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 838 posts tagged ‘boat’

Your Ship Will Come In – March 5, 2017 (permalink)

"Hung high in the air, as if sailing over the clouds."  From Torn From Its Foundations by David Ker and illustrated by A. Pearse, 1902.
> read more from Your Ship Will Come In . . .
#vintage illustration #ghost ship #illustration #phantom ship
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This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea – February 17, 2017 (permalink)

"Hermodsson sent up to heaven a shriek distinct above the roaring of the gulf," from "The Spectre-Ship" by M. P. Shiel, in Cassell's, 1896.
   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(
`-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `
"The sea is a cruel mistress. Yet again the sea has behaved unconscionably. It's time to address this terrible problem that is the sea." —Captain Neddie, from the hilarious BBC series Broken News
> read more from This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea . . .
#vintage illustration #ghost ship #viking ship #haunted ship #illustration
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Postcard Transformations – February 16, 2017 (permalink)

INSTRUCTIONS: Click to reveal a different version.

Steamer City of Cleveland, D&C Line
> read more from Postcard Transformations . . .
#ship #vintage postcard #michigan #steamer #gif #postcard
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This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea – February 7, 2017 (permalink)

From Jugend, 1896.
   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(
`-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `
"The sea is a cruel mistress. Yet again the sea has behaved unconscionably. It's time to address this terrible problem that is the sea." —Captain Neddie, from the hilarious BBC series Broken News
> read more from This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea . . .
#vintage illustration #ghost #spirit #shipwreck #illustration
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This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea – February 6, 2017 (permalink)

"Shrouded giant shapes of Death."  From The Outcast by Robert Williams Buchanan, 1891.
   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(
`-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `
"The sea is a cruel mistress. Yet again the sea has behaved unconscionably. It's time to address this terrible problem that is the sea." —Captain Neddie, from the hilarious BBC series Broken News
> read more from This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea . . .
#vintage illustration #death ship #flying dutchman #ghost ship #haunted ship #illustration
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Postcard Transformations – January 27, 2017 (permalink)

INSTRUCTIONS: Click to change the light.

Boat Houses, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
> read more from Postcard Transformations . . .
#vintage postcard #philadelphia #boat house #fairmont park #gif #postcard
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Old News – January 21, 2017 (permalink)

"Queer houseboat propelled by engine and air screw."  (Aren't they all?)  A headline from Popular Mechanics, 1920.
> read more from Old News . . .
#vintage illustration #vintage headline #illustration #queer #houseboat #headline
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Postcard Transformations – January 18, 2017 (permalink)

INSTRUCTIONS: Click to reveal the photo that inspired the painted card.

Steamship Christopher Columbus on the Chicago-Milwaukee Route
> read more from Postcard Transformations . . .
#ship #vintage postcard #steamer #gif #postcard
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Postcard Transformations – January 15, 2017 (permalink)

INSTRUCTIONS: Click to hand tint the card.

A Shipping Scene: Piers 10 and 11, Galveston, Texas
> read more from Postcard Transformations . . .
#vintage postcard #hand tinted #galveston #texas #ships #gif #postcard
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This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea – January 14, 2017 (permalink)

From Die Bühne, 1926.  Does he have a snowball's chance in hell?   See A Snowball's Chance in Hell.
   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(
`-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `
"The sea is a cruel mistress. Yet again the sea has behaved unconscionably. It's time to address this terrible problem that is the sea." —Captain Neddie, from the hilarious BBC series Broken News
> read more from This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea . . .
#vintage illustration #shipwreck #radio #shark #illustration #stranded
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Postcard Transformations – January 7, 2017 (permalink)

INSTRUCTIONS: Click to change the mood.

Pascagoula River, Scanton, Mississippi
> read more from Postcard Transformations . . .
#boat #vintage postcard #mississippi #pascagoula river #postcard
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Restoring the Lost Sense – December 26, 2016 (permalink)

[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 #ghost #angel #ship #apparition #virgin mary #illustration
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Postcard Transformations – December 21, 2016 (permalink)

INSTRUCTIONS: Click to reveal the enchanced enlargement.

Steamer Chief Wawatam Railway Ferry
> read more from Postcard Transformations . . .
#ship #vintage postcard #steamer #gif #postcard
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Old News – December 1, 2016 (permalink)

The year in review -- "rowing in a boat that does not move."  From Popular Mechanics, 1908.
> read more from Old News . . .
#vintage illustration #vintage headline #illustration #life is but a dream #rowing #inertia #getting nowhere #row row row your boat #headline
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Restoring the Lost Sense – November 30, 2016 (permalink)

"Floating, floating, floating still—."  From Cassell's, 1888.
[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 #moonlight #boat #floating #moonlit cruise #illustration
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This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea – November 22, 2016 (permalink)

"Even on calm waters, waves will rise."

   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(
`-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `
"The sea is a cruel mistress. Yet again the sea has behaved unconscionably. It's time to address this terrible problem that is the sea." —Captain Neddie, from the hilarious BBC series Broken News
> read more from This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea . . .
#vintage ad #ship #octopus #sea moster #ad
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This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea – November 16, 2016 (permalink)

"In his doom'd Ship upon the Ocean."  From The Outcast by Robert Williams Buchanan, 1891.
   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(
`-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `
"The sea is a cruel mistress. Yet again the sea has behaved unconscionably. It's time to address this terrible problem that is the sea." —Captain Neddie, from the hilarious BBC series Broken News
> read more from This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea . . .
#vintage illustration #death ship #flying dutchman #ghost ship #haunted ship #illustration
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Restoring the Lost Sense – November 7, 2016 (permalink)

Here's the spirit of refueling, from the USS Enterprise Special Collection of the San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive.
[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 #ship #genii #refueling #spirit of fuel #illustration
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Postcard Transformations – November 3, 2016 (permalink)

INSTRUCTIONS: Click for the painted version.

S.S. Alhambra
> read more from Postcard Transformations . . .
#ship #vintage postcard #s.s. alabama #gif #postcard
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Staring Into the Depths – October 25, 2016 (permalink)

"Look!  There it goes."  From When the Birds Begin to Sing by Winifred Graham, 1897.
[The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Staring Into the Depths . . .
#vintage illustration #boat #illustration
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