Chris Thompson

"Fred asks a question. Why would otherwise technophilic group like bloggers embrace such a decidedly luddite item as a Moleskine?

It’s really quite simple. I don't know a geek who doesn't have some sort of low tech affectation.

My friends, Josh, Jeff and Mark are all private pilots. Mark is in three bands as a guitarist and drummer. My friend Art used to paint, and probably still would given time. More of my geek friends cook than I can count. I have friends who are passionate about travel. I have friends who are never without at least one good book.

I cook. Given the time, I love woodworking. Given even more time, I play bass guitar. I just started with Moleskines, and I have two. One is in a big notebook portfolio with pockets I use at work to carry to meetings, the other sits on the side table next to my bed. I’m still trying to figure out how to use them efficiently, but I'm already more prodigious in my analog writing than I am in writing online.

There’s something visceral about paper. I still buy Wired magazine even though I can read every article online. The feel of the decadently rich paper stock in a moleskine combined with a really good pen trigger a creative muscle that an LCD and an MS Natural keyboard simply can't.

I think all geeks learned very early that living totally digital was not only difficult, but not a lot of fun. We learned that to excel at the digital, we had to embrace the analog somewhere. Maybe it’s grounding, maybe it’s just exercising a different part of the brain, but it’s very important, and I can't think of one geeky friend without something analog in their life."

Chris Thompson

Comments

[Marc Orchant]

Chris - very nicely stated. Cooking? Yup - love it and do it whenever time permits. Many books and magazines at hand? Yup - even with the ability to read and annotate on the Tabelt PC. Moleskines? Yup - got to exercise all of the creative muscles.

[N.A. Rickenback]

Thanks Chris. Very nicely put and oh so true. I myself have ten or so Moleskines around that are used for various purposes daily. Being a musician myself, I find them to be an excellent medium for my writing. There is an endless list of uses for these little miracles, the least of which is "just another book on hand"

[Nick Douglas]

I like lockpicking.

[fixedgaer]

Computers all day at work. MP3 player, internet bill paying, email friends to make plans, blog, etc. at home. When I write in my Moleskine I get to step back a little; it's a refrshing change. For the same reason I like one speed bikes that don't coast. Why use 27 speeds and spend the whole ride worrying about what gear to be in? Riding a fixed gear bike frees up the part of my mind that usually obsesses about the optimum gear to be in at a given momenet to do something else like look around at the scenery. Moleskines are like that, too.