vacapinta

I work near Pimlico, have thick hair and £22 falls slap bang in the middle of the budget range. You just won.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 8:30 AM on July 16, 2008

False.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 1:31 AM on June 29, 2008

Definitely go for it.
If ghosts do exist, if they are a part of our physical universe, think of the implications this has for every area of science. If you can capture physical proof (a convincing video will do it) fame and fortune are yours.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 12:43 PM on June 18, 2008

Mary Ann Evans wrote Middlemarch, which is often touted as the finest novel of the 19th century, if not of all time. She was unquestionably a genius, just read her work, it's incredible. She also made the first English translation of Baruch Spinoza's 'Ethics' into English, I'm amazed she hasn't been mentioned yet.
I agree with the overall sentiment of the thread that women really haven't been given the chance to shine in the chosen fields (maths, philosophy, science) until extremely... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 2:59 AM on June 5, 2008

"Mind the gap...It's just the distance between life as you dream it, and life as it is"
- Notes on a Scandal

I think a lot of this is a case of unrealistic childhood dreams. You ask 10 year old kids what they're going to do with their lives: everyone's going to be a popstar or a football player, or an actor or a millionaire or or a writer or a politician.
Not that many make it.
They get jobs as estate... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 12:30 AM on May 18, 2008

Major Curley
Should I unmark it as best answer? That seems cruel. It did introduce the issue of an objective method of assessing language difficulty, that of how long it takes a child to learn a language. Most comments so far, interesting as they are, have been based around second language acquistion, which will always be biased by the learner's native language and thus unobjective. The time frame for Gaelic fluency did seem a little ungenerous though I'll grant you.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 6:29 AM on April 30, 2008

I asked a pretty similar question when I first arrived in France about six months ago: where's all the good French TV? The networks in France are filled with dubbed American series and talk shows.
This thread seems to have confirmed, by citing only films and Quebecois TV, that the French really just don't do good scripted TV.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 4:29 PM on April 26, 2008 marked best answer

Any excuse for this.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 9:16 AM on April 26, 2008

Thanks to everyone for your reponses, some really interesting stuff here, too many to mark as best answers.
My fundamental problem is that I really want to learn a lingua franca, of which there is really only English. The other languages I have considered (German, Russian, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese) are at best semi-lingua francas. Spanish or Russian would get the nod, but I have no plans to travel extensively/exclusively in the Americas or Central Asia and Arabic and Chinese require... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 5:20 AM on March 26, 2008

Just to respond to a few of the comments upthread: I am well aware of the differences between the EU and the US. Obviously one is a unified nation state and the other a grouping of nation states. However, with pooled sovereignty in the EU, and the federal structure of the US, I think the two are more similar than a lot of the comments so far have suggested.
My question is why the EU seeks to absorb poorer countries on its periphery and the US does not. What would the US gain from... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 10:15 AM on March 18, 2008

Still by Ben Folds
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 4:59 PM on March 9, 2008

I was also born on the 1st of September and I love my birthday. Here's why: if you spell out your date of birth DD-MM-YY, like we do here in Britain, then my date of birth is 1-9-84, or 1984, the year of my birth. In order to enjoy these great privileges on the other side of the Atlantic I suggest a switch to January 9th.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 6:57 AM on February 23, 2008

'frieleux' is a lovely French adjective that means 'sensitive to the cold'.
(Great thread by the way.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 6:20 AM on February 18, 2008

I use bits of blue-tack for my map of Europe, which works fine (though it is a bit less classy).
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 8:07 AM on February 13, 2008

I suffer from a lot of the same issues, as everyone does to an extent, and I have found The Now Habit to be extremely useful.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 1:53 AM on February 10, 2008

Some quick googling has confirmed that I did not dream Bill's New Frock.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 1:30 PM on February 5, 2008

Don't trust the naysayers.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 7:53 AM on February 3, 2008

Continuing with the Alan Moore theme, you can 't not mention The League, even if they're not that long.
(Great thread by the way, I plan to read everything in it)
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 6:24 AM on February 1, 2008

Here's Bill on Larry King saying he'd be happy to work for Hilary (starts at 2:30).
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 10:55 AM on January 31, 2008

I asked this question recently.
Here's how I think of it: as a civilisation we need to halt the increase of carbon emissions, despite the fact that global economy and population are both growing, and then start to reduce them. After 2050, magical technologies (fusion, cheap, industrial-scale carbon sequestration) will, hopefully, allow us to start reducing the amount we emit until by 2100 we're at a level where the atmosphere can start repairing itself. Until then, you need to make... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 3:03 AM on January 29, 2008

I've got a friend who treats raw chicken like it was plutonium, so I ate a bit to shut him up. Nothing happened.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 6:26 AM on January 27, 2008

Ah-Ha!
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 11:51 AM on January 22, 2008

Great answers here, thanks to all those who answered. I'd heard of those deaf nicaraguan kids before but I don't think I really appreciated the significance of it.

divabat - I meant more in the case of pidgins developing in multilingual societies, that children learn to speak fluently and add sophistication to.

