Category Archives: Poetry

Can’t Help It

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Falling in love again

What am I to do?

Never wanted to

Can’t help it.

Now imagine Marlene Dietrich.. or was her name Gabriele?

i am gabriele

i am gabriele

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Is this love?

Or just infatuation?

multilingual

multilingual

she lived in Switzerland…

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Plein Air Countdown T-10

Fountain Lake - Beacon Hill Park - Victoria

Fountain Lake – Beacon Hill Park – Victoria

Yesterday’s outing produce this sketch of Fountain Lake in Beacon Hill Park. The lake was built in 1888 before the park was designed by Scottish landscape architect Blair. I find the abundance of green tones a huge challenge, obviously!

I was also prompted to pull out my Brother 750TR after reading about poet Les Murray and his very similar machine on oz.typewriter. But oz also had a post about typewriters used in the Fuhrer bunker, notably Adlers. I pulled out the Brother and gave it a short workout on the bench to see if there was ink left in the ribbon. Good enough. I carried it up stairs. Then I went to the living room and saw my Adler Tippa behind the couch. Which one to use? I set up the Adler on the table, fed in a piece of 9×12 sketch paper, the closest thing at hand, and just blurted out the first thing that came to mind. Maybe the Brother tomorrow.

another morning

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My Full Basement

the next BIG THING

the next BIG THING

jan 19001

the Apsco Beaver - how Canadian eh?

the Apsco Beaver – how Canadian eh?

rear view

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.

 

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Elvis would be 80

What if you are Elvis?

What if you are Elvis?

Happy birthday to Elvis. And to me.

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Merry Christmas

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

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

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Filed under Animal psychology, Photography, Poetry, Uncategorized

On the Road

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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…1-sk004

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Manzanita trees, Napa

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Skytram at Sterling Wines

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Typewriter from Astoria, Oregon

 

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Filed under Painting, Poetry, Thrift shop finds, Travel, Typewriters, Uncategorized, VW Vans

Plein Air Day

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From Russia, With Luck

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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!

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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.

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What can this mean? A secret message? Cryptic!

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Heavily redacted secret message, obviously in code as well. Proof positive that they are using typewriters for their secret business!

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Filed under Photography, Poetry, Technology, Thrift shop finds, Typewriters, Uncategorized

To The Moon, via Roundhouse

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Two Views

SKETCH006 VIEWED FROM THE EAST IN SWANS PUBmay 1 2014001VIEWED 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

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