At times, otherwise beloved digital helpers à la iCal, Things, etc. get on my every last nerve — they never sync exactly the way I need them to, there’s always some feature missing that I could really use at the time, and they tie me to the computer even more closely.

On most days, I take comfort in the fact that these tools do 97.5% of what I need them to, and that things could be much worse. Someone might force me to use Microsoft’s Outlook, or worse, Google calendars. The mere thought is sufficient to make my eyes bleed and ogle the Apple logo on the back of my laptop for reassurance.

But sometimes I really do miss the analog days, occasions where you’d pick up a nice pen and jot things down in your calendar. This longing is probably the reason why I bought the outlandishly expensive Filofaxes (?) I barely ever use, and why I have a hard time walking past any store/shelf that displays beautiful writing utensils or note-/sketchbooks. So this is what was on the shelf I walked past this morning, then: Moleskine’s Weekly Planner for 2011.

Red is the new white is the new black

Isn’t it stunningly beautiful? Everything from the materials it is made of and the tactile sensation they inspire when picking it up, to its smell and its colors — it is sublime. Can you tell I really like Moleskine products?

A good notebook is one of those things I’d take on an island with me. A notebook and a nice pen. Among other things, of course.

And Moleskine makes some of the best notebooks out there. They used to be rather square (?), then they used to be ultra-hip, and now they’re once again on their way out the door. The only thing that doesn’t change with this ever-swelling and -ebbing tide of hipness is their utility — from scrap- to notebook, and all the way to diary and project log — there’s little these cardboard marvels can’t do.

The hardcover even has a bit of a shine to it

I love that shade of red. It communicates an appropriate level of urgency (?), yet it manages to avoid coming across as too ‘aufdringlich’ (?).

What will you be doing on the 29th

I’ve already got plans on that day, apologies. And no, the ball pen doesn’t come with the weekly planner, either.

Look Ma, it even comes with stickers!

The stickers adhesive labels alone, while probably not all that useful, would have made me buy the damn thing.

Will I be using the hell out of this planner once January 1st, 2011 rolls around? Judging from past experiences, I’d say ‘unlikely’. Will I finally be able to successfully integrate digital tools with my analog desires (?). Again, even less likely than the first point above.

And no, I haven’t wasted my money on something I neither need or use — what I have done here, and quite successfully so, I would like to add, is to remind my computer(s) that if push were come to shove, I could manage without it (them).

Just to make sure they don’t forget who’s boss around these parts.