A murderer attempts to explain, justify, and understand his crime (before the fact).
posted by prefpara on Aug 5, 2009 - 527 comments

GYOB: George Orwell's Blog, brought to you by The Orwell Prize. "August 9, 1938: Caught a large snake in the herbaceous border beside the drive..." [more inside]
posted by Alvy Ampersand on Aug 9, 2008 - 13 comments

Ever wondered what life is like on the International Space Station? Wonder no more. [more inside]
posted by oxford blue on Apr 25, 2008 - 25 comments

Alex Ramsey's journal gives an account of his journey westward to join the 1849 Gold Rush, a laborious trek of no more than twenty-five miles a day which ended in illness and disappointment. "I am now convinced that I done very wrong in coming here with the hope of bettering my pecuniary condition alone and I now declare and humbly ask God to enable me to perform my promise that if I am again permitted to return to a land of peace and quietude, that I will strive to be content." From the Wyoming State Archives' Document Photo Gallery.
posted by Miko on Sep 14, 2006 - 16 comments

17 Million Words / 155 Volumes / One bedridden hypochondriac (?) : Arthur Crew Inman wrote one of the strangest diaries of the 20th century. Listen to his voice (WMA), or see an excerpt from the documentary being made about him (WMV) by the man who wrote a play based on his life.
posted by OmieWise on Jun 9, 2006 - 15 comments

Kathrin2305's Moleskine slideshow The non-flash version. (via robot wisdom) -more-
posted by madamjujujive on Mar 5, 2006 - 22 comments

To live in a pristine land ... to roam the wilderness ... to choose a site, cut trees, and build a home ... Thousands have had such dreams, but Richard Proenneke lived them. In 1968, at 51 years of age, Richard Proenneke retired to Upper Twin Lakes, Alaska and using nothing but hand tools, built a cabin where he lived for the next 30 or so years. He filmed the cabin's construction (as well as much of nature's wonder) and kept meticulous notes on the back of wall calendars. In 1973, Sam_Keith produced a book (One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey) based on Proenneke's journal entries and photography. In 1999, at the age of 82, Proenneke could no longer endure the harsh winters of Alaska and moved to California to be with his family. He died there on Easter Sunday, 2003.
posted by a_day_late on Feb 10, 2005 - 16 comments

Bob Graham, Florida senator and Democratic presidential aspirant, burned 246 calories on his exercise bike on Feb. 7, 1999. Good thing, because he weighed in that morning at 187, up one pound from the previous day. How do we know this? Because over the past 26 years, Graham has filled box after box with journals capturing an incredible, some say obsessive, level of detail about his daily life. Quirky, sure; parody friendly, no doubt; but will the GOP be successful in using it to paint him as crazy? (Salon daypass req. for last link)
posted by luser on Jun 3, 2003 - 17 comments

"You were not responsive, lying on a bed of sheets covered with blood." A young woman crashes her car, is airlifted to the hospital, and goes on life support. Her parents continue her 10-year-old diary during her stay in intensive care. Years later it's all posted to the web.
posted by D on Feb 21, 2002 - 3 comments