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.
"It bears repeating that no time map, however elegant or compelling, can ever claim to be exclusive or definitive, especially in a society as dynamic as Rome's was in the half millennium before the birth of Christ."
"It bears repeating that chocolate as we know it—that smooth and silky blend of sweetness and earth—is as much a product of the Industrial Revolution as steam kettles and newsprint."
"It bears repeating, however, that to say that history shares many qualities with literature is not to suggest that it is simply 'fiction'—mythical or fanciful—but to underscore that historical facts, like literary meanings, are not inherently meaningful."