🖋️ The other inks I have are either 2-4 ml samples or 30 ml bottles from Diamine. I didn’t know I liked the color grey until I got into the fountain pen hobby! But maybe I just like greys with other colors mixed in. Fuyu-Syogun is a light grey with a bit of blue mixed in that shows up when you use it in a Medium or Broad nib. And 3 Oysters Delicious Purple Gray? Well, the name says it all. Lie de The is a great ink to use for journal writing. Lamy Crystal Beryl is one of the first bottled inks I ever wanted to buy. It took me so long to get it but I caught a sale. 🙂 And finally, Sailor Sakura-mori is just pretty. I could be writing about something boring or even sad but just looking at that ink cheers me up a little. Wish the bottles weren’t so small, though!

What are your favorite fountain pen inks and why?

From L to R: Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-Syogun (blue-grey), J Herbin’s Lie de The (warm brown), 3 Oysters Delicious Purple Gray, Sailor Shikiori Sakura-Mori (coral pink), and Lamy Crystal Beryl (magenta).

🖋️ My Tiny, Beginners Fountain Pen Collection:

(Pens in Photo One From Left to Right) TWSBI Eco Clear (M) Lamy Vista (F) Lamy Safari Pastel Powder Rose (F) Lamy Safari Pastel Blue Macaron (M) Lamy Safari Candy Mango (M) Lamy Safari Candy Violet (F)

(Pens in Photo Two From Left to Right) TWSBI Eco Clear (F) TWSBI Eco Lilac (M) TWSBI Eco-T Mint Blue (F?) TWSBI Go (F) TWSBI Go (M) TWSBI Go (B) 

🖃 From WashPost: USPS raises stamp price to 58 cents as part of DeJoy’s 10-year plan

The U.S. Postal Service is raising rates on letters, magazines and marketing missives by as much as 6.9 percent this summer, sending the cost of a first-class stamp from 55 to 58 cents, as it leans into an expansive restructuring plan that codifies slower mail delivery and streamlines agency operations.

🎾 From GQ: Leave Naomi Osaka Alone

It is depressing to witness Osaka being forced away from the game in this manner. How is it that these people chose to view this woman’s transparency with such disgust and callous indifference? When has Osaka been anything but pleasant on the tour? What reason would there ever be to not take her message as seriously as she intended? It feels targeted, as if the goal of her opposers was to stamp out her light. The scholar Moya Bailey described this as misogynoir, where Black women are specifically the aim of racist discrimination. The many ways in which it shows it’s stunning flexibility should be terrifying.

🏀 From ESPN: Boston Celtics president Danny Ainge retires, coach Brad Stevens takes over

As a longtime C’s fan, I’m wondering how does this change things for the team? Do they really think Brad can attract and retain top talent any better than Ainge did? (especially Black talent?) There’s still the whole issue of the city and the franchise putting their heads in the sand when it comes to talking about racism.

🎧🎙️ I’ve been podcasting about season five of The Expanse. But my focus is on the complex women characters and how they impact the story. Turns out you can reasonably recap the whole show just through the women, especially this season. Check out The Women of The Expanse podcast at blackgirlsquee.simplecast.com!