Random (again) Monday.

Random things from the internets today.

The Zombie Apocalypse of Daniel DeFoe, from Lapham's Quarterly:

Defoe’s novel, published in 1722, is a mutant factual-fiction that recounts the plague epidemic of 1665, which dispatched almost 100,000 Londoners. Purporting to be the “memorial” of a survivor known only as “H.F.”, it was based on genuine documentary sources, including the diary of Defoe’s uncle.

A Japanese scroll from the Edo period (1603 to 1868) about... um, farting. (I know.) From the Daily Mail:

Made by an unknown artist or artists, the scroll depicts a number of different scenes - all linked by the fact that at least one character is directing a debilitating blast of flatulence towards another character.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2104250/Divine-wind-Japanese-He-gassen-art-actually-form-social-commentary.html#ixzz1qCLtD45f

 

See more at Tofugu.

This is so cool I can't even begin to tell you:

Source: bigthink.com via LB on Pinterest

From BigThink.com:

This fantastic contraption, called the ‘Routefinder’, showed 1920s drivers in the UK the roads they were travelling down, gave them the mileage covered and told them to stop when they came at journey’s end.
The technology – a curious cross between the space age and the stone age – consisted of a little map scroll inside a watch, to be ‘scrolled’ (hence the word) as the driver moved along on the map. A multitude of scrolls could be fitted in the watch to suit the particular trip the driver fancied taking.

I haven't done a fashion-y post in a long time. So here are some beautiful things, just for the sheer fun of it.

First off, this beautiful handmade sweater from Primoeza (found at Anais-- the picture is from Metrode's blog). It may be spring where you are, but it was actually snowing this morning and was 38° F when I went grocery-shopping in the afternoon. I could probably wear this until June. I'm not kidding.

photo from Metrode.

Love these shoes. They are from Alexander Wang, pre-Fall 2011:

found on pinterest.

Perfect red wallet. From comme des garçons:

from Dover Street Market.

And I'm still obsessed with rings. Right now, it's this hammered silver band with a flush-set stone from Etsy artist 2TrickPony. I'll take the oxidized one with the raw diamond. 

I've been following Building Block blog for quite some time. This young industrial designer has been playing with leather and experimenting with bag designs for a while; she now has a small line of beautiful bags that are available in a few shops. Pour Porter is one of the first to carry them:

and while you're over at Pour Porter, check out her blog. She asked me to do a guest post for her last year and it was a lot of fun.

Discoveries

Video of Pierre Auguste Renoir painting in his studio (1917), found via Tywkiwdbi:

For 44 years a small disc-shaped metal canister rested in a closet at the Comparative Literature Department's office in Boylston Hall. Nobody opened it. Nobody knew what it was...

From the Guardian: 500 new fairytales discovered in Germany.

A whole new world of magic animals, brave young princes and evil witches has come to light with the discovery of 500 new fairytales, which were locked away in an archive in Regensburg, Germany for over 150 years. The tales are part of a collection of myths, legends and fairytales, gathered by the local historian Franz Xaver von Schönwerth (1810–1886) in the Bavarian region of Oberpfalz at about the same time as the Grimm brothers were collecting the fairytales that have since charmed adults and children around the world.

Jonathan Swift's list

Entitled, "When I Come to Be Old":

Here's the transcript (via Lists of Note):

When I come to be old. 1699.

Not to marry a young Woman.
Not to keep young Company unless they reely desire it.
Not to be peevish or morose, or suspicious.
Not to scorn present Ways, or Wits, or Fashions, or Men, or War, &c.
Not to be fond of Children, or let them come near me hardly.
Not to tell the same story over and over to the same People.
Not to be covetous.
Not to neglect decency, or cleenlyness, for fear of falling into Nastyness.
Not to be over severe with young People, but give Allowances for their youthfull follyes and weaknesses.
Not to be influenced by, or give ear to knavish tatling servants, or others.
Not to be too free of advise, nor trouble any but those that desire it.
To desire some good Friends to inform me wch of these Resolutions I break, or neglect, and wherein; and reform accordingly.
Not to talk much, nor of my self.
Not to boast of my former beauty, or strength, or favor with Ladyes, &c.
Not to hearken to Flatteryes, nor conceive I can be beloved by a young woman, et eos qui hereditatem captant, odisse ac vitare.
Not to be positive or opiniative.
Not to sett up for observing all these Rules; for fear I should observe none.

found via Twitter.