Fingers Were Meant to be Inky
A while back, I published a post describing my experiences with iron gall ink and how one specific ink ate a pen and a spare nib. If you haven’t read it, I’d recommend doing so before reading this post. This is going to be a long, photo-heavy article, so I’m not going to rehash the initial story, which has proven to be really popular. It’s sparked quite a debate across reddit, including one in which a lovely redditor repeatedly called me… Read More
I lived in the dorms for almost my entire college career. About this time of year (every year), my hallmates and I started getting a little cranky. We were tired of being cooped up together all semester, antsy for Christmas break so we could see our families, and stressed out over upcoming finals. There was a lot of bickering, accusations, and insults.
I’ve seen something very similar going on across the stationery community the last couple of weeks, and it’s really sad and disheartening. I’m not going to rehash the events that unfolded, and I’m not going to call anyone out. I am, however, going to let you know what I saw, how it made me feel, and hopefully add a little perspective that makes you think… Read More
Is iron gall ink Public Enemy #1, or just a poor, misunderstood schmuck caught up in an unfair war of opinions?
Some people avoid it like the plague, flat-out stating that it will eat your pens, paper, pets, and children. Others use it exclusively, saying it’s perfectly safe and they bathe in it and pour it over their cereal with no ill effects… Read More
Well, it finally happened. I can take some small amount of solace in knowing it’s Amazon’s fault and not mine. But there’s still a giant blue stain on my carpet, and I’m not happy about it.
I’ve wanted to check out Levenger products, but unfortunately, none of my usual, go-to fountain pen retailers carry them. I decided to buy a couple Levenger inks (their bottles are so cool!) and had to decide whether to get them directly from Levenger ($14 per bottle + shipping) or from Amazon ($12 per bottle with free shipping). No brainer, right? (I’m referring to the decision being a no-brainer at this point…I’ll get to the box-packing Amazon employees being no-brainers in a bit.)
Before I start complaining, I just want to say that I am NOT including shimmering inks in this discussion. Sheen and shimmer are two different things, people. Let’s just get this out of the way up front:
Sheen = Ink takes on a different color (1) at different angles (usually after drying); (2) around edges; or (3) where ink pools
Shimmer = Glittery particles added to ink for sparkle (like J. Herbin and the Diamine Shimmertastic inks…although J. Herbin Emerald of Chivor has both sheen and shimmer, and I do mention that one below)
And if you’re a fan of analogies and/or vampires:
Shimmer : Sheen :: Twilight : Necroscope
Yeah I know, that doesn’t make any sense. I just wanted to cram Necroscope into the conversation. If you like vampires and haven’t read that series, you should. Faethor & Thibor would eat those other glittery sissies for lunch and… Read More
After I got into the hobby of collecting fountain pens, I (of course) started sampling all kinds of ink to go with them. After ordering like two batches of samples, I started reading these horror stories about a condition called SITB, or Slime (or stuff or s#$t) in the Bottle happening with a brand of ink called Private Reserve (PR). There were a few reports of it happening with other brands, but PR seemed to be responsible for the bulk of these reports.
After hearing about this issue, I decided to just avoid the brand, although I still had a few samples that I bought before hearing about it.
Fast-forward to tonight. I wanted my eight-year-old son to practice his penmanship, so I brought out his Kakuno and asked him what color ink he wanted. He chose dark red, so I grabbed my sample of Private Reserve Black Cherry and a syringe and went to fill it up.
I had trouble sucking up the ink in the syringe, and I was thinking “what the heck is going on?” I pulled the syringe out of the sample bottle and found a semi-solid wad of ick crammed into the needle.
I think it’s pretty safe to say that tonight was my first and last experience with Private Reserve. Gross.
Have any of you experienced SITB with PR or any other brand? Leave a comment and let me know!
Today, my heart breaks. Not just because one of my most coveted grail pens is on its way back to the vendor within a week of my receiving it, but also because my three-pen grail list is now reduced to a single, lonely entry…. Read More
I’m a member of Google’s Opinion Rewards program, where they throw a few pennies at me in return for filling out surveys. They’ll add between 10 cents and a dollar’s worth of credit to my Google Play account in return for filling out surveys. These credits can be used to buy music, books, apps, or movies. It’s pretty cool.
Yes, I am fully aware of Google’s motives here. They want my data so they know what types of advertisements to put in front of me. It’s called “targeted advertising” and it makes a lot of sense. Advertisers will pay Google a lot of money to serve their ads to specific groups, and this leads to more “clicks per impression.” Amazon and Facebook do the same thing. Lately I’ve noticed fountain pen ads on all sorts of random web pages I go to. Targeted advertising at work.
Most of Google’s surveys are related to shopping habits. Today, however, I received a survey about my ability to move about my home unencumbered. My initial thought was, “Oh, they must have an advertiser who manufactures devices for people with disabilities.” I answered the question, got my $0.20 in credit, and thought to myself, “Gee, pretty soon Google will know more about me that I know about myself.”
Then it hit me: The realization that this could all be setup for a darker, more chilling reality.
What if targeted advertising is just a disguise for something far more sinister? Is Google trying to engineer replacements for all of us? Could they potentially gather enough data to reconstruct our DNA? Do they want to replace us with Googlized clones of our current selves? Are we destined to be search-friendly pod-people?
Seriously, is this how the Body Snatchers scenario is going to go down?
