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"Hi Moleskinerie Team:
Just wanted to let you know that Moleskines are mentioned (spoofed) in the latest Strong Bad e-mail on Homestarrunner.com, entitled "origins." I can't be the only Moleskine-toter that likes Homestar, so I'm surprised this hasn't been mentioned by anyone else yet! It's a great site anyway, so everyone should check it out! Here's a link:
http://www.homestarrunner.com
Thanks,
Nadine Anheier"
...
And thank you very much Nadine!
Frankfurt Main Station Hauptbahnhof
"My trip to Frankfurt's Paperworld exhibition this year was very rewarding. Not only did I reconfirm the relationship with vendors I met last year but I found some more that I'd like to order from. But the most rewarding is to understand the Moleskine happenings in Europe by going to different stationery/design stores and meeting Modo&Modo."
Full Product Line
"In this year's Paperworld, Moleskine's full line of product is displayed in the German distributor Authentics' booth. In addition to the new Cahiers series, I was finally able to meet the rumoured Reporter series, which contains Pocket/Large sizes of Blank/Ruled/Squared notebooks in vertical reporter formats! It means the elastic band is now at the bottom of your palm when you open the Reporter by flipping the pages upward."
Natural Holding of Reporter
Thanks to Patrick Ng
Read the full report @ his site, Moleskineart.com
...
Note:
jkOnTheRun has just opened new discussion forums including one for Moleskine owners. Everyone is welcome!
http://forum.jkontherun.com/
"I think it's the creamy smooth white expanse that fills every single
page. The silky feel of the paper when you brush your fingertips, just
the tips, across it. The sensual glide of the pen across the page that
makes everything you write seem special, even important. The smooth
sound, barely audible but definitely there, that is heard when you move
the pen slowly across the page in nice, even lines. The very smell of
the Moleskine that excites the senses. I need to be alone with my
Moleskine now. "
James Kendrick
JK On The Run
"Every morning I come
downstairs, put clothes in the washing machine, and open the back door for Mary
(Lakshmi comes a little later). I putter around for awhile and then go into my little
office and switch on the computer. Then Mary comes, carrying a small tray on
which are a cup of luscious south Indian coffee and the daily kanakku /
hysaab, the accounting of her previous day's expenditure.
In this case, the items listed are kolamavu
(the rice flour used to make kolam designs in front of the gate and
the door); potatoes; onions; tomatoes; "en selavu", "my
expenditure" -- the vegetables Mary and Lakshmi purchase for the meal they
cook for themselves at mid-day; cabbage. I run down the list with her, and then
dole out some amount for the day -- usually it's not enough, once in awhile I
get some change back and feel moderately triumphant.
That is the first work of the day."
Nancy Gandhi
Visit her blog, "Under the Fire Star"
"Building your own Timbuk2 Messenger Bag is as easy as 1-2-3!
1. Enter your secret code to the right. Click the GO button.
2. Build Your Own Bag using the Timbuk2 Bag Builder or select one of our other popular products.
3. Proceed to Check-Out Verify your order and choose your desired shipping method. If you've exceeded the value of your gift card, use your own credit card to top-off your purchase. We'll ship your order within 2 to 5 business days."
Go to Timbuk2
Inspired by Alyssa's post @ The Big Red Blog.
Just one last post before we go snowboarding:
"Some days ago I had written a post on Analog blogs. What's an analog blog? This is a method used to utilize your Moleskine notebook as a blog. This is a way to organize it, to link your thoughts together to be able to follow the flow of your thinking through time. It's sure that this method is usable with other notebooks but I demonstrated the concept with Moleskines. Why? Because I lately discovered a passionate community of bloggers that write with enthusiasm about them. They write hacks to enhance their usability; they write about what they write in them, how they use them, where they use them and why they use them. They are passionate, they write on Moleskines with their guts and inspiration. Then, as a neophyte in the Moleskines world and in his immerging community, I wanted to know why they are attracted by them, and overall, why they are fascinated by Moleskines.
After I published my post, I got an unanticipated exposure. I read posts and comments from other visitors and bloggers about it. I found that people seem to love the idea; they seem fascinated by the concept. It was not a great idea; it was just an aggregation of already know hacks with some enhancement based on an emerging communication technology called Blog. The more I read on reactions the more I find that people love the idea of wedding between new and old technologies. They love the paradox created by the situation. They seem to be seduced by the idea; as I am.
