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.
Here's a precursor to the David Bowie lyric about "putting out fire with gasoline" ("Cat People," 1982). From Kladderadatsch, 1923. Speaking of cat people, see How to Be Your Own Cat.
Though these words apply eerily to a crystal ball, J. Milton Sanders is actually referring to a drop of water in The Crystal Sphere, Its Forces and Its Beings, 1857. "Agencies are seen—like winged spirits of infinite power, each one working in its own peculiar way, and all to a common end—to produce, under the guidance of Omnipotent rule, the sheen of the midnight stars."
Tag youself. We're the decanter on the bedside table. And that might sound weird, but Wendy Walker's sublime novel The Secret Service explains a Tibetan technique to transform oneself into an inanimate object like a crystal goblet. From L'Assiette au Beurre, 1910.
Responding to our proof that all mirrors are magic mirrors, that reflections are real, and that we can literally drink the moon and the knowledge of the moon from a liquid mirror, George writes:
F-----------ck….that’s genius!
What a trip!!! In act one I couldn’t keep my eyes off of your glistening glasses but also not off of the marvellous multi-colored moon. Switching between the two gave me an instant high.
Act two brought a big smile on my face. The moon appearing, vibrating on the rhythm of your words, then disappearing again was a nice three act play all within itself.
“Lighting a candle never hurts” was put into practice when you helped me get to the end by leaving me in the worldly dark after lightning a fire within.
Truly beautiful! Can’t wipe the smile off of my face.
