electrum

“There is evidence that the Minoan Cretans and the Egyptians employed bars of gold of regular weight for [trading] in the area afterwards covered by Greek trade. But neither they nor any other of the peoples of the Near East developed the idea of stamping their metal to make coins; that was an invention of the Greeks. . . .

Ionian merchants [in Asia Minor] found a commodity which answered their purposes . . . in a more precious metal than bronze—electrum, a natural alloy of gold and silver obtained from the beds of some rivers near at hand—and made this the basis of their standard of values. . . .

[A] novel feature soon appeared on the lumps of electrum which were passed for purposes of trade, in the form of distinctive stamps impressed upon them; at first these were little more than punch-marks on the surface, but gradually became a design, into which one side of the lump of metal was moulded.”

—J.G. Milne, Greek Coinage, Oxford University Press, 1931.

bathed in a faint, purple light

“What he saw, not only of reality but even in his imagination, was often blurred by fever, but within that vague dimness his cancer appeared to him as a flourishing bed of yellow hyacinths or possibly chrysanthemums bathed in a faint, purple light.”

—Kenzaburo O’, The Day He Himself Shall Wipe My Tears Away, translated by John Nathan, 1977.

the eye of the forest

“I felt the eye of the forest staring at me from among cedars, pines, and several species of cypress, all of a green so murky that one perceived it almost as black.”

—Kenzaburo O’, The Silent Cry, translated by John Bester, 1974.

grey-eyed people

“It’s a known truth: grey-eyed people is jealous.”

—Berenice, the cook, in the film version of The Member Of The Wedding, 1952. She says it twice, so it must be true.

Vollis Simpson’s Whirligig Farm

I’m back. I’m safely back. I’ve been visiting family and friends in piedmont and good ol’ down east North Carolina, and I had a wonderful time. I’ll post more pics soon, but for tonight here’s a shot of Vollis Simpson’s Whirligig Farm, located on Simpson’s Shop road, not far from Wilson.

paint the inside of your chicken coop orange

“If you paint the inside of your chicken coop orange, your chickens will lay more eggs.”

—Tom Parker, Rules of Thumb, 1983.

the familiar brown paper bag

“The material out of which the familiar grocery bag is made is known as Kraft paper, after the German word denoting power, force, and strength. The name thus connotes the familiar toughness of the bag. Kraft paper is made from a pulping process employing a long-fibered softwood like southern pine. When the paper is unbleached, the familiar brown paper bag results. Bleached Kraft paper is usually used in making bakery bags, the white paper suggesting a cleaner container. . . .”

—Henry Petroski, Small Things Considered, 2003.

‘duct tape’

“‘Duck tape’ is also reported variously to have been called ‘military tape,’ ‘gun tape,’ and ‘ammo tape‘ during World War II, when it was invented, developed, and first used. . . .

The versatility of the tape made it a natural thing for GIs to bring back to the States. . . . The original army green (olive drab) color of the tape . . . changed to its now-familiar sheet-metal gray, whose metallic cast better matched the galvanized ductwork on which it was used. Thus it began to be called and sold as ‘duct tape,’ a name that divorced the product from its military origins.”

—Henry Petroski, Small Things Considered, 2003.

the end of an area

It’s the end of an area. Don Murray’s Barbecue & Seafood, on Wake Forest Road in Raleigh, North Carolina, is out of business and the property is for sale. I never ate there, but I have always loved the sign, a replica of the original building on top of brick pier. Some years back it won an exemption from a city-wide sign ordinance, and a well deserved exemption it was. This sign has chutzpah, this sign has huevos. But I don’t think this erection will be up much longer.

The full moon

“The full moon horrified me with her cloudy leer. ‘Regard, la face de skalette dans la lune!’ cries my mother—‘Look, the face of a skeleton in the moon!’”

—Jack Kerouac, Dr. Sax, 1959.