Finally I asked to some of these bloggers their fascination, in the present world of technologies, for Moleskines: a technology used by humans for ages. This article is the result of their work; their passion for Moleskines' notebooks. I got their answer and texts one after the other. I I'm astonished by the result, the work they done. They are all great pieces of work. They are more than inspiring."
Frédérick
Read the fascinating testimonials at his site.
...
Enjoy your weekend! Here's a treat:
"I used an A5 Moleskine as a logbook/diary on last year’s expedition - it had laminated navigation/timezone calculations, important telephone numbers and the codes for myARGOS satellite beacon glued inside the front cover, while the wallet pocket inside the back cover held photos, letters and a few other sentimental bits and bobs. I started writing my diary in the front, and filled the back pages with lists of things I was going to do when I got home - books to read, films to watch, food to eat, improvements to make to kit, thank you letters to write and a whopping great ‘life goals’ list that stretched for several pages.
As you can
probably tell by the rambling, the sponsor situation for the next expedition is
still up in the air, so I’m keeping schtum for now. More on that soon, but for
now, Robert Peary sums it up best:
‘I cannot tell you how I long for the good old times when souls were a marketable commodity and always in demand by the Devil. I would trade mine very quickly for the money to get to work at once on my preparations.’
Ben Saunders is a record-breaking long-distance skier. He is the youngest person ever to ski solo to the North Pole (at 26) and holds the record for the longest solo Arctic journey by a Briton. Between 2001 and 2004, in three expeditions, he has skied more than 2,000km (1,250 miles) in the high Arctic, often solo. Ben's next expedition starts late 2005.
"I decided to experiment a little today. I wanted to see how water affected the ink of the rotring art pen.
"That’s when it hit me–a dictionary! A writer always needs a dictionary.
The next morning I went in search of a pocket dictionary, with a few
requirements: first it must be cheap, and second it should contain lots of big
words like verisimilitude and embrocation. The first requirement precluded me
from heading to one of the chain stores like Barnes and Noble, so I headed to
the nearest Half Price Books (if you don’t live near a Half price Books then you
should move). As I rounded the corner in the language arts section I spotted the
very thing I wanted. It measured five and a half inces by three inches, the
cover was sturdy and not dissimilar to my precious moleskine. The pages were all
intact and still supple, and since it was printed in 1960 it contains lots of
big words (leaving out all the ifs, ands, and buts leaves lots of room).
My little prize held a few other treats for me. When I finally scraped
together the dollar (tax included) and purchased it, I sat down outside to
examine my find. In the back, along with a section on spelling and
capitalization tips, was a section on U. S. state names and their meaning, a
forms of address primer, time zone chart, and a few others."
"Since the beginning of 2001, I draw in small notebooks 11 cm X 15 cm (approximately), always with a ball point pen, always on same paper, always in black. I contrained myself never to tear a page off, what is done... is done. I put the date at the beginning and the end of each notebook. Each day (or almost) I spend one hour or two drawing in these notebooks. At this day, I made approximately 450 pages distributed in 12 notebooks."
We just got this email. Your comments are welcome.
"Do people use the "notebooks' (i.e., lined, squared, blank) as
datebooks? I like having my action lists and calendar in the same book
and I'm not crazy about the moleskine datebooks themselves."
"The funny thing about using this Moleskine to take some of my notes... I've become a much better note taker in OneNote. Here's
what I think is going on: I don't write a ton of stuff in the Moleskine. I
usually write "To Do:" and then I add a date and a list of stuff I need to do
for the day. The Moleskine usually stays at my desk and I write things in it
when I feel like it. I also check off stuff that I do on my To Do list. So this
little notebook is what's replacing my post-it notes and assorted other pieces
of paper when I need to write something down quickly.
OneNote, on the other hand, is my power application for capturing important,
work-related information. This week I spent about 11 hours in meetings. I could
probably fill a notebook every couple of weeks and what I would have at the end
of a quarter is a beautiful stack of expensive little notebooks that I would
never be able to find any information in. (And my little Moleskines deserve
better than that.) So I'm finding that I'm using my OneNote for the larger
meetings and I'm using my Moleskine for very small meetings where a laptop might
be a bit of a distraction. If the information from the small meeting is
something I need for later, or if I need to send out minutes, I type the notes
into OneNote and I send them out directly from there."
