From the 9th to the 19th centuries, scholars and scribes used Arabic as a lingua franca to debate scientific ideas. Arabic-speaking scholars translated classical Greek, Persian and even Sanskrit texts on topics such as medicine, mathematics and astronomy. These scholars went far beyond translation and preservation and fostered a unique and vibrant scientific culture within the Arabic-speaking world. The British Library and Qatar Foundation have joined forces to launch a new bilingual online portal, the Qatar Digital Library, providing free access to 25,000 pages of fascinating medieval Arabic manuscript.
In this age of electronic, immediate, and abbreviated communication – the thoughtfulness and personality of a handwritten ‘Thank you’ note is ever powerful. Like I said, all the ones I receive – I keep. I keep them as a reminder that just doing my job can provide a significant improvement in those around me.
Garrick van Buren, in his most recent and always excellent Expand newsletter.
I linked previously to some tips to help you remember to send handwritten notes. This quote beautifully explains the reason why it matters.
Some nice tips on keeping all the tools you need at the ready, and start the habit, of dashing off a quick handwritten note. As one who has long has done this, and wishes he did it more, I can tell you how goos it feels to send off an unexpected handwritten expression to someone.
The name Hobonichi has infiltrated the stationery lexicon in the US over the last couple of years, much of that thanks to Lindsay Nelson. Lindsay works for Hobonichi, providing the Japanese to English translations that have allowed the brand to expand outside of its homeland
The pocket notebook space has exploded in options recently. Thanks in no small part to the interest that Moleskine ushered in with their original pocket sized book that Field Notes Brand then took to new nostalgic and less precious heights. Now, there is an ever increasing amount of options available to choose from. So, if you even want to be noticed — let alone compete — you need to either be very different or decidedly better.
It is with these two goals seemingly in mind that the folks at Baron Fig approached their new pocket notebook, The Apprentice. It is meant to be a portable companion to their popular Confidant notebook.
My first impression of the Apprentice is that it is very nice. It is clear from first glance that a lot of care and attention in the quality of materials used went into this. The cover has a subtle texture that makes it seem more luxurious and substantial that others in the space. The yellow sticked binding runs the full length of the spine. The paper is creamy and thick and takes fountain pen very well with little feathering and no bleed through (I got the blank page version). Another nice touch is the inclusion of 6 perforated pages in back. Nice if you have need to share a page with someone else.
I think that those coming from other pocket notebook brands will be a bit thrown by the size. The Apprentice is small by comparison. A full half inch shorter than Field Notes. In fact, it is almost exactly the same size as the Midori Traveler’s Notebook Journal Passport Size. This also meant that it fits perfectly in the leather cover that ships with that one. A nice hack if, like me, you like leather covers on your notebooks.
The Apprentice comes three to the pack for $9.00 — on par with others in the category. That said, I feel if one were to compare based on the quality of the materials and manufacturing these are a tremendous value at that price.
Overall, I’m impressed with what Baron Fig has pulled off here. They love making good notebooks and it shows in the products they offer. Can’t wait to see what’s next.
Merlin’s first draft on paper on what would become his now famous post Inbox Zero. Click through to read the super cute story of how he came across it and what its future holds.
