Seize the Dave is a little bit about a lot of stuff: writing, calligraphy, poetry, origami, books, music, role-playing games, the occasional cocktail recipe, and anything else that comes to mind.
Noodler’s has released the second in its line of inks that have been designed for flex nib pens. The high-shading Black Swan in English Roses continues the high level of quality set by its predecessor. In my review of Black Swan in Australian Roses, I praised the ink’s poetic nature, and English Roses delivers a similarly lyrical experience.
Where Australian Roses was violet-black with pink undertones, English Roses is an earthy red-brown with bright, poppy red undertones that peek out from time to time.
At the beginning of the month, I issued a challenge to myself to produce a short story a week for each of the four weeks of March. At the time, I anticipated writing four disconnected stories that were joined by a common topic. Instead, I’ve stumbled into a cast of recurring characters who I really enjoy writing about.
Therefore, I’m going to issue a different challenge to myself. I’m going to turn the Sacred Geometry stories into an ongoing series starring Scarlett, the paranormal blogger.
Parker Quink Permanent Blue Black is a workhorse of an ink that I’m sorry I waited this long to try out. First developed in the late 1920’s, it was regarded as a revolutionary ink that eliminated the need for blotting. It remains, to this day, one of the most popular fountain pen inks in production.
Parker’s version of blue-black is moderately saturated and allows for a modicum of shading in a fine nib.
“What do we have here?” Scarlett wondered as she opened the package she’d found waiting on her front porch when she got home. She often received packages from the fans of her blog, Things That Go Bump in the Night, but she never knew quite what to expect. Sometimes they were interesting, sometimes creepy, occasionally disgusting – but they were never dull.
She cut the packing tape, folded back the top, and brushed away a handful of packing peanuts.
Over the past year, my ink collection has grown by leaps and bounds. I’ve written over thirty ink reviews, which averages out to slightly more than one every two weeks. At this point, I own a LOT of ink – enough to start singling out specific inks as those to which I compare all others. I have also noticed that one of the most time consuming aspects of doing ink reviews is washing out the three or four pens that I ink up just to write out the comparison colors.
For those of you who have not read it already, the March Carnival of Pen, Pencil, and Paper is being hosted over at Notes in a Book. There are lots of great links to all things writing related.
http://notesinabook.wordpress.com/2011/03/08/the-march-carnival/
“The one thing that I never thought I’d find in church…” Scarlett paused, frowned, and deleted the text. She’d been trying to figure out how to start the newest post for her blog, Things That Go Bump in the Night, for the better part of an hour. Each time she thought she had the first sentence, she ended up deleting it.
“So sleepy,” her brain muttered to her. “Let’s go to bed.
Rating: 4.5
March 8, 2011
Traditional carbon inks were made with soot or lampblack mixed with gum arabic or another binder. The carbon particles would not fade over time, even when exposed to sunlight, and the ink was not harmful to paper. However, it was not waterproof, could smudge in humid environments, and was not at all fountain-pen friendly.
Platinum has re-engineered the carbon ink, though, to solve all of those problems.
“For a building built by an eccentric architect who supposedly belonged to a modern Pythagorean mystery cult, this hotel looks disappointingly normal,” thought Scarlett. She yawned, set down her bag, and pressed the elevator button.
The drive down from Cleveland had taken three hours, thanks to a wreck on the highway, and she was already tired from staying up the night before doing research. She’d heard about Hotel Tetra from one of the readers of her blog, Things That Go Bump in the Night.
I’ve been so caught up in reviewing ink lately that there has been a dearth of fiction here on Seize the Dave. Therefore, I’ve decided to set two challenges for myself. Each Friday in the month of March, I will post a work of speculative short fiction on the topic of Sacred Geometry. What does that mean? Good question. You’ll have to tune in to find out. In April, I will post a poem a week, though I’m unsure as to what form they will take.
