Fighting Distraction

Distractions. Procrastination. The devils that chase us all. As much as the Internet has made researching and writing easier than ever before, it has also thrown the publishing industry into turmoil and given writers a heroin-strength temptation not to work.

Annabella, ma belle…

The Italian company, Antares, made the lovely Annabella portable typewriter, circa early 1960s. There are other colour schemes, but the maroon & cream is certainly the one I would want. Antares wasn’t a big company but it produced a lot of typewriters which turn up for sale relatively often: Parva, Mercedes, Domus, P59, Lisa (the design of […]

The gorgeous Hammond 1 Golden Oak typewriter

The Hammond 1 Golden Oak (circa 1880s) is a beautiful example of typewriter design & mechanical ingenuity. It came in oak, cherry or mahogany finishes with solid ebony keys. How important were typewriters in the latter part of the 19th century? According to Martin Howard, the Canadian typewriter collector & scholar, this Hammond, like most typewriters, sold for around $100 […]

Let Us Now Praise the Semi-Colon

The semicolon is underused in today’s writing; many believe, incorrectly, that it’s an archaic bit of punctuation. Mightier than the comma but less decisive than a period, semicolons deserve more respect. (Ignore Kurt Vonnegut, who once said the only reason to use a semicolon is to prove you have a higher education.) They’re especially useful […]

Future of Affordable Housing – Toronto Star renter’s column (January 26, 2013)

For my latest Toronto Star renter’s column, I asked three local experts about the state of renting & affordable housing in the city. What really matters through 2013 & beyond? This is my last Lifelong Renter column. The Star killed it today, along with a number of other columns as part of a big downsizing exercise. […]

Frank Sinatra Has A Cold

It’s an overstatement to call Gay Talese’s “Frank Sinatra Has A Cold” the greatest profile of all time. After all, there have been many wonderful profiles published since this ran in the April 1966 issue of Esquire. But it remains a sterling example of the form. When Talese arrived in Los Angeles, Sinatra was approaching […]

Welcome to my new, improved web site

Thanks to the fine site designer, Graham Scott, this is my new & improved web site. I’ll be regularly posting here — announcements, updates, events of interest, assortica. For now, this is the launch…