Ninth Wave Designs

Moleskine: Orange & Black

Moleskines generally come already dressed for Halloween, especially the ruled versions with their orange bellybands, but this one wanted a special outfit for the day:

Halloween greetings!

Samhain: Time Outside of Time

Many of the Halloween traditions celebrated in the U.S. originate from old Celtic traditions, so Irish immigrants must have brought many of the common symbolic elements with them to this country.  One of the big ones, carving Jack-O-Lanterns, originated with the tradition in Ireland of making an effigy of a head from a turnip.  There are not so many turnip carvers around nowadays, especially since pumpkins are far better suited for the job.  The general idea is the same though, a scary face with a candle inside, and it harkens back to the ancient Celtic fascination with severed heads, the details of which I will skip here.

The one ancient Celtic tradition that is most commonly celebrated today is dressing up as otherworld creatures: ghosts, goblins and other frightening monsters. This tradition originates with the ancient festival of Samhain and how that celebration reflected the Celtic concept of time and the calendar.  Samhain was one of the four major celebrations during the Celtic year, and is the point in the annual cycle where one year ends and another begins - sort of an ancient version of our New Year's Eve.  The Celt's concept of the daily cycle provided that the old year ended at sundown on the last day in October (as it corresponds to our calendar), the New Year began at sunrise on November first.  This resulted in a gap in time between sunset and sunrise which belonged to neither the old nor the new year - a time outside of time.  This physical break in time was seen as a doorway through which beings from the otherworld could leak into the real world - similar to the concept of the Hell Mouth in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Fires were lit to keep malevolent spirits at bay, and dressing as one of them would disguise your mortal aspect, preventing the terrifying possibility of being dragged into the otherworld by the evil spirits.

I find this idea very compelling, that the calendar year could have a gap in it between ending and beginning again. Our contemporary year moves with very little interruption, and even the general idea of holidays has eroded with businesses being open through all the holidays in the year:  24-7-365. That there exists this concept of a time outside of the regular cycle of time, that the year has to stop for a while before it can begin anew, is something we could do well to embrace, even in small ways.  Imagine a time outside of time; something magical that made the phone stop ringing, the internet idle, and had people staying home for some quiet contemplation; just as a reminder of the end of one important cycle, the beginning of the next. It is something almost impossible to think of today - a collectively ritualized secular experience of time - but it is an interesting concept nonetheless. Heck, even the ancient Celts had to have the frightening aspect of otherworld demons to reinforce the Samhain ritual to make them stop and pay attention.  Perhaps then what we need is a renewed belief in otherworld monsters to get us to slow down a bit, for one evening at least. 

Choose your costumes accordingly and have a great time out of time on Halloween!

October Pencils: Koh-I-Thin 666 #3

Here is a picture of some new/old pencils I picked up recently for my black pencil collection (click for a larger view).  I'm not sure why I like black pencils so much (maybe it is because they look good with my Moleskines), but I always have my eye out for something different to add to my Pencils in Black collection.  I wanted to post a nice autumnal picture with fall colors (even though there is half a foot of snow on the ground at the moment!) and this image fit the purpose as a Halloween image as well, with the nice orange and black color combination.

The full wording on the pencil (for you pencil enthusiasts) reads: <Super Resin Bond>, Made in U.S.A., L. & C. Hardtmuth Inc., Koh-I-Thin, * 666*, No.3.  I thought the choice of numbering for this specific pencil "666" just adds to the mood for Halloween - the Devil's own pencil!

UPDATE 10/28/05:  For more on black pencils see the thorough reveiw of the new Dixon Tri-Conderoga pencils at Pencil Revolution HERE. Thanks to PRevo for the introduction to these innovative and interesting pencils!

HTB² Too: Exacompta Index Cards

In my continued quest for the ultimate in graph paper notebooks, I have also discovered some fabulous index cards with squares instead of lines made by Exacompta.  I have been using the standard issue Oxford ¼" Grid Design Index Cards from Staples for some time, and although I prefer using these over the lined versions, they could be better.  My primary complaint is that I find the squares are printed too prominently, so when I am sketching out a plan along the grid or taking notes on the index card the grid dominates the image.  I was happy enough with these until I picked up a package of Exacompta index cards which are without a doubt my new favorites.

