On Fountain Pens, Lyndon Johnson, and... Balding Japanese Salaryman Erasers. Come Join Me as I Ramble On!
A few links to share today as well as comments on each. Hmm.. three I think.
First up, check out this eraser:
I just came across this. Looks like as you use it, it gives the illusion of the over stressed salaryman going bald. Fun! This kind of toy eraser is not uncommon in Japan actually. I haven't seen this specific one before, but I have seen similar ones.
It's a bit expensive here, around $8 bucks, so I wouldn't buy it if I were overseas (then again, if you really like the look of it, buy it here) but I'm going to guess it is around a less insane ¥500 here. Next time I go to a bigger stationery shop, I'll have to look for it.
Speaking of Japanese stationery, while Japan does have a lot of silly and frankly wasteful things like the eraser above, in general the quality of their more serious stationery is top-notch. I can't say best in the world since I am not qualified to make that comparison, but I can say even very cheap stationery here blows away anything America produces. Is is just a another level.
Paper fanatics often rave about Japanese paper, pencil people swear up and down that Japanese pencils are light years beyond US pencils. Every store in this country has a giant stationery section full of tons of this stuff.
And fountain pens... Well, those are harder to compare, because at the luxury level many American and European companies charge a lot of cash, up to $1000 and beyond, so you are buying quality. Once you get past a few hundred dollars, I think most of the quality of all pens is similarly excellent, so it becomes more about feature and design preferences.
Anyway, that's on my mind, because I came across this guide from Jet pens last night. Not a bad one: check it out
Warning, don't look at the prices unless you want to be shocked. Yes, a good fountain pen is expensive. If you were interested, I'd say the Custom 823 is a nice balance between price and quality. It goes for around $200 used (much more new, but as most people take care of their pens, you are ok buying used), writes just as well as the Emperor (which is over $1000) or the Izumo (which is around $800), and you won't be afraid to use it
That jetpens website is a nice one, by the way, if you like stationery. They import mainly Japanese stationery but also Korean, to sell in America. That doesn't do me much good since I am in Japan, but they also create great guides and videos about everything they carry. Well worth adding to your RSS reader.
On a completely different subject: Lyndon Johnson.
Hey hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?
Yeah, that guy. Vietnam sunk him. He knew it was sinking him and he desperately wanted out of it, but he couldn't figure out how to do that. It's why he didn't run for a second term, though he likely would have won if he had.
He may have been the last strong democrat the US ever had. Carter was a nice guy, a compassionate leader, a Mr Rogers figure, and being a nice guy got him far, but he wasn't strong. Bill was wily as he sucked up to corporation and dragged the Democrats to the center, but he wasn't strong. Obama was bold and inspiring, but he wasn't strong: he may have been the weakest of the three, in fact, constantly bending over and trying to be kind to Republicans and work with them no matter how many terrible names they called him and no matter how many times they told him straight to his face that they would never work with him; but still he tried, and it cost him much.
LBJ, by contrast, was a jackass, an asshole, a bully. But he knew how to get things done. The Civil Rights Act never could have been pushed through by anyone else. He knew how to play politics as smoothly as an Olympic swimmer glides across the pool. He ruled Washington in a way that few politicians ever did.
Too bad Vietnam. That cost him his presidency and cost us many more even bolder progressive bills he wanted passed. Medicare and Medicaid were only a first step in his Great Society. He intended to push for healthcare for all, something even FDR hadn't been able to push through. But, yeah...
Hey hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?
Anyway, my reflections about him are brought to you by some great quotes I found in this piece from his Presidential Library website. On the difference between Republicans and Democrats:
"We’re for something, and they are against everything."
"Any jackass can kick a barn down. But it takes a carpenter to build one."
Heh. Maybe @bozz and @meno can enjoy those quotes.
And with that, I'm off to get on with my day. Have a good one y'all!
❦
 |
David is an American teacher and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Mastodon. |
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I know some people obsess over writing materials, but it seems to be a dying art. I don't write much, but then I have nerve issues in my right hand that makes my handwriting even worse than it was before. Maybe some people are rebelling against the digital takeover and want quality. I've never spent a huge amount on a pen, but then I have other obsessions.
I think there's an obsession with 'strong' leaders these days, but some are just bullies. They really ought to work with the opposition as they all serve the same population. Stirring up conflict is not productive when there are so many problems to solve. I have to try and not let it all get to me, but we should care.
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I think the rebellion against the digital takeover is what has been fueling an increase in the popularity of fountain pens. I've been using them for many many years, but it seems like just in the past 5 or so they have really exploded in popularity.
I completely agree with you about leaders. I do kind of wish the opposition had a strong leader to go against Trump. As of now they are just bending over and taking it without a fight. Maybe that fuels my reminiscing about LBJ. But ideally I would prefer leaders who actually lead and not fight with or bully each other.
I think we need to escape the digital world at times. Writing and other activities have physical qualities that screens cannot replicate. The 'AI' stuff may be taking over, but we can rebel.
UK politics is a mess too. We managed to kick out the useless Tories, but Labour are disappointing so far. They should not just pander to the rich and extremists.
The messy politics seem to be a theme. Europe is inching in a nationalist direction. Japan has been too for many years, but we are holding out, mainly just because the leadership is incredibly incompetent.
Wow, that is pretty crazy. The eraser is cool, but I don't really even use pencils that much anymore. I have really been loving my Supernote. It kind of gives me the feel of a fountain pen, but it is still digital. I use it pretty much every day.
I rarely use pencils too, so buying that eraser would be a waste. But still, I could see buying it just because it's funny.
I'm still considering the Supernote myself. Actually I've recently started looking at the Boox Palma too. It's too expensive, but the idea of having what is basically an e-ink smartphone has a lot of appeal.
Some of the people I work with are kind of jealous of my Supernote and they asked me to look into something for them. The Kindle Scribe is starting to look like a nice cost effective alternative.
I think if owned one of those beauties, I would get it safe in a safe (is this correct to say).
That being said, in my earlier angst years (pre-teen and teen), I did a lot of writing, tons of it. I would give away my poem collections because I felt keeping them was pointless.
Fun fact one of my teenage love flings, who is my good friend now, confessed to me about a month ago she's kept all my letters. Even sent a picture of the stack. It blew my mind a little bit, and she didn't mean anything by it that could remotely be interpreted as a romantic probe. She's happily married and so am I.
I find the idea of having a place to sit down and let your thoughts pour out very valuable. Moments of honest introspection.
Safe in a safe - that's a good way to put it. Me too! Well, I already have a lot of expensive pens, so I probably already should get a safer place for them.
Totally agree on having a place for writing. Maybe after the kids grow older and move out, I can have that myself!
I enjoy a quality pen, mine is not a Bic! It was expensive but I've used it for year, and was a great investment. Paper products here do tend to be cheap, never having been to Japan I can't offer any comparison though. The eraser is hilarious though!
Good old LBJ went all in on Vietnam after JFK died. What a mistake...
Good quality pens are always worth it, I think. They last longer and give a better experience, making them win-win in my book.
Yeah, if only we could have avoided that mess.
Some luxury pens are gret to gift. Might keep this for future reference. Tenks for sharing your views...
You're welcome!