|
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"In an atmosphere of Borrioboola-gha." From Bleak House by Charles Dickens. |
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"The unfinished entries in the diary." From Nasby in Exile by David Ross Locke, 1882. |
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"The hand of glory," from The Ingoldsby Legends by Thomas Ingoldsby, 1881.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"Anyone who has worked with groups will be aware of [the] phenomenon of a mental field and yet this may only be whispered in respectable scientific circles." — Barbara Dowds, Beyond the Frustrated Self
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* The most profound secrets lie not wholly in knowledge, said the poet. They lurk invisible in that vitalizing spark, intangible, yet as evident as the lightning—the seeker's soul. Solitary digging for facts can reward one with great discoveries, but true secrets are not discovered—they are shared, passed on in confidence from one to another. The genuine seeker listens attentively. No secret can be transcribed, save in code, lest it—by definition—cease to be. This Book of Whispers collects and encodes more than one hundred of humankind's most cherished secrets. To be privy to the topics alone is a supreme achievement, as each contains and nurtures the seed of its hidden truth. As possessor and thereby guardian of this knowledge, may you summon the courage to honor its secrets and to bequeath it to one worthy. |
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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Futility Closet reminds us that titivil is the name for "a devil said to collect fragments of words dropped, skipped, or mumbled in the recitation of divine service, and to carry them to hell, to be registered against the offender." [OED]
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From Midsummer Eve by S. C. Gall, 1870.
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| If you have a strange dream to share, send it along! |
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"They glared ferociously upon the Americans," from Nasby in Exile by David Ross Locke, 1882.
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"Tom immediately walked upon his hands to the window, and—if the expression be allowable—looked in with his shoes." From The Works of Charles Dickens, Household Edition.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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 Momus suggests that there are "few tales which would not be improved by the addition of the phrase 'suddenly, a shot rang out.'" Decide for yourself as we alter the opening lines of . . . Finn by Matthew Olshan" Angry angry angry, is what you are," they tell me, but I think I'm less angry than quiet, the kind of quiet that makes people nervous because they can't tell what you're thinking, and most of them assume the worst. Suddenly, a shot rings out. (Thanks, June!)
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From Sketch-Book of the North by George Eyre Todd and illustrated by Alexander Stuart Boyd, 1896.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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Momus suggests that there are "few tales which would not be improved by the addition of the phrase 'suddenly, a shot rang out.'"
Decide for yourself as we alter the opening line of . . .
Brighton Rock by Graham Greene
Hale knew, before he had been in Brighton three hours, that they meant to murder him. Suddenly, a shot rang out.
(Thanks, June!)
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An illustration from Earthquakes by Arnold Boscowitz (1890). The caption reads: "A family wandering in the snow, to avoid an earthquake shock." |
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Here's a precursor to a Peter Lorre caricature, from The Farm Poultry, 1907. (Peter would have been just three years old at the time.) |
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"I cast myself with my face on the dewy earth. The spirit of Stonehenge was strong upon me!" From Lavengro; The Scholar, the Gypsy, the Priest by George Henry Borrow, 1896.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration by L. Du Guernier, 1714.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"From these strange essences of life / May crystallize the white pearl which I seek!" From Symphonie Symbolique by Edmund John and illustrated by Stella Langdale, 1919.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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The sphinx, drawn from memory (apparently). From Lehrbuch der Geschichte der alten Welt by Emylie Doering, 1880.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration from an 1888 issue of Punch magazine.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"Yuletide" is an anagram of "Yeti duel."
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From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:
"Christmas tree" is an anagram of "Hermetic stars."
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"He looked like a tree would if a tree looked like her husband, or her husband if he looked like a tree."
"Sam, please, I have no more time to be a Christmas tree": a moment from the classic sitcom Bewitched.
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An illustration from Gryll Grange by George Edward Bateman Saintsbury (1896). The caption reads: "He was recalled to himself by sinking up to his shoulders in a hollow."
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration from The Bachelor's Christmas by Robert Grant (1895). The caption reads: "Alone in his bachelor quarters on Christmas Eve."
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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| Strange Prayers for Strange Times |
(permalink) |
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"Under the Mistletoe": an illustration from an 1885 issue of Little Wide Awake magazine.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration from Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney (1909).
