Relics

Today I was thinking that I should really be in the salvage business -- rescuing the old castoffs of this throwaway society, lovingly restoring them, and presenting them as the artifacts they truly are from former times.

After all, I've been collecting things for at least half a century. Old bottles, coins, stamps, magazines, books, photos, postcards, baseball cards -- the list goes on.

Tonight's major find was this old "compact" typewriter -- the laptop of its time. I used to work on a machine like this, and in fact, I still had one until relatively recently, when it found its way to the recycling bin. My kids have been asking me whether I have any old typewriters (they think they are "cool"), and I've only been able to answer, "I used to..."

Thanks to one of my neighbors, following the local custom of putting whatever you don't want anymore out on the sidewalk for anyone passing by to claim (We don't bother to add a "Free" sign, because we all know the language of our streets), I now have retaken possession of this sweet portable Remington. 

It makes that old comforting sound, you know, clickety-click, that a century ago came from the open windows in Rudyard Kipling's compound in old India, as that masterful story-teller pounded out his stories at night.

Or Conrad, Hemingway, Faulkner, take your pick. For many decades, this was the sound of literature and the sound of journalism. Even as recently as the Watergate scandal of 1974, the signature film made of Woodward and Bernstein's legendary reporting that ended Richard Nixon's presidency, closes with a series of headlines typed on an old manual typewriter.

Because that's what we used at that time. 

(This is an excerpt of a piece from 2007.)

HEADLINES:

• GOP presidential hopefuls target Nikki Haley more than Trump (AP)

• Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the ousted speaker, announces he’s leaving Congress (NBC)

• 'Dictator' Trump warnings spook America (AFP)

• Trump declines to rule out abusing power to seek retribution if he returns to the White House (AP)

• ‘Test case’ for America: Colorado’s top court poised to weigh Trump’s eligibility to run again (Politico)

• Nevada grand jury indicts 6 fake Donald Trump electors (AP)

• Wisconsin Trump electors settle lawsuit, agree Biden won in 2020 (WP)

• House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Republicans are blurring faces in security footage from inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to protect rioters from prosecution. [HuffPost]

• The true extent of damage to schools from Covid-19 (Economist)

• Senate careens toward failed vote on Ukraine aid as GOP pushes for border measures (WP)

• Ukraine Aid Falters in Senate as Republicans Insist on Border Restrictions (NYT)

• At least 3 dead after shooting on UNLV campus, Las Vegas police say (CNN)

• UNLV gunman was a professor who applied to work at the university (USA Today)

• War Intensifies in Southern Gaza, Where Civilians Say No Place Is Safe (NYT)

• Generation after generation, Israeli prison marks a rite of passage for Palestinian boys (AP)

• Suspect identified in Austin shooting rampage that left 6 dead, 2 police officers injured (Austin American-Statesman)

• A new bill introduced by Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) aims to limit easy access to high-powered rifles that can fire dozens of rounds with blazing speed. The legislation reflects a more sophisticated understanding of how guns work and has spread optimism among gun reformers that it could garner bipartisan support. [HuffPost]

• Putin lands in UAE for rare foreign trip (BBC)

• Putin, escorted by fighter jets, lands in Saudi Arabia for MbS talks (Reuters)

• 'Time' magazine names Taylor Swift its 2023 Person of the Year (NPR)

• Elon Musk’s messiah complex may bring him down (Economist)

• A judge sentenced a woman to work in a fast-food restaurant. Rosemary Hayne, 39, screamed and hurled a scalding chicken burrito bowl at a worker in an Ohio Chipotle in September. She was found guilty of assault last month. (WP)

• A ‘thirsty’ generative AI boom poses a growing problem for Big Tech (CNBC)

• Google‘s ‘Gemini’ is the latest AI software entering fierce competition (WP)

• How AI assistants are already changing the way code gets made (Tech Review)

• 6 Giveaway Signs Of ChatGPT-Generated Content (Forbes)

• Nvidia is developing new chips for China to comply with US export curbs (CNN)

• How Nations Are Losing a Global Race to Tackle A.I.’s Harms (NYT)

• Phone Lifted Up By Headphone Cord Like Prize Fish (The Onion)