Architecture in Helsinki's In Case We Die is a great album for summer-time head-bopping feel-good car-driving music- it's quirky, sometimes sweet, sometimes fun, and well produced. You can listen to some of their songs here, check out 'Wishbone' or 'It'5' for a quick taste.
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 6:29 PM on July 16, 2008

The science and the empirical evidence are definitive. We are not monogamous.

This is an exaggeration at best, a fallacy at worst. There is mixed evidence, and it's hard to apply the kind of thinking we use in animal behavior studies to humans because our ecologically-induced behaviors are so diverse and rich that we exhibit a wide range of behaviors in different cultures. One study to throw into a pile, from Barrett et. al.'s Human... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 7:30 AM on July 14, 2008

In Munich and Vienna you could stay at Wombat's, a great hostel where you can rent out a room for the lot of you for cheap.
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 8:22 PM on July 8, 2008

What are the details and restrictions of your plane ticket, and where will you be starting from?
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 1:49 AM on July 8, 2008

A must-read is Cormac McCarthy's Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Road. It is utterly brilliant, devastating, and beautiful. I think it's exactly what you're looking for.
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 3:56 PM on July 7, 2008

The Sixteenth Round is an excellent autobiography by Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter. He wrote it from prison, where he was wrongfully incarcerated for almost twenty years. It offers first person historical insight into being an African American youth in the 1940s as well as the political and social climate of the 1960s that sent an obviously innocent black man to jail.
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 5:37 AM on July 7, 2008

This AskMe post has great links about starting a backyard fish farm. From the looks of it, you can turn your food waste (via compost) into worms and feed those worms into fish, and then turn those fish into human calories (ah, the anthropocentric food chain). Somewhere it indicated that the average family's vegetable waste can indirectly yield about forty tilapia a year. On a farm I'm sure you could more than double that, plus you'd probably be composting anyway and excess worms are an... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 5:31 AM on July 7, 2008

Charleston, SC is incredibly flat. From my very subjective experience, it seems flatter than Amsterdam. It's reclaimed marsh, built on landfill, so it's what you'd expect.
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 11:56 PM on June 16, 2008

I've gone skydiving twice now and, if I recall correctly, we didn't go through clouds. It's probably not safe, but even if we had gone through them I don't know if it would 'feel' like anything. Keep in mind that you're traveling at about 120 mph, so fast that to breathe you have to turn your head sideways to catch air. It's two minutes of intense speed, with a massive globe racing towards you, and once you open your chute you're below the cloud line. So going through a cloud would take a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 2:30 PM on June 13, 2008

Under the Boardwalk. That there's a great singin' song.
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 12:03 AM on June 13, 2008

They aren't exactly trial scenes, but these two lawyer-related Mr. Show skits are brilliant.
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 12:39 PM on June 10, 2008

I grew up in Charleston, SC and went to public magnet schools (Buist Academy, Academic Magnet High School). Fellow Buisties and Magneteers went on to Yale, Brown, Chicago, Wesleyan, etc. Others went on to cage fighting in North Charleston. I'm at Cambridge doing a master's degree. To a certain extent, schools are what you make of them and what peer groups you get involved in. SC has particularly bad rural schools, but there are a lot of great schools in Charleston since it's a highly... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 11:39 AM on June 10, 2008

You probably already know this, but gas prices are rising and will likely continue to rise, perhaps indefinitely. You might want to make fuel efficiency a major criteria in your search.
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 10:58 AM on June 9, 2008

You're not being unreasonable. Yes, it's inconsiderate that she did that, even if you didn't have a history. That a house guest thing. But, no matter what people say about not having 'claims' on your ex, there's definitely an ex-code, and the code doesn't expire, even if you dated five or more years ago, because of the strong (although perhaps 'irrational') emotions that come with relational history. Also, the tags might not be appropriate, but they're probably accurate. Those are my two... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 7:18 AM on June 8, 2008

This might help, so should this. Don't forget this, and there's always this (see this section especially in your case). The Louvre is too big to see in a whole week, I would go to Musee d'Orsay if I were you. Sacre coeur is beautiful. Good luck!... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 7:44 AM on June 7, 2008

Spaghetti Bolognese: simple, cheap, delicious, easy, you can modify if over time. You can really just throw everything in and let it boil, but with the right order it can be amazing.
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 1:01 AM on June 7, 2008

To add to lenny70's advice, brown rice takes about as long to cook as lentils, so you can throw them in together for tasty results. Throw a chicken bone in there, you got a stew goin'.
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 2:39 AM on June 7, 2008

Three ingredients:

1) Cardboard from a toilet paper roll.
2) Sheet of fabric softener.
3) Rubber band.

