Greetings and salutations from the Big House! I apologize for the lack of updates but health issues kept getting in the way. Also, there's not much going on around here worthy of documentation. For now, I'll just post some musings on my favorite subjects. Care to guess what they are? 
At my care conference on Friday, several of the women "oohed" and "aahed" over my fountain pens. I had to show them how to use them, but they all fell in love. If I'm still here at Christmas -- which is pretty much a given -- I might just give Pilot Petit1 pens and refills as staff gifts.
It's funny how I almost always get the same reaction from women to my fountain pens. They perk up, say they've never written with one, and speculate about how difficult to use they must be. Of course, they're wrong. Fountain pens are as easy to use as any ink pen and only slow the writer down the first time or two they're used. The initial reduction in speed is due to the writer instinctively slowing to pay more attention to letter formation. Because of this, handwriting gradually improves. In fact, that's why some schools require students to use fountain pens exclusively.
SparkleFarkle has written to me several times since my health-dictated incarceration using the turquoise Pilot Varsity disposable fountain pen she learned about from me.
You should see her handwriting. It's excellent! Very uniform. In contrast, my penmanship looks like I'm trying to write with the paper on a vibrating table. It definitely needs improvement.
Playing with fountain pens calms me down. It's as if the tension and my problems fade away as I watch the ink flow onto the page. I try to control the line of my writing while searching my mental database for the correct word. I also play a bit with letter formation and try to make my spacing more uniform.
I would love to try various nibs and learn to do calligraphy properly but I doubt I'd ever be able to do it well. The one time I tried to learn, I couldn't find well-written instructions, only sketchy little arrows surrounding letters and numbers.
They weren't useful. Maybe, if I ever get healthy and wealthy, I'll take lessons.
The fifth season of Stargate Atlantis is starting Friday, July 11th about the same time Season 4 comes out on DVD.
Joseph Mallozzi, Executive Producer, staff writer, and blogger extraordinaire, has dropped some hints that make me think this season is going to be very powerful.
As of this writing, "Whispers", the episode featuring my namesake Major Anne Teldy will air Friday, August 22nd. I'm quite looking forward to it. It was written by Mallozzi who describes it as "creep-tastic". Sound like a real horror-type episode, a first for the franchise. Major Anne Teldy is played by veteran actress Christina Cox (pictured below in character with Paul McGillion as Dr. Beckett).
I'm glad she doesn't look like a space bimbo. Let's hope she doesn't act like one, either!
That's all for now. More later.
Anne Teldy
Comments
On the topic of fountain pens, I have to agree completely. We had to use them when we first learned to write and it kind of stuck with me all through school and beyond. I only stopped using a fountain pen for a year or so, but my (already bad) penmanship deteriorate even more. Now I have mercy with other people who might have to read what I've written. (Thank god for email!
)So there really isn't any hope for me and calligraphy. But I'm still impressed by anyone who can do it. Maybe you want to check out the How to Write Calligraphy series on YouTube.
As for Stargate Atlantis, I never liked horror movies (
chicken) but I love Atlantis. Quite the dilemma I'm in there, since there is no way I won't see the episode. 
Hey, we've all got to face our fears sometime.
I, too, went to Catholic school & had to use a fountain pen. I haven't used one since but your praise of them makes me want to run out & buy one. And I just lost my favorite pen too!
I hope you are doing well!
SparkleFarkle