The Erasable Podcast

This week, we are down one pencil podcaster and up one pen superpodcaster. Brad Dowdy of the Pen Addict joins us to tie up our trio while Andy is away for the week. ZINES! Ever since Ed Kemp launched Pencil of the Week a few years ago and, especially, since he was a guest on this podcast’s Episode 150, zines have been blowing up among stationery content creators and consumers. In this episode, Brad, Tim and Johnny chat about the connection between zines and stationery and the role that these self-published gems play in the larger stationery community.

Join us for a chat about the pencils that we each used during elementary school. With a 9 year age gap between our hosts, coming during the crucial years of a trade agreement with China and the onset of the shrinking of the American pencil industry, we’re sure to have a variety of pencils to talk about! Plus: Olympics, new Field Notes, and many, many green ink samples.Show Notes & LinksErasable PatreonThe Whole Love (Wilco)Day TripperUnderlandThe Night ManagerThe TunnelChanging PlaneField Notes: TrailheadBlackwing Lab .7.29.21Pencil Revolution #19The Pen Post #1J. Herbin “Lierre Sauvage” PlaydatePapermate SharpwriterYour HostsJohnny  GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

Well, we inadvertently took a summer break so after a month off, we’re back to talk through our collected Fresh Points: from the new Blackwing 64 to an update from Tim about how it’s going with his new electric sharpener.Show Notes and LinksErasable PatreonThe Nickel BoysThings Fall Apart GrantchesterKevin can F HimselfKillers of the Flower MoonMausThe Wood BrothersAlone404 Magazine #3Pencil Revolution #18Blackwing X Timeless MugSan Francisco Pen Show Pencil SeminarIranian Pencil StoreJessica DrenkBlackwing 64Your HostsJohnny  GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

Do you write in your books? Tonight, our special guest Caitlin Elgin joins us to talk about marginalia — why you might want to write them, and how you might want to write them. In fact, one of use does not write in his books, and maybe we can convince him to start. Or not.Show Notes and LinksErasable PatreonWoodclinched on EtsyPencil Revolution on EtsyI’ll Be Gone in the DarkJCS Criminal Psychology - The Wrath of JodiThe Moss and Green / Corner Shop (High Tide)Online shop Pentel PulamanMad at the WorldTed LassoTrack Changes: A literary history of word processingThe Electric PencilHalston UnforgivenThe marginal obsession with marginalia | The New YorkerOur GuestCaitlin Elgin@cait.elgin on InstagramYour HostsJohnny  GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

Tonight, we’re celebrating Field Notes’s fiftieth Colors edition — uh, Fifty — with a pocket notebook retrospective: How did we first encounter Field Notes? What’s our favorite editions for aesthetics? Color? Writing experience? Plus: an amazing new sampler pack from Musgrave.Show Notes & LinksErasable PatreonField Notes: FiftyList of Field Notes Limited EditionsName of the WindSteal Like an Artist1973 Grateful Dead (Dick’s Picks Vol. 14)Keep GoingThoreau, A Life of the MindHacksThe EffortThe Musgrave sampler 404 #3Pencil Revolution #17Fountain Pen accessory Kit from JetpensYour HostsJohnny  GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

Today we’re keeping it simple with just a Fresh Points episode, covering everything from Blackwing’s rerelease of a pencil they’re still selling, Bob Dylan’s pocket notebooks, pencil t-shirts, and a bevy of recommendations for what Andy should pick up after he finishes his current notebook.Show Notes and LinksErasable PatreonSteal Like an ArtistShow Your WorkWorld of WondersMare of EasttownShrill Season 3Rutherford FallsThe Effort (novel)YellowstoneRon Rash: New and Selected PoemsBrood X notebooksThe Comfort of a PencilHow to Break in a SharpieBlackwing PalominoPeriwinkle ConfidantsDeploy ConfidantBrand Name Pencils EtsyiQuinix keyboardBob Dylan’s pocket notebooksYour HostsJohnny  GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

