Use Your Brain

First, I want to apologize for missing last week. The thing I was coveting then was so crazy I didn't even want to talk about it: broadband Internet access in rural areas of the United States. That's nuts. I know.

But this week, this is my grand finale. I am coveting something that can be used no matter where you are located on Earth. What I want is a pen. The Montegrappa Brain.

This pen is inspired by the human brain! The top of the cap is a cross-section of the brain, the clip is a spine, and the rest of the cap is decorated with neurons. I'm not sure you can see it in this picture, but there's a seahorse on the nib--or, shall we say, a hippocampus. Clever! It's an unusual pen, but I'm really digging it.  What do you think?

Buy through Pen Boutique for a mere $49,500.00.

Image via Pen Boutique.

Peace out, everyone!

Maureen

Junk in the Trunk

My pen collection is growing fast. Sure, it mostly consists of cheap Chinese pens and Pilot Varsities, but it's growing, and I need places to put my pens! My mother likes to get me cigar boxes when she passes by a JR's, but until I get a Cuban cigar box, I will not be satisfied. (I only mean that if it's illegal to have Cuban cigar boxes? But then not really because breaking the law usually makes me intensely uncomfortable.)

Anyway, today we're talking about something made to hold pens: a fancy-pants burlwood pen trunk!

It holds ninety pens! And it's fancy! Just imagine that sitting on my desk, or a special pen-trunk-holding table. Like a candle stand, for my pen trunk. I'm not sure my little heart can handle these pen dreams, you guys.

Buy through Pen Boutique for $2,080.00.

Image via Pen Boutique.

Maureen

Mrs. Peacock, in the Study, with the Fountain Pen

So if you buy that three-hundred dollar pen I talked about last week, you're going to need some ink, right?  I propose something nice and spendy.  A bottle of Pilot Iroshizuku ink will be right up your alley.  It's the same brand, for one thing, and for another, it's just beautiful all around, price tag or no.

Picture via the Goulet Pen Company.

This particular color is Ku-jaku, or Peacock.  I got a sample of it recently and really, really liked it.  Look!  It's so pretty!  And not only that, the packaging for the Iroshizuku line is fantastic.  Look at that bottle!  It's not ugly, it's not gaudy.  It's just plain classy.  And the little string around the neck is like a little scarf that completes it!  Also, though you can't see it behind the lovely simple label, there is a little dip into the base of the bottle so that when your ink level gets low, you can still get your pen in deep enough to fill it.

Buy through the Goulet Pen Company for $28.

Yours truly,

Maureen

If Lisa Frank Had to Write a Letter...

Do you you think she would use this pen?

Picture via the Goulet Pen Company.  They're all beautiful people.

This pen.  I saw it and I said, "GLITTER."  It's not glitter, as it turns out; it's raden, and my understanding is that raden is a Japanese craft involving lacquer and shells.  I have no idea.  But in this Pilot Vanishing Point fountain pen, it's like class and sass came together to appeal to both the adult and twelve-year-old inside me.

The Vanishing Point is one of the few fountain pens with a retractable nib.  The clip is at the end with the nib, which is a little weird, but most people work around it.  It's so you don't get ink in your pocket when you store it.  Pilot thinks of everything!  What would you write with your fabulous glitter VP?

Buy through the Goulet Pen Company for $304.

Yours truly,

Maureen

There's a Pun about Faulkner and Falconry in Here Somewhere

The last time I talked about pens, I coveted Noodler's Ahab flex pen, an inexpensive one with a flexible nib.  I still want one of those, but every once in a while, I let myself drool over the more expensive pens.

I have no business using a flex pen anyway, but that didn't stop me from watching Brian Goulet's first impressions of a Namiki Falcon and longing for one:

Look at that line variation!  (He begins writing about 11:00.)  Oh my word.  Can you imagine writing a letter to the editor or fancy-pants postcard to a friend with this?

Of course, if I were at all good at penmanship, I would want a pen with even more flex, but this is what I'll dream of for now.  Stay tuned for a stub or italic nib--those add some fun to your writing without your having to do work.  I'll find one to covet.

Buy the Namiki Falcon for through the Goulet Pen Company for $144.00.

Best wishes!

Maureen

In the Red

I recently received a pretty nice Levenger pen as a gift. It's shiny and pretty and fun to write with, and now my only problem is that I don't have a fancy shmancy ink to put in it!

So here's some ink that I've been coveting for a little while:

This is Montblanc's Alfred Hitchcock-inspired ink. It goes with a pen that some say is gaudy. I prefer not to even think about the pen because of its price, even if it does have nifty features recalling the movies.

Now, this ink! This ink is red and, I'm told, resembles dried blood. Perfect for Hitchcock, don't you think? Also perfect for editing papers. Am I right, guys? I'm so right.

Buy through Pen Boutique for $17.00.

Image via the same.

Maureen

Looks Good on Paper

In all honesty, because I have my twenty-cent Target notebooks, I don't need fancy stationery to write on. I write in my notebooks and send letters on printer paper. So far I haven't had an ink and nib combination that bleeds through even the cheap stuff. But that doesn't mean I can't long for the day when I get to shell out entire dollars for one notebook!

