Not Dead Yet

Thanks for all the emails asking where I am, no I am not curled up in a bottle of Private Reserve American blue... truth is.. I am working on a new and updated and cool (and dare I say better) Good Pens that I hope to launch in the next few weeks. I will keep you updated and thanks for your support. Seth

#2 in 2 weeks...Broken Preppy

Crack..."Man down, Man Down!...Medic! Mediiiiic!" Ok, maybe it was not that dramatic... but yes, I have had 2 broken pens in two weeks. My beloved eyedropper Preppy sadly is no more.

There was a note left on my desk: It went a like this:

"Dear Seth, you have asked too much of me for too long. I am a cartridge filled pen that lives on the edge of being a disposable, but you made me into something I cannot stand up to with your crazy silicon grease and your syringes. I am not a Parker 51 or Waterman designed to live through the stress and through years of punishment, I am a little Japanese flower that must be treated carefully. Sadly, I can put up with you no longer and I am leaving you. My ink is on your hands (literally, insert Nelson from The Simpsons saying "Ha Ha" here) Signed: Preppy

After the autopsy, I found a little crack through the body that was enough to allow air in and sadly...ink out. I have not thought about bringing this one back yet. I have another body that fits from a sign pen, but I like that sign pen. Good bye Preppy. Stay tuned as I sort this one out. Preppy...you will be missed.

Pen Lust

How does it happen? One minute I log on to check the weather and the next minute- I am on Ebay searching for a quick way to drain my bank account. Then it happens. Lust: I will skip the first 6 definitions to keep this PG-13 but #7 applies here: 7. to have a yearning or desire; have a strong or excessive craving (often fol. by for or after).

Strong excessive craving definitely applies here. The object of my lust? This little beast. (link to Ebay) I know it's not perfect, but I almost have to have it. I usually have about 30 items that I am in need of, so I do need to pick my battles, but sometimes they just call your name.

Again, I probably will let this one pass because it will go for far more than it's worth, but for now...today...I love it. Then again...we might be fighting for it in 5 days and 12 hours.

Colibri and Gift pens

As always, click for better views....I am a huge fan of gifting pens. (I am also a fan of receiving gifted pens.) If you divide things evenly and say that there are 2 groups 1. Pen Lovers and 2. People that use pens because they have to...then it gets very interesting when group 1. buys for Group 2. or vice-versa. I think about that scene in the 2000 classic Meet the Parents where Ben Stiller's character gives a rare Jerusalem tulip to Robert De Niro's character and he has no idea what he was just given. Things could get awkward quickly. Suddenly a Parker 51 gets thrown in the back of drawer never to be seen again.

Engraving the initials on a pen is a nice touch. The odd thing is, I have more pens with OTHER peoples initials on them than with my own. Anytime I can use 3 little initials to let the world know that the pen I am loaning them is not theirs...I am happy. This pen (for a company that makes lighters) actually has a nice balance to it and is nice to write with. I have always loved black pens and I have a pile of refills for this one and it usually travels with me.

I hold on to the pens that I love to write with, but my friends know I can deliver a steady stream of pens to them from the ones that did not make the cut. They might appreciate a fat goopy .9 that I would never use. Technically I guess that is not gifting...but it's the thought that counts rights? Next time I will put a bow on it.

Aint it Strange...Broken Montblanc

I am NOT the guy you see in business meetings that pulls out the Montblanc just to let everyone know he (or she) has a pretty little snow cap on their pens. "Look at me, Look at me...I must be important!!!!" It's actually my biggest pet peeve with MB's...non pen lovers try to use them to make people think they love pens. (Work with me...in my head this makes sense, I have had a lot of coffee today.)

I have a few MB's and I do love them, it's a little ironic. This one is now in need of repair. I am not sure if it was in my bag or my pocket, but this happened somehow. It's a roller so... I am not devastated...but I am not really happy either. I think I won this one in a sales contest about 5 years ago.

Montblanc has had an interesting history, there are scandals and many lawsuits and some odd practices in how they sell their pens. Dunhill bought the company in 1977 and dropped all the low end pens.

I might run into the Montblanc store in Boston and give them my best "Look at what just happened face." I haven't used it in a while because it almost never works. By the way, the notebook is a Moleskine designed for you to write/draw on, I haven't finished my last word on it yet, but I definitely am going with "strange."

I also can't stop watching this pen spinning video

Pilot V Razor Point

I had to run into Staples today and literally jogged through the pen aisle because I did not have any intentions of buying anything...mainly because I just feel like I know everything that is there already. However, I saw Pilot and Extra Fine and I grabbed the package hoping for the best. I bought the 4 pack for around $6.00.

I like the way the pen felt right away. Nice and light and it feels nicely balanced. I grabbed the notebook that I have been using for work lately and remember that scene in There's Something About Mary when the paramedic screams "We got a Bleeder" ...yeah it was like that. Wrong paper. My problem is that when I see extra fine on the label... I expect a .38 and without any bleeding. Life is just not that simple.

But here in the Moleskine, it works a little better and I was little more comfortable. But at the end of the day, the 3 unused pens will probably end up in my next giveaway, I would be better off with the Razor II that markets itself as the Super Fine Point. (that means buying more pens :)