Sorry, we’re going up earlier in the week.

Busted!

Amtrak?

I’ll check it out. The Clipper might be a relaxing option also.

Or I could Hitch-hike. Show some leg.

I was wondering if any of you folks from across the border might be coming up. I’m heading over from Vancouver Island on Friday afternoon for Bringhurst’s discussion that night, then on to Rimmerfest on Saturday evening. For anyone interested, there are details on both events here (look for the November 24 & 25 listings).

We’ll be coming over from Vancouver Island via Galiano Island on Saturday. Not sure that my wife get’s it though. She thinks Rimmerfest has something to do with Red Dwarf...

Cheers, Si

Bringhurst on Friday, hmm? Maybe I can make it an overnighter. Poor me still has to find a way up there though.

Ok, so I bought a bus ticket via Quick Shuttle. ($35 student round-trip. Not bad!)

Now I suppose I’ll have to find a hostel to stay at on Friday and Saturday nights.

Anyone up for a pint or two? And where would we get one? If you’re nice, I’ll buy a round!

Dan, great to meet you at Rimmerfest, & sii, sorry we didn’t see you there. The evening itself was entertaining (really a roast of sorts with a variety of shared anecdotes about Jim spraying molten lead all over his musty studio), but the schmoozing afterward (which I normally can’t stand) was a nice opportunity to talk to other folks crippled & reduced to obssessions typographic.

Then, of course, came the normally-4-hour but this weekend 11-hour return trip from Vancouver to Victoria. Nothing like driving the 30klms to the ferry terminal all in 1st-gear. But, the university campus here is closed today, so, like my students, I’m heading out to enjoy the snow (right after I hack up the tree that snapped and is lying across the hood of my car!)...

I left Vancouver at 3:00PM on Sunday. I arrived back in Seattle at 9:30PM. Half of that was spent between the border and Bellingham. (Counting all of the cars in the ditch would have made a great drinking game.)

I said I was going to post some pics of the event, but they suck.

Sounds like a great time: wish we could have made it out. OTOH, boiling water and being trapped in a city that can’t deal with three snowflakes, nevermind a foot’s worth....

(That being said, we’ve got -40 windchill here!)

Oh yeah! Geez, thanks guys for telling me in advance not to drink the water. I filled up water bottle at my hostel and nearly gagged when I tried to drink some of it later. Yeck! When I went to a burger joint to get some food, I ordered water. The waitress was bored, so she poured me a glass of “clear-ish” water to disuade me.

I’m from Minnesota, so watching people pile up in the ditches over 2” of snow is immensely hilarious to me. (I once drove an entire winter with a 1980 Datsun 210 that had no defrost and had bald tires. Talk about fun!)

Is that -40 Cº or Fº?

> Is that -40 Cº or Fº?

Actually -40 is where C and F meet.

hhp

I know what you mean, Dan: when I lived in DC with my now ex-spouse (also from MN), we always got a big guffaw out of the people who weirded out at three snowflakes (“Panic now, avoid the rush!”).

Temperature-wise, the best thing about Calgary is the chinook — we’re supposed to be at the freezing point by the weekend.... ;-)

>Dan, great to meet you at Rimmerfest, & sii, sorry we didn’t see you there.

Yep, we got caught by the weather too, did actually make it into our hotel late Saturday evening, but was really too late to head over to catch the end of the event. The drive back to Seattle yesterday was an adventure, nine hours total with the low point watching an articulated bus directly in front of us slide sideways across three lanes of I5.

Actually -40 is where C and F meet.
D’oh!

did actually make it into our hotel late Saturday evening, but was really too late to head over to catch the end of the event.
Too bad. I met two great letterpress guys who I went and had a pint with. It’s interesting talking with guys who know about type and typography from a metal standpoint. (Like what happens when you find a stray comma laying on the floor? Mystery bucket o’ type? Or do you try to identify it through grooves and scratches?)

Yesterday (Monday) my school’s security guard kicked everyone off of campus because of the weather. The roads were extremely icy and dangerous, and I mean that in a Minnesota kinda way. I had to park at the top of a hill to help move a few cars that had slid sideways in the middle of the road. Nobody knew how to drive in that kind of weather, so I actually had to physically drive a few of them safely out of the way.

It was awesome.

By the way, did you try the water in BC? Egh.

If it’s got scratches (on the face) then it goes straight to the hellbox.

> my school’s security guard kicked everyone off of campus because of the weather.