I have issue with the name "Black n' Red," but I don't make these sorts of decisions. Black n' Red notebooks are made with thick, heavy paper that I'm told is perfect for fountain pen ink. I'm sure I'd feel extra fancy busting out a notebook like this and taking notes. Wouldn't you?

Pick the notebook that suits you and buy through Staples for $5.99-$10.49.

Image via Wikipedia.

xoxo,

Maureen

Font of Wisdom

Look! Look what I found, you guys!

That looks like a pen, you say. It is a pen! A fountain pen, too. But not just a fountain pen. This is Noodler's Ahab, an affordable fountain pen with a flexible nib that has received great reviews.

I have never written with a flexible nib, and most others like me probably say the same. Flexible nibs aren't really a thing nowadays, but they allow for varied thickness in your writing, and that can probably impress some folks. The nib is steel, so not ideal for flexing, but it should be harder to bend out of shape. And even if you do, busting the nib on an inexpensive pen is not a great tragedy.

The only con, I'm told, is that the pen has a strong smell because of the material it's made with. It may or may not fade, and it may or may not smell like cinnamon. I think I could get used to it for an addition to my pen collection.

Buy for $20.00 through iSellPens.com.

Picture via the same.

Yours aye,

Maureen

Black Out

I've gotten ahead of myself. Sure, you need to be able to seal your letters, but you have to write them first, don't you? So you better pick out a good ink. One that can take anything the Postal Service may throw at it.

While no ink can survive inconsistently applied non-machinable charges, Noodler's Black can, I'm told, handle most anything else.

It's a dark, saturated black that bonds to the cellulose in paper (that's what they keep telling me, anyway) so it sticks for good. And for you patriotic types, it is all made in the USA--the glass, the cap, the ink, all of it.

Buy through iSellPens.com for $12.50 for a three-ounce bottle.

Image via the same.

I remain, as ever, your most humble servant,

Maureen

Awww, You Guys Made Me Ink!

I have found my new love, everyone. This weekend I went to Staples (oh, so low-class) because my fountain pen needed ink.

After discovering that the low-class Staples stocks low-class opened and Scotch taped packages of Parker black ink cartridges, I wrinkled my nose and looked a little harder.

I found a very fine bottle of Parker's Quink. I am not a great knowledgeable pen and ink connoisseur, but I do know that the bottled ink was closed and that in the long run it will be cheaper than the cartridges. I snapped it up and snooted my way out of that store.

Now I have gotten a little more ink than is necessary on my hands, but I feel fancy for using my pen's converter, and I'm getting back into the habit of writing letters. Next up: I need to get Gregory Peck stamps so I can send mail to Cate.

You can by your own bottle of Quink for the fountain pen that I'm sure you own for about ten dollars at Staples, or you can go to the Parker web site and find a boutique (it's the only way to buy pen supplies, really).

Then you can go to the Post Office and get Gregory Peck stamps.

Yours faithfully,

Maureen

P.S. It should be noted that fountain pen ink is not tax-free on tax-free weekend in North Carolina. And people wonder why kids vandalize bridges.

The What We Covet Holiday Gift Guide, Part 10.5: The Maureen

I'm sure you all have been wondering where I am. Well, for the beginning of November, I participated in National Novel Writing Month. I lost steam after 14,000 words and gave up after 16,000. I am proud of my accomplishments.

But I've had a lot of time to think about writing. One thing I learned was that I get grumpy if I do too much typing. I like sitting down at a desk and writing stuff in cursive and drawing arrows all over the page and doodling stick men in the margins.

I also learned that I am not good at keeping track of my pens. Here is my current, up-to-date pen count: My fountain pen that I lose every other week, and a full Pilot G-2 (I've talked about these guys before), and miscellaneous others that I don't use. I also have no idea where that Pilot came from. None. It appeared as if by magic.

So the obvious solution is to get more pens. Pens like this one:

A member of the Libelle Alphabet Collection, this lovely fountain pen is covered with letters! Letters are my favorite! It also won't break the bank too much if you decide to give this pen to your favorite Maureen, novelist, professor, Luddite, or lover who should write you letters but doesn't. I do not recommend breaking the bank all the way to give a Montblanc to your quiet lover. Perhaps a phone card.

Buy through Fountain Pen Hospital for $65, or $55 if you want the low-class ballpoint.

xoxo,

Maureen

Image via Fountain Pen Hospital.

Shoe Day Again

Aw, heck.

You know what I like? Pens. I think pens are great.

There are a lot of pens that I don't like, though. Ballpoint pens are bad for me. Have you ever seen Doubt? The scene where Meryl Streep criticizes a student for using a ballpoint pen? I am totally with her there. I have never liked ballpoint pens. I was thrilled when I discovered rollerball pens.

My favorite rollerball is the Pilot G2, which also uses gel ink. It writes smoothly and easily and makes my life less difficult to live.

But lately, I haven't been using my Pilot G2s. My mother bought me a Parker fountain pen--a Vector, if I'm not mistaken. It's not the most costly pen in the world, but it gets the job done, and it's good for my hand.

Then there are the pens that I can't have. I go to the Namiki or Montblanc sites and I feel intimidated just looking at the pens they're selling. And the prices aren't listed. If you have to ask, they cost too much for you. You must buy these pens from a boutique.

I am not worthy of these pens.