Displaying comments 1 to 50 of 503
MeFi post:
music
How many times can you listen to the same symphony and still find it profound?
Did you think about this even a little bit before you wrote it? How many times have you listened to your favorite song? Favorite album?
Anyway, on to the article... I have an amateurish interest in Chinese traditional music. For anyone else interested, there is an excellent compilation called A Treasury of Chinese Musical Instruments (that's... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by synaesthetichaze
at 3:06 PM on July 22, 2008
MeFi post:
Exiled
War Nerd is so very excellent. The other day someone posted my favorite article someplace on mefi (maybe metatalk?), but I'll do it again anyway:
Saddam Died Beautiful: And what a way to go! Damn, did you see that cellphone video of his death? A bunch of Shia monkeys in ski masks woofing at him -- safe behind their masks, with Saddam handcuffed and under guard -- woofing like cockapoos at a pit bull heading for the Pound's death cell. And Saddam laughed at them,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by synaesthetichaze
at 1:41 PM on July 15, 2008
MeFi post:
Journey to the center of the brain
Not really eponysterical, unless you think of a homunculus literally squatting inside your head, manning a switchboard. Is that how people think of a homunculus? Maybe I am out of the loop on the modern perception of a homunculus.
posted to MetaFilter by synaesthetichaze
at 8:15 PM on July 4, 2008
Thanks for the link, Free word order. I can always count on wikipedia to illustrate clearly the details of, e.g., the Mind-Body Problem.
I had never heard the term Cartesian Theater, however; it is a funny extrapolation from what I think most people would agree on: when I am thinking about, say, a marmot (as in the diagram), my mind is obviously not manipulating the actual thing, but a representation. But take this to its logical conclusion (?), and I end up with a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by synaesthetichaze
at 8:48 AM on July 5, 2008
MeTa post:
Another open letter.
Synecdochically
This is correct, but good god. Don't paint yourself into the adverbial corner with a word like synecdoche; do whatever you have to do so you don't have to say something so barbaric.
Synecdochically? I want to punch myself in the face just for trying to pronounce it.
posted to MetaTalk by synaesthetichaze
at 8:18 PM on July 4, 2008
MeFi post:
Regrets? I have a few, but then again...
I don't hear anyone decrying their poor choices
Of course you can't hear me, you're in New Mexico.
Anyway, I too thought "god, I wonder what he can possibly do for a living." But people are always surprising me with the strange jobs they have. I don't have too much imagination on the subject of employment, and I'm one of those people who would like to have one job forever, but after thinking about it a little, I'm... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by synaesthetichaze
at 4:26 PM on July 4, 2008
MeFi post:
Former United States Senator Jesse Helms, 1921 - 2008.
But now, yes, I'll enjoy those fireworks knowing that today we're a little bit better than we were yesterday.
This brings up a topic I often think about, in terms of progress, if you'll permit me to discourse a little bit... I always find it astounding how things like true racism, sexism, and other varieties of bigotry & hatred can persist for so long in the face of rationality and decency. And yet, every day another "fossilized"... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by synaesthetichaze
at 11:37 AM on July 4, 2008
Addendum to my comment: maybe I should mention that my sister is in 9th grade, and that even 10 years ago when I myself was in 9th grade, having openly gay students would have caused some kind of major riot, fire, or small scale civil war in my hometown.
My point is, eventually things get better, because people like Jesse Helms die. Eventually.
posted to MetaFilter by synaesthetichaze
at 11:46 AM on July 4, 2008
MeTa post:
We'll build our house and chop our wood
I am not in favor of yet another neglected subsite that nobody ever looks at. "Music" is of a rather broader appeal (I think most would agree) and yet, it's kind of a running joke that no one goes there. Travel likewise. Jobs. Sorry, but I think this is feature/mission creep. It might be a neat idea for your own website though. Gardenfilter.com, .org, and .net are all available.
posted to MetaTalk by synaesthetichaze
at 2:29 PM on July 3, 2008
MeTa post:
Post editing ability
Yes, every edit must be preserved wiki-style, if this actually happens. I personally think it's a terrible idea, but if it must be done, save every version. I would prefer if all edits were visible to the userbase, but then again... I'm a user.
posted to MetaTalk by synaesthetichaze
at 12:25 PM on June 29, 2008
MeTa post:
Go Team?
I am fucking tearing it up in Harrisburg over here. That makes me feel a little better. I'm still dumber than 13 of you guys though (much better than I thought, really).
posted to MetaTalk by synaesthetichaze
at 10:58 AM on June 21, 2008
MeFi post:
"I don't value music made from sampling."
There are several moments of total brilliance on this release, just like his previous two (his first album, however, is unlistenable). Much of it is mediocre, but the Jay-Z / Radiohead portion of "Set It Off" is amazing, as is the Metallica / Lil Mama mashup on "Like This."
