Data Point: I am one of those Iranian exiles who's lived in the West for the past 30 years and holds all the stereotypical views languagehat mentioned i.e. rejects Islam and generally laments all the Arabic influence that came with it, but I'm working on being more diplomatic and sensible about it, meaning acknowledging that the Islamic/Arabic influence also had positive influences upon Persian culture and vice versa.

What languagehat says about invaders becoming Persian... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 6:18 PM on August 5, 2008

Great to have you back, nickyskye! And it's even more wonderful that you're back with a clean bill of health and are in complete remission.

My father-in-law died just last sunday from mesothelioma at age 64. Mesothelioma itself is almost completely untreatable, but it had also metastised to all his surrounding organs, so there was no hope. It's just heartwarming to see people beat fucking cancer and go on to have long healthy productive lives. WTG, tough chick :)
posted to MetaTalk by Devils Slide at 12:37 AM on August 3, 2008

PS Devils Slide, I'm so sorry about the loss of your father-in-law. And especially to mesothelioma. That is not a fun way to die. It's usually slow and suffocating. And, as far as I know, preventable if the person working with asbestos wears a mask. May he rest in peace.

It really is a terrible way to die. He was admitted to the hospital less than a week before his death because he couldn't breathe, and he was down to 124 lbs. He wanted the news of his... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Devils Slide at 6:27 PM on August 3, 2008

I always though Kattulus was female, despite the "go nuts!" next to gender on his profile. Um, I guess that's a compliment, albeit a backhanded clumsy one. The guy posts great FPP's and has smooth skin.
posted to MetaTalk by Devils Slide at 6:19 PM on July 29, 2008

Speaking of name/gender confusion, Sturla obviously sounds like Starla, the nine plus minute Smashing Pumpkins song.

"i met this girl in dallas when we were on tour with the chili peppa's and that was where i got the idea for the name for the song because when she said her name i thought wow, what a great title for a song. 2 1/2 years later, i run into this same girl at a party and i say did you hear that song we recorded using your name, starla? and she said, no my... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Devils Slide at 12:24 PM on July 31, 2008

I always preferred Regents Park to Hyde Park, especially when it comes to boating. The ninety plus species of exotic waterfowl really enhance the rowboating experience.
posted to MetaTalk by Devils Slide at 6:14 AM on July 28, 2008

And I'll bring cucumber sandwiches, a sponge cake, tinned cheese, hardboiled eggs with a little wax paper twist of salt, cold roast chicken, a block of chocolate, ginger beer, tinned tongue and an entire wedding cake!

Don't forget the barbecued corn on the cob. Char them (obviously don't wrap them in tinfoil) and dip them in brine. The brine works much better for seasoning BBQ 'ed corn. Salt grains don't adhere well. Btw, that's the Persian method of... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Devils Slide at 6:28 AM on July 28, 2008

We cracked (about) corn and you don't care?
posted to MetaTalk by Devils Slide at 10:07 AM on July 28, 2008

They were the perfect combination of salty Jew and buttery Catholic.
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 3:15 PM on July 24, 2008

Oh, and a word to the wise: Don't rent (or dog forbid, purchase) the remake of 3:10 to Yuma based on the Ebert's four star rating. The only way I can justify his unbelievably generous review of the most trite, unbelievable--I'm talking Grand Canyon sized holes in the plot. Shame on the normally intriguing Elmore Leonard and the person(s) responsible for the screenplay--mind numbingly dull Western I've seen in the past 20 years is that the usually dependable uncle Ebe was on heavy duty... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 4:34 PM on July 24, 2008

Well, he's certainly not out on a limb with his rating. I admit that I haven't seen it, but apparently Ebert's view was the view of the vast majority.

Those reviews are truly baffling. I'm not a film expert by any means, but generally like to think of myself as a cinephile with pretty decent taste (who doesn't, right?) and at least a rudimentary knowledge of the medium. I honestly can't remember the last time I was so clearly in the minority regarding... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 5:11 PM on July 25, 2008

Awesome. I'm browsing their portraits of Native Americans before moving on to the other topics. Thanks, this is a great find.
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 12:13 AM on July 14, 2008

I've only read half the thread so far, but just have to put in my two cents before I get back to reading.

I find "cunt" incredibly offensive and never use it, FWIW. However, "cunny"--which doesn't have any of the vitriol or misogyny of cunt imo--has become an injoke between my wife and I. It all started when I told her about a porno mag I found as a boy while I was living in England. It came with a little crappy flexible record insert of a woman... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Devils Slide at 4:19 PM on July 11, 2008

Yeah, I think my friends were shocked by it because upon hearing it for the first time, they assumed (as I did) that it meant someone who had sex with their own mother, and as far as swear word meanings go, that's about as vulgar and offensive as they can get. It was only later that I found out motherfucker was coined by African-American slaves who used it to refer to someone (usually a slave owner) who has sex with people's mothers, both in the literal sense and also figuratively as a swear... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Devils Slide at 7:49 PM on July 11, 2008

Interesting. Thanks, cortex. Well, you've tracked it back to the late 19th century, and I bet it does go back even further.
posted to MetaTalk by Devils Slide at 8:58 PM on July 11, 2008

And that last example shows just how seriously such a curse was taken back in the day, where it could reduce the charges from murder to manslaughter or less.
posted to MetaTalk by Devils Slide at 9:06 PM on July 11, 2008

Zat is what we call zee urban legend.