Exacompta is a French company that makes a selection of filing and indexing products.  Is it just me that thinks this or does it seem like European manufacturers make the neatest office supplies? At the very least Exacompta makes the most interesting line of index cards I have seen.  Wait, did I just use "most interesting" and "index cards" in the same sentence?  I know I am not alone in feeling a sense of gratitude toward these simple objects, but frankly, index cards make life a little easier and more bearable, and the Exacompta index cards do it with finesse.  So yes, anything that strays from the standard white lined 3" by 5" index card can be called "most interesting" in my world.  These Exacompta index cards come in five subtle colors with equally subtle squares printed on them in light violet colored ink.  The squares don't dominate the card, but function wonderfully as an underlining structure for all sorts of note taking, idea recording, and design making needs.

For anyone who has a warm spot in their heart for index cards, or likewise a vital life organizing strategy that relies on index cards, you owe it to yourself to try some of these out.  They are just a touch smaller than the US standard 4" x 6" inch index cards (10 x 15 cm), and the squares are smaller than the Oxford grid version at 3/16" (5mm), so if you want to draw things to scale it will be 5 squares to the inch not 4. But aside from these metric particulars, these neutral pH bristol weight cards are a delight.  The five colors (white yellow, pink, blue, and green) provide for all sorts of color coding fun for self-organization schemes.  If you are a follower of the Hipster PDA, then try out these cards for an added level of organization.  Likewise for the Getting Things Done crowd.  I am not a practitioner of either of those organizational methods; my life and work routine just don't demand that level of organization. Still, I can imagine that a pack of these Exacompta index cards would be just the thing to jazz up your productivity organizational plan, whatever the method.

The only thing that I can think of to enhance the organizational beauty of these index cards is the addition of a Moleskine Large Memo-Pockets to house them.  The combination of index cards and Memo-Pockets creates a great storage and indexing system, one that can be creatively adjusted to suit your specific needs. The Memo-Pockets offer 6 files to keep your cards in, so the combination of 6 files and 5 card colors gives plenty of options for even the most involved organizational scheme.  Although I don't have one of those high powered business jobs that seem to benefit the most from a GTD or Hipster system, my Memo-Pockets organizer has really helped to reduced the clutter on my desk.  That these index cards are gridded just adds to the Geek-Mystique: pocket protectors are optional.

I suppose I should come up with some catchy name for this system, something destined to become a Technorati tag, but all I can come up with is Hip to Be Squared (HTB² for short) from my previous post.  Never mind then, it doesn't need a name, it's rewarding enough to take notes on index cards and keep them in a  neat looking accordion file without having a cool name.  Just get organized and have fun doing it!

Purchase a Moleskine Memo-Pockets Organizer Set on eBay HERE.

Quotes For Your Notebook: Jorge Luis Borges

This latest Moleskine-worthy quote comes from Argentinean writer Jorge Luis Borges (1899 - 1986):

"I do not write for a select minority, which means nothing to me, nor for that adulated platonic entity know as "The Masses."  Both abstractions, so dear to the demagogue, I disbelieve in.  I write for myself and for my friends, and I write to ease the passing of time."

On first reading this it simply sounds like good advice from an experienced writer: Ignore the ideals of writing for a specific audience and write for yourself and your friends.  As a writer seeking advice you will find a number of experienced writers offering similar advice such as "write what you know" or "write for yourself". But it is the last detail, where Borges says he wrote to ease the passing of time, which offers me the deepest insight.  It gets closer to the heart of the creative process, beyond what to write or who to write for, to the more philosophical question of motivation: Why write?  His advice is especially compelling when you take into account that Borges often wrote stories as a way to explore the elusive nature of time.

The passing of time can be a difficulty for some, especially those who have chosen a type of life that is outside of the main-stream "fast lane". The so called "examined life" has its own sense of time.  Writers, artists, anyone with a creative approach to their work, often take a sideways step to gain perspective on their subjects.  This awareness creates the possibility for original thinking, but can equally create a sense of uneasiness at being out of step with everyday experiences as well.  Writing, as a way to ease that difficulty, can become essential to maintaining that point of view.  Writing becomes a balm to ease the passage of time.  If you take time to write on a regular basis, then you may have had this experience too: Lying in bed, waiting for sleep, confronting the passing of another day, and feeling good (at the very least) for having written that day.

I was not familiar with Borges writing until I was introduced to him through the artwork of Magic Fly Paula (see the post and the NWD Guest's Gallery HERE).  His writing is a major influence in the fantastic and dreamlike images she creates, and after reading his short story The Book of Sand online through one of her links I was hooked.  My local public library has a copy of his short stories also entitled The Book of Sand, and the above quote comes from the author's note to that collection. This collection appears to be out of print, but you can read the short story through an interesting website HERE.

