast villages. Now, many trips along the route behind me, I see it differently – an amazingly interesting and varied route. I can hardly imagine that there is another single highway of its length that offers so many beautiful landscapes and scenes as this one does. However, I have heard tell that US Highway 20, which happens to start at the intersection with 101 in Newport, Oregon, is a likely competitor. One day…
Manzanita trees, Napa
Skytram at Sterling Wines
Typewriter from Astoria, Oregon
Filed under Painting, Poetry, Thrift shop finds, Travel, Typewriters, Uncategorized, VW Vans
No kidding, this is a mint condition Olympia Progress, Russian. Unfortunately I don’t type Russian, nor do I speak it, or understand it. But I will sell it to the Russians for a tidy sum, since they are now wisely going back to typing classified documents. That is about the only good thing that can be said about Russia these days. Who would have thought that Russia is part of the typewriter insurgency!
Photograph of Chief Russian Insurgent, purportedly typing a secret report. Picture taken with one of those “film” cameras and developed in coffee….
Hey Vlad, want to buy my typewriter? For you, hmmm, $1000, cash only please.
What can this mean? A secret message? Cryptic!
Heavily redacted secret message, obviously in code as well. Proof positive that they are using typewriters for their secret business!
Filed under Photography, Poetry, Technology, Thrift shop finds, Typewriters, Uncategorized
VIEWED FROM THE EAST IN SWANS PUB
VIEWED FROM THE WEST ON A FIRE ESCAPE
The Bridge rises
Literally
The huge counterweight
Hangs overhead
But not for long
This bridge is doomed
Little brother to the Golden Gate
Writ by the same engineers
Written off now
Other engineers think
Too expensive to fix
The mighty drill rig
Penetrates the bedrock
Laying the footings
A new bridge will stand on
Filed under Painting, Poetry, Uncategorized
I saw a kite the other day
It seemed to be flying by itself
But on closer inspection
Hidden in the tall grass
A man held the string
nathanguitars 