London Blogging to the Faraway Towns: The Retro Version

For those who think that the phenomenon of Londoners blogging in the midst of crisis is one with no roots, allow me to humbly point to Samuel Pepys, who, through war (I knew this would come in handy sooner or later), plague, and fire, kept track of his 17th-century grocery shopping, avoidance of in-laws, hassles from his bosses, etc.

The link that ends this sentence should give you a remarkably good idea of what Pepys might have done if he had the Internet to play with.

Update: 11:16 PM, 7/7/05 -- Speaking of retro, here's the blog of Henry David Thoreau.