It’s time we had a word with Big Pencil and their buddy Big Eraser

36 comments

1. More entertaining than any analysis of Arsenal’s season.

2. Simple solution. Before putting pencil to paper (literally), simply (1) perfectly form your thoughts prior to writing anything down and then (2) carefully right those perfectly formed thoughts down, not making any mistakes. No distractions, no Euro matches on in the background, etc. Guaranteed to work. You are welcome.

   1. DOH! where is that eraser?

   2. Also make sure that your hand doesn’t have one of those brain-to-hand moments where you try to write an ‘a’ but it comes out like ~~~)

3. “… or hold on to the eraserless pencil like a sexless marriage?”

   I’m dead. 😂😂😂

   1. That made me laugh for about half an hour in the car yesterday.

4. Big Eraser was Martin Keown’s nickname at school – FACT! (maybe)

   1. Because he’s such a big knob

5. I choose to read this as a commentary on Arsenal’s transfer business.

   1. Ever the stickler, Shard!

6. “No friends, Big Pencil has a lot to answer for.” nicely done.

   i’m a pencil snob. with all of the math associated with chemistry and physics, i abandoned pens quite a while ago. i also used to rewrite my class notes due to poor handwriting. i’m a mechanical pencil guy, specifically dr. grip by pilot. they allow you to replace not only leads but erasers. however, my favorite is one i jacked from my 8-year old daughters crayon box back in the day. it was one of those fat red pencils kids use in kindergarten when they’re first learning how to write. the leads are like 1.5mm and the only thing lasting longer than those erasers are the cockroach. she still had one so i assumed ownership. don’t judge me; she was a 3rd grader and wasn’t gonna use it anymore.

   1. These are all valid points which I will raise with the author.

      By the way, there are fat pencils at Fred Meyer right now, labeled as “my first pencil”, and they come with their own special sharpener. I thought about getting one. Now, I think I will!

7. Ahh, glimmer of recognition. The eraser that someone tried to use beyond the limits of its metal ring, and now it’s more black than white.

   Im old enough to remember when you had to have the right kind of pencil to legibly answer SAT questions. Still love pencils. And notebooks to scrawl in, for that matter.

   I plan to build a house soon, 2 levels, and Ive been working my pencil hard over the many revisions. I use a lined notebook, with each space denoting 5 feet, but I’ll have to get an exercise book with squares. Approximating the horizontal distances doesnt make for precision.

   1. graph paper.

8. You, dear Tim, need to read some Nicholson Baker. The Mezzanine, his first, and most singularly obsessed with the minutiae, is his best.

9. Pencils
   PENCILS
   telling where the wind comes from
   open a story.

   Pencils
   telling where the wind goes
   end a story.

   These eager pencils
   come to a stop
   .. only .. when the stars high over
   come to a stop.

   Out of cabalistic to-morrows
   come cryptic babies calling life
   a strong and a lovely thing.
   I have seen neither these
   nor the stars high over
   come to a stop.
   Neither these nor the sea horses
   running with the clocks of the moon.
   Nor even a shooting star
   snatching a pencil of fire
   writing a curve of gold and white.
   Like you .. I counted the shooting stars of a winter
   night and my head was dizzy with all
   of them calling one by one:

   Look for us again.

   – Carl Sandburg

   1. I’ve always loved “Pencils” by Carl Sandburg and I thought I must share with those who’ve never read it. It’s a #2 HB in the world of poetry. Sorry, no eraser

      1. +1

10. gregdraws.co.uk for some serious pencil action motherfunsters, you’re welcome

    1. Is that yours Greg?

    2. Greg– that’s brilliant work my friend.
       I’m going to send the link to my better half. We may be in touch.

    3. i agree with jw1. lovely work my friend. maybe we can help you make some money.

       1. Thanks guys, just starting up the business and the site’s not even finished yet but any sharing of the link would be welcome!

    4. That’s some awesome work! Congratulations.

11. Another awesome post Tim. You are a fantastic writer. Keep it coming. Whenever I think of writers and pencils and writers struggles I actually think of one the great Pete Townshend’s songs “Guitar and Pen”. Even though he uses the word pen rather then pencil because it works better with the lyrics and he is talking about writing a song it captures the frustration I think a lot of writers must feel when they are working.

12. In the UK when I was growing up erasers were known as rubbers, which of course have a completely different meaning over here. If you re-read this article substituting “rubber” for “eraser”, it brings a whole new meaning to the concept of “Big Pencil”…

    1. Are you suggesting discarding the rubber after each time you use your Big pencil?
       And what do you do when you need to put some lead in it?

       1. Tom Tom Tom 🤦

13. Early in a career as a designer– I started out as a draftsman. Or, thought I wanted to be one. This was pre-CAD. The training course required the use of hand-sharpened pencils (using a little spinning device, attached to the right side of the drafting table). No mechanicals like the pros used. To allow for another draftsman to pickup where one left off– every drawing was to be started left-to-right. Which is pretty effed-up for a lefty. This was like Purgatory. If you thought lefties wrote with their arms in strange positions in a classroom (cause the desks were made for righties)– watching someone lefthanded contort to draw lead-on-mylar and smudge-free was darkly comical. Finished that training course with hopes I’d be promoted– but alas.

    Years later, caught a break. Went to work for a buddy in his graphic design studio. As a gofer for two younger, very talented artists. Still in the era– where everything was pasted up to art boards by hand and photographed to make negatives for printing presses. Had no idea how I would ever advance in the field. Two years on PCs became available to consumers. Had access to one through a friend that was loaded with professional design software.

    Spent the next 2 decades making my living as a graphic and web designer. With an ability to create anything I could imagine with almost any software.

    As long as there was an ‘Undo’ button. 😁

    1. I feel like such an old man sometimes, I’m paper and pencil all the way and I think anyone who’s mastered the digital arts is very cool and impressive and should probably get off my lawn

       1. You have a gifted hand my friend. Your rendering of the iconic young Cassius Clay photo is just splendid! Ali is a lifelong personal hero.

          Was all about pen and ink when I was younger. Toted a spiral drawing book and fine point pen for years. Much as I enjoyed the creativity of designing digitally– it eventually became work. Still produce for a trio of freelance clients I’ve worked with since the early-90s. But eight or 9 years back I flipped from right-brained to left– shapeshifting into an IT guy.

          Every few months– I get a call from one of those clients– and jump into The Wayback Machine…

       2. Greg, I shared your site on Twitter. I hope that’s cool.

          1. Thanks man!

14. When I got to “Dixon No 2” I thought you were gonna segue to something Lee Dixon said or did, seeing as his Arsenal shirt number was 2. Heh

15. test

    1. Microphone check.

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