Thanks Paula!

NWD Moleskine Gallery Update: Jung's Dream

This latest NWD Moleskine Gallery addition comes from my pocket size travel sketchbook.  I brought this sketchbook with me on a cross-country road trip this spring, so it has racked up some mileage.   But that 9000 mile round trip was just the beginning for this little Moleskine, because I then submitted it to the MoleskineArt Project: Exhibition which involved mailing the notebook to project coordinator Patrick Ng in Hong Kong, and from there it traveled to the exhibition at City Super in Taiwan.  It just returned home to me this week and it was fun to see the sketches from my trip again after so many months.

While on that trip I did the drawing above using a Pilot G2 black pen, and just a touch of Prismacolor colored pencils.  The image was created after reading the following written by C. G. Jung:

"I had a dream which both frightened and encouraged me.  It was night in some unknown place, and I was making slow and painful headway against a mighty wind.  Dense fog was flying along everywhere.  I had my hands cupped around a tiny light which threatened to go out at any moment.  Everything depended on my keeping the little light alive.  Suddenly I had the feeling that something was coming up behind me.  I looked back, and saw a gigantic black figure following me.  But at the same moment I was conscious in spite of my terror, that I must keep my little light going through night and wind, regardless of the dangers.  When I awoke I realized at once that the figure was my own shadow on the swirling mists, brought into being by the little light I was carrying.  I knew too that this little light was my consciousness, the only light I have.  Though infinitely small and fragile in comparison with the powers of darkness, it is still a light, my only light."

From: C. G. Jung, Memories, Dreams and Reflections.

Project: Exhibition, Taiwan, is the second showing of artwork created in Moleskine notebooks put together by Patrick Ng.  He has very carefully put together an online catalog of the Hong Kong exhibit on his Moleskine notebook website www.moleskineart.com.  You can access the Hong Kong show catalog HERE, and see artists' profiles and artwork images as well as photographs of the show installation in the City Super location.  It was a great opportunity to be able to participate in the Hong Kong and Taiwan shows, and I look forward to the possibility of other shows in new locations in the future.  My travel sketchbook is ready for another vacation.

You can see this newest addition to the NWD Moleskine Gallery HERE.

Update: Moleskine Large Sketchbook/Storyboard Hack

Dennis Leonardo (aka diong) creator of the blog Objects & Pixels has put the new NWD Large Moleskine Sketchbook/Storyboard Template to work. In his recent blog entry "No More Big Burrito Before Bedtime" he has posted images from his large Moleskine sketchbook where he used the storyboard template to create a sequence of drawings.  You can see the results of his work HERE in his mini-gallery that is part of his blog, or click on the image to the left.

Email me (using the link in the side bar) if you come across other examples of the NWD Storyboard Template hack in action.

Thanks Dennis!

It's Hip To Be Squared: Moleskine + Graph Paper

Graph paper has been a small obsession for me from an early age.  I can still remember a binder my uncle gave me when I was around 6 years old that I filled with quad-ruled paper from the five & dime.  I would cut out the daily Peanut's comic strip from the newspaper and glue them onto the gridded paper to create my own comic book.  I loved the order of it, being able to line up the strips along the grid lines, one week's worth of strips per page.

I have acquired quite a collection of graph paper over the years, in many forms.  I have large rolls of graph paper, blotters of graph paper, mouse pads of graph paper, pads of all sizes and paper types - all with various grids. I once came home with 54 pads of Levenger letter size graph paper from the local discount mart, having purchased them for a measly 50 cents a pad (Levenger sells these at $4.00 a pad).  I was giddy for days!  I probably have enough graph paper to last several life times, but it hasn't stopped me from getting more.  I can't go to Staples without picking up another pack of gridded index cards (you never know when they might stop carrying them!). I can imagine the look on my nephew's face (when it comes time to clean out my house once I am gone) when he opens my supply closet and finds my graph paper stash.  I'm not obsessive-compulsive, honestly I'm not.

It is graph paper that is responsible for starting my Moleskine obsession.  Of course with Moleskine it is no longer graph paper, the pages are squared.   I have been searching for the ultimate graph paper notebook for years, but when I got my first Moleskine pocket notebook with squared pages I knew the search was over.  I have found nerd notebook Nirvana - it is sublime bliss.  Okay, perhaps it isn't that much like ultimate spiritual attainment, but let's just say that the little squared Moleskine makes me very happy.

