vital functions

[kaberett]

... is a placeholder because I am doing so badly at routines in general and bedtime routines in particular, still, augh.

Reading. Adventures in Stationery, James Ward. Not entirely sold on the way anecdotes were strung together, and definitely dubious about the broader social history, but a pleasantly undemanding diversion in a week where I really needed that and for bonus points it finally explained The Thing About Blackwing Pencils to me.

Specifically, the chapter on pencils goes into quite a lot of detail on the composition of pencil "lead"; specifically, the actual innovation of Blackwing 602 pencils in their first incarnation (apart from the squared ferrule and the replaceable erasers) was apparently introducing wax to the "lead", which is/was typically actually composed of a mixture of graphite and clay. The addition of wax resulted in mechanical properties of the lead summarised in advertising materials as "half the pressure, twice the speed": per Wikipedia, in turn referencing what appears to be a now-defunct fansite, "the 602 possessed the unique softness and smoothness of a 3B/4B lead but with the rate-of-wear of an HB".

I say "the first incarnation" because, like Moleskine, the current use of the name does not reflect any sort of continuity or pedigree of production -- instead the pencils stopped being manufactured in the 1990s after the machine to produce the square ferrules broke, and a different company acquired the name in 2008. Said company is doing exactly the same marketing tricks as Moleskine -- "the $object was beloved by $household_name", invoking ~heritage~ without actually making the thing that the various household names actually valued, just something that, you know, resembles it in form. Which I say because the Wikipedia article goes on to note, indignantly:

this is only an approximation of the original Blackwing, lacking the graphite formula of the original, Blackwing in name only.

The modern cult following is thus explained by a combination of both actual and artificial scarcity -- originals with the specific innovative lead formula were as of 2014 selling On Auction Sites for upward of $40, and the modern producer merrily releases "limited editions" of special colours and designs of the woodcase, because stationery fandom is nothing if not total suckers for limited editions.

For example, Volume 651, a pencil with yellow and black stripes running along its length, which they are claiming somehow constitutes a tribute to Bruce Lee. (It is transparently cashing in on nostalgia for the Staedtler Noris pencil. I think this is hilarious.)

Please also imagine my amusement when I bimbled over to Blackwing602.com (to check how unfair I was being about how they present said ~heritage~) and discovered that the current splash image is pushing none other but a collaboration with Moleskine (the Sakura set, for however long that link keeps working).

Watching. One more episode of Farscape (S02E02 Vitas Mortis), while bleaching A.

Cooking. Mostly Pasta With Things. (Things have included "kohlrabi and misc other greens from the allotment" and "psuedo puttanesca".)

Eating. STRAWBERRIES. Have also nibbled, from the allotment: peas! broad beans! aforementioned kohlrabi! cherries! the first raspberries! redcurrants! jostaberries!

Exploring. ... bits of a field? OH and I bimbled down to the post office and, en route, checked how the local quince tree is doing. (FRUITING.)

Creating. Painted A colours!

Growing. Iiii just about made it to the allotment to water things on, like, Tuesday, but I have otherwise been... struggling.

... the ginger at home continues to go zoom, though! And I really really need to pot it on, eesh.

Observing. BAT.