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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Our anagram recalls that episode of Seinfeld in which George tires of office Christmas parties and saves money by giving everyone a certificate that a donation has been made in their name to the (fictitious) Human Fund:
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"Seven or eight times they passed through the fire," from The Dacoit's Treasure by Henry Charles Moore, 1897. |
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"When he returned from the ammo bunker, he looked like a Christmas tree with grenades, smoke canisters, and ammo bandoliers hanging all over him." —Jay Taylor, Point of Aim, Point of Impact |
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"Never shall I forget the repulsive sight that met my eye as I turned round." From The Works of Charles Dickens, Household Edition.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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| I Found a Penny Today, So Here's a Thought |
(permalink) |
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This elf below was returned back in 1896, but the things he learned while away!
Speaking of elves, see our unbelievably elf-centered publication, How to Believe in Your Elf. Its first review comes from G. Struijker Boudier in the Netherlands:
My ratings are always based on how much energy a product generates in me. Sometimes the trigger is usefulness, at other times it's the production quality or other things. That means that I ignore aspects of the product that aren't relevant to my focus.
In this case, the four stars are based on the fact that this book makes me muse about myself and my life and makes me smile at the same time.
I'm a nut for off beat playfulness that balances between nonsense and seriousness. This book (as well as most book by Prof. Oddfellow) does just that. Obviously the 'One's elf/Oneself' is the running theme here. I can see how you can look at it as lame wordplay. To me it isn't. Something weird happens if you place your personality traits, ego and whatnot in the elf of your choice. One separates one's elf from oneself. Distancing yourself from yourself is always a good way to see bigger pictures and wonder about why you're behaving the way you're behaving. It opens up new possibilities and ideas.
Some examples:
What you do not wish done to your elf, do not to another.
Maturity consists of no longer being taken in by one’s elf.
If you be not pleased, put your hand in your pocket and please your elf.
Listen at the key hole, and you’ll hear news of your elf.
Can't help it, I just like this kind of lighthearted play with words, sense and nonsense that sometimes strikes an unexpected chord.
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Illustration from Poets' Wit and Humour by William Henry Wills, 1860.
There's a macabre old fairy tale about an animated fireplace poker entitled "The Cinder King." The story's syntax is antiquated, but the plot is simple (if fantastic). A sobbing woman named Betty watches the fireplace, expecting either purses of money or coffins to fly out. It seems that Betty had recently been jilted by her lover, a tailor named Bob Scott. He took another bride to the altar, so Betty has resolved to woo the dark Cinder King for his riches. The clock is about to chime the hour of one, and the moment is described very evocatively: spent tallow-candle grease is seeping into the floor, a blue-burning lamp has wasted half its oil, a black beetle comes crawling from afar, and the red coals of the fire are sinking beneath their grate. Betty's life is clearly descending to the Underworld. When the clock strikes "one," it's not the cuckoo bird who sings but rather a grim raven. Betty's cat wakes up but keeps its claws retracted. The jack [which we here interpret as the figure of the man striking the bell on the clock] falls into a bowl as if it's time to dine. The earth trembles, and as if empowered by the fuel of Hell, the fireplace poker animates in a burst of flame. It shoots forth an enormous cinder that hisses three times like a serpent. Where the cinder lands there appears a large coffin containing a "nondescript thing." The thing croaks for Betty to embrace her true Cinder King, noting that three more kings (his brothers) are also waiting to greet her and will, at four o'clock, eat her. He explains that he and his "element brothers" have a feast and a wedding every night and that they devour each other's new wives. Betty begs not to wed, but cinders crunch in her mouth and cascade upon her head. She sinks into the coffin, strewn with cinders, never to be seen again.
THE CINDER KING
by Anon., c. 1801
Who is it that sits in the kitchen and weeps,
While tick goes the clock, and the tabby-cat sleeps, —
That watches the grate, without ceasing to spy,
Whether purses or coffins will out of it fly?
'Tis Betty; who saw the false tailor, Bob Scott,
Lead a bride to the altar; which bride she was not.
'Tis Betty; determined, love from her to fling,
And woo, for his riches, the dark Cinder-King.
Now spent tallow-candle-grease fattened the soil,
And the blue-burning lamp had half wasted its oil,
And the black-beetle boldly came crawling from far,
And the red coals were sinking beneath the third bar;
When "one!" struck the clock — and instead of the bird
Who used to sing cuckoo whene'er the clock stirred,
Out burst a grim raven, and uttered "caw! caw!"
While Puss, though she woke, durst not put forth a claw.