Here's the thing: graph paper is underappreciated.  I sell Moleskine notebooks in ruled, plain, and squared pages, and guess which page style sell the least often?  Myself, I can't imagine why anyone would want to buy a ruled or plain notebook when squared pages are an option.  Squared pages are just lined pages that go in two directions at the same time.  With a squared notebook you can easily write in it the normal way, or if the mood strikes, give the notebook a quarter turn and write in it in the perpendicular direction.  Now that's flexibility.  I know You-Who-Prefer-Plain-Pages, the "don't fence me in" types, are saying, "You can write in ANY direction on plain pages", and you are right.  But for those of us who like a little structure in our lives, squared pages offer both limitation and choice at the same time.

Part of the lack of appreciation for graph paper likely comes from its nerd reputation.  You would think every pad of graph paper came with a free pocket protector the way people avoid it.  This contributes to my insecurity and subsequent hording behavior when it comes to graph paper.  It seems that just when I find a pad, notebook, or a roll that I love, it is discontinued for lack of adequate sales.  I have learned that if I love it and it is gridded I need to buy as many as I reasonably can because next time it will be gone.  The makers of Moleskine do seem dedicated to offering all their notebook styles with squared pages though, so I don't expect those will disappear anytime soon.

If using graph paper makes me a nerd, then so be it. The truth is, I really am a nerd already, even without the penchant for graph paper.  With Moleskine notebooks the opportunity finally exists for me to be "hip" while being squared.  As notebooks go, nothing could be cooler than a Moleskine, even one with squared pages: think of them as the embodiment of Geek-Chic.  Next time you get a new Moleskine notebook why not try a squared version?  Give your inner nerd a chance to come to the surface and breathe.  You may find you like that part of yourself more than you thought, especially now that you are out of Junior High and don't have to worry about someone giving you a wedgie.

For the likewise graph paper obsessed here are a few helpful links:

Print your own graph paper from PDF files HERE.

Purchase luxury graph paper HERE from author Edward  R. Tufte (Envisioning Information - see side bar).

Thanks to Edward Vielmetti for the graph paper links.  See his great intereactive photo of his  Moleskine squared notebook with polar graph paper on Flickr HERE.

See the full line of Moleskine notebooks with squared pages HERE.

Smooth Meets Silk: Blackwing 602 & Moleskine Van Gogh

I recently acquired some Blackwing 602 pencils to add to my small collection.  Writing with one of these pencils in a Moleskine notebook is a particular pleasure, and I spent some time mooning about it in an earlier post HERE.  I have decided to make a limited offer to readers of my blog to allow them the opportunity to experience this for themselves through a combination set of a Moleskine notebook and an authentic Blackwing 602 pencil.  In my mind only one Moleskine notebook is up to the task for such a special combination, and that is the Moleskine Museum silk covered notebook.  In this combination of items Blackwing provides the smooth, Moleskine provides the silk.

The Moleskine Museum Van Gogh Colours notebooks are a special edition Moleksine that were created in league with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam in the spring of 2002. These pocket size Moleskines have covers made from silk shantung in bright colors inspired by Van Gogh's paintings, instead of the usual  black oilskin cover material.  Silk Shantung has a very tight, fine weave with occasional occurrences of thickening of the strands, called slubs in the world of fabric, as part of the weave.  They have gone to great care to match the color of the elastic closure with the silk fabric on the cover, and even the expanding back pocket features the same silk on the accordion hinge. 

The Blackwing 602 has a growing reputation among writers and artists as the best pencil ever made.  Production ceased on the Blackwing in the 1990's, so these are now collector's items, selling for a premium on eBay.  The Blackwing features a larger than average ferrule with a flat eraser that can be adjusted outward as it is used.  The Blackwing  slogun of "Half the Pressure, Twice the Speed" attests to the smooth writing experience they offer.

A page from my Moleskine Van Gogh notebook written with a Blackwing 602 pencil.

This Smooth and Silk  set comes with one Blackwing 602 pencil, what eBay sellers like to call "new  old stock", produced by FaberCastell.  The pencil is unsharpened and in excellent condition; I have chosen the best pencils from my collection for this offering, free from dents, scratches or splits.  You also will receive one pocket size (3½" x 5½" / 9 x 14 cm) Moleskine Museum Van Gogh Colours notebook with ruled pages in your choice from the following colors: yellow, green, blue, orange, red, or violet.   I am offering these only through the Ninth Wave Designs blog to make them exclusively available to my dedicated blog readers.  I am making only 6 of these sets available for now; if there is further interest I will try to find more Blackwing pencils so I can make this offering again.

