More on Body Burden Story

One thing that I forgot to mention in the post about ANG's upcoming "Body Burdens" story is that it is a three part series, running on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

Also, my concerns about whether or not this story was going to be a propaganda piece for the California Body Burdens Campaign were brought up to the editor, who has assured my inside sources that the piece is going to be balanced, not just a panic piece about "chemicals."

I have not read it yet, but can't wait.

Just today I encountered another bit of "chemical" paranoia. It makes me think of the oldest people in just about any old printshop: the linotype guys. It always struck me as funny that the fellows in the industry who seemed to live the longest were the guys who played with pots of molten lead all day long (and this back in the days when safety concerns were much lower than today).

Watch this become the next fad: lead as longevity enhancement. Perhaps it had something to do with the potato (inside remark. For those of you who never experienced linotype, there was a practice of tossing a chunk of potato into the pots of lead. It was supposed to remove the impurities from the used slugs. I have no idea how it did this, but potatoes were always a part of the typesetting arsenal).

I really do miss the days of hot type. Those machines were magnificent. They were loud and had a bit of the Rube Goldberg look to them. My godfather made a recording of a linotype in operation. Last time I was at his place in Fiddletown, we sat sipping port and listening to it with the intensity that is normally reserved for The Art of the Fugue. Beautiful stuff.