Ellen on Bic's 'Pens for Women'

The Artisanal Signature

A wonderful interview and photos of Maki-e artisan Michifumi Kawaguchi, the creative force behind the 2012 Namiki Limited Edition Fountain Pen, the Namiki Archer on Horseback.

"Late in the movie Margin Call, Jeremy Irons’ reptilian financial shark schools his team of predators in his business paradigm: “There are three ways to make a living in this business: be first, be smarter, or cheat.” Being first and getting away with cheating often involves a fair degree of luck to and this is something an avowed traditionalist firm like the Namiki Manufacturing Company did without in 1918. Indeed, founder Ryosuke Namiki famously wanted to succeed purely on the merits of his product and the hard work of everyone at the company. To this end, he reportedly opened one of his factories deliberately on the most inauspicious day of the year so that no one could credit the company’s success to luck."

Read the article here.

"Talking" Whale Could Imitate Human Voice

"Talking" Whale Could Imitate Human Voice

In my case, table tennis elbow!

Mission Accomplished - Red Bull Stratos - World Record Freefall

Be afraid

See the Halloween assortment here

Mission to the edge of space

Although high winds cancelled the attempt on October 9th, there's a chance he'll go today. In any case, the jump will be streamed live when he goes.

Romancing the Wind

Rodriguez: The rock icon who didn't know it

What a fascinating story!