Who else wants one of these for Christmas?

I was looking through a catalog we got in the mail today from computergear.com and saw at least 10 or 20 funny T-shirts I'd like to have, but for a pen-and-paper nut, their best offering appears to be this one:

You can order it here.

Who else wants one of these for Christmas?

Paper is not dead!

I'm not sure this commercial is from France — home of Clairfontaine, Rhodia, Quo Vadis, and the rest of the Exaclair family of brands. But it is in French. So, it's fun to think that Exaclair had something to do with this:




And, if you're wondering . . .yes it has been sixth months since my last post.

Thanks to my Dad for sending this.

Paper is not dead!

Pen vs. Macbook

I've been thinking lately about how I have been reducing technological intrusions in my life and concentrating better by sticking to pen and paper at times, when, via Inkophile, I came across this hilarious piece at TechCrunch: NSFW: Yep, Montblanc Killed my MacBook Pro Today. Definitely worth checking out. And while you're there, take a look at the permalink URL. All in good fun!

Pen vs. Macbook

What has Hollywood got against pens?

Jackie Chan in "The Spy Next Door"

OK, this is just anecdotal, and hardly a trend, but two of the kid's movies I've watched with my daughter in the last few months seem to have a thing against . . . pens! Or, more specifically, people who sell them.

The first movie I saw this in was The Spy Next Door, with Jackie Chan. I was looking forward to the movie because I think Jackie Chan is an absolute riot. (And he did not disappoint in this movie, or in the outtakes, which were hilarious.)

Chan plays a super-spy who has a cover identity as a pen importer. From that statement and the action outtake of Chan at left, you might think, Cool, a pen importer who's a super-spy. What a great image for pen importers!

The problem, of course, is that his two identities are portrayed as polar opposites. The super-spy persona isn't meant to be a great image for pen importers. The pen importer persona is meant to be a negative image for a super-spy! That's not a huge surprise, I guess. But the kids in the movie don't like him, and are upset that their mom is dating him, because they think he's a "boring" pen importer. As if that's a bad (or at least a boring) thing. They only warm up to him once they learn he's a spy.

Now, maybe I'm a boring guy, but . . . man, would I love to be a pen importer! Some days, at least. Compared to the grind of litigation some days, pen importing sounds downright glamorous.

There was a second movie that painted a pen salesman negatively, but for the life of me, I can't remember what it was. Next movie I see like that, though, the studio is getting a nasty letter!

What has Hollywood got against pens?

First try at wax seals

I bought my first wax seal and wax stick yesterday, and just had to try it out right away.  I chose the palm tree seal not just because I love palm trees, but also because I live near the beach and it thus is a clue to who the letter is from . . . as if my family and friends really will have to distinguish between my wax seal and all those others they get!

I decided to try a practice run before I tried applying the seal to any envelopes I expected to screw up the first few horribly, but I think my first three came out OK!



As you can see from the photo, the wax stick is wicked, so once it is lit, melting the wax is a one-handed operation — no need to hold the flame in one hand and the stick in the other. Also, no need to worry about soot. I lit the wick with a match, but the wick burns cleanly. The only trouble I had was my first attempt to light the wick:



 Some of those iPhone apps seem so damn real!

First try at wax seals

Busted!

My recently acquired passion for pen and paper may have just landed me in hot water.

I've always been messy. A slob, some would say.

And then I got interested in pens and paper. That's one area of my life where I am not messy. I'm fastidious, even. I mentioned this rather amazing development while commenting in a post at A Penchant for Paper nearly three months ago, when blogger Heather asked in the title of her post, What Do Our Pens Tell Us About Ourselves?

Well, my wife has been noticing how I keep my pens so orderly. How I tenderly insert my pens into their pen roll, then carefully roll them up and tie the ribbon. How I carefully order my ink bottles and wipe them off when they get dusty. How thoroughly I flush my pens and lay them out carefully to dry.

She also notices that I manage to do these things just moments after leaving my shoes under the coffee table, dirty socks on the floor next to the bed, and an empty dish on the table next to the sofa after ice cream. And she figures if I can be so neat about my pens and inks, why can't I be that neat about everything?

The simple answer, of course, is that we fuss over what we care about. But she has a point. I wish she didn't!

Like I said. Busted.

Busted!

Introducing the Moleskindle!

Looks like Amazon may be reaching out to notebook fans with this case for its Kindle e-book reader!

Introducing the Moleskindle!

"At least you've got a nice pen"

Sorry to flake on all the new readers this week. I have been absolutely swamped at work all month, and this week took the cake.  Trust me, folks, an all-nighter on Sunday night is no way to start your week! (And they're a heck of a lot harder at age 49 than in your college years, I can tell you.)

I've been able to spend maybe an hour a day with my family this week, so the blog took a hit. Anyway . . .

This is going to be another crazy weekend, starting with a drive to the airport to drop off my wife and 8-year old daughter for a visit with her grandparents, then back to the grind to work all weekend and probably one more all-nighter between now and Wednesday. On Friday, I'll get to join my wife and daughter and finally relax a little with them.

Amid all this tumult, I took a few minutes from my work to show my wife — who seems mildly amused by my new-found fetish — the notes I had taken today in Private Reserve Copper Burst, which I just got on Wednesday. A few minutes later, I was ranting and raving about some stupid court rule making my life more difficult. When I was done letting off steam, my wife smiled at me and said, "At least you've got a nice pen."

And a nice wife, don't you think?

So, here's the Copper Burst and the rest of this week's order from Jet Pens:




I'm dying to open the Iroshizuku, but I'm so pressed for time, and  want to savor it, so I'm saving it for later. Reviews of everything here (except the Lamy converter) lie ahead . . . as time allows.

"At least you've got a nice pen"

Those Dutch Olympians are killin' me!

In my introductory post, I explained that I am embarking on my notebook and fountain pen journey at a time I really don't want to spend much. After reading rave reviews of the Rhodia webnotebook for the last couple of weeks, it has taken a lot of will power for me not to order one.

I must say, the Dutch athletes at the Olympics sure aren't making it any easier to maintain my resolve:

Rhodia couldn't have bought better subliminal advertising!

Those Dutch Olympians are killin' me!