Tag: Pasadena

You’re invited to a Southern California Type-In!

Date
Saturday, May 10, 2025

Time
1:00 PM onwards

Location
Vroman’s Bookstore
695 E Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91101

2 blocks West of Lake Avenue, which has both East and Westbound exits off of the 210 Freeway.
We’ll be meeting upstairs on the second floor.  Parking available behind the bookstore as well as on surrounding streets. There is a handicapped accessible ramp (from the parking lot in rear) and entrance(s) with an elevator to the second floor as well.

What is a Type-in?

Type-ins are community-based, family friendly events at which typewriter enthusiasts share their love for the analog art of putting ink onto paper with mechanical marvels of the late 19th through 20th centuries. To do this they bring one or more manual typewriters and their knowledge and love of the machines to share with the community. New friends share stories, history, repair tips, working methods, and other typewriterly ephemera. Typists of all ages and levels of ability are welcome.

Typewriters optional
We definitely encourage those without their own machines to attend. With some luck and the kindness of new friends, you should be able to try out a variety of machines which are present in an effort to decide what styles and feel you might consider for purchasing one of your own one day. (Please kindly ask the owners’ permission before trying a machine out.) If you’ve got multiple typewriters, feel free to bring an extra for a friend.

“Like a jam session for people who like typewriters. You had unions do sit-ins and hippies do be-ins, so I thought, ‘We’ll do a type-in.’”
—Michael McGettigan, 56, bike shop owner who coined the phrase

Activities during the afternoon

  • Basic typewriter demonstrations covering: use, maintenance, and repair; how to find/buy typewriters, how to date the year of manufacture of your machine, etc.
  • Type up a message about how much your Mother means to you (May 11th is Mother’s Day)
  • Speed typing contest
  • Writing! (naturally)
    • poetry competition
    • letter and postcard writing;  bring some stationery/envelopes/stamps to write letters to friends & loved ones
    • Typing prompts for those who need inspiration for writing
  • Typewriter Art – composing visual pictures using ink on paper
  • Cadavre Exquis – a dedicated typewriter with paper is set up for participants to compose and write a group story, each taking turns throughout the event at writing one sentence at a time.
  • Impromptu lightning talks of 3-5 minutes on topics like “how to buy a typewriter”, “how to get into home typewriter repair”, “how to work a typewriter into your daily writing routine”, “how to join the Typosphere” etc.
  • Participants are encouraged to type up their experiences of the event for posting to their personal websites (aka the Typosphere).
  • Meet new pen pals to start exchanging letters via typewriter and post
  • Selfies with the typewriter mural on the front of the bookstore.
  • Typewriter repair advice: Have a broken machine and not sure what’s wrong? Get some advice from the community.
  • Bring and share your own ideas… What do you use your typewriter for?

Vroman’s Bookstore

Vroman’s Bookstore is a Pasadena institution and SoCal’s oldest indie bookstore since 1894 (almost as old as the invention of the typewriter itself!) While you’re visiting, be sure to check out not only their book selection, but their gifts and cards; the wide array of notebooks, stationery items and their fantastic fountain pen counter; and their children’s section. Downstairs stop by their and their excellent wine bar or Tepito Coffee Shop which will be open for snacks and beverages throughout the day.

Looking for Typewriter-related books while you’re there? Ask for some of the following:

  • The Typewriter Revolution: A Typist’s Companion for the 21st Century by Richard Polt (Countryman Press, 2015)
  • Uncommon Type: Some Stories by Tom Hanks (Knopf, 2017)
  • Typewriter Beach: A Novel by Meg Waite Clayton (Harper, July 2025)
  • Yankees, Typewriters, Scandals, and Cooperstown: A Baseball Memoir by Bill Madden (Triumph, April 2025)
  • Olivetti by Allie Millington (Feiwel & Friends, 2024)
  • Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin (Simon & Schuster, 2003) as well as other follow up books in the series
Two rows of four typewriters each lined up on opposite sides of a table.
Who’s ready for a type-in?!?

RSVP & Questions

Our meeting space, which is frequently used for author talks and book signings, should be adequate, but please RSVP (with your expected number of typewriters) so we can plan for the appropriate amount of tables and chairs.

Questions? Media queries? Contact: ChrisAldrich@jhu.edu

Save the Date: A Southern California Type-In on May 10, 2025

I’ve been in conversation with a local bookstore in Pasadena to help host a type-in in Southern California. We’re making plans for Saturday afternoon on May 10th from 1:00 PM onward. 