Related link: OneNote
[Thanks Leslie]
"Moleskine notebooks are somewhat faddish right now, but damn they are useful. And there are plenty of sites out there that detail ways to make them more so. Moleskine hacks, so to speak. Here’s my own: a holding mechanism for the Fisher Space Pen.
"This week in the magazine, The New
Yorker announces the winner of its sixth Cartoon Caption Contest. This
year’s illustration was drawn by Alex Gregory, a New
Yorker cartoonist who is also a television-sitcom writer. Here, with
The New Yorker’s Marshall
Hopkins, Gregory discusses cartoons, captions, and comedy—both onscreen and on
the page."
[Via Laura Tiffany, Online Executive Editor at the Entrepreneur magazine. Thanks!]
"This ink, though water-based, becomes waterproof when it chemically bonds to the cellulose on paper. A variety of tests in the harshest of circumstances shows that Noodler's fountain pen ink on paper can survive water soaking, acetone, naphtha, bleach, ammonia, blue magic, industrial cleaners and chemical lifters. A quick query out to Usenet gave me back the ink's pH acidity level of 7.1. pHs of 7 and above are considered acid free.
So I ordered up two bottles from Fountain Pen Hospital at $12 for a 3 ounce bottle and last night it arrived. What did I find?
I loaded my three fountain pens full of the Noodler's ink including my Waterman Phileas fine tip, my Waterman Expert 2 fine tip, and my Lamy Safari medium tip. I wrote out a page of text using each of the three pens for one or two paragraphs. I cut it up, took one of the paragraphs, and soaked it in water for about 20 minutes. Its just fine. The ink is as strong as it was when I put it in.
I found something else as well. My Expert 2 fountain pen, my personal favorite pen, had a bit of a broad line when writing with Waterman ink. When I switched to Noodler's I found that the line the pen wrote was much narrower yet flowed as smooth as I could ask for. I wrote a couple pages of a story in my favorite Moleskine pocket plain notebook without any bleed through and the tip width is perfect. I couldn't ask for a better pen.
So I now have an ink both worthy of daily writing and traditional enough to let me enjoy writing strange tales of the macabre in my new leather-bound journal or my pocket Moleskines.
While the Pilot G2 is a fine pen for daily writing and especially air travel, where fountain pens have a tendency of exploding with greatly humorous results, I will write daily with my Waterman Expert 2 fountain pen with Noodler's ink. It is traditional, fun, archival, and water resistant."
Mike Shea
"I spotted a Moleskine on yesterday's episode of The Eleventh Hour, a Canadian
show. A student is shown taking notes in it. Telltale sign: when the notebook
was open, the elastic was shown hanging down the same
way it does on all
Moleskines I have seen."
Sembazuru
"This is a book which belonged to my great-grandmother that I have
enjoyed since childhood. I noticed the copyright had expired in the US,
so I scanned it in so everyone can read it. The two-color gifs are
small (under 10k) and should load very quickly even on a slow
connection. I have transcribed the text as well, but it doesn't stand
very well on its own; the special thing about the book is Woods'
terrific rendering of the birds and plants."
"How to Tell the Birds from the Flowers "
from David Newman
(Via MeggieCat)
"While innocently perusing Our Advocate-Particular what do I come across but an entry on moleskine journals. If you are of a certain ilk (and you should all know your ilk by this point) you have this desire to travel to exotic and/or cosmopolitan locales and banter with the locals, all the while keeping track of your wit and wisdom in a small pocket sized notebook. These notebooks will, later on, form the basis for a series of award-winning books. (Reflections In A Golden Isle, The Isterian Alps On Foot, Paris In My Twenties, Back to Bactria, etc.) Whether you actually do this or not is immaterial. It is the desire that counts.
In order to qualify, the notebook or, more properly, journal should be small enough to fit in a jacket pocket, have a leather or (better) oilskin cover, lie open flat, have a built-in elastic band to hold it closed when not in use, an integrated ribbon bookmark and, of course, paper heavy enough to withstand rain, snow, tropical humidity, the grubby fingers of swarthy Balkan border guards or oily Berber tribesmen, not to mention occasional small arms fire; i.e. the moleskine...
...A question for another day: what pen should be used
in your travels. Obviously, one with indelible ink, but beyond that qui sait
?"
