The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright? The Civil War details don't quite match up, though.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 4:47 AM on July 21, 2008

And more generally, how do museums deal with offers of loans or donations?

The prospective donor sends an offer of donation in writing to the curator of the appropriate collection, preferably with information on provenance (how do you know it is Douglas Adams's typewriter? How can you document how it got from him to you?) and with good photographs. Depending on the museum's collections policy, some group including the curator of the most relevant... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 9:56 AM on July 16, 2008

If you're doing serious research, the place to look is probably the Tamiment Library/Robert Wagner Labor Archives at NYU.

There's been some discussion on the Mendele list, and maybe there's some sources in the Yiddish Anarchist Bibliography mentioned in that thread.

David Edelstadt is the right time period and should be fairly easy to find, eg on this recording of Labor Bund songs.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 6:50 PM on July 14, 2008 marked best answer

According to Jerry Silverman in "The Yiddish Songbook," 1983, Morris Rosenfeld called Edelstadt's "In Kamf" (which is the one on the Klezmatics recording) the Jewish Marseillaise. Ruth Rubin's book to accompany the 1958 Folkways recording "Jewish Life: The Old Country" mentions Georg Herwegh's 1863 Bundeslied for the Federation of German Workingmen and Chaim Zhitlovsky's adaptation of it, "Un Du Akerst," which Theodore Bikel apparently recorded.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 5:00 AM on July 15, 2008

I am smaller but similarly-proportioned (Bunglegirl's point about drowning in shoulder-width when the bust fits is very familiar), and just picked up a bunch of Old Navy "Women's Classic Button-down" shirts that fit better than most.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 9:56 AM on July 3, 2008

This Globe article from a month ago is pretty positive, but it also was in the real estate section. There may be some other useful information in the discussions of that article and other Downtown Crossing articles from Universal Hub.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 10:06 AM on June 24, 2008

litlnemo -- was it either So You Want to be a Wizard (boy and girl in 1980s take their Ordeal to become wizards; live statues help them fight final battle in alternate-universe New York) or The Bronze King (girl with help of street musician and stuck-up teenage violinist and a statue from Central Park fight a kraken that has moved into the NY subway)?... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 3:15 PM on June 14, 2008

Dancing - vigorous physical exercise combined with sociability and community. For me it's contra or, most recently, international folk, but you'll find people who get blissed out for any type.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 7:07 PM on June 5, 2008

If you are interested in tech stuff, the MIT Flea on third Sundays is the mother of all junk/antique sales.

This weekend you can combine checking out the C line, Beacon St. in Brookline, and getting some exercise with the Brookline Bikes event: Beacon St. will be closed on a rolling basis from St. Mary's to Cleveland Circle for bicyclists at all levels (self-link disclaimer: I am a volunteer traffic marshal for this event).

And has it really... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 8:50 AM on May 16, 2008

Silver Woven In My Hair, by Shirley Rousseau Murphy.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 6:25 PM on April 7, 2008 marked best answer

My mom, who is 4'11", had her brake pedals built up by a garage that specializes in adaptive modifications for people with more serious handicaps after reading those studies about decapitation by airbags; the extended pedals and a cushion on the seat allow her to sit a safe distance from the center of the wheel.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 8:08 PM on March 29, 2008

It sounds like these shrinkwrap licensed pencils which I remember using a couple years ago.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 5:03 AM on March 18, 2008

I have always had great results with the challah recipe from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest; beautiful color (no additives, just four eggs and honey) and texture, and makes lots. The cookbook itself is worth a read for the illustrated guide to making bread.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 12:28 PM on March 12, 2008

This is from the 1977 Sisterhood Beth Torah of Sepulveda, CA, fundraiser community cookbook entitled "Kissin' wears out...Cookin' don't!", which I picked up at a used book store about five years ago. I've made this recipe every year since then. The dough gets beautifully smooth and can be rolled out quite thin, allowing for more cookies, and has a nice texture when cooked and a lovely vanilla flavor.

4 eggs
1 c. oil
1 1/4 c.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 5:00 AM on March 6, 2008 marked best answer

Every time I interview a prospective roommate, I give the "since I own the place, I'm more compulsive about its condition" speech; generally it still falls on deaf ears. I've found that doing short-term leases, with a formal lease and everything, is an ok solution: people are often willing to pay more for flexibility than they would for a year-long lease, and I know that I can put up with most behavior for only a few months.

