And One for Good Luck

A bonus Hallowe’en treat, and one that is guaranteed not to promote cavities!*

* “Cavities” to be understood as the result of oral bacteria consuming sugars.  Cracks due to clenching, and nightmare-induced grinding are exempt from this guarantee.

Today’s non-thematic pen: Parker 50
Today’s ink of no hidden meaning: Jentle blue-black

Advertisement

A Name was Dropped

Yes, last week I mentioned M.R. James, whose works for some reason I tend to associate more with Hallowe’en than Christmas.  Some quirky of my personality, I suppose.  In any event, here’s another.  It strays somewhat from the original text, which sets up some disappointed expectations, but this is balanced by a bunch of rather good British actors doing their quiet and effective thing for about an hour.

Today’s quiet British pen: Mabie, Todd & Co Blackbird
Today’s gently suggestive ink: Herbin Lie de Thé

Day	What	How Much	Duration	Pen	Ink
24 October 25 October 26 October 27 October	First draft of “Discoveries in the Wake of the Last Crusade.” I can see the end, but can’t quite reach it… First draft of “Discoveries” concludes, followed by some prep for next month. Second draft commences.	Six manuscript pages. Six pages. Three pages. 935 words typed	45 min. 40 min. 25 min. 50 min.	Pilot Vanishing Point Sheaffer J5-30SC Parker 45 Pelikan P488	Pelikan Royal Blue Herbin Vert Empire Noodler’s Dumas Tulipe Noire Waterman Florida Blue

I had been having some trouble settling on the ending for the current project, having three viable but mutually incompatible possibilities.  Happily, I remembered over the weekend that in this brave new technological age of ours, one can have a story with different endings.  That “Choose Your Own Unspeakable Fate” thing I was working on last year (and am slowly putting into second draft, honest) is essentially just a bigger and more complex manifestation of the thing, but I even have a subscription to Sub-Q, a forum specifically intended for “interactive” texts.  Thus, when “Discoveries…” is ready to roll, I know exactly where I’ll be submitting it first.

The Mezzotint

No, not really, although watching today’s film may put you in mind of that M.R. James story.

Coincidentally, it’s one of those days when “hollow” is rather how I’d prefer my skull.  Wretched migraine!

Today’s pen: Parker 45
Today’s ink: Noodler’s Dumas Tulipe Noire

Day	What	How Much	Duration	Pen	Ink
17 October 18 October 19 October 20 October	First draft of “Discoveries in the Wake of the Last Crusade.” First draft plods along. I’m gettin’ my Clarke on with it. But not today; a task needed doing for my wife.*	Seven manuscript pages Five pages Six pages Roughly 6 km driven	50 min. 40 min. 40 min. Enough to be a problem	Parker Vacumatic Pelikan P488 Pilot Vanishing Point Sheaffer J5-30SC	Waterman blue-black Waterman Florida Blue Pelikan Royal Blue Herbin Vert Empire

* Lest you think nothing in the writing line transpired today: a story I sold has been published by they who bought it!  I expound upon this on the other front, but I am… rather pleased.

Three Ravens, No Waiting.

Because tastes vary, and we like to compare our choices, today’s film selections are really as much a public service as a filler of space on a Friday.

 

 

 

I know which one I prefer, but there’s no wrong choice.

Today’s pen: Sheaffer J5-30SC
Today’s ink: Herbin Vert Empire

Day	What	How Much	Duration	Pen	Ink
10 October 11 October 12 October 13 October	Flan de Café for Thanksgiving* at the wife’s parents. Second draft of “Tale of the One-Handed Engineer.” The exciting climax of “One-Handed Engineer.” And the conclusion.  Done!	One recipe makes eight serving 921 words typed. 601 words. Somewhat above 700 words, for a total of 3,240.	All day, if one includes presentation 45 min. 40 min. 50 min.	Pilot Vanishing Point Parker 45 Parker Vacumatic ** Pelikan P488	Pelikan Royal Blue Noodler’s Dumas Tulipe Noire Waterman blue-black Waterman Florida Blue

* Yes, we celebrate that in early October here.  Remember that it’s a harvest festival, not a saint’s day.

** The reason we use pens before selling them on– this one has needed several little tweaks to get the tine alignment just so, which little bits of scribbling hadn’t revealed.  Prolonged writing, however… well, I’d have been embarrassed to have sold it earlier.

October Starts Bleak and Lonely

October!  You know what that means!

Egg nog has been in the grocery stores for more than two weeks!

I wish I were kidding.  However, the core of the month is Hallowe’en, so far as I care to consider things, and that’s where the next few Fridays are going.  Today’s is a nod to what’s going on politically in the US at the moment, although it’s slighlty less ugly.

Pardon? “Not very Hallowe’en-ey”?  Oh, my– consider for a moment the effort gone into the costume.  Imagine the stir YOU would cause at a party were you able to marshal such resources.

Today’s pen: Parker Vacumatic (a gold pearl Debutante on a test-drive after refit, soon to appear for sale)
Today’s ink: Waterman blue-black (because why risk stains at this point?)

Day	What	How Much	Duration	Pen	Ink
3 October 4 October 5 October 6 October	First draft of “Tale of the One-Handed Engineer.” A quick vacation in Migrainia First draft completed Second draft of “Engineer”.	Six pages. All I could take Four pages. 748 words.	45 min. Seeming eternities 40 min. 50 min.	Sheaffer “TM” Triumph Pelikan P488* Parker 45 Lamy Studio**	Herbin Lie de Thé Waterman Florida Blue* Noodler’s Dumas Tulipe Noire Lamy Studio

* Not that they saw much use.

** Last Sunday, on a whim, I swapped the F point the pen came with for a 1.1mm italic that I keep around specifically to feed whimsy.  The fact that this pen suddenly has line variation has been startling me all day.