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.
You've heard of the way to count seconds with "One Mississippi, two Mississippis," and so forth. There actually are two Mississippis, with light and dark halves. This map is from Mississippi Delta Junior College's 1964 yearbook. Apparently, "two Mississippis ... emerged in the late twentieth century" (Bradley Bond, Mississippi). And "the two Mississippis, one black and one white, converged momentarily" (Alan Draper, Conflict of Interests). You may previously have heard of the "two Mississippis of William Faulkner and Eudora Welty." It's even been said that Faulker himself had two Mississippis, his mythical one and his geographical one.
"Somehow I have to face up to these two Mississippis: the one I love and the one I hate" —W. Ralph Eubanks, Ever Is a Long Time
"Ectoplasm, an established marvel or a flimsy myth?" A photo from Baron Von Schrenck-Notzing's The Materialization of Phenomena, in which a spirit medium summons a ghost through a strong, painful effort of will. From Current Opinion, 1922.
When our new hall of mirrors was delivered, there were cracks … and we had to either process a return or face a shattered infinity. We chose the latter … but weren't prepared for what it actually entailed.
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Ken responds: "The mirror is cracked in an amazingly artistic way! Radiating heavenward, with occasional communication between the rays. Fortunately it wasn't right in the middle, which would have been "conveniently conventional", but not so far to the side, as to not draw attention to itself. Much more interesting and unique than if it had never been cracked. The video made my head swim, but I got a warm feeling from it."
Nope, I can't think of any more expressions. Wink, discomfort, singing, and determination are all of them. Cartooning by Milt Hammer, from The Link, 1953.
