Fed by Birds

From Penny Postcards, via.

A lot of these towns look like they could be the setting for this book by Sinclair Lewis:

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Well, not quite, unfortunately - but Aunts and Butlers is not a bad pastiche, and this may be the only text-adventure game in which the object is to inherit your aunt's fortune, after disguising yourself as a butler and making her a cup of tea (pretty difficult in itself). I gave up after trying to meet Cousin Virgule from the station, but there's plenty more after that. Via Ample Sanity.

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As good as they sound:

Pictures from here.

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I bought this account by a Chinese poet, calligrapher and painter of life in London in 1938 after seeing it on this site, which is full of extracts from intriguing illustrated books.

Chiang Yee is a charming, modest and funny observer of this alien world, and a man after our own heart in his enthusiasm for London parks, ducks and listening to birdsong while lying in bed. What I really got the book for was his beautiful little paintings of London scenes in the Chinese style - from deer in Richmond Park (click on images to enlarge):

early autumn in Kenwood:

morning mist in St James's park:

to Jubilee night in Trafalgar Square and Coronation night in the underground:

Plus London faces in a public bar:

I'm glad to say that it must have been popular over the years, because you can still buy it in a modern edition here.

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The sifaka. This lemur can hop, jump, sashay, and, best of all, do an Ancient Egyptian-style sideways dance - see videos of it in action here.

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If you didn't go out and look at the total lunar eclipse last night you must be crazy. Or maybe living somewhere where it wasn't visible. The moon turned blood red. The Dictionary of Superstitions tells me that it's a bad idea to undertake any business of importance during a lunar eclipse, and 'as to Nativities this is very remarkable' - although it doesn't specify in what way the nativities are remarkable. Hopefully in a good way. Also, it's unlucky to point at the moon, whatever it's doing. Penalties vary from being struck blind to being denied access to heaven, but all of them are severe.

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In which a pleasantly sturdy-waisted model demonstrates how to walk in a "walking suit" - not as easy as it sounds in this case.

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