The 20GB Xbox 360 is about to experience a price drop. Next week it will only be $300 at Target (down from $350), with a $25 gift card to boot.

You can likewise get them refurbed from Buy.com for $200: http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=201975275

At those prices, I would be surprised if renting it is really economical.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 1:48 PM on July 10, 2008

Two firsthand accounts:

http://johnaugust.com/archives/2008/nines-post-mortem

http://johnaugust.com/archives/2008/self-distributing-an-indie-feature
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 1:44 PM on July 10, 2008

Geckos use Vanderwaal forces (that is, the same forces that hold molecules together) to stick to walls. (They essentially have atomic-scale cilia.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 8:55 AM on June 4, 2008

Time Traveler's Wife!
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 2:03 AM on April 21, 2008

Kristin Thompson, co-author of Film Art:

Around 1990 I was asked by the Society for Cinema Studies (now the Society for Film and Media Studies) to chair a committee to investigate the validity of Fair Use as applied to film images. The result was the “Report of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Society For Cinema Studies, ’Fair Usage Publication of Film Stills’” (1993). This report established that fair use most probably applied to film frames, and educators and scholars were... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 2:35 PM on April 16, 2008

I don't know what the contractual nature of all this is, but Zoe Bell has been listed in the credits all season to date and has also yet to appear.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 8:59 AM on March 3, 2008

The Four Tet remix of Sia's Breathe Me is the one to get. (It's on iTunes, or at least used to be.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 7:10 AM on January 31, 2008

the last of our totally selfish time

These are the seven words to take to heart. Do whatever your selfish heart desires and relish it, like squirrels putting away nuts for the long winter. Being a parent has certainly been a bundle of joy and pleasure, but selfish desires are the first things that get stripped away and can be hard to let go. Indulge while you can.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 9:09 AM on January 17, 2008

I haven't been in this situation and don't know anyone who has. I don't entirely know what foreign service entails. And I would hate to pick up and leave in the middle of a degree that I was pursuing.

That said: c'mon. A litigator and immigration attorney living together in Atlanta sounds like a fine life. A trailing husband of an FS employee sounds like an exciting life. You'll make less money and be less comfortable, in part because the US is probably the most... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 2:40 PM on January 16, 2008

And all that is without considering the prospect of gainful professional employment or volunteer work that AwkwardPause suggests, which I would suspect are certainly realities for any careerist.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 2:42 PM on January 16, 2008

Penzey's also has great mulling spices.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 11:43 AM on October 12, 2007

Thanks for the comments, everyone. It's all very helpful as we try to decide whether this is worth doing. drezdn, The Boardgame Barrister would be a definite Milwaukee stop -- we were there shortly before the game was released and they were very enthusiastic about its prospects.

And I only said "Barnes & Nobles" because I was referring to multiple Barnes & Noble stores.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 2:30 PM on October 9, 2007

The Wonder Pets theme?
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 2:05 PM on September 28, 2007

Jonathan Coulton's Baby Got Back.

Ben Folds' Bitches Ain't Shit.

Start Me Up from A Mighty Wind.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 7:01 AM on September 24, 2007

I had been mixing it up with wdpeck in that earlier thread and hadn't heard the later news about his arrest. Ish.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 7:54 PM on September 23, 2007

I think the urban legend approach would be novel. Being there in modern garb will probably set out apart from the costumed, in a good way.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 8:22 AM on September 19, 2007

I'm with olinerd. Unstressed thum, stressed them. But thum doesn't sound like thumb because it's really a schwa sound, as OilPull says. These are wikipedia's schwa examples:

like the 'a' in about /əˈbaʊt/
like the 'e' in taken /ˈteɪkən/ and the /ðə/ (if before a consonant)
like the 'i' in pencil /ˈpensəl/
like the 'o' in eloquent /ˈeləkwənt/
like... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 12:41 PM on September 14, 2007

I thought Lie in the Dark was rather good.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 1:56 PM on September 13, 2007

I don't know what medium your wife works in, but have her draw/paint/scult/decoupage two eyes looking out at you. Then get a quality digital repro of them and make the following business card/website front page:


< .> < .>
kirstin
with two Is
kirstin intruder
kirstin@kirstin.com
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 6:10 AM on September 13, 2007

If you like movies, I will pimp for my own party game: Cineplexity.

