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| I Found a Penny Today, So Here's a Thought |
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If Rainbows Were ArchitectureWhat happens when an eccentric architect has the soul of a painter? He drafts a technicolor blueprint and creates elaborate canvasses out of brick and mortar. Portmeirion, the celebrated Italianate village on the west coast of Wales, and famous location of the 60’s cult television series " The Prisoner,” was built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis as a retirement project. The fairy-tale hamlet he created (30 years before Disneyland) is like a three-dimensional picture postcard exhibiting an unparalleled array of colors. Portmeirion is often cited as an example of "picturesque architecture.” Picturesque simply means that something is proper to be pictured. In the picture that is Portmeirion, foreground and background are the real ground of a rainbow we can walk through. [Read the entire article in my guest blog at Colourlovers.com.]
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| Puzzles and Games :: Letter Grids |
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This puzzle grid contains several big words. Can you find them?
• 7-letter words: 10
• 8-letter words: 4
All letters in the word must touch (in any direction), and no square may be reused. One of the 7-letter words is rather invigorating.
Click to display solutions
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| 7-letter words: |
• borings
• bracing
• facings
• fascine
• gracing |
• ligroin
• origins
• racings
• scaring
• thorias |
| 8-letter words: |
• bracings
• ligroine |
• ligroins
• migraine |
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Piecing together the secret of guidance . . .
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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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Switch the Blame—Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged (1957)
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From the nonist: This image is "a color composite I created combining 6 hand drawn black and white images, each by a different astronomer, of a total solar eclipse which occurred on July 18th 1860. Although photography already existed at the time of this eclipse it was nowhere near precise enough to make truly useful astronomical observations. The astronomers who recorded it continued on with the method of hand drawing observations, which they’d employed long before the invention of the telescope, let alone the upstart photography. This particular eclipse was special in that the drawings are now thought to be the first known representations of a coronal mass ejection." See the fascinating full story and collected images here. |
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Lively Emptings: "The yeast sediment in the bottom of a beer barrel. Used in place of eggs in some recipes." (From Chef2Chef.net, via Jonathan.)
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From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:
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Printed collections of Forgotten Wisdom diagrams are available: Volume I from Mindful Greetings and Volumes II, III and IV from Amazon. Selected posters are also available via Zazzle. |
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Suitcase with No BottomThe suitcase with no bottom was the oldest trick in the world.
—Paul Franson, “Valley Residents Relate Vacation Tales of Fear and Loathing,” Napa News (2001)
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I dreamed I met the mischievous fairy Puck. He hadn't read A Midsummer Night's Dream but was delighted to know that Shakespeare had written about him. I learned that his real name, in Welsh, is Pwca. I mispronounced it "pica," which was perfectly understandable given my typesetting background. He pronounced his name "Pooka." His physical resemblance to me was uncanny. It was like looking in a mirror. [ Illustration based upon a coal drawing of Pwca by a Welsh peasant in the 1880s.] |
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Piecing together the secret of the great paradox . . .
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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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| Puzzles and Games :: Letter Grids |
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This puzzle grid contains several big words. Can you find them?
• 7-letter words: 30
• 8-letter words: 7
• 9-letter words: 2
• 10-letter words: 1
All letters in the word must touch (in any direction), and no square may be reused. The 10-letter word is a compound word meaning very silent.
Click to display solutions
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| 7-letter words: |
• artisan
• bharals
• briquet
• carpets
• catlins
• chaster
• chateau
• cithara
• citrals
• citrate
• glister
• hartals
• hastate
• instate
• nitrate |
• pertain
• phrasal
• piquets
• piratic
• quartan
• quartet
• quartic
• ratlins
• realist
• retains
• saluter
• tephras
• tertian
• tuatera
• waister |
| 8-letter words: |
• briquets
• castrate
• citharas
• pertains |
• phreatic
• quatrain
• tuateras |
| 9-letter words: |
| • quatrains |
• realistic |
| 10-letter words: |
| • ultraquiet |
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A gossip report quoted a source who "sounds like a teenage girl when she breathlessly relates (with all kinds of implied exclamation points and italic) that" so-and-so is inseparable from so-and-so. As if the idea of an "implied exclamation point" weren't delicious enough, there's mention of "all kinds" of implied exclamation points! My inner eye is feasting over an entire chart of implied explanation points, each variety clearly distinguished! As there was also mention of implied italic, perhaps each kind of implied exclamation point has an oblique variant. |
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Sudden Soft TonesThe snare will hit hard, and the whole band will suddenly drop back to piano; it’s very dramatic—and the oldest trick in the book.
—Ed Friedland, Bass Grooves (2004)
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| Puzzles and Games :: Letter Grids |
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This puzzle grid contains several big words. Can you find them?
• 7-letter words: 23
• 8-letter words: 1
• 9-letter words: 2
All letters in the word must touch (in any direction), and no square may be reused. The 8-letter word refers to ornamental shoulder pieces.
