Leonardo Officina Italiana Momento Magico Emerald |
The Magico can be fully disassembled for cleaning. |
While other Leonardo pens have markings on their barrels, the Momento Magico has its branding on the cap, above the ascending geometric lines of the cap band. |
The Emerald's body is so shiny! I love the vibrant color and glossy finish of Leonardo fountain pens. |
The Momento Magico's new ink window is shorter and has matching ring bands. |
The Emerald's Medium nib writes smooth, juicy, and very comfortable to use. |
Momento Magico Emerald (2022) and Millefiori (2021) – the packaging and presentation for both pens remain the same. |
The cap, clip, and clip band are all the same. |
But the gap in the ink window that is visible in the 2021 Millefiori is no longer visible in the Emerald. |
Here is the comparison of the ink windows of the two fountain pens. The 2021 Magico has a longer and simpler ink window. The 2022 Magico has a shorter ink window with matching ring bands. |
From top: TWSBI ECO Turquoise, Laban 325, Leonardo Momento Magico Emerald, Esterbrook Estie Gold Rush Frontier Green, and Lamy Alstar Aquamarine. |
I chose this happy song because the Magico Emerald reminds me so much of the sea! |
This postcard tells the Leonardo story. |
It’s that time of year, with a calendar reminder or not, to think of the span between these three days of February. Three days and many years now.
February 5, 1950–now 73 years ago–marks the date Alyce Herondorf married Morris Levine and set out on that life together that gave me, my sisters, my brothers, and everything I know to be. Because of them. The wed in an even numbered year that makes the mathematics of the passing time easy to calculate and hard to accept.
Three days from now will have mark the date of would be Mom’s 94th birthday. She would explode in laughter were a phone to work — we’d joke about time, and cookies, and memories of times together in Ocean City.
Today, Cori and I got to spend time together snowshoeing around our property, laughing, joking, and her enjoying my silly goofiness.
Mom and Dad would have so loved knowing Cori as a daughter. I can imagine those weekly phone calls where they would want to hear about all we are up to, them full of questions of our lives and always, lots of laughs and joy.
I can feel their togetherness in thinking about them and can feel them with us.
On these three days, and beyond. Forever.
Featured Image: Unpublished photo I took of my parents on their Florida porch, licensed CC BY (bye)
Companies continue to find new ways to impress with true wireless earbuds. There’s no doubt the popularity of Apple’s AirPods helped make them a mainstay, but plenty of others offer reliable connectivity, great sound and active noise cancellation (ANC) in increasingly smaller form factors. You can also get features that used to be reserved for premium models on mid-range devices. Of course, the popularity means that new earbuds are popping up all the time and the list of options is longer than ever. To help, we’ve compiled the best wireless earbuds you can buy right now, including noteworthy features for each.
Sony keeps its top spot on our list for its combination of great sound quality, powerful active noise cancellation and a long list of features no other company can compete with. As with its headphones, Sony manages to pack a ton of handy tools into its flagship true wireless earbuds. The basics like wireless charging and battery life improvements are covered, but company-specific features like Speak-to-Chat automatic pausing, Adaptive Sound Control adjustments based on movement or location, 360 Reality Audio and a customizable EQ are icing on the cake. Plus, DSEE Extreme upscaling helps improve compressed tunes over Bluetooth.
If sound quality is your primary concern, the Momentum True Wireless 3 is your best bet. You won’t get the truckload of features that Sony offers, but Sennheiser does the basics well at a lower price than the previous Momentum earbuds. A new Adaptive Noise Cancellation setup continuously monitors ambient sounds to suppress them in real time. Inside, the company’s True Response transducer is paired with 7mm dynamic drivers for top-notch audio.
When it comes to blocking out the world, the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II are the best at the task. Bose introduced a redesigned active noise canceling set earlier this year and the smaller buds deliver a more comfy fit. The company also managed to improve ambient sound and maintain its track record of solid audio quality. However, the real star here is the ANC performance which is hands-down the best you can get right now. The QC Earbuds II don’t have some basic features like multipoint connectivity and wireless charging, so that might factor into your decision.
Jabra packs a lot into a set of earbuds for under $100. The Elite 3 don’t have ANC, automatic pausing or wireless charging, and the EQ changes are limited to presets. However, these affordable buds have impressive sound quality, good battery life, reliable on-board controls and a very comfy fit. If you’re looking for the best earbuds to just get the job done, the Elite 3 are more than capable.
Apple’s latest AirPods Pro are a huge improvement over the 2019 model. The company managed to improve the sound quality and active noise cancellation while keeping all of the conveniences that make AirPods the best earbud option for iOS and Mac. To me, the most impressive feature is the transparency mode, which is more natural sounding than any other earbuds by a mile. You can leave these in during a conversation and it’s like you’re not even wearing them. Of course, fast pairing, hands-free Siri and wireless charging (MagSafe or Apple Watch chargers) will also come in handy.
Google has hit its stride when it comes to true wireless earbuds. Every new model the company introduces is an improvement after its first attempt failed to impress. With the Pixel Buds Pro, Google offers deep, punchy bass, solid ANC performance, reliable touch controls and wireless charging. Plus, there are added convenience features for Android and Pixel devices including Google Translate Conversation Mode.
Most of the best AirPods features in a set of workout earbuds? That’s the Beats Fit Pro. Thanks to Apple’s H1 chip, these buds offer one-touch quick pairing, hands-free Siri and Find My tools. They’ll also allow you to use Audio Sharing with an Apple device and another set of AirPods or Beats wireless headphones for tandem listening or viewing. Balanced and punchy bass will keep the energy up during workouts while good noise cancellation and a comfy ear tip fit make these a solid option outside of the gym too. And there’s plenty of support for Android, so these aren’t just a good buy for iOS users either.
One of the biggest surprises this year wasn’t Sony’s unique open-wear LinkBuds, it was the more mainstream follow-up. With the LinkBuds S, the company debuted a more “traditional” design akin to its premium WF-1000XM4, only this model is much smaller and lighter which leads to a much more comfy fit. These tiny wireless earbuds muster some punch when it comes to sound quality too and support for high-res listening (LDAC and DSEE Extreme) are both onboard. Capable ANC lends a hand with environmental noise and transparency mode can keep you tuned in when needed. What’s more, handy Speak-to-Chat is here and Adaptive Sound Control can automatically change settings based on activity or location. That’s a lot of premium for features at a mid-range price.
After John Edelman bought Heller last year, the company announced plans to bring back the iconic 1960s stackable Hellerware in white. The Vignelli-designed melamine dinnerware was originally manufactured in Italy in 1964, and then later in the United States by Alan Heller. Currently, the white Hellerware collection is available for pre-order on Heller’s site. The Hellerware rainbow colorway, however, has been in and out of production since the early aughts, but now the MoMA Design Store is bringing the legendary collection back in six vibrant colors. Starting today, they’re available in 6-piece sets, one of each color, of either dinner plates, salad plates, soup bowls, or mugs, for $60, via online or in-store.
The Heller Rainbow Dinnerware collection launches today exclusively from the MoMA Design Store. Visit store.moma.org for more information.