You've gotten a lot of good suggestions here, pipti. I'm not sure what else to add, except to ask (a) what different ranges of players you expect and (b) if you enjoy strategy games as well as party games.

The best mix of strategy and party games are push-your-luck games. Someone already mentioned Farkle; I would throw in Diamant/Incan Gold and/or Cloud 9. Mefite defectiveyeti... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 6:45 AM on September 5, 2007

Oh, and people of a certain temperament love Ca$h 'n Gun$.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 9:04 AM on September 5, 2007

I should add that I want to be sure I get him toys that emphasize all of the non-swordplay stuff -- maps, ocarinas, chickens with human faces -- so I'm open to those suggestions as well.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 8:17 AM on August 24, 2007

This is all great stuff, guys -- if there's more, keep it coming.

As a response to everyone who's strongly in favor of the idea, here's why I feel compelled to do it: We were geocaching at Interstate Park in Taylor Falls, Minn., which has a lot of trap rock, and region has gotten lots of rain recently, so it was a slippery, slidy affair for my kids and their cousins. After my son took a spill, he tearfully said, "I need magnet boots!"
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 1:10 PM on August 24, 2007

SlyBevel, if you're playing it on Wii, I find that if I give my kids the remote while keeping the nunchuk, then for standard monster fights they do just fine -- I move, dodge and z-target (and do the spin attack as necessary), and they swing the sword.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 5:48 AM on August 25, 2007

"Here are five principles of storytelling that [are] crucial to most Hollywood films.

1. Goal orientation.
The primary characters, protagonist and antagonist, both want something, or several somethings. The story progression is driven by characters’ efforts to attain goals and the way circumstances alter those goals.

At the same time, characters’ efforts to achieve goals create changes in the people themselves. Sometimes they... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 6:58 AM on August 24, 2007

Roy Orbison, You May Feel Me Crying -- creepiest song evar.

When we make love, you know we're making love
To everyone we've ever made love to
So when you take him down inside
Just know I'm there with you

And you may feel me crying
And oh, I hope you do
I'm out there somehow all alone
With memories of you

And you may feel me crying
While... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 1:56 PM on August 22, 2007

All games have, at their roots, math and/or economics. A game is only as interesting as the decisions you make; economics is the science of decisions. You talk mostly about simulating money management and transactions; Acquire and Modern Art are very pure economic games of this mold and are highly recommended. If you want something like Monopoly, Settlers of Catan is a much better game that
. But if you really want to talk economics, might I suggest poker, played with people of... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 8:41 AM on August 15, 2007

(Acquire is currently out of print, btw.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 8:42 AM on August 15, 2007

At the end of the Swiss deposit box sequence in the first film, we do see a bank employee making a covert communique to, I believe, the Chris Cooper character.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 9:28 AM on August 13, 2007

Here's a foolproof strategy, akin to what metabrilliant was saying:

1. Buy the Sunday paper on Saturday and look at the circulars. Any store that's advertising them is going to have stock Sunday morning -- Target, Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart, whoever. Alternatively, you can look at the circulars online via those stores' websites or via a site like cheapassgamer.com.

2. Show up 1 hr 15 min before the store opens. I recommend this because as... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 7:12 AM on August 13, 2007

Generic relationship-fixing advice: Every night, after the kids are abed, or are at least sufficiently sequestered to not need more than a moment's attention down the road, crack open a bottle of wine with her and try to drink at least half of it, doing nothing else but talking, with an effort to be in a better mood when you're done for the evening than when you started. I think two people who care enough about each other to be in a monogamous relationship can get through most any problem if... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 11:29 AM on August 2, 2007

I really like the Sedaris story as a piece of journalism, although his fidelity as a reporter has been much questioned. However, to me the Sedaris story is less about the ravages of meth and more about the ravages of going to school to be an artist.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 10:02 AM on August 1, 2007

I know that this family has put on an ALS benefit concert.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 9:57 AM on August 1, 2007

So are you saying that it's a Walter Mitty-type story, akin to The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, Heavenly Creatures or <a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0087239/"
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 7:56 AM on July 30, 2007

So are you saying that it's a Walter Mitty-type story, akin to The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, Heavenly Creatures or The Fantastic World of DC Collins? In fact, I'll place a bet on Altar Boys, as I found the movie to be largely forgettable, thereby explaining your dilemma.

