WordPress tells me that Contrapuntalism is five years old today. There have been 292 posts so far and 1,014 comments. The most frequently-read post (though it is more appropriate to call it a ‘page’) is The Stein Way: A Visit to Faber-Castell. Most of the visitors are from the U.S., followed by Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

There are several excellent blogs out there devoted to pencils, and even more devoted to stationery in general. Many of them tend to offer ‘reviews’ of new or current products, and though I’m interested in what’s new, I find that I’m more interested in what’s old. To that end I’ve been looking into the backstory of the pencils I’ve come to favor and the companies that made them—the Faber houses in particular. I’d like nothing more for there to be a history written about the Eberhard Faber Company not only because it interests me, but because I think it is important.

I’ve been posting less frequently about music-related topics lately, namely because music is what I’m involved with each and every day (except the time I spend here on new posts). And since I have those outlets available to me there is little I don’t have the opportunity to already express, so I tend to post about pencil-related topics more frequently.

I’m still inspired (and often awed) by the blogs I regularly visit; bands of like-minded brothers (and sisters). And when I step back to think about it, posting these past five years about a largely unremarkable topic has led to some rather remarkable opportunities, experiences, and friendships.

If you’re going to start a blog that mostly discusses pencils that are no longer made, it’s probably best to do so without expectations. Still though, you hope to contribute in a meaningful way—even if it is just about pencils.