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.
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Abecedarian personal effects of 'a mad genius'
A Turkish Delight of musings on languages, deflations of metaphysics, vauntings of arcana, and great visual humor.

Found 608 posts tagged ‘popular mechanics’

Restoring the Lost Sense – August 27, 2017 (permalink)

"Here comes the bogey man."  From Popular Mechanics, 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.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #death #war #illustration #bomb #bogey man
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This May Surprise You – August 26, 2017 (permalink)

"If a jelly fish could slap a rat in the face, he would do it.  But he can't.  He has no arms.  Neither does he have a backbone."  From Popular Mechanics, 1924.
> read more from This May Surprise You . . .
#weird headline #jellyfish #slap in the face #headline
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Restoring the Lost Sense – August 25, 2017 (permalink)

"The lunar alps illuminated by the earth."  From Popular Mechanics, 1927 and from Our Earth and Sky by Gerald Craig and Sara Baldwin, 1940.
[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.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #moon #earthrise #illustration #mountains of the moon #lunar mountains #lunar alps #art
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Old News – August 24, 2017 (permalink)

"Kissing through disinfected silk gauze."  From Popular Mechanics, 1909.
> read more from Old News . . .
#vintage illustration #germs #vintage headline #kissing #illustration #sanitary #kissing germs #std #sexually transmitted disease #germophobe #headline
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Old News – August 23, 2017 (permalink)

"Photographing the invisible."  From Popular Mechanics, 1909.
> read more from Old News . . .
#vintage illustration #spirit photography #vintage headline #illustration #headline
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Restoring the Lost Sense – August 22, 2017 (permalink)

"Tuesday, feeling fine.  Wednesday, out of sorts."  From Popular Mechanics, 1928.
[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.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #vintage ad #illustration #mood #day to day #art #ad
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Precursors – August 21, 2017 (permalink)

Unseen hands --  a precursor to the villain Tomura Shigaraki from Boku no Hero Academia.  From Popular Mechanics, 1928.

> read more from Precursors . . .
#vintage ad #unseen hand #ghost hand #Tomura Shigaraki #ad
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Old News – August 20, 2017 (permalink)

"If you pledge yourself to secrecy, I'll teach you."  From Popular Mechanics, 1928.
> read more from Old News . . .
#vintage ad #vintage headline #muscles #muscle man #body building #headline #ad
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Old News – August 20, 2017 (permalink)

"Automobile runs through sewer."  From Popular Mechanics, 1909.
> read more from Old News . . .
#vintage illustration #sewer #vintage headline #illustration #vintage automobile #automobile #headline
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Old News – August 19, 2017 (permalink)

From Popular Mechanics, 1928.
> read more from Old News . . .
#vintage ad #hypnotism #vintage headline #hypnosis #mesmerist #headline #ad
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Restoring the Lost Sense – August 19, 2017 (permalink)

"Corked in a bottle for ten days."  From Popular Mechanics, 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.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #trapped #illustration #bottled
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Old News – August 18, 2017 (permalink)

"Noises made by oysters hamper sea radio."  From Popular Mechanics, 1928.  Related: "Photograph noises on ships to end annoying sounds."  (Works like a charm.)  From Popular Mechanics, 1929.
> read more from Old News . . .
#oyster #vintage headline #headline
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Restoring the Lost Sense – August 18, 2017 (permalink)

"A Nebraska guarantee against famine."  From Popular Mechanics, 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.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #corn #vintage postcard #giant corn #nebraska #illustration #postcard
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Restoring the Lost Sense – August 17, 2017 (permalink)

Ancient Egypt in wet sand.  From Popular Mechanics, 1924.
[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.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #ancient egypt #illustration #sand sculpture #egyptian art #art
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Old News – August 17, 2017 (permalink)

"Tomatoes guard flowers."  From Popular Mechanics, 1929.
> read more from Old News . . .
#vintage headline #headline #tomato
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This May Surprise You – August 16, 2017 (permalink)

"Natural-grown wooden bear."  From Popular Mechanics, 1909.

> read more from This May Surprise You . . .
#vintage illustration #bear #illustration #wooden bear
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This May Surprise You – August 15, 2017 (permalink)

You've heard sarcastic mention of the world's tiniest violin, but here's who made that violin.  From Popular Mechanics, 1925.
> read more from This May Surprise You . . .
#violin #tiny violin #smallest violin #tiny instrument #world's smallest violin
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Images Moving Through Time – August 14, 2017 (permalink)

From Popular Mechanics, 1925.
> read more from Images Moving Through Time . . .
#vintage illustration #banjo #musician #illustration #giant banjo #art
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This May Surprise You – August 13, 2017 (permalink)

"Human nerves act as wireless antennae."  From Popular Mechanics, 1920.
> read more from This May Surprise You . . .
#vintage illustration #illustration #human nerves #wireless #antenna
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Old News – August 12, 2017 (permalink)

"How shadows help to keep the world in gear."  From Popular Mechanics, 1927.
> read more from Old News . . .
#shadows #vintage headline #headline
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