Shout out to Dixon…

Not to Juan Dixon…who may or may not still be playing basketball in the U.S. as a card-carrying member of the NBA or D-League or somewhere on the continent of Eurasia in Greece or Spain or Israel or some other basketball-playing location. This is praise for my favorite pencil, the only pencil I use and the best pencil on earth: The Dixon Ticonderoga #2HB. Made with premium cedar and black graphite they are unmatched for quality and durability. They sharpen well and resist breaking like none other. But what is most underrated about the Ticonderoga’s is their eraser. You know how if you leave a pencil for a year or so then you try to use it again after it’s been lying out the eraser is dryer than a cat’s tongue and they just make a big black mess on your paper? That doesn’t happen with the Ticonderoga. No mark, no leftover letters. Ever. Simply the best. I recommend you go out and buy a box today (or pick up a box from your office supply station if you have one of those in your workplace). Mechanical pencils and all other inferior woodies are for suckers.



For pens: get the Bic Classic Roundstic mediums, in black ink. Not blue. Be professional. They’re cheap yet dependable and last quite awhile. If I splurge or happen to find one lying around I’ll use a Precise V-ball, too, but I don’t trust those in the ruler pocket of my pants. I think they may break accidentally when I sit down and ruin my pants. I don’t have many pairs of pants (read: three) I wear regularly so this would be a significant casualty. Roundstic’s have some good flex to them. Perfect for a mid-leg pocket. The roundstics are also nice because you can hook them in the neck of a polo for safekeeping and the cap is sturdy enough to stay on the pen. This comes in handy when you don’t have a ruler pocket to safely hold a writing implement. You’ll never catch me with a pen (or pencil for that matter) in a side-seam pocket. I think George Costanza is right; it is certainly possible to puncture a scrotum in a freak pen-in-the-side-seam-pocket accident. I’ll always play it safe.

Cheers.