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.
This is one of the dangers encountered by urban explorers (Urbex) who investigate abandoned properties. From Satirikon, 1908. See our own Urbex adventure, here, which the acclaimed philosopher of magic, Robert E. Neale, praised as a new artform: "I cannot imagine a more striking example of how the human animal can cope. In response to a destructive event, these animals create an expression that is uniquely original in style and content, moving, funny and thoughtful. May we all try to do the same when life offers us the opportunity."