April 2006 Archives

'The . . . equestrian called 'The North Star'. . . Levi J. North was small, only five feet six, but so proportioned that he looked his best on the back of a horse. . . . Just twelve years old, he made his debut in 1826. . . . Before long, North's dark-skinned, light-haired good looks and consummate grace on horseback had made him the leading principal rider in the United States. . . .

In fact, using the word star to mean a person distinguished in his field may have originated with North. 'The North Star brightens the ring,' one newspaper put it, and so it was for forty years, either in his own circus or those of others.'

'John Culhane, from The American Circus: An Illustrated History, 1990.

'All circus clowns are of only three basic types. Every clown face in the world is a variation of the whiteface clown, the auguste (rhymes with 'roost'), and the character clown.

The whiteface clown derives from the classic Pierrot, the white clown of French pantomime. . . . His clown face is all white, with the features (eyebrows, nose, mouth) painted on in black and red, and other decorations, if wanted, in various other colors. . . . When interacting, the whiteface quickly becomes an authority figure'the adult or parent or boss.

The auguste is the scapegoat, the recalcitrant child, the foolish employee, the country bumpkin among city slickers. He is overtly funny, so he wears the most comic clown face. . . . The base color is pink or reddish instead of white. The features (red and black) are of enormous size. . . . The mouth is usually thickly outlined with white, and white is often used around th eyes. The auguste is the most slapstick of all clowns; his actions are wilder and broader, and he gets away with more. . . .

The whiteface represents order and authority and the auguste represents disorder and rebellion, the two most basic psychological types of the human race. . . .

In contrast, the character clown is a comic slant on some of the roles we play: cops, farmers, ethnics; and the makeup is a comic slant on the standard human face. . . .

The most well-known character clown is the tramp or hobo, and has been for decades. In the 1890s, jugglers on the vaudeville stage often dressed as tramps to burlesque the then-popular 'salon jugglers,' who wore white tie and tails and juggled top hats and canes. Tramp jugglers wore rags and juggled old plug hats and cigar boxes. . . .

Charlie Chaplin made the tramp character clown universally popular with his film comedies, starting in 1914 and continuing through such masterpieces as The Tramp (1915) and The Gold Rush (1925) to Modern Times (1936).'

'John Culhane, from The American Circus: An Illustrated History, 1990.

'THE GREAT STREET PAGEANT with its Royal Golden Chariots, Made in London, Forty Feet High, Surmounted with Revolving Tableaux of Golden Elephants, Lions, and Tigers, Mingling with a gorgeously caparisoned [sic] retinue of living Elephants, Camels, Gnoos, and Zebras.'

'advertisement from 1871, the first year of P.T. Barnum's Circus, from Barnum's Struggles and Triumphs, 1877 edition. As quoted in The American Circus: An Illustrated History by John Culhane, 1990.

'Clowns, elephants, pretty ladies in fluffy gowns riding white horses. That is the circus!'

'John Ringling, as quoted in The American Circus: An Illustrated History by John Culhane, 1990.

'When Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus opened at Madison Square Garden in the spring of 1942, the program listed as 'Display No. 18: THE BALLET OF THE ELEPHANTS. Fifty Elephants and Fifty Beautiful Girls in an Original Choreographic Tour de Force. . . . Music by Igor Stravinsky. Elephants trained by Walter McClain. Costumes designed by Norman Bel Geddes.'. . .

There were 425 performances of this circus ballet. . . .

The poet Marianne Moore [saw] the ballet, and rhapsodized in Dance Index over the dancing elephants: 'their deliberate way of kneeling, on slowsliding forelegs'like a cat's yawning stretch or a ship's slide into the water'is fine ballet.'

What remains today of that elephant ballet is the music, of course: Stravinsky's 'Circus Polka'; plus some motion picture film of the elephants in action; and a wonderful circus poster showing two elephants in pink tutus and cupcake hats dancing in a golden, star-studded spotlight. The 'strong linear' poster with its frankly flat elephant shapes, 'a radical departure in the history of poster art,' according to poster connoisseur Jack Rennert, was designed by E. McKnight Kauffer (1890'1954), who is known in Europe for his many London Transport posters.''

'John Culhane, from The American Circus: An Illustrated History, 1990.

'In 1955 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey actually presented Marilyn Monroe on opening night, riding into Madison Square Garden on a pink elephant.'

'John Culhane, from The American Circus: An Illustrated History, 1990.

'He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him.'

'F. Scott Fitzgerald, from The Great Gatsby.

'In the mid-1950s . . . Danny Barker put out four sides of Mardi Gras Indian related material originally on King Zulu Records. Whether Barker was attempting to make a popular Mardi Gras hit from Indian sources is not known but may be the case. With these releases, the Indian prayer 'Indian Red' was first recorded as 'My Indian Red' with lyrics close to what is sung today.'

'Thomas L Morgan, from an essay on the web, Mardi Gras Indian Influence on the Music of New Orleans, 2002. I heard Dr. John's version on the radio in New Orleans yesterday. It's a roll call of indian chiefs, and must be heard to be believed. (This is at least partially because I can't find the lyrics on this internet nohow!)

'One weekend Trout and Eel decided to paint their bedroom blue. The walls were the turquoise of the southern seas, the ceiling was cobalt, the floors indigo, the color of waters so deep and distant, no human had ever seen them before. Here in this room anyone could imagine the sound of waves breaking.'

'Alice Hoffman, from Indigo, 2002.

'1. Never draw what you can copy.

2. Never copy what you can trace.

3. Never trace what you can cut out and paste down.'

'Arthur Bloch, Wallace Wood's Rules of Drawing, from Murphy's Law Book Two: More Reasons Why Things Go Wrong, 1980.

'1. The best shots happen immediately after the last frame is exposed.

2. The other best shots are generally attempted through the lens cap.

3. Any surviving best shots are ruined when someone inadvertently opens the darkroom door and all of the dark leaks out.'

'Arthur Bloch, the Photographer's Laws, from Murphy's Law Book Two: More Reasons Why Things Go Wrong, 1980.

'Hot glass looks exactly the same as cold glass.'

'Arthur Bloch, the First Law of Laboratory Work, from Murphy's Law Book Two: More Reasons Why Things Go Wrong, 1980.

'1. If it's green or it wriggles, it's biology.

2. If it stinks, it's chemistry.

3. If it doesn't work, it's physics.'

'Arthur Bloch, Handy Guide to Modern Science, from Murphy's Law Book Two: More Reasons Why Things Go Wrong, 1980.

'O the month of May, the merry month of May,
So frolic, so gay, and so green, so green, so green;
O and then did I unto my true love say,
Sweet Peg, thou shalt be my summer's queen.'

'Thomas Dekker, from The Shoemaker's Holiday, first performed at the Rose Theatre, London, in 1599. Edited by Anthony Parr, 1975.

'Troll the bowl, the jolly nut-brown bowl,
And here, kind mate, to thee.
Let's sing a dirge for Saint Hugh's soul,
And down it merrily.'

'Thomas Dekker, from The Shoemaker's Holiday, first performed at the Rose Theatre, London, in 1599. Edited by Anthony Parr, 1975. From the footnotes: Troll=pass, nut-brown i.e. the colour of the ale it contains.

'Did she give thee this gold' O glorious glittering gold! She's thine own, 'tis thy wife, and she loves thee; for, I'll stand to't, there's no woman will give gold to any man but she thinks better of him than she thinks of them she gives silver to.'

'Thomas Dekker, from The Shoemaker's Holiday, first performed at the Rose Theatre, London, in 1599. Edited by Anthony Parr, 1975.

Soft brown sandstone. Also, buildings of this material.

'A History of Interior Design, by John Pile, 2000.

A ratio or proportion in which the smaller number is to the larger as the larger is to the sum of the two, or A:B=B:A+B.

'A History of Interior Design, by John Pile, 2000.

American furniture style of the late 19th century using brown colored oak.

'A History of Interior Design, by John Pile, 2000.

A windowed structure rising above the top of a dome or roof.

'A History of Interior Design, by John Pile, 2000.

Elaborate surface decoration using inlay in wood veneering.

'A History of Interior Design, by John Pile, 2000.

A circular opening or window at the top of a dome.

'A History of Interior Design, by John Pile, 2000.

Gilded bronze used as decorative detail on furniture of the Neoclassical period.

'A History of Interior Design, by John Pile, 2000.

Flooring of strips of wood often forming patterns.

'A History of Interior Design, by John Pile, 2000.

Ornamental surface design using several colors.

'A History of Interior Design, by John Pile, 2000.

Illusionistic painting in perspective on walls or ceilings.

'A History of Interior Design, by John Pile, 2000.

The large round window, usually in the facade of a Gothic cathedral or church.

'A History of Interior Design, by John Pile, 2000.

Art of stone cutting to form elements of complex vaulted structure.

'A History of Interior Design, by John Pile, 2000.

Small chips of marble imbedded in cement and polished to form a smooth surface suitable for flooring.

'A History of Interior Design, by John Pile, 2000.

