Saturday Link Clearing: Pens, Knitting, Pas. Playhouse, Vegas, and Power

It’s Saturday, and you know what that means — time to clear out the saved links for the week. As always, these links are usually discovered through my reading of the papers and by what comes across my RSS feeds (which I’m now reading via Newsblur):

• Fountain Pens. Those who know me know I do fit the stereotype in some ways and not in others. Yes, I carry a pocket protector. However, I use it to protect my pocket as it is full of fountain pens. Thus, I found this Boing-Boing article about the Namiki Retractible Fountain Pen quite interesting. It would really depend on the quality of the nib. I’ve actually found that Schaeffers — especially the cheap Shaeffers — work the best for me.  Parkers occasionally work, but I’ve never been able to get the fancier pens — especially Cross Fountain Pens — to work well for this left-handed writer.
• Knitting. Whereas I love fountain pens, my daughter loves to knit. This article made me think of her: a mobile knitting truck that serves as a locally sourced store for lovers of yarn.
• Theatre. The Pasadena Playhouse has announced their 2013-2014 season, and my response is a big yawn. Perhaps their bankruptcy soured me on them, but I haven’t been that impressed with their season announcements, which usually change by the time the show is presented. They may have the occasionally good show (I’ve heard good things about the Janis Joplin concert currently there, but I’m not into Joplin); however, overall their seasons are predictable. The chestnut. The black show. The new musical. The TBA. The 2013-2014 season is no different. It starts with the musical jukebox tuner “Smokey Joe’s Cafe” (Sept. 18 to Oct. 13). That’s followed by a new play, “Stoneface” (Nov. 5 to Dec. 1), with French Stewart portraying silent film star Buster Keaton. “Stoneface” might be interesting. After that is the play for African-American audiences, Weinraub’s “Above the Fold” (Jan 28 to Feb. 23)–a fictional story of a female African American reporter who travels to a Southern university where four white fraternity boys have been accused of raping a young African American woman. Next up is the chestnut, Noël Coward’s “A Song at Twilight” (March 18 to April 13, 2014). Closing the season, as usual, is the “To Be Announced” production (May 27 to June 22, 2014), directed by playhouse artistic director Sheldon Epps. One potential show of interest.
• Las Vegas. Those who know me know that I find Las Vegas History interesting. Here’s an interesting story from the LA Times on a man who is trying to get out of Nevada’s infamous Black Book that bars people from casinos for life. No one has ever done that, except by dying.
• Los Angeles. Lastly, you all know I love LA. Here’s a fascinating map of power consumption across Los Angeles by neighborhood. We’re in a lower-use neighborhood, except during the hot summer months. Other neighborhoods are much much worse. However, some neighborhoods in LA, for some reason, are simply not mapped.

Music: Zorba (1983 Broadway Revival Cast): “The Crow”