I guess I shouldn't let my guard down just because the source looks and sounds convincing. I think the first time I heard that particular story about the etymology of "motherfucker" was on a program where a distinguished African-American gent (for the life of me I can't remember who it was, it was a looong time ago) matter-of-factly stated that "motherfucker" was coined by and... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Devils Slide at 12:09 PM on July 12, 2008

What a great story. I loved the Marx bros. so much as a kid (and still do), and Harpo was my hands down favorite. Thanks.
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 9:30 PM on June 28, 2008

Now I have (literally) an inkling about what goes on in Equatorial Guinea. Thanks, dead-.
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 2:12 AM on June 25, 2008

Vishnovka, a cherry liquor made from sour cherries and vodka, and presumbly named after the Russian town of the same name, is (or was, when I lived there 30 years ago) very popular in Iran. I've never made it myself, but my family did. I found this recipe on a website:

Place 4-600g of cherries in a 1.5 litre glass bottle, add 700 ml vodka ( the better the vodka, the better the result ), add 1 table spoon sugar. Let sit for at least 3 months, then drain and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Devils Slide at 6:01 PM on June 20, 2008

It ain't the way I wanted it! I can handle things! I'm smart! Not like everybody says... like dumb... I'm smart and I want respect!
posted to MetaTalk by Devils Slide at 12:36 PM on June 20, 2008

I seem to remember reading (where?) that JFK told a friend that if he didn't have some form of sex, he would GET a headache on that day.

I also read somewhere that unless JFK had sex with a woman in "every way" (meaning all three inputs), he didn't think he'd really "had" them. Must be a presidential...um...loophole, what with Clinton's definition of sexual relationships.

Just doing my part to... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 3:16 AM on June 8, 2008

Some women who love DaShiv

Bastard. /yet another jealous guy
posted to MetaTalk by Devils Slide at 11:35 PM on June 7, 2008

For some reaon the letter reminds me of this children's mini story by Tolstoy:

Mother had bought a pound of plums, washed them, and left them on a big plate in the center of the table. They were for dinner.

Little Vanya had never tasted plums in all his life and was very curious. First he sniffed the fruit, wrinkled his nose at the pleasing smell, and decided he liked them very much. Dinnertime was still a long way off and Vanya could... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 4:04 PM on June 1, 2008

Lenny, I for one feel ya. As an Iranian atheist, I too have a weird reaction to the Iranian art of the past 1300 odd years being classified as "Islamic", even if it's an accurate description in most cases. Persians have always "borrowed' freely from other cultures, but when it comes to the Islamic/Arabic influence in Persian art, it sometimes looks indistinguishable from (or at least very similar to) the art of a few dozen other Muslim countries. Furthermore, throughout the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 7:25 AM on May 30, 2008

And it irks me that certain scientists, artists, writers, and philosophers are claimed by Muslims as one of their ow, when they in fact struggled against and were hampered by religion throughout their careers. For instance, the brilliant medieval Persian inventor, doctor, and polymath Razi is one of the people Muslims routinely use as an example of a fellow Muslim who has made great contributions to mankind (some Arabic websites even claim he was an Arab), when he clearly renounced religion in... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 8:02 AM on May 30, 2008

He was a very proficient director (and producer), but I haven't run across anyone who has said he was their favorite filmmaker, or in their top five, and that's the kind of topic I've discussed with many friends and acquaintances. Of course, that's someone's cue to pipe up and say that he was indeed their favorite director. Lest anyone think I'm crapping in an obit thread, as I said, he was a very able (if not prodigious) filmmaker imo. We watched some of his movies in film class, and our... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 2:04 AM on May 27, 2008

One of the earliest (if not THE oldest) forms of Iranian theater is Takht-e Hozi, a primitive lowbrow type of comedy in which the main character is a servant in black face. The "Siah" (literally black) is a clown in a red silk pajama-like costume and a red hat that resembles a fez or bellhop's hat. Takht-e Hozi plays usually involve a family and their servant and some peripheral characters. All the characters are exaggerated and deeply flawed, and the Siah (often named Noruz) gets all... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 9:48 AM on May 26, 2008

an lowly illiterate character? Oh the irony.
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 9:51 AM on May 26, 2008

Tick tock.
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 6:23 AM on May 26, 2008

This paragraph from the BBC profile on Gambia cracked me up:

President Jammeh wants to turn The Gambia into an oil-producing state. He says this could usher in a "new future". However, the country has yet to strike crude oil.
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 4:52 AM on May 23, 2008

Jack White interview from Australia's Big Day Out festival. From my personal experience and seeing people who were on coke, I'd say Jack's probably (actually, obviously) partaken of the stuff just prior to being interviewed. And the White Stripes are supposed to be named after the candy of the same name, but some people think they're named after nose candy, and after seeing this interview, I'd have to agree.

