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Tomorrow, a 100 year old mysterious package will be opened in a museum in Norway

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Re: Tomorrow, a 100 year old mysterious package will be opened in a museum in Norway

#81

Post by ginko »

epo wrote: post #36
jaysonelliot wrote: post #3

Apropos of nothing, looking at the inscription on the outside of the package, I'm struck by how beautiful handwriting was in 1912. I'd like to get that back somehow.

Buy a good fountain pen, write slowly. Start by getting cheap pens, preferably those with interchangeable nibs to see which nib size you prefer using. When you know which size you like (for most people it will be medium) get a decent pen and nib and carry it with you. I have a vintage Parker 51 and some oldish German pens. Modern Japanese pens are quite good though nibs can be narrow for Western taste.

I hate fountain pens.

You get splotches everywhere and they often dry up for no apparent reason.

Re: Tomorrow, a 100 year old mysterious package will be opened in a museum in Norway

#82

Post by slurgfest »

sdoering wrote: post #34
troels wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least you weren't forced to write with your right hand. I have been told that was fairly common a generation further back (At least, my dad claims so).

I have been lucky, not being punished for writing with my left hand. My mother was forced to write with her right hand. But even in the 1980s pupils in Germany were forced to write with the right (in both meanings) hand. We now know a lot more, about what this does to a child's brain, but then, teachers just believed to be right.

It doesn't do anything to a child's brain, it's just gratuitously cruel. That is reason enough. But many people the world over learn to eat or whatever with a certain hand and it does not hurt their brain.

Re: Tomorrow, a 100 year old mysterious package will be opened in a museum in Norway

#83

Post by tjr »

ginko wrote: post #81
epo wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Buy a good fountain pen, write slowly. Start by getting cheap pens, preferably those with interchangeable nibs to see which nib size you prefer using. When you know which size you like (for most people it will be medium) get a decent pen and nib and carry it with you. I have a vintage Parker 51 and some oldish German pens. Modern Japanese pens are quite good though nibs can be narrow for Western taste.

I hate fountain pens. You get splotches everywhere and they often dry up for no apparent reason.

After trying several fountain pens and having less than pleasant experiences, I have for years now used felt-tip pens almost exclusively. It approximates the look and feel of a fountain pen close enough for my tastes, and requires much less wrist pressure than ballpoint pens.

Re: Tomorrow, a 100 year old mysterious package will be opened in a museum in Norway

#86

Post by ryanmolden »

tudorw wrote: post #57
Swizec wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to sound rude ... but your typing isn't that great either. theres instead of theirs, secretarys instead of secretaries and none of your I's are uppercase as they're supposed to be.

More incorrect than rude, typing is about hitting the letters you wanted to hit accurately, quickly, consistently and without strain or injury, spelling and grammar are something entirely different!

And both are about communicating with other human beings effectively. I could spell out everything phonetically or use text shorthand as well, but that makes it generally harder for a wide audience to enjoyably consume my writing. Humans do a large part of reading via gestalt comprehension, changing the "shape" of words stymies this process.

Re: Tomorrow, a 100 year old mysterious package will be opened in a museum in Norway

#88

Post by gliese1337 »

S_A_P wrote: post #71
krautsourced wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's because as a programmer you barely do write anything by hand any more these days. I notice it myself, I'm now faster at typing than (hand)writing, and I wrote shitloads during my times at the uni.

Too true! If I have to write anything in cursive other than my signature(which has now become a symbol more than my name in cursive) I am completely flummoxed as to how to do it.

    my signature(which has now become a symbol more than my name in cursive)
True story- when my sister first moved to France, the first time she had to sign anything official, she was told "no, not your name, your signature". So she made up a new scribbly symbol just for that purpose.

Re: Tomorrow, a 100 year old mysterious package will be opened in a museum in Norway

#89

Post by dimitar »

josephcooney wrote: post #37
repiret wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't remember the full context, but once my uncle said: "It must be an old person, because the handwriting is so pretty." To which my grandfather replied: "you had to write like that with a fountain pen" I've never used a fountain pen, but I gather you have to maintain a fairly constant speed as the pen moves along the paper. If you want that handwriting back, I think you have to get rid of ball-point pens and pen…

I think even if your handwriting is crap a fountain pen just looks better, or at least more auspicious. Horrible for lefties of course, but very nice to use if you're right-handed.

I don't get it. Why is it harder for lefties? Aren't the pens themselves ambidextrous?

Re: Tomorrow, a 100 year old mysterious package will be opened in a museum in Norway

#90

Post by rquantz »

rquantz wrote: post #73
INTPenis wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe Johan was a huge troll and it's nothing but turn of the century pornography.

It's actually an old, yellowed photograph of Rick Astley.

But seriously, why the downvotes? I responded to a joke about pretend early 20th century spammers with a joke about pretend early 20th century rickrolling. Are we only allowed to be completely serious here? Did I do harm to the level of discourse here? What's going on?
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