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" A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, I was shocked to discover that one of my Hollywood agents, the manly Richard Lovett of CAA, took down a list of my complaints and desires longhand in a notebook. He explained that it was visually easier to keep track of things he had accomplished (with the exception of getting me my next big movie) than looking back through electronic notes and deleting them. Well, he was kind of right. Lately, at least for note taking, I have ditched my five PDAs and have been using a softcover composition notebook to test a handful of fountain pens. I use a different colored ink in each pen so I can quickly distinguish things I need to do versus people I&amp;#039;m angry at.  I have been writing with fountain pens since fourth grade, when we were required by Mrs. Kremer to use them to improve our penmanship. There are many advantages to using these pens, although a distinct disadvantage is that your fingers often become stained with ink from the less-than-high-tech instrument. On the other hand, it gets harder and harder to have a first-rate affectation, and fountain pens fit the bill. The secret to a good fountain pen is the nib, or point. Usually, the more expensive the pen, the higher quality the gold in the nib and the softer the point. A soft nib creates a smoother writing instrument, and it also conforms to your specific handwriting over time. It is one of the reasons that you never ever let someone use your fountain pen--even a loved one: You don&amp;#039;t want anyone screwing with your nib. Since you never lend it out, and a good fountain pen isn&amp;#039;t cheap, you never lose your pen. I like a bold nib, which not only makes my signature look presidential but also uses so much ink that it takes a good 20 minutes to dry. It&amp;#039;s amusing to watch cashiers waving my signed receipt in Wal-Mart.  Most pens take either prefilled plastic cartridges or a refillable ink canister, although a handful I tested use a built-in plunger, which requires you to refill by dipping it into an inkwell and sucking up a week&amp;#039;s supply. As PDAs get more complicated, requiring more steps through unintuitive windows to reach your &amp;quot;task&amp;quot; menu, actually writing notes down has become amazingly immediate, satisfying, and efficient. THE PENS The [1] PILOT VANISHING POINT ($140; namiki.com) is unique in that the nib is retractable, like a ballpoint pen. The price is perfect if you&amp;#039;re a fountain-pen virgin, and it creates less of a mess than some of the others. The sterling-silver barrel of the [2] TIFFANY ATLAS ($425; tiffany.com) is multifaceted, which provides an elegant look and keeps the pen from rolling away. It&amp;#039;s the pen that my daughter gave me for my 50th birthday. The [3] MONTBLANC MEISTERSTUCK ($510; montblanc.com) can be filled from an ink bottle or a cartridge, feels very light in your hand, writes smoothly, and has that distinctive &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m using a Montblanc&amp;quot; look. The [4] PELIKAN SOUVERAN M 625 ($600; pelikan.com) is beautiful, and pen aficionados will immediately respect you. With a smooth and thick ink flow, it writes superbly. It is one of the few that have to be filled using a built-in plunger. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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