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.
The letters behind the light appear to be N S E. The [U]NSE[EN] may communicate by the light captured in this image. From the University of Rhode Island's 1966 yearbook.
The amorphous blob of politics is here very accurately depicted on the chalkboard. While Florida is shown flatteringly thick and long, the peninsula in truth suffers shrinkage from all the surrounding water. From Eastern Kentucky's 1975 yearbook.
So silly, but we invariably wonder what folks are reading in their old photos. This woman in Eastern Kentucky's 1975 yearbook is reading what appears to be quite a scarce book today: the horse and girl novel Taffy's Foal by Elisa Bialk. The novel was already decades old in 1975, and we suspect that it wasn't required reading for a class. Perhaps it reflects something about this dorm student adjusting to her new life? The book tells of one Nancy Irwin, who lives in Kentucky with her grandmother on a horse farm until her father in Chicago remarries. Nancy is forced to leave behind her beloved mare Taffy, who is in foal. Nancy must adapt to living in the city, make new friends, love her mare from a distance, and learn to love her stepmother. Note that this student is using her stuffed animal as a pillow and is flanked by more literature.
I used one of those old school acquaintance finder programs, and these faces came up as probable hits. What's weird is that I do, in fact, know two of them! From Salem's 1978 yearbook.
"If it's all masks anyway, why don't you put some up around you that will make you feel safe?" (Diana Paxson, The Paradise Tree, 1987). From Susquehanna's 2007 yearbook. See How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