"One thing I have found essential to my Moleskinerie: a Staedtler Erasing Shield. It's a paper-thin sheet of metal with various shapes cutout, used in drafting to erase small portions of lines without disturbing other lines. You can get them for less than a dollar. Tuck one in each of the pockets of your Moleskine pocket notebook and you have a straight edge, plus various stencils (curves, circles, etc.). A Must-Have Molskine Mate."
Cal Godot
"To protect your notebook from rain, dunks in Venetian canals, and other
liquid hazards, place it in an 4.5 inch by 7 inch Aloksak (by Watchful Eye
Designs), which is like a super heavy-duty ziplock bag. The Moleskine with
Bullet Pen attached will fit perfectly into this bag.
To easily remove the journal from the bag, push against the bottom of the notebook with your thumbs, while holding the bag and notebook in both hands between your first and middle fingers. If you angle the bag so that the opening is pointing down, the weight of the pen will also help pull the notebook out of the bag."
WanderLyte
A Compact Travel Journal Kit
"Last month, I had the good fortune to speak briefly with Peter Lunenfeld at the Scholarship in the Digital Age conference at USC. I was surprised to learn that this famous digital media theorist is currently obsessed with a print-based initiative. His new Mediaworks Pamphlets are "theoretical fetish objects for the 21st century" - elegantly produced collaborations between designer and writer, intended to break serious media theory out of "the hermetically sealed spheres of academia and the techno-culture" and into the public discourse, much like the famous collaboration between Marshall McLuhan and Quentin Fiore, "The Medium is the Massage." By shifting reading, writing and design practices to the screen, Lunenfeld argues, digital media have effectively "taken the weight off" of the print codex, enabling its tactile qualities to flower anew. There is room now to play and invent in the realm of paper, and a resulting emphasis on the pursuit of pleasure and grace in the experience of book objects. As evidence of the resurgent fetish book, Lunenfeld points to the immaculate productions of McSweeney's, which has made its mark by coupling serious literary output with elegant design at relatively low cost to the reader.
Another sign of this resurgence is the Moleskine phenomenon - those indelible oilskin-bound notebooks reissued in 1998 from the classic French design, famously employed by Chatwin in his travels, and, if the packaging is to be believed, by Hemingway, Van Gogh and Picasso as well. Nowadays, Moleskines are favored by aesthetes and design."
moleskinerie - the steadfast fetish
Future of the Book
"I’ll admit, I am heavily reliant on paper notebooks, and god knows I’ve tried dozens of different notebook styles and notetaking schemes over the years. I even own a moleskine, and had high hopes for it – for awhile. But I keep coming back to 99 cent, 3x5, top-bound spiral memo pads. Just before they fall apart, as they always do after a month or so in my back pocket, I bind them together with duct tape. Cheap, low-tech, available from any store, and eminently practical. Plus, it’s the most compact and portable notetaking mechanism I know of – even moleskines are big by comparison, and too rigid to ride comfortably in a pants pocket. Plus, the damn things are expensive and available only in select bookstores and stationery shops. No wonder the technorati love them."
Moleskine Overload
The Tweney Report
"Modo & Modo (a group of Italian artists) trademarked the name “Moleskine” and started manufacturing oilcloth notebooks with elastic bands in the mid 1990s. The new notebooks are very similar, but ultimately not exactly the same thing as, the old notebooks. Thus, Modo & Modo’s claims that they are the legendary notebook are a bit of fiction. But then again, most advertising campaigns are.
There are a few more ironies worth mentioning, mostly that the Moleskine was originally developed as a less expensive alternative to leather bound sketchbooks, which is no doubt why the notoriously poor Van Gogh would have used one. Today, he probably would have used a less expensive alternative to a Moleskine."
Pike Murdy
Visit hig blog.
"The article over at 43 Folders made me realize that I don't necessarily have to rely on a digital solution for most of my information management - email excluded. While I won't be carrying around a stack of index cards, I did get myself a Moleskine notebook to take quick notes, exchange business cards, and write down appointments to later put into the e-calendar at home. Why Moleskine? Because I've had one before and they're so damn nice - well made and attractive and just the right size, with a pocket in the back and a bookmark and an elastic closure. Palm Pilot, your days are numbered.
Then I happened upon this article in the Wall St. Journal. Apparently there’s
a movement afoot and I didn't even realize that I'm a part of it. I've taken a
Moleskine notebook with me on my travels with Mary Anne, but I've never been
much of a journal keeper. Then, my web site happened and all of the sudden I am
a journal keeper, but not in the traditional sense. I guess I'll name my new
notebook “http://www.daltonrooney.com - the book".
