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 46 posts tagged ‘talking bird’

Restoring the Lost Sense – August 29, 2022 (permalink)

"That's for saying naughty words."  From Chatterbox, 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.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #cat #talking bird #parrot
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Restoring the Lost Sense – August 25, 2022 (permalink)

From Myths and Legends of Australia by A. W. Reed and illustrated by Roger Hart.
[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 #mythology #talking bird #frog #talking animal #lyre bird
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I Found a Penny Today, So Here's a Thought – August 17, 2022 (permalink)

A parrot who could ask in Javanese, "Can you direct me to a good second hand book store?"  From the Chicago Tribune, 1926.  (Hat tip: Jonathan.)
> read more from I Found a Penny Today, So Here's a Thought . . .
#talking bird #parrot
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Yearbook Weirdness – August 4, 2022 (permalink)

A guinea-hen sings "Kazoo, Kazah!"  From Indiana University's 1895 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #talking bird #vintage yearbook #yearbook #bird #guinea hen
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Restoring the Lost Sense – March 7, 2022 (permalink)

From St. Nicholas, 1912.
[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 #talking bird #bird #phonograph
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Restoring the Lost Sense – October 13, 2021 (permalink)

From Kladderadatsch, 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 #omen #talking bird #blackbird #illustration #bad news #art
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Neither Saint- Nor Sophist-Led – August 20, 2021 (permalink)

A raven tells the saint not to do it.  From La Colotte, 1909.
Who is your favorite imaginary saint?  Do share!
> read more from Neither Saint- Nor Sophist-Led . . .
#vintage illustration #monk #talking bird #saint #alcohol #raven
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Restoring the Lost Sense – July 30, 2021 (permalink)

Talking with the raven.  From Granny's Wonderful Chair and Its Tales of Fairy Times by Frances Browne and illustrated by Katharine Pyle, 1916.
[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 #fairy tale #talking bird #raven
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Restoring the Lost Sense – July 10, 2021 (permalink)

This is why we tend to disbelieve birds who tell us their names.  From The Adventures of Nancy and Nick in Scrub-Up-Land by Olive Roberts Barton and illustrated by E. R. Higgins, 1921.
[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 #talking bird #blackbird
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Yearbook Weirdness – July 8, 2020 (permalink)

I like birds just fine, but I do not need them to lecture me about my attitude on life.  From Swarthmore's 1974 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #talking bird #vintage yearbook #yearbook #bird #1970s
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Yearbook Weirdness – May 1, 2020 (permalink)

A Gaelic-speaking bird that refused to be depicted was the graduate dean at Tulane in 1926.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#talking bird #vintage yearbook
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Restoring the Lost Sense – April 24, 2020 (permalink)

"'To be sure,' said the crow."  From Stories of Mother Goose Village by Madge Bigham, 1903.
[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 #talking bird #crow
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Restoring the Lost Sense – September 18, 2019 (permalink)

From Karl's Journey to the Moon by Maja Lindberg, 1920.
[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 #talking bird #soap bubble #astral travel
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Yearbook Weirdness – May 8, 2019 (permalink)

You've heard birds communicating, and nine times out of ten it's literary debate.  From Purdue's 1915 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #silhouette #talking bird #vintage yearbook #birds #yearbook #clever bird
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Old News – December 20, 2018 (permalink)

"The bad language of birds."  From The Literary Digest, 1899.
> read more from Old News . . .
#talking bird #vintage headline #headline
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Restoring the Lost Sense – September 25, 2017 (permalink)

From The Mountain-Sprite's Kingdom by E. H. Knatchbull-Hugessen, 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.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #fairy tale #talking bird #crow #blackbird #illustration
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Restoring the Lost Sense – September 5, 2017 (permalink)

"After they had retired she consulted the bird alone."  From The Arabian Nights Entertainments, 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.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #folklore #talking bird #arabian nights #illustration
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Restoring the Lost Sense – July 12, 2017 (permalink)

"Perhaps you would like to hear the crows' version of the tale?"  From North Cornwall Fairies and Legends by Enys Tregarthen, 1906.
[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 #talking bird #crow #illustration
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Restoring the Lost Sense – April 23, 2017 (permalink)

Here are a partridge and a pheasant shouting "Horray."  From Fun magazine, 1893.
[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 #talking bird #birds #partridge #pheasant #horray #hurray #illustration
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The Right Word – June 11, 2016 (permalink)

Just because.  From St. Nicholas magazine, 1902.
> read more from The Right Word . . .
#vintage illustration #talking bird #blackbird #because #illustration #art
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