Then the jack fell a-going as if one should sup,
Then the earth rocked as though it would swallow one up;
With fuel from Hell, a strange coal-scuttle came,
And a self-handled poker made fearful the flame.
A cinder shot from it, of size to amaze,
(With a bounce, such as Betty ne'er heard in her days,)
Thrice, serpent-like, hissed as its heat fled away,
And, lo! something dark in a vast coffin lay!
"Come, Betty," quoth croaking that nondescript thing,
"Come, bless the fond arms of your true Cinder-King!
Three more Kings, my brothers, are waiting to greet ye,
Who — don't take it ill — must at four o'clock eat ye.
"My darling, it must be! do make up your mind;
We element brothers, united, and kind,
Have a feast and a wedding, each night of our lives,
So constantly sup on each other's new wives."
In vain squalled the cook-maid, and prayed not to wed;
Cinder crunched in her mouth, cinder rained on her head.
She sank in the coffin with cinders strewn o'er,
And coffin nor Betty saw man any more.
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"I'm not really sure at what point it's going to kick in that it's really happening— I'll let you know!"
The foreground of this collage is from the extraordinarily brilliant comedy series Arrested Development.
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"Aurora transformed herself into a cavalier," from Dicks' English Library of Standard Works, 1884.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"Somewhile in hell," from Broadway Ballads by Abel Reid (a.k.a. William James Linton), 1876.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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|
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"I conducted her to the chamber, and bade her look intently on the polished mirror of the wall," from The Sphinx-like Head by J. Harry Sugden, 1896.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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From America Revisited by George Augustus Henry Fairfield, 1882.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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|
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration from Svenska Minnen och Bilder by Nils Petrus Ödman (1899).
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"It had come, the thing she asked, and now she could not face it; it was too much, too terrible." From A Charge to Keep by P. A. Blyth, 1896.
As we learn in The Cat in the Hat, when we invite a Thing in, we may end up with more than we bargained for [Thing Two, to be exact].
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"Midwinter comes tomorrow," from Songs of Three Centuries by John Greenleaf Whittier, 1877.
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| *Inspired by the world's only accurate meteorological report, "Yesterday's Weather," as seen on Check It Out. |
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Q: If the card game Pokemon has its own theme tune, why not Go Fish? A: Why not, indeed! And here's our solution, with mp3 and libretto:
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| I Found a Penny Today, So Here's a Thought |
(permalink) |
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From the Dept. of Life Lessons in David Lynch Films:
While fever-dreaming down your own Lost Highway, if you encounter a Mr. Eddy/Dick Laurent equivalent who offers you pornographic material, don't politely decline, because then you might learn that the Alice Wakefield in your life doubles as a Renee Madison, and you'll save yourself a headache of epic proportions. |
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| Did You Hear the One I Just Made Up? |
(permalink) |
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 "Brown, our one earnest member, begged us to be reasonable, and reminded us, not for the first time, and not, perhaps, altogether unnecessarily, that these meetings were for the purpose of discussing business, not of talking nonsense."
—Jerome K. Jerome, Novel Notes
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"At the banquet the guests in amazement were lost," from The Lion's Masquerade, 1807.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"We have sealed the doom of the King of Spades," from The Trail of the Serpent by M. E. Braddon, 1861. [For Gordon Meyer.]
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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| This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea |
(permalink) |
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,( ,( ,( ,( ,( ,( ,( ,(
`-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' ` "The sea is a cruel mistress. Yet again the sea has behaved unconscionably. It's time to address this terrible problem that is the sea." —Captain Neddie, from the hilarious BBC series Broken News |
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From The Man in the Moon, Vol. IV.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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| I Found a Penny Today, So Here's a Thought |
(permalink) |
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From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:
Our anagram is in honor of Gordon Meyer's delightful book of photographs, Las Vegas: Underfoot.
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"Counting up time—which is money," from Dicks' English Library of Standard Works, 1884.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration by Lawrence Chaves (1932) for de Quincey's Opium Eater.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"A Séance on the Ice": an illustration from The Children's Fairy History of England by Forbes Edward Winslow (1889). The caption reads: "What! Mesmerise you on the ice! Well, I never! Did any one ever hear of such a thing? Oh, you all want it, do you? Well, I will try. You need not take off your skates. I will mesmerise you skating, and we will be here, and there, and everywhere, at the same time. Just come close round me and look at me; don't speak, simply watch my hands. * * * * * * *"
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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| I Found a Penny Today, So Here's a Thought |
(permalink) |
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"The tragedy," from The Ingoldsby Legends by Thomas Ingoldsby, 1881.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration from Across the Border by Edward Emmerson Oliver (1890). The caption reads: "The Flying Throne of Star-taught Sulaimân."
