Tag: blogging

Wow, it’s been 2 years. Last year I could not believe how successful the blog was. This year, welp all I can say is am flabbergasted (in the very best of ways).

Thanks to all who have viewed, liked, or commented on my blog, plus a special heartfelt thanks to those who follow the blog. I appreciate you all.

Year in Review

I don’t often bang my own drum, it is the blog’s birthday, altruism be damned, shamelessly here we go….

Last year I mentioned I had ideas for the next year, I am happy to say I followed through and added a variety of new themed posts. For the most part, my bright ideas were very popular. I created 2 Fountain Pen Mystery Theatre posts (The Blue Diamond and The Jade Pen), and 5 event-based posts celebrating (Nurses Week, Library Week, Ancestors Day, Halloween, and the Chinese New Year). I wrote a tribute to the pens of the TV show Madman and took you down memory lane with a variety of Throw-Back-Thursday. I enhanced my “New Month” posts to include a review of the prior month, added all the news worth mentioning about pens or ink, plus an occasional comment about dumb book banners. I published a couple ink-based articles (Majorelle Blue and wine based inks). Then finally I published well over 15 articles on educational or how-to topics (my favorite BTW is Nib Geometry).

Next Thursday to commemorate the blogiversary I am republishing the story of my first fountain pen. That post has been “remastered.”

“Today, a majority of fountain pen users write with fountain pens primarily for reasons related to writing comfort, expressive penmanship, aesthetics, history and heritage.”

A couple years ago I stumbled across this quote. I have been looking for a way to incorporate it into a post. Here we go. I use fountain pens for historical and heritage reasons, primarily. I make no secret to having horrible handwriting and I thank Bic for that. There is also the desire to be different – I’m not very good at following trends and have zero interest in popular culture.

How about you? Do you agree with the quote? What do you write with and why? Don’t be shy.

The power of serendipity.

“Serendipity is an unplanned fortunate discovery. Serendipity is also seen as a potential design principle for online activities that would present a wide array of information and viewpoints, rather than just re-enforcing a user’s opinion.”

Yes, I stuck a pen in the center of a mini carrot cake.

Wow, it has been a year. Can’t say it started on the right foot. I spent weeks being confused. I even bought a WP For Dummies book and I was still confused. Yup, I have a pea brain with flat spots. But I endeavored to persevere and here we are. Not only are we here, but I started a second blog, a satirical view of the world through the eyes of a puppy – that setup went much better.

I started the blog to connect with like-minded individuals who view writing instruments as a thing of beauty. At the time I assumed that there would be 3 like-minded people. I am flabbergasted, amazed, and in awe, during 1 year of blogging, I managed 76 posts, writing 43,000 words, which were read by 2100 visitors – remember this blog is about PENS! Writing instruments.

Thanks to all who have viewed, liked, and commented on my posts, and to those who follow the blog – thank you. By most blogging standards, these numbers are infantile, which is why I appreciate you all.

A special thanks to Ray at Fountain Pen Quest. Since he has mentioned the Chronicles in his blog, my viewership has quadrupled. I encourage you to visit his blog.

The Beginning

So how did it all begin? I restored or is it refurbished a Parker Challenger. During the process, I did countless dumb things and a couple good things. Afterward, I got the bright idea to address the brassing on the cap clip. The clip is nickel-plated and I found a DIY nickel electroplating process – it was a blast and my garage still stands. It is difficult finding pen restoration information. I wanted to save others from a similar fate.

I have a long list of topics that takes me into next year, hopefully, you will continue to find the content as interesting, and informative as I do.

Blogging Pros and Cons

I did not start the blog for fame and fortune. I started it to be social and to meet others. I’m following blogs that have nothing to do with pens, created by individuals from all over the world. I honestly think that is really cool. Unfortunately, I am the type who does best with a schedule and if I miss a posting date I stress. Each post is reviewed and edited at least 20-30 times (this post has been revised 25 times) before my “editor” reads it. Even with my self-imposed stress I still have fun.

The next trip around the Sun

I’ve given some thought to changes for the next blog year. Taking a page from several other bloggers, I’m going to add a “month in review,” summarizing my posts and highlighting other blogs. I’m going to comment more and “Like” less. I have some other ideas but they are just ideas for now.

In closing, I got to thinking that since this is a blog about PENS maybe I could share a couple facts about myself:

• Currently reading: A Memory Called Empire
• Last movie seen: The Dog
• Pets: 3 dogs and 3 cats. Yes I live in a zoo.
• Last concert: Black Sabbath, I have tickets to see Ziggy Marley, it has been cancelled twice.
• Pens in my collection: OMG too many. Including pens for sale I have 22 Esterbrook, and 11 Parker, plus many, many more.
• Most recent acquisition: Pilot Namiki Capless