Office1000 Blog March Archive

Artsy and Hi-Tech

By Blog Stories at 03/02/2008 11:09

And when we thought pens are just pens, they have shown to be valuable tools and gifts as well. Like what I have said in a previous post, pens may tell a lot about your stature in a capitalistic society. Thus, it is obvious that make good presents to our family and friends.

These type of pens are not expensive for nothing, you know. They embody something. Something that you cannot find in ordinary ball pens or gel pens. Just take a look at this fountain pen by Namiki. Can you see the designs imprinted on its body? It's a dragon with a cumulus cloud as a design. As you might probably have known, the Japanese consider writing as an art. While we use writing just to write, they consider it as something that defines their culture. Every stroke, every line, every twist--they mean something. To master the craft means you should practice it regularly starting at a very young age. I dunno about you, but I certainly like seeing Japanese characters written on light fabric. They're refreshments to the eyes.

And pens are not for gifts alone. They also prove to be useful gadgets much like James Bond's, though less sophisticated. A fine example would be this pen from Drimark. it's actually a pen that can detect fake money. Make a small mark on a recent US bill (bill series 1959 or later) and if it makes an amber mark, it's genuine. If it's dark brown or black, then it is probably fake. Neat, eh? True, it is not like one of those pen-turned-tracker pens you see in James Bond movies, but they are certainly more useful than those.

Pens, Pens, and More Pens

Pens have always been a sign of stature in society. It's also a fashion statement. Of course it didn't start out that way. It was, of course, invented ages ago, probably by the ancient Egyptians, just as a tool to record things occurring in the community. Some bit of history might be helpful, I guess.

The earliest discovered writing materials discovered were dated back to 3000 BC. They were reed brushes developed to write on papyrus scrolls, used mainly by scribes of ancient Egypt. They were used until the Middle Ages when they were eventually replaced by quills, which were soon replaced by fountain pens (invented by Petrache Poenaru while being a student in ever-fashionable Paris) and ballpoints. Now fountain pens are still around but not commonly used by the middle class in which we (?) belong. We, who belong in the middle class, prefer gel pens, you see.

So that's exactly the point. Those who belong in the lower of echelons of the capitalistic society do not use expensive fountain pens for the obvious reasons that we cannot afford it. Unlike those who are well off, our ability to purchase such exquisite items are constrained by our finances. Well, if you'll really consider it, we can, of course buy it. We're not that poor--but if you'll think of its practicality, we'll have to think about it again.

So we have here a directory not only of the rather cheap office items but the finer ones as well. That's what I like about Office 1000. Sure, I have featured here items that can be afforded by everyone, but they surely have items, too, that are fit for those who are affluent. let's just say that I liked the fact that I can make some window shopping in this website. Haha.