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:
Death must be a ghost's second childhood. It wanders far like a kite, then the string breaks. It abandons the human form's cold bathtub. There is no string around a ghost's finger.
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|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"A human tarantula," from Our Sister Republic by Albert S. Evans, 1870.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"Seated on an upright tombstone, close to him, was a strange unearthly figure, etc." From The Works of Charles Dickens, Household Edition.
|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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|
| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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| This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea |
(permalink) |
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"A tongue of pale blue flame shivered on the truck of the mast," from Ia by Q. [A. T. Quiller-Couch], 1896.
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,( ,( ,( ,( ,( ,( ,( ,(
`-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' ` "The sea is a cruel mistress. Yet again the sea has behaved unconscionably. It's time to address this terrible problem that is the sea." —Captain Neddie, from the hilarious BBC series Broken News |
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"He passed whole mornings in his study, immersed in gloomy reverie, stalking about the room in his nightcap." From Nightmare Abbey by Thomas Love Peacock, 1818.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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| This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea |
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"Le genie de l'isle Percé," from Canada From the Lakes to the Gulf by Captain Mac, 1881.
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,( ,( ,( ,( ,( ,( ,( ,(
`-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' ` "The sea is a cruel mistress. Yet again the sea has behaved unconscionably. It's time to address this terrible problem that is the sea." —Captain Neddie, from the hilarious BBC series Broken News |
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration from Snarleyyow by Frederick Marryat (1897). The caption reads: "Vanslyperken bent over the cur and kissed it again and again."
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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Q: "Are all parents incurably mad?" —Rudyard Kipling, Stalky & Co.A: "Not all parents are crazy, even if it seems that way sometimes. ('About 20% of parents fall into the lunatic fringe.' —Edes Gilbert, headmaster, the Spence School.)" — What Matters Most for School Leaders |
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The miraculous head, from La Russie et Les Russes by Victor Tissot, 1884.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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The Sphinx, drawn from memory (apparently), from Observations in the East, Chiefly in Egypt, Palestine, Syria, and Asia Minor by John Price Durbin (1845).
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"Have you noticed that in some books flocks of swallows are flying between the verses? Stanzas of swallows. You should learn to read from the flight of these birds." This we learn in The Hourglass Sanatorium (1973, Poland), a dreamy film about bending time, the nature of death, eternal recurrence, and the atrocities of World War II.
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From Voyage aux Pyrénées, Troisième édition by Hippolyte Adolphe Taine and illustrated by Gustave Doré, 1860.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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From Festival of Song by Frederick Saunders, 1866.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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The sphinx drawn from memory (apparently), from Ziemia Święta i Islam czyli szkice z pielgrzymki do Ziemi Świętej by Józef Sebastian Pelczar, 1875.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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Q: I still remember a can of "sunlight" some long-dead relative sent to my mom as a gag gift. She put it away in a dark drawer. What else can you do with such a gift? —William Keckler A: Pair the can of sunlight with a basket of kisses as a gift to Rhoda "The Bad Seed" Penmark.
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From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:
The text reads, "Each pea in a pod is engirdled by an imaginary line corresponding to the great circles of our celestial sphere. This can be verified by anyone who wishes to take the trouble."
Our piece was inspired by an illustration in Illustrated British Ballads, Old and New, 1894. Its caption reads, "Now when they got as far as the equator, they'd nothing left but one split pea." That pea must have been split equatorially, eh? |
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Giving a warning too late to be of any help. It's the oldest trick in the book. The caption reads, "Take care, Mr. Malone, the stairs are slippery." From Shirley by Charlotte Brontë, 1897. |
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| Did You Hear the One I Just Made Up? |
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"You haven't got such a thing as a cigar?" reads the caption.
Our answer: "No, I'm partial to Camels."
From The Tragedy of the Korosko by Arthur Conan Doyle, 1898.