Click to display solutions
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| 7-letter words: |
• aegises
• clauses
• cupulae
• cupular
• cupules
• epaulet
• espials
• garnish
• grilses
• largish
• ligases
• lupuses |
• palsies
• parises
• praises
• priapus
• publish
• railbus
• sapless
• spiraea
• spirals
• subsale
• subsets |
| 8-letter words: |
| • epaulets |
| 9-letter words: |
| • priapuses |
• railbuses |
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Star-Six-Seven (Telephone Number Blocking)PL always star-six-sevens before he dials. Oldest trick in the book.
—Laurie Faria Stolarz, Blue is for Nightmares (2003)
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Piecing together the secret of the Gnostics . . .
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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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Standing on a Toilet“How’d the guy get in?”
“He stood on a commode in the men’s room and no one saw him at closing.”
Ruth waved her hand in disgust. “That’s one of the oldest tricks on the books.”
—Jo Dereske, Miss Zukas and the Library Murders (1994)
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Raphael's " Lady With Unicorn." A unicorn stepping stone. A fancy Irish dress that celebrates unicorns. Destroying the great desert unicorn art installation. According to my research in A Field Guide to Identifying Unicorns by Sound, the captivating, lightsome voice of a unicorn may sound like: - a wondrous cascading
- an exotic lullaby
- something out of a fairy tale
- a strange, melodic chuckling
- a trickling flute
- a comfort
- a mourning dove
- an angelic shower
- a happy cooing
- Ella Fitzgerald
- spiritually-charged vibrations
- burbling water
- something from the future
- peculiarly clear
Unicorn-themed color palettes from ColourLovers.com: 
"Unicorn Night Light" by Hellbuny. The full palette description is here. |
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"Unicorn" by Farewelltransmission. The full palette description is here. |
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"Unicorn Tapestry" by MattyD. The full palette description is here. |
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Luke Metcalfe, creator of a charming online anagram dictionary, suggests that "to some small degree we've been subconsciously shaping our language to make nice anagrams." He is referring to the huge number of anagrams that are surprisingly fitting, such as: eternity and entirety, backward and drawback, discern and rescind, demand and madden, comedian and demoniac, American and cinerama, aspirate and parasite, oldies and soiled, lust and slut. |
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Squeal of an InfantThe oldest trick in the world
is the squeal of an infant
—Anonymous, “Sweet Relief,” Adventus Christi (1972)
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Every time I write a rhetorical question, I wish there were a special question mark to signify my meaning. Here's what I came up with. The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar writes: Up until now, the only problem with them has been the clumsy punctuation we use. If we use a traditional question mark, some yahoo might answer. If we use a period, we sound like Eeyore, the donkey who needs Prozac. So thank you, Craig Conley, for this, the rhetorical question symbol. Why didn't we think of that? (Wait, don't answer -- it was rhetorical.)
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Bruce Robb shares:
According to Wikipedia:
In the 1580s, English printer Henry Denham invented a "rhetorical question
mark" for use at the end of a rhetorical question; however, it died out of
use in the 1600s. It was the reverse of an ordinary question mark, so that
instead of the main opening pointing back into the sentence, it opened away
from it.[*]
* Truss, Lynne. Eats, Shoots & Leaves, 2003. p. 142.
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From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:
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Printed collections of Forgotten Wisdom diagrams are available: Volume I from Mindful Greetings and Volumes II, III and IV from Amazon. Selected posters are also available via Zazzle. |
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The unicorn is described in this history of animals entitled Ontleding Des Menschelyken Lichaams from 1551. A nifty unicorn puppet. Do cats love unicorns? Unicorn-themed color palettes from ColourLovers.com: 
"Unicorns" by Xtoq. The full palette description is here. |
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"Unicorn" by Fidgety. The full palette description is here. |
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"Real Men Heart Unicorns" by Zkarcher. The full palette description is here. |
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“Snake!”“Sss . . . snake!” George screamed. God, thought Harry, one of Preacher’s snakes has escaped. Harry jerked his head for a look. And George stepped in and knocked him on his ass and kicked him full in the chest. . . . Goddam, [Harry] thought, I fell for the oldest trick in the book.
—Joe R. Lansdale, “The Pit,” The Mammoth Book of Pulp Action (2001)
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| Puzzles and Games :: Letter Grids |
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This puzzle grid contains several big words. Can you find them?
• 7-letter words: 14
• 8-letter words: 2
All letters in the word must touch (in any direction), and no square may be reused. One of the 7-letter words has to do with the itch mite.
Click to display solutions
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| 7-letter words: |
• aeriest
• berates
• bestead
• caseose
• dearies
• debased
• derates |
• hocused
• quieted
• quieter
• quietus
• redates
• scabies
• seriate |
| 8-letter words: |
| • reechoed |
• reechoes |
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Original Content Copyright © 2025 by Craig Conley. All rights reserved.
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This puzzle grid contains several big words. Can you find them?
