----------------------------------------
Moleskine
June 21st, 2018
----------------------------------------

In 1997, Modo & Modo reintroduced the Moleskine notebooks to the
world, taking the design from 19th & 20th century french designs
as described in the writings of Bruce Chatwin. There's a lot of
mystique surrounding the design and use, but what they really
represent is a mass-market blank book with a solid design for
pocket use.

I started carrying Moleskine notebooks in 1998 and still carry
them today. In fact, in 2001 I bulk ordered them and have
a stockpile stored away just in case something weird happens in
Italy. They're fantastic books, not because of some magical
quality of manufacturing or design, but because they are cheap and
moderately well constructed. If they were built to last I would
have a harder time using them. That's the point I want to get at
in this phlog.

When I first started keeping a journal it was just that, a diary.
I wrote thoughts in it and dated them. They were serious and
heartfelt as only a teen can produce. They were horribly
embarrassing and trite. I wrote six pages one night on the deep
philosophy behind wanting to grow out my hair, a work of literary
genius that boiled down to the essence: "I like Highlander."

It took me a while to develop a system for using the notebooks
that really worked for me. In the end, my system boiled down to,
"turn the page and write". The key to using the notebooks
effectively was to not have a category or a use or anything.
I pick out one book at a time, turn the page, write whatever
I need, then turn the next page. There is no system beyond that.

I keep all of my Moleskines. They line a shelf in my office,
multiple rows and stacks. If you were to pick one up and thumb
through it you'd find ideas for stories, notes from D&D games,
shopping lists, phone numbers, sketches, notes from phone calls,
and any number of other random things. This is not a problem, this
is the heart of the notebook. It is a book for using, a book for
capturing the moment in the written word (or drawing) and moving
on. That's what makes it special.

Whenever I doubt myself in this, I'm reminded of Leonardo Da
Vinci's notebooks. He was possibly the greatest polymath in human
history and his greatest works are scribbled next to shopping
lists. He sketched anatomy next to questions about the volume of
water traveling in a river. The juxtaposition came from
a practical desire to not waste paper, and that's a bit of what
drives my choice as well. I don't want to spend a lot of money on
a blank book. If I do, I'll be scared to write in it for fear that
my words won't do it justice. I'll set it aside and give it
a grand purpose. I'll say to myself, "You can write only your
observations from meditation here." Or maybe, "This will be your
travel journal on your next trip to Iceland." In the end, it will
stay on my shelf, unused. Instead, the Moleskine in my pocket will
capture those notes along with everything else.

If the Moleskine design isn't for you, check out the US Army Green
Logbook. They're a standard with any quatermaster and can be found
in many places around the globe. They're cheap, plentiful, and get
the job done. You'll be hard pressed to find a military officer
that doesn't have a shelf of them at home.