Today we talk about vintage notebooks, yet another new Blackwing, and mechanical keyboards. But also much to our delight, our friend and creative polymath Tiffany Babb joins the show to talk comics, literary criticism and creativity.Show Notes and LinksErasable PatreonWoodclinched on EtsyPencil Revolution on EtsyTiffany’s WebsiteTwitterInstagramEtsyNewsletterPenelope ScottSidney Lumet Essays on EB White Braided Creek by Ted Kooser and Jim HarrisonParker MillsapAnother RoundVictories Greater Than DeathPlease Like MeThe Night Train to LisbonRequiemJulien BakerNotebook TherapyLost Notebooks of Hank WilliamsIndependent Bookstore Day BlackwingsBrood X NotebooksOur GuestTiffany BabbTiffanyBabb.com@explodingarrow on TwitterYour HostsJohnny  GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

Andy and Tim have wrested control of the show back away from the devious (yet iconic) duo of Johnny and Charlotte, and we’re talking once again to Noah Bier from Makers Cabinet about their brand new Kickstarter project, a pencil extender called The Ferrule.Show Notes and LinksErasable PatreonEpisode 111: Eiffel Tower PointsThe Ferrule on KickstarterMaker’s CabinetStriaIrisThe SympathizerThe Best of Everly BrothersHemingway DocumentaryOn Earth We’re Briefly GorgeousBurning the BooksHow to Make a Journal of Your LifeFour Lost CitiesMediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male AmericaIndependent Bookstore BlackwingBlackwing 223PR CompendiumOur GuestNoah Bier, Co-founderMakers CabinetYour HostsJohnny  GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