Realisitic painting technique creating an illusion of reality (literally, 'fools the eye').

'A History of Interior Design, by John Pile, 2000.

'Let's impeach the president for lying
And leading our country into war
Abusing all the power that we gave him
And shipping all our money out the door

He's the man who hired all the criminals
The White House shadows who hide behind closed doors
And bend the facts to fit with their new stories
Of why we have to send our men to war

Let's impeach the president for spying
On citizens inside their own homes
Breaking every law in the country
By tapping our computers and telephones

What if Al Qaeda blew up the levees
Would New Orleans have been safer that way
Sheltered by our government's protection
Or was someone just not home that day'

Let's impeach the president
For hijacking our religion and using it to get elected
Dividing our country into colors
And still leaving black people neglected

Thank god he's cracking down on steroids
Since he sold his old baseball team
There's lot of people looking at big trouble
But of course the president is clean

Thank God'

'Neil Young, the lyrics to Let's Impeach the President from his upcoming album, Living With War. Found this via Fark at Foxnews.com. Foxnews. That would be ironic, would it not'

'Hylas. I tell you, Philonous, external light is nothing but a thin fluid substance, whose minute particles being agitated with a brisk motion, and in various manners reflected from the different surfaces of outward objects to the eyes, communicate different motions to the optic nerves; which, being propagated to the brain, cause therein various impressions: and these are attended with the sensations of red, blue, yellow, &c.

Philonous. It seems then, the light does no more than shake the optic nerves.

Hylas. Nothing else.

Philonous. And consequent to each particular motion of the nerves, the mind is affected with a sensation, which is some particular color.

Hylas. Right.

Philonous. And these sensations have no existence without the mind.

Hylas. They have not.'

'George Berkeley, from Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous, 1713.

'Look! Are not the fields covered with a delightful verdure' Is there not something in the woods and groves, in the rivers and clear springs, that soothes, that delights, that transports the soul' . . . Raise now your thoughts from this ball of earth, to all those glorious luminaries that adorn the high arch of heaven. . . . How vivid and radiant is the luster of the fixed stars! How magnificent and rich that negligent profusion, with which they appear to be scattered throughout the whole azure vault!.'

'George Berkeley, from Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous, 1713. Philonous speaking.

'Jason Squiff was a cistern cleaner. He had greenish yellowish hair. If you looked down into a cistern when he was lifting buckets of slush and mud you could tell where he was you could pick him out down in the dark cistern, by the lights of his greenish yellowish hair.'

'Carl Sandberg, from 'The Story of Jason Squiff and Why He Had a Popcorn Hat, Popcorn Mittens and Popcorn Shoes,' one of his Stories from the Rootabaga Country, from a collected edition of 1973.

'[Wassily] Kandinsky's endeavor to reduce painting to its innate basic principles had led him, in 1909, to the creation of his first abstract painting, which he regarded as an equivalent to musical compositions. Sounds, like pure colors, were seen to be expression of an absolute spirit. However, the time dimension of music could only be insufficiently captured in the static, two-dimensional frame of a painting. Hence his move into 'stage-compositions,' the first of which, The Yellow Sound, was published in 1912.'

'G'nter Berghaus, from Theatre, Performance, and the Historical Avant-Garde, 2005.

''Dr F. T. Marinetti,' as he proudly signed many of his early essays and theoretical reflections, conducted his surgical strikes against the perceived illnesses of the body politic, and earned himself the reputation of being il Poeta Pink, named after a popular medicine believed to 'restore the weak organism and provide the best cure against anemia, sclerosis and general fatigue.''

'G'nter Berghaus, from Theatre, Performance, and the Historical Avant-Garde, 2005.

'Have immediately printed, with your usual ultra-Futurist energy, 15,000 flyers like the one enclosed or even half that size, but keep the same proportion of letters. Take paper of different colors, but they must be bright, otherwise the print will be illegible. Then, take a car and . . . make a tour through the principal streets of Messina, throwing the flyers with the verve that distinguishes you.'

'F.T. Marinetti, from a letter of October 15, 1913, printed in Guiseppe Miligi, Prefuturismo e primo futurismo in Sicilia, 1900'1918, 1989. As quoted in Theatre, Performance, and the Historical Avant-Garde by G'nter Berghaus, 2005.

'In the evening, a flood of gas light streams through the windows, casting a warm color on the pale faces of passing women, making the copper shine like gold, and transforming crystals into diamonds. It makes the rich array of manifold and multicolored trinkets, knick-knacks, and toys appear like luxuries radiating a magical and dazzling glow. . . .'

'Auguste Luchet, from 'Les Passages,' in Nouveau tableau de Paris, 1835. As quoted in Theatre, Performance, and the Historical Avant-Garde by G'nter Berghaus, 2005.

'Everywhere you see brilliant stores, ostentatious displays, gilded caf's, permanent illumination: from rue Louis-le-Grand to rue Richelieu, the light flooding from the shops allows you to read your newspaper. . . . People stroll through the streets where commerce keeps a radiant illumination going all night and makes it as bright as day.'

'Julien Lemer, from Paris au gaz, 1861. As quoted in Theatre, Performance, and the Historical Avant-Garde by G'nter Berghaus, 2005.

'Grandson of a millionaire, [Cole] Porter spent his entire life surrounded by opulence, and his home at 13 re Monsieur was no exception.

In the entryway, black-and-white checked tile led from the front door to a finely cut marble staircase flanked on each side by columns. From the top of the stairs, a grand salon stretched out over much of the first floor, enclosing in its white paneling soft velvet couches, oriental-finished tables, and colorful rugs. Platinum paper coated the library walls, while elsewhere in the house zebra-skin rugs complemented ornate art deco furnishing. . . . Porter's workroom . . . ,painted entirely in white, contained nothing but a white table, a white piano, and one hundred white pencils. The wall facing the courtyard was made of frosted glass with a small, clear porthole so that Porter could gaze outside for inspiration.'

'Luke Miner, from Paris Jazz: A Guide, 2005.

'For a brief period Tabou was the center of Saint-Germain's existentialist youth movement, which married jazz culture with the intellectual life of the Latin Quarter. The extistentialist community was drawn to jazz, and in particular the new sub-genre of bebop, with its complex, lightning fast sounds. . . . These 'existentialists' had their own dress code. The men wore multicolored cowboy shirts and canvas running shoes, while the women dressed in black shirts and pants. At its height, the Tabou was so poular that a membership card was required to gain entrance. Some of its more famous guests included Raymond Queneau, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Albert Camus.'

'Luke Miner, from Paris Jazz: A Guide, 2005.

'For he had the touch, and a golden arm. 'Hold me up, Arm,' he would plead, trying for a fifth pass with the first four still riding, kiss his rosary once for help with the faders sweating it out and zing'there it was, A Little Joe or Phoebe, Big Dick or Eighter from Decatur, double trey the hard way and dice be nice'when you get a hunch bet a bunch'bet a dollar and then holler'make me five to keep me alive'it don't mean a thing if it don't cross that string'tell 'em where you got it and how easy it was.'

'Nelson Algren, from The Man with the Golden Arm, 1949. He was a card dealer, of course, but he becomes a junkie.

'Her evening gown was of an ivory-colored taffeta. The billowing skirt did justice to the effect of the stiff, cold, voluminous taffeta, on which the grain of shifting light flowed and opened up its quiet, silver, dead, long, slender eyes. Color was provided by a cattleya pinned to her bodice. The faint yellow, pink, and purple velum, surrounded by violet petals, imparted the coquetry and shyness peculiar to members of the orchid family. From her necklace of little Indian nuts strung on a yellow gold chain, from her loose lavender elbow-length gloves, from the orchid on her bodice, the fresh odor of perfume like the air after a rain wafted its charms.'

'Yukio Mishima, Forbidden Colors, 1953. Translated from the Japanese by Alfred H. Marks, 1968.

'The sky was alight'a blue-porcelain night sky where countless stars twinkled, like snowflakes frozen before they could fall.'

'Yukio Mishima, Forbidden Colors, 1953. Translated from the Japanese by Alfred H. Marks, 1968.

'Shunsuk' entered the study and looked for something on the shelf of original works in French literature, which was up fairly high. He soon found the book he was looking for. It was a special edition with rice-paper pages of Musa Paidica in French translation. Musa Paidica is a collection of poems by the Roman poet Straton, of the time of Hadrian. He followed in the steps of the Emperor Hadrian, who loved Antinous, and he wrote poems only about beautiful boys:

Let the cheek be fair
Or dipped in honey shades,
Of flaxen hue the hair
Or black with every grace;
Let the eyes be brown
Or let me disappear
Into those flashing pools
Of deepest black.

He of the honey-colored skin, the black hair, and the jet-black eyes must have been born in Asia Minor, as was the famous Eastern slave Antinous. The ideal youthful beauty dreamed of by second-century Romans was Asian in nature.'

'Yukio Mishima, Forbidden Colors, 1953. Translated from the Japanese by Alfred H. Marks, 1968.