If you want to ease her in to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 7:21 PM on February 21, 2008

Check the Under 21 in Boston blog, slanted towards music events.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 7:50 AM on February 17, 2008

#1 - Quest for a Maid? Sir Patrick Spens's preteen son and his teenage betrothed are in the shipwreck from the ballad, which is caused by malicious magic; they are the only survivors to make it to land.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 4:58 AM on February 14, 2008

The Enchanted Broccoli Forest has a whole chapter on vegetarian main-dish pastries -- strudel, quiche, calzone, blintz, etc.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 7:46 AM on February 13, 2008

There was a lovely short story serialized over months in Cricket magazine where a boy visits the Cloisters, falls asleep in one of the rooms, and wakes up inside the Hunting of the Unicorn. It was written at middle-school level but did have realistic line drawings on most pages. The most striking scene in it is after he awakes and wanders around looking at a world where everything is made out of thread sewn in exquisite detail.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 4:57 AM on February 1, 2008

It sounds more like an arrangement (for a school program?) than the version of Staines Morris I've learned, even given a lot of folk-processing. The musipedia link sounds peculiarly modal, like they've left out an accidental the whole way through. The top two videos here have the minor version that I'm more familiar with. The "Now to the Maypole haste away" part seems particularly different.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 10:49 AM on January 20, 2008

A former boss once took me off the public reference desk for a month for being "haughty;" by the end of that month, she had figured out that I just do speak in complete sentences all the time.

I use that as my answer to "What are your weaknesses" in job interviews now.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 6:13 PM on January 16, 2008

The Toadeater
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 6:51 PM on December 20, 2007

As in the article above, the plasticisers may migrate out, causing stickiness or tackiness at the skin. The most common disfigurement on older (post-1960) Barbies (particularly Skipper dolls) is "green ear," where the embedded metal of the earrings or rings built into the doll tarnishes and stains the plastic skin. This looks pretty gross, but may be removable with a variety of solvents.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 6:49 PM on December 20, 2007

Many of the local adult ed programs do "dance samplers" covering various styes in addition to their single-genre classes -- eg Dance and Creative Movement at the Boston Center for Adult Education, Dance Sampler at Brookline Adult Ed.

If you really want Dancing With Geeks, the MIT Folk Dance club host a variety of genres, including contras.

On the less structured side, maybe Contact Improv?... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 9:34 AM on December 7, 2007

nntp://alt.folklore.computers
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 5:01 AM on December 6, 2007

Dobbin is sort of a generic name for a workhorse, isn't it? The example that comes to mind for me is "Put on your old grey bonnet, with the blue ribbon on it/and I'll hitch old Dobbin to the shay" from the 1910 song.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 6:12 AM on December 1, 2007

I would be very wary of starting biking in Boston if you have never learned to ride a bike anywhere else before; it's pretty necessary to have the mechanics of riding down pat before you get out on a road so that you can devote most of your attention to looking for potholes, avoiding doors, and responding to crazy things cars are doing. If you're just learning and all your focus is on keeping in a straight line and not falling over, you're not going to be able to react to all the variable... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 12:13 PM on November 24, 2007 marked best answer

It probably doesn't count as a video game, but the early black-and-white version of The Manhole for Apple ][, by the team who'd later go on to make Myst, has a very dreamlike/surreal look and feel, with nonlinear storylines and no set goal (it also reminded me a lot of the video game in Ender's World). The later color version added in a lot more features of standard children's computer games, and lost a lot of that surreal feeling.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 6:22 AM on November 22, 2007

Could it possibly be Stephen Crane's The Wayfarer?
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 11:48 AM on November 21, 2007

How specific to message boards do you want to get? According to an article on "social informatics" in the Indiana University SLIS alumni newsletter I just received, John Paolillo's working on social behavior on YouTube and Susan Herring and her grad students are looking at Wikipedia and Everything2 (the syllabi for her courses may provide a number of other useful references in CMC and CMDA); other profs are studying trolls on Wikipedia.

The 1997 anthology... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 8:42 PM on November 9, 2007

There's an extremely similar project with the same hardware (SPT 1800) that's been lurking at the back of my to-do list for months. I have not yet found a free program that will take input from the scanner and put it into a text file or spreadsheet. I played around a bit with a couple of free spreadsheets for Palms, and the problem is that they aren't equipped with the code for reading from the scanner; the information on how to listen for scanner input and read it in is freely available out... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 12:20 PM on November 7, 2007

Are any of the other raw vegetables you have trouble with potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, or peppers? If so, you may be sensitive to plants in the nightshade family -- I have to wear gloves when cutting vegetables for soup to avoid ITCHY HIVES OF DOOM, but can eat the cooked product with no problem.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 2:28 PM on October 22, 2007

