There is, still, something I like about writing by hand that I miss when I'm typing on a keyboard. There is a smoothness to the pen and paper and I like having good penmanship. There is no penmanship at all with a keyboard.

Today I found a note from Perfect Pen, a site selling pens and etc. They say 95% of people write their name first, when they get a new pen. I don't know if its true. How would you find out about that. Chances are someone selling pens and seeing people test them before buying, would know. So it could be true. What did you last write, by hand? I wrote a grocery list. But I also sent out handwritten Christmas cards this year.

I write down ideas for stories or non-fiction ideas for posts to my sites. Sometimes they never become posts. Lots of ideas are written and just don't develop further, or get mislaid somewhere, one way or another. But, I still like writing ideas more than typing them. My brain works differently while writing.  A bit slower and not as directly focused on the idea while I have the distraction of the pen, paper and penmanship. More than likely that changes how the ideas develop. Typing is so instant.

National Ballpoint Pen Day is June 10th. It's the day the patent for the ballpoint pen was filed.

Have you ever gotten into calligraphy, with fountain pens? I did a little of that. In high school I had a fountain pen. It was fun to write with but not as clean as a ballpoint pen. Of course, there have been pencils since the age of the dinosaurs (not literally). Pencils are just not the same, though artists still draw with an assortment of them.

Today, even though it isn't Ballpoint Pen Day, take a look at all the pens you have collected, scattered, around your home. Get some scrap paper out of the recycling and test all your pens. Not many have the option to be refillable and reused now. Or, people almost never seem to do that. Too many freebie pens given away to take the time to recycle them. Unless you have a favourite pen. I did have a favourite ballpoint pen but it was kind of exotic and I couldn't find ink to refill it. If you can find a use for the pens that no longer work, got dried out, or broken, that's great. Most likely the best you can do is get rid of them and have that much less clutter around.

Happy pen testing. Will you scribble something or ring true to the theory that the first thing you write with a new (sort of new) pen is your name?

Can you see yourself living your own science fiction adventure, road tripping all over the universe?

I love the idea of being far into the future, a space chick, running around the galaxies on a universe-wide backpacking trip. Best road trip ever!

I read The Hitchhiker's Guide when we had to, in school. I barely remember it from then. But, when the movie came out I was eager to see it. How can a series of books reach such popularity and not be great? Of course, popular is in the eye of the masses of beholders.

The movie based on the books was good, only good, not great. Too much was packed into one movie. As if they had to get the entire series of books in just one movie. Maybe someone knew the author, Douglas Adams, was not going to live to become a very old man. Maybe someone just felt the movies would be tough to sell or keep in budget or... who knows? I don't.

Welcome to the Restaurant at the End of the Universe

I found the movie good, but I thought it came from such great, original stories - it could have been better. The Hitcher's Guide to the Galaxy movie gives you a sense of the books, the type of humour and a snapshot of the story. It is not enough.

If the movie draws you in, pick up the series of books. Find a comfortable reading space and make your popcorn at home. The movie was like a spin cycle version of the books, your clothes get dry but you missed all the adventures of getting dirty clothes in the first place.

Don't Panic... Did you Bring your Towel?

Towel Day is May 25th!