Ganesha

Yesterday two friends came into New York City for a visit to The Rubin Museum of Art, which focuses on art of the Himalayas. We were specifically going to see The Red Book of C.G. Jung, but of course went through most of the museum as it is quite small.

The above statue of Ganesha was in a recessed area just off the cafeteria, and you can see n the picture the statue is covered in money--coins and dollar bills (check out the rolled up bills in the God's trunk). The Elephant-Headed God Ganesha is the Lord of Success and destroyer of evils and obstacles, and he is also worshipped as the God of education, knowledge, wisdom, and wealth. A nice way to both end and start the years, with thanks to Ganesha for past success and coming good fortune.

Book Review: A Flaw in the Blood

Stephanie Barron is the author of the popular Jane Austen mysteries; in 2008, she came out with a new whodunit featuring Queen Victoria, A Flaw in the Blood. The mystery to (eventually) be solved is the death of Albert, the Prince Consort and light of Victoria's life.

The story begins on the evening of Albert's death in December 1861, and the death is attributed to typhoid fever. Patrick Fitzgerald, a lawyer, is called to Windsor by the Queen; along with him is his ward, Georgiana Armistead, the first female physician (un-degreed) in the UK. (That is a nice piece of fantasy, done well enough so that it doesn't get on the nerves; the first acknowledged woman with an MD was Elizabeth Blackwell, who received her degree in 1867.) Fitzgerald refuses an order from Victoria to disown evidence he discovered in a case 20 years before on a man who tried to kill Victoria, and soon he and Georgie are fleeing to the Continent for their lives.

If this hadn't come out in 2008 I would have thought it Barron's first effort rather than her sixth or seventh book. The beginning is a very slow start, scenes change with lightning speed with little in the way of explanation or sense. The main characters are slightly more than one-dimensional and predictable, while the supporting cast is more interesting and you want to learn more about them (such as Princess Alice). And Victoria's narratives are the epitome of whining, spoiled brat, so much so that you begin to appreciate Albert's fortitude and canniness at making himself her Angelic Being.

But there are clues that begin to wind around your mind until you can't stop reading, and a question behind it all that starts you wondering. There were moments when I found myself wondering if that actually happened, and marking down a few histories on Amazon to follow up. The book ends on one major surprise so low-key that if it weren't practically the last lines of the book you would miss it. Despite the problems with the work, all the dangling ends are tied up quite satisfyingly if a touch too neatly.

Finally, in several key scenes the main characters take dip pen to paper to write quick notes to friends and fellows that, naturally, are discovered by their enemies. Once or twice I found myself thinking "don't write anything!" But alas, they couldn't hear me. If you've a lover of historical mysteries, A Flaw in the Blood will be a satisfying snack rather than a four-course meal.

Not As Easy As It Looks: Spencerian Update 1

Theory of the Spencerian System of Penmanship In Nine Easy Lessons uses 237 questions and answers on Signals, Positions, Movements, and Form to teach the 9 Principles of writing. Along with the Theory are 5 workbooks to practice forming letters and numbers. After reading through the Q & A, I went to the workbooks and started copying using my trusty Lamy Al-Star fountain pen with a fine nib, and loaded with one of the De Atramentis red wine inks. That's when the fun began.


Lesson 1 (at the top) was on the straight line, which is designated simply as "1" and is simple enough. Lesson 2 (directly above) was on the curved line, with the right curve designated as 3 and the left curve as 3. I found myself making these curves and thinking "2, 2, 2, wait no that's a 3, 3, 3." Uhmm, okay not great curves but not too bad.

Then we get into more interesting shapes, such as the letter "i" which is 2 (right curve), 1 (straight line), 2 (right curve), dot. I was able to do the 2-1-1-dot in my head for a few seconds, then began intoning "eye-dot, eye-dot, eye-dot." Both cats, napping on the bed, raised their heads thinking I was offering some prayer to Lady Bast, the cat goddess and their patron. Or maybe I was about to get up and feed them crunchies? No? Heads slowly lowerer back down, and then I noticed the admonition on the worksheet: please do not shade. Well, I wasn't shading, at least not in public...? Oh, wait--shading can be done on the strokes of the lines with a flexible nib, but in this case is not allowed for beginners learning to write. That problem would be more likely with my Namiki Falcon II with its soft fine nib rather than my hard-as-a-nail Lamy fine point, so I'm still in good standing on the "no shading" issue.


On to the next sheet and "ui" (above), which is 2-1-2-1-2-dot, and the warning to avoid unequal spacing and keep the lines parallel. In my mind I'm thinking "2, 1, 1, equal spacing, careful of that curve, what number am I on, dot now? wait, stop, stop, STOP!" Easier to just think "you then eye then dot," "you then eye then dot." After that came "iw," which is actually much easier to write and has a nice little loop on the end of the lower case "w." But per the worksheet, please avoid unlike turns!

Next comes "ni," which is interesting as it starts with a 3: 3(left curve)-1 (straight line)-3(left curve)-1(straight line)-2(right curve)-dot. I'm thinking, I like this one, just "enn-eye, enn-eye, enn-eye" and so on to the end of the worksheet. Wow, nothing to it!

