Zentangle

Have you heard of zentangle? It's like a systematic doodle where you're repeating patterns to create a larger and coherent drawing (but not of anything, just consisting of patterns). Supposedly it's not about the final product, it's about the meditative process (hence the "zen"). I'm skeptical -- I looked into it because I tend to fill my margins with repeating shapes that turn into larger patterns, and I thought this would be a more fun and productive thing to do, but everything I've seen is focused on selling you stuff. There's an official kit, and certified teachers who teach classes, and an emphasis on "official" zentangles which have to be a specific size and following their method.

Periods

Fascinating Quora answer to the question of why women have periods even though menstruation is "a shameful waste of nutrients, disabling, and a dead giveaway to any nearby predators."

James Beard Award Finalist: Personal Essay

It starts: "The four pizzles lay sprawled out on the kitchen counter."

Marking up books

Do you mark up books? Write notes in the margins?

Sometimes I read books where I have strong reactions every few pages, and I think about blogging about them, but I always end up just continuing to read rather than stopping to type up my thoughts. (For "Lean In," I did pause at the end of every chapter to write up my thoughts, and it was annoying to keep stopping and going back.) It never occurs to me to react in the margins. But lately I've read a number of articles and books that refer to people writing their thoughts in the margins, or even just reactions like "Whoa."

Pens

I'm almost out of my second 12-pack of Pilot G-2s, and am considering switching my loyalty. I'd like a pen with smoother ink flow and one that lasts longer. I go through one or two G-2s a month. In conducting my research, I came across two pen review sites, Pen Quest and A Penchant for Paper. Don't you love the Internet?

Pleasant events

The Pleasant Events Schedule.

Arunachalam Muruganantham

Fascinating story of a man's quest to bring affordable feminine hygiene products to India.

An excerpt:

"There are also myths and fears surrounding the use of sanitary pads - that women who use them will go blind, for example, or will never get married."