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.
An illustration from The Star of the Sea by N. Gregor (1897). The caption reads: "All the little images were smashed to pieces by the chief idol, which had never been known to have moved its hands."
An illustration from Philo Gubb, Correspondence School Detective by Ellis Parker Butler (1918). The caption reads: "Mr. Winterberry did not seem to be concealed among them."
Do you remember, when you were a child, the animals used to call your name? And you knew in the dark when the others were dreaming and you could never get to sleep. —Cat People (1982)