Oh dear. I was feeling so proud of my restraint this year. I hardly bought any pens. Until yesterday. Whoops.
I’ll have to confess in a few days when the package arrives. Until then, imagine me hanging my head in shame. (Or imagine me doing a happy dance, when no one’s looking. And then hanging my head when people see me.)
That’s a lovely lithograph from the Brooklyn Museum of a Brown Pelican by John James Audubon. Seems appropriate, somehow.
Michael Cunningham wrote The Hours, which is a book I very much enjoyed. But that’s not the only reason I want to get my hands on his newest book, A Wild Swan. I’m going to read A Wild Swan at least partly because of its illustrations, including that captivating cover by Yuko Shimizu.
I love it when publishers take the extra step to make a physical book into a beautiful object.
Shimizu is a well-known illustrator, and she’s started posting a look at the design process for A Wild Swan on her website, here. Seeing how she drew and inked the cover illustration is fascinating.
Information about, and excerpts from, A Wild Swan can be found on Cunningham’s website here. The US publisher’s website is here, which is where I got the cover art used above.
If there’s one thing the early history of the internet has taught us, it’s that everyone loves cute animal photos.
Let’s kick off the week, then, with this adorable hedgehog. My friend emailed me this — she set up a hedgehog feeding station in her yard.
My girls and I have named this little guy “Hedgie.”
I have been without my computer for a few days, as Apple (very nicely) fixed a video card problem. In the past, I have been without kitchen appliances for weeks (couldn’t cook), without hot water (had to go to friends and family to shower), without a car for a week, and even without power for two or three days.
But being without the computer may have been worse. Not being able to cook has its good side, after all, and without a car you can bicycle or walk. With my laptop, I have everything set up to run seamlessly and automatically — every website is logged in, every email account password is entered and every document for work is at hand. Even my recipes are on that computer. Without all that, I could hardly do anything, and what I could do took forever.
So I found myself reading a book last night. An actual book — printed on paper. Holy “Back in the 20th Century,” Batman.
It was a good book. And I went to sleep earlier than usual. But I was the happiest person in the world when I could pick up this machine again. First world problems, I know. But may it never leave my side again.
This is the last day of November. The Christmas tree is up and decorated. And we’ve only had four of the light bulbs fizzle in 24 hours, so there’s at least a 10 percent chance it will stay lit all season.
And we’ve already triggered our traditional winter visit to the auto body shop. Yesterday the teenager with the learner’s permit borked a right turn, ran over the curb and rammed into a sign post.
Luckily, that did stop the car. So it didn’t hit the two neighbors right there on the sidewalk. That’s a silver lining. And here’s another: we’ve mutually agreed that dad needs to take her in the future. Apparently I yelled “stop” too much.
Well, it’s obviously time to focus on the past, rather than the future. So here are my own fountain pen favorites for November.
1. Kaweco. I love those AL-Sports in raw aluminum and stonewashed.
2. Seitz-Kreuznach. Those inks are such a great deal and such high quality that if I were starting out today I’d snap up the blue, black, red and brown Seitz-Kreuznach inks and probably use them for half my writing.
3. Pelikan Brilliant Black. Sure, it’s not exciting, or new. But I used Pelikan Brilliant Black a lot during a hellish month of work this November. And I appreciate it. It’s an ink I can count on.
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Photo by Dafne Cholet, Flickr, used under Creative Commons license.
Today is Thanksgiving. Thanks to everyone who reads, and double thanks to everyone who comments.
You know when you hear an old song on the radio and remember how much you like it? Here’s one of those.
Like much of the Midwestern US, we got hit this weekend with an early storm, meaning snow, ice and sub-freezing temperatures. It’s pretty early for this: there are still leaves on the trees.
But let’s not despair. If life gives us ice and snow, let’s make snow cones. Here are ten good things about winter.
(click Page 2 below to continue)
Someone asked on the Fountain Pen Geeks forum for “Fountain Pen Confessions.” Genius! Here are a few confessions, all true, and some a little embarrassing, as confessions should be.
1. I don’t really use the inks that are popular.
Super-saturated, super-dark inks are all the rage. Maybe add “super bright.” I have to confess I’m out of step there. Those types of inks haven’t been good for some of my nice pens. Moreover, I find them uninteresting. Give me shading, give me variation, give me something that invites and rewards close attention.
Yes, you probably will stop reading here.
2. I don’t care about cursive.
I haven’t used it since high school. With relief. Printing does the job just fine. The smart parents I knew were a little put out that our kids were taught cursive that instead of keyboarding, which most of us use daily.
You definitely will stop reading now. Which is good, because …
3. I think fountain pens (which I love) are just things.
“Do I contradict myself? / Very well, then I contradict myself, / (I am large, I contain multitudes.)”
I really like fountain pens, and I spend a lot of time using them and talking about them. Even writing about them here. But there can be a degree of fetishism about fountain pens and ink that turns me off, not to mention cupidity and its sibling greed.
This is just stuff. I love some of my stuff. I keep finding new stuff that I love, too. And I would throw it all overboard, in a second, for any person I know.
And I don’t think those are contradictions.
Sigh. Sometimes I think we should all just read poetry instead.
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Image courtesy of The Tango! Desktop Project
The leaves are falling faster, bare branches are showing and chilly November arrives tomorrow. What better time to look back at my personal fountain pen highlights from October.
1. Aurora Optima 365. I really did luck out getting this pen. Just wow.
2. Fall Color Inks. So much fun to use these. Oranges, yellows, browns and reds were very October.
3. Caran d’Ache Inks. The ones I tried this month were fabulous. Just fabulous.
4. Architect’s Nib. I loved playing with Dan Smith’s broad Architect’s Nib grind. I’m going to add one soon. I’m debating between a medium and a fine. I’ll miss that broad nib, though.
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Photo by Dafne Cholet, Flickr, used under Creative Commons license.
Fountain Pen Follies 