Sunday Reads - November 18. 2012

• I do fancy this Pelikan M1000 Sunlight Raden. Surely it's unaffordable, but I love raden. 
• Aurora Black has been on my list to try for awhile - Inkdependence reviews it and reminded me I want to try it! 
• Zeynep at Write To Me Often reviews the Rotring 600 fountain pen!
• Jenny's beautiful Gratitude Journal - Hope. I love this entry.
• An awesome handwritten review of Noodler's Tiananmen Red and another of a TWSBI Diamond 540, at EDJELLEY.
• Heather at a Penchant for Paper reviews the Pilot Varsity disposable fountain pen. 
• Amazing zendala/sketch at Lost and Found, by Bonnie Jean. 
• It's been awhile since I've posted some food (not that I ever make anything. I just like to pretend.) - light fluffy buttermilk biscuits.
• Incredible Zentangle at Life Imitates Doodles - seriously. Incredible.
• Um. What. Crockpot coconut hot chocolate? YES. Must get a crockpot ASAP.

Giveaway Round Up

At Life Imitates Doodles - a review and giveaway of Carolyn Boettner's coloring pages. 

At JetPens - Guide to choosing a fountain pen, and a gift certificate giveaway! 

Sunday Reads - October 28. 2012

• Painfully adorable mouse deer at ZooBorns. Resembles Ellie a bit.
• 10 Ways to Use Washi Tape.
• 13 excruciatingly cute pictures of an orphaned baby elephant being raised by humans.  
• I love this pinwheel design, on Lost and Found. 
• The Pentel Color Brush in use. 
• Beautiful pictures of fall. 
• Clouded leopard cubs at the Houston Zoo. Boy are they ever gorgeous! 
• Check out the Paperblanks blog to read an interview with our very own Sandra (molossus1)! 
• If nibs could sing, on My Life As A Verb.

Mailbox Goodies: Pens, Pictures, Stickers

This week I acquired a small variety of items, half of which are extremely awesome. The others are pretty fun. But not as extremely awesome. Here are the extremely awesome things:

This super duper handmade wood ballpoint pen comes from Bonnie Jean at Lost & Found and Chance Pens. Bonnie and I had a little "pen pal" swap (though I got the better end of the deal!) and I am now the proud owner of this pen, with matching, absurdly adorable pen stand! Review to come so keep your eyeballs peeled!

I was also sent some of her own art work. Wow. It is just incredible what she can do with a pen. A huge thank you to Bonnie for this wonderful treat!

A little while ago, Shoplet and Zebra teamed up to give away Zebra ZMulsion pens so I signed up and got one! I was hoping for a pretty color, but I will settle for black.

And some stickers.

Pretty cool schtuff up there.

Sunday Reads - October 21. 2012

• The shiniest living material on Earth - a fruit!
• A strange, intriguing video called Hominid - where critters have human-like skeletons. 
• Has anyone tried kale chips? Any good? 
• Thanks to this review on Anderson Pens, a TWSBI Micarta has made its way to my wish list.  
• Green pedestrian crossing in China creates leaves from footprints, on Colossal.  
• Also at Colossal - one man, 1,200 hours, and over 100 pencils - an epic drawing. 
• Enjoy some cuteness and comedy at Pet Meadow: A Bengal cat, two foster Chihuahuas, and some paper!
• Check out a Waterman No. 14 eyedropper filler at GoodWriterPens's blog.
• Have you seen Mia's incredible work? If not, shame on you!! Go look NOW.
• Mmmm tasty Juicy Daycraft notebook review by Heather of A Penchant for Paper.
• The life cycle of a leaf.
• I love this design by Bonnie. I wish I was this clever.

August 19. 2012 - Sunday Reads

Stationery/Art

• If you haven't seen Bonnie Jean's incredible work, you should go to her blog immediately and look at this epic piece! Then you should follow her blog because you'll get to see more epic work like this!
• This counts as art, doesn't it? Other uses for nail polish - making gorgeous cards! I bet your pen pals would be impressed!
• Another handwritten review by Ivan on FPGeeks Forum! This time of the Wal-Mart-available Markings Sketch Ruled Notebook.
• I have fallen madly in love with these pens for some deranged reason and I want them so badly.
• Did I also mention I really want to get one of these Uni-balls?
• A typographic sphere. I'd love to ink those on a stamp pad and roll it around.
• See A Penchant for Paper's Versatile Blogger Awards and learn seven things about Heather!

Food

• I love things that are no bake - like these oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip bars.
• August 10, 2012 was S'mores Day. I don't know who decided this but they should decide things like this more often. I came across this recipe for S'more Krispy treats while looking at pictures of s'mores!
• Lavender honey ice cream. Yes, I'm a little food-crazed lately while trying to eat high protein/low-carb. 
• S'mores CAKE. Good thing I can't bake, isn't it? (Or cook. This section is embarrassing.)

Photography/Art

• Topographical light paintings at Colossal. Trippy.
• A very pretty, elaborate set of strings. It is we who are the measure of what is strange and miraculous - but it does float.

Animals

• Beautiful horses. I absolutely adore Zenyatta and her baby!

Other

• A 360 degree view of Curiosity's landing.

