Kicking off my self-declared Year of Creativity is a list I reconstructed listing how using a pencil is better than a computer. “Reconstructed” because it’s a list I originally made for rec.arts.animation waaaaay back in the mid 90s when 9600 baud dial-up was all the rage.

The inside joke was really about hand drawn animation vs. computer and how people tend to think using a computer will make them artists.

Unfortunately, I’m not able to find my original post. Perhaps it was posted under a different animation group or maybe a forum. So without further ado, here is a new one. It isn’t exclusive to animation. Some, I admit, are a little cheesy.

1. A pencil will never crash.

2. A pencil doesn’t need electricity.

3. You will never get the blue screen of death with a pencil though you can always draw one.

4. For that matter, a pencil doesn’t run Windows.

5. Endless undo.

6. Spammers can’t reach you on your pencil.

7. You never have to worry about having to upgrade a pencil. Just buy a new one. They’re really, really cheap.

8. You never need to worry about software updates.

9. Ditto about security.

10. Pencils are user-friendly. Anyone of all ages and all levels of technical knowledge can use one.

11. Women can use pencils to put their hair up.

12. Pencils fit in your hand, on your ear, are portable and waterproof!

I leave items number 13 through 55 to you to submit :)