Two words: pride and happiness.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 9:56 PM on November 4, 2008

Love this.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 4:31 PM on October 30, 2008

So . . . if the scratching of a backward "B" on a young woman's face by an Obama supporter disqualifies Obama from the presidency, as McCain staffers implied by breathlessly propelling this story, shouldn't that very same act by a McCain supporter disqualify McCain?
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 8:09 PM on October 24, 2008

I frickin' love Russell Edson.

Whenever I have one of those stoner-y conversations about how great poetry is, I'm fond of pointing out that even Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy is *real* poetry despite being a spoof of poetry and that it even has a "legit" precursor in the work of Russell Edson.

Fun name dropping: I took many classes with Charles Simic while an English major at the University of New Hampshire and he loved Russell Edson too.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 11:29 AM on October 11, 2008

Soooo . . . any way to make some quick coin from this news?
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 9:45 PM on September 14, 2008

Cool -- I'm in fifth place on the leader board for now . . . on my *first* and only game! <>>
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 12:28 PM on June 13, 2008

It's funny -- I just saw Zodiac last night -- loved it. I can never get enough of this kind of sleuthery (and, yes, I know it's a different order of magnitude, but both cases have that kind of creepy, easy-to-get-obsessed-with feel).
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 8:35 PM on March 12, 2007

I can't believe no one has mentioned the alarming wall of fame of sorts in the summit visitor center that lists all the poor folks who've died on that mountain. Anyway, it was frickin' cold on the NH seacoast as well.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 4:17 PM on March 6, 2007

I'll have all you whipper-snappers know that in the early 80's I was the FIRST kid in my little New Hampshire high school with dyed hair AND I saw the Ramones live (twice).

Funny story: Before one of the shows I was hanging out at a video game arcade (remember those?) next door to the Hampton Beach Club Casino where the Ramones were playing, when I happened upon none other than Joey Ramone himself attempting to insert a bill into the change machine. Of course I wanted... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 7:50 PM on November 9, 2006

Oh -- and with all the stuff in the blogosphere about the suicide of Ian Curtis twenty five years ago, I've been on a Joy Division kick for the past couple of weeks and driving my wife crazy.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 7:54 PM on November 9, 2006

I love the Sacred Harp singing -- it's really, really fun to do if you are into choral music. Sort of Handel meets the Soggy Bottom Boys. We've gone to this festival for a number of years largely because there's a rousing shape note sing each morning.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 11:48 AM on November 6, 2006

Oh -- and there are some cool archival recordings. Great stuff. And here is where you can get a copy of the Sacred Harp itself.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 11:57 AM on November 6, 2006

I know I'm arriving late to the party, and I don't have the patience to go through the last thousand comments to see if anyone else has posted this -- but MSNBC has just reported that the good preacher has ADMITTED to certain, ahem, INDISCRETIONS. Now put that in your man-pipe and smoke it.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 5:54 AM on November 3, 2006

A fair call out, Pink. No link sorry -- was during a news break on MSNBC's Imus radio show broadcast. But now (and again, no link, but what can I say) MSNBC has broadcast a snippet of the voice mail recording along with a speech analyst's opinion that it belongs to Haggard. This guy is toast.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 6:10 AM on November 3, 2006

The schadenfreude in here is pathetic.

People like you started this Culture War. So don't whine when we bayonette the battlefield wounded.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 6:33 AM on November 3, 2006

Look Alt F4 -- I'm glad you're not a dick. But you are the one throwing out words like "pathetic," "presumptuous," and "hypocritical," which, were I to apply the same exquisitely calibrated civility meter you have used on us, would certainly qualify as ungraceful.

This isn't difficult. Someone who has contributed to the growing darkness in this country has been exposed as a fraud. And some of us are happy about it.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 8:07 AM on November 3, 2006

I have to weigh in one more time because this is just so rich. So we're supposed to believe that Haggard bought methamphetamine from a muscle bound "masseuse" AND got a "massage" from said masseuse and the two of them did NOT have crank-fueled gay whore monkey sex?
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 12:30 PM on November 3, 2006

I'm pretty sure he's real and lives in southeastern Pennsylvania. No mention of him in the websites of the community theaters in his neck of the woods though. His birthdate, phone number and address are -- if it's the same Brian Atene -- online. God bless 'm.

