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.
A diagram by Homer B. Sprague for Milton's Paradise Lost (1886). Speaking of which, what exactly are a snowball's chances in hell? See A Snowball's Chance in Hell.
"The valley where Mr. Sinister L. Optick lives is already in shadow, but the setting sun still shines upon Mr. Dexter R. Optick's valley on the West side of Nose Hill." From The Sky Moviesby Gaylord Johnson, 1923.
Nearly six decades before the invention of "fusion cuisine," here's Irish stew Hungarian style. From Judge's Library, 1908. See Nostradamus Predicted Your Next Diet.