Hey suedehead! That's not it but you've helped me find it- the 'skulls' mention in Ulysses reminded me that there may have been some reaper imagery to go along with the grain analogy, and lo and behold, the first paragraph of Balzac's "The girl with the Golden Eyes":

One of those sights in which most horror is to be encountered is, surely, the general aspect of the Parisian populace–a people fearful to behold, gaunt, yellow, tawny. Is not Paris a vast field in... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 5:10 AM on May 10, 2008

Great answers!
Re: timing, it's probably a July/ August Trip.
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 11:00 AM on February 20, 2008

Hey guys, those are all great answers. I'm glad I can give some educated advice now. I don't think he'd go for the Wisconsin Dells, being a classy guy and all, so I'll pass on the other rec's.
Thanks!
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 2:57 AM on March 4, 2008

Perhaps more literary than what you're looking for, but Gabriel García Márquez's novel "Crónica de una muerte anunciada" (chronicle of a death foretold) is essentially 4 retellings-- some mutually exclusive-- of a murder as an investigative journalist searches for the real story in a small town in colombia.
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 9:36 AM on November 19, 2007

Bill Thompson has a good article on why this isn't really worth it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 3:35 AM on September 13, 2007

Public records offices keep some very cool historical photos that show you what a place looked like before it became whatever it is now. Some environmental History classes have you do research projects on histories of a particular physical space, but I've never seen s college-specific a documentary on what used to stand where a college now is. That would be very interesting, especially if you could incorporate old photos, film, newspapers, or land survey illustrations.
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 11:48 PM on September 5, 2007

These are all 'best' answers! Thanks so much everybody. I'll probably be emailing a few of you.
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 6:30 PM on August 28, 2007

FYI- These answers have all been so great-- I've proposed a Dublin Meetup over in MetaTalk
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 9:16 AM on September 3, 2007

Male singer, but a fairly balanced, slightly folk-rock rock song. Other than that, details are pretty hazy. I did think it was unusually radio friendly and catchy for a modern overtly political song if that helps...
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 6:15 PM on August 13, 2007

Oh, and I think there were periods where the singer talked, rather than sang a few lyrics-- very conversationally, almost storytelling.
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 6:17 PM on August 13, 2007

All great sugestions, and some awesome songs, but no matches. Like Alice's restaurant wasn't an overt "protest song," but was unusually specific about modern events- it could probably be enjoyed by those not on the far left too...
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 7:05 PM on August 13, 2007

Didn't sound British that I can recall- I think the song felt pretty amercanish.
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 7:28 PM on August 13, 2007

Thanks lhall, I'll check back to see if you find out what it was.
Seamus- that's pretty darn close; mystery song was a little more upbeat/ positive/ cooky, but I'm getting some great songs out of this thread! thanks all.
aeschenkarnos - I'm having trouble listening to the clips off of Rock against Bush on my mac- I'll listen if I can find those posted elsewhere.
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 7:29 PM on August 14, 2007

Sweet Baby James by James Taylor. A simple tune I remmeber my parents singing me.

Goodnight you moonlight ladies
Rockabye sweet baby James
Deep Greens and Blues
Are the Colors I choose
Won't you let me go down in my dreams...
And Rockabye sweet baby James

Theres a song that they sing when they take to the highway
A song that they sing when they take to the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 8:05 PM on August 1, 2007

Watch Black Adder, and go jogging. With a bunch of endorphins coursing through you, you'll be sharper and think you're witty which is half the battle. Unless you're completely un-witty in which case it's a nail in the cofin.
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 11:16 PM on July 2, 2007

(Upon re-reading my comment)...Don't necessarily do both simultaneously.
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 11:18 PM on July 2, 2007

A sweet cordless nose hair trimmer? Or DUAL nose hair trimmers, to make the $400 mark!
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 7:18 PM on June 15, 2007

Caribbean in July is cheap (but hot).

However, it looks like flights haven't dropped in price yet. This flight to Anguilla (sleepy, tiny island with the best beaches) was bout $200 cheaper last year, 4 weeks before purchase.
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 1:05 PM on May 24, 2007

Aliens.

But please, don't let on that you know.
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 10:40 AM on May 24, 2007

Anguilla Saltworks Company is the posh modern incarnation of a salt company that was originally started around 150 yrs. ago. While they now only sell 4 sets of bath salts (named after 4 bays of the island, but not the Road Bay salt pond from which the salt comes) the salt company has a storied history.

