Don't make me give you a lethal karate blow. (Image courtesy of Christiaan Tonnis.)

The always wonderful boingboing tipped me off to a group of immaculate photos by Peter Ross of the personal effects left behind by the late, great writer William S. Burroughs. For whatever reason, I always find it interesting to look at the typewriters of authors who lived before the advent of word processing. I wonder if people in the future will look back fondly at the laptops that writers use today. Since most people trade in their computers for new models every few years, it’s unlikely. Back in the day, writers often clung to their hunt-and-peck machines like they were talismans. Also: Is anyone surprised that Burroughs walked around in shoes that had holes in them, possessed an air pistol and blow darts or owned candles shaped like skulls? And of course he had a copy of The Medical Implications of Karate Blows.