Sunday, April 28, 2013

Report from Sitwell's








Reports on the 2011 (not 2010 as stated in my typecast) type-in at Sitwell's are herehere and here.








20 comments:

  1. I find it highly interesting that you've tagged this post under "insurgency!" I like it!

    I had no clue that a typewriter flash mob had been attempted. I wonder if anyone took photos..

    Anyway, great story from your new acquaintance!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I think a typewriter flash mob is a quintessential insurgent act. (Even more so if instead of taking place in a funky coffeehouse, it took place at an Apple store ...) I was glad to hear that it happened, and actually glad that I had nothing to do with planning it. That's a sign of spontaneous insurgency activity springing up, in independent cells of resistance.

      Delete
    2. I participated in a Direct Action Flaneurs insurgent typewriter event last year in New York's Grand Central Station. We used our typewriters in various locations in the terminal. But security guards prevented us from even entering the Apple Store. No Noiseless Portables allowed, apparently.

      Delete
  2. A first! A typewriter flash mob! Too bad they did not let you in on it. That fellows story is great. Good news when a stranger gets into a conversation about typewriters and typing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The great typewriter man Martin Tytell used to tell a similar story about how typewriters saved him in World War II. I believe he kept busy during the war producing typewriters with exotic typefaces such as Burmese.

      My own father's typing skills helped him get stationed in Massachusetts during the Korean War.

      Delete
  3. Man, a typewriter flash mob, that is the coolest! And how could this have gone under your radar???

    Great ambience at Sitwell's, certainly not like Starbucks where typers get stoned by the mob.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe that should be the location for the next typewriter flash mob. XD can you imagine the looks on the baristas' faces when they see five or six typists doing their thing on their tables?

      Delete
  4. As the young people say, "cool story, bro."
    I wonder how they are contacting each other without any of us seeing the trails.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Fantastic post - and stories! Please put Sitwell's on our list of "things to do in Cincinnati" in October.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Would the two of us constitute a "flash mob"?

    ReplyDelete
  7. I've added all these reports on the Cinci 2011 type-in to the relevant section. Also, just discovered randomly that there was apparently a Type-In in Utah in April of 2011, that I don't know if anyone else knew about:
    http://www.standard.net/topics/wasatch-rambler/2011/04/06/old-typewriters-stir-memories-amaze-youngsters
    So I added it too. :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's neat! It's good to see nondigital trends spreading by digital means. Let's keep the momentum going.

      I see that the two guys in Ogden considered themselves a mini flash mob!

      Delete
  8. Most insurgent action in Apple Store Covent Garden: load Typosphere.net and Typewriter heaven home pages onto as many macbooks as I could. Satisfying.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I would imagine somebody from the flash mob would see your entry and comment with a "I was there. I was part of that group."

    ReplyDelete
  10. I was privileged to be at that type-in. I brought in my Oliver 3 replete with sheet metal cover on a suitcase dolly, and if I remember correctly the regulars there did their best to "pretend" we weren't there. I mean, you have to really work at it not to notice an Oliver.

    Yours,
    Marty

    ReplyDelete