Alternatively, I suppose it could just be The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 7:58 AM on July 30, 2007

It sounds like having a driver's license backup isn't necessary, but you know, you get to keep your old driver's license when you get your new in-state one. You could use that to corroborate your maiden-name passport even though you have the new license.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 1:53 PM on July 26, 2007

Sia's best known for her song Breathe, to which the Six Feet Under finale was scored. The Four Tet remix of that song, which I think it available on iTunes, is pretty terrific.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 7:16 AM on June 26, 2007

Thanks, Morgangr. It's perfect.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 8:40 PM on June 20, 2007

With Morgangr's permission, I'm happy to send this to someone so that they can host it, and then post a link in this thread. But let's wait to hear what Morgan says.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 8:41 PM on June 20, 2007

The week of June 24, all DS games are buy 2 get 1 free at Toys R Us. So that would be one way to reduce the cost. Also, be aware that only the DS Lite version is available in stores; the DS Phat version you have to order from Nintendo. The browser itself is the same and on the same DS cart, but it comes with a memory expansion cart that goes in the GBA slot, and because of the different Lite/Phat geometries, the Lite cart doesn't fit in the Phat case, although the Phat does fit in the Lite. And,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 9:57 PM on June 18, 2007

To point 1, the obvious answer in the Dells. I don't know if I can recommend specific attractions within the Dells vs. their competition, but almost everything of note is on the main drag there anyway. If you have to split the $150 between attractions and your room, however, you're not going to get a very good room during the season. The next nearest place I can think of that has these kinds of attractions is Adventure Island in Rockford.

A bathtub big enough for two is... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 7:51 AM on June 8, 2007

Thanks for the input, everyone. It's clearly between the R4 and the DS-X ... I'll keep doing some research.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 6:45 AM on June 6, 2007

I have to say the price difference is a little overwhelming -- $40 for R4 vs. $100 for DS-X. I like the DS-X OS, and I like that it's perpetually improvable, but to justify the $100, I'd practically have to start downloading DS ROMs, which is really not my intention. I'd like to have the organizer/text browser, I'd like to play homebrew, I'd like to do SCUMM, etc. I'd have to devote a long think as to whether I can foresee getting enough out of those applications to warrant a C-note.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 3:12 PM on June 6, 2007

People come in all varieties of smart and stupid. I think a person would only have to be moderately smart to not send confidential data to competitors using his or her work mail, and I don't think there's a tool that will let you track someone's Gmail/hotmail/whatever unless you start talking about recording all their keystrokes or something.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 2:03 PM on June 5, 2007

Right now, in many people's opinions, the Wii is best suited for multiplayer. This tends to manifest in minigames (Wario Ware, Mario Party, Rayman Raving Rabbids), so you can browse that to determine what she might like, but additional controllers are $60 ($40 remote + $20 dongle). So if she has someone else to play with, consider tipping some of the birthday funds away from games into one or more extra controllers.

I haven't played Super Paper Mario or Trauma Center:... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 1:39 PM on June 5, 2007 marked best answer

Oh, for $10 more than the cost of a new Wii remote, you can get Wii Play, which is 9 minigames plus a new remote. Wii Play gets ragged on, but there are some good solid titles there, and it's worth the $10 surcharge, especially for a younger gamer.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 1:41 PM on June 5, 2007

While it's still free ....
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 7:57 AM on May 29, 2007 marked best answer

I agree that if you're looking for something that's more social than watching TV but are inclined to being a homebody, boardgames are a nice alternative. Some modern titles that work well with two players include Lost Cities, Blokus, Mr. Jack and Ticket to Ride.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 7:20 AM on May 25, 2007

There's a very recent AskMe thread about audiobook suggestions, but let me say that after a few months of no audiobooks, I've been listening to Audrey Niffenegger's The Time-Traveler's Wife (unabridged) and Joe Hill's Heart-Shaped Box. Both have been excellent listens, and both are on Audible.
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 8:09 AM on May 21, 2007

I also contend that the end of Minority Report is very likely a dream. (Although I've been told that Spielberg has specifically denied this.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by blueshammer at 2:22 PM on May 8, 2007