[Full disclosure: I got this info. from Ancestry.com -- it lists a Brian Atene with a birthdate of August 1, 1963, while our video thespian's placard gives a birthdate of August 16, 1963. That's close enough... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 7:35 PM on October 27, 2006

My kids totally do this on their own. Pac-man. Machinge gun. The best is Black Hole -- but since it beats everything, that pretty much ends the game.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 6:11 PM on October 27, 2006

Someone above mentioned bankruptcy -- he's gonna have a tough time getting those debts discharged in bankruptcy court if he obtained them fraudulently. It's not a financial get out of jail free card.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 6:09 PM on October 6, 2006

Another traveling man here -- raised in St. John's Lodge, #1, Portsmouth, NH (founded in 1736, it's the oldest continously operating lodge in North America -- although we're not too dusty -- most of our officers are in their thirties). If any mefiters are going to be in Portsmouth, NH, I'd be happy to give a tour of our temple building and the many Masonic landmarks in Portsmouth. Drop me a line.

For a history geek like me, Freemasonry has been endlessly fascinating --... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 6:50 AM on October 5, 2006

No computer will ever past the Turing test.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 9:39 PM on September 16, 2006

You like to drink coffee, I see?
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 9:48 PM on September 16, 2006

This posting has been removed by metafilter community
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 9:12 AM on September 14, 2006

An unselfconscious 37 here.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 5:58 PM on August 29, 2006

Wow. Cool.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 5:40 PM on August 29, 2006

Lawyer here.

The basic idea is the established legal fiction that the government is taking civil action against the bad thing itself, in this case the "tainted" drug money, but it could just as easily be a crack house, poppy field, or smuggler vehicle, in order to protect the public from that thing, and not against the person who has the bad thing. Thus, to address Brak's question, the name of the case is United States of America, v. $124,700, in U.S.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 7:34 AM on August 21, 2006

Thanks for the clarification, Footnote -- I was writing off the top of my head from first year Civil Procedure :) so my comment was a pretty rough outline.

Anyway, my basic objection to the civil forfeiture regimen still stands: the legal fiction that the action is against the bad thing and not the person results in absurdity. Here's how:

Suppose John is growing pot on land he owns. If that land is a bad thing and subject to civil forfeiture... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 11:10 AM on August 21, 2006

In the past several weeks we've had not one but TWO tornadoes in southern New Hampshire, disasterous floods, seemingly daily thunderstorms or warnings, and golf ball sized hail (as an aside, the damage such a hail storm can do to a lot full of brand new Saabs is impressive).

Now I'm not saying this is global warming. But it's pretty f--king abnormal.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 8:40 PM on July 15, 2006

I'd never heard of these. This is why I enjoy Metafilter -- I always learn something new. Thanks for the post.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 6:16 AM on July 6, 2006

I once went as satan to a halloween party. As part of my costume I bought some hair gel to slick back my hair, an eyeliner pencil to draw in a little goatee, and a plastic trident. The total came to $6.66. No joke. I saved the receipt and have it to this day.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 5:30 PM on June 6, 2006

My wife and I took an epic road trip up to L'Anse aux Meadows from New Hampshire a few years back. It's about a twelve hour drive from our house to the tip of Cape Breton, then an overnight car ferry trip to Newfoundland, and THEN -- and this was almost the best part -- about a 14 hour drive north to the Viking site. Beautiful and austere countryside. Anyone with the slightest interest in this kind of thing ought to get up there.
(By the way, the locals pronounce it "Lancy... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 9:46 AM on June 6, 2006

This is fascinating. Imagine if this were a trial run for the most famous painting in the world. And it's only about forty five minutes from my house. I'm gonna have to get over there and have a look.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 2:14 PM on June 3, 2006

So to apply Henninger's logic to the War On Drugs:

Chrystal Meth abuse is for some communities an emergency in terms of its destructive impact.