Dalton Rooney
Visit his blog
"Whilst I've been using computers as a central part of my work for over twenty years now, I've never lost the love of applying ink to paper and preserving thoughts and memories in the time honoured way.
Much of my current doctoral research and business activities revolve
around reflective practice in which journaling is a key form. A modern
expression - the weblog - is an invaluable tool in this form of
practice as well as being an art form in its own right. Much as I love
the blog, for me it can never completely replace the joy of making
symbols on a paper surface."
Paul Holland
Erratic Musings
"In 1994, Martin Walser confused an ankh and an anorak on Usenet. The ensuing thread inspired the Clarecraft pewter model... and proved the link between the Egyptians and the Geeks."
Neither Greek, nor Egyptian. Maybe Alaskan. Discuss amongst yourselves.
Via Nick Douglas
"Where did you find the Moleskine?" he asked. I pointed to the side wall.
"Under the 'Of Mice and Men' poster, near the bottom. But they've only got the squared notebooks, not the ruled." He scampered off to find his own.
I went to the checkout line, figuring I'd drive down to the other Barnes & Noble location in town, which typically has more of a selection but was further out of my way. But when the checkout girl had scanned my book, he ran up to me with a large ruled Moleskine in hand, handed it to me, and said, "I found them!" I was so grateful, he deserved a hug. (Fortunately I restrained myself and avoided a socially awkward situation.) It's funny that such a simple item inspires such loyalty to it and bonds among its users. I don't know where he dug it out, as I had spent 10 minutes scouring the small section for it, but we both recognized each other as members of the club.
Too bad we don't get special jackets..."
"This January I was introduced to Moleskine notebooks. It seems that there is a little frenzy, on the blogsphere, on the subject, these days. I was recently searching for a good, beautiful and classic looking notebook for my next trip. I found it in the Moleskines.
When I found a discussion on it on the blogsphere I followed references and discussions. There is literally a small and beautiful community of bloggers that are passionate by them. They transmitted me this passion for Moleskines. You can find many posts on Moleskine hacks to optimize it's usage.
Personally I was interesting to try to use some of these ideas, enhancing them, and use my Moleskines as an analog blog. Okay, it can seem crazy, it can seem really, really geek (and it is) but I'm curious to found if it can be effective and practical.
We first need to remember the main blog's characteristics:
A blog is a sort of electronic personal journal that you use to put thoughts in and get comments by the community. (Have in mind that this post is about analog blogs. Then this is a paper personal journal and you�ll not get comments from the community).
A comment system is implemented for each post. (In our case, it will be your own comments on past posts. The concept will be strengthened if you suffer of multiple-personality).
The posts on the blog are usually classified in categories.
Blogs sometimes refer to external resources.
Blogs usually reference internal thoughts..."
Organize your Moleskine as an Analog Blog
Fred's Security Vortex Blog
WMP#15
Laura Stinson
Boulder, Colorado
Thanks to our friends:
Diane, N.J. Visit her Amazon Storefront
Tricia L.
, CA.
Ralph Sarich
Abizer N., London
Terrie Miller, Sebastopol, Ca.
Prinedes, Wa. Drop by his eBay
auction
Lisa Laughy, NH. Check out her eBay Store, Ninth Wave Designs
The complete list of donors is here.
For updates and donations, visit the WMP
page.
View the scans at " Journey", the WMP Gallery hosted by Joachim du Beleg.
Notebooks #16, 17 and 18 will be traveling to the U.K., Australia and Portugal.
Have a nice weekend everyone! See you on Monday.
"Oggetto: Pocket Calendar
I love your pocket calendar and have used it for the
past several years. I am very disappointed to discover that this year you have
switched the weekly format from listing each day one on top of the next to
listing the days all next to each other. There isn‚t enough room to write down
information about appointments with the narrow format. Please change back to the
old format.
-----Original Message-----
From: Silvia Trenta
[mailto:Silvia.Trenta@modoemodo.com]
Sent: Thursday, January 13, 2005 11:18
AM
Subject: FW: Pocket Calendar
Importance: High
Dear Patrick
Manseau
Thank you very much for your kind e-mail.
The graphic of
the weekly diary, as indicated on the band outside the product, has been
modified in 2005 version.