So wait, if it’s too dangerous to drive, they make people leave the indoors? :-/

And wassup with the water in BC?! Isn’t Canada like half river or something?

hhp

Careful now Dan, the water’s only Egh in Vancouver. Over here in Victoria it’s crisp and clear thanks to the cold weather. Who’d you go pinting with? I’m guessing maybe Ryan Mah, whom I had a good chance to talk to as well. That guy is one lucky bastard. Have you seen his shop? Man’o’man.

The university campus here was shut down yesterday as well, but I spent a good part of the afternoon fielding emails from my students as they were in a good panic about how the weather might impact the deadline for their term projects...

So when it’s cold enough you can’t tell the taste is horrible?

hhp

Nah, we just didn’t get the nasty winds & rain that Vancouver got 2 weeks ago, which caused the run-off & problems with their water. I suppose “cold” has nothing to do with it.

So wait, if it’s too dangerous to drive, they make people leave the indoors? :-/Who’d you go pinting with?
Paul Hunter from Seattle and Tom Parson from Denver. Really cool guys. I met Ryan, but didn’t get to see any of his stuff. Oh well.

(And I got Bringhurst to sign my scrappy EoTS book. Yay!)

(And I got Bringhurst to sign my scrappy EoTS book. Yay!)

Ooooh: I’m jealous! I’m sure I’d be as in awe of him as I was of Ken Dryden before he ran for parliament. ;-)

Jason, is the Vancouver Wayzgoose going next October? (I can’t find the web page that used to be up.) We’re looking at stopping in Van on our way back from Seattle in August, but thought we’d come out in the fall for an extended wine and food (and books and type and other art) thing in October.

L.

Linda

To the best of my knowledge the Wayzgoos will be on in the Vancouver Public Library next October.

Eric Swanick, it organizer, thought it wiser to hold one every two years. All of us printers, binders, etc are looking forward to it. It’s a nice event.

And if you are in town, please drop by and visit me at my shop in New Westminster.

Jim

Hi Jim!
I had a question: What am I supposed to do with the special type specimen that you gave us? I can’t figure out how to display it, and it’s really quite nice.

For that matter, I bet you have a TON of broadsides and specs floating around. What do you do with them?

Jim: thanks so much for the invite. We usually stay in Surrey, so popping into New West is easy-peasy.

I had a nice chat with Eric when we were out last year, and even my sweetie had a lovely time (got to meet Jason too!) — perhaps next year I can bring out some of my work as well.

L.

Dan:

I have a large collection of broadsides and other ephemera. I generally keep them in a flat file and keep one or two framed and on the wall. Once in a while I rotate them so that I can have something new up on display. You could pop my little piece into samll frame if you fold it inside out to show the type specimens, or just keep it in your type spec files.

Jim

Thanks a lot! I’ll do that. Since I only have a small collection of things, it shouldn’t be a problem.

By the way, I left Vancouver completely inspired to treat type correctly. Listening to all the people speak (and Bringhurst twice!) was really nice. I’m convinced more than ever that my education is in my hands, not my school’s. Being a typographer or designer has nothing whatsoever to do with Photoshop or InDesign or whatever fancy program comes next.

I didn’t really know anybody up there before I left Seattle, but I feel privledged to have been a part of it and meet some great people.

Dan, I think you’re absolutely right about school, which is somewhat ironic seeing as I teach publication design and yet have never studied graphic design or typography formally. As I said when we were talking at Rimmerfest, really all anyone needs is Robert’s EoTS, which then leads to other useful texts like Dowdings Finer Points..., Tschichold’s Form of the Book, Mitchell & Wightman’s Book Typography, etc. Beyond that, it seems to me one simply needs to love & spend a lot of time with well made books, with frequent visits to Special Collections libraries where you can get up close with 15th-19th century samples. From there it’s simply experience, and while school is convenient in terms of supplying excercises & feedback (and the opportunity to make lots and lots of important mistakes), all of this can easily be accomplished with a tiny bit of discipline and (more importantly) the desire to learn.

By the way, at last year’s Wayzgoose Jim was handing out a lovely signed specimen of his Duensing Titling which I have framed in my studio. The event is, indeed, a great chance to connect with other printers & designers and to see what others have been up to over the course of a year. That said, for those of us who have to travel (and produce some sort of ephemera for the event), every other year is a bit more manageable.

Linda, here’s a link to the “Activities” page of the Alcuin website, with a graphic of last year’s Wayzgoose poster. When there’s info on next years, you’ll be able to find it on this page.

Thanks for the link, Jason. I’m now kicking myself that I didn’t get every single bit of ephemera last year.

I only walked away with yours (which I really want to get framed) and a little something from Charles van Sandwyk: we flew out and didn’t have much room to haul stuff back. Next time, I’ll bring a separate portfolio to ensure things stay flat. :-)