The Joy of Science

There is an argument to be made that today’s film has some educational content.

…but I don’t have the energy to construct one that will stand up.  Here, then, are two people having fun with science, but not at the expense of science:

Today’s pen: Parker Challenger
Today’s ink: Diamine Evergreen

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This Week’s Pens	Inks	How Much Novel Written
OMAS Arte Italiana Sheaffer Craftsman TD Waterman Carène Pelikan 25	Diamine Amazing Amethyst Quink Black Quink washable blue (vintage) Pelikan Royal Blue	24 manuscript pages

Ambition and Folly

A couple of months ago, this spot was occupied by some deeply strange cartoons.  Here’s another by the same hand, which we might also call a parable for our time.

It’s not often you see H. Bosch and P. Max influencing the same work.

Today’s pen: Sheaffer Craftsman TD
Today’s ink: Quink Black

This Week’s Pens	Inks	How Much Novel Written
Waterman Carène Pelikan 25 Parker Challenger OMAS Arte Italiana	Quink washable blue (vintage) Pelikan Royal Blue Diamine Evergreen Diamine Amazing Amethyst	19 manuscript pages

Another lost Monday, alas, this time to a phone-call which ran long over the start of my lunch break.  By the time I had basic sustenance down me, there wasn’t time to get the machinery churning properly on the novel.  As petty revenge for this, I filled free moments in the rest of the afternoon doing some preliminary world-building for a future story with a (relatively) hard SF setting– I now know just how big my ship is, and how quickly it rotates to provide 1G on the main working deck and Mars-equivalent gravity in the recreation area.  Idle brains are the Devil’s plaything, after all.

Smart Guys Use Fountain Pens

I don’t know about you, but I find myself with a day off today; some sort of religious observation, I think. In anticipation of people looking in here needing more than the usual amount of diversion, I’ve got a longer than usual Friday film. It’s newer, too, so the contest that’s mentioned is something you could actually pursue (if you hurry!).

Anyway, enough introduction; here’s an interview with a man who is in many ways an excellent role model.

“I love me some flexible nibs.” Fine words to live by, gang, although I’m not so opposed to a firm point as he.

Today’s pen: Jinhao 159
Today’s ink: Quink Black

This Week’s Pens	Inks	How Much Novel Written
Pelikan 25 OMAS Arte Italiana Pilot Vanishing Point Waterman Carène	Pelikan Royal Blue Diamine Amazing Amethyst Pelikan Violet Quink washable blue (vintage)	17 manuscript pages

The paucity of output this week is down to Monday being too taken up with agony to be creative. You may remember a really dumb thing I reported doing to my leg about four months ago.  Well, I managed to do almost the same thing without the assistance of ice on Sunday evening, simply through inattention; I stepped too long for the last step in a flight, and then down I went.  The damage isn’t as bad this time (although I really should have a medical professional opine upon how things stand with my inner rigging), but it was sore enough on Monday to make creativity in anything other than self-directed terms of abuse fly right out the window.

And to avoid leaving people up in the air about important things: the pen I had in my pocket at the time is completely unscathed.

Move It, Soldier!

I have, sadly, more or less stopped fighting in armour.  Time constraints, fears about (more) concussions, equipment failures… it all adds up.  Something that I don’t entirely miss about it is that “scalds with safety” thing Shakespeare mentioned.  However, I did enjoy, when we did public demonstrations, people being surprised at how well we could get about in our outfits.  Just check this chap out:

…and yes, I wish I had that gear.  Look in your heart– I’ll bet you do, too.

Today’s pen: Parker 51
Today’s ink: Herbin Vert Empire

This Week’s Pens	Inks	How Much Novel Written
Sheaffer Valiant TM OMAS Arte Italiana Pelikan 25 Pilot Vanishing Point	Jentle blue-black Diamine Amazing Amethyst Pelikan Royal Blue Pelikan Violet	24 manuscript pages