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Here's a precursor to invitation-only blogs. "He called aloud to me not to disturb his webs," from Gulliver's Travels. |
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"The New-York Anti-Orange-Peel and Banana-Skin Association, as they appear in their great humanitarian feat of clearing the side-walks." From Punchinello, April 9, 1870. [Via literary scalawag Jonathan Caws-Elwitt.] [Notice all those hyphens in the caption. Under a microscope, each hyphen is, in turn, a miniature orange peel and banana skin.] |
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In this still from The Heart, She Holler (season three), we learn that "the impossible is possible if the reality that you are in creates another reality where the reality created in that reality creates that very reality that in and of itself created that first reality. If they create each other then anything can happen." |
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"The Sisters": an illustration from Arthur's Home Magazine (1865).
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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| I Found a Penny Today, So Here's a Thought |
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The sublime absurdist playwright N. F. Simpson offers the best explanation we've encountered for how there are no rational grounds for rationalism and how belief in reason is pure superstition. The following magnificence comes to us from If So, Then Yes:
The idolatry of reason indeed has a lot to answer for. In the interests of reason, and pursuant on an enthusiastic and cocksure gullibility so fathomlessly idiotic that only the witlessly sophisticated can succumb to it, the world has been handed over irreversibly, lock, stock and barrel, to the sorcerer's apprentice. For we belong, ladies and gentlemen, whether we like it or not, to a species so idiotically infatuated with itself as to act in perpetual disregard of its own fallibility. In religion, in philosophy, in politics and now in science, together with its handmaiden, technology — which, both in themselves and in the ethos to which they give rise, combine all the fatuities of the other three with even grosser ones of their own — we luxuriate in abject folly. A word for this folly already, as you must know, exists. It is hubris. But hubris is built into the human psyche, and there is no escape from it for any of us. The fool, fixed in his folly, may think he can turn the wheel on which he turns, as it has been well expressed. The best that in the light of this any of us can do is to turn aside from time to time as occasion offers from the brash and mindless pursuit of progress, and light a small candle to doubt and uncertainty, to mystery and awe and wonder and humility. Or, if that should seem a wanton waste of good candle-grease, then to one or other of those more unassuming little certainties which, equally daft though they may be, are so much less stultifyingly dreary and destructive than the grandiose banalities behind which we all go marching, with bands playing and Professor Dawkins leading the way with boyish enthusiasm, faster and faster towards the abyss.
It was Wittgenstein, was it not, ladies and gentlemen, who remarked that to be religious is to know that the facts of the world are not the end of the matter. There are, as John Cooper Powys among others so clearly saw, abysses of being and reality totally outside this "pinfold", in which, as Milton says, we are confined, adding that all the great urges of our spirit come nearest to the secret of the universe when they enjoy nature with the detachment of the pilgrim rather than analyse her with the curiosity of a scientist. Any imaginative illusion, he goes on, by which a person half lives, any mythology in which a person half believes, is truer in the only sense in which truth matters, than the most authenticated scientific facts. For scientific facts are the pabulum of the rational mind. But the rational mind, ladies and gentlemen, is so irrational as to proceed with bland confidence on the basis of the unprovable, and therefore rationally untenable, assumption that the human brain is fully equipped to handle whatever the cosmos can throw at it. The concept of unknowability, for which God has always been a convenient shorthand term, does not, even as a concept, begin to come within its remit. But there are no rational grounds for the assumption that a consciousness which functions in such and such a way prevents a more valid picture of the universe than one which, functioning in some other, radically different, way, gives a correspondingly different picture. Or that the brain of a man, though certainly larger and seemingly more complex than that of those other organisms, such as, let us say, the octopus, the slow-worm and the chimpanzee, with which he happens by chance to have become acquainted, vulnerable as it is to all manner of substances and other influences by which its functioning can be, and frequently is, radically altered, is necessarily presenting him at any given time with a uniquely definitive interpretation of the phenomena seemingly confronting it. Or that what by virtue of it we perceive as the truth today is of more or less validity than what was perceived as the truth yesterday, or two thousand years ago; or than what will be perceived as the truth tomorrow, or in two thousand years' time. The temporal parochialism in which we are all cribbed, cabined and confined blinds us to the fact that, as Kant has pointed out to us, space and time mark the limits of our human minds rather than those of the universe. It is to the eminent biometrist, the late J.B.S. Haldane, that we are indebted for the observation that the universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but, in his own words, "queerer than we can suppose." For, as we learn from Holy Writ, God is not merely unknown, but unknowable. A concept expressed in a slightly different form by Nietzsche, whose contention it was that all we can know of the world is the world as it appears to us. H.P.G. Wells, likewise, reminds us that neither the pig's snout nor the human brain have been evolved for the purpose of discerning the ultimate truth of things. It is well that it be borne in mind, however, that the arguments I and they have so persuasively deployed, together with those of others who take a contrary view, have been arrived at by means of the very instrument we are showing to be an unreliable one. There are, in short, no rational grounds for reliance on the rational. Belief in the paramountcy of reason is purest superstition.