'Death will be unlike TV documentaries showing us life from outside
Death will be unlike the Buddhist nirvana the moth seems to seek in the light
Death will be unlike the Cities of crystal they build in a few grains of smack
Death will be unlike the long picture window the coffin looks through to a widow in black'

'Momus, What Will Death Be Like', from the album Monsters Of Love (Singles 1985-90), 1990. This guy is a genius.

'Earlier in the year [1968], John Lennon'under the new influence of his relationship with Yoko Ono'had staged a London art exhibition at the Robert Frazer Gallery of his 'white art'. Called You Are Here, the show consisted of items like a huge circular white canvas with 'you are here' appearing microscopically, and a machine that continuously inflated white balloons to be released over London with 'you are here' labels attached.'

'Mike Evans, from The Art of the Beatles, 1984.

'The 'white' album . . . was the ultimate . . . 'art' album sleeve, minimalist in its plain white with 'The Beatles' embossed subtly, and conceptual in that the Beatles decided that the first two million copies should bear individual 'edition' numbers.

Inside the sleeve, however, there was ample concession to a more representational approach, with the inclusion of four colour photographs and a collage composition by Richard Hamilton.'

'Mike Evans, from The Art of the Beatles, 1984.

Mainly inspired by John, who happened to be on acid while watching the Paris student riots in the summer of '68, this collection was recorded in one night between dusk and dawn, in a 'very collective' session (John speaking). Its release was blocked by Yoko One, who, being a Jap, doesn't like Chinks. Main cuts: Love Mao Do, (Won't You) Please Police Me, The Long and Winding Capitalist Roaders, Happiness Proceeds Out of the Barrel of a Warm Gun, Rice Paddies Forever.

'National Lampoon, the magazine, from a special 'Beatles Edition', October 1977.

'At last the time came when her strength failed her; she lay in the hut unable to drag herself out to search for food. The fire in the corner that had smouldered so long between the three great stones was out. In the day the hot air eddied through the hut, hot with the breath of the wind blowing over the vast parched jungle; at night she shivered in the chill dew. She was dying, and the jungle knew it; it is always waiting; can scarcely wait for death. When the end was close upon her a great black shadow glided into the doorway. Two little eyes twinkled at her steadily, two immense white tusks curled up gleaming against the darkness.'

'Leonard Woolf, from The Village in the Jungle, 1935. As found in the newly revised and annotated edition edited by Yasmine Gooneraine, 2005.

Sinhala: aes-vaha, literally, 'eye-poison', the malevolent and destructive gaze which has the power to make a victim sicken and die. Children in particular are instructed to avoid the presence of those who are believed to possess either aes-vaha or kata-vaha (literally, 'mouth-poison' or 'evil tongue').

'Yasmine Gooneraine, 2005, in the newly revised and annotated publication, of The Village in the Jungle by Leonard Woolf, 1935.

'Thus did a handful of rapacious citizens come to control all that was worth controlling in America. . . . Thus the American Dream turned belly up, turned green, bobbed to the scummy surface of cupidity unlimited, filled with gas, went bang in the noonday sun.'

'Kurt Vonneget, Jr., from God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, 1965.

'Everything went black . . . , as black as what lay beyond the ultimate rim of the universe.'

'Kurt Vonneget, Jr., from God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, 1965.

'My wife has been killed by a machine which should never have come into the hands of any human being. It is called a firearm. It makes the blackest of all human wishes come true at once, at a distance: that something die.'

'Kurt Vonneget, Jr., from Deadeye Dick, 1982.

'If one says 'Red' (the name of a color) and there are 50 people listening, it can be expected that there will be 50 reds in their minds. And one can be sure that all these reds will be very different.

Even when a certain color is specified which all listeners have seen innumerable times'such as the red of the Coca-Cola signs which is the same red all over country'they will still think of many different reds.

Even if all the listeners have hundreds of reds in front of them from which to choose the Coca-Cola red, they will again select quite different colors. And no one can be sure that he has found the precise red shade.

And even if that round red Coca-Cola sign with the white name in the middle is actually shown so that everyone focuses on the same red, each will receive the same projection on his retina, but no one can be sure whether each has the same perception.'

'Josef Albers, his great Interaction of Color, 1963. From the shiny new revised and expanded paperback edition, 2006.

'As 'gentlemen prefer blondes,' so everyone has preference for certain colors and prejudices against others. This applies to color combinations as well. . . . We change, correct, or reverse our opinions about colors, and this change of opinion may shift forth and back.'

'Josef Albers, his great Interaction of Color, 1963. I found this in the shiny new revised and expanded paperback edition from Yale Press, 2006.

'Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every meadow, every humming insect. . . . The shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is not just water, but the blood of our ancestors. Each ghostly reflection in the clear water of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The water's murmur is the voice of my father's father.'

'Chief Seattle, in 1855, as quoted by Joseph Campbell in The Way of the Animal Powers.

'The flowing breast is the essential image of trust in the universe. Even the faintest pattern of stars was once seen as iridescent drops of milk streaming from the breast of the Mother Goddess: the galaxy that came to be called the Milky Way.'

'Anne Baring and Jules Cashford, from The Myth of the Goddess: Evolution of an Image, 2005.

'Hieratic, majestic, austere, the Black Virgin gazes out from the windows of Chartres Cathedral, or sits enthroned in the crypt, holding her son in the manner of the goddess holding life, her child. So much interest surrounds her today that she is once again becoming the focus of pilgrimage. Her image is stolen from churches where she has sat for centuries undisturbed, and must now be hidden as a precaution against thieves. . . .

The symbolism of the Black Virgin returns us once again to the Song of Songs, to the bride who is 'black but beautiful'. It returns us to Cybele, whose symbol was a black stone, a meteorite, and to the black images of Demeter, Artemis and Isis, and to the black-robed, exiled Shekhinah, the 'Precious Stone'. It evokes the blackness of the night sky in which the moon and the evening star are the brightest luminaries, and the mystery of space as a mother who gives birth each night to the moon and stars and each morning to the sun. Above all, the Black Virgin holding her son, Christ, on ther lap, gives us the image of the light shining in darkness, and the esoteric, hidden teaching of Gnosticism and Alchemy.'

'Anne Baring and Jules Cashford, from The Myth of the Goddess: Evolution of an Image, 2005.

'The dog is one of the most ancient animals belonging to the goddess as the guardian of her mysteries. In Greece dogs were sacred to Hecate, goddess of the dark phase of the moon and so of the crossroads and the underworld. The culture of Old Europe reveals the very ancient origin of the link between dog, dark moon, black night and goddess. The finest matierials'marble, rock-crystal and gold'were used to fashion dog figurines or vessels shaped as dogs. . . .

In later civilizations the dog guards the threshold between the realms of the living and the dead: in Egypt, the jackal god, Anubis, becomes the guide of the souls of the dead into the underworld and assists at their transformation; in Greece, the three-headed god, Cerberus, guards the entrance to the realm of the dead.'

'Anne Baring and Jules Cashford, from The Myth of the Goddess: Evolution of an Image, 2005.

'We must remember that a mere eighty generations separate us from the Golden Age of Greek culture. And what are eighty generations' They shrink to an almost imperceptible span when compared with the enormous stretch of time that separates us from Neanderthal or Heidelberg man.'

'C.G. Young, as quoted in The Myth of the Goddess: Evolution of an Image by Anne Baring and Jules Cashford, 2005.

'An echo of the archaic fertility rites is . . . found in the European spring festival of the first of May, when the May Queen and the Green Man used to be named and the May pole set up and decorated with ribbons and flowers. . . . The May pole, a tree sometimes 60 feet tall, was carried in a cart drawn by oxen, while the May Queen followed in a car, or chariot, drawn by young men and women. Her partner or 'consort', the Green Man . . . also called 'the Green One', was clothed in leaves. In some parts of Europe the couple were 'married'. . . . All over Europe traces of the Green Man may still be discovered, and he is even found in the name of many British pubs. In Arthurian legend the Green Knight, who rides into Arthur's court demanding that one of Arthur's knights should strike his head from his shoulders, personifies the ancient sacrificed year god, whose rites lead into the deeper mysteries of life and death. How ever often he lost his head, or his life, he could never die.'

'Anne Baring and Jules Cashford, from The Myth of the Goddess: Evolution of an Image, 2005.

'Well my favourite bird is the cuckoo, punk
My favourite beast, the funky skunk.
My favourite colour is the emerald green,
Chuck the football king . . . his beauty queen
Comes to me when she's chucked him in.
Well I was born to be adored by women.'

'singer, songwriter, self-producer Momus, Born To Be Adored,
from The Little Red Songbook, 1998.

'But yellow is my favorite color. Van Gogh liked yellow too.'

'Henry Bukowski, from his fourth public reading, recorded on lo-tek videotape in 1970. Now available on DVD as Bukowski at Bellevue. So good I had to watch it twice.

