A family tries to cope after their son is killed for being gay Remarkable family. Interesting, layered documentary but bad translation.
posted by hooptycritter on Jul 4, 2009 - 53 comments

Biffy Beans is kind of a hippy dippy chick. But she makes the stationary nerds drool. Oh sure, there's reviews of Journals, Fountain Pens, Inks. But she also draws the occasional Mandala.
posted by tylerfulltilt on Apr 17, 2009 - 34 comments

penaddiction.blogspot.com - a blog about pens, with links to lots of other pens and stationery blogs.
posted by nthdegx on Sep 4, 2008 - 66 comments

The current edition of Words Without Borders features a striking array of current and historical writing by prisoners held in such countries as Albania, Syria, Finland, Spain, and Argentina. previously on mefi
posted by Rumple on May 21, 2007 - 5 comments

Biro-art - fantastic ballpoint drawings.
posted by Wolfdog on Jul 15, 2006 - 19 comments

Stipple Portrait Drawings and Pen and Ink Illustration by Wall Street Journal portrait artist Noli Novak.
posted by ColdChef on Aug 22, 2005 - 29 comments

Pen spinning is very cool. Have a look at Pentrix, with guides to help you learn, videos of some very nice looking variations, basic tricks and combinations. A word of warning though, trying these things in an open environment may well annoy your fellow humans; but this may be the only distraction for the bored and restricted office worker.
posted by ed\26h on Jul 2, 2004 - 16 comments

ESA astronaut, Pedro Duque writes "I am writing these notes in the Soyuz with a cheap ballpoint pen. Why is that important? As it happens, I've been working in space programmes for seventeen years, eleven of these as an astronaut, and I've always believed, because that is what I've always been told, that normal ballpoint pens don't work in space... and here I am, it doesn't stop working and it doesn't 'spit' or anything. Sometimes being too cautious keeps you from trying, and therefore things are built more complex than necessary." From Snopes: Fisher spent over one million dollars in trying to perfect the ball point pen before he made his first successful pressurized pens in 1965, which NASA uses. [via GearBits]
posted by riffola on Nov 4, 2003 - 23 comments

Keyboards Are Not Like Nibs: Fountain pens - or writing instruments in general - rule. Lately though, the main manufacturers have stooped to ballpoints, gels and other madnesses. Just as the stupid calligraphy fad killed proper handwriting, the main fountain pen manufacturers have been their own hangmen. I love Pelikan but my main hearbreak is Rotring, whose rapidograph 0.10 and 0.18 and isograph 0.20 (this latter line now sadly reduced to college sets) are my favourite scratching sticks. Are you holding a torch for any of those legendary manufacturers (Parker, Waterman, Cross, Schaeffer, Aurora, Lamy et caetera) who have gone down the drain? What glides your writing hand? Is the pseudish, unpardonably expensive and increasingly naff Montblanc the last pen manufacturer to uphold its own standards? When you do put pen to paper - if you still do at all - what's your stubborn choice? Damn it, you must use something to log into your Moleskine!
posted by MiguelCardoso on May 1, 2003 - 96 comments

Anoto - wireless handwriting. it might turn out to be not that popular this christmas, but the anonto pen has the potential to become a big hit in 2002. just imagine you would never have to use your palm again. or imagine you lose your palm... and you really don't take. because the magic is in the pen!
posted by HeikoH on Dec 17, 2001 - 23 comments