wax

wax is also a nickname, usually used by djs, for vinyl records,

In surfing, it is very important to
use wax on the deck of the surfboard. The
wax provides grip so that the
surfer can stay on the
board while paddling, and also provides
grip for the feet when
standing up to ride a wave. Surf wax comes in many
different brands, such as Sex Wax, Mrs Palmer and Five Daughters. All of the names have sexual innuendos
FNARR FNARR!

Incredibly strange film by David Blair, set in Alamagordo and surrounds, during the Gulf War. Its labyrinthine structure is too complex to be gotten into here, but it has to do with the musings of a man called Jacob Maker, a technician at White Sands and beekeeper, whose grandparents were spiritualists involved with photographing and communicating (by radio) with ghosts found by scanning their next-of-kin. The rigors of his job (which have to do with computerized missle guidance systems begin to tell on him, and he goes stark raving loony, in full living color, before our very eyes. The film is notable for pioneering computer animation, the structure noted before, and its strangely ambiguous ending, which the filmmaker stresses is not a happy one, despite all appearences.

• Solid at room temperature
• Water repellant
• Smooth texture
• Non-toxic
• Odorless
• Combustible
• Low reactivity

Traditionally, wax referred to only substances that occurred in nature - primarily beeswax but also waxes from plants (such as bayberry wax, though also from soy). This classification has expanded with sources of wax from minerals (montan wax), petroleum processing (paraffin wax) and chemical synthesis (such as polyethylene).

While the main component of wax is hydrocarbon chains, waxes from natural sources (plants and animals) are often more complex and contain esters, fatty acids, and alcohols.

Often, the waxes used in candle makings are combinations of several types of wax to bring out certain properties such as melting point, smell (as is the case with beeswax and bayberry wax), texture, and smoke production. The higher the melting point, the less oil in the wax and thus the wax is harder and more brittle.

The most common wax in use today is that of paraffin wax. Paraffin is from Latin "parum" meaning "few or without" and "affinis" meaning "connection or attraction" ("affinis" is the root of the word "affinity"). Plants naturally produce wax on leaves and stems to protect themselves from weather (excessive moisture or drought). As these plants decayed over millions of years and became oil. The inert nature of wax caused it to remain separate from the rest of the oil and were suspended within the oil. Upon processing of the oil into gasoline, kerosene, and other oils, the wax is a byproduct and less than desirable (do you want wax in your gas tank?). Refineries process the wax into either a clear liquid or a milky white slab. These slabs are graded by melting point and are about 10 or 11 pounds in weight. Because the wax is not the primary (or even secondary) product for the refinery packaging is not of great importance. Thus, from one batch to the next (or one refinery compared to another refinery) size, color, shape, and texture may vary.

Beeswax is historically one of the most well known waxes. The wax here is actually a refined honey. As bees eat honey the sugar is converted into wax which is then secreted under the abdomen. From this, honey bees build hives. Beeswax is collected when bee keepers collect honey and remove the caps on the honey comb.

"Wax" is a 2012 young adult comedy/horror novel by Portland, Oregon author Phil Duncan. The book's plot centers around Yancey Muncey, a teenage boy who dies in an accident, and is resurrected by a mad scientist. As a "Zombie", Yancey feels no pain and is able to quickly regenerate all damage, up to severed limbs. The book alternates in chapters that show Yancey's predeath life, and his life as a zombie.

This book is a creative take on typical young adult plots, as well as typical zombie stories. Predeath, Yancey is a nerd who suffers persecution from "the jocks" (although I found the parts with "nerds" getting "stuffed into lockers" to be a bit outdated---as we all know, violent school bullying ceased to be a matter of jocular machismo more than 20 years ago). As a zombie, Yancey is not mindless, still having all his human emotions and conflicts.

I found this book by serendipity about a week ago, in a Little Free Library. Since I was looking for horror literature, it was a lucky find. And I decided it was worth reading on about the third page, when we find out that Yancey's older brother is in college studying Esperanto. That was the first thing that surprised me, and showed me this book didn't take itself too seriously. Which made me realize just how seriously most young adult fiction about the paranormal does take itself, as in City of Halves, a book I read about the same time. Unlike the pristine heroes and heroines of typical "paranormal" fiction for young adults, Yancey has acne and a family that it is tearing itself apart in a way that is both ridiculous and relatable. The grotesqueries of his condition also manage to be comedic, and frightening, at same time: the gross out factor of the descriptions of his body growing new bones and eyes hits with a visceral punch that I found lacking in many other horror or paranormal books for young adults.

So, in short, this book manages to thread the needle, including the grotesque and the comic in a way that is both more exaggerated, and more realistic, than most books like this.

The book ends on something of a cliffhanger, but as far as I can tell, a sequel was never produced.

