It comes as no surprise that the great literary genius of our day, Cormac McCarthy, wrote most of his novels on the same Olivetti Lettera 32. According to a New York Times article, McCarthy was recently gifted a new typewriter and will give his old one to Christie's to be auctioned off for charity. They expect between $15,000 and $20,000.

Alas, there's no money from young men like me to snatch that piece of history and perhaps even put a few of my own words on the same ribbon, next to his. Or pehaps one day my Olympia DeLuxe or my Hermes 3000 will sit on some collector's shelf next to the prominant Olivetti Lettera 32. Hey, a guy can dream right?

  As I mentioned before, Warren Wilson was kind enough to save me a spot for the winter term since they'd filled up the summer by the time I sent my application in. Well, someone decided to postpone their start date and left a spot for yours truly. So, I'm starting July 2. I'm pretty geeked about starting but already have two assignments. First, I have to chose one among some of the different workshops, and of the choices that best fit my program, I'm only familiar with the work being discussed in one. Also, I have to come prepared to discuss two pieces of my own work, but only one is near finished. So, much to do by April 22. 

 Kai Ryssdal of NPR's Marketplace recently had a story about how pet stores are doing just fine in the financial downturn. Well, the misus and I have graduated from office plants, to a tortoise. It's all leading up to a grandkid for parents, in-laws and pesky friends--kidding. So, yeah, a tortoise, a bred-in-captivity Marginated Tortoise to be precise.  I was about to complain about how expensive the tortoise, terrarium, "bedding", lights (two of them), heating pads, water dish, food dish, sand, hay, and calcium are, until I saw how much a flippin' dog costs. All of the items mentioned above cost less than half whatever ugly mutt they were selling at the pet store. Then you have to get shots, collars, ID tags, loads o' food, leash, toys, etc. It's kinda' crazy, but then anything but a beta fish in a $2 bowl seems pretty nuts. 

Since my nephew just turned 6 mo. old, I gave his parents a free photo shoot. Well, who am I kidding, I love photographing the little dude. Anyhow, behold the high commander who has tak usurped every sphere of family life and can pull us away from anything by merely saying WAAAA, in the right tone. So, we pay tribute to the little man who rules with an iron fist. Eating,  sleeping, drinking, getting pampered and being the center of attention. Now that's a life. 

 

I've watched two of my dream typewriters, Groma Kolibri,  ascend to the heights of $150 and well beyond my reach in only the past few days. Meanwhile, my Aztec 700 is in for repair with some undiagnosed malady that stumped the local typewriter doctor. Thankfully, UPS is paying the bill, since it was in their hands that it got messed up. 

  I've already had the chocolaty, coffee, and oats goodness in a bourbon barrel that is the Kentucky Breakfast Stout. I've tried the Orange Blossom Cream Ale, which I'll review soon, though I linked to beer advocate for your reading pleasure. And I tried some local microbrews with mixed results. More when I get back.

Speaking of getting back, I'm going back to Guatemala this weekend (10 months since my last visit), to hand over a film project to my friend Daniel G. who is a better film director than I'll ever be. I produced a short narrative film that he wrote and directed a couple years ago, so now I invited him to my turf. So down we'll go to work with some of the most dangerous men in some of the most dangerous neighborhoods and institutions of that country. I'll spare the gory details until I return. Until my return, keep an eye out for my tweets (look right, I have a widget). I'll sneak them if I can.  

    So, tonight I turned to a blog called Suburban Ecstasies, which on top of offering good poetry, it tracks the dates in which schools notify applicants. So, as the 2009 numbers appeared on the right column and there, in blue lettering it appeared that Bennington has already notified its fiction applicants on March 12, 2009. I'm assuming they are done notifying their elect by now, so I'm counting this as a definite MISS, and hoping for two out of three to come back with a positive response. Boston has already notified its Poetry applicants but no word on fiction yet--so I'm still hoping and praying and wishing and thinking, planning and dreaming each night of their halls, which gets me no closer at all....a bit for the doo wop humor. 

   I've submitted applications to my Spring round of MFAs. Regardless of results, I learned oodles and buckets about how tough fiction-writing is. With round one behind me, here is my shout-out to all the typecasters that inspired me, with their NaNoWriMo efforts, to try my hand at mechanical composition. 

   While my typewriter is not a particularly interesting piece, I think the paper is. See the purplish stains on it? That's because it is written on Polyester Film Carbon paper by Spirit (circa 1980). It is so old that the purple carbon seeped through the 6 lb. sheet between it and the master. So, this is my first, of hopefully many typecasts. Enjoy!

Written on a Smith-Corona Super Sterling