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The patron saint of sweet potatoes lies in wait for Thanksgiving. — William Keckler (paraphrased)
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| Who is your favorite imaginary saint? Do share! |
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"My eye was caught by the appearance of an extraordinary figure." From Ghostly Tales by Wilhelmina Fitzclarence, 1896.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"We were both very unhappy in those days," from The Romance of Mary Sain by C. H. Cochran Patrick, 1897.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"And the quiet lake shall feel / The torpid touch of his glazing breath, and ring to the skater's heel." From Winter Pictures by Poet and Artist, engraved by Edward Whymper, 1881. |
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 "It bears repeating that eating and dieting can be affected by things that seemingly have no connection to them."
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"I did not like reviewing at all—it was not to my taste." From Lavengro; the Scholar, the Gypsy, the Priest by George Henry Borrow, 1896.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"I believe I was treading a fine line between being the helpful 'voice of reason' and being a harsh 'get it together and smell the coffee' voice of reality." |
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From Paris Herself Again in 1878-9 by George Agustus Henry Fairfield, 1882.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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| This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea |
(permalink) |
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"Cruelty," from Harper's Weekly, 1885.
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,( ,( ,( ,( ,( ,( ,( ,(
`-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' ` "The sea is a cruel mistress. Yet again the sea has behaved unconscionably. It's time to address this terrible problem that is the sea." —Captain Neddie, from the hilarious BBC series Broken News |
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"There is a fine line between being open and being tiresome." |
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"The giant radish," from Our Autumn Holiday on French Rivers by James Lynam Molloy and illustrated by Liunley Sambourne, 1874.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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From Voyage aux Pyrénées by Hippolyte Adolphe Taine and illustrated by Gustave Doré, 1860.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"Do I look like a rabbit, sir?" From The Tame Fox and Other Sketches by G. Finch Mason, 1897.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration from The Experiences of Loveday Brooke, Lady Detective by Catharine Louisa Pirkis (1894). The caption reads: "He was still pale."
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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From The Baby's Museum by Uncle Charlie, 1882.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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If he "killed brown every night," did he wake up with a black eye? From Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain, 1883.
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* Though printed in black and white, great literature is bursting with vibrant colour. In this rebus-style puzzle, color words and parts of words have been replaced with colored boxes. Try to guess the exact hue of each. Roll your mouse over the colored boxes to reveal the missing words. Click the colored boxes to learn more about each hue. Special thanks to Paul Dean for his colorful research.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration from Our Young Folks (1873). The caption reads: "Jacky and the Sleep Angel."
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| If you have a strange dream to share, send it along! |
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"Writing with a forked pen an oracle on sand," from Social Life of the Chinese by Justus Doolittle, 1867.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"I know that I yearned," from America Revisited by George Augustus Henry Fairfield, 1882.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"The vast dim sphinx / Broods over all from its immobile throne," from Symphonie Symbolique by Edmund John and illustrated by Stella Langdale, 1919.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration from Otto of the Silver Hand, written and illustrated by Howard Pyle (1888).
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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From Kulturgeschichte by Friedrich Anton Heller von Hellwald, 1896.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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Yes, you may . . . on one condition:
"You let me pay. It's the least I can do for all your help." — Treason's Reward by Annay Dawson |
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 "This may surprise you, but something else I believe is essential in this battle is humor."
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How the journal was written — a word at a time (oldest trick in the book). From A Voyage in the 'Sunbeam' by Annie Brassey, 1878.
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"My dream," from Alter Ejusdem by James Archibald Sidey, 1877.
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| If you have a strange dream to share, send it along! |
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"Now the moment for the giving of the Sign had come," from The Romance of Golden Star by George Chetwynd Griffith Jones, 1897.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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"Les magiciens," from A Travers l'Afrique by Verney Lovett Cameron, 1878.
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration from Picket Pin and His Friends by Price Collier (1894).
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| [Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost
sense of immediacy. We follow the founder of the Theater of
Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then
flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free. The images
we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.] |
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An illustration from an 1885 issue of Frank Leslie's Pleasant Hours magazine.
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Original Content Copyright © 2025 by Craig Conley. All rights reserved.
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