There she goes, my beautiful world
On Thursday while I was on my way to my dentist’s office, I got hit by a car while riding my motorcycle.
For the last couple of weeks I’ve been wondering whether I was imagining it or whether recently people have been paying less and less attention to their driving. It seems in the past month that I’ve seen a fourfold increase in red light running and a lot more people just doing outright dumb things. Most times, these people … Read the rest
I can’t say that I’m thrilled about my Treo 680. The best thing I can say about it, I think, is that it’s not as bad as all the other options out there. But a couple of days ago the screen got cracked and so all the thinking I’ve been doing about how to replace it has suddenly become no longer theoretical. It’s time for a new phone.
Trouble is, I have very high expectations of a handheld computing device. I … Read the rest
The Rotring 600 is Rotring’s most popular and well-known fountain pen, with the possible exception of their inexpensive ArtPen line. When people think of Rotring pens, they almost invariably think of either rapidographs or the 600.
There were a couple of 600s in the pen case the day I bought my 700 back in the late nineties. I tried them out and didn’t care for them as much as the 700. Of course, I’m glad that I … Read the rest
In case there is any confusion, Namiki and Pilot are brands of the same company. Generally speaking, Namiki makes «fine» pens while Pilot sells office supplies. But the markets in different countries cause the company to shift those lines around. The Namiki Bamboo one might buy in the United States is available in Europe as the Pilot Bamboo. Similarly, I’ve seen the excellent Pilot Knight advertised as the Namiki Knight.
Pilot/Namiki makes some fantastic pens. A company that does as … Read the rest
The latest issue of All This Is Mine has just been made available. Not only is All This Is Mine one of the most uniquely charming publications ever, but this issue has personal significance to me, as it contains an article I wrote about choosing a fountain pen.
Go get yourself a copy! Usually when I shamelessly promote myself it doesn’t come with this much other cool stuff surrounding it. If you haven’t been exposed to All This Is Mine yet, … Read the rest
I’ve started experimenting with black and white and a second ink color. This drawing was done with Waterman Havana, a reddish brown that turns just a little too pink when spread too thin. Still, it adds some warmth and character to the drawing while still retaining the B&W character.
The drawing itself presented a number of challenges. The light and shadow relationships were difficult, and the herringbone pattern in the jacket was as well. As usual I’m troubled by how … Read the rest
Today is the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which served notice to the King of England that the Amercian colonies no longer served his rule. Today I hear people celebrating with firecrackers and read the words of those who say that the actions of our leaders have caused them to be ashamed of America.
I’ve had occasion to be embarrassed for my country, but never ashamed. It angers me a bit when I hear people accuse … Read the rest
Of all the unexpected sources of inspiration, this morning takes the cake. I was reading a six-month-old copy of Reader’s Digest with an interview with Will Smith. Something he said brought me back twenty years:
RD: You work harder than the next guy?
Fresh Prince: I consider myself to be of basically average talent, right? What I have that other people do not have is a sick, obsessive, raw animal drive.
I used to resent being told I have talent. To me, talent … Read the rest
