So I spent most of yesterday sleepwalking from cup of coffee to cup of coffee. I felt like Ed Norton in Fight Club. I open my eyes and I’m in a different place with a different coffee drink in my hand. Luckily, my second wind, maybe my first wind, kicked in around 1pm while I was working on the Vandercook SP-15 in the letterpress shop. Maybe it was because I had a specific purpose for being awake. Whatever is was, it worked. I’ve been fighting with this press for a few weeks now. First, it was caked with decade, or more, old ink. Then, the cord was too short. Then, the rollers were made out of used chewing gum. Now, it won’t switch from Trip (the inking setting) to Print (self explanatory). I think I’ve got it working now, though. It just so happened that my getting the press to work coincided with the arrival of some new wood type. I had to test the press to ensure that it was working, right?

After getting my type set and locked in place, and making some necessary corrections, I ran an edition of twenty of this bad boy. It dawned on me while I was printing that I am the first person to use this press in it’s new home. Previous owners may have used it, but not for a long time. It was a pretty great feeling. Knowing that I took this crusty, nasty, filthy-dirty, busted ass, old machine and I made it work and then I printed on it before anyone else, was an amazing sensation. Steal my thunder? Not today, my friends. So, the prints are all right. A lot of the problem is the rollers are terrible and our new rollers, which were spaced incorrectly, have not made it back in yet. Still, the results were not terrible.

Afterwords, I kind of felt like that doctor in Batman who worked on Jack Nicholson. “Look at what I had to work with…”

I think it has a certain charm to it. I get that from being a potter. What you may think of as flaws, we think of as personality. This broadside has lots of personality in my book.

Well, the clock is ticking so I’ll leave you with a more nuggets of chewy goodness. I made a 75% on my Trig test. I originally had a 60%, but the bell curve brought me up. I don’t feel too bad considering the class average was 49%. Hooray for lowered standards!

Another thing before I go. La Duchess sent me this last night. It is hilarious. Especially for anyone who has ever even seen a dog once. On television. Anyway, enjoy. You should read some of the other comics, they are great as well. Anyways, gotta go to work. More soon. ~SC