We’re always hunting the web for the latest news from the world of pens. But sometimes, what we find is just an odd collection of the curious and the amusing.
Totally Random Pen Stuff 1 is a round-up of interesting pen related blog posts that we have recently come across.
•IRISH jeweller, racing steward and top-ranked party-goer Matthew “Matty” Ryan has died at 65. We tell you this because of an interesting little detail mentioned in his obit in the Irish Times.
At his funeral Mass in Thurles Cathedral on Wednesday, a fountain pen was laid on the altar along with a Hermes tie, one of the hundreds in his collection that earned him the reputation as an extremely natty dresser. The ties and the matching handkerchiefs were worn with beautifully tailored suits that many assumed had come straight from Savile Row but which in fact were made for him by the hunting man’s tailor, Frazer of Hospital, Limerick.
No explanation of what kind of fountain pen, or why it was included with the tie, except for a line further down in the obit, where the writer says that Ryan had a “keen interest” in handwriting competitions while in secondary school.
A man is getting buried with his pen….there’s got to be a story there, right?
•HAVE you heard of the Chevrolet Volt? It’s a new hybrid from GM that is run entirely by an electric motor. The car can be charged by plugging into a regular outlet, then goes 40 miles on that single charge (beyond 40, a small gas generator fires up and recharges the engine).
Racer.com tells us that the whole thing got started this way:
GM has been working on the Volt for just four years, after the basic concept was sketched out by product planning chief John Lauckner in a 10-minute meeting with vice-chairman Bob Lutz using his fountain pen on a scruffy sheet of paper.
Just a tad ironic that one of the most technologically advanced vehicles being mass-produced today was first sketched with one of the most old-fashioned writing instruments an engineer can use.
•XINHUA is reporting that Ukraine has arrested five Russians suspected of spying, including kidnapping a Ukrainian “in an attempt to gain secrets.”
Among their super-secret spy gear: A video camera disguised as a fountain pen, according to the news service.
Really? Were they also wearing tuxedos, carrying mini-rocket cigarettes and driving Aston Martins?
•IF you have a talent for coming up with funny captions for random photos, you might be able to win yourself a nifty pen.
Mortgage Strategy is offering a Montblanc rollerball to the person with the funniest caption for a photo of two men at a mortgage conference in Wembley. While it may be mean to get a laugh at the expense of strangers…did we mention it’s a Montblanc?
(Oddly, while the site does refer twice to “this pen,” there’s no actual photo of the pen or mention of which Montblanc they’re giving away.)
That’s it. Please keep us in mind when you spot pen news, no matter how random, on your travels.