Hey, this is getting easier. My spacing is more even, my curves and straight lines are looking good, and the characters are reaching the same height. Go Me! Until I read the top of this worksheet more carefully: "The accuracy of this copy may be tested by inverting it." Huh? Okay, let's see it inverted. Oh. Ahh. Hmmmm. Even the most generous of viewers would say this is not a winner. Back to practice.

Finally, although I have some 15 or so more pages of letters to practice in the first workbook I decide to end with something easy, the letter "x"--which is 3-2-3-2. But it's tricky, because the first 2, a right curve, is somewhat reversed, as is the second 3. No doubt the author also realized this, as he included a note for those in need of help with the "x," albeit a tad snarky in its singling out of those people:

Another method of making the x, preferred by some, is to lift the pen after forming the first half, then put it down even with the top turn, and one-third space to its right, and complete the letter....

I've never really given much thought to the teaching of writing, how one actually learns cursive, or Spencerian as it is known here. I do have memories of learning cursive, but that was repetition rather than reasoning. I don't think I could actually lay out the steps to explain how--and why--letters are formed. So if nothing else, this first Spencerian lesson has taught me a lot about the thought behind the method. I appreciate my pens much more now, and am looking for some pencils and beginners writing worksheets to play with.

Muji Hexagonal Gel Ink Pen

Stopped by Muji on W. 19th Street to pick up some pens and saw this Hexagonal gel ink pen in the usual wide range of colors for $3.75, somewhat more than the Classic Muji gel ink pen reviewed by the Pen Addict. The Hex has only a few differences from the Classic that might account for the price increase, but it was an interesting looking pen and as I don't have a hexagonal gel ink in my collection I thought I'd give it a try.

The differences between the Muji Hex and the Classic Muji are mostly cosmetic. The Hex has a hexagonal, solid-colored, matte rubber barrel in the same shade as the ink (black, dark blue, light blue, red, pink, green, orange) rather than a frosted plastic round barrel. The Hex's cap is clear plastic with a colored cap while the pen itself is more of a needle-point than a ballpoint like the Classic Muji. Finally, the Muji Hex comes in two point sizes: 0.3m and 0.4m. The Classic Muji also has two point sizes, but they are slightly bigger: 0.38m and 0.5m. If you like a finer point, the Muji Hex is for you.

Like the Classic, the Hex is a smooth writer and the 0.4m has a nice fine point that doesn't disappear into the paper. The only negative to the Hex is that the cap does not snap into place when posted as it does with the Classic. The only thing keeping the cap on the end of the pen is your good wishes, which may not be enough if you have to move suddenly. While I prefer frosted to matte, the Hex is quite a bit edgier than the Classic in every sense of the word and will be a great addition to my pen rotataion. Another color, like pink or orange, would also add some fun to using the Hex rather than staid, mourning black.

Iroshizuku Tsutsuji

In April in Japan is the Bunkyo Tsutsuji Matsuri, the famous Tokyo azalea festival at Nezu Shrine in Bunkyo-ku where visitors can admire more than 3,000 azalea bushes (tsutsuji) in bloom on the grounds of the shrine. The azalea most of us are familiar with is a deep, hot pink flower with lots of shading and variation in its color, a perfect description of Iroshizuku's Tsutsuji fountain pen ink. Bleets recommended this particular color when I was contemplating a JetPens ink order recently, and though I'm not a fan of either the azalea flower or pink fountain pen ink I decided to give it a try.

I love this color! Although it doesn't show in this photo, this ink shades quite a lot from light hot pink to dark hot and that gives the sentences an interesting look--not just a sea of "same old pink" color but lots of depth to the written words. Like most of the Iroshizuku inks, this isn't quick drying although Tsutsuji dried faster than I expected. I've inked up my Namiki black celluloid with a 14K fine nib, and am on my second fill of pink ink. I'm looking forward to using this at department meetings; I might take along my Namiki 823 filled with Kon-Peki to take pink-and-blue-notes.

Spencerian, Anyone?

The forthcoming experiment in handwriting rehab began after reading a review of Kitty Burns Florey's book Script & Scribble over at at Notebook Stories. My scribble isn't something I like to show in public, but have had to when reviewing inks and pens. Alas!

So I clicked on the link to Amazon.com and was very taken with one of the recommendations Spencerian Penmanship (Theory Book plus five copybooks). I'd heard of Spencerian, never realizing it was what we used to call "cursive" back in the day. So I was thinking "exotic" and "over-the-top" and Palmer-esque when I went a-looking at Amazon.com. I added the course to my checkout, and was pleased to open the brown box with the black arrow last week and take out my Spencerian Penmanship lesson book and five semi-blank workbooks--all looking as if they'd come straight from the 1880s with brownish covers and illustrations to match.

The first important point the book makes it how to sit at a desk properly; the second is how to hold the fountain pen (an ink dipper, btw). I spend close to 10 minutes trying to copy that illustration with my own fountain pen, only to realize that the swaying curve in the drawing was in real like my knuckle and not some imaginary flowing line.

I'm going to spend the week between Christmas and New Year's Day reading through the lessons and practicing the figures. I'll publish the results, hopefully attracting rather than driving away the carriage trade. :)

Merry Christmas

Really the ultimate Christmas video for me. In the pic, that's Ozzy Osbourne center right in the white shirt with the glasses hooked to it. Sting is on the center left.