(Video link)

"Machine's Waltz" is the name of this video that beautifully puts the motions of the machines in a Brazilian textile plant together with classical music.

"Machine´s Waltz" is a poetic vision of Paramount Têxteis textile plant, part of the group founded in 1893. Created and produced by Grafikonstruct, the film has a soundtrack specially composed by Lucas Lima.

via kottke.org

Jim Lewin received a stack of old magazines at his used bookstore that included some issues of The Flapper from the 1920s. A July 1922 issue contained "The Flapper's Dictionary," a glossary of hot slang terms of the time, which he posted in its entirety. Here's a small sample:

Absent Treatment—Dancing with a bashful partner.

Airedale—A homely man.

Alarm Clock—Chaperone.

Anchor—Box of flowers.

Apple Knocker—A hick; a hay-shaker.

Apple Sauce--Flattery; bunk.

Barlow—A girl, a flapper, a chicken.

Bank’s Closed—No petting allowed; no kisses.

Barneymugging—Lovemaking.

Bee’s Knees—See “Cat’s Pajamas”

Bell Polisher—A young man addicted to lingering in vestibules at 1 a.m.

Ask your grandmother (or great-grandmother) if she remembers some of these words. Some I know from watching old movies, and my own mother gave me "mad money" before I went on a date. Link -via Boing Boing

Edward Wozniak, who brought us The Top Eleven Deities In Hawaiian Mythology has posted about the gods of other cultures as well. His latest is a rundown of lesser-known members of the Scandinavian pantheon. For example, you might not be familiar with the goddess Hel.

The goddess who ruled over the land of the dead which shared her name, the name which by some accounts evolved into the common word Hell. She was the daughter of Loki by the female Jotun Angerboda and her siblings from that union were the Fenrir Wolf and the Midgard Serpent. She ruled the land of her namesake from her castle, called Sleetcold, and was often pictured with a body that was half light and fair and half dark and decomposed. Hel was assigned her position by Odin himself and, as a reflection of the hard Viking world-view those sent to her were the souls of any who died of sickness or old age. Their miserable existence in her gloomy realm was in stark contrast to the joyous existence of the brave souls who died in combat, who feasted and drank nightly with Odin in his dining hall Valhalla.

Link

(YouTube link)

Dan Rowan's "News of the Future" segment on the TV show Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In got things right a couple of times in 1969. The fall of the Berlin Wall was slated for 1989, which is what actually happened -although we haven't seen the alligators yet. And Rowan had to pause for laughter when he mentioned Ronald Reagan would be the US president in 1988. This clip was found in the Cracked article 8 Absurd Jokes That Predicted Real Life Events. The Laugh-In video only counted as one. NSFW text. Link -via Buzzfeed

Actor George Takei spent World War II in a U.S. internment camp as a child. He is set to star in the production Allegiance - A New American Musical about a family who went through the same experience, with a workshop scheduled at The Old Globe Theater in July. To raise money for the theater, Takei is selling a ringtone featuring his personal catch phrase: "Ohhh Myyy!" Link

You know we get maple syrup from the sap of maple trees. Other trees have sugary sap that runs in the spring as well. Minnesotastan, who I believe lives in Minnesota, noticed his birch tree was dripping sap after being trimmed. So he did what you would expect: he collected it in a bag, researched it, gave it a taste test, and blogged about it.

There is an outstanding amount of information at that link on the science of birch sap and the techniques for its harvest and for protecting the trees, and the subtleties of rendering it down to a syrupy consistency.

I haven't decided yet whether to undertake that aspect of the adventure. Everything I've read suggests the process is time-consuming and needs to be undertaken with some degree of care to avoid scorching the concentrate. I have about a half-liter of fluid now, because the trees are still dripping into this third day (memo to self: in the future don't prune when the sap is running).

Read more about birch sap at TYWKIWDBI. Link

(YouTube link)

I never bought a wheelie bar, but this ad from 1966 brings back memories of doing stunts on my old spider bike, like standing on the seat... Then my mother instincts kicked in. Hey! These kids aren't just riding without helmets, they aren't even wearing shoes! And who encourages their kids to do wheelies, anyway? Things sure have changed in 45 years! -via Nag on the Lake

(Photo link)

The Smithsonian National Zoo didn't think it was right to name a baby anteater without input from his mom, so they gave her a choice. They attached names to three flowerpots with different tasty treats underneath - mango (Fausto), grapefruit (Demetrio) and hard-boiled egg (Pablo). You can see where her heart... er, stomach, ended up leading her.

