this blog is a visual notebook of inspirations for a group of bandit bloggers. we post things we see and like. our lives don’t revolve around singular topics and neither does our blog. sorry! nothing is in-or-out of context here. enjoy xx
“i am in no way even attempting to assume that i know anything about the political/social realities at play in the world at the moment, but at quick glance it seems as though violence breeds more violence. the people who changed the world, were the ones who laid down their arms – chose to forgive – to restore – to love – people like jesus, mandela, gandhi, martin luther king.
just before he was assassinated on april 3rd, 1968, martin luther king preached the sermon ‘i’ve been to the mountaintop’. it’s a profound account of hope, amidst despair – where he considers the significance of being born into the turmoil and unrest of the twentieth century. his outlook provides unique context for pain and suffering as he says ‘only when it is dark enough can you see the stars’.
he goes on to say; ‘men for years now have been talking about war and peace. but now no longer can they just talk about it. it is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it’s nonviolence or nonexistence. that is where we are today.’
he modeled a way of non-violence – and it cost him his life.
inspired by his words one night i cut together this clip using old archive footage from the prelinger archives – those words are as poignant today as they were back when he first spoke them – if not more (for me personally at least).”- Salomon Ligthelm
how to sharpen pencils: the el casco pencil sharpener approximate price $400-$600 pending finish
x-acto 1700 series pencil sharpener $30-$50
blackwing dual blade pencil sharpener: this one requires you to 1- sharpen the wood, 2-switch blades to sharpen the lead tip… and now how cool is that? approx $10
the results of the 3 sharpeners on the worlds finest pencil, the blackwing 602 cedar wood pencils, are displayed below
from left to right:
1- using blackwing dual blade pencil sharpener
2- using el casco pencil sharpener
3- using x-acto 1700 series pencil sharpener
there is no question that the middle pencil using the el casco pencil sharpener wins
above the legendary blackwing 602 pencils about $2 a pencil sold in cases of 12
first a little about the pencil: the palomino blackwing 602 are considered the best pencils in the world and have developed a following amongst pencil geeks like us. they are made of cedar wood (easy to sharpen with out causing “chips”) and feature a firm and smooth graphite core that combines lead with wax that helps it deliver on its promise of “half the pressure, twice the speed”. its unique and iconic ferrule allows you to extend and replace its eraser after extensive use or for super nerds to even “hack” their pencil to give it a custom look. erasers come in black, white, red. the pencil was used mainly by artists, writers and musicians and when the pencil was discontinued years ago, known writers such as joseph finder and stephen sondheim tried to convince eberhard faber to continue production or at least said some warm words about the tool they were so used to. while the company says that other pencils with similar leads are available, the devotees are convinced that there is no adequate substitution for the 602s, and we must agree with those devotees.
now a little about the sharpeners used: while the el casco pencil sharpener does an amazing job it takes some getting used to and in my opinion its not worth the cost of $400-600. that said once you get the hang of it it does do an amazing job sharpening the lead to a steady point that makes the nib stronger than any sharpener you’ve seen…. not to mention that it also looks wicked on any desk. but for nearly $600 its disappointing that when you sharpen a pencil some of the dust falls out of the casing in the front area and that the pencil grip in the sharpener damages and marks your pencils stem. it is the best sharpener resulting in the best nib but not $600 better…
the xacto sharpener is in word a piece of “garbage”. very disappointing for a company that is known for making blades. the motor is a DC motor using AC current (meaning its equivelant to a battery powered one) and can barely shave a rod of butter. the weak motor combined with, let’s assume a layman’s pencil, using inferior wood, results in a saw dust hell of a point with chips and dust all around it. not worth the postage we paid.
this brings us to the $10 blackwing sharpener which has 2 blades and openings. one is used to sharpen the wood alone and does not touch the lead point. you then insert it into the 2nd opening and sharpen the lead. i love this sharpener for its detailed attention and simple production cost that makes it cheaper than any other sharpener on the market and resulting in a very acceptable nib. while we purchased all three because we hate pens here we recommend the $10 socialist version over any other. ok so now you know… you can go around and say what complete geeks we are… by uh+kt
attention all 5 of you slotcar geeks. MSC competition just sent through photos of their all-new africa legends’ range rover that won the 1981 paris to dakar race. the original range rover that became the legend – JE motors
the MSC competition range rover slotcar features a new 4-wheel-drive mechanism and can be raced on any analog 1:32 track
digital chips can potentially be embedded with some scalpels
the drivers hard at work. built based on the first edition range rover with the iconic headlamps
easy does it… here it is before diddy rode one, and before the unfortunate xenon tail and headlights came into vogue
and the beautiful easy back. they just ruined it from there on…
not sure who is still interested in slotcars but we are… and theres good news… MSC competition has just released their all-new africa legends’ range rover that raced in the 1981 paris to dakar. this makes it the only original series range rover produced for slotscar tracks. until now your only option was the later model (series 2 range rover) featured in that lame james bond movie. lets go back to 1981 for a second. 1981 was only the 3rd time in history of the dakar race, and this range rover was driven by bernard giroux and rené metge (see them inside with the map?). what’s special about this historic car release is that it features the all new MSC dakar chassis which looks awesome on any tracks.
huge drop arm, full suspension and 4WD – detail levels on the resin cast body looks quite acceptable and accurately reflect the tough look and shape of the original range rover series 1. however the green gear wheel sticking out from the original renault chasis is bit of a disappointment and we think this could have been treated in a more elgant manner. but that aside, if you are also a geek… like us… or simply a fan of the original range rover, you’ll enjoy reading this and if you want to put this little one to test you can advance order yours here for 149£. we’d love to get one and test it out next to our citroen 2CV. by uh
i wonder if nk will agree with me on this choice after he already declared the greatest woman earlier this week. a vintage poster that has served as inspiration for pop videos (oops, they did it again, and again…) and funhouse vaudevillian debauchery for years to come, thank you linda lovelace. by sv
a handwritten note to self with a clusterfuck of inspirations, from saint theresa, to the marx brothers and buster keaton and whipped back around to the nun of amherst herself, ms. emily dickinson. send more tomorrow? if only we had page two! by sv
the nudist camp idea worked in principle, but never in practice. we wonder how that will net-out with the nude yoga craze that’s sweeping new york? if you ask us we could think of a few little glitches that may come at the seams.
there is bold & naked, and then there’s nude york yoga amongst many others. there are also one on one classes that may seem less problematic. in a q&a session, the issue of erections was passed around… “it rarely happens, but when it does it’s okay and nothing to be embarrassed about. it will pass quickly. erections happen for a lot of reasons and are not limited to sexual attraction. yoga moves a lot of energy throughout the body and sometimes erections happen. but once we start moving, there is no way an erection could be sustained, because of the physical nature of vinyasa yoga.” be sure to take that specific class. by nk
a visual collective outlet of inspiration
x-acto 1700 series pencil sharpener $30-$50
