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 208 posts tagged ‘books’

The Right Word – November 1, 2021 (permalink)

"That books are friends has been often proved."  From Lessons in English by Arthur Lee, 1917.
> read more from The Right Word . . .
#books #sentence diagram
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Yearbook Weirdness – September 23, 2021 (permalink)

From Illinois Woman's College's yearbook of 1926.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #books #vintage yearbook #yearbook #ex libris #bookplate
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Restoring the Lost Sense – August 26, 2021 (permalink)

[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 #reading #books #candle #scholar
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Strange Dreams – August 12, 2021 (permalink)

"Dreams, books are each a world."  From West Virginia Wesleyan's 1978 yearbook.
If you have a strange dream to share, send it along!
> read more from Strange Dreams . . .
#books #vintage yearbook #dreams #yearbook #quotation #wordsworth
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Yearbook Weirdness – August 10, 2021 (permalink)

You've heard that a book is a flying carpet.  Here's proof, from Lebanon Valley's 1954 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #books #vintage yearbook #yearbook #flying carpet #flying book
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Images Moving Through Time – July 17, 2021 (permalink)

From Queens College's 1955 yearbook.
> read more from Images Moving Through Time . . .
#books #vintage photo #vintage yearbook #yearbook #fountain #1950s #reading circle
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Yearbook Weirdness – July 14, 2021 (permalink)

From Panzer's 1928 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #castle #books #vintage yearbook #yearbook
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Yearbook Weirdness – July 5, 2021 (permalink)

From Elon's 1921 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #monk #books #vintage yearbook #yearbook #giant book
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Yearbook Weirdness – May 20, 2021 (permalink)

From Park College's 1931 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #books #vintage yearbook #yearbook
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Yearbook Weirdness – April 22, 2021 (permalink)

From UNC Chapel Hill's 1922 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #books #vintage yearbook #yearbook #illustration #wheelbarrow
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Restoring the Lost Sense – March 11, 2021 (permalink)

"You are benefited by reading good books."  From Better English, Seventh Year by Jeschke, Potter & Gillet, 1930.
[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 . . .
#reading #books #sentence diagram
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Go Out in a Blaze of Glory – February 26, 2021 (permalink)

We're honored that Cecil Baldwin, voice of Welcome to Night Vale, picked up our How to Be Your Own Cat at Quimby's Bookstore in New York!  He wrote, "My bookstore mojo was on point today!"

> read more from Go Out in a Blaze of Glory . . .
#books #how to be your own cat
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Yearbook Weirdness – February 14, 2021 (permalink)

From Colorado College's 1933 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #reading #books #vintage yearbook #yearbook #library #man reading
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Restoring the Lost Sense – February 6, 2021 (permalink)

From Le Journal Amusant, 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 #black cat #cat #books #bird #quill pen
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I Found a Penny Today, So Here's a Thought – January 29, 2021 (permalink)

Those books you'd read if stranded on a desert island ... keep them on your person at all times, just in case.  From Purple Parrot, 1929.
> read more from I Found a Penny Today, So Here's a Thought . . .
#vintage illustration #books #stranded #island
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Restoring the Lost Sense – January 27, 2021 (permalink)

Reading as a workout.  From Le Charivari, 1890.
[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 #books #illustration #brain building
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Rhetorical Questions, Answered! – January 20, 2021 (permalink)

This answer to the answerless question "what is a book?" notes that a book is actually a place and that books, unlike TV or film or stage plays, need our critical imagination.  From The Late American Novel by Jeff Martin and C. Max Magee, 2011
> read more from Rhetorical Questions, Answered! . . .
#books
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Yearbook Weirdness – December 28, 2020 (permalink)

Yes, do coordinate your clothing to your books.  No, don't toss books on the floor any which way.  From Illinois Woman's College's 1929 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #reading #books #vintage yearbook #yearbook #1920s
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Yearbook Weirdness – December 20, 2020 (permalink)

That lamp is fueled by the midnight oil.  From Earlham's 1922 yearbook. 

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #books #vintage yearbook #yearbook #1920s #library #illustration
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Yearbook Weirdness – December 7, 2020 (permalink)

"Don't throw books around. Treat them with respect" (Discovering Careers for Your Future).
From Centenary's 1927 yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #books #vintage yearbook #yearbook #illustration
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