Go Out in a Blaze of Glory |
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When the occasional hater leaves us a bad review of one of our books or other creations, we're left seeing stars — literally! We were recently given "two stars" by someone we've never heard of, for the extraordinary non-gimmicked magical card deck we created for Las Vegas headliners who seek to leave people with genuine wonderment. ( You can read about the deck here.) At first those two stars left us astonished. Then we realized: those two stars are "Azha Al Naam," meaning "Ostrich Nests." There are dual luminaries in the legs of Sagittarius, one of which the Arabic astronomers of old said was an ostrich going to water, and the other an ostrich returning from the water. The neighboring two stars are the ostriches' nests. This constellation is described in the nearly forgotten book Urania: Or, a Compleat View of the Heavens (1754). So, yes — our remarkable card deck is indeed a cosmic ostrich nest. But we didn't tell that to our critic, figuring that if she didn't have eyes to see the self-expanding wisdom of the cards, how could she discern ancient ostrich nests in the heavens? Her third eye perhaps sensed those glimmers, but had she been consciously aware of them, she'd have then seen more stars in a grander constellation. Instead, realizing that our critic was admitting to be cut off from deep intuitive understanding, we gave her a wish by way of E. E. Cummings: "Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit."
If you'd like help identifying the constellations of your own product reviews, let us know!
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We're deilghted that the latest review of our Magic Words: A Dictionary calls the book a "critter"! This is a Retroactive Lifetime Goal! "This critter will definitely expand your vocabulary and repertoire." Thanks, Amazon Hall of Fame reviewer Bernie (Xyzzy)!
Our illustration is from Kosa, 1906.
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A devoted reader ingeniously overlapped two diagrams from two of our books and applied them to the human body, illuminating a remarkable new tool.
Page 7 of Let's Do and Say We Didn't contains a map for constructing the elements of a believable lie. Upon this template, our reader doodled out a version of the Chinese bagua map from Seance Parlor Feng Shui. He noted: "They go so well together, one could easily conclude that you have illustrated the Feng Shui of Lying." But then our reader had a brainstorm — what if this new map were laid over the human body? The correspondences are uncanny. For example, the top left shoulder of the human body corresponds to both the "fortune" aspect of the bagua and the "alibi" of the lying map, and it is indeed fortuitous to have an alibi. One hand of the human body is associated with the "new beginnings" of the bagua and the "once upon a time" aspect of the lying map, appropriately writing or typing out the beginning of a story. The other hand is associated with "elements of truth" from the lying map and "creativity / metal" of the bagua, recalling the old proverb that "truth is golden." The two legs of the human body are also quite intriguing: one leg is associated with the bagua's "mentors" and the lying map's "second thoughts," and surely one's advisors offer additional thoughts and perspectives. The other leg is associated with the the bagua's "wisdom" and the lying map's "characters," and isn't it wisdom that gives a character a "leg up" or "legs" in terms of success? Also intriguing is how the human body's head is associated with the "obstacles" of the lying map and the "reputation" of the bagua, as it's commonly said that the stumbling blocks we face in life turn out to be mental constructs.
Our reader said, "Now what I believe you have done here is explain both physical Feng Shui (bagua map) and cerebral Feng Shui (story map). Place these over the body, and with a basic understanding of the difference between right and left brain activity, conscious/subconscious, I think you have discovered the holistic nature of Feng Shui. Body, Mind and Spirit. Prof. Oddfellow, I believe you are on the precipice of proving that all existence can be explained with the simple concept of Feng Shui."
We're crediting that as a Retroactive Lifetime Goal!
We also like how the reader has begun using the blank book Let's Do and Say We Didn't to create more of that blank book's front matter (along with some additional front matter from Seance Parlor Feng Shui, too!) It could turn into an entire book of front matter ... and then a second blank book would be required, with "Book 2" written onto the front cover, to restore the whole thing as a blank book. Yet the process would have to continue -- a new blank book added every time one is filled. But there's a hack to this vicious circle -- merely retain a single blank page at the very end of the first book, and it will technically still be a blank book (merely one that demands very careful consideration on how the reader/writer might fill in that limited space).
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There is only one thing to do. The veil must be lifted. The unknown designer, the unknown craftsman must be brought out into the light, recognized as any other artist is recognized, and given the privilege to affix his signature or other identifying mark to any worthy work or design, or to any direct result of his design, the product in turn to be valued as much for its artistry as its more material qualities. ... Give the designer his due, and artist, manufacturer, dealer, public, country all will be the richer. Anonymity represses. Nothing grows without light. Let us have all the light we can get. —Arts & Decoration Magazine, 1921
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We spotted in the front window of Quimby's NYC none other than our How to Be Your Own Cat, featuring a preface by the acclaimed poet and novelist Gary Barwin. Reader Adam says: " I love this book and am thrilled that it is exactly what I thought it would be. A well thought out slice of human behaviour disguised as a humorous picture of the feline mind. I for one was thrilled to find out I didn't really need the education because I am already my own cat. Although I haven't listened to the floor in a while. I really must take that back up... It really is a great little psychology book for people who still use their brain cells to think. And satire has always been, in my opinion, one of the greatest teaching tools. Entertain people and they don't even realise they are actually learning something."
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Original Content Copyright © 2026 by Craig Conley. All rights reserved.
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