There's a nice chocolate beet cake recipe in the Moosewood Book of Desserts, but it doesn't come out bright red like with food coloring -- more of a rich brownish red. Still tastes great, though!
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 10:19 AM on October 6, 2007

This poster comes up every once in a while over on alt.folklore.computers (1, 2).
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 8:40 AM on September 14, 2007

This site is trying to sell hairsticks, but their catalog of styles works just fine without them. I love the vintage-y Edwardian styles here for something a little fancier.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 6:15 PM on August 27, 2007

This is the sort of question discussed all the time on MUSEUM-L, which has searchable archives, and the AAM Emerging Museum Professionals lists. Both have relatively frequent discussions on "what is the best museum studies/conservation program," "are museum studies/conservation programs necessary to do the work well/get jobs," and "why can't I get a job in a museum?... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 11:57 AM on August 27, 2007

The Vermont Country Store still sells Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific.

posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 7:16 PM on August 19, 2007

I'd look at archival book plates, from suppliers like University Products or Brodart.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 1:10 PM on July 31, 2007

Your description sounds like Mark Strand's poem Keeeping Things Whole:
...
When I walk
I part the air
and always
the air moves in
to fill the spaces
where my body's been.
...
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 8:45 AM on July 30, 2007 marked best answer

Late to the party here, but my CSA newsletter this week had the best recipe for kale I've every had: Kale Crunch. Seriously. Take the kale, wash it, toss it in oil, roast on a baking tray for ~10 minutes, sprinkle with parmesan, roast for ~5 minutes more. The whole family, including picky eaters and kale-haters, ate an entire bunch of kale in about five minutes.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 11:42 AM on July 14, 2007

There's some great advice in Saving Stuff from a senior conservator at the Smithsonian on making sure that your time capsule actually lasts for as long as you intend it to.

For example: keeping it in a closet or attic instead of underground to minimize the risk of water, soil, mold, and plant damage; methods of determining how air/water-tight the container is; using oxygen scavengers inside the container to reduce damage; choosing stored objects of materials that won't... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 7:13 AM on July 14, 2007

Are you on MUSEUM-L? Dealing with volunteers who can be more hindrance than help in a museum setting comes up fairly frequently on that list. Similarly, folks from other small historical societies/museums may have suggestions of good projects for people with limited capacities. The AAM bookstore lists some low-priced books, although I'm afraid I have no personal experience with their publications on volunteer management.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 7:06 PM on June 6, 2007

Read Miss Rumphius and clean up a local park and plant flowers?
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 7:32 PM on June 5, 2007

I get heat hives between my fingers and in my elbows and knees in the summer. After years of trying basically every OTC cream and lotion I could get my hands on, I asked my doctor for something stronger, and she prescribed betamethasone valerate cream. It's a corticosteroid, but unlike hydrocortisone, which just seemed to stop itching and had to be used continuously, the betamethasone actually reduced the swelling and hives and could be discontinued after a few days.
Rapid changes... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 6:16 AM on May 1, 2007

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. 1947, Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison, three handkerchiefs.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 8:18 AM on April 15, 2007

Update, in case anyone wanders across this: the second one is Land of Foam by Ivan Yefremov, which is actually available online. Still no luck tracking down the first.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 11:16 AM on March 24, 2007 marked best answer

"No no no" by Peter Alsop:

kid: "Well I'm bored -- can I smoke a cigarette?"

Dad: "No, no no, no no no, no no no, no! (3x) Nooo! Nooo! Nooo!

Just because I smoke doesn't mean you
Can huff and puff smoke rings like mature adults do
Smoking is bad for your lungs and your growth
I'm older, I know what is best for us both...... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 5:54 AM on March 24, 2007 marked best answer

I'm likely the world's youngest sliderule expert (besides the MLS, I also have an AB and MA in history and philosophy of science). My official title is "curatorial assistant" at a university museum, where I do everything from hands-on conservation to answering reference questions to database administration.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 2:47 PM on March 6, 2007

Could it be the illustrated short story from Tales from Moominvalley about the Hemulen Who Loved Silence, who retires from ticket-punching and sets up a silent amusement park?
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 12:36 PM on February 19, 2007

I love my diatonic harmonica! It was about $4 from the local toy-and-candy store, and I keep it in my coat pocket and play it while waiting for the bus. Most diatonics would be well inside your price range, as would a Hohner Chrometta 8 (about $40), but nicer chromatics run $60 and up.
posted to Ask Metafilter by nonane at 6:38 AM on February 4, 2007