'Sometimes days passed and stupid Ludmila did not appear in the forest. Lekh would become possessed by a silent rage. He would stare solemnly at the birds in the cages, mumbling something to himself. Finally, after prolonged scrutiny, he would choose the strongest bird, tie it to his wrist, and prepare stinking paints of different colors which he mixed together from the most varied components. When the colors satisfied him, Lekh would turn the bird over and paint its wings, head, and breast in rainbow hues until it became more dappled and vived than a bouquet of wildflowers.'

'Jerzy Kosinski, from The Painted Bird, first published in 1965.

'She called me the Black One. From her I learned for the first time that I was possessed by an evil spirit, which crouched in me like a mole in a deep burrow, and of whose presence I was unaware. Such a darkling as I, possessed of this evil spirit, could be recognized by his bewitched black eyes which did not blink when they gazed at bright clear eyes. Hence, Olga declared, I could stare at other people and unknowingly cast a spell over them.

Bewitched eyes can not only cast a spell but can also remove it, she explained. I must take care, while staring at people or animals or even grain, to keep my mind blank of anything other than the disease I was helping her remove from them. For when bewitched eyes look at a healthy child, he will immediately begin to waste away; when at a calf, it will drop dead of a sudden disease; when at grass, the hay will rot after the harvest.'

'Jerzy Kosinski, from The Painted Bird, 1965.

'The eyeballs lay on the floor. I walked around them, catching their steady stare. The cats timidly moved out into the middle of the room and began to play with the eyes as if they were balls of thread. Their own pupils narrowed to slits from the light of the oil lamp. The cats rolled the eyes around, sniffed them, licked them, and passed them to one another gently with their padded paws. Now it seemed that the eyes were staring at me from every corner of the room, as though they had acquired a new life and motion of their own.'

'Jerzy Kosinski, from The Painted Bird, 1965. Freaky, no' For a real kick, go ahead and reread it, and then type and proofread it!

'You want to know something' We are still in the Dark Ages. The Dark Ages'they haven't ended yet.'

'Kurt Vonneget, Jr., spoken by Rudy Waltz in Deadeye Dick, 1982.

'The Egyptians seemed to have made occasional use of inscriptons to draw attention to the whereabouts of a trade. Whether the Greek Signs were carved or painted or merely displayed the natural object, is uncertain from the references made by Aristotle. The more general practice of the Romans, as we may still see at Pompeii, was a panel in relief beside the shop front. The earliest forms were some simple object typical of the trade'a hand for the glover, a bunch of grapes for the vintner. In the Middle Ages coats-of-arms, crests and badges began to be used, for as particular trades were confined to particiular streets the trader felt the need for some more individual and distinctive Sign. Sometimes the shopkeeper's own name would suggest a rebus, as Robert Legg Upholsterer 'at the Sign of ye Leg' in Holborn. . . .

Of Signs still to be seen in our streets a few examples persist'the Barber's Pole and the Three Golden Balls (originally Three Blue Balls) of the pawnbrokers are those most frequently met with. Other devices occasionally seen are the Arm and Hammer of the gold-beater, the Kettle and the Hat which hang in front of ironmongers' and hatters' shops, the Fishing Rod and Dangling Trout over the fishing tackle shops, the Roll of Tobacco and the Highlander outside the tobacconists'.'

'Ambrose Heal, from London Tradesmen's Cards of the XVIII Century; An Account of their Origin and Use, originally published in 1910.

'Nathan Drake, Colourman. . . . At the White Hart in Long-Acre; London. Sells all sorts of fine Colours & Oils for Painting. Prym'd Cloths, pencils, fine Tools and Palletts; Water Colours prepared in the neatest manner. Also Makes all sorts of Crayons in the best approved methods. Likewise, Lines cleans and mends Pictures and has every Article that is used in Painting or Drawing. all sorts of Colours & Oils for House Painting at the Lowest Rates.'

'From London Tradesmen's Cards of the XVIII Century; An Account of their Origin and Use by Ambrose Heal, originally published in 1910.

'From London Tradesmen's Cards of the XVIII Century; An Account of their Origin and Use by Ambrose Heal, first published in 1910. Some other silk dyers mentioned in the book (although their cards are not shown) are 'Green Man', 'Rainbow and Anchor' and the 'Rainbow and Dove'.

'Mortram. Decorative Painter and Artist in Fireworks. Coats of Arms, Magnificent Temples, Triumphal Arches, Sea Fights, etc. Executed in Fire Works so as to Produce the most Beautiful Effect.'

'From London Tradesmen's Cards of the XVIII Century; An Account of their Origin and Use by Ambrose Heal. First published in 1910, I found this as a Dover reprint from 1968.

'Velvet Palls, Hangings for Rooms, large Silver'd Candlesticks & Sconces, Tapers & Wax Lights, Heraldry, Feathers & Velvets, fine Cloth Cloaks. . . . Rich Silk Scarves, Allamode & Sarsnelt Hat Bands, Italian Crape by the Piece or Hatband, black & white Savours, Cloth Black or Grey, Bays & Flannel. . . . Burying Crapes of all Sorts, Fine Quilting & Quilted Matrices the best Lac'd, Plain & Shammy Gloves, Kidd & Lamb. . . . All Sorts of Plates & Handles for Coffins in Brass, Lead or Tin, likewise Nails of all Sorts. Coffins & Shrouds of All Sizes ready made.'

'from an elaborate engraved trade card for undertaker Robert Green, 'at the four Coffins', dated 1752. From London Tradesmen's Cards of the XVIII Century; An Account of their Origin and Use by Ambrose Heal. First published in 1910, I ran into this Dover reprint from 1968 in a colleague's office, and she graciously loaned it to me. Thank you Lynne!

'With regard to the Gothic minuscule character, the even perpendicularity of the broad, straight strokes gives at a glance the character distinguished as 'black letter,' because it is relatively much heavier than the Roman minuscule. You have only to compare the two to see that the 'black letter' is blacker.

The Germans marked this form of lettering for their own, and persevered in its use long after the rest of the world, in pursuance of the fashion of classicism prevailing in the 16th century, had abandoned it for the Roman style of lettering.

The mediaeval German version of black letter was stronger than that of other countries, the French more fanciful, the Italian more refined, more perfect, but perhaps never so Gothic.

The old 'black letter' varied . . . much in character. The rounder form is freer, easier to write, more cursive. The more regular and straight-backed letter went rather out of fashion for a while; but it was revived by the printers, who saw in it what they could best imitate.'

'Lewis F. Day, from Alphabets Old & New, 1910. Ditto Lynne!

'Most of you, used to big fat red and yellow leaves and brisk winds smelling of apples, wouldn't recognize it. But here in the deep deep South in the dreamy mud of the riverbend at New Orleans, we do know it. It's only a change in the light, a knifeblade-thin change from bright white to reddish.'

'Andrei Codrescu, the essay 'Hint of Fall,' from New Orleans, Mon Amour: Twenty Years of Writings from the City, 2006.

'There is a drainage ditch behind the inexpensive student housing in back of LSU. It's filled with beer cans. I was watching it in the midmorning heat the way a visitor to a museum watches a big trash sculpture, when the whole mess moved and the green-gray back of a large alligator slowly slid into view. Slowly, it then slid back out if it. Later I was told that the students know him well. They threaten to throw themselves to him if they don't make their exams.'

'Andrei Codrescu, 'Alligators,' from New Orleans, Mon Amour: Twenty Years of Writings from the City, 2006.

'King Death was a rare old fellow!
He sate where no sun could shine;
And he lifted his hand so yellow,
And poured out his coal-black wine
Hurrah! for the coal-black wine!'

'Thomas Morton, from The School of Reform; or, How to Rule a Husband, A Comedy in Five Acts, 1805. As quoted in Artist of Wonderland: the Life, Political Cartoons, and Illustrations of Tenniel by Frank Morris, 2005.

'Colors may mutually relate like musical concords for their pleasantest arrangement.'

'Aristotle, from De Coloribus, as quoted by Tom Douglas Jones in The Art of Light and Color, 1972.

'Musicians have appropriated the word color principally to describe the sensuous charm of their art. Hue is used to denote the shifts in effect that followed varous changes in timbre. Tone-color is a synonym for timbre. In truth, this quality in music (timbre), aside from what are called intensity and pitch, is easily associated with hue. For color has timbre, fullness, delicacy, volume, softness.'

'Adrian Bernard Klein, from Colour-Music, The Art of Light, 1930, as quoted by Tom Douglas Jones in The Art of Light and Color, 1972.

'The only possible rival to sound as a vehicle of pure emotion is color. . . . Here I will express my conviction that a color-art exactly analogous to the sound-art of music is possible and is amongst the arts which have to be traversed in the future, as sculpture, architecture, paintings, and music have been in the past.'

'H.R. Haweis, in 1875, as quoted by Tom Douglas Jones in The Art of Light and Color, 1972.