So mark your calendars, limber your fingers, and start tuning up your favorite typewriter(s)! More details and specifics to come shortly. 

If you’re nearby and can spare some time to help volunteer, drop me a line. 

Read 112-Year-Old Pasadena Office Equipment Firm Acquired by Las Vegas Company (Pasadena Now)
Anderson Business Technology, a fixture in Old Pasadena since 1912, joins Advanced Imaging Solutions
They’re tremendously busy with the transition at present, but I had a short conversation with the Andersons this afternoon to check on what’s happening with their typewriter-related business. Fortunately it seems there’s nothing to be worried about!

The third generation family-run business is being sold to an independent owner operated business. The new owners do have an appreciation for vintage machines and will likely continue their relationship with typewriter repair person Pedro Diaz, who although partially retired, still repairs mechanical typewriters for the company. It’s already been several years since the store has gotten rid of their old dunk tanks and flammable cleaning equipment on site.

The vintage typewriters on display at the store, including an original Sholes and Glidden, have been catalogued and will stay within the Anderson family. The family currently hasn’t decided what will happen to the collection though donation to museums or possible auction might be considered in the coming months following the transition of the company. Until a decision is made, likely after September or much later this year, the typewriters on display in their Old Town Pasadena location will remain at the shop.

If you’re in the area and curious to see their collection, try making an appointment after mid-August (following a family wedding) when the transition handoff will hopefully have settled down a bit and you better catch employee attention.

 

Acquired a copy of the Library of America’s Octavia Butler volume containing Kindred, Fledgling, and her Collected stories.

While I hope to read chunks of it over the summer in Butler’s childhood neighborhood of Pasadena, I got it to read Bloodchild for the Octavia Butler Sci Fi Book Club on 6/24/2023 at 3:00 PM at Octavia’s Bookshelf which is co-hosting with the La Pintoresca Branch Library and the Huntington Library.

Replied to a tweet (Twitter)
I’m sure there was a similar peak in 2009 for the Station Fire. I remember seeing the pyrocumulus cloud in Glendale/Pasadena all the way down to San Diego.

It’s also the last time that Mt. Wilson was threatened, though tonight it’s from the East side of the mountain. I’m watching closely because I’m 8 miles from the Bobcat Fire to the East and we’re under an evacuation warning. Fortunately the live cam has some reasonably clear footage of the immediate danger as the observatory is 4 miles up the hill above us.

Night photo of flames burning near the Mt. Wilson Observatory.
Mount Wilson Observatory live cam facing east toward the Bobcat Fire at 12:40 AM PST
Read Juneteenth Has New Meaning in Pasadena by Jason Hardin (ColoradoBoulevard.net)
As thousands of local residents of all ethnicities continue to participate in peaceful protests against the culture of racial bias, profiling, and misuse of force in police departments across our nation, “Juneteenth” is sure to have taken on a new meaning this year.
Replied to Council Approves Balanced 2021 Budget (Pasadena Now)
In the midst of an extraordinary year which has seen unprecedented damage to the City’s revenue stream due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City Council Monday unanimously approved a balanced 2021 Fiscal Year budget.
Presumably the budget is a public document. The reporting here would be better if there were some analysis of its breakdown as well as a link to a copy of the budget itself. What percentage of the budget goes to the police versus the percentages that go to the other services mentioned?
Read Guest Opinion | Ryan Bell: It’s Time to End Policing As We Know It (Pasadena Now)
But what really surprised me at Monday’s city council meeting were the comments from council members in response to public comments. To a one, they swore they were opposed to defunding the police. This tells me that they either don’t understand what defunding the police means or they’re being deliberately obtuse. Legislators defund things all the time. Public education has been undergoing massive defunding for decades nationwide. Same with housing. But suddenly everyone is gobsmacked by the idea of reducing the funding to a city department and reallocating those resources to provide essential services in a safer, more effective way. Several councilmembers, including Mayor Tornek, said that to defund the PPD would be irresponsible and then went on to say that it’s very important that we examine the budget allocations for all departments, including the police, and make adjustments that are responsive to the community. Yes, exactly! That’s exactly what community leaders are talking about.
RSVPed Attending Catalyst & Coffee: Reaching the Hearts & Minds of Your Audience

