CRAIG CONLEY (Prof. Oddfellow) is recognized by Encarta as “America’s most creative and diligent scholar of letters, words and punctuation.” He has been called a “language fanatic” by Page Six gossip columnist Cindy Adams, a “cult hero” by Publisher’s Weekly, a “monk for the modern age” by George Parker, and “a true Renaissance man of the modern era, diving headfirst into comprehensive, open-minded study of realms obscured or merely obscure” by Clint Marsh. An eccentric scholar, Conley’s ideas are often decades ahead of their time. He invented the concept of the “virtual pet” in 1980, fifteen years before the debut of the popular “Tamagotchi” in Japan. His virtual pet, actually a rare flower, still thrives and has reached an incomprehensible size. Conley’s website is OneLetterWords.com.
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Abecedarian personal effects of 'a mad genius'
A Turkish Delight of musings on languages, deflations of metaphysics, vauntings of arcana, and great visual humor.

Found 4,622 posts tagged ‘anthropomorphism’

The Right Word – July 1, 2020 (permalink)

Though Wikipedia dates the oath "Sakes alive" from the 1930s to the 1950s, here it is in 1918.  Sakes alive, Wikipedia!  From Doctor Rabbit and Ki-yi Coyote by Thomas Hinkle, 1918.
> read more from The Right Word . . .
#vintage illustration #anthropomorphism #rabbit #squirrel #sakes alive
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Restoring the Lost Sense – June 28, 2020 (permalink)

A foxtrot from Lustige Blätter, 1919.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #anthropomorphism #fox #dancing #foxtrot #dancing animal #lol
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Restoring the Lost Sense – June 25, 2020 (permalink)

Here's Monsieur X, and for the meaning of X see One-Letter Words: A Dictionary.  From L'Eclipse, 1868.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #anthropomorphism #faces in things #vegetable people #gourd
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Yearbook Weirdness – June 24, 2020 (permalink)

Watching the television brush its teeth.  From St. Patrick's 1957 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #anthropomorphism #vintage yearbook #yearbook #faces in things #surreal #illustration #bizarre #toothpaste #television #1950s
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The Right Word – June 23, 2020 (permalink)

The Big U says, quoting the Howie interlude from Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way":
"You are (you are, you are, you are)."
Note that the Big U may have misheard the lyrics as two one-letter words: "U, R."
The Big U is from Wid's Daily, 1919.
> read more from The Right Word . . .
#vintage illustration #anthropomorphism #letter u #wink
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Restoring the Lost Sense – June 22, 2020 (permalink)

From Nebelspalter, 1897.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #anthropomorphism #dancing #faces in things #illustration #stein
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This May Surprise You – June 20, 2020 (permalink)

In the late 1800s, children were taught very young the horror of a wolf selling a goat gloves made from the skins of baby goats.  From Pittypat and Tippytoe by Eugene Field, 1896.
> read more from This May Surprise You . . .
#vintage illustration #anthropomorphism #wolf #goat #kid gloves
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Restoring the Lost Sense – June 19, 2020 (permalink)

From Krokodil, 1956.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #fairies #anthropomorphism #hybrid #human headed #butterfly man
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Restoring the Lost Sense – June 17, 2020 (permalink)

From Little Jack Rabbit's Big Blue Book by David Cory, 1924.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #anthropomorphism #rabbit
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Restoring the Lost Sense – June 16, 2020 (permalink)

From The Nine Lives of a Cat by Charles Bennett, 1860.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #anthropomorphism #cat
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Yearbook Weirdness – June 15, 2020 (permalink)

From Mary Washington's 1913 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #anthropomorphism #animals #vintage yearbook #yearbook #bull #basketball #animal sports
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Restoring the Lost Sense – June 14, 2020 (permalink)

From The Film Daily, 1938.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #anthropomorphism #lion #dandy #vintage gay #gay #vintage hollywood #hollywood
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Restoring the Lost Sense – June 13, 2020 (permalink)

From Nebelspalter, 1886.

[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #political cartoon #anthropomorphism #map #strange map #art #1880s
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Restoring the Lost Sense – June 13, 2020 (permalink)

Are you a night owl or an early bird?  From Observer Magazine, 1990.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #owl #bird headed #anthropomorphism #animal headed #night owl #early bird
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Restoring the Lost Sense – June 12, 2020 (permalink)

A pincushion is a horror to balloon people.  From The Wonderful Land of Up by Olive Roberts Barton and illustrated by Neely McCoy, 1918.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #anthropomorphism #balloon #pincushion
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Restoring the Lost Sense – June 11, 2020 (permalink)

From Sprut, 1906.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #anthropomorphism #cat #umbrella #pipe smoker #rooster #pig
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Yearbook Weirdness – June 10, 2020 (permalink)

The harassment of dandy duckies.  From William and Mary's 1914 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #anthropomorphism #vintage yearbook #yearbook #duck
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Restoring the Lost Sense – June 10, 2020 (permalink)

From St. Nicholas magazine, March 1917.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #anthropomorphism #spider
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This May Surprise You – June 10, 2020 (permalink)

What we call a book's "spine" is actually its face.  From Lenoir-Rhyne's 1915 yearbook.
> read more from This May Surprise You . . .
#vintage illustration #anthropomorphism #vintage yearbook #yearbook #book #faces in things #walking dictionary #1910s
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Restoring the Lost Sense – June 7, 2020 (permalink)

"I'm throwing away the scissors!"  With gusto.  From The Film Daily, 1937.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #anthropomorphism #scissors #lion #1930s
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