Shorthand is a system for rapid writing that uses symbols or abbreviations for letters, words, or phrases. It can be tricky to learn, but once you master it you can keep pace with the speed people talk at - a very useful skill.
Formal shorthand systems have a long history. Cicero's freedman, Marcus Tullius Tiro, developed one of the earlier popular forms: his Notae Tironianae system was in use up to the Renaissance.
Charles Dickens made an early living as a shorthand writer, using Thomas Gurney's brachygraph system. Here it is if you want to try it: archive.org/stream/brachyg…
In 1837 Isaac Pitman introduced phonographic shorthand: symbols representing sounds. It was a huge success and led to a Victorian craze of writing in shorthand.
The Victorian shorthand craze led to entire books being rewritten phonographically, and competitions held to see who could transcribe the best.
In 1950 George Bernard Shaw's will funded a quest to create a new phonographic alphabet. Ronald Kingsley Read won it and his system is called Shavian.
The Modern shorthand system is Teeline, created in 1968. Most journalists of a certain age will have flashbacks of trying to learn it!
Hindi Sanket Lipi is still a popular shorthand system in India. Rishi Pranali developed it in 1938.
Tonic Sol-Fa can be used to create a musical shorthand method that needs no stave.
Kudos if you can remember the sol-fa hand signs btw...
In a world of speech-to-text software you may think shorthand is no longer needed. But it's still a valuable skill, so it's worth brushing upon it if you haven't used it for a while.
What do Batman, Spiderman, Bettie Page, Madonna and women wrestlers have in common? Well I'll tell you: they all feature in the life of today's featured pulp artist.
Today I look back at the career of "the father of fetish" Eric Stanton!
Eric Stanton was born in New York in 1926. His childhood was marred by many illnesses, and confined to bed he learnt to draw by tracing comic books. He was fascinated by strong Amazonian women like Sheena, Queen of the Jungle and soon began creating similar cartoons.
After high school Stanton joined the Navy in 1944, putting his skills to use in drawing aircraft recognition cartoons. Post-war he got a job with cartoonist Gordon 'Boody' Rogers, creator of Babe: Amazon Of The Ozarks.
Given the weather is getting warmer I feel obliged to ask the following question: is it time to bring back the leisure suit?
Let's find out...
Now we all know what a man's lounge suit is, but if we're honest it can be a bit... stuffy. Formal. Businesslike. Not what you'd wear 'in da club' as the young folks say.
So for many years tailors have been experimenting with less formal, but still upmarket gents attire. The sort of garb you could wear for both a high level business meeting AND for listening to the Moody Blues in an espresso bar. Something versatile.
Today in pulp... Blade Runner! Let's look back at the classic 1982 movie and see how it compares to original novel.
"It's not an easy thing to meet your maker..."
Blade Runner is based on Philip K. Dick's 1968 novel Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? However 'inspired' may be a better word, as the film is very different to the book.
In the novel Deckard is a bounty hunter for the San Francisco police. The year is 1992; Earth has been ravaged by war and humans are moving to off-world colonies to protect their genetic integrity. They are given organic robots to help them, created by the Rosen Association.