Moleskine Museum Van Gogh Notebooks in Six Colors.

You can purchase the Smooth and Silk Moleskine notebook and Blackwing 602 pencil set by clicking on the PayPal button below.  Each set of one notebook and one pencil is $49.95, with $4.95 added for USPS Priority Mail shipping for US destinations.  For destinations outside of the US contact me using the email link in the side bar.  Please include a first and second color choice when making your payment. If the PayPal button is missing below that means I have sold through the 6 sets available.

Moleskine Pens: Pilot G2

I often receive questions about what kind of pens work best with the paper in Moleskine notebooks.  I have several favorite kinds of pens I use for the regular notebook pages and a wider range of pens and markers that I use specifically on the heavier sketchbook pages. I will be posting a series of recommendations and reviews on these types of pens in the upcoming weeks, so check back again soon and select the Pens & Pencils category to see the series of postings as they become available.

The choice of the preferred writing instrument can be an extremely particular thing.  It can be difficult to recommend pens for this reason, as my idea of the pinnacle of writing finesse may just as likely be someone else's pit of venomous ink.  As a sort of disclaimer I will first say that my natural bias is toward writing instruments that make for good drawing instruments as well. I am not someone who writes great amounts quickly, as my writing tends to be more geared toward careful note taking. Additionally I have a personal affection for highly detailed drawing, so very fine points are a passion.  I try to account for these tendencies when making recommendations, keeping in mind a more general approach to pen use, but I do have my own personal preferences that may vary from others.

The first pens covered are the Pilot G2 pens.  These are a popular gel ink pen that works very well with the regular pages of Moleskine notebooks.  The G2 gel ink is archival quality, so it is a natural match for the acid-free paper used in Moleskine notebooks. Once dry the ink is water resistant, so if you spill water on your Moleskine your writing won't melt into oblivion like the Wicked Witch of the West. The G2's come in two point sizes, 05 (Extra Fine) and 07 (Fine), and several color options - black, blue, red, green, purple, silver and gold.  I have yet to find the metallic ones anywhere, so I haven't tried those on the Moleskine paper yet. You can buy the ink cartridges as refills so that you can recycle the pen barrel.  The refills also make it possible to use this great ink in a more stylish pen barrel if you prefer.

The black ink of the G2 pens is rich and dark, and has a nice fluid effect when writing, even with the smaller point size.  Rarely the ink will skip, but this can be remedied by scribbling on a scrap of paper to get it flowing again.  One issue that can arise with using the G2 on Moleskine paper is that the ink takes a little time to dry on the page, so it is possible to smudge the ink with your hand if you are not careful.  This might make the G2 pen a challenge for lefties, but for writing right-handed I have easily adapted to avoiding any smearing.

I also keep a sheet of paper that I use as a blotter between pages when it is time to turn the page.   This is especially useful if you write in a constant stream from page to page, as occasionally the high spots on the ink that haven't had a chance to dry will leave tiny dots on the opposite page when you begin writing on the following page once the page is turned.  Any scrap of paper will work for this, but I like to take one of the removable pages from the back of a Moleskine Reporter notebook or Cahier notebook of the same size, since it stores neatly between the pages when I am not using the notebook.

I really love the black G2 pens for writing and sketching on the regular Moleskine paper.  The richness of the ink is very pleasing to work with.  I use the 05 size for writing and the 07 size for sketching. The image above is a direct scan from my large ruled Moleskine notebook; the letters are all done using Pilot G2 black pens.  This black ink is really BLACK and smooth and is a pleasure to work with. You can click on the image to see a larger version.

In the lower left corner of the image you can see a ghosted image of a circular design that shows through from the previous page.  The ink from the G2 pens does not ever actually bleed through the pages, but heavy use can cause this ghosting effect.  The ghosting effect is less visible with regular writing, but I don't find it noticeable enough to bother me when writing on both sides of the paper.  This may be an area where personal preference is a factor, but the ghosting effect that comes from heavy ink use with drawings or sketching (such as with these letterforms) has never been an issue for me with using these pens.

There are many choices for pens that run a wide range of inks and price.  I find for the price the Pilot G2 is an excellent choice, providing an exceptionally high quality of pen for only a few dollars.  I like the fact that I get to always have a great pen at hand without the worry that I would have with an expensive pen of replacing it if it gets lost or lifted.  You can't say that about a Mont Blanc!

You can purchase Pilot G2 black pens online from Ninth Wave Designs HERE.