August 3, 2010
Yantra is the Sanskrit word for ‘instrument’ or ‘machine.’ Much like the word instrument itself, it can stand for symbols, processes, automata, machinery or anything that has structure and organization, depending on context. One usage popular in the West is as symbols or geometric figures. Traditionally such symbols are used in Eastern mysticism to balance the mind or focus it on spiritual concepts. The act of wearing, depicting, enacting and/or concentrating on a yantra is held to have spiritual or astrological or magical benefits in the Tantric traditions of the Indian religions.
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August 3, 2010
Deadpool is a fictional character and anti-hero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by artist Rob Liefeld and writer Fabian Nicieza, Deadpool first appeared in ‘The New Mutants’ #98 in 1991. A disfigured and mentally unstable mercenary, Deadpool originally appeared as a villain, but the character has since starred in several ongoing series, which is used by writers for humorous effect. The character is famous for his tendency to break the fourth wall and is frequently referred to by the moniker ‘Merc with a Mouth.’
In 1991 Rob Liefeld, a fan of the ‘Teen Titans’ comics, showed his new character to then writer Fabian Nicieza. Upon seeing the costume and noting his characteristics (killer with super agility), Nicieza said, ‘this is Deathstroke from Teen Titans.’ Nicieza gave Deadpool the real name of ‘Wade Wilson’ as an in-joke to being related to ‘Slade Wilson,’ aka Deathstroke. In his first appearance, Deadpool was hired to attack Cable and the New Mutants. After subsequently appearing in ‘X-Force’ as a recurring character, Deadpool began making guest appearances in various different Marvel Comics titles such as the ‘Avengers,’ ‘Daredevil,’ and ‘Heroes for Hire.’
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August 3, 2010
In American football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The offensive line consists of the center, who is responsible for putting the ball into play, two guards who flank the center, and two offensive tackles who flank the guards. In addition, an offensive line may also include a tight end outside one or both of the tackles. An offensive lineman’s motion during a play is often limited to just a few quick steps to establish position, followed by a wrestling match similar to sumo. Offensive linemen thus tend to be the largest players on the field, with excellent agility and balance but limited straight-line running speed.
The defensive line consists of one or two defensive tackles and two defensive ends who play outside the defensive tackles. Defensive linemen—particularly defensive ends–are called upon to do more running than offensive linemen, thus they usually tend to be somewhat smaller and faster.
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August 3, 2010
The Vitruvian [vi-troo-vee-uhn] Man is a world-renowned drawing created by Leonardo da Vinci around the year 1487. It is accompanied by notes based on the work of the famed architect, Vitruvius. The drawing, which is in pen and ink on paper, depicts a male figure in two superimposed positions with his arms and legs apart and simultaneously inscribed in a circle and square. The drawing and text are sometimes called the Canon of Proportions or, less often, Proportions of Man. It is stored in the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice, Italy, and, like most works on paper, is displayed only occasionally.
The drawing is based on the correlations of ideal human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise De Architectura. Vitruvius described the human figure as being the principal source of proportion among the Classical orders of architecture. Other artists had attempted to depict this concept, with less success. Leonardo’s drawing is traditionally named in honor of the architect.
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August 3, 2010
Anchor baby is a term used by immigration reductionists in the United States to describe a child born in the U.S. to illegal aliens. It is generally used as a derogatory reference to the supposed role of the child, who as a U.S. citizen through the legal principle of jus soli, may facilitate immigration for relatives through family reunification.
Family reunification, or family-based immigration, in the USA is a lengthy process and limited to categories prescribed by provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which attempts to balance the right of a family to live together, or the right of a person to marry whomever he chooses, with the country’s right to control immigration. A sub-case of family reunification is marriage migration, where one spouse immigrates to the country of the other spouse. Marriage migration can take place before marriage, in which case it falls under its own special category, or it can take place after marriage, in which case it falls under family reunification laws.
