APA Wayzgoose cancelled

This year’s APA Wayzgoose, scheduled for June 25, 26, and 27, 2020 in Ann Arbor, MI has been cancelled. The Ann Arbor District Library was going to co-host the event but cancelled all of its June 2020 events due to the Coronavirus pandemic. With no place to convene we decided to cancel rather than trying to make a last minute change in venue and/or time.

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Gonna be quite a few things cancelled this year… and maybe next. I think that events that are being “postponed” are motivated by wishful thinking. Couple years maybe things will get back to some semblance of normal, but I am a long-time doomsayer, so pay no attention to my ramblings. It frightens me though, that some people would actually take medical advice (inject BLEACH?!!!) from President Trump under serious consideration. Having worked, retail though, I can believe it might happen.

No place to talk politics!! Half the people will agree and the other half won’t. Best to keep your thoughts private!!!!!

There’s a certain amount of wisdom in that statement… though I don’t think a pandemic ought to be considered political.

Hello All,
As a Freemason we have a simple of that applies to all.
No politics or religion are discussed in a Lodge.
Works well for all.
Maybe we could do that on Briar Press for the benefit.of all.
Ted Lavin
Artificer Press

“Politics and Religion are the third rail of the Internet” - Abraham Lincoln

I think we can all agree that injecting disinfectant is a bad idea. And, if half the people are pro, and half con, we are in deeper trouble than I previously thought.

Think you got that wrong Scott. The 1/2 pro 1/2 con has to do with the “political” split not the “injectable” split…….

It would be nice if this were just about letterpress, but we are actually in the midst of the greatest crisis of our lifetimes, no matter what your particular party line happens to be. Reality must seep in occasionally, and from more than one viewpoint. Get used to it.

Y’know, I have looked over my post that got me taken to the proverbial woodshed and I don’t really see anything political about it… other than a contention that society has perhaps gotten less intelligent over the last few decades. Trump made an off-the-cuff remark clearly not meant to be taken seriously… though I would argue that it was kinda stupid to make a joke about something this serious. He wasn’t my first choice in the election, but he’s what we got and it certainly could have been worse. It could ALWAYS be worse.

Years ago I got into a somewhat heated exchange with Mona Eltahawy. It was her contention (if memory serves) that then President Bush ought to “do something” about some political crisis in the Middle East. Now, I pointed out that he was the POTUS, not the President of Syria or any other Middle-Eastern country. I then asked her what she thought that he should do. She never answered me.

At this point, someone might rightfully ask what I think Trump should do. My answer is that it doesn’t really matter any longer. The cows have left the proverbial barn. Shutting the door now will serve no purpose. The virus will run its course, hopefully not completely overwhelming the medical infrastructure.

Any idiot should have seen this coming. I wrote books that posited a pandemic ten years ago… (see The Post-Apocalyptic Blacksmith) and I was not the only one. Nobody listened to us then and they are not listening to us now.

When I saw a tiny headline on the Drudge Report back in December or so about a new virus coming out of Wuhan, China, I pried my sleepy eyes open and read the story. Then I pulled up a calculator app and did some projections. The numbers I came up with in my admittedly inexpert methodology were terrifying, though I realized that we could not trust the numbers coming out of China… or anywhere else for that matter.

What I did next was applied for my social security a few years earlier than I had planned so I would not absolutely have to go to work. I then slowly started filling the pantry and the freezer. I dredged up another freezer from an out-building and made it ready for use. I made plans to acquire more metal type so I could continue to print, even if I could not get polymer plates made (so far, I still can).

By the time the “safer at home” stuff started to be implemented, I was pretty much all set for a long haul, though I am not as prepared as I would like to be.

This pandemic is going to last for at least a year and maybe two. That much is virtually certain. What the endgame will be is another question, but I rather suspect that we have experienced TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It). We now live in a very different world than the one we lived in during 2019. ‘course that’s really nothing new. The world of 1975 when I graduated high school is gone as well… only pieces of it remain.

Perhaps you folks are right and this is not the place for a political rant. I would humbly point out though, that the category heading is “General Discussion”. The original post announcing the cancellation of APA Wayzgoose is inextricably linked to the corona virus… so I don’t really think I was just too far out of line with my original comment.

Now, this long rant…. well, that’s another thing entirely, but if you are still reading it this far down, you missed the option of simply scrolling past it.

We shouldn’t discuss Politics here, Gents

Interesting indirect way to promote your book.
Do you also sell steak, vodka, ties and overpriced hotel rooms?

I suppose. I’m sure I’ll make just a bundle marketing THAT book on THIS site. I’m sure that all printers are also hobby blacksmiths and survivalist types. That particular book was originally available as a free download on a survival site. When the webmaster told me it had been the top download for several years, I decided that maybe I should make an ebook out of it. This was before I obtained my press. It has consistently outsold all the others combined… but I really make no effort to promote it and like most writers, I would starve if I had to depend upon sales of my books for sustenance.

As to the rest of the stuff you inquired about; no, I do not, but I know a guy who knows a guy. If he has any steak, hamburger, stew meat or road-kill, I think I’ll buy it myself as they are closing meat packing plants locally.

Hey guys - did you hear the APA Wayzgoose has been canceled this year!!!! What comes next I’ve never done - never lowered myself to get into the middle of crap like this on these sites, going to take the higher road for sure!!! This is BriarPress which is focused on the sharing of the craftsmanship, art, processes, learning, and saving of an industry that is fading in front of all of us. The worst part of following this string of comments under the APA Waysgoose is canceled is we forget about all the work that went into getting the 2020 Goose ready to happen, and now that work means nothing. These folks didn’t get paid a dime for what they did and now their efforts are lost!!!!

To them I want to say THANK YOU for everything you did!!!! I was looking forward to a low cost Goose this year so I could spent more money on letterpress items at the swap meet!!!!!

Steve Alt
Liberty Press
APA 768

Amen, Liberty Press. I have no time for ANY FOOL that wants to mix politics in to any conversation - irregardless of what ‘side’ or ‘postion’ they want to posit. They can just pack it in their ass and keep it to themselves. TOO HARSH? I simply call ‘em like I see ‘em. Rick von Holdt

Well said Rick!!!

Well said Rick!!!

I’m all for discussing politics on this site… In threads that are started with the intention of doing so.

I’ve always found that within whatever community I am taking part in, open dialogue is the best way to get to know the other members of the community.

While I don’t intend to bring politics back into this thread with my statement here, I want to contrast my opinion with others who say ‘no politics here’ and bring forth the suggestion that if anyone wants to talk politics, they should start a discussion for as much and simply keep their comments within that discussion.

Rick, “irregardless” is not a word. Regardless works fine by itself. best james

Well, Rick, I’ve been called worse than “FOOL”, but I have to admit that since I am wasting time on a beautiful Sunday afternoon responding to your post, it could be argued that the label of “FOOL” is in fact, an accurate one.

Now, I could spend some time correcting your grammar and diction. I suppose I could even flag your post and complain to the moderator, but I will simply say “have a nice day”, because that is what I intend to do. Being retired is wonderful!

Guys. Let’s not talk politics because this is not the right platform for that!

I think the main point here is wayzgoose gatherings are something we’ll have to do without. Given the weight of equipment in this hobby, workarounds are few. Sad but even if a group goes forward, many won’t come. The demographics of letterpress mean we shouldn’t come. Let’s take that seriously and find ways to share expertise and equipment swap safely until an effective vaccine is available.