'All that visible objects have of magnificence and brilliance can be turned to the profit of the new clavessin. It is susceptible to all manner of embellishments. Gold and azure, metals and enamels, crystals, pearls, diamonds, embroideries, satins, velvets, etc., will not be only ornaments, but will form the body itself of the machine and be as its proper substance. For example, one can form the colors themselves with precious stones or counterfeits of the same color, the reds with garnets and rubies and carbuncles, the greens with emeralds, etc., and what brilliance and splendor a spectacle would possess where one could see appear from all parts and shine like stars, sometimes jacinths, and rubies, and sapphires'all these accompanied with the light of torches in an apartment all hung with mirrors. It would be an infinitely brilliant spectacle as an immobile decoration where everything would be in harmony, but what would it be like if movement and a regular, measured, harmonic, and quick movement animated all, giving it a sort of life' It would be a charm, a glory, a paradise!

One could perform a play, in which entered human figures, angelic figures, animals, reptiles, etc., or, again, one could demonstrate all the sequence of the elements of Euclid; one can give a play of flowers with variegated flowers, rose for the color of the roses, violet for the violet, etc., so arranged that each touch of the hand would represent a flower-bed and the sequence a mobile diversity of animated flower-beds. All that one can paint one can put into a moving picture, and vice versa, at the will of a clever player of the clavessin. I said that one could make as many color instruments as sound instruments, and one can make them according to a million tastes more different than those of ordinary music. Let all Paris have color clavessins up to 800,000!'

'Louis Bertrand Castel (1688'1757), describing his Clavessin Oculaire, the earliest known color-organ, in either La Musique en Couleurs, 1720, or L'Optique des Couleurs, 1740. As quoted by Tom Douglas Jones in The Art of Light and Color, 1972.

'I have no pet color. The whole spectrum is my favorite. No special color has an especial meaning. Green is generally considered a restful color, but green has a thousand qualities. It may be stirring rather than restful. Blues may mean one thing when applied to a square and another thing when applied to a circle. The key of C major has no special meaning but can be made to mean anything that one wishes to make it mean.'

'Thomas Wilfred (1889'1968), inventor of the Clavilux color organ, as quoted by Tom Douglas Jones in The Art of Light and Color, 1972.

'Lumia, the art of light and color, had a sudden resurgence, expansion, and 'explosion' during the nineteen sixties, and for two significant reasons. First came the revolt of youth, a sharp break and a full swing away from the amenities and mores of the past. . . . The sophisticated night club, patronized by well-dressed adults, gave way to the discoth'que, the electric circus, frequented by youngsters in dungarees and with bare feet. Rock and roll music, amplified to a cacophonous din, demanded all that the senses could bear'which meant vivid color, flashing light, dizzying motion, stroboscopic vibration. . . .

Second came the widespread use of hallucinogenic drugs, LSD, mescaline, peyote, the taking of which produced an immediate and startling expansion of the sense of color. Any number of attempts have been made to describe, in words, this heightened and sensuous response to color. Such effort is futile. As Heinrich Kl'ver wrote in his Mescal and Mechanisms of Hallucinations, 'It is impossible to find words to describe mescal colors.''

'Tom Douglas Jones, from The Art of Light and Color, 1972.

'Without the actual use of color or light, the English composer Arthur Bliss wrote 'A Colour Symphony' having four movements. Here Bliss sought to convey the musical and emotional impression of four colors.

'I. Purple: The Colour of Amethysts, Pageantry, Royalty and Death.

II. Red: The Colour of Rubies, Wine, Revelry, Furnaces, Courage and Magic.

III. Blue: The Colour of Sapphires, Deep Water, Skies, Loyalty, and Melancholy.

IV. Green: The Colour of Emeralds, Hope, Youth, Joy, Spring and Victory.'

The symphony was written in 1922, first presented in Gloucester Cathedral, and revised by the composer in 1932.'

'Tom Douglas Jones, from The Art of Light and Color, 1972.

'Among musicians, Liszt is credited with a number of pet phrases: 'More pink here, if you please.' 'That is too black.' 'I want it all azure.' Beethoven is said to have called B minor the black key. Schubert likened E minor 'unto a maiden robed in white with a rose-red bow on her breast.'. . . 'Debussy wrote: 'I realize that music is very delicate, and it takes, therefore, the soul at its softest fluttering to catch these violet rays of emotion.''

'Tom Douglas Jones, from The Art of Light and Color, 1972.

'The beauty of the visual world around us exists only in ourselves! Translation of the given visual information, at a distance, as nerve impulses, into a richness of color and form, is a psycho-physiological creative process.'

'Franz Gerritsen, from his Theory and Practice of Color: A Color Theory Based on Laws of Perception, 1974, translation by Ruth de Vriendt.

'Very primitive forms of life have been able to orient themselves to sunlight, through the development of light sensitive spots on their skin-surface, such as the light sensitive cells of worms. The sea star also has light sensitive spots on the ends of its star arms. Molluscs and ringworms have a more protected beaker-eye, whereby the light sensitive cells lie in an indentation in the skin. Inkfish even have two convex beaker eyes which are filled with sea-water. The beaker opening can be made larger or smaller through a circular muscle. Other kinds of eyes in primitive life forms are sealed over with mucus.

Higher life forms have transparent tissue over the opening, which is somewhat convex in order to collect the light waves on the back of the indentation (the retina); this is what is found in more highly developed sorts of inkfish and snails. The embyological development of vertebrate animals shows that the eye is formed by a bulge, the inside of a part of the central nervous system, pushed out, instead of the surface indentation pushed in of more primitive life forms. The sight organ has evolved, via primitive life forms, through the qualities of sunlight into the sight organ as we know it. Therefore, when we want to judge a color, we use light which has the qualities of sunlight, as we experience it after it passes through the atmosphere.'

'Franz Gerritsen, from his Theory and Practice of Color: A Color Theory Based on Laws of Perception, 1974, translation by Ruth de Vriendt.

'A line spectrum has emission only in certain, sometimes very narrow, wavelength areas, in contrast to a continuous spectrum. Sodium and mercury vapor gas discharge lamps, among others, have this kind of line spectrum. . . .

Neon tubes, as used for illuminated advertising and traffic lights, also have line spectra.

Neon gas is used for red light, and mercury gas for blue light, within transparent glass tubes. Subtractive mixing occurs in the colored transparent tubes, part of the spectrum of the light source is absorbed by the colored glass. Yellow glass absorbs so much of the 'blue' mercury lines that mostly 'green' can pass through and become visible. 'Neon' light adverstising (the name 'neon' is used for neon and for mercury tubes) was shown at the World's Fair in Paris in 1937, when for the first time fluorescent powders were coated on the insides of the tubes. A large assortment of colors was produced by making use of different fluorescent powders. This invention was the start of the development which led to our fluorescent tubes, for lighting purposes.'

'Franz Gerritsen, from his Theory and Practice of Color: A Color Theory Based on Laws of Perception, 1974, translation by Ruth de Vriendt.

'We can only conquer the world of color if we are actively and intensively occupied with color. A more accurate insight can give us some support, but can do no more than show us the way.'

'Franz Gerritsen, from Theory and Practice of Color: A Color Theory Based on Laws of Perception, 1974, translation by Ruth de Vriendt.

'Built in Chicago in 1923, the Reebie storage and removals firm not only reveals the impact that the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb had on architecture and decorative arts in the United States, but it also introduces the subject of the use of hieroglyphs within Egyptomania. Contructed by Charles S. Kinglsey, it was decorated by Fritz Albert with a vast display of polychrome terracottas. Decorative motifs included several full-length statues of Ramesses II, representations of the goddess Hathor, winged beetles and hieroglyphic friezes. The colours'pink, coral, fawn, indigo and light green'and golden disks with blue wings and green snakes, appear to shine as brightly today as when they were first created. . . . Hieroglyphs overtly proclaim the function of the building: 'I offer protection to your furniture.''

'Clifford Price and Jean-Marcel Humbert, from their Introduction: An Architecture Between Dream and Meaning, from Imhotep Today: Egyptianizing Architecture, edited by Jean-Marcel Humbert and Clifford Price, 2003.

'All of this splendour has been planned for her [the customer's] delight, and with a luxuriance that she had imagined was enjoyed only in Cleopatra's court, oriental harems. . . . She strolls voluptuously through lobbies and foyers . . . her feet sink in soft rugs, she is surrounded by heavy Renaissance tables, oil paintings, and statues of nudes. . . . When she takes her seat, she is further flattered by the same colourful magnificence on the stage as in the lobby. . . . The royal favour of democracy it is: for in the 'deluxe house' every man is a king and every woman a queen.'

'L. Lloyd, 1929, describing the Louxor Palais du Cin'ma in Paris. From the essay Egypt in Paris: 19th Century Monuments and Motifs by Cathie Bryan. As published in Imhotep Today: Egyptianizing Architecture, edited by Jean-Marcel Humbert and Clifford Price, 2003.

'The escalator is themed as a 'stairway to heaven' which has Nut decorations upon its underside, with the goddess Hathor's disk crown acting as ambient lighting in a moodily lit hall. The goddess' body conjoins with its mirror image along the entire length of the escalator at the winged limbs. The handrail is painted green, to evoke imagery of the flowing of both an earthly and heavenly Nile.'

