Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Bauhaus


Bauhaus ("House of Building" or "Building School") is the common term for the Staatliches Bauhaus, a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933.

The Bauhaus school was founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar. In spite of its name, and the fact that its founder was an architect, the Bauhaus did not have an architecture department during the first years of its existence. Nonetheless it was founded with the idea of creating a 'total' work of art in which all arts, including architecture would eventually be brought together. The Bauhaus style became one of the most influential currents in Modernist architecture and modern design. The Bauhaus had a profound influence upon subsequent developments in art, architecture, graphic design, interior design, industrial design, and typography.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Tsunokakushi


Tsunokakushi (角隠し tsunokakushi) is a traditional Japanese wedding headwear.

This is traditionally worn to veil the bride's horns of jealousy, ego and selfishness. It also symbolized the bride's resolve to become a gentle and obedient wife.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

flat-twin


A flat-twin is a two cylinder internal combustion engine with the cylinders arranged on opposite sides of the crankshaft. It is part of the class of flat engines, sub-type "boxer", and shares most characteristics of those engines.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Supersessionism


Supersessionism and replacement theology are uniquely Christian interpretations of New Testament claims, viewing God's relationship with Christians as being either the "replacement" or "completion" of the promise made to the Jews (or Israelites) and Jewish Proselytes. Biblical expressions of God's relationships with people are known as covenants, so the contentious element of supersessionism is the idea that the New Covenant with the Christians and the Christian Church somehow "replaces" or "completes" the Mosaic Covenant (or Torah) with the Israelites and B'nei Noah.

Friday, November 26, 2010

amygdala


The amygdalae (Latin, also corpus amygdaloideum, singular amygdala, from Greek αμυγδαλή, amygdalē, 'almond', 'tonsil', listed in the Gray's Anatomy as the nucleus amygdalæ) are almond-shaped groups of nuclei located deep within the medial temporal lobes of the brain in complex vertebrates, including humans. Shown in research to perform a primary role in the processing and memory of emotional reactions, the amygdalae are considered part of the limbic system.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

fadge

fadge

1. to agree
2. to succeed
n - a package of wool in a wool-bale that weighs less than 100 kilograms

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Paedogeddon

Paedogeddon



Conjunction of the words paedophile and armageddon first used by Chris Morris in the 2001 Brass eye special "paedogeddon" to satorise the media hype surrounding paedophilia issues of the time.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Balut


A balut is a fertilized duck (or chicken) egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell. It is commonly sold as streetfood in the Philippines. They are common, everyday food in some other countries in Southeast Asia, such as in Laos (where it is called Khai Luk), Cambodia (Pong tea khon in Cambodian), and Vietnam (Trứng vịt lộn or Hột vịt lộn in Vietnamese). Popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac and considered a high-protein, hearty snack, balut are mostly sold by street vendors in the regions where they are available. They are often served with beer. The Filipino and Malay word balut (balot) means "wrapped" – depending on pronunciation.

Monday, November 22, 2010

bergamot



The bergamot Citrus aurantium subsp. bergamia (Risso & Poit.) synonym (Citrus bergamia Risso) is the size of an orange, with a yellow color similar to a lemon, and has a pleasant fragrance. The juice tastes less sour than lemon, but more bitter than grapefruit. Because of the required weather conditions, citrus bergamot is only commercially grown in Calabria (Italy). Bergamot grows on small trees which blossom during the winter. The distinctive aroma of the bergamot is most commonly known for its use in Earl Grey tea, though the juice of the fruit has also been used in Calabrian indigenous medicine as an herbal remedy for malaria and its essential oil is popular in aromatherapy applications.

The bergamot orange is unrelated to the herbs of the same name, Monarda didyma and Monarda fistulosa, which are in the mint family.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

singlet


A wrestling singlet (or simply singlet) is a one-piece, tight-fitting, coloured uniform, usually made of spandex, lycra, or nylon, used in amateur wrestling. The uniform is tight fitting so as not to get grasped accidentally by one's opponent, and allows the referee to see each wrestler's body clearly when awarding points or a pin. Unlike judo, it is illegal to grasp an opponent's clothing in all styles of amateur wrestling.

Friday, November 19, 2010

unitard



A unitard is a skin-tight one-piece garment with long legs and sometimes long sleeves. It differs from a leotard in that a leotard does not have long legs. The garment can be considered to be a combination of a leotard and tights. It should not be confused with a wrestling singlet.

Unitards are worn by acrobats, gymnasts, dancers, equestrian vaulters and circus performers as well as others who require overall body coverage without impeded flexibility. Superheroes in comics and films are generally depicted wearing unitards.

Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of the rock band Queen, was known for wearing checkered unitards and spandex during their concerts in the late 1970s. In 1985, it was widely reported when Anne White wore a white unitard for the first two sets of a match in the Women's Singles Championship at Wimbledon.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Anthotype

An Anthotype is a image created using photosensitive material from plants. This process was originally invented by Sir John Herschel in 1842. An emulsion is made from crushed flower petals or any other light-sensitive plant, fruit or vegetable. A coated sheet of paper is then dried, exposed to direct full sun-light until the image is bleached out.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

cay


A cay (also spelled caye or key; pronounced as "key," IPA: /kiː/) is a small, low-elevation, sandy island formed on the surface of coral reefs. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans (including in the Caribbean and on the Great Barrier Reef and Belize Barrier Reef), where they provide habitable and agricultural land for hundreds of thousands of people. Their surrounding reef ecosystems also provide food and building materials for island inhabitants.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Agronomy


Agronomy is the science and technology of using plants for food, fuel, feed, and fiber.

Monday, November 15, 2010

barachois


A barachois is a term used in Atlantic Canada and Saint Pierre and Miquelon to describe a coastal lagoon separated from the ocean by a sand bar. Salt water may enter the barachois during high tide.

The sand bar often is formed as a result of sediment deposited in the delta region of a river or - as is the case in Miquelon - by a tombolo.

The term comes from a Basque word, “barratxoa”, meaning “little bar”. The popular derivation from the French “barre à choir” is without historical merit.

In Newfoundland English, the word has become written and pronounced as 'barasway.'

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Bradyphrenia

Bradyphrenia is a neurological term referring to the slowness of thought common to many disorders of the brain.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Dispersion

Dispersion occurs when a soil is sodic. When a sodic soil is wetted the clay particles are forced apart. This is generally a major cause of erosion.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Erotomania

Erotomania is a type of delusion in which one believes that another person is in love with onesself. The illness often occurs during psychosis, especially in patients with schizophrenia or bipolar mania. In one case, erotomania was reported in a patient who had undergone surgery for a ruptured cerebral aneurysm. During an erotomanic psychosis, the patient believes that a "secret admirer" is declaring his or her affection to the patient, often by special glances, signals, telepathy, or messages through the media. Usually the patient then returns the perceived affection by means of letters, phone calls, gifts, and visits to the confused recipient.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Zydretae

The Zydretae (Zudrêtai or Zudreitai) were an ancient people of Colchis recorded by the Classical accounts as dwelling on the coast of the Pontus Euxinus (Black Sea), on the southern side of the Apsarus river (modern-day Çoruh/Chorokhi in the borderlands of Turkey and Georgia), and between the Machelonoi and the Lazi tribes.

Monday, November 8, 2010

cascan

In fortification, cascans, or cascanes, are holes, or cavities in the form of wells, made in the terreplein, near a rampart; from which a gallery, dug in a similar manner underground, is conveyed, to give air to the enemy's mine.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Friday, November 5, 2010

Person from Porlock

The Person from Porlock was an unwelcome visitor to Samuel Taylor Coleridge who called by during his composition of the oriental poem Kubla Khan. Coleridge claimed to have perceived the entire course of the poem in a dream (possibly an opium-induced haze), but was interrupted by this visitor from Porlock (a town in the South West of England, near Exmoor) while in the process of writing it. Kubla Khan, only 54 lines long, was never completed. Thus "Person from Porlock", "Man from Porlock", or just "Porlock" are literary allusions to unwanted intruders.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

endorheic


An endorheic basin (from the Greek: ἔνδον, éndon, "within" and ῥεῖν, rheîn, "to flow"; also terminal or closed basin) is a closed drainage basin that retains water and allows no outflow to other bodies of water such as rivers or oceans. Normally the water accruing in drainage basins flows out through surface rivers or by underground diffusion through permeable rock to the oceans. However, in an endorheic basin, rain (or other precipitation) that falls within it does not flow out but may only leave the drainage system by evaporation and seepage. The bottom of such a basin is typically occupied by a salt lake or salt pan. Endorheic basins are also called internal drainage systems.

Endorheic regions, in contrast to exorheic regions which flow to the ocean in geologically defined patterns, are closed hydrologic systems. Their surface waters drain to inland terminal locations where the water evaporates or seeps into the ground, having no access to discharge into the sea. Endorheic water bodies include some of the largest lakes in the world, such as the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea, the world’s largest saline body of water cut off from the ocean.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Tintern


The name Tintern has been given to a type of blended mature creamy Cheddar cheese flavoured with fresh chives and shallots, made by Abergavenny Fine Foods. Typically produced in wheels of 2.25kg, it is sold in a distinctive lime green wax covering.

Monday, November 1, 2010

bignay


Antidesma bunius is a species of fruit tree in the spurge family. It is native to Southeast Asia, the Philippines, and northern Australia. Its common names include bignay and currant tree. This is a variable plant which may be short and shrubby or tall and erect, approaching 30 meters in height. It has large oval shaped leathery evergreen leaves up to about 20 centimeters long and seven wide.

lordosis

  Lordosis is historically defined as an abnormal inward curvature of the lumbar spine.