All you haters fail to appreciate that in rural Manitoba socials are one of the few opportunities for small towns to get together (New Year's, Canada Day, and Harvest Festivals making up most of the social calendar).
They're also a way to let your creepy cousins feel that they're a part of the nuptial celebrations, even if you didn't invite them to the wedding.

As far as I know in they don't have socials in Saskatchewan, but they do "pass the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 11:56 AM on July 7, 2008

In the clip Robin Williams calls the guy Celcius. IMdB sez it's Luca Tommassini.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 6:31 PM on July 6, 2008 marked best answer

The comic series Wasteland "takes place in a devastated, post-apocalyptic future America. Set one hundred years after a catastrophe known as the ‘Big Wet’, it's the story of Michael and Abi, two characters with unique and unnatural powers, as they search for the fabled land of A-Ree-Yass-I; which legend says is where the Big Wet began."

Read the first issue online.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 12:37 PM on June 27, 2008

The comic series Wasteland "takes place in a devastated, post-apocalyptic future America. Set one hundred years after a catastrophe known as the ‘Big Wet’, it's the story of Michael and Abi, two characters with unique and unnatural powers, as they search for the fabled land of A-Ree-Yass-I; which legend says is where the Big Wet began."

Read the first issue online.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 12:37 PM on June 27, 2008

Reverend Veasy of Cold Mountain.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 10:43 AM on April 6, 2008

easy_being_green: I do donate, thanks.

Well, at least I'm not going crazy, thanks for the responses, folks!
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 12:27 PM on April 4, 2008

I work five nights a week doing light maintenance for a small eight-story office building as part of a four-man crew (Employed by the building, rather than a cleaning company contractor), and usually end up with at least three hours of free time per shift which I usually spend reading. While I'm working, I listen to podcasts or books on tape. It's far safer than a security job and has fewer interruptions and people to deal with than a hospitality job.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 11:34 AM on March 26, 2008

You're welcome to browse my del.icio.us page - mostly rock/folk, mostly basic chords suitable for the beginner.

Oh, and meet Chord No. 2
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 7:33 AM on March 26, 2008

Former Mayor - and Nancy Pelosi's dad - Thomas J. D'Alesandro Jr.?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 10:18 AM on March 25, 2008 marked best answer

Here's a cached article from the Baltimore Mayor's office about the tradition of Mayoral Portraits.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 10:21 AM on March 25, 2008

What Grither said.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 9:28 AM on March 20, 2008

Enforcement Divisions of the CRA
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 7:37 AM on March 20, 2008

Newfoundland & Labrador Division
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 7:39 AM on March 20, 2008 marked best answer

Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress by The Hollies is good for soundtracks, bris, wakes, and pretty much anything else you can think of. Because it's the bestest song evar.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 9:00 AM on March 13, 2008

You Keep Me Hangin' On, as performed by Vanilla Fudge
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 11:04 AM on March 13, 2008

An assistance dog can brace someone to stand up from a seated or fallen position by making its body rigid. Dogs can also brace someone while he or she climbs stairs. As the assistance dog performs its tasks, it makes its owner's environment more accessible.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 10:57 AM on March 13, 2008 marked best answer

Thanks for the quick responses! Just to be clear, I'm not interested in just Abe or Sir John, any other vocal descriptions of folks long dead are welcome. Cites would be cool, but aren't required.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 11:44 AM on March 7, 2008

TinTin in Thailand, possibly retitled to throw off the authorities?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 4:10 PM on February 23, 2008

Beaches, Brazil

Several scenes in the first film take place at a beach. And the song 'Brazil' features prominently in the second.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 10:38 AM on February 7, 2008

I work nights on a office building's cleaning crew and it's almost the best job I've ever had, besides farm hand, which also featured very little human interaction. Granted, my CV includes restaurant host, clerk in pron shop, restaurant manager, and a total of three days split between two call centres, but the autonomy and solitude of my present job can't be beat. Like dilettante said, avoid hotels/residential facilities - people's propensity for disgusting behavior is directly proportional to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 11:52 PM on December 18, 2007

My girlfriend who is taking ASL interpretation agrees that it can be done with some concentration, but it is considered rude in many circles of deaf culture (I know you didn't ask that, just thought it was a neat thing to throw in).
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 8:28 PM on December 2, 2007

Simon & Garfunkel's 7 O'Clock News/Silent Night has a newcaster speaking over an acapella version of the carol.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 11:17 PM on November 26, 2007

Depends... do you just like your back-up bf/gf, or like-like them?

If all the players are aware of the triangle, fine. If not, you're being dishonest to your current mate.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 11:19 AM on October 27, 2007

Hepburn and Tracy, Burton and Taylor, Franklin and White.
I recommend browsing the swell blog If Charlie Paker Was a Gunslinger...'s They Were an Item category.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 12:24 PM on October 23, 2007

CBC Radio's The Current discussed some of these issues this morning, actually. It probably isn't as deep an exploration as you'd like, but I found it interesting.

Hopefully, it's not what prompted you to post this question.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 12:25 PM on October 22, 2007

1. and 2. could be evidence of prostitution, or as others have said, masseuse, physio-therapist, or drug dealer. Next time you see her, why not ask?

3. and 4. have absolutely nothing to do with her being a prostitute. I wouldn't be interested in getting to know my neighbors if they were nosy gossips, either.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 12:13 PM on October 22, 2007

What BOP said. Unless you're thinking about working somewhere very upscale or that requires specialized knowledge (Any bar beyond a "Shot anna Beer" dive), being punctual, competent, and personable is all you really need to get a restaurant job.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 12:05 PM on October 18, 2007

Tell them Alvy Ampersand dated and broke up a co-worker and found the experience very unfun.