It's reasonable for the government to shut down the production and distribution of Chrystal Meth.

Chrystal Meth dealers often operate from private homes.

Therefore it's reasonable for the government to compile without search warrants telephone records from... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 7:39 AM on May 29, 2006

Heh, dammit.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 12:24 PM on May 29, 2006

Ditto.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 11:35 AM on May 27, 2006

The part of the story that makes no sense is that "Fitzgerald . . . met with [Rove attorney] Luskin for about 15 hours to go over the charges against Rove". What does that mean, "to go over the charges"? Surely it doesn't mean "to explain them" -- it's safe to assume Rove's attorney knows how to read an idictment. "To explore possible defense strategies" maybe? Heh. And obviously, Fitzgerald doesn't need the target's permission to bring an indictment,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 8:09 PM on May 13, 2006

OMG that is spectacular.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 5:22 PM on May 12, 2006

Robert Sheckley also had something like this in a short story -- a back pack unit would deploy a protective bubble around the hero every time it sensed something threatening. Of course, it malfunctions and begins to interpret everything as threatening, thereby trapping the guy in a persistent bubble.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 10:32 AM on May 12, 2006

I am reminded of the Timecube.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 7:46 PM on May 10, 2006

Anyway, my theory is that it has to do with mini-vortices being spun off the central one -- you can see them forming in one of the side views. When two, three, four, etc of these mini-vortices occur at once, they migrate outwardly at the same speed from their common experience of centrifigal force (thus producing symmetry), each mini-vortex forming a (rounded in every case!) corner of the polygon. Tornadoes do a similiar thing -- spawning mini-vortices, that is.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 8:05 PM on May 10, 2006

In fact, in the video, you can quite clearly see the two mini-vortices form and move away from one another at roughly the same rate.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 8:10 PM on May 10, 2006

What I found most interesting was the way Ahmadinejad, in keeping with Islamic tradition, referred repeatedly to Christ as a prophet. Surely Ahmadinejad is aware that for Christians like Bush, Christ is not a prophet but rather God Himself. The letter therefore seems to work at cross purposes, so to speak: It cites Christ for moral authority in a seemingly diplomatic and religiously accommodating way while at the same time pointedly demoting Him in the eyes of its recipient.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 9:32 PM on May 9, 2006

I have absolutely no love for Bush (I'm proud to have voted for his opponent in both presidential elections) and I'm very worried about the mindless militarism he represents. That said, I don't think any fair reading of this letter can result in the conclusion that this is a genuine, constructive overture to the United States.

As I said above, the subtle and wily use of Christian principles alone shows that the letter isn't intended for its stated recipient (imagine,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 6:13 AM on May 10, 2006

He lost me right up front when he listed "dinner discussion" and "lunch sensing session" (now that takes the cake for blowhard military nomenclature) as sources. How can any of these "sources" be anything but polite, gung ho and supremely retarded?

Now had he gone undercover -- say posing as a chaplain and living with the troops for a few months, he might have had something. But no, what we get is like everthing else associated with this... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 9:03 AM on May 4, 2006

Falcon -- outstanding comment.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 5:35 AM on April 30, 2006

Sort of a reverse kill the messenger.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 7:58 AM on April 19, 2006

Hmmm . . . I think this is porn. Sneaky, sneaky porn.
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 6:28 AM on April 19, 2006

Before I spend to much effort understanding this, one question: Is this real or kinda Timecube?
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 5:47 AM on April 18, 2006

Name dropping time: I had the good fortune of being in both Simic's poetry workshop and modern poetry class at the University of New Hampshire when he won the Pulitzer back in '89 or so. Normally he was extremely cool -- sardonic wit, slight Eastern European accent, trademark granny glasses -- but the morning he heard about winning the Pulitzer he was downright giddy, shaking everyone's hand like a first time father. All of us in the workshop got invited to the reception UNH had for him.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Toecutter at 7:55 PM on April 14, 2006