I couldn't find any links online, so this could be infused with some BS I picked up from the lucky citizens of the island, but the salt from Road bay was supposedly sold... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 9:13 PM on May 23, 2007

You = cool
She ≠ cool

She's not for you- a girl you like, with whom communicate better, will come along quickly if you remember that it's her, not you.
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 11:59 AM on May 23, 2007

Well, wikipedia has a very informative article on sleep paralysis, which seems very similar to what you're getting mentally, but perhaps not physically.

Sleep paralysis is $&*#ing awful, and scary as hell- it has the same 'not knowing it's not real' thing you talk about.

I started having what you describe, but it was accompanied by feeling like I was frozen with fear. I'd just moved apartments- but it didn't happen too often- about the same... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 12:18 AM on May 19, 2007

Benjy has it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 8:59 PM on May 16, 2007

1) Learn knots, especially the bowline and square (reef) knot. Super important.

2) Review basic sailing concepts- internet is good for this. You don't say if you have any previous small-boat sailing experience, but if you don't, do not waste your time on vocabulary and terminology, other than the strict basics. But do learn why you can't sail directly into the wind.

3) Bring extra t-shirts, uderwear, especially if you aren't used to the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 9:16 AM on May 15, 2007

The Barnhouse effect Might seem difficult to film given the wiki summary, but if you read it it is screaming for a screening. On the whole it is simple, with a nice narrative flow that will make it easy to film, or at least adapt without any action scenes or major sets.
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 12:09 AM on May 14, 2007

Oh, and you can get away with horrendous video if you have good sound. Films shot on $10,000 cameras with bad sound= unwatchable. Get an external mic.
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 12:10 AM on May 14, 2007

Ok, it's almost scary how in-line we all are with the Ray Bradbury POV. But damn, it's dead on for film material.

My recommended collection- with dozens of stories perfect for your goals (including many mentioned here) is 'Twice 22,' which actually includes all of 'Golden Apples of the Sun,' and a second section called 'Silver Apples of the Moon.'

Since the narrative is so important, as people have pointed out, you'll need an actor who can pull... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 2:12 AM on May 14, 2007

IF the POV is not technical, but rather on your personal interaction skills...

Totally random, but I was once in a series of interviews, but not the interviewed, where the candidate was asked to tell a joke. There are two possible bad scenarios here-

1) You can't think of a joke and just say 'nope, sorry.'
2) You tell an offensive joke.

So on the 1% chance somebody asks you that in an interview, it's... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 11:04 PM on May 13, 2007

FWIW, do you live with a carrier? A person who gets strep throat and shows few or no signs of it? IANAD, or even anywhere close, but I used to get frequent infections as a young child, and it turned out one of my siblings almost always had a simultaneous case, but showed no symptoms and I was catching it from her. Maybe that's totally bogus, Ted, but we made sure not to share any drinks and etc, and I got many less cases of strep afterward. FYI I've had my tonsils and glands swell up to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 9:59 PM on May 13, 2007

You can probably still see The Lives of Others in a theater near you. I saw it with a friend who lived in East Germany after the wall fell and she found it pretty authentic-feeling. It may not speak to the attitude toward Americans, but there is extensive discussion of the spectrum of attitudes on the 'West' in general.
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 8:02 AM on May 13, 2007

Can't help you on the swap, but I swear by getting cheap-o used road bikes/ hybrids. I'd buy a 'new' beater from St. Vincent DePaul thrift stores (you probably have a salvation army store nearby which is almost as good) every couple years for 10-15 bucks.

I looked for tires that were flat (then the bike is cheap!) but rims that spun straight. Also, check to see if the brakes and gears are bent up and really messed. If they're ok but sticky, that means they look... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 9:49 PM on May 11, 2007

I wish I was the moon (tonight)
by Neko Case
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 11:31 AM on May 10, 2007

On the software note- Take the software minicourses that alot of Wisconsin system schools offer for cheap as free nights and weekends, or even in the summer if you can.

I cannot stress this enough.

Of all my friends, the geeks who crammed a quark express, photoshop, dreamweaver and etc class into their last month of college just to get the discount got so many more job offers because they had a couple specific skills that set them apart.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 7:26 AM on May 10, 2007

I guess I should clarify- by "net shift around the globe" I mean is there a net shift in relation to the already rotating earth.