I am sorry it does not meet with your
approval!
Anyway, I inform you that we will go back to the previous
graphic version for 2006 pocket weekly diaries.
Hoping to get in any
case your favor, I send you my best greetings .
Silvia
Trenta
Marketing Department
MODO&MODO S.p.A.
Viale di Porta
Vercellina, 10
20123 Milano - Italy
tel. +39 02 43 44 98 30
fax +39
02 43 44 98 41
silvia.trenta@modoemodo.com
www.modoemodo.com"
From SOME GIRL
The weblog of Kelsey Flynn
@ Masslive (quick reg. required)
[Thanks Joy!]
Notre Dame of Paris (I would have said "My lady", but I had none)
I dump Mona Lisa
I am not an art connoisseur - in
fact, I consider myself incapable of admiring art. But to visit Paris and not
see Mona Lisa or Venus de Milo is like visiting MIT but not seeing the dome or
the Stata center (in spite of all people may say, I say "Thank you, Mr
Gehry"!) So, went my remaining 1 ½ days in Louvre museum and Museum de
Orsay.
"Got up early this the day. I've been keeping an eye on Apple's new Mac mini, iPod Shuffle, iLife and iWork smorning, scanned a few RSS feeds to start software suites, because I have a feeling all four of these will be big hits.
Dan S. wrote:
"I am a recent convert to the Moleskine world and
wanted to ask a few questions about Moleskine Culture:
Here's one more question from Lisa B.:
"Here's an ignorant question. When you modify something, why is it called a hack? I've wondered after seeing the hacks for attaching a ribbon to hold a pen, altering the accordion-fold storage Moleskine, and another I can't recall right now. What exactly does "hack" mean in this context?"
Munich brings to most people's mind the picture of happy jolly beer guzzling people. To a certain extent, that is true - you can see people drinking beer on streets, in parks, on the subway, or whatever place you can think of, in evenings or on weekends; it is even difficult to find beer bottles less than 1/2 liters. (I dared to inquire about smaller bottles somewhere, only to be told that its unmanly to drink off smaller ones!) I betcha that 9 out of 10 pictures you may have seen in ads of bartenders carrying big dozen glasses or so of beer are from some bar in Munich or somewhere else in Bavaria!
"A Moleskine for me is a "diário gráfico" - a book for a drawing a day.
In the artschool where I teach I have many students with a Moleskine,
because of me - because a Moleskine is not only a drawing book, it is
an attitude. Like my artpen, a Moleskine is always with me - even at my
wedding!"
ana, Portugal - 19 January 2005
"Moleskine is now #26 on Lovemarks.com"
Lise
...
Update: Its up to #23 as of 1.20.05
"We live in the computer age, a world increasingly shaped by programmers. Who are they, what motivates them, and what impact will they have on the rest of us?
That impact is ever more visible. Everything around us is becoming computerized. Your typewriter is gone, replaced by a computer. Your phone has turned into a computer. So has your camera. Soon your TV and VCR will be components in a computer network. Your car has more processing power in it than a room-sized mainframe did in 1970. Letters, encyclopedias, newspapers, and even your local store are being replaced by the Internet. What's next?
Hackers & Painters examines the world of hackers and the motivations of the people who occupy it. In clear, thoughtful prose that draws on illuminating historical examples, Graham takes readers on a fast-moving tour of what he calls "an intellectual Wild West."
Why do kids who can't master high school end up as some of the most powerful people in the world? What makes a startup succeed? Will technology create a gap between those who understand it and those who don't? Will Microsoft take over the Internet? What to do about spam?
If you want to understand what hackers are up to, this book will tell you. And if you are a hacker, you'll probably recognize in it a portrait of yourself."
Paul Graham
Hackers & Painters
"I've demonstrated a quick hack for a flat pen holder for my Moleskine, made in five minutes with ribbon, scissors and glue. I really love the notebooks, however it would be nice if the Moleskine grid came in a Edward Tufte ghost grid style paper.
Sean Gerety
Details at his blog .
Link to Edward Tufte
Cologne too, like Paris and Vienna, has a Gothic cathedral in the town center. Its a beautiful soothing small place, but very historical - there are remains of Roman walls and gates still in Cologne. Neo-Roman style churches abound now. Rhine river adds to the charm. Walking in the historical town center or along the river, or taking a boat cruise on Danube is probably the best way to spend your day here.
