Hmm. It's pitched as work for hire, but it's not. For $2 you get a copy, not the copyright. Back to the Indian sweatshop artists for me.
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 1:13 AM on July 24, 2008

Oh, serious question: I have been thinking of commissioning some simple comic style line-drawings, but as works for hire (meaning, I own the copyright). What should I expect to pay?
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 1:15 AM on July 24, 2008

Diet perhaps is one influence? I wonder if corn (maize) consumption has anything to do with it. High fructise corn syrup seems to have some correlation with making Americans fatter and less motivated; I wonder if the prevalence of corn in the Latino diet has a similar effect.

Certainly, the relative abundance of cheap high-sugar, high-carbohydrate foods in the US plays havoc with the cultural habits of Latinos accustomed to greater scarcity -- if you're poor in a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 6:17 PM on July 23, 2008

Ryvar writes "I suspect there are little, if any, genetic factors improving the scores of asian students, and I suspect there are some fairly major cultural factors that are doing so."

I suspect it's both, thought I know that suggesting race influences IQ is terribly unfashionable. But suspecting is a poor substitute for well-designed empirical studies.

Among Africans from... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 6:30 PM on July 23, 2008

"This is bad news for Jimy Wales's Wikia"

I think we all know the real bad news for Wikia is that it's run by Jimmy Wales and his cronies and sycophants.
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 8:09 AM on July 23, 2008

stbalbach writes "Wales is really good at building community."

You got the first letter right, but you misspelled the rest of "cults".
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 9:23 AM on July 23, 2008

I really wanted to see bees doing it underwater. Or even birds. But no....

But for you guys complaining, I seem to recall an FPP linking to pornotube or something, and without even the redeeming value of an underwater theme. And numerous NSFW FPPs. The OP put "[NSFW]" at the beginning of his post, so it's not like he ambushed you. Move on to the next FPP.
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 9:23 AM on July 19, 2008

If his comic had been in xkcd's style, I'd have contributed!

But THE DEVIL told me not to[o]!
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 12:43 AM on July 19, 2008

Solon and Thanks writes "Do the terms 'liberal' and 'good ol" boy' even really go together? Like 'latte-sipping Republican,' it suggests someone mixed up their stereotypes."

I think "good ol' boys" in this context means "the established powers that be". I've heard it used that way in political contexts before.
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 12:44 AM on July 19, 2008

sourwookie writes "Vote Mcain: Never fucked a toddler."

Vote Vitter: dressed like a toddler to fuck prostitutes, but never fucked a toddler.
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 1:53 AM on July 19, 2008

flapjax at midnite writes "That's probably a mistake though. I think 'old boy network' is the term you're maybe looking for..."

Nope, not down South (and in some more rural regions of the North). Yes, "old boys' network" is also used, but it's not uncommon to hear about "the good ol' boys in the State Capitol" or "on the State (Party) Committee".

The meaning (denotation) is pretty... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 5:33 AM on July 19, 2008

ericb writes "Rinehart admits that the book is ‘edgy at times’ but claims that it is not bigoted or homophobic. ‘What you do in the bedroom is private, but when it comes to public policy, that's a different matter."

That's frankly pretty amazing progress, to hear this from a bigot (who moreover thinks God endorses his bigotry) in a rural state, given that the Stonewall riots in NYC (and the official persecution that provoked those riots)... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 7:15 AM on July 19, 2008

So if various Britneys and Lindsays form the apex of the attention-whore pyramid, these guys are its broad foundation stones?
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 12:47 AM on July 19, 2008

11/12. Picked 10000 for the DJIA.
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 8:25 PM on July 18, 2008

What's interesting is that college graduate is the demographic which scores better than any other demographic on all but one of the questions. Guess which question that is, and which demographic beats college graduate.
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 8:56 PM on July 18, 2008

allkindsoftime writes "I'll be happier when we can forget about how far we dipped as a nation, rather than continuing in this pattern of hate. Hate what the man did, sure. But continue hating him, and you not only condone hatred from the other side, you further debase everyone's ability to solve our generation's problems."

Nice sentiments, but bullshit.

Forgetting means repeating. Making nice means no consequences.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 4:01 AM on July 18, 2008

Let's remember that is the president who asserts a an unchecked and uncheckable right to literally torture little children if, solely in his opinion, that would further "national security".

Let's also remember that at least one child in Guantanamo was tortured and threatened with rape by Americans working for this president.

Let's also remember the numerous children at Abu Ghraib, a torture prison run by Americans... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 4:21 AM on July 18, 2008

Cassel: If the President deems that he’s got to torture somebody, including by crushing the testicles of the person’s child, there is no law that can stop him?
John Yoo: No treaty.
Cassel: Also no law by Congress. That is what you wrote in the August 2002 memo.
John Yoo: I think it depends on why the President thinks he needs to do that.
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 4:28 AM on July 18, 2008

BrotherCaine writes "Sarcasm has no lasting value."

