Showing posts with label seen on screen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seen on screen. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Pentel Energel on Doctor Who

doctor whoo pentel pen
Doctor Who Christmas Special 2016 - The return of Doctor Mysterio
I have just received a double treat this Christmas. I was eager to see the Doctor coming back on the screens. It was a long wait for all Doctor Who fans. And what a season start it was. Not only we were able to see Peter Capaldi doing a great job as the Doctor Mysterio, but Pentel Energel appeared on the screen as well.
In the episode, the return of the Doctor Mysterio, the 2016 Christmas Doctor Who Special, the Doctor makes a superhero by mistake. A Superman.
Grant a small boy ingests by mistake a gemstone given by the Doctor and becomes G, from Ghost. Of course, every Superman has its Luis Lane, and this one is no exception. Well a version of her. A journalist that Grant loves in secret, Lucy Fletcher.

The journalist Lucy Fletcher, played by Charity Wakefield, interrogates the doctor while holding a grey Pentel Energel
doctor who interrogation pentel

It is hard to see as the pen is not the main focus of the scene.


It seems that the Pentel is a popular pen, as it was spotted on an episode of Better Call Saul as well.

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Bic matic grip in cinema

You do not need a high-end pencil to do some sketches, a comfortable one works just fine. It's all in the wrist finally.
In the movie American Ultra, Mike Howell played by Jesse Eisenberg likes doodling and sketching.
The results... Bic Matic will draw*
bic matic pencil in movie bic matic pencil in movie sketchbic matic pencil in movie bic matic pencil in movie sketch

At some point in time, probably in the 3rd or 4th grade, I had a Bic Matic, the older version (classic by today's standards).
It had a white barrel with black clip and black front part, 0.7 mm. From my memories, it was my first (or second) mechanical pencil I ever owned. After seeing it in the movie American Ultra I am starting to get nostalgic, maybe I will get a new Bic Grip Matic.


It seems Thor is a fan of Bic as well. If you want to see Bic appearance in other movies view this post as well.

*  reference to "Forged in fire"

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Stadtler Tradition pencil seen on screen



Seen on the screen comes back. Now with a pencil, Tradition 110 from Staedtler. According to Staedtler website, the Tradition is a High-quality pencil for writing, drawing, and sketching has an unbelievably break-resistant through special lead formulation and super-bonded lead. The wood is from certified, sustainably managed forests (I don't know what to say about this, we all heard about VW). Well, who knows let's give them credit until proven wrong.
The pencil comes in 12 degrees of hardness

Made in Germany.


In the movie The Numbers Station (2013) a bunch of Staedtler Tradition pencils can be spotted, apparently, grade B. The movie is poor - ok-ish but I'm not going to make further comments on the movie quality.
The main actors are John Cusack and Malin Akerman.
Note: I want to mention if by chance you see in the rest of the post the name Tom Cusack it's the same actor John, it's just I like to call him Tom :). He looks like a Tom for me.
Now that Tom is out of the way:

Right in the first scenes when the two are in the bunker receiving/sending numbers the pencils can be spotted.
the numbers station 2013 pencil staedtler
With very good eyesight and zoom, you can actually see Tradition B written on the pencil in the middle.

the numbers station 2013 pencil staedtler
In this first two images, John Cusack is picking up the pencil from the bunch and plays with it.

the numbers station 2013 pencil staedtler
In the picture above Malin Akerman is holding the pen, taking notes
the numbers station 2013 pencil staedtler
Spot the Staedtler.
Apparently, it is also good for holding your hair, not only for writing. Who knew?!

As I said before the movie is, how it is, but I have learned that Staedtler Tradition is good for playing when bored, good for writing, and good for holding your hair (if you have long hair)
Also, the movie made me aware that a number station is a real thing, not a made up bunker for John/Tom Cusack and Malin Akerman.

According to Wikipedia:
"A numbers station is a type of shortwave radio station characterized by unusual broadcasts, reading out lists of numbers or incomprehensible coded messages. The voices are often created by speech synthesis and are transmitted in a wide variety of languages. The voices are usually female, although sometimes men's or children's voices are used. Some voices are synthesized and created by machines; however, some stations used to have live readers. Many numbers stations went off the air due to the end of the Cold War in 1989, but many still operate and some have even continued operations but changed schedules and operators."

How does a number station work?
A number station provides a way to communicate in plain sight, transmitting a series of characters or numbers over radio waves. Everyone can listen to the transmission but only those who have the decrypter can understand the message.
The people decrypting needs a one time pad which is provided in advance.
More about one-time pad -The Laws of Cryptography

Friday, December 18, 2015

The man who stares at goats, what does it teachs us about engaging terrorists

In this days when terrorists and Star Wars is mentioned on news feeds daily I think we should all take an example from Lyn Cassady, the character played by George Clooney in the movie The Man Who Stares at Goats.
Lyn Cassady is an ex-military man who was part of a special unit in which they were training in paranormal activity. He is traveling with a reporter Bob Wilton played by Ewan McGregor.
Lyn is constantly talking about his mental abilities and the possibilities of the mind while they are captured by a group of terrorists.
In the basement where they are held hostage Lyn explains to Bob that it does not matter that there are more terrorists and they have guns because they are Jedi "we are Jedi's Bob, we don't fight with guns we fight with our mind"
basement escape pen

Monday, March 23, 2015

Pentel Energel on the screen

Watching the tv series Better Call Saul, I spotted a Pentel Energel pen. For you that do not know, Better Call Saul is a sideshow of Breaking Bad, on AMC. It presents the background of Saul Goodman the lawyer in Breaking Bad, his efforts of creating a name for himself, establishing a legitimate practice,  and the interaction with different characters that made a mark in Breaking Bad. In the 6th episode, Mike is the star. His background as an ex cop is under the spotlight, how did he end up in Albuquerque, and what made him leave the uniform for the criminal life.
Seven episodes into the life of Saul Goodman and I can say is a great show. Give it a try, especially if you enjoyed Breaking Bad.
Back to the pen spot.

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