The importance of having chromosome Y
"Why replace a dead PDA with another PDA when you can replace it with aMoleskine? My Palm Zire mysteriously cashed in its chips on December 22nd, right in the middle of a mad rush to download everything on my work desktop to my handheld before taking off for the holidays. I should be more
upset that the insignificant little slip of plastic, chips, and data only lasted a year and a half, but I’m not. Truth be told, I’m a paper and pen devotee to the end. I am that person who can’t walk by a stationers or fine paper place without stopping in to fawn over a fancy nib, sample a pen that cost about as much as my education, finger a delicate leaf of paper, or hold up fine stationery to marvel at a watermark. So when my PDA gave over, I squealed a little squeal of joy, and sighed a little sigh of relief at the prospect of holding that relic of antiquated technology in my hands again."
Amanda @ etc.
minor dispatches
"This weblog is an attempt to invite a return to analog. Many of us
live very digital lives. We push pixels around screens. Our lives are
stored as bits on shiny hard drives. Our words and images can be
published online, available moments later, all around the world. But
this digital life can often seem very shallow.
While we recognize the power of our digital existence, we long for the tactile feel of ink on paper. We celebrate the freedom from power supplies, batteries, wireless networks and fragile electronics. We seek to elevate the written word and the freehand sketch on fine paper. We celebrate the journal as the optimal analog device for expression and enjoyment."
Journalisimo.
We just received a donation of 3 large Moleskine sketchbooks from Lisa Laughy for The Wandering Moleskine Project.
Visit her eBay Store, Ninth Wave Designs
...
A complete list of donors is here.
For updates and donations, visit the WMP
page.
View the scans at " Journey", the WMP Gallery hosted by Joachim du Beleg.
Walking along further, I came across a "kabaret" sign. I had heard the street to be famous pre-war for its cabarets. I hadn't seen one and was interested. I recalled the not-so-fond memory of having to strip down to an underwear, wear a towel over, and perform what seemed like a cabaret in my 11th grade as part of ritualistic "ragging". If there was anyway to kill the ghost of that memory, it would be by actually watching one, I told myself. I walked in.
The show was to start in a few minutes. The ticket woman barely spoke English but managed to convey that the kabaret was in German. No problem, I thought; I was there to see more than understand. I bought the ticket. I was surprised to see many old German couples in the performance seating area - cabaret hardly seemed like of interest to couples, much less older ones - I was expecting to see more young guys. But hey, this is Germany, maybe things are different here.
"I from a radio station", she said, taking out a mike and a voice recorder, "and I am recording the show".
"I am a tourist, and I don't speak German", I replied.
"You don't speak German, and are watching a kabaret", she seemed surprised.
"Ummm... yeah, should be interesting to see how much I can make out without the language", I said trying to look confident, while still surprised by her surprise. Maybe she doesn't know what guys look for, I told myself.
"I think that part of my love affair with the Moleskine is that while the notebooks remain static, generally identical, and the embodiment of class on the exterior, the organized chaos and vented inspiration of the interior perfectly and completely complements the exterior. Personally I see the Moleskine as a muse in and of itself."
"I am a relative newcome to the Fennel Fan Club. This is not a vegetable that was
common in our family and for a long time I avoided it: from the smell and look
it seemed to combine the flavours and texture of celery and black jelly bean,
not a happy combination. As I've grown older and wiser, I've come to realize
that anise is a lovely flavour and I was happily surprised one day to discover
that raw fennel, thinly sliced, is a delicious and refreshing nibble with a
glass of wine before dinner.
I still had some doubts about the wisdom of cooking fennel, though: that
lingering impression of celery was hard to banish. (In case you can't tell, I
can think of few things more disgusting than soggy cooked celery...) But I made
some braised leeks the other day and the Critic against his better judgement
tried it and liked it....so I decided to sacrifice a head of fennel to the Gods
of Experimentation and try braising it."
Recipe by Barrett, Too Many Chefs, Chicago
[Thanks Mary!]
