Not to remain two connected to all of this, but you said "style". Now to me it looks stupid to write "refis" because its not a word and causes a-detachment-in it's reading flow. I could read it as "reefers", or think you were stamping old "Rufus" and forgot to capitalize his name.

I'm going to be gunnin for you----buddy.

I don't know where the hell a long em is on the keyboard either. If I was ever going to be a published writer (which I don't plan on,) I figure the editor would find it for me and replace all the double dashes.

I know the rule, no problem.

But I also write by ear, sort of--so I make the mistake because they sound the same.

Same thing with there, their, they're, and there're.

And your and you're.

I have to go back and proof to make sure I haven't boo-booed.

Well, I sorta left out the nuance on that rant, my bad. Actually, I suspect the single space between sentences is a GenX geek invention, and they can no longer be seriously considered as kids these days.

My high school (white suburban) attempted a number of experiments in education.

One was speed reading. We would have tests. I did rather well in the 10th grade approaching 400 WPM and retained a decent comprehension level.

The ubermench would reach 1200 WPM with a lower retention rate.

Robert Klein did a gig about speed reading. I cannot find it now but he spoke about the phenomena of speed reading.

He related how a good writer might spend half an hour working on some clause and find eureka.

And then he would relate to some chef who created some gourmet dish only to see a glutton gulf down his food with a spoon. hahahaha

Okay, let's hijack the thread.

I actually love her style. I love her obsession with 50's style, I love it too. I think she mostly looks pretty fabulous, and only misses once in a while. She has that Thakoon dress, she's worn more than once which is so gorgeous and she wears it with kitten heels, which perfectly compliments the dress and that dusty hue of the dress, I want that dress actually, now that we are talking about it.

She looks pretty terrific in all those shots above and my particular favorite is the black outfit to the right which seems to be designed using pishwas as an example, which really do look gorgeous on everyone. Of course she has had misses as well, but I think for the most part she looks pretty good.

The little girl hipsters are wearing hoochie mama or 60's revival peace symbols & tie dye with black, and the grownup celebs are wearing little-girl pink or cotton-candy colors, tulle and florals, with pink lipstick. Like always, I figure it is the "you can't be dressing like the grownups" thing.

I've recovered from laughing now... I suspect you have many admirers in that particular attire Jan.

Thank YOu!  Its a greeate honoeur!

There's so many things I could say, butt since i am haf drunk, wy bother?

You can get the latest edition of Gregg from the publisher.  Only $76 for the spiral bound one. 

http://mhprofessional.com/product.php?isbn=0073397105

It's cheaper at Amazon.

Old receipt books are fun but sometimes the measurements can be challenging.  

Yes, the IBM Selectric.  A marvelous machine!  I used one when I was a secretary and it was advanced enough to have its own correct tape.  What a luxury!  And the typeball ...  You could go from Courier to the elegant Prestige Elite in just seconds by flipping a lever on top of the ball, removing it and replacing it with the new font ball.  Sweet!

I still have two. I can't bear to get rid of them, but what will I do with them? Wait 'till they go up in value and sell 'em?

I DO think that the blank page is more conducive to creativity--you sort of want to fill it up--than the blank screen. The blank screen is demoralizing because it is, literally, endless, and you'll never fill it up.

It's a bit like eReaders. You can't FEEL how much progress you've made toward the end of the book. Maybe it's better, though, for keeping you in the moment.

When I get writer's block, I often change to pencil and paper. Somehow, it's freeing, perhaps because it feels less like published type and thus more provisional and undoable.

You remind me of my high school.  

My English grammar and typing teachers were good but my French teacher was a different story.  He was hired as an assistant football coach but also got assigned French.  His qualification being that he had been part of the D-Day invasion of France.  I still laugh when I remember how he pronounced 'petit dejeuner' as pet it dee june err.  I was lucky.  My uncle had also been in service in France and brought home a war bride who corrected my faulty phrasing.

In retrospect, I recognize that so many of my teachers were really just one step ahead of the students in learning their subjects.  Lots of Federal money was to be had building big new brick schools that doubled as community fall out shelters. Then teachers were needed to fill in all the new classrooms and satisfy the curriculum requirements.  When the county population density is around 60/square mile, the pickings are kind of slim. 

Thanks for reminding me.