Link Love: Be Excellent

Once again, there was tragedy in the US last week. I don’t want to dwell on it here but I didn’t feel like I could just ignore the newspaper headlines. The senseless violence saddens me. However, I am reminded of a quote from my favorite philosophers, Bill & Ted, “Be excellent to each other.”

I think it’s time to embrace that as a mantra for the foreseeable future.

I’ve often heard another adage about not knowing the struggles someone else is facing. In those moments when you want to yell at the tech support call center employee or shake your fists in anger when your delivery order is incorrect, consider that it was not done spitefully. Someone else may be struggling too or have other things weighing on their mind other than putting your sauce on the side or replying to your email request. No one intentionally makes mistakes or is less than rosy when they greet you. So, brush off your anger, indignity or frustration and be excellent. Even if being excellent is just being civil in the face of this endless string of difficulties we continue to face.

Pens:

• This 3D Pen Allows You to Design and Draw Your Own Instant Candy (via My Modern Met)
• Curidas (IV). One Year Later (via Crónicas Estilográficas)
• Goldspot x Narwhal Fountain Pen in Poseidon Blue (via Fountain Pen Pharmacist)
• What Pens Work With Zebra Mildliners? (via JetPens Blog)
• The Kaweco Sport (Fountain Pen) (via Left Hook Pens)
• Sailor Pro Gear Cocktail Series Après Ski: A Review (via The Pen Addict)
• Sailor x Nonble Black Cat Fountain Pen for Cat Lovers (via Gourmet Pens)
• Fountain Pen Review: Leonardo Officina Italiana Momento Zero Grande Pura Arancio Fiammante (via Rants of The Archer)
• Love and money: the great fountain pen survey, part 2 (via UK fountain pens)

Ink:

• Van Dieman’s Apricot on Traveler’s Company (via Inkcredible Colours)
• Lamy Black (via Mountain of Ink)
• Hacking ink (via Bleistift)
• Krishna Sheening Inks Swatch Test (via Nick Stewart Fountain Pen Ink Art)
• Montegrappa Harry Potter Inks Test (via Nick Stewart Fountain Pen Ink Art)
• PenBBS #362 Zi (via Fountain Pen Pharmacist)
• PenBBS #344 (via Fountain Pen Pharmacist)

Pencils:

• A fountain pen users guide to Blackwing Woodcase Pencils (via Write Experience)
• Walking Pencils. (via Pencil Revolution!)
• Maker: Zine Friends Edition (via Comfortable Shoes Studio)
• Pencils and humidity (via pencil talk)
• Using my watercolour pencils again (via Liz Steel)
• Vintage Colored Pencils: Conté à Paris Aquarelle (via Fueled by Clouds & Coffee)

Notebooks & Paper:

• How to use the Helix Circle Maker for bullet journaling (via All About Planners)
• Kelkaa Weekly Planner Review (Dashboard Layout) Including Pen Test (via All About Planners)
• The Godfather Notebook (via Notebook Stories)
• Salvador Dali Notebook with Drawings (via Notebook Stories)
• Paper Pleasures (via Fueled by Clouds & Coffee)

Art & Creativity:

• Heartwarming Illustrations Capture Beauty of Small, Tender Moments (via My Modern Met)
• Five Beautiful Books That Are Inspiring Me During The Creative Retreat (via My Giant Strawberry)
• Testing Aquarius Watercolours (via Liz Steel)
• Illustrated Recipe: Layered Chicken Rice Pilaf (via Apple-Pine)
• How to THINK when you DRAW BOOK 4 + REPRINT (via Parka Blogs)
• 10 Essential Watercolor Tips for Artists of Every Skill Level (via My Modern Met)
• How to Create Passive Income as an Artist (via Parka Blogs)
• By the Bujo: Daytripper Cardigan (via Modern Daily Knitting)
• A View From the Easel During Times of Quarantine (via Hyperallergic)
• Japanese Artist Completes Fashion Illustrations With Flower Petals (via My Modern Met)

Other Interesting Things:

• Kolhabi Inabel Pen Cases (via Rants of The Archer)
• PlaymoGreek: Greek Folk Dress Worn on a Tiny Scale With Playmobil (via My Modern Met)
• The Kodak Brownie: The Camera That Made Photography Accessible (via My Modern Met)
• The point of doing ‘pointless’ things: why it is good for us (via Flow Magazine)
• Flat 70 is taking over billboards with a “walkable exhibition” of Black artists (via It’s Nice That)
• Here’s How People From The Past Imagined The Future (via Design You Trust)
• NASA Tournament to Determine the Best Photo Taken from the ISS (via Kottke.org)
• United States Postal Service Unveils 10-Year Plan to Achieve Financial Sustainability and Service Excellence (via USPS Newsroom)
• Ember Mug² Metallic Collection (via Tools and Toys)
• As Good as it Gets – Ann Patchett’s Beautiful Typewriter Story: ‘She Thought I’d Given Her the Moon’ (via oz.Typewriter)
• Vital Part Played by Typewriters in the Irish War of Independence (via oz.Typewriter)

Pandemic-Related:

• A Year in Masks (via Hyperallergic)
• The Lowdown on How LA Museums Plan to Reopen (via Hyperallergic)
• A Year in the Life of COVID-19 (via Fancy Tiger Crafts)

We need each other. Please support our sponsors and affiliates. Your patronage will let them know you appreciate their support of the pen community. Without them, and without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!