Or go with Saydur's suggestion.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 12:35 PM on October 14, 2007

Is there a maintenance guy around at that time? Maybe he could keep an eye out for the wrongdoer, or possibly, you could bribe him to bring your papers up to your floor.

Of course, this may not work so well if it's the maintenance guy who's stealing your paper.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 9:10 PM on October 3, 2007

she has never given me a reason not to trust her

Then fucking trust her already. Occam's razor: Either it's an accident or she drunkenly gave her number to some loser - either way it's no harm, no foul. Stop reaching for excuses.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 10:05 PM on September 29, 2007

Yes, yes there is.

I'm not sure why you're not hearing about it, though. Maybe it's because I have a rural background, live on the praries, or listen to too much CBC, but I assumed it was a fairly well-known phenomenon.

Then again, "Some farmers making money, bread prices rise, 3rd world screwed over even more than usual" is a fairly hard story to sell to a largely urbanized population, and on the surface is small beer when compared to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 8:24 PM on September 22, 2007

You could try losing weight. Obviously you don't want to lose muscle mass, but a friend who worked on building his speed used hill training and stationary aerobic and cardio exercises to help slim himself down without losing any power or stamina. Like ShootTheMoon says, what works for you will depend on whether you're a beginner, intermediate, or advanced runner.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 11:11 AM on September 18, 2007

Why pay a lot for quality when people will watch whatever crap you show anyway?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 7:22 AM on September 16, 2007

Is a shot at having the bigger room for 3 months worth the acrimony that could possibly crop up regardless of your roommate's response, or the hassle of swapping if she consented? You should have sorted this out before you signed on. If you're both planning on renewing your leases after six months, I wouldn't bother even bringing up the roomswap, just the adjusted rent.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 5:06 PM on September 9, 2007

For God's sake should I break up?
Yes. Neither party sounds like they're in love, just going through the motions out of guilt and convenience.

Am I being a bad person in doing so?
Depends on who you ask, but you're not doing anyone a favour by continuing a cycle of co-dependence.

What if her health deteriorates?
You're a friend, not a husband or a nurse. All you can do is try and be supportive post-break up.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 11:17 AM on August 29, 2007

I'm not sure if Firefox extensions still work on Opera (Or maybe I'm misremembering that completely) but this blogZero entry had everything I needed to get my Favicons in order.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 4:22 PM on August 6, 2007

We have a mutual friend who I've known for 10 years now who has never asked me a single thing about my work, my family, nothing.

Not snarking, but do they consider you their friend, or just an acquaintance, etc? I agree with TPS that this sounds like a case of confirmation bias.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 7:28 PM on July 27, 2007

Seconding rhizome, but the second and third Google results for "Chick Flick", a Wikipedia entry and a completely arbitrary listing of the 50 greatest chick flicks may also be of use.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 9:51 PM on July 21, 2007

Thirding Poison Control, and for pete's sake stop mixing chemicals if you don't know their reactivity.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 9:40 AM on July 17, 2007

You may dig Ghost Cowboy, which blogs stories from the newspapers of the day. I also got some some really cool and helpful answers to this AskMe I posted about life in Civil War/Reconstruction times.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 7:40 AM on July 3, 2007

"He visited Concord Village almost every day; Thoreau's mother and sister, who lived less than two miles away, delivered goodie baskets every Saturday, stocked with pies, doughnuts, and meals; Thoreau even raided the family cookie jar during his frequent visits home.

'It was not a lonely spot,' understates Walter Harding in his excellent The Days of Henry Thoreau. 'Hardly a day went by that Thoreau did not visit the village or was visited at the pond.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 1:47 PM on June 29, 2007

Tom Spurgeon's guide to the Con (*Ahem*) features several recommendations about two-thirds of the way down.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 4:35 AM on June 27, 2007 marked best answer

Thirding drezdn and BB, the caption box is your friend.
However, there is an in the works Spidey Chronology here, but it includes "untold stories", flashabacks, and retcons which may be confusing if the only run you have is Amazing Spider-Man. You could also check this out, though it looks like a real dog's breakfast to me.

There's also a fellow who makes chronologically complete Marvel Comics torrents for downloading; I'm a little... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 1:00 PM on May 25, 2007

The Michael I work with has often complained about people misspelling his name. I know I have a few times, and despite number9dream, loiseau, and turducken, I'm a pretty decent speller.
I believe mckinney, christinetheslp, and cortex have it. Now that it think about it, the ea does look more natural than ae. Even though I know that's how it should look, the vowel combo looks "unclosed" and wrong to me, and I'm guessing my brain is... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 6:50 PM on May 21, 2007

Oh, shoot.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 6:50 PM on May 21, 2007

Fiction, but with interesting bits of non-fiction/history/political/science added liberally to the stew:

Gravity's Rainbow, by Thomas Pynchon
Cryptonomicon & The Baroque Trilogy, by Neal... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 6:26 PM on May 18, 2007

Fictional: Ephraim & Solomon Gursky
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 9:03 PM on May 4, 2007

Swamp water, Manitoba, late eighties childhood.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 10:29 PM on April 25, 2007

Thanks!
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 2:11 PM on April 22, 2007

Varicose veins?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Alvy Ampersand at 11:30 AM on March 15, 2007