Looking for a Way Out?

As COVID persists and we all get increasingly itchy from being kept in close contact with our loved ones, and as in certain jurisdictions the roll out of vaccine suggests full vaccination sometime in the next decade (there is a reason I call the head of the party currently in charge of my corner of the world Homer Flintstone), we might begin wondering about hobbies with application to real life.

I suppose I should say “Don’t try this at home”

Today’s pen: Retro 51 Tornado
Today’s ink: Krishna Pakeezah

Day	What	How Much	Pen	Ink
22 February 23 February 24 February 25 February	A great deal of squeezing the internet trying to shake loose useful Moonman information. Thinking VERY HARD about things I want to write. Fixing something at the Regular Job that broke because I was left out of an email chain in October.	Less than I could have wished. Too much think, not enough do† Most of yesterday’s lunch	PenBBS 487 Wing Sung 601 Moonman M2 (still just a picture) Lamy 2000	Herbin Lie de Thé Pelikan Violet Diamine Sargasso Sea Edelstein Olivine

† I take a little solace from this article in The Guardian which indicates that I’m not the only one suffering from fatbergs in my writing infrastructure.

Fun in Darkness

So… short week, huh? I had forgotten that little fact entirely pretty much from lunch-time Tuesday through to head hitting the pillow last night. Thus, no update yesterday. I’ll take it on to the bottom of this entry. There’s not much difference to last week, as my tubes are still clogged, although I did have a couple of revelations in the direction of rehabilitating some things suffering from their author’s white male POV, one of which is that novel I spent so long on.

But first, the fun stuff. What’s the most fun you can have in a dark room? Watching old movies, of course! I recently read a tweet from someone who was very disappointed, after a lifetime of watching films no older than 1980 (I think that was the arbitrary cut-off– possibly 1970), by the experience of watching Citizen Kane.

Oh, really? Only the barest understanding of the language, and you found the lecture boring?

I, happily, understand the language of old films (even if I sometimes make fun of their tropes), and it troubles me that so many people dismiss them out of hand.

So, today’s jollity– a film to help you understand the language, and someone else making fun of old film tropes.

Now, here’s that disappointing update:

Day	What	How Much	Pen	Ink
15 February 16 February 17 February 18 February 19 February	Faffing about. Working on an update on the site.	The cats got their favourite food. Some progress on Friday’s pen and its maker.	Pilot Elite 95S Lamy 2000 Wing Sung 601 PenBBS 487 Moonman M2 (Now a picture!)	Namiki Blue Edelstein Olivine Pelikan Violet Herbin Lie de Thé Diamine Sargasso Sea

 

 

Posterity Beckons

Look out, kids! It’s educational material masquerading as the Friday Fun Film!

No, I wouldn’t do that. I would, however, seriously consider putting this into my will, just as I would consign my mortal remains to a body farm (where they would be both educational and nutritional) if one didn’t have to fall within a certain distance of average height and weight.

Yes, strangers may read one’s weird inner thoughts. By the time they do, one will be somewhat beyond the touch of embarrassment.

Today’s pen: Pilot Elite 95S
Today’s Ink: Namiki Blue

Day	What	How Much	Pen	Ink
8 February 9 February 10 February 11 February	Third draft of “Hobb’s Landing”. Faffing about.	Less than I could have wished, again. A great deal too much.	Moonman M2 (not even a picture, yet) PenBBS 487 Lamy 2000 Wing Sung 601	Diamine Sargasso Sea Herbin Lie de Thé Edelstein Olivine Pelikan Violet

The faffing about has been necessary, but… well, it’s hard to apply resolution to pry up an edge of writing block when rushing out to get necessary household items.

On the silver lining side, I have no deadlines, so the lack of output isn’t causing actual trouble to anyone else.

 

A Tiny Act of Ally-ship

Today’s film and its companion are far outside my usual sort of thing. I’m sharing it mainly because I found it to clarify a matter which I, as an outsider, wrestle to properly comprehend. Since I know there are a lot of people in the same boat as I– willing, wanting and even waiting to understand and accept, but without any friends or relatives at hand to practice upon– I hope spreading this around a little will help them as it helped me.

If anyone reading this wants to dismiss it as “virtue signalling”… well, that’s your perogative. I am pleased to extend the coverage of Popper’s Paradox to that sort of stance, though, and I reserve the right to wonder why you gotta be mean to people.

Today’s pen: PenBBS 487
Today’s ink: Herbin Lis de Thé

Day	What	How Much	Pen	Ink
1 February 2 February 3 February 4 February	Third draft of “Hobb’s Landing”. Responding to an acceptance of “Wanting Depth”.	Less than I could have wished. Exultant squealing, recurrent giddiness– the usual.	Parker 180 Wing Sung 601 Pilot Elite 95S (still just a picture) Sheaffer Valiant TD	Herbin Poussière de Lune Pelikan Violet Namiki Blue TWSBI Blue-black

I know I promised a story last week, but I’ve run out of time today. Tomorrow? Possibly?

Also, as usual, details regarding publication will appear closer to the date of (although I understand that it’s mere weeks away!).

 

Fun Guy (after some news)

Oops. I didn’t look in yesterday. Let me first repair the oversight.

Day	What	How Much	Pen	Ink
25 January 26 January 27 January 28 January 29 January	Nothing Phone-based game Reading a bit Third draft of “Hobb’s Landing” Updating and foolishness.	As much as I could find. A full damn hour. Some pages. Three New Paragraphs! What you see here.	Pilot Elite 95S (just a picture) PenBBS 487 Wing Sung 601 Parker 180 Sheaffer Valiant TD	Namiki Blue Herbin Lis de Thé Pelikan Violet Herbin Poussière de Lune TWSBI Blue-black

I think I’ve cleared my blockage. Next week will prove that one way or another. There’s a story attached to Monday’s pen, which I’ll try to touch on next week.

And now, because I love weird things that make people question their place in the universe, here’s a common mushroom singing.

To The Stars!

Right, so, the US didn’t collapse into civil war over the past couple of weeks, and looks like it probably won’t (fingers crossed). That’s a treat, eh?

With that corner (hopefully) turned, perhaps we can look forward to that brave sci-fi future I was pondering last week. And what’s more brave futuristic sci-fi… as imagined in the middle of last century… than a provocatively dangerous means of space exploration?

I’m trying to not harsh the mellow of this delightful plan by wondering how one would get all that edge-of-critical material into space in the first place. I guess we need to find a big ol’ pitchblende asteroid.

Today’s pen: Pelikan 120
Today’s ink: Monteverde Malibu Blue (oh look, something else I need to come up with a page for)

Day	What	How Much	Pen	Ink
18 January 19 January 20 January 21 January	Bugger all	All of it	PenBBS 487 Parker 180 Wing Sung 601 Sheaffer Targa	Herbin Lis de Thé Herbin Poussière de Lune Pelikan Violet Edelstein Topaz

I guess that makes it official– writer’s block. I’m going to try to shift it by reading a pile of good stories over the weekend.