Tis the Season for Pilot's Yama-guri

I am a big fan of the Pilot Iroshizuku series of inks, and often find I can’t settle on a favorite among the seventeen different colors available now. But then, why should one have to choose a favorite when such an abundance of colors allows room to fit or satisfy the mood you’re in, or the mood you want in a letter or card. Today I bought the second shade of brown in the series, the Yama-guri (Mountain Chestnut), which is darker and richer than the companion shade of Iroshizuku brown, called Tsukushi (Horsetail). I’ve scribbled some lines, made some comparisons and sort of arrived at an opinion of this Yama-guri. In the end, I could summarize this ink in only two words: “Bravo, Pilot!”

Clicking on the photo below might bring up a larger and easier to see picture of the comments about the Iroshizuku Mountain Chestnut.

Starting Gate

First time post in this blog and I’m a little unsure of the best way to get the ball rolling. Huge number of terrific blogs just a mouse click away, and that thought is a little intimidating for greenhorn me. Jumping around different Internet sites is nothing new, but it’s only in the last two weeks that I’ve discovered the beauty of personal blogs, and realized there are people out there I can share thoughts and ideas with, and at the same time create a cozy little personal meeting place for like minds. Can't promise my thoughts and scribbles will always be on the same target, but there’s a good chance that either fountain pens, ink, journals, books, movies, or the occasional newly discovered shop or restaurant will find a place in these pages.

I’ll stick a picture here that could be titled “Three of my Favorite Things.” Most people might say they rarely see me without this brown, unlined Noble Note journal, and the Sailor Naginata fountain pen filled with Pilot ‘Ajisai’ blue ink from the Iroshizuku series. The pen has a 21k medium nib adjusted to my preferences by Nobuyoshi Nagahara, who many in Japan call “the god of fountain pens.” Sorry for the poor quality of the photo, but this one was taken with my iPhone, and hardly comes up to most of the photos I see in other blogs. I’m looking to get some advice on how to prepare better photos for posting. Bear with me until I work it out.

Reading a 1985 Don DeLillo book now, White Noise. Once more I find myself thinking, “How did I miss this book when it first came out?”