'Chris Elliott, Kathrine Griffis-Greenberg and Richard Lunn, describing the Egyptian Hall and Escalator of the retail store Harrods in London, designed in 1995. From the essay Egypt in London'Entertainment and Commerce in the 20th Century Metropolis. As published in Imhotep Today: Egyptianizing Architecture, edited by Jean-Marcel Humbert and Clifford Price, 2003.

''O commander of the faithful, Egypt is a compound of black earth and green plants, between a pulverized mountain and a red sand. . . . When the annual dispensation of Providence unlocks the springs and fountains that nourish the earth, the Nile rolls his swelling and sounding waters through the realm of Egypt: the fields are overspread by the salutary flood; and the villages communicate with each other in their painted barks. The retreat of the inundation deposits a fertilizing mud for the reception of the various seeds: the crowds of husbandmen who blacken the land may be compared to a swarm of industrious ants; and their native indolence is quickened by the lash of the task-master, and the promise of the flowers and fruits of a plentiful increase. Their hope is seldom deceived; but the riches which they extract from the wheat, the barley, and the rice, the legumes, the fruit-trees, and the cattle, are unequally shared between those who labor and those who possess. According to the vicissitudes of the seasons, the face of the country is adorned with a silver wave, a verdant emerald, and the deep yellow of a golden harvest.''

'the caliph Omar, as quoted by Edward Gibson in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume 5 of 6, published in 1856.

'At the nuptials of the [Persian] prince [Almamon], a thousand pearls of the largest size were showered on the head of the bride, and a lottery of lands and houses displayed the capricious bounty of fortune. The glories of the court were brightened, rather than impaired, in the decline of [his family's] empire. 'The caliph's whole army,' says the historian Abulfeda, 'both horse and foot, was under arms, which together made a body of one hundred and sixty thousand men. His state officers, the favorite slaves, stood near him in splendid apparel, their belts glittering with gold and gems. Near them were seven thousand eunuchs, four thousand of them white, the remainder black. The porters or door-keepers were in number seven hundred. Barges and boats, with the most superb decorations, were seen swimming upon the Tigris. Nor was the palace itself less splendid, in which were hung up thirty-eight thousand pieces of tapestry, twelve thousand five hundred of which were of silk embroidered with gold. The carpets on the floor were twenty-two thousand. A hundred lions were brought out, with a keeper to each lion. Among the other spectacles of rare and stupendous luxury was a tree of gold and silver spreading into eighteen large branches, on which . . . sat a variety of birds made of the same precious metals, as well as the leaves of the tree. While the machinery affected spontaneous motions, the several birds warbled their natural harmony.''

'Edward Gibson, from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume 5 of 6, published in 1856.

'The list of [Alexias's] presents [to Henry the Third or Fourth, king of Germany and Italy] expresses the manners of the age'a radiated crown of gold, a cross set with pearls to hang on the breast, a case of relics, with the names and titles of the saints, a vase of crystal, a vase of sardonyx, some balm, most probably of Mecca, and one hundred pieces of purple. To these he added a more solid present, of one hundred and forty-four thousand Byzantines of gold, with a further assurance of two hundred and sixteen thousand, so soon as Henry should have entered in arms the Apulian territories, and confirmed by an oath the league against the common enemy.'

'Edward Gibson, from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume 5 of 6, published in 1856. I found this musty old book in a thrift store, bought it for the beautiful impressions of the type, but what do you know, I eventually read it and loved it! I'm not the first to say it, but this is a good book.

'Oh, to dress Chet. Oh, yes. This is fun. . . I think the best comment he ever made about clothes, oh no, there were two really. 'Listen Ruth, I'm not up there to win any beauty contests.' That was the first one. And all I was talking about was a shower and a comb through the hair. The other one was . . . [he finally] turned around and said 'Hey . . . does this look OK'' And I said no, that stinks. He said 'Well, it's red, and it's red.' And it was like this hideous burgundy with a pair of red pants. . . . In his mind, as long as it came from the red family, it worked.'

'singer Ruth Young, on Chet Baker, from the documentary Let's Get Lost, directed by Bruce Weber, 1987.

'The falling leaves drift by my window
The falling leaves of red and gold
I see your lips, the summer kisses
The sunburned hands I used to hold'

'from Autumn Leaves, words and music by Johnny Mercer and Joseph Kosma. Chet Baker sings this wonderfully in Let's Get Lost.

'Almost all the things that your eyes once promised
I see in hers too
Now your eyes are red from crying. . . .
Almost me
Almost you
Almost blue'

'from Almost Blue by Elvis Costello, 1981. Chet Baker's arrangement, he sings it acapello in Let's Get Lost.

'The Naz is a-talkin' and a-swingin' with how pretty the hour, how pretty the flower, how pretty you, how pretty she, how pretty the tree'Naz had them pretty eyes, wanted ever'body to see to pin the golden rosette of reality'and they is havin' such a wailin', swingin', glorianna style stompin' hike that before you know it, it was scoffin' time and these poor cats is forty miles outa town, ain't nobody got the first biscuit! 'We wuz diggin' so hard what you wuz puttin' down, Naz, we didn't PRE-pare. We goofed!''

'Lord Buckley, describing the Nazz's Feeding of the Five Thousand, of course. As quoted in The Hip: Hiptsters, Jazz and the Beat Generation, by Roy Carr, Brian Case and Fred Dellar, 1986.

'Await in the moonlight at the Wester Chamber,
Where the door stands half opened by the breeze.
While the shadows of the flowers move on the wall,
The Precious One may be coming!'

'Hsi Hsiang Chi, from The Romance of the Western Chamber, translated by S.I. Hiung, 1936.

'In the clear sky, there is not a speck of cloud;
The Silver River casts its gentle light;
The moon shines brightly in the sky,
And the shadows of the flowers fill the courtyard.'

'Hsi Hsiang Chi, from The Romance of the Western Chamber, translated by S.I. Hiung, 1936.

'When we last met the red petals of the flowers were falling like rain on the green moss.

After we had separated, the faded leaves lay scattered in the evening mist.'

'Hsi Hsiang Chi, from The Romance of the Western Chamber, translated by S.I. Hiung, 1936.

'The tears of blood with flow from my eyes are as red as the azalea.'

'Hsi Hsiang Chi, from The Romance of the Western Chamber, translated by S.I. Hiung, 1936.

'The jade hair-pin is thin and long like a bamboo shoot,
Delicate and white like an onion stalk,
Beautifully soft and smooth,
Lustrous and pure without a flaw.'

'Hsi Hsiang Chi, from The Romance of the Western Chamber, translated by S.I. Hiung, 1936.

'When you ask why I dwell here docile among the far green hills, I laugh in my heart. My heart is happy.'

'Li Po, from The Jade Flute: Chinese Poems in Prose, a Peter Pauper Press Book, published in 1960.

'With this I send a mirror. . . . It is pure round and it is clear white, to remind you of the moon we gazed at when we were last together in the garden.'

'The emperor's favorite, Pan Tie tsu, from The Jade Flute: Chinese Poems in Prose, a Peter Pauper Press Book, published in 1960.

'Over the mist the sun sets far off in heaven. Only the hills are red: field, hollow and lake are blue with shadow.

Now islands in the lake are black pearls set in amethyst. Now that wooded hill, a head of waving woman's hair, is black. And see, a crescent comb of silver moon.

Sad and happy, I pick up my lute and sing until the stars grow pale.'

'Tsiang-Tien, from The Jade Flute: Chinese Poems in Prose, a Peter Pauper Press Book, published in 1960.

'Gold, silver and gold
All you can hold is in the moonbeam
Poor, no one is poor
Long as love is sure on the street of dreams.'

'from Street Of Dreams, words & music by Victor Young & Samuel Lewis. Recorded by The Ink Spots in 1939 and by Peggy Lee in 1956.

'The true Bohemian is a connoisseur of texture, color and sensation. While the bourgeoisie can experience excitement, a feeling of fulfillment only through consuming, the Bohemian is exhilarated by observation, by creation, by experience itself. . . .

Bohemians do not take comfort in consuming to fill the hollow emptiness of existence that rattles like small shattered bones; they find poetry in the free and everyday things: the pinked and silvered lights of Paris in early October, a spiderweb decked out in jewel-like dew, a nineteeth-century china tea set in an antique shop window next to a taxidermy fox, humble objects and books and paintings and conversations in a coffee shop, things overheard in a botanical garden or on a wharf. . . .

It is splendor in which the Bohemian lives, not squalor'the splendor of the creative mind'and it requires ingenuity, free-thinking and nerve.'

'Laren Stover, from Bohemian Manifesto: A Field Guide to Living on the Edge, 2004.

'We'd play a gig, then smoke and take a walk, and the streets were lit up with colors, neon signs, and we used to stop and watch those signs, we didn't read them, just watched them glow.'

'Vic DiMeo, trumpet player, on his New York heyday. As quoted by step-daughter Laren Stover in Bohemian Manifesto: A Field Guide to Living on the Edge, 2004.

