Fountain Pen Day

As I learned only last night, today is Fountain Pen Day, “a time to embrace, promote, and share the use of fountain pens.” They forgot sell. Oh well.

My regular writer, since l998, is a green-striped Pelikan, the best pen I’ve ever used. My recommendation for anyone who’d like to try a fountain pen: the Kaweco Classic Sport. It’s inexpensive enough to count as an experiment, reliable enough to use as a daily pen. Add a clip and converter and you’re set.

A related post
Five pens

Ben Leddy hosts The Rewind

Here’s the latest installment of WGBH’s The Rewind, “Edward Gorey’s Mysterious Animations,” hosted by our son Ben. You can find all episodes of The Rewind at YouTube.

Boo!

Happy Halloween to all who celebrate it.

Impeachment: A Daily Podcast

From WNYC: Impeachment: A Daily Podcast, with Brian Lehrer. I started listening yesterday. It’s excellent.

Orange train cart

“Pencils these days”

“Pencils these days, not worth the paper they write on”: Dr. John H. Watson (Nigel Bruce) in The Spider Woman (dir. Roy William Neill). His point broke.

Related reading
All OCA pencil posts (Pinboard)

Mystery actor

Know him? Think you do? Leave your best guess in the comments. I’ll drop a hint if one’s needed, though I doubt one will. Be needed, that is.

*

9:03 a.m.: No clue needed. The answer is now in the comments.

More mystery actors (Collect them all!)
? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ? : ?

Misheard

On NPR:

“... can impale a grand jury ...”

I’m sure there are any number of people in this administration who’d like to impale grand juries.

Related reading
All OCA misheard posts (Pinboard)

Pocket notebook sighting

Willie Stark’s notebook, a catalogue of grievances, punishments, and opposition research:




[From All the King’s Men (dir. Robert Rossen, 1949. Click for a larger view.]

My transcription:

Morris — Would
not contribute Party
Fund —
Walton — Road
Contracts denied —
Cancel any Bids

Bill W — Licen[se]
to operate denied —
check gambling
debts —

Bank loan
overdue —

More notebook sightings
Angels with Dirty Faces : Ball of Fire : The Big Clock : The Brasher Doubloon : Cat People : City Girl : Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne : Dead End : Dragnet : Extras : Eyes in the Night : The Face Behind the Mask : Foreign Correspondent : Fury : Homicide : The Honeymooners : The House on 92nd Street : Journal d’un curé de campagne : Kid Glove Killer : The Last Laugh : Le Million : The Lodger : Ministry of Fear : Mr. Holmes : Murder at the Vanities : Murder by Contract : Murder, Inc. : The Mystery of the Wax Museum : Naked City : The Naked Edge : The Palm Beach Story : Perry Mason : Pickpocket : Pickup on South Street : Pushover : Quai des Orfèvres : The Racket : Railroaded! : Red-Headed Woman : Rififi : La roue : Route 66 : The Scarlet Claw : The Small Back Room : The Sopranos : Spellbound : Stage Fright : State Fair : A Stranger in Town : Stranger Things : Time Table : T-Men : 20th Century Women : Union Station : Walk East on Beacon! : Where the Sidewalk Ends : The Woman in the Window : You Only Live Once

All the King’s Whom

From All the King’s Men (dir. Robert Rossen, 1949). Jack Burden (John Ireland) and Sadie Burke (Mercedes McCambridge) are getting acquainted. Jack wonders what Sadie is doing on Willie Stark’s (Broderick Crawford) political campaign:

“Hey, tell me, what are you on this merry-go-round for?”

“I take notes.”

“For whom?”

“For those whom pay me.”

Yes, she’s being sarcastic.

Whom was and is fading, but it’s taking an awfully long time on its way out the door.

Related posts
“I don’t know whom to believe” (Perry Mason) : “Just whom are you talking to?” (Nancy) : “Shouldn’t that be ‘whom’?” (Mutts) : “Whom are we kidding?” (Peanuts)