Sponsor: A World Without Pens

I knew I was going to love Spike Jonze “Her”, but I didn’t know that my first opportunity to watch it was going to be on a long transatlantic flight where I’d be able to watch it… multiple times. Like three times. In a row.

There’s a longer article to be written about “Her”, but right now I want to bitch a bit. Jonze imagines a not-to-distant future where our operating system are becoming sentient. It’s not a science fiction movie because Jonze doesn’t get lost in in the science, he worries about how science might affect us socially. So, it’s a social science fiction movie?

There are small touches throughout the movie to remind you of this not-too-distant future. People dress like dorks, video games are awesome and immersive, and the denizens have strange new jobs appropriate to this future. Our protagonist writes personal letters for other people. Correction: he dictates these letters because in this future dictation is perfect and the need for keyboards has apparently vanished.

As I binged on “Her”, I became increasingly concerned about the absence of keyboards. I realized that if we had no keyboards, what happened to writing utensils? Pencils? And pens?

Look around where you’re sitting right now. Reach for a pen and something to write on. Sign your name and tell me how it feels. How does the pen feel in your hand? Too heavy? Too light? How does the ink land on the paper? Too thin? Too heavy? It’s probably been a long time since you’ve obsessed about a pen, you’ve taken it for granted. Now imagine a world with no pens.

What a fucking nightmare.

Jonze’s movie is about how technology is changing our relationship with each other. It’s funny, insightful, and often stop-you-in-your-head brilliant. Watch it. Watch it twice. Watch how in the future they never write, they just talk.

In the present, take some time to be aware of when you write. One of favorite ways to write is with a Zebra Sarasa 0.5mm black gel pen. It speaks to me. For the next two weeks, JetPens.com will throw this amazing pen into any order over $25 when you click on this coupon. This means there might be a great pen in your future.