Pato Banton -- Legalize It

Pato... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 7:04 PM on May 22, 2008

And...why?/Conan O'Brien doing "If They Mated".
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 10:05 PM on May 9, 2008

Hard to believe that "the Village Voice nominated [kamenetz, who wrote the article] for a Pulitzer prize in feature writing..." for a series she wrote a while back. If this article is an example of her present writing, she must be on a downward spiral.

This whole Givewell fiasco reminds me of Sidney Lumet's Q & A, [SPOILER ALERT] in which the assistant district attorney, played by Timothy Hutton, discovers that the DA is an incredibly corrupt person with a... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Devils Slide at 4:33 AM on April 23, 2008

I tried looking for a picture of an old wooden slide with splinters, but came up empty. So this is my best attempt at the dreaded "e" word: Devils Slide(rule)
posted to MetaTalk by Devils Slide at 3:02 AM on April 21, 2008

I enjoy Metafilter when there's a balance between consideration and good will and clever biting snark. When it gets to be too much of a touchy feely hippie lovefest it gets boring, and when there are too many unnecessarily rude malicious comments and axe grinding it almost makes me nauseous.

"It's such a fine line between stupid...and clever."
posted to MetaTalk by Devils Slide at 3:18 PM on April 17, 2008

Getting A Receipt For Every Goddamn Thing That You Buy

The late Mitch Hedberg had a funny bit on this subject. I'm parpaphrasing, but it went something like this: "I bought a donut, and the cashier gave me a receipt. I just don't see a scenario in which I have to prove I bought a donut. I give you the money, and you give me the donut. End of transaction. We do not need to bring pen and paper into this."
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 4:12 PM on April 7, 2008

Grrr paraphrasing.
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 4:13 PM on April 7, 2008

I saw a TV documentary about Manson in which they claimed that Manson had been repeatedly raped in prison as a youth. Manson himself says that is what happened, although you have to take anything he says with a shaker of salt. But anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if he was in fact repeatedly raped in jail (he's a small guy; only 5'2"), and if that was the case, it undoubtedly affected his mindset and contributed to his rage against society.
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 6:31 AM on April 5, 2008

As far as I'm concerned no one's topped this.
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 2:20 PM on April 4, 2008

I understand the Ebert love. The man truly loves the art form, and is a good reviewer. He's not a fraud like most other critics who've never been involved in making a film, yet take it upon themselves to opine on filmmakers' craft. And he seems like a genuinely nice guy, both by how he comes across on camera, and peoples' anecdotes who've met him. And I don't know if he still does it now that he's ill, but he used to take HS (or college, don't remember which) students out on movie nights, where... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Devils Slide at 3:41 PM on April 2, 2008

having my ass handed to me
posted to MetaTalk by Devils Slide at 3:45 PM on April 2, 2008

Devils Slide, StrikeTheViol: Have you heard Rednecks? Definitely not fit for Disney.

Those lyrics are great. I'll give him that.

Sail Away or Louisiana 1927 are good starting points. Not everything is funny, though he's got plenty of wry wit in most of his stuff. Think of him as a more laconic Warren Zevon, or a lugubrious Steely Dan (though I don't get Steely Dan love; the clichéd "They're named after a... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Devils Slide at 9:58 PM on April 2, 2008

Sail Away and Marie are both almost bearable....ok, they're bearable, period. But I still won't be ordering any RN albums.
posted to MetaTalk by Devils Slide at 2:16 AM on April 4, 2008

We live in a world where 44 year old are attracted to children not for love but FOR exploitation.

Which is the reason I'm annoyed by the term "pedophile", which as we all know means "lover of children", and couldn't be further from the truth. It's one of the most blatant misnomers in the long history of misnomers. It was either Bill Maher or Dennis Miller who said we don't need a 50 cent word to describe these people, and I agree... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Devils Slide at 6:44 PM on April 3, 2008

I found it hard to look at these too. Probably because my sister in law died in a traffic accident last year at age 42, and it reminded me of seeing her in the casket.
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 10:59 AM on April 1, 2008

just to vent it here, then, some I'm way tired of (not so much here, but here too):
I, for one, welcome our new ___________
Am I the only one who___________ ?
EVAR.
Get off my lawn...
but that's probably because I'm on the net way too much

You forgot "Want/Do not want", and "special snowflake". But there are rare occasions when those hackneyed catchphrases are appropriate... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Devils Slide at 7:02 PM on March 31, 2008

There's a peyote flavor to his drawings.
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 2:18 PM on March 29, 2008

It really is amazing that these were taken in the 20's and 30's. There's a very modern feel to them, and the villagers seem so unselfconscious and comfortable being nude in front of the camera and around each other. And because they village women were diving and swimming for a living, they are slender and fit in a way that very few women were, until working out and jogging became commonplace in the 80's.

This one [NSFW], in particular, is so lovely (the photograph and... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 2:12 AM on March 28, 2008

That's because it wasn't. Capation reads c.1955. But I know what you mean.

Oh, my bad. But still...
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Slide at 7:14 AM on March 28, 2008