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.
"The snow isn't snow at all. It never was" (Bridget Asher, The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted, 2011). Our proof is courtesy of the Costică Acsinte Archive.
This was entitled "2 Women" by the Boston Public Library, but our analysis finds that it's a single ghost that is bilocating. Photo by Leslie Jones, date uncertain.
Rune stone, Lejsta, Rasbo, Uppland, Sweden, 1926. Courtesy of Swedish National Heritage. The inscription says: "Vigdjärv and Jorund and Sigbjörn had the stone raised in memory of Svartung, their father."
"They watch with loving and gracious eyes as you flail about, because they, too, have fallen, flailed, and found new life on the other side" (Jenny Simmons, The Road to Becoming). Our photo is courtesy of the San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives.
The third figure from the right has two heads that don't see eye to eye. The postcard was originally scanned by UpNorth Memories. (For those intrigued by Janus-faced figures, our Oracle of the Two-Fold Gods is finally in print again, and the first 57 pages are viewable here. [Note that the preview may take a few moments to load.])
"For when the frost comes, all will be safe till Spring" (R. H. Budd, The Complete Practical Farmer, 1835). Photo courtesy of the Costică Acsinte Archive.