August 12. 2012 - Sunday Reads

Stationery/Art

• I love color. I also love Colossal. I think that's pretty obvious by now. 
• Ivan reviews the Monteverde Artista Cristal - handwritten style!
• Free Mandala designs you can print AND COLOR! For those of you (like me) who like to color but can't draw at all.
• Super cool use of lines! Clever.
• Really pretty watercolor and ink art!
• Zentangles at Concerned Owl... I wish I was this good, but alas, I will keep trying and practicing. 
• Spectacular watercolor by Mia - this girl has serious talent. If you haven't seen her work before, you really must check it out! There is something about the colors in this particular piece that really stand out to me.

Food

• Don't judge me. It just tastes good in my head. I have no idea if it would actually be good. Probably too sweet...
• I've never had funnel cake before. Is it good? It looks yummy.
• Tomato butter? This looks like something you get at a fancy restaurant with your breadsticks.
• I have wanted to try ratatouille ever since I saw the movie!! It just looks so good...Perhaps this simple ratatouille will be a good place to start!
• I'm obsessed with food lately, apparently. Must be this boring low carb diet. Blueberry lemon muffins?!! Thank you, Melody!

Photography

• A rainbow under a bridge at night. Pretty!

Animals

• Painfully cute kittens. I want one. They remind me of Tyco when he was little (and ridiculous).
• Mr. Guilt's trip to The Wilds - lovely animal shots!
• A girl and the hedgehog - also painfully cute. 

Other Coolness

• A kinetic toy reinvented with light, at Colossal. This is so neat.

Fitness

• I'm trying to explore this concept of active isolated stretching - anyone else familiar with this?

Pilot Power to the Pen: Draw

Review: Uni-ball Vision Needle Liquid Ink Roller Ball Pen - Fine, Black

This is a review of the Uni-ball Vision Needle Liquid Ink Roller Ball Pen in fine, and black.

This pen was sent to me by Jose (@noyolajose) - thank you for sharing your appreciation for pens with me!

I am obviously a fan of Uni-ball pens (hence all the reviews of Uni-ball - all of which I have loved). This pen, being of the Vision series, and given my excitement over the Uni-ball Vision Exact pen I reviewed a months ago, had some pretty high standards to live up to. In my opinion, it’s not as “pretty” as the Vision Exact (with it’s pretty blue body and dots and stuff). It is a light grey color on the cap and the end of the barrel. The label has some stripes in silver and I guess it’s okay. Anyway, clearly this pen is not designed to be a pretty little thing to appeal to colorphiles like myself.

I do like that on the cap, it has little ridges where you can grip it to pull it off. The clip feels flimsy, and it stretches quite far and is not very snug. I also don’t like the shape of the clip. It’s angular and wide.

It is a liquid ink pen as you can tell by the ink regulator section. I enjoy watching ink trickle through these though I dwell on it when it happens asymmetrically (which is always). Unfortunately there is no part of the barrel that is really that clear where you can see the ink levels easily so that brings it down a level for me. If you angle it just right in the light, you can see it. But that’s a lot of work and not always easy to do (without looking like a crazy person at least). There is no grip either but I do find in general, liquid ink pens do not require grip because they tend to flow quite smoothly.

The ink is Uni-ball’s Super Ink that is waterproof, fade-proof, and as a result, helps prevent check fraud and document alteration. If you’re a Paranoid Patty (or Patrick), this can give you some piece of mind, especially if you’re mailing a personal check across the country. No one can intercept it and change it!

Of course, most importantly, how does the pen perform?

The nib is a 0.7mm nib and, like all Uni-ball nibs, it is tough. I have yet to damage a nib so it’s safe to say these will last the life of the pen. The ink is slow drying and smudgy, even after drying so I wouldn’t recommend this pen for quick work or left handed writers. I felt that the nib was a bit scratchy while I was writing in the Leuchtturm 1917 notebook and I could actually hear the scratching. It did not cause the ink to skip and the flow was always good but it wasn’t a great experience overall. There was a little bit of show through and a bit of bleeding where I had inked a lot - pretty typical of liquid ink pens.

You may have noticed, in my recent reviews, such as the SwingLine SmartTouch Stapler and SwingLine Premium Chisel Point Staples, my objections were there was no use of recycled plastic when there could have been. That complaint stands with many products. There could be recycled plastic incorporated into this pen but there is none. Even if it was only a small percentage, over time, it would add up. Every little bit helps! Plus, it’s not refillable.

On the bright side, my other complaint is always about the limited range of colors but at least this pen is available in black, blue, red, purple, green, orange, pink, and blue-black.

Lookatmelookatme!

The Pen Addict (old site)

Price

Shoplet - $18.77/dozen (with quantity discounts)
                 ~ $1.56 each

Overall

At approximately $1.56 each, this pen will do the job of being a go-to pen at your desk but it does not offer a very pleasant writing experience in the way that other Uni-ball products can. It is functional and aesthetically very tidy, but I’d have to say this pen does not live up to the standard I have for writing with the Uni-ball Vision line. I will be using mine for Zentangling though, because it's great for coloring!

Pilot G2 Navy Blue Zentangles

Hey, Jose! This is what I've been doing with the G2s you sent! :D They're awesome for this. The color is perfect.

I'm very much enjoying making these!  When I get a bit better at it, I'll start incorporating some different colors for more variation.