I think I'm going to add the Language Instinct to my Amazon Wish List, this isn't the first time I've heard it recommended. (Of course,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 9:49 AM on January 15, 2008

Thirding Wild Swans. In fact, even if you're not going to China, read Wild Swans.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 8:08 AM on January 13, 2008

I have a technique that works brilliantly for me. Concentrate on the swirling patterns on your eyelids, and try to pick out one that looks like something, much like you would when you stare at clouds. Then pick out another, and another, and so on. If you don't see anything that looks like anything ackowledge what you do see, and insist that your brain ascribe some kind of meaning to it.
This really succeeds in shutting up my internal monologue, and eventually my brain starts to play... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 10:49 AM on January 8, 2008

Needtoknowmore. Please.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 4:12 PM on December 28, 2007

I always thought Doctor Who was just a big messy bag of nonsense-fun. For example, after the Time War, there aren't any more Daleks or Time Lords. Now given that both of these species have mastered Time travel and travelled to both the beginning and end of the universe, what does 'any more' mean in this context?
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 2:47 AM on December 20, 2007

My house in Brighton (UK) is full of them. We call them flannels.
If I don't rinse my face with a flannel after washing it with soap, there is a distinctly higher risk I'll get soap in my eyes. So I always use one, though only for this specific purpose.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 7:04 AM on December 18, 2007

If you feel so bad about it, give a significant proportion of yuor salary (10%?) to charity. This will more than make up for any harm done, and karma will leave your ass alone.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 3:23 PM on December 11, 2007

For what it's worth: pigs, apparently, will reliably outwit dogs. When I was in China I was all up for eating dog (I'm usually a vegetarian, but I'll try anything once), but I never saw it offered.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 5:05 AM on December 6, 2007

Huh, didn't think this would be seen as chatfilter, I'm looking for answers to the questions:

"has this ever been seriously considered or even attempted? What would the consequences be?"

But please remove it if it is.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 5:35 AM on December 5, 2007

I think countries do this quite often. I was in Romania a couple of years ago and they'd just recently knocked off three zeros.
I guess it's nearly as much of a hassle to completeky re-jig the system as it is to keep saying 'one thousand' instead of 'one'
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 3:21 AM on December 2, 2007

Do some pre-ski exercises over the next few weeks. It can make the sifference between being able to spend six hours on the slopes each day, or just four because you're hella tired.
Also, skiing is the best thing ever. Persevere, you will love it, eventually.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 2:55 AM on November 23, 2007

I'm no geo-political expert, so take all this with a big pinch of salt, but the matter seems fairly clear to me.

Of course Iran wants nuclear weapons, just look at the region. Nuclear Pakistan and India to the East, nuclear Israel to the West, and surrounded by US forces that have invaded its neigbours Iraq and Afghanistan. Hell, I'd be nervous too. Does Iran really need nuclear power for energy? This seems a nearly ridiculous argument, what with them swimming on a sea... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 9:44 AM on October 31, 2007

I quite enjoyed the book, but found the ending very disappointing. I didn't see it coming, but for me it didn't fit with the rest of the book and certainly didn't explain anything.
If you don't like it drop it. Or, man up and plough on, distress is character-building.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 9:31 AM on October 29, 2007

In America, liberal means a communist homosexual who hates freedom. In France, where I'm living this year, it means a genetically-modified, burger-munching capitalist who wants to abolish the government. I like to think of myself as being a mix between these two.
Don't runaway from the word. Even if you're successful eventually the word 'progressive' will get similarly tainted.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 2:41 AM on October 26, 2007

The first few seconds of Saw III, where a man bludgeons his foot into mush so as to slip it out of a chain, I loved. It was so shocking, so unexpected.
That said, I found the rest of the film a horrifying ordeal, so my sensitivity level is obviously turned a bit high for this sort of thing. But in those first few seconds, I think I got a hint of what people enjoy about these films.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 1:04 AM on October 24, 2007

Groucho Marx used to say that he did this all the time.

"You're an incredibly boring individual."
"Haha! That's great Groucho!"
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 5:58 AM on October 10, 2007

Definitely refer to them individually in the situation you describe. If you were to add a few more religious leaders to the pot though, perhaps an Ayatollah or two, the situation might become untenable. Avoid this at all costs.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 2:33 AM on October 5, 2007

I have a big phobia of nuclear war. Whenever I hear a sufficiently loud noise (they come once a week or so), just for a moment, I panic.
But rationally, I can't see industrial civilisation going anywhere anytime soon.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 5:50 AM on September 27, 2007

Omnia mutantur; nihil interit. - Everything changes, but nothing is truly lost. - Ovid
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 11:38 AM on September 26, 2007

Obviously my favourite board game is Settlers of Catan, because it's incredible. But everyone is going to say that, so I'll mention that Diplomacy is exciting me at the moment.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 2:08 AM on September 24, 2007

"Is that normal pooing you're doing?"
You'll need to jump to 20:30 in the video. Then it's pretty humiliating. Peep Show has an example like this nearly every episode, and is genius.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 2:19 PM on September 18, 2007

I still don't get the logic behind Day Light Savings Time. Do we really have to change the entire system of TIME ITSELF to avoid driving to work in the dark? Why not, I don't know, just get up later?
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 2:28 AM on September 1, 2007

Yes, I meant second (and indeed third, fourth) languages. I am aware of the concept of foreign people.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 7:59 AM on August 21, 2007

Pizza was invented in New York, someone once told me.
Damn, thinking about it, did those Italians invent any Italian food?
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 2:30 PM on August 13, 2007

I get this too. Nervousness?
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 12:07 PM on June 23, 2007

I remember when I started university we were made to sign an anti-plagiarism declaration. In duplicate.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 11:42 AM on June 14, 2007

www.foodforfriends.com is a favourite. It's vegetarian too, so it's kind of a case of 'When in Rome...' (Brighton's full of dirty hippies.)
Oh, and go shopping in the North Laines.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 12:55 PM on May 22, 2007

If you love a book, set it free.
posted to Ask Metafilter by greytape at 3:25 PM on May 18, 2007