Tell me that the next time you're eating an Irish suckling child, a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled.
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 5:43 AM on July 18, 2008

You know, he sounds like a great guy, and lord knows Kansas needs someone who supports actual education standards, but I just can't afford to donate money to some state representative in Kansas. I would have, except this was posted on Boing Boing, and I won't buy anything Cory Doctorow recommends. Not after reading one and a quarter of his execrable "novels".
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 5:09 PM on July 16, 2008

redbeard writes "Hrm. So, he's the kind of guy who will call homeland security on illegal immigrants, too. Rather than finding a different solution."

What different solution? His company got an anonymous tip that it was inadvertently furthering a crime. You expected them to become accessories after the fact, perhaps?... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 5:20 PM on July 16, 2008

Miko writes "I also find his ideas inconsistent - he wants a censorship-free internet but also wants increased protections on personal privacy? I'm afraid these are basically mutually exclusive goals."

Well, Miko of 123 Fake Street, Anytown USA, I don't think these are mutually exclusive. You son't have to censor to have laws restricting and controlling data retention. HIPAA, for example, imposes strong rules on data retention, but it... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 5:32 PM on July 16, 2008

tits mcgee writes "Wait, we're talking about $8.34 here, Orthogonality. You'd deny the people of Kansas a shot at decent representation just because Cory Doctorow linked to Mr. Tevis' website?"

Yes. Cory Doctorow represents all that is wrong with the internets, and contemporary science fiction. Free Violet Blue, man!

Why should I care more about educating the children of Kansas about science,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 5:43 PM on July 16, 2008

orthogonality writes "(Ok, ok. I'll match donations... for anyone who favorites this comment and mefimails me their paypal receipt.)"

Uh, mefimail me just the confirmation number; I don't want your real name, email, or real address.
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 6:42 PM on July 16, 2008

Ok, up thread I said I'd match donations up to $100 for anyone who mefimailed me their donation (and favorited my comment).

I got mefimails from 14 of you, for a total of $374.16. (One contributor didn't specify a donation amount.) The average donation amount was $28.78, the median $10. I won't name the donators or individual amounts, that's their business.

I said I'd match up to $100, but kicked in another $20, making a donation of $120 to... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 1:38 AM on July 17, 2008

Jofus writes "Erm...is it legal for me to give money to someone* here so that it can be forwarded to Tevis? "

No.

However, if Tevis were selling campaign chum, it might be. But Tevis's campaign would have to consult a Kansas lawyer, etc., so it might end up an overall cost and distraction that harmed the campaign.

Give to the ACLU or something, or... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 2:31 AM on July 17, 2008

Or, frigid women only really enjoy sex when a "real man" -- and a real man acts like an ape, beating her and leaving her for dead -- rapes her.

(Not to mention that it hints at Mandingo fears among white men that hugely endowed sex-crazed Negroes who will rape white women, and the white women victims who will enjoy it.)

Which is why, to me, McCain's joke says a lot more than Franken's. Yeah, Franken joked about a fussy old man secretly... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 7:54 PM on July 15, 2008

ericb tells us the cartoonist wrote "It seemed to me that depicting the concept would show it as the fear-mongering ridiculousness that it is.'"

I can't wait for the next issue, targeted to white voters in Kentucky and West Virginia, depicting the Obamas singing about how beneficent "massa" is while picking his cotton, shoving watermelon and fried chicken into their liver-lipped mouths, collecting welfare checks and then raping... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 10:39 PM on July 13, 2008

longsleeves writes "I'm trying to picture what a similarly satirical cover cartoon about McCain and his wife would involve. "

Thought bubble over McCain's head depicts him bloody and dangling by chained arms from a wall in the Hanoi Hilton while runty grinning buck-toothed Japanese-stereotype North Vietnamese beat and electrocute him.

Below is the actual McCain who is thinking this thought bubble, who is mimicking... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 11:37 PM on July 13, 2008

posted "'In one booklet, I come across the rather fabulous student error that the protesters at Kent State in 1970 were shot by "the Federal Reserve."'"

RON PAUL WUZ RITE!
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 6:26 PM on July 13, 2008

On my PSAT essay, which asked the test-tatker to write a letter to the editor, I addressed my "letter" to "Alf Goodykoontz". In retrospect, I probably lost points for that.

But I wasn't trying to make sly reference to a nasty word for female parts. Alf Goodykoontz was at the time the Editorial Page Editor for the Richmond Times Dispatch, and the only Editorial Page Editor's name I recalled while taking the test.