'Beats look cooler than any other Bohemian. They are the toughest, most tautly attired of all the Bohemians. Indigo, white, putty and black are the main colors, black being the most dominant. Black jeans, black jackets, black wingtips, black sneakers, black ballet slippers, black berets, black sweaters, black shirts, black coffee. . . .

Outerwear is generally the same for Beats of all sexes and will include a trench coat in black, navy or beige, a camel's-hair coat from a thrift shop ar a navy blue peacoat. A corduroy jacket may appear from time to time in the academic as well as the non-academic Beat wardrobe. This will be brown, forest green or burgundy.'

'Laren Stover, from Bohemian Manifesto: A Field Guide to Living on the Edge, 2004.

'The Bohemian version of a dimmer switch is fabric'shawls and scarves thrown over a shade. This method may also be used to alter the color of the room to, say, rose or yellow. For special occasions, Bohemians bring out the colored lightbulbs. Pink, red, blue, yellow, amber, black. It would not be unusual to find black-light posters of Jimi Hendrix in the Gypsy/Psychedelic Bohemian home, as well as a Lava lamp bubbling away in a corner.'

'Laren Stover, from Bohemian Manifesto: A Field Guide to Living on the Edge, 2004.

'I'd always put my red bandana over the little wall lamp and put out the ceiling light to make a nice cool red dim scene to sit and drink wine and talk in.'

'Jack Kerouac, from The Dharma Bums, as quoted in a footnote to Bohemian Manifesto: A Field Guide to Living on the Edge by Laren Stover, 2004.

'White teas such as Chinese Silver Needle, Chinese Mutan White or Ceylon Silver Tips (the tea is actually pale pink) are the choice of Zen Bohemians before morning meditation or Wu Ming qigong. A grassy cup of Sencha is also a Zen favorite. Bohemians also appreciate black tea from France'especially from Mariage Fr'res'and they cannot resist tea from Fortnum & Mason, by appointment to her Royal Majesty. Later they will use the tin for paintbrushes, chopsticks or kitchen utensils.'

'Laren Stover, from Bohemian Manifesto: A Field Guide to Living on the Edge, 2004.

'Gypsy and Zen Bohemians may drink green tea. The tea of choice is loose Gunpowder or Green Thunder, which is coiled tightly as a fist and unfurls in the pot when hot water is poured over it, until the water is as dense with leaves as the seaweed-swirling Sargasso Sea; it is consumed until all hours when work requires alertness and lucidity.'

'Laren Stover, from Bohemian Manifesto: A Field Guide to Living on the Edge, 2004.

'Oh Muse, how I served you beneath the blue;
And oh what dreams of dazzling love I dreamed!'

'Arthur Rimbaud, translated by Wyatt Mason, from My Bohemia, A Fantasy. As found in Bohemian Manifesto: A Field Guide to Living on the Edge by Laren Stover, 2004.

'The light of our cigarettes
Went and came in the gloom:
It was dark in the little room.

Dark, and then, in the dark,
Sudden, a flash, a glow,
And a hand and a ring I know.

And then, through the dark, a flush
Ruddy and vague, the grace
(A rose!) of her lyric face.'

'Arthur Symons, Pastel: Masks and Faces, as found in Bohemian Manifesto: A Field Guide to Living on the Edge by Laren Stover, 2004.

'I am the One out of
a Hundred
I am the Bearded Iris, the flower of chivalry
with a sword for a leaf
& a lily for a heart
I am the Rainbow'a hybrid of celestial
hues
blue in the end, a message between
Gods.
I am your shadow in the
darkness,
your reflection in the
mirror
I am the Jack in your box.'

'Ira Cohen, from I am not a beat, 2004, as quoted in Bohemian Manifesto: A Field Guide to Living on the Edge by Laren Stover, 2004.

'Somewhere over the rainbow way up high,
There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby,
Somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.'

'from Somewhere Over the Rainbow, lyrics and music by E.Y. Harburg and Harold Arlen, 1939. Written for the motion picture The Wizard of Oz and famous forever after.

A penny. 'That crumb ain't got a red, and he's puttin' on a million-dollar front (appearance).'

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

1. A bar of gilded cheap metal that appears to be genuine gold. 2. A fraudulent, worthless substitute.

'The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 1992.

One who goldbricks.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

To malinger; to use any expedient, as feigning illness, to avoid work or obtain narcotics.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

'It seems to me that the average punctuation mark, if it's being used correctly, becomes invisible to the reading mind. You're not meant to interpret a comma; you're barely even meant to notice it. (There are stories that deliberately call attention to the punctuation marks they use, of course, but they're anomalies, and I would hazard that most of them fail to achieve anything important by the practice.)

On the other hand, a white space, perhaps because it is absent of information, presents itself as something to be understood. Many readers might fail to accept such an invitation, simply hurrying on to the next block of sentences, but I do think the request is implicit every time you encounter one. What a white space most frequently suggests is that some significant current of the narrative is coming to a stop and a new one is beginning. A practiced reader will approach it with that expectation in mind.'

'Kevin Brockmeier, from an interview entitled Kevin Brockmeier on White Space at The Reader of Absurdist Books, posted April 06, 2006. Ran into this by way of Bookslut.

(Chiefly rural) A plainclothesman or detective.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

Enclosed van for conveying prisoners to and from jails.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

(Rare) A judge. 'That blackstone must have figured you was a cat hitting you with triple life (three consecutive life terms).'

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

A tent used for gambling by carnival emplyees. 'A couple of strange weeds (strangers) just heisted (held up) the black top.'

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

(Carnival; antonym of red) Poor paying; not prosperous'applied to a carnival crowd of spectators.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

1. The back room in a police station where suspects are examined by proper or, frequently, by third degree methods. 2. (Prison) The solitary confinement chamber in which excessively harsh punishments are inflicted.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

The promotion of stocks or bonds in a company capitalized illegally. 'Note: Named after the 'blue sky law,' framed to curb what its originators termed the 'capitalization of the blue sky.']

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

1. (Prohibition era trade term) Whiskey. [Note: 'Brown plaid' was in occasional use to distinguish Scotch from rye.]

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

Money; cash. 'You got to show plenty color in that joint (gambling house).'

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

A surreptitious look; a hurried glance. 'Take a gander, Swat, ain't that law (a policeman) piking us off (watching us)''

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

1. A light, especially a burglars's shielded torch. 'Nix on that glim; we ain't got a license (police immunity) to clip (steal) around here.' 2. The lamp for keeping the opium pipe heated.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

The eyes; eyeglasses.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

Any detective or police official who carries a yellow tin; a headquarters man.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

A glass eye.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

Counterfeit money.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

Emeralds. 'There's a swaggie (buyer of stolen goods) in Detroit that takes gullion (jewelry). Try him on that green ice.'

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

A prison or penitentiary.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

(Carnival) Making money; abounding in gullible people who are easily swindled.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

(California and scattered prisons) The chief disciplinary officer of a prison; the principal keeper; the deputy warden; or the captain. 'I'm hitting the porch (going to be tried for rule violation) today and the man with the brass nuts is gonna throw me in the hole (solitary confinement) sure pop (certainly).'

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

A prison psychiatrist; an attendant at an institution for the criminally insane. 'What a wack this dude (fellow) is; he wrote a letter to Stalin asking him to get him sprung (released). The man with the white coat dropped the net on him yesterday and put him in obso (an observation cell).'

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

(Near West) A period of indulgence in narcotics. 'Yeah, Clippper, I feel low, like a hop-head (drug addict) after a night on the rainbow.'

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

Open, as the eyes. 'Keep your lamps (eyes) peeled white I kill the bug (burglar alarm).'

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

The eyes.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

1. (South; obsolescent) A member of the white race, especially a white woman. 2. A Pinkerton'or any other'private detective.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

(Rare) A young passive pederast or male oral sodomist.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

(Carnival) Lucrative. 'Nice tip (crowd). If it ain't red today, we might as well pack in (close up).'

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

(South, scattered) 1. A thief; crook. 'That redhot's gonna wind up in lag (prison) if he don't take a powder (go away from here).' 2. A gunman or professional killer. 3. A fugitive from justice.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

1. Recently stolen; hence, easily identifiable. 2. Actively sought by police. 3. Teeming with police activity. 4. (Prison) Characterized by a tense atmosphere, as a result of an escape, riot, general search, or similar serious occurence. 5. In a state of intense readiness or preparation, as for the commission of a crime; working with abnormal skill or intensity.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

(Prison) Jelly served in prison mess-hall.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

(Carnival) Any thing, place, or person that offers especially lucrative opportunities for carnival swindle, as a game, town, or particular crowd of patrons. 'Man, this tank (little town) is a red one! Start weeding (choosing victims).'

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

(Chiefly through far West) To give railroad brakeman a dollar or two in lieu of an I.W.W. card as authority for stealing a train ride.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

(Chiefly through far West) To exhibit an I.W.W. card as authority for stealing a train ride.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

(Scattered rural areas) A double-ace in craps; hence, hard luck.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

(Carnival) The appraising glance at a prospective victim's money to see if he is worth swindling. 'This hoosier (hick) looks ready (gullible). Put the squint on and see what he's holding (how much money he has).'