Link via FlossyMatt

The following is an article from the book Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges Into the Universe.

In the back of the cave, Og groans in misery. Ogga is smug -she told him to leave that two-day-old meat alone. But it looked fine to Og, and as usual, he thought with his stomach instead of his head. Og swears to the gods of food that if only they will let him get through this, he will never touch meat again.

Food, by virtue of once being alive, has a tendency to do what all dead things do: decompose. Food decomposes when its molecules break down into simpler molecules and elements. To do this, it needs the assistance of several helpful organisms and chemicals within its own body.

INVASION OF THE MICROSCOPIC KILLER SPONGES!

Bacteria are little more than live microscopic sponges. The cellular wall of a bacterium (that's what they call one bacteria) is porous -just like a sponge. To eat, it simply soaks up whatever it happens to be lying in. (What a life!)



Salmonella bacteria

NATURAL FOOD

In its natural state, food is wet, warm, and out in the open. Take away any one of these conditions, and you take away a bacterium's ability to thrive. Therefore, in order to preserve our food we wrap it (to take away its air) and/or chill it (to slow down its rate of reproduction). Alternately, we can dry it (a bacterium can't eat what it can't soak up).

BACTERIA ARE OUR BUDDIES

All bacteria aren't deadly, of course -in fact, most are harmless. We have bacteria all through us, both inside and out. We couldn't live without them. The deadly bacteria are the ones that produce toxins as they eat and reproduce. Some familiar examples are salmonella, e. coli, anthrax, and the bacteria that cause botulism.

Doctor Who Projection Watch - $19.95

Attention Doctor Who fans! Behold the Doctor Who Projection Watch from the NeatoShop! This fabulous time piece has the ability to project the image of the 11th Doctor.

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more fantastic Doctor Who items.

Saudi Arabia's proposed Kingdom Tower will rise to 5,280 feet. That's a full mile. If completed, this building in Jeddah will cost $30 billion to build and will contain apartments, hotel rooms, and offices in its 12 million cubic feet of space. The above graphic compares the structure to the Petronis Tower (center) in Malaysia and the Empire State Building (left) in the US. Currently, the tallest building in the world is the Burj Khalifa, which is 2,700 feet tall.

http://www.thedaily.com/page/2011/04/09/040911-news-jeddah-skyscraper/ via Gizmodo | Image: The Daily

deviantART user ComputerSherpa created a periodic table as a means of organizing the major tropes that can be found in popular stories. Pictured above is one small selection. When ComputerSherpa offered this to his classmates for critique, one cleverly suggested that it be used as a dartboard.

Link

Flickr user George Kelly spotted this fellow at the recent SXSW conference in Austin promoting Creative Commons. In the spirit of that organization, he was glad to have his photo taken so as long as it was properly licensed.

Link via Walyou

Nicholas Maxim was born without hands or forearms, but the fifth grader can write -and well, too. Nicholas has won a special award in Zaner-Bloser's 20th annual National Handwriting Contest.

"We submitted his entry because we felt his penmanship was amazing considering he completes most of his work without using his prostheses," said Cheryl Hasenfus, Readfield Elementary School principal.

At those times, Nicholas writes by holding a pen or pencil between his upper arms.

On behalf of Zaner-Bloser, a publisher of educational materials, Hasenfus presented a trophy to Nicholas during a school assembly for his excellent penmanship. The school is in Readfield, Maine.

Inspired by his ability, Zaner-Bloser decided to create a new award category in his honor: Nicholas Maxim Special Award for Excellent Penmanship

Other winners of the competition will be announced in May. Link -via Arbroath

(YouTube link)

"This guy is crazy!" ...crazy like a fox. This is apparently a vending machine at a petting zoo from which people can buy treats to feed the animals. But Billy here has figured out how to "tap" into it himself! -via Buzzfeed

Update: purple_phoenix, who works there, tells us this is not a billy goat, but a female sheep! That'll teach me to go by YouTube titles.