However, I... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 6:58 PM on July 13, 2008

This will just gives Fundies a reason to like species extinction: "It's God's punishment on them gay monkeys! Monkey Gomorrah!"
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 6:30 PM on July 13, 2008

.
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 4:11 PM on July 13, 2008

Colon cancer is a horrible way to go. It made my grand-dad literally into a shell of himself, weak, gray, emaciated, hollowed out by surgery, skin-paper thin, turned him into into some sort of immobile chrysalis marooned on the sofa, from which emerged not a butterfly, but a slow and evil Death that kept him just alive enough to smell his own shit and powerlessness as his feces at unpredictable and involuntary internals spurted into the colostomy bag glued to a hole his stomach.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 1:42 AM on July 13, 2008

Throbbing engine porn? Pumping pistons pushing prodigious poundage?
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 1:21 AM on July 13, 2008

SeizeTheDay writes "People need to start asking questions about banks across the board. But they also need to get a grip. Not every bank is suddenly going to fail. There are WAY too many fail-safes, including a bailout which is ultimately paid for by all of us. Stocks aren't going to zero. But the bottom isn't here yet."

So do I buy a mule, or don't I?
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 9:01 PM on July 11, 2008

More impressive, less configurable.
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 3:26 AM on July 11, 2008

disclaimer writes "Fuck you LH, you have no business coming at me like that. I've seen Patton Oswalt live, and I walked out after the third time he said the word 'fag'."

So you were short-tempered, rude, and jumped to conclusions then, and you're short-tempered, rude, jump to conclusions now.

Well, something to be said for consistency, I guess.

So, uh, if we say "fag" three times,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 9:18 PM on July 10, 2008

weston writes "But I think it should be noted that he really did support three amendments to strike immunity from the bill:"

Well, yes, but we already knew Obama's good at posturing.

At casting principled votes for amendments that everyone knows won't pass, amendments that low-information voters wil never hear about but can be offered as crusts of bread to those who care about the Constitution.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 6:14 PM on July 9, 2008

Oh, CNN just reminded me another reason I still prefer Obama to Clinton: that way I don't have to hear as much whining and kvetching from those say anything for pay jackasses James Carville, Lanny Davis, and Howard Wolfson.
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 7:19 PM on July 9, 2008

So a question.

How many here will give money you'd planned to give to Obama to the ACLU or to another candidate?
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 7:39 PM on July 9, 2008

Pope Guilty writes "Post-op MTF transsexuals are women, asshole"

Not this derail, not on this issue, please.
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 8:38 PM on July 9, 2008

Kadin2048 writes "Sometimes I think the Democrats just fail at politics. They're just honestly outclassed,"

Or, complicit. I mean, they're not so incompetent they can't protect the interests of the trial lawyers, the MPAA and RIAA, big Pharma, the banking industry (remember the bankruptcy bill?), and the military-industrial complex (hoe did DiFi's husband get so rich?).

And they certainly keep themselves in office... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 10:43 PM on July 9, 2008

penduluum writes "Okay could somebody please explain the nontransitive dice to me? Because it is making me feel dizzy and my face is getting hot."

There are 27 unique combinations of dice. In 15 of those 27, die A beats die B. In 15, die B beats die C. In 15, die C beats die A.

In every possible roll, at least one of the cases ( A > B, B > C, or C > A) is true; In 18 of the possible rolls,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 9:30 PM on July 9, 2008

All Soviet worker in Motherland chicks with big breast!
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 11:17 PM on July 8, 2008

KirkJobSluder writes "heck I know there are people who cosplay Fitzgerald and Melville."

Please FPP this, so I can mock it so we can discuss this fascinating occurrence.
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 8:12 PM on July 8, 2008

Nehemiah Scudder.
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 7:51 PM on July 8, 2008

I want to do something to help the Negro race to recognize the opportunity that awaits it. It is not enough for me to hire a few qualified Negroes for good jobs in our own company. To tell you the truth, we would like to have more than we presently have....

We now have Negroes operating our film center, for example, and our very best film editor is a Negro....

I propose to set up at our station a separate department which, for want of a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 6:57 PM on July 8, 2008

WPW writes "Jody, that analogy would only work if the homes in Colonial Williamsburg were still privately owned by the families of the colonists, who still lived there and received state subsidies to pay for the upkeep of their homes. "

In fat, the Colonial Williamsburg houses that are not exhibits are rented (at favorable rates, not unlike a subsidy) to (long-time) employees of CW. They have to keep anything anachronistic out of public... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 6:22 PM on July 8, 2008

cjorgensen writes "Is this where Fark would put an 'Everyone Panic!' tagline?"

No, no. The "Florida" tag would win!
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 5:33 PM on July 8, 2008