Monthly Roundup - What I'm reading, watching and listening to: March Edition

Books: The Fellowship of the Ring: The Lord of the Rings Part One - J.R.R Tolkien

I've read The Hobbit a few times but have yet to read the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I've read about 150 pages of The Fellowship. Tolkien is an expert storyteller who takes his time spinning this tale into an epic of modern literature. In his foreword, Tolkien writes that he didn’t draw on current events or life experiences while writing the books and that the story has no meaning or explanation in the present. Rather, he wanted to try his hand at writing a long story, which he has done masterfully, through his words, songs, languages, and drawings.

Music: Road to Knowhere, Tommy Guerrero.

Though I discovered Road to Knowhere a few years ago, I finally downloaded the album and have had it on repeat this month. Tommy Guerrero, legendary California skateboarder, has recorded several albums featuring his genre-bending guitar playing. The album is comprised of guitar-driven instrumentals and blends latin, african, jazz, funk and surf music. Road to Knowhere evokes road trips along dusty desert highways to forgotten places with Guerrero's guitar guiding us on our journey.

Movies: The Rum Diary

“I wanna make a promise to you, the reader. And I don’t know if I can fulfill it tomorrow, or the day after that. But I put the bastards of the world at notice: that I do not have their best interests at heart. I will try to speak for my reader. That is my promise. And it will be a voice made of ink and rage.

While looking through papers in writer Hunter S. Thompson's home, actor Johnny Depp discovered Thompson's manuscript for The Rum Diary and helped to get the novel published and adapted into a film. Largely autobiographical of Thompson's time in Puerto Rico, Depp plays failed novelist Paul Kemp who gets a job working for the local newspaper San Juan Star. As Kemp explores the island in a series of alcoholic adventures, he gets caught up with businessman Sanderson who tries to lure Kemp into his plan to turn a beautiful island into a tourist hellhole. Kemp's boss wants him to play by the rules while Sanderson wants Kemp to publish fiction as fact about his development plans. Kemp learns by the end of the film that he must use his voice to keep the 'bastards of the world' in line. I enjoyed the film and I look forward to reading the book.

Podcasts: SYSK Operation Northwoods episode

Josh and Chuck from Stuff You Should Know always find a way to break the tension and inject some quirky humor into their episodes, even into topics as diabolical as the hare-brained schemes of the United States government. In 1962, with tensions growing between the U.S. and Cuba's communist government under Fidel Castro, the Joint Chiefs of Staff proposed Operation Northwoods- a false flag operation designed to justify U.S. military intervention in Cuba. Ultimately rejected by President John F. Kennedy, Jr., Operation Northwoods included plans to target Cubans traveling to Florida, to sabotaging/destroying U.S. ships in Guantanamo Bay to staging mock attacks on U.S. fighter planes. Tensions increased in October 1962 with the Cuban Missile Crisis and covert operations in Cuba ceased thereafter. This podcast is an interesting insight into the dark annals of American history during the Cold War.

Til next time,
KW

Typewriter Updates

Testing the machine post-clean.

I recently did some maintenance on my 1957 Royal Companion typewriter. I had a few sticky keys and needed to install a new ribbon. I'd like to share how I fixed these issues. I'll include some videos I found helpful in the Links section below.

Since I picked up the typewriter, several keys had become pretty sticky. My first step was to clean the segment. I picked up a bottle of mineral spirits, a spray bottle, a nylon brush and microfiber towels. It's important to use a product like mineral spirits or denatured alcohol when cleaning your typewriter as any product containing water may cause rust- and NEVER use WD40. I put a towel underneath the type bars and on any other surface I wanted to protect from the mineral spirits. I sprayed the mineral spirits into the segment, removing the excess with a towel or compressed air. I used the small nylon brush to work the mineral spirits into the segment and onto the typebars, then worked it in further by hitting each key several times to clear out any dirt and grime in the segment. I repeated this process of spraying mineral spirits and hitting each key until there were no more sticky keys. I also cleaned the typefaces by applying mineral spirits and cleaning each face with the brush. I repeated this until the typefaces were free of built-up ink.

To clean the exterior of the typewriter, I used some Simple Green. I tested it first to make sure it was safe to use. I tried to scrub out the marks and spots, but some marks were harder to remove than others. I will have to repeat this process again. I also cleaned the keys themselves.