You might notice something…strange about this week’s podcast. Do not adjust your podcatcher. What you are hearing is happening in Real Life and in Real Time. YOUR PODCAST HAS BEEN USURPED. PENCIL IS SILLY TranscriptCharlotte: Charlotte. Do you need a pencil?  No, I have a pen. (Erasable theme)  Johnny: Hello. Hello and welcome to Episode 160 of the former Erasable Podcast. I'm Johnny Gamber, broadcasting from a secret bunker under the Pencil Revolution Headquarters Compound. After over seven years of podcasting about pencils, my oldest child is now ruthless enough to help me in this non hostile takeover of Erasable. Charlotte joins me tonight and she swears that she's excited to be here. Hey, Char!  Charlotte: Hello, Daddy. Thank you for having me. Johnny: Thank you for joining me on a school night. So Charlotte, you recently completed a science project in which you explored the permanence of different writing media that folks rely on every day, and the results were frankly SHOCKING. And they prompted us to sell off all of our Blackwings so that we could buy more vintage Parker fountain pens, and antique French notebooks.We've come to understand that pencils are just plain silly. Charlotte has kindly agreed to present her research tonight. In a short interview with her witty, brilliant, and handsome  father. With apologies to Andy and Tim, from whom we are in hiding, we present the first episode of the Pen Punk Podcast.Let's get down to business. Charlotte, your science project was pretty amazing, even though I tried pretty darned hard to stop you from exploring the idea that ink could ever possibly be more permanent than pencil. Can you tell us what your hypothesis was when you began this reckless endeavor? Charlotte: Sure. Inks that people rely on will fade faster if they're exposed to light.Johnny: Uh huh. And what made you want to stab your father in the back like that and write about ink? Charlotte: I like ink more than pencil because it comes in many colors.  Johnny: Um, have you heard of colored pencils, child?  Charlotte: Yes, but colored pencils are useless for writing. Johnny: Hmm. Says you. All right, so speaking of gear, let's geek out a little bit. What inks did you use? What kind of pen? Charlotte: I use a dip pen, India ink. Bullet-proof ink, J. Herbin, Pearl Noire black fountain, pen ink, an InkJoy gel pen, a Parker Jotter ballpoint pen, and… that's it.  Johnny: That is a lot of stuff. So can you tell us briefly, at the beginning, what did you think would fade fastest or slowest? Charlotte: I thought that India ink would fade less than the other inks.  Johnny: Huh? All right. Can you tell us about your process?  Charlotte: Sure. Get the inks and paper and put them together. Put one in sunlight and one in the dark. Leave them for about two weeks and then determine which ink faded the least. Johnny: And, uh, what did you find out at the conclusion of your experiment? Charlotte: I found that both ballpoint pen, ink and fountain pen ink faded.  Johnny: All right. Um, I have to ask, what about the pencil marks? Did they fade?  Charlotte: Well, no, but I wiped them out with an eraser in three seconds.  Johnny: All right. That's enough for me. Let's get some audience questions. First. We have a little guy named Henry from Baltimore who has a question for you. Henry from Baltimore: But Charlotte, does this mean that you don't like pencils anymore? Charlotte: Yes. Anything that can be erased with breadcrumbs isn't worth writing with.  Johnny: Hmm, good point. All right. We have another audience question, this time from Andy in San Francisco.  Andy: Yes. Hello, thank you for taking my call. Do you know how long of a line of ink a Bic Clic can write? I've been trying to test it and have been on the road for three days. It's hard because some roads are really dark asphalt, and it's really hard to see the ink. I appreciate your help. I miss my family! Charlotte: According to my mole at BIC in France, 1.2 miles or two kilometres. Stay safe out there in the dark! Johnny: That's good advice now all the way from Johnson city, Tennessee, we have another Henry. Henry from Tennessee: Hi, this is Henry from Tennessee, and I have a question about pens and cold weather. What happens if you take one out in a snow storm?  Charlotte: Well, most inks are going to freeze up on you. Get yourself a Space Pen! They write in extreme weather, and their marks don't disappear if you touch them with rubber.  Johnny: Uh, is it true that the Russians used pencils? Charlotte: No.Johnny: Okay. Well, we have another question from Tennessee. This one is from Tim, from the 10 B School.  Tim: Hi, Charlotte. This is Tim from Johnson City, Tennessee. I was wondering if in your research you found out if certain colors of ink last longer than other colors of ink. Thanks for answering my question! Charlotte: I know, from tattoos and automobiles, that red fades more quickly than other colors. But for your writing, you should be good with any ink that contains pigment instead of dye. Johnny: I liked red all that time. So now, dialing in from the Bay Area on the West coast, we have Katie.  Katie from San Francisco: Hi Charlotte, it's Katie in San Francisco. Long time listener, first time caller. I'm so excited to have you help me out with my pen problems. So I have a combination of ballpoint pens and roller balls. I don't have any fountain pens. And I'm trying to figure out if I should be storing my pens with the point facing down into the pen cup or up. Thanks so much for your help.  Charlotte: Depends. Dry pens, tip down. Wet pens, tip up. But in the end, you do you.  Johnny: So we have a looks like another call from Tennessee. This is from Lila. Lila from Tennessee: Hi, this is Lila from Tennessee. I'm wondering why pens dry out?  Charlotte: Inks only dry up when we are not honoring them by writing or drawing with them constantly. Johnny: Well, I never thought about honoring my pens so it looks like we have one more comment from Rosie and Roland park. Go ahead, Rosie.Rosie from Roland Park: You are gonna   make me cryyyyy.   Charlotte: Go tell Mommy!  Johnny: All right! So thank you for joining us for episode one of the Pen Punk Podcast, and, assuming that Andy and Tim don't either find Charlotte and I or change the password on Squarespace, you’ll hear back from us in two weeks, when I think we're going to talk about our favorite spring colored inks. Take care and stay NOT ERASABLE. Bye-bye  (closing theme)

Since our recording schedule and the Blackwing and Field Notes quarterly release schedule didn’t line up, we’re keeping it short today to talk about fresh points: zines, old city street guides, and an exciting announcement about the 8th issue of Plumbago Magazine.Show Notes & Links:Erasable PatreonPlumbago 8T-ShirtsWarlightThe Poets & Writers Complete Guide to Being a WriterCat Party zines  Taco ChroniclesCurious Incident of a Dog in the NighttimeBand of JoyRaya and the Last DragonPencil Revolution #15404 Magazine #2Scrawlrbox BlackwingYour HostsJohnny  GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem