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.
Older and older men are starting families, and when we see white-haired grandfatherly types out and about with their newborns, we can't help but to see classic archetypes at play: Father Time and Baby New Year. Here they are as depicted in Life magazine, 1902:
"Fresh snow reminds me of a magician's hankie covering the magic happening beneath. Soon it will be pulled back, and surprise! It is spring!" —Dr. Bill Gordon