Details
Are you asking your audience to invest for your reasons, or for theirs? To obtain an investment that is both meaningful AND manageable, you have to reach them intellectually AND emotionally. Gain insight to a process that will take you from a retail salesperson to an advisor. With over ten years of experience in the real estate, insurance, financial planning, and banking world, Calvin Chan brings his marketing, relationship cultivation, and sales expertise to the mission driven world. He’s a Major Gift Officer with Union Station Homeless Services, where he stewards the relationships with individual donors that have a relatively high giving capacity. He’s served on the boards of A Place Called Home, The Salvation Army, and the Pasadena Jaycees Foundation. On his leisure time, you can find Calvin on a horse, at the poker table, or at Storytelling Stand-Up Comedy open mic night.
Spaces, 680 E Colorado Blvd Suite 180 & Second Floor, Pasadena, CA 91101, USA
January 28, 2020 at 08:00AM- January 28, 2020 at 09:30AM

Read Income Inequality Is Reflected in Local School Districts by Jennifer Hall Lee (ColoradoBoulevard.net)

I have written before about my volunteerism as chair of the annual fund in my local public junior high school. That experience gives a unique perspective on the income inequality issues we face today.

Let’s look at a few of the current annual fund goals for schools in the Pasadena area.

  • $75,000 is the annual fund goal for Eliot Arts Magnet Academy (a PUSD school).
  • $500,000 is the annual fund goal for an Altadena charter school.
  • $4.3 million is the annual fund goal for a Pasadena private school.

These annual fund numbers reflect the income levels of parents because when you set a goal for an annual fund you must reasonably expect that the goal can be reached. Annual funds in public schools derive monies primarily through parents and alumni.

📺 Can We All Get Along? | A Documentary about The Segregation of John Muir H.S.

Watched Can We All Get Along?: The Segregation of John Muir High School from Can We All Get Along?

A 50 minute documentary following filmmaker & Class of ’82 John Muir High Alumnus, Pablo Miralles (“Gringos at the Gate“) as he questions what has happened to his once diverse alma mater and whether or not to send his own son to the school today. In the film, Miralles explores the complex history of Pasadena’s schools and the 1970 court order that created the first Federal desegregation plan outside of the south. Weaving stories from alumni, administrators, and civic leaders of John Muir High School’s multi-cultural community, Miralles illustrates the challenges and failures of California, and the United States, to promote well-funded and diverse public education.

👓 Pasadena Busing Controversy, 9/14/70 | ColoradoBoulevard.net

Read Pasadena Busing Controversy, Sept. 14, 1970 by Roxanne Elhachem (ColoradoBoulevard.net)
In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. In the 1970s and 1980s, under federal court supervision, many school districts implemented mandatory busing plans within their district.
Are they revisiting this story every few years as an evergreen? This coverage of it seemed more interesting than the shorter story in 2018… hmmm.

Reply to Pasadena Busing Controversy: Sept. 14, 1970 by Roxanne Elhachem

Replied to Pasadena Busing Controversy: Sept. 14, 1970 by Roxanne ElhachemRoxanne Elhachem (ColoradoBoulevard.net)
The busing proposition in Pasadena brought mixed emotions for its citizens. Although many were happy about the social progression that was occurring in this town, it may have indirectly kept, if not increased, some of the segregation within the city. Private schools were not included in this new plan, and because of that, people who didn’t agree with the plan — and could afford it — sent their kids to affluent private schools. This lead to around 30 private schools (currently 53) being present in the city of Pasadena.Students arriving by school bus in early 70s (Photo – The U.S. National Archives).In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. In the 1970s and...
Thanks for highlighting this archival news footage. I’ve always wondered why it seemed like Pasadena had so many private schools given its relative size, though I do wonder how it compares to the rest of southern California on a private school per capita basis. I’d never considered that this may be one of the largest driving factors.

I’m curious what the numbers for the city’s public and private schools are? Perhaps a follow up with some graphs, charts, and further analysis would be worthwhile? I’m definitely curious.

In the meanwhile, the topic reminded me of this relatively recent segment of Jon Oliver’s show which focused on school segregation and which also featured Ronald Reagan:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8yiYCHMAlM

👓 Pasadena Busing Controversy: Sept. 14, 1970 | ColoradoBoulevard.net

Read Pasadena Busing Controversy: Sept. 14, 1970 by Roxanne Elhachem (ColoradoBoulevard.net)
In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. In the 1970s and 1980s, and under federal court supervision, many school districts started implementing mandatory busing plans within their district. This busing system would force children of Pasadena, who attended public schools, to take the bus in order to encourage integration of all the different races that lived in the city.