SADHVI
I don’t like to subscribe to a lot of magazines because I end up not reading them. The only exception is Time magazine delivered right to my REAL mailbox; I look through it page by page and I’ve noticed that the format is really different than how it used to be, probably because our attention span is much shorter, and we like our facts in the form of cartoons, charts, sound bites, and FaceBook posts, right?
Just look at what happened to the hard copy of Newsweek: on October 18th, 2012, Brown announced that Newsweek would cease print publication (!) with the December 31, 2012 issue and transition to an all-digital format, to be called Newsweek Global.
I am not getting sentimental, I swear, I’m just noticing things!
The swing to the latest and greatest ways to “share” is swinging back when I talk to people who are getting tired of FB, getting tired of being with friends who text and want to share photos on their iPhone. It was bound to happen that the hunger for real relating would result as things became more and more techie.
MY OLD TYPEWRITER
I still have an old typewriter that I don’t use it. But one of these days, I might. I mean, maybe I am being sentimental now, but I don’t want to lose the ability to make mistakes, to look things up in a dictionary, or lose my ability to write cursive. Which is what was happening as I found out that while writing out Christmas cards this year, my handwriting felt awkward and I had to find my rhythm. Almost like learning how to write again! It took a long time because I hadn’t used that skill much since I do just about everything on my c0mputer’s keyboard.
Here’s an interesting clip from a film called : Linotype: the Movie. It shows a fascinating time period, where print was the latest. Maybe I am bit like the people in this film who still love something that is outdated. and then again, maybe I am not the only one. If you like the sound of the clicking of a real typewriter, or the sound of anything that is not computer generated, take a look, and thanks to Tosh for putting this on his Google+ account (not FB).
Tags: babyboomerwomen, oops50, post50women, womencrones, womenelderblogs
I love your writing, art, cookies, poppy seed & nut rolls and best of all treasure your notes to us with all of the above. Your heart is beautiful and that is why we love you so much. Love yourself today Sadhvi
I am always happy to see the latest Oops 50 post in my “in box”. I guess that is contrary to liking this month’s topic. By the way, loved the clip. I like the sound of the click and whirr of all machines. My Dad used to take me to a machinr shop in NYC when I was a kid to show me what machine he was having made that would put a collar of a dress on a certain way or a belt. And combines shooting hay and corn into the air, industrial sewing machines making sails, lino-types spitting out the Sunday Times. Yes. Beautiful. Thanks!
Is emailed:
As usual your creative writing captures my attention and makes me think about the valuable points you address in our changing society of electronics. In cleaning our home this fall, I happened to find at least 5 of these typewriters that my father had saved along the years. We will probably include them in the estate sale we plan to have this spring, but have no idea what their value is.
…yes I still hand write many notes…especially thank-you’s and notes of encouragement. I truly believe it is personal because you took the time and effort to write it in your own handwriting…..guess I should be handwriting this!
Love reading your blog! Hope chestnuts are going well!
@Lisa:yes, “if only we could take what is good with technology and go back to the warmer slower days of the past.” I will do a post on that. It would be a fun imagining, don’t you think?
@Wm: it’s true; when I left Switzerland, I took the old typewriter that I bought with me. It’s heavy, but ever so cool. I went to the shop in Basel to get a new ribbon, and even had it serviced. I like that there are places around that do this. It’s sitting with it’s very rugged cover on the top shelf here in my office. Right next to the rotary dial phone from the 20′s. Besides my portable, handheld phones, I also use one that my Mom found in an old rock shop in Needles, Calif. It feels so good to talk on that one. And it works perfectly! But yes, I don’t know if I will be able to actually write anything on my old typewriter. I don’t know if I would have the strength in my fingers to type anything at all!
@Linda: You are just like me! I always want to buy stamps that are the coolest, and then, I love how they look on even a bill. (I seldom pay anything online). And yes, Newsweek’s paper demise hit me too. But, there still is TIME magazine!
@Helen: My sentiments exactly! I am going to be asking what are some of the most memorable books that our reader’s have read…I am looking forward to hearing from you, Helen. You are so cool.
@Sharon: I never thought that feeling nostalgic is a sign of being old, but I think you might be right. I’m going to be pondering that now!
@Scott: What a good article on why it’s better to write vs. type. I also got a kick out of the link to favorite pens. I’ve always been a pen and pencil girl. I still like to sharpen a really good pencil and use it. I have my box of colored pencils and like to draw and play, usually on the outside of envelopes. And I prefer a Bic blue ballpoint. I think of them as the smoothest way to write, still.
@Aile: it’s so true that letters reward twice. It’s funny, but in my assortment of stationary, I also have a box of those air mail papers and envelopes. They are so light and so beautiful, aren’t they? Your “Writing from the Heart” groups are so cool. I’ve done 2 and find that just having the space to write gives me the space to connect with “me”. I hope to get to one this year!
Great film preview and I will go see that when it comes out. I remember when I got to work with Rupert Pole and I got to see some of the original type set books Anais put out in the 40s. I believe one of the best things in the world is to read through old letters because we forget over time how much love has been sent our way, and how much we’ve passed on to others as well. I love the individuality of print and handwriting. Fonts are fun but they aren’t the same as that thrill when one sees that script one has been waiting to see. If only we could take what is good with technology and go back to the warmer slower days of the past.
I still have an old manual typewriter, and it still has a lot of collector value.. but to try to use it reminds me of how frustrating it is to use.. the keys jamming up, the time and effort to fix mistakes.. I do like to use old typewriter fonts on the computer, like an homage to the old school.
I love stationery, stickers for envelopes and pretty postage stamps. I send numerous cards and notes for all occasions and I know they are received as gifts. About Newsweek, I was in line at the grocery store when I saw the last issue and was shocked! No more print?! I was tempted to look around to find someone of my age group to exclaim about this momentous change and sign of the times. I’m not ashamed to admit I felt sad because there’s nothing like holding a book or magazine in one’s hands.
I felt the same way when I was writing notes on our Christmas cards. I feared that my cursive was so awkward that people couldn’t read it. My pace was very slow. My job changed from taking notes to typing on the computer last year. That was when I started to be self-conscious of my writing. I do still send letters, and even include photos. My friends and family comment that it is so nice to receive personal letters. I love getting them too.
I love this film clip. I, too, feel nostalgia in regard to the old days, but that just tells me how old I am. I must admit, except for notes on birthday cards and the occasional personal thank you or sympathy note, I rarely write on paper these days.
Yes, recently read a great article on how writing ‘long-hand’ has advantages over typing on a keyboard. I still write out my to-do lists, and when i have insights, ideas, etc., as well as rough drafts for almost anything I put into print.
Check it out…surprising.
http://lifehacker.com/5738093/why-you-learn-more-effectively-by-writing-than-typing
I love that you wrote this! Letters are so rich, rewarding us twice, in the writing of them and in the knowledge that someone is going to receive one from you, one on one. I find I do most of my letters now on cards instead of stationary, to give the added dimension of a visual, but I still enjoy using those thin air mail papers when I send something overseas. In my groups, Writing from the Heart™, I encourage handwriting to elicit more cross over between the left and the right sides of the brain, and often give ‘writing a letter’ exercises… but your typewriter makes me nostalgic for the one I had when I wrote most of my letters, back in the 60′s and 70′s, into the 80s. A good letter is a work of art!!