Once I was done cleaning the interior and exterior, my last step was to install a new ribbon. The ribbon which came with the typewriter may have been the original! It was in sorry shape with many holes, tears, and creases. I bought these ribbons and attached the new ribbon onto the original spool which came with the typewriter. I've read that it's important to use the original spools, if you have them, as these can differ from machine to machine. The ribbons, however, are pretty standard at a half-inch wide. I removed the old ribbon from the spool and then attached the new ribbon to the original spool. To wind the new ribbon onto the original spool, I used the typewriter itself by turning the spool until the entire ribbon was on one spool and then attached the other end to the second spool. Overall this process was pretty simple.  Note: gloves are recommended when changing ribbons.

So - I solved the sticky keys issue and the new ribbon types well. My typewriter types and feels like a new machine. In the future I may take it apart to really get into the areas I can't otherwise reach as there is still some residual dirt and dust.

KW

Links
Fixing stuck keys with mineral spirits
Another video on cleaning the segment (any video from Phoenix Typewriter is helpful)
This video was helpful regarding ribbons & spools

First Hike of the Year

Trail sign denoting distance to nearby landmarks.

Over the weekend, my brother Eric and I went for a hike in Harriman State Park. The park is about a 1.5 hour drive from my Brooklyn apartment and offers well maintained trails, sweeping views of the Hudson River valley, and glimpses into the area's past. I've been hiking in Harriman and the surrounding area for over 15 years and still enjoy visiting.

We parked at Anthony Wayne Recreation Area and headed south on a bike trail which intersected with the Appalachian Trail (AT). The AT is a 2,194 mile long trail which stretches across 14 states from Maine to Georgia. The trail traverses Harriman and Bear Mountain State Parks as it winds through New York. We followed the AT and ascended a ridge to the east of the parking lot. From this ridge, we could see the undulating hills and ridges of the western Harriman region and beyond. We continued north along the ridge and descended from it's east side, the Perkins Memorial Tower atop Bear Mountain visible in the distance. 

Perkins Memorial Tower, Bear Mountain

As we descended, Eric slipped on ice and fell. We'd been hiking for about an hour and realized that many sections of trail were still covered in ice which made ascending and descending slow and tricky. Fortunately, Eric had the foresight to bring two pairs of microspikes- steel spikes on a harness which can be worn over any shoe. Unfortunately, we only put them on after he fell but luckily he was unharmed. Wearing the microspikes, we were able to easily navigate up and down these icy trail sections.

The trail descended into a valley. We weren't far from Doodletown, an abandoned town which existed in the shadow of Bear Mountain since the 18th century. During the mid-1960s, Doodletown was ultimately abandoned due to land disputes with NY State. Visitors to the state parks can see the remaining stone foundations of Doodletown homes and two cemeteries. During the Revolutionary War, the British army landed at Stony Point and marched to Doodletown where they split up before heading towards the American forces at forts Clinton and Montgomery, located within today's Bear Mountain State Park. The British path is denoted by the 1777 and 1779 trails.

We followed a yellow-blazed trail south towards West Mountain, our lunch break destination. The trail up the ridge was a long climb, and as is characteristic of the area, there were many 'false' summits. We held a steady pace and kept hiking. A particularly steep, rocky section - which would have been difficult were we not using our microspikes - was the final push towards the top of the ridge. At a trail junction we headed east for a few hundred yards and reached the West Mountain hiker's shelter.

The shelter faces south giving hikers staying the night or those passing through an unhindered 180 degree view of the Hudson River. The Timp, another rocky peak, sits nearby. On a clear day, the New York City skyline is visible on the horizon. On this day, we could barely make out the skyscrapers due to hazy and cloudy conditions. We had our lunches as we took in the view. A nearby couple, perhaps staying the night, cooked a meal on an open fire. A man hiked by with his companion: a large, fluffy white dog who came over to inspect our food. I snapped a few photos of the view before we headed back.

South facing view from West Mountain

It took us just over an hour to get back to the parking lot from West Mountain. We followed a blue & yellow-blazed trail back to the first ridge we climbed, then continued along the section of the AT we had hiked earlier. As we passed through a group of pine trees, rays of sun passed through the clouds, the first direct sunlight all day. We got back to my car 4.5 hours after we'd begun our hike and covered about 7.5 miles.

Our route from Anthony Wayne to West Mtn.

KW

Links
Harriman and Bear mtn trail map
New York New Jersey Trail Conference