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 76 posts tagged ‘ball and chain’

Restoring the Lost Sense – June 30, 2029 (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 #dwarf #tiny man #ball and chain #illustration #1590s
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Yearbook Weirdness – April 18, 2029 (permalink)

From Armour Institute of Technology's 1909 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #skeleton #occult #fraternity #vintage yearbook #yearbook #secret society #1900s #in chains #illustration #handcuffed
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Restoring the Lost Sense – March 11, 2029 (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 #in chains #illustration #1880s
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Restoring the Lost Sense – November 13, 2028 (permalink)

From The Heroes, or Greek Fairy Tales For My Children by Charles Kingsley and illustrated by Helen Monro, 1855.
[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 #greek #in chains #illustration #1850s
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Restoring the Lost Sense – October 20, 2028 (permalink)

From The Open Door English Series for the Junior High School, Book Three, 1934.
[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 #ball and chain #1930s #advice #illustration
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The Right Word – September 20, 2028 (permalink)

From Armour Institute of Technology's 1905 yearbook.
> read more from The Right Word . . .
#vintage illustration #vintage yearbook #yearbook #monocle #ball and chain #1900s #illustration #poem
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Yearbook Weirdness – September 11, 2028 (permalink)

From the United States Naval Academy's 1909 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #vintage yearbook #yearbook #prisoner #1900s #illustration #chain gang
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Yearbook Weirdness – September 7, 2028 (permalink)

From Indiana University's 1950 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage photo #vintage yearbook #yearbook #in chains #vintage man #man #strangled #1950s #photo
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Yearbook Weirdness – June 9, 2028 (permalink)

From Kansas State University's 1980 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #anthropomorphism #cat #vintage yearbook #yearbook #prisoner #ball and chain #illustration #1980s
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Restoring the Lost Sense – March 13, 2028 (permalink)

From Chatterbox, 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 #anthropomorphism #wolf #prisoner #1890s #in chains #illustration
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Yearbook Weirdness – March 11, 2028 (permalink)

From Franklin 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 #angel #vintage yearbook #halo #yearbook #1920s #hooded figure #in chains #illustration
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Restoring the Lost Sense – March 2, 2028 (permalink)

From Whitney's Choice of Emblemes by Henry Green, 1866.
[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 #world #emblem #ball and chain #1860s #illustration
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Restoring the Lost Sense – January 27, 2028 (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 #mental illness #lunatic #in chains #illustration
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Restoring the Lost Sense – October 31, 2026 (permalink)

From Whitney's Choice of Emblemes by Henry Green, 1866.
[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 #emblem #in the clouds #ball and chain #illustration #winged hand
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Your Ship Will Come In – July 2, 2026 (permalink)

From the U.S. Naval Academy's 1901 yearbook.
* Our printed collection of vintage nautical postcards is entitled Your Ship Will Come In and is available from Amazon.com.
> read more from Your Ship Will Come In . . .
#vintage illustration #vintage yearbook #yearbook #shackles #anchor #ball and chain #1900s #navy #illustration
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Yearbook Weirdness – June 26, 2026 (permalink)

From Southern Methodist University's 1928 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#severed head #vintage yearbook #ball and chain
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Restoring the Lost Sense – January 25, 2026 (permalink)

From Colliers, 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 #political cartoon #uncle sam #prisoner #pork #ball and chain #pork barrel
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Restoring the Lost Sense – November 16, 2025 (permalink)

From Travels of Puss-in-Boots, Jr. by David Cory, 1918.
[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 #anthropomorphism #cat #caged animal #puss in boots #ball and chain #illustration #1910s
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Restoring the Lost Sense – April 3, 2025 (permalink)

"For two whole nights an enormous puma defended the girl from the attacks of countless wild beasts."  From The Romance of the Animal World by Edmund Selous, 1908.
[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 #1900s #in chains #illustration #puma
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Yearbook Weirdness – November 27, 2024 (permalink)

"Not wings but a [quill] pen."  From Indiana State Normal School's 1919 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #vintage yearbook #yearbook #quill pen #ball and chain #scholar
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