Replace fabric softener every 2 to 16 weeks as needed.
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 6:25 AM on June 6, 2008

As almost any former college Resident Assistant can tell you, that doesn't work nearly as well as the user thinks it does...

It was you! You're right, NMRN, it is definitely a blunt method, but maybe enough to make a difference. It notably reduces the potency of the smell, but you still have to get rid of the air, so it helps if you breathe through such a contraption and into a bathroom exhaust fan, air filter, or out of a window. In my limited... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 6:51 AM on June 6, 2008

I have a Book Chair that I purchased from an English bookstore. It folds up just like BookGem, though it's slightly bigger. It looks like they ship to Australia, too.
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 6:30 AM on June 6, 2008

Can you tell us what field you're working in, how old you are, how long the job commitment will be, etc? This is a hard question for anyone to answer but yourself, especially given these details. If it were me, at my age, with my interests, I would take the job and try to work on the side tutoring or waiting tables. If it's only for a year, and you're young, and it might made a difference towards getting PhD funding next year, then a year of meager living is well worth it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 6:22 AM on June 6, 2008

If you are the artist, you could do another, similar piece on a halter top with fabric paint. It spreads just like regular paint, and to make it set you air dry it and then throw it in the dryer. It it's not your art you could...you know... copy it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 3:03 AM on June 6, 2008

If it's not your art, that is. Depending on the piece, you could also make stencils by taking a picture and printing it onto cardstock, then cut out the relevant bits. Good luck!
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 3:05 AM on June 6, 2008

I can't speak for the mods, but right now I kind of hate you because 1) you know better than to bring this to the green, which makes me think that 2) you're doing this to bring attention to your blog, and 3) your blog is just lame. Hella-lame. It's not clever, it's sensationalist, it's not intelligently written or laid out. There are no redeeming features here. I'm sure you're a nice person and all. Well, I can't be sure because I don't know you. But your blog is lame.
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 2:51 AM on June 6, 2008

There's great dancing/clubs in central Europe, you might want to try to do the following cities (in this or the reverse order): Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Prague. It's perfect for a whirlwind ten day trip, as each city is within a few hours of the next, and you get to see four capital cities in four very unique countries. This isn't the best time to travel, in terms of it getting touristy, but it will be like that anywhere in Europe right now. It's also a relatively cheap circuit, compared... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 10:00 AM on June 1, 2008

I know where you're coming from, and the right book can definitely perk things up. The first book that came to mind is Cloud Atlas, for a number of reasons. First, it's incredibly well written- it's won a number of prestigious book awards and made a lot of short lists (plus it's recommended pretty much every other week somewhere on Metafilter, which is an endorsement in itself). Second, it directly deals with some of the themes you're looking for, and in a very... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 1:16 AM on May 31, 2008

A google search brought up this site, though I can't say how reliable it is. I particularly like this Sumerian Fossil Shell Amulet, or, even older, this 8,000 year old Neolithic Stone Idol.
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 3:38 AM on May 29, 2008

I'd really like a bit of pottery or something

This is also pretty neat.
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 3:43 AM on May 29, 2008

Amsterdam is expensive, but still much cheaper than Paris or London. Unless you're particularly interested in spending a few of your days doing otherwise illegal things, I wouldn't spend more than a few nights there, as you'll cover the historic district pretty quickly. I really enjoyed my time in the Netherlands, but Amsterdam is the kind of city that needs a loose budget to be enjoyed (not so many monuments or interesting walking routes once you get used to the canals- might be worth thirty... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 4:43 AM on May 28, 2008

These two Askme posts might put you onto some helpful novels about countries and cities.

I'm a big fan of Lonely Planet guides. They're well researched, include historical and cultural information, and can serve as inspiration. This massive 'Travel Book' of theirs might be a good start.

After that, for further research, Wikitravel is a great, free resource for travel research. Looking for places to stay? Try hostel world, hostel bookers, the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 2:52 PM on May 26, 2008 marked best answer

** 'traveling abroad' should read 'studying abroad' in my last comment. whoops.
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 2:54 PM on May 26, 2008

Could you tell us more about your plans? When and how are you arriving, how long in each city, what do you want to do while you're there, how will you travel between cities, are you looking to stay in hostels or hotels, etc? If you're staying at hostels, my advice is to book early, as they can fill up faster than hotels, and I think it's nice to have a destination when you first arrive somewhere. By far the best hostel in Vienna is Wombat's- you'll see it listed in any guidebook or hostel... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 6:46 AM on May 25, 2008

IANACR (cultural relativist), but I do think it's important to bear in mind that different cultures (and that extends to children raised in new cultures with parental values) have different concepts of love, relationships, individuality, and family. I'm here to join the others who advise letting him do his own thing, for a very specific reason: depending on how we are raised and our social experiences, we all have different notions of marriage. Mine differ from yours, yours from your friend's.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 7:08 AM on May 22, 2008

Did you hear about the new corduroy pillows?