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August 3, 2010
Stickle Bricks are a construction toy primarily intended for toddlers invented by Denys Fisher. The brand is owned by Hasbro and they are currently manufactured by Flair Leisure Products plc. An individual stickle brick is a colourful plastic shape a few centimeters long which has a brush of small plastic fingers on one or more edges. The fingers of adjacent stickle bricks can interlock, allowing them to be joined in various ways. Several companies manufacture similar toys, not all of them compatible. Names for these toys include Nopper, Bristle Blocks, Fun Bricks, Clipo, Krinkles and Thistle Blocks.
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August 3, 2010
The Five Tibetan Rites is a system of exercises reported to be more than 2,500 years old which were first publicized by Peter Kelder in a 1939 publication entitled The Eye of Revelation. Kelder claims to have met, in southern California, a retired British army colonel who shared with him stories of travel and the subsequent discovery of the Rites. Although the Rites have circulated amongst yogis for decades, skeptics say that Tibetans have never recognized them as being authentic Tibetan practices.
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August 3, 2010
Tilt-shift photography refers to the use of camera movements on small- and medium-format cameras, and sometimes specifically refers to the use of tilt for selective focus, often for simulating a miniature scene. Sometimes the term is used when the shallow depth of field is simulated with digital post processing; the name may derive from the tilt-shift lens normally required when the effect is produced optically.
Nikon introduced a lens providing shift movements for their 35 mm SLR cameras in the mid 1960s, and Canon introduced a lens that provided both tilt and shift movements in 1973. Canon and Nikon each currently offer several lenses that provide both movements. Such lenses are frequently used in architectural photography to control perspective, and in landscape photography to get an entire scene sharp.
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August 3, 2010
Bunraku [boon-rah-koo] is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater, founded in Osaka in 1684. Bunraku puppets range in size from two-and-a-half to four feet tall or more, depending on the age and gender of the character and the conventions of the specific puppet troupe. All but the most minor characters require three puppeteers, who perform in full view of the audience, generally wearing black robes.
Originally, the term Bunraku referred only to a particular theater established in in Osaka, which was named the Bunrakuza. Today the term refers generically to any traditional puppet theater in Japan. Until the late 1800s there were hundreds of professional, semi-professional, and amateur troupes across Japan that performed traditional puppet drama. Since the end of World War II, the number of troupes has dropped to fewer than 30, most of which perform only once or twice a year, often in conjunction with local festivals.
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August 2, 2010
A morganatic [mor-ga-nat-ic] marriage is a type of marriage which can be contracted in certain countries, usually between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband’s titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage. It is also known as a left-handed marriage because in the wedding ceremony the groom holds his bride’s right hand with his left hand instead of his right.
Generally, this is a marriage between a male of high birth (such as from a royal or reigning house), and a woman of lesser status (such as from a non-royal or non-reigning house, or with a profession that is traditionally considered lower-status). Neither the bride nor any children of the marriage has any claim on the groom’s titles, rights, or entailed property. The children are considered legitimate on other counts and the prohibition of bigamy applies.
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August 2, 2010
Fulgurites [fuhl-gyuh-rahyts] (from the Latin fulgur meaning thunderbolt) are natural hollow glass tubes formed in quartzose sand, or silica, or soil by lightning strikes. They are formed when lightning with a temperature of at least 3,270 °F instantaneously melts silica on a conductive surface and fuses grains together; the fulgurite tube is the cooled product. This process occurs over a period of around one second, and leaves evidence of the lightning path and its dispersion over the surface. Fulgurites can also be produced when a high voltage electrical lines break and fall onto a conductive surface with sand beneath. The glass formed is called lechatelierite which may also be formed by meteorite impact and volcanic explosions.
The tubes can be up to several centimeters in diameter, and meters long. Their color varies depending on the composition of the sand they formed in, ranging from black or tan to green or a translucent white. The interior is normally very smooth or lined with fine bubbles; the exterior is generally coated with rough sand particles and is porous.
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August 2, 2010
Gorodki is an ancient Russian folk sport. Similar to bowling and somewhat of the horseshoes concept, the aim of the game is to knock out groups of skittles arranged in some pattern by throwing a bat at them. The skittles, or pins, are called gorodki (literally little cities or townlets), and the square zone in which they are arranged is called the gorod (city).
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