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.
Thanks to the lionized wordsmith Gary Barwin, who blogged, "The world always offers curious and wondrous marvels as seen through the lens flare of Craig's eyes." You may recall one of our secrets for seeing in 3-D:
Here's a precursor to the photographic phenomenon of dogs with iPods. The vintage illustration is captioned "Pavlov's artificial neurosis." From Biology and Man by Benjamin Gruenberg, 1944. The photograph is courtesy of Nao-cha.
There's a fine line between the unfiltered and the various plusses, minuses, and plus/minuses. From Biological Studies by the Pupils of William Thompson Sedgwick, 1906.
(According to the internet, Buddha really did say this!) "What's all this? There's a path, so just go and find it! What's with you guys? You want me to solve all your problems?" From The Hero Yoshihiko and the Key of the Evil Spirits (Yuusha Yoshihiko to Akuryou no Kagi, 勇者ヨシヒコと悪霊の鍵). The scolding Buddha is played by comedian Sato Jiro.