They're really making headlines.

-------------------------------------------

What do you get when you mix a brown chicken and a brown cow?

brownchickenbrowncow (prounounced like "Bow-Chicka-Wow-Now")


(I told my sister the first joke years ago, and many months later she told me that she... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 12:46 AM on May 21, 2008

To add on to peacheater's great list: Orangette. Check out her recipe index.
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 5:26 AM on May 20, 2008

Ariel Gordon? Did you see this film? Did it also end with the 'pulling your leg' bit?
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 6:58 AM on May 18, 2008

I would take a cheap bus like Eurolines to Moscow or St. Petersburg, then take the Trans-Siberian train to Chita (I randomly plugged in June 5 and it was $257), then bus or train to Anadyr in the north east, where there are ferry rides to Alaska every two hours. From Alaska I'm sure you could find a bus to Seattle. Money will be tight. Book early. Travel light. Bring maps and guides. Give yourself a lot of time.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 6:06 AM on May 17, 2008 marked best answer

Disclaimer: I've never done this, these are just Google results. YMMV.
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 6:09 AM on May 17, 2008

If you do go through Russia, waytorussia.net seems very helpful (linked to in previous post). I researched cheap buses to Russia from Poland and it seems that your best bet is an $85 train ride from Warsaw to St. Petersburg, where you can get on the Trans-Siberian. There are bus routes, but they aren't much cheaper and take something like 30 hours. I'm having trouble finding a way to get to the northeast, but the linked website should help. At least, money wise, it looks like you can do... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 6:29 AM on May 17, 2008

A final note: if you decide to travel through Russia, this will be of help. And whatever you do, avoid the currently unstable North Caucasus, which shouldn't be an issue if you're generally going NE. Mefi mail me if you make the journey, I'd love to hear about it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 8:25 AM on May 17, 2008

Sergent: Sorry, my mistake, I misread a forum post on waytorussia (hence my disclaimer-I haven't done this, just throwing out ideas). I think that going through Russia via the Trans-Siberian route will be cheapest, so long as one can find a cheap way to Alaska through Nelsormensch's first link. Again, apologies for the error.
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 9:57 AM on May 17, 2008

Simply the Best
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 12:57 AM on May 8, 2008

A Man in Full by Tom Wolfe is a great look into Atlanta, and general Southern, culture.
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 5:54 AM on May 7, 2008

How about Guarana Powder? (According to Wikipedia, it's chemically equivalent.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 2:42 PM on April 30, 2008

Here to throw my support to the 'hostels' camp. Like raztaj said, you can really construct your social environment as you go, especially if you have the freedom to decide how long you'll stay in a place and where you'll go next. Meet someone you like who's headed to Florence? You can go with them. Everyone you've met at the hostel is going to Naples tomorrow, and they're all loud and annoying? Stay back a few days. You won't get stuck in a single group of people for a long time, which is... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 2:36 PM on April 30, 2008

Great advice here, only came to add that if the hole is too deep for filling with plaster/spackle/mud, you can buy little wire-mesh screens at any Home Depot-type-store to place over the hole. You seal it on with the plaster and plaster over it, then smooth it out to look even with the wall and paint. This is handy if the hole is deep or if (and this doesn't seem to be the case for you) the wall doesn't have any backing, or is backed by insulation. I only know this because as a kid I kicked a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 1:52 AM on April 30, 2008

Could it be Stereolab? They're British, but most of their vocals are in French.
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 4:19 PM on April 27, 2008 marked best answer

From the looks of my google fu, this doesn't seem to be a possibility without multiple game consoles or some really fancy (read: expensive) equipment. The only thing that I could think of would involve running the system through a computer with a program that would itself split the images up. Even if you were to, say, treat an extra TV as an extended monitor, and then somehow shift the display so that two were on each screen, you'd have to stretch everything to size, which would be a nightmare.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 2:15 PM on April 27, 2008

Something I would like to do one day in Disneyland, that I accidentally experienced as a child: stumble into some behind the scenes rooms. When I went as a kid, my little sister got scared of one of the slow moving rides, perhaps one on a boat, so my parents tried to sneak us out of there. My memory is hazy, but I remember us jumping from the boat onto a platform full of those automated figures in an attempt to get to a nearby, unlabeled door, that my parents thought would lead to an exit.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 1:53 PM on April 27, 2008

According to this Wiki page, it's mostly actors. No athletes listed.
posted to Ask Metafilter by farishta at 6:55 AM on April 27, 2008