The red light district
Amsterdam's famed red-light district is a long street with many small alleys all lined up with houses with glass walls on the first floor - behind the glass are bikini or lingerie clad women posing, looking enticingly at all the men passing by. This pattern is broken by peep houses and small pizza or falafel joints. Surprisingly, the area still has a very classy feel to it. Even at 3 or 4am, there are lots of tourists walking around - even couples or entire families! The girls and the peep-house shows' promoters standing on the streets really mean business-- try talking about rates, and if they sense you are haggling about price without being serious, they can get nasty with you. I tried that with a show promoter, and as I left after the price negotiation, feigning dissatisfaction, he yelled behind me: "You Americans talk so much about how you are doing good to the world, but can't spend a little money for the girls?". I did not know how to respond, besides I am not American, so I didn't feel it my responsibility to respond. Instead, I hurried away without turning back.
Clubs, Bars, and well.. uhh.. Sex bars!
I decided to move on to something more familiar. I ventured to a more popular night-life area, and entered what from outside seemed like a typical Dutch brown bar with. I was surprised (pleasantly, I think) to notice myself to be the only guy there, and was only beginning to get comfortable with this observation when a dressed-in-all-black girl walked towards me and said, "Will you like to buy me a drink?" "Err....", I was fumbling for answer when she added, "Only 55 euros".
"What? 55 euros for a drink?"
"And sex", she added, "or if you want to sleep with me, its 300 euros".
"But I am here just to buy drinks".
"Then you are the wrong place", she reprimanded me, pointing to the door.
It was clear I should leave. As I
opened the door, the guard rebuked me for wasting their time, giving me a
reason to start a mini-argument and get the satisfaction of wasting more of his
time. Walking away, I noticed the sign "Paradise Sex Bar" in red
neon.
"Two people who really understand my journey gave me presents. Sophie, a fantastic artist who is also writing a book titled "My Husband and Fifty Camels" gave me a Moleskine diary to elevate me into the hallowed company of travel writers such as Bruce Chatwin and Ernest Hemingway. Rob, a soldier for many years, presented me with a spoon. Not just any spoon, mind you: this is a 'racing spoon', favoured by certain Regiments of the British Army because its shape allows you to shovel very large mouthfuls of food into your mouth at very high speeds! Perfect for me. To the unenlightened, a 'racing spoon' could easily be confused with the kind of ordinary plastic soup spoon easily purloined from any Chinese restaurant in Hereford.
Alastair Humphreys
"Round the World by Bike"
@ BootsnAll
"I looked in my Moleskine later to see the insurance details I had written down. I had to smirk a little when I realized that the man who had hit me, was named Jesus D. Alva. Jesus hit me with his car."
Absenter, Writer of Text
"Yeah, I’m a Moleskine guy and cyclist, too. I guess we’re trendy. My co-workers have been asking me about my Moleskine datebook, including the woman who left her government-issued PDA in a rental car."
Recent comment at Backporch Beer
...
In a conversation last night, my pedaling friend Mykell, who hasn't even heard of Moleskine before seem inexplicably drawn to it. Of course, Moleskine Guru Mike Rohde is a cyclist, too. What's up with that?
Cyclists and Moleskine. Explain the connection.
Anyone get the curious pocket accordion-style Moleskine only to realize that it really isn't all that useful? Like I did? I got one some months ago thinking that it might be cool to use as a kind of hipster pda by stuffing 3x5 index cards into it. Well the trouble is that dispite the adequate size of the pocket notebook, the accordion folds don't really allow many index cards to fit into it, much less cleanly. Actually, considering that the accordion envelopes exactly fit the cover when compressed, I can't imagine any reasonable amount of anything fitting into it and expecting the cover to close, except for maybe rice paper.
So for my purposes it wasn't quite the smart design that I (and I'm sure others) expected. But some scissors, glue, and a strip of matting board have made the little thing useful to me.
My method:
Step 1: cut off all envelopes leaving 4 folded flaps on the top and bottom edges and 2 flaps for the long side edge. Step 2: glue in a 0.5 inch wide strip of matting or similarly thick and strong board, folded in to fit and reinforce the edges.
Step 3: glue the original top cardboard piece back on to the topmost flaps on each side. Don't use crazy glue, the paper soaks it up and stains it, grrr. There's probably better but clear-drying rubber cement seems adequate.
And voila, a Moleskine index card box.
The top accordion is there to improve card access and is fixed at the long side edge so it behaves like the little back pocket on the other notebooks. It has a kind of sturdy box feel, seems jacket/bag friendly, and fits the black cover shape perfectly so it won't get over- or under-stuffed. It holds a healthy stack of index cards and still blends in nicely with the other pocket sized books on my shelf.
--milesh
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