notebookism: Blank Page # 120

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November 26, 2008

Blank Page # 120

Bbk

Every Wednesday at Notebookism we open a "Blank Page" - your chance to ask, answer and discuss anything notebook-related. Keep it nice, keep it relevant.

Blank Page, an Open Thread.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Posted at 01:00 AM in Blank Page Open Threads | Permalink

Comments

I am about to finish up a notebook - as in about to use the last page. This is a notebook I assigned to my Anatomy & Physiology class, and I used a back/front combo (front pages to middle are lab, back pages to middle are lecture).

Anyone else finishing up a notebook?

Posted by: Kim | November 26, 2008 at 10:51 AM

I have two pages left in my first moleskine. Iv already bought my next one and am pretty excited to get it filled.

Posted by: ryan | November 26, 2008 at 01:35 PM

I'm trying to figure what to use for next years diary. I'm leaning towards the daily planner, but I don't know if my life really conforms to one page a day like that. I'm maybe just going to stick with the large notebooks and fill them when the spirit moves me. Or set aside time every day, but that would mean I might want to write much MORE than one page. I use the plain ruled notebooks but have started using typed sheets as well, carefully labeled and in in manilla envelopes. People forget that a major delight in Moleskine is a uniformity. Like a blank slate. No covers with kittens, it looks professional, it can be masculine, it's just standard and elegant.

Posted by: Sophie Brown | November 26, 2008 at 03:40 PM

Doesn't anyone else think--burning the edges of the pages in your journal looks cool kind of but I would think the paper would become brittle and I'm just pretty sure I wouldn't try it.

Posted by: Sophie Brown | November 26, 2008 at 06:38 PM

I am thankful that I am in a country that cherishes free thought and freedom of expression. I am thankful for all the things that happened to me, good and bad this year, sometimes the blessings are in events that stink, and make your heart break.

Posted by: maggie kimura | November 27, 2008 at 12:14 PM

Maggie, that's the truth.

Posted by: Sophie Brown | November 29, 2008 at 01:02 PM

Does anyone know (I'm sure someone does)--if you want to post pictures on a blog of your work, do you need a scanner or a digital camera?

Posted by: Sophie Brown | November 29, 2008 at 01:04 PM

@ Sophie Brown

Well, it really depends on the format of the picture/work and what you are trying to do with it in the blog. Do you have pictures in a camera (digital I presume) that you are trying to get online to your blog? Or do you have pictures already printed out that you want to scan into a digital format?

Posted by: Ali S. | November 29, 2008 at 10:45 PM

Neither--I need to purchase one or the other. Mostly drawings and watercolors on moleskine art blogs or my own blog.

Posted by: Sophie Brown | December 01, 2008 at 06:14 AM

I keep getting a bad taste in my mouth about this. I seem like the lone complaint. I was working for a Moleskine distributor briefly going back--10 years at least. Briefly because God didn't make me a salesman. We couldn't give the stuff away. And then there was a cult following. I've never stopped raving about Moleskine since, I've always given them as gifts. I complain because I think the company is opportunistic about the promotions and events and so on. I seem to have irritated at least one person. Don't I realize they inspire? Etc.

I wonder if everyone even knows. For one thing Moleskine isn't the same cute little Italian company but mass-produced in China. I don't know if the quality is going to slip but it seems inevitable.

That moleskine notebooks are the number 1 selling book in America?

The first time I walked into the Barnes and Noble Superstore and saw the display I really couldn't believe it. You would think that 10 years is a long time but for the explosion of a corporation and an industry, it's not long at all. This was a BOOM.

Is a Big Mac still a Big Mac? You Bet! And whatever you think of this--it boggles my mind. Maybe I should have kept that job, but it was horrible! I have to wonder if I listened to myself talk about how wonderful they were to the point that I have no logical reasoning ability on the subject.

But the promotions and the mythology and the teaming with Barnes and Noble (and we're number one? How is that possible?)

It's just so STRANGE. And of course we're so dedicated and loyal and it just gets more and more STRANGE. I mean strange like Manga porn or people getting scary religious.

And people are probably like, "What's her problem?" And there's not one really. I think it seems different with a very select customer base. Then you realize everyone in America wants to be like Hemingway and Van Gogh. They have the right to that illusion--because it was fun while it lasted. The more the merrier. I go back and forth between wanting to debunk things and to keep the magic alive. And it's schizophrenic.

Posted by: Sophie Brown | December 01, 2008 at 06:42 AM

Wow, Sophie. Well, as one Moleskine user I can say that, yes, the Van Gogh/ Hemmingway aspect did hold some appeal for me initially. Now that I've been using Moleskines regularly I can honestly say I like the quality of the product and if they are made in China and the product quality is doomed to slip I figure it is inevitable. Product quality in most things is doomed to slip eventually. Until then I shall enjoy my Moles.

Posted by: Laura | December 02, 2008 at 07:35 PM

You know when you think about it, before the Moleskine phase there weren't nearly the choices in notebooks and journals. I love them too. Remember when--if you weren't wierd or wealthy you had to get crappy notebooks at the drugstore? "Neatbooks". Only adults could get a leather journal. It really is a quality product which is now available for anyone. And I rant and rant about the inserts. Big secret: I was the worst of all. Initially it did seem absolutely true that I was in with the American expatriots in France. It seemed more so because it was such a small clique. People didn't know what they were. We were the elite. And believed that.

I ask you this. Don't you think that advertising circular is the most effective bit of expository writing in the last 30 years? The "trusty pocket companion" keeping your writing safe until it's in a beloved book.

What's really creepy to me about it isn't really the references to Van Gogh. It's when they convince you that like Bruce Chatwin, you might RUN OUT. This small company might close. Even if you buy a hundred, it will not be enough.

That it makes people take their own thoughts and writing seriously, God Bless Moleskine forever. Because most of us--there's this daily grind. And we don't have enough for ourselves. And your average guy starts thinking he's not very smart or very important. He thinks he really doesn't need to write or sketch and take time for himself. And that's important. I'm not even middle class, but this is the one thing I can actually afford. It's luxurious to ME. Obviously other people feel this too. I don't want inexpensive knockoffs from Borders. I want MY NOTEBOOKS.

I don't think we have to don black clothing just yet. And there will always be quality notebooks as a result of all this. Like the one thing Charles Schultz left: You can always get fun and wholesome greeting cards for any occasion. I still have my Rubik's cubes, I love Big Macs, and I wear blue jeans in spite the other choices available. I think Moleskine is going to be the equivalent of Levi buttonfly 501s. You know what I mean? I'm sorry this is so long winded but I've been thinking about this off and on all day.

Posted by: Sophie Brown | December 03, 2008 at 02:38 AM

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