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

(Prison) Formerly, standard accessories to civilian attire in which inmates, committed from prisons to mental institutions, were dressed. [Note: The term survives the custom.]

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

Pearls.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

A handkerchief.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

(Hobo) A shirt of very heavy serviceable fabric; a bright-colored shirt.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

A card game of Spanish origin in which two red cards (hearts or diamonds) and one black (spades or clubs) are laid face down on the table after deft manipulation by the dealer. Players must draw the black card to win. In the three-card monte swindle, the black card is withdrawn from play during the manipulation.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

Undergoing police questioning, often under third degree coercion.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

(Prohibition-era term used between retailers and customers) Gin.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

Sugar.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

Alcohol. 'Lam (get out of town). Whiskers (Federal Agents) is kicking in (raiding) all the white line plants in the county.'

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

Raw alcohol.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

Any of various powdered narcotics, as cocaine, heroin, and morphine. 'There's a nice buck (good money) pushin' (selling) white stuff. Junkeys (addicts) are easy to clip (swindle).'

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

The silvered badge worn by uniformed policemen and precinct plainclothes men.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

A gold badge carried by headquarters detectives of upper grades, as precinct sergeants and lieutenants; a counterfeit gold badge used by extortionists.

'Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.

'. . . twelve marbles, part of a jew's-harp, a piece of blue bottle glass to look through, a spool cannon, a key that wouldn't unlock anything, a fragment of chalk, the glass stopper of a decanter, a tin soldier, a couple of tadpoles, six firecrackers, a kitten with only one eye, a brass doorknob, a dog collar but no dog, the handle of a knife, four pieces of orange peel and a dilapidated window sash.'

'Mark Twain, from Tom Sawyer, 1876.

'It was a peculiarly beautiful book. Its smooth and creamy paper, a little yellowed by age, was of a kind that had not been manufactured for at least forty years past. . . . The pen was an archaic instrument, seldom used even for signtures, and he had procured one . . . simply because of a feeling that the beautiful cream paper deserved to be written on with a real nib instead of being scratched with an ink pencil.'

'George Orwell, from 1984, 1949.

'1. Why is a red light used for danger'

Answer: Because a bright colour that cannot be confused with anything else is essential.

2. Why is a red light used for advertising restaurants, cinemas, drinks, shops, pills, and everything else'

Answer: See above.'

'Fougasse and McCullough, from You Have Been Warned: A Complete Guide to the Road, London, 1935.

'If we stop to gaze upon a star
People talk about how bad we are
Ours is not an easy age
We're like tigers in a cage
What a town without pity can do.'

'Gene Pitney (1941'2006), from Town Without Pity, a big hit in 1963.

'His lectures were . . . far more than a course of instruction in formal penmanship. His discourse roamed far and wide: stars, philosophy, folktales'anything might find a place in them. 'He related his subject,' as Noel Rooke said, 'to everything in heaven and earth' because he saw it as essentially part of a whole. Since writing was an activity of man, the question of man's life on earth and the kind of universe in which he found himself had, for him, an essential connection with the work in hand. Therefore his lecture could embrace almost any subject and must have considerably widened the horizons of those students'and they were numerous'whose educations had been conventionally narrow. At one class he would explain to them his view that 'our reasoning itself is a game, like our chess or our mathematics' or that it was not self-contradictory to say that 'we are predestined to have free will'. At the next, in speaking of the roundness of the letter O, he would describe the experiment with a soap film and a loop of thread''the prettiest experiment in physics''which is used to demonstrate that a perfect circle encloses the greatest area that a closed loop can contain.'

'Priscilla Johnston from Edward Johnston, 1959, a biography of her father, the great type designer.

'As I thus communed with myself, the signal light sprang up. The rose-coloured light, couleur de rose, emblem of sanguine hope, and the dawn of a happy day.'

'Sheridan Le Fanu (1814'1873), 'The Room in the Dragon Volant,' from his collection of supernatural tales, In a Glass Darkly.

'No more brilliant spectacle than this masked ball could be imagined. Among other salons and galleries, thrown open, was the enormous perspective of the 'Grande Galerie des Glaces', lighted up on that occasion with no less than four thousand wax candles, reflected and repeated by all the mirrors, so that the effect was almost dazzling. The grand suite of salons was thronged with masques, in every conceivable costume. There was not a single room deserted. Every place was animated with music, voices, brilliant colours, flashing jewels, the hilarity of extemporized comedy, and all the sprited incidents of a cleverly sustained masquerade.'

'Sheridan Le Fanu (1814'1873), 'The Room in the Dragon Volant,' from his collection of supernatural tales, In a Glass Darkly.

'Big diamonds, big blue diamonds, how they sparkle
But what can they do to warm your soul'
When you're lonesome in the moonlight, and need some lovin'
Big diamonds, big blue diamonds, are so cold.'

'Earl J. Carson, from Big Blue Diamonds, first recorded by Little Willie John in 1962. Covered by Sam The Sham and The Pharaohs in 1965, and Jerry Lee Lewis in 1973.

''Jesus loves you and so do I, God Bless You'a republican reader from Wake County' wrote.

'We pray for you in the house of Allah. We need you. Get better,' another card said.

Old friends and total strangers wanted to hear my voice, establish I was actually alive and assist my recovery. A beautiful Italian cast silver Virgin Mary pendant arrived. Then I saw again what I'd seen from the darkened house on the edge: wormlike jets of pure gold powder and powdered tourmaline arcing across the sky toward me, presumably from other people. Some sling-shotted around the planet and out into the cosmos. The first time one came rocketing toward me, I estimated acceleration and mass. Wherever the thing hit, it was going to have the power of an artillery shell. Just before it struck, it disintegrated into a cone-shaped explosion of prismatic refracted light amid a snap of high-tension static.

I understood that these never before observed (by me) phenomena were jets of transphysical unalloyed human connection'OK, love, whatever. I understood what I was seeing, but the origin point was ubiquitously universal. That was the part that honestly spooked me.'

'Peter Eichenberger, on his recovery from a near-fatal bicycle accident in Raleigh, North Carolina. Published in the weekly Independent, March 1st, 2006. I know Peter, and I love him too.

Heterochromia (also known as a heterochromia iridis or heterochromia iridium) is an ocular condition in which one iris is a different color from the other (complete heterochromia), or where part of one iris is a different color from the remainder (partial heterochromia or sectoral heterochromia). It is a result of the relative excess or lack of pigment within an iris or part of an iris, which may be inherited or acquired by disease or injury.

'found at Wikipedia, the handy but anonymous guide to the Universe.

'I will make you brooches and toys for your delight
Of bird-song at morning and star-shine at night.
I will make a palace fit for you and me,
Of green days in forests and blue days at sea.'

'Robert Louis Stevenson (1850'1894), from Romance.

''Tell me, thou bonnie bird,
When shall I marry me''
'When six braw gentlemen
Kirkward shall carry ye.'

'Who makes the bridal bed,
Birdie, say truly''
'The grey-headed sexton
That delves the grave duly.

The glow-worm o'er grave and stone
Shall light thee steady;
The owl from the steeple sing:
'Welcome, proud lady!'''

'Sir Walter Scott, (1771'1832).

'Don't pull down the blinds! I feel fine. I want the sunlight to greet me.'

'Rudolph Valentino, his last words.

'You dog, you dirty yellow dog, you! You ain't no son of mine!'

'actress Marjorie Man, in the movie Dead End, 1937.

'Security is having your socks match.'

'Charles M. Schultz, from Security is a Thumb and a Warm Blanket, 1963. It is Linus whose socks are matching.

'Fire, light and the dazzling luminosity of the starry dimension are all images that were associated through the ages with the radiance of Wisdom, which, as a fusion of love and insight, or gnosis, expresses the union of queen and king, the highest feminine and masculine qualities of the soul. In the fairy-tale these are personified by Cinderella and the Prince. . . .

Cinderella's dresses, her 'robe of glory', are described as 'blue like the sky', woven of the stars of heaven, of moonbeams, sunbeams, or made of all the flowers in the world. Sometimes the metaphor of the sea appears and her dress is 'sea-coloured' or 'like the waves of the sea' or 'as the sea with fishes swimming it' and as the 'colour of the sea covered with golden fishes'. . . . Sometimes her dresses shine like the sun or gold, covered in diamonds and pearls, 'of spendour passing description'. . . .

Cinderella's shoes or slippers are described as made of crystal, or gold or blue glass, or embroidered with pearls. Without her glass slipper, Cinderella would not have been recognized, and it could fit only her whose standpoint had become translucent to the light of Wisdom.'

'Anne Baring and Jules Cashford, from The Myth of the Goddess: Evolution of an Image, 2005.

'White on white translucent black capes
Back on the rack
Bela Lugosi's dead . . .
Undead undead undead'

'from Bela Lugosi's Dead, by Bauhaus, 1979. Thank you Pat Vining for mentioning, at the opening last night, this great song.