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 1,035 posts tagged ‘monster’

This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea – March 3, 2015 (permalink)

From Buddha's Crystal and Other Fairy Tales, 1908. 
   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(
`-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `
"The sea is a cruel mistress. Yet again the sea has behaved unconscionably. It's time to address this terrible problem that is the sea." —Captain Neddie, from the hilarious BBC series Broken News
> read more from This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea . . .
#mythology #folklore #fairy tale #buddhism #dragon #sea monster #folktale
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Strange Dreams – February 27, 2015 (permalink)

From the Hacawa yearbook of Lenoir-Rhyne University, 1910.  (For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.)

If you have a strange dream to share, send it along!
> read more from Strange Dreams . . .
#vintage illustration #nightmare #horror #vintage yearbook #yearbook #monsters #illustration
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Restoring the Lost Sense – February 23, 2015 (permalink)

"A monstrous creature with bat-like wings flapped toward me and I fired desperately at it," from Fantastic Adventures, July, 1939.
[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 #bat #monster #1930s #illustration
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This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea – February 9, 2015 (permalink)

"Combat between the man of the earth and the man of the sea," from Peru: Incidents of Ravel and Exploration in the Land of the Incas by Ephraim George Squire, 1877. 
   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(
`-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `
"The sea is a cruel mistress. Yet again the sea has behaved unconscionably. It's time to address this terrible problem that is the sea." —Captain Neddie, from the hilarious BBC series Broken News
> read more from This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea . . .
#vintage illustration #sea monster #peruvian #illustration
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Restoring the Lost Sense – January 10, 2015 (permalink)

"It's a fine head, whatever."  From The Adventures of Prince Prigio and of His Son, Prince Ricardo by Andrew Lang, 1900.
[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 #illustration #WTF #monster decapitated
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Yesterday's Weather – January 5, 2015 (permalink)

> read more from Yesterday's Weather . . .
#vintage illustration #snowman #snow monster #illustration #abominable
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This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea – November 24, 2014 (permalink)

From The Writings in Prose and Verse of Rudyard Kipling, 1897. 
   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(
`-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `
"The sea is a cruel mistress. Yet again the sea has behaved unconscionably. It's time to address this terrible problem that is the sea." —Captain Neddie, from the hilarious BBC series Broken News
> read more from This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea . . .
#vintage illustration #monster #kipling #illustration
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This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea – November 16, 2014 (permalink)

From The Crimson Fairy Book by Andrew Lang, 1903. 
   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(
`-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `
"The sea is a cruel mistress. Yet again the sea has behaved unconscionably. It's time to address this terrible problem that is the sea." —Captain Neddie, from the hilarious BBC series Broken News
> read more from This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea . . .
#vintage illustration #devil #fairy tale #sea monster #illustration
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This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea – November 16, 2014 (permalink)

"The sough of the ocean," from Southerly Busters by Ironbark, 1878. 
   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(   ,(
`-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `-'  `
"The sea is a cruel mistress. Yet again the sea has behaved unconscionably. It's time to address this terrible problem that is the sea." —Captain Neddie, from the hilarious BBC series Broken News
> read more from This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea . . .
#vintage illustration #sea monster #hybrid #sea pig #illustration #pig fish
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Restoring the Lost Sense – November 14, 2014 (permalink)

From Southerly Busters by Ironbark, 1878.
[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 #monster #illustration
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Restoring the Lost Sense – October 4, 2014 (permalink)

An illustration from Alpine Memories by Emile Javelle (1899).  The caption reads: "A Dragon in the Alps.  (From Scheuchzer's Ouresiphoites Helveticus, Zurich, 1723.)"
[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 #monster #serpent #dragon #snake #creature #alps #alpine monster #illustration #alpine
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Staring Into the Depths – October 2, 2014 (permalink)

An illustration from Incwadi Yami or Twenty Years' Personal Experience in South Africa by Josiah Wright Matthews (1887).
[The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Staring Into the Depths . . .
#vintage illustration #monster #creature #illustration #maneater #mythological creature #eaten alive
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Restoring the Lost Sense – September 21, 2014 (permalink)

From Aldine Second Language Book for Grades Five and Six, 1917.
[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 #giant #knight #rock monster #mountain spirit #illustration #nephilim
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Restoring the Lost Sense – August 22, 2014 (permalink)

"The Bogey-Owl": an illustration from The Young Pretenders by Edith Fowler (1895).   Perhaps the best way to combat the bogey owl is to be your own cat: How to Be Your Own Cat.
[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 . . .
#monster #haunting #night terror #1890s #bogeys #bogey owl #owl spirit #owl demon
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Restoring the Lost Sense – August 20, 2014 (permalink)

The "Wood Devil": an illustration from Travel and Adventure in Northern Queensland by Arthur Bicknell (1895).
[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 #monster #illustration #pursued #wood devil
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Restoring the Lost Sense – August 12, 2014 (permalink)

An illustration from The Marvellous Adventures of Sir John Maundevile by Sir John Mandeville (1895).  The caption reads: "The knight saw her in that form so hideous."
[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 #monster #knight #illustration
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Restoring the Lost Sense – August 10, 2014 (permalink)

"The Piasa": an illustration from Mr. Eagle's U.S.A. as Seen in a Buggy Ride of 1400 Miles from Illinois to Boston by John Livingston  Wright (1898).
[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 . . .
#monster #mythology #beast #mythological #basilisk #piasa
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Restoring the Lost Sense – August 7, 2014 (permalink)

An illustration from The Marvellous Adventures of Sir John Maundevile (1895).  The caption reads: "There fled out an head right hideous."
[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 #nightmare #demon #monster #1890s #serpentine #illustration #flying head #hideous
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Restoring the Lost Sense – July 21, 2014 (permalink)

An illustration from The Marvellous Adventures of Sir John Maundevile (1895).  The caption reads: "Their eyes and their mouths be behind in their shoulders."
[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 #monster #fantastical #creatures #illustration
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Restoring the Lost Sense – February 2, 2014 (permalink)

An illustration from The White Wife by Cuthbert Bede (1865).
[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 . . .
#sea monster #vintage #supernatural #illustration
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