I have to wonder if he is courting death, including Metallica on a mashup mix, though. They are notoriously litigious, even more so than the regular ol' RIAA.
posted to MetaFilter by synaesthetichaze
at 2:48 PM on June 20, 2008
MeFi post:
A "Harmonious" Path
...I favour an approach where these properties are somehow built into what it is to be a physical substance at all...
posted by leibniz
Heh.
posted to MetaFilter by synaesthetichaze
at 7:20 AM on June 18, 2008
MeFi post:
Bush sacrifices
"I don't think our troops ought to be used for what's called nation building."
Actually, he seems to be adhering to this one spectacularly.
posted to MetaFilter by synaesthetichaze
at 5:21 PM on May 13, 2008
Well, it's related to golf, I guess... um.
Incidentally, you make my Recent Activity page worth looking at, homunc.
posted to MetaFilter by synaesthetichaze
at 3:33 PM on June 7, 2008
MeFi post:
HAL's iPod?
People who like this stuff might be interested in Jóhann Jóhannsson's album IBM 1401 - A User's Manual, which is the model from the last link.
posted to MetaFilter by synaesthetichaze
at 4:48 PM on June 6, 2008
MeFi post:
Coco Wang: China 5:12 Earthquake
These are excellent comics, but I too doubt the authenticity of the stories themselves. Take the first as an example: how many of you would sing Happy Birthday to what you presume to be a corpse? It strikes me as very disrespectful... if she doesn't wake up. Which she does, here; how delightfully unlikely! I think in reality the order was reversed. She is rescued, presumed dead, wakes up, the brother says 'hooray, it was her birthday,' and the singing commences. This reflects what you generally... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by synaesthetichaze
at 3:20 PM on June 1, 2008
MeFi post:
Stories of where US stimulus checks are going
I got $600 and saved it, along with my tax returns. I really can't believe the useless crap some people wasted theirs on, however... like, say, the one at the top of the page now:
"Bought season tickets, way up in the upper bowl, to the Carolina Panthers for my husband and I!!!! Now we will use the rest to pay for the gas to get to Charlotte for EVERY HOME GAME THIS YEAR!!!!!!! So excited for August!"
Shannon, 27,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by synaesthetichaze
at 7:35 PM on May 31, 2008
Forgot to say thanks for posting this... it's a very entertaining website, in the sense that getting angry at strangers is very entertaining to me.
posted to MetaFilter by synaesthetichaze
at 7:37 PM on May 31, 2008
Ask post:
Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati
Because word order is not important poets especially can really mess with the meaning of words.
Ovid is simply amazing at this; I finally began to enjoy Latin once I read Metamorphoses. One of these days I will have to go back to it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by synaesthetichaze
at 9:28 AM on May 10, 2008
MeFi post:
In the Wake of the Floods
Burma accounts for a large portion of the worldwide heroin supply and hence a substantial part of the CIA's funding.
It's kind of funny that you mention this... today at work, someone asked "why Miramar hates us." So I kind of had to start at the beginning, explaining that Myanmar is different from Miramar. And that declining aid doesn't necessarily indicate hatred (although it indicates a dumbass move on their government's part).... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by synaesthetichaze
at 5:12 PM on May 9, 2008
MeFi post:
640K ought to be enough for anybody
Speaking of IBM... it is interesting to see IBM's hardware architectures coalesce into a single platform. The POWER6 chips, for instance, contain not only the RS/6000 instruction sets, but also the zSeries ones; I don't really know what it means for the future, but it will be real interesting to watch.
That new z10 looks like a fucking monster, as well... it's too bad I work for a company with no money, so we'll probably be running our z9 for the next decade or so. I... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by synaesthetichaze
at 4:55 PM on May 9, 2008
MeFi post:
CeaseFire
having children is not a rational decision
This is basically the root of all problems on the entire earth.
posted to MetaFilter by synaesthetichaze
at 11:46 AM on May 4, 2008
MeFi post:
Must be funny...
If everyone in the US used that formula to buy houses, we wouldn't be in the mess we are now...
My net worth is -$16,511.
posted to MetaFilter by synaesthetichaze
at 2:56 PM on May 3, 2008
I think people are misinterpreting the guy's wealth a little. His net worth is a fafillion dollars, but most of it is tied up in his corporation, Reliance Industries. The only way he is getting at that money is to dissolve the company and liquidate all of its assets, thus obliterating 3% of India's total economy. He doesn't have a bank vault stuffed with a trillion rupees.
posted to MetaFilter by synaesthetichaze
at 3:33 PM on May 3, 2008
Ask post:
Neat instruments for guitarists
Well, the uke has been suggested... very fun to play, and unduly ragged upon for some reason. The mandolin is quite nice, since it is tuned to a circle of fifths, backwards from a guitar (GDAE), and the courses give it a full sound. I don't have much experience with the banjo, but the banjolin is a real fun instrument if you can get your hands on one. It is tuned like a mandolin, but has a banjo-like timbre, and plays like a uke. Best of all worlds!
You could also go... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by synaesthetichaze
at 6:25 PM on April 19, 2008