Wax (?), v. i. [imp. Waxed (?); p. p. Waxed, and Obs. or Poetic Waxen (); p. pr. & vb. n. Waxing.] [AS. weaxan; akin to OFries. waxa, D. wassen, OS. & OHG. wahsan, G. wachsen, Icel. vaxa, Sw. vaxa, Dan. voxe, Goth. wahsjan, Gr. to increase, Skr. waksh, uksh, to grow. . Cf. Waist.]

1.

To increase in size; to grow bigger; to become larger or fuller; -- opposed to wane.

The waxing and the waning of the moon. Hakewill.

Truth's treasures . . . never shall wax ne wane. P. Plowman.

2.

To pass from one state to another; to become; to grow; as, to wax strong; to wax warmer or colder; to wax feeble; to wax old; to wax worse and worse.

Your clothes are not waxen old upon you. Deut. xxix. 5.

Where young Adonis oft reposes, Waxing well of his deep wound. Milton.

Waxing kernels Med., small tumors formed by the enlargement of the lymphatic glands, especially in the groins of children; -- popularly so called, because supposed to be caused by growth of the body. Dunglison.

© Webster 1913.

Wax, n. [AS. weax; akin to OFries. wax, D. was, G. wachs, OHG. wahs, Icel. & Sw. vax, Dan. vox, Lith. vaszkas, Russ. vosk'.]

1.

A fatty, solid substance, produced by bees, and employed by them in the construction of their comb; -- usually called beeswax. It is first excreted, from a row of pouches along their sides, in the form of scales, which, being masticated and mixed with saliva, become whitened and tenacious. Its natural color is pale or dull yellow.

Beeswax consists essentially of cerotic acid (constituting the more soluble part) and of myricyl palmitate (constituting the less soluble part).

2.

Hence, any substance resembling beeswax in consistency or appearance.

(a) Physiol.

Cerumen, or earwax.

(b)

A waxlike composition used for uniting surfaces, for excluding air, and for other purposes; as, sealing wax, grafting wax, etching wax, etc.

(c)

A waxlike composition used by shoemakers for rubbing their thread.

(d) Zool.

A substance similar to beeswax, secreted by several species of scale insects, as the Chinese wax. See Wax insect, below.

(e) Bot.

A waxlike product secreted by certain plants. See Vegetable wax, under Vegetable.

(f) Min.

A substance, somewhat resembling wax, found in connection with certain deposits of rock salt and coal; -- called also mineral wax, and ozocerite.

(g)

Thick sirup made by boiling down the sap of the sugar maple, and then cooling.

Japanese wax, a waxlike substance made in Japan from the berries of certain species of Rhus, esp. R. succedanea. -- Mineral wax. Min. See Wax, 2 (f), above. -- Wax cloth. See Waxed cloth, under Waxed. -- Wax end. See Waxed end, under Waxed. -- Wax flower, a flower made of, or resembling, wax. -- Wax insect Zool., any one of several species of scale insects belonging to the family Coccidae, which secrete from their bodies a waxlike substance, especially the Chinese wax insect (Coccus Sinensis) from which a large amount of the commercial Chinese wax is obtained. Called also pela. -- Wax light, a candle or taper of wax. -- Wax moth Zool., a pyralid moth (Galleria cereana) whose larvae feed upon honeycomb, and construct silken galleries among the fragments. The moth has dusky gray wings streaked with brown near the outer edge. The larva is yellowish white with brownish dots. Called also bee moth. -- Wax myrtle. Bot. See Bayberry. -- Wax painting, a kind of painting practiced by the ancients, under the name of encaustic. The pigments were ground with wax, and diluted. After being applied, the wax was melted with hot irons and the color thus fixed. -- Wax palm. Bot. (a) A species of palm (Ceroxylon Andicola) native of the Andes, the stem of which is covered with a secretion, consisting of two thirds resin and one third wax, which, when melted with a third of fat, makes excellent candles. (b) A Brazilian tree (Copernicia cerifera) the young leaves of which are covered with a useful waxy secretion. -- Wax paper, paper prepared with a coating of white wax and other ingredients. -- Wax plant Bot., a name given to several plants, as: (a) The Indian pipe (see under Indian). (b) The Hoya carnosa, a climbing plant with polished, fleshy leaves. (c) Certain species of Begonia with similar foliage. -- Wax tree Bot. (a) A tree or shrub (Ligustrum lucidum) of China, on which certain insects make a thick deposit of a substance resembling white wax. (b) A kind of sumac (Rhus succedanea) of Japan, the berries of which yield a sort of wax. (c) A rubiaceous tree (Elaeagia utilis) of New Grenada, called by the inhabitants "arbol del cera." -- Wax yellow, a dull yellow, resembling the natural color of beeswax.

© Webster 1913.

Wax (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Waxed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Waxing.]

To smear or rub with wax; to treat with wax; as, to wax a thread or a table.

Waxed cloth, cloth covered with a coating of wax, used as a cover, of tables and for other purposes; -- called also wax cloth. -- Waxed end, a thread pointed with a bristle and covered with shoemaker's wax, used in sewing leather, as for boots, shoes, and the like; -- called also wax end. Brockett.

© Webster 1913.