I'm asking whether the atmosphere rotates slightly faster or slightly slower than the earth (ground and water) does.
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 12:34 AM on May 10, 2007

Those were my original thoughts exactly Malor, due to the angular momentum part. But then I started thinking about friction, coriolis effect, the upper atmosphere and the coffee table discussion got way over my head.

Hey- some of these answers have been super helpful, even though I'm sure this is a very complicated and hard to measure topic. AskMefi still seems to be the best place to come for those near-impossible science quandaries.
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 7:10 AM on May 10, 2007

Research aper... Oy

Just a not on the restaurant jobs- I've found tons on the books, and very few under the table, but it is probably proportional to the establishment's size.
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 7:20 AM on April 4, 2007

Stay in superfancy eco-lodges, or hire guides for trips to remote areas you couldn't reach alone
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 7:11 AM on April 4, 2007

I was "Baby" for three or four days, depending on who you ask. I think it's OK, but like everyone has said, discouraged.

I actually had a very surreal incident, watching some film footage of my mother holding me when I was only 3 days old. My father had an early video camera, and recorded some footage as soon as I was back from the hospital. Seeing both my parents refer to me as "baby" and realizing that the unnamed bundle was me-- that was very... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 6:59 AM on April 4, 2007

Thanks everyone! A fridge superhero from Santo Domingo fixed it for $90USD, and even replaced the burnt-out compressor like mochi crunk said. Sorry to take so long to update
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 11:11 PM on April 3, 2007

What everyone else said + if you know a foreign language or two, Consider Comparative Literature
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 11:01 PM on April 3, 2007

They act like 12-year olds because no one told them not to say that when they were twelve year olds.

I say the same thing to my very intelligent friends that I say to the kids I teach. It can be as easy as saying "that's offensive. You mean that thing is dumb. Does gay mean dumb? No, it means homosexual. Did you mean to say that Tapioca is homosexual? I didn't think so. It's offensive when you use gay as a synonym for dumb.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 12:03 AM on March 27, 2007

Either you are my father, and have a mefi username I'd never have expected, or you just described the situation at my parent's house verbatim. Their Dale (let's call him Daddycat) and Greenbean (Dusty) did the exact same thing. While Dusty had kittens (and then got spayed), and slowly got more tame, the old tomcat Daddycat would come and go as he pleased, doing the circle-the-house-death-howl. The only time he actually shut up was when he'd been away for a while, got bitten by another cat or... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 11:34 PM on March 26, 2007 marked best answer

It could be, but is likely not, an entry in the second link of this post.
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 11:20 PM on March 26, 2007

Three words:

Dunkin Donuts Coffee.

A gateway drug if ever there was one.
-
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 7:26 PM on March 21, 2007

Actually, I heard of some engineer who would crush half a caffeine pill and mix it with a pint of Gatorade. Seemed like it worked for him-- kept him hydrated, and not over-sugared.
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 10:55 PM on March 21, 2007

Also by Edwidge Danticat - "Breath Eyes Memory." Bounces between Haiti and NYC, so it's approachable for Americans but personal and genuine.

I'll second Derek Walcott as he's a personal favorite, but I'd recommend something lighter than his masterpiece "Omeros." That, to me, was along the lines of a West-Indian "Ulysses," so not exactly beach reading. Regarding the Nobel prize, he should have won it before then, but Omeros was a nice... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 11:54 AM on March 21, 2007

PS- Since your friend wil be in Nevis, Derek Walcott is a strong choice since the vast majority of his poetry is about the Lesser Antilles, unlike many of the authors so far mentioned. It's a minor differentiation, but St. Kitt's is full-on West Indian territory, and Haitian, Cuban and Jamaican authors will primarily be writing about those places, whereas Walcott discusses pretty much every island south of St Kitt's, down to Trinidad.
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 11:58 AM on March 21, 2007

I was going to say they look like Whelks.
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 4:26 PM on March 19, 2007

FWIW- Skype customer service just got back to me and said they're having some problems with the in-program buying setup. They recommended I go to skype.com. If you're trying to buy directly in the program, there's a slim possibility that's part of the problem.
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 10:50 AM on March 17, 2007

Meatbomb- I was going to ask about the nature of you class, but you answered it up thread.
I've got a different class setting, but a similar problem. I'm teaching teenagers, so in addition to being glued to their phones, before (and during class) they all want to show them off, compare them, and try eachother's. I can't really blame them- there are some sweet fucking phones out there. But I can blame them for letting that interrupt class. Fighting the 'cell phones interrupting... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by conch soup at 10:41 AM on March 17, 2007